Hopes for conquering the world destroyed, the Dazzlings travelled from city to city in their search to find a chance to reignite the ashes of their old lives. Slowly, constant failure drove them to despondency, to clinging to a tragic past from the days of the Siren Sisterhood - the days when there were Sirens at all. Days before the fire. Though trapped in the past, time did pass as it always does, bringing with it change. Aria changed. Sonata changed. Adagio did not.
Cover art: "Falling Mermaid" by yo-chan_photo on Photobucket
Chapters (1)
Beautiful in its sorrow. Once again, you have challenged me with your imagery and forced me to read your story three times before I have the courage to comment. I must wonder about the significance of the seven days.
Since I'm first to comment, I will meticulously avoid spoilers - even for a single-chapter story. But, the complex emotions you imbued your characters with intrigues me. Well done!
This is... wow. Just... wow.
I agree with ConningOfficer. It's one of those stories that I hate to enjoy because it's so depressing!
Hey, I just noticed my story is in the "Also Liked" list!
5409433 And many times that's all that needs to be said! "Yes" is a fantabulous word; thank you for saying it about this story!
5409448 Wow, a ConningOfficer stamp of approval. Cool! I should save stories on the brink of falling into the unpunished graveyard folder more often! And ah yes, the seven days bit. The further explanation was one of the parts I cut out. In the text, the story is that on the seventh day a Siren refuses to sing, it is the tradition of the Sisterhood to let her turn to sea foam. Allegorically, it's a biblical reference - Jesus was raised on Sunday, the day of rest for Christians, which was the seventh day in the Creation story. Resurrection implies a new beginning, which Sonata and Aria have been given. As always, thank you for your support!
5409711 Wows are good in my book! Thank you for commenting!
5410292 You know my writing's reached a certain point when I start taking depressing as a compliment.
Thank you! And yes, you have written a fair number of EQG/RR stories, haven't you? I don't believe I've read them, and I can think of no better time to correct this mistake than... right now!
Huh. That was a weird story. I think I liked it, though.
So very beautiful...
What he said. Care to explain what's going on in this story?
Have you ever considered submitting this story to Equestria Daily? You can find out how to do so here.
5459639 Sure thing! Yeah, having no dialogue let me get flowery in my prose, probably too flowery; I'm sorry for confusing you. The setting is a few months after Rainbow Rocks. The Dazzlings have been traveling across the country, trying to land a job doing the one thing they know how to do - sing - but with no success. Because singing is such an intrinsic part of who she is and because it's been taken from her forever, Adagio's fallen into depression. Equate it to losing your purpose in life, to having no one find you important. She can't move on from that. Aria and Sonata want to move on, but because Adagio's their ringleader, they don't know what to do without her. Sonata's the first one to realize that things can't go on like this. Aria's in denial, but agrees. They go to Adagio, who has lost all will to live, and essentially pull the plug on her. Adagio, being a Siren, dissolves into sea foam and dies. With Adagio gone, Aria and Sonata are free to find an identity beyond singing and being a Siren, but the memory of killing Adagio makes it impossible for them to stay together. Thus, they each find their own path in life.
That's the story on the surface. Interlaced is the backstory of the Sirens.
This is Aria's backstory. (Pearl is her dead sister.)
This is Sonata's backstory. (Parents sucked into a whirlpool - akin to a hurricane for Sirens, brother stabbed, sister poisoned.)
Adagio's backstory is left unsaid, but can be implied as tragic. Before these tragedies, however, all three of them were in the coralis sirelle, equivalent to priestesses in ancient temples. Though their duties are vague, one of them is to organize The Day of the Changing Tides. It's a day for celebrating life with the Ribbon Dance, but it's also a day when those who are dead or want to die (like Adagio) are thrown into Medusa's Ribbons. The coralis sirelle sing to them as they die, ensuring a peaceful death. After their loved ones die, however, the Dazzlings can't stand to let them go into the reef. So using arcane magic, the Dazzlings resurrect all the dead from Medusa's Ribbons, essentially creating a zombie apocalypse. The dark magic twisted them into the Sirens we heard about in Twilight's book from the movie.
In short, this was a story about acceptance for Aria and Sonata. About accepting death with grace, as well as accepting all the terrible things they did in the past. I like to think the story ends on a hopeful note, as they let go of their hatred for the nature of living and dying, and ultimately are able to move forward in their lives.
Hope that clarified things!
5459644 A long time ago I thought about submitting to EQD, but since then I've come to the understanding that my writing isn't EQD material. However, it's nice to know you think my story could meet their approval. Thank you very much!
God I am so frigging tired of all this cryptic, poetic BS. Make a real story or shut the hell up.
It's unlikely you'll see this, considering your last online date, but I can't help but say how much I love this story. Your writing is absolutely gorgeous; it's flowery and elaborate but not overly complex or hard to digest. It's the kind of thing I'd expect to read and dissect in an english class, and then spend hours thinking about it afterward. Genuinely one of the prettiest pieces of work I've seen here.