“DAGI, NO!” Sonata’s scream was drowned out by the explosion of the magic bubble. Now, not the area around her, but Adagio Dazzle herself was awash in a golden light that was slowly getting brighter. She was floating, and pulled her arms to her chest before addressing the girls before her.
“I guess it’s time for me to apologize.” Adagio had the slightest hint of the condescending tone Sunset Shimmer and her friends were used to, but in these circumstances, it didn’t sound intentional. “Sonata, Aria. Listen to me. Not every siren gives their life at the right time. I’m sure that’s why you’ve tried so hard to stop me from singing, and why you’ve enlisted the help of these girls. You have to know, though: I’m doing this for you.”
“For us?” Aria spoke for the first time since Sonata and the other girls arrived, “How could you dying possibly be for us?”
“Do you remember why we tried to take over Canterlot High? We were starving for magic, and creating disharmony among those students was the best way we could feed ourselves. It may not have been right, but it was what we had to do to survive. Now, without that source of magic, I knew it was only a matter of time before we ran out of magic again—this time, completely,” Adagio explained. Sonata was not placated,
“But you didn’t have to do this! These girls have taught me that friendship is the greatest source of magic there is! It can create magic where there isn’t any! I’m sure if we could foster that between the three of us—”
“I know the power of friendship,” Adagio cut her off, “But I learned it too late. Had I found your new friends before all this… had I not been so desperate to save the three of us… We could have had a lot of new friends.” She smiled at the retrospect, but was crying at its futility.
“Sonata, Aria, there is something you must know about a swan song. When it is over, all the life experiences of the siren singing it become pure magic, and that magic spreads out into the world. Most importantly, though, it first goes to the ones that siren holds most dear.” Adagio floated down and hugged Sonata Dusk and Aria Blaze with glowing golden arms that were beginning to fade and become translucent at the fingertips.
“After I’m gone you’ll have enough magic to live off of while you build new friendships with Sunset Shimmer and her friends. Your songs will become more beautiful, and your voices will be stronger. You have to sing for me until it is time for you to sing your own swan songs. Hopefully they will not be as soon as mine was.” Adagio took Sonata and Aria’s faces in her ethereal hands and kissed them both. “I love you,” she said.
With that, she once again floated up and spread her arms. Her body glowed brighter and brighter as it faded from the extremities inward. The last part of her to lose form was an orb of pure golden magic from her center that first let out several powerful concentric waves of magic before splitting into two and imbuing themselves into the chests of the remaining living sirens.
Adagio Dazzle was dead.
The brilliant display of the swan song’s finale had masked the setting of the sun. Sparse moonlight mellowed by the light of the nearby city was the only thing illuminating the abandoned apartment. A single moonbeam seemed to call to where Adagio once stood. Sonata Dusk and Aria Blaze held each other, their sobs now soft but constant. Their friend’s life and memories now swam through their minds.
Sunset Shimmer and the others had watched the spectacle after Pinkie Pie’s story in stunned silence. Their faces, either locked on the two sirens huddled before them or nothing in particular, took a while to sober to the current situation.
“Come on, y’all,” Applejack got up, “I reckon these two need some time alone.” Sunset grabbed her arm gently,
“No. It’s just the opposite. They need us now more than ever.”
The remainder of the school year passed. It was now graduation day.
Principal Celestia took the podium after delivering the last diploma to the year’s graduating class. Six girls were not paying attention to her speech, though, as they were preparing the ceremony’s two special guests for their appearance.
“Are you sure we’ll be all right out there?” Sonata Dusk asked.
“We weren’t exactly going for motivation last time we got on a stage,” Aria Blaze added.
“You’ll be fine, darlings. Like we said, we’ve spent the last parts of the school year talking you up among students and teachers. After all, Principal Celestia wouldn’t have let you on if she wasn’t convinced of your good character,” Rarity assured the two sirens. From the other side of the curtain, the principal’s voice could be heard:
“And now, to close this year’s Canterlot High Graduation, a final word and a song from a couple, um, former students who would like to tell you about moving on.” Sonata and Aria walked to the podium side by side to near total silence.
“Um, hello,” Sonata said a bit too close to the microphone. The feedback reverberated for a few seconds. “We know we’re probably the last people you’d expect to show up here, much less give a speech at your graduation ceremony, but we, like you, are at a point in our lives where we are unsure of ourselves. We are putting a lot behind us, and the road ahead is big and long and really scary.”
“As you might notice,” Aria took over, “There are two of us up here. Not long ago we were three, but recently we… lost our friend, whom we loved dearly. After she passed, Sonata and I were at a loss as to what to do with our lives and where to go. We’ve never been in a place so dark, or so unsure, and we know many of you are in positions like that as well. You may not have lost anyone, but the lessons the two of us have learned should ring true for you just as much.” She passed the microphone back to Sonata.
“Aria and I struggled for five long days in an attempt to save our friend. During that time I went on a journey, the beginning of which some of you may have seen when I ran into your cafeteria earlier this school year. I was taken through the lives of some very dear friends of mine, all of whom could have easily ceased their stories where they were when times were hardest or when it seems they had lost it all. But through their trials and tribulations they triumphed and emerged on the other side of all their hardships, all their sadness, and all their efforts stronger than ever ready to weather whatever the future had in store for them. For all of them, they found that strength through friendship.”
“Our friend Adagio Dazzle knew that we had to have that same strength to carry on. She impassioned us to live like, no, alongside our new friends. With them by our side there is no sadness that can keep us down forever. Friendship is the greatest magic. It endures longer than any spell or curse can. For you who are about to enter a harsh world, know your friends and keep them. Treasure them. When you are unsure of your life, they will help guide you. When you are in danger, they will save you. When you think you’ve lost everything, know that you always have your true friends,” Aria’s voice grew as she spoke.
“So, to celebrate friendship; to celebrate making it here with the help of your friends, please rise and listen to our song inspired by our friends, both old and new.” The audience rose as the music began.
This world will never be what I expected
And if I don’t belong, who would have guessed it?
I will not leave alone
Everything that I own
To make you feel like it’s not too late
It’s never too late…
Following the song the students and audience remained standing to deliver a standing ovation. The sirens bowed and were joined by Sunset Shimmer and the others, who all embraced.
Pinkie Pie, the valedictorian, ran up to the microphone.
“Canterlot High School seniors, you may now turn your tassels and consider yourselves graduated! They said not to throw your hats but we’re gonna do it anyway! Whee!”
And for Sonata Dusk and Aria Blaze, all was well. They would carry on the memory of Adagio Dazzle in her swan song.