Chapter 2: Memory and Theories
The Dazzlings were led to the CHS, faintly pleased that Sunset had chosen not to bring them there during school hours. Considering that three of them had gotten enough scornful looks in their lifetimes juxtaposed with the welcomed vacancy of the area, they paid Sunset the courtesy of not asking how or why she had a key. Through the door and down the halls, the trio found themselves in the music room, but with distinct modifications made since the last time they were here. Large machines of uncertain purpose were positioned at different corners, large, ridiculous, mad-science-lab cables running from the machines to... somewhere that one could presumably fit such large plugs. Did the school even have anywhere to-
It was best not to think about it.
"Okay," said Sunset as she replaced her new jacket with a labcoat, "the current theory is that music is what triggers the transformations because of the soulful expression it provides, and as magic is typically channeled from within, the-"
Adagio snapped the fingers of her right hand.
Aria finished Sunset's sentence. "The link between the feelings of freedom and levity borne of that expression touch the frame of the spirit to draw energy in a way not typically conductive to formation of proper spells."
Sunset stared back at the Dazzlings in a short, silent stupor. "Eh... R-right... And, my guess is that while you typically need something like an anatomical matrix built in to cast spells in Equestria, thi-"
Adagio snapped the fingers of her left hand, Sonata speaking up this time.
"In this world, the rules and systems by which that energy is concentrated, focused, and projected are different, on account of the energies never having been meant to enter this plane of existence to begin with, so the methods of use are at best ambiguous, even arbitrary, and perhaps dangerous." Adagio cleared her throat, making Sonata tense up. "Eh, m-more dangerous than is standard for magic!" An approving nod made her smile with a hint of relief.
Sunset's jaw dropped. "H-how? Why, wh-what-"
Rolling her eyes and crossing her arms, Aria let out a mildly irritable sigh. "Coltlantis was pretty advanced y'know, and we weren't even what you'd call 'A students.'"
Adagio giggled, hugging Aria and Sonata under an arm each. "'B-Plus,' myself, but my girls have always made me proud in the end." They quickly squirmed out of her hug, to her slight amusement.
Sunset raised a slightly agitated eyebrow. "Hold the phone, if you guys are this smart, why do you need my help restoring your voices?" She wanted to ask why they'd have used their brains for evil as well, but couldn't really throw stones in that department.
Aria looked annoyed herself. "Do you know everything about everything, miss Smartest Girl In School?"
Blink. "Oh, well, no, but-"
Sonata frowned. "We might remember the basics from Interdimensional Survival Class (helped a lot when we were banished, actually), but that doesn't mean we know all about magic here."
"So anyway," Adagio picked up, "I understand you'll be wanting us to sing now?"
Having anticipated this, Sunset made as reassuring a smile as she could manage. "Nobody else is around, there are no forms of recording device in the room, and you have my solemn oath that I will not make fun of you no matter what it sounds like at first."
Grateful though she was for all of that, Adagio shook her head. "No, I mean, your plan is to draw magic from within us, right? Everything we had was in the gems, they-" she stopped, examining a hand while experimentally flexing her fingers. "...Though, it is odd that we didn't turn to dust on stage that night..."
Sunset smiled. "And that's why I think there's still hope! Twilight wrote me about what happened when ponies, even alicorn princesses and the Spirit of Chaos, were drained of their magic. Long story, but the result was that everypony drained was weak and exhausted until they got their magic back. That you guys aren't just still alive, but apparently healthy even now, tells me you can't have lost everything with the gems. Have you always had them?"
Aria scratched her head. "Wait a tic, this sounds a little like... Uhh... Drawin' a blank, but-"
"Life-force," muttered Adagio, visibly searching her memory, "trigger has to be... Or, no, it was that no magical device works without a living entity, an intelligence of some kind, to trigger it? I think that was the gist of that lecture..." She looked directly at Sunset. "No, we weren't born with them, but they were grafted into our flesh. Long story, but the result was that all of our power was focused and expelled through them, so we thought we'd die if they were ever damaged. You mean to suggest that, since they were destroyed and we're still here...?"
Wincing a little at the image of a stone being fused with living tissue, Sunset tried to focus on the matter at hand. "Ehm, y-yea, you might have been living life-support systems to the gems, not the other way around. If that's the case, you should still have whatever you had before them," she smiled, "and if that's the case, we might still be able to reach it!"
Not completely sold, but lacking better theories, the trio nodded as one and set to work. Sunset had them start with some of the songs the others had ponied up with, getting only screechy, unpleasant results. The Dazzlings were not happy to degrade themselves in front of anyone, let alone Sunset Shimmer, but they didn't give up, trying each and every song Sunset had any measure of success with.
"Okay," Sunset said when all the Rainbooms' songs had failed to draw magical reaction, "I have an idea. Maybe if I start a song and pony up, you guys can start singing with me and-"
Aria smiled a little. "and harmonizing our voices might make your magic jumpstart ours?" Sunset nodded. Adagio looked proud again.
Sunset tried to ignore the self-consciousness that came with being a lone singer in front of other people as she began the next song. Closing her eyes as the trio stared at her, she focused on her real purpose here; helping the Dazzlings understand friendship the way she did, making them see the benefits of helping people out of the goodness of their hearts. If she could figure out how the magic of this world really worked while she was at it, so much the better, but what she really wanted was to offer them what Twilight offered her. After the first chorus, she started to glow, feeling the energy well up and envelop her as her hair grew longer and her old ears appeared atop her head. Not slowing in the song, she opened her eyes and nodded to the sirens, who sang along.
To no desirable effect.
All four of them kept at it until the song was over, but Sunset could see in their faces that the Dazzlings were losing hope, same as Sunset herself as the magic faded. The looks she got said all that needed to be said about how the situation looked; that not only were they never getting their voices back, but that Sunset was rubbing her own magic in their faces. The thought of it made Sunset's chest ache. "There has to be something we can do, w-was there something you did back in Equestria? Back in Coltlantis? Something that, I mean, for ponies, the acquisition of a cutie mark is a magical manifestation, d-do your people have anything like that? A spell, a ritual, an occurrence that leads to being able to sing the way you did before?"
"In the same sense that a unicorn being able to cast spells at all is a 'spell, ritual, or occurrence,'" answered Adagio in dull, quiet tones.
Sunset scratched her head, aware that the physical gesture did nothing to help wrack one's brain, but willing to try anyway. "Maybe, maybe it's that-no, come to think of it, the songs the others ponied up with were ones they or a close friend wrote, maybe that has something to do with it? What if you tried some old Coltlantian songs? Something the three of you sang back home?"
At first, Adagio had suspected that Sunset, and by extension the Rainbooms, just wanted her and her followers as prizes, living trophies to celebrate their victory, not unlike Sunset herself may have been, but she was less and less certain of this as they went.
Nobody needs cheerleaders this badly, and if they just wanted to show off, keeping us crippled would only display their power all the more prominently. That look in her eyes, that's not a thief counting their coins, that's desperation. She really wants this.
She glanced to Aria and Sonata, her voice gentle. "Do you two remember Soft Stones?"
"'Course," Aria replied with a little grin, "couldn't go a week without hearing it in the Shell district."
Sonata giggled. "It was really a classic!"
Thinking back to easier days, the trio closed their eyes. They began the song as horribly as all the rest, but focused on their memories, of the gentle hospitality depicted in the song and the sense of peaceful safety it so often encouraged. They couldn't have been butchering it worse, but they focused on what they remembered it sounding like, how they used to be able to sing it. By the second chorus, they didn't even hear themselves anymore, reliving the memories of when they'd sung Soft Stones, Coral Catch, Surface Shine, and others in almost perfect clarity.
The three of them felt warm, light, and happy, things they hadn't felt in conjunction for decades, at least, since long before they were banished. The music flowed through them like a current, sweeping things up and blowing them around, knocking things loose and scattering them to drift down again. Eventually, the song came to an end, all three of them smiling at memories they hadn't touched in many years. When they opened their eyes, they saw Sunset smiling widely at them, hands clasped and tears welling in her eyes.
Aria was the first to ask. "What?"
"Did you hear yourselves?"
"In a manner of speaking," answered Adagio, "why, did we sound...?"
Beaming, Sunset nodded a little. "You guys didn't quite pony up, but there was definitely magic! Sing, sing anything!"
They started the intro of Soft Stones again, immediately startled to find that they no longer gave trapped cats a run for their money. They stopped, shakily and hesitantly began to smile, and tried one of the Rainbooms' songs, finding they could hit the notes just about as well as they could have before. They tried the first few lines of another, and another, and another in unison, earning consistent results. How they determined which songs to try without saying a word to each other, Sunset couldn't guess, but she was exceedingly happy anyway.
"It worked! I kne-" The Dazzlings rushed her, eliciting a terrified shriek before she was tackled to the floor and crushed in three of the most bruising hugs she'd ever received.
After about four straight minutes of pained wheezes amid a loud, tearful stream of thank-you's, the sirens regained control of themselves and let her go. Which is to say, they stood up and stared at her prone, battered body, feeling that they may have been overenthusiastic in showing gratitude.
Lying on the floor in a disheveled heap, Sunset twitched a few times, but she was still smiling. Ohh, friendship moments. She caught sight of Adagio awkwardly rubbing the back of her neck, smiling down at her.
"Haha, sorry. Do you, er, should we do something, or-?"
Sunset kept her own grin. "Infirmary, please. You remember where it is?"
"It came up in the tour, yes." With another snap of her fingers, Aria and Sonata took their cues, moving to lift their fallen benefactor by the legs and under the arms. They transported her in tandem through the door and down the hall as Adagio walked alongside them.
"So," Sunset said aloud during her surprisingly smooth transportation, "about our deal...?" The sirens all stopped where they stood. For a worrying second, Sunset feared that they were about to drop her and run, but instead, they all shared a slightly regretful look and spoke in unison.
"Aw, crap."
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Sweet, super sweet,
Agreed.
Err, right.
And, you know this, how?
Right...
Fair enough.
Interesting, but, Sunset, is it wise to play mad scientist with a sadist, an emo and whatever Sonata is?
Might work.
That might work.
All right!
OK, this made me laugh.
Why would I worry about flesh-grafting? It's a powerful tool in any edition of D&D where it shows up.
I'm going to assume it was mostly the fall that injured Sunset, otherwise the Sirens have ridiculously strong hugging arms.
Ya done good, Sunset. Great chapter!
Didn't understand much of the technobabble, but I assume the Elements don't prevent the Sirens to use their song magic in harmonic ways... like cheering.
To much technobabble and i was shocked on how Sonata explained it(im so proud), still this chapter feels like filler, i really hope to see the three in action, also maybe without the pendants they can actually help and give a possitive fealing instead of what they used to.
Also i still wonder why is Sunset doing this aswell how will they be receved by the other students
I liked the technobabble. And I find it amusing that your decided place of origin for the Sirens is the same as mine.
...drat I hate not being able to get my writing done.
"Aww crap."
They... uh... clearly sort of forgot about the 'cheerleader' bit.
great chapter again it shows why sunset is the best. she will never give up on anyone! twilight would be so proud of her! great story and a fun read ! well done!!
Look at it this way for the Dazzlings: They can use their 'charisma and sexiness' for distractions.
So the sirens healed themselves by basically tapping into their own life force and using a bit of it as magical energy. Interesting. From the Friendship Games, it appears that the "pony up" effect of the Rainbooms is based off some sort of reservoir of magical energy they gained that draws from the Equestrian portal. I wonder if the Dazzlings are doing the same, or just drawing directly from their own life force.
I'm wondering about several things: First, are their voices permanently fixed, or do they have to "siren up" each time they want to sing about anything? Second, Sunset didn't just restore their voices, she taught them how to channel magic without their gems. Surely they are weaker now, but could they use this magic to entrance others again, even if they can no longer gain energy from discord without their gems to drink it in?
Finally, does the energy they are using come from Equestria, like the Rainbooms, or is it just basically burning a piece of the siren's souls for fuel? Because if it is the latter, and they keep using magic, that could have really terrible consequences for the sirens themselves.
Also, I can't wait to see them try and form a pyramid with Adagio on the bottom. You could never balance on that hair!
6496198
Mild Friendship Games spoilers: Sunset said at the end that the magic manifested in the form of pony traits and, by the way Rainbow tackled that plant thing into the dirt, some measure of super powers, based on when they were acting like their true selves. Rarity ponied up making outfits, Pinkie did it throwing a party, etc. I'm actually trying to stick to the canon rules for this.
Of course, the 'our magic must be changing' line tells me that there were never any real rules and that they're making it all up as they go, 'changing magic' being something between a handwave and a convenient retcon.
I had meant to show that their voices were fixed by having them sing the first few lines of several of the Rainbooms' song, yes.
I figure standard kelpie magic would be something like a supernatural affinity for really emphatic music, like a special talent. Singing happy songs might be like a tiny injection of levity in those that hear it, but nothing too far above the standard reaction to the same song sung by someone else. They might be able to influence people a bit if they sing something that makes them pony up, so to speak, but you could just as well chalk it up to the three of them being able to charm people as they are.
The much more potent, more direct mind-altering effects, in this instance, were entirely the work of the gems.
Does that make sense?
I'm thinking that (mild spoiler that I can't guarantee is actually plot-relevant) when the sirens absorbed energy from the Rainbooms' argument, the way they grew pony ears and the longer hair after (not sure what to make of the wings) makes me think they absorbed a little more than raw power that night. It's possible some measure of the all-important harmony magic they were siphoning imprinted onto them, whether they knew it or not. That in mind, the standard, muted magic they'd have had here anyway may be backed up by what they unwittingly took in and kept dormant up until Sunset had them wake it up.
That in mind, their power supply here is their own magic, same as any Equestrian, but filtered through whatever it is that makes the Rainbooms' magic work, even if they didn't fully pony up in this chapter.
...Huh. It kinda looks like I should have included more technobabble, but I'd rather this not get boring for anyone. It's something Sunset and at least one Twilight can geek out about later, if nothing else.
6496304 Thanks for the detailed reply! I wasn't sure if you would bother answering, since this story at first glance seems mainly to be a character piece about the Dazzlings learning cheerleading, but I appreciate your thoughts.
I think Pinkie and Rarity were doing stuff like this in the first movie, before they got any magic. It's hard to separate what is in-universe "magic" from what is just the effects of them being in a cartoon, like when pony Twilight gets hit by a piano and doesn't die, or when Spike crushes on Rarity and his eyes become hearts. Personally I figure no long ears, no tails=no magic, just cartoony, like when Lyra and Bon Bon went at each other in those bird suits.
I noticed first Twilight sucked the power out out of the portal, and then she sucked the magic out of each Rainboom. I interpret that as each Rainboom ponies up from an inner reservoir of magic, and then afterwards unconsciously recharges their magic from whatever is constantly leaking across the portal. Notice the girls weren't able to pony up again until a big rift to Equestria tore open, restoring their connection like a dropped wifi router.
I like the sound of natural kelpie magic, it fits with mythology, and it means their gems were really just power converters/amplifiers then.
So you're saying that unlike the Rainbooms, the Sirens aren't drawing in the magic of Equestria from the ambient magic flowing from the portal, they're just generating a certain amount from their own bodies, hopefully a renewable source in small amounts.
At first I was questioning the idea that the Sirens have a bit of harmony magic they can tap into, but Sunset Shimmer did go from having the Element of Magic transform her in #1, to suddenly being able to manifest an alicorn spirit in #2, to discovering the alicorn was insider her all along in #3, and that fits the pattern you're describing.
I don't know if anyone besides us likes the detailed magic technobabble, but thanks for indulging me!
6496431
I make up something different almost every time I write these three, but bound to get a few good ideas out of it all.
A bit of column A, a bit of column B, maybe. They can sing as a normal human ability because even if it's just their magic that lets them sing, I see no reason their vocal cords would switch back to those of crushed rodents when the magic stopped.
There will always be others who enjoy a bit of hearty techonobabble!
For the rest, however, the simple, light-hearted comedy should be the better part of the focus for the rest of the story, along with a few song parodies!
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Hehehe, I like this, the idea of them being cheerleaders is adorable.
Oh god the headcanon just blew my mind.
it did look painful, i feel bad for the dazzlings... in this universe and this universe alone. so far.