A Siren's Touch

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The front door of the house crashed open, shuddering on its hinges as it smacked into the wall, digging the divot even deeper into the stopper. A roll of thunder drowned out the sound even as a fresh crack of lightning served to backlight Aria Blaze’s arrival.

Aria kicked the door closed behind her, shutting out the second thunderclap as she peeled off her dripping sweatshirt and flung it at the cubby which usually held three pairs of shoes. Her own shoes landed with a wet plop on top of her sweatshirt before she stomped off toward the rest of the house.

A quick glance around revealed that the lower floor was as empty as the shoe cubby—a good sign. She had put one foot on the staircase to go check the rest of the house when her phone buzzed and rang.

Aria scoffed as she pulled it from her pocket. There were only two people who could possibly be sending her a message, and of those people she wanted to talk to exactly zero of them. She hesitated a moment with the phone half out of her pocket, her finger grazing the power button as the ringtone repeated.

Yellow face, orange curls. Yellow face, orange curls. She repeated the mantra in her head. Please. For the love of everything don’t let it be—

She looked at the screen. A smiling blue face with straight blue bangs and ponytail stared right back at her.

Aria’s free hand crashed into her forehead.

Tempest damn it.

What was it called again? A ‘selfie’? Whatever. It had only taken a single day after they’d let Sonata have her own phone for Aria to grow tired of receiving them. The next hundred days had simply been bitter, bitter icing.

Especially since Sonata used nearly every single one to show Aria what she was missing.

“Hi Ari! You really need to join us at Sugarcube Corner! I didn’t know anyone could make a cake this big! Pinkie Pie rocks!”

The message was typed out below a picture of Sonata grinning wide in front of a cake that did indeed nearly touch the ceiling.

Around the edges of the image were those insufferable girls responsible for the Dazzlings’ defeat in the first place. The Rainbooms, Aria dredged up from her memory. She preferred to keep them, and their stupid attempts at friendship out of her life. Especially since Adagio and Sonata had fallen for the act.

At least in Sonata’s case it made sense. She wasn’t exactly what anyone would call the thinking sort. Just instinct and impulse. Too little of the former and much too much of the latter.

But Adagio.

That one stung.

Aria’s phone sounded off again. After a long groan through clenched teeth, she lifted it into sight again. Another picture. And speak of the storm—

Sunset Shimmer. Another thing she didn’t approve of, but at least there was once a side to her that Aria could have almost respected.

Which certainly wasn’t the side cuddled up far too close to Adagio right now. Sunset herself seemed to be chuckling into her hand while Adagio’s face showed clear signs of annoyance. No doubt at Sonata’s barging in on a private moment.

”Dagi says you need to show up too! She can’t keep Sunny busy forever! (Whoops! I don’t think I was supposed to say that part!)”

The bare hint of a smile curled the corner of Aria’s lips. Sonata was being herself, but far away from Aria, and she was driving Adagio nuts. That also meant she was certain she had the house to herself.

Perfect.

Aria was already tugging off the rest of her damp clothes as she climbed the stairs. The weather report had called for mostly clear skies with only a ten percent chance of light showers before noon.

Stupid human skin. The rain never bothered my scales.

Once upon a time, worlds away, Aria had been able to manipulate pegasi into creating any sort of weather she wished for. Meanwhile, the best these humans could do was make barely educated guesses—and then hope.

Well, we all know where hope gets us, don’t we?

She opened the door to her own room much more quietly than she had the front door, dragging her wet shirt and jeans behind her. She let all thoughts of the rain vanish as she shut the door behind her and pulled on dry clothes. She was safe from it now anyway.

In her own room, Aria Blaze was safe from the entire world.

—

Aria flopped on her bed, then sat up against the headboard. She hugged her knees to her chest and pulled the comforter to her chin, enveloping herself in sweet, glorious warmth.

One hand snaked out to the bedside table, grasping her phone and a matching pair of earbuds. Moments later she closed her eyes, pressed play—and lost herself.

As a Siren, Aria considered herself a student of all forms of music, and her personalized playlist followed that philosophy to the letter. Energetic, hard rock; screaming, rebellious metal; soft, sad blues; mellow, rhythmic jazz; no genre, no emotion was denied her. Only one rule remained constant across that diverse range—instrumentals only.

Which was why, when dulcet, crooning tones cut into her playlist when she least expected it, her earbuds flew through the air, hit the wall, and cracked in two like miniature eggs, spilling their electronic guts in a heap by the door.

It had been an ad for Sapphire Shores’ new album. There was someone who certainly still had her voice. Adagio had actually had the good idea of incorporating Sapphire’s singing style into their own songs.

Back when such a thing was still possible.

Of course she wasn’t allowed to indulge in the one thing that still gave her any semblance of peace without having to be reminded how much her life utterly sucked right now. Aria grit her teeth, choking back the lump forming in her throat—

—and heard a knock at her door.

“Go away,” Aria said immediately. Her voice came out both scratchier and muddier than she would have liked.

The door opened a crack anyway. “You say that every time I knock,” came Sonata’s voice through the gap.

“That’s because I always want you to go away.”

“If I always did, I’d never get to talk to you.”

Aria could feel a vein in her forehead throb. “Oh, hey, you do catch onto things.”

The door creaked open and Sonata walked inside.

“Come on, Aria. Come out for a while. Dagi and I chipped in and bought you a sundae. It's in the freezer, but if it stays in there too long it'll get too frozen." She paused. "You know, I always thought that was strange for ice cream? You'd think being frozen would be the point—"

“Sonata.” Aria cut her off. “You’re babbling. Just get to why you’re here and bothering me so you can stop.”

“I told you. We just want you to come out.”

Aria looked around, craning her neck to look behind Sonata. “Who’s ‘we’? Where’s Adagio?”

Sonata fidgeted for a moment. “Um—at Sunset’s.”

Aria crossed her arms and scowled. “Of course she is.”

Sonata crossed her arms as well and huffed. “Okay, fine. It’s me. I want you to come out. You come home every day after doing who knows what, and—and just grump all the time! It’s getting old.”

After her high pitched torrent, Sonata’s voice dropped an octave—and several decibels. “And I’m getting really worried. You didn’t used to be like this.”

“What would you remember of ‘what I used to be like’?” Aria snapped.

Sonata’s voice barely broke a whisper. “I’d never forget.”

The room was silent for several moments. Sonata turned to look out the window by Aria’s bed.

“Look, the rain’s stopped,” she said, pointing to a bright, sunny view in spite of the lengthening shadows. “We could go outside together! And I know just where to go too! Equestria Land just opened up and Pinkie Pie told me alllll about it. It’s got bunches of games and a ferris wheel and caramel apples and ice cream and tacos and ice cream tacos and—”

“Weren’t you just at that snack shop of yours? Where are you getting all this energy from these days?”

“From being happy, Aria.” Sonata gently grabbed Aria’s wrist, giving tugs on it that were soft, and yet desperate. “You should try it for once.”

The instant Aria felt Sonata’s hand, however, she tensed like a coiled spring, turning to face Sonata with a scowl. No sense of gentleness registered in her mind, all she knew was that she was being touched—being yanked on here in her own room, her own sanctum.

“I’ve tried your stupid positive thinking,” Aria growled through gritted teeth. “Guess what? It didn’t work. It doesn’t work. It’s never going to work! Now let go of me!”

“Nuh-uh!” Sonata countered, bringing up her second hand to sandwich Aria’s.

Aria saw red.

“I said, LET GO!”

She raised her free hand and wound it back, fully prepared to deal maximum force, maximum wrath—

—and felt two soft taps on the back of her hand.

Aria looked down at her hand. Sonata was crouched, flinching, cowering, but still holding on. And sniffling. More droplets fell, wet as the rain had been, but not at all cold. They were warm, almost hot. They sharpened her senses, focusing in on her hand, a hand that was held by an admittedly warm grip. A soft, but firm touch that Aria tried, and failed, to ignore.

The anger that had built up to near bursting seeped out of her like an untied balloon, replaced with no small amount of guilt. Aria let out a groan—even Sonata didn’t deserve this.

Maybe.

"Look," Aria said with a sigh, "if I got up and let you take me to wherever it is you want to go, will you at least stop crying?"

After one last sniffle, Sonata raised her head, wiped her eyes, and nodded. "Sorry. I didn't mean to in the first place."

"Come on." Aria got up from the bed, and pulled out a jacket to stand in for the damp sweatshirt she’d left downstairs. "Let's go."

Aria couldn’t actually see the park when the noise of it first reached her ears. Only Sonata’s gentle tugging on her arm kept her moving forward into the red glow of the setting sun as the cacophony of voices washed over her.

Like the high splash of a wave, vendors’ voices were raised, hocking their wares, and carnies were shouting, advertising their games. Underneath the sharp, discordant shouting, the rumble of all the customers—talking, laughing, and joking—flooded every remaining bit of airspace like the dull slosh of a puddle being waded through.

Aria grit her teeth as she finally saw the sheer size of the crowd. The sudden passing downpour didn’t seem to have caused the park goers much grief.

All around, she could feel the swarm of people circling her, pressing inward. Everywhere Sonata led her, the crowd would part just enough for them to squeeze through, then rush together again in their wake.

Worse yet, everywhere she turned, everywhere she looked, the people were smiling—smiling and happy.

Aria hadn’t paid too much attention to the faces of the Canterlot High students during her time at the school, but a fair portion of the crowd looked vaguely familiar. All of those people who had very nearly been under her control were swarming around, rubbing their happiness in her face.

Why the hell did Sonata think this was a good idea?

“Isn’t this just so cool?!” Aria’s vision was suddenly filled with shades of blue and two hints of pink. “There’s so much fun stuff, I dunno what we should do first!”

Stupid question.

“Oh! I know, Ari! Let’s go play some games!”

Aria’s outstretched arm shook under the force of Sonata’s exuberant pointing. Her target was a booth with a garishly red and yellow striped canvas top, peaked high like a circus tent. Aria offered some resistance to the sudden change of motion, but soon gave in to the gentle squeeze of the warm hand gripping her.

The sooner she gets it out of her system, the sooner it’ll be over.

One of the two lanky men manning the booth caught Aria’s eye as she trudged along in Sonata’s wake. He quickly elbowed his identically dressed, but mustachioed fellow and hopped to his feet, putting on a smile that would have shamed Adagio in her prime. Their outfits were as garish as the booth, and might have been cut from the same cloth if they weren't tinted white and blue instead.

The clean-shaven man of the pair boomed a greeting as they got to within a few paces of the booth. “Welcome! Welcome! Step right up, ladies, and welcome to The Flim Flam Brothers Firm of Fabulous Frivolity! I’m Flim,”

“I’m Flam,”

“and you won’t find a better value for your money anywhere in this entire park!”

“Any one of these fabulous prizes can be yours for as little as one single ticket!” Together they performed a sweeping display with their arms, moving in unison to outline the stuffed animal prizes strung up along the roof as they traded off their sales pitch seamlessly.

“All you have to do is land this ring on any one of these jars.” Flim demonstrated by holding up a ring of blue plastic and tossing it over his shoulder, directly onto the neck of one of the array of clay jars set up on a low table.

“One ticket for one throw, each hit wins a prize. And as a special bonus, land three in a row and take home two additional prizes!” Flam emphasized his point by lifting three fingers each in turn and then adding the last two before waggling all five.

“Which of you ladies would like to go first?” Flim held up the ring he’d retrieved, his eyes quickly darting back and forth between Aria and Sonata.

Aria just scoffed as Sonata bounced on her heels, completely ignoring Flim and Flam as she looked over the stuffed animals on display.

“What kinda prize do you want, Ari?” Sonata wrapped her left arm around Aria’s right, squishing up against her side as she pointed at various prizes in turn. “Maybe a lion, or that octopus is cute. Hey, that one looks just like Dagi!”

Aria rolled her eyes as Flim shook the ring expectantly in her direction. “You’d have to win first Sonata.” She shook her arm, trying to free herself from Sonata’s tight grip and regain a little bit of personal space. “And that’s never going to happen. These games are always rigged.”

“Why that’s simply untrue!” Flam barked, sliding up and snatching the ring from Flim before tossing it into the array of jars himself and landing it perfectly onto one near the center. “Skill plays a big part in our game, though of course one should never underestimate the importance of luck!”

Flim retrieved the ring and held it out to Sonata instead. “I can see you’re the interested party here. Just one ticket may be all you need!”

Aria shook her arm as Sonata let go. The chill air that lingered from the earlier rain quickly soaked in to cool where Sonata’s warm embrace had held her. Aria crossed her arms, pressing the chill spot tight to her chest as she tapped her foot impatiently.

Sonata tore a ticket from the roll she’d purchased at the gate and exchanged it for the ring. She held it up in front of her face, staring through it at her target, then wound up and gave it a throw. The ring bounced off the rim of one jar, flipped over, bounced again, and came to rest on end between two different jars before being snatched up by Flam.

“Tough luck on your first throw, but don’t despair! Keep your eye on the prize and just one more ticket could get you there.”

Aria grit her teeth, tapping her foot harder and harder as she watched Sonata miss her second, then third, fourth, and fifth throws. As Sonata handed over a sixth ticket, Aria darted forward and snatched the ring from Flim’s hand.

“I told you these games are rigged!” Aria growled, staring Sonata down as she flung the ring into the booth. “It’s always fishing line in the gaps or electromagnets in the bottles or a ring too big to actually fit until they’ve gotten enough tickets to cover their costs!”

Sonata’s eyes opened wide, but she stared past Aria into the booth. “But Ari, look. You just won.”

Aria blinked at Sonata’s suddenly quiet tone and turned around to see Flim and Flam both holding their arms outstretched, converging on the ring nestled down snugly on the neck of a bottle.

“Whatever.” She rolled her eyes, turning back to Sonata. “Pick your prize.” Aria slumped past, putting a hand on Sonata’s shoulder and giving her a small shove in the direction of the booth as she walked away. “My feet hurt, I’m going to go sit down.”

The bench creaked and Aria groaned as her body thumped onto its metal slats. Even through her jeans, she could feel the cold bench leeching heat from her body. She leaned forward and wiggled her fingers into her shoes, massaging her ankles as best she could without taking off her only protection from the still damp ground.

Having sore feet was such a human problem. No part of her body from fin to flipper ever ached with the whole ocean to support her, nor in the open air with the power of her magic to keep her aloft. Trusting her entire weight to two small joints seemed like a terrible design. Even ponies were better off with their four legs and sturdy hooves.

Aria sat up, flexing her fingers as they tingled from the tight space between shoe and foot. The chill air stung her half-numb fingers, so she quickly stuck them in her jacket pockets as she turned to look in the direction of Flim and Flam’s booth. She expected to see Sonata still dithering over the stuffed animals. Instead, a loud group of boys were taking turns throwing rings and needling each other as they kept missing.

I can’t believe Sonata let them sucker her. That should have been us suckering them and their customers.

Aria turned as she heard and felt someone sit down next to her and very nearly got a face full of blue cotton candy. Sonata held out a cone full of fluffy blue sugar in one hand. Her other arm was occupied with both her own cone of purple and green cotton candy as well as clutching a yellow-orange plush siren against her side.

“Sorry I took so long.” Sonata smiled as she wiggled the cotton candy. “I thought I’d get us something to snack on while we sit.”

Aria took the cone just to stop Sonata waving it in her face and turned to face forward again. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Sonata happily biting into the purple mass of her cotton candy, right through one of the green ribbons that circled around it. She looked down at her own in the same pattern, but a light blue base with dark blue stripes.

I bet she thought that was cute.

Aria bit savagely into her cotton candy, tearing off a huge chunk of the light, airy sugar. The brief spark of enjoyment to be had in spite was buried in wet sand, or at least a very similar texture. The cotton candy quickly stuck together into a grainy, wet, but cloyingly sweet lump in her mouth. It clung to her tongue and felt like it would get stuck in her throat if she tried to swallow.

She glared at the remaining sugar fluff in her hand as the lump in her mouth slowly dissolved away.

“Aren’t you going to finish yours?” Sonata asked, scooting a little closer on the bench until her arm brushed up against Aria’s.

Aria held out the remains of her cotton candy, scooting away to regain some distance from both sources of blue sugary sweetness. “It’s too much sugar for me. You eat it, if you can.” Aria shuddered a bit as Sonata took it and did just that, despite having already finished off her own.

Leave it to sickeningly sweet Sonata to eat pure sugar and crave for more.

Aria watched the crowd in front of the bench while keeping Sonata on the edge of her vision. After almost two full portions of cotton candy, Aria reasoned that she might be on enough of a sugar high to allow an escape.

Sonata seemed occupied with licking the cones clean of any remaining sugar strands and Aria spotted that Trixie girl in the crowd, walking alongside another girl with a very similar complexion and hair color to her own. Her hair was long and straight and she wore a hat, but close enough. Aria smirked to herself.

Trixie made a pretty good pawn before, why not an encore performance? Just jump up and disappear into the crowd as she passes.

Aria made it onto her feet, but before she could take so much as a step, Sonata’s arm slipped around hers and pulled her almost as close as Trixie was holding onto her friend.

“Ready to go, Ari?” Sonata stuffed her plush siren into her jacket and zipped it up with her free hand, giving her a slightly lumpy appearance. “Hey, I know what we can do next. We should go ride the roller coaster before it closes for the night!”

Instead of a sugar high, she just gets wired. Figures. “Sure, whatever.”

Any hope for escape was completely sunk as Sonata snuggled up against her arm, going so far as to twine her fingers between Aria’s and gently squeeze her hand. Aria sucked air through her teeth at Sonata’s touch as they started to walk through the crowd.

Hands were one area where even Aria had to admit that humans had a bit of an advantage. They were far better for manipulating objects than flippers or hooves, and even though magic still won out on that front, hands were much better, more useful, and more powerful when it came to something as simple as touch.

A few well timed or well placed touches certainly made focusing what power they had in this world much easier. Back when they had power.

Aria snorted, annoyed with herself at the thought of praising anything in this rotten world. She tried to get her hand free, but suddenly had no need as they reached their destination and Sonata needed both hands to tear off tickets to pay for the ride. After only a short wait in line, they boarded the roller coaster.

With the restraints in place, the ride started up, pulling them slowly up the steep hill with a steady metallic clatter. Aria cast her gaze over the edge at the distant city skyline and the sun slowly disappearing behind it. Even if Sonata didn’t get tired of the park after this ride, at least it would be closing time soon enough.

At the top of the slope, the ride seemed to slow down. First the horizon, then the distant landscape, and finally the park came into view in front of them as the train crested the hill and gravity took over.

The other occupants of the ride variously screamed or cheered, but Aria tuned them out, her mind fixed on the feeling of the wind rushing across her skin and blowing through her hair. She tensed her stomach muscles for the swooping change in acceleration as they sped through the first trough, just like pulling out of a steep dive.

Aria breathed in deeply over the next crest and out again as they swooped down. A bit of leftover rain water had pooled on the track, spraying against the trailing cars in a fine mist. Aria held out her arms as far as the restraints would allow, relishing in the feeling of flight. It felt more than a bit odd to be sitting up in a sort of cage, and Aria found herself leaning forward against the chest restraint, trying as best she could to face head first into the motion.

As they soared through a loop and down the final slope, the track pointed straight at a wooden ship, part of the ride scenery. Aria’s nostrils flared and her lip curled as they dove on the ship, on prey. Suddenly, the ride lurched left, swerving away from the ship, braking the train into the station and breaking the fantasy along with it.

Aria’s chest rose and fell in a series of quick breaths as the restraints retracted, the feeling of motion still fading from her body. Her heart pounded as she replayed the last few minutes in her mind, grasping at the thrill of it, but the feeling was lost to the moment. She clenched her human fists at the end of her human arms with all those pale little human hairs standing on end.

“Ari? We need to go. They’re closing the ride.”

Sonata’s voice and gentle hand on her arm almost made Aria leap from her seat. She grudgingly accepted Sonata’s help up; her spindly human legs were feeling like damp seaweed. As they stepped down from the platform, it became apparent that the crowds were starting to thin out. Park staff were busy closing up most of the other rides, though the ferris wheel and merry-go-round were just turning on their lights.

Aria huffed as Sonata slid up against her side again and her still off-balance body instinctively leaned on Sonata for support.

“Are you done yet? It’s getting dark and I’ve had just about all the fun I can handle for one day.”

Sonata frowned, fishing in her pocket and pulling out a still significantly sized roll of tickets. “But I still have all these tickets.” Her brow crinkled and her tongue poked out the side of her mouth. Aria rolled her eyes.

After a moment, Sonata’s eyes lit up like a lighthouse on a dark coastline. “How about the arcade? They just got in a bunch of Tirek’s Revenge machines!”

Aria tensed up a bit as Sonata clasped hands with her again and smiled wide. “Tch, fine.”

Blowing shit up sounds a hell of a lot more fun than anything else in this lousy park, even if it is just a game.

The crowd thickened again as they walked back toward the area of the park near the entrance, where everything was still open. Aria found herself pressing closer against Sonata to avoid people as they threaded through the game booths and the food vendors.

Aria felt a moment of relief as Sonata let go of her hand, freeing both their arms from being awkwardly pinned between them, but it was short-lived. Sonata’s arm slipped around her shoulders, pulling them closer still.

Everything is just an invitation to you, isn’t it?

As they passed by the park entrance, the arcade on the far side made itself readily apparent in the airspace thanks to the loud bleeps and bloops of the various retro games, overlaying the realistic sampled sounds of the more modern titles. However, there was an oddly familiar melody buried somewhere in the cacophony.

Aria strained her ears to pick out the tune, welcoming the distraction from Sonata’s continued touchy-feelyness. Before she could wrap her head around it, Sonata started humming. Aria opened her mouth to shush her, but the sound died in her throat.

Tempest damn it, that better not be…

The pavilion next door to the arcade was nearly as loud as the video games, blaring music out of a sound system set up on a stage. As they reached the entrance of the arcade, a girl holding a microphone started singing along to the music, slightly off-key.

Welcome to the show

Aria stopped dead in her tracks, gritting her teeth together and balling her fists up tight.

We’re here to let you know

“Ari?” Sonata gently tugged at her shoulders, but Aria would not budge.

Our time is now

“We’re leaving.”

Your time is running out

“Ari, wait!”

Sonata’s words were almost lost as Aria turned savagely and left, ripping herself away from Sonata’s embrace and barrelling into the crowd, forcing a path toward the park entrance.

“I said WE’RE LEAVING!” Aria very nearly knocked over several people in her wake, but her fierce voice and the raging tempest evident in her face alerted them to scramble to safety just in time.

—

Aria was far enough away down the lamplit street that the noise of the park was only an indistinct rumble before Sonata caught up with her, panting and breathing hard.

“Ari, wait! Where’re you going?” Sonata huffed, stopping with her hands on her knees as Aria continued to walk briskly away. “I thought we were having fun.”

“You were having fun. I played along as much as I could stand. More than I could stand.” Aria shouted over her shoulder, not breaking stride even by an inch. “You can go back and have all the fun you want. I’m going home!”

Aria made it only another half block before Sonata’s quick footsteps caught up with her again.

“It won’t be fun if you’re not there.”

“Good! Then neither of us will be having fun!”

“Ari, please at least stop and tell me what’s wrong.” Sonata reached out with both hands and took hold of one of Aria’s. “Why’d you run away so fast?”

“WHY?” Aria spun around, her face as dark as a storm cloud. “Do you really have to ask why?” She gestured wildly back in the direction of the park with her free hand. “A karaoke booth next to the arcade was bad enough, but that was our song. They were singing our song.

“She sounded like utter garbage, singing our song off-key. But you know what the worst part is?” Aria stepped up close to Sonata, her jaw clenched. “She still sounded better than me!”

Aria turned, facing back in the direction of their home. “They took our magic, they took our voices, now they’ve taken our song. Excuse me for not wanting that rubbed in my face!”

“I’m sorry.” Sonata squeaked the apology. “I didn’t mean to hurt you.” Sonata’s warm hands gently gripped Aria’s, punctuating her words. “I just wanted us to have some fun like we used to.”

“You got to have your fun. I hope it was worth it. Now let me go home.” Aria took a step forward, despite Sonata still holding onto her hand.

“No.”

Aria stopped short, her arm stretched out behind her as Sonata held it firmly. The conviction Sonata put into that single word nailing her to the spot. “What did you say?”

“I said no, Aria.” Sonata walked around her, stepping between Aria and the direction of their home, keeping hold of her hand. Her brows were furrowed and her lips set in a line, a look of determination that seemed quite grim in contrast to her usual bubbly nature.

“I’ve been trying everything I can to help you stop being sad, and this is the most time you’ve spent out of your room with me or Dagi in forever. I can’t just let it go.”

As Aria stared back in disbelief, the fierce look in Sonata’s eyes melted and tears started to well up as if the effort had overwhelmed her. She threw her arms around Aria and pulled her close, her body shaking with sobs.

“Please, Ari. We can go somewhere quiet. No crowds, no singing. But I don’t want you to leave me right now.”

Aria stood stunned in Sonata’s embrace. The feeling of warmth that had been imparted by Sonata holding her hand, or pressing against her side, or wrapping an arm around her shoulder was magnified several times over, banishing the night’s chill entirely. Her own arms hovered awkwardly in the air for a moment before coming to rest against Sonata’s back.

They stood together as Sonata’s sobs slowly subsided. But when she was almost still, several soft, warm splashes on the back of Aria’s neck brought back thoughts of the sudden rainfall in the afternoon and the visit from Sonata that started the night out.

“I thought you were going to stop crying if I came out with you.” Aria’s tone was low and even, a light rain shower instead of a wild tempest.

Sonata sniffed hard, hugging Aria a bit tighter in order to reach her face and wipe away her tears. “I did say that. I guess I’m pretty bad at this, huh?”

“Yeah. Well, I don’t know why I should put up with you, but as long as you promise no other people and no singing, then whatever.”

Sonata slowly released her from the hug, her expression once again smiling, if a little teary-eyed. “I promise.”

She led Aria away by the hand, not toward their home or the amusement park, but off in a third direction as the moon came out in full overhead.

True to her word, the park Sonata led her to was quiet and completely devoid of people. Some rule probably meant that it was closed at night like so many other things were in this world, but Aria had never let that stop her before.

She followed Sonata up a wooded path climbing a small hill. Before Aria could protest about the climb, they emerged back out into the moonlight as the pathway widened into a scenic overlook commanding a wide view of a large lake, dark against the night sky.

Aria sat down on the bench, still led by Sonata, and for a while neither of them spoke. The nearly still, dark water reflected an image of the full moon, only broken up by an occasional ripple. The water lapped lazily at the shore, adding its sound to the gentle rustle of the trees behind them.

The lake was certainly no ocean, but in the moonlight the far shore was barely visible, and the sound of the city behind them was completely absorbed by the trees. The ambiance was almost soothing, but the longer Aria stared at the dark water and listened to the ebb and flow against the rocky shore, the more it reminded her of the life she’d lost.

“Why are we here? Why are you doing this, Sonata?” Aria burst forth, drowning out the sound of the water for a short moment.

Sonata stirred beside her, shuffling her feet a moment before she answered. “I’m really worried about you, Ari.”

Another moment of silence passed before Sonata continued. “I was super sad too, after we lost our magic, and so was Dagi. But I couldn’t just stay sad, so I went looking for fun things to do like going to the movies or playing arcade games, and then I ran into Pinkie Pie.”

Sonata sat up straighter as she spoke, the bench creaking a little with the movement. “I was scared at first, but she wasn’t mad or angry or anything. She even said she was sorry that her friends had to hit us with that magic rainbow beam thing.”

Aria scoffed. “Of course you’d believe that.”

“I did believe it, and I still do.” Sonata leaned toward Aria as she reached into her jacket pocket to pull out her phone. The screen lit up to show Sonata’s most recent picture gallery. She scrolled through the various pictures of herself with each of the Rainbooms, all of them smiling. “They’ve always made me and Dagi feel welcome.”

Sonata scrolled past the picture of herself in front of the cake that she first sent Aria in the afternoon and stopped on the picture of herself with Adagio and Sunset in the background. “Especially Sunny. She did so much to help Dagi feel better.”

“Tch.” Aria crossed her arms and turned away. “Yeah, in her pants she did.”

Sonata shook her head and zoomed in on the picture, pointing out Sunset’s geode necklace. “Sunny used her magic. It lets her see what someone is feeling if they’re willing, or if they really need help. Dagi wasn’t exactly willing at first, but she definitely needed help.” Sonata shut off her phone and returned it to her pocket. “They got close after she helped Dagi figure out how to move on and be happy again. I wish she could help you, but you won’t let anyone near except me and sometimes Dagi.”

“Let you?” Aria turned back, her brow wrinkled and lips curled into a fierce scowl. “I don’t let you do anything. You barge your way in regardless. You keep talking about ‘moving on.’ What do I have to ‘move on’ to?” Aria gestured at the air around her with both hands. “I hate this place. I’ve always hated this place. And I hate you for constantly reminding me that I’m stuck here!

“You keep telling me to make the best of it—I already was. At least I could still be a Siren, even a budget Siren.” Aria folded her arms and kicked a pebble over the edge in front of them. “Then Adagio had to go and drag us into that stupid plan of hers. I would have had us try to escape, but she decided she wanted this place.

“And now we’re all paying for it. So excuse me if I don't think too highly of the situation I'm in right now, to say nothing of the two of you!” Aria turned away again, pivoting her entire body this time until the bench dug into her leg.

The sudden movement whipped the cool night air across Aria’s face, chilling her skin. She hugged her arms closer to her chest and hunched over, trying to retain whatever warmth she could. Just as she was about to duck her head into her jacket, she felt a soft, warm hand brush across her chin and gently cup her cheek.

“Oh… oh, Aria.” Sonata’s voice was soft, barely audible over the sound of the lake.

“‘Oh, Aria’, what? If you're pitying me, feel free to knock it off—” Aria sat still and tense, trying not to think about how warm and comfortable Sonata’s touch felt in the night’s chill.

“No, it’s not that…“ Sonata paused for a moment and took a deep breath. “I can’t believe you never knew. I thought Dagi would have told you, or you would have felt it yourself.”

Aria stared into the darkness for a moment, trying to process Sonata’s words. Never knew what? Felt what? She finally turned back to see Sonata smiling brightly in the moonlight—the irritating self-satisfied smile she always had when she figured something out for herself.

“What are you talking about, Sonata?” Aria stared at Sonata now, equally eager to know and terrified to discover whatever secret Sonata was holding back.

Sonata stood up from the bench, standing in front of Aria and leaning forward, almost to eye level. “We may not have a siren's voice anymore—but we haven't lost a siren's touch.” Sonata brought one hand up, brushing along Aria’s cheek while her other hand grasped Aria’s and slowly twined their fingers together.

“You remember when Dagi first showed us how much fun fingers could be?” Sonata moved in closer still, her lips close to Aria’s left ear while her fingers traced over her right. “Well, they still are.”

Aria’s eyes fluttered closed and she gasped, taking in a sudden, deep breath. The cool night air was warmed by Sonata’s words, the proximity of her body, and her gentle touch. Her skin tingled as Sonata’s fingertips followed her hairline down her neck and along her jaw and back.

Sonata slowly released Aria’s hand and brought her fingers to her temples, rubbing in small circles on both sides of her head. Aria took in another breath, longer and more steady this time. As she finished letting it all out, Sonata placed a gentle kiss on her cheek.

“You mean all this time I thought I was powerless?…”

“Hey, Dagi had to tell me too. After Sunny got her back on track, Dagi figured out she could sort of turn Sunny’s magic around on her whenever they started getting snuggly. Except it turned out it was actually her own magic.”

Sonata giggled and slid back onto the bench next to Aria, resting one hand against her shoulders, but keeping a little bit of distance.

“We can’t make people argue anymore, but we can still help them to feel what they never knew they could feel.” Sonata locked eyes with Aria. “Or sometimes what they might have forgotten they could feel.”

Aria sat still for a moment, unable to look away from Sonata’s gaze. “Is that what you just did to me?”

“I hope so.” Sonata broke eye contact and stared fixedly at the ground. “It’s hard to tell because you’re always so sad anymore.”

They both sat in silence for a while as the sound of the lake slowly picked up, increasing both in volume and in tempo. Suddenly, the trees rustled louder still as a gust of cold night air swirled around them. Sonata clutched at her skirt in a vain effort to keep the chill from creeping up her legs.

“I guess we should go home before it gets any colder.” Sonata stood up, trying not to shiver as she offered Aria her hand. “I’m sorry for dragging you out here tonight, and everything else.”

Aria took Sonata’s hand and pulled herself to her feet. For a moment she just stood, her eyes fixed on their hands clasped together. “No, it's—it's fine. If you didn't keep trying, I'd probably actually get a bit worried myself. You always keep trying. For whatever reason I could never figure it out.”

They started back down the path, Sonata still holding Aria’s hand as the trees swayed in the night breeze above them.

“Duh, Ari? I like you. You and Dagi. Yelling at me when I say or do silly things isn't going to change that. I mean, if I were in your place, I'd probably yell at me sometimes too.” Sonata paused for a moment, breaking stride as she raised her free hand to her chin. “Though if we switched places, that would mean I would have to have been the one to come up with the plan to fight the Rainbooms, and wow, would that have been—”

“Sonata, you’re drifting again.” Aria gave Sonata’s hand a little tug to get her moving.

Sonata blinked and then bopped her own head with her free hand as she started to walk. “Oh right. See? You knew me before I did. You always have. I'm never going to stop liking you for it.” She caught up the few steps she’d lagged behind and leaned close to Aria like she had at the amusement park. “All this time, you've been all I've had—and also all I've wanted.”

They finished the walk home in relative silence. Sonata hummed a little tune under her breath while Aria found herself concentrating on the feeling of Sonata’s hand warm in her own. She felt a little tingle run up her spine every time their fingers twitched, rubbing skin against skin, and she couldn’t help thinking back over each time Sonata had touched her all evening.

Especially vivid was that first moment, looking down to see Sonata crying while clutching her hand, and feeling her teardrops. All her anger at being disturbed in her own room defused in an instant. If there was still some power in their touch, it would be worth the entire evening to find out how to harness it.

When they returned home, Aria repeated the quick scan of the house she had made in the afternoon, but just as before, there was no sign of Adagio. Despite the late hour, Sonata had rushed straight to the kitchen.

“Aww… I was afraid of that,” Sonata moaned, her voice projecting across the main floor of the house.

Aria entered the kitchen to see Sonata in front of the open freezer, poking a plastic spoon at the rock hard surface of an ice cream sundae and frowning miserably.

“Sonata,” Aria called from the doorway, “forget about the ice cream. I want you to show me more about that magic touch.”

Sonata looked up and stared back at Aria with her eyes wide, like prey lured by an anglerfish. Aria suspected that forgetting about ice cream was an absolutely unthinkable concept in Sonata’s world.

“Oh! Okay.” Sonata shoved the sundae back in the freezer and leaned against the door as she shut it. Her eyes darted around for a moment before she motioned Aria toward her while bouncing forward herself so they met in the middle of the kitchen.

“Um, since you know it’s happening, we’ll probably have to work a little harder to get the magic to flow. It’s weird that way. You can’t force it—you have to be really relaxed at first.” Sonata reached slowly for Aria’s hand and smiled when she made no move to resist the contact. “Just—hm—close your eyes and try not to think. Let your mind be totally blank.”

“So I have to be you?” Aria asked as she lowered her eyelids. Then she snapped them open again for a moment. “Sorry.”

“Hey, if it helps you get into it.” Sonata brought a hand up to push a few strands of Aria’s hair out of her face, brushing her fingers against her cheek. “I just want you to be you again, Aria, and that’s something you would say.”

Aria could feel Sonata circle behind her as she closed her eyes and did her best to shut out any errant thoughts. She breathed in slowly as Sonata leaned in from behind and caressed both of her hands.

“Now, think about something you like, like the sound of the ocean.” Aria felt Sonata slip her thumbs around into her palms and gently rub in small circles. “At the end of a long day, or whenever we needed a break, you’d always find us a nice cove, or an empty beach to lay down and listen to the ocean, remember?”

Aria nodded, her mind conjuring an image of rolling waves as she imagined the sound. At first, it was only as ocean-like as the sound of the lake water lapping at the shore, but as Sonata traced her fingers along her arms and neck and began to caress her temples, the sound grew in her mind to an undulating roar—the rumble of incoming water and crash as it broke upon the land, then a long sigh as it receded to start over again.

“It always used to help me sleep at night,” Aria sighed, “though if it was just for a nap, I could always count on you to have too much fun in the surf, letting yourself be pulled out by the undercurrent and rolled back to shore by the next wave.”

Sonata giggled as she moved down and pushed Aria’s jacket out of the way before starting to gently rub her shoulders. “You and Dagi always had to make me stop before I wanted to, but it was still loads of fun.”

“It was. Even if I couldn’t sleep, it was usually restful enough just watching you play.” Aria arched back a little, her twintails falling past her shoulders and brushing against Sonata’s arms. “Sorry, is my hair in the way?”

“No, no, it’s fine. Nothing like Dagi’s big cheese poof.” Sonata giggled, working her fingers outward toward Aria’s upper arms. “Remember when we first wound up here and we kept making fun of Dagi’s super short hair?”

Aria let out a snort and her shoulders shook as she snickered. “That was ages ago. I never expected her to take that to heart so much.”

“She never stopped either.” Sonata stopped rubbing for a moment and just rested her hands against Aria’s upper arms. “You think that might have been a bad idea?”

“Of course it was. That’s what made it fun.” Aria turned around to face Sonata, a hint of a smile on her face. “You know how Adagio goes all in on something, though. There is such a thing as too long.”

“Tell me about it.” Sonata smiled back and ran her fingers down Aria’s twintails. “Feeling better?”

Aria frowned again. “I guess so. I’m not feeling anything I could really call magic, though.”

Sonata took Aria’s hands in hers and gave them a soft squeeze. “I guess we’ll have to keep trying. Let’s go lay you down somewhere comfy. That should help.”

Aria nodded and followed Sonata’s lead toward the living room. Sonata was making a beeline toward the plush sofa, but Aria stopped as they passed the stairwell leading to the upper floor. “I have a better idea, follow me.”

They climbed the stairs together and Aria led the way into her bedroom. She let Sonata’s hand go and slipped off her jacket, laying down on her bed in her tanktop. “How’s that?”

“Good idea, Ari. This is lots better than the living room.” Sonata took off her own jacket, laying it on top of Aria’s on her desk chair, and shut the door to the room before turning out the lights. The room was almost pitch black for a moment before Sonata opened the window blinds and let the moon bathe the room in its soft, blue-white light.

Aria heard and felt the bed groaned a little as Sonata mounted it, straddling her lower back. Sonata’s hands rested on her shoulders and then gently started to knead them once more.

“Back in the zone, Ari,” Sonata said softly. “We’re by the ocean, listening to the waves. Just like—”

Sonata stopped for a moment and Aria could feel her lean in close, her breath warm in her ear.

“Just like the first time you helped me out, remember that?”

—

Aria surfaced with a splash and perked her ear fins, swivelling them to try and locate the source of the sound she just heard.

Hooves on sand over there… And crying? Is—is that another siren?

Aria dived again and flicked her tail hard, shooting through the water toward the nearby shore. She surfaced in the lee of a rock outcropping and peered around at the commotion on shore.

Three colts and a filly were galloping in circles around and kicking divots of sand at a small blue siren curled up on the beach. She sounded like she was trying to sing, but she was completely out of tune and her song was broken up with wailing sobs every time a clump of sand hit her.

Aria snarled and bared her teeth, letting out a fierce, high-pitched scare note as she charged the shore like a torpedo. Instead of crashing on the sand, she sliced a sharp arc through the surf and sent a wave of water crashing over the ponies and their target.

The drenched ponies stopped in their tracks and stared out at the water at the second siren. Aria leapt out of the water and landed on the beach with a thud, curling her tail along the sand and flicking a big clump at each of the ponies in turn while she raised her voice in an angry pitch.

Aria broke off her song as the ponies ran away, their tails between their legs. “That’ll teach you ponies to mess with a siren!” she snarled after them. Aria scooted herself around with her hooves to get a better look at the other siren.

The little blue siren in front of her was definitely young, at most barely older than Aria herself, but more than likely a bit younger. “You okay?” she asked. “Did they hurt you or anything?” The other siren peeked back at her from behind her own tail and alternated between nodding and shaking her head.

“Can you swim?” Aria asked, tilting her head toward the water. “I know a nice sandbar out there where you can rest.”

“Yeah, I think so.” The blue siren’s voice still shook a little, but she uncurled herself and started to shuffle back toward the water.

“Good, follow me.” Aria half crawled and half slithered back into the water and started to swim slowly, checking over her shoulder to make sure she was being followed. “What’s your name?”

“Sonata,” she answered as she caught up and swam up beside Aria. “Thanks for helping me.”

“No problem. Gotta show those ponies who’s boss.” Aria gave a toothy grin. “My name’s Aria by the way, and here’s my sandbar.”

Aria surfaced as they reached a ridge rising up out of the water and leapt onto the sandbar, nestling into her favorite spot in the seaweed. Sonata surfaced behind her and scrambled onto the sandbar without leaping, scrabbling at the slick seaweed with her hooves and splashing with her tail.

“Why were those ponies attacking you anyway?” Aria asked when Sonata had settled herself into a comfortable spot.

Sonata lowered her head onto her hooves and frowned. “It felt like they had lots of energy, so I tried to charm them, but it didn’t work very well.” Sonata curled her tail around and scrunched in on herself. “I tried harder, but it just worked even less, and they got angry at me, and I couldn’t do anything.”

Aria slithered over and gently patted Sonata’s back with her hoof. “Hey, don’t get so wound up. If you wanna get better, the first thing you have to do is relax.” She rubbed Sonata’s withers with her hooves until she uncurled and lay flat against the cool seaweed.

“That’s better. You gotta be cool and calm or you can’t concentrate on your song.” Aria scooted closer working her hooves down Sonata’s back, either side of her dorsal fin. “The first time I charmed some ponies, it could have gone better too.”

“D—Did they catch you too?” Sonata turned her head to look at Aria, her eyes wide.

Aria waved a hoof dismissively. “Nah, I got lucky there. I got a little energy out of them, but I was still pretty hungry after.” She patted Sonata’s back and slithered around to face her. “Why don’t you sing your song for me, I can give you some pointers.”

—

“You really had to coax me to sing for you, but you were so patient and stayed up all night helping me hit every note just right. I’ll never forget that.”

Aria inhaled sharply as Sonata bent down and placed a soft kiss between her shoulder blades. “You little dorkasaurus,” Aria groaned a little, but her voice was soft. “You would be sentimental about that.”

“I am, Ari.” Sonata worked her hands down Aria’s back, massaging through her tanktop before slowly slipping her hands under to treat her lower back more directly. “I wouldn’t be here today if it wasn’t for your help. I just want to return the favor.”

“Well, getting a massage feels good, whatever else.” Aria wiggled a bit on the bed as Sonata rubbed her lower back. “Here, hang on a second.” Aria arched up as Sonata moved her hands away. She reached back and grabbed the hem of her tanktop, pulling it over her head, leaving her back completely exposed apart from her bra straps.

“That’s helpful. Thanks, Ari.” Sonata’s hands gently pressed into Aria’s upper back, carefully working around her bra.

Aria wrapped her arms around her pillow and buried her face in it while Sonata’s hands worked over her back. Memories of her early life were playing back in her mind. Swimming around and eating energy with Sonata,—meeting Adagio for the first time and inviting her into their choir—gaining enough magic together to fly over land.

Sonata’s voice broke in on her thoughts. “I’m really glad you let me be here to help you tonight, Ari. It means a lot to me.”

Aria turned her head, inhaling some fresh air to help clear her mind. “I’m glad you’re here too, Sonata.” She sighed out almost all the air in her lungs as another memory rushed into her mind before she could dam it up. “I just wish here wasn’t here.” Aria squeezed her eyes shut tighter.

“What do you mean, Ari?”

—

Aria and Sonata hovered together, hidden from the road by a large rock. They peered around either side, watching and waiting. Adagio hovered a fair flight down the road, addressing a stout earth pony, a green fog of magic partially obscuring them.

“She’s got him charmed, why do we have to hide back here again?” Sonata flicked her tail, her voice a muffled whine.

“I told you. Subtlety and precision,” Aria whispered back. “Charming individual ponies works better as a solo melody, one-on-one. Adagio has a real knack for it. When we’re ready to strike their village, we’ll go in together as a perfect chord.”

With their attention on each other, Aria and Sonata missed Adagio flying back to their hiding spot.

“I got some good news from our friend,” Adagio purred, making Aria and Sonata jump a little, “but there’s a caravan coming down the road, so let’s discuss it back at the pool.”

Aria and Sonata nodded before the three of them flew away, leaving the road behind.

Adagio led the way into the secluded cave entrance, flying down the stone corridor until it opened out into a large chamber, half-full of water. She dove into the pool and swam a lap around before surfacing again. Aria and Sonata followed close on her tail, diving into the cool water themselves and surfacing with a splash.

“So? What kind of news did you get?” Aria asked as she settled onto a rock shelf at the edge of the pool.

Adagio continued to swim in lazy circles in the water as she answered. “Our plan is working. Their town meetings have turned into petty squabbles over every little proposal.” Adagio laughed aloud as she dove and surfaced, swimming in a tight circle. “They spent all of last night arguing over fishing rights!”

Aria and Sonata joined Adagio’s laughter, Sonata swimming circles around Adagio while Aria splashed them with her hoof.

“Fishing rights, that’s too funny,” Aria chuckled, “we’ll tell them what their ‘fishing rights’ are soon enough!”

“Yeah, I can’t wait to make ponies fish for me!” Sonata giggled and leapt out of the water, diving back in with a huge splash. “Do you think we’re ready to take over?”

Aria dipped her tail in the water and swished, sending gentle ripples out across the water. “If they’re really arguing that much, we could show up during their next meeting and steal all their energy.”

“We might be able to.” Adagio frowned, tapping her chin with a hoof. “There’s a lot more unicorns there than we thought, so it wouldn’t be a bad idea to charm a few more ponies first.”

Sonata let out a groan. “But we’ve been waiting for ages already. If we swoop in while they’re already busy arguing, they won’t know what hit them!”

Aria slithered off the rock and back into the water, surfacing between Adagio and Sonata. “I think Sonata’s right. We’ve spread enough disharmony, we hit them hard and fast when they’re weak and the whole town is ours. Are you with us, Adagio?” Aria wrapped a hoof around each of their withers and looked Adagio in the eye.

“You’re the boss, Aria. But let’s make it quick so they don’t have a chance to resist.”

“I wouldn’t have it any other way, Adagio.”

—

The plan started off well. Aria, Sonata, and Adagio raised their voices together in chorus and the townsponies immediately fell under their spell. Insults flew, fights broke out, and most importantly, magic started to flow.

Aria raised her voice a touch as she felt the hot burst of energy in her scaly chest, fulfilling and satisfying to her needs. Sonata and Adagio matched her in perfect rhythm as they began to circle the town, watching out for any ponies who might resist their song.

As soon as the townsponies began to grow listless and victory seemed assured, everything started to go straight down the whirlpool. Sonata was the first to spot the scrawny little unicorn standing on the hill, but by the time Aria and Adagio noticed the rest of the newcomers, that armored pegasus had already charged at them.

Aria let out a roar and a burst of angry magic, but his shield withstood the blast. The boulder flung at them by the huge earth pony was not so lucky. Another pegasus buzzed them in circles and flew away in a foolish straight line. Aria nodded at her fellow sirens and they gave chase.

A white flash and a split second sight of the pegasus taking a right angle turn in front of a starry void signalled an unexpectedly abrupt end to the battle and a complete change to Aria’s entire world.

—

“It was all my fault—my fault that we ended up in this world to begin with.” Aria buried her face in her pillow and pounded her fist on the bed.

Sonata’s hand moved quickly from Aria’s upper back to her fist, gently uncoiling her fingers. Aria felt Sonata lean over and bring her lips close to her ear as the cool, silky fabric of Sonata’s bra pressed into her back. Sonata made soft shushing noises, not unlike the sound of a soft sea spray.

“No, Aria. It was our fault. We all chose our path together—like a perfect chord, remember?”

Aria drew in a breath as well as she could through her pillow. Sonata’s fingers gently caressed hers and stroked her hair. The momentarily cooling touch of Sonata’s underwear faded and Aria became aware of just how warm her soft body felt not only through the fabric, but bare skin to bare skin.

“We’re Sirens, Aria, and no one will ever take that away from us.” Sonata sat up a little as Aria turned her head to the side again and her fingers moved to stroke the hair around Aria’s ear. “Starswirl made the biggest mistake ever when he sent us here. So did Sunset Shimmer, Twilight Sparkle, and everyone else from Equestria. They kept us together. And that's why they'll never really beat us, no matter how many prisons we get put in. I don't care what world we're in. You and Adagio are my home.”

Aria stirred and Sonata sat up straight, giving Aria room to roll over and face her. “Sheesh, you really fell for us hard, didn't you?” Aria raised a finger and gave Sonata’s taut stomach a little poke.

Sonata squirmed a little, closing her eyes and giggling at the touch. “You have no idea.” Her eyes opened and she gazed down at Aria with an oddly serious expression. “I guess I’d better show you, huh?”

Before she could really register what was happening, Aria watched Sonata lean down and felt her lips press full and soft against her own. The kiss started out soft and slack—the only real movement was Sonata’s fingers still caressing her hair. But it didn’t end. Sonata pursed her lips, drawing them across Aria’s as her fingers uncurled and slipped down between Aria’s neck and the pillow.

Aria’s eyes fluttered closed as her lips parted a touch and when she felt Sonata’s tongue gently probing, she met it with her own. She felt Sonata’s body settle onto hers, bare, tingling skin touching from belly to midriff. Aria’s hands found their way to Sonata’s ponytail, stroking, caressing, and gently tugging.

By the time Sonata broke the kiss and sat up, Aria needed several deep breaths. She’d never really liked breathing with lungs instead of gills, but there was a bit of a rush in putting it off while her mouth was occupied. Aria lay back and opened her eyes as she breathed in and out.

The moon had moved to a point where it bathed Sonata perfectly in its light. Her soft blue skin seemed to glow, and her face expressed an accomplished fulfillment instead of her usual aura of clueless joy. Aria raised a hand and stroked Sonata’s hair, straightening it a little where she’d mussed it before.

“I’m sorry I said I hate you, Sonata.” Aria’s fingers trailed down Sonata’s ponytail, shoulders, and arm until she held her hand. “I don’t hate you. I’ve—I’ve been hating myself for failing you and Adagio. Ever since we wound up here.”

“I know you don’t, Ari.” Sonata gave her hand a soft squeeze and smiled. “I wish I’d known what was bothering you, though. Maybe I could have helped a long time ago. We were always a little grouchy with each other here, but I didn’t know anything was really wrong until after we tangled with the Rainbooms.”

Aria sighed, letting her fingers twine with Sonata’s as she spoke. “I’m not sure I did either. Adagio started her plan going the minute we put her in charge. I always thought, or at least hoped, that meant getting back to Equestria, but she was perfectly happy to take over and rule this world. And you—” Aria looked up into Sonata’s eyes, lifting her free hand to stroke her cheek. “You were just happy to be together with us, weren’t you?”

“Always. I love you, Ari.” Sonata cupped Aria’s cheek with her free hand. “Dagi too, but you especially. Ever since we first met.”

Aria sat up, wrapping her arms around Sonata’s back and hugging her close. She buried her face against the side of Sonata's neck and pressed every inch of bare skin that she could against the warmth of Sonata’s body. She closed her eyes as she felt Sonata’s arms embrace her in return, her fingertips tracing along her skin.

—

“Where’ve you been?” Aria demanded, her foot tapping against the floor as she stood with crossed arms in the middle of the living room. Her hair was frizzy and her pajamas rumpled as she faced the foyer entrance where Adagio was still closing the front door against a bright morning sunbeam. “You said you’d be back, and then you were gone all night! Sonata and I were worried.”

Adagio flicked her bobcut and held her nose high as she entered the room. “Sonata, I’ll believe, but I’ll bet you were just in the same mopey mood you’ve been for the past few weeks.” Adagio peered over at Aria out of the corner of her eye and then flinched at the dangerous, narrow-eyed stare that Aria returned. “I was scouting like I said! Gathering intelligence. That thing you always send me to do.”

“Gathering what intelligence?” Aria turned to follow Adagio with her disapproving gaze as her fellow Siren strode over to sit next to Sonata on the sofa. “Did you know about this, Sonata?”

Sonata shook her head, staying quiet and hugging a throw pillow to her chest.

“Don’t pick on her, Aria. This was my idea alone,” Adagio retorted, reaching over to pat Sonata on the shoulder. “The bottom line is that whether we like it or not, we’re going to be stuck in these bodies and stuck charming these humans for a while, so we’d better figure out what makes them tick.”

Adagio pointed a finger at Aria and stared at her. “After we tried your first couple ideas and got nowhere, you just started doing nothing but moping and trying to wish yourself back to Equestria. So excuse me for taking some initiative.”

Aria opened her mouth to retort, but there was a bitter truth to Adagio’s words.

“I didn’t plan to be gone all night, but I certainly learned a hell of a lot more than I expected to.” Adagio held up her hand palm forward and waggled her fingers at Aria. “Especially about these fingers.”

“I’ll say you learned. You’re even starting to talk like them.” Aria turned her head away, gritting her teeth. “Are you going to tell us what you learned or did you plan on keeping it to yourself?”

Adagio stood up from the sofa and took a step toward Aria. “I’ll do better than that. I’ll show you. Take off your pants.”

Aria whipped her head around and wrinkled her nose at Adagio, her eyes almost popping out of her skull. “I’d rather be out on the open ocean in the middle of a storm! This body is already weird enough without you messing with it.”

Adagio shrugged and turned her back on Aria, stepping back toward the sofa. “How about you, Sonata? I promise you’ll enjoy it by the time I’m done.”

“Okay,” Sonata nodded, unwinding herself from the pillow he’d been clinging to. “Aria always said you were the best at scouting and getting information from ponies.”

Adagio plopped down next to Sonata and scooted close, reaching for the hem of her long nightshirt. “This might feel a little strange at first, but female humans really seem to like it.” Adagio wrapped her left arm around Sonata’s shoulders and slipped her right hand down into Sonata’s panties.

Sonata sucked in a quick breath and tensed up as Adagio’s hand disappeared under the pink fabric.

“I know, it’s a new and strange feeling, but this next part will feel a lot better if you relax, Sonata.” Adagio moved her hand from Sonata’s shoulder to stroke her long hair as her fingers flexed beneath Sonata’s pink panties.

Aria stood still in the middle of the room, arms crossed harder than they were before, looking resolutely away from the sofa, but still watching out of the corner of her eye. She caught Adagio eyeing her in return and a smug smirk as she thrust Sonata’s panties aside, exposing a part of her body that seemed to embarrass most humans.

“Now comes the magic,” Adagio murmured into Sonata’s ear, but still loud enough for Aria to hear. Her fingertips pressed in and parted Sonata’s slit, rubbing in circles for a few moments before disappearing inside her body.

Sonata let out a surprised squeak and clamped her legs together, but Adagio seemed to be prepared and maneuvered her own long legs to pry Sonata’s apart. Sonata’s hips slid forward and her legs spread wider until Aria had a completely unobstructed view of Adagio’s fingers buried knuckle deep inside Sonata.

“Humans don’t just use these parts for mating. They use them for pleasure too.” Adagio slowly worked her fingers in and out of Sonata’s slit, diving in a little further each time until she was palm deep.

Sonata’s head rolled back and her mouth dropped open. A moan much deeper in pitch than her usual soprano voice rumbled out of her throat as Adagio spread her fingers apart while drawing them out and back in again.

“Use your hands to rub your chest, Sonata. Human females like being touched there too.” Adagio gave Sonata a moment to get her hands into position and try a few experimental touches before diving back into action.

Aria dropped her pretense and watched closely as Adagio flexed her thumb and rubbed it firmly against the curious bump at the apex of Sonata’s slit. Her fingers inside started to move faster, spreading apart with each outward stroke and sliding back in close together almost like a fin propelling through water.

Sonata arched her back against Adagio and the sofa, her hands clamping firmly onto her chest as her body began to convulse in waves and her moans sang out as a melodious undulation.

Adagio gave a satisfied grin as Sonata slowly calmed down, slipping her fingers completely out and untangling her hand from Sonata’s panties once she lay still. She turned and caught Aria’s eye once again, her grin curling into a smirk.

A few tense moments passed in silence before Sonata sat up with a jerk, her eyes wide with excitement. “Oh Tempest, that was amazing! Better than sunning on a rock after all morning playing in the surf!” Like a wave breaking on a spire of rock, she shot off the couch and wrapped both arms around a stunned Aria, spinning in circles as she clutched her fellow Siren. “You’ve just got to try that, Ari! Let me practice on you!”

The room filled with a cacophony of Sonata’s excited babbling and Aria’s indignant protests until Aria seized both of Sonata’s hands as they reached for the waistband of her pajama pants. “Absolutely not! It’s clearly just an offshoot of their mating rituals, so I don’t see why we should even bother with it.”

“You didn’t feel it yet, Ari! It was like riding a rolling wave or swooshing out of a steep dive, but more!” Sonata’s arms trembled against Aria’s grip. “I bet if you charmed someone and did that to them, you could get them to do anything for you!”

“Well put, Sonata,” Adagio stepped forward, giving her a pat on the head. “Whatever our plans are going forward, we’re going to need energy and cooperation from these humans. In these bodies, we are humans in large part. We need to know their strengths and weaknesses not only for our offensive strategy, but for our own protection as well.”

Adagio caught and held Aria’s gaze with a sudden intensity. “But if our leader would rather ignore valuable intelligence and leave us to flounder in a strange world, then perhaps we should pick a new leader. One with the initiative to go out and dig up vital information and make use of it.”

Aria narrowed her eyes and stared back for a long moment, but said nothing.

“What do you think, Sonata?” Adagio asked, still holding Aria’s gaze.

Aria grit her teeth and turned her head away, squeezing her eyes shut.

“I—I don’t know,” Sonata squeaked from under Aria’s left arm. “Aria’s always been our leader, so isn’t that up to her?”

“I think it’s up to all three of us,” Adagio purred, “but I don’t see any problem if you want to echo Aria’s vote. So I guess it is up to her after all.” Adagio continued to fix her gaze directly at Aria, never blinking. “Isn’t it, Aria?”

Aria growled through gritted teeth, eyeing Adagio through the slit corner of her eyelid. “Fine! You want to lead, then lead! You’re the boss now! I hope you’re happy!”

“Good,” Adagio answered, taking a step back and giving her bob cut hair a satisfied flick with her dry hand. “Glad we got that settled. First order of business, Aria—let Sonata practice on you if she wants to. It’ll be good for both of you to learn. Meanwhile, I’m going to go take a shower and change clothes while I do some plotting. Have fun!”

Aria watched Adagio saunter out of the room, letting out a long sigh as she released Sonata’s hands from her grip. She expected Sonata to immediately reach for her pajama pants again, but instead her arms just closed around her waistline and she felt Sonata’s head press into her side.

—

“Are you okay, Aria? You’ve been quiet for a while.”

Aria stirred a bit at the sound of Sonata’s voice and once again took sharp notice of the warmth radiating from Sonata’s body pressed against her own as well as the slight sheen of sweat between them that almost reminded her of fresh ocean salt water slick on her scales.

“I—I don’t know.” Aria adjusted herself a little, bringing new parts of her arms in contact with Sonata’s back and refreshing the feeling of holding her close. “I don’t know if it’s you or me, but I keep thinking about the past. Thinking about all my mistakes, but thinking about good memories too.”

Aria took a deep breath, a bit of Sonata’s ponytail tickling her nose. “You were right when you said I’m not me anymore. I haven’t been me for a long time.” Aria slowly unwound herself from Sonata and sat back a bit, looking into her eyes and reaching out to take her hands. “But I want to be me again, even if I have to be me in this body.”

She gave Sonata’s hands a little squeeze before letting them go and reaching behind her back to unsnap her bra. “Whatever you’ve been doing with your touch, Sonata, I need more.” Aria slipped her bra down her arms and tossed it onto the pile of wet clothes she’d discarded hours ago.

“Anything for you, Ari.” Sonata scooted forward and leaned in for another kiss. Aria wrapped her arms around Sonata’s back again, but Sonata instead palmed both of Aria’s bare breasts, gently caressing them with her fingertips.

Aria moaned against Sonata’s mouth as fingertips drew their textured surface over her sensitive nipples. She felt Sonata’s tongue slip between her parted lips once again, deepening the kiss as her fingertips gently rubbed, pinched and tugged.

“Nnnng, Sonata—” Aria groaned a bit, breaking the kiss.

Sonata’s fingers twitched, jumping back from Aria’s breasts as if she’d received a static shock. “Wow, Ari. You must be really sensitive.” Sonata cupped the underside of both of Aria’s small breasts and traced her fingers outward over her sides and then gently gripped her upper arms. “Let’s lay you down and try something softer.”

Aria nodded, leaning back onto her bed as Sonata guided her down. As she settled back into the pillow, Sonata winked up at her before pressing her lips in a soft, wet kiss against her left nipple. The heat of Sonata’s mouth flowed over Aria’s soft skin as her tongue and lips teased around in circles before engulfing areola and nipple together. Aria drew in a sharp breath and let it out as a long moan.

Sonata’s left hand caressed Aria’s right breast in concert, massaging her soft mound, but maintaining a perimeter around the hot spot in the center. She looked up again, catching Aria’s eye as she swapped sides, bathing her right nipple in soft, wet warmth.

Aria arched her back a bit as Sonata pulled off with a pop and sat up. Her eyes refocused in time to watch Sonata’s bra slide free and expose her own small, firm bust. As her bra flew through the air to join the other discarded clothing, Sonata leaned forward and lay down atop Aria again, this time embracing bare chest to bare chest, nipples kissing each other in lieu of lips.

“Sorry about that rough start,” Sonata murmured into Aria’s ear as she kissed her cheek. “I forgot you don’t do this much.”

Aria moaned softly, wrapping her arms around Sonata’s bare back. “Do you? It was helpful a few times with charming people, but that was as far as I went.”

“Yeah, it’s fun!” Sonata giggled. “Rainbow Dash taught me all sorts of neat things two girls can do together.” She leaned back a little and caught Aria’s lips in a kiss while gently rubbing her nipples against Aria’s chest. “Want me to show you, Ari? She likes things rough sometimes, but I learned lots of gentler things too.”

Aria nodded and Sonata slithered backwards down her body, leaving a trail of soft kisses along her chest and stomach. When her kisses reached past her navel and her fingertips curled into the waistband of her jeans, Sonata looked up and caught Aria’s eye one more time before unfastening the button and sliding down the zipper.

The rapid popping of the tiny metal clasps seemed to echo in the quiet room. Aria instinctively lifted her hips, expecting Sonata to slide her jeans away. Instead, Sonata’s hand slipped into her loosened pants and her fingertips rubbed in gentle circles over her smooth mound.

“I didn’t know you shaved, Aria.” Sonata slipped her hand a little further in, cupping Aria’s entire mound under her palm. “That’ll make this feel even better.”

Aria blushed and shifted her eyes away from Sonata’s starry gaze. “Yeah, well I can just about stand having hair on my head. It’s enough like a mane. But I can’t stand it anywhere else. If I can’t have scales, I’ll take smooth skin instead.”

Sonata pulled her hand free with a grin and gripped the waistline of Aria’s jeans and panties together, sliding them down off her hips and planting her lips in a soft kiss against Aria’s smooth mound. “You must have shaved really recently too—so nice and soft.”

Aria let out a moan, her eyes drifting back down to Sonata as her fellow Siren planted soft kisses and gently lapped at her mound. The memory of Adagio teaching Sonata stirred in her mind again and Aria’s hands moved to her chest, her fingertips caressing and squeezing her small breasts as Sonata had done a few minutes ago.

Sonata peeked back up between kisses and grinned as she watched Aria touching herself. She moved a hand up and slipped two fingers into her mouth, pulling them out slick with saliva. “That’s the spirit, Ari. Now, I’m going to touch you nice and deep and see if that helps.”

Aria raised her head a bit, trying to watch Sonata’s hand dip below her mound and start to tease her lips apart. Instead, she arched her back and tossed her head as Sonata’s other hand went back to rest on her mound, two fingers reaching down to spread her lips open and let her wet fingertips tease the entrance to her tunnel.

“Remember to relax, Ari. I’m coming in,” Sonata trilled as she slowly pressed her fingers inward, using her other hand to massage Aria’s outer lips.

Aria took a deep breath, trying to fight her instinct to clamp down against the intrusion as Sonata’s fingers slowly stretched open her tight passage. Like the tide coming into a narrow bay, Sonata’s fingers flowed in and out, pushing a little deeper each time until Aria felt like she might split in two.

“Mmm, now I’ll make you feel really good, Ari.” Sonata made several moves at once, each one a sweet note on its own, but the chord they made together struck Aria to her core. The fingers she had inside spread and flexed, putting even more pleasurable pressure against Aria’s inner walls. Her palm pressed firmly on Aria’s mound, amplifying and directing the feeling of her fingers. And rather than use her thumb as Adagio had that first time, Sonata leaned down and took Aria’s clit between her lips, gently sucking and tonguing it while her fingers worked.

Sonata’s sudden crescendo of stimulus hit Aria like a booming drum roll. Her stomach tightened and shook like a plucked bass string and cymbals clashed in her mind as Sonata’s fingers thrust in and out, squeezing and flexing just the right way to play her body at maximum volume.

“Oooooh, SONAAAAAATTAAAAAA!” Aria cried out as her body drew taut and shook with staccato beats. She felt Sonata’s fingers rock and flex, riding the wave and trying to impart a little more momentum until Aria finally settled to rest.

The melodious ring of her own voice echoed in her ears as Aria concentrated on remembering how to breathe for several long moments. “I can sing.” The thought finally crystalized into speech.

“Of course you can, Ari,” Sonata smiled, laying down and cuddling up next to Aria. “We always just relied on our magic, so we never bothered to learn to sing with these voices, but Dagi and I started practicing and we’re getting better.”

Aria glanced over at Sonata and then down, noticing that Sonata had removed the rest of her clothes as well. She closed her eyes and concentrated on the warm feeling of Sonata’s body touching her without any barriers from head to toe.

She opened her eyes again and reached a hand up to straighten Sonata’s bangs, looking into her eyes. “Will you teach me too? Help me practice?”

Sonata smiled, scooting over on top of Aria once again. “Of course, Ari. I’d love to hear you sing again.” Sonata cocked her legs a bit until her mound and clit rested firmly against Aria’s and began to grind.

“Let’s sing together~”

“One more try, Ari. You almost had that last note.”

Aria sat on the living room sofa, a headset covering her ears. Sonata sat next to her, cuddled up close with her left arm around her shoulders while her right hand was busy manipulating the trackpad of the laptop perched on her lap.

“Okay. One more, but then we’re taking a break.”

The music track started up again in Aria’s headphones as Sonata clicked the play and record buttons. Aria tapped her fingers against her knee to the beat as she listened to the lead-in, waiting for her cue to start singing.

Welcome to the show

Aria closed her eyes as she sang into the microphone, concentrating on making everything come out in tune. As she finished the final note of the song, she felt Sonata squeeze her shoulder.

“You did it, Ari! That sounded really good!”

Aria opened her eyes again and stared at the waveform on the laptop’s screen that represented her recording. “Thanks, Sonata, but what does your analyzer say?”

Sonata clicked a few buttons and Aria held her breath as the mouse cursor turned to a spinning wheel for endless seconds. The white background behind the recorded waveform changed to an undulating green gradient with only a few spots dipping toward a more yellow hue. Aria let out a happy sigh.

“I still need some practice, but that’s a good note to end on today.”

A slow clapping noise from the stairwell made Aria jump a little.

“I have to agree with Sonata. That did sound pretty good.” Adagio sauntered into the living room as she spoke and sat down on the sofa by Aria’s free side.

“Thanks, Adagio. I’ve been practicing.”

Adagio grinned. “So I see. I have to admit, I’ve been surprised to see you out of your room so often, and practicing singing again—what brought all that on?”

“You can thank Sonata for that.” Aria inclined her head, gently touching her temple to Sonata’s. “With her ‘never give up’ attitude and a little magic, she finally got through to me.”

“A little…magic?” Adagio asked, raising an eyebrow.

“The Siren’s touch thing you figured out with Sunset. Enhancing emotions and stirring up old memories, that sort of thing. Sonata helped me past a lot of old regrets and bad memories.”

Sonata fidgeted a little at Aria’s side, dragging her fingers across the laptop’s keyboard randomly. “Y-yeah! And Aria’s doing a lot better now. Isn’t that great?”

“Oh. OH! That magic.” Adagio grinned wide. “I guess Sonata’s been betraying my secrets.”

Aria narrowed her eyes at Adagio. “You were going to keep that from me?”

Adagio raised her hands in defense. “No, no. I meant to tell you, I just didn’t know how to get you to listen while you were feeling so confrontational.” She reached over Aria and patted Sonata on the head. “Leave it to Sonata to just make things up as she goes along and come out ahead anyway.”

“She is good at that.” Aria replied, turning to smile at Sonata. She stopped and blinked as she saw Sonata’s eyes wide and welling with tears. “Sonata?”

“I’m—I’m sorry!” Sonata cried out, her voice in a high moan. “I made it all up about us still having magic. I just wanted to help and it worked and I was gonna tell you when we could all sing together again and it wouldn’t matter anymore but I didn’t expect you to bring it up in front of Dagi and please don’t hate me!”

Aria reached over to catch the laptop as Sonata did her best to curl into a ball beside her. She flipped it closed and tossed it onto Adagio’s lap as she wrapped an arm around Sonata. “Hey, come on, Sonata. I already figured out there was no magic. I just wanted to mess with Adagio. You still give really good backrubs and got me back on track.”

“In fact, I think some congratulations are in order for everything you’ve done to put our choir back together, Sonata.” Adagio added, standing up. “You’re the most adaptable of all three of us, and you’ve clearly learned a thing or two about charming even without magic.” Adagio winked at Aria.

Adagio placed a hand each on Aria’s and Sonata’s shoulders and spoke solemnly. “Sonata, considering everything that’s happened since Canterlot High, and if Aria agrees, I think it’s only right that I pass on the mantle of leadership to you.” Adagio glanced at Aria as she spoke.

Aria brought her free hand up and placed it on Adagio’s, giving her a little squeeze while nodding.

Adagio moved her hand from Sonata’s shoulder to her cheek and leaned in to plant a short kiss on her lips. “We’re in your hands now, Sonata. Guide us well.”

Sonata’s eyes went wide and she uncurled, sitting up straight. “Me? For realzies?!” She bounced up as Adagio stepped back and returned to her seat by Aria. “Ohmygosh! I have to go tell Pinkie and Sunset and Rainbow Dash!”

In an instant, Sonata had burst out the front door, off to tell her friends about her promotion.

“So, you saw through her ruse, huh?” Adagio was smirking her smuggest grin as Aria turned back to face her. “You just wanted to mess with me.”

Aria grinned back. “Okay, you win. Sonata had me fooled. I guess she really might be our best hope.” She gave Adagio’s forehead a little poke. “But what’s with you stealing kisses? I thought you’d gone native and gotten yourself a girlfriend.”

“As if I’d let that break up our choir.” Adagio wrapped both arms around Aria, touching foreheads with her. “Sunset’s from Equestria, so she understands what that means to us. I might even bring her home to sing with us.”

Adagio chuckled and grinned and Aria couldn’t help joining her.

“Besides, I wouldn’t be too worried about Sonata. She might be carefree and would gladly sail the ocean with anyone whom she found fun, but you’re the cove she’ll always come home to.” Adagio tilted her head down and shared a quick kiss with Aria as she had with Sonata. “Maybe not right from the moment I first met you two, but it wasn’t long after that I could tell Sonata had picked you as her mate. And I’m glad that Aria is back in our family.”

“I’m glad to be back too.” Aria sat for a few moments in Adagio’s embrace, her thoughts turning toward Sonata. “Maybe with Sonata in the lead, she can help us all find the magic again.”