Three weeks after the events of Rainbow Rocks, the sirens are desperate. Without their hearts—the jewels that hold their magic—they have no power. They can't sing, can't manipulate people, and worst of all, can't feed. Their only hope is to restore their hearts, and they need to do it soon, before all three of them starve.
The problem is, they're not sure how to fix the hearts. All they've managed to figure out is that they'll need magic to do it, and magic is exactly what they don't have. Scared, starving, and completely out of options, the sirens turn to the last people who would ever want to help them, and the only ones who actually can: the Rainbooms.
Chapters (19)
I understand Rainbow's reasons for wanting out. Even though I would help them, I'm glad she stood by her opinions. That doesn't happen to often, usually she just caves in when her friends all want something else.
Rainbow will come around. Just sic Sonata and Pinkie on her.
I like this. This is very well-written and I'm going to follow it.
5242028 Thanks! I appreciate the support!
5241775 I noticed something in Rainbow Rocks. The human characters, while very similar to their Equestrian counterparts, are distinctly different. Rainbow Dash in particular seems like the old Season 1 Rainbow Dash at her worst, back before she'd learned anything about humility or compromise. What does this mean for her friends and the sirens? Well, we'll just have to wait and see
I'm kinda with Dash on this one. Fixing the jewels would enable the sirens to once again feed off of negative energy, which is exactly what they'd do. What else? That's how they eat. They feed off of the suffering and bickering of others. They ask for help, yet they're being... subtly undermining and... evil. I love evil.
5242042 Yeah, they're different because they don't have Twilight or magical pony elements. How will they develop? Who knows?
5242117
I believe Rainbow´s reaction is simply... human: considering the Sirens are a race of emotional vampires like the changeling, who see others like you as foodstock and potential slaves, would you allow them to live, risking other becoming their prey?
heheheh. I'd help Sonata buck the other two Sirens. Sonata is mine~ but, you, my dear author...
You have my attention. can you keep hold of it?
I am myself and as my OC would not help the Dazzlings they are a bunch of hate eating brats, that if you helpnthem they will be put up to their old trick again
I can see Rainbow's perspective. The Rainbooms are being remarkably eager to help when the Dazzlings are being equally remarkably blasé about their intentions. Sonata is perhaps being a little more sincere. Being dead is easy. Dying is hard.
Interesting moral quandary here. I think at the end of the movie, Twilight said that she can open the portal whenever she wants, and Sunset can contact her through the book. Is there any reason Sunset shouldn't just have Twilight open up the portal and dump the Dazzlings through for Equestria to deal with? Especially since they are only here on this world because Starswirl was an irresponsible ass who dumped Equestrian problems on a world not really equipped to handle it?
I would totally help them. How can you say no to this face?
31.media.tumblr.com/3e8b114d94c73f41b9a43a84db651ee2/tumblr_nd8xebqYqW1tnjg9mo1_500.gif
5246139 Like so:
"No."
Interesting story, and I rather like Rainbow's refusal to help them. It makes actual, logical sense considering everything they've done, as well as their total lack of remorse for their actions. None of them seem to be sorry for what they did, and even Sonata is just hungry and desperate.
This could be fun.
Interesting... Tell me more.
Such good writing...
*secretly starts shipping Fluttercord* I'm sorry! Old habits die hard!
Oh man this is interesting...so far, you are holding my attention...
Now I feel REALLY bad for those three. AND I'm worried about Aria.....continue, please! You have my full support!
5242117
I think that this could end up like this fan fic
where Sombra finds that he can feed on the hatred, fear etc. of others, not affect them negatively, and actually help them by making them brave in the face of their fears and stuff.
Time to call up Twilight and get her to send pony rainbow dash to lend a hoof.
What if there is nothing they can do, and they die? What about going back to Equestria?
I bet Pinkie is banned from Science Class due to her breaking the laws of laws of physics.
5254384 Are you kidding? She's Mr. Discord's top student!
Not badly written but the plot feels weak. Maybe it's just me, but I feel that this could have been written better in terms of plot. Sunset's acceptance was too quick from 'You guys are evil!' to 'You guys need help!'
That's just how I see it
Okay, here's the thing. Ever heard the proverb of the frog and the scorpion? The scorpion promises the frog that it won't sting him if he takes it across the river. Half-way across the river, the scorpion stings the frog and, as they both sink to their doom apologises saying: "What did you expect? I'm a scorpion!" The Sirens are likely to betray our heroes simply because it is in their nature to provoke and seek negative emotional energy. It is how they survive; they are predators and intelligent life-forms are their prey! They are no more 'evil' than any other predator but that doesn't mean they are able to stop following their instinctive drive to seek food!
From a cold, ruthless and evolutionary standpoint, the Six should just offer them painless euthanasia as the only alternative to death by starvation that they're going to get. However, Aria is right to say they don't have the necessary level of callous cruelty. Killing a predator that's an animal is one thing. Killing one that is also a sentient life-form is a lot more difficult. It becomes a difficult and near-unnavigable moral quandary. Kill the Sirens now (one way or another, passive or active) or let them destroy innumerable lives as they feed?
Maybe they can find a middle road that sets the Sirens free from their malign nature but they must be ready for the moral consequences if they cannot.
Here's the likely problem: The Rainbooms' magic is the Magic of Harmony. It is positive and healing in all its ways. The Siren's magic is the Magic of Chaos - dark, destructive and discordant. One cannot heal the other, only destroy it.
The presence of the God of Chaos at CHS made a sliver of ice slide down my back. Assuming this isn't the Equestrian Discord, there is no reason to assume he is a benevolent character. He is more likely to offer to save the Sirens on the terms that they become his minions or worse.
The pacing was pretty fast. There was too much dialogue and not enough narration. Story was still decent enough.
It's an interesting idea, for sure. But I feel like you're moving along too quickly. There's an awful lot of dialogue, but not nearly enough narration.
5254241
I don't think that would be a good idea, those jewels were part of their bodies, just imagine transforming back and then having a huge hole on your chest.... I think that would be bad for your healt
5255906
Good points. The only alternative to your options of starvation/death, transmutation into something else, or their old tricks I can think of would be to find a replacement food supply-- like animal negative emotions if those work (they might not). As they're living in a human city, there's a limited amount of nonhuman sources of emotion for them to feed on, but they might be able to make it work with regular trips to a zoo or farm, it depends on all kinds of factors like if the intelligence or size of the creature counts and if the girls could stand to see animals fighting each-other to keep the Sirens alive. The only reason I think it might possible at all is because I could easily see the Dazzlings never bothering to try it when they had their powers, as humans were available and plentiful.
Pacing still felt a bit fast, but it's an improvement over the past chapters.
*Clap* - *Clap* - *Clap*
Well damn. That was just awesome. There is no better way to describe what Adagio just did. That was spectacular.
Has it been addressed in this fic that the Dazzlings had no choice to be who they are now, and they aren't evil, they just do this to survive?
Liked Pinkie's Mission Impossible reference at the beginning.
Nice move by Adagio
You need to be consistent with dialect. If you want Applejack's accent to show in dialogue, you need to use the "Ah"s consistently; otherwise, just use "I". Don't use both for her.
Rainbow Dash makes a good point here. The Sirens don't exactly seem repentant. Just desperate.
Nitpick here:
Cadance was NOT around at the time of the Sirens. Hell, even Tirek being aware of her was a plothole. She's supposed to be around the same age as Shining Armor.
(Granted, there's a lot of conflicting and contradictory canon surrounding Cadance, her age, and when she became an alicorn.)
Adagio certainly has a talent for confronting people with the consequences of their choices, don't they? The point is, of course, that it still doesn't matter. Whether or not Rainbow has the strength to do it, the Sirens are predators and humans (and ponies) are their prey. Is there any reason, any reason at all, to believe that they will change?
How would the Sirens know about Cadance? She hadn't been born when they were banished from Equestria!
Okay, aside from that nitpick, this chapter is AMAZING.
5269649 Like MythrilMoth pointed out below, there are major contradictions surrounding Cadence's origins and when she ascended. If the comics are to be believed, she went to school with Shining Armor. If that's the case, though, how did Tirek (who'd been in Tartarus for a thousand years) know that there was a third princess?
If Tirek somehow knew about her, it's not unreasonable to think that the sirens could as well.
5269543
I disagree. Overusing eye-dialect quickly becomes distracting, and if it's done too egregiously it can make things difficult to read. I've always found that it's better to use just enough to give a sense of the accent, but stick to proper English as much as possible.
Adagio.. you clever sneak..
5269698 It isn't a matter of debate. Writers must be consistent. Use one or the other. Not both.
That chapter (3) was so sad! It's really good, too!
Good chapter :) even if a little dark in some parts ^^
still good overall can't wait for the next one :)
Awesome, looks like that portal will be opening up soon, I hope Princess Twilight and the other are ready to take them in, since the Dazzlings are clearly an Equestrian responsibility, and in Equestria they could presumably be leashed with powerful magic while still being restored enough to be kept alive.
“Do you mind? That’s my heart you’re licking!”
Loving this story so far!
Also, extremely clever that you made Discord a science teacher whose fascinated with the "chaos" theory.
Hugs really are magical! XD
Knife scene was rather dark, though it was a good motivation for Rainbow to wanna help I guess.
The suspense is eating away at me! Wanna know what happens next
Obviously, the Dazzlings are planning something, but I can't tell; is Sonata in on what Adagio is up to, or is she in the dark like everybody else?
5281397 I bet in the dark.