The Heart's Promise

by MyHobby


The Growing Darkness

Applejack knew she was winning no popularity contests that day.

She sat before the front desk of city hall on a mission for justice. Or at least the recovery of something precious to her. She tapped her hoof impatiently as she glared daggers at the receptionist. For many years, a coworker. Nowadays, just another nuisance in the red tape-lined machinations of Bureaucratic Equestria.

Applejack had chosen not to run for reelection. Gladly. Her quest to improve Ponyville’s budget to reallocate funds towards repairing the roads had completed successfully. Despite the protestors. Despite the endless hours of arguments. Despite the union negotiations and the equipment failures and the newspapers criticizing her detours despite the fact that she hadn’t planned those routes.

She had approved them, but that was beside the point.

And then there were the messes with Discord. And Hurricane. And Cloudsdale’s destruction causing weather to go wildly out of wing, which required restructuring the Weather Patrol just after Rainbow Dash had resigned from it and… and…

Applejack lowered her hat over her eyes and heaved a sigh.

It hadn’t even been a close race for the new mayor. Filthy Rich lost by a landslide, under reassurance from Merry’s supporters that his term would be “Applejack two-point-oh.” Movements had already been made to restructure the budget back to what it looked like before Applejack’s term, with all the bits going to celebrations rather than infrastructure and maintenance. And fair enough! Applejack’s work was done, and she could finally, finally, finally return to what she was always meant to do: Farm apples.

That said, the speed at which she had been ejected from office was just a little insulting.

Barely a week had gone by before Merry and her crew moved in, making renovations and claiming offices. Though Applejack was still Lord Mayor of Ponyville at the time, she had about as much authority around City Hall as the church mice hiding under the floorboards. She had been scooted out but quick, and had scarcely a moment to pack her bags before being tossed out on her rear.

Things had been left behind.

The door opened at last, and the mare of the hour, Merry Mare, Lord Mayor of Ponyville, entered the waiting area with a practiced smile on her muzzle. “Applejack! What a surprise! I didn’t expect you around here until tax season at least.”

Applejack forced her tired face into a friendly-ish sort of smile. “Sure as shootin’, I was hopin’ the same thing, your lordship. Turns out I left somethin’ behind, and I’m really hoping you ain’t done thrown it out.”

“I’ll see what I can do.” Merry tilted her head towards the inner rooms of City Hall. “Follow me. We might have your things in storage.”

Applejack wanted to brush the mare off, to tell her that she knew her way around the offices well enough, but darn it, she didn’t have that authority anymore. “Sure thing, Merry.”

She and Merry walked side by side through the now-familiar hallways and meeting rooms of Ponyville’s lovely, hoof-crafted City Hall. Applejack felt the last four years rush back all at once. It hadn’t all been bad. Ponyville had become a city beneath her watchful gaze. The roads had been improved. Commerce and trade had bloomed, while the population had increased nearly threefold.

She wished she could feel pride for any of that, but all that was left was bitter disappointment. A huge chunk of that population had come from people fleeing the destruction of Cloudsdale, who would soon be moving to their new home. The roads would likely go another four years before any meaningful maintenance could occur. Anybody who championed values even vaguely similar to Applejack’s—hard work, cooperation, and diligence—would be laughed out of office before they could even run.

So what was the point?

Silver Spoon looked up from a scroll as they entered the library, where a good few boxes had been stacked along a bookshelf. She adjusted the silver-rimmed glasses on her nose and gave Applejack a magnanimous smile. “Mayor Applejack, welcome back. Once a mayor, always a mayor, they say.”

“Creator take it, I hope not.” She muttered it under her breath, but still felt like the other two mares heard it loud and clear. She gestured to the boxes, which were all marked “misc.” in a surefire bet to be filed away and never looked at again. “These where you bundled up our stuff?”

“Hopefully, you can find what you’re looking for.” Merry caught Silver Spoon’s eyes and jerked her head towards the main office. “If you’ll excuse me, Silver and I have a meeting to attend. We can’t keep the others waiting.”

Applejack wrinkled her muzzle. Silver Spoon was an odd enough choice for Assistant Mayor, that’s for sure. She never had an inkling that the young mare woulda had an interest in politics. She seemed more the “glamor and glitz” type, what with wearing a pearl necklace in place of a cravat. A little more self-interested than civic-minded, if you asked Applejack. Not that she was judging. Clearly, Silver had enough chutzpa to make it politically, if her new job in City Hall was anything to go on.

When the mayor and assistant mayor had closed the door behind them, Applejhack was left with a few ponies looking through the records of Ponyville. Literature from the first hours of the town to the present day could be found within the shelves. Books bound by hoof, scrolls scribed by unicorn horn, hoofwritten and printed works. It was a little like a museum at times, and more like a mausoleum at others. Applejack grunted as she hefted one of the miscellaneous boxes to a table so she could sort through the contents. She found a lot of her own items within; a well-worn pen, a pendant from her first year in office, a tacky doily she planned to surreptitiously leave behind… but nothing of real value, not to her.

It continued that way, box after box, for a couple of hours. After a while, she’d managed to collect a small pile of keepsakes and baubles she was willing to clutter her home with. Still, her end goal eluded her. She sat back in the wooden chair and rubbed her head just beneath the brim of her hat. She was tired. The library was stuffy. It was possible they had simply thrown out her prize rather than store it. She could just give up. Go home. Eat supper and rest.

But no, she thought as she covered her eyes with her hooves. She was too stupid to give up.

As she lowered her hooves to the table, a pink-coated mare came into view. A second glance told her it was not Pinkie Pie, but a younger pony in her early twenties. Similar to Silver Spoon in that she woulda never guessed she’d see her in City Hall on her lonesome. “Diamond Tiara?”

Diamond was a pretty mare, no mistake. Had been since she was a little thing, when she and Apple Bloom shared a class at Ponyville Schoolhouse. She and Bloom had their rough spells, but age and maturity had evened out the two of them… brought them to an understanding of each other. A respect.

But something odd had happened in the last few years. The luster had left her eyes. Her once quick wit had faded to a shallow knee-jerk belittlement of everything she encountered. She even seemed to lose her pride in herself, content to follow around Silver Spoon like a dog following an abusive owner. Her personal health had taken a dive, too, leaving her gaunt as she failed to take in proper nutrients.

What little Applejack knew of her situation was that she had quit her job at her pa’s business, Barnyard Bargains, and gone to live with Silver Spoon after briefly disappearing for a few days. Applejack’s heart broke a little seeing the young mare look so dour. So defeated. The young mare stared at the wall, dead to the world, her thoughts to herself.

Applejack gently touched the mare’s shoulder, and Diamond jolted out of her lifeless reverie. She glanced over her shoulder and tilted her head back to look Applejack in the eye.

Before things could get awkward, Applejack cleared her throat. “Howdy, Diamond. Been a while since I seen you around. Doin’ well for yourself?”

Diamond’s face shifted, as if she was sick to her stomach. The emotion faded, and was replaced with what appeared to be resignation. “Hard to tell these days, Ma—ahem—Applejack.” Some slight hint of snarky backtalk snuck its way out of the depths of her soul. “I thought you woulda left City Hall far behind after what Merry’s party put you through the last couple years.”

“Some things are important enough that you gotta brave the gates of heck itself.” Applejack gestured limply to the piles of unexamined boxes. “Lost a family photo the day I got ousted. Old one. Probably around… nine-ninety-nine? Or one-thousand? One o’ those years.”

“I guess you Apples do get sentimental about stuff like that.” Diamond snorted and took a moment to adjust the small, glittering tiara she always seemed to wear out on the town. It remained ever-so-slightly lopsided. “Must be nice.”

Applejack knew when she wasn’t wanted. She knew she could just walk away and the both of them would probably be happier for it. But darned if she wasn’t curious. “Sure is. What brings you to City Hall?”

Diamond shrugged. Her pink tail swished softly behind her. “I don’t have much to do while Silver’s at work. Might as well just hang around.”

Applejack pulled back the corner of her lips. “Not much of a day, if’n you ask me.”

“I didn’t.” Diamond scoffed and walked over to the stack of boxes. “Whatever. You wouldn’t get it.”

“Maybe not.” Applejack walked over to the opposite side of the pile, putting as much distance between herself and the mare as politely possible. Diamond’s glum expression frustrated Applejack, despite her sense of pity. As far as Applejack could see, Diamond knew something was wrong, but didn’t want to do anything about it. And she certainly didn’t want Applejack’s help.

After a moment of silence, Diamond stopped moving. Applejack glanced her way and saw her holding a photograph. Diamond’s expression hadn’t changed, but her breath was held, and her eyes were fixed. Applejack opted to ignore her, but a small voice came from her. “I think I found it.”

Applejack squared her shoulders and choked down the metaphorical bile in her mouth. She came alongside Diamond and looked at the tiny picture. It was of herself, with Big Mac and Apple Bloom, all wearing bunny ears as they prepared for the Zap Apple harvest. Off to the side, Filthy Rich and Diamond Tiara stood, while in the middle, central to the whole thing, was Granny Smith.

She took the picture gently from Diamond. “Yeah. This is it.”

It had been almost seven long years since Granny had passed away. Gone to join her husband, son, and daughter-in-law among the stars. The matriarch of the Apple Family. Applejack’s role model. Her mother-figure.

Diamond stared at the picture for a different reason. In it, she was hugging her father closely while the two of them smiled. “Simpler times, I guess. The world wasn’t as ugly then.”

“It was just as ugly then as it is now,” Applejack said quietly. “We just didn’t let it bug us.”

Applejack tucked the picture into the box of things she’d collected. With her search done, there didn’t seem to be much need to continue picking through the junk. She paused, looking over her shoulder and Diamond. “Take care of yourself, Diamond Tiara. Ain’t at the end of it, yet. Find your reason to keep moving.”

“Easy for you to say.”

Applejack strode through the familiar halls of the building with the box perched on her back. She walked past the information desk without looking at the stallion running it, whose stupid face tended to incite violence in Applejack’s mind. She said goodbye to nobody, talked to nobody, and was noticed by nobody.

She returned home for hopefully a far more productive day on the farm.


Merry Mare stood in front of a magic mirror she kept in the basement of her home. “Basement” was possibly the wrong word to use, considering the fact that it was just as nicely furnished as her upstairs and had a door to the sunken backyard. In fact, when she had company over, she was more likely to entertain them here than in her upstairs dining room. The mirror was, in essence, hidden I plain sight.

It had no adornments that could be seen unless one knew where to look. No strangeness about it unless one had the knowledge required to understand high-level enchantments. Certain mirrors could show things that were hidden, or far away. Certain mirrors could even carry sound.

This mirror could carry living beings.

Merry pulled on a cloak made from soft green fabric. She touched a hoof to the yellow gemstone necklace she wore, whose stone carried arcane enchantments understood only by one mare in particular. An ancient mare who had lived for three-thousand years. They were about to meet with this mare for the first time in months.

But even she was not the most dangerous or long-lived thing on the far side of the mirror.

Merry Mare licked dry lips. She glanced at Silver Spoon, whose blue gemstone necklace glimmered from beneath her black cloak. “Are you ready?”

“Born ready, ma’am.” Silver Spoon brazenly walked past Merry and put her hoof to the glass. She hummed a short tune, causing her necklace to shimmer with magic. Her image on the mirror’s surface warped and danced until it took on an entirely new form, that of a dark forest. Silver slipped through the glass like a pony walking through a waterfall, and was gone.

Merry steeled herself, pulled her hood over her mane, and entered the mirror. She was transported in an instant across hill and dale, across rivers and canyons, to a cavern far beneath a hidden mountain. Trees surrounded her on every side, their leaves glistening with a faint golden hue. Though sunlight could not reach them this far belowground, their roots clawed up the walls of the cave to the surface, where golden veins brought nutrients to the imprisoned trees.

Everything about them, from their bark, to their leaves, to their fruit, had some essence of gold. It drew the eye and quickened the heart. But the riches of the forest were not monetary, necessarily. These trees were the last in Equestria which could grow the coveted Golden Apples.

“Hurry up, Merry!” Silver Spoon bit into one such apple, its glistening juices lending strength and vigor to her body. “They’re waiting for us.”

Merry Mare walked carefully over the exposed roots and fallen branches of the Grove of Golden Apples. A faint mist filled the air as water drizzled down from a concave pool at the top of the mountain, eroding the stone and creating a bed of mineral-rich soil where the trees could thrive. Shadows dwelt in the mists; fairy creatures whose purposes were unknown to Merry. She saw eyes of many different hues appear for an instant before vanishing just as quickly. The dark powers of the world were carrying news of her arrival to their lord.

She came to a clearing in the center of the mountain. The largest golden apple tree could be found here, whose leaves and branches were few and far between the roots that both dug down and clawed for the heavens. The trunk was made up of many smaller, intertwining pillars of gilded wood that swirled and spun, mated and forked, like a wooden spider web. Facing the clearing, a mirror had been embedded into the trunk, on which could be found not a reflection, but a roiling mass of emptiness.

Stallions surrounded the clearing, their coats darkened to a deep gray and their eyes dulled. They had given up their free will in order to fully serve their masters, dedicating their entire body and mind to the ones known to Equestria as the Sirens.

Merry Mare was, of course, their leader.

The stallions bowed as one and chanted their designated greeting. “All hail Merry Mare, Mother of the Sirens! All hail Silver Spoon, Maiden of the Sirens!”

A third mare stood in the center of the clearing, next to a wooden table carved from the wood of fallen golden apple trees. She turned at the sound of the stallions’ booming voices and gave Merry a smirk. “Well, well, look what the cat dragged in. I’ve been waiting for hours now! I swear, that new job of yours is taking too much time away from what’s really important.”

Merry Mare glanced down at the gemstone attached to the mare’s choker necklace. It was the red one which completed the set of three. The mare who wore it was ancient, but didn’t look nearly three-thousand. In fact, she had guessed she was only a decade older than Merry herself when they’d first met. Her coat still held a vibrant orange color, and her flowing curls were only tinged with gray. “Adagio Dazzle, Crone of the Sirens. How are you?”

“No need to be so formal, Merry.” Adagio Dazzle took a seat and gestured at the two others situated around the hoof-carved table. “How long’ve we known each other? Ten years? Longer? It tends to run together.”

Silver Spoon glanced at the mirror embedded into the tree. “So? Has he made an appearance yet?”

“Nah.” Adagio Dazzle’s smirk became a touch rueful. “The Master likes to keep his obedient little minions waiting, doesn’t he?”

Merry pressed her teeth together behind closed lips. “He’ll make an appearance when he has something to say. Until then…” She glanced left and right, more to remind herself of the shadows lurking on the edge of the clearing than to avoid being overheard. “You have heard the rumors?”

Adagio’s expression lost its hint of mischief, falling to a grim certainty. “Yeah. And I think they’re more than rumors. I’ve been keeping an eye on the magic flowing around the Everfree Forest. One type is getting weaker by the day.”

Silver Spoon grinned and leaned her chin on crossed forelegs. “So the Tree of Harmony is dying at last.”

With that said, the forest grew quiet. The air chilled. The very breath in their lungs seemed to be stolen. A fierce shiver traced itself down Merry’s spine, and for an instant, she considered fleeing. She considered running as far away from the grove and its inhabitants as equinely possible. She considered belching forth all she knew of the grove and the fairies therein to the Equestrian authorities, or perhaps even throwing herself off the greatest gorge and ending her suffering then and there.

But she swallowed her fear, let it lend her greater clarity of mind and heightened awareness. This grove, this life she’d chosen, the power of the Sirens itself, was the only chance she had to resurrect her son, Happy.

She turned to look at the mirror, from which the chilling, overpowering fear issued. For a moment, greedy green eyes could be seen peering from among the turmoil, but they were soon replaced by a fairy. He took the form of a nondescript pony, gray of coat and black of mane, whose slate-gray eyes never made contact with hers. A black suit and hat covered his body, and the only shock of color was the red tie he wore around his neck.

The dark stallions around the glade bowed once again. “Hail Jeuk, Princeling of the Unseelie Court!”

Adagio rolled her eyes. “Jeuk again? I guess the Master’s too busy to make an appearance? You guys have a lot of parties in the Abyss?”

Jeuk let out his characteristic stuttering laugh. “Amusing, Crone. Most very amusing. The Master has many preparations to make, and has left me in charge of the worldly affairs.” His gray eyes glinted with intelligence and malice. “The rumors are indeed true, Sirens of Equestria. The Tree of Harmony is dying. The Elements within its branches are fading. Our poison and the bitterness of time have battered the poor thing to the point that it is barely holding on.” He shuddered, the cold emptiness of the Abyss causing discomfort even to a being of magic such as himself. He pulled a long coat over his shoulders, but it did not keep out the chill. “And so the time for us to be freed from the Abyss has come at last. Crone Adagio, have you completed the new magic mirror?”

“Yeah. It’s practically a replica of the one we stole from Twilight’s library.” Adagio leaned her cheek on her hoof and sat sideways on her chair, the very picture of bad posture. “With a link directly to the Abyss. It’s ready when you are.”

“Excellent!” Jerk grinned, and Merry’s stomach churned at the sight. “Then we need only a few more things. One: to free the prisoners from the hidden prison of Solitaire.”

Silver Spoon laughed aloud, clutching her blue gemstone tight between her hooves. “I’ve been waiting to take this baby out for a test drive. Leave the prisoners to me!”

“Very well, my lovely Maiden.” Jeuk nodded, rubbing his chin as he looked her up and down. “You have proven to be of… uneven success thus far. See to it you do not repeat the near-disaster of the caves beneath Canterlot.”

Silver Spoon’s neck stiffened, but she cleared her throat and spoke with a sickly-sweet voice. “As you command, Princeling Jeuk.”

“Second,” he said, not responding to Silver’s apology, “we need to ensure the Tree of Harmony’s death, and retrieve the Journal of Clover the Clever from the Castle of the Royal Pony Sisters.”

“I shall take a force of thralls.”

Merry nearly jumped from her seat as a fourth visitor at their table spoke up. It was a fairy creature, who had not announced their presence nor been declared by the enthralled ponies around the clearing. He was a sickening sight, all exposed bones and dangling skin, barely cloaked by a long coat and wide-brimmed hat. His skeletal mouth creaked open as a hissing voice spoke out of the emptiness. “I will ensure that the Tree dies and the book is found, my prince. You can rely on me.”

“See to it, Merimna.” Jeuk’s gray eyes fell upon Merry and seemed to bore into her soul, seeking her thoughts. “With the Crone seeing to the mirror, that leaves you for the third task, Merry.” He tilted his head to the side and looked to the south. “There is a pony you know well by the name of Fluttershy. Some time ago, she received a gift from the Unseelie Court. We require it back.” The fairy seemed to take great delight in the anger he was causing Merry. “Bring her to us… alive, yes, please do not kill her. I wouldn’t dare ask you to slay the childhood friend of your beloved son.”

Before she knew it, Merry had risen to her feet, leaving her chair on the ground behind her. She slammed her hooves on the table and bared her teeth at the fairy. “The gift you tricked her into accepting! If you hadn’t attempted to kill her, we wouldn’t be in this situation right now!”

“Beside the point, Mother. Merry. Mayor.” Jeuk retreated into the chaos within the Abyss, fading from the face of the mirror. “Time grows short. The Master’s return is at hand.”

With that, the great sensation of fear vanished from the Grove of Golden Apples.

Merimna hissed a falsified breath. “I shall take my soldiers to the Everfree Forest.” He, too, disappeared into the darkness.

The three sirens, the Maiden, the Mother, and the Crone, sat around the table in the darkness, alone save for the mindless ponies who awaited their word. They stared at each other, their gemstones glittering in the dark. The magic within their hearts mingled and wrestled with the magic of their gemstones, so foreign to each other, and yet required to dovetail.

As was oft the case, the magic of the Sirens manifested in song. Despite herself, Merry couldn’t stop her own thoughts from modifying the music.

“It’s a knife in the dark
It’s a line upon the sand
We are fueled by hate
And cannot wait
To rule this lovely land

“There are people we’ve lost
There are wounds we cannot heal
But we’ll always fight
As is our right
For impossible things made real

“To restore the loved ones who were taken from us
The fated return of all that we hold dear”

She leaped upon the table and called the Thralls who were stationed in the grove to her. Dozens of ponies, armored and armed, marched to the clearing to watch the performance of the sirens. More numerous than the Thralls were the ponies who had willingly joined the sirens. Their discord and malcontent with the current state of Equestria pooled into the song, lending their magic to the Sirens themselves.

“There’s a war to begin
A battle to win
Gathered in the fairies’ court

“Though the alicorns are mighty
There is nothing that can stand against the righteous

“Gather to me
We’ll finally see
A victorious report

“We’ll level all their cities
’Til there’s nothing to be found but loose detritus”

Adagio let out a small chuckle as Merry returned to her seat, though no mirth could be found in her smile. She glanced back and forth at the audience Merry had summoned and sang her verse.

“So that’s all that there is
The finale, end of line
We will lie to thus
And lie to us
That it’s all perfectly fine

“As we lead this great crew
As we strike the kingdom’s heart
Our foe bleeds out
Without a doubt
Her soul will soon depart

“And we will ignore our souls so filled with evil
Ripe to be stolen away by fairy hands”

Adagio scowled at the other two sirens, waving a hoof at the ponies dancing and parading around them, her curls spilling out of her hood as she sang without igniting the power of her gemstone, the Siren’s Sigil. She looked to Merry most significantly, as Silver seemed happy to ignore her as she observed the celebrating army.

“There’s a war to begin
A battle to win
It’s the battle for your heart

“I know that you are hurting
There’s a deep and painful yearning for your child

“Be honest with me
Can you actually be
So committed to your part

“Wouldn’t Happy be unhappy
If he saw your mighty army running wild?”

Silver Spoon rose at last, putting a hoof on Adagio’s shoulder and forcing her back into her seat. She smiled sweetly, looking over her glasses at Merry as she gently rubbed Adagio’s shoulders.

“Give her a moment
Filled with quiet introspection

“Let her remember
Happy who she will adore
Evermore

“The power at our disposal
Is a sound rejection

“Of that dark fate
Reiterate
He’ll be brought back to life
No sign of strife
Back to liiiiife!

Silver Spoon spun on the gathered audience as the ponies beneath her spell joined in with her chorus. She left Merry and Adagio to pick up the harmony to her melody. Her voice boomed throughout the cavern as she solidified the Sirens’ hold on their army, with the chatter of the Unseelie Court of Fae never truly dying down.

“There’s a war to begin
A battle to win
It’s a battle for the sun

“Yes, our victory is coming
We will strike ’til they are nothing but a memory

“We begin tonight
Our meaningful fight
To rescue Merry’s son

“To restore what once was broken
That the closed will be reopened, for your family

“The alicorns are soon to fall
We crush their bodies, souls and all
And end the battle
This is our battle
We march to battle!”

The audience departed, each to their assigned positions. Some to Canterlot, some to Ponyville, some even across the eastern seas. Silver Spoon gave Adagio a smirk that put even the elder siren to shame. “That’s how you rile up a crowd. I respect you attempting to harden Merry’s resolve, but…” She glanced at Merry Mare with pursed lips. “You gotta leave your doubts behind. This is the end. The result of all we’ve been working for. We’re going to free Equestria from the alicorns and become its rightful rulers. There is no room for second thoughts.”

Silver Spoon retreated from the clearing, on a beeline towards where Solitaire sat offshore.

Adagio pulled her red hood tighter over her bountiful curls. She gave Merry a firm, unwavering glare. She tilted her head towards Silver and spoke quietly, so that her voice didn’t carry in the Grove. “You buy that?”

“I buy it as much as I’ve bought into any of this.” Merry Mare pulled her glasses from her muzzle and wiped the lenses with the edge of her cloak. “Every attempt to restore my son to me has met with failure and lies, and yet, the Unseelie Court is my last best hope. After the alicorns are dead and fairy control of the sun and moon is restored, at least the world will be set back to its proper order.”

“Oh yeah, sure, good good.” Adagio gritted her teeth and leaned across the table towards Merry. “I much prefer the idea of Jeuk having control of the sun. Doesn’t that just sound like the best idea ever?”

“Sarcasm becomes you, my friend.” Merry laughed lightly. She steepled her hooves in front of her nose. “My goals have always been twofold, Adagio. Rescue my son from the shadow of death, and rescue Equestria from those who have abused the sun.” She lowered her ears and narrowed her eyes. “And you… you, who have been a siren for thousands of years, what is your stake now? Do you seek to restore Aria and Sonata back to life?”

Adagio sighed through her nose. “Would they even want to come back to life? I don’t think it’s possible. Even if it is…” She shook her head and stood from the table. “Sometimes, it becomes hard to break a habit. Sometimes, life grabs onto you and won’t let go until you’re dead. You know?” When Merry couldn’t respond, she grabbed her shoulder and dragged her upright. “Come on, we’ve got our missions. Equestria awaits conquest and all those horseapples.”

With that said, Merry returned to Ponyville. As she stowed away the gemstone—the Siren’s Sigil—she began to plan out how she might bring Fluttershy to the Grove of Golden Apples. She would need to wait for just the right moment…

And, she would need to fight tooth and nail to keep the fairies from killing Fluttershy outright.


The prison known as Solitaire was a nine-story building, submerged in the ocean up to its top few floors. Each floor held convicts convicted of similar crimes, from those soon to be released on the top floor, to the bottom rung on the ladder, which held traitors to their own kingdom.

Caution Tape was one of these individuals. Once Princess Celestia’s most trusted bodyguard, hero of Equestria, now a traitor, an attempted murderer and assassin. The red-coated earth pony stared at his own reflection. He had not grown an ounce weaker while in prison, but remained one of the strongest earth ponies of the modern era. His milky, dead left eye—an injury received from Prince Blueblood himself—served as a reminder that he could not take back what he had done. He could only push forward. He could only reach for the stars.

His love was dead. Aria Blaze had been slain two or three years ago. The mare he’d been fighting for, who he had betrayed Celestia to see once more, had been pushed from her balcony by a vengeful former friend. He hadn’t even gotten the opportunity to say goodbye, nor to visit her grave, which lay in another world. Caution had mourned while Jeuk chuckled in his own crafty, cackling way.

Jeuk… the creature Caution hated most in the world, and yet also the one he needed the most.

Though Jeuk had not delivered Aria to Caution’s side, he had delivered her final letter. It was one written hastily, without much planning or direction. It was a spilling forth of everything the mare had on her heart. Apology, farewell, and regret all in one package. It contained a small, precious piece of news. One that Caution would carry in his heart for the rest of his days.

He was a father.

Caution was a father.

He had a daughter, somewhere in the world. One with Aria’s eyes. A pegasus mare, born twenty-one years ago. His only chance to ever see her, to leave Solitaire behind and restore honor in his own eyes, was to follow Jeuk and his crazy plan to change the landscape of Equestria.

And so, Caution would follow Jeuk.

He looked across the aisle to the cell on the far side, which held a shifting shadow of a creature; a displacer beast, whose coat refracted light to the point of appearing nearly invisible. Caution’s eyes would slide off the creature like water from a bird’s wing. The creature’s name was Lacer. He was imprisoned in this dark hole for the crime of kidnapping Fluttershy, whose position within Equestria most certainly brought the crime from a mere act of violence to one of darkest treachery.

The cell beside him held a stately donkey named Aspen the Aliterative. He had attempted to prevent war between Equestria and Felaccia with the murder of a visiting human from another world, injuring Seabreeze from Breezy Bastion in the process. Though the assassination had failed, war was not forthcoming. So he had spent these many years in Solitaire with the knowledge that his actions came to naught but the loss of his hind leg.

The cell beside Caution’s held Rhombus, a young pegasus stallion just a little older than Caution’s daughter would be. He had once roamed the earth with Dr. Caballeron, but the death of his former employer had left him to be captured by Equestrian authorities. His imprisoning was for kidnapping two mares who were very close to Celestia: Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle. Apparently, they were associated closely enough with the Bearers of the Elements of Harmony that harm to them was harm to the Bearers, and thus was declared high treason.

The floor rumbled beneath Caution’s hooves. He frowned. The building was so sturdy that the constant storm surrounding Solitaire, along with the turbulent waves, could not so much as shake it. Was it an earthquake? A tsunami? Or something else?

“Aha!” Rhombus took to the air and wheeled around his cell. “I hear something in the floor above. Are we finally free?”

“Don’t getcha self too excited.” Caution glared up at the block which made up the ceiling. Dust tumbled as the building was shaken again. “We’ve had close calls afore. Still, make yourselves ready. Oi don’t know what’s up there, but if it’s our way out, we gorra move fast.”

Rhombus gripped the bars of his cell and laughed with pure, boyish delight. “Ah, beautiful Scootaloo, how I’ve longed for the day we’re reunited! Just a wee bit longer, m’dear!”

“Didn’t you listen to a word he said?” Aspen muttered. Rather than look to the ceiling, the donkey was content to play solitaire with the complimentary deck of cards all inmates were given. “One day your libido will burn so brightly that you will be consumed by your own flames of lust.”

“And what would you know of love, you dusty old goat?” Rhombus flapped his wings towards Lacer, who lounged on his cot. “What about you, Lacer? You have somebody waiting for you?”

“Nah, man.” The displacer beast raised his head, and once it reached the full light of the lanterns, it came into full view. He was feline in nature, like a giant panther, with two fanged tentacles on his shoulder blades. “I’m just tryin’ to get money for the family back home. Of course, they probably don’t want nothin’ to do with a traitor like me.”

The rumbling grew louder. The crackle of magic could be heard clearly now, alongside heavy thuds of a large object crashing into the walls. Caution Tape stood at the center of his room, away from any of the walls, lest he be snapped in half by a sudden crushing blow. “I’d advise you lot tah keep clear of the walls. Shockwaves that can rumble these foundations are no joke.”

A scant few moments later, the magic elevator blew open. When the dust settled, Caution saw a lone unicorn mare standing in the midst of their cells. She was covered with a heavy cape, and only her mane was visible to him. It was a mix of purples and lilacs, shaved short as was required of prisoners in Solitaire; nobody wanted the prisoners to strangle themselves on their own manes.

“I am Dr. Midnight,” she said, adjusting the wide glasses on her muzzle. “If you wish to see the sun once more, I suggest you come with me. I’ve been freed by Silver Spoon, Maiden of the Sirens, and tasked with getting you out while she frees Scuttlebutt.”

“Scuttlebutt?” Rhombus tilted his head to the side. “Never heard of him. Friendly chap?”

“Unlikely,” Caution said with a grumble. “He’s a wight. A shapeshifter and cannibal to boot. I’d steer clear of him if you value your skin.”

Aspen placed a king nonchalantly. “I would have guessed he was a gossip.”

He looked at the new arrival, narrowing his eyes at her purple coat and eyes. She looked familiar on a level far beyond mere coincidence. She coulda been Twilight Sparkle’s twin. “Pardon me for sayin’, miss, but are you related to the Sparkle Family?”

“You might say that.” Dr. Midnight lit her horn and tore his cell door out of the wall. She did the same with the other three cells in short order. “Come on, we need to get to the surface.”

With the elevator out of commission, thanks in no small part to the doctor herself, the only path upwards lay with the staircase. Nine flights led them towards the surface. Guards who would have blocked their way were occupied defending the upper floors from the rampaging monster who even now shook the foundations of Solitaire. The few who remained below were quickly dealt with, either by a spell from Dr. Midnight or by a solid right hoof from Caution.

At last, they broke through into the storm above the waves. As Caution stepped into the pouring rain, he saw a sight he would not forget for the rest of his life.

The roof of the prison was flat, allowing an unbroken view of the monster that attacked it. It was a massive sea serpent, with fins flaring as it stalked across the arrival platform. Spells fired from unicorn horns flashed against its scaly body. The magic flew in vain, for the creature’s scales were formed from the very same essence, crystalline in hardness and beautiful to behold. Its head was like a dragon’s, snarling and snapping, while two ribbed, winglike fins protruded from its back. It had only two limbs, two forelegs ending in sharp hooves, while its tail was akin to a whale’s fluke. On its broad chest gleamed a many-faceted blue gemstone, from which magic blazed. It opened its great maw and belted forth a single note, which held the strength to send several strong pegasi crumpling into the sea.

The monster’s eyes flashed as she caught sight of the escaped prisoners. “Get to the ship!”

Aspen gasped aloud, falling to his haunches. “What the blazes is that?”

“Lady Silver Spoon, Maiden of the Sirens.” Dr. Midnight stalked across the slick platform, walking carefully so as not to slip into the churning ocean. “It is to her you owe your freedom.”

Before they could take another step, they were showered with blinding sparks. From the north side of the roof thundered a spell weaved from wild magic. Uncontrolled and unhindered. One such blast struck Caution in the chest and sent him flying onto his back. He scrambled to his feet as Dr. Midnight raised a shield around them. More sparks, like living fireworks, impacted the shield and died out on its surface. Caution looked through the shield and saw the unicorn casting the spell; the warden of the prison. She was a tall mare, maroon in color, who had a broken horn upon her head. Flizzlepop Berrytwist to her friends. Tempest Shadow to her enemies.

Caution had no doubts as to which one he was. “Should oi charge her?”

“Leave her to me.” Dr. Midnight pointed her horn towards the western half of the platform. “You should see what he’s up to.”

Caution wheeled about and caught sight of Aspen making a break for it. Rather than head to the boat that awaited them on the east side, he was making headway for an office on the northwest corner. Caution knew the prison inside and out; it was a communication station, with an antenna connected to a magic siphon that could communicate with any radio with a powerful enough receiver.

Such as the one in Canterlot Castle.

Caution took off after the three-legged donkey, nearly slipping on the slick prison roof as he stepped out of the doctor’s shield. Tempest Shadow attempted to strike him with fireworks again, but an ear-splitting note from Silver Spoon caused her to retreat behind a hastily-built barricade. The remaining guards and soldiers who were stationed on the prison gathered around her, strengthening the barrier with their limbs and whatever spell they could conjure.

Silver Spoon lumbered towards them, murder in her eyes.

Aspen leaped into the comm station and locked the door behind him. Caution could just see him putting on the headset through the rainfall. He practically shouted into the microphone, though his words were obscured by the storm. The donkey’s eyes flashed between the radio itself and the battle outside as he twisted dials for a certain frequency.

Caution grasped the door and tore it from its hinges. Aspen’s voice flew into a frenzy as he walked towards the one-time diplomat. “I repeat! Solitaire is under attack by the Sirens! One of their number is named Silver Spoon! Please, come in! One of the Sirens is named Sil—”

With that said, Caution grabbed Aspen by the neck and jerked him away from the radio. The headphones snapped in half as he threw the donkey to the ground. Aspen raised his hooves to cover his face, but Caution aimed for the chest. He knocked the wind out of Aspen and raised the donkey to a seated position. Unable to scream in pain or terror, Aspen could only wheeze.

“What the hell are you doin’, mate?” Caution growled. “Betrayin’ the Sirens is beggin’ for death!”

“I d—” Aspen coughed, desperately sucking air back into his lungs. “I died the day I betrayed my Lord, Izod. I died the day I was stripped of my title, cast into that hellhole. But even if I’m dead, even if I have been forsaken by everything I love, I cannot sit idly by while the world is destroyed in a flood of avarice and greed!” He choked as Caution lifted him by the throat. “I’ve staved off war as long as I could, until my own folly left me in shackles. Now, war is inevitable, but the forces of justice and light finally have a fighting chance! Silver’s identity is revealed! You lose, Caution! You and your whole blasted uprising! Long live Celestia!”

“Well…” Caution raised an eyebrow, releasing Aspen to stand on his own hooves. “She’ll outlive you, at least.”

He spun around and kicked out with his hind legs. A single punishing blow to the chest sent Aspen crashing into the wall. The one-time noble crumpled in a tangle of limbs, his heart having beat for the last time. Caution brushed himself off as he left the comms station, leaving behind the earthly remains of Aspen the Alliterative.

The guards on the roof of Solitaire surrendered. They gathered in the middle of the platform, their armor stripped, their weapons cast into the sea. Caution was, in a word, shocked that they had been routed so quickly. He had trained with some of these ponies. He knew what they were capable of. One look at the triumph on Silver Spoon’s face said it all though; they could not stand before the might of the Sirens.

Silver Spoon approached the kneeling soldiers. Her body shimmered as she crawled, and soon, the scales vanished one by one as her true form emerged from the monster’s heart. Though, perhaps not her natural body. She retained brilliant blue glowing eyes, fins protruding from her back like sinister wings, and a horrific haze of vile magic that surrounded her body. She pulled a pair of glasses from beneath her cape and set them on her muzzle. “You all have a choice to make. You shall become soldiers of the Sirens, or you shall die where you stand. Which shall it be?”

Tempest Shadow glared at the younger mare, her broken horn sparking. “You’d better just finish us if those are our only choices. There are no soldiers here who would stoop to the level of Caution. You have a better chance to find more minions at the bottom of the sea.”

Silver giggled, covering her mouth with a demure hoof. “Did I say you had a choice? I lied.” She breathed deep, and her gemstone shimmered all the brighter. She sung low, sweet, succulent notes, a set of five. “Ah, ah-ah… Ah aaaah… Ah, ah-ah… ah aaaaaah…”

A spell, designed to pull even the most stalwart of minds under its thrall. The same song that had stolen the wills of many of the Sirens’ minions beneath the mountain. The same song that had menaced Equestria since the Second Age, when the first Sirens emerged. The Siren’s Sigil leaked magic in trails that sailed to the soldiers’ ears. The song burrowed its way into their heads, to their brains, their minds, their wills. Their eyes took on a sickly green hue as they lurched to their hooves, surrounding Silver Spoon and falling prostrate before her.

All save for a handful who remained, aghast at their fellow soldiers’ actions. Tempest Shadow was one of them, grasping one soldier by the tail in an effort to stop them. They shrugged her off and continued to pay homage to the Siren.

Silver Spoon smiled at Dr. Midnight Sparkle, Rhombus, and Lacer. She beckoned them closer. “Return to the prison and free the captives. Each of them will be given the same ‘choice.’” Her smile distorted to a sharklike grimace as her glowing eyes fell on Tempest and her loyal troops. “Those who cannot be swayed will die.”

Caution bowed his head. That was the only way it could end. He’d seen it again and again, where the Sirens and the minions of the Unseelie Fae triumphed over all who opposed them. Best to just ride the tide, even as it took him out to sea.

“Enough!”

Tempest Shadow had the look of a mare who would not be cowed, who would not be stopped by anything but death. She marched into the midst of her enthralled soldiers and planted her four hooves on the damp platform. Rain slicked her mane against her scowling muzzle as she sucked in a deep breath. She was going to go down fighting. Sirens or not, Caution knew, she was going to charge forward until the last drop of blood had spilled from her chest.

Tempest Shadow… Fizzlepop Berrytwist… opened her mouth and sang aloud, fighting the effects of the Siren’s Song the only way she could think to.

“Open up you e-e-eyes!
See the sun on distant shores
The deepest of the shadows
Could always be endured!

“Open up your e-e-eyes
And deny their evil lies!”

Her song stopped in an instant. A blue shimmer of magic encircled her throat and lifted her into the air. Silver Spoon glared at her as she carried the unicorn to the edge of Solitaire, to dangle above the violent waves that surrounded the prison. Contrasted to Tempest’s song, her reply was hushed, barely rising above the roar of the ocean.

“Your innocence, a sacrifice
Come now, little one
Open up your eyes…”

Tempest Shadow fell down, down, down, to be swallowed whole by the churning darkness. A hoof briefly rose above the surface, only to be bashed against the wall of the prison by the current. She faded into the depths, until Caution found no trace of her in sight.

Silver Spoon laughed loud and long. She looked like a maniac, with her partially-transformed body silhouetted against the flash of lightning. Lacer, Rhombus, and even the powerful Midnight Sparkle cowered away from the vision of unfathomable fear and unbendable will. They rushed into the prison, seeking out new recruits to the Sirens’ cause.

Caution bowed his head, knowing that he had made the wrong choice long ago. But there hadn’t really been a choice, had there? Either follow willingly, or unwillingly. At the very least, he had his mind.

At the very least, he had his daughter to find.

“Open up your eyes!”