The Siren's Remorse

by TheronSniper

Ch. 27 Midnight Sparkle is Born

Ch. 27 Midnight Sparkle is Born

Twilight swam from the slight in and out of reality, having flopped even at that low speed into the taxi cab roof. Last thing she could recall had been a wall of yellow coming at her after the death fall through the sky, and then someone putting her inside what she assumed was a large car. She could feel the cool breeze of raspberry scented air jetting in the compartment she occupied and the soft cushions beneath her bottom. Having never sustained much of an injury her whole life save for cuts on the skin from assembling devices or burns of chemicals, the reality defying fall was quite overwhelming. Her hands held her head as she tried to handle the shock of the experience that she literally fell from. Even as she began to stabilize, she unconsciously checked her teeth with her tongue to find them all intact, and flex her body parts for signs of broken bones. To her quaky joy nothing had been damaged other than the shock of it all.

"Ms. Sparkle are you fine back there? You had me quite worried for a moment." someone asked as she felt the world shift to the left.

"I...I uhhh... I'm fine I think." she hissed feeling the bruise on her forehead.

"Now now, I insist, if I need to drive you to the nearest clinic I can?" his voice of familiarity started to click to and two together.

She could hear clicking in the background and the world moved to the right, the faint sounds of gears and an engine started to filter in. That allowed her quick wits to ascertain her position, she had to be inside that taxi cab she crashed into though that was as much as she could sense before she opened her eyes.

"We're going to stop by a gas station for a moment so I can pick up something cold for that mark of yours. Wait here and don't open the doors for anyone but me alright?" the man asked as she started to look around still slouched over in her seat still unsure of her situation.

"Ohhhh... sure thing." she took off her glasses to nurse her head without their obstruction.

"Good, be back in a jiffy." a door closed after the ruffling of velvet cushion on clothing signaled the exit of her unknown occupant of the vehicle.

She could feel the growing lump starting to gain size, where her palm now became smaller in its wake. The throbbing vein squarely placed in the center of the damaged area lent to a need to escape the annoyance, and so her mind worked on what lead up to the unyielding ground that led to the welt.

'What happened... what was I doing...' her voice echoed in the blackness behind squeezed eyelids, the muffled quiet of where ever she was.

As she expected the normal train of thought to occur where she simple imagined voices and images, instead windows began to blink into existence before she could sort through any. Each beginning to amass into a large horizontal rectangular cloud before her against her own will. Bright blue screens much like a flat screen for computers held up what she asked of herself, as if they were a lucid dream she opened her eyes and closed them again hoping her mind would clear them from the forefront of her mental sanctity. When it appeared that no matter how much she tried to change the scenery, the interface as it seemed to be would not change or go away and that spooked her for a few seconds.

Naturally, her curiosity overcame the uncertainty, with her physical hands either by her side or on the bruise. She could only compare the experience as akin to a virtual reality, or she really hit her head harder than she first thought. With nothing else she could do in the vehicle while she tried to ignore the headache, conscious thought interacted with the strange windows if it could offer a distraction. Thinking of her hands being able to move freely in her imagination, she pictured them before her and touching the sea of blue lights. Fascination embedded itself as she realized she could sift through each window and study their contents, revealing every second she could recollect from the statue revealed as the portal to the chase and more. The efficiency had been beyond any way she'd ever use to contemplate. The manipulation at first felt like she may have sustained a concussion by the sheer dream-like world qualities. However, this little world in her head had its own realm that wouldn't nor couldn't be dashed away by some random moment or thinking of anything else.

"Okay, so this isn't some head injury, its like a seperate reality I'm seeing. Completely different from normal imaginative processes. The strangest thing... I can even feel it, those windows feel cold. I wonder how far I can push it to really convince myself..." she closed her eyes again.

'So, uh I wonder if this has a voice interface? Let's see, I know I'm not crazy so lets try this, I want to see what happened after the blinding flash. Let's portray this in a library scene please?' her own words soon sent her mind into a sped up trip from the black void into a giant library very similar to Crystal Preps.

Instantly, she felt separated from her own body as if given new life in another dimension. No longer did she sense her previous condition, standing in place wearing her uniform for the preparatory with the very solid floor beneath her as she tottered about. A solid floor and she wasn't sitting nor could she will herself to register that she was in the waking world. Everything felt so crisp and clean with the light from the ceiling glass dome where a sun caste its illumination all around. To which she noticed the library itself, she stood in the center of the dome which in reality the school didn't have that piece of architecture. The endless bookshelves though were not out of place, all of them beckoning her to open them and read their contents. Though where their rows ended at where windows of bright white light filtering in, solidifying her assumption of the dimension theory of hers.

"By Einstein's ghost! I am seeing this for real!" she whispered to herself as she started to run about the realm to see how expansive it was.

She felt no exhaustion, no weakness from the trek around the perimeter of the library's walls. The merlot red carpet with elaborate rugs for the main walkways extended to every surface area she could walk to, no dust or scuff from use. The windows were not the kind to observe through, instead just as she figured they were merely just lights that kept every corner from being to dark if she wanted to sit down and read. The pattern, size, and order of the oval faux portals had catered to her own preference, further lending the coincidence to the little pocket world.

Wandering around she came across the study area with several long tables adorned with personal lamps for students to use. Wood chairs with green cushions were all neatly organized under the furniture awaiting use. The little area had three computers for internet use, but guessing that this world likely had no wifi nor any connection to her plan of existence in the flesh. They had to have some other use, and that drew her from further exploring to test that out.

"So, if your not really a computer, what are you and what is your purpose." she asked no one as she activated the machine and logged in as she'd done in the past.

On the desktop, no other icons were available save for a single question mark blue box which she clicked. A small window popped up with a bar for inputting a query, dotted with a single question mark symbol at the top center of the rectangular box.

'What is your purpose? What is this place? Am I still alive?' she typed.

A separate bar beneath the text box appeared with an answer from no one specifically if there was anyone else.

'Search engine. Not Available. Yes.'

"Huh? Not the answer I was looking for but I guess I can ask Yellow if this whole place is a side effect of the device? I mean if magic had some kind of effect on humans like radiation?" her fingers went to ask another question.

'What happened to me before now?'

...

The entire screen became consumed by a fully expanded window with a black background and a simple video icon flashing for a few seconds. Seeing the new development change to her point of view just as she stood before the equine visage and replay seamlessly almost spooked the girl. Everything from the noise to the fine detail she was capable of seeing, drinking in the experience she relived as if there were a camera attached to her own optical organs.

After viewing the clip from her own life, the window went to black again with a symbol to replay again in the middle. It had been a tad frightening to relive the fall again, but being able to observe and not focused on escaping allowed her to review her many mistakes. Though upon falling through the first portal, it became obvious it was not on earth or any known forest for that matter. There were creatures flying in the sky and just above the tree tops which shouldn't even be real, nor should she have lost momentum in that house like cloud formation. Which likely saved her life in the end if it hadn't been in her pathway. A near death experience and she simply analyzed it for if a future repeat occurred again, that was if she could figure out why it happened in the first place.

'I know my knees took the first impact, but I had my arms high enough the elbows should have been next? What else hit the ground after my legs? Oh My Gosh!! The scanner!!' her eyes snapped open as she fumbled for the instrument that hung around her like a necklace.

Despite the pain which came back without censor, she lifted the pocket watch sized device close to her eyes for inspection of the metal polymer casing and the dead lights. The scuffed area at the very edge of the bottom part of the flat circle indicated the impact zone, leading her to believe the equipment likely shook something loose. To her relief as she opened the innards of its circuitry and crystal housing, all that was wrong with it had been wire popped out of its socket. The quick fix had the blue striations and red orb shining bright and brilliant, the blue lines lighting in succession of several bars as they lit in a clockwise direction.

"Ohhh sweet sweet Tesla I didn't break it! Even the crystal is still perfectly in its harness." she sighed and resumed keeping a hand on her forehead as it throbbed.

Then the question came back, why did that portal form and was it from the device? Yellow never said it would do that, it only honed in on the magic concentration the portal should have exuded. What could have connected the two and two together after she found the statue?

"That light! That flashing light! I did something to the portal and... and it did something to the device but what?" her eyes zipped to and fro as she thought again and looked back at the quartz piece.

Oddly enough, her eyes caught sight of the glimmering rainbow luminescence of the quartz Yellow said was needed for it to work. If she knew what kind of crystal it was, then the book he'd given her should have explained everything, or the new spectrum of color it sported as it reflected the light from outside the van. There were many mana crystals in the reference books each of which possessed their own unique qualities. Some where dangerous and should never be handled or given to even adept level mages, while others were harmless voids to magic that simple sucked in spells and enchantments. She simply had a possibly edible mushroom which looked like a few poisonous ones from her guide reference.

To her chagrin, the solitary moment had been interrupted when the door to the driver side clicked as the man who had her for the time being returned. She could only see the company suit he wore from her position she hoped he was a neutral party, because she essentially had been abducted. Knowing she couldn't bother to explain magic to someone and not get sent to a mental health facility.

Sitting up straight as she held the large bump with a neck beginning to feel the side effects from landing, the man immediately put two ice cold silver cans into her face, "You better use these to calm the inflammation there, I'd say you'd look like a unicorn if the horn there was not bulbous and nubbish." he chuckled.

"Serak!? Oh wow, I can't believe its you who found me! That makes this whole thing easier to deal with." she received the beverages and sought the relief they offered.

"Quite right and in the flesh, I must say that was quite a show. With disappearing into the earth and on top of the van all what not. If that was not magic than I'm just a hatchling in the coop." he smiled before turning the engine on and buckling up.

"Wait? Where you tagging along with me in case something happened? Did Yellow not trust me? Even though I did sort of fail in the end..." she withered in spirit as the chilly wet cans began to lessen the pain.

"You can understand his position right? It wasn't that he didn't trust you per say as to who you'd run into. Which you did as you admitted and that shows character! So cheer up lov, that Shimmer is none the wiser so no harm done... unless you include the magic use right in front of her." he pulled the cab into waiting position so an opening in traffic could let them in.

"I don't know what happened, it all started when I touched the portal and..." she tried to explain.

"What!? The portal is actually real did you say?" he blurted out and quickly put the vehicle in reverse before someone pulled up behind him.

Sparkle lurched in her seat with the two freezing drinks nearly slipping out of her hand from the gas he put into the engine. They ended up parked backwards in a nice spot in the corner of the lot away from eyes and others, that was when he turned to look at her with serious intent.

"You said you found it, the portal... its real?" he repeated himself no longer the cheery personality he'd normally shown.

Taken aback she stammered, "Y... yes I did, it's their mascot in front of the school... the device he made me build found it quickly. Why? You act like it didn't really exist?" drops of water dripped off her nose and down her cheeks from the condensation forming on her impromptu ice pack.

Serak stared into her eyes knowing he jumped a little over her, but the find was miraculous at best from his own studies into the gateway home. He supposed Yellow simply wished the idea to be true without any real concrete information, but the spells used to send them to this world should have been a one way tunnel through space and time. For an anchor point to exist which they knew when the Equestrian started to arrive to help the humans against their foes, it wasn't feasible to assume the mages or the Arcana actually wanted to bridge the two worlds. Yet the fact had now been proven and the chase scene gave weight, Equis had a way home but likely wouldn't be alone unguarded. In his mind, on the other side likely had to be many guards and battle magicians to prevent illegal passage. Though the thought of the amount of time that had to have passed by now meant things may not be as they seem?

"Ma'am, its not that... merely it in how we were all sent here. Physically speaking we should not have a way back since the banishment spell were all one way gates to here. Think of it like this, humans of the allied forces were able to reduce the number of fuel ignited deaths of their pilots in the pacific theater because of what kind of material used to line the interior of the fuel reservoirs?" he looked to her with a slight grin to see if she knew her stuff.

"Um, rubber, an expanding bladder with a thick density which when penetrated by enemy munitions would seal the puncture and completely remove the fumes that could accumulate over an operational duration of time. Which unlike the Japanese fighters, who'd burst into fireballs from either of the two exploding from the weak spot. So your saying the natural barriers between parallel universes act like a rubber bladder?" she answered slightly confused at where the metaphor was going.

Serak nodded, "Mages who banished us essentially opened into this plane and deposited us here, using an immense amount of magic to squeeze us through where the rubber sealed off any signs of an exit. Normally to even keep a portal going between universes would require likely a legion of mages to sustain for a few minutes or countless crystals to house stored mana. What you found was something Yellow theorized when the Equestrians were able to cross over at their will when needed the last couple of times. They either have an artifact that can sustain the portal using the Ley Lines or contains enough stored magic to do so. Which means we do have a way back without a doubt! The giddy kipper I must seem by now!" the man's mouth contorted into a very off putting grin nearly going ear to ear.

"A magical artifact that could house that much magical potential? From what the book told, I can see the application in energy production far superior and cleaner than nuclear reactors. I wonder if it could be replicated but then the need to recharge them comes into play, making it nothing more than a battery?" her mind went to work.

"Now now, we haven't made any connections yet so we should celebrate with this victory first! You just found a solid way home or at the very least a beacon we can open up forcefully. That puts us a step closer to leaving this prison." he patted her shoulder from his seat.

He had a point, there was a stack of unread materials and there she was already trying to create a new power source with an unknown energy. A proper person of science takes chances, but first they understand the material and the means to which to achieve the end before running tests. Serak seemed to know that inherently, to which she made a side note to talk to him for a moment and see who he was when the time came.

"I guess your right. Back to the books I guess, were you going to drop me off at Crystal Prep?" the metal cans were beginning to cause her discomfort, leading to the need to withdraw them for a moment before reapplying them.

"I'd offer to drop... you... off..." he trailed off as she found herself under a surprised inspection.

Feeling awkward at the silence and the way the man then seemed stunned at her very visage, she shied away and put the cans back in place. Had her injury really looked that bad?

"I didn't think I landed that hard, should... I got to a hospital?" Sparkle asked cowing away.

With a short whistle not like a cat call, Serak gave a hand out as if to shake hers, "I can now honestly say I've met another like me. Welcome Twilight Sparkle, welcome to the world of magic!"

She tilted her head as if seeing him smeared with tomato sauce and doused with feathers from a pillow. First, he gave her the weirdest stare and all of the sudden he's became a teacher on the stage of a graduation ceremony. He seems to think she had woven a spell or even a simple illumination charm a beginner could do, yet she simple sat there and accepted the canned beverages and used them to soothe her head which no longer ached as it did. Her eyes studied him even further as if to find a joke in there at her expense, yet his hand never left its position.

"Opps, my apologies there, your bruise I just assumed you used a tissue repair spell for a moment. Go ahead and touch it again, you'll find you won't need those anymore. Cor blimey! We could use them to celebrate!" he withdrew his hand as he watched her hesitantly follow his advise.

Eyes widened as she dropped one of the drinks in her lap and felt the flat, smooth, painless surface of her forehead devoid of harm. It was moist and dripping from the lingering dew, the look of blank intrigue captivated the girl as both hands were feeling for the so called horn. No mark or bump formed even more questions for her now though Serak seemed to think she had caste a healing spell upon herself. She never recanted the phrases or written sigils in ink on her self or paper. Had she somehow taken in mana from somewhere recently and performed the spell without even knowing it?

"I... I don't... understand how or why? I didn't do anything! Why is the bruise gone!? It should be even bigger!" she slowly started to hyperventilate until Serak's hand gripped her left shoulder and shook it softly.

His steely eyes beheld shaky ones, softening the anxiety with a smile that calmed her down as a anchor her "Relax little one, using magic in itself can be done in many ways, both through words and physical depictions. However, there are innate spells that a user can caste on themselves in times of danger, at the least of them self repair spells much how like the body uses white blood cells to attack infection. How you have mana to begin with is puzzling indeed, your human after all so there must be an artifact at work as with what happened to me. I can only assume that machine you hang off your neck to be the culprit, you said Yellow helped you construct it?"

She assumed everyone within his circle knew by now, especially after what she spied on back at the museum. Though in all honesty if they were leading lives to cloak themselves and around the town, having everyone on par would be a daunting task until a proper network had been established and so far it was only a day since.

"He said it should just detect the portal magic, I'm guessing in a way like the magic detector used for defensive purposes. He has one of those in his office at the museum. You know the one with a void stone? But we put in a crystal in place of one of those since he had none, guess that's why he said it should just do this and left the discussion open?" she meekly grinned.

"I don't know enough about crystals in casting since I had been exiled before my studies delved into that field. I can say that if one uses a crystal that is not specifically made for a specific use it can have side effects, taking into account it true designation. If you found the portal, something might have been drawn and trapped through transference into the quartz crystal." he explained before a horn went off behind them signalling that they needed to open up the parking space in the now busy gas station.

As the taxi pulled up to merge into oncoming traffic Twilight had an epiphany, "So it worked like a void stone, the detector spell pulled in magic and the crystal can store a portion of it? Wow! Real life magic and I just unconsciously used it to heal myself! OHHHH!!!!" she shrilled loudly enough for Serak to flinch as he pulled into the main street, "My theories on medical applications are alive and real! Cancer! Pollution caused illnesses! Tropical diseases! Maybe even birth defects and genetic disorders on top of degenerative diseases of old age! Its the venerable fountain of youth in my hands!" her excitement began to make the little machine glow brighter with each passing moment though it went unnoticed.

Leaving the young human girl to her mirth and jubilation, Serak simply shook his head as he recalled how he reacted when he found that tome and changed his life just the same. All the problems he could fix for the dynasty and his emperors economic problems at the time, the hopes and dreams of his fellow citizens and help expand his people's lives and prosperity for generations to come. The key difference here would be how humanity would view it, with open arms or like his own when she would inevitably bring this new 'technology' to the world. At least for now she still had high hopes and dreams, and his wishes that she'd find a way to give magic to her race in a way that they'd accept were with her. Though perhaps if the same ill fate befell her righteous attempts, she'd at least have allies back home well after they departed.

"Well now that your quite enthusiastic with the future prospects, where shall we take you? Back to school or home?" he looked into the rear view mirror and beheld a worrying scene.

Feeling refreshed from the actual credible data and application testing she had just unwittingly taken, she brushed a stray bang from her face and gave a wide joyous smile "Crystal Prep please? I can't really go missing for too long or else someone might suspect something."

Though she wasn't met with an affirmative of some kind, instead another near dead eye stare as he tried to keep an eye on the road. Serak had not been able to stay the wheel enough as he slammed on the breaks when they reached a red light, barely missing colliding with the car up front. Her seat belt kept her in place from the jerk of the momentum.

"This has just gotten very dodgy now. Not sure how... to say this but... look in the mirror." he pointed to the glass as he tried to catch his breath from nearly causing a rough fender bender.

"What do you mean? Is there some kind of other side effect to magic I don't... know... abou..." without further notice she beheld the reflection in the small piece he had angled for her.

Remarkably, immediately she gazed upon a spiral horn of pure ice blue brilliance, measuring what had to be a foot and a half jetting straight from where the bruise had been. The inner groove that gave the unworldly construct of energy its semblance of a unicorns horn as the red book described. Her thick black glasses had shone as they were manipulated by some other force into merely a simple mask that provided her eyesight with the necessary visual aid. Like those odd disguises worn during the Victorian era at the mascaraed balls hosted by nobility, feathers and shimmering gems. There were no lenses, she assumed the strange transformation she underwent without sensation automatically compensated her needs. Though what became all the more startling had been the wings she now sported that twitched with her uneasiness. Unlike any other person who'd freak out by the mere horn itself, she felt oddly familiar with the development.

Had this been the magic she sought since Yellow came to her? Was this magic? Had what she seen in her mind, that pocket dimension all been because of the device which took magic and gave it to her like it were second nature?

Loud horns honking shook her of her stupor as the form she'd taken vanished in a shower of sparkling rain which lingered no longer than a fraction of a breath. Once again she was Twilight Sparkle the human being in her disguise she wore to infiltrate Canterlot High. It had been a brief sliver of her life, but at that moment she changed by the mere metamorphosis and Serak knew it all too well. The device no longer shone like it had before, it grew dark and dead like a lifeless doll on a string. Though she felt no energy or spontaneous life, she had indeed experienced a level of magic she knew she wanted and yet had been totally unprepared for.

"I have to say, your as much of a wildcard as the Adagio Dazzle. I guess Yellow was right in forwarding the schedule, he definitely had his reasons..." the man noted still in awe as the traffic lane moved forward in the green light.

"Ya..."

"We're going to have to see Yellow Tail, he needs to know about this." Serak said as he inputted the directions into the GPS device on the dash.

The Blacktip Club: Jazz Night

The venue had been a complete success, a couple hundred paying customers had been brought under the infamous songs of the Dazzlings and left the place in complete ruin. People were filling out after participating in the biggest mosh pit of fighting and arguments they would allow, and the interior suffered greatly for it. By Adagio's will the people destroyed the bar, let fist fights become violent enough to put holes in the drywall, and essentially ended the business for good. This was the start of her new self, the need to bring ruin and discord from places of relaxation and fun. The negative energy had been topped off with the wonderful garnish of the owners coming out of their haze and crumbling over the repairs replacements they'd have to handle. Even as the girls vacated the area, their gems were still absorbing lingering emotions which cured Adagio of her hand injuries.

"Wow, you really stepped it up this time, for a moment there... I thought we were going to really bring out their darker sides?" Aria noted as she whipped her stylized pigtails around, her ocean blue leather punk jacket's straps waving in the breeze of the night air.

"Ya, when those people started trying to dig through the wall, I kinda thought we were stepping over our line?" with fingers nervously whittling themselves, Sonata bit her lower lip hoping Adagio was not on a hot streak of such chaos.

"Fret not my sirens, we're simply giving what this city needs to release their pent up monsters within. All those people were cubicle workers and part timers at fast food joints anyways, those type of humans are the most stressed out. Funny how they just needed a little push! And all their hate and sorrow over wasted lives comes pouring out." her steps became softened as they conveyed her moment of giddiness from the feeding.

"Good thing then that the convention is soon, otherwise we're destroying the only places we could perform with cover." Blaze said as they headed off to the bus stop a block away with a few other of the patrons who had been their meal.

Not even a bother to look back, "Then we simply take a ride to another town if it becomes an issue and use this place as our base of operations if things were not as they were of course. You remember how big this planet is, far more pigs to the slaughter here than Equestria. Needless to say, I'm very happy having my body back. It's been seriously annoying not being able to do our routines as they should."

'So much for concern and planning.' Aria pinched the bridge of her nose in annoyance.

"So you can like move them and the little fingers too?" Dusk tilted her head to look over around the curly hair in the way.

"Flex, grip, twist, and rise. Everything is back in order and as it should be, to which I might add let us get some of those tacos your so fond of Sonata deary. We'll eat before going home and before we hit the other two clubs tomorrow." she splayed her arms out to her sides as if to show off their rejuvenated condition.

As the cerulean girl bounced for joy, Aria simple wanted to vomit in her mouth. Never before had their Adagio Dazzle be so off character, never once did she cater to either of their wants or desires save for that one moment. It had always been do this and follow that plan, then failure and restarting the whole method again. Indeed they had much to their benefit with the new gems and a possible way back home, but something told her deep down that whatever Twilight walked into had needed to come out and be remembered. They knew why she had such a drive to conquer Equestria, losing her family could do that to anything.

As much as it pained her to admit it, when Sonata and her found the two in such an embrace it meant something broke and shattered. The bad side to that, without being able to remember releasing that sore to heal she would only resume her old ways and give into them even more so than ever. As it were, they were taking huge chances though unlike what they did during their first victories starting with Aquestria and so on. Those were city state in a world of magic, using their own gems and level heads to get to the top. Aria could perceive the wrongs here, the human race were not something to take lightly without the possibility of it coming back with a vengeance. They were already lucky enough to realize the security systems and remove their presence, but the more negative energy they fostered there would be a chance they'd incite something they might not be able to contain or feed from. Unlike ponies or even the minotaurs, humanity could shed blood if given the chance to percolate that far. With the way she pushed the boundaries this time, they might be front stage to the theater of the monkeys in their primal state.

She kept her place behind Adagio as they arrived at the stop and boarded the next bus, all the while the ditzy fool spouted off on all the reasons why she loved that strange ugly food item. As if she had to listen to finger nails on a blackboard, she bit her tongue so as to avoid angering her leader with the way she had been acting.

The swaying from the old shocks and the few potholes failed to distract the topic of their next meal, "Oh! You have to try their quesadilla avocado hot cruncher buster! They fold the taco with another stuffed with avocado and more cheese so it balances out the pepper juice that gives it the signature diablo fire. Ohhhh I've never tasted anything better than that!" her voice echoed in the barely occupied transit vehicle as she sat next to the lavender corset wearing teenager.

"Yes yes, I'm sure the humans can make something that fries the tongue I won't second guess that. You can get what you like as will I." she daintily patted Sonata on the head to quiet her down as well as it worked.

Sitting back into her seat and frowned out the window, 'Gotta get Twilight's number before bed, text her to help fix all this before things go south.' she silently contemplated in the seat behind the two.

"Oh! I almost forgot, Twilight sent me a message that she found the portal to home already, isn't that cool? She said it was that giant rock horse thing in the front of the building. There's so much magic there you can actually feel it!" Sonata's words stiffed her lone listener who simply locked her eyes to the front of the bus.

Both her and Aria were unsure of what to make of it, but it seemed as if something was brewing or she simply took the news rather well. Whichever it was, Dazzle began to make them feel unease as she simple went into a trance until the squealing breaks of the bus stopping at the fast food spot that shook her from the mental lapse. A couple of the interior lights flickered as their ride halted with a jerk and the prerecorded message spoke loudly through the outdated speakers.

"Uh... our trip ends here unless we're not eating?" Aria spoke up as the bus driver gave the five minute courtesy pause before the doors would shut.

Sonata having not been the type to miss out on her addictive habit nudged Adagio who seemed to be searching for the right words to speak with. Her prodding soon met with a backhand slap to cease the act, which by then Dazzle rose up and calmly walked down the center to the front. With the others scrambling to catch up they noticed their disturbed leader begin to hum and sing a jolly tune as she neared the driver.

'Alright, something's up since she heard about that, she better not do something stupid that would make Sonata the smarter one of the two!' Aria sighed.

The music had been the level that could capture a person with the soft lullaby, as she stopped just next to the operator and looked him in the eye. The portly man in his dull blue uniform of the city, with the Equestrian symbol on the cap and shirt pocket to verify his employment looked at her with dilated pupils. Hands gripping the steering wheel as if a part of him were trying to resist, Adagio then caressed his right arm before leaving out the folding door. No sooner had all three of them left had the vehicle chugged on its way and kept gaining speed. Even as Adagio began to walk to the giant taco food truck parked not thirty feet away with its taco sign shining brightly, Aria stood and watched things unfold.

She knew Adagio did something and what she witnessed shook her, Sonata torn between following either of them while also sensing something was wrong. Ignoring the panicking girl, Blaze tracked the large red, white, and blue transport plow through the red light and slam on its breaks in a cacophony of metal on metal followed by the eruption of horns blaring and the clash of colliding cars and trucks. With her feet firmly frozen in place, the scene became a huge traffic accident where the tall tell green haze began to flow freely like a mountain springs steam during winter. Most of which had begun to flow towards them as their gems greedily sucked in the disaster.

'We have to deal with this now! She'll send the entire town into chaos before we even get home at this rate. Gotta be her thinking of this place as if it were Canterlot, why am I the only smart one here!? Geez...' she screamed in her mind as she caught up just in time to catch Adagio and Sonata just about to place their order for food before a shocked chef that kept looking to the accident down the road.

"Sonata, get what you'd like and as much as you want. We'll order after you." Dazzle stepped aside with a sweet kind smile to calm the worried pod mate into being goaded.

"Uhhh... thanks?" she flinched when a hand gestured to step ahead to the distracted waiting pen and paper for their orders.

Comments

[Raistlin]

7425811

So, did the ponies try to genocide the Sirens, children included?

[TheronSniper]

7567040 Since the Thestrals typically handle baddies, they are the meanest and most skilled of the crowns armed forces. Then you have the Siren race which battles for their lives daily, put two and two together and the guard had no other option to subdue. Not to mention the pony xenophobia, they went with what they had as far as information and took on the lone family of the creatures. The males being of no magical use were deadly enough to need such a violent take to remove them. The mother and the hatchlings were a bag and grab mission, so not really true genocide much as it were a need for the unique gems and specimens since they posed such a threat to Equestria. Dirty deeds so the many may sleep sound at night.