The Siren's Remorse

by TheronSniper

Ch. 14 Turning Point

Ch. 14 Turning Point

“Alright, well that was technically a bust. But I can understand the secrecy. Though I’m very surprised the Princesses didn’t trust me with the knowledge of those Shadow Agents. Then again, I have technically free reign in the most classified archives in all of Equestria.” Twilight said to herself as she trotted away from Stellar’s office into the winding passageways of the Royal Palace.

Defeated in the attempt to promote Thestral culture to Equestria at large, Sparkle took solace in the intimate knowledge she at least earned for her reference. Perhaps years from now she’d be allowed to write the books she wanted to once the world became safer. She could travel to schools and universities to dispel the natural rumors of fearful ponies. Lead field trips to their village hidden in the mountain caverns, and teach growing foals of both tribes of one another. Fostering friendship bonds that would span generations, but these would be goals for another time.

She still had a couple more hours before she could expect the Adepts, and she wouldn’t have access to the Black Tape Archives just yet. She remembered Celestia asking her to not forget about her friends back in ponyville just before the their meeting ended. She mentally slapped herself for not sending a letter or two to Spike for the girls. They must be worried about her since she last saw them after the trip to get her crown back. She left so fast she wasn’t able to be sent off properly. Pinkie is probably awaiting her return with some big party no doubt.

She smiled to herself knowing a good letter was long overdue that she could kill some time with as well. There was so much she hadn’t told the others about, the friends she made, human culture, the amazing world of machines, technology, and the sirens she fought with Sunset Shimmer and crew. Dash would love to hear about her other self and the part she played. Rarity and Applejack would have a fit to hear how they came under the spell of the siren song and bickered like they did at her first ever slumber party.

“I may not be able to tell them about all the other stuff or what I’m up to, but at least it’ll be fun to tell them about the Battle of the Bands.” She said out loud as she strolled through the halls.

“What was the Battle of the Bands?” a deep masculine voice filled the passageway connecting to the left.

Immediately, Steel Vigil rounded the corner garbed in his familiar armor as if he’d never gotten off guard duty. His sudden appearance from the left connecting corridor had her stop in stride, but her initial surprise turned into a friendly hello.

“Commander Vigil, I was expecting you to be asleep by now?” her question was answered by a grin, “Oh… I was talking to myself again, well it happened on the other side of the crystal mirror. Just saving a world from being dominated by dangerous creatures with enchanting voices who were banished there by Starswirl the Bearded.” She casually said.

“So the tales are true, you are a warrior Princess as Princess Luna was long ago. I’m honored to be in your presence Lady Twilight.” He bowed humbly before her.

“No its… its all fine its fine really! All we did was use friendship to break the Siren’s songs…” she stopped when he perked his head up and eyes alert.

“Sirens? You fought those beasts?” Vigil rose and closed distance with the mare as the mere utter of the Dazzlings triggered him.

“Yes? We used latent Equestrian magic to blast their Hippocampus forms and shatter their pendants. Rendering them as human as any of the students at Canterlot High.” She slowly stepped away.

The armored pony snorted loudly as if a bad memory came to, with his eyes looking every which way like there were scrolls and books before him. It had Twilight guessing there was more to the problems of Equestria than she originally thought. The way he reacted, it seemed like there were more sirens than the Dazzlings still in existence unlike Windegos or Discord.

Steel shook his head and mumbled something before his facial features were as serene as they were before she brought the battle up.

“I’m sorry what were we talking about?” he innocently asked.
Choosing to avoid the subject she skipped ahead, “I just met with Commander Aileron and we had an interesting discussion. I must say I’d love to visit your village when I have time. Your culture sounds so rich and progressive.”

Steel simply bowed humbly, “I’m quite sure you’d be well accepted, having another Princess, and a battle hardened one at that visiting. It would be quite a call of honor.” He said as his armor plates lightly clanked with each movement with the two continuing in Twilights original direction.

She noticed how he worded his reply, “Doesn’t Princess Celestia stop by the Thestral village, she goes out to all the other pony cities and towns as often as possible.”

“I’m afraid she’s always very caught up with the Solar Court and the Nobles to see us very much these days. We understand and have no qualms with it, she does raise the sun after all. At the very least Princess Luna of the Night does come to see the foals every week, they always enjoy her stars and constellations.” He looked to the high arched ceiling of the hall as if the Sun was right there.

“Interesting to know, well, once I’m not too busy I have knowledge to share. I’d love to know as much of Thestral culture as possible and nothing beats a hooves on approach! Though, Commander Stellar was very clear I couldn’t write about you until the Agents of Shadow are no longer are a threat. Nonetheless, I’m sure I could also add to your libraries as well, I am the librarian of Ponyville after all, the Castle of Friendship Archive, third to the Crystal Empire’s and Canterlot.” She proudly explained as the possibility of spreading new knowledge to hungry minds became as tasteful as honey.

“To be honest, we have been meaning to expand upon what we’ve had. I’ll warn you though it may not be very vast, so your help would be very welcomed Princess. Most of the foals go into immediate training to become Warriors of the Night Guard, but I believe some enhanced literary wisdom of the world at large would do some good. Please, feel free to organize a time you want to visit and we’ll see to it as soon as possible.” He bowed again with a gentle smile.

“Excellent! Well as much as I’d love to interview you as soon as possible, I know you need your rest so another night I could catch you?” her spirit as giddy as a filly with such an opportunity for her.

“Actually I’m quite an effective sleeper, its part of the reason I’m acting commander for the Night Guard. Just need three hours and I’m fit for duty.” He held his head high though not like a Noble would.

“That… sounds remarkable?” she tilted her head, “Are you sure that’s not a medical detriment, I mean the Ministry of Health has said you need at least six hours for combat duty to be within optimum perimeters.”

Steel grinned, “That Princess Twilight, is a very well kept secret of my family. Passed down at random really, and it’s a boon to a Thestral warrior to possess. It only pops up every three generations, so suffice to say I’m quite healthy by Canterlot’s Royal medical staff.”

“Well if you say so, we should have two hours I believe before I need to see a couple ponies soon. Where would you like to have our little talk?” she asked taking up a position next to him.

“I was on my way to the cafeteria, just came back from talking with my lieutenants from the northern patrols. Haven’t had a bite to eat for some time now.” He hinted at the most favorable place.

“Actually, I think that is quite perfect myself. After Commander Stellar’s special tea, I’m feeling a bit hungry for a snack since I’m no longer tired. Lead the way Commander.” Twilight looked forward to his side of the story with the A.O.S.

The two ponies kept quiet and trotted to the mess hall for the guard staff, which at the time had finished serving the Solar Guard midday meal. It was evident with B Company filing out in their last numbers looking sated and happy, if a stoic stern look could be equated to content satisfaction. Sparkle had many questions to pass by the high ranking Thestral, seeing as he and Stellar lead different theatres of combat. She had to know if there was more she could learn of what endangered Equestria so often that made the dangerous ventures she lived through as nothing more than headlines in the busy Manehatten scene. An underlying problem that Celestia hadn’t told her before, and it only made her want to help even more. A dire need calling to her that she even sent a letter to the Scholar Arcana for private lessons in battle magic after Luna had mentioned the Demons. Tirek was one thing as was Discord, but discrete and assassin type foes would be a new thing on her plate. These covert dissenters trying to use spell bound demons to affect Equestria were inconceivable.

At least now, a whole new world was being presented to her on a silver plate. A clandestine force that might very well be tied to the thief of the gemstone in the human world, it was a possible lead to new evils.

Leaned against the nearest wall away from the peanut gallery, Adagio had been chewing at her fingernails anxiously. It was a nervous reaction she rarely exhibited, though now was a perfect time to let it go. Her instincts screamed to get the girls and escape. They had to be among some kind of crazy human cult. For as long as they’ve lived in this world, those types of humans were almost too crazy for their songs to capture; much less feed off.
Here they were chasing the waggling treats of some stranger whose goal sounded as farfetched as any swindler’s tale to sell cheap goods. A doomsday prophecy a bunch of other banished creatures clung to in hopes they’d likely go back to Equis for their own revenge. They needed the vast pool of dark magic that they sang for that this deluded man provided the means to get. Magic they earned through their hard work and the negative energy they fostered.
‘We need that last gemstone, if we can get it from them somehow without it backfiring. We can control these buffoons and turn this all in our favor. No tricks or a surprise sucker punch, we have to make them love us and then we’ll find out if any of this is true. Yes… that’s what we’ll do… that is unless they have methods to protect themselves. They wouldn’t wholly give a Siren back her power and not expect them to turn.’ She thought to herself when she remembered the compliments Yellow gave them.

While she dealt with the bitter matter at hand, Aria and Sonata had spread out from the defensive huddle with Twilight. They hadn’t been assailed by the onlookers yet who were content to simply stay their ground and speak little below their breath. Some whispered to others and often replied with a snort of disdain.

Sonata looked to each and every one of the six people looking for some kind of response she could read off on. Though all she received were nearly blank stares, almost like those from anyone under their song. It was a strange realization she couldn’t shake, a magical hold on a being that meant nothing moved without the permission of the controller. She wanted to say something to Aria about it, but she could see and feel the erratic aura coming off the Dazzling. That kind of mood which meant she’d sooner bite at her than listen. Adagio was off and away in her own world, and Twilight knew nothing much of magic. Deciding to talk about her findings later, it occurred to her that Yellow Tail was the only one with the shine in his eyes. He wasn’t under any influence or spell, if anyone he’d be the one to get a question into.

“Mr. Tail, you promise they won’t harm us? I don’t feel like they don’t want to attack or that they do. It’s just, no one really has friends like this unless they were ready for a fight.” Sonata asked cautiously feeling ever fearful without a gem for her to harness any kind of defensive ability.

“Ya Yellow Tail, what’s to stop them from doing anything? Are we really that scary with our powers or you planning something if we didn’t agree to your league of lame gentlemen!?” Aria grumbled ever ready for a surprise ambush despite the placid atmosphere.

A heavy sigh came from the tall man as he shook his head, “After all was said you still feel afraid? Is there nothing I can tell you to ease your nerves?”

“Is Equestria really in danger? You do realize what we plan to do once we get there right?” Dusk asked as Twilight carefully scooted next to her for security.

The question seemed to not bother the man, it merely earned his attention with a sympathetic gaze. She could feel his eyes studying her before they looked to the ground as if a complicated equation was brought before him. Sparkle wasn’t any different, while a feeling of apprehension could be seen in her body language she was trying to plan an escape. Fiddling with her glasses as the tension brought her to sweat a little and constantly send her eyewear sliding down.

“If… if I may, now I might be taking a shot in the dark but you’ve been looking at this Equestria like a sick body? Isn’t that right?” Twilight asked as she eyed the last figure in the shadows.
“Very quick to pick up young one. Magnificent creatures like Sirens for example are the wild fires that any forest needs to be healthy. They pass through and cause chaos and disorder, yet they never linger and seek ever larger crowds. They among many other denizens of the wild balance order when peace stagnates progress.” He noted as he took to the seat Sparkle had once occupied.
His heavy frame made the wood creak for a few moments, groaning under the weight of the adult male. Arm rests soon popped lightly as his elbows perched themselves upon them, his hands came up to support his chin. Once in a restful position, Yellow’s eyes locked onto the aged wood floor they all stood on. It had Twilight looking to Sonata with a clueless shrug at the odd behavior he exhibited.
“So you mean the Dazzlings wouldn’t have gone on a power seeking journey and ended up here if this demon you spoke of wasn’t imprisoned and that deal broken? It seems like you know a lot about this Equis, who were you before you had been placed here? If you don’t mind me asking that is?” Sparkle wanted to avoid metaphors and get to the grit, clear and cut facts.
“Ya, like were you some kind of unicorn or maybe a griffon? A dracony?” Sonata tilted her head as she put a finger onto her chin with every species on Equis being pictured as Yellow Tail.
While she busied herself with imaginative thoughts which entertained her to a great extent, Twilight soon found further reason to continue questioning. Equis had started to become an old world version of her world. Myths and legends of old were apparently real as were the siren species, the gemstones and spells she worked with proved it. If she were to understand magic, learning about the creatures who used it was just as important as learning its foundation. Before any answers came from Twilight, the other member of the Dazzlings finally burst from her silence.

“I don’t care if Equestria is going to lose its magic, why should we care at all?! So long as we have gems we can survive and live. Magic or no magic!” Aria nearly yelled while staring at the Lich in the upper level who gained her ire earlier.

The blatant comment had Twilight snapping her attention to her, “Why would you say that? I thought you three needed Equestrian magic?”

“We have these you dipstick, they are more powerful than all our three original pendants combined! We get more bang for our buck unlike the useless pieces of pyrite we had. We could easily make this world ours and be adored by billions!” Aria fired back as she cupped her jewel close to her body for fear it would disappear.

“But you all were so adamantly against being human, if you let your homeworld go then you’ll be stuck here as a hominid no matter the gems you have. Didn’t it make you miserable to be human? You’ll still be part human regardless!” Sparkle shook her head in disbelief.

Their walk to this place had a good portion of it listening to Aria complain about their experience after losing their pendants and voices. How defenseless and hopeless their lives were, and the sands of time that would eventually strike them down. Though she tuned out much of the whining, Twilight had gleaned enough to see the benefits of being who they really were.
“Before we got our new powers, before we could sing again. Now that we can, I’m all for Adagio’s original plan to dominate this place. No mages to banish us, no unicorns or other spell casters to send us away again! Just stupid useless monkeys who we’d be doing a favor by captivating them to do our bidding! No wars, no segregation as your kind seem to love to do as much as the ponies. You all would love us equally and live to serve us…” Aria was clearly going on a power trip with nothing Twilight could say to mitigate it.
Not far from them Adagio had a hard time being able to think. With Aria going off the deep end, she had no option to neither ignore the idiot nor let her mind stray from their personal objective. She had her plans they needed to fulfill before any solid future was taken, and Aria wasn’t about to steal that away. With a toothy snarl, the golden girl called out and gained the rampant cohort’s attention.
“Please excuse her, she’s quite prone to moments of newborn foal. She in no way speaks for us as a whole, that’s my job. Now… Aria, if I have to take back my word and give that gem to Sonata I will. Don’t… Tempt… Me!” she exerted her displeasure upon the girl with full effectiveness.

Aria felt a spark through her growing irritableness, as if she’d been lightly slapped for being confrontational. It was that moment when she could vaguely remember the feeling of having no voice to sing their entrancing songs. To have no extended lifespan and an ugly fleshbag of a body in need of constant care. Sure they were now in a transient state between their former selves and then, with magic essentially taking away much of the mortal drawbacks. Even now, as long as they could sing and feed off the humans, the stones worked their use. A third piece to the pie and the three wouldn’t even be mortal anymore, or so Adagio believed at least. This sudden shine into her clouded mind had cracked her train of thought. It felt as if a blanket had smothered her mind and sent it into a strange place. She wanted to be back home, back where magic was as thick as the air she breathed. Not this dead rock or its parasite race sucking away until nothing would remain. Then again, they could stop it all, and be rulers through their enchanted voices. Music to control every ape to save this planet and maybe unearth more magical elements, maybe even make a second Equis with some sort of background magic.

“Why don’t you bring it cheese puff! If I were in charge we’d have been far better off… what’s stopping us from a little contest to see who’s the alpha of this pack!?” she challenged Adagio, with a dark intent she defied and stood her ground.

“Aria! Calm down will you… your actually scaring me.” Sonata pleaded as she stepped away from the greedy Dazzling.

“She’s right, you’re not yourself at all, it’s like you’re under some kind of....” Twilight backed away towards Yellow.

“Influence?” Yellow completed her sentence.

Now the spotlight was upon her, and the feeling was becoming as painful as a sunburn. Her immediate associates were not the only ones who looked cautious of her current attitude, but the watchers around her as well. She felt belittled by their looks, their judging gaze that dare to make her feel wrong for thinking like she did. Why they seemed to corner her and sap away what confidence and strength she held only a few seconds ago was a mystery. She felt abandoned by her waning willpower as the angry stare of Adagio threatened to become pure rage. If she could guess, their leader looked ready to throttle her to the moon.

“Do enlighten us to this notion you brought up Yellow Tail, I’m quite interested myself now. Just ignore the little foal here throwing a temper tantrum.” Adagio forced her eyes from the attempted takeover and calmed down enough to avoid rash actions.

“Your powers are from different kind of siren, did it not occur to you to resist their essence infecting you?” he simply inquired as if it were common knowledge.

“What?” Aria looked aghast.

“Keep going, because I’m starting to feel as if you’ve been withholding valuable information concerning these stones.” Adagio demanded with a venomous tone to both Yellow and Twilight.

Shaking her head, “I… I… I don’t know anything about that! I swear I was just told about the inhibitor spell matrix and that was all!” Sparkle protested.

With a loud exhale of breath Yellow’s golden shimmering eyes locked onto Adagio’s, “I had hoped you’d have been beyond a mere lingering soul’s attempt to take your bodies. So far you’ve proven tactile and resourceful, but the obvious has missed you once again. Just like at the Battle of the Bands…”

“So you thought things would just fall into place? We’ve been away from Equestria for so long and you expect us to be in our prime?! Only a fool would expect such a thing when we’ve been running on fumes for years!” Adagio snarled again at the indignation and stomped her booted heel.

“I hoped for much more and yet I get so less. Guess we have a new limit to add to things.” Yellow said with disregard to the leader of the Dazzlings.

Her aggravation soon locked onto the gem dealer, he was trying to goad something from them with that remark. A rather direct stab at them, one she took extreme offense to.

“You’re really making it easy to say no to your alliance. If you poke the Minotaur… you’ll soon get the horns if you catch my drift.” She said seething.

“All is fun in a couple of games here and there, I thought you had known a few human tendencies by now. They can be a bit infectious as they are inharmonic. So calm yourself my little gems, this has thus far been to tie up a loose end as you can see.” Yellow snapped his fingers again before his other hand weaved the air with a dim glow emitted from the palm.

The Dazzlings were left in quiet confusion, while Sonata and Twilight looked back and forth between the two bickering parties. The glow in his hand popped like a firecracker, leaving another Siren Gem in his grasp. This left Sonata to gasp and gawk, its presence was full of vigor. She could sense the pull of its call, beckoning her to own it like a magnet to metal. Her feet slowly inched towards from shuffling to a few steps to the seated Yellow Tail.

He wore the look of bland interest as the gem he held soon floated above his head lazily and wobbled. What was weird about the ordeal for Twilight was obvious, Yellow had something planned out all along. Now with the third gem, she was sure it was a test of character for the girls. He tested the bounds of their restraint, as she couldn’t fathom anything else with so little knowledge of magic as she had.

“I’m sure Ms. Twilight here told you about the story behind these. You’ve likely seen their past lives.” The gemstone above him slowly flickered to life, “The thing about emotionally charged magic, especially the dark magic that you harness is that it’s a great medium for immortality to some extent.”

Before Sonata could get closer someone’s arm blocked her at the waist, the soft collision jolted her from her hazy stupor. Blinking awareness into its rightful place, she looked at the limb before her. It was a well dressed arm, a high quality solid blue dress suit adorned the white under sleeve with a jade stone inlaid into a cufflink. She slowly looked up the arm and followed the creaseless clothing up to the face of one of the businessmen. Prim and proper, she could tell he took extreme care of his outer appearance, much like how she use to do with her tail scales before a show. She soon found herself looking at his oval shaped face, a soft olive dark skin sporting a frown, nearly jade green colored eyes like his short cropped hair which looked at her sternly. As she tried to further study his features, his shake of the head reminded her of what happened seconds ago. He stopped her from going to the floating gem like a zombie or when there was a buffet of those crispy shelled meat and lettuce encased delicacies.

Her zoned out state was not missed by Twilight, she barely even saw the man move from where he was. Another moment she would have jumped out of her skin if there were not something else of drastic importance going on around her.

Strange enough, Aria renewed her fight in herself and soon shouted curses at both Yellow and Adagio. She beckoned her challenge of dominance once again at the current head of the Dazzlings. It earned her a spiteful and barely contained storm of wrath that bordered on action. To bystanders like Twilight, she couldn’t help but keep an eye on the situation as both had their gems to fight with. Though she’d not seen them in action concerning a battle, the amount of energy stored in those stones had to have some physical power behind them.

However, she immediately noted a white smoky wisp flowing around and outwards from the gemstone above Yellow. As if the movements indicated it were alive and grasping at anything to get out of the brilliant ruby casing. A quick guess had her swinging her head back to the contesting sirens, and just the same occurred with them. All three rubies were releasing something, yet there were too many guesses to assume much else other than to stay away for her own good. Backed with her sense of self preservation, Twilight watched like a child in a candy store with Sonata following suit.

“I did not believe the essence could remain intact after so long a time, a testament to this world’s own magic. These old ones shouldn’t be a bother to you any longer, Kolcha if you will?” Yellow turned to one of the humans above.

Adagio and Aria had both felt as if something had been pulled out of their bodies, like a giant slithering parasite with many tentacles. Their breathing became fast and shallow, and pupils shrank as a burning sensation followed the haze that flooded into the air. Muscles twitched and cramped up, which lead to the two girls coughing as if they had been choked by invisible hands. Whatever had rooted itself into them was being yanked away, trying it’s best to stay put. For the entire struggle the claws were scraping nothing but a glass surface. The sheer experience was a shocking reveal that they were infected with something alien and so deeply enraged.

Above their heads the smoggy clouds merged from all three gems and swirled into a windless vortex. Soon the individual apparitions became nothing but a strange white storm where parts of it poked out as if trying to break away from its current. Twilight and Sonata gazed at the thing before them that been drawn from the stones, with its foreboding aura of hatred and anger that could nearly be tasted by the tongue.

It dawned on Twilight what they had been looking at once Yellow spoke again, the last remaining visages of true sirens. Though she figured they’d be mournful and sad as the text books she read through had described them. How radically different they were now, it was nothing but unbridled rage in the form of radiant corrupting energy.

A baker in the upper level of the room began to speak in some kind of tongue as she leaned close to the wooden guard rail. A familiar language Twilight could recognize, yet at the same time it was different in its own way. A linguistics class she took when she wanted to study the projects of foreign students in other countries. Upon closer inspection, the woman was of a turquoise gray skin tone with an off tone of violet hair color. Her work clothing looked spotless, so either she worked very meticulously or she handled the management. The pristine white apron on top of a soft green matching cook’s attire reminded her of the chefs employed at that one popular restaurant that was once a bar.

“Funny thing, when a soul is given immortality and trapped for thousands of years. Any being will go mad from the loneliness, and these pitiful creatures are naught but mindless vengeful spirits.” Yellow softly spoke.

The whirlwind of fury showed signs of being compacted, with the swirling cloud drawing in itself faster with each revolution. It was then that Yellow rose from the chair and casually strolled up to the mass. With a hand held out, drawing closer to grasp the donut shaped cloud he simply closed his fingers around it. Then just like that, it ceased to exist with nothing left to be seen.

“I hope you’ll understand, we needed to purify the relics. As you could no doubt feel the remnants of the former owners. Though, it would seem Adagio had the strongest willpower to maintain her thought process.” Yellow said as he shook his hand as if it were wet with muck.

The two gem wielding girls had fallen to their knees exhausted and left with an icy chill deep within their bodies. As the warmth crept back into its rightful place, Aria looked shaken and battered by the ordeal. She appeared to be the most affected, as if she had survived a near drowning. Sonata took that as concern and with Twilight in tow, they went to the stricken purple skinned girl to check for any harm done from Kolcha’s work.

“You… YOU used us to lure out some discord cursed souls from these?!” Adagio had to force herself to rise.

“My, such a fire in you… even after the exorcism.” Yellow brought his hand down and looked to the quickly recovering lead singer, “There was no way around it, we needed innocent minds. With you knowing, the old ones would have been more subtle in their subversion. You wanted your gems, and now you have them. All that was needed was a moment of your time.” His voice had a hint of sadistic joy, far from the way he spoke earlier.

“What’s wrong with you! We could have been possessed or worse!” she retaliated as her shaky legs propped her up, her curly locks swayed with each lull.

“As I said, once you’re within my favor nothing would have come to harm you. There were safeguards, that is why my fellow associates were hidden from view. Now then, with all this behind us I believe we’re awaiting your decision right?” he turned away as if to leave.

The floating gem had soon lost its gravity defying power and found itself gracefully landing back into Yellow’s hands. He held it up and looked over the precious stone, looking for faults or cracks from the ordeal. Seeing no damage, he sighed happily before moving towards Sonata with intent.

“I’ve given you my promise a bit early, mainly because we were unsure if these were not still… under previous ownership. I’m willing to grant you this for enduring that process as I can see it’s left you a bit sour.” He carefully stopped before the three among whom Aria was starting to liven up and scowled at nothing.

“You’ve earned it I can see, and I hope you’ll make the right choice. You have a ticket home and your gems back, Equestrian magic to devour and all that. I just need to hear your pledge.” He slowly placed the idle ruby before Sonata and moved away.

In all honesty, Adagio couldn’t go on a barrage of cursing and tartarus to all those in the vacant house. She was far too focused on the fact that the red gemstones began to sync with their magical signatures. Almost instantly, the two affected sirens were cleaned of their suffering after effects of the exorcism and their bodies rejuvenated well beyond what they thought possible. That’s when it hit her and Aria, the surge of energy and lack of any real human pains were their original bodies arranging from a broken state. Though they were still human on the outside, it was merely a magical shell for illusion. As if they were a chrysalis, awaiting the perfect moment to hatch and their beautiful forms to emerge.
Breathing in deeply, Adagio drew upon her magic again and looked within herself. Closing her eyes and letting the darkness consume her vision, she soon breathed out quickly to look at her arms. Before her were her very own cloven scaly hooves pristine and healthy. There could be no doubting who Yellow Tail was or what was on the table, they were back to their true selves. What was once shattered and thought lost had been regained. She could even see her sleek finned tail where her legs would have been as she floated in the void of her mind. Her heart couldn’t have been beating any faster or deeper, the Dazzlings were back and better than ever.

“Adagio? Are you okay?” Twilight asked as she still assisted Aria with her still quivering body.

“Ya, you… you look like you’ve seen a ghost and then went to your happy place.” Dusk told her just as Aria had regained control over her body.
Rather than reply, Adagio simply sang a quick verse and let her voice echo throughout the empty mansion. It was powerful as it was luxurious, far different and more refined like silk to wool from the way she sang with the tainted gem. Her singing was nothing short of the softest of morning clouds in the spring, powerful yet calming like a gentle stream of water, and so emotionally evoking that even Twilight started to cry a little. The young scientist just remained kneeling as she had been and barely breathed so as to hear every second of the siren’s heartfelt work. Sonata and Aria were just as awestruck, but far from being stilled like Twilight. For them, that little moment Adagio decided to let loose her spirit was their confirmation of what transpired.
A short applause came from Yellow Tail and from a few of the observing humans around them.
“Such a lovely union, I do believe you have absorbed some of the old ones passion or rather their sense of sorrow. It pulls at the heart strings, I can feel it tug at the empathy sense… you’ll be far more powerful now.” With the last word the other two girls touched their own pendants.
Sonata was far more cautious however, but eventually relented when she failed to pick up the essence that spooked her last night. Both Dazzlings did their own analysis once the purified rubies flooded their bodies entirely. It was a quiet moment which lasted a minute before their excitement became known. When Twilight was about to shake one of them awake out of worry, Aria’s eyes popped open and she too sang the euphoric notes. Sonata joined in along with Adagio, making a triad of heavenly music that had Yellow Tail and some of the watchers smiling gleefully.
With the fully revived beings of disharmony beyond words for their happiness, the end of their vocal test came to a group hug and joyous laughing. The sensations overloading them were allowed to flow out and savored to the last drop.
“I can’t believe it! Whoohooo!” Dusk yelled.
“We’re back! We’re so BACK!” Aria shouted as she and the other two jumped as one over and over.
Adagio simply laughed almost maniacally, sparing no words of her own as she was far to consumed by the potential to be had. In this world of no true magic, they now had their own secured for good. This time, they wouldn’t make the same mistakes, and no opposition underestimated. It was a once in a lifetime opportunity they were given, and they had some major payback to deliver with interest.
Once the elation had boiled over, the Dazzlings parted and soaked in the afterglow of the restoration process. They looked over their bodies, sensing a difference in the energy that saturated their bodies, what had felt murky was now cleaner and far crisper. It was as if they stood by the border of Argents in its humid glory, and a strong northern front blew through. At least for Adagio and Aria, who were under the tendrils of the dead, their initial grasp for the first gem had largely ignored the off taste to the power they absorbed. Sonata for one had a little inkling to the difference, but ultimately is was like a cannonball dip into a cold ocean.
“Girls, this is the chance we’ve hoped for and we’re well beyond it with more! Don’t you see?! We’ve doubled in potency and we have thrice the reservoir of power to dip into once we fight the Rainbooms again. We’ll be able to rub their noses in it and slave every soul in this town!” Adagio cackled.
“Ya, we’ll have those talentless hacks begging at our feet and our fans laughing at them.” Aria clenched her hands into fists with a mad grin growing upon her face.
“Oh, do you think tacos will exist back home? Or do you think it’s just a human thing?” Sonata asked as she spoiled the power high.
“I’m just going to let you have that one since I’m in a good mood.” She groaned and looked to Yellow and his people, “For living up to your promise… you have our pledge. We will get you to Equestria and that is all we’ll have to do with you. We will continue our goal and have every pony, griffon, minotaur, and all under Celestia’s sun adore us. Equestria will be ours to enslave. Am I clear?”
Simply waving his hand as his agreement, “Fine, we’ll part ways if that is what you desire, but neither of us knows what has become of our world. Or for that matter if we’re already known there, your little tiff with an Equestrian may have tipped off whatever power holds over those lands. If you find yourselves back here, you’ll have no help from us, keep that in mind. But…” he trailed off as he walked over to the Dazzlings.
“If you value an Equestria to conquer or have one to keep as spoils, if you’re as bright of a tactician as I know you are. Stay with us once we go through the gateway, and you’ll have our support throughout the whole process. Even if someone rises to contest you like at the Battle of the Bands, or if Celestia tries to bring the sun down upon you. You will have insurance to rely on. Think on that Ms. Dazzle.” After that he held his hand out to be shaken.
With a mild case of trepidation, she took his hand in hers and they formed the pact. The deal finally struck, little else was said or done as Yellow wanted to discuss their purpose to complete in a more suitable area. As he put it, ‘more deserving of the glorious Sirens of Equestria’, to which sounded as if he had some form of slaved reaction to them. Adagio couldn’t feel any magical hold upon him or the others though, it appeared as if they were immune for the time being.
A bag of bits was given to the Dazzlings for further compensation and Twilight the promised literature to pay her for what she’d done so far. It was added after the transfer that she’d be doing a lot more in preparation for the portal activation. Yellow Tail had advised her to be very careful when the time came, as she would be faced with a very difficult choice soon. However, he avoided going into details and chose to send the girls on their way home.
The Scotsman moved and bowed out of courtesy, seeing the visitors out. Sonata had an instant moment pop into her mind, and just before the group exited for the hotel. She ran to Yellow Tail and hugged him as hard as she could before bouncing back, saying her gratitude the whole way. It had the unfortunate effect of not keeping her eyes on her pathway, and left her departure with a collision into the wall just a foot away from the hallway.

Comments

[Lucid Dream the Mule]

It's kind of a bummer when these longer chapters aren't commented on; but at the same time, when one considers all the emotions and drama from the characters, whether it's Sunset, the Dazzlings, or even Princess Twilight; you can't blame the reader(s) for being so focused on the story, that making a clever comment is the furthest thing from their minds. :P

Good work. ;D

[TheronSniper]

7813736 To each their own, people chose to leave comments like you or simply read and move on to the next story. So long as I entertain that is all that matters, with proper limits of course. One can't just toss in a jumble of words and a story make. Glad your enjoying this so far.