The Siren's Remorse

by TheronSniper

Ch. 28 What Haunts in the Dark

Ch. 28 What Haunts in the Dark

After Principle Celestia authorized the roster and supplied a few things for them, she gave the trio a wishful hope that the schools pride and spirit would be reinstated. She sent them off with a key to the gym and a slip to give to Coach Iron to allow them access after hours. Though the one thing they were provided which was the most valuable were the game events they were to begin training for, and this years special course was astounding enough alone.

"Wow, I can't believe they could afford this! Can you imagine the insurance? Let alone the cost to build it." Rose read through the details with wide eyes like a kid eyeing a new gaming console.

"I know, archery with moving targets, a roller derby, then a dirt bike race! Its a whole Tri-Cross-Relay event and they're building it in the second soccer field that's barely even used. Not sure how we're going to train for the last part, but the first should be simple. Coach has the archery equipment from his youth he could lend us, and I think there's a girl's derby club around the school somewhere we could ask for help. All the other events are simple tests, basic class work I'm sure we can ace or at least create a stalemate." Sunset said as she passed the sheet to Flash.

"I might know a few people who own their own motor bike park on private property, since we only need two for that race it should not be a problem asking for a favor." he smiled to the two before going over the information himself.

"Good, whose going to do what though? You and Flash seem to be the best suited for the bike event, Rainbow and Pinkie Pie for the roller derby since they have the most energy of the group, and Applejack with Fluttershy for the the target shoot because they're the most level headed. What will Rarity be doing?" Luck asked which had Sunset tapping her chin for a moment as they passed by a few groups of students meandering in the hallway.

"I know, she'll be the sub for any of the games just in case we have an accident or someone can't play, and I don't mean for the first half of the events. I doubt we'll get hurt in the cook off or the chemistry portion. Which means she'll need to come with us to the that park you mentioned Flash, she'll need to learn and be trained like us." Sunset grinned knowing the prim and proper lady would have quite the time with the messy sport.

He looked away from the paper and nodded to her, "There's still not a problem, I think Mud Slinger would only disagree if we took the whole troop though. I'll give him a call and make sure we can use it first off, my dad could drive us over. He's been dying to get on a bike for ages since he repairs them for side cash now and then." he chuckled before catching a slight glimpse of a few looks from the girls and boys towards the former queen bee of the school.

"Great! So we have what we need to start training and in some cases studying, the principle even gave us passes from tests in all our classes just for the games. Seems even she wants us to win just as well." she replied taking the paper he handed to her and folding them up to stow away in her black jacket.

Having heard not long from them that the games would stress them out enough besides watching out for hooligans, the excuses from heavy studying would remove some of the workload. Celestia had essentially permitted them to maybe even seek out the hidden evil lurking around. With the games putting them all together for a longer duration of time, Sunset foresaw a possible chance to find another stranger seeking either them or something else. As they locate whatever their efforts are geared towards, she was sure they'd make mistakes and they would be there to catch them. She wouldn't be taking much of a break from her own hunt though, even if she wanted to it would have been short lived before diving back into the librarium she'd recently reinforced with wards when she felt enough mana had recuperated. Even if she did enjoy the time with Rose and Sentry, she still had a mission and from what has so far attacked and stolen meant there would never be rest.

So far she was alone leading the only magical capable group that could stop whatever evil plans were being followed. Discord's little joy out of this furthered her hopes the enemy would show up soon and sow chaos as the spirit seemed to feel would come. She couldn't help but feel like they were in some crazy late night skit for a comedy show, the joke slowly unraveling even if it brought them the pain of the prank.

As they reached the junction for which they would need to part to their next classes, it was then that Shimmer realized she left her supplies for her Greek Literature lessons. She'd be in trouble without the three translated stories with the way Brilliant Teller hosted her course, a stickler for the prepared and bane to the lacking.

"I guess we'll have to see each other after school, I gotta head back to my locker before next period. Otherwise I don't think those passes will guard against extra homework from Teller, you know her record around here?" she giggled as Rose gave her a farewell hand slap and shake much of the other kids often did.

"Stay safe, I'll text if I can make it after school, maybe you and Flash can stop by my home tonight for dinner? Mom's cooking up this awesome meal and we don't have room for left overs in the fridge." Luck asked as the two let go.

Flash nodded in agreement, "Ya I think that'll be fine, I'll let my folks know before fifth period. How about you Sunny?" his little nickname for her caused a little blush of shyness out of her.

"Eh, ya! I'm game! Not like I eat with anyone else every night? Text us when you want us to arrive okay? I'll see you guys later! Gotta run!" she looked away trying to avoid showing the red cheeks and awkward smile.

"Promise to have Slinger's say about the field, so don't tell the girls anything just yet! Good luck!" he smiled, watching Sunset jogged away flustered.

Rose grinned as she observed the boy follow her form before out of sight, "You and her are quite the best friends now? You get along so well, probably more than her friends."

He shook his head and looked at her, a hand rubbing the back of his neck, "You think? Hard to believe not long ago she use to be the demon of Canterlot High, now she's... she's like anyone else here. Striving to get somewhere in life and just trying to be helpful, just happy I can help her through it. We both know the school still has a little resistance to her still."

Luck rolled her eyes and huffed, "Ya, people around here hold a grudge that goes without saying. That's why she needs us, and why your important to her you know that?"

"I'm sorry? I'm not sure I follow?" he dropped his hand and gazed at the soft hues of red and pink locks as they shook to her head.

Chuckling, "Your like the only other boy she trusts enough, and the only one who still stood by her after what happened at the dance. For a girl, a best friend is everything to her, and being her ex gives a sort of... solace to confide in. Tell me, I've heard you had a thing for that Twilight Sparkle who saved us twice now. Is it true?" she looked around as the hall cleared out.

Sentry watched her stroll step by step closer to him until they were face to face, unfamiliar with how to react to the proximity. He wanted to ask her what she was doing, as it felt like she was trying to hit on him in a weird way as it seemed. Yet before he could speak, a strange pleasant smell of some kind of flower tickled his nose and locked him up. It tingled, nearly sending his mind flipping over in his skull as if vertigo were kicking in, but all in all he felt amazing.

"Well?"

He swayed in place like a rocking palm tree gently in a soft wind, "I... like her, she's done... cool things for us... kind and almost as if she has an innocent look... everything about our world... so new to her. But..."

"But what?"

Though still racked with the high forced upon him there was not a sign of holding back, "She's not here... only when possible... when we need help to stop... evil. When I see her... want to spend time... as much as possible before... she leaves. I look forward to each time... but every other month... I like Sunset though... I can talk to her as much as I can... easy to find and spend time..."

Rose grinned at the admission, "So you really like her like her? I mean again that is."

"Yes, she's cute... very smart... tries to help anyone she can even though... no one really has forgiven her... I'm drawn to that... be there for her and a good friend... maybe... maybe we could still..." the sounds of students coming into their vicinity had Luck curse under her breathe and stepped away from the boy.

The trio of little teenagers were absorbed in whatever they were going to do next to find their talent and futures in. Of course a minor verbal tiff broke out at the mere mention of glue or adhesive for a job that the one who belonged to the farm girl mentioned of. The little anger from the messy haired runt of the group ensured they missed Flash coming out of the sensational haze, leaving into another wing to whatever class they headed to.

Rose patted his right arm and smiled, "Hey we'll be late if we dally around, keep an eye on your phone after three. I'll send the time to come over with Sunset, I'd walk together though because there's been word of a vicious dog on the loose. Wouldn't want to be caught alone with it."

As she left, Flash gave a slight groan as if something felt empty inside, "Ya... sure thing! See you later."

By now students were mostly in their classrooms, allowing Sunset to walk alone save for the one student either dashing to make attendance or meandering at their own pace. She reached her door in no time and set about unlocking the combination, thinking about all they had to do for the upcoming games. Wondering if she'd learn a thing or two from Flash, and spending some more time with him with the mechanical bicycles that seemed fun enough to try even as a past time. She'd be lying if she didn't desire the social bond with him even if it could never be anything more with his eye on the Princess of Equestria and Friendship.

As she grabbed the books and the notepad for the class, the corners of her eyes picked up something. A flutter through the grill vents of the metal door on the right that then lead to another movement on the left side of her. Which at first she guessed it was just some kid who could pass through a hallway without breaking the usual quietness, there were the few gifted stealth kids. Her good mood clouded the cautionary behavior, letting the mind forgo as she closed the door and reset the lock. Turning around, the next designation set the boots marching on with a ignorant mind piloting them.

The clocks that were bolted to the walls close to the ceiling which dotted every other section told her she still had five minutes till the bell would ring. Enough for her to continue contemplating the games that were soon at hand and the scheduling she needed to make for practice. Going over in her head limits of each of her friends, it was then that the sound of something scraping against the waxed floors began to grow through the silence and muffled noises behind classroom doors. Of course she couldn't pay any attention, even as a light thud began to echo hitting the floor far away like a sledgehammer hitting clay slowly and methodically. Something rough irritated the walls like sandpaper, a dense and stone-like scraping added to the chorus.

"Excuse me!" someone called out with a struggle in their voice, just soon enough that Sunset awoke from her thoughts to avoid colliding with Citrus Walker.

Startled, she stepped aside as the boy who carried a hefty stack of books in his lanky arms waddled past her just as his body were to give out any second. Using whatever energy he had as his arms, he forced himself to where ever he headed to stomping all the way to avoid dropping the texts to keep his balance. She noticed that if those fell, he'd have a near impossible task of lifting them again, it was then she saw something black snake down the hallway intersection down her original route. Just about to ask Citrus if he needed help, everything stopped for her as she realized what that was and what was stalking her once more.

"...no... not again..." she stumbled backwards as the sound of the nightmare beast finally reached her attention.

It sounded huge, yet not as big as it had been if it were able to skulk the corridors as it seemed to be doing. That should have steeled her resolve, knowing the thing wasn't real and just a curse that could not harm a single hair on her. Yet the impending fear from so long a time under the effect of the hex seemed to have stolen it, a powerful weaponized spell this had to be to do such a thing to her. Where reality seemed to blend with the imagination seamlessly, could she strengthen her mind to will the false dragon away like it were the fear from the aftermath of a horror movie?

Whispering to herself knowing no one would see it but her, "As Discord said, your just a dream for the waking world. Your just a dream and I have class to attend, begone from me demon born of hate and disharmony!"

Continuing to step away amid the closing sounds emanating from the black scaly monstrosity, it became clear she had to try harder or risk another traumatic event of nearly being eaten. Sweat started to bead on her flesh as the cooling sensation from the anxiety became noticeable.

"I am not yours to control, I'm not trapped in this with you... your trapped in here with..." she tried to stand against the impending terror until a three taloned claw shot around the left corner of the junction into the main hall.

Silver claws dug into the wall as the grip from the huge appendage anchored itself. The grisly head she knew like the back of her hand made its appearance in its horrific glory of spiked plates and horns, concrete from the wall began to crumble to the ground like a crispy cookie crushed in the palm of a hand. Her eyes did not miss that bit of detail, though she at first scoffed at the added nuance as the curse seemed to adapt to her ever awakening mind. The vile beings that hexed her would pay for the damage they'd done, it seemed they were really after her for whatever reason.

"A little thing like that won't change it... your still not real and that wall is still normal. I wasn't born yesterday!" a sharp grin formed as she felt like an upper hand had been gained hoping it would vanish soon.

"Why is the wall cracking like that?" she heard the familiar sweetie belle ask from down the right wing of the junction.

Applebloom and her two friends were making their appearance and pondered at the falling pieces of the school structure. The reptile did not tear its putrid glare from her even as the teenagers squinted at the rubble and damage, just remaining still as it snarled loud enough to send her heart racing even more.

"Huh? Strange ain't it?" Applejack's little sister asked tilting her head as more small bits fell in sync with the tightening vice of the spear-like claws.

"Hey, maybe we should try to become construction workers! Maybe that's our calling! You know, build a few stuff and boom! We'll head the next construction of the world's tallest sky scraper!" Applebloom proposed as she gently elbowed Rarity's sister.

"I think they have cement in the janitors closet for repairs, maybe we can fix this up and patch it for the principle. See what happens after that?" the alabaster young girl noted which the other two then high fived.

In unison they completed their usual catchphrase and joined hands, "Talent Crusaders Builders! Yay!"

The young students were off in a fraction of time without noticing Shimmer sporting a ghastly look. If what had just happened really did occur, if those girls were real too, then she had little reason to trust that this was about to end like it always did.

"You... may not be real but... I think I'm late for class!" she nearly made for a sprint to escape as her legs drove her away, the dragon growled and bared its fanged maw through scaly lips at the prey item.

The obsidian beast let loose a roar which sent a rumble through the air to which even she couldn't evade after turning down hallway after hallway. A thunderous call to signal its pursuit so guttural her teeth chattered in her mouth, winged arms forcing its bulk towards the scampering prey like a cat to a mouse echoed with each pounce. All along the way, its claws punctured the painted cinder block walls, it gained attention from even the most noisiest class or through the volume of a documentary being played. Though most figured it was some student going to class and making the sound as some tended to do from having too much energy, slapping a book or ruler along doors just to annoy the teachers.

Shimmer eventually reached the stairs nearly losing her literature in the process as she slid into the main hall, not wanting to test out how real the hex was attempting to be if it was at all. Even if she wished those girls were just apart of the hex, it would have been all to much for her to believe the curse evolved to that extent. She knew her spell casting well enough, and something like that needed the original caster to add more mana. No one out of the norm was around so the only other option had to be something else entirely or so she hoped.

Launching herself up the stairs, leaping three steps for every reach of her heel she raced as if her life would end as soon as the Wyvern caught her. Her throat started to go hoarse from breathing so hard, the heart aching from the adrenaline as the fell beast slammed into the main hall below having sped out of the wing from where she traveled from. Giving it a quick glance behind her, its heavy bulk had impacted the opposite wall where a few posters hung for events old and new, and some were shorn off the surface by its insidious spiked form.

"Your not real! Your not real! Not real at all!" she huffed heavily as she reached the top and dashed onward.

The vicious looking viper eyes locked onto her head right before it disappeared from its vantage, with a quick snort of air through its nostrils it skipped on the floor forward before springing up in a graceful manner. The grasping talons crunched the safety rails with powerful muscles, then bent them over the ledge as it strengthened its momentum to shoot over the stairs with its heft. The lively spiked tail whistled as it cut through the air, complementing its gurgling snarl that sent Shimmer into overdrive by the speed of her attacker breathing down her back. Forty feet away and the thing had simple caught up with her effortlessly.

A few doors down and she hoped the class filled with students would banish it from her mind, hoping its new tangible form wouldn't continue through it and harm everyone in there. Being in a flight or fight mode, she embraced the flight seeing as there was little to nothing she could do to stand against it.

"Just a little more!!" she shouted to herself as the door came within reach and her hands went out to grasp it.

By now she was not the most subtle one trying to make it before the bell, her boots were slamming the floor in her rush and it drew attention. A lone teacher with a stack of freshly printed papers for her pop quiz had nearly avoided being in the unfortunate bulldozers pathway, saved by mere seconds of taking a moment to look at the sheets for errors. The rush of air had the older woman track the blur before her and nearly had her scolding the student before the floor before her was gouged out. A cloud of dust and spray of pebbles and crumbs left in the wake as more scars formed behind the student.

The damage continued after the girl she'd known as Sunset Shimmer, her more earlier days as a student of the school were an unforgettable mark on her record as were the reports by students. The wall to the left of the girl had been violently injured as if some kind of ghost had set its rampage upon her and shore off an emergency fire alarm panel. The behemoth only the girl could see barreled till it neared the prize, a mouth opened wide ready to clamp down on the frail little body. The dragons mouth salivated with drips and strings of digestive enzymes shaking side to side with its momentum. Its last and final hiss deafening to her, even as she skidded to a stop and yanked the doorknob open, diving inside and slamming behind her completely out of breath in front of a very startled classroom.

While many eyes gazed upon her as she panted, the instructor broke the awe of the intrusion, "I dare say that is quite unbecoming of your Mrs. Shimmer! I suggest you don't do that again! Or I will send you to the principles office post haste!" she threatened with a fowl look of dismay.

Before the poor unfortunate could respond even in a timid manner, the glass view window in the door shattered as something scratched the entrance. Sending Sunset to the ground as shards from the impact had her falling forward with a yelp of shock with the door itself pounded against the locking mechanism with the loudest sound. If the students in the room could act more stunned than before, the bar was now too high to surpass. What was more, the door slowly creaked open as the latch of the knob had been ruined beyond recognition. Everyone including a bewildered Sunset watched as the beaten door stopped as it stopped at a ninety degree angle to reveal the extent of the scene. A gash of two long lines along the surface made evident something dangerous had dealt the blow, no more real than their own two eyes. Even the teacher was appalled by the development as she slowly stepped towards Shimmer to help her up and away, the other professor outside in the hall met her questing gaze with the same astoundment that nearly caused her paper stack to fall out of her hands.

No one had words for what transpired, and it was a good thing they were all too focused on the poor doorway to see Shimmer pale and scared. Nor would they as the sounds of other students calling out about the damage outside and further away made sure of it. This was something she couldn't bring herself to to even register, what was going on?

Downtown Equestria 8pm

Sitting in the taco trucks array of simple tables and steel chairs with an umbrella overhead for cover from the elements. The Dazzlings partook in their impromptu meal where not far down the road the chaos had begun to grow as the enraptured bus driver seemed to keep backing up and going forward into the mash of collided vehicles causing continuous mayhem. The yelling of the police who were already on the scene were trying to get inside, failing as the agonizing metal screamed reached all the way to their table. With the dark sky lit up with blue and red from the patrol cars along with the headlights of every vehicle jammed in the mashed intersection.

As their stomachs were in the process of being filled just as with their gems through the negative emotions of the unfortunate victims and their insurance premiums. Only Adagio seemed to believe all was well with the world as she happily bit into her grilled beef with its chewy texture. She seemed to be ignorant to her fellow sirens and their trepidation with exercising their abilities so blatantly. Even now, Aria feared that the pesky Rainbooms would soon catch onto them and go so far as to blast them once again right there on the sidewalk. That threat was not off the table as news copters and the beating of their blades soon graced the area with their presence. If they were seen on TV, even if they were as innocent as one could be by simply eating now far from the incident, that Sunset Shimmer would seek them out the next day.

The only way to avoid it would be to somehow get a handle on Adagio. She had been trying to tell the clumsy oaf Sonata to get a hold of Sparkle with her phone, but each time she attempted to say anything she received a very dangerous looking glare from their slightly deranged matriarch. Whatever fear Sonata had of the golden siren went out the window as soon as she began to dig into the twelve stack platter that Dazzle allowed, it was her drug from what Aria could see as she lost any cooperation. Essentially she had the group incapacitated, with her ever observant eye there was little that could be done in secret.

'Guess this is karma for always getting on her for every little stupid thing she does, why did I not think to get that phone number!' she cursed herself as she took an unwilling bite of the spicy tortilla wrap dripping with sauce and poultry.

Assuming she could figure out where on her body the phone hid, she might be able to grab it and make the call herself. However, Adagio is the wild card who seemed easily capable of harming anyone, the look about her had begun to make the skin crawl. If the calamity she created down the road hinted at her motives for the night were anything that she might do the next day. Then somehow she'd get that phone before everything went south. Using every bit of memory she had, Aria glanced around for a pocket or small pouch on Sonata's attire she used constantly or might have had a button or strap loose.

"Such a nice way to end the day don't you think girls?" Adagio sighed as their gems possessed a faint hue from their continued siphoning of the conflict.

Yellow's Office

With the day just entering noon, Serak and Twilight stood at the museum side entrance for staff as per Yellow's order after they contacted him. Having used her phone to call him and ask for a meeting, she assumed he'd be sitting down to lunch about then and they would have no issues seeing the man. Although surprised by the suddenness, he asked them to wait a moment as he left his office to greet them since there were elementary schools crowding the halls on tours. They figured if they tried going in alone that getting lost would likely occur with scores of screaming shouting little girls and boys who'd weave through their path. Trying to find anyone to talk to that was not already busy corralling the cats would have killed too much time for them anyways.

For the moment, they stood in the inner area of the exterior to the facility, protected from the sun by the overlapping overhead of the third story held up by massive striated columns. The gray stone clean to the spot free of bird nests and droppings from daily cleaning crews, one of which they spotted packing up their van on the other side of the street. Awaiting on the right side of the building for Yellow, the two carried on a conversation about magic for Twilight's sake.

"All I'm saying is that since you hang out with the Dazzlings so often, if this device pulls magic in the way I think it does. There's a chance you'll be open to the more dangerous forms that a beginner cannot handle. If the potency of the siren stones are intense enough, you might fall prey to the same fate that befell them when they first lost their gems or those who became the very poster boy for evil sorcerers. The psychological side effects of dark magic are invasive as they are virulent." he warned as his hands fixed his uniform to be presentable.

"I... I understand, Yellow's guide had plenty of warning before even the first spells were shown or broken down to the glyphs and sigils that give them form. How harmless dark magic really is when used by a highly trained mind and spirit, similar to harnessing the raw elements of nature. I think this has to do with me being human in fact, how it interacts with mana. It's almost like we're made to use it, but as a passive use at the same time." she pondered while tapping her chin.

"Yellow's the one who will know, I'm just kinda glad you did that in our presence so we can guide you properly. If anyone knows the perils of being introduced to the arts, I'm quite the candidate. Hence why I pushed to get this to his attention now than later." a grin that conveyed his knowledge actually eased her about the situation, while she was absolutely overjoyed of wielding the power she also did not want to have a huge setback mentally or physically.

"Speaking of which, you never told us about yourself? Would you be willing to say anything now that I can use magic?!" she asked as the sound of a lock disengaging clicked from the entrance way.

He hummed for a second, "Guess I can give you a tid bit, my people are not magical creatures by nature like the ponies. Your kind and mine quite the same if you think about it, save for the wings and chimeric qualities. Other than that, dead in terms of magic capability... sad to think that of the griffons." he chuckled just as Yellow opened the double doors.

Before she could go into questions concerning the creature he detailed, Yellow had begun to beckon them inside as he wiped a bit of evidence of his meal he had been eating. Even as the two greeted him and followed his instructions, she wondered about what kind of creatures could cross over and turn into human beings. With thus far being sirens and griffons as well as the obscured identities of the rest of Yellow's gang. Was there some kind of strange magic at work that determined what something was once they crossed into her world?

"You've made it at just the right time, I'm actually on a very slow day concerning paperwork and meetings. So what can I help with? It must be something very interesting to come all the way out here with Serak." he said while locking the push door behind them before walking into the white halls with the echoing laughter of small children.

The loud corridors that lead to the massive exhibit halls reverberated the orchestra of blabber and crying which made anyone nearby cover their ears in pain. Security cameras dotted every corner recording every little thing in case there were accidents by unruly children or a vandal. Their quality of their make had Sparkle's admiration, constructed by a top security systems corporation who most sought for the reliable products. Oddly enough she discovered that company when she had been designing a mobile robocam that could patrol properties using GPS and respond to any kind of movement that broke its laser grid sensor network. Here she was sure the museum would have no issues with anyone damaging to stealing anything without being recorded for the police to apprehend.

As they turned into the main hall that led to his office thankfully devoid of school children, "Well sir, you'll have to let me give you everything in detail before you say anything, I'm happy to say we have our magician we had originally planned for. Mrs Sparkle here...".

Unsurprisingly the man stopped in place and almost had the young woman collide into him, "What?"

Nearly stumbling to a stop, "It's true, I was in my cab when she not only repaired a wound, but took on a transformation which gave out halfway into the process." Serak's voice held a bit of trepidation if she heard right, as if what she did wasn't a very good thing to have happened.

The suited official turned to both of them and slowly gazed over them, with no visible emotions discernible it put Twilight on edge from her previous joyous sense of the feat. The moment held as the piercing glare would ensured the truth as if it came from their very souls, with a huff Yellow adjusted his tie before resuming their route. Leaving the other two baffled as to what was going to happen to them when they were in that room with him.

"He's not... mad at me? Is he?" she asked a little shaky.

Serak looked to her and gulped, "Not sure, I do know he hates surprises. But I didn't think this was one of those cases. Just leave no details out okay? Better he knows everything now since he has a habit of planning ahead well in time."

"Seems like he's a bit of a perfectionist then?" she whispered as they stepped onwards a little behind.

Hoping he wouldn't hear them they maintained whispering and hand gestures as they talked closer to each others ears, "Considering the original plan had to be changed because of a spirit lingering around, and how he felt about the way Adagio acted, now you suddenly have magic. It makes a strategist a wee bit frustrated."

She nodded when a familiar incident happened to her during a project with an unstable chemical, "Just like when I tried creating a stabilizing glass for home use to contain chemical spills or old fluids that couldn't be dumped in the trash. The first shipment of materials had contaminants, so I had to alter the formula to compensate in order to avoid cracks and acidic erosion."

"Then your both familiar with the havoc it can cause." Serak said as they finally reached the door and entered to find Yellow Tail already taking a seat.

The entrance closed behind them as they took a seat in the pine wood chairs before his desk, waiting to be addressed by the stoic man. He put his forehead into cupped hands and seemed to be in the process of collecting himself before speaking, it seemed the latest bit of news was more of an impact than they thought.

Judging by the neatly stacked folders and paperback books scooted to the edges of the desk, Sparkle figured they reached him as he concluded his normal routines early in the day. With most of the museum consumed with tours, he was left to the paperwork to which he filed and completed before they called him. Luck seemed to be on their side in this moment of time, fortunate to have a slot of time where he could offer extended stay if things became far more involved.

The little clock on the wall ticked away to the left wall of Yellow's office desk, besides their breathing and occasional shift on their seats there were no other sounds. A faint whiff of food remained in the room, something very meaty and heavily seasoned had been consumed recently. Other than the glass of water under the ceiling lights, nothing much had changed since she was last present. Even the defensive piece of equipment stood proud where he had placed it, its mechanical function at tracking brought back the device still around her neck and how it had probably done what it did. Before she could consider anymore of the technical data, Yellow stirred and wore a smile that had the same softness of when he met her at Crystal Prep.

"So, we have magic Mrs. Sparkle is that correct?" he inquired simply as his hands clasped themselves together to rest on the wood surface beneath them.

She shook her head and returned a look of contentment, "Yes sir, I found the portal and somehow at that point this absorbed some of the latent mana. If what Serak believes is true?" she brought the scanner into view for both of them to inspect.

Their eyes almost bugged out when she mentioned the once mysterious gateway, "By the gods it was there! Oh this is going to ease things greatly. You have no idea how amazing this is! I expected the detection to take a few days before we found it after all? Your aid is well appreciated, but I must know what led to this magic ability? You said it had to do with the instrument?"

Seeing no further apprehension needed, she dove into the story from the beginning to their arrival in the parking lot of the museum. Mentioning the chase with the Sunset Shimmer earned a grimace from the man which was understandable, but their lucky escape meant she wouldn't pose a danger. When Twilight discussed the strange world she seemed to caste her mental cognitive processes into and the strange spectral glow of the quartz, that turned the frown he sported back into a smile of one who knew wisdom like her. He began taking notes after extracting a notepad from his desk and added new information once she finished adding her theories based on his book he provided for her.

She gestured to the cab driver, "So you see why we had to meet you, if I'm to continue helping the Dazzlings I'll need to be sure I can handle their magic with the scanner just as he warned me of. Or I'll have to give it to you since I've completed the task that needed it, but that will remove my ability to wield magic and help your cause even more than what I was relegated to. Risking corruption would be like me trying to use a two gas type wielding torch without the knowledge that having the valve open for too long while lighting it could lead to an explosion." she finished with the simile and awaited him to finish writing.

It took him a span of a few minutes to finish whatever he needed to put down before he looked up with a very ecstatic mood about him. His head rose, the crimson hair of his glistened in the lights with his pyrite eyes looking to the two of them with a fire.

"We've progressed farther than I'd hoped was possible, and seeing as now you have felt and used magic, I know your hooked. You've felt it, used it, and seen the results of its more positive side to benefit humanity. The confirmation of the gateway also means that the Equestrians have a way through which means you've shed light on a possible security issue. We knew they were appearing here using some kind of spell with a return beacon, never thought they'd have a solid wormhole?" he begged the question as he seemed eager to continue.

"I'm happy I could be of help to you, I'm sure Adagio and the others will be even happy to know the trip has a physical location to depart. I believe it will boost their morale. But how did the device actually find it much less absorb magic?" Sparkle asked.

"Well then to start, that quartz shard I gave you has trace amounts of a special kind of metal unique only to Equestria, but it does not interfere with the designated use which is to act like a void stone and home in on sources of mana. By sending specific energy waves to trigger the electronic sensors, it acts like a compass and bares down upon the source for the most part. The old Arcana trained me to use these for experiments with spells and enchantments, a number of these could buffer a catastrophic event should something go wrong and terminate the side effects. Of course we used unrestrained versions which could effectively absorb anything that had been caste and did not draw from the users in the vicinity." Sparkle listened with awe at a whole new element she could discover on top of the magical arts, she'd need to get an electron microscope to truly get a feel for the gemstone.

"I knew the warnings about simple spells, but its amazing to know you have safety protocols in place just in case! Kind of like vents in a fume hood for volatile or dangerous chemicals." she gasped at the idea of a magical gem that might be able to absorb radiation from the environment as it would mana or at least there might be a crystal that could with an enchantment upon it.

Yellow continued seeing the girl absolutely absorbed in his words, "Example would be manifesting fire, fueling flames from mana alone using thaumic energy and converting it into burnable fuel is a tricky business. A fresh apprentice could easily pour too much into the point of conflagration and detonate it or create an unending jet of super heated fire. Guardian gems, as they're called, could be placed around the area and given a charm which would prevent them from absorbing magic until they broke from a preset condition set into the diagram. A sudden burst of heat or the like, and before the accident could become fatal to anyone the effect would be drastically toned down to lessen damage. Sadly, I only had a Mountain Spring gem for the device at the time hence why I said it should only detect. I hoped the technological components should have mitigated its absorbent properties with the two magnets I had you install. Though I guess we should be happy it somehow fed the magic into you, curious that your already beyond a unicorn foals abilities and your still new it this." the two men looked to each other and nodded at something between their minds only.

Twilight missed the trade as she sat on the unique crystals that were used in such a way before Serak added, "Until your kind evolve like the ponies did and learn to draw upon the portals magic without assistance, you'll need more of those quartz before I'd say you're guaranteed to bring it to the world. That said, what kind of magic you use is indeed a huge issue especially for such a fledgling race as yours is."

As they had covered, he made the point very clear, "I understand, the psychology of humanity can range very widely, so whoever uses magic could always use it for evil means. But I will endevour to ensure it's never put to such a misplaced use, I intend it to be for advancements in our infrastructure and health before it sees any other of the ideas I've planned out. It will be a tool to build, never to destroy."

Yellow and Serak shared a light heart chuckle at her youthful enthusiasm, "While I'd love to go into the many avenues for which your world could improve by, we're getting ahead of ourselves... as this meeting is really about you. You may be a human pure of heart, but ambitions and drives can quickly taint that and cause... unintended outcomes."

Yellow sighed as he levied the new issue, "It's too big of a risk to allow you to wear that anywhere near the sirens. Consider it as if you were a worker at a petrol refinery, no smoking on the premises where flammable petrol exists. So promise me you'll abstain from it if you need to be around them, or rather keep it at your home safe and away from problems. It'll pull in any magic, so if you attain some of theirs there could be a high chance of a catastrophe abound. Dark magic is not a toy to experiment with as it is in your nature to do, that I want to make clear. It is fueled by the users emotional state as well as their mana well to function. Your a beginner, so that means your not mentally guarded enough to prevent the corruption that took over many young mages in their prime. And I've seen my share of fallen who lose themselves to the seduction."

Serak spoke up with a solemn tone next to her, "When my people saw how godly magic made ponies as well as the evil demi gods like Grogar of yor, they would not even have me try out what I knew was safe and simple for crop production. They quickly jailed me in the dungeons and harkened a caravan of mages to caste me away to this world. Magic can be an integral part of society, or be demonized. I'd rather that not happen to you as well Mrs. Sparkle." he glanced at her with an all too understanding spirit of misfortune.

Yellow took a sip from the glass of water on his desk, "What you experienced in your mind is what most Arcana mages and Adepts use to study, it's basically a way to access all the memories in your mind far more efficiently then just sitting down and trying to think about it. It was said to have been developed during the first hundred years after the Demon granted the world magic, coined by the Wind Mage Avilea of the cedar forest. The key difference is the memory won't degrade from the standard access method we all do daily. Instead, if you read my book and memorized it, then years from now should the need of something from a passage arise. Summoning the Librarium will allow you to essentially be able to recall memory in detail without damaging it, you could even go so far as to look into your childhood and see what favorite color was yours when you were celebrating your fifth birthday. But to perform such a mental construct takes skill and not some random occurrence, and that is what has me interested in you the most."

"Oh my... that is... wow..." nearly spell bound by the revelation she could not bring words to bear at the accomplishment she achieved effortlessly.

Yellow hummed in agreement with her shock, "While it puts the user in a trance, you would be vulnerable in the real world so bare that in mind and keep such experiences behind locked doors. The healing spell you performed is a passive ability, the body's natural reaction when hurt is to automatically heal itself to an extent and magic aids that. You likely won't be able to actually perform a healing spell anytime soon let alone on another person, that I'm sure you know as to why. Now about that transformation you mentioned, I believe that is the fusion of the human body and concentrated mana pure from the source. I think Canterlot High has been privy to that show on a few occasions, which I was unable to get an eye and ear into other than gossip or rumors. This is a very problematic topic I want to address firmly for you to be aware, while I don't believe humans will develop a whole new phyisical appearance once exposed to magic like you have there is a chance of it." his voice became more akin to a professor lecturing a student who nearly blew up their science project.

"My... h-horn and g-glasses..." she stuttered as she remembered the image in the tiny mirror of bright blue energy in solid form with wings to boot.

"Consider it as if your a young adult growing into maturity, you need to keep it pure until you've reached the point of no return. That way you'll be far more resilient against the temptations that can dog you like a flea. It is a sign of power, of the mana within you and as you witnessed it vanished presumably with whatever the device had absorbed. I feel that the instrument is likely sapped of anything viable. You'll need more to be able to use magic. Case in point, this proves your weakness to dark magic, your forming a magical profile so do not be afraid of it. Who you will look like fully ascended won't define you or dictate what you will do, it's merely the way magic works. It needs to have some kind of form to harness itself, that you must dote upon like a careful gardener who lets no weeds spring up. Equestrian magic is so unique and still unexplored that I'm sure we'll run into many harmless effects on your kind before the worst show themselves." he clapped his hands to finalize his words.

"So as long as I adhere to this sterile cultivation of my magical profile there is no danger? That's good I guess, but why the wings? I saw dark avian wings with light through the bone structure! Does that mean I can fly as well?!" she hoped that now flying like the fabled Greek mythos Icarus, humanity's capability of flying would change everything and remove boundaries that long confined many cultures and economies.

"First, let me go into the equines of Equis first that way you can understand their influence on the magic you've drawn upon. Ponies have one or the other or none of which from their standard genealogy. Depending on the breed of course there are the earth caste who have a deep connection to the ley lines and are able to cultivate and harness nature. The air caste known as pegasus are weavers of the sky that dominate the air and speed, essentially they are meteorologists who can actually forecast and alter weather patterns into controlled routines. Then you have the magic caste known as unicorns which I believe you fall into, they are innately capable of wielding mana as if it were child's play and crafted spells since the beginning. Only one exists who has all traits of the tribes and thus are considered as gods to the three sub species. They are called the alicorns, mysterious beings of great magical prowess and vast reservoirs of mana, said to once be creators and destroyers in the olden times before literature and books were thought of. Though I've only know about the fillies of my time born from the so called Queen Faust before she passed away. If you had enough potent magic in you, you might temporarily become an alicorn, or if you absorb siren magic you might become one of them its all a pull of the hat really. Assuming however I even know what happens if a human enters Equestria as what became of us coming to your world." he sat back against his office hair at the unknown variable, they simply had no data to go with and as far as he knew she could truly end up being a siren as well with as much time as she spent with the girls.

"I cannot say where we will be at when the portal opens, but if it's for the data I need when I know people will try to go through it. The best thing is for me to attempt it at least once and come back to see what becomes of me. If what you say is true, diving into the portal should replenish the device well enough for my needs, so I can test that out with benefits." she offered as she typed a few notes into her phone.

Yellow chuckled at her personal quirks, "A sound idea, and you'll be able to see the land of plenty... if it is still there of course. Nonetheless, it seems we're understanding in the perils so that segues into a little lesson for you which I hope you'll be okay with. Your already dipping into mana now, and reading only gets you so far... so! How about we really test it shall we? I'm practically free for the rest of the day thanks to the school tours." he brought a yellow gemstone from the inner pockets of his suit and deposited it on the desktop softly for her to see.

Sparkle and Serak inspected precious mineral for a moment before they realize what it was and where he planned to go with it. A mana crystal which looked to be a lack of luster or glow, signifying its nearly depleted status. Yellow tented his fingers together as he looked to the young girl for a moment as if judging her somehow.

"This is an older capacitor gem I had left over, I want to see the transfer of mana and have you perform a few spells here while I watch or if you prefer a transformation again? It will gauge your skills and the exacting process of the device so I can make any further calibrations to it if needed. Will you accept the testing that needs to be done?" the museum official inquired looking hopefully to her.

The black uniformed driver spoke up before she could put a thought in, "That means you'll be able to do a few more stranger things, but judging by who you are I think you should be fine. I may not be a high level mage like Yellow, but a second pair of eyes can be helpful and besides. I have a few vacation days to forfeit anyways."

Twilight looked to both of them and felt a swelling of happiness as if it were her birthday and she actually had someone other than her parents and brother helping her celebrate. This was exactly what she wanted, magic and being able to attain new data like any old science project of her childhood years. She could be recharged if only by a little and see some boundaries and limits in herself as well as the use of arts. It had been the greatest gift ever offered to her since Shining Armor gave her that rag doll before he left. The priceless data she'd amass was worth any risk, but seeing as both magicians were willing to stay with her during the process what more was there to be had?

"Count me in! The Everton independent study won't know what hit them once I've learned magic and its every facets." the solid spirit she exhibited did not go unnoticed as the two men softened themselves.

"Good, now, let us recreate what let the scanner to absorb mana shall we?" Yellow suggested as they began the experimentation, tapping the crystal shard with the scanner to begin.

They would go on, probing the extraction process and her magical avatar she seemed to be creating the more exposure she had. Most of the time would be analyzing and going over the information they gathered, but like Yellow said no one ever bothered them throughout the experimentation. That was until she received a text message which forced her to call Sonata's phone, only to discover a dire situation in development.

Downtown Equestria, Lorenzo's Taco Truck 8:00 pm

Aria figured she found where Dusk hid her phone and waited for the right moment before she acted. Adagio still kept herself busy with her little meal while Sonata sighed with content and a empty tray before her. Then and there, the purple skinned teenager dove into the clothing of her compatriot and searched for the device as fast as she could, tickling Sonata immensely as she squirmed in place. Laughing all the while as Aria probed for the phone, earning a startled glare from her leader which soon took on a surge of ferocity at the defiance of her subordinate as she deduced what was going on.

"What do you think your doing Blaze!?" Adagio asked as her eyes glued onto the rebellious girl with a glow.

"Something I should have done a long time ago." she muttered stepping away from the table even with a death stare boring into her back.

"Now there is no need to be hasty Aria? Let us sit down and relax before we head back home?" she asked stepping out of her chair and scaring Sonata in the process with her perturbed twitching face that writhed in suppressed fury.

As she searched the number after looking it up in the texts section, "We're through with that now and you need help, something only a certain someone can help with." she triumphantly sent the emergency text before the crazy girl began to march towards her even as she herself stepped away.

"Aria, we've had this same talk over and over again why can't you just listen, I'm the leader here and you'll do exactly as I say. Simple as that... besides I don't need help... we're quite fine as we are." Dazzle insisted calmly as Sonata watched from her seat, shaking in her seat as she feared what was to come.

The twin pony tailed haired girl refused to hear anything being told, something was wrong and whatever it was had to be handled then and there. At first it had been the spirits in the gems which made them act weird, those were vanquished or so she hoped. What she wouldn't have gave to have had that night at the Sushi Bar to never of happened, that had led her to where she was now. She feared a fight might happen and by the signs and body language of her matriarch.

"Look at yourself, your are NOT the leader of this group. Not long ago you insisted we avoid making ourselves noticeable to those idiots at Canterlot High. Look around you, does this seem like we're laying low? And the night club too! Those people went over the line, so you like going over your own word? Is this how we're suppose to trust you?" she stood with bravery and a stalwart spirit as she felt the phone vibrate in her hand at an incoming call.

Adagio's eyes took on a hue of red as her gemstone glowed even brighter beneath her clothing, but she seemed too distracted at intimidating Aria to see she answered the call so all would be heard. Everything she'd say now would be listened in on, and it all played into Blaze's hand to gain leverage.

"All I see, is some geezer who drove into a red light and having a mid life crisis. Those people had it all in them back at that night club, I simply let them have a little more freedom than before. As for the Rainbooms... what threat are they? Even with our gems at half power now, we're twice as strong as we were when we faced them. And I seriously doubt they'll break out in song in the middle of the street right now. So stop being so foalish before I make you give me that phone before we leave." she took a step forward as her heel clacked on the pavement, "Unless that is, you want to challenge me for ownership of this unit?"

Grumbling from the aggravation she spouted a stern reply from the depth of her heart, "Like Tartarus I will, I already experienced it and I don't want the role! Not all its cracked up to be so that's why I'm trying to help you, you clod! I want us to become powerful, to put everyone beneath us, but as fans who love us not fear us. Because that is all we'll be doing at the rate we're going."

Adagio whipped her fluffy ponytail around before staring at the rebel, "These people are mere puppets to us, why are you concerned for their well being? A few minor incidents here and there won't be the end of the world, or do the Rainbooms shake your dorsal crest that much? What happened to the strong and angry siren who joined my pod? Is she no more?" teasing as she let the illuminating light of the gem fade away, giving respite to the two girls.

"I don't care about these monkeys, you know that better than anyone! What I do care about is ruining our cover by this destruction your willing to allow. Weeks ago you'd have gone ballistic if we so much as met a Canterlot High freak who might report on us, even Twilight could not be trusted. So why the sudden change? Why are we letting lose with abandon and drawing attention to ourselves?" she pressed back with conviction and stomped a shoe into the hard ground below.

For a moment, the matriarch held her thoughts as she gave the engagement a pause, as if she were realizing something was indeed off. With her icy stare fallen to deep consideration, Aria took the break of hostilities to see if Sparkle was still listening in and thankfully her name and a green phone symbol on the screen proved just so. She whispered into the phone where they were, warning the girl if she did not arrive soon then the whole town might be in danger. As she finished the message, she hung up just as Adagio looked back at her while tilting her head into a hand as if something caused a sudden migraine.

"I want to crush those musical hacks just as much as you, but something happened between Twilight and you on that night at the Sushi Bar. You either forgot or your memory is being hidden like a cragodile nest from minx and raccoons. We found you in that bathroom which you destroyed, and now here we are and your going about the same thing but with malice! Your destroying our only possibility of going back home and what you wanted to do, why?!" a couple police patrol cars sped by behind her heading to the still spell bound bus driver that kept on his joyride with no signs of stopping.

"I... I... uh my head..." Adagio's posture sagged as if something shattered the domination aura she once sported, "What was... I doing? Aria? Sonata? You and your taco addiction, I swear." to which the she groggily looked to seemed more lost than before.

Aria closed their distance as she witnessed the odd switch in personality, was there something affecting her and not just some crazy power high? Did she suffer from something they couldn't handle? The uncertainty granted a chance to get through before the veritable fate of their group with luck struck once again.

With extreme trepidation she called out mere feet away, "Adagio? Are you back to normal?" she nearly tried to touch the girl's shoulder as the siren fell to her knees from her instant ailment.

"Normal? I've been fine... just a rather annoying headache from listening to you two bicker like usual." her hands did their best to massage the temples as the spiking pain seemed to go away.

"Do you remember anything, what you were just doing right now?" Aria whipped her head back to the bus far down the road which had coincidentally ceased its antics, police swarming the doors to get inside shouting like madmen to the obscured bus driver.

"Ahh... feels like I... can't remember much. I remember going into that room with Yellow, for the meeting..." she gasped as the pain spiked one last time before lifting, their goofy companion breaking from her seat and rushing to her aid.

In that moment of feeling her fellow siren touch her arms gently , passing flicks of a second Adagio had closed her eyes and soon opened them into a whole new world. Having felt like she woke up from a long nap with a heavy grogginess fogging the mind, she soon willed herself stable and took in the scenery. Instead of a street vendor and black metal dining tables in a plaza, no concrete jungle before her nor the wails of alarms and blaring lights from the traffic accident down the street.

Instead, the world became a peaceful gentle shore of a tropical beach under comforting solar radiance. Her mother laid around her like she always did in her magnificent self as she had done in the many countless dreams that relived it. Whenever she felt trapped or stressed ever since that day she lost them, this dream always came back to her and offered whatever happiness to steel her spirit. Feeling young again without a care in the world for a sliver of time, where sometimes she'd even try to draw out the dream before it took its inevitable dark turn. Haunting her with the exact point in time that caused her to be put into this world and all that lead to it.

Though this had been the first time she'd enter the dream without falling asleep for the night, she transitioned directly to it just as she answered Aria's questions. That fueled her startled mindset, something was wrong or wrong with herself. She could not for the sake of her remember the missing portions of time, even if the girls tried to explain the first missing part at the restaurant and why her hands were injured. She hated not being in full control and information was her forte, to function as a proper matriarch she needed ever single waking second of life to judge the next course of action. To be deprived of even a fragment of time, it would drastically alter her decision making process to which angered her in frustration. She needed to be in full control, nothing amiss nor out of place that way they could find their prey and feed off them and become goddesses. It all had to be perfect, perfection was the true calling of siren kind as it was embodied in their voices they never stopped training.

"My little Dazzle, its time to eat? Don't you want your favorite?" she realized soon enough the huge adult had been talking to her with that loving motherly tone, giving a few cleansing licks along her daughters body which had the immediate effect it always had.

Stuck in the stupor of introspection and exterior stimulation, the pink tongue caressing as it cleaned dutifully and ever so meticulously. Sending mind numbing sensations through the still soft ganoid scales that had yet to mature into their hard armored state that protected her species from predators and their bio weaponry. Of all her body only her eyes were able to work for her under the ministrations of her mom, though with the lids starting to flutter down she could observe the same scenery of the mangrove coast. Adagio knew the dream had a will of its own by her extension of the need for comfort, and it always tried to calm her down with the way her mother expressed her love as every siren mother did. The dream wanted her to forget, or so she thought it wanted too and usually it got its way. However, with the empowerment brought on by her denied control over her life, the dream world could not contain the fire that raged in her pride as a matriarch in the real world.

Her head bobbed with each lap which left her scales glistening and free of debris, "My little Dazzle, we have to go and eat. Or do you wish to sleep the day away?" the big adult relented and began to get up from her crescent prone position.

The promise of food and the rumble of her now empty stomach attempted to keep her tethered to the paradise around her, "Mother! Please! I know where I am and what is going on! I know you... are.... are.... dead."

Adagio kept her eyes glued mournfully to her mother as she looked taken aback by the statement, "You died back then, you threw me to the banks to escape the poisoning that took our pod. I'm... all that's... left of our family."

For an awkward few minutes there had been no response from her, just the gentle lapping of the waters onto the white sands. The birds were awfully silent for their nature to laugh and caw, not even a fish jumped out of the water nor a tropical breeze tingle her dorsal crest. Dazzle simple blinked as she maintained her forwardness, watching her mother look away and turn around to walk forward a moment away to the supposed banquet. Her powerful forelegs propelled her far enough before the two met eyes again.

The gentle mulberry irises of her mother seemed to change her usual preprogrammed behavior she'd come to expect over the years. She looked deflated if a word could be pinned, her beautiful crest draped over her back like a loose sail on a ship and the every happy mood seemed to be drained.

"I meant no harm my little Dazzle. I only wanted to help you when you needed me... it seems I've overstepped my boundaries."

"What?"

Her mother continued as she looked to the vast blue sky above them, "I left a part of me with you when your father and I saved you from our fate, in case you needed me when you breathed your final breath. A young pup like you should not have survived... you should have gone into Poseidon's arms to be embraced by the god of the water realm and joined us... to be free of our needs and live in his vast kingdom in peace. Yet... here we are after many many times you've come to me needing help."

Adagio could not believe what she heard, the whole reason this always came back to her and why it felt so real and why she kept trying to warn them every time. It was no lucid sleep, she honest had a piece of her mother within her and why she never saw her when they were gemless. The magic...

Seeing her only daughter speechless, it saddened the great siren, "Now that you are aware, I'm afraid the magic that binds me to you may not last for very long. It was only to hold till your time came long ago, but now look at you... my beautiful little Dazzle all grown up and I dotting on you as if you were still just a hatchling."

That had her snapping too and realized she had attained her current body and its age, with a blink of her eyes she knew she stood taller. A quick inspection revealed her golden scales and shimmering webbing of her fins and tail, vanilla armored plates along her underside, and her pristine ivory white talons. Her own mouth filled with those sharp fangs she use to take great care to maintain instead of the pebbles her human form possessed.

"Mom... I... I don't know what to say? I think I knew something was I don't know... too real and it looks like I was right. You have no idea how much this means to me, that you've been there all this time. That you've been ready for me if I..." she began to feel salty tears haze her vision.

"You'll awaken soon my little one..."

"What!?" she cried out rubbing away the tears.

No longer blinded by the emotional breakthrough, she soon found out that the world went back to the tartarus pit that was the human world. The first thing before she could even breath, Sonata knelled in front of her gazing at every part of monkey form as her ruby glowed on its own accord. Like a nurse tending to a wounded patient, a foggy green haze developed around Adagio as it spewed from the other siren. Hovering around her body for a moment before it settled around her chest where the gem still hid. Though she desired to finish what she had to say to her mother, the equally important explanation as to what was going on now overcame everything else. For her two subordinates, the both of them were at first confused as to what was happening before Sonata realized Adagio had come back to awareness. She had been too focused on own pendant react as it reached out to Adagios own, as if they were communicating in some way.

"Sonata, what did you do?" Dazzle asked as she barely moved a muscle fearing it would end in disaster.

"I... I did nothing! I just thought you needed help?! My pendant is acting all funny and stuff?"

"No... no you did something just now, what were you trying to do!" Blaze pressed as she hovered by them.

Her answer came after the cerulean girl bit her lower lip and looked into her leader's begging eyes for a moment as if to authenticate something, "Fine! It was a little spell my mother taught me, just a simple scan for hatchlings when they sang too much. I just wanted to check if she was okay. Because she isn't, and its about her... gem."

"What do you mean?" the matriarch gasped as she pulled away and brought her ruby into view.

Dusk hesitated before tapping at her stone, "You have two voices, I can here them... one is yours and the other is... very sad."

Aria groaned as she pinched the bridge of her nose, "That makes no sense, Yellow removed the spirits so what else could it be?"

The first alarm went off before she too reacted, had Sonata sensed her mother in her magic? She was not something to remove like a corrupted spirit. Yet the description had been far off the mark when the so called sad voice came up. Her mother appeared to her many times before and never showed any signs of fear or worry, never did she cry even tears of joy. She just was the mother she'd remember from bygones ago. So then, if she really sensed another voice, were they really free of the spirits of the old sirens? Could a soul be vanquished even if it were so far gone?

"Its true, there's something with her and it feels and sounds like it is in pain. Are you like, sure you don't sense it to Adagio?" Dusk peered at her with concern and loyalty.

Looking up from the gemstone pendant, words could not find an anchor from which to trail out and instead fell away before they could be communicated. What could she say that she did not really know herself? Missing parts of recent memory, discovering her mother still lived through her magical aura, or that there was a splinter of the original owner possibly altering her perception and actions?

She felt lost, truly lost and unable to cope with the reality that she might have lost her own will to something else, her the magnificent Adagio and her Dazzlings. Sirens who nearly toppled Equestria and this world, doomed by the great Starswirl the Bearded and then by magical guardians of some kind. Now there she sat on the pavement with the symptoms of being subverted by a broken being that had no corporeal form and it got under her skin in such a way. She needed Yellow Tail to confirm this, with trust in Sonata that she spoke the truth in her little scan. Most pods had their own ways of healing and maintaining their young as they developed, and before she had been caste out by her pod she'd developed enough to know a few things even she could retain.

The abrupt halt of a vehicle nearby pulled her mind back to their surroundings, as did the other two who joined their leader in looking to the source. Headlights blinded any real detail for them to catch other than orange lights and a sign that managed to get through, the words taxi in black letters stuck out. Doors opened and someone called out to them frantically, a distinct female with speech patterns that meant it was only one person.

"GUYS!! Adagio! Aria, Sonata!" Twilight shouted as she came running up to them.

Aria sighed as the relief finally arrived to deal with the problem she did not want to deal with alone. Serak and Yellow Tail soon appeared after the blinding lights died with the engine cut off, the two of them slowly walking towards the scene as if they happened upon a bomb ready to go off. She could see anyway that their action in caution was not warranted, if she could she'd have stepped away and forego the whole thing if they were not a in this together. Though how much help could they offer to them to fix whatever was wrong?

Twilight stopped just before the girls holding her arms close to her body as she beheld the trio with a sense of belonging and trepidation. She couldn't really see any joy in them after what likely had happened, with Adagio and Sonata on the ground and Aria appearing even more peeved than ever. Knowing that they called her for a reason, she would serve the purpose and be of aid with all aside. Though she could not help but notice the traffic incident down the road and the many police cars and their lights still blaring red and blue.

Comments

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Is this about a human getting turned to a siren and getting sent there or just them finding a normal siren?

[TheronSniper]

7596768 The story's focus is not about anyone becoming a siren, but of the Dazzlings coming to terms with their own problems as they attempt to get back home. How magic affects humans is more of a little arc or developing detail and visa versa. Yellow gives the Dazzlings human siren gems to replace their own and they're discovering what alien magic does when used by Equestrians. By Equestrians I mean Equis denizens regardless of species. There is still alot more to come before the end of this book before the second one I plan, and I'm touching on magic and its nature.

[Ravatar]

7596925 Thanks for the heads up dude!