Everyone arrived back on Lyrican soil once they'd finished their trip through the portal. They looked around and saw that nothing had changed since they'd been forced into The Divide. The castle still remained, and the clouds and sky looked relatively the same as when they did before.
The first one to get a good look at the scene was Adagio. She gazed at how similar everything looked before the encounter with Honous and Chival. She let out a rather sad sigh when she remembered the castle in the distance.
"What's wrong, Adagio?" Twilight asked her as she picked up on her distress.
"It's just... looking at these ruins brings back memories..." Adagio examined all of the destroyed pieces of the castle, and the town that was hidden underneath it. "I remember the times when me and my brother were only little, and were starting out as Lyrican Sirens... We'd play in the town together all the time, finding new discoveries every day..."
"Never thought we'd ever see this place again..." Aria spoke to the group as she too examined the once-great Lyrican kingdom, seeing that it all lied in ruins. "After Allure created us, we spent the next few years living with a designated families. Since our minds were still those of newborns, they automatically made us believe that those families were our true families..."
"We grew up together, with our brothers being older because they were created before us..." Sonata decided to go on as the group decided to walk towards the ruined kingdom. "Technically, we were all the same age, but they were around ten minutes older than us before the great Lyrican war occurred..."
"You must have had such pleasant memories here..." Starswirl said, envisioning The Dazzlings' first lives as he put the information together in his head. "If only we'd been able to understand how wonderful your culture was..."
"I even remember promising my brother something when we were kids..." Adagio said, seeing the kingdom move closer and closer to them. "It all started one day, when we were playing Chase in the streets of the kingdom..."
10,005 years ago...
The sun shone down on the streets of the kingdom, bathing the Lyrican citizens in its' majestic light. The light glistened off of many rooftops and windows, ensuring that everyone was able to bask in its' radiant glow. Among the sunlit streets, Lyrican Sirens garbed in cloth clothing were seen doing many peaceful things, such as laundry or gardening.
Each one of the Lyricans bore rather pleasant smiles as they did their duties, some of them humming Lyrican tunes as they did so. There were families living in this rather peaceful kingdom, with such docile infants being cradled in their arms. Every one of those Lyricans seemed completely peaceful.
In another part of the kingdom, two Lyrican children were running through the streets, giggling all the while as they passed by many different structures and passersbys. One of them had rather radiant golden locks with yellow streaks, whilst the other had mildly spiky black hair. Unlike many of the grown-up Lyricans, these two children wore no pendants at all.
"Catch me if you can, brother!" said the girl with the golden hair, saying back to her pursuer with a large, goofy smile on her face.
"OK, Dagi! Try not to make it too easy this time!" he called back to the golden-haired child, picking up the pace as he swiftly dashed around many other Lyricans.
The two children frolicked and played as they ran through the streets of the almighty kingdom, laughter pouring out of them as they enjoyed their games. The happiness they felt was that special kind of happiness; childish innocence. They were completely harmless to the world, and they enjoyed every second of their innocent nature.
Eventually, the two of them began climbing a ladder towards the exit of the kingdom, so that they could bask in the light of the sun even more. The laughter didn't stop, even as they climbed up the ladder with sweat beginning to drip from their faces. Eventually, they found their way to the top of the ladder, pulled themselves onto a field of majestic green grass, rolled onto their backs and calmed down as they finally stopped chasing each other.
"You're getting better at this, Dagi." the boy said to the girl as his laughter reverted down to mere chuckles.
"Thanks, Forty." Dagi said to him, seeing that he was rather happy with how she was turning out.
"So, Dagi," Forty sat up and looked up at the rather radiant sun with Dagi sitting up shortly after him. "where does the sun come from?"
"I dunno, brother," Dagi said, looking at the sun and the clouds that began to move around it. "As a little girl, I always thought that the sun came from the happiness we all felt for each other..."
"I always thought that the sun was part of Lyrica's magic, and stabilized the growth of plantlife..." Forty said, feeling the rather soft grass rustle as he slid his fingers through it. "Guess some things are mysteries that'll never be solved, huh?"
"Yeah..." Dagi sighed as she looked back at the town, and more specifically, the castle.
"What's on your mind now, Dagi?" Forty asked her, eager to know what was running through her mind.
"I'm just... thinking about what happens to all the Lyricans that go in there..." Dagi pointed towards the almighty castle that loomed over the kingdom. "Whenever I see someone going in, they don't wear those pretty jewels. But when they come out, they do wear the jewels, and it seems like they've completely changed..."
"Didn't Daddy tell you that story?" Forty asked Dagi, seeing that she seemed to be missing something. "Whenever he tucked me in at night, he always told me of how Lyrican children like you and me would enter that castle when they're old enough..." he then looked closely at Lyricans wearing pendants. "Daddy told me that those pretty jewels aren't just for show. They're actually part of the king's Balance of Lyrica, which is what keeps this world happy and safe from danger."
"Really?" Dagi asked, a smile slowly creeping onto her face.
"Well, yeah. Lyrican children go into that castle, have some serious lessons with the king and his mentors, then they come out wearing those pretty jewels when they've been deemed worthy of bearing such a responsibility..." Forty said.
"Wow... Now I actually WANT to grow up..." Dagi could already see her future self, a noble defender of Lyrica, who fought against all evils and brought happiness and joy to her friends and family.
"You know, I also want you to promise me something when you do go in for your lessons..." Forty said, his eyes now meeting with that of Dagi's. "Can you keep your promise, little sister?"
"Sure, big brother. Anything for you..." Dagi smiled as she held onto his hands, the feeling of togetherness never fading from her eyes. "Just name it..."
"I want you to promise me, that you'll always find it in your heart to forgive me if I do something wrong," Forty said to Dagi, getting her smile to remain. "Even if Mummy and Daddy say we've done something bad, I'd love it if you stood by me and defended me. And if I've done something wrong, I want you to promise me that you'll accept my apologies and make my mistakes water under the bridge, ok?"
"Sure, Forty. I'll always defend you. your my big brother, after all..." Dagi then pulled Forty into a rather peaceful hug. "You're my wonderful, happy, caring brother..."
"And you're my sweet, innocent, childish little sister, Dagi..." Forty returned the hug, patting Dagi on the back as they felt each others' warm embrace wrap them up in peace. "And I promise that I'll never let anything happen to you. I'll always be there for you, even when things seem sad and miserable..."
"I love you, Forty..." Dagi's voice felt rather peaceful and mellow as she closed her eyes in happiness.
"I love you too, Dagi..." Forty himself closed his eyes, thinking of the wonderful future that he and Dagi would be spending together...
Present Day...
"I'll always be there for you, even when things seen sad and miserable..." Adagio felt the dead grass where her brother and her once sat and talked together. "But he wasn't there at the Battle of the Bands. He just sat on the sidelines, like everyone else who'd been defeated in the tournament... Some brother of mine..."
Everyone then walked into the castle when Adagio was done ruminating on her brother abandoning her at her most desperate of times. The whole construct was aged and ravaged by war, but it was still standing after all these years. There were torn banners that still fluttered from balconies, cracks in the rather regal walls, and even the doors that led into the castle were damaged beyond repair.
"He promised he'd be there, I promised I'd forgive him. I think it's fair to say that he failed to keep his side of the offer..." Adagio said as she watched everyone else walking into the regal foyer of the castle.
The castle's foyer was rather colossal, with the first set of stairs going up one hundred steps towards one of the upper levels of the castle. There were also crystalline frames on most of the castle furnishings, including some on the door frames that still stood tall and proud. There were also some great Lyrican banners that depicted various different sigils and insignias that only Sirens would understand. Finally, there was a rather tattered and torn carpet underneath the feet of everyone going up the stairs.
The group then found themselves walking down a corridor, which had also been destroyed and ravaged by the great war. Any light that this castle once had was now gone, leaving behind a rather damp and gloomy ruins of a once-great civilization. They then looked into a room that had had its' door removed, revealing what looked like an arena of sorts.
The arena was still standing, but the war had blown off a piece of the walls, letting some light into this once alit coliseum of Lyrican combat. The audience bleachers were quite ravaged as well, but there were some benches that still stood for patrons to sit down and watch Lyricans going against each other.
"This place is quite special to me..." Aria walked into the middle of the arena and put her hand on a rusty piece of what looked like a cage. She could instantly feel that the piece of iron was quite worn down and fragile, almost to the point where simply holding it tightly enough would cause it to become wrecked. "Out of the three members of The Dazzlings, I was the one who spent the most time in this arena... It was a special battleground, designed to test a Lyrican's efficiency with a sword, and other various weapons of choice..."
"It wasn't just for weapon efficiency, Aria. Don't you remember?" Adagio reminded her of another piece of long-lost Lyrican history that The Dazzlings shared. "This place was also designed to test a Lyrican's endurance, magical prowess, physical strength, speed, and a variety of other elements..."
"Wow... Such history..." Sunset admired the coliseum after hearing the lore behind it. She'd seen many things in her life in both Equestria and the Human World, but she'd never seen such a place like this.
"One of the most memorable moments for me in this arena, was when I duelled my brother in the final round of a tournament," Aria said, as she walked over to a nearby throne and sat down on it, feeling a cold sensation as the throne's temperature collided with her own body. "That was a fight I'd never forget..."
10,002 years ago...
"You put up a good fight, Alto. Maybe next year you'll get to the finals." Aria pulled another Siren up off of the ground and shook their hand as a sign of good sportsmanship.
When Alto left the arena, the crowd began cheering and chanting for Aria. It seemed like most of her wanted to win the final round of the tournament. They were stomping their feet and clapping their hands in rhythmic beats, whilst praising Aria for her victory.
"Congratulations, Aria Blaze. You have proven yourself worthy of access to the final round of our annual Rite of Power tournament," King Allure said as he got off of his throne and waved his hands, bringing up a spectral projection of a tournament tree. He waved his hands and put the two finalists in the final bracket. "Our final match for this year's tournament will be Aria Blaze versus Allegro Maelstrom!" he heard the crowd cheer, then continued. "The winner of this tournament will instantly be bestowed the power of a Blissen or Furen pendant, and will move on to safeguard the Balance of Lyrica!"
The crowd cheered once more as Allegro leapt back into one of the massive openings of the cage and landed in front of Aria.
"Well, here we are, little sister. The final round of the Rite of Power tournament..." Allegro said as he and Aria took a few steps back to get into their respected starting points in the arena, which were marked by their Lyrican emblems. "I'll be honest, I wasn't expecting to fight my own little sister in this thing..."
"Well, I'm quite surprised myself, brother..." Aria raised her sword once more and stared down her brother, the two of them never losing contact with one another.
"Just remember, Aria, win or lose, you're still my sister..." Allegro smiled as he summoned his sword and swung it around his body before putting it with the handle by his neck with the blade pointing towards Aria.
King Allure watched as the two Sirens got ready for their final fight in the tournament. He could see the two fighters looked at each other with looks of good sportsmanship. Seeing much potential in the two fighters, he raised his hand and said, "BEGIN!" when he swung his hand downwards in a chopping motion.
Upon hearing Allure's command, Aria and Allegro charged towards each other, letting out battle cries as they prepared to cross blades with each other. Their blades made a distinctive clashing noise when they slammed against each other.
The two Lyricans began swinging their swords erratically in an attempt to catch the other off guard. This was done to no avail as the two Lyricans were also dodging or guarding the attacks launched by their foes. Aria and Allegro eventually found themselves using a combination of sword swings, magical volleys and Lyrican martial arts.
This proved to be quite efficient as both Aria and Allegro found themselves cutting through their opponents' defences at a rather rapid pace. They showed rather pleased looks of satisfaction for a brief instance when they struck their marks. However, they quickly returned to the fight when their opposition came back from those attacks and prepared for a strong counterattack.
Finally, the two Lyricans leaped past each other and ben their legs for another round of combat. Finally, both Aria and Allegro's swords glowed brightly before the two charged towards each other for a powerful attack. The two swords met with each other and a loud clanging noise resonated throughout the entire arena...
Present Day...
"So, how DID that match end?" Starswirl asked, out of morbid curiosity. "I don't usually dabble in the affairs of others, but I am quite interested to know whether or not you triumphed over your brother..."
"Well, it was a very close and very intense battle..." Aria said, as she got up from the throne and jumped down into the arena the same way her brother had done all those years ago. "In the end, it could have gone down either way, but Allegro triumphed in the end..."
"I remember being in the audience for that battle," Sonata said, looking at where she sat in the audience bleachers, envisioning the memory as if it were her own. "Aria did put a very good fight, and almost duelled Allegro to a standstill, but he vaulted over her and kicked her in the back before he landed..."
"Although, truth be told, we were both breathing heavily with sweat running down our faces..." Aria said, reminding the girls of how she and her brother had felt within the climax of that epic duel. "You might not have seen it, but we felt it. We were exhausted, and I could have easily finished him by doing exactly the same, I just didn't have any energy left to do it..."
"If I could just break you out of your ruminations, girls, I would like to see the halls of Composia where you'll be undergoing your tests..." Pony Rarity said, getting the attention of all three of The Dazzlings.
"Oh yes, sorry about that, everyone. My memories just caught up with me..." Adagio said as she began walking over to the exit of the arena, so she could get the group back on track to their journey towards Composia and Lord Symphonia. "The halls of Composia are just down this hallway..."
"So, Twilight, how did it feel, being a Lyrican Siren under The Blasters' control?" Sunset decided to ask as the girls walked out of the arena with Starswirl at the back of the party. She might have thought that to be a rather bizarre question, but she just wanted clarification.
"Well, it felt like I too was consumed by darkness, but I was able to control myself without going mentally insane and wanting complete domination..." Twilight explained her time as a servant of Fortissimo, Allegro and Orchestral. "At first, we were all re-united when I stepped through that portal. We all hugged each other and said how it'd been so long since we'd last seen each other..."
"However, as for our roles when enveloped by darkness, they played a somewhat terrifying role..." Lyrican Rarity added in when she picked up on the conversation.
"I know how you feel, Rarity..." Sunset said, letting out some of her experiences with darkness. "The darkness can be completely unpredictable... You can either control it, or it controls you," she then let out a sigh when those memories came flooding back to her. "The shocking part though, is that you don't know whether or not you control it, or whether or not it controls you..."
"Before it's too late..." Twilight, Sunset and The Dazzlings all spoke together, before looking at each other in surprise.
"Darkness can be controlled, ladies," Starswirl said, catching up to all five of the ruminating girls when he'd heard what they'd said to each other. "But it is very hard to do so... In fact, there have only been half a dozen ponies that I knew that were able to control darkness. Everypony else who wielded darkness, had been consumed by its' insatiable hunger for chaos and destruction..."
"Sometimes, you have to fight against the darkness if you believe it's going to jeopardize your way of life..." he spoke as the girls all climbed a spiral staircase which was half blue and half red. "Push it down, give it zero space in your soul, and attempt to flatten it until it exists no more. I spent many years fighting against the darkness, battling such horrific monsters of the past. However, I recently succumbed to darkness on two occasions..." he sighed regretfully. "The first occasion was when I accepted the offer of the six Euphorian Deities. The second, when I banished The Dazzlings to Earth, bringing chaos to more worlds than one with my actions..."
"But there's something that everyone needs to know, sooner or later..." Adagio said as they finished climbing the spiral staircase, ending with a giant white door with golden markings all over it and two giant crystals that bore the colours of the gems worn by The Blasters. "Darkness exists within everyone. You cannot have one without the other. The Blasters allowed themselves to stoke the fires of darkness, enabling them to have the malice to go forward with their insidious plan for the extinction of the other species. But I know, that somewhere deep down inside of them, small specks of light remains. Those lights are our TRUE brothers, sealed away by the tyranny of their present beings..."
Suddenly, the door creaked open, allowing a colossal flash of light to pour out of the crack. The light was so massive, everyone needed to use their arms to shield their eyes to avoid being blinded by the light's intensity.
When their arms lowered, they saw a rather majestic sight inside...