Song For a Siren

by FoxMcCloud7921

So Far So Good...?

The next morning, as soon as Sunset got up, she decided to text Adagio and ask what she wanted to do today. She didn’t expect her to respond back, least not until later in the day but she was surprised to see her text back within five minutes. “Wherever you want to go :)” Sunset was pretty sure Adagio wasn’t smiling on her end and because she wasn’t sure what her interests were, she decided to play it safe and suggest going to the mall. When in doubt, go there and see what they gravitate towards…

At school, the girls were a mixture of surprise and apprehension while they ate their lunches. “Not gonna lie, I thought she was gonna turn you down,” Dash said. “What did you say to convince her?”

Sunset hadn’t mentioned the possibility of her having to do whatever the Dazzlings wanted if this whole experiment failed. Even then, she was aware that Adagio could go along with it and pull a one-eighty right at the end. Actually, that was probably her strategy, for now at least. “Let’s just say I sweetened the pot for her,” Sunset replied casually. Dash didn’t look quite satisfied with the answer but she didn’t press on.

“There was one other thing I was wondering about,” Rarity said, as she ate her salad. “Say this all works out and we do manage to convince them to be our friends and all that, what about their magic?”

That of course was something Sunset wanted to put off til later but she guessed it had to be addressed. “Without their gems, they have no magic, obviously. Unfortunately, all I know about sirens is that they use their magic to lure others to do their bidding or otherwise draw out their negativity.” Now that she thought about it, it was interesting how they preyed on negative emotions, while changelings (formerly) preyed on positive emotions, or love. “I guess I’d have to ask Princess Twilight about that one. The other thing is I don’t know if they can even get their magic back at this point.”

“It’s kind of sad actually…” Fluttershy commented.

“Sad that all they ever do is manipulate and control?” Applejack asked. “Sorry Sunset, but it’s like ya said, what else can they do with their magic?”

Sunset frowned, mostly cause Applejack brought up a good point. Was it just in their nature to deceive and manipulate? If this was Equestria, what would’ve happened to them if they had their magic? Here, they were as normal as pretty much any student in this school.

Normal. When she had first come to this world, she lost her magic abilities and had to adapt, but at that point she could’ve been considered a normal person. Now, seven of them had magical abilities, and six of them had just been normal teenagers. She was now starting to understand the Dazzling’s resentment. Before, it was only them, it was how they survived this long. Now, they were reduced to normal bystanders while seven teenagers became wielders of magic. It was finally time to confront this.

---

Earlier that morning, Sunset texted Adagio that they would meet up at the mall right after school ended. Once she had gotten all her things, she made her way to the mall. It took about ten minutes but to her surprise, she saw Adagio waiting outside the entrance. As she was looking at her phone, it was obvious that she didn’t really want to be here.

“Took you long enough,” she said as soon as Sunset walked up to her.

“You know it’s not exactly a short walk from school,” Sunset replied.

“Whatever. So what exactly is it you want to do here?” Adagio asked.

Sunset had known how difficult it would be on the first day but nevertheless she managed to force a smile. “Just walk around, see if anything catches your attention.”

“Mm.” Adagio glanced at the entrance. “I suppose a little window shopping wouldn’t hurt…”

As they walked around the mall, Sunset tried to start off conversations but Adagio didn’t seem in the mood to engage. However, there was a small dress shop that opened a few months back that caught her attention and she wasted no time going inside. Sunset couldn’t help but chuckle as she watched Adagio look at dress after dress. “You know, in this situation I think Rarity would be a better companion than I.”

Adagio scoffed. “Please, I don’t need a know-it-all telling me what’s chic or what speaks to me. You’d be the most tolerable out of all of them.”

Sunset frowned. Guess that resentment was still bubbling in her after- wait a minute. “Why me?” Sunset asked.

Adagio had her back to her but Sunset noticed her tense up for a moment but she casually said. “Maybe it’s because we’re both of the same world and in a way we’re both strangers here.”

“You miss it there?” Sunset asked.

Adagio sighed. “Considering it’s been over a thousand years, I wouldn’t even know if it’s the same anymore. You wouldn’t know this, but the moment I saw that Equestrian magic was in this world, I finally felt excited. Maybe, just maybe, we’d be able to go home.” She then suddenly glared at Sunset. “Now, we’re stranded here and we have no magic.”

If there was ever a time to confront her, now was the time. “Alright, I knew you were going to bring this up sooner or later but look, you didn’t give us a choice. All of this could’ve been avoided if we had just talked.”

“Not like it matters now…” Adagio grumbled.

“For what it’s worth, I am sorry…I can’t imagine what it’s like not to have any magic at all. But tell me, is that all that you can do with magic?”

“You wouldn’t understand…”

“Then make me understand. Believe it or not, I do want to help you. And call me crazy but, if I knew a way to get your magic back, I would do it.”

Adagio snorted. “Oh really? And what if we just high-tailed it out of here once you did?”

“You’d still owe me,” Sunset said with a slight smirk.

Adagio smirked in return. “I suppose that’s true.” The smirk disappeared as a questioning look took its place. “You really want to know what it’s like to be a siren?”

“I do.”

“Well, you better buy us both a latte cause this might take awhile…”

---

The history of the Sirens was not well known to most in Equestria, most of what ponies or other creatures knew were regarded as folk tales. Adagio’s account was different and more detailed. Out east, far away from the continent of Equestria, there was an island where creatures of the sea that could sing most beautifully lived and prospered. There was no sort of government, they were just a small community, praying to a sea god that supposedly gave them life and purpose.

There were texts that mentioned that there were other types of sirens, one that lived in the heavens above and more bird-like, and another that supposedly could drag their victims to the depths of Tartarus. Adagio and her fellow Sirens had never encountered either, though it was possible the former could’ve been some ancestor of the hippogriffs.

When she was growing up, there were many that wanted to leave the island and discover new lands, new opportunities. Of course, not everyone was on board with that idea and as such, the once lively community was split in two. As for Adagio, Aria, and Sonata, it was obvious what choice they made. Unfortunately, as they met ponies for the first time and realized they could be manipulated, they became too ambitious and that would soon lead to Starswirl.

“It’s funny,” Adagio said as she took a sip from her latte. “After so many centuries, I hardly think about my family now. A thousand years in exile apparently does that.”

“Don’t you miss them?” Sunset asked.

“I don’t even know if they’re still alive,” Adagio replied with a frown. “Regardless, I’ve made my peace with that. I had other things to worry about…”

A thousand years was a long time and so much had changed in that amount of time. The technological advances had been exponential compared to Equestria, and while they had been able to manipulate their way through time, it wasn’t always a happy story.

“So much death,” Adagio said quietly. “Were it by other people, disease, or natural disaster, you never forget about it. You want to know why I consider people here scum? Because they never learned from their mistakes…”

“Not all people are like that,” Sunset argued. “I may have been in this world much less than you three, but people, most people, are willing to help one another, achieve goals they never thought possible. Sure, a lot of bad happened but really, is it that different than Equestria?”

“What about you?” Adagio asked.

The question caught Sunset off guard. “What about me?”

“Do you miss it? Equestria?”

“…I do. One day, maybe I’ll return and stay there, but I feel like right now I’m needed here. After all, all these incidents are in a way my doing.”

“I guess we do have more in common than we thought,” Adagio said as she finished her coffee and tossed the container into the trash. “There’s one thing that’s been bothering me though. Since when can you read minds?”

Sunset knew that she could lie, just say it was something she had always been able to do, though Adagio probably wouldn’t believe her. After all, telling her about the geodes could be dangerous…but friendship could only be built on trust and therefore she had to trust Adagio. Sunset grabbed the necklace around her and showed off the small orange geode. “You can thank this little gem.”

As expected, Adagio’s eyes widened. “Wait…where did you-?”

“In a cave near the Everfree Forest,” Sunset said. “I don’t know how it got there, but there’s no doubt it’s Equestrian magic.”

“Let me guess…your other friends each have one too?”

“That’s right.”

Adagio looked to be lost in thought until her phone suddenly buzzed. She looked at it and realized what time it was. “Oh…I need to get going.”

“Oh, well if you need to,” Sunset said as she got up. “So…what do you think?”

“Think of what?”

“This, us talking and all that,” Sunset said. “C’mon, it wasn’t that bad.”

“If you think you’ve got me hooked after one encounter, I pity you,” Adagio said casually with a small smirk. “But I admit it wasn’t…bad.”

“G-Good,” Sunset said a little too quickly. At least that was progress. “You know, since tomorrow’s Friday, we could always find something to do tomorrow night.”

“Hmm…if I say yes, I get to choose where to go this time.”

“I mean, I guess that’s fair,” Sunset shrugged.

“Good, then I suppose I’ll accept. I’ll see you tomorrow.” She then got up and gave her a small wave before she left.

Sunset stood there as she suddenly felt giddy. “Holy shit, this might actually work!”

---

“You’re back later than I expected,” Aria said once Adagio opened the door. “We figured you’d put up with her for ten minutes at most.”

“Nah, I decided to indulge her just this once,” Adagio said with a small shrug. “She’s not as annoying as I thought, at least.”

“So…tell us what happened?” Sonata said with a very wide grin.

Adagio groaned. “Nothing happened. All we did was talk…though I did find out one interesting thing.”

“Oh?” Aria asked, looking mildly curious.

Adagio had a wide smirk on her face. “Girls, I think I may have found a way to get our magic back…”

Comments

[Raistlin]

“So much death,” Adagio said quietly. “Were it by other people, disease, or natural disaster, you never forget about it. You want to know why I consider people here scum? Because they never learned from their mistakes…”

You are one to talk, Adagio. Despite being immortals you and your sisters never learned or changed.

[Darkness Moon]

oh boy... I hope nothing bad happen :/