The Siren's Remorse

by TheronSniper

Ch. 50 Farewell

Ch. 50 Farewell

Roadblock after roadblock Shimmer drove the stolen truck past police barricades and black vehicle barriers trying to get to the girls who were sent to a clinic near the school. As it appeared to be the case, the authorities had several streets sealed off and they were running out of road to drive. Undaunted, Sunset sat in the middle with Flash holding onto her with the erratic way the older woman was driving. She desperately had slowed down and sped up whenever they got to close to the police cars and made a dash to the next street.

Surprisingly the back of the cab had a bag of clothing, and thankfully enough to chose from. Of course in their rush Sunset had to remove the hospital gown and switch into semi comfortable attire, and being only in her undergarments Sentry had to shield his eyes. If not out of respect for the teenager, he was also afraid of looking like a pervert to her human verse of his world. He thankfully did not end up in the kind of situations in the movies where something would go bad and the male character would end up being blamed and slapped at least once. The drive was easy after they were set to go, but the ride was something else.

“Can we not get a break today?!” Shimmer yelled to the road as she once again backed up and back traced their route.

Sentry held the seatbelt that secured his girlfriend a little forward as it had bitten into her sore body, “What if we just stop and make it on foot!” he grunted.

“Because they’ll see us going in, it’s a lockdown because of that fight going on at the school. Either way we won’t be able to make it to the others or the battle in time!” Sunset chewed a fingernail anxiously, they couldn’t find any available option to exploit as the truck lurched in a turn through an intersection.

The girls had no luck being reachable on their phones, so Sunset could not even say goodbye to them even at a distance, “I either let the Dazzlings go through just to see the girls once the police clear out… or I take to the portal on foot like you mentioned.”

Shimmer had weaved through a few cars before pulling the vehicle over to the front of a barbershop where people were leaving in a hurry. A best guess was they were trying to see why there were so many cop cars passing by earlier and the gunfire that erupted in the distance. It was the same scene everywhere else which was why there were blockades in the way. After hearing the other choice to take, the older woman made the choice for her doppelganger as she turned off the engine and stung a glare at the teens.

“Face the facts, you’re not going to see your friends before you leave. You either waste time trying… or you go through the alley ways and reach that warzone out there. Heck I can hear it from here!” the woman punched the steering wheel hard and instantly winced to the pain, and in truth they could hear the pops of guns going off with the windows rolled up.

“I just… I wanted to say thank you to them for being the few friends I had… I wanted to say goodbye.” Her mood dipped into near depressed tones as she admitted to Sentry, “You and Rose were the only others who really engaged with me, but I feel like I never really spent much time with the girls besides Pinkie Pie. Heck if it wasn’t for her during my darker times with the curse I’d probably be in a mental hospital by now.” Flash patted her on the back as he too remembered that portion of time and that walk they had to her dorm.

Shimmer’s pained hand dimmed to a mild sting and dull thumping as more people passed in front of the truck, “Then get your fat behind up and let’s go! That fight can end any minute now and you won’t get to go back home. Come on, let’s go!” she hefted the large door open and jumped down from the high seat of the elevated four by four.

The two teenagers were confused as she exited, trialing her all the way over to the other side of their door and opening it. A hand gesturing them to come out as she urgently coaxed them out. Of course they were unmoved and still unable to comprehend the serious nature she was in. Sunset did not actually want to leg it over, she had a spike of fear of seeing what was warring at Canterlot High.

“I’m not kidding! Do I look like I’m joking? If I have one chance to make a difference in my life… even if it’s not my own but another me then I’m taking the chance! If I have to piggy back you onwards I will.” She glared at her Equestrian self as she stepped aside for them to leave the vehicle.

“You’re really crazy aren’t you?!” Flash called her out, “Look I was only onboard on this if we saw the others and hopefully they would try to convince her to not go. Now you’re really putting her in danger! Sunset you can’t do this!? Please?”

His plea however were not taken as well as he hoped with the cat out of the bag, Sunset seemed not only to be battling the idea her human verse offered but took his admission as an offense. She knew he only was acting out of care for her well being and she was not in the best of condition to speak of. Though the ambient battle sounds did soften her initial reply to his comment knowing it would be no picnic once they got to the campus. In the end, he acted way out of line as he tried to undermine her plan after he vowed to side with her, he really did love her if a bit misguided or possessive.

“LOOK!! Whatever I choose to do is my choice and no one else’s! Flash… I know you care and maybe too much too soon… because I will be gone for a time just like Princess Twilight. But…” she gently caressed his face with a hand, “I will come back, I may want to work things out with Princess Celestia and save my world from destruction, but that doesn’t mean I’m going to stay? I will come back because… because being human and being with all of you has been the best time of my life I’ve ever felt!” she grabbed his chin and steadied his face to her gaze as she went on.

“Flash I love you as much as I love the girls, we’ve gone through so much together and we know each other better than anyone else! But my home needs me! If your parents were in trouble you’d act as soon as you’d hear about it. So give me some faith… just like your mother.” Bringing up his family’s history seemed to hit it home with him and thankfully quickly enough as Shimmer was growing impatient.

“Ya, you’re not her caretaker after all. We girls are tougher than you think!” she noted as she tapped her shoe and earned a short glare from Sunset.

“Please… help me get to the portal so we can find a way to stop others from getting hurt! I can’t live with myself if I let that happen.” She cupped his cheeks with both hands and brought her forehead close to his, easing his stressful state with a sigh.

The pause lasted a good minute before he in earnest gave up trying to stop her, he knew her old self and how it still carried on in her reformed personality to the present day. She was the type of person with a drive to do something and complete it, never backing down even if she doubted herself. That Queen Wasp personality had left a mark on her, whenever someone said no she’d find a way to confront it like an angry wasp if she saw a legitimate reason. She would face danger, indeed that he would never ignore, but this was important to her and who was he to stand in the way of it? He could still stay by her side even if they had to wade through magical attacks and more demonic entities, with a garnish of human weapons in the mix.

“I’m going to hate myself for this in the morning…” he unbuckled the two of them and stepped out first, handing a hand out for her to take as she looked at him dumbfounded.

“You mean it?” she whispered with watering eyes from happiness.

“When have you ever taken back your word to do something?” he chuckled darkly at the humor.

Shimmer nodded, “Ya, sooner we leave the better too.”

Canterlot High Front Lawn

The entire world had become embroiled in chaos, one of which there seemed to be no true harm coming to the prison guards in the beginning. Where a dragon rampaging through a pony town might trap and crush a family, or the wars being constantly fought in the human world in some far off country. This meeting of technology and magic was the equivalent of a one sided schoolyard tussle as Arcana mages managed to close the gap between them and the police undeterred.

Something Discord took the moment to pop in and watch from a safe way away, using binoculars to see the happenings and feeding theatre snacks into his gullet. He took delight in the mayhem being wrought, and of course he did whistle at the over the top antics that took out the airships. The little twist at the end was like fine icing on an ice cream cake before it flew away like ash in the wind. He found the Arcana a little fascinating, those ponies had a fine leader among them if they went to such active lengths even against the humans hardware.

He chuckled after they crash landed, one of which spurned adorable little Sunset onto the right path. Of course she lost the ability of the book he’d given her when they first met, something he’d have to rectify otherwise in due time she’d not live to see her old mentor again or play her part. Pulling out a rather large grandfather clock from a portal to his left, Discord observed the time as a loud bell rung as an alarm to the next hour having passed.

“The final play of the first act… my my my how time flies.” He chuckled as the wooden case filled with brass gears sprouted wings and began to flap away.

Down in the field of battle, Arcana barriers stood resilient and unblemished as unicorn guards handled the spells with careful regulation of mana. No slug or bullet could penetrate the magic which began to pile up on the ground deformed from meeting an unmovable surface. There had been two hundred feet originally between the guards and the human authorities, in the span of half a minute the distance was hands length away. Police who had held the line were at a loss as to how to handle what appeared to be nearly invisible deflecting shields staying the hostages from rescue and keeping the incoming crazed people from being put down. Volleys were fired and yet none found home, they sparked at best or ricocheted into the air. Though what prompted officers to begin moving forward were the appearance of liquid water, fireballs, and many other nearly delusional conjurings that took shape in the dangerous cultists hands. With impending weapons of supernatural powers manifesting menacingly, the more audacious police figured closing the distance would hopefully crack whatever was protecting them.

Officer Huckleberry witnessed the unbelievable happen as he went to reload his weapon, trying to shove another cartridge into the bottom slot of the shotgun. Water snaked from three of the closing suspects like vipers striking at a mouse, splashing upon officers Golden Spirit and Copper Penny. No sooner had that happened did the fluid begin to freeze upon their bodies, in seconds they were unable to move their limbs and thankfully they were just incapacitated and not encapsulated as their frightened cries indicated. Huckleberry backed away and knocked into fully armored SWAT officer, one who grunted and pushed him away just in time to coincidently save him from an incoming flat slab of dirt that the other man received. He and five others were flipped over onto their backs from the impact, of which their armor and face shields guarded the worst from injuring them but the kinetic energy still rattled their brains in their skulls. Huckleberry snapped to the downed men who were all moaning on the pavement dazed and confused.

From then on the battle went into a steady pace in favor of the Arcana, going through the anterior wall of human guards with ease and forcing them into inaction. As for the exiles and Twilight, things were looking to change very soon. The last stun attack had rendered many of them unable to do much but squirm from their wrecked nervous system. Even the likes of Magnus and Inferno were unable to do much but curse under their breath as they failed many a times to get up. With the Warden nearby, they wouldn’t have gotten far either from what Adagio guessed. She looked around and grinned at the sight of her Dazzlings showing movement when they in all rights shouldn’t have, she wasn’t alone. Twilight however must have done something cunning, the stun spell was meant for adult bodies with magical potential. Nonetheless, she was overjoyed that they were still in the game when even the infamous criminals of Equestria were helpless.

‘Just need to figure out how to handle this… no doubt the Warden has protection he’s keeping hidden. So we can’t just sing or jump him now, maybe if we bait him?’ Adagio thought carefully with what resources she had available.

The golden siren stayed on the ground as she moved her head to the girls. Sonata had her strength to bank on and likely all of them for that matter, yet she knew how to put her own powers to such use. Aria and she were out of the question which left Sparkle, she was too weak to combat a mage like the Warden. At twenty percent of her limiter she’d only use basic magic, nothing beneficial to her until she gazed at the exiles that were in pain in more ways than one.

It took a few moments before she realized that Twilight likely knew restoration magic and that could easily recover the brawlers of the group. The fighting began to sound further and further away as the Arcana guards worked their path through the police, she had seconds to enact the plan which would free up Havoc and Magnus. Once they went toe to toe with the Warden, her sirens could capture the brainless stallions around him and double their fighting force. Using the enemies own power source she’d buy them time to get the ride home moving.

“Twilight! Can you move?!” she whispered over to the girl on her back.

The lavender skinned teenager had wide eyes as if she too realized they were able to move like her, “I think I can? Why?”

“Can you caste a healing spell?” she asked with a few takes at the guards who were thankfully busy watching their comrades do the dirty work.

Sparkle shook her head, “I believe so? You’re not hurt are you?”

“I’m fine, but I need you to bring the rouge dragon and the berserker back into the fight. We need them to keep the Warden at bay while we capture some of his guards. Can you do that?” she hoped to Poseidon she’d hear only yes, a no would turn the tables back into inaction or dangerous risk.

Lifting a hand to rub her forehead, “I… I think so? Um… let me locate the proper spell for this, I have do something first give me a moment?” She replied and went into a trance of some kind that caused the matriarch to have a twitching muscle in her right eye.

“Well hurry up! And you better not be sleeping either!” Dazzle growled as she gripped a handful of grass and squeezed hard for whatever stupid reason the girl just zoned out.

While she waited, the rest of the battle drove onwards to the flanks of the school where the rest of the police and federal agents were being pushed back or taken down. Like a scythe to wheat, magical containment spells reaped through the ranks while nothing seemed to stop the advancing Arcana. Without aerial support to at least distract them, the humans fell away or those that could. Mud solidified feet and bodies to the ground, water froze whatever it touched, flames blinded eyesight, and air currents practically lifted the armored cops into the air several feet to be sailed into various directions. Screams and cries of help went unanswered as others still shouted in vain as their only means of defense was a fruitless.

With the humans falling in retreat, Adagio grimaced as she sensed everything was slipping from her grip. They were on the precipice of failure and she had only Twilight to rely on, how she could have wished all this happened before their gems lost most of their power. At least then she could have used her latest ability of the sonic blast, the same one she used to disable the Rainbooms and destroy that restroom at the restaurant. Currently, their gems were barely fifteen percent with the violence fueling their recharge, it seemed humanity fighting for their lives offered far more potent negativity than whatever they harbored naturally.

Then suddenly, her cream yellow ears picked up the voice of the very one she needed the most, “Found it! Sorry it took so long I had to locate the specific healing spell for recovery. Did you know the offensive magic the guards used has to be specifically removed or else it...” her happily little short lecture died once she noticed the scowl upon Dazzle, “Casting now!” Sparkle closed her eyes and reopened with a haze of mana glowing around her.

“Curatio fortitudo propago!!” the medical spell was spoken and acted as she did with the knock out spell, only this time there was no wave of mana but a single stream gently flowing from Sparkle’s chest.

The spell did as it was needed, silently it sought out the targets which Twilight imagined in the process of casting. Havoc and Magnus both froze in place as they received the relief and cessation of over stimulated muscles and nerves, leaving their bodies to move with ease again. Like cold water splashed upon them, their sober state was not left to squander and they took no heed to the source of the aid. All that they knew then was that they were free of pain and their limbs could actually move to their widest range and contract perfectly. Havoc chuckled manically as he cracked his fingers by flexing them, immediately afterwards launching up to a standing position with the spryness of a young dragon. Magnus had simply rolled over and groaned, rising to his feet cursing in some foreign language like a grumpy old man.

The Warden had been too occupied with the work of his guards in the distance to see Inferno made a mad dash into him, the surprise assault had both crack into each other and bounce on the grass. The lesser ponies were left aghast as they realized the prisoners were overcoming the stun spells. Adagio took that action to stand up herself and call forth her Dazzlings, with the leader being dealt with they could do some serious work and get the portal into working action again.

“Aria, Sonata!! On me!!” Dazzle ordered as she began the hum the most basic of sultry tunes she picked up several decades ago.

The two struggled to pick themselves up, though they slugged through and joined in the tune before the lyrics began. They did as what came natural to them when any Matriarch spoke such a declaration, they followed note for note even as they observed the sudden resuscitation of two of the exiles. They would have been speechless, seeing the extreme violence of Inferno impacting the Sub Warden which would have made them look away if it were not for the morbid curiosity. To see the foe who’d keep them in the human world indefinitely suffer their just reward.

The Dazzling’s voices went into auto pilot as they witnessed every swing of the dragon’s fists into the Arcana henchman’s face like the impact of a hammer. Aria could not help but grin as she sang the first words, seeing the physical violence being carried out in such a brutal fashion made her feel warm inside oddly enough. Something she found not only artistic in its execution, but something of a marvel as primal rage glowed neon green in her vision off of Havoc feeding her gem. Through their combined voices she heard every impact of fist to flesh, bone meeting bone, the slapping of skin against each other in rapid succession. She may not have been the one to deliver the attacks, but it was enough for her to savor the exile duking out the very revenge of being struck by an ambush. She could only imagine the might dragon back home, wreaking utter destruction as he once preached the other day. If this was his human form at its highest rage potential, her mind wondered for a short time his true body as it worked the same upon a pony town. All she could think of was how metal it was.

Sonata had her eyes locked onto Twilight in the mean time, scanning for any harm upon her friend and fellow Dazzling that thankfully none was evident. She barely paid any heed to the two men in front of her beyond a single glance. Joyous that Sparkle was safe for the time being, she sallied up and focused on their music.

The two teams of guards surrounding the Sub Warden were still frozen in place as they witnessed the beating, and only too late to realize the Dazzlings’s enchanted voices working their magic on them. The last thought of any freedom they’d have were those of utter terror before their entire world became nothing but pleasure from the siren’s song. Their pupils shrank as the spell enchanted them into complete obedience, just like the horses they were and human handlers guiding them through a riding session. Adagio lavished in the little piece of Tartarus Canterlot High had become, it was a shame the Rainbooms were not anywhere nearby to witness any of it. She would have loved to have seen their faces as they returned to conquer the real prize and left their school in ruins.

The choir of chaos complimented their music as Adagio began the implementation of their new fans, their adoration powerful and lip smackingly enjoyable. Weaponizing their spell in this manner was something she should have done long ago, and now came the manner of which all of Equestria would fall to their glory. Adagio started with the first phrase, ordering their pawns to their bidding.

“Why don’t you relax and follow our voice…” Adagio began.

The guards dropped their arms to their sides as their whole being gave complete attention from heart to soul to the sirens.

“All we want to do is go home, but you have given us no choice…”

Her Dazzlings maintained the vocal tunes as she continued, their prey would be going nowhere due to the strength of the gemstones. Something about the extinct human world sirens made them far more potent, there was no telling how many people perished from those poor souls.

“Give us your bodies and minds, and seek out foes that would harm us…”

The men clapped their boots together and saluted, even as Havoc continued his relentless fury upon their leader.

“Feel love, break our chains, make them nervous and release us…”

Grins grew upon the enslaved guards as they turned to attack their own, hands glowing with spells working into their casting forms. All the while, negative emotions sprouting from their bodies as if a dam had burst, the green mist fed the sirens with a quick shot to enhance their magic.

“… because The Dazzlings are back!” which Adagio cackled madly as the siren’s eyes began to glow red, empowering their captured pawns into a dash to their new targets and surprising them with magic straight into their flabbergasted faces.

No sooner had their song finished did Havoc receive a bright flash of light from the Sub Warden, forcing his hands to his blinded sight. He let out a shout of excruciating pain which drew the Dazzlings to ne on one fight. The Warden seemed to be recovering as his face rapidly healed with the robe which once obscured his features fully revealed who was underneath. Adagio and Twilight studied the facial structure as they memorized their foe, it was a man with sea green skin with a rather pointed face and chin. Bordering on a gaunt body type, he had white hair trimmed into nearly scraggly military cut which fit his station and told a story of how often he probably used the portal to report to his superiors. Amber eyes stood out and glared intently at the incapacitated dragon on top of him. His face had contorted into an even more enraged state which led to an offensive spell he weaved into his palms.

The appendages thrusted upwards to Inferno’s chest and held pause, “For that you will not have an appeal to your multiple life sentences! Off me Ravenger of Akhal-Teke!!”

A burst of air sailed the exile thirty feet away, landing hard on the grassy lawn with a bounce. Loud grunts and moans came from the affected prisoner as he tried to make the pain in his eyes fade away. He missed Monet and Pandius by inches as his body had rolled to a stop with the painful landing. The Warden thought himself free of trouble as he shakily rose to his feet, his ire turning to the sirens who were the others to come out of their stunned condition. He readied to incapacitate them with an ice wave as it charged in his wickedly curled fingers.

“And YOU three… the Head Warden will want to see you personally… you shouldn’t be standing and that’s a problem.” He seethed through his teeth as his eyes glowed a hot white from the mana being put into the coming attack.

Twilight instinctively froze in place in panic as the girls before her fanned out, she watched them shake a finger at the enemy in a playful manner.

“Ohhh come good sir, we’re just musicians that’s all. We can’t even lift a finger to hurt you… buuuut he might.” Dazzle motioned as did the other two to the Warden’s blind side, smirking wildly as if something comically entertaining were about to befell him.

Twilight watched the approaching Berserker as his squat form seemed to stride proudly to the officer and proceed to send a mighty thick fist straight into his face. The impact was loud and rather disturbing to hear, Sparkle could hear the abrupt movement of certain joints afflicted by the act and the spell dissipating with a sizzle as the mana left the Sub Warden’s hands. He stumbled to his left before catching another hit to his right kidney, the meaty fist sending a ripple through the robe which spun the Arcana member in place before falling back to the ground. Magnus seemed to be delighted and downright maddened as a craze overtook him.

“Aye laddie, I’ve been around a looooot longer than ye. And I have a nice stack of penitence to work on ya, so just sit still and let me ‘ave a go at ye!” to which the designer fighter resumed what Havoc had begun and only this time with far more force behind each throw.

The savage scene forced Twilight to look away and thankfully to a much nicer view, one where Paradox and Emerath were already sitting up on their legs as they fought through the stunning magic. She took that as a means to get away from danger and immediately applied what mana she amassed into healing them. The effect was drastically quick as they breathed easier and started to stand up, a little groggy but none the worse for wear.

“Danke fraulein… I must continue ze spell now. Stand back.” He staggered back to the gateway which still showed the vision of Canterlot Palace, “Ve must go through now before zey stop us!” he slammed his hands onto the surface of the portal as if it were solid and moved his hands to the right, spinning the image into something like that of a heavily forested area.

Emerath had come back in full and dusted himself off, “Sorrow? If you’ll so please go through?” he looked over to the decrepit woman who appeared unaffected in any way.

“If she’s a Lich… does that mean she wasn’t hurt by the guards like you guys were?” Sparkle asked inquisitively as she watched the exile methodically head to the sphere.

The mage checked for tears in his pants as he replied, “Possible? Little stops their kind, but if she were to have actually done anything we’d all likely be very dead right now. Best be thankful she played possum and all that.” Emerath stepped away from the one in question as they slowly proceeded in front of him on their way.

Twilight was about to ask Sorrow of her powers when she noticed the slightly toothy grin of the hunchbacked female that looked specifically at her. Missing teeth and empty portions of her gums greeted her, with the sun hat catching a gust of wind and flying off her head. Her lips mouthed a few words before the very body phased and stretched as the portal took her in. It was a fast act in itself before nothing stood there but empty space, mental notes complied in Twilight’s mind as she started to wonder how it would feel to go through this method of transportation and the possibilities of utilizing it, unlike the portal she accidently created.

“She’s through! Change to Monets!” Emerath shouted as he went to collect the gray skinned woman, Sparkle shaking away her awe and helping the next in line with her restoration spell.

“Zustimmung!”

As the prisoners were starting the process of exodus, Adagio had taken to observing the Sub Warden as he desperately tried to shield himself from the engineered warrior. She knew at some point Magnus would lose the edge over the mage and be repulsed in the same manner, it was likely the Warden was prepared for anything and probably couldn’t even feel the attacking knuckles. He was just simply stalling from the blunt impacts to do any thinking, magic could only do so much and he likely wasn’t a top tier unicorn either.

“Girls? Remember that sonic blast we treated the Rainbooms to before Sunset ruined everything?” Adagio asked her cohorts.

“Ya?” Dusk acknowledged.

“What about it? Blaze nodded.

“If he so much as sits up… we put him back down with our highest octave.” She grinned widely in sadistic pleasure.

In full agreement, the sirens positioned themselves as Magnus was eventually tossed away, they knew the note to sing and readied their throats. It would do them great pleasure to send the Sub Warden packing, but seconds turned into moments as Magnus happily and laudably enjoyed remaining dominant over his arch enemy.

Still ready for the predicted moment, they overhead the assailant gloat over the victim, “Ah’m!... Made… For… Bruise’n!”

Magnus shouted and took a flicker of a blink of an eye to send both fists down onto the Warden like sledgehammers. Easily, he pushed his head a little into the soil beneath, but they did not impact the flesh as it remained untouched which the detail did not go unnoticed by anyone. Thinking quickly, the Berserker hefted himself off and grabbed the legs of his foe to which he began to spin in place. It was an easy act to do as the Arcana officer began flying through centripetal force until he could rise no more. The two became a blur as Magnus reached top speed and soon released his quarry that was then launched into the air and well over the SWAT vehicles onto solid asphalt. The distance was marked by the thrower who called out the goal as if it were some football world cup.

“GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAALLLLLL!!!” Magnus yelled triumphantly before proceeding to vomit the contents of his stomach in hurling convulsions onto the grassy lawn.

“Ohhh gross!!” Aria said in revulsion.

“One down… at least.” Adagio sighed as she looked away.

Sonata had taken to find Twilight with the threat banished for the time being, catching Monet who passed onto Equis in what appeared to be a very arid and dry landscape of red dirt. Twilight had been mere feet heading to the hippie who was then lifting herself onto her elbows in a grimace. She never heard the scampering of Dusk as she scooped up the unfortunate healer.

“You’re safe!!” she cried out as her tight grip locked the human girl in her arms.

Sparkle huffed in slight pain as she once again found herself in a bear hug she could not even fathom how to get out of willingly. Of course this lent the two of them and the others to be dulled to the sound of grass being disturbed all around them. Under close scrutiny, one could see the lawn had approaching figures who wore the same cloaking spell as the guards as they came up behind the evacuating criminals. Even Adagio could not sense the invisible threat, she was too thrilled to see the Arcana agent treated like a rag doll to let her natural born attributes warn her.

One which thankfully failed to occur as bolts of lightning shot from veiled positions, peeling off the guises of the intruders who were about to stun the exiles once again. Zipping through the air, the electrical archs struck their intended targets from multiple sources, sending the bodies into quivering messes that collapsed soon after. Both sides dispelled their cloaks into robed Arcana guards, though what stopped Adagio from enslaving the ones who saved them from being struck down similarly appeared to have their negativity being drained away. They were not the ones feeding off their emotions.

“What in the grace of Poseidon was that all about?!” her startled eyes swept about at the inactive guards until she caught the sight of an approaching human girl who hummed a sweet lofty tune.

“I didn’t sing to them and the others are over there fighting!” Aria flicked a thumb to their fans embroiled in battle well a ways away, she too just then catching the approaching figure oddly dressed in Twilight’s school uniform.

Sonata shrugged when her matriarch gazed at her next, with no plausible responses it stumped the head siren as to why seemingly enthralled ponies were even there. Had the Arcana been compromised by a rouge element? Or was there something else afoot she couldn’t grasp at just yet? She’d get her answers from whoever was singing, and if they were foe she’d show them how a true singer performs.

The guards before the girls slammed a closed fist to their chests before bowing quickly. Then, as soon as the perplexing display was done they departed off to the battles, so weird was the occurrence that even Yellow’s group in the back had stopped to see it for themselves. Adagio wanted to say something but she couldn’t help but sense a familiar power coming off of the approaching bystander. She was hesitant to react too soon as whoever this was may have just put on a show to appear as help, and then when her guard was down they’d strike. It made sense to her as she would have done the same thing if faced with a force she could not handle, subterfuge through a Trojan horse. She awaited the new arrival now just steps away from them, to whose feminine voice stopped humming when she ceased her sultry walk.

Indeed she appeared to be from whatever school Twilight had attended of which Adagio couldn’t recall on the spot. She could sense the two knew each other as well to some degree as Twilight mumbled under her breath still in the iron grip of Sonata.

“Cold Forecast? What is she doing here? Was that magic she used?” Sparkle gasped through her strained diaphragm as she took in every inch of the Crystal Prep student for any odd signs that this was a trick. However she was rewarded with nothing tangible and even a frown of agitation as both girls remembered how they knew each other, a certain accident in the hallways.

Her long mild opal green hair reaching her waist swayed side to side in her gait, a little curve in the strands gave a blush of majesty. The vexation in those brilliant heliotrope irises swayed off of Twilight and fastened onto Adagio with a snap, as it would seem she had a greater interest in interacting with the golden siren. A smirk materialized upon the fair turquoise face glowing with the kind of warmth one would see in a reunion of some kind. It was a tad off putting to Adagio, she held her ground and returned with blank expression so as to let the one known as Cold Forecast make her mistakes.

Sonata took heed of the developing scene and dropped Sparkle carefully before she tried to understand what was going on. Tilting her head she noticed how the twinkle in the new arrival’s eyes set something off as a kind of scent in her personal aura triggered an all too familiar marker. She could pick up siren magic from the young human, but that was only possible if she were also a siren? It did explain the save they received that without they’d be on the ground once again.

“Who the red tide are you?!” Adagio had her magenta eyes stuck onto the girl before them, demanding an answer that would hopefully lead to a quick end.

“You really don’t remember me? Seriously?” Forecast scoffed with a grin as she caught Aria detecting her magic with a bright eyed surprise popping on the Dazzling.

“Who are you is what I asked.” She bluntly replied denying any side talk from her end.

Cold gave a light laugh, “Oh come on, you should remember me easily!? Your mother always managed to get you to the feast every day before I could get my fill of my favorite… and you always took most of the octopus!” she growled a little, yet not once dropping her mirth.

That little admission took some time before it clicked in, the slow gears in the powerful siren moved after she only then picked up the clues her pack had already identified. It came with the recalled of that dream she always had and finally conquered. When she saw her mother was trying to get her to wake up to eat before an Oratoria was about to devour most of the pile of food brought in by the adults for their daily meal. It then blew up spectacularly in Dazzle’s brain that another siren actually lived in the same backwater world she had for so long and only now had they made contact.

“Ora… Oratoria!?!” Adagio gasped.

With a roll of the eyes, “Ya! And I’ve been looking everywhere for you since you tried to take over the pony kingdom. I had to get myself exiled just to follow you, you know!? I mean it wasn’t hard getting that Starswirl alone and all, but after that… ha…” she swayed her head back in forth in regret of the life she lead after the fact, “Doesn’t matter anymore I guess. After all we still are Cappella’s pack… the last sirens to survive that is.” she answered as if offended that Adagio was so slow to remember her.

“Whose Oratoria?” Aria questioned squinting hard as if trying to see why she was so familiar to Adagio.

“Oratoria… how? How did you….?” Dazzle gasped again.

Instead of an answer, the turquoise human instead walked up to her until she was just a breath away. In clear eye sight of Twilight, Sonata, and Aria did she envelop the golden siren in a hug to which the recipient had no words for and simply received it. She simply attached herself painlessly to the matriarch and remained still as if the act itself was life sustaining. Adagio seemed paralyzed at the admittance of who the person was, though no one else knew what the name meant or who Oratoria was. There was a quick spark between the two as their once harmonious magical fields of her home pod clicked together in a euphoric haze of placidity in the zone of chaos. For sirens to sing in harmony, they had to work hard with new members to sync together otherwise their musical enchantments were off key and clashed with each other. It would take months to practice as one and be able to feed off their prey for life giving power. Yet when it happened, they were as close as close could be besides physically, Matriarchs often called it a Choir Frequency. No family of sirens were alike to another who lived on another coast or across the world, each had a subtle adjustment to the ears to detect. To feel the sensation once more was a very sobering moment and one that proved to her that this girl was no threat hiding away in plain sight.

Magnus had by then recovered from his spinning toss and wiped his mouth clean of spittle with a swipe of a burly arm. He appeared content if not a little woozy from the performance. His eyes traced up from the soiled ground before him up to the touching scene which gained a loud giggle from his strained gullet. A guttural bellow which was soon stifled as the threat of nausea never left him spiked and threatened to overtake his composure once again. For his outburst, it earned him a deathly glare from Adagio and a glower from Oratoria for ruining the fateful meeting of orphaned sirens.

“Jis give… me a mom… moment… ugh….” He plopped down on the ground with a heavy thud with a large hand holding his trunk of a barrel rubbing gently to soothe the rebellion organ.

It was not too short of a time before the questions came forth like a swarm of angry hornets, most in particular was from Aria herself. With the blue green human still warmly embracing Adagio, she came up to the two with her arms crossed over her chest with a tang of irritation as if she wanted to rip the girl away.

“Mind explaining?” she darted the words like barbed harpoons.

“Adagio? I didn’t know you had a kid? Like for realzies when did you even find the time? We’ve like been together the entire stay in this worst place ever?” Sonata nonchalantly blurted out an insinuation that she’d have ever considered breeding with any of the monkeys of the prison world they were sentenced to, and it might have earned a quick reprimand if the new comer hadn’t let go of her, grabbing her hands together with a giggle. Oratoria seemed unfazed by their guesses, to her they mattered not until they were formally introduced and she could bask in the warmth of kin.

“Another siren? But that doesn’t seem plausible? Surely a lost packmate should have located another much sooner than this? Wait? How did she even make it here? Oh… so many questions!” Twilight muttered under her breath as she straightened her glasses and quietly observed.

Adagio decided to handle one query at a time, “First of all I wouldn’t be caught dead kissing any of these apes let along going that far! Sonata!” she bared her teeth in an aggressive manner for a quick glance at the cerulean siren, “Secondly, no she’s not mine but a… survivor like me… Her names Oratoria the Ravenous or so we use to call her back home because she always was the first to get the pickings the adults brought for our daily meal. You had to rush over in hopes she didn’t stuff her gullet with something you might have wanted.” Adagio’s commentary earned her a sour look from her supposed family, “But she’s also one of the best singers in the group because she was so hungry. She sprouted her gem first before anyone else… lucky her and that’s probably why you lived through it… in which case you need to tell me exactly how you survived what happened back then. And now!” she placed her hands on Oratoria’s shoulders firmly gripping them as she gave no hint at joking around.

Sparkle studied the new siren as she too wondered what tale had to be told, not that she was suspicious in any way but the new data would add to her growing library on sirens. To see a whole knew member of the species egged her on to find out more, to hear those factual words come from Oratoria would be a heaven sent plethora of knowledge. That and how did she end up at Crystal Prep and not try to take over her world single handedly if she was such a survivor?

Unfortunately before the girl could speak, the groan of metal and gears shuttered any thoughts as everyone peered to where the Sub Warden had landed. To Twilight’s horror huge black trucks hovered in the air several feet above the street, police cars joined in as well as their red and blue LED lights continued cycling like rave sticks being swung around. In the center of the antigravity spell was the Warden who strode underneath the mechanical carriages and past the still recovering police officers. His features depicted a very unwelcoming rage upon his dirtied face, he had no patience left and it was a very unpredictable foe they now faced.

“Perhaps another time then…” Oratoria quivered as the sirens gathered together at the rather perturbed man who stomped his way over.

The Sub Warden grimaced, “The Tessaract for all of you!! I wanted to go the safe route, but you have pushed my level of empathy! Bow down to the crown now and I will perhaps consider a lighter sentence!” he commanded with great authority in his tone.

Yellow had by then rose up on his own after cracking a vile filled with his blood and pouring it upon the top of his head. The effect had cured him of the stun spell and managed to allow him some dignity when addressing the advancing Warden, “Honestly… we could have worked this out. I guess it has come to this then…” he began to waltz over and hold him off for as long as possible.

The angry stoic look upon the Arcana agent attempted to burn a hole through Yellow with righteousness, “Silence prisoner! I will deal with you personally. For the rest of you, assume the position and prepare for judgment!” to which the sirens began to amass together in preparation for an attack, even Oratoria was taken in while Sparkle was left on the outside understandably.

No sooner had the Warden reached thirty feet away from the girls had Inferno leapt over them and collided into the officer with the force of a pickup truck. His eyes were still squinted in reflex to the lingering pain from the flash spell, though he possessed enough vision to coordinate the retaliatory attack on the spot. The Warden fell to the assailment once again as the beating started anew, and his personal barrier still holding through the ferocity like a godly intervention.

“Well, I guess that’s that?” the Oratoria quipped as the dragon in human skin vented on the resilient Warden. She rose an eyebrow oblivious to who Adagio had involved herself with and contented herself to enjoying the violence which all their pendants happily absorbed.

Adagio spun in place and marched her way to the portal behind them as she was quite done feeding and wanted to leave this world. Her Dazzlings followed in silent tow without warning Twilight or Oratoria, too taken by all the new happenings. Her lush orange curls swung with the momentum and pendulumed in her graceful leave, her boots clacked onto the walkway leading to the gateway. She wore an air of control over the tenseness in her mood, something inside her couldn’t comprehend the fact that one of her family still lived and she was no longer alone. On top of that, with their return close at hand, danger was trying to blemish it right at the climax of their performance and she feared being stuck in this world more than the Sub Warden and his lackies. So long as they stepped past the point of no return, she’d be able to work on all the latest developments in her life and the future of the pack. It became all too pressing and vital that she put the future of her pod in first place.

“Twilight, help the others and get them to the portal! The faster this goes the quicker we can leave this mess. Sonata, Aria… we will provide the others with protection, any of those dimwits try attacking the anyone and we will sing them into oblivion. Use the Maiden’s Song, it will be quicker and easier with the subliminal effect it has. We’ll go through the portal once our turn has come so long as the brutes can handle the good Warden of course?” her tone held barely monotonous, even as focused as she was there was no way of stopping every little emotion from peaking through her web of self control.

She pointed a hand at the nearest exile still recovering for Sparkle to tend to, and the human nodded vigorously before jogging away. With a snap of the fingers, her sirens organized themselves as Oratoria kept asking her to stop and answer her own questions she practically begged for. Though her words shattered on the floor after hitting a deaf ear, the turquoise girl huffed in frustration as she reluctantly kept a distance behind the trio and figured she’d likely have to wait a little more longer till she’d get some alone time with the matriarch.

No sooner had Twilight’s magic gone to work helping the griffon mage was Emerath calling out for the next one up, “Tisiphone. We couldn’t locate the area you wish to be dropped off, but we found the region it lies in… I hope that is okay with you?”

He had aided the fury himself in her pitiful state to hurry the process and dragged her over as her body struggled to even move. The giant bubble depicted a rather gloomy looking setting of rotten trees, nearly barren land, and a stormy sky appearing to set about dropping one hefty downpour. If it was her home it certainly suited her nature, but then again no one truly knew much about her as she always said she sought out the evil in the world. A home to her might of even been a cave where personal belongings were stashed, all that the portal exit could explain was nothing more than guessing.

She gave a snarl as her strong sinewy arms flexed and stretched in anticipation of the journey, “I have so much work to do… so much work… Let me through!!” she shook herself free of him as she arrived to the gateway and gave no hesitation as she launched through unafraid.

The surface of the orb rippled from use, and no sooner had she vanished through did the Germane mage already began to seek out the newest drop off point. Emerath’s voice was a little hard to hear as Paradox put his magic into the spell again and swerved the ethereal eye all over Equis for the land of the Great Griffon Kingdom. Yet after two jumps the spell was beginning to use up the magic the sirens had given it, a problem he suspected would occur with such a forced tear and manipulations of the universe. It was primarily caused by the extended disuse from the Warden and his guards stalling their window of opportunity. The rise of the complication only pushed the tubby man to make an error and set the next destination at the wrong kingdom with the sound of broken glass shattering abruptly and drawing him from the portal in shock.

Inferno had once again been thrown off his prey and this time into the front entrance of the school. The Warden had such power and they were expecting no less of the Arcana to keep them in this desolate universe. Emerath had taken the stop as the moment to act even though Schrodinger had only halted to see if the enemy was going to attack them with no one hindering his zealousness. He was unsure of what the sirens were attempting to do by standing between him and the only thing that could end their escape. The distraction would be costly for one such as Serak who was next up after Twilight bid him farewell with his ailment removed. The former cabbie made a rough shuffle over as Twilight went to the next person in need as her methodology dictated. She knew nothing about the queue, but she was very astute to know who could help in a fight first after the clattering Havoc made in his second repulse. She panicked in her spell work, though thankfully it was a simple five rune system she could caste without messing up at any point. All that did happen however was that she stumbled the first few times trying to initiate the healing.

With him restored, Emerath assisted in guiding him forward until they were at the orb where something similar to the mountains of his clan had called Condor’s Reach appeared through the looking glass. Shaken by the fast recovery he failed to see the discrepancies that would have made him protest going through.

“I believe it is here my friend that we must part ways? You and Paradox were the only two I could really stomach you know? Ha… mages stick together right?” the taller Englishman joked, “He’s on the other side, but I’m sure he’d wish you the best.”

Serak chuckled dryly as the Warden behind them grunted to his knees, “It’s a pitty about all of this?”

With a pat on the back and a strong sincere expression in his smile, Emerath and him had history together with Serak being the student and the elder his mentor for a few years. Being in human skin it seemed easy for the two who’d otherwise have not seen eye to eye very easily. At least back then, the two species usually coexisted with borders between each other and merchants being the middle salesman.

“I’ll see you again ole chap. We all will.” The two clasped hands as the Warden unleashed magical whips from underneath the long sleeves on his arms, cracking like lightning with a few simple swings onto the ground.

Emerath nodded and let the griffon go, jumping through just as the others had. The disturbance had alerted the mage at the helm who realized what just happened because of his lapse of attention, “Oh mein gott! Don’t tell me he stepped through?!”

His fellow associate peered out from the edge of the spherical gateway with a confused and questioning gaze, “Was this not his stop?”

“NO!!”

Another crack of the whips caused both of the men to jump a little and turn to the approaching devil of their freedom. If they knew their offensive magic as well as they did, those whips were not to strike down a foe as they were more of instant binding spells with whoever they struck. Arcana peace keepers and escorts used them to subdue problem citizens, and how perfect it seemed that they still used such means at incapacitating as the very spell was nearly impossible to remove unless the caster spoke the counter spell.

“Get me another one! We have no time, he vill ave to deal vith his location!” Schrodinger ordered.

“Twilight! My dear can you please revive Frozen Heart?! Quickly please, we are on a time frame as it is?” he giggled nervously as the almighty danger made a b-line for the portal.

Sparkle had since treated Old Oak when she heard the call, she wordlessly accepted the issue and hurried off. Sonata eyed her friend as she disappeared behind her to the left of the portal. She had her own job to carry out by Adagio’s word and she herself could be the shield that allowed Twilight to go on safely. It steeled her courage in the face of the intimidating Warden making a stride towards them with glowing blue vines held in his hands. She had not only her own to protect, but a very good friend she’s see to going back home with and enjoying whatever the future had in store for them.

Adagio sized up their quarry, poised to attack with ranged magic that had many conclusions should those mana ropes make contact with skin. She knew that her sonic blast would be useful in keeping him away, but the question came in the form of what manner did the Warden possess to overcome it?

“Okay girls, let’s show this hack what it means to fight a siren. Oratoria? Just… stand back and see what I’ve been doing with myself after all this time.” She quickly glanced to her kin as she positioned herself further behind them trying to perceive the fight about to start.

“All this talk and no fighting yet? Come ON!! Let’s do this already!” Aria sneered as she glowered at the Warden.

“You’re always ready to fight Aria!” Dusk commented as she really poised herself for the battle, controlling humans was one thing but a magical fight was another.

“Enough you two! On my count begin and build up from there… feel it within you that locked up potential… everything you have hated… everything you’ve wanted since we were sent to this wasteland! Let that power strengthen your voice until it becomes like what we threw at the Rainbooms to their feet. All we need to do is hold for time. We keep him at bay and then we cross over. Done and done!” she grinned as she envisioned success at their very fingers, the Warden only just close enough to start striking if he so chose.

As the exiles continued to send more through, the Warden protested heartily, “By Princess Celestia!! I command you to stop and BOW down to ME!! I will not break my oath! But you are making it harder to resist!” he hissed as he played with the whip in his right hand.

The sirens steadied themselves in preparation for the coming assault, already her subordinates were starting the first humming tune. They had begun their vocalization to which to defend themselves with and they just needed Adagio to carry out the final strand of the octave. It would herald the offensive magic she hoped would do something to the adversary that even the fists and testosterone of the other banished could not hope to harm with.

“I have been in this position for eight years! And the likes of you pitiful whelps will not damage my record… You WILL succumb!” he let loose a crack of the mana ropes once more before priming up to start cuffing the wayward scum, though his intimidation tactic failed to do anything as it was suppose to do.

The sustained note by the sirens culminated in a beautiful high note, one of which mirrored the same one that befell the Princess of Friendship and her followers when they tried to outclass them. Using the negative energy they absorbed from the battle between the guards and police, the magic that converted from it lent them a decent amount of power equating to the Battle of the Bands. Adagio began to infuse their combined voices into a funneled pitch unlike their first attempt. Instead, she utilized how she had bottled up her anger, her rage, all that regret she harbored and concentrated it into a vocalization which could shatter stone as well as tile floor and a ceiling duct. That little magical muscle within her, a little tinge in her being that beget that power; she flexed it.

The act itself affected the output of the entire pod, by Adagio’s sheer will she created a pocket around the group and created a small exit point for which their sonic blast poured through with immense pressure into one single direction.

That focal point being right at the Sub Warden as he lifted his arms only to suddenly be slammed with a sound and air wall almost as solid as rock. As the Dazzlings held the note, the warden was forced off his very feet and ejected away well back to the road, with nasty collision into a tall black boxy armored vehicle going so far as to dent the metal and held in place. Bullet proof glass cracked and spider webbed from the power of sound, the machine itself lifted off the right side wheels and held off the ground a few inches from the savagery. Only when the sirens ran out of power did the militarized police van fall back from its own weight and dump the Warden unceremoniously to the ground down for the count.

Everywhere else around them those officers still able to fight had left the combat zone. Arcana prison guards were embroiled in friendly fire as siren controlled pawns kept the free from engaging or helping the Warden. Even the Dazzlings had the wind knocked out of them as Adagio soon found out that the attack affected similarly as Twilight casting her knockout spell. It was a major drain to their stores and with what was left could barely affect even a fly if they tried again. When their song ended they collapsed to their knees with sudden fatigue, Aria and Sonata using even their hands to keep them from meeting the concrete beneath them. As for their leader, she fell backwards as most of her power was sucked nearly clean with her being the catalyst for the offensive.

For a second, she let a thought go through her head of how Twilight had performed her first willing spell and did the same thing. She had a little new found respect for the human girl, it was a rare thing to just ball up ones mana well and squeeze it out into one single expulsion. Of course it left her body flaring with sensitivity along every nerve in her body and lights in her vision dotted in an attempt to obscure her vision as if she had a dozen camera flashes pop in front of her all at once. She could hear her loyal sirens moaning at the agony of it, but at least she was for the most part unable to say much as she endured everything with a satisfactory grin. A minor headache formed just as Oratoria appeared in her sight which looked to the clear blue sky up above. It was barely into the mid noon time of the day, well long before evening came so there was enough light to still keep all visible. The turquoise girl was attempting to say something but nothing came of it, just a dull drone which soon gave way to a ringing which grew into the same annoying pitch as Soanta’s little phone often sang whenever she received a text from Twilight.

Speaking of which, the very girl came into her view and she was not the least bit happy. Both Oratoria and her were just as distraught with the new siren starting to snap at the human girl for even touching Adagio much less being so close. The shock of the sonic blast had thankfully removed Dazzle’s ability to be irritated and aggravated by such childish bickering, honestly she felt too old to be handling these situations with how much the other two often butted heads. Without anger to stifle their conflict, Adagio let her body recover while she could enjoy the bliss as she was sure the Warden was not going to get up from that little move she pulled out of the conch shell.

“She’s MY family! MY pack… you’re just a measly little ape who she’s found useful! So just… just dilly dally along out of here! You’re no longer needed as I am here.” Oratoria gladly proclaimed of herself.

Twilight persisted as she kept trying to heal Adagio, “I’m just trying to help her! Let me do what she told me to do!”

Every time her hands went to apply the spell over Dazzle, they were swiped away by the newcomer in a very aggressive manner. She would continue another four times until she would give up to the constant slapping of the hands and fume as she kneeled to Adagio’s right side. Oratoria seemed pleased at getting her way until a slightly teary eyed Sparkle managed to let her concern for the sirens push her in the heat of the moment and shove the overly protective hippocampus in human skin who waved her hands to her sides trying to balance only to fall onto her back. Only able to see her swaying arms before she fell, Adagio felt herself chuckle slightly before the warm feeling of regenerative magic filled her being like a warm soup on a winters day.

“I told you I’m just following orders, and if you have a problem with that then you better take it up with Adagio!” Twilight’s voice finally sounded audible, with the negative energy slowly being absorbed by the hungry gems near her.

With a grunt, “You monkey’s always thrust yourselves into others business…”

“Ya? Well… perhaps… perhaps it IS my business to help sirens like you! I know enough to HELP you so let me do this and stop interfering!” Twilight’s words stung like a bee’s sting into the other teenager who was at a loss of words.

By then of course Adagio managed to find the ability to speak as if a haze was lifted off of her, much to her chagrin. She was forced to settle the fighting between her new Dazzling and this remaining kin who survived through the purge by the ponies. Using her elbows to prop her up, she lifted herself high enough to interfere with the two with a snarl at having to even move. Her clenched eyelids were a calling sign to stop, but Oratoria did not pick up the hint as well as Twilight had. Instead she fired insult after insult to the human that would have put Sonata into a fury.

Adagio breathed in deeply as she heard the last of the jealous remarks, “I am… trying… to… Get… Back… UP!!!” she shouted loudly that the two girls sealed their lips tightly.

The golden siren steadily if not with a quake managed to prop herself up as the other two worked far ahead of her by one step. Her tired eyes looked about her surroundings, besides any siren or adoptive human, exiles in their quantity were nearly nill except for the mages and the two dragons as they were. All in all there were four and two of which were calling out to them with waving hands and beckoning them to go through next after Old Oak disappeared into the sphere.

“Leg it already! We don’t have enough time!” Emerath all but yelled at the top of his lungs to the four girls.

Yellow and Havoc had joined the two mages, both of which were a worse for wear from the Warden’s treatment. The window of opportunity was at hand and all the Dazzlings had to do was simply move their legs, the act itself was exhausting in their state as if they’d run a marathon and were about to pass the finish lane. The three were barely making it to their feet as it were, with Oratoria and Sparkle doing what they could to lend support for their weakened state. Shuffling at a snail’s pace they arrived before the portal and stood before the orb twice as tall as them, only now had it returned to its original state of mirroring chrome. Feeling as if they had out swam a blue marlin and only then had they just tuckered it out enough to finally gorge upon the succulent fish, it all felt too real and a trick. Up until then they had nothing but losses to count under their scoreboard, their attempts to gain the upper hand through devious methods many and victories seldom until now.

Adagio looked within herself to see it all flash before her as if this was about to end her being as it were, and in some sense it was a bit of a death and rebirth. They had technically died after their gems were first destroyed, resurrection graced them with foreign other worldly stones with lives not their own who use to use them. Those very old lives had since plagued them and in truth, Adagio wondered if they were tainted by those crippled and crazed spirits that remained in the rubies before they were purified. Maybe she just had the chance to mourn and the act itself released the parasites off her scales?

The mounting emotional torrent attempting to build in her was recognized once again, just as Yellow Tail’s words echoed in her head. She wanted to think, desired to have closure at this moment instinctually to make their return all the more better. This was her flaw that would hurt them, giving the enemy more time to jump between them and Equestria and sever the lifeline. Even through Twilight’s healing powers, Adagio was still low on energy and the area was lacking in ambient negative emotions. In fact, they could hear the guards off in the distance and it did not sound good since that attack of hers likely shattered the hold on those that they enslaved. The slavery this world’s siren stones had over the humans she would miss if Yellow’s words were at all true.

The very man approached them and wore the dust and debris of being tossed around, some grass clippings stuck to his once clean suit, “It is time my little gems. We’ve run into a problem and we cannot deposit everyone at their chosen locations. Schrodinger has used up too much magic and the portal will only sustain the exit at the original location it had for our passing in the next ten minutes. You five…. wait a moment… who are you?” his gray eyes flickered a golden sheen like a glass surface reflecting the sun on a bright day for a second.

Aria put a hand to the girls mouth to stop what she anticipated would be a long babble about herself, “She’s a siren, got herself thrown in here to find Adagio. She’s also a survivor. Nothing else to know now… Can we GO!!” her frustration and exhaustion stipulated.

Yellow appeared to object, after all he hated new changes to the planning yet with the sirens defending the supposed fellow exile he had little to object. Breathing out to wash the muck the fresh face had thrown onto him, he waved a hand to the portal for the girls to go through.

“Do we just… step through?” Sparkle asked as she remembered the fall through her first portal and hoped the ground was not far.

Sonata giggled a little before her physical state hampered it, “He’s not going to just drop us hundreds and hundreds of feet in mid air silly!” to which Sparkle shivered at the memory recall.

“She is right, you’ll be going after Emerath and Paradox who will handle any threats with a barrier spell, well… mainly Emerath. However, once you do go through I want you to follow them and get out of that place wherever it is. As you can see… the gate is reflective so we have no idea where we’re going to end up. When Havoc and I step through there will be… utter destruction and I don’t want you four and you there to be harmed.” He still eyed Oratoria with a second guess as if something only he could pick up resounded as a red flag, if only they were not so strapped for time he’d have acted.

Adagio strained a gaze at him, “You said our gems would be destroyed going through… you promised us Equestrian siren gems… if you have been lying?”

He held a hand up to stop her, “Perish the thought my little gem. I have met one of your kind before and I know the legend. When you meet the real me, just don’t run. Now…” he grinned with a twinkle in his eye before someone called out to the group off in the distance.

Adagio and company knew that feminine voice all too well, that insidious being who only now was no longer worth even bothering with. Dazzle knew that they took too long and fate was winding up a pitch to shatter their way home, she’d have none of it not if it was going to interfere with them again. Looking behind their backs, in the corners of their eyes was Sunset Shimmer, the little boy toy of the other Twilight Sparkle, and an oddly older Sunset Shimmer which sped up the hearts of the girls and earned a groan of irritation from Yellow. They had nonchalantly jogged past the Warden and the knocked out officers as they aimed to confront the exiles, the evident breathless interlopers meant they had likely ran their way over. With no sense of magic among any of them, they appeared to be defenseless but Yellow knew to never find even a Timberwolf pup to be lacking much less the very one he had meddled with.

Sunset stopped forty feet away catching her breath and choking a little. She’d barely even recovered from the extraction of her magic much less even able to perform physical exercise. Adrenaline had carried her over after her human counterpart had given her a ride through the back ways, but that human could only help so much as Flash arrived just in time to catch her before she fell to her knees. The oddest scene of old enemies reuniting as it were with both fatigued in magic and might, calamity all around them again. Even if they resulted in a slap fight, they’d likely barely able to even sting the flesh of their respective cheeks. Adagio sensed this was going to be a war of words and one to delay them.

“You know what? I had much I wanted to do to you and the Rainbooms. I was going to gloat over you just before we left…” she seethed, “Unfortunately we are in a hurry and letting you watch us return to Equis will be my parting gift instead Sunset Shimmer! My new Dazzling here, My Twilight Sparkle, did more than I would have safely done to you. Rest assure that Equestria and beyond will fall to our songs and you could do nothing about it or stop it! Farewell…” She tried to manically laugh if only to feel too tired half way to care anymore.

Twilight glared at the former Equestrian unsure if she should do something or say anything. She barely knew the girl and taking their magic was likely better than anything she could do and thus kept her mouth shut. Of course her curiosity turned to the exact copy of the guardian standing in the back close to the Warden, one of whom appeared to be moving slightly. Torn between trying to figure out what the explanation was behind the doubles and looking for signs of resurgence in the enemy. Sparkle was lost to the rest of the conversation as it carried on.

With Flash’s support, “I wan… I wanted to… I need to know something! Adagio Dazzle!?” she yelled trying to halt the sirens in their footsteps.

“Now’s not the time for private conversations with a guardian who cannot fight back. We’re going to lose the magic sustaining the gate, go my gems! I will watch your backs.” Yellow stepped in between the two, firm in his voice as deep as it went in tone.

“ADAGIO!! Please…” the girl pleaded once more to no effect.

Twilight started to feel a little guilty at how the former guardian had simply been asking for a little share of words. She was harmless or so she thought, no magic and no means to destroy the portal all she could theoretically do was delay them. Sparkle noticed Aria chuckle darkly with a mighty smirk as she lavished in their former enemy’s pitiful state. Adagio and Sonata were far from caring as it seemed as the four moved on. Deep down, she wondered about what kind of world she was going to if their protectors were so easy to feel sympathy for. She was free from the old siren’s song, perhaps she’d see things differently when they arrived?

Beside the ravages of the earlier battle, Shimmer leaned against a police car wincing in pain as her injuries rose up to say hello again. Too involved in the sensations hurting her, she failed to notice the Arcana agent in her blind spot rising up as his tattered robe fell to ribbons. His full body out in the open for all to see and the result put a frightening ghastly face on the exiles remaining which took Sunset for a spin.

Hunched over at first, his torso slowly assumed the proper posture showcasing a simple dust tan dress shirt sans any tie and pot marked with tears. Glowing gold Equestrian runes decorated the clothing as they appeared to host an array of protective wards which likely saved his life time and time again against the retaliation of the banished. Those brightly scribed glyphs were nothing compared to the source of his magic which were from the gauntlets adorning his forearms and thighs like armor plates. They played host to an array of gemstones of all sorts of reds, blues, yellows, and greens which varied in their own illumination.

Twilight could see some were broken or fractured which meant they lost their power or were useless to the mage. Though he had plenty else to rely upon if she counted quickly and precisely, the battle was not yet over and they needed to leave quickly if they did not want to witness his third coming. The maroon kaki dress pants were slightly ripped at the ends and his footwear had surprisingly been forced off his own feet from the siren’s vocal attack. Stepping towards them on broken glass, dropped munitions, spent shell casings, and the occasional limb of a downed cop he heeded no pain of any sort to the detrius of war.

Shimmer inevitably caught wind of someone walking by her and when she went to look, she was more amazed than horrified at the threat before her. Knowing absolutely nothing about magic, her eyes glued to the gem studded armaments in their damaged condition. They glowed like party lights as they were summoned to the users will, priming up for a magical buildup.

“Cooooollll….” She whispered as the Warden began to lift his arms up and with it the ground began to tremble and crack the ground alongside him just as he stepped on school grounds.

Anything not glued to the terrain or heavy enough to be bothered started to rattle. Sunset up ahead had finally taken the hint to see what it was that had everyone’s attention as when the Dazzlings and their masters turned to her and she had hoped they’d hear her out. She instead beheld horror in them, the kind of unbelievable revelation which had nothing to do with her. Far too late to act as the agent of the hated department tore the earth at his flanks using some kind of geomancy. Massive shards of earth rose up into a wall as thick as a queen bed into the air like hands of a god separating what he focused on containing from escaping. They began to surge forward at an alarming rate, the ground churned from the artificial earthquake the spell created. Flash held onto her and kept her on the concrete pathway as the madness around them avoided the actual pathway itself, which seemed to be the safest spot they tried to keep their balance on.

In a split second, Sentry took notice of something bubbling on the nearest earthy wall to the left, like something was tunneling through the rock and dirt. Particles fell off the little bulge prompting him stare at it a little while longer until it was too late. Sunset otherwise was too busy to see the incoming pillar of soil like a sucker punch that it was. She had been too taken by the other magical being who seemed to be fighting the mysterious cabal.

Then, before the hit came there was absolute silence in the world as no quake, no seismic shivering, even the spell which was barely just past them and still heading towards the Dazzlings had lost sound. She however felt the firm hold of Flash as he pulled her down in a strangely slow fashion, her own limbs couldn’t even respond fast enough as she tried to turn her head to the boy. Even blinking couldn’t occur in the span of two seconds, that was when she knew something was happening and the end result was not going to be good at all.

Her world stopped, her body stopped, only her eyesight seemed to feel as if it perceived movement. She could feel Flash breath into her right ear, it tickled yet this was far from any moment to be laughing at. Her heartbeat thumped so slowly, but it hit like a deep drum echoing in her head.

“I always get my way…” a very deep heavy and dark voice originated from the teenager holding her, “I will always be with you…”

That one voice she knew exactly what it was and who had just spoken then, once it finished everything resumed the normal passing of time. In the process of pulling her down, Flash had been forced to take the Warden’s secondary spell meant for the equestrian. The pylon of solid soil slammed Sentry into the other side of the entrapment with enough force to knock him out as well as encase him in a capsule of hardened rock. He had let Sunset go in the process, having experienced a possession of some sort which left him dazed and confused prior to magical attack. Now she was utterly open to any harm, collapsed onto the concrete ground unable to do anything as she stewed in the dread of what was worse than black magic that had latched onto her, worried for Flash who was fastened to the barrier, and the escaping sirens.

No sooner had he been sealed into place did the two parallel walls of clay and rock finally reach past the portal and into Canterlot High. Fortunately having missed any officers who Twilight had put to sleep, the school had thankfully been built upon a thick and hardy foundation. Saving it from absolute destruction as the two lines of erupting ground only carved into the exterior, shattering windows and breaking the outer surface in a way like a finger being dragged through foamy meringue pie. The Warden did only superficial structural damage, and Yellow breathed easily as the school was far from collapsing on them. The second spell was still working through the long ridges as indicated by snaking cracks after they done their deed to Flash in the front.

“Quickly! Go now!” Emerath cried out as he vanished into the chrome sphere.

“Hurry!” Paradox joined soon after and left the human world with abandon.

Twilight who held one of Adagio’s arms over her neck started to nudge her, “Come on! We can’t stay!”

Aria essentially shoved Oratoria into the sphere with little care as she sensed the siren about to say something insipid, “I don’t want to stay for this either! Later dweeb!!” she shouted at Sunset and hopped through the still rippling surface of unknown.

Adagio growled as she followed Twilight and Sonata in, taking a gasp of air as she felt the icy chill upon her skin as the gateway began to send her home. Just as Sparkle let the new experience fill her mind with book worthy data, out of the corner of her eyes she saw and heard Dean Cadence shouting for her.

“TWILIGHT!!” she managed to yell out of breath and sweating as she and two other fellow C.P. students appeared from the innards of Canterlot High’s front doors. They were nonexistent from Havoc’s earlier collision in them, he having extracted himself and joined Yellow.

“CAAaaa….” The girl managed before gateway sucked her in, drawing out the last vowel in an eerie howl as it was distorted by the tear between universes.

Out of pure instinct, the young woman made a dash to the giant reflective metal sphere only for Indigo and Zest to halt her. They grabbed her sleeves as they were understandably freaked out, just as they had been when Twilight was going to do untold harm to the rest of the student body after the games. Consumed by her care for her former charge she ripped her sleeves away from their grasps with tears in her eyes as they began to butt out.

“She NEEDS me! I’m sorry I dragged you two into this… I wasn’t expecting all this to happen. Get to safety! Get inside… I have to go get her.” She sniffled and took a leap into the portal.

“Dude…” Zap’s jaw went slack.

“That’s metal!” Lemon dropped her headset on the ground.

Sunset was left to watch as everything fell to pieces by seeing the boy that she finally let herself love harmed in such a way. All the while she lost the chance to catch the sirens who would do Celestia knew what to her home. To add salt to the wound, mud had begun to seep from the walls and began to slowly cover her as she felt the cool liquid touch her exposed skin below the knee length denim shorts she took. In disgust and terror she desperately tried to brush off the accumulating magically infused muck, but all she really did was spread it around her even as she tried to get to her feet.

“No! No not like this!” she cried, “I have to get back home! I can’t be left here!!” her tears dropped as she desperately fought the encroaching trap.

Behind her she could hear the two men left of the cabal she’d been searching for, they were arguing about going through. Though the one seemingly in charge kept saying they had to wait, a taunting sliver of hope to Sunset as the mud constricted her lower half like earthen serpents tightening about her.

It felt like this was her end of the line, being caught in a fight she didn’t understand. What else was there to hope for anymore, with the sirens and those possibly evil villains going to bring about a Discord era level of disharmony and chaos? What was Discord even trying to do for her if it all lead up to this?

She could feel wetness streaming down her face as the world fell to despair, the sludge having worked past her waist and encasing her in a cocoon. One free hand still in vain trying to keep her head free of the creeping capture, her shivering body full of adrenaline a teeth chattering vibration made this conclusion to her life all the more painful to bare.

“I’m sorry everyone…”

Her neck soon gripped by the magic infused earth, she looked to the sunny sky up above.

“I’m sorry Princess Celestia…”

Then came a loud metallic bang and a grunt, in that instant her prison fell away like dust as the moisture evaporated into nothing. Sunset blinked away the tears with her free hands rising into her vision showing herself she was indeed free. Past her appendages down to the road where the attacker had stood beheld a miraculous scene. Instead of the deranged bad guy, her human verse stood there with a rifle in her hands and the man on the ground knocked out. The older woman held the barrel and shroud portion of the weapon in her grasp and appeared to have used the stock and body as a blunt weapon. How she was able to accomplish that was beyond Sunset, but she was huffing as if she put all her might into the act as the weapon soon fell out of her grip.

“You can tell… her yourself! Now go!!” Shimmer yelled as she pointed aggressively to the portal just as the two men noticed what had happened to the Warden.

Sunset’s inner pony responded to the opportunity to leave the Tartarus stricken battle zone in a flight reflex. One last chance, those words echoed in her head as she scrambled awkwardly into as haphazard sprint. Still assailed by her condition she stumbled several times even before reaching Yellow or Havoc who’d begun to set up a defensive body wall to keep her away. She gave everything to abandon as she sought to duck and dive between their legs and hope she’d just roll into the portal. Her breath ragged and worn to the point it hurt just as the rest of her body, her spirit handled the rest as it numbed her senses to all but the escape home or so she hoped it was her own doing. Her clothing started to chaff her as they were from the truck they stole out of the hospital parking garage, she was wearing a too tight and too loose a mismatching outfit. The burn only served to squeeze her body for all it was worth of endorphins just to make the final push as perfect as possible.

A bittersweet moment came when her left ankle bent to the side and she slipped up, her mind was gone as she fell into the sidewalk just a few steps away from the men. Accompanying her body’s failure at coordinating had a lone prison guard who vaulted over the wall of earth intent with a last ditch attempt at staying at the last two prisoners. Sunset’s folly had fortunately saved her from being in the way of the new aggressor, who conveniently appeared to aid by relocating one of the escapees. A bright beam of magic poured out of his hands and slammed into Yellow hard enough to move him out of Sunset’s roll.

She acted on a split second decision to not pay any attention and gunned for the portal after she recovered. Her hands extended she embraced the sweet satisfaction of barely making it out in time. As her legs disappeared through the gateway, Shimmer hovering over the comatose Sub Warden chuckled morosely. In some other universe there was her younger self making the best decision in her life with so few chips to even use on the table. She would not make the same mistakes as she had and lead a better life, risking everything to aid this other self was worth the danger and it seemed even fun to do. She breathed out and plopped down on the ground tired and ready to call it a day by following the magical being before her and sleeping.

“Good luck girl.” She whispered, “Be the better me…” she collapsed into a controlled fall and let her body shut down as adrenaline finally used up had emptied her of energy.

Yellow’s left arm sizzled from the heat based spell, impacting the concrete beneath and howling as the prison guard scored a lucky shot. Havoc had quickly gripped him by the throat in mid air, saving the meld mage from receiving further trouble. The hapless Arcana lacky was soon thrusted into the nearby earthy partition and knocked out accordingly.

“THEY’VE had enough time to vacate! I'm going through! They live or die is their own fate!!” Inferno shouted as the portal started to undulate as the last of the magic was fading away.

He kicked the guard away like a soccer ball and leapt through which Yellow scrambled up to stand, “No you fool! Tartarus curse you if you hurt them!!!”

The final exile disappeared through the collapsing gate, and with him the massive ingress imploded. Quietly, it sucked in various parts of itself, maintaining an amorphous state as it shrunk down a size with each passing second. Like a magnetized ferro fluid reacting to a magnetic field, with no one to witness the implosion it eventually compacted into a tiny metal ball no bigger than a penny. No one thankfully nearby, the magical force that remained detonated as the energy of the universe released from the hole in reality to seal up the wound and make everything right again.

Then… the there was nothing…

Author's Note:

I'd like to thank everyone who has read the story, this has been the first story I've ever completed and it's been 50 chapters?! I'm quite proud of myself and I hope you enjoyed this alternate adventure with the Dazzlings. Stay tuned, as the side arch https://www.fimfiction.net/story/349768/land-of-the-rising-sun-quelling-the-ryu picks up on what happened to Twilight during those final days and up to the sirens and the exiles return to Equestria. The story will have a profound part to play in book two of The Siren's Remorse, got a lot of stuff planned and it may even surpass the number of chapters this book has.

All in all thank you for reading, enjoy your day, and most of all, have fun.

Comments

[Raistlin]

Aaaaand it's over.

I'm dissapointed the technological side lost so easily to the magical one. After getting sick of hearing apelatives like "ape", "bald monkey", "lesser being", etc.. from the Equestrian natives and exiles I really wanted to read how the human authorities kicked their arrogant asses.

[TheronSniper]

7969866 Well magical barriers which have been tried and likely tested against all manners of monstrous creatures and demigods, little lead bullets probably don't rank very high on the kinetic energy scale. The equestrians were powerful in their own right, but without those capacitor gems they wouldn't have likely survived nor fought the human authorities. The good thing is there are still Arcana personnel now trapped in the human world with no way to get back as it seems. With the shock of magic use, the humans will likely try a different tact this time or will there be renegades loose in the town to do who knows what as they are afraid of what to do next?

[Starlight Nova]

I love this series, but I just have one question: Where the heck did Oratoria come from? Why did she take so long to show up?

[TheronSniper]

8085328 The best explanation I can give is, Adagio ensured when they sang to power up their gemstones that all venues were far away from Canterlot as possible and coincidentally Crystal Prep. The town is rather large so the area the Dazzlings favored happened to be enough distance that Oratoria couldn't detect them as that was Adagio's plan anyways to lay low and feed. The convention center feast was such a huge event and their performance among a few thousand attendees that she started to track them down. Of course when they went to the exiles condo on the top floor they were unable to be sensed, it took the battle at the portal to attract the other siren and the rest you know. All because Adagio wanted to stay hidden and did so very well.

[enderchangling]

So upon third reading I remembered a question I've had. What was in the liquid that twilight used to do things to their gems? The one that sontna touched in the night. if you'd answer this it'd be great!

[TheronSniper]

8310661
The story mentions the use of Yellow Tails blood which is part dragon, an ingredient that serves as a powerful catalyst in most magic spells and a binding force in sealing spells due to the raw fury of dragons. SciTwi had been given some training in repurposing the spell matrix on the gemstone of an Earth siren's stone in order for an Equestrian siren to properly make use of. She filled in what runes were not needed or made the stones dangerous while carving out new ones over them. Kind of like a wood filler you'd use on a window seal to cover screw holes and such. The siren stone Sonata had snuck a peak at was an unpurified gem that still harbored a long dead siren's essence which made it cursed. Yellow used his blood to contain and stem the influence of the spirits just long enough to make them vulnerable to exorcism. As their original state even after editing by SciTwi they were too entrenched and Yellow knew no spell could coax them out beyond Adagio's ambitions and anger. Yellow also had an alchemy lab in the condo to further refine his blood and turn it into the serum he gave to Twilight, though each time he drew his blood it became weaker and less potent until he practically had nothing but human blood left in his body until he returned back to Equestria.

[Just Defender]

"cabal"? This a Destiny crossover?