“Hey, do you think we should we try to come up with a plan?” murmured Sonata, keeping her voice low as she and her sister hurried through the maze of old machinery and storage supplies toward where they’d heard Nosey’s panicked scream. “I mean, if there’s a fight up ahead, Lex would probably have a plan, you know?”
“What are you talking about? We have a plan,” snorted Aria as they rushed past the metal skeleton of some old piece of industrial equipment. “We’re gonna stomp all over the bad guy, rescue Blondie and Little Miss Maid, head back and get Lex, then go home.”
“Oh…”
The disheartened tone in Sonata’s voice made Aria glance at her, frowning. “What? You think you could come up with something better?”
Sonata shook her head, her expression apologetic. “No, that’s, like, totes awesome! I was just kinda hoping it’d include stopping for ice cream on the way back, you know? That’d be really great after how hot it’s gotten-”
She cut herself off as the two of them turned one final corner, coming to an immediate halt as they saw several figures in front of them, outlined in the dim glow of the fire that was slowly working its way toward their end of the building. One was a familiar unicorn mare in glasses, stuck to the side of a huge vat by what looked like a big glob of gunk. A second was a pegasus in a maid outfit, unmoving as she lay slumped nearby. Unexpectedly, there was another pegasus there as well, her updraft cutie mark prominently displayed due to how she was lying on the floor with her legs tied together.
But the fourth figure, although not one that either Siren recognized, was the one who nevertheless commanded their attention.
Directly in the center of the open area in front of them was a griffon dressed all in black. Standing upright on her back legs, she was lowering a vial from her upturned beak. Although her eyes were impossible to see behind her tinted goggles, there was no mistaking where she was looking as her other talon came up, pointing the dagger she was holding directly at Sonata and Aria in a silent, deadly promise.
Without taking her eyes off of the fearsome figure, Sonata leaned closer to Aria. “I think maybe she’s the bad guy,” she stage-whispered.
“Sonata!” shrieked Nosey, struggling in her gooey prison. “Aria! Watch out! Her name’s Dark Streak, and she’s really fast! She-”
Then the griffon rushed forward, wings beating heavily as she closed the distance between herself and the Sirens in an instant.
Sonata and Aria immediately leaped apart, heading in opposite directions as they circled the outer edge of the clearing. Despite not having discussed tactics beforehand, both instinctively understood that splitting up would force their enemy to pick one of them to follow. Whoever they didn’t pursue would be able to sing a spell uninterrupted. After a thousand years of working their magic together, it was an obvious course of action for the two of them.
It was obvious to Dark Streak also.
Moving to pursue Aria, the assassin lashed out with a horizontal slash that left a deep cut along the Siren’s chest, just below her neck. It was painful enough that Aria couldn’t help but cry out, the spell she’d started singing disrupted as her voice rose in a shriek of pain.
But Dark Streak wasn’t paying attention to that, instead turning her head just enough to catch sight of where Sonata was backing away, her voice already raised in song. Clutching the pouch that she’d withdrawn from one of the bags tied to her belt – an action that she’d deliberately drawn attention away from by pointing her dagger at the pair in an overly-dramatic fashion – she loosened the drawstring as she flung it in Sonata’s direction.
The tiny projectile hit the Siren on the side of the face, a spray of gray-green powder billowing out in a cloud. Despite scrambling away, Sonata couldn’t help but breathe some of it in, having to draw in air as she tried to finish her musical chant. An instant later she doubled over, her lyrical intonations replaced by coughing and hacking, her lungs rebelling as the suffocation powder that Dark Streak had thrown at her lived up to its name.
“Sonata!” The worried cry left Aria’s lips involuntarily, despite knowing that she had no time to worry about her sister. Dark Streak had diverted her attention to the other Siren only for a moment, looking back toward Aria as soon as Sonata had begun to choke, drawing one of the many daggers sheathed in her bandolier as she did.
But this time, Aria was ready for her. Backpedaling as quickly as she could, the pigtailed mare sang a shorter spell, finishing the melody before Dark Streak could press her attack. Immediately, Aria’s form became blurry and indistinct, like an oil painting in the rain. Got you now! she crowed inwardly as she started singing another spell, Dark Streak’s dagger striking out and missing her by inches as she hurried to finish casting.
Nor was she the only one rallying. Sonata was already clearing her throat, pulling in a deep breath of air as she managed to begin singing again. The sound caused Dark Streak to turn in place, one dagger leaving her talon as she threw the weapon directly at Sonata’s face…
Only for it to embed itself in Thermal Draft’s shoulder as the mare suddenly hopped up and planted herself in the dagger’s flight path, the bolas that had previously bound her legs glowing as Nosey’s telekinesis dragged them away. Drafty’s face twisted in agony, but she managed to choke down a cry of pain, giving Sonata a desperate look. “Get her!”
Although Sonata couldn’t verbally reply, she managed to give the injured mare a grateful nod, completing her spell as she turned her full attention back toward Dark Streak. You’re totes gonna regret messing with us! she swore as she felt her enchantment reach out toward the assassin. For realsies!
The spell was one designed to manipulate the target’s emotions. Specifically, to fill them with overwhelming grief, to the point where they wouldn’t be able to do anything except weep in sadness. It was fitting for someone who’d hurt Feather Duster, Lex, and now Aria. Even better, while she was busy feeling sorry for herself, the griffon would be in no condition to-
Dark Streak shook the spell off, the backlash letting Sonata feel that the assassin had brushed off her enchantment with no more effort than it would have taken her to kick a pebble away.
It was enough to leave her open-mouthed. She knew it was possible for someone with a strong enough will to resist being enchanted, but she couldn’t believe how casually the griffon had done it. Either she’s got some sort of magic helping her out, or she’s got willpower equal to Lex! Or both!
Shaking away her amazement as she saw the griffon take another swing at the purple-and-fuchsia smudge that was her sister, Sonata opened her mouth to warn Aria not to try enchanting her enemy.
Fortunately, Aria hadn’t been planning on it.
Rearing up as she finished the last note of her spell, Aria held her hooves outward, and the indistinct splotch of white that appeared across her blurry visage was the only indication of the savage grin she wore. A second later, a gout of flames erupted outward, the fire erupting less than a foot from Dark Streak’s face. Spraying outward, the heat made Sonata yelp and throw herself backward, Drafty recoiling as tendrils of flame came within inches of her.
But none of them reached Dark Streak, the assassin having thrown herself into a crouch and rolled forward, avoiding the flames and coming up alongside Aria, her dagger lashing out.
The blurring spell the Siren had placed on herself prevented the blade from finding a vital area, but it didn’t keep it from scoring a wicked hit on Aria’s middle, making her cry out as the flames guttered and went out. Falling back onto all fours, she stumbled back, ready to cast that spell again…
Only to realize that the assassin had placed herself directly in front of Nosey.
If I attack her from here and miss, I’ll hit Blondie! realized Aria, her eyes widening as she realized that the griffon had to have done that on purpose. One hoof coming up to cover where Dark Streak had stabbed her just under her ribs, Aria tried to reposition herself to get Nosey out of the line of fire even as she tried to think of a less-expansive spell she could use. But as she saw the griffon moving in, drawing another dagger to replace the one she’d thrown, Aria knew she wouldn’t get the chance-
Sonata’s voice, raised in song, made Dark Streak hesitate, and Aria – recognizing the spell her sister was casting – threw herself backward.
The griffon took her cue from Aria, and leaped upward, but she hadn’t gotten more than a foot of clearance from the ground before Sonata’s spell went off.
“TAKE THIIIIIIIIISSS!!!”
Sonata’s magically-empowered scream hit Dark Streak dead-center, knocking her through the air as though she’d been shot out of a cannon. Her impromptu flight was cut short, however, as she hit the side of one of the huge vats at the edge of the clearing, a deep metallic thrum ringing out as she collided with the huge container hard enough to dent its side.
But when the assassin fell to the ground a moment later, she managed to land on all fours.
“You gotta be kidding me,” muttered Sonata, making her way over to where Aria was crouched.
“Who is this chick?” groaned Aria, watching as the assassin slowly stood back up. That she’d been hurt by that last attack was obvious, her movements faltering as she righted her posture. But it was equally obvious that she still had plenty of fight left in her, one talon coming up to wipe away a trickle of blood that was running down from the corner of her beak.
“She’s an assassin.”
Nosey’s voice made both mares glance over at her, just in time to see Thermal Draft – the dagger that had struck her shoulder now clenched firmly in her teeth – finish scraping the last of the adhesive goo away from the unicorn. Although there were still patches of it stuck to her in places, Nosey was able to pull herself away from the vat, and together she and Thermal Draft managed to carry the still-unconscious Feather Duster between them, awkwardly making their way over to where Sonata and Aria were standing. “Someone paid her to come here and kill Lex,” finished the newsmare.
Sonata looked shocked. “For realsies?”
Nosey nodded. “She said it herself, when…” She trailed off then, glancing at Thermal Draft, who was looking back at her and biting her lip. Both Sirens could tell that something passed between the two mares in that moment, but neither could have said what it was. Finally, Nosey let out a slow breath. “When she caught me with that gunk. She mentioned having an employer, and that she was only here to kill Lex, her quarry.”
“Yeah, well, she doesn’t seem to be too worried about anyone who gets in her way,” groused Aria. Despite still being hidden beneath her blurring spell, the pained undertone in her voice was impossible to miss. “What are you two even doing here anyway? Lex told you not to come!”
“Where is Lex?” murmured Thermal Draft, glancing back at where Dark Streak was glaring at them, seemingly assessing the situation. Further back, the glow from the fire was getting closer, the air becoming fouler as smoke continued to fill the building. But the pegasus was seemingly less concerned with that than she was with the missing member of their group, peering left and right. “Is he alright? That griffon said she…that she hurt him.”
“It’s nothing he can’t handle,” replied Aria gruffly.
“Yeah!” nodded Sonata, though her voice wavered. “He’s, like, totes on top of things! I bet-”
“Maybe we should compare notes later,” warned Nosey. “She’s coming!”
Sure enough, Dark Streak was advancing on the group, daggers held tightly in her talons as she strode forward. While Lex might have been her target, her intent to commit violence radiated off of her in waves, from the tension in her beak to the way her tail thrashed behind her. Despite that, she remained firmly in control of herself, her movements smooth and coordinated as she stalked toward them.
“We’ll handle her!” growled Aria. “You guys get out of here!’
“What she said!” added Sonata. “We’ve totes got this!”
Nosey hesitated. “But-”
“They’re right,” interrupted Thermal Draft. “You said the best way we can help is to get Feather Duster and get out of here, remember? If we stay, we’ll only make it harder for them to fight.”
Nosey winced at that, but managed to find her resolve a moment later, nodding. Together, she and Thermal Draft turned around, still carrying Feather Duster between them. But they’d only gotten a short distance away when she looked back at where Sonata and Aria were preparing themselves to receive Dark Streak’s next attack. “You two had better win!” she called back to them. “I broke Lex’s heart when I left him! I don’t want to do it again by telling him that you died!”
Glancing back over her shoulder, Sonata threw her a smile and a wink, and while there was no way to be certain what Aria’s reaction was under her blurring spell, Nosey was sure she saw the pigtailed mare nod.
Then Dark Streak rushed toward both of them, and Nosey forced herself to look away, knowing that if she didn’t, she wouldn’t be able to make herself leave.
Lex wasn’t the only one who’d be heartbroken if they didn’t make it.