Aria felt a weight on her chest. “Wha…?” she mumbled, before letting out an enraged shriek.
Fissure yawned loudly, adjusting her grip to Aria’s torso. “Why are you yelling?” she muttered.
“Get off!”
Fissure leapt up and ran towards her own corner, eyes wide with fear. “Sorry,” she whispered. “You were muttering in your sleep and thought you needed some comfort.”
“If you ever touch me like that, in my sleep nonetheless, I’ll make sure you never have the means to touch anything else ever again!”
“Can you calm down?” Summer spoke up, rolling over to stare at the girls. “Fissure isn’t that great with personal space, and your whimpering was annoying everyone.”
“What time is it?” Aria asked, looking around for a clock. There wasn’t one, of course, since standard pieces of useful technology were clearly forbidden here.
“Look out the window.” Summer rolled over and went back to sleep.
Aria sighed and stood up. Her dress was all bunched up at the hips, and she felt a crust of drool on her chin. She hadn’t seen any windows in this house when she came in. Her mouth felt dry; she needed a glass of water.
As her eyes adjusted to the darkness, Aria tiptoed to the kitchen. The neon blue clock on the oven told her it was currently 09:39, which was obviously wrong. She hunted for a clean glass, and was more or less successful – as long as she didn’t put her mouth near the strange lip imprint. As she gulped down lukewarm tap water, she walked towards the front door. Opening it revealed the first few signs of dawn. The sky was still dim, and she could make out a few stars here and there, but the edge of the horizon was turning red, signalling the rising sun.
Grrrrrrr.
Aria placed a hand on her stomach. “Soon,” she mouthed. She’d get some grub in a while. After all, breakfast was the most important meal of the day. Surely her roommates would agree and then the leaders would go shopping and get some, like, chips or something.
She sat on the sagging couch to the side of the dining room and waited for the rest of her world to wake up. She heard someone shuffling to the bathroom, and the sound of running water. Hushed murmurs ensued, and the twins stepped out of their room.
“Good morning,” chirped Venus, rushing over to give Aria a quick peck on the cheek. “My brother and I could barely sleep from excitement!”
“Hmm? Oh, yeah, the lessons…”
“You don’t seem to be so confident,” Mercury observed.
“I’m just really hungry. Like, what do you do for meals here?”
“Well, we don’t usually eat breakfast. Or lunch. My brother and I, we’re trying to watch our figures.” Venus giggled. “Also, a spell we’re working on forbids any consumption.”
“But the others still eat every day,” Mercury said. “Sometimes they’ll beg, or other times, they scrounge in the dumpsters nearby.”
“But we usually steal.” Summer appeared before them, scratching her scalp. “We stop by the corner shops and pinch a bag of peanuts, some gum, whatever we can get. Fissure doesn’t risk it, so Dusky and I are the main providers. You a filcher?”
Aria shook her head. “I might have stolen once or twice when my sisters and I were tight on money, but Adagio always made sure that we never wanted too badly.” Her stomach growled once more. “But I’m willing to try anything to get something right now.”
“It’s too early for that,” Summer noted. “We’ll have to wait for the mid-morning rush hour.”
“In the meantime, perhaps we can show you around,” offered Mercury.
“Venus already gave me a great tour, thanks.”
“No, not of the house. Of what we do. Wait here.” He walked off to his room, and came back with an armful of papers, folders, and scrolls. “This is what we’ve collected so far,” he explained. “We might have...borrowed a few pages from various locations, but I have a gut feeling that everything written on these papers is real. I would like some confirmation though. Could you read these with me and see if I’m right?”
Aria plucked a loose page and inspected it. It was filled to the brim with strange symbols; Aria spotted a crying eye and a mass of shoddily drawn birds. Words like “augury” and “eating patterns of chickens” jumped out at her. “Wow,” she said, leafing through the other similar pages. “These look legit. I mean, the only magic I’ve really been exposed to is...Siren magic, and Equestrian magic.”
“Equestrian magic?” Mercury asked. “I don’t believe I’ve heard of that. Do elaborate.”
“Well, as you probably know, I’m not a...regular mortal.” She took a deep breath. “I’m a Siren.”
Mercury stared at her. “Well, that’s cool. And obvious. Music spell-casting, your beauty, mind control...I’m ashamed I didn’t recognize the signs sooner.”
“Yeah, well, I obviously don’t look like one since my magic reserves are a bit empty, and showing my true form is a huge pain, but I am. Equestria is this other dimension. My sisters and I were born there, and we...did some things that got us banished for all eternity. We ended up here.”
“Interesting,” Mercury mused. “Tell me more about your magic. The Siren’s magic.”
“My voice is my primary weapon. We had these pendants…” Fluttering fingers once more touched the base of her throat. “Like yours. They would absorb the negative energy we bring out with our voices. The energy served as our food, but it’s usually never enough. I have to ‘feed’ at least once every two days, but I can sustain my strength on physical food. Which is why I really need a fucking burger right now or something.”
“So how did you absorb magic with that pendant?”
“I don’t know.”
“You were being booed off the stage when your singing was going downhill, and then something seemed to snap. What was it?”
“I was angry? Hurt?” Aria waved her arms in the air, trying to her best to describe the slew of emotions she had encountered that night. “Everyone was expecting the queen herself, but they got me instead. And I was already worn out from that awful fight…”
“What fight?”
“Um...see, a few nights ago...you know Canterlot High? Yeah, these six girls...kinda powerful. They defeated the demon there. There was a battle...and...my sisters and I lost. Badly. I might have lost that special Siren touch, but I don’t know if I got it back.”
Mercury nodded, pursing his lips. She hadn’t noticed him taking notes on a plain piece of paper. “I see. And, you haven’t been able to tap into this magic until you were overcome with such emotion?”
Aria shrugged. “I only tried recently. I have no idea if I can do it again, especially without my pendant.”
“Intense...emotions…” he murmured, noting it down. “So, say that you were overwhelmed with negative emotions right now. Would you be able to cast a spell on me?”
Aria shrugged once more. All the questions were making it sound like an interview and she was super hungry. “I don’t know, dude. Haven’t you been listening?”
“What about positive emotions?”
“I don’t know,” she snapped, standing up. “I need a break from this. I need some food!” she shouted, stalking off to the bathroom.
She splashed some cold water on her face. Her eyes were bloodshot and puffy, her lips were cracked, and her hair was a mess of tangles. Plus, she smelled.
“Wonderful. Hey, Summer?” she called out. “Um, you know how you told me everyone shares everything here?”
“Yes?” Summer replied, poking her head out of their room.
“Got any clothes that fit me?”
Summer hummed, and turned to search through the drawers. “Here,” she said, shoving a bundle of clothes towards Aria. “These should fit you.”
Aria shook the clothes out and inspected them with a close eye. It was a shirt and short combination; the top was a flimsy white strappy thing, and the shorts were black denim. They seemed clean. She sniffed them. Cigarette smoke. “I’m taking a shower,” she notified anyone who was listening.
She felt calmer and cleaner after a few minutes of watery solitude. She wrung her hair out and brushed it with her fingers, wishing for a bottle of detangling mousse. The clothes did fit her, and nicely too. She had to squirm back into her old underwear, though, but besides that, she felt like a new girl.
“So, is it gonna be brunch? ‘Cuz I think we missed the breakfast train.” Aria sat down on the couch, looking at everyone’s face in succession.
“Yeah, I’m feeling peckish,” Dusky commented. “Where should we pay a visit?”
“I’ve seen that restaurant four blocks from here, um, Aunt Josie’s, throwing out some perfectly good buns and sausages,” Summer responded. “Bet their mornings are full of people biting off more than they can chew.”
“Alright, Summer and Aria, you two go there,” Venus ordered. “Dusky, Fissure, we have some materials that we need you to gather. Sadly, these need to be bought. Here’s a list…”
“Stick with me, kid,” Summer said. She gestured to Aria to follow her and they both exited the house.
The street they were on was lined with similar looking buildings, along with a few corner shops.
“This way.”
Aria followed the taller girl, taking two steps for every one Summer took.
“So how’d you get mixed with the twins?” Aria asked.
“I’ve always been fascinated by alchemy. I got fired from my last job as a line cook because I was ‘contaminating’ the dishes. All I did was add a few extra herbs. I guess I should have realized a plant called snakeshead was poisonous, but, whatever. Anyways, I made my money selling little bags of ‘summer spice’, as I like to call them. Got people real high, but was just a mix of some special berries and whatnot. They found me, said my craft was magic, and now I can experiment all I want with the fancy shit they give me.”
“Cool.”
They walked towards the restaurant in a comfortable silence.
“Alright, so, just walk up the alley and wait for a bit. Get people to look at you, see you’re not a threat, and move on. Wait until we’re invisible, then I’ll search the dumpster while you keep an ear at that door. If anyone comes out and sees us, they’ll run us out. Dumpster diving isn’t illegal here, but no one wants to have their trash messed with, for some reason. Ready?”
Aria casually stood by the door, pretending she was waiting for a friend to come by. Summer carefully lifted the dumpster lid, and began rooting inside.
“Gross, gross, ooh, that looks good! Take that, and that...that’s...mmm...Aria, come take this.”
Aria scampered over and scrunched her nose up as the smell of garbage hit her. “Eugh, hurry up!”
Summer chuckled and handed her a plastic bag, now stuffed with cold sausages, damp waffles, and an assortment of other breakfast foods. “Score,” she whispered. “Now let’s get the heck outta here.”
They made their way back home in no time, stomachs aching at the prospect of finally being filled. Aria pushed the front door open and ran towards the kitchen, flinging their ‘groceries’ into the various pans and sticking them in the oven and microwave.
“Soup’s on!” Summer laughed, setting the table with cracked plates.
The rest of the gang wandered in, noses twitching, plastic bags in their hands.
“Smells good,” Dusky said, handing Fissure the rest of his bags and sitting down at the table. “Thanks for bringing us some food.”
Fissure nodded energetically and smiled at Aria. “I love consuming,” she murmured, gazing at the food being placed on the table.
With feverish excitement, everyone began piling their plates high.
“I cannot express to you guys how hungry I was,” Aria moaned, mouth full of warm food. She didn’t even care that everything she was putting in her mouth was found in a dumpster, she was just thankful that she was consuming something.
“Yeah, don’t get used to it,” Summer muttered, glancing at the twins; they hadn’t joined the others at the table, but were instead huddled together on the couch. “We’re only allowed to leave when they let us, and their priorities aren’t always their club members.”
Fissure and Dusky both coughed at the same time, as if they were trying to mask Summer’s voice.
“Shut up, Summer,” Dusky hissed.
“Aria? Ah, glad to see you eating so well.” Mercury suddenly appeared before them, placing a hand on Aria’s shoulder. “Why don’t you come to us after you finish, hmm? We’re eager to start our lessons.”
Aria smiled, waffle stuck to her teeth. “‘Kay,” she mumbled.
She slowed down, trying to make every bite she took take longer than it should. She could feel Mercury’s eyes boring into her from where he sat, but she kept her own eyes on her food. She finally cleared her plate, and pushed it away from her.
“Aria.”
The Siren stood up and walked towards the twins. “You called?”
“Let’s not waste any more time!” Venus said, clapping her hands excitedly. “So, Mercury and I have been reviewing what you told us earlier, and we want to try a few things with you. Dusky, Fissure, Summer? If you could all gather around us as well, please.”
The three other humans sat down on the floor, cross legged and curious.
“Aria, if you could stand between us? Facing them? Thank you,” Venus continued. “Please, sing for us.”
Aria coughed. “Well, okay, here’s a song I know...we never got to sing it:
“Bright lights shining down,
Eyes upon the stage.
Ready for my crown,
Enter the golden age…”
She heard someone snicker.
“Shut up!” she snapped, glaring at the trio beneath her.
“No, no, Aria, you’re doing so well!” Venus gushed. “You’ve got such a beautiful voice, don’t stop!”
“The time has to accept my rule,
I won’t be overthrown.
My heart can be both kind and cruel,
My necklace pearls and bone.”
Aria cringed when she heard her voice. It was squeaky and weak, not at all the strong and seductive tone she had used at the club. She stopped, biting her lip and digging her nails into her palms. “I can’t,” she whispered. “I can’t sing, I can’t just...do magic anymore. It’s not the same without my pendant.”
“But you did it last time without your pendant,” Mercury pointed out. “So why can’t you do it now?”
Aria shrugged. “I’m sorry…”
“You should be. You’ve been wasting our time here,” Mercury said, his voice taking a dark turn. “You’re just a worthless, good for nothing waste of space. It’s no wonder your sisters left you to walk away. You’ve only been with us for two days and we’re already sick of you. Imagine how your sisters felt after all those years.”
“What? How dare you speak to me that way!” Aria cried, curling her fingers into fists. “I have the ability to kill you where you stand!”
Venus burst into laughter. “Oh, Aria, didn’t you hear yourself? You’re an awful singer, are you really even a Siren? You’re useless, pathetic! Maybe you should kill yourself right now and spare the rest of the world the chance to hear that mewling you call ‘singing’!”
“Shut up, shut up!” Aria knew what was going on. They were purposely goading her into feeling anger and sadness, therefore tapping into her powers. Damn it, she knew it was happening, and she was still falling for it. “You don’t know, you don’t know what it’s like to be me! To be shunned by your family! To be lost!”
“They hated you, you know. Your sisters? I bet they dreamed about slitting your throat in your sleep, or maybe one day, they would just leave you alone in that shitty apartment, leaving you behind some pills or a noose, so that they wouldn’t get their hands dirty,” Mercury purred, dragging his fingers on Aria’s bare arm.
“You struggled for money, didn’t you? You could have sold yourself on the streets, that’s all you’re good for,” Venus added.
Aria let out a scream, stamping her foot on the ground. Her eyes burned with unshed tears, and she snapped. She couldn’t take it anymore, couldn’t bear to hear those words. She opened her mouth and sang, feeling the magic inside of her boiling and churning, aching to be let out upon her enemies. Her voice was dark and rough, and she sang in a strange language. She kept her furious stare on the twins, hoping to ensnare them.
“You little fucker, you’re going to pay for all those times you stole my shit!”
Aria turned around to find her roommates brawling. Fissure was lying down, eyes rolling back into her head as blood dripped from her broken nose. Summer and Dusky were tangled up, kicking and screaming obscenities. Dusky grabbed hold of Summer’s hair and pulled out a sizable clump, causing Summer to shriek and dig her sharp nails into his cheek. Green mist poured from their bodies, and swam towards Aria’s throat. She could taste the negativity - strong and sour. She used to like that. Now, she wanted to throw up.
“Stop! Stop!” Aria cried, trying to drag the two apart. They didn’t listen. “Venus, Mercury!” She glanced at the twins, and gasped.
They were smiling. Smiling, like the sadistic beings they were. They didn’t care that their members were about to kill one another. They just wanted to know what triggered the magic inside of Aria.
And now they knew.
“Excellent work, Aria,” Mercury murmured. “You’ve been so good today...How about you join me tonight?”
Aria shook her head slowly, and got up from the floor. “No...no,” she choked. “I’m…”
She rushed to the door and stepped out, taking a deep breath. Then, she ran.
She ran, and didn’t stop until her lungs screamed for a break. With shaking legs, she wandered to a grassy patch and sat down. She put her face in her hands and wept. She wept for Fissure’s nose, for Summer’s hair, for the new scars on Dusky’s face. She wept for the club goers who didn’t understand why there was blood everywhere, who only wanted to see Adagio perform. She wept for her sisters, and how awful she treated them.
She wept for herself, cursing her selfish ways for putting her in the mess she was in.
“I’m sorry,” she whispered, nose and mouth dribbling.
She heard rustling.
Her eyes shot up to the bushes next to her. Out of the leaves, a petal pink nose appeared, followed by the tiny head of a kitten.
“Oh, just you,” Aria mumbled.
The kitten gazed at her with yellow eyes. It opened its mouth and let out a tiny mew. With cautious steps, it padded towards her and nuzzled her knee.
“Aw, baby,” Aria cooed, reaching down to scratch at the kitten’s ears.
It purred in response, and snuggled deeper into Aria’s skin as she lifted it and placed it on her lap.
“Little baby, little baby,” she said, petting the soft fur. “Dear little kitten, you’re so sweet, dear little kitten, with your little nose and feet,” she began to sing. “Dear little kitten, I love you so much, dear little kitten- Hey!”
The kitten snarled and swiped at her hand, claws digging into her skin.
She pushed it off her lap, but the kitten just came back, lips drawn back in a vicious smile. She grabbed it by the scruff of the neck and pushed it to the ground, trying to control its flailing limbs.
“Stop, you bitch,” Aria pleaded, pressing down harder and harder as the kitten struggled beneath her palms. It began screeching and yowling, so Aria placed a hand on its face in an attempt to get the kitten to calm down.
Eventually, it stopped.
“Now that you’ve calmed down...oh.”
Aria stared at the lifeless cat in front of her.
She tasted something sour in her mouth.