August 10: Policy of Truth
The detective looked at the crime scene with mild horror and disgust. In the background, she could hear the uniformed officer that had discovered the bodies still vomiting up his breakfast, and probably dinner from last night, and lunch before that…. She wished she could still be innocent enough to have problems seeing what she had, but she worked the homicide beat here in Horseshoe Bay, and despite the town’s reputation as an idyllic surf resort, bad things happened here.
But never like this.
The coroner on-site came over to her. “We found some identification in the car.” He produced two driver’s licenses. “Lavender Lace and Fuchsia Blush, both sixteen and from Everfree Glades.”
“And someone posed them the way they were found?” She groaned; it was way too early in the morning to deal with this kind of sick shit. Plus, the detective had a daughter around the age of these girls, and to even consider her baby girl being in such a situation…. Her eyes briefly glazed over with righteous anger.
“Fine, someone call the DMV and see if the addresses are current, then get someone to see if our contacts over at ECSD can do the dirty work. I really don’t feel like driving all the way out to Canterlot to deal with this shit,” she growled. “Then let’s start hunting down our perp.”
“Look, there’s something else you’ll want to see,” the coroner said, handing her two cards. The moment she saw them, she knew that she was probably going to be joining that junior police officer soon. Holding up cards VI and XX of the Major Arcana – The Lovers and Judgement, respectively – she knew that the case had just moved into a position far beyond her hands.
Looking at another cop who thankfully hadn’t lost his breakfast yet, she ordered, “Call DMV and get me the addresses of the girls. Then get a hold of the FBI office in Canterlot.”
The cop looked confused. “The Feds? Why the Feds?”
“Clearly you haven’t been paying attention to the news, have you?” the detective said and the cop shrugged.
“Not really a big news kinda guy. Something big going on?”
“Yeah, this.” She looked back at the car and the coroners pulling the first body bag out of it. Encased within was a girl far too young to have gone, just like her friend next to her. “This shit’s already the Feds’ business. This,” she said, holding the cards up for him to see, “is the big shitstorm happening over in Canterlot right now. And now we’re a part of it.”
Vesper, Madrigal and Intermezzo looked at each other briefly, trying to keep the shock and rage off their faces. Currently they were seated at a conference table with the rest of the surviving officers and senior enlisted. Standing present was Lieutenant – now Lieutenant Commander – Canción Guitarron – the new executive officer of the SIRENs. Cantata Blast, was of course, not present.
“Look,” Guitarron said, looking at the shocked faces of those assembled, “I know it’s shocking. We always expect to go out in a blaze of glory, but that didn’t happen to two of ours last night. And now we’ve lost our Executive and Medical Officers in one fell swoop. It’s embarrassing enough for civilians to die in a car accident, but….” Guitarron leaned on the table. “There was an accident last night on the freeway. We have our people looking into it, but it was confirmed that Rhapsody Blue and Healing Refrain were killed just south of Sunnytown while on a mission for the Captain.
“In the interim, the Captain has asked me to take the position of XO, and even though it meant a promotion, I’d rather have Cmdr. Blue and Lt. Cmdr. Refrain back. But we’re getting ready to ramp up for a major operation, and we don’t have the luxury of mourning.” Guitarron turned to Vesper and Intermezzo. “I’m sorry for your loss, and we will have time to grieve, but right now I need you two on your best.”
“Roger that, Cion,” Intermezzo forced herself to say in an even tone.
“I’ve got your back, XO,” Vesper said, preventing herself from lashing out at the pretender in her sister’s spot.
“Thank you. In the meanwhile, Acting Sublieutenant Lullaby Cross will be promoted to Sublieutenant and will take over MED. With that in mind, my understanding is that our personnel need to be in the best of shape for our next operation. Lieutenant Cross, I want you to schedule medical exams and inoculation batteries with all our personnel and I want it done by tomorrow evening.”
Lt. Cross nodded. “Yes, ma’am.”
“Now, are there any other personnel that are out of bounds at the moment?” Guitarron asked.
The acting Operations Officer stood up. “Currently on assignment are petty officers Elderberry Wine, Sunny Side, and Evergreen Pine from Team Four. Additionally, we have one team out on liberty: Team One’s seamen Adagio Dazzle, Aria Blaze and Sonata Dusk.”
“What’s their duty status?”
“Petty Officer Wine was assigned an intelligence mission with the other two as backup. They should be reporting back later tonight,” the Team Four officer stated.
“And the seamen?”
Before anyone else could speak up, Madrigal caught her attention. “I assigned them to a supply run, XO.”
“They’re not supply personnel, INTEL,” Guitarron stated. “Care to explain?”
“Yes. With most of our supply personnel as casualties from the CSIS attack of two days ago, our logistics capabilities have been severely damaged. As they were already out on liberty at the time, I contacted them, cancelled their liberty status and sent them the last supply order we had. Given that we’re running out of a few things that we’ll need in the near future, it felt more prudent to send them out immediately than to bring them back and waste time we don’t have.”
“Sounds fair. When are they due back?”
“They should be back in a few more days. They had to go all the way down to Chico and Colton to get the necessary gear.”
Guitarron frowned. “Not good enough. I want them back within two days, with whatever supplies they have on hand, whether they’ve completed their task or not.” She then looked at the rest of them while a junior-ranked SIREN set folders down in front of all those present. “Listen up: The Captain has some big plans in order, and we’re going to be making a huge mark soon, thanks to our benefactor. In front of you, there’s a packet containing all the information you need for this next major operation, which we’re calling ANTHEMUSA. The Captain and Prince Divine believe that this will bring us closer to our final goal, and from there, we can finally begin our assault on CSIS proper – but only if this plan succeeds.”
Madrigal fought to keep this shock off her face as she opened the folder and looked at its contents: This was not the ANTHEMUSA they found earlier. From the description of this version, the whole operation was a raid on the local National Guard armory, with the intent to steal their weapons, as well as to raid a couple of the local foster homes for “potential candidates”. It was believable; after all, they’d certainly done that before in the history of the SIRENs. But it was blatantly obvious this wasn’t the case. Either the ANTHEMUSA that had been uncovered was a red herring – and the plan was both too large and too detailed to be such a thing – or this was to weed out who was on Cantata’s side with who still remained with their own free will intact.
She stole quick glances at Intermezzo and Vesper; though they were just as surprised, they only gave the briefest of looks to their friend and fellow conspirator. The three of them would meet up later in the day and discuss this, as well as the information she’d managed to glean from the computer systems. Madrigal was good at information warfare, and she knew certain tricks to get into systems without being detected. And what she found only supported what Rhapsody had known – what Rhapsody had apparently given her life for:
That Cantata had turned traitor…
…and the whole world would burn in her and the Prince’s hands unless they were stopped.
As the meeting adjourned, Madrigal gave her partners a look. It was time to discuss things, and it was time to find out who their friends were and who they weren’t. Unfortunately, the latter was becoming all too clear.
“Uh, Twily?” Spike asked as he looked in Sunset’s room and saw Twilight rifling through their sister’s desk. “What are you looking for?”
Twilight jolted up from what she was doing. “Uh, I, er, well….”
Spike’s eyes narrowed. “Are you trying to do something to Sunny’s desk?”
“Um…yes?” Twilight stammered.
He waved it off. “Oh, okay. But if you’re going to play a joke on her, you need to be more…um, discreetee?”
“Discreet,” Twilight corrected. “The word’s pronounced ‘discreet’.”
“Right, got it. Anyway, you have fun with your prank. I’m gonna get me the high score on Mortal Kombat.”
“You’re not supposed to play that game, Spike.”
The look of an innocent angel – or a guilty-as-hell child – came across his face. “Well, I could tell Sunny what you’re doing….”
“Fine, fine. But if you have nightmares, don’t come running to me.” Ignoring her little brother further, she decided to keep looking into her sister’s desk. Granted, it was a violation of Sunset’s privacy, but after what Octavia had to say last night and Sunset’s near-refusal to talk about that strange letter in Twilight’s handwriting, Twilight couldn’t help but do this. Sure, she’d probably get in trouble if her parents found out; and if Sunset found out, she’d be in hot water there. But this was something she had to know. She was never one for secrets being kept when it came to her, and that went double when it came to her family.
Even still, Sunny’s my sister…. A dark thought came over the girl’s mind. Well, technically she’s not my sister yet. Still, that’s pure sophistry, but I have to do this. She did feel bad, however; if her sister had just come clean, Twilight wouldn’t have felt compelled to do this.
After a few minutes of digging, she finally found what she was looking for…and her heart sank. Several letters from “her” to Sunset, all of them in her very precisely-accurate handwriting, but with byzantine references and confusing comments. Cutie Mark Crusaders? That’s from that kids show with the horses, right? I think I heard Spike mention that once. But what the hell is a Cuteceñera? And a timberwolf is just a northern gray wolf, not a monster made out of wood! But that wasn’t the weirdest thing. There were also letters from Ms. Celestia, presumably done in her handwriting, also with the same bizarre themes. “Princess” Luna – Ms. Celestia would probably never call her sister a princess, unless it was in jest. And “Princess” Cadance? Sure, I think of Cady practically like one, since she’s like my big sister and all, but still…. There were stranger things still: references to Rainbow as a pegasus and a weather coordinator? Vinyl Scratch, living in Ponyville when she moved to Detroit, if Twilight recalled correctly? And Shining as the ruling prince of the Crystal Empire, along with Cadance. Shouldn’t an empire have a ruling emperor?
Twilight left the room with the letters in hand, deeply troubled, not knowing what to say. However, she did know the first person who she could talk to about this. While in the past, it would have been Octavia, given her current issues, she was not being left alone to her devices at the moment; right now she was with Twilight’s mother, at her workplace. Sure, annoying given that Octavia was a teenager ostensibly able to take care of herself, but right now that didn’t seem to be the case. Plus, she wasn’t the one she could ask at the moment.
Walking over to her room, she picked her phone and dialed. “Hi, Cady. Sorry to bother you at work, but can we meet for lunch somewhere? I need some advice.”
Sunset froze. Someone had busted her ward that she’d placed on the desk, where she kept her letters from Equestria. Why? Dammit, I knew I should’ve set up a deterrent spell as well. Crap. Part of her wanted to teleport home straight away, but there would be too many questions asked. As it was, Twilight had already found out the….
Fuck me. Twily. She knew in an instant who would have done so. Spike wouldn’t have any interest, and with Octavia’s issues, Sunset’s parents were keeping a close eye on her. That would leave only Twilight, who had already gone through her stuff, as the obvious culprit – and thus probably now had the letters in her hands. Sunset groaned and tried to ward off a headache. She would now have to explain the letters, including those from Princess Celestia and pony Rarity, who was the one who wrote to her the most outside of Princess Twilight.
“Hey, are you okay, Sunny?” Sunset turned to see Pinkie looking at her with a crooked smile. Not quite happy, not quite sad, a little bit concerned and very much classic Pinkie.
“Twily found the letters I’ve been receiving from Equestria. There’s no way she’s going to make sense of them, so she’ll probably think she did them when she was affected by the Vibe or the curse and I didn’t tell her; or worse, she’s going to think that I forged it – and then she’ll go to our parents. Either is not good.”
Pinkie looked away for a second. “Hey, Auntie Cup? Can Sunny and I go upstairs? We have, um, ‘girl things’ to talk about. Yeah, girl things.”
Cup chuckled. “Well, it’s a slow day, so I don’t see why not. I’ll call you two if things pick up.” Both teens nodded and after Pinkie grabbed some quick snacks, rushed up to the residential part of the building. They then made their way into Pinkie’s bedroom.
The moment they got there, however, the cotton candy wonder turned serious. “I knew this was going to happen. I should have said something, but I didn’t and I’m sorry.”
“You knew this was going to happen?”
“Sunny, secrets are made to get out. I know that sounds funny, but it’s the truth. You tried to keep your dark side a secret, even to yourself, and it got out. You suppressed your good side, and it came out too. And so forth and so on.” She popped a chip in her mouth and practically inhaled it, then continued. “Secrets just want to get out.”
“Like yours?” Sunset asked.
To her surprise, Pinkie turned away. “Yes – and that’s why I’m fighting to make sure you don’t find out.”
“Pinkie, I—”
“I thought we were talking about your problem, not mine?” Sunset piped down and Pinkie continued. “I know it’s hard, Sunny, but I think it’s time you tell your family. They love you, they believe in you and they’ll be with you every step of the way. And you know we’ll be here too.”
“Oatmeal, are you crazy?” Sunset cried.
“No, I’m not. And my name’s not Oatmeal. But what I am saying is that sooner or later, you need to tell them who and what you really are. If you love them, you owe that to them. And if they love you now, they still will once the truth is out. I promise you that.”
“But Pinkie…when they find out what I am….” Sunset immediately cast a spell, locking Pinkie’s door. She then cast the amniomorphic spell, transforming her from her human form to her real form. As Pinkie looked on in surprise, Sunset settled on all fours. “You can see me like this, because you know this is who and what I really am, Pinkie. You’ve known me for years, even if we’ve only been friends for a fraction of that. But my family—”
Pinkie sat down on the ground next to her. “Will love you because you’re a part of them. Not because of this,” the cheerleader gestured to Sunset’s whole body before pointing at where she assumed the unicorn’s heart was, “but because of this. You love them. They love you. You are family, and you belong together.” Without warning, Pinkie scooped the unicorn up in a hug. “And like I said, we’ll always be here for you, okay?”
“Yeah,” Sunset replied, despite the bone-crushing strength of Pinkie’s hug. “I know.”
“Good, then let’s go downstairs, and you might want to change, because you’re shedding.”
Sunset looked around at herself. “I am? Wow, a little early for my winter coat to be setting in. Anyways, let me take care of that.” A flash of cyan spellfire, and a second later, the teenager Pinkie was more familiar with stood in the room. “Better?”
“Much!” Pinkie chirped. “Oh, and one last thing.”
“What?”
Pinkie suddenly grew stern-eyed. “If you value your life, never let Fluttershy see your real form. Trust me on this.”
As they both came downstairs, they arrived just to see Rarity rush in. “Sunset, Pinkie, darlings, perfect timing, because I need to talk to you both!”
“Well, we just got back on the job after a break,” Sunset explained, “and so—” The flame-haired girl was interrupted by the cough of an adult.
Cup pointed towards the stairs. “It’s okay, girls. I remember when I was young and filled with fun.”
Pinkie immediately glomped her aunt. “Thanks, Auntie Cup! You’re the best!” With that, Pinkie grabbed more snacks and ushered her friends upstairs to her bedroom.
At that point, Carrot came out of the storage basement. “Hey, where are the girls? I could use some help bringing up the items we’ll need for tomorrow.”
“She’s upstairs with her friends, hon,” Cup said as she walked towards him. “Sooner or later, we need to let our little girl grow up.”
Buntingville was a small village southeast of Ponyville, a couple of hours away from Canterlot and just a sleepy farming town with no interest or dealings with the metropolis dozens of miles to the west. To them, Ponyville, with its 18,000 people, was “the big city”, something that Buntingville and its 3000 residents could keep up with. Pretty much other than a few shops, a greasy spoon and a couple of fast food joints, the rest of the town was homes for those commuting to and from Ponyville or worked locally.
The local cuillère graisseuse, The Buntingville Inn, was nothing to write home about. It was comfy and cozy, a place for locals to kick back and unwind while drinking bitter coffee and chowing down on runny eggs, starchy hashbrowns and greasy bacon and sausage. The waitresses all looked as though they were just on the other side of their prime, and the whole place could have done with an extensive makeover, mainly to get rid of the decades’ worth of grease and fat that had all but baked itself into the furniture.
For some reason, Adagio thought it was the best place she’d been in for a while. And she continued to think about that as she tried to focus on the conversation, because right now they were all in desperate need of something else to think about, especially Vesper and Intermezzo. Their older sister, Rhapsody, had been murdered – and the culprits really hadn’t even bothered trying to cover it up. Supposedly, given that Rhapsody and Cantata had been best friends, this kind of fratricide left no doubt that the other side was playing for keeps, and their lives were on the line.
Right now, more than anything, Adagio wished she could rewind her life to a time where the biggest problems she had was arguing over fashion with Rarity. It was completely out of her bailiwick, given that most of her life fashion had meant to her what uniform to wear. But those few weeks had meant the world to her, and she hoped that she could have some semblance of it again. She stole looks at her sisters, knowing they felt the same – Sonata had even given everything up, despite being the most reluctant of them all. She wondered: did their sœurs feel the same way? Did Intermezzo, Vesper and Madrigal wish to have the same normal lives as their charges?
If we survive this, Adagio swore for what felt like the billionth time to her, I’m going to find out.
“They’re on the move,” Intermezzo said in a dispassionate voice. The look in her eyes was cold and unfriendly, a mirror to Vesper’s. Madrigal, though not biologically related to Rhapsody, had much the same action. “In two days, you three have been called back. Additionally, there’s a second group that will be reporting in tonight. You three need to stop them at any cost – they’ve been out of the loop as to what has been happening, and we might find allies that we can use against Cantata.”
“And if they won’t work with us?” Aria asked.
Madrigal’s answer was succinct. “You liquidate without hesitation.” The three teens looked warily at their elder, and she nodded sadly. “This is what it’s come to: Sisterhood vs. itself – all because our leader went rogue. If the Admiral were still alive, he’d be hurt and dismayed by what we’ve become, girls. But the targets have changed. I don’t know what her game plan is anymore, but I’m betting it won’t just stop at CSIS HQ.”
“Assuming it’s still that,” Vesper grunted.
“What other information do we have?” Sonata asked.
Intermezzo handed her a key. “This is a copy of what Rhapi was able to obtain before they killed her. We were able to uncover the real project ANTHEMUSA, but there are two other files on there that we have not been able to break. I’m worried that it might be something worse than ANTHEMUSA.”
“Like what?”
“Oh, like a plan to assassinate the Prime Minister, or something worse? Do you really need to think about that?” Madrigal asked. “Cantata and her boyfriend aren’t likely to stop at CSIS HQ. They’re probably going to continue beyond Ottawa. I don’t know what her game plan is, but I don’t need to. She’s bad news, and she’s betrayed the Sisterhood – and using fellow SIRENs to do it. Do you need to know more?” The three younger SIRENs shook their heads and Madrigal nodded grimly.
“Okay, we need to get back before we’re missed. After tonight, they will probably report you AWOL, so you will definitely have to be on your toes. Be on guard at all times and we’ll contact you – assume that if you don’t hear from us after twenty-four hours, you are on your own.”
“Does that mean you’ll want us to assume the attack?” Adagio asked.
Intermezzo looked at her petite sœur, and a look between worry and maternal concern came over her face. “No – I want you to survive, Dagi. Although I’m not going to tell you to run away, you do what you three need to do to survive. But if anything of what we’ve heard of ANTHEMUSA is true…surviving is going to be a relative thing.”
Cadance looked over the letters. “Are these all of them?”
“All of them I could find,” Twilight admitted, then looked at Cadance’s disapproving look. “Okay, I know I shouldn’t have gone through her stuff, Cady, but you have to admit, this is strange.”
“Have you asked her what this is about?” Twilight shook her head in response and Cadance sighed. “While I have to admit this is…well, odd, I’m sure there’s a reasonable explanation for this.”
“Reasonable? That’s my handwriting! But none of that makes sense!” Twilight gasped.
“Actually, if it’s what I think it is, it does,” Cadance said. “Back when Shiny and I were attending CHS, my aunt had an assignment she taught in her classes. What you did was that you took the people you knew and imagined them as fantasy characters. I remember writing a letter that made my trig teacher look like Lord Barleycorn, Black Knight of the Land or something like that.” The older girl folded the papers and gave them back to Twilight. “I’m guessing these are left over from that assignment.”
“But – my handwriting!”
“Twily, yes, I know that you don’t have the most legible writing in the world, and yes, it’s hard to mimic. The letter from ‘Princess Celestia’ that you showed me looks like a dead ringer for Aunt Tia’s. But you have to remember that Sunny came from a shady past – but one she’s ashamed of now. And I don’t doubt my aunt knows about the letters – Sunny would have to turn in the assignment, after all. But I can also see why she wouldn’t show anyone.”
“Why not?”
“Because of the reaction you had, Twily.” The younger girl had the grace to look incredibly embarrassed at that point, and Cadance looked at her with sympathy. “Twily, just because Sunny has a talent for, well, forgery, doesn’t mean she’s going to become one. There was a guy I knew in law school that had the same talent, and he ended up becoming a forensic scientist specializing in handwriting. I really wouldn’t worry about it.”
“You sure?”
“Just ask her. She is your sister, after all.” The hurt look on Twilight’s face was too much for Cadance to bear and she said, “C’mon, cheer up, ladybug.”
“Why do you keep calling me that whenever I’m down?” Twilight asked, blushing.
“Because we’re family. As your dad says, if family can’t completely embarrass you, who can?”
“Darling, you should know better than to hide things from your family,” Rarity told Sunset, who was starting to feel more than a little bit overwhelmed by her friends. “Hiding does no one any good at all.”
“I know….” Sunset groaned. “Pinkie and I just had this conversation a few minutes ago, Rares, and now you’re beating the proverbial dead horse, that dead horse almost literally being me!” Sunset facepalmed and muttered, “Look, girls, I know you mean well, but I just can’t tell them right now!”
“Then when?” Pinkie asked. “When they officially adopt you? When you graduate from high school? Or college? Maybe when you marry? Or have kids? Or grandkids? Or maybe on your parents’ deathbed? Or at their graves? Or….”
“I get it. Just…let me tell them when I think they’ll be ready.”
“At the way things are going, you won’t think they’ll ever be ready,” Rarity said. “It took us a year to adjust to the fact that you’re not really human, Sunset. The longer you take is the longer they’ll take to adjust as well.”
“I know. Believe me, I know. And it’s not easy for me to do this. But I don’t want to be rejected.”
“They won’t reject you, Sunny,” Pinkie said, wrapping her arms around her friend. “If what I saw the day of your birthday is the norm, you won’t ever be rejected. They love you, just as much as we do.”
Sunset smiled despite herself. “Thanks, Pinks.”
They then heard a shout from downstairs, “Girls, the lunch rush is here!”
“Well, I guess it’s time to get busy, then,” Pinkie said with a grin, practically teleporting to her feet. “Let’s go do this lunch thing!”
Rarity smiled. “Good, then I guess I’ll go downstairs and order. I ate a light breakfast this morning, so I’m positively famished.”
As the three headed towards the stairs, Sunset turned to Rarity. “So what brought you over?”
“Oh, I thought I’d bring over some clothing that I’d made for us. After all, if we’re going on a vacation we may as well all look like we’re the height of fashion, correct?”
“What did you bring over?”
“Just a few sundresses, some dinner attire, dressage attire should we decide to go horseback riding, swimsuits, beach wear, monogrammed beach towels, capri pants and camisoles, little black dresses for the nightlife—”
Sunset raised an amused eyebrow. “Only a few things?”
Rarity shrugged. “What can I say, darling? I love being generous when it comes to my friends.”
Now having moved to a new motel just outside of the Ponyville city limits, Sonata hacked away at the files on the flash drive with her computer. She was in the zone, as it were; as the team engineer and information warfare specialist, which meant she was good at “hacking” things. She always laughed at that term; people thought of hackers as unwashed introverts in pizza-stenched closets banging away at a computer with useless jargon usually found in Hollywood films. The truth was far more mundane and pedestrian, she knew.
After all, she built the botnets herself, designed to slave computers out on the net for their processing power to get the job done, and then to delete any trace she was there. She hated crackers who did nasty shit with botnets, and one time she found one trying to access hers while she had them going. She grinned at that; he probably thought he was hiding behind seven proxies or some shit, but she knew her talents – and she knew a detachment of SIRENs in the Ukraine who dealt with that issue promptly enough. Either way, she was pretty sure that nobody was going to try that shit again.
Except for that 5Trab1Mu5 dude, Sonata thought. She’d come across him once, and he seemed cool enough; left her botnets alone and even offered some code when Sonata hinted that she was a military organization doing information hunting. Hope I get to meet the guy someday; he really seems to know his way around the keyboard.
To her right, Adagio looked over her sister’s shoulder. “Any luck?”
Sonata leaned over the keyboard. “Whatever encryption they’re using, it’s pretty good. Probably won’t hold up against the botnets for long, but it’s good enough to hold up against a server or two. Too bad for them I kinda took control of Floral Wind, though I don’t know how long that’s going to last.”
“Took over what?”
To answer that, Sonata pushed a tablet towards her sister, who read the Jane’s reference page. “Uh, sis?”
Sonata didn’t look up from her work. “Yes, Dagi?”
“If I’m reading this right…Floral Wind is the Chinese Ministry of Public Safety’s espionage botnet, isn’t it?”
“Your point?”
“Are you trying to paint a bullseye on us? If the INTEL folks aren’t wondering what the hell we’re up to, then someone else is paying attention. We could have CIA or the Jinyiwei at that door in a second!”
Sonata tapped on another keyboard. “Pre-PRC guard forces?”
“You know what I mean! The Chinese equivalent of us!”
Sonata looked at her sister oddly for a second. “The Chinese have SIRENs?”
“Sorta – the Jinyiwei use both boys and girls, from what I recall of the intel briefing. Plus, they’re chosen from their Olympic hopefuls, not raised from childhood like us.” Adagio sat in a seat next to Sonata. “And I’ll bet they have an INFOWAR branch, too.”
“Would you please not worry about it and let me do my job?” Sonata laughed. “Sis, you have no faith in my skills, do you? Seriously, I’m running everything through a backdoor at CSIS and MOD right now. Our traffic looks like official ARROWHEAD stuff. I guarantee if the Chinese super-elite SPECOPS force is going somewhere, it’s going to be there, not here.” The youngest triplet shrugged. “If anything, we probably look like a honeypot right now.”
“Honeypot?”
“Basically part of the network designed to look like it’s legit, but it’s actually meant for infowar countermeasures. Mostly meant to catch crackers and IOs. The smart ones – like the Chinese, needless to say – are going to see it and know it’s a honeypot. Which, of course, it’s not.”
Adagio shook her head. “How do you know all this?”
“How do you know about all the tactics and strategy that you’ve ever learned?” Aria said; she was carrying a box filled with more of Sonata’s computer stuff. “How do I know about sniping, countersniping and everything I do? We all have specialties, Dagi. I know Soni likes pulling that ditz act of hers—”
“What act, Ari?” Sonata said with a look that seemed like the light in her eyes was courtesy of a hole in the back of her head.
“That look,” Aria said with a grin.
“Fine, fine, I get it,” Adagio replied, relenting. “Sorry, just worried about all of this. It’s clear that once they took out the XO that Cantata is not messing around, and while we know fatalities are all a part of the job, there’s a difference between that and going up against our own. And now we’re going to be down one while you and I deal with these other SIRENs.”
“Wait – I’m staying behind?” Sonata asked, surprised.
Adagio nodded. “You have to, sis. This—” the eldest triplet commented, gesturing at all the computer hardware, “—is your specialty. Dealing with takedowns is part of mine, and if we have to stop those three in the worst possible way, we can do it.” She turned to Aria. “Get your best gear, and be prepared for the worst. We’re going to leave this afternoon and we’re going to deal with this one way or the other.”
“Got it,” Aria replied, setting the box down next to Sonata and going over to where she kept her gear.
The trio slowly got ready for their operation. Aria readied her and Adagio’s guns, while Sonata continued her assault on the file and its contents. As for Adagio, she spread a set of maps out on her bed and started to look over them, as if memorizing every single nook and cranny. The trio fell into their comfortable roles, none speaking to the other but each enjoying her sisters’ company. It was just the way the things were between the three siblings, and it was the way it would probably always be, if luck continued to move along their path.
Finally, as the sun began to set, Adagio said, “Okay, Ari. Time to get going. I’ll meet you at the car, okay?”
Adagio grabbed her rifle case as well a converted luggage case that carried the rest of their equipment and nodded. “Don’t take too long, okay?”
Aria turned around to see Adagio go over and say something to Sonata. The younger triplet agreed, and both hugged. Adagio soon joined Aria as both went to the car. “So, what’d you tell her?” Aria asked as she threw her weapon case in the back.
“Don’t worry about it,” Adagio replied.
“Seriously…what did you tell her?” the middle triplet asked as she got into the passenger seat and buckled up. Adagio got into the driver’s seat, but instead of buckling up and starting up the car, she leaned against the steering wheel looking completely drained – not just physical exhaustion, but mental and emotional as well.
“Dagi?” Aria questioned again, her voice gentler. Adagio continued to sit there, silent as a stone, and it worried Aria. “Sis, please…. What did you tell her?”
Adagio’s voice was almost a whisper. “I…I told Soni that if we didn’t survive this…that her final orders were to get that file to the American government. Then to run far away where nobody would find her, and to remember us.”
Aria gasped. “Dagi! You didn—”
The older triplet turned to look at the younger, and on her face was a heartbroken look. “I said it earlier: we’re heading into unknown territory and I don’t know if we’re going to make it out of this, Ari. Honestly, if I could, I would spare you, too. But if we fall, Soni is the last chance to stop Cantata. But more than that, I want her protected.” Adagio turned away from her sister and looked out the driver window. “She’s our baby sister, Ari. If one of us has to survive, it has to be her!”
“Sis….”
“This…this isn’t easy for me, okay?” Adagio looked at Aria and there was worry and the edge of fear in her eyes. “I never thought I would ever be risking your lives! I mean, yeah, I know what we do for a living, and yes, all three of us have been thrown to the wolves time and again, but this time it’s me ordering us to do it!”
“Hey, we took on the assassins in that old pizza place; we can certainly handle thi—”
“THAT WAS DIFFERENT!” Adagio shouted, and Aria backed up in surprise. “I was stupid then,” Adagio said in a smaller voice. “So easily willing to do the job that I didn’t think of the long-term costs! The three of us barely survived a building being dropped on us, and we just shrugged it off.”
“Because we’re trained to do that,” Aria argued.
“Because I nearly lost two people I loved because we were being hunted!” She fell back in the seat. “God, I know how Sunny feels now.” When Aria looked at her oddly, the older SIREN said, “Apparently earlier in the year Twily had some issues, to the point that she tried to commit suicide.”
Aria’s eyes widened. “That does not sound like Twily!”
“I know. But she confirmed it. Anyway, Sunny practically lost her mind trying to make sure that her sister was okay, and she said that at the end of it she was more afraid of what would happen to Twily more than anything else. It sounded like Sunny went through an ordeal and a half trying to bring Twily back from the brink of whatever happened, but she didn’t tell me anything more.” Adagio reached over and turned the key, starting the car. “Anyway, that’s how I feel right now. I want to protect you both – and I can’t.”
As they departed the parking lot, Aria said, “I know, sis. And we’ve probably been through this a billion times since we stupidly agreed to this one last thing. None of us ever expected to be over our heads. But now we are, and things are changing. Let’s just get through this and then we’ll be in charge of our own lives – just us three and our sœurs. Then we can laugh about this a decade from now.” Aria put her arms back and said, “One thing at a time, sis. Right now, let’s just intercept that other team, or do what we have to do. We’ll figure it out next.”
Adagio chuckled. “How’d you get so wise?”
Aria smiled. “I have my older sister to thank, of course.”
Two women in lab coats came to a stop before a door. “Ready to do this?” Posey asked her colleague.
“I don’t like this,” Zecora said to Posey. “Call me crazy, but I feel…I feel a great malevolence on the other side of that door right now.” The dark-skinned woman focused cyan eyes on her friend. “My husband and I were watching The Exorcist last night – he loves horror films.” She turned to look at that door. “That’s what I’m feeling right now.”
Posey gave her friend a lidded look. “Look, I don’t have ‘Tubular Bells’ on my phone and I’m really not an Oldfield fan.” She sighed. “Cora, there are bigger things going on right now than a girl who needs medical help; we’re small potatoes in the grand scheme of things, especially with that serial killer running around. I already have to worry about my daughter as is.”
Zecora nodded. “Good thing my son is already off at college and I don’t have a daughter.”
“Lucky you. But as I was saying, even despite all that’s going on, you know that under state law, two different doctors must see a minor patient before she sees a psychiatrist.”
“I know. And for the record, I don’t like this – I’ve known that child since she was, well, a child.”
“I understand,” Posey said as she reached for the door. “But I promised Velvet that I’d help, and as their family’s GP, you should be involved, too.”
Seated in the examination room were Velvet and Octavia. Posey looked at the teenager for the first time and could instantly tell something was wrong. There was something unnatural about her eyes; she couldn’t put a finger on it, but maybe….
Maybe Cora’s right, Posey thought to herself.
“I thought that the psychologist was supposed to be here,” Velvet asked.
“California State Law requires that two independent doctors evaluate the patient,” Zecora told her old friend. “Posey and I are stretching the letter of the law doing this at the same time, but I assure you we’re doing this by the book as much as we can. Once we’re done with our exam, then we’ll make the referral to the psychologist in question.”
“I’ve already told her to expect you guys in the near future, so let’s get this over and done with, okay?” Posey assured Velvet. Looking at Zecora, she said, “After you, Doctor.”
Zecora nodded. “Thank you, Doctor.” She moved forward to look at Octavia…but there was something different about her. It was almost as if she wasn’t the child she’d seen over the years. There was a darkness in her eyes, as if a spirit had taken hold of her and wouldn’t let go. Zecora wasn’t exactly the most religious, she would admit; she was a doctor and thus the laws of the physical realm held more sway for her than the supernatural. But her grandmother had been both devout and insisted that demons were everywhere. Zecora hadn’t believed her before. Now? She wasn’t so sure.
Still, she approached. She was fond of Octavia, and she had a duty to fulfill. Reaching for her stethoscope, she began. “So, Octavia, dear, how are you feeling?”
The look on Octavia’s face became positively demonic, and Zecora gasped in shock as the girl’s eyes shifted from their normal violet to an angry red. “My name is Melody,” the teen announced, “and I can smell your fear!” With that, she launched herself off the inspection bed and towards the doctor like a wild animal, slamming her against the ground. The teen lorded over the frightened woman for a second. “I’m going to break you like you want to break me,” she threatened.
Velvet leapt from her chair, trying to stop Octavia’s intended assault on Zecora. “Tavi, please get a hold of yourse—” the woman began, as she pulled her niece off the doctor, only to be elbowed in the face and grabbed by her arm. She felt the distinct sensation of being thrown over Octavia’s shoulder until she came to a painful crash on top of the stunned doctor. The next thing she felt was Octavia kicking both of them in the ribs, making them lose air.
Meanwhile, the out-of-control teenager focused her attention on Posey, the last one standing. Posey, however, had come prepared. Reaching into her pocket, she quickly withdrew a stun gun. “Look, don’t make me do this, kid. This is hard enough as is.”
It caught her completely off-guard as Melody rushed forward and grabbed the gun by the tongs, the electrical discharge flowing into her – and not doing a thing to stop her. As Posey reacted with shock, the teen slammed her against the wall and looked into the familiar frightened face. “You know, I always wondered how Fluttershy tastes,” she cooed. “Maybe I should get a sample.” And with that, Melody leaned up and deep-kissed the older woman, much to Posey’s shock. It didn’t last long, however, as the teen still had enough presence of mind to punch the doctor in the solar plexus, crumpling her in an instant. As she fell to the ground, Melody moved her out of the way in the roughest way possible: kicking her in the side of the head to push her away from the one drawer the teen knew she’d need to access, and did without fail.
As Velvet and Zecora regained their semblance of mind, Melody pulled a box of scalpels out of the drawer and unsheathed one. “Now I’m going to cut both you bitches for trying to get rid of me,” she snarled, rage building within her.
“No, please, Tavi – stop this!” Velvet pled. “You’re my niece and I love you like a daughter. Please don’t do this!”
Ignoring her, Melody forced the stunned Posey to her knees, and held the scalpel to her neck. “Maybe I’ll start with miss Pretty Pussy here. Or maybe I’ll save you just to get a threesome in with you and your twin daughter, huh?”
“NO!”
The scream was so loud and so forceful, Zecora and Velvet were surprised by its sound for a second before they realized it had come from the teenager herself. The trio looked to see Octavia having let go of Posey, who slumped to the floor, having been rendered unconscious by the shock, while Octavia suddenly and inexplicably seemed to be fighting herself over control of the weapon.
“Let go, you bitch!” she yelled at herself.
“No! I’m not going to let you hurt anyone else!” a voice that sounded closer to Octavia shouted back.
“Shut up, you cunt! I’m in charge now!”
“No! Not when you hurt my family!” With strength born of rage and fear, Octavia plunged the scalpel into herself, screaming with a cocktail of emotions loud enough that it brought Posey back to consciousness.
The woman voiced what the others were thinking as blood poured from the wound and Octavia slumped to the floor. “What the fuck!?”
A nurse the slammed the door open as if on cue, looking at the destruction within: the three bruised women and the stabbed girl. “What the hell’s going on in here?” he asked.
Zecora picked herself up and ordered, “I want two more nurses in here, stat. Also, give me a strapped gurney – no arguments. We’re going to get this girl patched up, and then she is not to leave the gurney until further notice, understood?” The nurse nodded. “Also, get us some painkillers and water. We’re going to need them.”
Meanwhile, Velvet went over to Posey’s side. “You okay?”
“No, I’m not,” she winced. “Not only does your niece know how to throw a punch, she’s a better kisser than my husband is.” Posey gave her friend a wan smile and added, “I’ll be better after the world stops spinning. How you holding up?”
“Reminds me of a few fistfights I got into with Tia when we were young and stupid,” Velvet said. “I survived those, I’ll survive now.”
“That’s not what I meant,” Posey said, but the other woman refused to say anything further, and that in itself was an answer of its own. “As soon as I patch us both up, I’ll call Chrys. This…this is out of our hands now, Vel. We’ll make sure your niece is taken care of, I promise, won’t we, Cora?”
Zecora nodded. “We have to,” she stated grimly as she looked into Velvet’s bleak face. “You know we’ll do everything in our power, Velvet. I swear it.”
“I know,” Velvet murmured, “but it doesn’t make any of this easier. Not one iota.”
Shining Badge and Shining Armor got into the former’s car. “You know, that uniform looks good on you,” Badge said, referring to Shining’s formal police uniform. He’d worn it today for Hardline’s funeral, which had surprisingly been planned pretty fast. “You look like the kind of guy at home in a police or military uniform. Me, well, I never was, which is why I guess I went FBI instead of local.”
“Yeah,” Shining replied blankly, looking at the car across the way. A stony-faced man was by it, holding a pre-teen girl close to him; she looked as though she’d cried her eyes out, and she in turn held a folded American flag as if it were a talisman. Shining had been told that the two were Hardline’s ex-husband and daughter, and that they’d flown out just for the funeral. “How’d things get arranged for Hardline’s funeral so fast?”
“That’s a bear of a question to ask,” Badge said. “Hardy was dating one of the mortuary guys, so when they heard, they dropped everything they could to get her taken care of. As it is, they’re overworked, due to the number of deaths that happened. They’re still finding some bodies in Sunnytown and parts south.” He then looked out his window, where the last of the mourners were departing, and where soon Hardline’s casket would be lowered into the ground, into her final resting place. “So many people dead, either from the hurricane or that madman running around, and they stopped everything for just one person. I don’t know if that’s a good thing or not, but it’s a good thing for her family.”
“Yeah, no argument there,” Shining said as the pair drove off. “So what’s next?”
“We’re going to have reinforcements coming in – bad enough we have that killer around here, but now those SIRENs have popped their heads out. Personally, I’d be just as happy if both sides just kill one another, but we’re not going to be that lucky. So we’re going to do our job and we’re going to make sure those fuckers pay, got that?”
“You’ve got no argument from me,” Shining replied. “They hurt a friend of mine, so I’m going to hurt them.”
“Why, you getting along merrily with that Sandalwood number? She’s a cute little thing and, trust me, you could do far worse than her.”
Shining blinked at that in confusion for a few seconds. “I think you got it wrong. Sure, Sandy’s an old friend, and I’m pissed they hospitalized her, but nothing’s going on between us. I certainly don’t think of her that way, and I’m pretty sure she doesn’t, either.”
“Right, gotcha,” Badge said in a way that sounded like he absolutely did not believe it. “You’ll find out soon enough anyway,” he said to himself, remembering when he was young and clueless and let the right girl get away because he chased after the wrong one. Who knew back then? Maybe the kid’s already with the right one and Sandalwood’s the one that’s playing with fire, but hey, not my job to interfere with the lovebirds, I guess.
The two drove on in silence, as a remaining cloud overhead poured a gentle rain, like the sky itself wept for Hardline’s loss. Given that Badge thought she was one of the best he’d ever served with, it was a fair enough assessment.
“No, Cady, I don’t recall assigning that particular lesson in my classes this year, but that doesn’t mean I didn’t do it,” Celestia replied over the phone. “As for the forged documents, I already know she can do it – I caught her once during her freshman year, and as punishment I had her ghostwrite several long letters to the other principals in the district for me. Her hand was cramped by the time she was done and I think she learned her lesson.”
“But Twily’s worried that she’s doing something again. After all, there was a strange letter in her handwriting,” Cadance explained. “Aunt Tia, personally, I think Twily’s worried about nothing, but I just want to come up with something that will calm her down.”
“Well, the only thing I can think of is that she does it to keep in practice, though I don’t know why. As for a reason why she didn’t use it, that’s easy enough: from the sounds of it, we’re talking horse references and mystical things out of a fantasyland. Obviously that’s not going to pass for legitimate, and she wrote it so it wouldn’t look like it does, even by accident.”
“That certainly makes sense. Well, I’m going to have dinner over there and explain to everyone what happened. Maybe if she just comes clean about it, that should settle Twily’s fears?”
“That makes sense. Well, I would love to chat more, Cady, but I have a date with Sable tonight.”
“Oh really? Sounds like you two are getting serious.”
“Hey, I’m old – I’m allowed to get serious in an instant if I want, right?” Celestia laughed on the other end, and said, “Seriously, Cady, I’m happier than I’ve ever been with him. I think he’s the one.”
“That’s good, Aunt Tia – you deserve someone of your own. Now if we can only get Aunt Luna tied up. Anyway, I’ll let you go since I still need to shut down here for the night. Love you and talk to you later.”
“Love you too, dear. Bye!”
Cadance hung up the phone. She was sure that just a quick talk with Sunset would assure Twily, and that Sunset would be more circumspect in the future. Cadance sighed. Sometimes being the lawyer in my family gets to be a hassle.
Celestia hung up the phone and sighed. Another weird thing going on when it came to Sunset – and this time the educator was involved. She was sure that there was a perfectly good reason why Sunset would do something like that, but she was at a loss to explain what it was. She would just have to find a way to talk to the teen before school and find out exactly what it was. While she was sure that it would all turn out to be a fairly mundane thing, she wasn’t happy about having her handwriting copied for some inexplicable reason, though Sunset had apparently at least taken the time to ensure that the letter wouldn’t be understood in any logical form other than those in the know.
I just have to make sure that I talk to Sunset before she digs herself any further, she thought to herself. She giggled at the thought of the fact that once, she spent years trying to keep the teen out of trouble and taking the wrong path. Now, she was trying to keep her out of trouble…by taking the wrong path.
“I guess I’ve never really grown up, have I?” Celestia said to herself, mildly amused.
She felt a pair of strong arms encircle her. “Personally, I’m glad – I’d hate to see how hard it’d be to keep up with you if you did.” In response, Celestia turned and kissed the man she loved, glad as the stars above the earth below that she had him.
In a car with Oregon license plates heading down Interstate, three young women looked at the road. One, a tan-skinned beauty with short wine-hued hair, green eyes and a short temper, shouted, “Look, speed the fuck up, okay? We need to be back at base immediately.”
A girl with long, flowing two-tone blonde hair, hazel eyes and a pair of eyeglasses – that if one inspected closely, would realize were blanks, not prescription lenses – sighed. “You know what? Just shut the fuck up, Wine, unless you want to drive.”
To her side, a black girl with curly pine-green hair and brown eyes laughed. “Don’t you mean whine, Sides?” She put out a fist out and the other girl bumped it with a grin.
“Look, you two grasslickers want to keep this shit up, fine. But I’m putting both of your asses on report the minute we get back unless you speed the fuck up and get this car going now!”
Seated in the driver’s seat and paying more attention to the road than the completely whiny bitch, Petty Officer 2nd Class Sunny Side wanted nothing more than to turn around and shoot said offender, Petty Officer 1st Class Elderberry Wine. She gave a pleading look to her best friend and virtual sister, Petty Officer 2nd Class Evergreen Pine. The two of them had been together ever since their first day of training, and together they formed “the Weird Name Twins”, given that they had different names when SIRENs (by intent or coincidence) generally had musical-based names. They did everything together, and with their sœurs, they were unstoppable.
But then came the delaying fight against Les SCARS in a battle in downtown Caracas, Colombia that the news had attributed to competing drug lords. Though the SIRENs had completely decimated the enemy, it had been a Pyrrhic victory; Side and Evergreen’s sœurs had been amongst the first to fall, and out of an ambush squad of thirty, only three had survived. Once they arrived in Canterlot, it had been decided to pair the two up with a third similar to them, Elderberry Wine, a girl with a normal name but “weird” in the SIRENs.
The three hated each other from the moment they met, and things weren’t going to change anytime soon. The older girl, in her late twenties and only a PO1st because she was slow to earn promotions, lorded her rank over her subordinates. She was also not as attractive as the other two, and let them know in the worse way possible: Due to the familial intimacy Side and Evergreen had formed, Wine accused the pair of being lovers. Needless to say, the thought completely disgusted the pseudo-sisters, and they began to make plans to desert the SIRENs; they already had an inkling that something odd was going on that didn’t quite fit the norm for the organization. The two had been practicing their Irish accents for the past few months, and when they had the first chance, they were going to bolt to Ireland, where they could live their lives as the siblings they considered each other. It was possible, after all; there was a case in Britain of a pair of fraternal twins born to a mixed-race family where one twin was a blue-haired, yellow-eyed white girl and her sister a pink-haired, gray-eyed black girl. Sides and Evergreen planned to say they were older than the other twins, but that their parents hadn’t wanted to make a fuss. Either way, it was a perfect plan.
All it meant was just ditching Wine, but neither girl was willing to commit murder to get rid of her.
Though if she keeps getting worse, Side seethed silently, I might just change my mind.
Meanwhile, Evergreen looked out the window, at the rear-view mirror. “Car behind us, heading same direction,” she said, matter-of-factly.
“About time one of you taco scoopers did something right,” Wine growled, reaching for a rifle.
“Are you fucking stupid?” Evergreen snarled. “You’re going to dust some poor person who’s headed back south?”
“Probably someone tailing us – the Captain said that we needed to keep an eye out for more CSIS assets, given the attack on our bolthole.”
“Yeah, you’re fucking stupid.” Evergreen did a facepalm, then said to Side, “Hey, sis, can we throw her out the car?”
“Wish I could, Greenie, but I don’t want a ticket for littering,” Side snarked. “Wine, put the fucking gun down. Probably someone headed back to town early from the hurricane. You did know a freak hurricane hit Canterlot, right? Or do you not pay attention to anything other than insulting us?”
“Give me one reason why I shouldn’t fire,” Wine said, taking aim.
“Because if the round is traced back to us, you’ve let them know we’re here,” Evergreen replied. “Contrary to the CBC, the Americans aren’t stupid. You want to take the credit for having SIREN taken down by the local cops?”
“Yeah, I heard if you piss them off, the cops can be worse than the military – at least the American army’s trained to restrain itself,” Side added.
“Fine,” Wine grunted, sounding distinctly unhappy about it. “Take the next offramp, then pull over. We’ll wait and see. If they pass by, good. If not, I’m taking them out.”
“Even if this is their stop?” Evergreen asked, angry at the other girl’s bloodthirst.
“Be glad I don’t wax you, or else your fuckbuddy will be all wonwey and shit,” Wine said with a sneer. Evergreen looked at Side, who nodded in sympathy. Still, complying with the orders, Side got off at the first exit, making her way down the forested road, pulling off at the first chance—
—only for what was following them to gun its engine and crash into them at a high speed, pushing both into the trees.
“We’re under attack!” Wine shouted, reaching for her rifle, only to have a sniper shot cut through the window and zing past her, embedding itself in the seat – a warning shot if there ever was one.
“Okay, ladies,” Wine ordered, “this is what we’re going to do. In a second, I want you to gun the engine and try to get us back on the road. I’ll return fire, and with a little luck, we should be able to get out of this.”
Meanwhile, both Evergreen and Side went for their guns. “I’ll go right, sis, you go left,” Evergreen suggested.
“Keep your head down, Greenie; either their sniper was lucky or he’s good, and I don’t want to take a chance that it’s the former,” Side told her.
Wine was livid. “Are either of you listening to me?”
“No, because your plan’s going to get us killed,” Side told her. “Best chance we have is to fight it out and then steal a car. Now if you want to be a bullet sponge, then by all means, take the wheel. My sister and I are going to kill whoever just shot at us, then live another day.”
“Wait – why aren’t they continuing to fire?” Evergreen asked.
A second later, the answer came. “You three can come out – leave the weapons in the car, though.”
“Yeah, and what are you going to do if we don’t?” Wine shouted back. Two quick sniper shots disabled the left and right side mirrors, answering that question immediately.
Side called out, “We’re coming out unarmed.” Wine glared at her, and Evergreen in turn glared back. “Can we trust that you won’t just shoot us?”
“If we wanted to do that, we’d have done so already.”
The three slowly climbed out of the car, hands up, and to their shock, found a single girl roughly their age, standing there, weapons trained on them. That was a surprise enough. But what the bigger surprise was…
“You’re a SIREN?” Wine, the last of the trio to get out of the car, looked at the SIREN with shock. For a change, both Evergreen and Side agreed with her. “What the hell is the meaning of this?”
Standing there, calmly, the Chinese girl with the orange-and-yellow hair said, “My name is Leading Seaman Adagio Dazzle. I used to belong to Team One. I’m here to make sure you three don’t make a mistake that will cost you your lives.”
“Seaman Dazzle,” Evergreen asked, “pointing a gun at us and threatening us is a mistake you don’t want to make. From what you just said, it’s clear that you’ve already deserted, and you’ve already compounded your mistake by attacking us. Put down your gun and surrender, and we’ll make sure you get a fair court-martial.”
“That goes for your sniper, too,” Side added. “I’m guessing she’s probably with you, and is one of us. That, or you’re one of the CSIS moles we’ve heard about.”
Adagio shook her head. “Neither. I have proof that over the past few weeks, Captain Cantata Blast has been working to consolidate her power base and not help us get our revenge, but rather work towards becoming a warlord of her own, with the assistance of our new benefactor, Prince Divine Right. If you’re willing to listen, I have everything in that car I just crashed into yours.”
“And if we’re not?” Side asked.
“Then I’ll have to put you three down. I don’t relish that option, really – I’ve already seen too much of the Sisterhood die, and with the news that the XO and MED have been killed by the Captain’s own hands, I don’t want any other innocents to die. We’ve been played, ladies, and now the one pulling the strings is going to waste all of us at a chance to try to conquer the world.”
“You’re lying, Seaman,” Wine snarled. “I heard the report yesterday. The XO and Cmdr. Refrain were killed in a car accident, nothing more. You’re just a deluded fool trying to take whatever petty agendas you have against the Sisterhood out on us.”
“Really?” Adagio countered. “The lie about the XO’s death already made it that far? Too bad I have documentation saying otherwise in the car. Please look at it. It doesn’t do any harm to just look, right?”
Evergreen looked at Side. “You know the rumors we’ve been hearing, Sides.”
Side nodded. “I know, sis.” She looked at Adagio. “I’m going to move forward slowly. I take it the documents are right by the door?” Adagio nodded, and Side started moving slowly, her hands behind her head.
“Petty Officer Side, you will not move further,” Wine ordered. “Those papers could be rigged to an explosive device!”
“Yes, because I want to be within the blast radius myself,” Adagio said, rolling her eyes. “Are you sure you’re really a SIREN?” Evergreen giggled at that, and Wine glared at her.
Meanwhile, Side made it to the car, looking at a folder. Reaching for it, she began to read. Several tense minutes followed while hazel eyes scanned the countless lines of paper, and the sun began to finally sink past the treelines as Side looked up and at Adagio. “Is this true?”
“I swear it on the Admiral’s name,” Adagio said solemnly. The martyred status that their fallen leader had become in the eyes of the SIRENs was enough for a vow in his name to be taken with utmost seriousness. “Commander Blue – my sœur’s biological older sister, lost her life to make sure we got the information. Remember, she grew up with the Captain – they were the best of friends. And yet the Captain killed her without a second thought.”
Side, shaken, looked at Evergreen and Wine. “You have to read this.”
Evergreen looked at her sister. “Are you serious?”
Wine said the same thing, though in a different tone and clearly different context. “Are you serious? You’re going to take the word of some seaman who shot at us and is still pointing a gun at us? Are you that fucking stupid of a slut, Side?”
Side ignored her and looked at the other girl, walking over to Evergreen with the documents. “Greenie, these are serious, damning accusations. And it ties in with what you heard.”
Adagio caught that. “You heard something?”
Evergreen nodded as she looked through the file. “A girl on our squad said that Seaman Piano Bliss – the Captain’s petite sœur – was supposedly killed in an assassination attempt on the Captain. But one of the SIRENs that was present that day said that there was no attack and Seaman Bliss was last seen in the company of Prince Divine. Said SIREN was assigned to the bolthole, and was one of the ones killed that night. Our teammate believes that Seaman Bliss was sleeping with the Prince, and sœur or not, the Captain killed her out of jealousy.”
Side spoke up this time. “I heard that Prince Divine is spending a lot of money – a lot of money – that will be used on materiel and other necessary needs for the SIRENs. But the expenses are more than just for us to hit CSIS hard and then fade away into the wallpaper. The money being spent is for targeting multiple locations on the planet, which means that the Captain has long-term plans for us, plans she vowed she didn’t have beyond hitting our tormentors. At the time, I didn’t believe her – I mean, who would believe that shit? But then she got assigned to the bolthole and was one of the ones killed as well.”
“Figures. I think the Captain knew the bolthole would be targeted, so she set it up to get rid of some of those that found out, at the same time flushing out Les SCARS,” Adagio said. “Look, right now it’s just my teammates and our sœurs up against the rest – and the Captain has an iron hand here. She’s sold out the Sisterhood, and there are worse things we haven’t shown you yet, things that will horrify you…and as SIRENs, there’s not much we’re horrified by.” The teen looked at them, said, “Turn around and let me tie your hands, then we’ll get in the car and head to our hideout. Then I’ll show you the rest.”
Side looked at Evergreen. “Greenie…I’m going with them. If this is serious, people we know could be in danger.”
“I’m not going without you, sis,” Evergreen insisted.
“Okay, ladies, I think I’m done with this shitshow.” She reached forward, grabbing Evergreen, then pulled a gun out and held it to the girl’s head. Looking at Adagio, she said, “Shoulda frisked us, idiot. And that’s why you’re a seaman and I’m getting paid the big bucks.”
Adagio brought her rifle to bear. “Let her go or I’ll take you out.”
Wine laughed. “You might be able to pull that off, but I can still pull the trigger with a reflex. Even if I’m dead, so’s this lezbo.”
“Let her go, Wine!” Side snarled.
“Get bent, bitch. Should’ve known you two weaklings would give up.” She looked at Adagio. “Got to hand it to you; you guys found all the holes that the Captain’s been asking me to plug. Honestly, I thought it was just these two snatch snackers, but looks like they led me to the jackpot.”
“What?” Evergreen asked. “You’re on her side, Wine?”
“What, are all of you lezbos dain bramaged? My name’s not even wine.” She laughed, as if the joke was on them. “I’m Lt. Coda Scorch, SIREN Deep Reconnaissance. The Captain let me in on her little scheme, and in return, she’s going to set me up with my own little place to rule. All I have to do is get rid of some loose ends!” As she said that, she began to change. Evergreen could hear unnatural sounds coming from behind her, and from the horrified looks on Adagio and Side’s faces, she wasn’t missing much.
Without warning a trail of smoke passed through the air, punching through the face of Lt. Scorch. She fell back, not dead, but as if stunned. Still, it was enough for her to let go of Evergreen, and as she hit the ground, Adagio opened fire, riddling the creature with bullets. The armor-piercing rounds sliced through the body, making it jerk and dance like a marionette until it fell to the ground with a wet squish.
Side ran to her sister’s side and gasped, “What the hell is that thing?”
Adagio was more informed, but no less shocked. “They are real,” she voiced. A second later, she recovered enough to say, “That is what Cantata Blast is going to turn us all into if we don’t stop her. We’ll be turned into her own private army of monsters, and I can bet you that we won’t have a say in it – or have the free will that this idiot had.”
A thump sounded from behind them as Aria leapt out of the trees where she’d been stationed. Looking at that thing, she said to her sister, “I’ll go get the flares. We’re going to want to burn this body and hide the remains.”
“Yeah, I have explosives in our car. We need to destroy both the one we stole and their car.” She then looked at Side and Evergreen. “Ladies, I think we’ve made our point, but do we need to ask further?”
“No,” Side told them, looking down at the remains of Lt. Scorch. “No. I swear on the Admiral’s honor that we’ll come peacefully. In fact, you may want to get our gear out of the car we had before you destroy it. If we’re going to join you, then we’re going to need all the equipment we can get.”
“And you, Petty Officer?” Adagio asked Evergreen.
“I go where my sister goes,” she replied, as if that was enough of an answer.
Adagio blinked. “Wait – you two are sisters?”
Side put her arm around Evergreen. “Adopted,” they explained.
“Oh~kay,” Adagio answered before turning to Aria. “Send a coded message to Soni to relay to Mezzo that mission’s accomplished.”
Aria looked back at Adagio. “See? Toldja, nothing to worry about.”
Velvet looked at her foster daughter with disappointment. “I really don’t know whether I should be amazed or horrified by this new talent of yours.” She held the letters in her hand.
Night looked at her. “It’s things like this that are going to jeopardize your adoption, Sunny. We can’t afford slipups, not when we’re so close.”
“I’m sorry.” Sunset looked down, genuinely crestfallen at her parents’ reaction to the letters. She knew she had nothing to do with the letters other than being the recipient, but she couldn’t exactly explain that.
Luna looked at them all. “I suppose this is partially my fault; I did assign this during summer school and encouraged the students to write in a different way as to make the project look as if it were from different people.” She then looked sternly at Sunset. “But I thought you were done with this, Sunset.”
Sunset had no idea why Ms. Luna had come to bat for her, but she was glad that she did. “I was excited about the project, and…well, I forgot. I did give it that Filly Funtasia treatment so that nobody would think it was real.” She turned her head and said with genuine sorrow, “I didn’t think it would get out of hand like this.”
Cadance looked at Twilight and said, “See? I knew this would be easily solved.” She then looked at Sunset and added, “Still, I hope you don’t do this again, or at least without some warning. I’ve seen some kids run through the system for the same issues, and given your past, Sunny, I don’t want that to happen to you.”
Velvet nodded. “Then it’s settled.” She then looked at Twilight. “I also think you owe your sister an apology for what you did.”
Twilight looked at Sunset, and somehow the younger teen knew the older was lying. Sunset worried about that, but she continued to look at her sister, hoping that Twilight would convince herself that she was wrong.
She didn’t. “You’re lying. To me. Your sister. How could you do it?”
“Twily, look, I’m sorry that I copied your handwriting without letting you kno—”
“No, it’s not that, and you know it. No, you’re lying to me about the writing itself. I don’t know why, but you are, I just know it.” The implication, of course, was that Luna was lying as well, but Twilight wasn’t ready to challenge her.
“Twily, I—”
“When you’re ready to tell me the truth, I’ll listen. Until then, I want you to know that this hurts me, Sunset, more than you know.” Twilight got up from her seat. Looking at everyone present, she said, “I think I’m going to turn in early. Do some reading, understand what it’s like to find some trust in someone, even if fictional.” She went over and kissed her mother and father on the cheeks, then waved goodnight to Luna and Cadance before running up the stairs, teenage drama set to disrupt.
Sunset sat there, jaw slack and eyes radiating shock. Practically since they knew each other, Twilight had never referred to her sister as “Sunset”. It was a distancing motion, the sign of someone who wanted Sunset to stay as far away from her as possible. She’d experienced this the first few weeks after the Homecoming Dance last year, a time that felt so long ago in light of this past year. And now the crushing sorrow was sinking in again. Subconsciously, Sunset wrapped her arms around herself in lonely solace.
Velvet and Night looked at one another; neither of them had expected this – neither Twilight’s overreaction to what really was just a stupid mistake on Sunset’s part, or the sudden crushing anguish they could see their older daughter going through now.
Fortunately for her, both Cadance and Luna saw it as well. “I’ll go talk to Twily,” Cadance offered, heading upstairs to deal with the unpleasant melodrama.
“Well, this has been an experience,” Luna said, setting down the drink. “I’d love to stay and chat longer, you two, but I need to get an early night’s sleep – I need to drive up to Oregon for a conference tomorrow.” She looked at Sunset. “Please come outside with me, Sunset, as I need to tell you something.”
Velvet, assuming it was yet another parable of Luna’s life and fights with Celestia, nodded. “I’ll talk to you later, Lu.”
Night figured the same. “Don’t be such a stranger, okay?”
Luna smiled at two of her oldest friends. “My life is strange as is,” she chuckled. “Have a pleasant evening.”
The pair walked across the street to Luna’s car. “Sunset,” Luna said softly as soon as she was sure no one could hear her, “I’m disappointed in you right now. I thought you ceased this behavior.”
“I did! The letters are from Equestria, honestly!” the teen replied.
“But a Princess Celestia? A Princess Twilight? I could understand the latter, given that I’ve met her, but the rest of it I don’t understand, and given that I didn’t see those letters, I don’t want to know.” Luna sighed. “You know, I figured that when Tia called me and explained that you might be in trouble and that your, ahem, ‘past’ might be involved, I figured it would involve us. That is the only reason I volunteered to cover for you.”
“I didn’t mean for them to get out. I should have hidden them better.”
“No, what you should have done is what you still should do: tell them the truth. If you need your friends there to support you, I’m sure they will. Even Tia and I would do so. But I will not lie to your mother like that again. Vel is my closest friend and as much a sister to me as Tia or Moni, and it makes me ill at ease to have done so. I won’t do it again – this is the last time, Sunset. Keep that in mind.” The look on Luna’s face was stern. “Each mistake like this runs you out of options, Sunset, and as well it should. Do you want to keep lying to those you love?”
“No,” she said in a soft voice. “I never wanted to do so in the first place.”
Luna put her hands on the girl’s shoulders. “‘This above all: to thine own self be true.’ There’s a reason why those words have lasted the test of time. In the end, you must be honest to yourself if no one else, or you lose who you are. You’ve already been through that once, and it would hurt me to see you go through that again.” Luna brought Sunset forward in an embrace. “I have faith in you, Sunset. You’ll do the right thing. But I hope you’ll do it in time.”
“So do I,” Sunset said, though she wasn’t sure if she was agreeing with Luna or trying to convince herself. “So do I.”
“Hey, sis, we’re back,” Adagio said, carrying four pizzas into the apartment. “Things are going to be a little crowded around here, but I’m sure the five of us can deal.”
Sonata sat stock still at the keyboards, unmoving, as if she was a corpse. Aria noticed immediately. “Soni?” she asked.
Adagio threw the pizzas to Side and rushed forward. “Soni?” she said, turning her, only to find her sister, her eyes red with tears.
“You’re back,” Sonata said, enveloping her sister in a hug, silently sobbing into her sister’s shirt. “You’re back!”
Adagio patted the youngest triplet on the head. “I told you we’d be back, Soni. I promised you.”
“I know, but I’m the baby – aren’t I supposed to worry?” she said, breaking from the embrace and turning to look at Aria. “About both my sisters.”
Evergreen looked at Side. “Know how that feels,” she said to Side, who merely smiled.
“Well, intros will have to wait,” Adagio replied. “First things first. Were you able to crack the file?”
The sky-blue-tressed girl nodded her head. “I did. And I wish I hadn’t.” She gestured to the keyboard, which revealed that Project ARACHNE was just a cover operation and that in its place was the real deal, Project SLAVORUM. “Read,” she said, getting up from the keyboard and walking over to the bathroom to wash her faces.
Adagio read, and a second later, winced as if shot. Aria knew her sister’s body language well enough that she joined her. A second later, she turned, horror in her eyes and said, “Sides, Greenie, you guys will want to look at it.”
A few minutes later, after everyone had read the files and Sonata had come out of the bathroom, she could see the looks of abject alarm in the faces of the other girls. “It’s true. I cross-referenced everything. I wish I didn’t, but it’s true.”
“The Sisterhood….” Adagio murmured, her world feeling as though it had fallen out from under her feet and that the world would not be the same again.
“The SIRENS are the serial killers.”
Zephyr Breeze opened his door. He looked as though he’d been drinking. “Saf, you know what time it is?”
“Yeah. It’s ten in the evening,” Saffron Masala said. Currently she was dressed in a t-shirt and shorts, both of which hugged her body and showed off its curves. “I was going out for a run. Want to join me?”
“Why don’t you come inside? I’ll give you all the exercise you need.”
She gave him a lidded look. “And you’re married?”
He laughed. “I don’t know what the fuck you were thinking of. I was talking about Pilates. I brought my home set with me.”
“Oh,” she replied. “Well, not my style, anyway. I’m going jogging, and then I’ll hit the hay. We back on stakeout at eight?”
“Yeah, it’s horrific to get up that early in the morning, but I’ll manage,” he yawned. “Anyway, night.”
“Night,” she waved and went down the elevator before leaving the hotel. Passing the cars in the parking lot, she stopped briefly on the sidewalk in order to slip in her earbuds and put on her preferred music mix on her phone before she started jogging at a brisk pace. She’d driven around three of the blocks, and it measured roughly to about a half mile all around. There was a dark patch around the last corner where the streetlight was burnt out and it was around the side of a building that didn’t have lights, but this area was safe and as a precaution she had her service revolver with her. She would be fine.
So, armed with the music of Midnight Moondust – Saffron was a fan; she wasn’t afraid to admit it – she began her jog, with a wonderful workout in mind, one that would tire her enough for a good night’s sleep followed by a great day at work.
The only remains they would find of Agent Saffron Masala the following morning would be her headphones, a single shoe, and a tarot card…
…XI, Justice.
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*shivers in dread* THAT, my dear Shin, is one HELL of an understatement!
7709849
Would you prefer I said "Things are getting to be a slight bit of an issue"?
7709868 I'm guessing Armageddon is right around the corner.
7709868 Um.... no.
7709883
Maybe not around the corner, but at least within the next quarter mile.
7709883
7709903
It should be at that next major exit. By the gas station.
7709889
Maybe a a tiny bit more inconveniencing than before?
7709916
img07.deviantart.net/e598/i/2015/166/3/8/7dsj_book_iii__ad_1____highway___by_shinzakura-d8xgv67.png
7709922 Something like that.
Never again is what you swore the time before.
So much understatements...
7709903 Well that's reassuring.
7710480
Or about 400m, if you're into metric.
I kept expecting Saffron Masala to be one of the Sirens. Nice subverting my expectations.
7710556
Daddy! Daddy!
What?
I wanto go to Armageddon!
*Sigh* Just let me go get the gun.
Very Interesting Update
This must be a mistake, I think? They already got someone for VIII, Indigo Zap back in chapter 2, but the card there was Strength, not Justice.
I've said this on most fics that have characters I hate with a passion (not the main characters, the bad guy/s): I will usually recommend that they have a meeting the most powerful comicbook being I know of. Because, if he's the one you're dealing with, shit just got real and your ass is grass.
Divine Right and his bitch need to have words with the Spectre (who will not only revoke his "divine right", but show him just what happen when use piss off the literal personification of God's wrath. Trust me when I say the Spectre can do much worse than kill him)
This is a good thing, since in means you've made my give a damn about you fics' world and characters. That's a rare talent Shin
7712793
"literal personification of God's Wrath" - Princess Celestia on a bad day?
7712696
Yes and no. Depending on the deck, Justice and Strength can be interchanged between VIII and XI. There is even a deck (The Codex of Fortune, IIRC) that puts both Justice and Strength at VIII, and puts a new card - Eternity - at XI.
Whether or not Divine is using this deck I leave up to you, but it is fair to say it's unique. I will add that I mentioned he is using the same deck as the original Dead Hand Killer way back when.
Oh right, I remember reading about that back when the VIII - Strength first showed up, and I noticed it didn't match the main table on Wikipedia.
I looked for this on google but I couldn't find any deck called "Codex of Fortune", and the only deck I saw with an "Eternity" card was the William Blake tarot, where it's numbered 00. I also looked around at some other decks and I didn't see any that were using the same number for two different cards. I could understand merging two cards into one, like having a single combined Justice/Strength card numbered VIII, but having two separate cards with the same number seems like it sort of defeats the purpose of numbering them in the first place.
Honestly, it still looks to me like you just forgot which numbering you were using for DR's deck. (Which is perfectly understandable, since the only other chapter where it matters was written over a year ago.) But I don't see why you wouldn't just fix it to be consistent.
7712821 Let me put it this way, the Spectre is as Powerful as the following: Tirek supercharged on all pony magic (Celestia, Luna, Cadence an Twilight's alicorn magic included) and discords' magic +the Rainbow Power + Nightmare Moon from Shins' AAG stories + The Elements of Harmony + Faust from same story/ies *100 + infinity*infinity on a good day.
To put bluntly, The Spectre is as strong as he needs to be. One moment he's just some bloke in a cape, the next, he's the most powerful force in the multiverse not counting his boss(aka God, aka the Presence, aka the man up stair) and his boss' oldest sons (Lucifer-yes that THAT Lucifer, and Michael)
7713731
As I mentioned, I may have gotten the name wrong. It's been years since I last saw it. As it is, most tarot catalogs I know of are woefully incomplete.
Mostly I did it to show the unusual status odd his deck, but I could see how a mistake could be seen. I'll change it as soon as I can.
7713875
Oh, right, I believe you mentioned this guy before.
Gotta say he sounds less impressive than say, Ghost Rider, who would just need to stare at the guy to make him feel the full weight of his sins.
The ending of that story makes even less sense now that FNAF: Sister Location is out.
Also:
ih0.redbubble.net/image.268456921.2740/sticker,220x200-pad,220x200,ffffff.u1.jpg
7715022
Exotic Butters would totally be a pony name. Or the nickname of the cousin of Butters from South Park.
7715022
Well, it all depends on if you see that ending as Ennard becoming the Purple Man who eventually becomes Spring Trap.
7726979
I was actually talking about This . Also, I think that it was ballora.
7715947
Markiplier already made the butters joke.
7714649
You need a soul for that. We are talking about Divine Right here..
9044524
He does have one just one so twisted it had become pure darkness itself