A Diva Discovery
"Oh my gosh! Did you see me Rarity?! Huh, did you see me?! I was actually singing with Countess Coloratura! The Countess Coloratura! I can't believe we won the contest! It was so awesome!" Sweetie Belle said rapidly as she pranced circles around her elder sibling, her squeaky voice sounding only slightly less jovial than Pinkie Pie on a good day. Rarity was just as excited for her little sister, although she was noticeably more reserved in her enthusiasm than the filly.
"Yes! It surely is Sweetie Belle," Rarity exclaimed as her eyes struggled to keep track of the filly. "Uh, Sweetie? Could you kindly stop please? You are making me rather dizzy."
Sweetie Belle did as she was told, and came to a stop beside her sister. "Sorry Rarity," she apologized, though the glee she was exhibiting never once faltered. Rarity simply smiled as she ruffled the little unicorn's curly mane with a hoof.
"It is quite alright dear," she soothed. "It is perfectly understandable that you feel like this this. I am quite proud of you darling."
"We all are," said the soft voice of Fluttershy as she and the rest of the group, minus Applejack, came up to meet them. "You were all really amazing singing up there," she added with a sincere smile. Everypony else nodded in agreement.
"It went a lot better than our last public performance, that's for sure," Scootaloo said as she zipped around Rainbow Dash, appearing as little more than an orange blur around the cyan pegasus. This elicited a light chuckle from everypony, both from her words and from her antics. The little filly was just as excited as Sweetie Belle had just been moments ago. The only one out of the three that seemed to have any sense of restraint was Applebloom, as she was busy glancing all around in search of something amid the crowd of ponies around them.
Twilight noticed this and asked as she stepped up beside the filly, "What's the matter Applebloom? Are you looking for somepony?"
"Yeah," Applebloom answered. "Ah'm lookin' for Applejack, but Ah don't see her around. Have an of ya seen her?"
It was Rainbow that answered the question as she said, "Yeah, I think she's off talking to Countess Collar-something-or-other."
Twilight Sparkle was not entirely sure, but there was just something about the way Rainbow had said those words that made her believe that there was something else going on in the pegasus' mind that she was hiding. "Is something wrong Rainbow?" she asked, wondering what was up with her friend.
Rainbow merely shrugged and replied, "Eh, I'll be fine. I just don't get why AJ's pretty much ditched us to be with that mare. I mean, I get that they were friends back in the day, and one's super famous now, but come on."
At this Rarity fixed Rainbow with a wry smile, knowing all too well what was really going on. "Why Miss Dash." she said, "you aren't jealous of the Countess now, are you?"
"I am not jealous!" Rainbow said, practically shouting her denial. The outburst drew some attention from the crowd of ponies milling around them before they returned to their own conversations. Despite her insistence, the way her scratchy voice sounded a little more high pitched betrayed her real thoughts, causing everypony to give a light chuckle at her expense. Rainbow knew that they were just teasing her however, and began to chuckle along with them.
"Aright, so maybe I'm a little jealous about it, but come on. AJ could have at least introduced us to her."
Before anypony could offer a reply to her complaint, they all heard a familiar voice with a southern drawl answer for them, "And if ya'll would wait just a bit Ah can do that. No need for ya to be impatient." Everypony turned to see none other than Applejack trotting towards them, with the singer and presumed pony, Countess Coloratura, alongside her. Everypony around her was either cheering her name or requesting her autograph, which slowed their progress considerably. Eventually the two mares were finally able to break free as Coloratura graciously thanked her fans for their support.
As the two approached Applebloom exclaimed, "There ya are!" before running up to greet her sister.
"Sorry Ah made ya'll wait everypony. Had a heck of a time getting through that crowd," Applejack said as she was embraced by her little sister in a crushing embrace. "Me an' Rara were just catchin' up a bit."
Twilight could not help but smile knowingly, although secretly she wondered if a certain topic had been discussed. Most likely not, given how many ponies continued to swarm around the pop star. But now that she was practically standing right next to Coloratura, Twilight could not help but think that there was something different about her than before. It had nothing to do with the fact that she had completely changed her look to be more modest, as opposed to the eye shadow and mane extensions. It was more than that.
There was something in the singers eyes that Twilight could not quite identify, like she did not really want to be here anymore. Twilight began to wonder if there was something wrong that was upsetting her, but decided not to say anything with everypony around.
"So these are the friends you told me about?" Coloratura said, receiving a nod from Applejack. "It's so nice to finally meet you all personally. Aj's told me so much about you all."
"Good things I hope," Rarity said with a light chuckle. Everypony laughed with her, though Twilight still got he impression that Coloratura was not quite as invested in the mirth as everypony else. In her ears the singers laughter sounded almost hollow, like there was no actual joy behind it. Nopony else seemed to notice however, not even Pinkie, which made Twilight wonder if she was just imagining it.
Suddenly Pinkie Pie, who had been strangely quiet after her "discussion" with Svengallop from earlier, suddenly gasped and exclaimed, "I know what we should do!" Zipping over to put her forelegs around Applejack and Coloratura's withers she began to say rapidly, "We should throw an Applejack-Meets-long-lost-fillyhood-friend party to celebrate Applejack finding her long lost fillyhood friend! I can have everything set up in a jiffy. It won't take ten minutes!"
Applejack grinned at the pink mares jovial attitude. "That sound mighty fine Pinkie." Turning to Coloratura she said, "What do ya say Rara? Ah can personally guarantee that ya'll have fun. Ah mean, ya haven't really been welcomed ta Ponyville until ya'll have had a Pinkie Pie Welcome. Ya up for it?"
When Applejack asked the question, Coloratura hesitated for the briefest of moments, and uncertainty flashed in her teal eyes before it disappeared. Nopony else seemed to pick up on it, but Twilight did, and she knew that it was not her imagination playing tricks on her. There was definitely something going on that was bothering the pop star, and Twilight wondered what it could be, or if it had anything to do with what she really was.
"Oh, I don't know AJ," Coloratura said, sounding truly sorry. "I'm feeling a little wore out after everything that's gone on today. It's like I'm about to fall off of my hooves at any moment. Do you mind if I just called it a night, and we can have the party later? I'll still be around for a few days at least, so there's plenty of time for it."
Despite her attempt to placate them, everypony seemed to deflate a little to hear that she could not join them right now.
"Well, alright then," said Applejack, sounding slightly disappointed. But just as quickly her sullen expression was replaced with a somewhat mischievous smirk. "But ya better believe that Ah'm gonna hold ya to that Rara."
Coloratura responded with a smile of her own. Letting out a little laugh she said, "All these years and you still haven't changed a bit AJ." Coloratura then leaned over and gave her friend a light nuzzle.
"Nope," Applejack responded.
With that everypony said their goodbyes and farewells to the singer, and began the trek to their respective homes. Twilight Sparkle, however, hung back as she watched Coloratura go behind the stage, presumably back to her little trailer, where the truth had been revealed to Twilight by a careless Svengallop. Twilight was glad that she had been there to deal with him before he became a problem, but still there seemed to be something bothering Coloratura. This struck Twilight as strange, especially after such a successful performance earlier.
"Hey Twi? Are you coming?" Rainbow Dash called when she noticed that Twilight had not joined them. Twilight briefly considered what she wanted to do before she answered.
"Don't worry about me. I'll catch up with you later," she called back. "I just have something that I need to take care of first."
Twilight felt a sense of satisfaction when Rainbow merely shrugged, apparently deciding not to pursue the matter and ask what she was up to. "Alright. See you later egghead." With those parting words Rainbow flew off, leaving a multicolored streak and a mildly annoyed princess in her wake. Twilight wished her friend would stop calling her that one of these days, but decided to ignore it favor of other things on her mind.
Coloratura breathed an audible sigh of relief when her tacky orange trailer finally came into view, and her pace quickened to swift trot. She was eager to finally be away from the spotlight for a little while and finally have a few moments to herself. She was genuinely saddened that she had to deny Applejack's invitation, but Coloratura had been telling the truth when she said she was feeling wore out, though it was it was not just from the days events.
Everything, from Svengallop walking out on her to the stress of changing her entire routine had taken its toll on her, and it was becoming increasingly difficult to not faint on the spot. If that had happened, then losing her cranky manager would be the least of her worries.
But now she was alone, and Coloratura could relax and go back to. . .
Coloratura paused briefly as she reached out a hoof to undo the latch. Her eyes became downcast and a frown found its way to her muzzle as she thought about how long she had been keeping her secret from everypony around her, including Applejack, the same mare that had been one of Colorarura's very first friends in a long time. In fact, she had been her first actual friend, one that she held so dearly to her heart that she even referred to herself by the nickname the farm pony had given her.
One that I keep lying to, even now, Coloratura thought. Even years after she had first met Applejack, Coloratura felt a deep longing to finally reveal her secret to her friend, hoping that she would be accepted. But every time she wanted to confess, memories of other times when she had tried to be open around others, ponies in particular, and she would bail out at the last minute every time.
Sighing heavily, Coloratura eventually built up the nerve to open the trailer door. But when she stepped inside, the singer found herself feeling a sense of dread when she saw the state the interior was in. Papers, mostly fan mail, had been scattered all over the place. Almost all of the drawers and cupboards had been opened. It was plainly obvious that somepony had come in here in search of something, and Coloratura felt that she could guess pretty accurately what that was.
Almost panicking, she barely had enough forethought to shut the door behind her before she frantically raced over to the cupboard overhead at the very back of the trailer, almost ripping the door off of its handle as she rummaged around, pushing aside plastic plates and other manufactured stemware in her search.
"Where is it?!" she exclaimed, almost shouting from her building anxiety when she did not find her arguably most valuable possession in its usual place. She paled to think what would happen if somepony had actually taken it. Not only would her secret be exposed, she would likely perish if she remained separated from it. She was already taking a huge risk by taking it off every time she appeared in public. If she did not find it soon then-
Coloratura spotted the small wooden chest sitting on the counter next to small sink, partially behind a stack of posters with her face leaning over it. Not even bothering to question how it got there in the first place, Coloratura hurried over to it. Pushing the posters aside with her snout she undid the latch keeping it closed and flipped the lid up.
Coloratura felt a strange mix of emotions flood her being when saw that it was still here. She felt unimaginable relief sweep over her to know that nopony had stolen it, and that her secret was not going to be made public anytime soon.
But at the same time, Coloratura felt strangely disappointed, like she was not truly glad to know that it was still there. She loathed the fact that she could not live without it for more than a few days. And she absolutely hated that such a small, seemingly inconsequential thing, was the cause of so much heartache in her life, both literally and metaphorically. And it was not like it would really do her much good now that Svengallop had chosen to quit on her.
Her relieved expression turned to one of sadness as she looked forlornly at the little red hexagonal gem in the box, kept in place by the layers of dark fabric around it. She dipped her hoof into the box to pick it up and-
A knock at door came, and the sound startled Coloratura so much that she almost knocked the box off of the counter. "Just a moment!" she said in a tone that sounded a little too high pitched in her ears as she scrambled to place the gem back in the box. Quickly she hid the container in a small closet, placing it behind her old outfits before shutting the door. Breathing deeply to calm her nerves, Coloratura proceeded to put on a blank face and quickly trot to the trailer door. Undoing the latch she pushed it open, and was surprised to find one lavender alicorn standing in front of her with a raised hoof as though she were about to knock again.
"Oh! Princess Twilight," Coloratura said in surprise. "What an honor this is. I wasn't expecting company, much less from royalty."
Princess Twilight merely smiled and said, "Good to see you again Miss Coloratura."
"Oh no, please. You don't have to call me that," Coloratura said while giving a little wave of her hoof, feeling some of her nervousness fade a little. "Applejack just calls me Rara, so it's only fair that the rest of her friends do the same."
Twilight nodded with a small smile on her face before she looked up at the singer with an odd expression that she could not quite place. "I hope I'm not being too much of a bother. It's just that none of us really got the chance to talk back there."
Coloratura laughed sheepishly as she rubbed her left foreleg with a hoof. "Yeah, sorry about that. Like I said, I wasn't really feeling a hundred percent earlier. The whole day has been kind of stressful for me, what with changing my whole routine." Coloratura sighed through her nostrils. "Not to mention Svengallop quitting on me. Don't get me wrong, he was a pain to have around at times, but he. . . he had his uses."
Coloratura was fairly confident that the Twilight would not catch the meaning behind the statement, until she noticed the princess had her head slightly tilted, as though she had just heard something strange. It was not the kind of look that indicated she knew anything, but it still made her feel somewhat nervous. Hoping to turn the conversation in a different direction, Coloratura quickly said, "S-so anyway, what can I do for you Princess? Did you want to come inside and chat for a little bit?"
Twilight strangely seemed to hesitate, but only for a moment before she nodded her head and replied, "Of course, if you don't mind that is, Rara."
"Not at all," Coloratura said as she stepped over to allow the Princess entry into her trailer. In truth the last thing she wanted was to be alone with a pony that could so easily overpower her if she was discovered, especially in the state she was in. But for the sake of good manners, Coloratura felt it would be safe enough if all they did was talk a little bit. Twilight stepped inside as Coloratura closed the door behind her. Strangely the Princess did not seem to be at all surprised by the mess, which Coloratura felt relieved about. If she had known that her presence was going to be graced by a Princess she would have done more to clean up. As it was she could only hope that Twilight did not find it to be too much of a bother, as the alicorn in question sat down on a small yet brightly colored comforter. Coloratura took a seat opposite the Princess to allow for a more easy conversation.
"So," Coloratura said, hoping to break the ice, "how are you doing Princess? I imagine you have a lot on your plate, what with ponies coming to you for advice and whatnot."
The corner of Twilight's mouth turned up in a smile. "First off, if you're going to have me call you Rara, then I'm going to have you call me Twilight. None of that "Princess" business, especially if nopony's around to tell you otherwise, alright?"
Coloratura felt a smile of her own form on her lips at Twilight's gentle admonishment, giving a short nod in reply. "Fair enough, Twilight" she said with a slight chuckle.
Twilight responded with a chuckle of her own, and Coloratura felt some of her anxiety from earlier begin to ebb away in her presence. She did not say why, but there was just something about the lavender alicorn that comforted her enough to feel safe and relaxed. That was not to say she was not still cautious around her, but she felt secure knowing that she was not going to be discovered immediately. When the laughter died down Twilight continued to speak.
"So anyway, I just wanted to come over and see how you were doing. Forgive me for prying, but it just seemed to me that you weren't feeling well earlier. Is everything alright?"
Coloratura sighed heavily through her nostrils, as the subtle wave of fatigue she had been hiding for some time now once again made itself known. She did her best to hide it, but ultimately felt it would have been pointless if Twilight had already seen.
"I'll be honest," she finally answered. "Today has been kind of hard on me."
"I can imagine why," said Twilight, eliciting a short from the singer. A moment of silence passed between the two mares, during which neither of them seemed to be sure what to say next. Eventually Twilight cleared her throat, startling Coloratura slightly as she readjusted her position on the comforter.
"Col- um, Rara?" Twilight said, sounding a little hesitant for some reason. Coloratura was confused by this, as she did not think that the conversation had become that awkward.
"Yes Twilight?"
The lavender pony paused to take in a breath to steady herself, And Coloratura got the distinct feeling that whatever was on her mind was an uncomfortable topic for her to think, much less talk about. What that topic was she had not the foggiest idea, but if it was making the Princess nervous then it must be a serious issue. However Twilight seemed to be having trouble saying it, as she opened her mouth a few times before faltering, and Coloratura had to keep herself from laughing at how much she looked like some sort of fish. Eventually Twilight seemed to work up the nerve to finally speak again.
"Rara. . . do you. . . " Twilight faltered, as she took another breath before continuing. "Do you. . . . Do the names Adagio, Aria and Sonata, mean anything to you by any chance?"
The moment Coloratura heard Twilight say those three names, she felt her own heart skip a beat, and she had to struggle just to keep herself from panicking right then and there. But even then she still felt herself let out an involuntary gasp of surprise as her ears fell and her pupils shrunk to the size of pinpricks, wondering how the Princess knew of those three. Even more importantly, Coloratura wondered why she would even mention them at all, and the only explanation that she could come up with was that Twilight had somehow learned what she really was, which in her mind could only mean that she was here to apprehend her.
As the realization sunk in, Coloratura fought to keep herself under control as she ever so slightly began to inch towards the door, hoping the Princess would not notice long enough for her to get away. Swallowing the lump that had somehow formed in her throat, Coloratura began to say nervously in a stuttering voice, "I-I don't know what you are talking about P-princess. I've never heard of those names in my life."
Twilight however did not appear to be convinced, as she slid off of the comforter, moving towards Coloratura with an outstretched hoof. She said something to Coloratura, but the singer could not hear over the thudding of her own heart as she realized that had been discovered by one of the last ponies she wanted to know her secret.
"No!" she exclaimed, abandoning all attempts at being discreet as she made a dash for the door, not even caring if she was leaving her gem behind anymore.
"Coloratura, please! Just hear me out!" She heard Twilight say just as she reached the door. To her confusion and terror however she found that it would not budge. It was then that she noticed that it was surrounded in a faint magenta light. She looked to see that a similar aura emanated from Twilight's spiral horn, and the hopelessness of her situation became evident to her.
"Stay back!" she shouted as she backed away from the lavender alicorn as far the small confines of the trailer would allow her to. "I'm not going to let you take me away! I didn't do anything wrong!"
"Coloratura, please! I just want to-" Twilight began to say, only for her to be interrupted by the frightened mare.
"What do you want with me?! Just please leave me alone!"
"Rara!" Twilight exclaimed suddenly, causing Coloratura to flinch in fear as she cowered before the pony. She covered herself with her hooves, fully expecting to feel a ray of magic to hit her at any moment. She closed her eyes tightly as she began to cry, hoping beyond hope that she would not be hurt. For what seemed like an eternity, Coloratura waited for the blast to come.
It never did, and Coloratura risked opening her eyes to see why she was not currently being held against the wall by magic, or why there were not half a dozen royal guards storming inside the trailer to take her away. What she found instead was the Princess looking down at her with what appeared to be a concerned look in her wide eyes. Coloratura was of course confused by this, as she had expected the Princess to be hostile towards her for discovering her true nature, however she managed to do it.
Twilight slowly began to trot towards her, and Coloratura, still not sure what her intentions were, tried to back away more. "Please, please don't hurt me," she pleaded as Twilight came to a careful stop a few hoof lengths away from her. To her alarm Twilight raised a hoof and moved it towards Coloratura, and the singer began to feel another wave of panic override her thoughts, until Twilight said the absolute last thing that she expected to hear.
"It's okay, I'm not going to hurt you," Twilight said in a comforting tone, her hoof still outstretched in an unmistakable gesture of goodwill. Coloratura was unsure what to do, and eyed it warily for a few moments before she slowly took it in her own hoof and allowed Twilight to help her up of of the floor. When she up on all four legs again Coloratura regarded Twilight with a confused expression.
"But. . . why would . . . ?" Coloratura faltered, as she continued to try and process what was going on here. In response Twilight gave her a sincere smile before she unexpectedly wrapped her left foreleg around Coloratura, pulling her into a hug. Coloratura was initially alarmed by this action, but after a moment she felt all of her fear and anxiety melt away into Twilight's embrace, and she instantly knew that she was in friendly company. Letting out a breath that she did not know she had been holding, Coloratura returned the hug.
"Th-Thank you," Coloratura said softly, and the strain her voice was obvious as she struggled to keep herself from crying again, but this time it was from joy and relief. The relief came from the fact that her secret was still safe, at least for the moment. But the joy and happiness that she felt was from the revelation that she had discovered a pony, a princess no less, that still considered her to be a friend even though they knew what she was. Such a thing she had not thought she would ever find after years of hiding.
"Thank you."
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unicorn’s
Eh, the whole I/Ah thing bothers me. Their accent isn’t THAT thick.
AND I AM NOT JEALOUS! DO I LOOK JEALOUS?!
that it was not
You forgot to close the quotations.
Isn’t that a part of her in full Siren form? Yikes, it’d be like ripping out your heart and wearing it like a necklace.
CLIFFHANGER? NOOOOOOOOO!
Making me.
6706180
On the subject of AJ's accent, I just decided to follow the crowd. You see this kind of dialogue in many other fics besides this one. To be honest it was little jarring for me as well.
Also thanks for catching those errors.
I was so confused for a while because apparently my brain decided that that comment from before was actually part of the story! While that comment was awesome, I like this version better. Gives us more room to expand upon the situation. The original comment wrapped everything up too nicely and left no room for continuation chapters.
I thought that segment looked a little familiar.
Masterweaver is awesome like that, once he's toned down on his more... radical tendencies.
...Nah, even his crazy stuff is awesome. He did give us Javolt, after all.
Why?! Why must we suffer the agony of cliffhangers?!
I wanna know how Rara knew the Dazzlings! Were they related?! Were they 'friends'?! I hate the suspense!
Ohh, told from Rara's PoV! Poor siren! Nice chapter, can't wait for the next.
I do believe you meant "You are making me rather dizzy."
Its just getting good now.
Can't wait for the next chapter and Applejack finding out about her friend
There only needs to be one smiled
This is a great story.
I do hope to see this continued!
I could just imagine the letter Twilight would send to Sunset about this.
Rara: So...what gave me away?
Twilight: ...Your mane.
Rara:...
Rara's a Siren, big whoop. At least she's not related to the Dazzlings.
Yay, new chapter, and nice to get a look into Rara's head- she really is sincere, though curious about what will be your take on sirens, based on Rara's comments about her gem. Especially a siren that is still in Equestria compared to the exiled trio. Wonder if there will be any history between her and the Dazzlings, or she'll simply know of them.
What is Rara relationship with the The Dazzlings?
6708185 your profile pic tho when you asked that question
6707975
Could be or it could be that the Dazzlings are the topic of a scary story Sirens tell their fillies to make sure they hide their true natures. You know the standard "if you tell anyone pony the truth you'll end up just like them!" boogy man story.
6709179 xD
I recommend you have someone go over it with a fine-tooth comb.
6706218 I can probably fix all the errors throughout this story. I do excellent work when it comes to that stuff. I am majorly OCD about this stuff, so I try to get every error out of the equation.
Good work. Now that the cat's out of the cat, what will happen now?
So, if Coloratura believes being separated from her gem for a few days is enough to kill her, in a world brimming with magic...
That doesn't bode well for the other three Sirens, trapped in a nearly magicless one and with their pendants shattered.
This chapter felt necessary and I wasn't bored reading it, but at the same time it was predictable enough that I have little to say about it.
6706180
6706218
Thick accents make it easier to tell who is talking without the reader getting spammed by semi-synonyms for 'said' in conversations with short paragraphs of speech or losing track when one character is speaking at great length.
I BELIEVE Mark Twain was the one to make accents in writing popular with Tom Sawyer/Huckleberry Finn. His motivations may have been different but I wouldn't know. In any case you may be in good company by using them.
YMMV as to if either of those make it worth it.
6706302
I had the same thing happen to me!
6903946
They should hope that the portal turning them into humans and/or the blast of second hand(sic) Element Of Magic energy removed their dependence on magic to live. Given the tone of the show it seems likely that is the case. Wasn't Sombra the only villain who died?... well, I have seen at leasr one fic that sold me on the idea of Chrysalis dying from injuries sustained in the landing after getting blasted out of Canterlot.
But...if you go by the comics Sombra was regenerating from his horn, and Chrysalis is alive and well.