Chapter 138

The noisy old V8’s rumble coughed into silence.

“Alright, whadda y’all wanna watch?” Apple Bloom asked, peering through the dirty windshield at the marquee from behind the wheel of her big sister’s truck.

Both Sweetie Belle —who was sitting in the middle seat— and Scootaloo narrowed their eyes as they scanned the large, backlit sign.

“Not ‘Star Wars,’” Scootaloo said quickly.

Apple Bloom shrugged. “Well, what then?”

“What about ‘The Unfortunate Pregnancy of Teen Medusa?’” Sweetie Belle suggested.

“Ugh!” Scootaloo stuck her tongue out. “Modern horror movies suck. Next!”

Sweetie Belle rolled her eyes. “You scared, Scoots?”

Scootaloo scowled. “What? No, that shit doesn’t scare me! I… uh, I just think that Hollywood’s… lost touch with what makes a horror movie good.”

“OK, sure. Whatever.” The ivory-skinned girl folded her arms and sat back. “What else is there then?”

Apple Bloom sighed. “I wish we could text Pinkie Pie. She always knows what’s good!”

The other two girls looked at her.

“What?” the farm girl asked awkwardly.

“Do you think we should?” Scootaloo asked.

Apple Bloom scrunched her face, deep in thought. “We shouldn’t,” she finally said. “She’s goin through some tough times right now; prolly best ta leave ‘er be.”

Sweetie Belle huffed impatiently, slapping her hands on her lap. “Can we go inside to talk about this!? It stinks in here!”

“No it don’t!” Apple Bloom fired back.

“It kinda does, actually,” Scootaloo agreed. “Like butts or something.”

“Ugh… fine. We ain’t gonna figure nothin out sittin in here anyway.” The farm girl reached across the cab and opened the glove box. “Phones.”

The other girls glared at her, confused. “What?” they said in unison.

Apple Bloom shook her head. “Ya ain’t bringin yer phones inta the theatre—not this time.” She pointed at the open compartment. “Put ‘em in there.”

Sweetie Belle rolled her eyes. “I’m not leaving my phone out here for someone to steal. We’ll just turn them off, OK?”

Apple Bloom stood her ground. “Do I look like a nitwit ta y’all? I ain’t fallin fer that one again—and no one’s gonna steal ’em. They won’t even know they’re there.”

After a silent stalemate, Scootaloo rolled her eyes. “Fiiiiine,” she growled, pulling her phone out and tossing it into the compartment. Sweetie Belle followed suit with much reluctance, and the three of them climbed out of the old truck to make their way through the chilly parking lot to the theatre lobby, the style of which was modeled after an Aztec temple.

It was Tuesday, February the 21st—the same February 21st that the young trio’s older sisters had, for reasons unknown, left town to visit a certain hotel in the big city. It also happened to be cheap night at the Canterlot Cinema, so the three friends had decided to catch a flick, not expecting such a lackluster choice of titles.

Eventually, they settled on an unfunny-looking comedy and, after a visit to the concession stand, entered the auditorium to find their seats.

It was close to 11:00pm when the movie ended. The crowd had begun to spill into the lobby with three disappointed-looking young ladies amongst them. They stood near the wall and studied the movie poster while discussing it, waiting for everyone else to disperse.

Then they made their way to the washrooms once the traffic had thinned.

“Yep, that sure was a bust,” Apple Bloom said as she pushed through the door and entered the turquoise-coloured room, its walls and floor lined with tiny tiles that formed a mosaic of waves at a beach, locked in a motionless crash from one side to the other.

Apple Bloom and Scootaloo approached the row of sinks that lined the left-hand wall, while Sweetie Belle entered one of the stalls and closed the door behind her.

Sighing, Scootaloo leaned on the counter with her back, arms folded. “Yeah… I was hoping it would be one of those ‘hidden gem’ kind of movies, but no.”

“If it is, they sure hid it good,” the farm girl replied, glancing toward the stalls when a hollow trickle echoed from within. “Sweetie Belle had the right idea, spendin half the movie in here.”

“Oh, god!” the ivory-skinned girl’s groan came from inside the booth. “I had to piss like five times during that!”

“That’s cuz ya drank too much pop!” Apple Bloom scolded, directing her ire at the pair of feet that were visible under the door, their toes pointed inward.

Scootaloo nodded in agreement.

“Why do the cups here have to be so big?” Sweetie Belle asked, her voice accompanied by the tearing of bathroom tissue after the trickling had subsided. “It’s like drinking out of a barrel!”

“That don’t mean ya gotta chug it all,” Apple Bloom pointed out.

Sweetie Belle’s response was little more than a murmur, followed by the flush of the toilet. After taking a moment to adjust her clothes, she emerged from the stall and marched to the sink to wash her hands.

She dried off while the others waited, and then returned to the counter to inspect herself in the mirror.

Scootaloo rolled her eyes as the ivory-skinned girl gave several diligent flicks to her hair, and then leaned closer with her eyes stretched wide to inspect her lashes. “You know, you can act as edge-lordy as you want, but you’ll always be your sister’s sister.”

“Shut-up,” was Sweetie Belle’s response. She reached into her handbag and produced a mascara brush, which she used to make some touch-ups while the other two watched.

“I hope ya ain’t planning on doin a whole makeover in here,” Apple Bloom said dryly. “We ain’t got all night, ya know.”

“Also shut-up.”

The young farm girl snorted and shook her head, folding her arms. After a long sigh, she spoke again. “It sure was nice hangin out with you two tonight; it’s been a long time since we had a ‘Canterlot Move Club’ night. I’m juss sorry the movie wasn’t that great.”

“Meh, it wasn’t your fault,” Scootaloo shrugged. “And neither was that stale-ass popcorn.”

“Ugh… it was SO gross,” Sweetie Belle complained, looking down to reload the brush. “And there wasn’t even any decent guys here tonight!”

Scootaloo nodded, but Apple Bloom rolled her eyes.

“Is that all ya think about anymore?” the farm girl scoffed. “I swear, ya got bratwurst on the brain!”

“That’s all I think about,” Scootaloo interjected as Sweetie Belle went back to fixing her lashes. She leaned on the counter with her hands and swung one leg up, placing her foot on the marble top. “I could actually go for some of that right now,” she chuckled, closing her eyes and mimicking the movements of getting nailed from behind. “Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah!”

Sweetie Belle laughed, trying to keep her brush steady as she worked. Apple Bloom just groaned and rubbed her face.

Just then, they heard the bathroom door open, prompting Scootaloo to drop her foot and stand up straight again. The three of them looked down at the counter as they tried to stifle their laughter—but a few quiet snorts still made their way out.

They waited patiently for the newcomers to do their business. Sweetie Belle replaced the mascara brush and twisted the tube shut, listening to what sounded like at least two pairs of high-heeled boots clunking along the floor. Instead of making their way into the stalls, however, the footsteps approached them from behind, and then stopped.

After placing the make-up back in her purse, Sweetie Belle glanced up at the mirror to double-check her lashes and promptly froze. The other girls’ amusement began to fade when they noticed this and, keeping their heads down, glanced back and forth at one another, wondering what was going on.

A voice came next, one that caused their blood to run cold. It was a voice they hadn’t heard in a long time, yet they recognised it immediately—and it made the hair on the backs of their necks stand on end.

“Huh. Fancy meeting you here.”

The voice was unmistakably directed at them. As much as they didn’t want to, they knew they had no option but to turn and face the invaders, who stood between them and the only exit. Eyes wide, the three of them slowly rotated in unison, praying that the person standing there wasn’t who it sounded like.

Unfortunately for them, it was.

The trio stood with their backs to the counter, hearts thumping in their chests. Somehow, by some cosmic miracle —or curse— they’d found themselves trapped in a bathroom, face-to-face with none other than Adagio Dazzle and Aria Blaze.

And boy, were they an imposing sight. Adagio easily stood as tall as Sunset Shimmer, but that massive heap of curly, orange hair had an effect similar to that of a cobra, making her appear even larger. Aria was shorter, but the tone in her bare arms could clearly be seen, and that perpetual look of distain on her face disturbed the young girls—more so than the conniving grin that Adagio was wearing.

That grin disappeared suddenly, however, when it was replaced by a pouty lip. “Aww! After all these years, we don’t even get a simple hello?”

Apple Bloom drew a quick breath. “Oh... uh, hi. Sorry.”

Sweetie Belle gave a quick glance to her friend before facing the sirens again. “Yeah… hi.”

Scootaloo, wide-eyed and unable to speak, just gave a quick wave.

This brought the foreboding smile back to Adagio’s face. “There. That’s better. I Knew you three were more polite than that. Why wouldn’t you be, with such positive role models to look up to?”

The girls were silent for a moment. Clearly, the passive-aggressive mention of their sisters was a sign that these two still had a chip on their shoulder, and it didn’t sit well with the young trio.

After being allowed to chew on that thick silence for a few moments, it was Apple Bloom who was finally brave enough to spit it out so she could speak. “Y— … So, ya’ll here catchin a movie, er…?”

“We are, as a matter of fact,” Adagio replied, rubbing her hands together as she took a step closer. “We actually caught a few—did a little theatre hopping to see what Hollywood had to offer.” She cocked a brow. “Not much, apparently.”

Apple Bloom cringed. “Nothin good, eh?”

Adagio simply stared her down, as if it was her fault.

The young girls glanced at one another.

Adagio suddenly waved the thought away, scowling. “But enough about that,” she said, fixing her eyes on the trio once again. “How have you little fillies been doing, anyway? You’ve certainly grown since we saw you last.”

The girls remained motionless—aside from Sweetie Belle, who was tapping her fingertips together nervously.

“Uhh…” Apple Bloom rubbed the back of her neck. “We’re… good?”

Sweetie Belle agreed. “Yup. Great, actually. Been really great.”

Scootaloo just nodded.

“What about, er…” The farm girl paused, and then gestured to the sirens. “I mean, how’ve you all been?”

Adagio placed her fingertips to her chest. “Us? Oh, well!” She closed her eyes and cocked her head. “I suppose we’ve been worse…” Her eyes popped open suddenly, her face deadpanned. “But we’ve also been much better; what do you think, Aria?” she asked, raising a brow at her sister.

Aria said nothing. Instead, she continued to glare at the girls as she ran her tongue along the inside of her cheek. Then she smacked her lips.

“Ehh… heh heh,” Sweetie Belle chuckled nervously, inching away from the purple siren.

With a sigh, Adagio brought her hands together; her diabolical grin had been replaced by a much more serious —and frightening— expression. “Alright, let’s cut the crap, ladies. We don’t have a lot of time; I’m sure by now you know what’s about to go down here.”

The siren turned and nodded to her partner, who promptly reached into her vest and produced a wood-finished handle, from which a shiny blade flicked out when she pressed the release.

Scootaloo, who happened to be standing closest to Aria, began to shove against Sweetie Belle, clamouring frantically to get away. “Nope! Nope! Fuck this!”

Sweetie Belle stumbled against Apple Bloom, who, after nearly being shoved over, began to push back. Scootaloo’s efforts were in vain; there was no way out. The sirens stood between them and escape.

“Why are ya doin this?” the farm girl asked Adagio, her voice trembling.

Adagio shrugged. “Because we can, partly; but also…” Her hand snapped out and grabbed the red-haired girl by the shirt to yank her closer. “Because of what your rotten fucking sisters did to us!” she snarled, putting her face just inches from Apple Bloom’s.

The farm girl stood little chance against this woman. Even Sweetie Belle, who was the tallest of the three, was dwarfed by the orange-haired siren. The only one of the three who was even remotely tough was Scootaloo, but she had no chance against these two, not by a long shot—to say nothing of being too frightened to act.

“B-b-but why!?” Apple Bloom stuttered as she hung from Adagio’s grip, her feet barely touching the floor.

“The Rainbooms destroyed our first and only chance at real power here,” Adagio replied. “And now our days are numbered, thanks to them. But that doesn’t mean we haven’t vowed to get even, to pay them back for what they did to us.”

Without warning, she shoved the farm girl away, causing her to bang her hip on the edge of the counter. Clutching her side, Apple Bloom groaned, gritted her teeth and glared at Adagio—frustrated, but helpless.

“The only problem is…” the siren continued, ”they’ve become too powerful for us. We’ve become ordinary, and they have Equestrian magic. How are we supposed to compete with that?”

Petrified, the girls found one another’s hands and held on tight as the condescendingly-toned speech continued.

“But that doesn’t mean we can’t hurt them,” Adagio continued, raising a finger to point at them. “And that’s were you ladies come in.”

“You wanna hurt us? Just to get back at our sisters?” Sweetie Belle asked, unable to keep her voice steady.

Adagio folded her arms, sneered and waggled her head arrogantly while glowering at Sweetie Belle.

“But… that ain’t fair!” Apple Bloom protested. “We didn’t do nothin to you!”

“What happened to us wasn’t fair either! We never asked to come to this world; we were PUT here. Did you ever think of that?” the siren snapped, making the girls cower back. “Mark my words, we’re gonna make the Rainbooms sorry for what they did to us, one way or another. They took something precious from us; now let’s see how they like having something precious taken from them!” Adagio gestured to the exit, using her other hand to motion the girls along. “Now come with us, and w—“

The restroom door opened just then, prompting all five sets of eyes to swing in its direction—two out of annoyance, the other three out of desperation.

In walked a young woman with a bouncy, blue bob, wearing a burgundy jacket and pink boots, humming to herself—somewhat off-key. She stopped in her tracks when she looked up and saw the room full of people.

Familiar people.

“S— … Sonata!” Adagio greeted, stumbling on her words ever so slightly. Clearly, she was not expecting this turn of events, but was nonetheless quick to recover. And so, she begin manipulating the situation into her favour. She put her hands out, smiling warmly to her long lost sister. “So nice of you to join us!”

Sonata was hesitant. “Dagi?” Her eyes shifted onto the purple siren next. “Ari?” Her eyes shifted down to the knife in Aria’s hand, which Aria quickly moved out of sight. Her attention shifted to the three young girls next, and she was quick to notice their demeanor: huddled together by the counter, hands clasped, eyes wide with terror.

Sonata’s eyes returned to Adagio, brows furrowed with suspicious confusion. “What’s going on?”

After a moment of thought and a glance at the girls, Adagio faced the more naïve siren with that trademark disingenuous grin. “We were just having a little… reunion… with our old friends from Canterlot High.”

Sonata narrowed her eyes and paused. Even for someone as simple as her, it was fairly obvious that something dubious was afoot; any reason that her sisters would be having a ‘reunion’ with people so close to the Rainbooms couldn’t have been a good one, and Sonata’s suspicions were answered when she glanced at the three girls again. They were clearly frightened and looking to Sonata for help. In fact, when the siren locked eyes with Apple Bloom, the farm girl gave her head a tiny shake, which quickly contradicted Adagio’s story.

Sonata’s eyes widened and she faced her bigger sister again. “Why do they look so scared?” she asked with a scowl. “What’s really going on here?”

With a sigh, Adagio rolled her eyes and then shook her head. “Oh, all right. I guess there’s no fooling you.” She folded her arms and shifted her weight onto one leg. “You know the M.O., Sonata. You’ve always known it: make the Rainbooms pay for what they did to us.”

Sonata’s mouth fell open. “Wait… you’re gonna kill these girls to get back at them?”

Adagio let out a condescending laugh. “Oh wow, no! Hahaha! Taking their siblings from them altogether won’t do them proper justice.” She suddenly turned quite serious. “We’re gonna maim them,” she growled, prompting all three of the girls’ breathing to stop. “We’re gonna cut them, remodel them; we’re gonna leave them so disfigured they’ll end up as mangled, pathetic outcasts. No one’ll wanna see them, and no man will ever wanna fuck them. They’ll live out their lives in isolation, away from prying eyes, and the Rainbooms will know—they’ll know it was them who caused it.”

Adagio paused, letting that grin slowly return, which could only mean that she was preparing to say something particularly nasty. “On the bright side, though, these young ladies will have a much easier time cleaning their teeth without those pesky cheeks in the way.”

As a collective, but soft gasp sounded from the girls, a look of disgust quickly plastered Sonata’s face. Was Adagio always this vile? This vindictive? What a horrible thing to aspire to. How did Sonata not see it before?

After studying the floor for a moment, Sonata’s eyes drifted onto the frightened girls. So innocent and cute they were; who would want to destroy that? Her thoughts drifted to the last thing Adagio said: her new friends would believe it was their fault that their little sisters were mutilated beyond recognition.

Then she thought about Pinkie. She thought about the devastation wrought by the death of her family. She hadn’t been the same since. The grief had nearly killed her. Sonata could hardly stand to watch it. The siren had no choice, however; without her support, Pinkie may have descended far deeper into despair than she already had, and it wasn’t outside the realm of possibility that she might have done the unthinkable.

What an awful place to be. It was unbearable to live through, and Sonata hated having to bear witness to it.

What if she had to do it again?

What if this happened and she had to go through the ordeal all over again, but three times over? What a nightmare. That was the only way to describe it. Seeing Applejack have to swallow the fact that her sister had been put through such agony as a revenge for her actions was an ugly image.

The same went for Rainbow Dash. Even though Scootaloo was not her blood sister, Sonata knew they were close. It would be no less devastating. All of them would be profoundly and forever changed by it, in fact, after what’d already happened, it might even destroy them—which was exactly what Adagio and Aria wanted.

It wasn’t what Sonata wanted, though. The Rainbooms had been good to her, and she didn’t want them to have to deal with any more pain—even Rarity. Sonata clenched her fists, knowing that she was all that stood between freedom and agony. She had to act.

“No!”

To Adagio’s surprise, Sonata marched between her and Aria and the three young girls. She stretched her arms out, blocking the stunned sirens from their prey.

“You can’t,” Sonata said firmly, glaring at her sisters. “These are girls are nice. They didn’t do anything to us; I won’t let you hurt them.”

The young trio glanced nervously at one another while Adagio stared at her sister, equally astonished. Even Aria appeared surprised by this.

As one would imagine, the tension in that turquoise bathroom had become palpable. The girls had received nothing less than a gift in the form of Sonata, but this was hardly a chance to breathe a sigh of relief. Sonata, after all, was only one person—one person facing two opponents, both of whom were larger than her, Adagio especially. And what Aria lacked in dominating size, she made up for with a deadly weapon.

The odds were stacked high. From where the young girls stood, their would-be saviour’s chances did not look good.

Finally, Adagio’s shock faded and she pursed her lips. “Well. Isn’t this precious.” She drew a breath, pointing her nose up as she turned to pace around. “It seems your new friends have poisoned your mind with their… ‘moralities,’” she said snidely, facing her sister with an arched brow. “Tsk tsk, Sonata; I had no idea you could be this gullible.”

“Or weak,” Aria scowled, breaking her silence at last.

Sonata’s expression wavered.

Noticing this, Adagio dove headlong into more tactics. “That’s right, we know you’ve been chumming around with the Rainbooms, Sonata.” She gave her head a slow shake. “Shameful, leaving your own sisters without so much as a goodbye, and then this is what we find? You… sleeping with the enemy?”

Disarmed and feeling guilty, Sonata’s eyes dropped to the floor. After ruminating for a moment, however, she blinked and shook her head quickly. She straightened up and faced her sister once again, drawing a deep breath.

She needed to be careful. Adagio was a master manipulator, a dastardly puppeteer of the weak-minded, even without the magical voice. Sonata knew Adagio’s playbook: she would say whatever she needed to evoke a feeling of guilt, or the worry of being in the wrong; she would appeal to Sonata’s loyalty in an attempt to get her way, and worst of all, her ‘way’ would usually involve the most satisfying of outcomes—like convincing Sonata to turn on the young girls herself.

This couldn’t happen.

The only problem was that Adagio was much smarter than Sonata, who was nowhere near as versed in the art of mind games, and so it was extremely unlikely that she would be able to outwit her.

Luckily, she didn’t need to outwit her to save these girls; she just needed to stand her ground and not allow Adagio to get inside her head.

“It doesn’t matter what I’ve done,” the blue siren replied. “These girls don’t deserve this, and I’m not gonna let you hurt them—or the Rainbooms. They’ve been nice to me, a lot nicer than you ever were.”

Adagio rolled her eyes. “Oh, Sonata! So foolish,” she chuckled, to which Aria echoed. “While I gladly acknowledge that we may not be all ‘sunshine and roses’ all the time, at least we were honest with you.”

Sonata scowled. “What does that mean?”

Adagio tsked and shook her head. “The Rainbooms have been keeping secrets from you, Sonata. They don’t care about you one iota; they’re just using you to get to us, to keep us divided. They’ve been lying to you since day one. The sooner you realise this and come home to your loving sisters, the better.”

Sonata shook her head vigorously. “No! That’s not true, they wouldn’t lie to me! They took me in, gave me shelter, food, a place to shower. Pinkie Pie even let me live with her. She’s my best friend now! She lets me be myself —they ALL do— and they don’t judge me for it, like you did. Why would they lie to me? What secrets would they be keeping?” She narrowed her eyes at her sister. “You’re trying to trick me, Dagi, and I’m not gonna fall for it!”

Adagio smiled at Aria and then shook her head. “What secrets would they keep?” she asked, facing her sister again. “How about being the Dark Mistress?”

Blindsided, Sonata went blank.

The lead siren cocked her head and grinned smugly. “That’s right. They’ve been playing you for a fool this whole time, and you didn’t even know it.”

The blue siren shook her head, scowling. “No way! You’re lying!”

“Am I?” Adagio folded her arms and bent at the hip to lean closer. “Are you sure about that? You haven’t noticed any of them acting strange toward you, like you’ve done something to irritate them, but you don’t really know what?”

“No.” Sonata stood her ground. “I already told you, they’re really nice to me!”

“All of them?”

“Yes!” Sonata shouted. She balled her fists, offended by the implication of being so gullible.

Then she paused, her face going blank when she realised something. “I mean… most of them.”

“Has one of them been… less than inviting to you? I wonder why.” Adagio tapped a finger to her lip, letting her eyes drift to the ceiling. “Now… what was it the Dark Mistress said to you that night in the alley? Do you remember?”

Sonata let her eyes drift to the floor. “She said… ‘don’t ever come back.’”

“And what did you do?”

“…I came back.”

“Hmmm…” Adagio shook her head. “Who is it, Sonata? Which one of them is the Dark Mistress?”

Sonata hesitated. Brows furrowed, she brought her hand up to tap her teeth with her nails as she tried to process this.

“Think about it,” Adagio urged. “Think about her voice, the way she carries herself…”

“Yeah, I know who it is,” Sonata snapped. Then she brought her eyes up to meet her sister. “Rarity,” she said softly.

Stunned, both Apple Bloom and Scootaloo faced their friend, whose mouth hung open in disbelief.

“What!?” Sweetie Belle scowled. “My sister’s not the Dark Mistress! Why would you even say that? She’s a seamstress, not a... a masked vigilante!”

“Guess again, sweetheart,” Adagio replied arrogantly, leaning sideways to look past Sonata. “Rarity IS the Dark Mistress, and from what I hear, there are more of these masked heroes; perhaps ALL of the Rainbooms have this night time persona—even your good friend, Pinkie Pie.”

The very thought of it twisted Sonata’s heart into a knot. Could her best friend really be keeping something like this from her? Was Pinkie Pie not who she said she was? Is this why they act so strange at night? Feeling cheated, she stared at the floor, mouth agape.

How could the Rainbooms do this to her? Did they not trust her enough to know this?

“Sonata…” Adagio spoke more softly now, stepping closer. “I… need to ask you something.” Her eyes filled with vulnerability, making Sonata’s guilt that much stronger. “Why? … Why did you leave us for the enemy? What made you think that leaving your sisters behind was a good idea? We didn’t know where you went; we didn’t know if you were OK; we didn’t know what we did to deserve it. We were worried about you. We had no idea where our little sister was.”

Sonata swallowed. “I’m sorry... but… that night, the Dark Mistress told me I was sweet; she told me that you guys were bad for me, that I don’t belong with you.”

Adagio drew a breath and raised her chin, pausing. Then she closed her mouth and deflated. “Ah. You see? They’ve been trying to divide us from the very beginning. That was their plan all along.” She cocked her head, scowling at Sonata. “The Rainbooms can’t be trusted. Just look at what they’ve done to us.”

Sonata’s head hung in despair. She was divided, and Adagio knew it. Thus, it was time for the master stroke.

Placing her hand on Sonata’s shoulder, Adagio moved closer—so close that their foreheads nearly touched. “Come back to us, Sonata. We’ve missed you these past few months. I know that sometimes Aria and I can be a tad moody, but we don’t want you to take it personally. In fact, you were the only thing that brought any positivity into our lives. You kept things interesting. I mean it when I say this, Sonata: without you, things have been so dreary lately.”

The young trio watched in horror as their only hope of escape was dashed to pieces. Their saviour’s naïveté was being ruthlessly exploited, and their hearts sank when the realisation that they were unlikely to make it out unscathed began to settle in.

Shaking her head, Sweetie Belle reached out to touch the small of Sonata’s back. “D-don’t listen to her. Please, Sonat—“

Aria moved closer. “Shush!” she growled, silencing the pale-skinned girl.

After the small interruption, Adagio brought her attention back to her sister. “Listen, Sonata. We have to stick together. The Rainbooms tried to separate us because they know that we are weak on our own. We can’t let that happen. We must stay united. When we do that, we will prevail against those girls, those snakes… hiding behind those ‘friendly’ little faces of theirs. And it all starts here, right now.”

Sonata looked up to lock eyes with Adagio, who then smiled.

That smile… so deceptive, so perfectly crafted to lull one into a false sense of trust. Sonata never thought she’d find herself on the receiving end of it, but even so, it was no surprise that it had such immense power. Why did she have to be placed in this situation? Why did she have to make such a difficult choice? And above all, why was she being drawn in by that big smile, the same smile that she’d seen countless others fall victim to?

Adagio and Aria were her sisters, that’s why. Together, they’d been roaming this world for centuries. They knew each other better than any other sisters could possibly dream of, and because of this, there was a loyalty that was intrinsic, one that could not be simply ignored. They were a part of one another, and to tear that bond would be extremely painful for any one of them—whether they knew it or not.

After a moment of agonizing consideration, Sonata had finally made her choice. She drew a deep breath, looked down at their feet and nodded. While Adagio gave her shoulder a comforting squeeze, Sonata swallowed the lump that was forming in her throat and then turned slowly, knowing full well that what she was about to do was one of the most difficult decisions she’d ever have to make.

She looked over her shoulder at the young girls, all of whom stared back in terror.

“I’m sorry…” Sonata said softly, her eyes moistening.

The girls’ eyes widened, and the colour drained from their faces. Their skin turned cold and clammy in an instant. The only one that moved was Apple Bloom when she shook her head in disbelief, unable to speak out against the betrayal.

“There, there,” Adagio said, giving Sonata’s shoulder another squeeze, followed by a gentle shake as the blue siren’s eyes drifted shut.

Sonata’s hand rose and came to rest on Adagio’s, caressing it softly.

“Don’t feel bad, Sonata, you’ve made the right decision,” Adagio continued. “Tonight is the night we turn the tides in our favour. These little rodents are nothing more than the first stepping stone to retribution.” She gave her head a shake. “You don’t need to apologise to them.”

Sonata sighed. “I wasn’t talking to them,” she whispered.

Not hearing this, Adagio cocked her head, smirking. “Hm?”

Poor Adagio; so used to being ahead of the curve, she hadn’t even realised she’d spun out until it was too late.

Without warning, Sonata’s hand clamped down on Adagio’s, and she tore it from her shoulder to yank her arm in a circle, twisting it around so her elbow faced the ceiling. Adagio bent forward and roared in pain; teeth gritted, she brought her eyes up to face Sonata just in time to see a little blue fist collide with her nose.

Her head snapped back, her expression dazed.

Aria, who clearly did not expect this, sprung into action with knife in hand.

Sonata was already upon her, however; still holding Adagio’s arm, she raised her foot and kicked the weapon from the purple siren’s hand. The knife twirled through the air and bounced off the far wall with a sharp clack before landing somewhere out of sight.

With a hand cupped over her nose, Adagio focused a pair of furious —but watering— eyes onto Sonata. She dug her feet in to yank Sonata’s arm, intending to use her superior size and strength to fling her sister against the stalls.

The move backfired, though, when Sonata saw it coming and simply let go. Adagio had thrown herself off-balance as a result, and she stumbled backwards until her back slammed into one of the stall doors.

All three of the young girls’ mouths hung open in shock, watching in wide-eyed disbelief as Aria went on the offensive and charged the blue siren, launching a right hook so hard her fist made a noise as it whipped through the air.

Sonata leaned back to miss it, and she countered by swinging her arm around the back of Aria’s neck, trapping her in a headlock. Using her hip, Sonata leveraged Aria into a stumbling run toward the counter, making the three youngsters yelp and scatter to the right, where they gathered before the mosaic that ran the length of the rear wall.

The exit lay opposite them, so they were trapped for the time being, helpless to do anything but watch these ancient titans battle it out.

With Aria’s head trapped under her arm, Sonata rammed her sister against the counter and then drove a fist into her face. Grunting, Aria reached up and grabbed Sonata’s arm to peel it from her head, but not before a second punch found her forehead. The strike, though dizzying, did allow Aria to escape her sister’s grip, and after slipping free, she staggered backward, covering her face.

When she opened one eye to look, she found Sonata on swift approach. Not wanting to be caught in a back-step, Aria bared her face and charged, nose scrunched as she threw another mighty hook. She failed again, however; Sonata raised her forearm to block the attack and quickly countered with a right.

Aria’s head spun to the side after impact, but was unexpectedly snapped the opposite way when Sonata grabbed one of her ponytails and yanked downward, bouncing her skull off of the marble countertop. Disoriented, Aria staggered back, eyelids fluttering. Not wasting her chance, Sonata stepped forth and shoved the purple siren with both hands, making her stagger backward several steps before falling to the floor.

Catching some movement in the mirror from the corner of her eye, Sonata quickly turned to find Adagio approaching, fist cocked. A sharp jab was thrown, but it missed its mark when Sonata sidestepped and grabbed Adagio’s wrist with both hands; she pulled the larger siren’s arm down, twisted and then swung it behind her back, pressing her knuckles between her shoulder blades.

Adagio hollered, gritting her teeth when the tension in her shoulder caused a sharp pain to radiate through her arm, but it didn’t end there. Sonata had begun to hammer her fist into her sister’s ribs again and again, just below her armpit; she then lifted her heel and stomped the back of Adagio’s knee, causing her to collapse to the floor on her backside.

The blue siren wasted no time continuing the assault. She grabbed two fistfuls of curly, orange hair and pulled, dragging her big sister across the tiles toward the stalls.

“AAAH! SONATAAA!” Adagio roared, reaching up to grip her sister’s hands to relieve the tension.

Once Sonata had reached the stalls, she yanked Adagio forward by her hair and then swung her back, slamming her head against the solid section between the doors.

“NNNGH!” The siren grimaced, squeezing her eyes shut. “Stop!”

The blue siren clenched both fists, bent down and screamed directly into her sister’s face. “THE RAINBOOMS WERE NICER TO ME THAN YOU EVER WERE! YOU WERE MEAN! YOU TREATED ME LIKE SOME KIND OF PROBLEM, LIKE YOU THINK I’M A TOTAL IDIOT! I WON’T LET YOU DO IT ANYMORE, YOU HEAR ME!?! I HATE YOU!”

With her temper at critical mass, Sonata brought her knee up and drove it into Adagio’s cheekbone. That big head of orange hair bounced back and slammed into the steel with another crash, then she crumpled forward, clutching her face.

“We took care of you,” Adagio whimpered, her voice muffled.

Sonata shook her head. “You never cared about me! The only reason you kept me around is because you’d be fifty percent less powerful without m—OOF!”

Sonata was knocked face-first into the stall door, having been shoulder-checked from behind. Grunting, she began to turn around, but a purple hand had grabbed her by the hair and yanked her away from Adagio.

Aria wrapped Sonata’s throat in the crook of her elbow, dragging her backwards. “That doesn’t even add up, you idiot!” she growled before twisting hard to the right and flinging the smaller siren toward the counter. Sonata stumbled against the momentum, but not before hooking her foot around Aria’s ankle and grabbing the collar of her vest, bringing her along with her.

Aria ended up staggering a step or two before losing her balance, and the sirens fell to the floor together, Sonata landing on top of Aria’s right shoulder. The blue siren was quick to climb on top, pinning her sister down to gain the upper hand yet again. She raised her fist above her head and then dropped it onto Aria’s face like an anvil, pounding her around the eyes and nose. Aria could do nothing but shield her face with her forearms to protect herself.

“QUIT BEING SUCH A BITCH, ARIA!” Sonata screamed, raising her fist for another blow. “THIS IS WHY NOBODY LIKES YOU!” The assault ended abruptly, however, when her arm was stopped by a powerful hand grabbing her wrist. A second hand gripped her shoulder and yanked to her feet before tossing her like a sack of potatoes through one of the stall doors.

Sonata burst into the cubicle and landed in a seated position on the toilet, her back slamming against the stainless plumbing behind the seat. She squeezed her eyes shut and winced, gripping the seat with her fingertips as she endured the pain; air hissed in through her teeth as she opened her eyes. Adagio was approaching, fists at her sides as she marched along with a snarl on her face—which was now sporting a busted lip and a split cheek.

Sonata reacted swiftly by kicking the door shut just as her sister entered the stall. It swung and smacked her face with a dull thud before bouncing open again, revealing a stunned Adagio staggering back, eyes squeezed shut as she brought her hands up to cup them over her nose.

The blue siren drew a breath and sprinted from the toilet, shoulder forward as she charged full tilt. She speared the lead siren in the midsection and knocked her clean off her feet, driving her backwards until she landed atop the counter on her backside. The back of Adagio’s head collided with the mirror and fractured it, causing a massive web of cracks to streak across the pane as the room was filled with an ear-splitting report.

Adagio groaned and leaned forward, clutching the back of her head. Sonata didn’t stop there, however; she stepped back, gripped her sister by the ankles and yanked her off of the countertop. With a surprised yelp, Adagio flailed about, searching for something to hang onto, but ultimately failing as her shoulders slipped away from the edge, letting her drop to the floor.

Her head hit the tile with a sickening thud, finally relieving the siren of her consciousness. She laid motionless and silent, her face at last finding a relaxed state.

Sonata bent over her sister, leaning on her thighs as she studied her handy work, panting heavily. She was just about to return her attention to Aria when a young voice came from behind.

“Look out!”

Alerted, Sonata spun around to find Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle standing against the backdrop of pixilated waves; Apple Bloom was pointing directly at Sonata in wide-eyed panic.

“No, behind you!”

Before Sonata had a chance to move, a purple arm slithered over her shoulder to enfold her throat, followed immediately by a searing pain that rang out from the left side of her waist.

The siren gasped sharply and went stiff as a board. Eyes wide, she watched the pair of young girls cover their mouths in horror. She couldn’t breathe; for a reason she’d not yet grasped, all she could manage was a slight exhale, which would be quickly cancelled by another sharp gasp, keeping her lungs at capacity. The pain was too intense to let her breath escape—in fact, any movement at all resulted in complete agony.

Something sharp had pierced her side, penetrating her abdomen just beneath her ribs. It threw her into a trembling shock with its cold depth, turning her legs to rubber as the pain —which grew by the second— continued to fill her body.

Slowly, Sonata looked down to her left. Pressed into her waist near her back was a purple fist, wrapped around what appeared to be a wooden handle. Her brows furrowed as she watched the dizzying sight of Aria’s hand pulling away, revealing a shiny steel blade, streaked with crimson.

Time seemed to slow to a crawl as the blade withdrew. Sonata winced as the pain intensified; the blade further slicing her flesh as it slipped free was stomach-turning, and it was followed by a sudden gush of crimson that poured from the open wound. Its warmth ran down her skin beneath her clothing, soaking the burgundy fabric of her jacket.

She quickly covered the wound with her hands, reaching around with her right to press it over the left. This was futile, however, as she was unable to stop the blood from pouring out. Beads of it seeped from between those blue fingers, dripping from her nails as she looked up at Aria, who stood behind her, panting through gritted teeth. Her left eye had already swollen shut and her nose was bleeding, covering her upper lip in a glistening, red moustache.

After a series of rapid, shallow breaths, Sonata grimaced at her sister. “Ari…” she whimpered, before her knees finally gave out and dumped her onto the floor like a sack of bricks, still clutching her side.

Aria stood over her sister, victorious—but only for a few fleeting seconds. The sight of her sister lying on the floor, wincing in pain and bleeding all over herself quickly wiped the ferocity from the violet siren’s face, leaving a vacuous stare in its absence.

She looked down at the knife in her hand, studying its shape, its length. Then a horrific revelation suddenly came to her: he had just shoved that entire thing inside her sister’s body, and it was now covered in her blood.

The realisation of it hit her like a locomotive; her body went numb, save for the pain caused by the beating she took, and now, the growing ache in her chest.

“Aria…”

Sonata’s weakened voice drew her attention once again, and she looked down at her sister, locking her sights with those sad, maroon eyes.

“Dlaczego to robimy?”

With a soft gasp, Aria stared vacantly at her sister. Her eyes brimmed with moisture when the language swept into her mind and, like dust in an old cabin with its door blown in by the wind, stirred up memories of many years past. Without thinking, she opened her hand, looking down just in time to see the knife fall to the floor, leaving smudges of blood on her fingers.

Shamefaced, Aria stared at her trembling hands, her breath shaky. Her eyes moved onto Sonata next, and she covered her mouth with her clean hand before taking a step closer to kneel down next to her. ”Sonata, przepraszam...”

Before she could, however, the voice of young Apple Bloom stopped her in her tracks.

”You... you stabbed her!”

Aria froze, staring like a deer in the headlights. Apple Bloom was glaring at her, face aghast, while Sweetie Belle stood to the side, hands covering her mouth.

”How could ya do that? She’s yer sister!”

Aria’s lips moved rapidly, searching for an answer. ”I... I didn’t mean—”

WHAM!

Blackness.

Aria Blaze crumpled to the floor in an unconscious heap, sprawled out alongside her sisters. Behind her stood Scootaloo, holding a large, stainless steel trash can at each end. Their impromtu plan had worked: keep Aria distracted long enough for Scootaloo to approach from behind and knock her out.

Shaking with adrenaline, Scootaloo dropped the can to the floor, causing both Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom to jump when the resulting clang filled the room. She brought her hands up and stared at them, her fingers splayed and shaking like leaves. ”Hooh! ... Holy shit, I can’t believe that just happened.”

Sweetie Belle, after finally uncovering her mouth, shook her head in disbelief. ”That was crazy... like, fucking... I can’t even.”

Apple Bloom rubbed her forehead with a shaky hand. ”I... she...” She closed her eyes for a moment to gather her thoughts. ”Sonata... she stood up to both a’ them fer us! Did y’all see that?”

”I, uh...” Scootaloo stared into space. ”I totally didn’t see that coming,” she droned, shaking her head.

”It was amazin!” Apple Bloom added, just as a deep groan came from the heap of bodies on the floor.

The sound snapped Sweetie Belle out of her trance. She gave her head a shake, looking down at Sonata before quickly making her way over to her, stepping over Adagio’s legs as she went. ”Hey! You guys, she needs help!” she cried, kneeling down next to Sonata.

Scootaloo, still in shock, looked down at their friend.

”Aw, dang it! Yer right,” the farm girl said with a smack to her temple before stepping over Adagio to crouch down and join Sweetie Belle, along with Scootaloo.

The three of them surrounded Sonata, who continued to wince in pain, eyes shut tightly as she held onto her side.

Apple Bloom placed her hand on the siren’s shoulder. ”Are you OK?”

The answer was little more than a groan.

”I-I’m sorry I distracted you,” Apple Bloom continued with a tiny voice, leaning closer. ”I was just tryin ta help; I didn’t mean ta get ya hurt.”

The siren coughed and then cried out immediately after, her legs squirming as a surge of pain forced itself upon her.

Sweetie Belle cringed. “Does it hurt bad?”

Sonata’s eyes stayed shut and her teeth were gritted, but she managed to respond with a stiff nod.

The girls glanced at one another.

“It’s prolly not safe ta try and move ‘er; might tear the wound er somethin. We gotta git ‘er an ambulance,” Apple Bloom said, but was unexpectedly met with a pair of deadpanned faces. “...What?”

“It’s gonna be kinda hard to do that without our PHONES!” Scootaloo barked.

The farm girl’s jaw dropped, and she quickly faced Sweetie Belle when she added her piece.

“Yeah… I was kinda wishing we had them when they first came in here!”

Apple Bloom threw her hands up. “How was I supposed ta know this was gonna happen?” The closed her eyes next, waving the fact away. “Look, it don’t matter; we’ll just hafta use the phone in the lobby er somethin.”

“Yeah,” Scootaloo muttered as the three of them stood. Before they could turn to leave, though, Sweetie Belle stopped them.

“Wait! What about them?” she asked, pointing to Aria and Adagio. “What if they wake up?”

The other two paused to study the sirens. Then Scootaloo scratched the back of her head.

“Shit. You’re right.”

“Well, first of all… let’s get rid a’ this,” Apple Bloom said, kicking the knife away after a glance downward. It skipped along the tile floor and disappeared under a stall door, where it clacked against the wall behind one of the toilets. She paused to think for a moment, scanning the sirens and then her friends until Sweetie Belle’s handbag caught her eye.

“We’ll tie ‘em up!” she blurted, pointing at the long, thin leather strap that was slung over the ivory girl’s shoulder.

Sweetie Belle glanced down at the accessory, and then gave her friend a confused scowl. “How are we gonna tie both of them up with this?”

Apple Bloom rubbed her chin. Before she had any time to think, however, Scootaloo reached down to grab Aria’s ankles and began to pull her closer to Adagio.

“Let’s put them back-to-back!” she shouted as she rotated the purple siren so her back faced Adagio’s. “We’ll tie their arms together like this.”

“Good idea,” Apple Bloom agreed, turning back and reaching out to Sweetie Belle, who rolled her eyes and slipped the bag from her shoulder to hand it over.

After a few minutes of finessing the unconscious pair into position, the girls placed all four of their wrists together and then began to argue over how they were going to tie the strap.

“Should we just wrap it around all four?” Apple Bloom asked.

“They might be able to slip out—unless we can get it super tight,” Scootaloo replied. “What if we, like, weave it around each one?”

The farm girl shook her head. “It ain’t long enough fer that!”

“Hey! Don’t get blood on my bag, you guys!” Sweetie Belle shouted from above.

Behind them, they heard the restroom door open. All three girls snapped their heads around to see who’d caught them—but there was no one there. As the door floated shut with all the innocence of an elderly Sunday School teacher, their eyes dropped to the floor where Sonata had been, only to find it empty.

A few smudges of blood were all that remained.

The girls spent a moment staring at the empty room, mouths agape until at last, Apple Bloom’s shoulders sank in exasperation.

“Aww, sheeit…”

*****

The theatre lobby was quiet and dimly lit, its archaic yet majestic décor casting long shadows from the backlit concession stand, which was the only major source of light in the place. Behind the counter was a young lady with green hair and pointed, purple glasses, wearing the red uniform vest provided by the theatre, topping a red and yellow striped apron.

She sighed and then licked her finger to flip the page of the magazine she was reading, her ears filled with the background noise of multiple films playing at once. The slushie machine behind her was leaking onto the floor, but no shits were given.

The sound of the washroom door opening caught her attention, and her eyes rose from the page to find a woman with short, blue hair staggering across the dark plum carpet, hunched forward and hugging her midsection.

After watching the stranger for a few seconds, she rolled her eyes and went back to the article. “Hit the road, drunkie,” she said under her breath.

Seconds later, the washroom door opened a second time and three girls frantically poured out, chasing and shouting after the first girl.

“Sonata, hey! Stop!”

“Git back here! Where you runnin off to!?”

Interrupted again, the girl behind the counter peered over her glasses at them, arching a brow as she watched the three girls reach the blue-haired one just in time to catch her as her knees gave out, letting her collapse to the floor.

All three of them were talking hurriedly over one another while they rolled her onto her side. The red-headed one with the big bow in her hair turned to face her suddenly, shouting.

“HELP! Call 911, she needs help!”

The employee furrowed her brows and stood straight, reaching over to snatch the cordless phone from its cradle before pushing through the gate at the end of the counter to approach the group.

“Is there a problem here?” she asked as she approached, noticing the blue girl’s hands clutching her side. She froze suddenly, however, when she saw those pale fingers covered in blood; the colour of her jacket had camouflaged it from a distance, but up close it was quite obvious that something was very wrong here, and it invited a cold tingle to crawl up her cheeks. “W— … what happened?”

“She’s been stabbed, Miss…” the short-haired one turned to face her with narrowed eyes, focusing on her name tag. “… Jupiter!”

The employee glanced down at her lapel and then scowled at the young girl. “It’s Juniper!”

Irritated, the red-headed girl spun around again. “Whatever! Just call an ambulance! We got jumped in the bathroom over there, and she got sss…” She paused suddenly and furrowed her brows. “Wait… how did you not hear the ruckus they was causin in there!?”

Juniper shrugged, feeling somewhat on the spot. “I dunno! It probably sounded like one of the movies playing.” The stress of the situation had raised her pulse by then, which wasn’t helped when she locked eyes with that bloody hand a second time. “Hoooooly crap,” she said, starting to hyperventilate. “OK. This is crazy, this is crazy; when she first came out, she was like… it was like that scene in ‘Kickass,’ when he was trying to stop those car theves…”

The three girls stopped what they were doing and turned to stare incredulously at her.

“At… at the seventeen minute and forty-eight second mark, Aaron Taylor Johnson’s character got up after getting stabbed in the stomach and started walking around…” Her gaze dropped to the siren again. “… Just like her—it was exactly the same.” Juniper’s eyes widened suddenly. “Then he got hit by a car,” she said quickly, taking a quick glance around the lobby. “She should be OK in here, tho—”

”CALL 911!” all three girls shouted in unison.

Startled, Juniper nearly dropped the phone. After fumbling with it for a moment, she dialed 911 with shaky thumbs and then put the phone to her ear. As it rang, she turned and jogged back to the counter to fetch a wad of napkins to put over the wound.

*****

A crowd of about a dozen people had congregated in the time it took for the police and ambulance to arrive. They gathered around the scene, watching the girls look after their friend, keeping her wound covered with a wad of bloody napkins while telling the crowd ad nauseam to ‘give her space.’

The paramedics came in with a stretcher in tow, immediately following a pair of police officers who swept the scene first—one of them a blonde female with a pair of goofy eyes.

After some quiet reassurances to Sonata that everything would be alright, the trio backed away to let the paramedics work.

The police approached them next. “Ladies?” the male cop said with a tip of his cap. “We were told by dispatch that there are two suspects still in the building, incapacitated. Is that correct?”

Apple Bloom nodded. “That’s right, officer.” She pointed to the washroom. “In there.”

After a quick glance, he gave his partner a nod. “Go check it out.”

After she’d disappeared into the restroom, the girls turned back to watch Sonata being placed on the stretcher and then hoisted up on its legs so the paramedics could roll her out, but were interrupted once again by the cop.

“Excuse me again, ladies, I just have a few ques—“

“Hey!”

He was interrupted by his partner, who was standing in the washroom entrance, holding the door open.

“There’s no one in here,” Officer Derpy announced.

“What!?” Sweetie Belle cried as the male cop faced them again.

“You sure that’s the right washroom?” he asked.

“Yeah! They—” Apple Bloom started to reply, but then she slapped a hand over her forehead and groaned. “Uuggh! Dang it, we never got a chance ta tie ‘em up!”

The officer looked at Derpy again, who nodded to confirm the girls’ claim—of the location of the scene, that is. “This is definitely the room. There’s some damage in here; broken mirror, dented stalls—and there’s a bit of blood on the floor.” She turned around to show a reddish, wet smudge on her backside. “See?”

He rolled his eyes and then paused for a moment to think.

In the meantime, Sonata’s stretcher was being rolled toward the door.

Scootaloo pointed. “Can we go with her?” she asked the cop, who glanced over his shoulder before facing her and shaking his head.

“Not just yet. You three have to be checked out and cleared by the paramedics as well.”

“Why? We’re fine!”

“Yeah! There ain’t nothin wrong with us!”

He raised his hand to stop their protests. “It’s procedure; we gotta do it. After that, you three are gonna come with us so we can get a statement from each of you. Then we’ll make sure you get a ride to the hospital to see your friend. Understood?”

The girls glared at each other, unimpressed by this.

After a sigh, Apple Bloom finally conceded. “Fine.”

“OK. Follow me,” he instructed. He turned to head for the front doors, pointing back to Officer Derpy as he went. “Take a quick look around, see if they’re still in the building. I’ll have the others search the surrounding area.” The girls followed closely, eyes downcast as they went.

“Well?” Scootaloo stuffed her hands in her pockets, looking over her shoulder to see which way Officer Derpy has going.

“Well, what?” Sweetie Belle asked, glancing over at her.

Scootaloo faced her friend. “How was that for a Canterlot Movie Club adventure?”

The ivory girl faced forward and rolled her eyes. “Shut-up.”