64 - Finale
"I don't want to die," stated Aria in a flat tone, floating in the darkness.
"No one asked you to, silly," said Pinkie. "We just want you to stop being mean to people. Can you do that please?"
Sonata looked uncertainly between Pinkie and Aria, "They've been nice to me so far."
Aria frowned, "How would you even know? They're probably laughing behind your back and you're too stupid to notice." She blinked her eyes as they came clear. "I've seen how they do things in this world. I like my head on my shoulders."
Sonata sank against Pinkie Pie, "You don't really laugh at me, do you? What if this was all just a stupid mistake!"
Pinkie shook her head, "She's just using more of that bad magic on you." She faced Aria and took a deep breath before she began to sing quickly, "Meanie heads don't work, Don't just be a jerk. The song's got you now, Don't know up from down. Who is friend or foe, Even you don't know!"
Aria frowned, then staggered in the water, her perceptions swimming and dancing around her in a confusing mess. Suddenly she felt something crawling all over her and began flailing at the invisible spiders, or snakes, she wasn't sure what they were! Why weren't they coming off? They're biting her!
Beneath the waves, Adagio was locked in combat with Long Road. She had wrapped her thick tail around the donkey's barrel, holding him tightly and squeezing as her teeth found weak spots to sink into. Despite this, the land creature was not giving up. Every blow he landed would have been quite dangerous if not for the water slowing the arc of the sword as it swished at Adagio. They were both covered in the ongoing wounds of the battle, with neither giving quarter. While one had the advantage of breath, the other recovered from his wounds infuriatingly. Adagio was certain the stubborn soul would run out of air eventually. Admittedly, she thought he would have already run out, but he was still thrashing at her. Just a little longer.
Above, several guards were coming down from the castle. Pinkie Pie lowered her ears, "Uh oh, do you think they were called?"
Sonata looked at them, then Aria swimming in circles. "I... don't think so? Oh, I'm probably messing all of this up. I'm not even helping you guys at all." she said, tears welling up in Sonata's eyes as she sank to her knees.
Pinkie set a hoof on her head, mussing up the hair and petting gently, "Don't be a gloomy gus. You've been lots of help! We'll just handle it as it, hey, is that Twilight?"
Walking among the guards was the distinctive purple snout of Twilight, garbed in her robe and with her staff floating along with her. She didn't look happy, and neither did the guards with her. Something was in their ears, but Pinkie couldn't make out what they were. She raised a hoof, waving wildly, "Twilight!" Twilight didn't seem to hear, but spotted her waving when she got closer. She gave a grim nod before she flared and pointed a hoof at the still panicking figure in the water.
"You'll never hurt my friends again," Twilight growled as she unleashed a fan of force bolts to strike into Aria. Already weakened and hurt, she sank into the muddled pond.
Sonata shrank against Pinkie Pie, "Oh, she looks angry. She's going to hurt me. She doesn't even know I joined you."
"Don't be silly, silly. Wasn't she standing there when Spike carried you off?" argued Pinkie, "Now where's the last one?" She moved towards the pond with a springing gallop, arriving at her fallen friends, poking and patting them to get them going, "Come on, we're not done yet!"
Twilight arrived with the guards not long after. She hurried up and began to embrace her friends, squeezing Spike, Soft Mane, and Pinkie, "Where's Long Road?" She glanced at Sonata curiously, but didn't speak on it.
The guards were not so forgiving, moving to arrest Sonata swiftly. Pinkie dashed from Twilight and got in the way, "No way jose! She's with us and she's not a bad pony. She helped us fight the other ones."
One of the soldiers, a stallion, gently nudged Pinkie away, "Be that as it may, she is charged with multiple accounts of assault with magic. You can speak on her behalf at her trial."
Sonata hung her head as they attached heavy looking shackles on her legs and attached them to each other, limiting her movement.
Pinkie's ears fell as she shook her head, "What? No, she's a good pony. Please! She doesn't deserve this... Can I come with her?"
One of the guards raised a brow, "If you wish, but know that she will be kept in an antimagic cell, considering her abilities and her crimes."
Sonata shuffled awkwardly in place, "You don't have to do that, Pinkie. I'll... be OK."
Pinkie frowned and moved beside Sonata, bumping their brands of destiny together, "If she goes, I go! Friends forever!"
One of the guards whispered to the other, "She may be enthralled. She should snap out of it in the cell." They clapped Pinkie in irons like Sonata's and moved to guide them back towards the castle.
Twilight watched them go with some confusion before turning to the other two, "Again, where is Long Road?"
Alas, neither Spike nor Soft knew that and shook their heads before they looked towards the pond where a lone bubble arrived at the surface to break.
Twlight gasped in surprised and was in the water in a flash, leaving the still recovering two behind. Beneath the surface, Long Road and Adagio struggled for life, though the donkey's movements were slowing at last. Both looked awful, even through the blur of the water. Twilight tried to speak the words of power, but water rushed into her mouth when she opened it, distorting the words and fizzling the spell. That wasn't working, so she instead approached and used her staff in the most obvious way. She began swinging it wildly at the clutching siren. The bludgeoning weapon sailed in lazy arcs through the water, but Adagio was hardly in the position to move out of the way while she held the donkey securely.
Above Spike rung his claws together, watching as more bubbles reached the surface. "Do you think they're ok?"
Soft Mane nudged him, "Go help."
Oh yea. Spike saluted and nodded before diving into the waves. Though he was still rattled from almost drowning, he felt energetic enough to join the melee. Seeing Spike coming, Adagio abandoned the water logged donkey and swam away with a burst of speed. She hit the surface in an instant to see three soldiers standing by the pond. They quickly drew their blades. She deflated and sighed. "I surrender."
Adagio and Aria was thrown into the cell where Pinkie and Sonata already waited. Though the guards had been surprised that Pinkie still wanted to stay at Sonata's side, they decided to just let it be and left them there.
Adagio saw who her room-mates were and scowled, "The pink buffoon and the traitor, lovely."
Aria didn't add to the conversation, mostly curled up and aching, even if they had healed her just enough to get her moving. Unlike Sonata, they still had fish legs despite being removed from the water.
Pinkie stuck out her tongue, "They'll let us out after the trial when I tell them how great Sonata is and how she's turned around."
Adagio rolled her eyes, "Yea, turned around. She's just playing the winning team. You don't see that? She'll make a run for it the moment you're out of here."
Pinkie put herself between Adagio and Sonata, "She's our friend." Their argument lacked their usual bite, with their magic deprived of them by the nature of the cell and sucking away their attempts to barb each other. "You'll see, from in here."
The group was back together... sort of. Spike had also been taken away, though placed in a normal cell. Soft Mane looked at Twilight and Long Road, "I'm glad the fight's over, but... what happened?"
Twilight gently nudged Long Road, "Let's get back to home and get Long Road treated first. You look like a mess."
Long Road nodded in agreement to this. "It took everything to stay in that fight. I've never been happier to see you, Twilight. We can talk as we walk though."
Twilight hefted up Long Road with her magic and set him on her back before they began trotting to the Seekers, "This mare appeared. The guards said it was the Queen. She dispelled their control over us all. Apparently somepony got word to her. She didn't stay for very long though, so I barely got a look at her. She was an alicorn, like me, but... bulkier? Stronger. Like if Applejack became an alicorn."
Long Road nodded, "I have seen many portraits of the Queen. She has the blessing of all three major tribes, and was born an earth-bound, I am told. So that's how you came down to rescue us?"
"We were given a protection against their magic and told to arrest them all, or kill them if we couldn't do that," said Twilight. "I wasn't expecting to find you all down there in a pitched battle. How did you get Sonata to join you?"
Soft Mane leaned over Twilight's head, "She did that on her own. I don't think she's got what's right from wrong down, but she isn't actively out to be a bad person."
Twilight frowned thoughtfully, "Maybe. We're going to have to show up for that trial. Spike will be there too, for his charges of assaulting soldiers. I don't think he will be punished too severely, considering, but they can't just pretend it didn't happen."
"Justice and Law are not always the same," cautioned Long Road.
They arrived at the Seekers and repeated the story. With the sirens properly imprisoned, there was no objections to them taking their old rooms. They didn't feel much like laying around. Twilight made her way to the library to study the local laws and how these proceedings will work. "I'll be ready to help, Spike, don't you worry!"
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C'mon, community service!
Though being in prison would be a great opportunity to start taking levels in Rogue and go for Arcane Trickster.
5548288 Master of chaos! Can you tell what spell Pinkie last cast on Aria?
5548302
I'm going to go with 'What is Confusion?', Alex!
Finale? The story still says Incomplete. Why—
Oh.
The sirens are trapped with Pinkie Pie and forced into nonmagical debate. Oh boy. This... this is going to be very interesting. Even if they've crossed the line to becoming deeptide horses (the tide marker?) they may learn something.
I'm not sure how I feel about the regina ex machina, but I think part of that is my unfamiliarity with the setting. For all I know, this is typical behavior for the queen.
Here's hoping Twilight's crash course in local law pays off, and that Pinkie's testimony doesn't hurt more than it helps.
5548311 You are correct! You get to proceed to the next round!
5548317 The song based puns, it rolls on!
A spell useful to many high level sorcerer rulers(like Queen Iliana), http://www.d20pfsrd.com/magic/all-spells/s/suppres-charms-and-compulsions
She didn't appear randomly, however. There were others involved who could get a message to her, starting with someone quite intimately involved in this whole debacle.
Great Chapter! As for the whole Sonata arrest thing have to say saw it coming. Did not see Spike's arrest though. I know it's likely not going to happen but I am hoping that Sonata leaves the Returners of Dawn soon. I like her enough, I just don't like her on the team yet.
5548288 It's traditional to give adventurers community service because they like doing quests, and trying to execute them is hazardous to the health of your kingdom.
5548810
When I GM, most governments have an 'Adventurer's guild' of some sort. Because if grave robbing murder hobos are going to wander around, they might as well be your grave robbing murder hobos.
Plus, adventurers are cheaper than sending out the military to smash those goblins or whatever.
5548808 Sonata does not get love, it seems.
Somebody summon the greatest attorney in the universe, Phoenix Wright!
5548932
I like Sonata. I think she's a perfect platonic life mate for Pinkie.
Or romantic. Ooo.. Could that be Soft Mane's first holy quest?
5550618 Soft Mane is learning her art. She's already started teaching Sonata about the what friendship is. Love logically follows!
Him, I presume?
With, maybe?
5548335
Our friendly neighbourhood Cleric?
While not involved in this specific debacle, he has been, I presume is, as well as will be involved in the "debacle general" (as in the "accidental*" adventure in Everglow)
*the ways of the divine are often unknown by the mortal and mundane
5740601 Fixed!
One of the most Reasonable things I've ever heard a paladin say... I'm starting to think he's a paladin of an ideal not of a deity... It's fitting for him.
I don't think I have a creative comment to leave in this chapter. But my personal code says I must do it.
I wouldn't be surprised if Pinkie convinced Aria to abandon evil, but I pity Adagio who will have to endure her moral lecture.
Break her, Pinkie!
7574343
Aria honestly always seemed to be the most evil of the three to me. Like Adaigo always came of as ambitious, where as Aria always came off as crueler.