Originally posted by Horsefellow
Reuploaded by pastebinfag


"What's a waifu, Anon?"
>You peered over his desk, trying to avoid catching the attention of Mr. Doodle
>You'd kind of hoped to copy what he was writing
>You weren't really paying attention-
>You weren't used to paying attention
>Learning?
>Education?
>You went through that in Equestria
>A thousand years ago
>You didn't want to have to do that all again
>But... Uhh... Recent events meant you had no choice
>You were stuck as... This...
>In this school
>And the people here seemed...
>Well, not nice
>Not nice to you anyway
>You had noticed Anon scribbling away at his book
>You kind of thought you'd missed something whilst you were daydreaming
>But... Well...
>You didn't pretend to know about chemistry
>But you'd never heard of the word 'waifu' before, you weren't really sure what it had to do with-
>What did that say?
>'Forces of attraction'?
>Anon quickly closed his book as he noticed you looking over
>He gave you a troubled look
>His green cheeks turned red
>His eyes darting around the room
>Oh
>...Well
>That was okay
>You were used to people being this way around you
>You just wanted to copy his work
>Was that so much to ask?
>But you couldn't make heads nor tails of it
>All you could point out was that word
>But you trusted Anon!
>He was smart!
>It had to have something to do with chemistry, right?
>You turn back to your own desk as you began to write in your book
>'Waifu'
>Yeah, that was good
>Enough 'work' from you for today
>You placed your pen back down on the desk, leaning back in your chair
>Mr. Doodle just talked at the front of the class
>Anon was looking at you
>Just talked
>Anon was still looking at you
>That's all he seemed to do, talk about... Boring things
>Anon was looking right at you
>Wait-
>What?
>Not behind you, right at you
>You looked at him, he turned away again
>Oh
>For a moment then, you thought he wanted to-
>No, maybe you were mistaken
>Maybe he wasn't looking over at you
####################################
"What's a waifu?"
>You asked, sitting down as you passed Adagio and Aria their trays, placing your own at your seat
>They both looked at you from across the table confused as you sat opposite them
"It was part of the chemistry assignment. It needs to be in before the end of the week."
>You said, taking a bite from your apple
>"Don't get too comfortable, we're only staying here for as long as we need."
>You swallowed
"Oh."
>You took another bite, looking over at the two
>Who...
>Hadn't even touched their food
>Not hungry?
>Why did they ask for it in the first place?
"Will that be before or after I have to hand in my assignment?"
>Aria sighed, resting her head in her crossed arms on the table
>"Your assignment doesn't matter! The moment that portal opens again, we're leaving."
>Leaving?
>Leaving this place?
"But I-"
>So much had changed
>You were beginning to make friends
>Well, they wouldn't hang out with you
>They weren't friends like these two
>But they were still... Friends
>Not all of them hated you
>Or feared you
>Or... Whatever
"I kind of like it here now."
>The two of you looked at you, eyes wide and mouth agape
>Was it something you said?
>"You what?"
>Adagio asked in disbelief
>"This is what I was talking about..."
>Aria said under her breath
>"Do you want to die here?"
>Was that a trick question?
>If you liked it here
>And you wanted to stay here then...
>Yeah
>That would mean dying here
"I wouldn't mind it."
>Adagio stood up, arms reaching across to your side of the table
>"Do you want to go back to the way it was? Before I found you-"
>She turned to look at Aria
>"Both of you? Alone? Hungry? On the brink of death?"
>Her face was closer to yours now
>Glaring at you
>A fire in her eyes
>It didn't work the same way as it did before any more...
>But it was still pretty scary
"I don't want to go hungry again."
>You whimpered
>She sat back down
>"That's what I thought."
>You took another bite out of your apple
>...You really did like apples
>They were great!
>Hmm... If the other's didn't want there's then-
>You stopped your train of though as you spotted Anon leaving the cafeteria
>Anon!
>You still need to know what a 'waifu' is!
>You got up off your seat-
>Snatching the two, red, juicy apples from Adagio and Aria
>They didn't even bat an eyelid
>You headed out the door, an apple in each and one clenched in your teeth
>The hallway was empty
>Where was Ano-
>Oh, no, there he was
>Looking through his locker
"Ahmn."
>You muffled, your mouth full with apple
>He hadn't noticed you
"Anhmm!"
>You yelled
>He turned and looked at you!
>Maybe you should... Drop the apple for a moment
>But... But where
>Awkwardly, you grabbed hold the apple in your mouth with two fingers
>Your hands full of apples, you called again
"Anon!"
>That certainly got his attention!
>His eyes widened
>His lips trembled slightly
>"Yeah?..."
>He asked as you got closer to him
>He backed away, ever so slightly
>But you kept getting closer
>What's he doing?
>You just want to talk
>You wanted to reach a hand out but...
>Uhh... They were preoccupied right now
"Anon, you never told me. What's a waifu?"
>"Why do you want to know?"
>Oh
>You weren't really sure how he was going to react to this
>You wanted to make friends
>And if you let him know that you weren't paying attention!...
>Well, that might ruin any chance of being friends with him
>Who'd want to be friends with someone like THAT?
"I wasn't really... Paying attention in class."
>You said, lowering your head in shame
>You should be ashamed
>You awful, awful person
>"What?"
>He asked
>You flinched but...
>He wasn't asking in disbelief
>It was more like... He was confused
>And so were you
"Well, I need to get this assignment done and I wasn't paying attention so can you just tell me?"
>"No it's got nothing to do with the assignment..."
>Oh
>It doesn't?
"Then why were you writing it down?"
>What was he implying?
>That he wasn't paying attention in lesson?!
>But Anon was smart
>He wasn't the kind of person to get distracted!
>"It's nothing, don't worry about it."
"But you've made me curious now! I need to know!"
>You stomped your foot on the ground
>He sighed
>"A waifu is someone that I-"
>He stopped
>Why did he stop?
>...Keep going Anon...
>"You might love."
"Ooohhh!"
>You said, a smile beaming on your face
"Like uh... Like a 'girlfriend' or something?"
>You said, winking
>He just chuckled
>"Yeah, kind of like that."
>K-kind of?
>...Strange human man
"Do you have a waifu?"
>He stopped smiling
>He just looked at you
>For... Quite a while
>He didn't say anything
>Just looked
>The school bell rang
>Oh!
>New lesson!
"What have I got next?"
>He shrugged, turning around to walk in the opposite direction
>"I have no idea."
>Oh...
>Well, you could check
>It didn't matter, you supposed
>You reached around for your bag and-
>Oh no!
>You still had two... And a half apples to eat
>You didn't want to waste them
>Anon might be hungry
>Anon might like apples
"Anon!"
>He turned around to look back at you and sighed
"Catch!"
>You threw the apple in your left hand, apologising as it landed square in between his eyes
###########################################################################################
>It was cold
>Cold and wet
>You'd not slept in the rain yet
>Not slept in the rain like this, of course
>Normally you'd magic up some shelter...
>But no
>Not any more
>It hadn't rained in...
>Come to think of it, you can't remember the last time it rained
>Funny that
>So instead, you were all huddled for warmth
>...
>Okay, that was a lie
>You wish you were huddled for warmth
>The three of you were sat in some alleyway
>Backs against the wall
>Adagio and Aria opposite you
>Just like back in the Cafeteria!
>Only without the food
>And the warmth
>And air conditioning
>And lights
>And other people around
>And the occasional song that'd break out
>You liked the cafeteria
>You didn't like the alleyway
>Well, there were better alleyways
>There were worse alleyways
>But none of them compared to the school
>Or... Any indoor building
>Back in Equestria, you'd sleep in the ocean
>You could do that when you had gills
>Now you didn't
>So now you couldn't
>You wish you could
>You missed sleeping in the water
>The feeling of weightlessness
>Just floating
>It was relaxing
>You did want to get some work done
>Some math would have been nice
>But you didn't want to get it wet
>And... To be honest, Aria didn't much like you working
>Maybe you could all... Talk
>You didn't talk much these days
>You missed the days when you talked
"So..."
>You said
>...
>...You stopped
>This was normally the part where someone else talked
>They didn't even look at you
>They were both sat against the wall in the fetal position
>Arms around their legs
>Just looking down
>You just wanted to talk
"We should buy a tent."
>"With what?"
>Adagio was right
>You had no money
>And no way of making money
>Then...
>Do what you did before when you wanted something!
>Like these clothes
"We could... Steal a tent!"
>"How?"
>Well... Aria got you there
>No magic
>No stealing
>No magical stealing
>Time was, people could just give you what you wanted when you asked for it
>You were confused for... Ages!
>And then Adagio had to explain that's not how the world worked
>You always thought it was weird that people just gave you stuff for free
>Not like Equestria
>Until she told you it was the singing
"We could-"
>...What else could you do?
>Can't buy a tent
>Or steal a tent
>You could always...
"Make a tent?"
>That Rarity girl made clothes!
>She MADE clothes!
>How hard could it be to make a tent?
>"How?"
>Well, you didn't know
>How did they expect you to know everything?
>You weren't saying you knew how to do everything!
>You were just making conversation
>It was better than sitting in silence
>Where the rain was the only thing keeping you company
"At least a sleeping bag?"
>You said, rubbing your bare arms
"I'm cold."
>Adagio sighed
>"We're all cold."
>Well... You didn't know that either
"I'm hungry."
>"We're all hungry."
>There was no pleasing these two
>If they're hungry they only have themselves to blame
"Well you two didn't eat your lunch!"
>You yelled across to the two of them
>Their eyes did that...
>They did that thing where they moved their eyebrows
>Pulled that face
>That face was usually followed by someone yelling
>One of the two
>Or the both
>Or neither
>Sometimes they would just stay quiet
>"Not that kind of hungry you-"
>This was not one of those times
>"Just get some sleep Sonata."
>Okay
>You'll get some sleep
>But because you want to get some sleep!
>Not because they want you to go to sleep
>You were tired
>And maybe this'd take your mind of being hungry
>You were really... Really hungry
"I should have saved that apple."
>You said, lying down on your side resting your head on your hands
>Resting your hands on the stone floor
>At the moment, you'd even go so far as to have a pillow
>Nothing fancy
>Just something to rest on
>You closed your eyes, trying best you could to get some sleep
>...
>You lay there
>You weren't sure how long it had been
>You just lay there
>Until you heard a sigh
>A long sigh
>"What are we going to do with her Aria?"
>It was Adagio
>They were...
>They were talking about you?
>You didn't open your eyes
>You just kept them shut
>You just listened
>It was good to listen
>Good to hear your friends talking
>"We've stuck with her all this time, we'll just keep going."
>Aria responded
>They were talking about you, weren't they
>"It's not the same any more. I'm not sure how much longer she'll survive like this."
>Adagio sighed
>That's all you could hear
>Another sigh
>"To be fair, Adagio, it's your fault."
>"My fa-!"
>Adagio began to yell, before Aria shushed her
>"My fault? I'm so sorry I took you in, I'm so sorry I looked after you two for years, I'm so sorry that I gave you what you wanted."
>It was true
>She had...
>She was almost like family
>They both were
>Ever since-
>Since you didn't have a family
>Ever since you were a kid
>They did everything for you
>They gave you the gems
>And taught you how to sing
>And... Everything else
>They were good friends
>"She was just a kid. She might as well still be a kid."
>Just a kid?
>Your not a kid
>Not any more
>You haven't been a kid for years
>Not since you were...
>...A kid
>It was such a long time ago now
>"It's still not my fault that she never listens."
>What were you doing right now?
>Listening
>You were listening
>You showed her!
>Take that Adagio!
>Well...
>Maybe you didn't want to make that obvious
>"You didn't raise her properly! You were always talking about food but you couldn't see that she was still a kid."
>But that didn't matter
>You liked food
>And you hated being a kid!
>You hated everyone treating you like a kid!
>At least Adagio treated you like an adult!
>What did Aria do?
>Always treating you like a kid
>Always calling you stupid
>Or the worst
>"It didn't matter. We were going to be fine-
>"Were. That's the important part. Were. We're not any more and we never will be."
>What was she saying?
>You-
>You were going to be okay, right?
>"We will be okay, right?"
>Aria obviously had the same idea as you
>"You don't actually know when the portal's going to open, do you?"
>She continued
>All you heard was another sigh from Adagio
>"No."
>N-no?
>So after everything they said
>After telling you not to get comfortable
>And they didn't even know whether they were going home or not!
>"How long do you think we'll last?"
>You might die here
>"A year, if we're lucky."
>You might actually die here
>"It'll probably get harder near the end."
>Of course, you'd considered it but-
>You didn't really know what you were thinking
>You didn't really want to die here
>You kind of wanted to stay here
>But live her for...
>Much longer than a year!
>You heard faint sobbing, though you couldn't tell who it was
>"I don't want to go through that again."
>Aria, in between sobs
>She was...
>You hadn't heard her cry
>Not for...
>You weren't sure of the last time you heard her cry
>"I know, I know, I don't either."
>Adagio said, a soothing voice
>It wasn't the same as her old voice
>Her singing voice
>But it was enough
>Aria calmed, her crying slowly coming to an end
>She sniffed
>"Sonata's the lucky one."
>Lucky?
>Oh... Well, you never really thought you were lucky
>You'd been through a lot in your life
>Not a lot of it felt like it was... Good
>"She has no idea how bad it gets."
>How ba-
>Bad?...
>How bad what gets?
>They had to be doing this on purpose
>They were... They were scaring you
>Trying to scare you
>Yeah
>It- It wasn't working
>Obviously
>Maybe you should wake up
>Or, open your eyes
>Maybe they'll tell you it was all a prank
>Maybe they knew you were awake all along
>Yeah...
>Yeah, of course
>Slowly, you opened your eyes
>Forced a smile on your face and let out a yawn
>You don't know what time it is, but it's dark
>You must've been asleep for a few hours then...
>They must've been sat in silence for a few hours
>Were they awake all that time too?
>They looked troubled
>Of course they would
>But... You didn't want them to know that you knew what they knew
>...Yeah
"What's up?"
>You said, trying to put on a cheery voice
>"Nothing, Sonata. Just..."
>Aria began
>She stopped, rubbing her eyes of the remaining tears
>She looked over at Adagio
>She was just sat there
>Looking down at the floor
>"Just go back to sleep."
>She concluded
>Aria shuffled around as she led on her side
>Adagio didn't join her
>She was just sat, unmoving
>Looking down at the floor
>...The floor must've been pretty interesting
>You might as well get some sleep
#################################
>A hand slammed on your desk
>"Ms. Dusk!"
>You shot up!
>Okay, okay, okay!
>You were awake!
>...You were...
>Where were you again?
>Oh... English
>You were tired
>You were hungry
>And you were in English
>No wonder you were falling asleep in class
>It was just your own bad luck that you sat right at the front of the class
>You couldn't exactly hide
>You wanted to pay attention - you really did
>You wanted to be good at this school thing
>You wanted to make friends
>But you just couldn't
>Sleeping on the streets...
>In the cold...
>In the rain...
>It wasn't helping your education
>You-
>Maybe you could tell someone
>The principle?
>One of the teachers?
>After last night, you didn't want to spend another day without shelter
>But who'd trust you?
>After everything you did?
>...Who could you turn to?
>The only friends you had were stuck in the same situation as you
>What about...
>Them
>Those girls
>The one's you tried to steal magic from
>...Yeah, maybe not
>Ms. Velvet was still looking at you
>Probably expecting an answer or something
>You were too tired to even give that
>You rubbed your eyes
>"Not enough sleep, Ms. Dusk?"
>She asked, forcefully
>You just nodded
>You couldn't even speak
>You rubbed your eyes again
>"Then I would advise you had a good nights rest, Ms. Dusk."
>What a...
>What a... Bitch!
>Did she know what you were going through?
>No, no she didn't
>You wish you could get a good night's sleep
>You really do
>And the thought of another night like the last made you want to cry
>No
>Not now
>When everyone's looking?
>Hold it back, Sonata
>You can do it
>Be brave, for now
>But even when class ended, you couldn't do it
>You didn't want everyone around you to notice you crying
>And you knew that if you were...
>None of them would come talk to you
>None of them would ask what's the matter
>And even if you told them, they wouldn't know what you were talking about
>They wouldn't understand
>So, you were still holding back the tears
>Occasionally rubbing your eyes to wipe away what little tears escape
>Don't think about it, Sonata
>...Try not to think about it, Sonata
>It'll be okay
>You keep telling yourself it'll be okay
>But you don't know
>You don't even know where to begin to try and fix this
>You'd have to talk to the other two
>Tell them...
>Well...
>There had to be something you could do!
>Stay in the school?
>Try not to get caught?
>Anything to avoid another night in the co-
>A bump
>A thud
>And you landed on your behind
>That's what you get for not looking where you're going
>You rub your slightly watery eyes once more and look up
>"Oh my god! I'm so sorry I-"
>It was Anon!-
>Huh, fancy that
>And he was apologising profusely
>"S-Sonata?"
>He asked, reaching out a hand
>Now he wasn't apologising profusely any more
>He could barely get your name out, he was stuttering so much
"It was my fault, don't worry!"
>You said grabbing hold of his hand as he pulled you up off the ground
>You brushed yourself off and rubbed your sore noise that had felt the full force of the impact
>Ouch
>You were going to be feeling that in the morning
>Oh, and your behind hurt a bit too...
>That was also kind of important
>Anon just looked at you
>And you just looked at him
>...Was he going to move?
>Or say anything?
>Or... Do anything?
>Or was he-
>Oh, right!
"Thanks, Anon."
>Maybe he was waiting for yo-
>No...
>Still just... Looking at you
>Was there something on your face?
>You scrunched up your face as best you could, shaking it left and right, rubbing your hand over it
>Trying to get whatever it was on your face off
>When you opened your eyes again, he was smiling
>Just smiling
>Still looking at you
"Did I get it?"
>He looked at you blankly, still smiling
>Until he shook suddenly shook his head
>"What?"
>...Anon was a bit slow, wasn't he?
>Maybe he wasn't as smart as you thought
"I'm gonna go off to... Class now..."
>You said, pointing behind him
>He just nodded
>Didn't say anything, just nodded and stepped to the side
>Anon was a bit... Strange
>You didn't really notice this before
>You always thought he was smart
>Now he just seems... Strange
>Like he wasn't very talkative
>Or maybe he just didn't want to talk to you
>Well, you wouldn't be surprised
>But you did see him smile a lot
>You smiled a lot too
>When you weren't tired
>And hungry
>And upset
>But, you supposed, seeing someone else smile made you kind of... Happy
>Made you want to smile too
>Yeah!
>Having people who smiled around you made you smile too
>You just wish you could have smiled when you saw Anon
>Rather than looking... Miserable
>But maybe if you smiled around your friends-
>Around Adagio and Aria then you could get them to smile too!
>Yeah!
>Maybe you could make them happy
>Make them forget about their problems
>And then the three of you could do something to solve it
>Together, as friends
>You'd like that
################
>Lunch!
>Tuesday!
>Tuesday was your favourite day!
>Tacos!
>Tacos for everyone!
>Well, mostly Tacos for yourself
>Tacos for your two friends too!
>They'd not ever had a Taco
>Today, you were going to make them smile
>And you were going to give them something delicious to eat!
>Three tacos
>Three drinks
>Three apples
>Three trays!
>Good
>Lunch was served
>You got back to the table that Adagio and Aria were sat at
>They still looked miserable
>Just like they did yesterday
>And last night
>You were going to change that
>Turn that frown upside down
>"What's this?"
>Aria said, poking her taco with a slender finger
"Uh, duh. Tacos! Tacos Tuesday! Eat up!"
>The two girls glanced at one another
>You just smiled
>If you smiled, they would smile
>"We're not hungry."
>...They weren't smiling
>Why weren't they smiling?
"But you said you wer-"
>"No! Not that kind of hungry!"
>You weren't giving up that easily!
>Keep on smiling Sonata
>Don't let them get to you
"Suit yourself."
>You looked down at the food in front of you
>The delicious...!
>Warm...!
>Uhh...
>Taco!
>...You weren't good at describing things
>You picked it up, holding it in both hands
>Licking your lips with anticipation
>You opened your mouth wide, and took the first bite...
>...
>It wasn't right
>It was different than it was last week
>Then again, last week was different than the week before
>And the week before that
>And the week before that
>They were never the same
>Always... Worse than the week before
>Maybe it was just your one!
>You reached over for Aria's taco
>If she wasn't having it, then you would
>Like their apples yesterday
>You'd probably have their apples again too if they didn't want them
>You took a bite out of the second taco...!
>It was the same
>Just as ba-
>"It won't satisfy you."
>Adagio interrupted your thought
>"Do you see now?"
>She continued
>She wasn't annoyed or angry or yelling...
>Not like usual
>She was... Friendly
>She sounded 'concerned'?
>You'd not heard her concerned
>Was that the best way to put it?
>You didn't really know
>Adagio was just looking at you
>She was.. Expecting a response
>But you weren't sure what to say
>"Give it up, she's not going to get it."
>"You wanted me to do this, so I'm going to try my best."
>Was this about... Last night?
>What they said last night?
>The two of them bickered
>But you weren't paying attention
>You were just thinking
>Hungry...
>You were hungry
>It's weird
>You didn't think you were hungry
>You'd just eaten food
>If you were hungry... Why wouldn't eating food help?
>Even if the food didn't taste good
>Why wouldn't it help?
>You thought about last night
>About what they said
>They said...
>They...
>Damnit!
>You can't remember what they said...
>You-
>You were lucky!
>Or something
>You didn't seem lucky
>Maybe that was just Aria
>Aria tricking you
>You didn't know if you could trust her
>And yet...
>She was beginning to make sense
>Both of them were
"I'm still hungry."
>They stopped
>Adagio looked over to you once again
>There was that look again
>The one when she was concerned
>She nodded
"Foods not helping."
>She shook her head
>"Food was never helping, not this human earth food at least. It was always the spell."
"I know it was the spell. I'm not... I'm not stupid."
>Aria rolled her eyes
"But I thought food helped. Food would help to live a normal life. In a normal house. With normal people."
>You could still do that, right?
>They wanted to go home
>But you didn't mind living here
>Living a normal life
>With other people
>With friends...
>C-could you still do that?
"Will it get better?"
>"If we can get back home."
>Well...
>That was all well and good, but that didn't matter right now
>If you could all get back home - yeah!
>That'd solve all your problems!
>How easy was that?
>Well, from what you overheard last night, not very
>So there was a more important problem...
"What do we do tonight?"
>Adagio shrugged
>...Aria shrugged
>Really?
>That was it
>They weren't even going to... Say anything?
"Can we go somewhere that... Isn't an alleyway tonight?"
>"I'm all ears if you have any suggestions."
>Well...
>...Well
>You didn't know exactly
>But maybe...
"Can we stay here tonight? Find somewhere quiet? Somewhere warm?"
>Adagio's eyes widened
>"Here? We can't possibly stay here. The teachers live here."
>They-
>Do they?
>No they don't
>You didn't think they did
"Are you sure?"
>You asked, confused
>The two of them just nodded
>"Do you ever see the teachers leave the school?"
>Adagio began
>"Or arrive in the morning?"
>Aria continued
>"Have you ever seen how they get here?"
>"Or how they get 'home'?"
>"They're not like the students, they live here."
>They both leant back on their seats, arms folded across their chest
>Are they being serious?
>You're not the sharpest tool in the shed
>But... This?
>Of course they didn't live in the school!
"They really don't live here."
>"Don't be so stupid Sonata, only an idiot denies what's in front of her."
>But-!
>But you were right!
>You didn't pretend to know... Everything, but you knew this!
>How did they not?
"I'm not stupid!"
>"Yes you are!"
>You didn't like it when they called you stupid
>Especially when you were right!
"Fine! I'll stay here tonight and you two can go to the alleyway!"
>You got up, taking your apple and leaving the cafeteria
>Again
>...You didn't like doing this, but they weren't listening to you
>"No, Sonata we-"
>Adagio called out, but she stopped
>Good
>You weren't listening anyway
>You just kept going
>You were going to show them
>You were going to stay in the school!
>And so you did
>You were certain you were going to stay here for the night
>In the warm, sheltered school
>It didn't matter if you were on your own
>Or if you still didn't have a tent
>Or a sleeping bag
>Or anything
>It was better than being out in the cold
>You'd last longer in the shelter
>...Well, you knew you'd last a year "at best" out in the cold
>You wanted more than that
>Whatever the cost!
>Just as the remaining students left the school, you made your way around the school
>Looking for a room you could stay in
>And, most importantly, a room that you could stay in and not get caught
>If it turned out the teachers really did live in the school!
>And after... Not much searching, you think you found somewhere
>A small room
>Exterior windows
>None of these... Fancy... Inside windows that let you look in the room from the corridor
>A small... Stage to the right of the door?
>Okay, suit yourself
>A a large, sliding mirror to the opposite side!
>You could sleep on the stage, and you'd be looking at yourself
>You'd have your reflection for company!
>...That seemed kind of sad, now you thought about it
>You wanted your friends for company
>But they didn't want you
>They'd change their mind
>When you told them how GREAT this was!
>When you told them that staying in the school was the BEST!
>Yeah!
>They'd be so jealous
>...
>So...
>What did you do now?
>It was still light out
>There was no way you could get to sleep
>And no way you could... Work out how to close the blinds...
>You took a seat at the edge of the small stage, looking over at the room
>The mirror opposite you caught your immediate attention
>Not just because it was a mirror
>But because it was a cupboard, and you wanted to know what was inside it!
>You'd not been in this room before, you had no idea
>It could be ANYTHING!
>No really, anything!
>There might be a bed!
>Or a pillow!
>Or a sleeping bag!
>It would have been here all along
>And you would have just stumbled upon it
>You walked over to the mirror, holding the handle and pulling the whole section across as hard as you could
>It was heavier than you thought, but you managed it!
>And now you could take a peek at what was-
>Oh...
>It wasn't a bed
>Or a sleeping bag
>Or a pillow
>Or... Whatever else you wanted
>It was a bunch of instruments
>Instruments
>Microphones
>Speakers
>Uhh... Cables
>All sorts of musical related... Things
>That would explain the stage
>And the mirror
>And... The... Outlets across the walls...
>You bent down and picked up one of the microphones
>A familiar feeling in the palm of your hand
>You wanted to just... Sing!
>Like the old days!
>Let it all out!
>Sing as loud as you could!
>But... You couldn't anymore-
>And even if you could, you might wake any potential sleeping teachers-
>But you couldn't
>Not any more
>You placed your free hand around your neck
>Where the jewel that you had for...
>For longer years... For most of your life-
>Where that jewel once was
>And now is gone
>You paced around the room
>Thinking about those times
>You didn't care about the magic
>Or the mind control
>Or the hypnosis
>Or whatever...
>You just wanted to sing
>You loved singing
>Maybe you could...
>You don't know
>Try it for real?
>Try it without 'cheating', kind of?
>You sat back down on the edge of the stage
>Microphone in your right hand, you brought it up to your mouth
>You know it didn't work
>But it didn't feel the same without it
>Quietly, you began
>Just singing to yourself
>Just a relaxing, sooth harmony
"You didn't know that you fell..."
>You were there for hours
>What felt like hours, at least
>Singing your old songs
>The one's you sung with your friends
>And then... Others too
>That girl
>What was her name?
>The blue one
>The one that sung about tricks?
>You can't remember
>But you sung that one too!
>Of course... None of it out loud
>You sung it to yourself
>Quietly
>It was better that way
>That way, you didn't have to embarrass yourself
>That way, you could try and get better
"Come on, you're just making noise, listen how my music destroys, anything you throw at me, I'm gonna throw back, just wait and see!"
>It sounded weird without the actual music, but you could imagine it
>You could picture the tune
>You were in time with it
>Magic couldn't fudge that
>But you still couldn't properly sing it
>And after giving that one a few run overs, you sat back down on the stage
>You were... Quite tired, actually
>You'd been up and about
>Strutting your stuff
>Pretending you were back on stage
>Pretending that the attention was all on you
>But it took a lot out of you, especially after a few hours
>It was good though
>Fun!
>A productive use of your time
>Having fun
>Even if you weren't doing work that you were... Supposed to do
>You'd completely forgot about work
>Your assignments
>Homework
>All sorts
>You were concentrating on the music
>You looked at yourself in the mirror
>Your hair was a bit of a mess, given how much you were swaying it around
>You were almost out of breath, which wasn't helped by being so hungry
>But, most importantly, you realised it was getting darker
>The whole room was darker than it had been
>Maybe you should get some sleep soon
>Maybe you should put away the microphone, leave the room how it was when you arrived and just get some sleep
>Or maybe you had just one last song in you
>...But what?
>You'd sung all of your songs
>And then even some other people's songs
>What else was there?
>And then it hit you
>You remember this song
>You remember it too well...
>You clenched the microphone, tighter than before
>You shot up onto your feet, forgetting that you were just thinking about sleeping
>Tired?
>Hungry?
>Bah!
>You wanted to sing!
>You walked closer to the mirror
>Looking your own reflection
>Looking at yourself directly in your eyes
"Your never gonna bring me down..."
>You began, whispering to yourself
"Your never gonna break this part of me, my friends..."
>You stopped
>And looked around the room
>You were... Alone
>Your friends
>Your friends weren't here...
>There was only you
>You'd been meaning to cry all day
>You'd been holding that in for hours
>This seemed a time better than any
>You were warm
>You were safe
>But what did it matter?
>You were alone
>You reached out for your own reflection, silently sobbing to yourself
"My friends are here to bring me around..."
>You whispered between sobs
"Not singing just for popularity..."
>It was funny
>Kind of...
>That this song was the end of the line for you...
>This song is the reason why you're cold at night
>Why you have to go home
>Why you have to leave this place
>This song is the reason why you're alone right now whilst your friends are out on the street in some alleyway
>And at the same time, you kind of related to this song more now than ever before
"Got the music in our hearts, we're here to blow this thing apart, and together, we will never, be afraid of the dark..."
>A chuckle
>A chuckle from behind you
>Was someone there?
>One of the teachers?
>Had they found you
>You turned around to see... Them
>Your friends, stood in the doorway
>"You know, you can't sing like we did before?"
>Adagio asked, a smile on her face
>A warm smile
"I know... I just-"
>She laughed again
>"Don't worry about it, it's alright."
>The two of them walked into the room, carrying their things with them
>Oh!
>Looks like they came around after all
>Decided to join you instead of leaving you on your own
>Not that you... REALLY minded
>"I guess you were right..."
>Aria said, as the two of them took a seat on the stage opposite the mirror you had been looking into
>"For once."
>Oh
>She couldn't just leave that alone, could she?
>She couldn't just compliment you for once
"What?"
>You walked over to the two of the, squeezing your way in between them and taking a seat
>The two of them shuffled to accompany your-
>...You
>To accompany the extra amount of... 'You'
>"The teachers. No sign of any teachers."
>Oh?
>Oh!
>Yeah, you were right!
>Oh... Good...
>You're kind of relived that you were right about that
>You were beginning to doubt yourself
>Especially since the other two were right like... All the time!
>Well, let's bring that down to... 99% of the time
"How long were you outside?"
>"A few hours."
>"It's been raining again, so we came and looked for you."
>It'd been raining?
>Oh, it still was raining
>You hadn't noticed
>You didn't even think to go and look for them when it began to rain
"I'm sorry."
>The other two girls blinked in disbelief, looking at one another confused
>"What for?"
>Adagio asked, putting a hand on your shoulder
>Well... You-
>You guess you just wanted to say sorry?
"I don't know. I guess I should have stuck with you."
>Suddenly, she wrapped her arms around you
>You were... Not expecting that
>You don't really remember the last time you had a proper 'hug'
>If this could be called that
>"You were scared and hungry and tired, we should have been with you."
>She said, burring her head into your shoulder
>You returned the hug, wrapping an arm around both of your friends
>Even though Aria wanted to push you away at first
"If we get-"
>You stopped
>Not 'if', that wasn't the right attitude
>When
>That was what you wanted to say
"When we get home, can we be different? Can we be... Good?"
>You could feel Adagio tense her arms around you slightly at the mention of the word
>She... Didn't seem keen on the idea
>But why not?
>Like what they say; you can't beat them join them!
>And you three got beat pretty easily by the 'good' guys
>With their... Friendship and their magic
>You had friendship
>Even if it wasn't perfect
>But not the magic part any more
>Maybe when you got magic again - you could put your friendship to better use
>Aria slid under your arm
>Adagio released you from her grasp, stopping as she looked at you
>And then back at Aria
>And back to you
>"We'll see."
>That wasn't really what you wanted to hear