Perhaps one of the worst things to be was a diamond in a world of coal.
I considered this, as I sat down, then spat out some blood. That Aria had actually hit me was a shocking moment of revelation.
My sisters were every bit as dull as the humans of this world.
I winced, feeling my bruised jaw, and the cracked lip. I couldn't even remember what I'd said at this point, but whatever the case, Aria hadn't liked it.
Oh, right, now I remembered. I'd made fun of her human playthings. Aria had met a few online, and had started hanging out with them. She'd gotten offended when I made fun of them, and said...oh.
"Don't talk about my friends that way."
Ugh. It was beginning to give me a headache.
We were Sirens! We did not 'make friends' with ponies or humans or any of the other lesser species! Dragons would have been vaguely acceptable, if weird, but humans? The strange, hairless monkey-creatures didn't have the faintest trace of anything magical about them. They were disgusting, vulgar little things, and died just about any time I decided to blink.
If only.
If I could blink once or twice and watch Sunset Shimmer evaporate into dust, I'd gladly do so. Any plan to get their magic back would virtually have to wait until something killed the stupid little--
Oh, right. Sonata and Aria had kicked me out.
That was going to make things difficult. In Equestria, a single Siren could easily sway a dozen or so ponies with her song, but I had doubts that I could do more than a single human at a time, after I found out how to get my magic back.
And I would, and I'd flaunt it in my stupid sisters' faces. They'd have it coming.
I reached down, into the river, and splashed some water in my face. That alleviated the stinging a bit, but not by much.
I stopped to stare at myself. Gone was the punk outfit, the fashionable design, replaced by a simple jacket, a sweatshirt to fight off the cold, and cargo pants. My hair was a tangled mess. And my face looked like I'd been run over.
I looked like hell.
How had I gotten here? The powerful, invincible Adagio, reduced to a sniveling wreck thrown out of my own house by my sisters. Sisters who didn't seem to realize just how much of what they had was thanks to me. My leadership, my intelligence. It was all me! My work, given freely to them.
Well, they wouldn't be getting anything more from me, that was for damn certain! Everything I got from this point on, I'd keep for myself! Ingrates, that's what they were! Sure, we'd lost, but I was certain that the next time, we'd see that coming! There was so much we could have done after we got their magic. Hell, I'm certain killing one of them would have produced about the same effect as utilizing the egotistical stage magician, though I was loathe to stoop to using a gun.
No, I was better than that. Aria and Sonata could play with their human toys all they wished, but they didn't compare to what we'd had. What we could have again, if they'd only think about it.
I angrily kicked my reflection, leaning back. Sonata and Aria weren't smart enough to make it on their own, so they had to stoop to any methods. I had always been there for them. I had kept them alive, out of the goodness of my heart.
They wouldn't make it without me.
I hesitated, suddenly feeling cold. Was I really thinking about just leaving them to die?
No, I'd...I'd show them. They were my little sisters! I'd get our magic back, and tell them about my new plan, and we'd apologize and make up, like we always had.
But...
I stared at my reflection, rubbing my sore jaw. 'Like we always had' was why we were kicked out of Equestria. It was why we'd been kicked out of the Battle of the Bands. And perhaps, why they'd kicked me out.
Was it worth it? Was magic worth more to me than my sisters?
The obvious answer was 'no, of course not'. Sirens stuck by each other. My litter-mates...
But I couldn't just say that. I was slowly coming to the realization that 'magic' had begun to grow more important to me than my own family.
Wasn't that what we had done to that stupid high school? Making them think that winning some silly little competition was more important than each other?
Compared to that, was I willing to give up Aria and Sonata just because they'd made some human friends?
Come to think of it, what separated me from the humans now? What made me different from...the silly stage magician? Was I any different from her, just a bundle of arrogance and pride? No real magic, all big words and large boasts. I wasn't much more than that. So could I really blame them for being friends with humans? I didn't even know who they were! How could I think so little of people I didn't even know the names of?
But...what were any of their names? Had I not bothered to learn their names? None but Sunset Shimmer, and Twilight Sparkle. The only ones I bothered to remember, yet they hadn't beaten me alone. They'd had each other.
And I had no one. Not unless I could swallow my stupid pride and go back and say sorry.
That would be the real kicker, wouldn't it?
"Hello?" a voice called out. I jerked my head up, looking at the angry path I'd torn through the bushes, and a young, high-school student following the tracks to the river.
Because she was just so worried about the health of a random stranger, I suppose.
Sunset Shimmer stopped upon seeing me, and just stared.
I turned away, scoffing. "What do you want?"
"To help, really," she said in reply. I listened to her footsteps as she came closer, then sat down by the water's edge, her perfect, almost angelic reflection joining my bruised and bloody one. "Adagio...do you need help?"
I stared at our reflections for a long, long moment. "Yes," I finally admitted.