You can't lose what you throw away
Once upon a time, Adagio called the ocean her home. She did not have to worry about the temperature dropping at night. She didn't have to worry about being consumed by natural predators. She was the apex; her size and her ability made her uncontested. Her songs bewitched many and threw many more in a storm of conflict and destruction. Once upon a time, she had power, loyal followers, people that adored her and no one to stop. But of course, that was once upon a time.
Now, she had nothing. Or at least, nothing worth keeping. There was a throat that had been ripped from synchronization with her jewel. There was a weight in the deepest depths of her stomach. There were the voices - of Starswirl, of the numerous nameless souls she wronged, of Aria and Sonata - that continuously taunted her for her crimes, failure to live up to her promises and current state of being. There was what remained of her keys to the kingdom, settled in the left pocket of her hoodie. She could've done without any of these. But the conditions of her loss were non-negotiable. Everything that was gold was either stolen from her or pushed away by her own ignorant hand.
Thus, she was left to sit on the sands outlining the seemingly endless ocean. It was the dead of night, with little to no human activity to disturb her. The temperature was mildly cool, enough for her hoodie and jeans to protect her from the periodic breezes. She had discarded her shoes and socks, aimlessly digging into the sands with her toes. Under better circumstances, she would've been relaxing and thinking of ways to dominate this prism of a realm. She would've had to pull out of these thoughts to stop the traditional bickering of Aria and Sonata before it got too out of hand.
The hands resting on her knees clenched their fingers. Images of their final argument and the bitterness on her followers' faces burned in her brain. Just what had compelled her to say such things to the ones that she loved the most? What kind of demon nabbed control of her mouth? She hadn't meant any of it. She allowed her rage to overtake her, even when the only people she could rightfully blame were the Rainbooms and herself. Yet she fired her guns at her subordinates, her friends, instead. Even as she thought back to it, where she had unwittingly gave in to her weakness was unclear.
"Adagio?"
Although she was hardly paying much attention to the distractions, Adagio could still pick up the wariness in Sonata's tone. It was understandable; after watching her leader's repeated, vain and manic attempts to piece a broken gem back together, how could anyone not be afraid?
"Adagio..."
She couldn't be concerned with how anyone else felt. She focused on the fragments of her gem laying on the kitchen table, her fingers pushing certain ones together only to pull them away. "This one, and that one looks okay." She mumbled in a ramble. "Now, this one-- no, that won't work.What about-- no, that won't work, either. Come on, one of these pieces has to be--"
"C'mon, sis." Sonata daringly took a step forward, though she was nowhere within arms' reach. "You're really freaking me out. Can't you just--"
"Sonata." Adagio hissed through clenched teeth, forcing Sonata's statement into a whimper. She abruptly straightened up, but didn't look over her shoulder. "For once in the thousand years I've been stuck with you, can you just shut up and let me do this? Or if you can't do that, at least help me find some glue or something. Y'know, do something useful for a change?" When she got no immediate response, she looked down at the mess of a gem. After a few seconds of staring, she growled and slammed her fist against the table. "And now I've lost my place! Stupid little--!"
"I'm sorry!" Sonata cowered as Adagio turned to face her with a furious expression. She raised her hands up, backing away as the lead Siren marched towards her. "Please...!"
Adagio didn't get far before a pair of hands grabbed her upper arm from the side and shoved her off-balance. She yelped as she stumbled, but quickly regained herself and rounded on the attacker. "Aria...!"
"Knock it off, Adagio." Aria griped, folding her arms across her chest and giving an annoyed glare. "Sonata didn't even do anything."
"Exactly!" Adagio hissed, her hands clenching into fists. "She's not doing anything outside of standing around and running her mouth, just like what you're doing right now! So how about you both stop wasting my time, find something that could help put my gem back together, and--"
"And then what?" Aria's voice gained some heat, her arms stretching out. "Reclaim our magic? I hate to break it to you, but that thing's just been rendered useless. Even if you somehow put all the pieces together, you're still going to be carrying a paperweight. Don't believe me? Try to feel any magic in those shards. If there's something worth redeeming, that'll tell you."
After giving Aria a hard stare, Adagio turned and walked back to the table. She placed a gentle hand against the shards and closed her eyes, trying to reach for a connection she had ever since she came to this wretched realm. Her lips were pursed and tightness of her eyes increased as she searched. But no matter how hard she looked or gripped the shards, she simply couldn't find it. She shook her head, desperately trying to push out the cold truth. "Impossible. There has to be something here, there has to be--"
"It's why Sonata and I didn't grab ours." Aria's bitter voice caused Adagio to clench her teeth. "We didn't need much to know they were useless, and I'm pretty sure you didn't, either. So unless we can somehow find what it took to power that thing, I don't think you're gonna--"
She was cut off by Adagio's scream followed by the lead Siren's hand slapping the shards off the table. They scattered around her feet, unattended in favor of her two subordinates. She clenched her fists as she glared (not) at them, her lips and teeth contorted into a snarl.
"I am not accepting this!" She hissed. "Ten lifetimes I have spent trying to find a way out. Ten lifetimes I've sacrificed my soul to, searching for a means to regain power and reclaim what was ours! I have went so far, gave up so much and this is what I get?! The rest of my life spent as a hairless excuse of a monkey?!"
"W-well," Sonata daringly spoke up, offering a sheepish smile and an attempt to lighten up the situation. "The "excuse for a monkey" thing I can get. But by this point, I thought we established that we had enough hair between us to feed an entire third-world village."
If she had been expecting a laugh - never mind the snicker from Aria - she would be very disappointed. The sheepish smile turned into shock and horror when Adagio marched up to her, grabbed her by the collar and pulled her to near nose-to-nose proximity. "Do you think this is some sort of joke to you?!" She demanded. "Some sort of game?! Just what in whatever afterlife this world has is so funny to you?!"
"N-nothing!" Sonata squealed, too terrified to break free. "I-I just thought--!"
Adagio was only barely aware of Aria's presence as it came closer, focusing all of her rage on Sonata. "You know, I probably shouldn't have bothered to ask. Of course you'd think it's all some big game! You, always in your own little world, always needing me to pull you out so you can focus on the bigger picture! Without me, you'd be even more useless than you are with me, and that's saying something, isn't it?"
"Stop...!" Sonata begged, grabbing Adagio's wrists and feebly attempting to pull her hands off. "I'm not useless!"
Adagio grinned wickedly, taking a hint of satisfaction in seeing the Siren's brimming tears. "What I'm seeing says otherwise."
Sonata punched Adagio in the throat.
The wicked grin immediately switched out for a horrified astonishment as her pipe was briefly and forcefully closed. Her hands released their grip, her body staggering back before falling to its knees. She clutched at her abused neck, coughing and gagging as she tried to breathe. In the haze of her tears, she saw Sonata (who was glaring viciously at her with a clenched fist) and Aria (who had been frozen in shock inches from grabbing Adagio's arm). Even with the feeling that she had swallowed several razor blades, she still croaked out her indignation. "Y-you no good, loathsome--!"
"Shut up!" Sonata shrieked, tears spilling from her angry eyes. "After everything we've been through, I can't believe you have the never to say that! I fought for you! I killed for you! I bled and nearly died for you! I've done nothing but put my faith and trust in you! How could you even begin to think of me as useless?!"
Any reasoning present in that statement was swallowed by Adagio's rage. She stumbled to her feet with a sound akin to a growl more than the harsh exhale it was. She pushed attention away from her bruised throat, marching towards Sonata with her fists clenched. But instead of fearfully retreating, Sonata held her ground and glared defiantly. It was as if she was daring Adagio to hurt her, to make an example of her and ruthlessly punish her. Had she not been so angry, Adagio would've been impressed.
But before she could raise her hand, Aria swiftly stepped in between her and her target.
"Aria," She seethed. "Get out of my way."
"No."
"That is an order!"
"Well, I guess I'm being insubordinate. So what're you gonna do?"
In frustration, Adagio thrust a finger at the hiding Sonata. "Why are you even defending her?! You yourself always said how she's "the worst"!"
"I never meant it, Adagio." Aria replied stubbornly, unaware of the shocked look Sonata was giving her. "Sure, she gets on my nerves a bunch and we tend to argue a lot. But it's not like she gets in the way or ruins your plans. She's been doing what I've been doing ever since Day 1 - following your lead. If you're going to call her useless, you might as well do the same for me. Hell, call yourself an idiot for giving us wrong directions!"
"Excuse me?!" Adagio snapped incredulously.
Aria placed her hands on her hips and leaned forward, her upper lip curling. "Face it, Adagio. You screwed up - again - and this time, there's no lucky charm to save us. We're better off sitting around and waiting until we--"
"I am not going to be like you, quitter." Adagio cut her off vehemently. "I'm not going to sit around and wait for my demise to come to me when I'm perfectly capable of stopping it!"
"No, you're not!"
"And what do you even know about me?! What I'm capable of?!"
"Girls...?" Sonata cut in hesitantly, but was ignored by both parties.
"You know what? This is so typical of you, Aria!" Adagio seethed. "Whenever something goes wrong, you're always the first to whine and moan! You're always the one to point fingers at me, always wanting to say it's my fault! But what have you done, outside of my orders? You argue over Sonata over trivial matters! You complain whenever you see something wrong! But when have you suggested an idea or contributed to our goal?!"
Aria opened her mouth, but closed it after a few seconds of letting it hang open. She averted her gaze away and folded her arms across her chest, looking embarrassed and angry. But Adagio was far from done.
"That's right. Not even once. I'm the one who's been coming up with the plans. I'm the one who's had to think for both of you. Without me, you'd still be sitting in that rock cave, crying about your lost home and your dead parents. Without me, you are nothing!"
"Stop it..." Though her words came out as a hiss, Aria couldn't keep her voice from cracking. Her eyes were shut, desperately trying to stop the salt water from leaking. "That's not... I'm not--"
"Does it hurt, Aria?" Adagio mocked coldly, tilting her head to the side. "Well, the truth usually does that to people. You may act all tough, but underneath that shell is a scared little girl starved for companionship. That is exactly why you were never a good leader. That is why I'll always be better than you. I don't need friends. I don't need family. And I sure as hell don't need a sniveling worm like you--"
"Adagio!" Sonata snarled, stepping in between the two. "That is enough!"
Adagio stumbled back, briefly losing vindication in her surprise. She refocused back into a sneer, opening her mouth and more than prepared to tear down Sonata--
What are you doing?
The question that suddenly popped up in her head silenced her, wiping away the venom in both expression and body language. In a moment of confusion, she took a closer look at Aria as Sonata turned to her. Although there was still anger on her face, it was heavily blended with hurt and disbelief. Her tears were running freely down her cheeks. Whatever Adagio had hoped to accomplish in her attack, this wasn't it.
"Aria..." Sonata said quietly, placing hands on both of the girl's shoulders.
Although she made no move to shrug off the hands, Aria still kept that wounded gaze on a conflicted Adagio. "So that's what you think of me, huh? That's how much I matter to you?" She shut her eyes, placing her palms on her face and turning away from the girls. "You ungrateful bitch."
"Aria, I--" Adagio didn't get very far before Aria ran off to her own room, sobbing all the way. She was left looking after her tail, her face pale and scared. Had it not been for Sonata, she probably would've stayed like that for a good while.
"Get out."
Adagio blinked a few times. "W-what--"
"I said, get out!" Sonata snapped, whirling around to face Adagio. She looked as if she was ready to beat Adagio into an unrecognizable mess. "You've done enough damage for one night. I don't ever want to see your face again. If you really don't need friends or a family, then you obviously don't need us."
"S-Sonata," Adagio began to plead, taking a step forward. "I-I didn't mean--"
"GET OUT!" Sonata bellowed, taking a stomping step forward and causing Adagio to flinch. She thrust a finger to the direction of the front door. "GET OUT, OR I'LL MAKE YOU!"
Adagio didn't need to be told again. She turned tail and blindly ran out, leaving the door open as she stumbled into the night.
It had been a few hours after that. Or had it been more? She couldn't say. She had spent that time wandering the city without purpose or direction, going as far as her legs could take her. It was only due to exhaustion that she stopped here on the beach, gazing at the ocean. She had hoped that the sight of her former home would ease her pain. But with each and every second she spent looking at it, she was reminded more and more that it was no longer a home she could return to. She felt sick and tired, wanting nothing more than to lay down and rest.
A click in her head, and dim eyes widened.
She may not have been welcome with Aria and Sonata. But she could still return to the ocean, even in her human form. Granted, it would not be the same as returning as a Siren. During her first days in this world, she discovered how incompatible the human body was with underwater conditions. Without special equipment, it would perish by drowning or getting crushed by the pressure if too deep in the water. The body would then be either lost to the sea or the creatures within.
It was the perfect way to leave.
She smiled, slowly pushing herself to her feet. Aria and Sonata would never see her again. The nameless souls would be avenged. Adagio would get to go back home, even if she wouldn't be alive to see it. There would be no more pain, sickness or guilt. There would be no more losing, because everyone would win this way. It was only a shame that no one would be able to voice their gratitude. She laughed softly to herself, slowly approaching the shifting tides.
I'm doing the right thing.
She hissed when the tides washed over her feet, their cold sting shooting through her soles. After a few steadying breaths, she continued to move forward.
It has become all too clear where I stand in this world.
The tides pushed against her as she walked, nearly causing her to fall into the water face-first. But she kept her balance. Her movements became more stiff as the cold water soaked through her bottoms. She resisted the urge to hug herself.
Do you see me, Starswirl? Sunset Shimmer? Rainbooms? Aria and Sonata? I hope you're watching. This will be the last time you'll see my face before it's gone forever.
It wasn't long before the forces of the ocean took control, pushing her ever so closer to the shoreline's end. She didn't resist, closing her eyes and waiting patiently.
Goodbye.
She was under.
Instinctively, she held her breath. Her eyes squinted, seeing nothing but murky blue. She kicked and pushed away from the shoreline, swimming as far into the depths as she could. She swam furiously, exerting every bit of her body's energy into preparing her proclaimed tomb. She swam until her arms and legs ran out of power and the burning in her chest was at its boiling point. Then, she ceased to move, taking in a breath.
As expected, the body rejected it. She coughed and gagged as the salt water invaded her windpipe, her hands clutching her throat. Her body thrashed and writhed as it struggled to breathe, desperately fighting the mind's desire for self-destruction. But there was no point; she had gone too deep and too far for any successful recovery. Its efforts only exhausted her even more, causing her blurred vision to be edged with a slowly expanding black.
But before that black could expand too far, there was a shocking sight that her eyes took in.
The nearly vacant space she occupied was now shared by a multitude of Sirens. They were swimming quickly and without a care in the world. She could hear their chatter even in the water's fog, listening as they conversed about various things. She could see them playing around with one another, chasing each other down in games of tag and such. All of it caused her body to relax, and she found herself wearing a warm smile.
As her body finally surrendered to the grip of the ocean, her dying vision cast upwards just in time to catch two ghostly hands reaching for her.
Then, nothing at all.