After the show, Hunter followed Sunset home for the night. As soon as they were inside, she told him to make himself at home while she went to change. Hunter grabbed some water from the fridge and let out a thoughtful sigh as he looked around her place.
“Hey Sunny?” He called down the hall.
“Yeah?” Her voice echoed back.
“I’ve been thinking…”
“Oh god.” Sunset said worriedly.
“Ha ha.” Hunter sat on the back of the leather couch. “Seriously though, given how crazy things are in this city, have you ever thought about putting in any security?”
“Not really.” She emerged from the hall wearing only an oversized, night shirt. “That’s true, but this has always been a quiet area.”
“It’s always quiet until it isn’t.” He quoted. “I’ve got access to all kinds of stuff, how about you let me install some security equipment?”
“Seriously?” She grabbed some orange juice and joined him.
“Yeah.”
“Where’s this coming from all the sudden?” She asked.
“What, as your boyfriend it’s my job to worry about you.” He explained. “I just think it would make things safer for you; and it would be a comfort for me during the times I have to be away.”
Sunset’s face softened. “What’s wrong, Hunter?”
He lowered his head with a laugh. “Is it that rare for me to be sincere?”
“No.” She smiled. “But when you are there’s always a very good reason.” She rested on the couch beside him. “Did something happen?”
“I… got a visit from one of my superiors the other night.” He confessed. “He’s a friend though.”
“Was it about you deciding to stay here?”
“Yeah.” He nodded. “I knew it was coming and I was prepared for that, but… he mentioned you.”
“Oh.” Sunset looked down into her drink.
“Just as many people are pissed at me as happy for me, which is fine.” He shrugged. “And I don’t expect them to ever approach you or threaten you, because they know what I’ll do to them if they do. But they are keeping an eye on you now.”
“Are you worried they’ll find out about my magic?” She asked.
“They can’t, they don’t have direct eyes on you.” He assured. “It’s the usual government surveillance, watching who you call and your online activity; don’t watch a lot of internet porn do you?” He inquired with a laugh.
“Ah… no.” Sunset chuckled.
“I think their main concern is protecting my identity and operations, it kind of is a matter of national security.” He leaned back and looked up at the ceiling. “I’m sorry, Sunny. I didn’t want that part of my life invading yours.”
Sunset smiled and rubbed his knee. “It’s okay, Hunter. To be honest, I kind of expected this.”
“I just don’t want you to be afraid.” He looked at her sullenly.
“I’m not.” She said surely. “I have you, don’t I?”
Hunter smiled in a way he rarely did; he put his arm around her and laid his head against hers. “You’re damn right you do.”
“And if all of my life is going to be part of yours then all of yours should be part of mine.” She continued. “Besides, I’m used to dealing with magic and monsters; a little government surveillance doesn’t scare me.” She ran her hand over his cheek. “But if it makes you feel better about it, we can install some protection.”
“Thanks.” He nodded. “I’ll get you set up with a VPN for your computer and your cell to protect your privacy. I can get you an alarm system with direct connection to emergency services, some exterior cameras, trip wires, anti personnel mines for your yard, bear mace…”
“Hunter.” She stopped him with a laugh. “Do everything up until tripwires.”
“You got it.” His typical smile returned. “Hey, you want a M1014 semi-automatic 12 gauge? Be it a burglar or magical monster it’s six rounds of shut the fuck up.”
Sunset leaned in and kissed him. “Let’s start with the non-lethal stuff first, okay?” She pulled him around the couch so they could relax for the night.
The weekend came and went. After school on Monday, Sunset sat in the gymnasium with Rainbow Dash, Twilight and Fluttershy. The lacrosse team was practicing in the background, their sneakers squeaking every odd second as they ran up and down the building. The large double doors cracked open and Trixie poked her torso in, she began waving at Sunset with a stressed out look on her face. Sunset waved back, motioning for her to come over. The doors parted further and Trixie was pushed aside by Adagio, her fellow sirens at her back.
“The Dazzlings?” Sunset stood from the bleachers as they started heading over, Trixie quickly exiting the scene.
“Hello, Sunset.” Adagio greeted as amicably as she could manage.
“What are you doing here?” Sunset asked.
“We’ve got a problem.” Adagio informed. “And we’re fairly certain it’s the same as yours.”
Sunset looked down at her friends. “Alright.” She turned back to Adagio. “Let’s go to the cafeteria, it’s empty right now.” She took out her phone and immediately called Hunter, knowing he would want to hear whatever they had to say. They took the Dazzlings to the cafeteria and sat in awkward silence as they awaited Hunter. Within about a half hour, the doors opened and Hunter walked in; a solid clap of his hands echoing around the empty space.
“Sorry, I would have been here quicker but as soon as I pulled into the parking lot my favorite song came on; had to listen to it.” He rounded the table and sat at the edge of the bench seat.
“Do you really think you’re as amusing as you imagine?” Adagio asked coldly.
“Good to see you too.” He folded his hands on the table. “So, what news do the psoria-sisters bring?”
“They think they ran into our bank robbers.” Sunset relayed.
“Oh?” Hunter eyed them. “Well, don’t keep us in suspense.”
“It turns out we were mistaken.” Adagio began. “There is another siren, a powerful one. She calls herself Melodiam and she came to pay us a visit after our last performance.
“I thought you said there weren’t any other sirens in Equestria.” Sunset recalled her comment from their last talk.
“She isn’t Equestrian.” Adagio answered.
“She’s from our world?” Rainbow Dash asked in shock.
“That isn’t surprising.” Hunter admitted. “What did she want with you?”
“She wanted our magic.” Aria took over. “But we told her we didn’t have it anymore, then loose lips over here told her about our shattered pendants.”
“Well, she fixed them didn’t she?” Sonata defended. “You were excited about being able to get them back.”
“Wait… she fixed them?” Sunset repeated.
“Yes.” Adagio nodded. “She used a special song to repair them and then she stole them from us. We couldn’t fight back because of Cobalt.”
“Who?” Sunset asked.
“He’s a human that we… crossed paths with before.” She said simply. “Somehow he got a hold of a magical artifact that allows him to summon golems from the earth around him.”
“Did you recognize the artifact?” Fluttershy queried.
“No, it's nothing I’ve seen before.” Adagio admitted.
“I’ll ask Princess Twilight.” Sunset noted. “What did it look like?”
“It was brown with emerald studs.” Sonata informed. “It also had decorative carvings around the outside.”
“What about the siren?” Hunter took over as he pulled a note pad from his pocket. "What did she look like?”
“Well, in human terms she appeared to be in her late thirties or early forties.” Adagio described. “Long blonde hair with a white streak down the right side. Purple eyes, fair skinned, pronounced nose and she was wearing a white sweater.”
“Her nails were painted too.” Aria added. “Same shade as her eyes.”
“Right.” Hunter nodded. “What about Cobalt? You said you knew him, what’s his last name.”
“I don’t remember.” Adagio confessed.
“Do you know why he’s working with this Melodiam?” Twilight asked.
“He wants us.” Sonata explained. “Because of what…”
“That isn’t important.” Adagio silenced her. “All that’s important is that he is helping her and they both need to be stopped.”
“What exactly is she trying to do?” Fluttershy inquired. “Why did she want your magic?”
“It has something to do with a song.” Adagio continued. “She told us there were seven siren songs, the names were is some human language I don’t recognize. But then she said there was an eighth song that no one siren could sing; but with our stolen magic she could.” She worked the recall the incident. “She said it was called… Mortem.”
“Mortem?” Hunter repeated. “That’s Latin.”
“You know what it means?” Aria asked.
“It means death.” Twilight said shallowly.
“A song of death?” Rainbow Dash looked to her friends. “That sounds pretty bad.”
“Can you stop them?” Sonata looked over them. “We can’t do this alone.”
“Sounds like we need to.” Hunter put his note pad back in his pocket. “Fast.”
“Where do we start?” Sunset turned to him.
“I’ll run her description through a government database to see if I can I.D. her, since she’s a siren I’ll check if anyone at my agency has heard of her.” He stroked his chin. “I’ll need a description of Cobalt too, I’ll track down his public records and see if I can find out anything.”
“I’ll give Twilight the description of the artifact.” Sunset offered. “She should be able to tell us what it is.”
“What about us?” Aria gestured to Adagio and Sonata. “We’ve kept on the move, but we know that Cobalt is after us.”
“I’ll get you somewhere safe.” Hunter promised.
“You will?” Sonata asked.
“Yeah.” He stood. “In fact, let’s get that taken care of right now.”
“Okay, we’ll get on the move too.” Rainbow Dash got up. “Fluttershy and I will contact Applejack, Pinkie and Rarity to fill them in.”
“What can I do?” Twilight asked.
“Just sit tight for now.” Sunset laid her hand to Twilight’s shoulder. “We need to get information before we start making moves.”
“God you're sexy when you talk strategic.” Hunter smiled. “I’ll be in touch after I get them set up.”
“Right.” Sunset kissed him. “Talk to you soon.”
“Ladies.” Hunter walked around the table. “If you’ll come with me.”
“Alright.” Adagio nodded, leading her siren sisters as they followed him from the school.
Hunter had them follow him to a quiet industrial parking lot where they could leave their travel bus. Packing light and changing into hoodies to hide their identities, they piled into Hunter’s car and he took them downtown to the Gala Hotel. Ordering them a suite with two king beds, they went up to the fifth floor to get settled in.
“I’m calling the left bed.” Aria noted as soon as they entered.
Adagio sat in one of the deep chairs and crossed her legs. “So, what now?”
“For now, you three need to stay here and lay low.” Hunter instructed. “The tab on the room is open, so get whatever you need or want through room service. You’re still a popular group, so if people find out you’re here then Cobalt won’t be far behind.”
“Fine.” Adagio nodded.
Sonata saw that Adagio and Aria were still unwilling to show any real appreciation for what was being done. “Thank you.” She smiled at Hunter.
“No problem.” He grabbed her shoulder. “Just keep quiet and you’ll be safe. In the meantime, I’m going to see what I can dig up. Once we have more information, I’ll be back to fill you in.”
“Okay.” Sonata nodded.
“Now, tell me what you can about Cobalt.” He removed his note book again.
Sonata described him to Hunter but he could tell that there was something they were keeping from him by the way Adagio avoided any inquiry into what happened between them. Knowing it wasn’t prudent to argue about it now, he took what information they gave and returned to his apartment. After checking in with Sunset, he committed himself to research on their enemies for the remainder of the evening. Working through the night, he called her again in the morning to let her know that he was going to talk with the Dazzlings again about what he learned. She asked to come with so he got in a few hours of sleep before picking her up from school. They returned to the hotel and headed up to their room, Hunter knocked on the door and let them know who it was.
“Hey.” Sonata greeted as she opened the door.
“Everything been quiet?” Hunter asked as they entered.
“Yeah.” She answered. “We were just eating lunch.”
“Ooh, anything good?” He followed her into the main room, Adagio and Aria were plated up on the bed with quite a spread.
“Making the most of this I see.” Sunset eyed the expensive looking platters.
“Your human said we could have whatever we wanted.” Aria noted.
“His name is Hunter.” Sunset narrowed her eyes.
“It’s fine.” Hunter pulled a chair out and sat backwards on it. “But why don’t we take a minute to talk about your human?” His words made them stop eating.
“What about him?” Adagio asked.
“What the hell did you do to this guy?” Hunter asked in return.
“What do you mean?” Sunset looked between him and Adagio.
“Cobalt Streak.” Hunter began. “Age twenty five; went to Griffonstone High and was a prominent member of the track team. A missing person’s report was filed on him during his senior year, he just up and vanished with no word to his friends or family. Written statements from his friends noted he was last seen with a girl who they had claimed he was dating but had no affiliation with the school. Police attempts to find this mystery girl turned up empty and after two weeks the case was dropped and his family were told to assume that he was dead. He was officially buried three days later.” Hunter looked across the three of them. “Low and behold though, he wasn’t dead. Fifteen months later he wandered into a police station with only staggered memories of what had transpired during his disappearance. He was treated and released, family notified and was reinstated as a living citizen. After that his life fell apart; he started demonstrating extreme violent tendencies, especially towards women, and was in and out of jail several times. Upon his last noted release he disappeared from his hometown and took his anger on the road, stalking you three I imagine.” He glanced up at Sunset. “This is a kicker, from what I can gather he’s been in Canterlot for a while now.”
“How can you tell?” Sunset asked.
“Speeding ticket.” He explained. “Red light camera got a photo of him running a light with an older blonde in the passenger seat that matches Melodiam’s description. The ticket was issued over a year ago. Which brings us to his mysterious new power.”
“I haven’t heard back from Twilight yet.” Sunset noted. “Did you find something on that armlet?”
“You remember the magic shop the álííl ayą́ attacked?” He asked. “I said they got a shipment in that drew it there.”
“The missing Equestrian artifact.” Sunset finished.
“Yep.” He nodded. “I got to thinking about it as everything started to come together, I went back through his acquisition records and found an item that matched the description. Cobalt must have bought it right before the shop got attacked, I can’t say why or if he even knew what it was at first.” Hunter sat upright as he concluded his recap. “That's all the information I could find.” He looked to the Dazzlings. “So, how about you fill in some of the blanks?”
Sunset watched their reaction to his question, Sonata’s face grew deeply troubled and Aria merely looked away from them. “Adagio… we can’t help unless we know what’s going on.”
“Fine.” Adagio toned sharply. “I was the one he was ‘dating’ at the time. He had caught my eye as a decent specimen for a human and we were struggling at the time. I thought that having a human under our control would be to our benefit so we took him with us while we traveled.” Even Adagio’s face belied a shame at what they had done. “Our contempt for this world had reached an all time high with the ceaseless troubles we had just trying to get by and it… it just felt satisfying to take it out on him.”
“He was basically your slave.” Sunset said in disgust.
“It was years ago.” Sonata spoke up. “We aren’t like that anymore; I… tried to tell him that, but all he wants is revenge.”
“To be honest, I don’t blame him.” Hunter confessed.
“We reached a point where we started to find ourselves better off.” Adagio continued. “He was more of a burden by then, so we released him.”
They sat silent for a long minute until Aria had enough of the quiet. “Well?” She looked at Hunter. “Go on, tell us we deserve whatever horrible things he wants to do to us. That’s what you’re thinking.”
“That’s not what I’m thinking.” Hunter shook his head. “Look, I’m not excusing what you did; you destroyed Cobalt’s life. But revenge isn’t justice and at this point, he’s more dangerous and unstable than you three ever were.” He sighed. “I always try to do what’s right but at the end of the day I’m not a cop; my job isn’t to uphold the law, it’s to stop dangerous threats to the general public.” He stood from the chair. “You said you aren’t like that anymore and honestly, I believe you. You can act as bitchy and cold as you want, but I know a monster when I see one… and you aren’t monsters, at least not anymore.”
“I agree.” Sunset came in. “When you three lost your magic you had no choice but to live as humans and as much as you hate it I think it’s helped you empathize with them. You’re doing really well now, you’re successful musicians and those humans you claim to hate so much look up to you and idolize you.” She thought back. “You don’t remember this, but we spoke at the Starswirled Music Festival; you told me you paid the price for what you did at Canterlot High. That in moving forward you get a do-over with every new day, it’s called living life.” Sunset smiled at her. “You’re not the same as you were when we first met and you deserve to be able to keep moving forward.”
Adagio looked at her in surprise. “I… said that?”
“You did.” She nodded.
“Sunny and I are no strangers to having fucked up pasts.” Hunter stepped in. “I don’t deal in what was, I deal in what is; and right now the clear and present danger is the homicidal earth bender and his ancient waifu.”
“Did you learn anything about Melodiam?” Sunset asked.
“No, she’s a complete unknown.” Hunter admitted. “Not even my department has ever heard of her. My guess is she’s a hold over from ancient times, stories about sirens in this world have been around since 750BC. She’s been sitting on her ass for a long time now but it looks like she’s ready to make her move.” He shrugged.
“Can you really stop them?” Sonata asked rather meekly. “You should have seen Cobalt's eyes, it honestly scared me when I looked into them.”
“Don’t worry.” Hunter gave her a reassuring smile. “I’m pretty good at this; I won’t let him hurt any of you, I promise.”
Adagio and Aria didn’t fully know how to respond to the care and kindness they were being shown. Sonata took Hunter’s wrists and smiled at Sunset. “You’ve got a really good human.”
Sunset eyed Hunter with a proud smile. “Yeah, I do.”