The thunder still boomed outside, as did the rain come crashing down, muffled through tinted glass and solid stoneworks.
Sonata had a hoof close to the door that led to the king's bedroom. Her fear was evident on her face, as was her nervousness about what to say and how to say it.
She looked over her left shoulder. Adagio hovered just about ground level with crossed hooves. Her passive frown turned into a supportive smirk as the two made eye contact.
"Go on," said the yellow siren.
Sonata looked at the door again... but hesitated.
"What if I say bad things again?" she asked, looking back at her friend.
"Don't worry about it too much. If you really want this - and I hope you do after all I've done - then you'll pull through."
The hint of annoyance in Adagio's words flew under the teal siren's radar as she looked once more to the front. Her hoof hovered ever closer to the wood.
"What if... he doesn't like me anymore? What if he doesn't wanna see me?"
"Only one way to find out," replied her partner. "Unless you want me to go in alone and ask him how he feels?"
...
*Knock, knock, knock*
A noticeable pause hung in the air before Sonata spoke up.
"Z-Zamni? Zamni, it's me."
Every passing second felt like a knot around her throat was being tightened. She practically held her breath, taking on a posture and expression that made Adagio wonder if her younger companion was hoping for the best or was dreading the worst. Knowing Sonata, though, it was probably a little bit of both.
*Gasp*
Both sets of eyes were trained on the wooden door blocking the way as hoofsteps were heard for a moment, coming from the other side.
"Sonata?"
Adagio furrowed a brow. She knew the 'king' was young, obviously, but had never actually heard a child speak in... well, far before their banishment, actually.
"Yeah," Sonata replied, opting to keep things short and simple at the moment so that she didn't freak out - which for once she realised she would if she didn't watch herself. Luckily Adagio was there to help with that, also. A small comfort, in a sense. "Do you mind if... I come in?" she added in a more quiet tone, shrinking a little in front of the door.
"Uh, sure!"
The voice of the kid sounded... enthusiastic, in a way, to Adagio. That, too, had been something she hadn't heard a lot of except for from Sonata herself. Usually the mortals around her were just serving her, after all.
The lead singer scoffed at her own thoughts which almost made her think she was 'out of touch' or something of the sort, which she obviously was not.
Then there was a very audible 'eep' sound, drawing Adagio's attention first to Sonata, who was blushing and frozen in place by the seems, then to the doorhandle which she was touching with a unsteady hoof of hers, and then back to Sonata's face.
"Sonata," the yellow one said quietly from off to her friend's side, hooves crossed but smirking vaguely, "you can do it. It's what you want, isn't it? If there's one thing any siren can do it's getting what they want."
"But... I always mess these things up, Adagio. I'm gonna-"
"Sonata," interrupted the teal siren's boss firmly, louder this time as well. Sonata waited for a few seconds... but no more was said by Adagio.
"I-I just think-"
"Sonata."
The younger siren blinked as her opposite stared her down, clearly intent on not letting her run in circles any longer. She slowly turned her head back around, eyeing the handle she was still vaguely holding onto, and she leaned on it a little more.
The creak of the old door concealed the siren's otherwise very audible sigh.
"Zam-?" the siren could do little but 'eep!' again as a young zebra found his way right in front of her, one hoof touching the blue tail fin of hers that hovered just above the ground.
"You really did come back!" the child-king happily exclaimed. "I..." he continued, quieter now and looking away, "I was worried you wouldn't... after last time."
For a brief moment, Sonata was simply stunned. Partially because she had been overwhelmed by the sudden closeness, but primarily because her fear of Zamni immediately shutting her out had clearly been for nothing. Had she been worrying over nothing all afternoon, and the many days prior?
Maybe. There was still much to discuss, after all.
"Of course I'd come back, silly!" the siren returned with much of her usual cheer. "I mean I left my game set here, after all. Duh."
Zamni and Sonata made eye contact as the two stared at each other for a second. Adagio listened from just outside the door as she heard the two chuckle simultaneously.
"Wellll, I guess I also wanted to come see you again," the sea creature admitted amidst the laughter.
"If you want, we can continue! I was extra careful with all the pieces, too!"
Adagio rolled her eyes and could only assume her apprentice of sorts was receiving puppy eyes just about then.
"I... I'd love to!" she caved. "B-But..."
Zamni took two steps back, looking up to her friend's face still. He cocked his head.
"But?"
"But..."
She hesitated. Her mouth opened once, then closed again. It opened a second time, but then she bit her tongue lightly. She was so happy Zamni hadn't shut her out... but that also meant she now found herself even more afraid to go further. To tell him who and what she really was. What the world around him really was.
She averted eye contact at all costs, eyes darting back and forth until they were led towards the doorway. There, Adagio floated, hunched over a little bit to poke into the room head-first.
Right. Adagio was there. She wasn't alone. Just like the many thousands of years... she could rely on Adagio. On her friend, one of only two.
Or maybe a third, starting today.
"But..." she started again, her heart beating like crazy, "but I think we have to talk first. You and I, I mean."
Zamni took another step back, his ears leaning downwards as he frowned.
"Is this because of what I said last time? B-Because if it is, then-"
"Nonono," Sonata interrupted, trying to keep some semblance of a smile on her face. To comfort the young teen and, Adagio figured, herself just as much. "Well, yes actually, that too," she admitted, "but this is about more than just last time."
"What do you mean?"
"I've... really not been telling you everything, Zamni... and... I uhhh..." the frightened monster shrank together to a point where she almost formed a ball mid-air. "I mayyyy have sprinkled a few lies here and there..."
Zamni simply blinked. His eyes searched the ground for something, anything, before his attention turned towards the doorway, and the previously unknown other sea monster that was peeking in through it.
"Oh, don't mind me," Adagio said with a smirk. "I'm just the moral support."
Zamni looked back to Sonata with a questioning, furrowed brow.
"Yeah," the younger siren replied without prompt. "Don't mind Adagio, she's just tuning in to make sure I don't run away. Again."
She chuckled meekly, a chuckle that eventually ended in a soft sigh.
"No use beating around the bush, I guess," she admitted, taking a deep breath. "So, you know how I told you Adagio, Aria and I, that we all rule together?"
Zamni slowly nodded.
"Uh... well, it's a little hard to explain but..."
Sonata gulped, eyes tracking Adagio again who returned a simple, confident smug grin to her. The yellow creature shrugged slightly, barely noticeable to Sonata.
"You also remember how I told you sirens were special, and that we all sing a lot, and very well?"
Again a simple nod from the young zebra king. Sonata drew a big breath in and...
Then sighed as loud as she could, before drawing another big breath. Adagio rolled her eyes without either of the two watching.
"So... sirens aren't exactly 'normal' in the traditional sense. We're immortal and don't eat regular food to survive. Instead we... eat negative emotions. You know, hate, anger, that type of stuff."
"You eat... emotions?" Zamni wondered. "How does that work?"
"Through these." She tapped her faintly glowing red gem with a hoof. "Every siren has one. I think it's best to just say it's like a second heart to us. Without them, we wouldn't be able to eat or use our magic, or remain immortal."
"Eheh... which... I guess brings me to our magic," she continued. "See, since we feed on bad emotions, it's sooorta handy for us that, like, we can use our magic to... potentiallyyy enthrall everycreature we see and make them hate one another...?"
"But I thought you were friends with the hippo-" Zamni paused. "Ohhhh..."
"Yeaaah... sorry..." Sonata agreed, lowering her head with guilt. "I didn't know what to say to you at the start so... so I started lying a bunch. The truth is that we aren't 'friends' as much as we conquered them. They're basically just our servants now... in a way. Hard to explain, actually."
Zamni opened his mouth to respond, but hesitated. The siren in front of him watched him step back a few paces, each step tearing at her heart just a little bit more.
"So," he began, "you're not friends with the hippogriffs, and you weren't sent here by them to look after me."
Sonata nodded.
"What about Silverstream? And Princess Skystar? Are they...?"
Previously those names had stirred the siren's temper, had caused her to remember the terrible things those two had tried to do to her and the only friends she had. And she had gone and let it all out on... him.
"Silverstream's alright. I think." She looked over towards Adagio, but the latter only shrugged, having no clue who Silverstream even was. "She's not with us though. I don't think I could show you to her if I tried."
Zamni lowered his head, disappointed but at least not angry with Sonata. Yet, anyway.
"And... Skystar?"
"She's uhhh... how do I explain this without having to explain another specific thing?"
"She's a little like us now," came the fitting reply from Adagio, who had entered the room finally and floated over towards Sonata. "Sonata found a way to create magical gems similar to our own, and we have her wear one as a necklace these days. She helps us, in a sense, by tracking down creatures in our territories who aren't under our spell yet by putting them under said spell herself."
"Huh," Sonata thought and said both at the same time. That was a lot easier said than she thought, and certainly not as terrible as Adagio could have made it sound to Zamni.
"I assume by 'help' you mean...?" Zamni asked whilst knowing the answer already.
"I'm afraid we had no other choice," Adagio answered in a stern yet calm way. "As Sonata said, we came in and took over. I realise this... Princess may have been close to you in some way, but she was a direct threat to us. She called for us to be murdered, after all."
Zamni looked horrified, and eyed the more well-known siren instead. "Is... is that true? Skystar tried to kill you?"
"It is," came the reply along with a subtle nod. "She rallied hippogriffs into a resistance that..." she paused and bit her tongue. "Let's just say it wasn't very nice."
The young king sat now, rear planted firmly on the otherwise cold floor. His head sank to stare downwards as he pondered. Sonata didn't need to check to know that he was upset, and sad. She was upset when Skystar was even so much as mentioned, due to her threatening her and her friends. Why wouldn't he hate her for that same reason? For harming Skystar?
"So you're not friends with the hippogriffs but... mind-control them? And eat all their negative emotions?" asked the monarch in a emotionless voice.
"I guess so... yeah," replied the teal one.
"And you were never friends with Silverstream and Skystar, but enemies instead?"
Hesitation at first, but Sonata managed a "mhm" at the very least.
"And... you're here not because you were told to be friends with me, but because you... took over Zumidia as well? Is that right?"
"Well," was Adagio's reply before Sonata could even so much as open her mouth. "He certainly has a bright mind of sorts."
"Heh..." chuckled the younger one quietly, looking down to her friend thereafter. "I'm so sorry for lying to you all this time, Zamni. I really, really mean it."
There was an eerie silence in the room then as Zamni considered, only occasionally broken by very much muffled thunder sounding off through the thick brick walls.
Sonata was close to voicing yet another 'eep' when Zamni turned his back to her and began to pace towards his bed. Next thing she knew, she felt another hoof on her right shoulder. A quick glance was enough to confirm Adagio's oddly reassuring glare. She had to be strong now. For herself and for him.
She looked back to the front, eyes growing as she did so. There was a slight ruckus as Zamni dug his head underneath his bed and pulled out...
"The board..!?" Sonata gave out.
"The... board?" Adagio voiced afterwards, eyeing the plastic game board with suspicion.
"It's the one I brought with me to play with him!" her younger accomplice quickly elaborated. "But... why? I thought I-"
"Yeah," Zamni interrupted, eyes glued to the board set in front of him now. There were the two silver figures the two had picked last time - a crown and a guitar. Two dice were also placed on top of the board. "I know everything is messed up. And you know," he said, turning to face Sonata again, "I am mad and furious at you, in a way. I really liked the Princess and Silverstream... but..."
"But?"
"But they were rarely here, really. And when they were, I often felt like it wasn't entirely genuine. I don't know, maybe Skystar's mum had ordered her over? I suppose I'll never know."
Sonata nodded in silence, while Adagio made a mental note to ask the enthralled Novo about this topic back home atop Mount Aris. More info to wield was always helpful in some way.
"So I guess..." he turned his head to look back towards the game, "maybe I just like you more. Or think you're being more honest with me than them. After all, that's the whole reason you're here now, right?"
Sonata was frankly somewhat speechless, so she simply nodded once again and added a "uh huh?" on top of her minimalist response.
"I've been treated all my life like somepony who can't do things on his own. I was always too young, or too stupid, or too important, funnily enough, to do things. One day I would be told I was too important to go out to make friends, and then another I was told my potential friends weren't important enough!"
"So... what I mean is that..." he looked back at Sonata. He was smiling. "I like you, Sonata. I know now that you're not who I thought you were, and that the world around me has changed according to that. I might be trying to hide fear now, but even with all this mind control stuff, I can say that I know you, Sonata. I know you, and so I know it can't be some pure evil megalomania. Right?"
For a moment, Adagio wanted to raise her voice, but was promptly silenced by the sobbing of the companion right next to her.
All the fears she'd had about this. The fear of being rejected; that for once she had tried to make a true friend in this world only to have them reject her. She was worried Adagio would still scold her after this, and what Aria would laugh at her again. But for now, during all of this, all she had meant to do was make a friend. An actual, honest friend.
And a friend, she had made indeed.
"Zamni..." came the quiet attempt at reply from Sonata.
The young monarch chuckled.
"I'll definitely scold you for what you're doing, don't worry. But I also think that you're a great person, Sonata. And... you too, I guess?"
Adagio cocked her head and looked at the little zebra with disbelief as she realised it was her being talked about.
"I'll take the uneducated guess as a compliment."
"Thanks, Zamni. Really," Sonata voiced, not quite able to avoid tears all the while. "I was... so nervous, you know?"
"Yeah. Me too, actually."
"You were?"
"Yeah. I actually thought you'd never come back and see me again after last time..."
Sonata's sobbing stopped, and her tears appeared briefly frozen in time... before they ran wild amidst her uncontrollable laughter.
"H-hey, what!?" Zamni protested.
"Y-You really thought I'd just ditch you like that? Come on! Do I look like an Adagio to you?"
"Sonata," came her boss' stern reply.
"Aria, I mean."
Zamni joined in with a hearty chuckle of his own, covering his mouth with a small hoof of his.
"Ok, ok, fair enough. But still!"
"Yeeeah," Sonata replied as her laughter died down. "Yeah. Yeah, I know. But don't worry, alright? I'm here, and if I didn't care I wouldn't have."
Her friend nodded.
"Maybe we can finish our game now?"
The two sea creatures looked at one another with relative bewilderment and surprise. Neither had really expected such a quick turnaround to... playing games, simply.
"I mean... sure, but we should start again. I think that would-"
"You're saying that cause you were losing," Zamni happily interrupted with a grin.
"Was not!"
"Mhm."
"Ahem." The two were pulled out of their playful argument in an instant as Adagio made herself known. "While I'm sure Sonata would love to play, she also has... other things to be doing, still. Things that she's been neglecting, if I recall?"
Sonata tactically avoided eye contact, knowing full well her elder was staring her down just then.
"R-Right, yes. But we can play some other time!"
To this, Zamni happily nodded.
"Well, you know where to find me," he joked. "Speaking of, how about we do a trip... outside, maybe?"
The teal siren was about to answer when, despite her best attempts, she caught a glimpse of Adagio's deadly glare. If looks could kill, she would have flatlined right then and there.
She recomposed herself as best she could. "Aha, well, I suppose we can look into that. I think it's best not to make too many promises right now, at least until..." she glanced back over to her right. Yep, still staring at her. "...until I get all my important things sorted out."
She looked back at the Zebra. "Sound good?"
He nodded. "I look forward to it! Though... I think you really should be going..."
Sonata gulped. Even Zamni had picked up on the lead siren's grimacing by now.
"Y-Yeah. I think I oughta," she returned with unease. "Thanks again though. For trusting me and... everything, I guess. It means a lot to me, and I hope I won't let you down."
The king simply nodded.
"What are friends for?"
Sonata didn't have anything to say to that, and kept quiet. That, or maybe it was Adagio's hoof around her neck that was dragging her out the room by force.
The door would be shut with a good, loud clack, leaving the king inside and the two visitors just outside.
"Great," Adagio said. "Now that you aren't scattered all over the floor, I suppose you can actually help us like you were meant to."
"Heh... sorry. I just-"
"Look, Sonata. I don't care about Zamni, nor do I care about him being your friend. He's a shut-in child and has no contacts outside these walls that could come to harm us due to him not being under our spell. So frankly? I'm fine."
The yellow siren sighed and placed a hoof on Sonata's shoulder.
"But please, pull yourself together in the future. I stumbled upon you by happenchance, and I certainly can't be your babysitter. Not Anymore, at least. You have to be able to survive on your own like this and do your part. For me and Aria both, if not for yourself."
Sonata frowned briefly, but when her own hoof clutched Adagio's, she smiled.
"Thanks."
Adagio blinked.
"Thanks?"
"Yeah. For the pep talk, and everything today. And..." she paused for just a moment, looking Adagio in the eyes. "And for everything, actually. I always knew you tried your best even back then with me..."
The two remained in an awkward silence for a few seconds, with Sonata trying to find the next thing to say and Adagio essentially deadpanning.
"I tried. Even back then. Sorry I couldn't live up to your expectations then. But, maybe I can now?"
"Sonata," said Adagio with a surprisingly soft, gentle voice. The teal siren could even see hints of a genuine smile on her opposite's face. "I know you always tried your best. My parents did with me, also, and I ended up different too. The three of us, we're all different in a sense."
She sighed.
"I admit, that fact is rough and grinds my gears usually, but it's not the worst thing to experience. To have you and Aria is still better than no one at all."
Sonata grinned.
"That sounds like someone is trying to say we're bestieeees~!"
"Nevermind. Back to berating you."
Sonata chuckled as her elder removed her hoof and turned her back on her.
"Come on, I know you love me and Aria! You were joking, right?"
Adagio began to move away, down the hall.
"Right?"
And further she moved.
"Adagiooo! Waiiit!"
As Sonata's wails were cut short by the sound of thunder outside, Adagio remembered when she had faked to leave Sonata behind back when she was still her teacher millenia ago.
Sonata was goofy. She was insufferable sometimes, and certainly lacked a certain sense of awareness. But she was a friend. Her friend, and Adagio was never good at letting go of things she treasured.
Just before a pair of blue hooves flung themselves around her neck from behind, accompanied with yet another wailing cry, the leader of the trio of sirens smiled.
"What are friends for?" she thought.