The Siren's Remorse

by TheronSniper

Ch. 17 Show’s Starting

Ch. 17 Show’s Starting

Her very heart skipped a few beats and a small spasm gripped her throat as she stood before the great spirit of chaos. He simply threw away the curse as if it were nothing, or so it seemed as a being of his caliber it was foal’s play. This very deity who could only be defeated by the two princesses and the elements of harmony appeared to have helped her for now. No greater mage or even the combined efforts of the Arcana could stop him, he simply took away their horns or displaced them around the world. Alicorns however, had a natural resistance to his simple tricks and enough mana to hold out. Their victory only came from his arrogance, and his downfall came upon him as he laughed at the two sisters.

Now he was in her dreams and it herald such a fearful response. She dreaded the idea that a chaos spirit was in her mind, and whose very nature could easily make her deaf and dumb. Such a threat who simply swayed in the air looking so full of himself. If the Saandie was bad, this was worse than the most horrible natural disaster to befell Sunset.

“Now now my dear, you simply must chill!” He snapped a talon having noticed her growing unease.

In a flash of light, the dreamscape became an empty ice cream parlor devoid of any patrons or staff. It looked oddly familiar to the one in town, a likelihood that Discord already looked through her memories just for this occasion.

Looking around after she rubbed the spots from her vision. The colorful red and white paint scheme of the table area gave way to an old sixty’s style serving counter. It looked very quaint and seemed to be the kind of place which served a small clientele. Due to the small design, only two workers could operate the creamery at any given time. There would be one at the cashier station, and the second who served the prepared cones and soda. The soft pink wallpaper spotlighted their little area of the shop, with a lone white door leading to the manager’s room. Sunset moved to get a closer look at the sterile counter top, her boots clicked on the black and white tile floor.

The backroom door slammed opened suddenly and out came the draconequis in an old fashioned server’s outfit. A starch white shirt, pants, held up with a black belt, and a two colored bulbous hat with an ice cream dollop emblem on the front. The apprehension Sunset felt originally gave way to the antics of the spirit who enacted the routines of the shop workers. Confused and stunned eyes watched and tried to make sense of it all, what was he getting at with this loony act. He crafted two frozen treats using his red dragon tail that operated a silver scoop, applying a generous helping upon two waffle cones.

“I particularly like chocolate myself, but a good Razzleberry supreme always hits the spot! Wouldn’t you say?” Discord smiled as the white and red swirled cone popped into Sunset’s hands.

She could feel the chilliness of the frozen dairy through the edible container, leading her to notice the other real things she started to sense. Not like her usual nightmares of being scared out of her wits and then begging for it to stop. She was mostly devoid of feeling the world in the sense that the curse just seemed to amplify terror. To the point that was all she knew in her dreams, every time she slept for the last few weeks.

“I know you’ve probably had a rather… exhausting time up till now. Let us just sit and talk, between friends? Fellow reformed? Dangerous wielders of powerful magic that could turn a world upside down?” he slithered along the floor and took a seat in front of her.

She watched him lick at the sweet cold snack as the cone disappeared with each lap of his serpent-like tongue. His yellow sclera and red pupils seemed enamored with the food item as if waiting for her to respond. The anxiety strangled her being like a constrictor at a pet shop feeding upon a feeder mouse. Her hands simply crushed the delicate cone and splattered it on the floor.

“Yo…your… Your Discord! I know about you! I’ve read every historical archive on your reign of chaos, even from Princess Celestia own account! You being here makes me hope this is just part of that Tartarus damned curse I’ve had to endure. And what do you mean fellow reformed?!” She tossed the remains of the razzleberry treat away and scowled.

Discord looked at her with disinterest, with eyes that spoke of a spoiled moment he shrugged as his chocolate delight grew wings. Half eaten and in the stages of melting, the two scoop treat flew off. Soon, the empty lone cone disintegrated in his talons like dust in the wind. As it vanished, he brushed his forelimbs of the sandy grit as if he’d been rolling in the dirt.

“I do love it when somepony actually cared enough to see my body of work. I can assure you I’m the real master of dismay, will the real Discord please stand up?!” he spoke into a microphone which dropped from a cord above him.

Although Sunset wanted to protest, she was quieted by the lighting as it seemed to die away. Only Discord was visibly discernible, a single spotlight giving him all the light of a celebrity on stage. Every table and seat around him loudly scratched the floor as they moved to give him space. All around her, they soon were taken by a clone of his who clapped and applauded as any hired audience. Each rose to a standing ovation, while the original replaced his ice cream uniform for some kind of strange clothing. Discord stood in place as he dropped the microphone, folding his mismatched arms as the crowd slowly went still.

“What do you want from me?!” she demanded as she tried to use her anger to stop the debacle all around.

With a roll of the eyes he snapped his fingers and brought them back into the white world of an empty dream.

“Quick to the point I see, my you are the blazing sun of Equestria. Good to see your attitude hasn’t diminished. Or has it been the lack of a good shut eye that ladies need to look their best?” he shrugged with a smile.

“I’ve already dealt with the Saandie, you’re no different. I can purge you like I did before!” she stood defiant to his joking attitude with her bluff.

“Ohhh now those are some nasty little things, a bit over the top for my liking. The whole, ‘ripping away memories’, its just not professional chaos if you damage the only ones who make chaos worth causing.” As he spoke, they were soon in Canterlot downtown which was devoid of any pony.

“Answer my question. What did you mean by reformed?” She stuttered a bit as she beheld the city she use to call home.

“Geeze, you’re as impatient as Twilight and her friends! Fine, I’ve indeed turned over a new leaf, because I learned the important lesson of friendship from my dear little Flutteryshy. You needn’t worry that Equestria is in chaos paradise, I prevent it to the contrary. So I’m here to simply watch things unfold and enjoy the mayhem I can’t bring personally. I rarely get to see such things on this large of a scale you know?” he grinned and reappeared next to her as a Cheshire cat.

“You're… here to watch? Watch what?” she looked at him quizzically with fear behind her words.

Discord let a long and foreboding giggle come from his long toothy smile. Which laid Shimmer’s fears further out and in the confusion, she backed away from the floating stripped cat persona. Dark purple blue bands broken by baby blue intervals colored the feline’s coat, giving it a mesmerizing quality as he twirled and spun lazily in the air. The long fuzzy tail slithering back and forth, and short pointed ears flicking to every sound she made from moving backwards.

Discord never made a move to get into her personal bubble, he merely enjoyed putting her on edge just by being present. As she put some distance between themselves, her peripheral vision soon too heed of the different qualities of the royal city. Canterlot looked far greater and more modern since she left. Minor things such as cobbled and paved roads, different architecture in the many homes and shops, and a few expansions the palace made into the mountain side. It was a strange sight to take in when in the past, Sunset rarely left the palace archives or training centers. Canterlot looked as if it were a familiar family member, but one you hadn’t kept contact with and had a few changes done to their hair.

Catching her gazing at the modernized city, Discord changed back into his normal form. With a pop of magic, he was no longer the infamous cat of the northern continents.

“I do love it so when you ponies just play dumb! You can’t honestly tell me you’ve not learned anything yet? With that biiig brain of yours, you would have been the first Princess who would have become such a wonder to Equis if it wasn’t for her pride.” He chuckled deeply as he wiped away a tear with his lion paw.

Sunset grumbled and stifled a rage fueled outburst, knowing full well she didn’t want to anger the Chaos god even in her own dreams. She knew he was powerful and quite befitting of the definition of a god. How he came to know about her was baffling, but she saw this moment just like the time with the Saandie. Draw out something worthwhile and then remove the cancer, every villain fell for that ego mania and inevitably signed their own fall. She couldn’t believe his story, as her moment of evil was isolated and under special conditions. Discord wasn’t something even the Princess of Friendship could tackle without the Diarchs aid.

“Yes, the all knowing ever diligent Sunset Shimmer. I know quite a lot about you. Once on the way to being in little Mrs. Know-It-All’s glorious position, I mean she did earn it right? You on the other hand… well you have a bit more flavor. In the end, you let it all slip out of your hooves. I saw the prequel, you do make an excellent Demon Lord you know?” the deity of calamity altered his form into her dark magic daemoness perfectly in detail, save for his own horns jutting out of her fiery hair.

Her stomach lurched as she took in the manifestation of magic when it is perverted for dark purposes. If she wanted to shed a tear, her dream denied her of that ability. That shameful moment in life came back to haunt every thought process, even her voice in that form was terrifyingly on spot. Discord took the time to repeat a few quotes, reciting from a script that popped into his lion’s paw and reader glasses on that red skinned face. As if an actor were readying for a theatrical play, the impersonation was impeccable as the fake demon.

Unfortunately for her, memories were far more powerful in the dreamscape, they could cripple as much as enlighten the dreamer with their potency. Sunset found herself locked in gazes with her demonic visage in its full glory with the wicked claws, long sinister ears and tail, the god awful dress, beating bat wings, but most of all those haunting eyes. Eyes that she must have struck fear into everyone at the school like a hot brand on cattle. Perhaps that was what they saw when they managed a glance at her, the black sclera and vivid sky blue eyes that seemed to bore into the soul. The roller coaster of emotions took a dive past shame and disappointment in herself.

“Tisk, tisk… we can’t have you going all pouty like that!” Discord shook his head and removed the glasses and script from view, “I applaud the reformation you went through. Personally…” he zipped up to the side of her face and whispered, “I thought it was boring up until a little trio of sharks came to you. But hey, filler serves its purpose to build character and plot right? You showed quite the promising elements of a princess just in this world alone.” he summoned a pair of gloves which clapped to his praise, another appeared behind Shimmer and patted her back.

She couldn’t even see where the topic was going, it seemed like he enjoyed her pain by bringing up her most accomplished failures. The one thing that bothered her was how he tried shortly after to lift her hopes. It seemed well within his character of chaos to throw her onto a loop.

Still in her corrupted manifestation, the doppelganger she-demon gracefully glided next to her before swinging a devilishly clawed limb around her shoulders, the needle sharp fingers tapped against each other. A grin across his face revealed in detail the fanged maw which glistened in the daylight. Though, the rather calm look upon her former face that tried to ease the excitement down failed to keep her from squirming in his hold.

“Which leads me to why I’m here.” He raised his free arm and wrought away the landscape into the center of the human town she now lived in, “As I said, Just watching and being entertained by the sheer volume of chaos about to be had and all that! Equestria’s been so boring, and since they’re having me fix their problems before it gets out of hand. I’ve found being reformed to be…”

Sunset broke his monologue like a pistol fired in a closed crowded room. Even he froze his tongue as she pushed him away and stumbled back. She almost fell on her back if it wasn’t for Discord summoning a bed of gummy worms.

“YOU'RE REFORMED!!”

With a heavy sigh at being interrupted, “My dear Horizon Glitter, if you can’t keep up with the conversation, it is best that you don’t try to join in at all.”

Another snap of his eagle talons and a book dropped onto Sunset’s lap with the sound of a frog croaking.

“Inside that book you’ll have all the answers you’ll need as long as I see them fit for you to know. I hate spoilers myself, but I think it’s best to keep you up to date if the ending pans out like I hope it will. If anything happened to my dear Fluttershy and her precious little cuddly furball sanctuary, I’m not sure what I’d do.” He frowned and moved to open a door a few steps away to leave.

The exit sign above it had Shimmer panic, there was so much she still needed to know and ask. For what has happened, this wasn’t the curse at all even if it tried to turn her around. Whether or not he was Discord, his presence here was far too enigmatic to ignore. One thing she learned in her past, was that sometimes you had to walk into the spider’s parlor to uncover the web of lies.

“PLEASE! Wait! Will it… will the curse come back? I… almost died yesterday because…” she tried to get her words out before a large lolly pop was shoved into her mouth.

“Sunny, my little pony, there will be no dying off the main, secondary, tertiary, and background characters while I’m on watch! What good is a movie or chaos if the actors die off?!” he smiled with half lidded eyes as he floated before her.

She pulled the cherry red candy out from her mouth, “You must know how I feel then, what I want to ask. You are the spirit of chaos. I must be a walking chaos dispenser right now. But if what you’ve said is true, if any of it that is. How am I to believe you’re not with those creeps who won’t stop tormenting me!?” the plea had Discord rub his beard as he shrugged off her emotional state.

Then, as the idea popped into his head, so did the lollipop as it burst into four little ferrets who ran around Shimmer. With shout of brilliance, Discord clapped his hands together then slowly pulled them apart to show a glowing blue sphere. It looked like an energy core or a highly charged mana stone, but the light it emitted wasn’t letting her see it in detail.

Discord started to spin the baseball sized form for a few seconds before stopping. Releasing whatever hold he had on it, the object fizzled out like a hot stone dipped into water.

“I guess as bad as you’ve had it, I can give you this one freebie.” He grinned as his head disconnected from his neck and zipped straight to her face.

Sunset tried to back away, but the gummy worms coiled around her and stopped all attempts to escape. The ferrets climbed up her legs and to her face, holding it still and unable to turn away from his gaze.

“What! What are you doing!? Dis.. Discord!??” her limbs held down still flailed madly in her struggle.

His evil giggle had her so freaked out she was really hoping it would wake her any second. His red eyes locked onto hers with intent, something bad was about to happen with the way he grinned. All this dream seemed to point to was the strange plants she took. First the curse started up, and now Discord was in her mind. She hoped that something didn’t mix well with her biology, and that all this was just a harmless nightmare that coincidentally helped keep the shadow beast at bay. They traded for a demon of great terror, but ultimately harmless. She was going to hope she’d wake up alive and throttle Rose Luck.

She forced her eyes shut trying to think the coming danger away, but her skin felt the breath of the chaos god. The pounding heart in her chest and tensing muscles were refusing to be ignored even in her deep sleep. As if a sudden turn of nature, the draconequis grew two foot long eye lashes and brushed them against her face that forced a fearful chuckles. The delicate touch once again sent the dread onto ice, and her breathing nearly hyperventilating came to a manageable speed. Her entire body went limp as she watched Discord put himself together and fall to the ground laughing so hard he pounded his fists into the paved floor.

“You are SUCH a laugh you know that!” he coughed a bit as he recovered, “I was just merely playing with you. That my dear is called a butterfly kiss, something Fluttershy showed me that can make ponies very uncomfortable and weirded out for a whole day. Now… back on topic, I have a way to show you I’m very real and the danger ahead is just as well.”

A whipped cream pie in his lion’s paw materialized from the pie crust up, and then Discord launched it into her face which woke her up with a scream. Startled and sweating to the point the bed cover stuck to any exposed skin. Shimmer looked herself over for her chewy edible captives and the furry tubes with claws, though nowhere to be seen in the dark room. After throwing the bed covers and pillows everywhere in search of any part of the dream she had, she felt somewhat sure she was safe when nothing came up. No signs of shadow worms or other curse related apparitions that normally spawned after she woke. Just a regular harmless room with the door closed and no light on just as it seemed the sun was rising. It occurred to her that she hadn’t closed it when she fell asleep, or if she did she didn’t remember well enough.

As her eyes continued to scan for any movement, she went to turn on her bedside lamp for a little illumination. As she pulled the cord, the light appeared brighter than usual and of a strange shadow caste from the light bulb. There was no green tint to the room as was usual, deducing that she probably knocked off the shade in her sleep. Sunset looked over to her side to find the missing cover of the Discord shaped lamp.

In her haste of freaking out, she leapt off the bed on the opposite side from the amalgamation of the ceramic and metal piece. Crashing onto the floor like her bed was aflame. Her scream was choked off by some kind of invisible force restraining her vocal cords. When her hands went to her neck, she found nothing tangible to grab and remove. Her heart raced once again and this time everything was registering on all her senses. Her back and bottom ached from the landing, she could feel her clothing she never removed. Even the dryness of her eyes felt like her eyelids were scrapping sand.

“Oh come one! My miniature statue isn’t that bad to look at? Is it?” the lamp spoke as it became animated and looked itself over.

Sunset was truly afraid with the reality setting in. She desperately hoped this was a dream within a dream, but then again those never ended well for patients back home. Those medical tombs usually spoke of sufferers of such sleep disorders to have an early onset of psychosis. Even that seemed better than dealing with the real Discord, even if his claim of being reformed was true.

“Well I’m short on time and the movie is going to get to a good part. I just wanted to meet one of the main actors of the catastrophe play, and I do say you’re quite the card.” He warped a bouquet of flowers from his tail fluff and tossed it to her.

She caught it just as her voice box felt the release of whatever had a hold on it. Still trying to get her brain to comprehend what was happening. His laugh had her look back at him as he hovered near the ceiling.

“I felt the director was a bit too harsh on your role, so I took the liberty of grating the cheese off the script if you catch my drift. You’ll still have to fight, but at least now you’ll stand a chance. And I think Celestia will owe me a few points for that. Don’t disappoint me Sunset Shimmer! This is going to be a blast! I can guarantee it!!” he faded away from reality with his last words echoing.

For a few minutes, the poor girl simple stared at where he once was. Refusing to still believe she wasn’t asleep or just insomnia induced hysteria. She rose from the ground and tried to support herself on the bed she just catapulted from. Her hopes for the dream theory were foiled when she moved her hand on the center of the bed. Instead of the soft bedding she expected, her hand hit something solid.

Yanking herself away from the object as if it were molten hot metal, she stumbled to a safe distance. Once again, struck with alarm beyond healthy reasoning, she kicked wildly before scooting to the nearest wall. After a moment of collecting herself, Sunset let out a roar of a scream from the frustration of it all. Picking up one of her extra shoes nearby and throwing it at the bed.

In her futility, she scored a lucky shot and knocked the box onto the floor which bounced a couple times. Upon the landing, cubes and pieces of something scattered outwards. Letting her breathing come back into her control as the situation changed, Sunset willed herself from her position near a window to get closer to the foreign shape. A few timid steps and soon she smelled something moldy yet familiar with a sharp tang. A myriad of scents all combined into something edible and a very friendly food item. What came as a surprise was when she picked up a piece and investigated it, to find it was in fact a piece of brie with its rind still on. Tossing it away, she checked the other varying sizes which all came out to a form of cheese.

“He literally meant cheesy didn’t he.” She sighed in defeat and shot the chunk of fermented dairy across the room before falling to her knees in exhaustion.

Canterlot Royal Palace: Mess Hall B

“I’m very happy you let me talk with you about your tribe, you’ve been very informative.” Twilight gladly smiled her appreciation to Vigil for his time and patience.

The armored Thestral nodded as he licked his teeth from the remnants of the savory meal. He had been oddly surprised that the Princess of Friendship was not put off by the fire grilled catfish he dove into. Most ponies tended to look away with disgust or even taunt Thestrals for their omnivorous diet. Usually that ended badly for the instigators when an Honor Fight was declared by the thestral in question. While Solar Guards looked clean and cut orderly soldiers, whose stoic glares hinted at trigger hair defenders to stop any problem. Actual combat was their weakness, and the most lowest ranking thestral could best a pompous Solar Guard. Sometimes it occurred every month, other times twice in one week. Perhaps somepony other than Princess Luna would truly give his tribe the kindness and acceptance it deserved?

“I’m at your command when Princess of the Night hasn’t the need of my services. However… I’m afraid I do have some much needed sleep to tend to before our night watch. If you’ll excuse me Princess?” he bowed and awaited her permission to leave.

“I’m never going to get use to this, but your excused commander.” She cleared her throat and ruffled her wings anxiously, “May the Moon guide your ancestors on the night hunt, and so your sleep be protected all from darkness that peaks in the dead of night.” She grinned with an adorable blush across her face, “Did I say it right?”

A look of surprise caught the Guard Officer, she had memorized the old salute before Nightmare Moon in such a short time he mentioned it. It felt strange to see she included the correct wing movements to physically gesture the meaning of the phrase. He shook his head as he realized who this particular princess was, by the reports of her past life as a unicorn librarian and personal student to Princess Celestia. She had a way of memorizing and learning knowledge, which made it instantaneous for her to bring up at a whim; no matter how detailed.

“Yes, yes you did my Princess. Your first visit will go very well at the village when the time comes.” He yawned and took his leave.

Twilight couldn’t have been more joyous over her latest peacekeeping initiative with the Thestrals. Like Luna, she aimed to make them less enigmatic even if they didn’t want it yet. All she could do for now was learn, that way when the chance came she could bridge gaps and help build new bridges with the world at large and them. Being an alicorn now, meant she had plenty of time to wait for the proper opportunity. In that time, she’d become an ambassador or relations expert, perhaps even help forge the first Thestral Noble House.

Feeling content with herself, she set her personal list to get to those letters to the girls back at Ponyville. She’d already killed enough time, yet there was still half an hour left before the Adepts were to meet back with her. Then, three hours before access to the Black Tape Archives was permitted under Luna’s watch.

Sparkle trotted her way through mostly empty hallways before she wound up at her guest room. She already had an idea of what to tell her friends, and the amount of detail she was going to put would make even Rainbow cry for more as if it were the next installment to the Daring Doo series. Coming up to her door, she had noticed few guards or any staff in this part of the castle. Considering how many just finished their midday meal some time ago, there should be more all around on patrols or scanning for infiltrators.

As she opened her unguarded door, she immediately heard voices as the lock disengaged. She slowly cracked the door open as her ears swiveled to focus on the discussion going on. Her hooves made no noise on the door, but the voices were loud and clear discussing magic capacitors and their ability to be maintained through portals. One of the strangers seemed to have picked up on her covert entrance. Which was strange considering, she had caste a sound dampener spell before she really moved the door much.

“Princess Twilight? Is that you? Princess?” a stallion’s voice she pinned the origins of spoke up, “We’re terribly sorry to have intruded, but we were told by Princess Celestia to see you as soon as possible once we were done. A guard let us in, but Lapis was here first.” Spectrum said as the door opened to reveal both parties to one another.

Twilight had a puzzled look about her when their reason bounced around her head, “Celestia asked you to do that? Look, I know what we’re doing is very important, but could you please um… not intrude into my room without my authorization? It’s a… little weird to have ponies I’m still getting to know to be alone among my things.” She looked disappointed by her mentor’s judgment call.

Sure this was something that she could overlook, but was there something Celestia wasn’t telling her to warrant such a move? Considering what the Thestral commanders spoke of about the agents of shadow, who knows what else wasn’t being told to her for whatever reason. Questions she’d ask Princess Luna about later tonight, that she was sure of.

“We felt the same way, but we couldn’t find you in the Palace. So we figured waiting here would be best.” Lapis noted.

“As much as I want to pin the cutie mark on the pony, I have some private business to tend to before we discuss anything further. Not that I’m kicking you out, please don’t take it that way?” she winced realizing her choice of words.

The two Adepts looked to each other for a moment before turning back to her with warm smirks, “None taken, we’ll wait in the west lobby for you when you’re done.” Spectrum said as he made for the door from his seat on the desk chair near the well stocked book case for guests.

“Besides, I have some more to debate on the implications of dark magic in capacitor gems and their side effects of culminative exposure.” Lapis nodded and bowed before leaving.

“Thank you for understanding, I’ll be with you in twenty minutes. Promise.” She told the two mages as they moved out the door.

Spectrum bowed himself and made to leave, but he paused and turned to her, “Oh… before I let memory get lost in memoriam. Princess, I have an old experiment I’d like to test out some time. It involves the trapping of magic similar to how Tirek gained his power. Just in case we do get visitors of course. The Arcana has approved of the spell crafting, so if you’d like to assist then your help would be greatly appreciated.”

She had already began to trot to her table for the letters when she turned her head to Spectrum, “I don’t see why not, once I see your procedures and notes I’ll give my judgment on helping with it. Anything beyond inhibitor rings for unicorns can be very dangerous for magic casters. Besides, we don’t even know if we’re dealing with anyone really of danger. With the portal theory scrapped, we should focus on helping Sunset Shimmer deal with them on the other side before anything problematic comes from them. And if anything, I’ll head over every thirty moons and see if they need my help with any friendship problems.”

Nodding, “I understand, I just like to have insurance is all Princess. Please, take your time…” Spectrum grinned and turned to exit.

Twilight admired his enthusiasm in defense of Equestria, maybe he was a bit too cautious of an actual invading force. Yet no matter how vile anything was that could try to come over, it was no excuse to make them suffer from forced mana suppression or draining. After all, Equestria was built upon the foundation of peace and friendship with all walks of life, even if ponies sometimes reacted to outsiders in negative ways.

Shaking her head, Sparkle removed the train of thought in lew of the letters she still had to write. Thankfully, Spectrum also brought up the book she used to talk to Sunset by bringing up his pet project. Perhaps something new had occurred in her absence since she left the archives early in the morning.

In a few minutes, fresh parchment coupled with new ink and quills waited for her use. The only thing missing was the book, which had disappeared from her possession. She gave an initial scan of the item like a scout on a guard tower, but nothing popped in her vision.

“I was sure to have brought it back? Maybe I left it in the library? I was low on sleep without that special tea. If anything, I probably put it under a bunch of books again.” She sighed in frustration remembering the Siren dilemma onset.

As she searched for the dimension crossing journal, some of her parchment paper fell softly to the ground in her rush. Considering the small size of the single bed and bathroom quarters, there seemed to be no way it was in the room after thrice looking around. Sparkle kept most of her research in the Black Tape section on the one communal study table. Luna advised that all physical information and notes had to remain guarded. Only the reports she spot checked personally for sensitive information went to Celestia.

“Well, I guess that’s down the list for now. I still have those letters to send anyways, I’m sure there is nothing going on that Sunset couldn’t handle.” She said as her magic began to organize the whirlwind of scattered objects to their proper place.

6 A.M. Dazzle’s Room

While everyone slept soundly, one of the four girls tossed and turned in her sleep. Her mind lost to a dream brought by the maelstrom of questions she exhausted herself with. Just before their alarm clock was set to go off, Adagio neared the ending of the reverie.

“Please why… why won’t you come with…”

“Adagio…”

“Go…go now…”

The words echoed in the air, whispers following and slowly rising in volume.

“I don’t… why…?”

“Get away… from… these waters…”

The soft spoken voices were growing beyond murmurs, reaching the volume of a small chorus. Many were speaking at the same time and little to discern from it.

“Why won’t you come with me?!”

“Adagio!”

“Get away… before you…”

“I..I… I’m sure the Matriarch can…”

All around the whispers became so loud, it drowned out anything else. Adagio could only see the encroaching white that had grown in intensity everywhere. The last thing she focused on, that she could see with the remaining visibility was her mother and father. Both were sick and barely able to support their weight, like a minnow speared by a fishing hook to be used as bait.

Just as the noise denying her any way of hearing what they had to say about their leader, the world had died away in both sight and sound. Then, it all stopped suddenly in the blink of an eye. The attempt to even shout above the nullifying atmosphere left only the sensation of her vocal cords vibrating at the level of exertion she put on them.

A tire screeching from a fast turn outside the hotel sent Adagio shooting up from the covers. Her mumbling continued unabated by the sudden awakening, her eyes were cracked open as she stared at the wall. The orange blonde hair she allowed to be free each night flowed just past her shoulders before bouncing back behind her. As the lush curls settled into a rest, Adagio simply begged to the wall behind the hotel dresser and television screen.

“Please… don’t want… to… leave…” her voice cracked slightly.

Her eyes quickly scanned the room for the place she was before, but instead of finding the wetlands of her old home. There before her was the dark two bed hotel suite, no sign or sight of where she was only moments ago. Instead of feeling the soft sandy bottom and lapping waves of the shallows, the multiple layers of sheets held her body like a wrapper. Instead of seagulls cawing, the AC unit occasionally clicked as it chugged on to keep the room chilly.

The realization that she was awake dawned on the golden siren like a dark shadow sweeping over her. A short lived trembling racked her body just as she felt something tickle her cheeks like an ant crawled straight down her face. She had been among her home pod of sirens moments ago, each and every unique color of every pod mate she grew up with. Their voices and songs seemed far too real, and now she was back in the monkey realm in a bony twig body. All the familiar sights and smells were vivid and realistic, making her half dazed stupor hard to bear with. The way the dream ended flabbergasted her, a pleasant memory relived that sank like the cheap wooden boats of the pony sailors in a storm.

Adagio looked to her hands and studying them briefly, fighting her hazy eye sight and barely functioning mind. She flexed the joints and digits slowly as she tried to remind herself that she did spend many years as a hairless beast. They felt alien, disgusting, and outright fragile to her unlike the iron hard claws that resembled hooves of ponies. A short train of thought which came and went, Adagio dropped her hands back to her sides. The tugging of exhaustion felt powerful, even as she was just an hour shy of the alarm clock to activate. She wanted to think, to remember every feature of the dream and analyze it, but the more she tried the farther it became. A window that closed with every attempt to get closer to it.

‘I…I can’t forget it.’ She recited to herself a few times even though she slurred much of the sentence.

“They will all… all pay for it…” the muscles supporting her upright position gave out from under her.

As soon as she hit the pillow and mattress, Dazzle lost her consciousness in seconds. Enticed by the melodic hum of the air conditioner not far from her bed, she failed to even see her gem on the bed stand glow weakly. Only when she began to snore once again did the stone cease to emit light.

It would have been another uneventful and peaceful time before the morning ritual began. Yet Twilight stood at the doorless frame of the room staring at the girls, intently studying Adagio even as she resumed her rest. In her hands, a small notebook with a pen scribbling down what she observed. Adagio had gotten her attention with a moment of sleep talking that surprisingly enough didn’t disturb the other girls in the same room. Sparkle chalked it up to their REM, believing only an explosion could audibly shake them to reality.

The little moment Dazzle had was troubling to her, among other things she figured troubled the faux human. This was as bad as Sonata’s emotional state when she talked about her pod. Bottled up emotions and a history which needed to be investigated had to be told to Yellow Tail soon. It was exactly the kind of cocktail of trouble that could stir up big problems. She was sure that soon they’d have a time frame to go by, but with the latest developments. Twilight hoped there would be enough time and not just a few days of a window.

Comments

[Lucid Dream the Mule]

From Sunset still adjusting to Reformed Discord, to the Adepts' mysterious behavior, this was another fine chapter. I just wish I was able to finish​ it sooner.

[TheronSniper]

8238254
Glad you enjoyed, I'm going at a snails pace with the sequel unfortunately.