Chapter 107

“Dag gummit, Golds! How much further inta these dang woods we gotta go?”

“We’re almost there, AJ. Just relax. Not even Rare complains this much.” I sidestepped a branch and then paused to look back at the farm girl, whose head was lowered to hold her hat secure with one hand so the passing branches wouldn’t pull it off.

“You guys come all the way out here every time ya go fer trainin?” she asked, grunting as she failed to slip past a particularly thick cluster of branches, the sleeves of her denim jacket becoming snagged in their wooden claws.

“Yeah. I know it’s a pain in the ass, but it’s important to keep this stuff hidden, and no one’s ever gonna find us out here, so…”

“Yeah, I s’pose,” she huffed. “I’m just hopin we get there soon.”

“Don’t worry, it’s right through here,” I replied, stopping to hold a branch aside for her. “Welcome to Riverfield, AJ. Come on in; the others are waiting for us.”

Applejack gave me a quick glance, then she ducked into the prickly passage. A moment later, she found herself in an expansive, grassy field, illuminated by the cold November moonlight. There was a solitary tree standing in the center. Behind that was a snaking river, its water babbling along peacefully, fed by a small waterfall on the far right.

I stopped beside Applejack to steal a quick glance at her expression, shaded from the pale light by her hat. Her face could be seen silhouetted in profile; her mouth hung open and her eyes were wide, surrounded by rhythmic puffs of steam each time she exhaled into the cold air.

“This place is amazin,” she finally said, turning to me.

“It sure is,” I replied. “Flutters showed it to me… back when we first got together. She told me she used to come here whenever she was feeling shitty about stuff.”

“Huh.” AJ tipped her hat back with her thumb as she surveyed the field. “And now you guys come out here ta do all yer trainin, eh?”

“Mm-hm, and now you will, too.” I nodded to the farm girl’s right when I heard my girlfriends’ voices drift across the field toward us, laced together in concert. “There they are.”

Applejack glanced in the direction indicated and saw two slender figures in the moonlight a short distance from us; they appeared to be dancing, bumping hips as they sang together.

“What in the hell are they doin?” AJ asked, glancing at me again.

“Oh fuck, this is nothing,” I replied. “You wouldn’t believe some of the weird shit they do when they’re alone together.” I gave her arm a nudge and then stepped past her to head towards them. “Let’s go.”

We had gone only a few steps before the singing abruptly stopped.

“Applejack, darling!” a sleek voice echoed across the tall grass toward us. “So nice of you to join us!”

When we were only a few feet from them, AJ tipped her hat and gave a friendly nod. “Howdy, Rarity; Fluttershy.”

“Hi,” Fluttershy greeted quietly, adding a timid wave.

Rarity glanced at me. “Sunset sends her apologies, darling; she is coming, but is running a bit behind.”

I nodded, and then glanced up at the sky to see if there were any clouds that might block the moonlight.

“Mighty nice place you guys got here,” Applejack complimented, placing her hands on her hips as she looked around again. “Lots a’ space fer practicin…” She paused after exhaling, noticing her breath in the air. “What happens in the winter time, though? It’s gonna be a pain in the ass learnin ta fight in the snow, ain’t it?”

I brought my attention down from the heavens to look at the blonde girl. “War doesn’t wait for nice weather, AJ. It’s important to know how to handle yourself in any condition.”

She cocked her head and nodded thoughtfully. “Hm. Yeah… fair enough, I s’pose,” she replied as I stepped past her to wrap Rarity in a tight hug, followed by a kiss on the forehead.

“How are you feeling?” I asked as she returned the embrace, groaning quietly. “You still upset about our visitor?”

The fashionista sighed into my chest. “A bit. I feel better than I did, perhaps, but I’m really not looking forward to dinner tomorrow.”

“Well, Sunny says she’s coming, and she wants everyone to make an effort to give her a chance, including you.”

Rarity nuzzled her face deeper into my chest. “Ooh… I don’t like it, darling. What if she’s up to something?”

“Sunny says she’s not. I think we should trust her.”

Confused, Applejack gave her head a shake and raised a hand. “Hold up, who’s this we’re talkin ‘bout here?”

“Oh, you haven’t heard?” Fluttershy spoke up, softly. “Um, Sonata Dusk showed up at my house last night, looking for someplace to stay.”

The farm girl’s eyes nearly bugged out of her head. “WHAT!? You talkin ‘bout… Sonata Dusk, the siren?”

Fluttershy nodded.

“What in tarnation does she think she’s doin showin up at yer house? ‘Specially in the middle a’ the night like that?”

“She, um… says she left the other two behind, and that she had nowhere to go,” Fluttershy explained, hugging herself as she spoke.

Applejack paused when she heard this, and she gave her bottom lip a thoughtful nibble as she looked down at the grass. “And she came ta us fer help?” she finally asked, looking up again.

“Yeah,” I replied, “and don’t worry, Sunny snuck a mind-read on her; her story checks out.”

Rubbing her chin, the farm girl ruminated for a moment. Then she put her hands up and shrugged. “Well? I s’pose if she made the effort ta reach out ta us after everythin that went on, then who’re we ta refuse makin an effort back? We’d be no better n’ them if we go and turn ‘er away now.”

A hot puff of air warmed my chest when Rarity heard this. I looked over at AJ as the fashionista shook her head in protest, rubbing her face into my clothes. Lifting one arm from her shoulders, I put my hand above her and pointed down at the top of her head while looking at Applejack.

“What?” the farm girl asked, confused.

“Rare’s not… overly receptive to the idea.”

AJ raised a brow. “Why not?”

“I do not trust her,” Rarity replied, her voice muffled into near incoherency.

“But if Sunset said-”

“Rare had a little run-in with the three of them a while ago,” I explained. “She told them to leave town and never come back, but now that Sonata has come back and we’ve decided to let her stay, Rare feels like her say in the matter has been invalidated.”

Rarity huffed and leaned away from me, scowling. “That’s not it, darling! I… I simply have my… suspicions about her. I’m not comfortable having a member of such a conniving trio in our midst!”

“But that doesn’t make sense, Rare; Sunny read-“ I stopped and shook my head, eyes closed. “Look, just forget it. I don’t wanna have this argument right now,” I said, giving her petite little body a squeeze.

By then, AJ was rubbing her forehead, thoroughly befuddled. “Now just hang on a cotton-pickin minute! When did you have a run-in with the sirens?” she asked Rarity. “And howcome the rest of us never heard about this?”

Rarity sighed and shook her head, placing her fingertips to her temples. “It’s a long story, darling, which reminds me…” She raised a finger and turned to walk a few steps away.

Applejack watched curiously as Rarity stopped and bent down to unzip a bag that had been left sitting in the grass.

“I have something for you to try on, darling,” she continued as she produced a small, black piece of material and held it up.

The farm girl squinted as she studied the garment in the moonlight, then her eyes widened when she realised what it was. “What the shit? Is that a mask?”

Rarity cocked a brow and gave a sly smirk. “Indeed it is.”

Applejack remained silent for a moment, staring slack-jawed at the disguise. Then she gasped and pointed at Rarity. “It… it’s YOU! Yer that... that ‘Dark Whatchamajigger’ they been talkin ‘bout on the news!”

“But of course, darling!” Rarity giggled. “What else am I supposed to do with all my free time?”

“God dangit!” Applejack chuckled, shaking her head incredulously. “I can’t even…”

“Oh yes, you can.” Rarity plucked the bag from the grass and slung it over her shoulder. “Come with me, Applejack. I simply cannot wait to see how it fits you!”

“Hold up… that’s fer me?”

“Yes, darling. Chop-chop! Let’s go.”

As the farm girl followed Rarity to the tree line, Fluttershy approached me and placed her cheek on my shoulder. I put my arm around her shoulder and sighed.

“Poor Rare. She’s so upset about Sonata,” Fluttershy cooed softly.

“Yeah…” I chewed the inside of my cheek for a moment, then I pressed my mouth to the top of her head and sniffed her hair. “We should do something to help her relax.”

“Hm,” the shy girl giggled. “I’m sure we can think of something once we get back to the house.”

Not quite fifteen minutes had passed when Rarity emerged with a tall, slender figure in tow, dressed all in black.

Fluttershy’s mouth was covered as the pair approached us, awed by the sight of her friend; the suit and mask, as well as the absence of her Stetson had made Applejack completely unrecognizable—which, to be fair, was the whole point of the outfit. Her suit was the same as the others per usual, save for the orange stripe down the arms and the trio of red apples that bedecked her thighs. All else was standard: the mask, the pointy collar, the tall boots, the skin-hugging fit, and of course, the wide V-neck that showcased some surprisingly full, lightly freckled cleavage—with an unfortunately visible tan line highlighting the edge of the suit.

“Oh my goodness!” Fluttershy gasped. “Is that you, Applejack?”

“Eh… yeah, I-I s’pose…” she replied sheepishly, rolling her shoulders and moving her arms around to stretch the suit out.

“How does it feel, darling?” Rarity asked, reaching behind Applejack’s head to adjust the ribbon that held the long, blonde ponytail in place.

“It’s a bit tight,” AJ replied, splaying her fingers as she studied the gloves. “But I reckon I’ll grow inta it.”

I couldn’t help but let out a chuckle when she spoke.

“What’s so dang funny?” she asked, her striking, green eyes glaring at me through that dark mask.

I gestured to the suit. “It’s just… the way you look; all sleek and refined, but then when you talk, you sound like a… a…”

“Redneck asshole?”

I cleared my throat and put my hands in my pockets. “Uh... yeah. The way you look and the way you sound don’t exactly... go together right now.”

Applejack nodded, sighed, and then shrugged. “Well… I guess I can’t fault ya fer sayin that.”

“Oh pish-posh!” Rarity scolded, brushing AJ’s shoulder off with her hand before turning to me and Fluttershy, smiling proudly. “Well? Do you like it?”

Fluttershy folded her hands in front of her bust. “Oh Rare, she… looks… amaaaaazing!” she squealed softly, before glancing toward the tree line.

Squealing, Rarity bounced with excitement, clapping her hands rapidly. “I told you, darling!” she gloated to AJ. “Didn’t I tell you?”

AJ rolled her eyes. “Yeah, ya did,” she replied flatly.

Rarity looked to me next. “What do you think, my love?”

I looked the farm girl up and down, then stuck my bottom lip out and nodded. “I like it. You look a lot sleeker. And lighter.”

Applejack looked surprised. “Really?”

“Yeah. And you actually look pretty hot.” I reached out to place my fingertip in the crease between her breasts. “Nice tits, too.”

The blonde girl gritted her teeth and batted my hand away. “GIT!”

Just as I started to chuckle at her reaction, the four of us heard a twig snap in the tree line, off to the right.

The rest of us turned to see a head of fiery-coloured hair emerge from the woods.

“Ah, it’s Sunny,” I said, raising a hand to wave her over. “Hey! Over here!”

“Ugh,” Applejack covered her forehead after turning away, failing to notice the second figure that was following Sunset. “I dunno how many of y’all I want seein me like this.”

Rarity gave AJ’s arm a slap. “Nonsense, darling, you look terrific!”

“That’s right,” I said, “Rare gave you the look, and now that everyone’s here, we can start giving you the skills to go with it—and that’s where I come in.”

“Hey guys,” Sunset greeted as she approached and stood next to Rarity, folding her arms. She paused, however, when she noticed AJ, who had turned to face her. “Whoa!” she laughed in surprise, covering her mouth. “AJ? Is that you!? Holy shit, you look amazing!”

“Heh…” The farm girl rubbed the back of her neck sheepishly. “Shucks… er, thanks, Sunset.”

I pointed at Sunset’s hair. “You weren’t kidding about that dye being temporary this time.”

She smiled and ran her fingers through those wavy locks of hers, tousling them vigorously. “I told you.”

“Hey guys,” came a new voice from Applejack’s right. “Hey, Applejack. Looking good!”

AJ turned her head to respond. “Oh, hey Twilight. Thanks.” She turned to face me again. “Alright, so… what’re we gonna get st-“

Applejack’s sentence screeched to a halt suddenly, and she turned back to face the lavender girl with eyes wide as saucers. “TWILIGHT!? What in tarnation are you doin here? I thought this place was just fer… ya know, those a' us who’ve turned?”

Twilight smiled and nodded. “It is.”

The farm girl was quiet. She narrowed her eyes and turned her head a bit, giving Twilight a sideways look. “Hold up, here…” —she slowly turned to me— “... been busy since ya got home, eh sugarcube?”

I shook my head.

“What?” she sneered, turning back to Twilight, confused.

Twilight shrugged. “I’ve… been this way for a while, actually.”

AJ closed her eyes and shook her head. “And just... h-how long is a ‘while’?”

“Umm…” Twilight tapped her fingertips together and chewed her lip. “Since… August?” she squeaked, cringing.

Standing still with her mouth open, Applejack stared at the lavender girl for a moment, then she looked down at the ground, chuckling. “Wow. I, uh…” She stopped again, then brought her eyes up to look inquisitively at her friend. “Wait… Thanksgivin… at Fluttershy’s; when you fell inta the fire…”

Twilight nodded. “I was fine.”

“Dang…” AJ threw her head back and turned away, looking into the sky. Then she turned back and pointed at Twilight. “Ya know, I thought ya seemed awful casual about that whole thing; plus, at Fluttershy’s, when we was watchin them r’tarded vidyas, yer hand looked totally fine...” She puased to put her hands on her hips, nodding. “Yeah… it all makes sense now.”

“Correct,” Twilight nodded. “And, I’m sorry I didn’t tell you guys about it; I was kind of reluctant to come out and say that I’d had intercourse with Golds—especially after what happened at Pinkie Pie’s house that one weekend.”

“Well, I ’spose I can respect that,” Applejack replied, rubbing her chin. “After all, it’s yer right ta decide whether er not ya wanna tell us what yer doin with yer life.”

Twilight folded her hands and smiled. “Thanks Applejack. I knew you’d understand.”

After a quick nod, AJ turned to the rest of us to say something, but then she stopped and slowly turned back to Twilight once again.

"Is... everything OK?" Twilight asked, looking somewhat apprehensive about the look she was getting.

Applejack brought two fingers up and pointed at her eyes. "Yer glasses," she muttered, "You didn't really switch ta contacts, did ya?"

Twilight's eyebrows rose. "Oh... no, I didn't. My vision became perfect after I turned, so I don't need them anymore."

After a short pause, Applejack raised a finger and shook it; the wheels in her head whirling as she turned to face me. "My hearin," she said, pointing to her ear. "Ever since I been immortal, I been noticin I can hear things more than before, like my hearin's been enhanced er somethin."

"Hm." Twilight rubbed her chin. "That's interesting, actually," —she paused to look up at the masked girl and shook her head— "I don’t think it’s enhanced though, Applejack. I think what you've actually experienced is renewed hearing."

AJ cocked her head. "Renewed?"

Twilight nodded. "Given your lifestyle —growing up on a farm; working around loud machinery— I would think it's safe to assume you've suffered minor hearing damage over the years and just never noticed... until you got it back all at once."

"Huh." Applejack shook her head and put her hands on her sleek, black hips. "I never even thought a' that," she admitted. "Makes perfect sense, though."

I gave the farm girl a shrug when she glanced my way. "Maybe now you'll realise how shitty country music really is now that you can actually hear it."

"Oh hardy-har-har. Dick." AJ rolled her eyes, then she took a quick look around the group. “Alright, so now... ya know I gotta ask: who else is actually left?”

“Pinkie and Rainbow,” Sunset answered shortly.

“Huh.” AJ turned back to Twilight. “So… you been out here trainin a bunch already?”

“Uh, no… actually,” —Twilight cleared her throat— “this is my first night.”

“Really?” The farm girl sounded surprised.

“You’ve got a good head start, though,” I interjected, to which Twilight shrugged and nodded. I looked at Applejack next. “Speaking of which, how’s your hammering coming along?”

“Aw, not too bad,” AJ replied. “I got the nail down in one hit quite a few times already; I just can’t do it every time yet.”

I nodded and gave her arm a nudge. “That’s good! You’ll get it. Just keep at it.” Facing the group, I brought my hands together and rubbed them firmly. “OK, well… I guess we’d better get at it before we run out of…” —I glanced up to the sky— “moonlight, I guess. But first thing’s first: AJ, did you bring your phone like I asked?”

“Yeah. Why?”

“Perfect.” I pointed at Twilight. “Why don’t you get ‘the app’ installed on her phone and take a few minutes to show her how to use it? Then we’ll get started.”

“Sure!” Twilight nodded as the red-head let out a knowing chuckle.

“I hope you two are ready to have your minds blown,” Sunset said as the two walked away to get AJ’s phone, prompting them to look back somewhat anxiously.

Smirking, Sunset approached me as I studied AJ’s backside, wrapped tight in that black suit, its perfectly-formed cheeks gleaming in the moonlight. “So, how’re things going at Pinkie’s?”

I shook my head. “Haven’t heard.”

“I simply cannot believe you two sent her there,” Rarity huffed, flicking her bangs with her fingertips. “Need I remind you that Pinkie Pie has not yet been turned, and she could be in grave danger if Sonata ever decided to turn on her.”

Sunset waved Rarity off. “Don’t worry, Rare. I’m sure they're staying out of trouble.”

*****

Meanwhile, at the Pie residence, the door to the upstairs bathroom opened and the blue-faced siren poked her head out into the hallway.

“Alexa!” she called out. “The toilet’s plugged!”

After waiting a moment, she looked down the hall to the right, and then to the left.

“Alexa?”

Pinkie’s voice drifted up to her from the base of the stairs. “You OK, Notty?”

“Oh, uh…” the siren’s cheeks flushed with embarrassment. “I, uh… think I plugged your toilet.”

“Oh…”

“Sorry…” Sonata bit her lip. “I didn’t eat much this past week, and then I ate a whole lot at Fluttershy’s house, and I think it... might have overloaded my system.”

“Oh. No, that’s OK,” Pinkie replied. “That toilet’s kinda messed up anyway; if you’re droppin’ a stomper, you gotta do a courtesy flush partway through or it’ll get plugged really easy.”

“Oh OK.” Sonata turned to look into the bathroom behind her.

"Notty?"

Sonata looked out into the hall again. "Yeah?"

"Were you... trying to ask Alexa to unclog the toilet just now? Cuz you know she can't do that, right?"

"Uh..." the siren paused, and then cleared her throat. "Yeah, no, I knew that. I just thought maybe she would... like, dispatch a plumber or something."

"No. No, she won't do that."

"Hm," Sonata nibbled on her bottom lip as she glanced at the toilet. "OK, well... I guess I'll look after this, then."

“Do you need some help?” Pinkie asked.

Sonata looked into the hall again. “Uh… no! I’ll get it. Is there a plunger in here?”

“Yeah. Under the sink.”

“OK.” Sonata turned to go back into the bathroom, but was stopped by Pinkie’s voice.

“OH! By the way, I just took the brownies out; they smell super-yummy! I just gotta put some icing on them once they cool off a bit, and then they’ll be ready!”

*****

Back in the dark basement, Pinkie and Sonata were slouched down on the couch, watching the old film. A plate sat on the floor by their feet; only one brownie remained, surrounded by the crumbs of its departed brethren.

Pinkie sat motionless, her face empty of expression.

Sonata’s mouth hung open, her eyelids heavy. After smacking her lips a few times, she scowled half-heartedly and slowly shook her head. “W-… wait, wait… wait… wait…”

Pinkie turned slowly to face her.

“Why did the ‘R’ on the calendar start… like… flashing and getting bigger?”

Pinkie looked back at the screen and replied slowly, in a monotone voice. “Because of the old adage that you’re only supposed to eat oysters in the months that have the letter ‘R’ in them. It comes from the idea that summer months are the prime breeding time for red algae, which is toxic to humans and is often absorbed into the oysters’ meat.”

Sonata blinked a couple times and then faced the TV again. She cleared her throat; then she frowned again. “So... what do shoes, ships, and sealing wax… have to do with cabbages and kings?”

Pinkie cocked her head. Slowly. “I am uncertain. The way I interpret it is that they actually have nothing to do with each other; the walrus is simply trying to change the subject. For example: when work was mentioned by the carpenter, he said it; and when the mother oyster insisted that the others stay put, he said it again.“

While listening to the explanation, Sonata turned her head and let it rest on the back of the couch, blinking periodically and furrowing her brows as Pinkie continued.

“The true moral of this particular poem has never been made concrete; in light of that fact, I would presume it foolhardy to delve deeper and attempt to make any real sense of it.”

By this time, the siren was staring slack-jawed at the party-girl, having finally noticed a major change in her demeanor since the substance had kicked-in. Those heavy, maroon eyes of hers studied the pink-skinned girl, watching her watch the bizarre, old film. Her face was almost that of someone else’s; with that perpetual smile absent, her dimples were gone, as was that brightness and the crescent shape of her big blue eyes: devoid of happiness, replaced by apparent indifference.

The biggest change was her hair. Gone were the poofy, voluminous curls; instead, it was straight and flat, hanging alongside her round, smooth cheeks, making her head —and her entire presence, by extension— appear smaller.

“You’re… like… way different now,” Sonata muttered, following with a pair of slow blinks.

Pinkie turned slowly. “I know.”

Sonata paused with a frown, then she licked her lips. “You do?”

Pinkie blinked very slowly. Her eyes drifted back to the TV. “I’ve been told I act a lot like my older sister when I’m high,” she replied in a flat tone.

“Huh…” Sonata paused for a moment and then pointed at Pinkie. “Even your hair is different; it’s, like… straight n’ stuff.”

After glancing down at the lifeless locks that rested on her shoulder, Pinkie brought a hand up and laced her index and middle fingers through them. She slowly brought her hand forward, letting the pink strands slide through her grip until her fingers reached the tips and the hair fell silently back to down to her shoulder.

She looked at Sonata again. “It always does this; I don’t really know why. I presume it’s because the THCs, after entering the bloodstream, eventually reach the brain, where they bond with the cannabinoid receptors, resulting in changes in the levels of various neurotransmitters, which can create changes in conscious perception, feelings of well-being, relaxation, increased appreciation of the arts, metacognition and introspection, heightened libido, and enhanced creativity—basically, it mellows me the fuck out. But that’s just an assumption, of course.” She let her hands rest on her lap and faced the TV. “This is also why I can’t do this when my family is around—because everyone can tell when I’m high.”

“Hm.” Sonata squinted and scrunched her lips together. “You… don’t seem as happy like this.”

Pinkie’s eyes shifted onto the siren again. “I’m still happy. I’m just expressing myself differently right now, so you’re not seeing it in the way you’ve grown accustomed to.”

“Oh.”

After cocking her head, Pinkie let a long sigh escape as a few of her thinner locks draped across her face. “Do not let my calm exterior fool you; my entire field of vision is filled with paisley.”

Sonata frowned and gave her head a little shake. “Paisley? Oh! You mean those amoeba things on the Mexican stuff?”

“No.”

Sonata paused, confused. Scratching behind her left ear, she glanced at the TV momentarily, then at Pinkie. “Um… it’s kind of funny, don’t ya think? Like… how when you’re high, you get like... more smarter. Not me though. When I’m high, I just get, like… dumber. HAHAHAHA!”

“I’m not smarter. I just act different.”

The siren continued to snicker as she leaned closer to Pinkie, resting her weight on the cushion with her palms. “You… you know what I think?”

As Pinkie turned to face her, Sonata brought one hand up and used a slender, blue fingertip to sweep the hair from Pinkie’s face, hooking it behind her ear.

“I think you look totally hot like this.”

For a moment, the girls locked eyes and stared intently at one another; neither one knew what to think, but neither was apprehensive about it. They just stared, taking in the vibrant colour and sparkling beauty of each other’s eyes in the dark, wondering what the other must have been thinking.

The gaze was broken, however, when Sonata realised her hand had come to rest on Pinkie’s chest, just above her bust. She glanced down, gasped, and withdrew quickly, then she straightened up and faced forward again.

“Uh…” She rubbed the back of her neck, unsure of what to say.

Pinkie remained silent.

After a short pause, Sonata completely forgot about what’d just happened and chuckled at something in the movie. “Pppppffff… heh... heh heh... heh, that walrus is playing his flute like a cane.” She rubbed her forehead firmly, keeping her eyes wide as she blinked them several times to clear her vision. “Man… I am SO fucked right now.” She turned to Pinkie again. “Where... uuuuhhh, did you get this stuff, anyway?”

“Marble grows it,” the party-girl replied, remaining motionless otherwise.

“Who?”

“My baby sister—who is really my twin, but since she was born a few minutes after me, I consider her a younger sibling. She has acute social anxiety, so she started growing cannabis a few years back to keep herself mellow whenever we have company.” She turned slowly to face Sonata. “Don’t tell dad.”

The siren exhaled through pursed lips and shook her head. “Man... she sure knows what she’s doing.”

“She is an excellent gardener,” Pinkie replied. “All those flower beds out front and in the backyard: everyone thinks mom takes care of those, but it’s Marble. It’s always been Marble. She’s had a green thumb ever since she was little.”

“Hmm…” The siren rubbed her chin thoughtfully, wondering what the rest of Pinkie’s family was like, and how they might receive her into their home. Then she started thinking about giant singing flowers.

Her nonsense was interrupted, however, when a sharp hiss burst from beside her, and she turned to see what it was.

Pinkie had opened a bottle of cola and was now taking a swig. Sonata found herself enthralled as she stared longingly at the drink, licking her lips reflexively. She hadn’t noticed until just now, but something about all those THCs running through her system had made her unbelievably thirsty. Her mouth was dry and pasty, and suddenly she wanted —no, needed— to quench her thirst in the worst way.

On the floor by her feet, her water glass was empty. She could have gone to fill it, but on the same token, the brownies had made her incredibly lazy, and she had little-to-no ambition to get up and find a faucet to refill the glass from.

Instead, Sonata looked at Pinkie again, who was now letting the cola bottle rest on her thigh. She licked her lips once more, gathered her nerve, and in a scratchy voice, spoke.

“Hey… P, can I get a sip of your moisture?”

Pinkie, who had just taken another swig, looked over at Sonata, her cheeks inflated with sugary liquid. After noticing Sonata staring intently at the bottle, she swallowed and glanced at it herself, then offered it to the siren.

Sonata snatched the bottle hastily and chugged the drink, ignoring the sting from the carbonation in the back of her throat as she savoured the refreshing surge of cool liquid.

Pinkie watched idly as the bottle began to collapse and then popped loudly when Sonata separated it from her mouth.

“Ahhhh!” The siren let out a satisfied exhale and wiped her mouth, then handed a nearly empty bottle back to Pinkie.

After taking stock of what was left, Pinkie just shrugged and downed the rest, then replaced the cap and dropped the bottle to the floor.

“Hoo! That’s better,” Sonata sighed, licking her lips again as she looked at the TV.

The pair sat in silence for several minutes, watching the film. It wasn’t long before a scene bewildered the siren once again, and she was prompted to ask the temporary-genius Pinkie what it meant.

“What’s that caterpillar smoking, anyway?”

Pinkie blinked once, slowly. “If I corall recrec-clec…”

Sonata gave Pinkie a quick, wide-eyed glance, then she burst into laughter. “HAHAHA! What the… you just said… haha!” She paused, clutching her stomach. “What the heck was that?”

Pinkie turned to watch her laugh. “I meant to say: ‘If I recall correctly.’”

The siren squeezed her eyes shut and laughed even harder, tipping away from Pinkie to lay sideways on the cushion. “HAHAHA! HOLY CRAP, THAT IS TOO FUNNY!”

The party-girl watched the siren roll back and forth, her shoulders quaking with laughter; as this happened, however, a lock of bangs in the center of Pinkie’s forehead began to ruffle, then it suddenly sprang up, pointing to the ceiling in an erect, pink spiral.

TOING!

Her brows rose when her eyes shifted upward to look at it, then they quickly moved onto the hysterical Sonata, who just happened to look back at her at the same time.

“Whoa!” Sonata pointed at the curl. “What happened?”

Pinkie paused for a moment, then a smile began to break free from one side of her mouth. “I think I’m starting to come down—which is ironic, because my hair is going up.”

*****

Saturday afternoon came, and with it, a very interesting dinner indeed—once everyone got there, that is.

Pinkie Pie and Sonata Dusk had slept the morning away, as well as a significant chunk of the afternoon, so around 3:30pm they both strolled into Fluttershy’s house, still groggy from their sleep… and possibly some leftover effects from the brownies.

Link shot across the room to greet Sonata the very second she entered, and he began a nuzzle-fest with her that lasted the entire evening. That cat never once left her side.

From there, the evening went as one would expect: starting out with some awkward hellos, followed by a hasty re-telling of how Sonata had left the other two sirens behind and came to find herself on Fluttershy’s doorstep. Once all was explained, and Sunset gave her reassurances that Sonata was being truthful —without revealing her mind-reading abilities to the siren, of course— everyone agreed that it was worth giving the siren a shot, especially since it was she who made the effort to affect a change in her life by deciding to come to us.

Everyone that is, except for Rarity. She spent most of the evening on the couch —or wherever Sonata wasn’t— with her arms folded, pouting angrily about the fact she was the only one who wanted to be cautious of whom she considered to be a potential intruder.

Unfortunately, the opportunity for Fluttershy and me to have a ‘calm down’ session with the fashionista was never afforded to us that morning; the training session at Riverfield ran on until after dawn, and then Sunset and Twilight decided to stick around Fluttershy’s house, figuring there was no sense in going all the way to town just to come back again that afternoon.

Beyond that, there were some other oddities that presented themselves that evening: starting with Sonata bringing Sunset a garbage can on more than one occasion. To say this was weird and awkward would be an understatement; the room would go silent each time Sonata would approach Sunset and hand her the bin, giving a friendly smile when the confused red-head took it, followed by a quick thumbs-up.

Another mysterious event that Fluttershy and I noticed was Rainbow Dash’s coffee. Applejack was the one who drew the short straw and ended up having to go to town to bring the rainbow-haired girl out for dinner, and Dash, in the meantime, had walked to a nearby Starbucks to purchase a coffee while she waited and then texted AJ to let her know where to pick her up.

This led to Dash’s cup sitting on the table at Fluttershy’s house, being stared at somewhat longingly by the blue-haired girl from the opposite seat. Pinkie, who was sitting next to Dash, took notice of Sonata’s solemn expression and reached out to rotate the cup so that the green logo faced the other way. Then she gave a wide, friendly smile to the siren, who returned with a thankful grin of her own.

The only time tensions grew was when the topic of Twilight Sparkle came up. Frustrations became elevated during the lengthy conversation that followed when the siren mistakenly asked the lavender nerd how things were going in Equestria. It took everyone’s combined time and patience to explain to Sonata that while Twilight was in fact Twilight, she was not the same Twilight that she had encountered all those years ago at the battle of the bands.

The discussion went around in circles for what felt like ages, culminating in diagrams, charts, and illustrations as visual aids to help the siren understand who Twilight really was; Pinkie even went as far as putting on a puppet show using a colourful selection of Fluttershy’s socks to demonstrate the not-so-complicated truth.

Eventually, it did sink in, and after all was said and done, it was a half-decent evening. Sonata seemed to be making a genuine effort to be friendly with everyone—though it obviously bugged her that Rarity could not be bothered to give her the time of day. Everyone else got along with her fairly well, however, especially Pinkie Pie. In the short time they’d spent together, they seemed to have hit it off quite well. To my surprise, I even noticed some minor physical contact between the two. Little things, mostly, like a shoulder nudge here and a pat on the knee there, as well as one occasion where Sonata fixed Pinkie’s hair by running her fingers through the thick curls that hung next to her temple.

I was unsure if anyone else noticed this though, so I decided to keep it to myself.

Author's Notes:

https://youtu.be/Hy8kmNEo1i8