Resplendence Revoked

by NaiadSagaIotaOar

Fracture

Power. It surged through her veins, filling her entire body with a strength that she had not known for centuries but never forgotten. Her song grew louder with each passing second, spreading over the crowd and clouding their minds with a murky haze. All eyes turned to her, every single one glinting with desire and affection. An eerie hush fell over the crowd, each and every spectator swaying gently in time with the music. Though they did not cheer, she knew that they thought of nothing but her.

Then another song shook the air, sung by voices she knew and loathed. She turned her baleful crimson eyes towards the hills and her lips spread into a wicked, mirthless smile. She mustered her strength, exultant at being gifted an opportunity to exercise it so quickly. A living shadow of her once resplendent form took flight above her, descending upon her foes with piercing notes shrieking from a fanged maw.

Her enemies fought back, of course. They struck back with all that they had, for it took every drop of effort for them to even match her. She saw her sisters recoiling beside her, but still she pressed her assault, thoroughly confident in her own power. Her song reached its highest crescendo yet, crushing all resistance and scattering her enemies. An electrifying bliss of victory rushed through her, exciting her every sense beyond even the ecstasy that came with her newfound power.

If only for a moment, all was silent. She breathed heavily, panting as her heart raced. She heard the echoes of her song fading and knew beyond all doubt that her victory had been sealed. Throwing her head back, she let out a booming, malevolent cackle.

But then, just when her glee peaked, another voice began to sing. A beautiful voice, nearly as lovely as her own. Every word hung in the air, resonating with a captivating melody. To her dismay, she saw her enemies, though beaten and battered, rising once more to accompany their new ally into the fray.

She gathered her song, ready to strike again, but faltered when she felt a wave of magic washing over her, imbued with strength that dwarfed even her own. For the first time, she felt truly insignificant as Harmony itself split the sky and struck her down with a multicolored beam of piercing light. Her spell crumbled in an instant, the formidable strength she had worked so hard to obtain fading rapidly and turning into a lance of agony that seared her chest. She fell to her knees, gasping for breath and raking at her suddenly bare throat.

It all happened so fast she barely had time to realize what had happened, but the next thing she knew, she was running off into the night with her sisters close behind.

---

Not until they all stood in the safety of their living room did any of them pause, even to look at each other or to speak. They stood in a circle, each one holding the shattered remnants of their once-magnificent pendants. Their eyes flitted back and forth, each one looking to their sisters in the hopes that one of them would be able to bring at least a little comfort.

Adagio grit her teeth, damning her silver tongue for losing its eloquence when it mattered most. She racked her brain for something to say, but no words came. No orders. No plan. No consolation. All she did was stare at her gem, letting the reality of their situation sink in.

Silence reigned in their home, agonizing silence tinged with palpable despair until Sonata broke it with a soft voice.

"Adagio?"

The sound snapped Adagio out of her stupor. She lifted her head to look, but regretted her decision when she saw the look of desperation on Sonata's face.

"What are we going to do now?"

And there it was. The one question she hoped not to be asked, but of course it was the first one to be posed. Still, she knew that she had to say something, if only to deflect the question and maintain a confident facade. For as long as they had been in the human world, her sisters had always looked to her for guidance. She had to stay strong. For them. "It's been a long night," she said, hating how her voice cracked and wavered. "Go to sleep. Rest. We'll... talk in the morning."

Aria opened her mouth, doubtless ready to protest, but a stern look promptly silenced her. Her grimace hardened to a scowl, but she complied with Adagio's command as she always did and marched up the stairs. She remained silent, but it was a different sort of silence, brooding and grim rather than despondent.

Sonata lingered for a moment, staring at Adagio with those wide, pleading eyes of hers before turning and following Aria.

Adagio stood in place, silence returning as the sounds of her sister's footsteps faded. For a moment or two, she kept her eyes locked on those fragments, still processing what had gone down earlier that night. She had felt such a rush of power that the prospect of defeat sounded absurd, but that was exactly what had happened. They lost. If only for a moment, she had it all. Everything that she had wanted, right in the palm of her hand and it slipped away in the blink of an eye. Their victory had been torn from them just when they were starting to enjoy it.

Rest, she told herself. I'm not thinking straight. Not right now.

She kept the fragments of her gem close to her chest as she ascended the stairs and returned to the security of her bedroom, where she set the fragments down on her desk, careful not to lose even a sliver. Before she took her own advice, she turned to her closet and looked at her reflection. Her face and body were still the same, still graced with a quality of perfection that few could match, but beyond that everything was in shambles. Though her features were still the same, her beauty was marred by tangled hair and pained eyes. Even her dress, the one that she had adored and worn with such pride, looked suddenly hideous, a grotesque reminder of the tragedy she had worn it to.

She lingered just long enough to tear the offending garment off and throw it into the corner before crawling underneath her covers, laying back and struggling to relax. The second she laid down, her hand unconsciously felt her neck again. There had been a time, back when they first left Equestria, that the gem felt unnatural hanging from her neck, but she had grown accustomed to it over the years. Its absence was torturous. She writhed and wriggled, scratched and rubbed in a vain attempt to alleviate her discomfort.

It was an hour until her fatigue overcame her and her eyes finally began to close, but another hour until she finally drifted into a restless slumber.

---

The sound of her door creaking open roused her. She grumbled, reluctantly forcing herself to sit up. A part of her wanted to ask what time it was, but she decided that seeing what had awoken her was more important. She squinted in the dim light, vaguely aware that there was a blurry shape in her doorway.

She tried to speak, but the most she managed was an incoherent mumble mixed with a yawn. Her head lolled towards her shoulder, her weary neck unable to support herself.

The blur inched closer and spoke in a strangely familiar voice. “Adagio?”

Lying back against the wall, Adagio clutched her forehead and struggled to think. “Sonata? Is that you?” When she heard sniffling, she lowered her hand and sat upright.

Sonata stepped closer until she was next to the bed. It was hard to make out her face in the poor light, but a tear dripping down her cheek glistened in a stray ray of moonlight shining through the window.

Adagio leaned forward, reaching out to take Sonata’s hand and squeeze it gently. “Are you alright, Sonata?”

Hesitantly, Sonata shook her head and murmured a quiet, “No.”

“Sit down,” Adagio said, carefully coaxing Sonata to sit on the bed. “Tell me what’s wrong.” She already knew the answer, dim though her thoughts may have been. How could it be anything else?

Sonata stammered for a moment and spoke exactly what Adagio anticipated. “Are we ever going to get our voices back?”

Fortunately, the darkness concealed Adagio’s wince, though the way she paused likely said all that her shrouded face did not. “I don’t know,” she said, hating the doubt she heard in her own voice. “Get some rest. We’ll talk in the morning.” She wanted to say more, to tell Sonata that everything would be fine, but she wasn't sure she wanted to lie.

Sonata went silent, staring at the ground and pausing for several long seconds before she spoke again, barely loud enough to be heard. “Did we lose because of me?”

If she was not alert before, those words broke Adagio completely out of her stupor. Her other hand went up to cup Sonata’s cheek and gently lift her head. She looked into Sonata's eyes and spoke earnestly. “Don’t say that, Sonata." She racked her brain for something more to say, but could only fall back on the same empty words she had said before. "Rest. We’ll talk in the morning.”

Reluctantly, Sonata nodded. “Can I stay with you tonight?”

“Of course.”

Sonata slid across the bed to Adagio. Without speaking a word, Adagio wrapped her arms around Sonata and pulled her closer. Sonata also remained silent, curling up and resting her head on Adagio’s shoulder, sobbing softly. What a sorry sight they must have been, so far removed from their formidable heritage.

Say something. Comfort her. She shouldn’t have to cry like this.

No words came. Tears flowed freely from Sonata’s eyes and Adagio could do nothing to stop them. She wished that there was something she could say, but to her eyes the night was so bleak that there were no words to say that could make it bearable. With nothing else to do, she settled for staring forward so that she did not have to torture herself by looking at tears that she could do nothing to stop.

They’re gone. Broken. Shattered.

We failed.

No.

I failed. If I had been more careful, then maybe...

She reminded herself again that she was not thinking rationally, that her judgment was clouded by surprise and weariness. However valid her thoughts may have been, she pushed them to the side. If all she could think of was misery, then it would be better to not think at all.

Because she wouldn’t cry, no matter what happened. She couldn’t cry. Not in front of them.

Comments

[Eyeswirl the Weirded]

Because she wouldn’t cry, no matter what happened. She couldn’t cry. Not in front of them.

She will if the foreshadowing in those other stories has anything to say about it. On that note, is this a continuation of the previous two?

[OmniFox]

For the first time ever, the Dazzlings now know what failure and disappointment feels like.

[Smaug the Golden]

I'll be a hundred percent honest, I'm significantly underread when it comes to the sirens. I like the concept, but as a whole, I just don't enjoy the EQG setting, so I tend not to read these stories. As it stands, though, this is enjoyable so far. I do feel for the characters, given how you present them, and the loving sibling bond does feel quite real (as the oldest of four, I can vouch for the feeling).

One thing I do think could be handled better is the description. While the mindset and atmosphere is pretty well set, the setting is not. There's a lack of description, making it so that the setting feels somewhat like a black and white house with standard beds and living rooms. This might have been what you were going for, but otherwise, it feels very bland. The best advice I've got regarding that is just to inject a bit more color. The odd color or how they interact with their scenery would probably present a far more vivid picture.

So far, this looks rather interesting. I'll take a look at the next chapter soon.