//------------------------------// // New Discoveries // Story: The Siren Song: Dazzle Dazzle, Little Stars // by Shadowmane PX-41 //------------------------------// Half a year later... Adagio, Aria and Sonata had been feeling a weird sensation in their mouths recently, as if something was suddenly poking its' way out of their soft gums. This was a sign that they were teething, growing new teeth for their new bodies, which would enable them to talk clearer to Twilight and Sunset. Twilight and Sunset had also been discovering more themselves. Their extensive research led them to the belief that Sirens had two different styles of magic to walk down, dependant on their choices in Lyrica. They were grateful to receive such knowledge and were now looking for more, to see if there was any way to weaken The Blasters, should the time call for it. "Any luck?" Sunset asked once she saw Twilight coming back in with two different books, both of which had scaly hardbacks and some kind of Siren language carved on the front of them. "Yes!" Twilight said in delight, showing Sunset the books she was holding tightly. "I've found something which could play a pivotal role in the downfall of The Blasters!" "Well, what is it?" Sunset said, getting up from the couch relatively fast. Any knowledge on Sirens would be good, since The Blasters were the big brothers of The Dazzlings, after all. "All but forgotten lore on the different properties of a Siren's magic." Twilight said, fangirling as she caressed the books like a mother would her own children at birth. "Who knows what age-old secrets could be tucked away in these two ancient books?" "Well, only one way to find out..." Sunset said as she and Twilight gazed at the fronts of each book. The text was in two different languages, Ancient Equestrian and Siren. The fronts of each of the books were different as well. Whilst one was covered in bright colours and angelic markings, the other looked like it belonged to a demon of Tartarus. The fronts of the books were also distinguishable from the Siren gems in the middle of them. They were only there for display and couldn't house any extra power, nonetheless, they were there to prove to the reader that these were Siren books, not just some old library book with a cool design. "Furen..." Twilight said, looking at the front of the rather demonic-looking book before turning her gaze to the more angelic book. "... And Blissen." "They say that a Siren has to memorize every page in these books to truly master their art..." Sunset said, prophesizing with what she had learned with Twilight. "This might teach us how to give The Dazzlings their powers back, while also giving us a way to weaken The Blasters as well..." "In the world, there will always be hatred, hiding behind bliss. In a similar matter, there will always be bliss hidden within hatred..." Twilight recited the text on the front of both books. "Only by keeping this order in a perfect balance, will the worlds be safe from another Armageddon." "Which should we read first, Twilight?" Sunset asked, knowing that both of these books were vital in their upcoming fight. "Furen or Blissen?" "Since Furen seems to be the one with the red pendant, we should read that one first." Twilight put down the Blissen book and sat down with Sunset to read the Furen book. The book was locked for some reason and Twilight seemed to struggle with opening it. She strained and struggled as she tried to separate the top of the book from the rest of it, but to no avail. Sunset eventually pushed the pendant, releasing two hands which had been holding the book closed. Twilight suddenly felt the book's top become much lighter and she fell backwards after she'd opened it. "How did you do that, Sunset?" Twilight asked, putting herself back on the couch after she'd brushed her skirt a little. "The thing wouldn't budge for me!" "There's a little button where the pendant is." Sunset said, demonstrating to Twilight where to press, should she need to consult this book again in the future. "These Sirens really wanted privacy when studying, didn't they?" "Even Equestria doesn't have locks as complex as that. Not even on books..." Twilight said, marvelling at the book's intriguing mechanisms. "All the more reason to study it, I say." Once Sunset and Twilight opened the book, they saw a table of contents, in case the reader needed to jump ahead to a specific part of their training. There were such contents like 'Origins of Furen', 'Power' and even one called 'Furen Summons'. "Let's start from the beginning..." Twilight flipped the page to the first section in the book, entitled "Balance of Lyrica." "For as long as time has stood, everyone is entitled to two different sides of themselves. Both negative and positive." Twilight read the page aloud. "As there must be darkness with light, there must also be hatred among bliss." "If someone has an equal balance of both negatives and positives, they lead a perfect life." Sunset said, reading where Twilight had stopped. "However, if one side of yourself happens to overtake the other, nothing but grief will fall among you..." "Your duty as a Furen Siren, is to walk on the side of the negatives. Your destiny is to sow the seeds of discord, and keep the balance in check. The red pendant you have acquired hails from the fiery depths of Dystopia, where negativity thrives. Using it, you can call upon denizens of this fiery dimension, who will fight for you at your command." "If your pendant happens to be misplaced, or destroyed, all the power stored up in it will discharge in your soul, leaving you critically weak for a set period of time. Exorcise caution when going into battle, your powers to sing will still remain, but your pendant won't. Should this accident ever occur, head to the great halls of Composia, where the Guardian of Siren Souls will test you. Complete his trials, and he shall bestow upon you new pendants, more powerful than the last." "A Siren does not live forever, much like a pony or a human, but you can stall your inevitable fate by feasting on the negativity spawned from your hand. Without feeding on this power, your body will eventually age regularly and turn to dust. This can also be prolonged with Age-Regression magic, but it will cost you everything, and you will have to start from scratch." "Utilizing your new power, you mainly have to follow these rules. 1: Only sing and feast when you need to, overeating will result in you becoming lax, and unable to fulfil your destiny. 2: Use your powers only to keep the balance in check, not for your own personal gains. 3: You have emotional control over everyone you mark with your singing. Using this power, you have to make sure they have something to get mad about, or you end up violating your tenets as a Furen Siren and are susceptible to execution." "The execution will be instantaneous. Upon breaking the tenets of a Furen Siren, the souls of Dystopia will pour out of your pendant and drag you back down with them, to spend an eternity of damnation repenting your sins on the Siren species. This does not apply if the aforementioned pendant is missing or destroyed, and the charges will become overturned when you get your new pendants from the Guardian of Siren Souls." "Amazing..." Sunset said, taking a breath of fresh air after pulling her face out of all that Siren lore. "So it was either; turn the whole school against one another, make us public enemy #1 and even get our friends to fight..." "...Or die." Twilight said, hanging her head after she'd finished Sunset's words for her. "And that's only just the front page." Sunset said, feeling the stacked sides of all the other pages in the book of Furen. There was a gold mine of information here, waiting to be discovered by Twilight and Sunset. "Well, we already know how to get their pendants back and make them better, but the only question now is what do we learn next?" "I was curious about the 'Furen Summons' the book mentioned." Twilight said, peeking back at that part of the page. "It might also house the summon they pulled off in our battle as well..." "Alright, Dazzlings... Let's see what you've been hiding from us..." Sunset said, flipping page after page to find the 'Furen Summons' section. Eventually, she stopped flipping at the page she desired and opened it up wide for Twilight to see. "The true power of a Furen Siren comes from Dystopia." Twilight began once again. "Your pendants house a large amount of other qualities as well, including you being able to summon monsters from Dystopia (Or Euphoria, if you're a Blissen Siren)." "These monsters will amplify your capabilities in battle one hundredfold, but you should also be cautious when you use them. Overuse of a Furen Summon can drain your energy relatively quickly. The ultimate fail-safe is the ultimate double-edged sword. However, if you have amassed both Furen and Blissen energy, you can summon these beasts and not lose your stamina from it. Furthermore, when you summon these beasts with your bountiful amount of power, you will also be able to control yourself as well, as if you have two bodies at once." "There's even a list of summons as well." Sunset said, smiling at the convenience that had been bestowed upon her and Twilight. She looked at each name on the list and chose the one at the top marked 'Hippocampi'. "Maybe it's the first one." Twilight said, looking at each of the names and trying to figure out which one came closer to the description of what they'd faced in CHS. "Let's have a look..." Sunset slowly turned the page over, revealing the winged fish-horses from before, as well as a lengthy description on their origins. "Ahh! Here we are..." Destroyers of Freedom HIPPOCAMPI These ancient beasts, hailing from the Human Greek era were responsible for pulling the chariot of a human god of the seas named 'Poseidon'. However, after the Greek era ended, these monsters terrorized Equestria until a brave unicorn named 'Aquario' managed to tame the beasts and have them serve him as his pets. But fate was a cruel mistress in the end, and Aquario met his tragic end as well. With nowhere to go and no-one to serve, they eventually made it to Dystopia, where the lord of hatred gave them a deal. Eternal servitude for any Furen Siren which calls them, in exchange for their free will. These beasts are the most basic of Furen Summons, and are mainly used for Sirens who are new to this kind of art. Utilizing the power of these Hippocampi, you can manipulate anyone to give up their free will and follow one set path they choose for them. A life of being blinded to the truth and never making their own decisions. "Yep, those are DEFINITELY the ones." Twilight said, remembering those menacing visages all too well. "And the book says these are only for BEGINNERS?!" "There are beasts in Furen hands that are more powerful than these ones?" Sunset said, looking at that sentence as if she'd just witnessed a murder. "Celestia help us all..." "But think about this, Sunset." Twilight said, reminding her of the positives this book held. "Since The Dazzlings are technically on our side now, that means that this summon, and all the others in this book can be used by them as an addition to them being our ace in the hole when we fight The Blasters." "Oh yeah... I'd forgotten about that." Sunset's smile returned. She'd remembered that The Dazzlings had the red pendants to call upon such monstrous beasts. "What do you want to do now, Sunset?" Twilight asked once they had finished eying up the monsters that almost dealt them the final blow during the Battle Of The Bands. "Well, I think I've left The Dazzlings alone for far too long." Sunset said, looking up at the ceiling, wondering how they were getting on together. "We'd better head back to check on them. We can read more on the books of Furen and Blissen later." "Alright then, Sunset." Twilight smiled as she followed Sunset back up to the Musician's Delight where The Dazzlings would be until they grew up again. "With those new teeth, they've surely had time to talk regularly again." "Who'd ever have guessed that they'd be used to save the world once they grew up again?" Sunset smiled as she put her hand on the door. "Such cute little angels could never be seen as weapons in the eyes of a commoner." "Even as weapons to end The Blasters' reign of terror, they can still be treat as normal little girls all the same." Twilight smiled, imagining the possibilities after the end of the battle that would eventually take place. When Twilight and Sunset made it back into the room, they saw a familiar sight. Adagio with her favourite plush toy, Mr. Fuzzykins. Only this time, she was actually talking to it, instead of muttering gibberish like she usually did. As for Aria and Sonata, they were playing tag with one another, giggling as pats were dealt, shifting the position of 'It' over between the two of them. Those new teeth they had, despite only growing in just recently, had improved their language marginally. While it was still high-pitched and childish, they had learned to use their L's and R's instead of just W's. "Hi, girls." Twilight said, catching all of their attention instantly. "Hello, Auntie Twilight!" They all waved happily to her, knowing that they were now perfectly safe under the care of Twilight and Sunset. "I see those new teeth you've been growing are starting to work." Sunset said, commending her Dazzlings for being able to re-achieve such a feat at this age. "They make you sound so much smarter now. Isn't that right, my dazzling little angels?" She then tussled their long hairs, causing them to stifle giggles. "Aww, thanks, Mama." Adagio swooned at Sunset's motherly actions, blushing after Sunset had finished caressing her. "Aww, and who do we have here?" Twilight said, kneeling down to Adagio's height whilst looking at the teddy bear she held dearly. "This is Mr. Fuzzykins. He likes friendly hugs and nothing more." She smiled, showing her off to Twilight. "Say hello, Mr. Fuzzykins." She said before sweetening her voice, making it seem like the bear was actually talking Twilight. "Hello, Twilight!" "Hehe, hi there, Mr. Fuzzykins." Twilight said, playing along with Adagio and her bear. This reminded her of when she used to play with Smarty Pants when she was a filly and all the memories came rushing back when Twilight sat down and crossed her legs. "You're just in time, Twilight. I was about to start a tea party with him and the girls." She smiled, looking at a play table with some cups and cakes, as well as a play teapot. "Why don't you join us? It'll be lots of fun." "Sure. Anything for you, Adagio." Twilight smiled and followed the two-and-a-half-year-old Siren over to the table. Instead of walking, Twilight crawled like Adagio, elicting even more childhood memories to come rushing out of her. Twilight fought everything seemed bigger in this perspective, and she was actually quite excited to see such a change. Sunset noticed Twilight was getting into the spirit of being a kid again and cracked a little bit of a chuckle behind Twilight's back. She then made it over to Aria and Sonata, interrupting their game for a little while as she began to speak to them. "Hi, Aria. Hi, Sonata." Sunset greeted the two playful infants once more and sat down, causing them to put their game of tag on hold for a little. "How's the new teeth feeling?" "They feel a little weird." Sonata said, using her cute little tongue to lick the new teeth she'd been growing. "But hey, we can talk normally now, so that's a plus." "You sound wonderful now, Sonata." Sunset smiled and petted her cheek gently. "And I'm sure that your sister Aria is cute as well. Isn't that right, Aria?" They both looked at Aria with smiles on their faces. "Well..." Aria blushed a little and begun to stand up again. She first thought that she'd fall over on her stomach or her diaper again, but she summed up the balance and strength needed to stand up regularly. She finally smiled and screamed in delight in her mind as she was making this miracle. "Does this count?" Both Sunset and Sonata shared gasps of surprise at this moment in time. After over half a year of falling over, Aria Blaze was finally back on two legs again. They looked at each other for a few minutes before looking back at Aria again. "It does to me, Aria." Sunset said, pulling the infant Siren into a hug, kissing her forehead in a motherly fashion as Aria was close enough. "You're all very cute now, there's no way anyone could ever hate the three of you." "Thanks, Mama." Aria smiled and returned the hug Sunset had been giving to her. Despite being a Furen Siren back in her past life, Aria still needed some love at this moment in time, as did Adagio and Sonata. "We all love you too..." "I know you do..." Sunset said, calmly feeling her beating heart. This was a really heart-warming moment, both for Sunset and Aria. A mother's warm embrace on her sweet little daughter. It felt like both of them as they felt each other's love for each other. "What do you want to do now, girls?" Sunset said as she and Aria finally ended their hug and returned to their own perspectives. "I actually want to see how Twilight, Adagio and Mr. Fuzzykins are getting along." Sonata said, pointing at the table where the two girls and the plush toy were having their tea party together. "Can we go, Mama?" "Of course you can." Sunset said, pinching Sonata's cheeks, causing her to smile once more as Sunset let her get over to the playing girls once again. "Just be sure you don't drink too much." "Okay, Mama." She said, looking back at Sunset for a brief moment before continuing her trek to the table, where Adagio and Twilight were sharing some witty banter together. "That just leaves you with me, Aria." Sunset said, turning back to the small purple girl. "Do you want to go to the tea party with Sonata?" Aria looked at the table where Sonata was just taking her seat. She looked pretty pleasant, sitting there with Twilight and Adagio, sharing in stories that made no sense, since they were just playing after all. "Well, it does look pretty fun..." Aria looked at the table and back at Sunset a few seconds afterwards. "Sure, let's go, Mama." She said, making a wide smile as she looked back up at Sunset again. "Well, alright then." Sunset said, walking Aria over to the table by holding her hand for support. The two of them looked like the perfect mother/daughter pairing in a way. Once they arrived at the table, she let Aria sit down on the empty chair and then sat down in the middle of her and Sonata. The next few minutes involved Twilight and Sunset sitting at the table with The Dazzlings, sharing in banter that made absolutely no sense and shifted the topic every 30 seconds or so. Whilst Sunset found it a little grating at first, she saw how much Twilight was enjoying it and tried to give it a go herself. "Do you want some more tea, Mr. Fuzzykins?" She asked the bear, raising the teapot for it. "Yes, thank you." Adagio said, using her hand to move the bear and make it seem like it was talking again. Sunset remembered that she used to do that as well when she was growing up. All those memories long lost after she'd ran from Equestria in a fit of rage were finally coming back to her. She looked at Twilight as she poured the imaginary tea into Mr. Fuzzykins' cup and could immediately read her face like a book. Twilight and Sunset were both happy with this. All those memories of their filly days, thought to have been lost long ago had finally returned to them in such a wonderful way. The two of them then looked at The Dazzlings, smiling in knowing that these three were also sharing in the memories. All those memories would not only stay with the three of them, but also with Twilight and Sunset as well...