• Member Since 11th Mar, 2012
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GaPJaxie


It's fanfiction all the way down.

T

This story is a sequel to Siren Song


Bioshock meets MLP in this psychological thriller, where Celestia's new faithful student, Siren Song, must discover the truth behind the city beneath the waves.

Since arriving in Vision, Siren has done things she never thought she was capable of—all in the name of survival. But now she abandons safety to gallop back into the darkness. Determined to do the right thing in a city gone mad, Siren must face the horrors she once fled from. But all is not as it seems in the vast and dark ocean, and Siren’s greatest foe may yet lie within herself.

Book 2 of the Vision series. Sequel to Book 1: Siren Song.

Now with a TV Tropes page!

Chapters (15)
Comments ( 477 )

“Berry,” I say. “You don’t know how good it feels not to be paralyzed by fear."

Oh, Siren, will you ever learn?

“From your goodbye to Celestia, I thought dying was the idea,” Berry says. I keep forgetting she was there for that. I keep forgetting she heard the whole thing. And she’s right, isn’t she? Wasn’t that the point?

I look down at the bottle.

“No,” I say, shoving it back to her. “No, I... no. Berry. Not like this.”

It seems Daring Do is no cure for vanity. Just what was she expecting? That she could be an excitable, extroverted, heroic figure without having to "be there" for any of it? Yet she doesn't want to "not be there" if she can't be excitable? From Siren's theoretical perspective, there's absolutely no difference between these two, and yet she still wants the latter. She's effectively sacrificing her ability to be fearless in exchange for her being seen as excitable, and she's literally valuing others' opinions of her over her ability to save Green.

Siren: All shall love me and despair (except Berry).

That includes you, Siren!

--

Or is this just Poison Joke’s cruel sense of humor?

Dears gods, I just got that. I can't believe I missed that last last book. I'm sorry, Rarity.

“Right. But who do you think killed her?” I press, snapping out of my recollection to watch Berry. She walks ahead steadily, towards the distant spire of blue and the submarines there. She doesn't answer, but she doesn't need to.

“I see,” I whisper, when enough time time has passed.

No, Siren, I don't think you do. And stop following so closely.

Trixie: Would you kindly kill Rarity?

I'm starting to wonder just why it is that Celestia made Siren her pupil. It just seems silly for Celestia to have picked out a pupil from a orphanage, and for Celestia to have tried to train Siren in an art she never showed talent or interest in. Then again, she was desperate, and Siren may have faked interest to please Celestia.

And what debt could Trixie, with an endless army of metal ponies armed with benches, possibly owe Celestia that Trixie can't ignore? I don't think Berry has ever lied, so I can't just throw that line out. Then again, Berry never said the debts were owed to Celestia, or that Celestia would be involved in cancelling debts by having Siren returned. The "Siren's memories were faked" idea falls apart if someone wants Siren returned to Equestria.

--
Typo

They show show the sea

Hallelujah! it's here, it's here!:pinkiehappy::pinkiehappy::pinkiehappy:

It's a pity it didn't get quite the page you'd been hoping for, but then that's how EQD does stories, and Siren Song already had a page up.

Not that it does anything to belittle the fun of being back in Song's mind again, of course!

10 words into chapter one and you already have my attention, annoying. So far its coming up really interesting, I get the feeling that Siren is finally really trying to be better, but even with the 'Daring Do' she is struggling, but it is helping. So far the only scene that felt kinda odd to me was the Temperance bottle scene at the end of chapter 1, I don't really get the point of the scene or what it was trying to show me, although that might just be me forgetting about something in the first story.

I'm not sure if I'll keep reading the story until its finished though, I hate having to wait for new chapters.

4288421

Well sir, in this one particular instance, I am happy to annoy you! I am also pleased to remind you the story will be updating weekly, so you won't have to wait long. :raritywink:

Omigosh the sequel is out! Let's see what Siren's going to do in this arc. Also, still don't believe that Twi is dead.

4288648
You are good people :twilightsmile:
And now to read :pinkiehappy:

Awesome, awesome, awesome!

I've been waiting for this day for a long time. Siren Song was the first fanfic I read on this site, and it inspired me to make a profile and join in on this site. So awesome to see its sequel to be finally out!

“I, my loved one’s watch, am keeping,” I sing, pointing her towards one of the overhangs that’s been abandoned, now that the crowd is clustering around the train doors, “all through the night.”

Just a note, it might be better to italicize lines that are sung.

4113038 This is one story I'm not going to think about.
I just imagine myself happily nuking the city to radioactive waste and stop worrying and learn to love the bomb.\

:pinkiecrazy:

Oh neat, we're keeping the cowardly protagonist, only she won't have freakouts that put her in life-threatening danger. I have a feeling the danger scale's going to ramp up really soon.

4288421 It's kind of a recovery chapter. Where at the end of book one Siren was willing to throw it all away by downing the mysterious Daring Do, the fact that she decides to turn down Temperance, even though it would make things easier for her, shows that she still feels she has something worth living for. It also helps highlight that Berry doesn't care too much about her own life, as she was willing to give up her share of the Temperance ("her weekly medicine").

The new Daring Song is willing to face her fears and do what she needs to, throwing away some of the obfuscating lies and self-loathing, and becoming stronger for it.

That’s good. “The others liked me,” I say, my voice trembling.

Found a typo!

Also:
4112671

It seems Daring Do is no cure for vanity. Just what was she expecting? That she could be an excitable, extroverted, heroic figure without having to "be there" for any of it?

Well...yeah, I think that's exactly what she wanted :rainbowhuh:

Or is this just Poison Joke’s cruel sense of humor?

Dears gods, I just got that. I can't believe I missed that last last book. I'm sorry, Rarity.

I....still haven't got it. What's the joke? :rainbowhuh: :fluttercry:

Comment posted by huh deleted Apr 25th, 2014

4289283

That's the thing though, I don't remember what Temperance was supposed to do, I only vaguely remember it being mentioned in the first story.

I have been working on a pet theory for some time now. A lot of things in this story have made me think that there is so much more going on in the background then we are lead to believe, and not just the obvious stuff either like what Trixie's real intentions are.
My main conspiracy theory is that I think that Siren Song is a blood relative of Twilight Sparkle; a daughter or a niece -her coloring would explain a lot if that last was true- I think that that's why Celestia took her under her wing, why she tried to teach her magic before she knew what her special talent was going to be. It explained why they tested Siren's blood to see if she was who they thought her to be. Why Trixie's helping her in the first place is a little unclear, unless her relationship with Twilight changed drastically sense the shows story.
Her age fits as well I think, I'm not really sure; its been some time sense I've read the first story. The only thing that's left vague is what really happened during the blighted time before the exodus to Vision. All we have heard so far in that respect is propaganda and a few statements akin to what green has given. Until we hear it from one of the Elements of Harmony, then I guess we just have to keep on guessing.

W-wait. This is happening? As in now? I'm freakin' out, man!

Man, I'm good at remembering, or you're good at making memorable characters, or both, because I knew something was off the very first time Siren called herself pink. She is indeed different, but... "I suppose I should thank you, but I’m not."... not really. :P

And yeah, the line '“The others liked me,” I say, my voice trembling.' is heart-breaking, even coming from Siren when she's being mean to Berry. Who, it should be mentioned, continues to be the metaphorical dark horse of this story. I really think it's the mystery surrounding her that does it, and hinting at her motivations for helping Siren is a great nod toward that.

The scene at the train station hit me pretty hard, too. Not quite as hard as White Wash, but close. I'm a care provider for people with severe mental and physical disabilities, and there's a kid there who has a CD with that song on it, which he listens to all the time. Yeah, just, wow. If my photobucket account weren't running out of bandwidth for this month, I would post the .gif of Orson Rarity dramatically clapping again.

4288719

Oh come on. What sort of Bioshock crossover would have a huge twist reveal at the end about somepony being dead, or secretly being somepony else? That's crazy. You are a crazy person.

Also my reveal would totally be more creative than that. :trollestia:


4288828

I'm not a person I'm a pony.

4288954

Thank you! I shall aim not to disappoint. Book 2 was a long time in coming but I think the result shows it. :twilightsmile:


4289156

No. No. No. Noooo. Nooo, guy. No. That's not going to happen. That's silly.

The rest of the book is about tea parties.


4289283

I love it when people get exactly what I intended out of a scene or line unprompted. It feels like a validation of all my character building. Not that I'm saying your totally right, but you did make me smile quite a bit. :ajsmug:


4289381

Temperance is the mantle that inhibits Berry's ability to feel and express emotion.


4289466

I cannot confirm of deny anything, of course, but I love me some speculation. :pinkiesmile:

4289765

Man, I'm good at remembering, or you're good at making memorable characters, or both, because I knew something was off the very first time Siren called herself pink. She is indeed different, but... "I suppose I should thank you, but I’m not."... not really. :P

That part was tricky. I know I've already mentioned in my blog how many rewrites that first part went through, but it was a lot of effort to hit that line of Daring Do having a noticeable effect, without taking away anything that makes Siren herself. Like Rarity said, mantles are cumulative, not subtractive.

And yeah, the line '“The others liked me,” I say, my voice trembling.' is heart-breaking, even coming from Siren when she's being mean to Berry. Who, it should be mentioned, continues to be the metaphorical dark horse of this story. I really think it's the mystery surrounding her that does it, and hinting at her motivations for helping Siren is a great nod toward that.

Poor Siren. Life would be so much simpler if you were actually a psychopath instead of just a manipulative jerk.

Also there's so much I want to say about your Berry comments, but I can't without spoilering. Suffice it to say the pony of mystery will get a few moments to shine yet.

The scene at the train station hit me pretty hard, too. Not quite as hard as White Wash, but close. I'm a care provider for people with severe mental and physical disabilities, and there's a kid there who has a CD with that song on it, which he listens to all the time. Yeah, just, wow. If my photobucket account weren't running out of bandwidth for this month, I would post the .gif of Orson Rarity dramatically clapping again.

I had no idea. My roommate, who advised me for a good part of that scene, has relatives who struggle with skitzophrenia. While the markers' condition isn't based on any particular actual mental illness, I tried to recreate the general feelings and experiances he had regarding his relatives as they slipped away, and regarding the family members who then fell directly or indirectly under his care.

4289794

Ahh, ok, thanks for letting me know. I kept coming back to the temperance movement which just made it confusing, since I was thinking it was to solve Berry's usual fan drinking issues. (shes almost always played as an alcoholic in fanfic.)

One typo I noticed- “Trixie fails to see how,” Trixie replie," missing the d on replied.

Maybe it's just me, but over these first two parts, something has been bothering me. It seems like Siren isn't describing her surroundings the same way she used to. Like here: "Such an odd feature, to have this moment of darkness and no light in the elevator. It must be intentional, though I can’t imagine why. Maybe it’s just a stylistic choice." I would have expected her to come up with several theories, rather than just dismiss it. She's doing a lot less analysis of the environment around her. Now I wonder, is that the Daring Do, a subtle response to the trauma with Rarity, or the author thinking that he might slip into the trap of over-description? I choose to believe it's a reaction to the cruelty of beauty shown to Siren by Rarity, because that implies the most mastery of the craft on your part. :pinkiehappy:

Great opening. Great descriptions. Poetic, yet never purple, never cluttered. Not at all wordy, yet not sparse or thin. I'm reading this without having read the previous story, and not having any trouble following it so far.

4289867

In Book 1, Berry stated that she was given Temperance as an anti-depressant after her attempted suicide. However, the reference to her alcoholism and the temperance movement is intentional. As Siren said in book 1, "You know why two cups symbolizes temperance, Berry? Because it stands for watering down wine... and that's you, Berry. You're watered down until nothing's left."

4289945

One typo I noticed- “Trixie fails to see how,” Trixie replie," missing the d on replied.

Corrected.

Maybe it's just me, but over these first two parts, something has been bothering me. It seems like Siren isn't describing her surroundings the same way she used to. Like here: "Such an odd feature, to have this moment of darkness and no light in the elevator. It must be intentional, though I can’t imagine why. Maybe it’s just a stylistic choice." I would have expected her to come up with several theories, rather than just dismiss it. She's doing a lot less analysis of the environment around her. Now I wonder, is that the Daring Do, a subtle response to the trauma with Rarity, or the author thinking that he might slip into the trap of over-description? I choose to believe it's a reaction to the cruelty of beauty shown to Siren by Rarity, because that implies the most mastery of the craft on your part. :pinkiehappy:

I don't want to say *too* much about this, since the point of a story is to see what you think of it on your own, but I do want to at least give this a mention. The trait you're pointing out is definitely intentional, but it's due to a lot of little things. One concern I had with this chapter -- and with Book 2 as a whole -- is that anything that changed about Siren would be ascribed to Daring Do. Siren will also be acting differently because she's tired, injured, emotionally traumatized, in urgent need of a good tail brushing, etc. At first, I tried to keep all these factors independent, but eventually I decided to run with it, and make Siren's muddled emotional state part of her character development. I'm not sure quite how it will go over, but we'll see.

4289980

as I said before, I had a feeling it was referring to something I had forgotten. But the only context for it in the scene was referencing the earlier story, which I forgot so by itself, it didn't make sense to me.

"Wonderbolt. Was well on my way to.” She makes"
too

Vision Book Two? This old thing? Ah yes, I recall reading this sometime back in July.

Just ignore the smartass editor. Y'all are in for a treat. Well worth the wait!

"Behind the desk is a long, narrow corridor lined with shelves, and at the end, I can see that it opens into a larger space."
I find it odd that there's no description given of the shelves' contents; even if they were empty, I'd expect that to be noted.

And the end of the chapter! Vision is back. :)
I might want to try and find the time to reread Siren Song sometime soon… I have so much on my reading list already, though...

Ah, I remember faving the prequel to this when the first chapter came out. :rainbowkiss:

*Does not actually contain Daring Do

4291703

Oh my god that's hilarious I must find a way to make this canon.

4291719 Who made the TvTropes page?

I cannot upvote this enough. Have been waiting for this since you finished "Siren Song".

This *is* the best Bioshock crossover I've read on here, hands down.

God I'm glad this story is back, puts a smile on my face. So who of the main characters dies first? Just a guess but Jack from BS1 killed the leaders of the different sections on his way to Ryan. Though with this story I've always been pleasantly supprised, good chapter's can't wait for more.

This continues to be a richly psychological pile of soul-crushing angst. I look forward to the :raritydespair: because dear Celestia you write it so well.

4291744

That most generous and astute soul, Nothing Productive.

4291761

Thank you! :raritystarry:

4291923

Silly, ponies don't die. They just go to the great pasture in the sky. Which is cool because then it's really easy for their pegasus friends to visit.

4294474

You look forward to the Rarity? Cause we got lots of Rarity!

WHY WAS I NOT AWARE OF THIS :raritydespair::raritycry:

:yay: I can't wait to read it.

4296961

Woo-hoo! :twilightsmile:

I was wondering where you were. I eagerly await your thoughts.

Awesome sequel proves to be awesome.
Also: Song wanting to rescue Green is the best thing she's wanted to do in the story- but she doesn't really seem like she has a chance.

4296985
Oh great :rainbowlaugh: Now I have to read it right now. :rainbowlaugh:

I have a feeling in the end of this story, Siren takes it.

Is there a source for that amazing cover art?

Holy shit.

Just want to say, your characterization is amazing. Top notch. Bravo.

Also, can you drop us an A/N containing the sources for your chapter and cover art?

The ponies have some really weird anatomy in these first two chapter paintings... :applejackunsure: Everything else is is simply stellar, of course.
Knights in shining armor aren't hard to come by in Vision, but I doubt you want to run into one of them.
Hmm, what do bees, ether, and busing have to do with one another? Edit: It's more fitting than you'd think, after some more research!
Fixed!

4300088 Check the blogs he puts up alongside each chapter for that, but in short the art is PeasentB's.

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