//------------------------------// // Ch. 6 Stolen Reprieve // Story: The Sirens Remorse: Resurgence of the Dazzlings // by TheronSniper //------------------------------// Yellow Tail’s Hideout Sonata had found herself backed against a wall with crates to her right and large oval shaped jars to her left, either which containing who knew what. The pressing matter before her was Adagio’s sprouting rage over how she secured her gemstone, the storm of how became the center focus for which even Aria and her usual scowl deepened with their leader’s own. It felt too surreal to her to see the both of them gang up on her as they did, she couldn’t understand why they were being so fortuitously aggressive. Each time she asked Sonata could only whimper with a nervous grin as her magic returned to a degree, letting her levitate off the pebble strewn earth. Up until she finally met an unmoveable surface which was the chamber wall itself, she tried to evade and figure out how to answer yet for each attempt she truly had no response. “HOW!!? I was suppose to get the first gem! There is always a pecking order Sonata!” Dazzle snarled as she created gashes in the granite with her own hooves in her dogged pursuit of her subordinate till they came to a halt. “Ya! What rouge lucky fire starfish did you happen upon as a hatchling to get you your gem before us?!” Blaze added as she snaked behind, hoisting herself on top of the crates to gain a vantage point to showcase how perturbed she was. Smashed between the golden siren’s muzzle and the cold rough mountain, Dusk’s eyes went back and forth between the two unsure of what to say to placate them. She couldn’t even flex her dorsal crest as tightly held against the rocky wall as she was. There was no one else capable of helping without Twilight around and she once again in the spotlight. A small chuckle escaped her beyond her ability to stop it, “I… I sang?” After the thirtieth time the answer merely shattered the small amount of restraint Adagio had left, Sonata witnessed the dominant siren’s pupils contract as she was about to lose it. Rare as she did it was never a pretty sight and by Poseidon’s name she felt lucky that the young matriarch had little power in which to vent. Never had she ever struck her own as even Aria merely jokingly ruffled Dusk’s hair or got in her face to try to prove herself better. Remembering the sushi restaurant, a gem wielding siren was truly dangerous when fuming as the evidence in the woman’s restroom was anything to hold a candle to. Though she spoke the truth as clear as the ocean sea was blue it seemed that the fires of envy would not abide as it hungered for more answers than she could give. “You… just sang?” Dazzle asked calmly, “A song? That… one… song?” Sonata vigorously nodded as the other backed off and rose higher in the air using her tail as leverage. “Don’t tell me it was that stupid internet video you wouldn’t stop pestering me about?” Aria groaned as she started to remember the origins which lead to Twilight’s shining moment at their little karaoke session. Again, she nodded like a pepper shaker being used with her tail reflexively being brought to shield her from a whirlpool of vehemence that frothed among Adagio’s aura. When she expected the sound of violence being brought into existence, Sonata watched intently as their glorious leader closed her eyes and calmly started to hum the same tune she had done to get her gem coincidently. Carefully the notes were heeded as they soon matured into words and song, which upon hearing the attempt had the ears of the sirens flatten against their scalps from the atrociousness of it all. Aria flinched away trying to withstand the horrendous off key moments and fluctuating vocals, it was as bad as when teachers of the older human society would punish a rambunctious class by scratching the chalk board. Even as the words tried to give feeling to the song there was no saving Adagio’s try for attaining a deceased ruby. The full hearted challenge died out before halfway reaching through the lyrics as Dazzle stopped and slammed her tail into the floor. The echoing slap bounced off the chamber walls hurting all but the dragon, and for a moment it seemed she would have only tried that one time. How pitiful it was as the matriarch fought against her pride as a siren and powered several more times to try and sing as Sonata had done, only to fail miserably and stoke her spiritual fire as it raged more intensely than the last. It was almost sorrowful to Blaze and Dusk as they witnessed the lacking try yield no fruit, more so even to see their alpha flail about like a hatchling learning her own voice. “Geez, do we really sound that bad without our gems?!” Aria mumbled just as she noticed something in the alpha break. Quitting on the spot, Dazzle snorted heavily before turning around and drag herself away to the ceramic containers nearby. Much to the confusion and somewhat disappointment of the rebel in the group, the rapid change of direction threw both of the lesser’s off. The sound of scales roughly scraping the abrasive floor filled the gap in sound of the otherwise heated tense atmosphere in the dank cold lair. It was almost a pitiful sight to see the sulking golden matriarch fume as she did, for a better lack of words it harbored no commentary from Aria to no surprise at all. Broken notes and jumping pitches were in themselves a joke to a siren and yet even the rebellious one couldn’t find satisfaction in the moment. Finally stopping in front of color coded vessels each bearing certain marks she had no idea what they meant, her dead gaze fell upon them as if they were little more than mud and rock ready for her anguish. Aria cocked a brow as she was lost to what was going on, “Uhhh… are we still scolding the idiot here or what?” The cerulean hippocampus too afraid to retort remained coiled protectively within herself as she maintained eye contact with their leader. One who slowly breathed as her sight never left the containers that were eyed with such prejudice, she barely moved a muscle once in place and to that she frightened her own subordinates. The low tones of moisture drops in the passageway out of the chamber echoed like anything other than the slow breath of either siren or dragon. In their vision within the dark, Adagio soon stirred after what felt like an hour of anxiety with her tail swirling over the stone foundation with the noise it made. Once in position their glorious matriarch arose high up as her eyes bore the look of unfettered rage, arms held tight against her armored barrel, her fins fidgeting between states of relaxation and agitation. Unbeknownst to the rest, Dazzle harnessed every injustice she felt at not being the first to receive the stone as she had on Earth where either realm she should have rightfully been given first grabs. Her grand plans had been muddled by the sudden gem revival with Sonata, the least capable one of her pod granted the powers that would initiate her takeover of Equestria. Once again her scheme shattered to await renewal and it brought back every failure she had endured up till then, now that they were back home it was if the final straw was struck. “Adagio?” Sonata finally piped up before all Tartarus broke through. Dazzles eyes widened so far it even threw Aria off as she released the levee, “RrrrrrrraaaAAAAAGGGHHHHH!!!!!!!!!” Two clay pots disintegrated by her talons slamming into them, their rupture echoing painfully through the chamber as the ears of the girls rang sharply for a moment. As more were broken and their contents spilled about, did the only other being in the room stir into quick awakening. Sonata caught a glimpse of the black beast on the other side of the lair come alive through cracked eye lids. Even as far away as it was the mana aura of Yellow’s hoard dimmed remarkably. The more property damage sustained the more the scaly devil forced itself up to do something about it. She knew there was trouble to pay, if she could have warned Dazzle she would have judging by the silver eyes which suddenly blinked brightly in the dark like a candle. After the eight storage jar had been obliterated, Yellow breathed in quickly and loudly a top the jewels as he prepared to react. Aria and Sonata turned towards the sound of air just as the dragon let loose a roar so mighty that bits and pieces of the granite overhead broke off and showered the occupants with a rain of particulate dust. Within the tight space the vocalization rocked every ear drum as if an explosion had gone off right by the girls, easily ceasing Adagio’s rampage among the supplies that were carefully amassed. Adagio’s pack recoiled as the obsidian beast drunkenly lifted itself from its precious cache with thunderous steps of clawed limbs, a winged hulk charging like a shadow in the blue light. The loud crackling sound of glass shards disturbed by its bulk spilled over onto the floor in a cascade of ruckus that made their off key voices sound pleasurable. The golden siren spun around just in time to see the dark form of the wyvern surge towards her, it stood out amongst the dull blue of the chamber like a rushing nightmare coming to devour her. Those miniscule silver dishes that were the sinister eyes of their uncertain host were the only thing Dazzle could focus on. She found herself spilling over the mess she created and toppling over even more vessels in her rush becoming nothing more than a flopping grouper hoisted upon the shoreline. The ungainly movements did not deter the ghastly approach after all, a dragon was a dragon no matter what state of mind it was in and this one was no different. Shards of the pots danced with each quake amplified by the cave’s own confined space, harkening her mind back to the dark times that would have broken her if her will was not as strong as it was and still persisted. The young matriarch caught her breath as her lungs instinctively reacted to the threat, the heart thudding away from the shock and awe pumping as much adrenaline as it could given the few seconds it was set with. Her fins relayed her supplication by folding down so close to her body it was as if she possessed none, helpless like a hatchling she could do nothing to save herself. Upon her bed of hard stone jars magically sealed shut and foreign matter from those she destroyed, she could move no more and in some way she had suddenly realized in her dire strait how Sonata must have felt earlier. The glow of the goliath’s eyes radiated with light as Adagio handled the pain of her sight adjusting to the new illumination. She was under judgment of something which even though she was mostly sure of herself it was their benefactor who brought them back home, something in those eyes spoke of another. Throughout Dazzles life from a hatchling to a fully fledged siren she had come to near death by ravenous denizens that crawled, walked, skittered, or flew in the densely packed forests she had to go through. There was always a singular sensation behind those single minded brains evident in their deathly gaze, not so much as she now had growling with hot breath washing over her that could cook an egg. “ADAGIO!! YELLOW TAIL!!! STOP!” Dusk shouted as she broke her fear induced muscle lock. Dazzle couldn’t tear her eyes from the almost mesmerizing disks that narrowed upon her dainty form, not even to notice the sniff it took of her scent like a hungry Boar Croc. The sound of its tongue swirling in its mouth in anticipation of a feast did not break the last barrier she had of her spirit, she maintained the stare down determined to prove herself the stronger of the two even if it was a trivial attempt. “Please don’t hurt her!?!” Sonata pleaded as she forced herself between the two, hovering over the mess and the golden siren, “Remember us?! Remember who we are Yellow sir? Please? We’re on the same side right?!” a broad smile appeared over her snout in an attempt to appease whom she thought she was talking to. There was a hesitation in a response as the dragon withdrew a few feet from the two though its ire did not dissipate. Adagio still in a state of shock could do nothing but then observe as the jester of her pack seemed to take on either even more stupidity for getting in between them or taking upon more brains to protect her leader. Either which was possible to her and in any case she might be going down with at least part of her unit, solidarity would be her farewell. A low grumble reverberated in the hide away as the beast seemed to disdain the interference and to all their surprise it or he or as it came to be a she spoke up, “Troublesome little things you are.”, a raspy female voice came forth further dumbfounding the tense situation to the point even Aria dropped jaw. “Huh?” the three hippocampi asked together at once. “Wh… what?!” Adagio couldn’t help but let it escape her. Sonata rubbed her head just as flabbergasted, “Wait… aren’t you Yellow Tail? Or was the other one of him? But then Inferno was a male or… I’m confused.” With a heavy snort of superheated air the dragoness as it seemed spoke again, “Have you forgotten our tale already? Are my little gems tarnished and dull so soon?” the depth of the giant’s tone quivered the innards of the Dazzlings. “HEY! We’re not simpletons! None of this is making any sense and so far we’ve been thrown into a riptide so give us a break?!” Aria fumed as usual, unaffected as much as Dazzle with not being the wyverns target of anger. The silver platters turned to her sharply as she sighed, “I suppose that may be true, then let us set the rules so you all will know to keep from being turned to ash!” the dragoness hissed, “You are mine, this lair is mine… you may be mine but that does not mean you can break what is mine. Are… We… Clear?” The long neck coiled back as it surveyed the damaged goods, scales glimmered from the illumination stones of the chamber. “Like where’s Yellow Tail and who are you?” Sonata responded innocently even as it urked the floating eyes in the night made manifest. The dragoness seemed to acknowledge the blue one with curiosity as if remembering something about her, “Sonata Dusk are you? Well you I can pardon this one time… I am indeed Yellow Tail, but that is merely a nickname given to us by the ones who banished us. We are the foolish unicorn Nickel Flame who wields powerful magic and the Sleeping Terror of Oyster Bay together as one being. For now you speak to me… not him.” She gave a dire warning through squinted eyes which dulled the brilliance in her orbs. “OH! That’s like an awesome name! Sleeping Terror of Oyster Bay?”, she paused for a second, “Where’s Oyster Bay?” Aria slapped a taloned hoof to her face shaking her head in disbelief, though the great reptile seemed receive the query in rather the opposite. Adagio kept monitoring the discussion as it unveiled new information on their host, the moray hole kept going deeper and deeper as it seemed. The winged devil chuckled with a long hum following, “YOU were the one he was most fond of… I can see why.” She took a less aggressive stance and sat herself on the cold hard ground, “I am glad you find the title interesting, I made it myself… from my hoard of pearls no other dragon or great dragon could boast of. As for where my home is… it is on the west coast of this pony infested land… if it is still there.” “Wow, the largest pile of pearls? I remember my mom finding one in the oysters I use to eat when I was little! So shiny and cool, like for realzies!” Sonata exclaimed excitedly. The Terror of Oyster Bay laughed again, this time loudly though it was still subdued, “So few dragons understand the value in them… It is good to see another enthusiast. Well my little gem I believe you’ve earned the right to call me by my true name. I am Chun.” Following which she yawned deep as she sucked in air causing a slight current in the otherwise stagnant atmosphere, blowing out superheated steam from her nostrils into the air above. “Cool! Thanks Chun, it sounds familiar though… from somewhere we’ve been I think?” the cerulean singer pondered once more. Blaze had lost much of her initial stun as it devolved into annoyance and then into her calm resting boredom at hearing the blabbering, she was still gemless, “Probably from our time in Neighpon.” She mumbled unheard by the rest. With the situation defused it appeared the nocturnal interaction became a jovial one for the better as Chun took another sleepy breath, “As enjoyable as it would be to recant I must have rest if not for me but for the pony half… Nickel’s own sake.” Sluggishly the dragoness rose up and started to turn back to the gem pile to which Adagio finally broke her silence as her only chance to learn more was passing her by, “Wait! You have to tell me about Yellow Tai… I mean the unicorn you share your body with! Why were you not talking to us back in the human world? Who were we even talking to?” Her pleading did not go unanswered as the wyvern stopped in place and turned her omnipotent vision upon the one who sparked her premature revival, it was not a very pleasing reception to her question. Dazzle had almost forgotten what she had done and she could see the change in posture which signaled that the dragoness Chun hadn’t either. “Little gem, it is simple is it not?” Chun egged on. Dazzle huffed but did nothing else that might offend, “You’ll have to forgive us since we’re at an obstacle right now.” Taking the hint, “I merely had a very long sleep as my kind often do. I left most of that experience to him to ease our still adjusting bond since we were banished shortly after we Melded. My dreams however allowed me to peer into his on goings occasionally and perhaps render advice, so that is how I know about you three. As for the one you’ve been talking to… he is resting as should I. That blasted mage used too much of my blood for his research and it afflicts us both, we are low on our magic and need to sleep. I’ve kept his promise by not eating you three and bringing you here. Beyond that you’re free to do anything outside this cave, those rubies are yours as well. They’re distasteful to me to keep… they are not the special kind of gems I treasure anyways.” Chun broke the stare and waddled back to her precious stone hoard with a much quieter stride, her massive wings flapping with each movement. Adagio had her answers but that only left her with the pressing matter still on hoof, with the eminent threat subsided she was still left with the beginning. Aria finally worked her way over when the coast was clear, her little nitwit floated by her and seemed to await further instructions. The dragoness had taken to her bed of precious stones laying to rest for who knew how long but for Adagio it was a bittersweet note. They would be without support unless they rejoined the two mages back at the rallying point if they still waited there. “Well at least now we know what’s going on. What’s next ohhh valiant matriarch?” Blaze prodded a well deserved joke after the mess had been caused directly by her anger issues. “I’ll pretend I didn’t hear that.” Dazzle hissed before turning her attention to the siren stones. Dusk noticed and remembered how they nearly enraged Chun, “I promise I just thought of that song and sang it from my heart! I thought about Twilight and the time we all sang together, there was nothing that made me more happier than that sing along! For realzies!” With a roll of the eyes, the plead of forgiveness was accepted wordlessly save for a wave of the hoof to get her to stop pouting. Righting her bulk back onto her underside, Adagio worked her way over to the rubies and studied them once more for any way she might properly replicate the mishap her subordinate somehow gained from. Even if they sang some giddy little song they shared with Twilight, what made it work that fused a former siren’s stone as their own? Something did not make any sense to Dazzle as she ran the many possible situations through her head, “Something that made you happy? Something that made you happy?” Putting her full mental capacity to work the puzzle began to put itself together as she dared venture into the unknown. Adagio took into account the simplicity in her blue packmate as well as the innocence she possessed, there had to be something else that coaxed the gemstones into assimilation. It could not be so simple as that since all she knew herself were the trivialities of surviving within a magically deprived land. Then again was it really about enjoying singing so much that the deceased found kinship in those who really put their hearts into their voices no matter what? “So the dunce here has her own gem and we have none with no possible way of getting ours unless it’s that easy.” Blaze grumbled irritably, “Are we just gonna sing a number and hope for the best?” “NO!!” Adagio shouted, “We will analyze everything and attain our powers once more… then find Twilight and maybe Oratoria. We can’t do this without our powers and my secret weapon.” “Again… we sing a number and hope the gems like us enough?” Blaze shot back holding her ground. The fresh response was rather clean to the matriarch as she rarely had such rebellion seem consistent from her unique subordinate, “No and yes…” she said eyeing the rubies intently, “You and I will try to earn the bond Sonata has with her gem, we need to remember these stones may have the same spirit as the human world gems did. They deserve a peaceful rest… and for us to ask of them to join us is… rather alien. Song number twenty eight through fifty six will be our first test! Those are the most pleasurable creations I ever No made and if you recall most were designed to combat that bearded horse who first sentenced us.” Aria groaned, “Fine… as long as we get it over with now! Forty five was my least favorite one and we had to wear that ridiculous costume and makeup to the contest. Never again…” Everfree Forest Midnight… All was quiet in the grassy clearing in the enchanted forest, not a manticore in sight nor a hungry animal on the prowl. Just the light of the full moon and the stars casting a dim glow across the landscape, with trees blacked out as they swayed to the low breeze as kelp stalks in a tidal zone. In the little burrow which the two sirens had taken to as refuge and bedding, both slept like hatchlings as they quietly snored away even as vulnerable as they still were. Their bodies obscured by the depth of the pit that allowed the buckwheat and clover vegetation to hide them from wondering eyes. While Oratoria seemed almost motionless it was Twilight who jostled and moved in her slumber. Like a freshly snared sardine she wiggled in place and twitched like no tomorrow would ever come, her wings shot out several times before retracting close to her body once again protectively. Snuggling into the tail fin of Oratoria she hugged the appendage tightly until her mind could bear the suffering of the nightmare which accosted her. With an all mighty gasp she awoke starring into the darkness of the Everfree with a single name uttered upon her tongue that she could muster. “Spike!” her fins erect and pointing outwards as her night vision came into focus, whatever she had been dreaming of left her mind in the snap of a finger to the humid forest around her. No sooner had she said such words did the other seem to grumble to wakefullness, “What are you uttering now?” Oratoria moaned. She could see Sparkle trying to control her breath as her own head rose up groggy yet coming to with ease. In truth she’d found sleeping while recovering her magic to be conflicting after the first two hours, since then she’d been simply resting and listening to the surroundings for any danger. Up until the mutant started to quiver which lead up to the present, there was a concern her fidgeting might attraction unwanted attention but for the life of her she couldn’t bring herself to care in her state. Twilight managed to hone in on the turquoise female and immediately felt guilty of causing such a commotion, “I’m sorry Cold Fore… um… Oratoria? I’m just had a bad dream, probably from everything that has happened. I didn’t mean to wake you.” A hint of disdain appeared for a few seconds before she replied, “Couldn’t sleep anyways.” An owl hooted off in one of the taller wickedly looking oaks as the dream came back to her like a rising tide, “I thought I saw Spike again, he was just sitting in front of me and I couldn’t reach him. Every time I tried he kept sliding away from me while keeping exactly 3 meters away at all times like something wouldn’t let me even touch him! Ohhh… he kept barking at me like he always did to get my attention.” Oratoria sighed as she set her head back down with an uncaring expression, “I didn’t ask about what you saw in your sleep.” Far too involved with reliving the nightmare she failed to hear, “Just before I tried for the fifteenth time I was almost flattened by Inferno as he passed by. Just as enormous as he was when I saw him… when Adagio tried to get to me. I heard someone calling to me, but I ignored it and tried to reach for Spike again. He was within my touch before that voice practically shouted something… along the lines of… 'Thou needth not fear us!' like someone held a loudspeaker to my ears.” Nearly hyperventilating and on the verge of panic, Oratoria grunted seeing that the freight was not going to pass on its own and therefore she needed to step in. Caring nothing about the dream itself nor any details she lifted her large tail fin and not too roughly bopped the winged siren on the head. It was enough to break the state of Twilight whose antennae were sensitive to such touch and pressure. She quickly pulled away as if she recoiled from a sharp pain, the still unfamiliar body continued to prove her that more data still needed to be taken in before she could confidently rely on the hippocampus form. “There, now will you calm down? Jeez... for crying saltwater you were scared by mere images in your sleep? You really are weak.” She scoffed. “I’m not weak! I just don’t dream that often, it was new to me to have nightmares like that… to know that Spike is still somewhere without me or anyone to care for him. This is all too much…” Sparkle replied feeling her wings encompass her reactively to her defensive mood. With a wicked grin surfacing upon the agitated siren’s muzzle, she felt a surge of confidence against the mutant she hated, “Ya you are, you realize how you were perceived by your own fellow humans? Brains ain’t everything you know? Even a siren like I must have both smarts and muscle. By muscle I also mean willpower to withstand stress. You were a freak’n sea sponge for others to trod over. Strange how you needed magic to embolden yourself, probably the only time I even felt a smidge worth of empathy for you.” “I did not let anyone walk over me, I merely tried to exchange verbal communication in order to come to a resolution and excuse myself if I did get in the way! What I did at Canterlot High… that was inexcusable, no one deserved to be harmed and I’m… happy Sunset stopped me before I did anything horrible I would have regretted.”, the repentance she felt from remembering that experience would forever stain her heart, even if she later came to realize that it wasn’t her fault but the essences she took. A light laugh came from the blue green siren, “You fail at being a siren on so many levels even as a lower tier packmate. That school brimmed with so much negativity that only you managed to trim the seagrass that grew wild and tall with such a show of force. You could have had them eating out of your hand and yet you left after doing whatever you did to that ketchup and mustard freak with magic or... that had magic. You fail to see the bigger picture of your powers you had!” The very words of Adagio’s lost sister were hard to swallow but deep down she knew what was right and her powers had no justification for going as far as they did, “You’re wrong Cold Forecast. Hurting someone does not gain respect it gains fear! My brother once told me that, when he found out I was being bullied. I never want to walk around Crystal Prep to have other students… grovel or cow away, then they would be me!”, she held her breath for a few seconds, “They would have been me…” “I’m not Cold Forecast you guppie! I am Oratoria! And if you are going to be a part of Adagio’s pack then you need to realize what it means to be a siren since you wear our skin as much as I hate it. Don’t think that just because we turned human doesn’t mean humans turn into sirens! Either come to terms with that or don’t expect her to fawn over you like she has been.” Ora snorted in irritation like a maddened bull cornered in a ring with a matador. With the black leather wings falling away limp like a noodle Twilight appeared aghast at the statement, “I do not want to be a siren, I don’t want to be a pony. My only mission here is to learn magic and help Adagio find closure with Equestria, I barely sing… I… I have no reason to control others or see that this kingdom is enslaved. I still don’t understand why I became a siren in the first place so please, stop assuming I want to be one.” She pleaded feeling as if she were still being seen as that wicked form. While she did feel originally excited and overwhelmed for helping defeat the guardians which would allow her access to the magical realm, there was a part of her at that time who wondered of the existence of the magical humans she battled. A concern which grew to sprout over feeling remorse for doing what she did to help the Banished, her own curiosity however heavily conflicted with any sympathy time and again. The what if’s and probabilities that in her pursuit of mystical knowledge might jeopardize innocent lives in more ways than one. “You stupid little… how dare you spit on Adagio like that! For any matriarch to care so much over one another means they hold them in the highest of honor! One such should be reserved for close family like me.” Oratoria held her head high and mighty with hatred boiling up, “I was there you know… back when it happened and the ponies took away everything that we loved.” Slowly the true siren dragged herself over towards Twilight, “You don’t know her pain, our pain…” it was as if a cord was struck and Twilight had been placed in the hot spot once again, “Adagio’s in it for blood, I can feel it… she and our family deserve payment for what was done.” By then their muzzles were touching snout to snout as the intensity of Oratoria’s gaze attempted to burn into Sparkle’s soul, a reminder of what she already stood up to and comforted even if she might have been influenced to do so. Being a push over was not something she was going to take, no, it was the facts she knew which caste aside the old vindictiveness Dazzle held and the others wanted to avoid. The group was not unified and they had admitted that to her back home, if she let Oratoria empower Adagio to maintain her rightful fury against the ponies then she’d be no better than any other bystander at Crystal Prep. She knew Adagio’s inner self with her exterior shell ripped away, a fearful lonely girl with misplaced ambitions to attain rest from the childhood trauma. That was who Adagio was when not being coerced by some tainted gemstone, the facts were always something that gave Sparkle newfound hope. Something within her heart pulsed with youthful vigor that she went with to handle the other siren. “You don’t know who she is, who Adagio is like without the front she puts up to protect herself.” Sparkle quivered as she continued anxiously, “You spent so much time trying to find her and barely spent even a day with her. I’ve known her for what feels like a couple months now and I know for a definite truth that she doesn’t need to take over Equestria or the world!” Oratoria snarled baring her teeth like an angry wolf, she pulled away slightly yet still maintaining her intimidating stare. Her fins were high but they showed signs of letting down, even she was not dumb to what the human spoke of. “I was there when they were allowed to regain their magic Oratoria! I was the one who modified those pendants so they could sing again, Yellow Tail trained me to do so and I did it happily. I monitored them for their own safety and forged a work relationship with them as Yellow asked of us. Even if there were complications along the way I came to learn of each of their pasts and fears for the future, I saw them as more than just former mythological entities who once sought to conquer Equestria for the sake of power! Each of them has a reason for doing what they do and how to remedy them, but they are tied down by the resentment they bear and what I believe is a cultural quagmire preventing Dazzle from accepting anything else?!” Twilight pressed a talon into the leafy bedding as she stood her ground albeit with the resolution of a victim standing up to a bully. A resolve that the other girl did not take kindly to at all, “How DARE you!!” Still rolling on the confidence trip, “Believe me when I say that lording over others does not solve anything, it’s just a gauze patch over the wound. Adagio’s scar… it’s still bleeding even if she doesn’t let it show. I was given the front seat to that, I can assure you.” The admission peaked a little curiosity in the turquoise singer as her gem dimly glowed red then died out, what had the human girl seen to make her so resilent to her domination techniques? Was there something to Dazzle she was not aware of, had the time they spent exiled really changed the golden voice? Surely Adagio was far more resistant to change of heart than she and even then she was holding against Sparkles supposed facts with a short string keeping her from outwardly doubting her own outlook. Backing off the gusto a few pegs, “What did you see then? Bless me with your experiences oh holy blessed?” It was then that the two relaxed just enough to have a more peaceful exchange, though Twilight seemed mournful to speak the truth. She swallowed the lump in her throat that tried to form as the recollection was just powerful enough for her as if she’d lost her brother. Then again when you stumble before an angry god how is self destructive how else does any proper person respond to seeing that? “It was before they had their largest concert, before I nearly wiped everyone at Crystal Prep with my magic. We were going out to eat as we often did… little did I know what would happen that night. While we were merely enjoying the restaurant I met with an old tutoring student I helped graduate due to her language barrier she still had to handle coming over as a transfer. Adagio had… security issues with that and I had to assure her who my study partner was. She was so paranoid that it ended up revealing how she lost her family and it was news to Aria and Sonata as it was to me. She kept that secret from her own pod. Adagio ended up riling herself up so much she left the table and out of worry I ended up going to check upon her. Do you want to know what I saw?” she asked as she noticed how Oratoria seemed to hang on every word as if she were desperate to know everything in order to further her way into Dazzle’s good grace. A simple nod of the head from the befuddled siren permitted her to go on. “I walked into the women’s bathroom and there she was hunched over the sinks with other women who had been in there unconscious on the ground. I tried to make sure they were okay by first ensuring Adagio was okay herself but she… she was very unstable emotionally and magically.” Sparkle admitted as she winced from seeing the anguish which drove Dazzle to the extremes. “What do you mean unstable?” the other asked with a mixture of appall and wonder. Taking a deep breath, “She couldn’t understand why she was given a second chance to live by her parents, she couldn’t understand why they had to go. That she couldn’t hear them anymore, that it made her feel so alone that caused her pain. During all this… she had been using her own mana to contain herself but it only backfired horribly.” Shuttering again as she remembered the destruction of not just the stalls and the room but of what else to her own body. Oratoria looked to the ground as she thought about the notion and it seemed to come back to her like a tail slap from under the chin. Using magic to inhibit spiritual essence was something a siren should never do if her mother was right, one of the lessons she was told uniquely by her mother. It was because of two other sisters who were competing for the lead spot on the youth group, both the polar opposite of each other. Tangerine the vocal one and Iridenia the stoic, if Tangerine felt she had the better voice she made sure every hatchling knew it by heart. While Iridenia kept her composure strangely peaceful no matter how strong Tangerine came up to her to prove it. The other adults saw matriarch traits in both of the girls, but for the quiet one they only barely discovered how she kept her cool so consistent. Her mother told her that it was a natural thing for an inexperienced siren to do in order to prove themselves and attain the rank in the hierarchy they so desired. Just like the same fate which awaited those who overused their infantile powers once their gems breached their chest scales, if one maintained a magical restraint on their emotions they would soon find out which was more powerful. Their magic or their feelings, for their own kind were as deeply emotional as their voices were unsurpassable to any other living creature of Equis. “I know what you’re talking about…” Oratoria admitted. “You… do?” Twilight asked hesitantly. “Tell me what else happened next first.” She asked, tantalizing her lesser’s inquisitive brain with unspoken knowledge. “She destroyed much of the room by barely walking towards me, I later deduced that her powers were waning and there were fluxes in the containment field which burst outwards. Similar to how the sun lets loose solar flares. It all amounted to a final disparagement over her lacking victories and… I guess that was when the bubble burst.” The cool breeze wafted by the two as it gently stirred the grass around them. “And?” she pressed further. Twilight looked away remembering the sounds of bones breaking, a sickening crunch she wished she never heard, “She hurt herself and continued for a moment before I was able to stop her. I couldn’t do anything… I was paralyzed by the force of which she exerted into the floor! I don’t care if I was somehow forced into caring for her, no one should harm themselves no matter how depressed or infuriated they might be at anything. When her magic had been all but used up in her wrath, I… her hands… she broke them and that was when I ran into her. I held her tightly to stop it all… No matter who she was or what she wanted to do with dark magic, she was in so much pain!” the sensation of tears in her eyes started to build up, the agony of the other had become ingrained in her thoughts. Oratoria had lost all her righteousness she once held towards overpowering the mutant she had immediately despised from the get go, now she felt shame. Shame in herself for holding Adagio so highly that she was believed to be impervious and better than even herself when there were admittedly occasions that she felt that hope of finding the only family she had left was no longer reachable. She knew the grotesque false siren spoke the truth, she could taste the sincerity and traces of love or admiration. “You comforted her? Even though she committed such acts in the past? You still looked past that?” Ora began to realize why Adagio was so affectionate of the mistake of nature. Nodding as she returned eye contact, “Perhaps it was... because she looked like any other human being? Or maybe I saw a little of myself in her? To be honest… I know what it’s like to miss someone who leaves for whatever reason and you’re dependent on them. Unlike Adagio’s horrible past my bond with my brother is still strong and he’s alive… he just has his own busy life… and I never knew how to make friends properly. I became objective in my studies as a way to keep sane I guess?” she darkly chuckled, “To show Shining Armor that I could become just as productive and intelligent as he was, without him… by myself.” With a harrumph that leveled the sour mood, “So that explains why you forgot about her?” Oratoria smirked, “And here I thought you were so stuck up for being smart.” Having been thrown a loop the reaction was dulled until words finally worked through Twilight’s maw, “Wait who are you referring to? I’m not sure I follow?” “Seriously? Like when I enrolled into C.P. I saw you two hanging with each other like two sisters of a pod even if they were not related!” she covered her mouth with a hoof as she laughed slightly. “But there was no one else? How far are you going back?” Sparkle persisted determined to find out who the other person was. Shaking her head side to side the turquoise siren finally revealed the subject of their new discussion, “Sugarcoat.” “What?” came with a gasp. “Really? You’re going to respond like that? You two studied together, worked on projects, and from what I could tell were a pack all your own. One of the healthiest ones I ever saw at that daycare center you call an academy.” To which Ora burst into a fitful mirth much to Twilight’s chagrin. It took moments before those old memories came forth, but Ora was right as she remembered it all as it came in segments. Almost as if the remembrance created a headache, Twilight sat up and gripped her head with her gripping digits of her wings, “My first days there… I… I entered the science fair and won first place while… she… got second. We… she asked if I wanted to study with her for the next fair. She liked my idea of solar panels for roof tiles in order to help produce clean energy!” “Ya and she was also the one who initiated your breakup without you even knowing it.” Another owl sang nearby in another shadowy tree though this time it sounded like accented hoots. “Ohhh this is all too much to take in, how did we ever distance ourselves? She always looked so forward to our sessions together.” Twilight felt terrible at having let herself forget about the only real student she found good ground with and whom had initially not treated her with the usual attitude. Oratoria repositioned herself into a resting posture as her tail swayed gently behind her, “I remember it, Poseidon granted me the chance, I had come back to the school after searching for Adagio in a part of the town that morning. I saw you two walking to your class or whatever and heard it all. I don’t know why she said it, but there was a definite flavor of love and respect in her words. When she promoted the idea to get your own lab, and I’m guessing she insinuated that you’d invite her along. But…” Sparkle caught on quickly and regrettably, “… but I went with the notion and went to Principle Cinch immediately. I left her in that hallway when the possibilities of a serene atmosphere to conduct pertinent research became an option for me. I… became so consumed… I’m such a horrible person.” Negative emotions arose from the winged hippocampus like the smell of a tasty stew or the town’s barbeque dives. Though coming from another siren it had a very bitter after note that made a perfect deterrent from feeding off of, Twilight was still human to her and the error was easy to make. A sad packmate was not an ideal one and she needed to remedy that pronto as they were still by far in dangerous territory. “Cheer up you monkfish, before I left the school I sensed she still had it in for you. A part of her wants to still be your friend and partner. Just her own nature makes it harder for her to do so.” What little hope she offered did liven up the girl before her. “Then… it’s settled, once and when I return home not only will I bring back magic for everyone but I will reestablish a good friendship with her then. Or at least try…” Twilight fiddled with her hooves. “Ha! It’ll be easy darling, I mean she cares quite a lot about you enough as it is. If you catch my drift?” Oratoria wiggled her brow jokingly and snickered to her own humor. Leaving Twilight pondering at what she meant the sensation of exhaustion felt like she could sleep once more, like she had done something to permit it. So the true siren turned in place before resuming a good sleeping position and proceeded to plop herself down onto the green bed for some well deserved rest. Tapping her hoof so that the other girl would follow in tow and place her tail under her chin for a better pillow to lull off into. “WHAT!!?!” if sirens could blush, Twilight might have had her cheeks darken a deeper shade of eminence.