Amethyst Star had a lot to think about that night when she returned to her suite. She had just learned a ton of important stuff and it was all tumbling around in her head. She should probably just sleep but she couldn’t help thinking about her awesome new adventure. There was a lot of stuff to worry about too but she was attempting to ignore that. Instead she rolled around under her covers in pure excitement. Everything she had been dreaming about and wanting was coming to her, everything she needed to prove to her friends and everyone else was right here in Diminuendo. When she learned about the Songstresses it was a little upsetting, Amethyst seemed really nice, but if they were evil and trying to brainwash everyone through magical singing then nothing could really be done about that. Amethyst Star would have to stop them because she was a hero on an adventure!
She took the earplugs out and set them on a tiny nightstand that was beside her bed, those things were way too uncomfortable to sleep in and since she might have to wear them all day tomorrow she wanted as much time without them as possible. Her excitement still didn’t leave so easily but eventually she did manage to fall asleep when the exhaustion from her very long day came to her. Amethyst Star’s eyes slowly closed and she drifted off to sleep, dreaming of the adventure that was to come.
The tired unicorn ended up sleeping well past noon, making an absolute mess of her bed and the covers by the time she woke up. The sheets were all twisted up and pillows were strewn all over the bed and on the floor around her. It definitely wasn’t a very good fit for the luxurious suite but what was she supposed to do about her sleeping habits? She was just happy to feel actually well rested and comfortable, the high-quality bed had really done wonders for her battered, tired, and sore body. Even with the trouble she had relaxing the night before this was by far the best night’s sleep she had had on her journey.
In fact it was so nice that she didn’t even wake up naturally. The only reason she was finally rising right now was because a pony was knocking on her door.
“Oh,” Amethyst Star blinked the sleep out of her eyes, yawning as she got up and shook her head before hopping off of the bed. “Just one second!” She called out to whoever it was on the other side of the door and the knocking abated for now.
Amethyst Star trotted over to the beauty station and looked in her mirror. Her mane was frazzled and little strands of hair were sticking out everywhere but that was nothing a hoof with a little spit on it couldn’t handle. Not the most high class way to groom herself but it’s all she had and it’s not like anybody else saw her doing it. After a minute she figured she looked as good as she was going to and shrugged, stepping away from the mirror and walking over to her door now to finally answer the knocker.
“Sorry I took so long,” she said as she pulled open the door.
Unsurprisingly it was the steward from yesterday who greeted her. “That’s quite alright. I am here to serve and wait on you when requested, after all.”
Amethyst Star looked into his eyes for a moment. Was he brainwashed too? He must be, but did that mean the Songstresses were controlling everything he did or just letting the King still give him orders? The brainwashing was kind of confusing if she thought about it. Maybe everyone just acted normally unless the Songstresses gave them a direct order. Maybe it was like a trigger and they couldn’t resist anything the Songstresses said and didn’t even realize what they were doing?
“Is something wrong?” He asked.
“Huh?” Amethyst Star blinked, realizing she had been staring. “Oh, no, not at all. Sorry. So, uh, what’s up?”
“I have been sent to inform you that a lunch feast is being held shortly and the King and Queen would like for you to be there,” he told her.
Just like what they said. Amethyst Star pondered. It seems this was going to be the first big moment for her. She was slightly worried that either the earplugs wouldn’t work or that she wouldn’t be able to convincingly act like she had been affected by the brainwashing. But she’d have to jump over those hurdles as they came.
Amethyst Star smiled at him. “Sounds great, when does it start?”
“Very soon, we should leave now.”
“Got it, just uh, just let me grab some things first? I need to freshen up a little too.”
“Of course,” he closed his eyes and bowed, stepping back from the doorway as Amethyst Star closed it.
“Okay,” she said and turned around to look at her saddlebag. “Would it be wrong to bring my stuff to a feast? But I need to carry my key...” She looked past the bed at the nightstand and saw her earplugs on it. “Can’t forget those either. Really.” Amethyst Star bit her lip but eventually figured there was no harm in bringing her saddlebag with her, she checked to make sure her key was still inside it and went over to get her earplugs and put them in, wincing in discomfort immediately from how they felt. “Ugh, these are awful but I probably should keep them in until I’m back here.” Amethyst Star threw her saddlebag on too and checked herself out in the mirror one last time before she was ready to go.
“Looking good,” she smirked. “Looking like a pony about to save the day.”
She opened up the door to her suite and walked out, locking it behind her as she kept that confident smirk on her face. Amethyst Star looked up at her steward and tilted her head. “Well? Where to?”
Where to ended up being a long walk up a tall tower, the “King’s Tower”, as the steward called it because apparently up on top was the King and Queen’s royal bedchamber. They’d be dining in an exquisite drawing room located right below it that had been temporarily furnished with a long table for everyone to eat at. The drawing room had one barred window that looked out in the direction of the castle’s gardens and was for the moment letting in plenty of bright sunlight. As befitting of a room the King entertained his guests in it was also full of expensive looking tapestries, paintings, and a gold and jewel encrusted chandelier that hung from the ceiling directly over the table.
A quick look around also told Amethyst Star that she was the last to arrive.
The King and Queen sat side by side at the head of the table and the rest of the spots were filled up by other ponies aside from one seat at the other end of the table that directly faced the King and Queen. Amethyst Star was a bit embarrassed to realize that that was her spot. Was she really the guest of honor? It was flattering for sure but weren’t these all supposed to be really important and powerful ponies in Diminuendo?
“Uh, hi. Pleased to meet you all,” Amethyst Star waved to the assembled ponies.
“Miss Amethyst Star! Wonderful to see you again!” The King briefly stood up from his seat as he greeted her. “Please, take your seat, this is going to be a feast to remember!”
She didn’t doubt that.
Amethyst Star sat down, placing her saddlebag next to her chair, and looked at the other ponies joining her for this feast. They were all well-dressed and very proper looking. The type of ponies that would fit right in in Canterlot. She already felt out of place but since she was supposed to be an emissary of Princess Twilight’s she had to act as comfortable as possible. The King would probably ask for her to tell more stories to him and everybody else as well.
“Everyone, this is the adventurer from another kingdom, personally sent on a quest by her ruler!” The King stated to the other ponies at the table.
A chorus of “Oohs” and “Ahs” rang out and the assembled elites clapped and smiled for her. Amethyst Star blushed from the praise and attention.
“T-Thanks...” she said, turning away and looking around the rest of the room she then realized something else.
Where are the Songstresses?
Were they not going to eat as well? It seemed weird that the King didn’t have them as honored guests too considering how they were supposedly really popular in the rest of Diminuendo right now. Well, not like he was the one deciding any of this. Maybe the Songstresses just wanted to come in at the end for their song and brainwashing. Technically she wasn’t even supposed to know that they were going to be here.
“The food will be arriving up from the kitchen at any moment and then we can begin the festivities, it’s been so long since I’ve seen some of you and I’m going to enjoy catching up,” the King said and then looked down the table at Amethyst Star. “And our other esteemed guest has a number of exciting stories to entertain us with throughout the feast as well.”
Well I still have some things I can talk about… plenty to exaggerate with all the crazy things that have happened to me. Amethyst Star thought as she tightly grinned at all the other ponies now looking at her.
The King was correct about the food, which arrived a moment later and allowed for Amethyst Star to have a momentary reprieve. Servants brought out numerous dishes and carts that were full of the most delicious looking soups, salads, pies, quiches, and fruit as fresh looking as apples right from Sweet Apple Acres. She had already gotten to enjoy the best bed of her journey and now she was going to be able to enjoy the best meal of her journey.
In the middle of it all she still had to regale the other attendees with her tales, some of them just adjustments of things that had actually happened to her while other things she made up completely because she had run out of things to say. No matter what it was though she made sure to stress that she handled everything perfectly and always came out of every tough situation smelling like roses. To these ponies she was exactly how she saw herself. She was going to make sure they had the “right” view of her and didn’t look down on or underestimate her. Not like everybody else either back home or that she’d met in other places out in the Undiscovered West.
“-And that’s how I saved Fire Vent,” Amethyst Star finished up her latest yarn.
“Oh my, what a marvelous adventure!” A posh and older mare wearing a regal purple dress sitting next to her said. “I was so afraid when you mentioned those evil dragons that started attacking but you dealt with them brilliantly!”
“Yes. Yes I did,” Amethyst Star nodded.
“I told you all she had such magnificent stories,” the King cheerfully said as he downed a goblet of wine.
“It’s truly a treat to meet an outsider,” a mustachioed stallion wearing a monocle who sat right next to the Queen said. “And even moreso when it’s one so gallant as this.”
“Yeah...” Amethyst Star felt a little bit bad now. And a little bit upset because she knew what was about to happen to these ponies but she couldn’t, shouldn’t, do anything about it. If she did try warning them would they even believe her? And that would just clue the Songstresses and those they’ve brainwashed in on how she knew what they were up to. It pained her, especially since these ponies were all really nice and appreciative of her, but she couldn’t tip her hoof just yet. She had to let the Songstresses come and perform, brainwashing the others.
“And speaking of outsiders, I didn’t just call you all to this feast for no reason!” The King exclaimed. “As you all know there are others who so recently came to our kingdom of Diminuendo as well. My new Royal Songstresses! I have asked them to put on a special performance for you all. As my treat to you.”
The reaction from the other ponies was a series of shocked and pleased gasps, and Amethyst Star realized that she should be reacting in the same way. She tried to fake her surprise and excitement just as well as the others and hoped that no one noticed how her eyes kept darting back in forth in their sockets. The ponies now actually seemed even happier than when they learned who Amethyst Star was. And that didn’t make her jealous at all. At all. I mean it was only natural since the Songstresses were basically celebrities already and they were bringing more than just stories to the table. This feast was about to turn into a show.
Only it was going to be far more serious and nefarious than any simple song performance.
“Since it seems we’re just about done eating...” the King clapped his hooves three times.
That must’ve been the signal because the Songstresses emerged from the door and stairs leading up to the Royal Bedchambers, the five mares walking out into the drawing room with alluring smiles on their faces. Amethyst Star stared at each and every one of them, wishing that it wasn’t true that they were evil but knowing that it was most likely the case. She looked at the smug expression and upturned nose of Amethyst. A pony who looked like she had a secret scheme to enact if there ever was one.
The five Songstresses arrayed themselves on the side of the room away from the window, letting their shadows drape over the far wall. Amethyst in the center of course, flanked by Diamond and Emerald with Topaz and Opal on the outside. Amethyst Star looked at the red crystals they all wore, apparently the magical keys to all of this.
“Hello my beloved citizens of Diminuendo,” Amethyst purred. “It is my pleasure to put on this performance for you.”
The snide smirk that forced its way onto her face after she said that told Amethyst Star that it certainly wasn’t a lie.
“Call it a special treat. A privilege for the elites of society before our grand concert in two days.” the unicorn Songstress said. “My lovely companions and I will now sing a ballad of ephemeral enchantment that will warm your bodies and souls and open your minds to a new realm of being.”
Huh? Amethyst Star tilted her head at the absurdly flowery words.
She nor anyone else had the time to think about that though as immediately after, Amethyst and the other Songstresses began to sing. It started with a low hum, then rose to a higher pitch as they wordlessly serenaded everyone in the room. If their songs had lyrics there were none used yet, the Songstresses merely using the sounds of their exquisite voices to enchant the ponies here. The chorus of the Songstresses as they brought this opening movement to a higher and louder crescendo without even taking a breath was beautiful. Amethyst Star was pretty sure that whatever magic accompanied their singing wasn’t affecting her but even then she still found their performance breathtaking.
The mood of the song quickly shifted as both Diamond and Emerald changed to a surprisingly deep contralto while Topaz and Opal used a falsetto, the dueling and clashing voices somehow still coming together to absorb the ears of all that heard them. It was… harmony. Now that Amethyst Star realized it and listened to more of their singing she noticed that somehow, no matter what they did or how they sung, it all mended together perfectly. An unnatural medley that shouldn’t work but somehow did. If Amethyst Star was more in tune with the world of music and singing she would’ve even been able to pick out when the Songstresses were off key or missed their mark, only for another one to automatically cover for them or change the tempo of the song to hide it or impossibly fold it into the ballad.
Amethyst Star was enjoying the music she heard right as Amethyst reached a splitting soprano coda, automatically tapping her hoof on the floor, when she remembered that she needed to see how the others were reacting. Were they being brainwashed right now? Was she brainwashed and she just didn’t know it?
A look at the other guests allayed those last fears at least.
The other ponies stared at the performance like a bunch of dead-eyed zombies. Their jaws hung open and their faces were bereft of emotion or thought, they were dolls, empty, enraptured. Controlled. Whatever magic the singing possessed it was clearly working on everyone but Amethyst Star. Well she knew the earplugs worked now. So that was good. Sort of. It still meant that the Songstresses were clearly evil and now everyone else here was enthralled by their power. Amethyst Star needed to start acting the same way, less the Songstresses notice she wasn’t brainwashed when they finished their song.
She replicated the slack-jawed vacancy of the other ponies while the Songstress quintet finished up their performance, the sundering melody coming to a close with all five of them closing their mouths and taking a deep breath. The quiet and understated finale a far cry from the shifting tempo and loud chorus that was the rest of the song.
Amethyst Star didn’t move or say anything though, she just looked directly at Amethyst and hoped that she looked as brainwashed and inebriated as the rest of the guests.
The Songstresses smiled and looked at each other, some of them even giddily excited. Finally a low chuckle began to emerge from Amethyst’s throat before morphing into full-blown evil laughter.
“Ahahahaha! Yes, yes! These crystals are perfect! Our magical singing is unbeatable!” She yelled and grinned at the other Songstresses. “Well girls? What did I tell you? Now even the unicorn from Equestria is under our control, and it was so easy.”
“What was that stuff about ‘a ballad of ephemeral enchantment’?” Topaz asked her leader with a confused look.
Amethyst shrugged. “We are the Royal Songstresses after all. I wanted to dress things up.”
“I guess you were right about it being easy...” Diamond hesitantly said as she walked up to the table to check out the newly brainwashed guests, even the King and Queen had completely frozen up. “Yeesh, they always look so creepy like this.”
“I know, right?” Opal said. “Let’s hurry up and turn them back to normal, I can’t stand them staring at us.”
“Oh relax,” Amethyst rolled her eyes. “But very well. First thing’s first though.”
The evil unicorn walked right up to Amethyst Star, who did her best not to sweat or move at all.
“You, my dear fellow unicorn from Equestria, are so important,” Amethyst reached up a hoof to rub Amethyst Star’s cheek. “The key to our true goal. And you willingly came right to us, how fortunate. I wasn’t sure how exactly we were going to proceed from here but then we were blessed with you. Things truly are turning around for me—us. You can head back to your little suite for now though, the five of us need to clean up here and talk with our other slaves first.” She giggled malevolently. “But in a little bit we’ll come to see you, and then you can learn what your true purpose is. Now go, act normal as you were before our magic conquered your mind.”
At her command Amethyst Star acted like she had just been snapped out of some kind of hypnosis. She hopped out of her chair and smiled at the Songstresses.
“Thanks for the lovely performance!” She said to them and walked out of the drawing room, the moment she turned her head a horrified frown appeared on her face and she struggled her hardest to not falter or shake with every step.
“I am so going to need to relax after that,” Amethyst Star said to herself as she stood in front of her door, hoof unsteadily rooting through her saddlebag trying to find the key to her suite. “Thank Celestia they didn’t notice the earplugs, and that those things worked.” She finally fished out the key and stuck it in the lock, opening up the door with a relieved sigh and walking in.
To see Daylight Gleam standing in front of her bed.
“Wagh!” Amethyst Star yelped in surprise and fell back onto her butt. “You scared me!”
Daylight Gleam rolled her eyes. “Sorry, can you close the door? Periwinkle wanted me to make sure things went alright. Judging by how you’re acting it looks like things went okay.”
“Yeah, they did,” Amethyst Star frowned but got up and closed the door, leaving the two of them alone in her suite. “And how did you get in here? The door was locked.”
The white unicorn nodded towards the painting of the old king on the wall. “There’s another secret passage behind the painting.”
“Creepy,” Amethyst Star grimaced at the painting and went to put her saddlebag on the table.
“I guess this is a good sign about the earplugs. No problem from them?” Daylight asked her.
“Aside from being uncomfortable?” Amethyst Star removed them from her ears and put them next to her saddlebag.
“And the Songstresses were fooled?”
Amethyst Star snorted. “I don’t think I’d be here otherwise if they weren’t.”
“Fair enough. That’s really good to hear though,” Daylight sighed in relief and walked over to hold up the earplugs in her magic. “Brilliant Sky really gave it his all to make these, without them we’d be doomed. Hopefully in two days at the concert we can finally set things right and stop the Songstresses.”
“Speaking of that, are you ready to tell me what the plan is?” Amethyst Star asked her.
“I think Periwinkle will tell you. There shouldn’t be a problem now that we know everything works. But first,” Daylight Gleam set the earplugs down and looked into Amethyst Star’s eyes with a frown on her face. “I wanted to ask you some things.”
“Uhhh, like what?” Amethyst Star didn’t like the sound of that. She fidgeted a bit and tried to look away from Daylight’s piercing gaze.
“You’re not who you say you are, are you? Sorry, but after watching you and speaking with you I just can’t believe that you’re some important explorer sent on a mission by Princess Twilight herself. I don’t think you even actually know her. I’ve met a lot of important ponies from Equestria and you don’t fit the same bill as them,” the white unicorn accused.
All of that was naturally something that made Amethyst Star angry.
“Hey! What makes you think I couldn’t be that, or that I’m not like any other pony who’s special and awesome? I totally could be!” She narrowed her eyes at the other unicorn and started poking her in the chest.
“Well first off, the way you’re reacting now. Secondly, I know blowhards when I see them, and you are a blowhard,” Daylight snidely responded.
Amethyst Star fumed. “That is totally not true! I’m still here doing all I can to help Diminuendo, I don’t need anyone doubting me! Where do you get off complaining? The fact is that I’m still working with you and doing just as good of a job at taking care of the Songstresses as you and the others. I’m important!”
“The only reason you’re not brainwashed now is-”
Daylight didn’t get to finish that sentence as the sound of hooves walking right outside the door to the suite reached their ears.
“Oops,” Amethyst Star winced. “I forgot to tell you that the Songstresses were gonna be coming by soon.”
Before anything else could be done the door was pulled open and the Songstresses strutted inside, not bothering with knocking. Amethyst Star thought they were done for but when she glanced over at where Daylight Gleam had been standing there was only empty space. The white unicorn had vanished without a trace.
Where’d she go? Amethyst Star wondered.
She didn’t have the time to dwell on that though as Amethyst glided over the carpet to her. “Well, I’m quite glad that didn’t take so long, now the six of us can speak.” The evil unicorn grinned at her. “Since you can’t help but listen to my commands now you can just sit back and relax, I’ll tell you all about your special mission that only you can accomplish for us.”
Amethyst Star vacantly nodded, trying her best to act like she was truly enthralled.
Wait… my earplugs aren’t in. If they use their magic at all again…
She just had to ignore that dangerous possibility.
“You, my dear sweet Amethyst Star, are going to return to Equestria in just a few short days,” she said as the other four Songstresses stood behind her, all of them smiling at Amethyst Star. “Once you return to your beloved Princess Twilight, you will tell her all about the amazing Songstresses you met out here. In fact, you’ll start planning a big arrival for us. A concert for Canterlot where every Princess will attend! It’ll be just like here and it’ll go off even smoother all thanks to you!”
She stepped back and hugged Emerald, nuzzling the earth pony. “Oh we had plans for getting back to Equestria and taking it over but they would’ve taken so long and been so much more dangerous. Diminuendo was going to be our home for a long time, at least we thought so, but now it’ll be nothing more than a nice summer retreat once we take our true place in Equestria.” Amethyst detached herself from Emerald and started patting Topaz on the head. “Diminuendo was supposed to be a long term test run for our powers. How long they worked, how strong the brainwashing was, how many we could control at once. And as it turns out the more we control the stronger we get and the power of our magic is limitless. We were thinking maybe we could put on smaller concerts in Equestria and slowly convert as many ponies as possible when we first came back, but now we can completely circumvent all of that! That’s your mission, Amethyst Star!”
Amethyst walked forward and grabbed her by the shoulders. “My key to Equestria. Our key to ruling our home! Do you understand?”
Once more, Amethyst Star nodded.
“Good!” Amethyst hugged her, a satisfied chuckle coming from her throat at the same time. “Be sure to come to the concert in two days, you can enjoy our music one last time before you make your return trip to Equestria.”
Amethyst and the other Songstresses turned to leave the suite, each giving a little wave to Amethyst Star. Once it sounded like they had gone far enough away, Amethyst Star fell to the ground, her legs like jelly and sweat running down her brow.
“That was close...” Amethyst Star whispered.
“I’ll say.”
Amethyst Star looked up to see Daylight Gleam standing right where she had been. “What the? Where—how?”
“Magic,” the white unicorn simply responded. “My special talent revolves around light. I can use my magic to bend the light around me to appear invisible.”
“Oh, so you were just standing there the whole time?”
“Yes. And hoping they didn’t use their magic. I didn’t have earplugs in either.”
Amethyst Star sighed and stood back up. “Lucky us then. So what now?”
Daylight Gleam regarded her for a moment and Amethyst Star had to wonder if they were going to restart their fight. But Daylight didn’t seem to have any interest in that anymore. “We’ll go talk with Periwinkle and the others. Suffice to say we do need you. And yes, we are all on the same side here. So despite my reservations I won’t be doing anything, I just hope you’re prepared for something like this.”
“Of course I am,” Amethyst Star said to her and the two opened up the painting on the wall and headed into the secret passage. Rest would’ve been nice but an important meeting now took precedence.