As they carried on, Star Swirl held up the device and noted, “See as the glow slowly begins to brighten, assistant! It can only mean one thing!”
“That we’re getting close to the source,” Midnight gathered.
“No, that it’s making a pretty light,” Star Swirl snapped, “Of course we’re getting close!”
“Sorry!” Midnight shied at Star Swirl’s sudden bite. “So, do you know what lies in the direction we’re going?”
“Well, we’re walking alongside Whitetail Woods,” Star Swirl noted, “ergo we are making our way to the western sea, which is exactly from where these wretched creatures sprung up!”
Whitetail Woods, Midnight thought, So it was called that this far back, huh…
Now that he took in his surroundings with more scrutiny, Midnight saw it was indeed the same kind of trees he once admired with Twilight when they partook in the Running of the Leaves, and he won first place. The memory made him smile, remembering how crazy-competitive Applejack and Rainbow Dash got that it made them place last together and how they learned to be better sports. Although he noticed there was a slight green haze around them.
Aloud, he said, “Any ideas on how to deal with the sirens once we find them?”
“You will stand back and watch me work,” Star Swirl said in a haughty tone, “I shall deal with these harridans and-”
“Whoa, whoa, just one apple-bucking minute!” Midnight protested, “You plan to face the three of them alone?!”
“Of course!” Star Swirl looked rather cocky, “An archmage as skilled and tested as I is all the solution to dealing with these meddlesome serpents. You are only along to be a witness for the history books.”
“I am along to help you deal with these monsters!” Midnight corrected, becoming peeved and oddly insulted.
“I am not just gonna stand by and let you take all the glory!”
“Glory is my bread and wine, colt,” Star Swirl scoffed, “and I handle situations such as this quite often. Whereas you, sir, are nothing more than a neophyte!”
Midnight didn’t know where it came from or how he got it, but right now, he didn’t care, as he felt his rage intensify his power, shimmers of heat and flurries of frost enveloping him, his eyes glowing white as he glared angrily at the arrogant old fart in front of him.
Seeing this challenge, Star Swirl ignited his own power, a helix of glimmering stars spiraling around him, his horn glowing and his eyes narrowing contemptuously, but before he could launch a spell…!
*BZZT*
Star Swirl was thrown for a loop as he spiraled in the air, yelling as he came down hard. Growling, he threw a dirty look at Midnight but gasped to see Midnight’s eyes were no longer glowing white but instead were green, his turquoise pupils maddened to angry red, and purplish miasma hazing from the corners of his eyes and at once the archmage knew!
Dark magic…!
He growled and concentrated, only to cry out as he felt a magical feedback and reached up to his horn. He gasped as he felt some kind of hard and cragged blemish along its length and he realized Midnight must have cursed his horn!
The sight of his curse nullifying Star Swirl’s horn gave Midnight a brief moment of clarity as he shook his dazed mind out of it and said, “Star Swirl! This is getting ridicul-”
*THWACK*
Midnight found himself on the ground, groaning as he held his aching jaw. Star Swirl had punched him, and had also punched out that small sparkle of clarity, Midnight growling through the pain as he stood up and glared.
“You wanna scrap, grandpa?!”
“Uuraugh!” Star Swirl answered by lunging into Midnight, the two unicorn yelling as they scrambled over, trying to get on top, throwing punches, kicking, even biting!
Midnight managed to squirm out and his honed bucking skills allowed him to send Star Swirl flying a fair distance. But in his haste, he lost his balance and fell over, his saddlebags coming undone and some things spilled out. Out of the corner of his eye, Midnight saw the photo of himself, Twilight, and all his friends. The smiles, how they were together, it helped Midnight to wonder.
Why…?
Then it hit him – The sirens’ magic must be affecting them!
“Augh!”
Midnight turned and just in time managed to dodge another tackle from Star Swirl, and realized nothing he said would get through unless the spell was lifted when an idea crossed his mind.
“Sonido Mutorbis!”
From Midnight’s horn did erect a distorted invisible orb that made a sound beat like from a speaker system, as it envelop him and Star Swirl, Midnight yelling, “Star Swirl, stop! It’s the sirens’ spell affecting us!”
“What’re you talking about?!” Star Swirl demanded when he realized it was unusually quiet as Midnight did not answer.
…
…
“Why is it so…?” Star Swirl looked around and noted the surroundings looked mildly distorted and he realized that he could not hear the breeze, the babble of the nearby brook, not even the sounds of the trees rustling in the wind, or the birds tweeting.
“I’ve cut us off from all sounds outside this barrier,” Midnight finally answered. “I think as we were getting closer to the sirens, the winds were carrying the sounds of their voices, however muted, towards us and with it their spell.”
“And sound can only travel through air,” Star Swirl felt the tension and rage uncalled for leave with every calming breath he took.
“Midnight, I’m so sorry… I don’t know where any of that came from!”
“There is no need to apologize,” Midnight assured, “it’s the sirens. I don’t know why they’re doing this, but now they threaten the very future of Equestria, and we must stop them. Together.”
“…You’re right,” Star Swirl nodded but suddenly remembered, “Now if you’ll be so kind…”
He waved his cursed horn and Midnight nodded. Taking a deep breath, he muttered the counter-curse, and Star Swirl felt the crystal blemishes fall from his horn like leaves from a branch in autumn.
“I am disturbed you practice dark magic…”
“Only as a last resort,”Midnight said with a firmness that Star Swirl felt it as much as he heard it although he did raise a brow, and Midnight amended, “And when I’m out of my head. But right now, we have to figure out a strategy. I can’t maintain this barrier and fight the sirens at the same time!”
“And we can’t fight the sirens at all if we’re fighting each other,” Star Swirl pondered when an idea formed. He willed some objects out of his saddlebags, specifically two rings set with a gemstone.
Midnight watched as Star Swirl’s horn released different ribbons of magic, which told him Star Swirl was weaving spells together, and watched as the woven spells flowed into the gem of each ring.
He levitated one right to Midnight and said, “Take this and place it upon your horn.”
Midnight did but looked at it, seeing a simple band of gold with a tiny sky blue gem, sensing the magic Star Swirl had infused into it. Deciding not to question Star Swirl would be a good way to show no hard feelings, he slid the ring onto his horn, feeling vaguely uncomfortable with it.
“I’ve infused these rings with wards against enchantments such as what we’ve just experienced,” Star Swirl explained.
“They also link us so we can whisper to each other even if we’re too far apart to hear, which will help us coordinate our strategies quicker and so the sirens will not be able to hear us.”
“Excellent idea,” Midnight’s ears drooped. “And… sorry about cursing your horn and… stuff.”
“Forgive me for my behavior,” Star Swirl dipped his head apologetically. “It was unbecoming of an archmage of my stature.”
“”Let’s cut the apologies and get back to business,” Midnight insisted. “We’re getting closer to the sirens, and we have to be smart. I say we sneak up on them, maybe even try to learn about them a little, then we form a plan and get the drop on `em!”
“A bold plan as any,” Star Swirl nodded in agreement before levitating up his tracking device. The gem was giving a steady glow.
“We’re likely to find them at the seashore somewhere. So long as their power remains intact, their spell upon those who’d been under it for too long will never be broken.”
“Then I say we go break them!” Midnight said with a determined smile.
“Indeed, my boy! Tally ho, a hunting we’ll go!” Star Swirl held up the device and the two galloped off, this time as comrades, and prepared to face what laid ahead!
The distant crash of waves and the smell of salt water, along with the brightness of the gem on star Swirl’s device, and the distant vocalizing of haunting yet beautiful voices all but confirmed for the two unicorns they had found their targets. They came to a rise of rocks and peered down.
They saw a beach of white sand, rhythmic waves, but resting upon a shoal with rocks giving them a good vantage point of the beach were undoubtedly the sirens. They looked like something like the sea-ponies Midnight had read about, but much bigger and fiercer, their fins larger and jagged, and their hooves were cloven.
The one in the middle was golden but a harsh and cold kind of gold, her fins bright orange with streaks of yellow, her eyes an arrogant raspberry red. She displayed a full-of-herself-absorbed demeanor and both unicorns would definitely peg her as the leader.
The siren to her left was colored fuchsia with purple fins streaked with brilliant aquamarine, her eyes a poisonous purple, and her manner was sour with a slightly bored look that also glared a slight contempt towards the other sirens.
The third siren was pale blue like ice, her fins a light blue streaked with persian blue, and her eyes a pinkish red that glinted a giddiness, her manner less mature than the other two sirens.
But then Midnight noticed something each of them had in common – On their chests, right below their necks, each siren bore a red jewel that seemed to resonate with their voices as they sang.
“So that’s them…” Midnight gathered, Star Swirl whispered, “Indeed, and so long as their power is whole, Equestria won’t be. I have a plan to rid us of these upstarts and I am thankful you are here to help.”
“I take it you have a plan?” asked Midnight.
“Well, I need time to prepare this spell I have in mind,” Star Swirl explained. “They don’t know we’re here yet but as I prepare this spell they will certainly notice me. When I give the signal, reveal yourself and distract them however you can.”
“Alright, stay here and prep that spell,” Midnight agreed, “I’m gonna get a closer look, maybe learn something about them.”
*FLASH*
Midnight teleported to the shoals and hid behind a rock, peering ever so carefully to look at the sirens, their backs to him. Good, they haven’t noticed me.
“Ha-ha-ha-ha! Can you just feel it ladies?” the golden siren snickered, “the more ponies who fall under our spell, the more they bicker, the more they hate, the more power we gain!”
“Yes, Adagio, we’ve already moved past that,” the fuchsia siren sighed but sounded satisfied, “thanks to these jewels you found, our singing now has greater power than we once did. It’s just annoying however that we have to keep moving about to infect more ponies with our spell! We need to find a way to make them come to us!”
“Ooh, ooh!” the blue siren raised her hoof like an eager foal, “Why don’t we invite everypony to a fish taco buffet?”
“Ugh, Sonata, ponies don’t eat meat!” the one called Adagio groaned. “Completely grass-scarfin’ inferior creatures. Those fools in Aquastria will rue the day they banished us! Once we conquer Equestria, they’ll see things our way, one way or another….”
“Star Swirl, how goes the spell?” Midnight whispered, feeling the link between them via the magic rings on their horns, as he kept his head low.
“It’s coming along but any moment now it will become too flashy,” Star Swirl confirmed. “I need you to-”
“Wait! There might be a way to simply render the sirens powerless,” Midnight interrupted.
“There’s no time!” Star Swirl snapped. “I don’t care what you do, just distract them!”
Sighing in frustration, Midnight weighed his options. Besides enchanting others with their singing, he didn’t know what the Sirens were capable of, so a sneak-attack might not be the best option. But as he observed them, he noted their vanity and saw there was no true sense of comradery between them. That’s when he smirked deviously as his brain hatched an idea!
“They honestly don’t eat fish?” Sonata asked, her tone incredulous. “Why not, it’s so good! They don’t know what they’re missing!”
“Sonata, go to sleep,” groaned Aria.
*FLASH*
The sound escaped none of them and its source was made obvious when they spied ahead of them, standing on the beach, the tide lapping at his fetlocks, a blue unicorn.
For a few tense moments, the Sirens narrowed their eyes at this uninvited guest when… he bowed and then cheered, “Hale, the great Sirens whose voices have no equal!”
“Figures,” snorted Adagio before she called out, “And what brings you before us, pony?”
“Only to take in your marvel, o Illustrious Ones!” Midnight was milking it but he knew these oh-so-full-of-themselves creatures would lap it up.
“And, if I may be so bold as to ask, with great humility of course, would you honor one so unworthy as I with a private performance?”
He carefully peered up and saw the Sirens flattering themselves and whispering before Adagio answered.
“Well, pony, while it being true you are unworthy, you acknowledge it, and you’ve caught us in a good mood… So we’ll privilege you what you have requested. Ladies?”
The Sirens cleared their voices while Midnight sat his rump down expectantly. The Sirens each took in and held a deep breath, before easing them out in a chorus of vocalization, their melodies flowing like smoke. Immaterial, ungraspable, but enthralling all the same. Midnight had to admit, they were amazing singers and luckily he didn’t feel any different except!
His eye twitched a bit as he felt the ring on his horn start to warm up uncomfortably, and he realized what was wrong!
Objects enchanted on the fly, such as the rings Star Swirl had done, were imperfect, and would burn out unless they drew mana from the mage who cast the enchantment. Since Midnight was wearing this improperly enchanted ring and was not the one who cast the enchantment, the ring’s power was starting to burn up! The longer it was forced to exert its power to protect Midnight from the Sirens’ singing the quicker the spell would burn out, leaving Midnight vulnerable.
Time to throw in the monkey wrench…
“STOP!!” he hollered, “Stop, stop! Enough!”
The Sirens did indeed stop but gasped, glaring reproachfully at Midnight as Adagio snapped, “How dare you interrupt! After we deigned to give one so insignificant as you a private performance!”
“Adagio, wait!” Aria whispered, “He doesn’t look like he’s fallen under our spell!”
“Quiet, you!” Adagio hissed before re-addressing Midnight, “Well?!”
“Do pardon my interruption, o Dazzling Ones,” Midnight said in a slippery tone, “but, as I was graced by your most captivating voices, I could not help but notice that someone among you… is singing flat!”
“Flat?!”
“Us?!”
“Have you gone deaf?!”
“Well… how else do you explain why I’m not… feeling it?” Midnight reasoned, and that one got the Sirens’ attention, which was good, as the ring on his horn had cooled down but Midnight didn’t want take any chances.
“I mean, everypony I’ve met whose heard your singing, they told me they felt… something after listening to you all sing. I mean, you’re great an’ all but… Maybe this was just a waste of my time.”
“Now hold on!” Adagio floated up and zoomed over in front of Midnight, glaring down at him. “…Who sounded flat?”
The other sirens floated over, and Midnight realized their power had enabled them to quite literally ‘swim’ through the air. As they surrounded him, he said, “Well, I can’t be sure, but… You’re the experts, who among you would you say is the one singing flat?”
“Well! It certainly isn’t me!” Adagio scoffed, Aria sniping, “Are you saying I’m flat?”
“But we’re not flat!” whined Sonata. “In fact, I think Adagio should cut back a bit on the tuna.”
“Are you calling me fat?!” Adagio growled at Sonata.
Midnight carefully snuck away as the Sirens started bickering among themselves, and couldn’t help snickering deviously as he though, What a bunch of idiots!
Then he whispered, “Star Swirl! How goes the spell?”
“Look for yourself,” he replied, prompting Midnight to look up at the ridge star Swirl was at, and he noticed sparks of mana and flashes. Quite noticeable that it made Midnight slowly grimace as he carefully looked over at the Sirens and exhaled in relief to see them too absorbed in their petty squabble.
“I’m just about ready,” he heard Star Swirl whisper, “keep them from looking in my direction!”
“Got it!” Midnight Flashed the Sirens and yelled, “Hey!”
“You know, just because you found these pendants, does not mean you are in charge!”
“And what exactly do you think you could be without me and these pendants?! I’ll tell you – Idiots!”
“Hey! I’m not an idiot! I’m a summer!”
“HEY!!!”
The Sirens all flinched at the outburst and looked to see Midnight, giving them a look that said ‘really?’.
“Y’know, speaking of those pendants… Why don’t you take them off? I think they’re messing up your vocal chords!”
Adagio might have been a little power-hungry but she wasn’t stupid.
“I think not! It appears, ladies, that we have an undesirable…”
“An undesirable what?” asked Sonata, making the other two growl in vexation.
“This pony isn’t under our spell!” Adagio clarified as she pointed her hoof at Midnight. “I don’t know how but he’s either resisting or he’s not affected by our singing at all!”
“Oh I’m affected all right,” Midnight said as he turned around, lifted his tail, and farted quite rudely. “That’s what your singing is doing to me.”
The Sirens all glared hatefully at Midnight, their pendants radiating harshly as their eyes glowed red, while midnight waved his rump at them and wagged his tail, snickering as he made sure they saw his ballsack, and taunted, “You can’t catch me, you can’t catch me!”
“GET HIM!!!” All three sirens screeched and zoomed after Midnight, who started galloping.
“Well done, my lad!” Midnight heard Star Swirl and sensed a great power invoked!
The Sirens felt it too as they all turned to the ridge, seeing Star Swirl glare down at them like a displeased parent, his horn shooting a tendril of white mana into the sky. Where it ended was an orb of light, distorting, lashing out like a solar flare, as it dragged down what seemed like a curtain, revealing a literal whole in the sky, and through it they saw a swirling abyss!
“Star Swirl! What are you doing?!” Midnight was blown.
“I am creating a rend in time and space,” Star Swirl explained, “and will banish these wretches to another dimension where their magic can do no more harm!”
As if responding to Star Swirl’s words, threads of white mana lashed out from the rend and ensnared the Sirens. They all screeched and raved and ranted as they were slowly dragged towards the rend.
“Star Swirl! Is this really necessary?!” Midnight didn’t actually like these power-hungry creatures but this seemed a little much.
“We don’t need to go this far, it’s those red jewels on them giving them such power!”
“Better safe than sorry!” Star Swirl’s tone was unreasonable, and Midnight saw real fear in the Sirens’ eyes, and at once he knew this was wrong.
“NO!” Midnight concentrated his horn and envisioned the jewels on the Sirens’ necks. His power reached out and felt them!
The jewels carried a dark magic all their own but not like the Alicorn Amulet had. These jewels didn’t corrupt these Sirens, they’d already had darkness within them. He probed the jewels and felt the weak points akin to fault lines, where the jewels were not as strong as the rest of their whole. He exerted his power, poured it into those fault lines, and at once, the jewels shuddered at this assaulting touch, the power they contained starting to swell as the jewels lost their strength, cracking from pressure internal and external, before…
*BOOM/FWOOOOOOM*
Midnight was thrown for a loop and lost all sense of up and down and left and right before darkness took him.