A Dazzling Tale

by Darkmetroidz


Chapter 6- Sirens

The three sirens sat together at a lunch table in the corner of the cafeteria, talking intently among themselves. "So, are we ready to get started?" Aria asked.

"Not yet," Adagio whispered, "There's one detail we still need to deal with."
"What's that?" Aria and Sonata asked.

Adagio pulled them in closer, "Those girls have some way they can communicate with Equestria. It's the only possible explanation for how they called that other girl here. We need to make sure she doesn't come to interfere again."
"How are we supposed to do that?" Aria asked.

"Ohh! I know!" They turned to look at Sonata, "They have this book that they can use to write to Twilight!"
Aria gave her a confused look, "How do you know that?"

"I heard Rainbow Dash talk about it awhile ago." Sonata explained, giggling. "I don't think she knows how loud she is. I could hear her from across the gym."

Inspiration dawned on Adagio, along with a nefarious smile, "I know just what to do. Sonata, where is this book?"
"Sunset Shimmer keeps it in her locker," She answered dutifully.

Without speaking, the three got up from their table and walked out into the hallway. Across the cafeteria, Applejack was watching them intently. "Ah think somethin's brewin with them girls. Anyone else notice how friendly-like they been actin' with each other lately?"

Rainbow Dash nodded, "Yeah. Something's fishy here. I think we had better write Twilight, just in case."

"I don't think so." Sunset said, "They're harmless without their magic. We should just leave them alone."

Applejack argued back, "Ah still think they're the ones who hit me with that log over the weekend. Ah think they're up to somethin."

Out in the hallway, Adagio, Sonata and Aria had gathered around Sunset Shimmer's locker. "We've got to get our hands on that book," Adagio said, pointing at the lock, "Aria, can you open it?"

Aria dug around in her pocket until she found a paper clip. She bent it into a point and began fiddling with the lock. Adagio and Sonata formed a wall around her, to keep anyone from seeing what they were doing.

"Aaaand, we're good." Aria said a minute later. The door popped open as she wiped a bead of sweat from her brow. "Cheap things will break for anything. So what are we going to tell Twilight so she doesn't come?"

"That there's some construction work around the portal, so it would be very dangerous for her to come through in the next few weeks," Adagio answered as she stuck her hand inside and began rooting around. She pulled out a jacket, a purse, a sandwich in a bag and a beat up old game boy before she found what she was looking for; the ratty old book with a sun printed on the cover.

Aria handed her a pen, and Adagio started writing. In Equestria, Twilight Sparkle picked up the other book as it began to glow, and read the words as they formed.

* * *

Dear Twilight Sparkle,
They started some construction around the school today. They've dug all around the statue that brings you here, so for your safety, don't come to CHS for any reason in the next month.

Twilight raised an eyebrow at the message. It seemed incredibly suspicious, but at the same time, she knew better than to mistrust her friends. Surely they were just looking out for her safety. Sunset's handwriting seemed neater than she remembered, but she just attributed it to simple improvement and returned to her game of cards with Rarity.

"Is something the matter with your human friends?" Rarity asked.

Twilight shook her head, "No. There's some work being done over there and they were warning me it might be dangerous for me to come right now."

Rarity smiled approvingly, "Well that was very kind of them. Now, do you have any sixes?"
"Go fish," Twilight said.

* * *

Adagio admired her handiwork before ripping out the page. "There. It's like we were never here." She put the book back in its place. "We had better go. The bell is about to ring. Do you remember the plan?"

"All out war," Aria smirked, "Go after each of them all day until we have our amulets back. Then we get the fuck out of here."

"Aria, I'll leave the plotting to you from here," Adagio smiled.

Aria grinned. She was the boss today. "Oh, I have just the idea."

* * *

Rarity screamed. "Oh heavens above, this is THE. WORST. POSSIBLE. THING!"

"What's the matter?" Fluttershy sheepishly asked.

Rarity held up a clothes hanger with a small white dress, crying, "That lovely sun dress I lent to Pinkie Pie! It's covered in strawberry frosting!" Fluttershy examined the outfit in question. Surely enough, it was covered in icing. Homemade pink icing, filled with sprinkles.

"I told her to be beyond careful with this poor thing! I needed it for tonight, and now it's ruined!" Rarity grit her teeth and snarled, "I'm going to give that airhead a stern talking to." Rarity stormed off, stained dress in hand, with Fluttershy following her out. After they left the boutique, Aria, Sonata and Adagio stepped out from a dressing room.

"Nice touch with the homemade icing." Aria smiled, patting Adagio on the back. "That's as good as Pinkie Pie's sugar-coated fingerprints by their standards."

"It was Sonata's recipe," Adagio said. Sonata held onto a small bowl of it, dabbing her finger in it and eating it every few seconds. The three took out their pendants, and allowed them to absorb Rarity' anger. The reaction was powerful, but they still needed more.
* * *
"FLUTTERSHY!" Pinkie Pie screamed. She looked around the kitchen until she found a broom to beat out the animals that had gotten loose in her kitchen. As soon as the squirrels, cats, and raccoons were out of the house, she stared in horror at what was left of the cake she had been slaving over for nearly five hours.

"Maud's birthday cake! It's ruined!" Pinkie felt her hair flop down flat into her face. She clenched her fists and growled. Fluttershy was going to pay for this. It had been hell trying to keep fourteen pounds of rock candy attached to a cake, while frosting it. She stormed out of her kitchen as the three sirens were laughing in a hedge, looking inside her window.

Sonata was laughing so hard she felt tears running down her face. "Aria, how did you get so many of Fluttershy's animals?"

"Have you seen her house? It's practically a zoo. I just grabbed a few, stashed them in my backpack, and let them loose." She rolled up her sleeve, revealing an arm covered in claw and bite marks, "We had better get finished soon. I have no idea what kind of diseases those monsters are carrying."

* * *

"Oh no, this is bad..." Fluttershy's house had turned into a complete disaster. Somehow, Applejack's dog had gotten loose in her house, and was terrorizing all of her animals. She ran throughout her house, trying to grab Winona, but without success. Fluttershy's eyes bulged in horror as she saw the dog running towards... her rabbit hutch.

Fluttershy screamed as the dog began barking at the terrified baby bunnies in the wooden box. She jumped on Winona, and grabbed the dog by the scruff of her neck. Fluttershy had lost control. Nothing was going to hurt Angel's new family on her watch. She dragged Winona by the collar and threw her into an available kennel. "I'm gonna give Applejack a piece of my mind..." She quietly growled, hopping on her bicycle and pedaling off with Winona in tow.

"Good work catching Applejack's dog." Adagio commended. "It must have been a bitch to catch that mutt."
Sonata smiled, "Oh my gosh, you have no idea. Winona's pretty fast, but she got tired after an hour."

They took out their crystals to begin feeding, and were slightly alarmed with how much power Fluttershy had generated. The girl didn't seem like much, but from the looks of it, she could kill if you poked her wrong.

* * *

"See ya later, Rainbow Dash!" Applejack waved. The two had just finished another round of Street Fighter on Applejack's old Super Nintendo. Rainbow had won. Again. Applejack sighed as she left. Something seemed mighty suspicious with the game. Rainbow always seemed to have way more health than she should. She shrugged and went about cleaning up her living room. She bent over to pick up one of the two beat up old bean bag chairs they always sat on, and saw a book underneath it.

"That no good, rotten, lying cheater!" Applejack exclaimed, picking up the book. It was a cheat codes manual. She opened it to a bookmarked page halfway through. "'Extended health meter'? She's been cheatin' me every game Ah've ever played!" Applejack brimmed with rage. On multiple occasions they had bet money on games, and on another occasion, she had to serve as Rarity's personal model for an entire weekend on a bet.

"Hey sis, whatcha yellin' bout?" Applebloom asked, peaking her head over the banister of the stairs.

"Go'n play with yer friends," Applejack glared, "Ah've got a bone to pick with Rainbow Dash."

Applejack tilted her stetson down and barged out the door, book in hand. Aria, Adagio, and Sonata emerged from behind her garage.

"Nice going with that plan," Adagio commented, patting Aria on the back.

Aria shrugged, "Wasn't my idea. Sonata?"

"Nope, not me!" She cheerfully answered. The three looked at each other for a moment, and simultaneously realized what had happened. As realization dawned on them, they couldn't help but laugh.

* * *

"Dammit Rarity! What part of 'fix it' don't you understand?" She took her soccer uniform out from the box left on her doorstep and shrieked. All she had asked was that Rarity get a few stains out of her shirt and fix a tear on her pants for the championship game tomorrow, but instead she had gone and made over the entire thing. Every inch of her jersey was covered in sparkly sequins. She inspected her shorts, and found the same to be true. Rarity had even gone through the trouble to cover the number one on the back in baby blue sequins.

Rainbow looked at the stitching. Not only were the sequins securely held in place, but it was pretty obvious even to Rainbow that Rarity had not wanted these to come off, ever. The stitches were so numerous, but so elegant and complex that they couldn't have come from anyone else's hand. She slid a pocket knife out of her shorts, but put it back immediately. There was no way she would be able to undo what Rarity had done without wrecking the jersey.

"I'm gonna be a laughing stock! I'm never gonna get picked up for a pro team after this!" Rainbow Dash wailed. She looked her phone. The time read five. If she hurried, she could possibly find Rarity and get her to get the sequins off before tomorrow. Rainbow darted into her garage, grabbed her skateboard, and frantically rolled off to find Rarity. Where would she be at this hour? Probably with Fluttershy at the park.

Adagio watched as Rainbow Dash fled. The three drank up the energy, which had been less than they had anticipated. The reaction was more of panic than anger, which was a less powerful source of energy. The Sirens looked at the progress they had made. Sonata and Adagio's amulets were stubbornly in two shards. Aria's however, still glowed. They stared at the two halves intently, watching, hoping as sparks began to bind the two pieces. With a flash, the two halves united into one, completing the gemstone. Aria gasped, and victoriously clipped it onto her necklace string, and fastened it around her neck.

"How do you feel?" Adagio excitedly asked.

Aria didn't speak. Rather, she tried humming a simple melody. The resulting tones were beyond pleasant. They were the hypnotic tunes that had been their primary tool of getting energy for millenia. "It worked! It worked! I can sing!" Aria cheered, happier than she had ever been.

Adagio looked at her pieces with annoyance. "We're going to need a lot of power to complete mine and Sonata's. I'm happy for you Ari." She smiled.

"Don't worry Adagio. I'll make sure you two have your pendants back before tonight is over. Just you wait. I have a plan."

"Which would be?"

A sadistic smirk spread over Aria's face, "Those girls love to hang out at the park on South Main street. They're all pissed at each other already. All we need to do is show up and feed on their anger. Then, we can show the our 'gratitude' for these last few months."

* * *

Sunset usually met her friends in the park on weekday afternoons, but today was different than usual. All of the girls had beaten her there, and they were all in each other's faces, shouting. Everyone was pointing fingers at someone else, and the situation was getting out of control.

"Would it kill you to control your animals?" Pinkie screamed at Fluttershy.

"Would it kill you to try to keep my clothes clean?" Rarity shouted back to Pinkie.

Applejack grabbed Rainbow Dash by the collar, "Ah know you've been cheatin' all this time at video games, Rainbow!" She accused, holding up the book.

Rainbow Dash laughed nervously, "Whaddya mean? I've never seen that book before." Without a word, Applejack opened the cover. Written in pencil, it said Property of Rainbow Gail Dash. "Oh, hehehe. That book."
"You've been lyin' to me all these years!" Applejack screamed.

Sunset Shimmer tried to defuse the situation, "Come on girls, can we just calmly talk about this?"

"Shut up Sunset!" They all yelled in unison. Sunset took a step back, tears welling up in her eyes. They had never been so short with her. She hadn't seen the girls at each other's throats like this since the Battle of the Bands, but they had been influence by the Sirens. She stepped away from the fray to distance herself from the fight and gasped. She saw a green fog emanating from her friends, the same that they had released when Trixie had imprisoned them beneath the stage the night of the finals. That could only mean that the Sirens were at work here. No, that's not possible! Their amulets were broken! I saw them break into pieces! Sunset fearfully followed the trail of mist behind a bush, and suddenly, her voice failed her.
She saw Aria sitting while humming a seductive melody, while the other two were fixing glowing red gemstones around their necks. The stones gleamed with a the same intensity as a star. When they noticed Sunset, they stood up, and fearlessly got right into Sunset's face.

"Hey Sunset Shimmer. Remember us?" Adagio asked, effortlessly hoisting her up by her collar. Sunset shrieked. "We owe you some pain for what you did to us at the Battle of the Bands."

"Care to do the honors Sonata?"Aria asked, cocking her fist.

"Right with ya sis," She giggled, mirroring Aria. Sunset braced herself. This was going to hurt.

Sunset Shimmer's terrified screaming turned the girl's attention away from their squabbling just in time to see one of the Sirens holding her by her shirt, while the other two punched her in the face. As the blows landed, Adagio let go, sending Sunset flying, landing on her back in the dirt, eye blackened and nose bloodied.

"What the hell?" Rainbow gasped. Before she could process what was happening, the three charged at them. Aria ran straight up to Rainbow Dash and put a brutally strong punch into her ribcage. Applejack moved to defend Rainbow, but Sonata ducked in next to her, grabbing onto her arm and twisting it with inhuman force. Applejack screamed as she felt her shoulder dislocate, and her arm begin to break.

Rarity and Fluttershy tried to avoid the fight, and went to the aid of Sunset, trying desperately to rouse her and get her away. Adagio stepped over her crumpled body, looking down at them like a spider to its prey. "Please, don't hurt her!" Fluttershy begged.

Adagio flashed a sadistic grin, "I'd be more worried about yourself dear." She kicked Fluttershy to the ground and grabbed Rarity by the hair, hoisting her into a standing position. Rarity shrieked as Adagio put a powerful punch into her stomach, followed by one into her eye. "Sorry to mess up your pretty face," Adagio taunted, throwing her to the ground.

Aria was quickly getting frustrated with Pinkie Pie. All that sugar in her system had her moving at borderline sonic speeds. Every strike she threw was effortlessly dodged, and Pinkie Pie was giggling about it, like they were playing a silly game. She finally cornered Pinkie near the monkey bars, when Sonata came swooping in, doing a flip over the top of the bars before delivering a kick straight into her ribs, sending Pinkie Pie reeling into the ground.

The Sirens gazed around the battlefield. The only one still moving was Fluttershy, who quivered like a leaf in a hurricane whenever they looked her way. The aching in their knuckles gave them a feeling of satisfaction. Sunset and Rarity would surely have black eyes after that beating, and they had more than likely broken a few bones. Months of infighting between the three had been avenged in less than five minutes.

Adagio took one look back to inspect her handiwork. Five girls lying on the ground, beaten senseless, with one more left standing to witness their brutality. The Sirens left the scene of the assault to return home. Aria and Sonata's presence at her sides brought a comforting feeling to Adagio. These two had stood by her side through thick and thin, throughout human history. They were her closest allies, her dearest friends. She smiled. Perhaps Twilight Sparkle was right. Maybe friendship was, in fact magic.

Losing her powers was not the great tragedy that had befallen Adagio. More valuable were the bonds that kept her together with Aria and Sonata. As they walked back to their apartment to figure out their next course of action, Adagio started singing a song, which Aria and Sonata quickly joined in on.

There was a time we were apart
But that's behind us now
But we've made a brand new start
And the future's lookin up
And as we walk these empty streets
I'm feelin' something new
Yeah we're the Sirens forever,
And that's bad news for you!
Now we're stronger than ever!
Closer than ever!
Yeah, we're better than ever!
And always together!