Secondo

by Lil Penpusher

Stentato

The days had gone by slowly. Skystar was unsure if she was truly hopeless by now or whether she was just telling herself things were hopeless when they really weren't. For what it was worth, though, she had no grander scheme in mind in how to overthrow the sirens now.

Sure, she wasn't alone now, there were still a couple dozen Hippogriffs fighting along with her, but with Posada and Crack gone to form their own 'Red Front' and 'Aris Liberation League', she was effectively caught dead in the water in terms of reach and ponypower.

Everygriff was nervous now, not just her. She felt that every bit of them wanted to fight back and do what's right, but whenever she'd looked anygriff in the eye then, she saw that hint of desperation. Before, there was a mood of liberation and rejoicing. Now briefings were gloomy and bleak. Everyone was quiet, and nocreature celebrated when an operation succeeded.

It was all the same when the former princess entered the briefing room, then. Usually the room had been rather tight for everygriff, but since two thirds had now deserted the cause for their own operations... it was a lot more roomy. Skystar took note of every gap between any two hippogriffs present. It pained her to know that beforehand, there would have been friends and allies standing right there. But no more. They were on their own.

Skystar stopped just short of the lengthy metal folding table that everygriff had posted up against as the whole room saluted her. She took a deep breath and returned the gesture. Military stuff had never been her thing, funnily enough, as ecstatic and free-willed as she tended to be. Yet, in these grim times, discipline installed at least a vague sense of belonging and security in a sense.

Everyone's claws lowered as Skystar moved up to the table. Her eyes immediately fixated on a military radio that had been assembled on said table. Somegriff was tweaking the frequency as she stared at it. The sirens had announced publicly that a speech by Queen Novo would be given on a specific frequency, directed at the princess who was still on the run.

Was it some kind of trap? Distraction? Part of some bigger plan the sirens had? Probably. Skystar wasn't dumb and knew something was up, but no one in the room could raise their voice to object to tuning in anyways. Skystar had more than enough reason to want to hear her mother's voice, and they, too, longed to hear the voice of a sovereign under whom everything was right, in their memories. A time before all of this mess.

Static filled the room as they waited for the transmission. The princess felt a claw pat her on the back, and looked to her left to find Silverstream standing right beside her. They both smiled, heard the transmission slowly come to life, and looked to face the radio.

"Skystar."

Not just the princess gulped when they heard that familiar voice roar to life, with an added layer of static through the speakers. It was undoubtedly the Queen.

"Skystar, my dearest daughter. If you are listening, please give up and turn yourself in. Right now I am alive and well, but the longer you continue to resist the less the sirens will be able to guarantee my safety."

The voice was Novo's. That of her mother. And yet it was... cold. Unmoving. That type of voice of a thrall of the sirens whenever the sirens commanded them directly to speak. Already a sole tear ran down her cheeks, and she felt Silverstream's hug tighten.

"I know you are afraid, my dear. I am also. But we must look to our responsibilities as Queen and Princess of our people. You were always quick to remind me that we must set an example for our people to follow, to show mercy when nopony else would, and avoid conflict so that our people would, also."

There was a brief pause, leaving only the static of the radio to fill the room. Some Hippogriffs looked at one another with concerned, saddened frowns. This was the first real confirmation that the Queen had been enthralled by the sirens, or even information that the Queen was alive at all. The sirens had kept that a tight secret, it seemed. A trump card for moments like this. They were using her as a hostage, and everygriff knew it... but they felt so powerless to do anything about it.

"Skystar, I beg of you as you always begged of me to let go of your fear and anger. Please, lay down your weapon and surrender. Our people, Skystar, they are suffering from the strain your resistance is causing. There are dead and wounded on both sides, Arisians killing fellow Arisians. It should not be like this, my daughter."

A sudden sniff and sob caused heads to turn all throughout the room. The princess immediately placed her right claw over her eyes to prevent anygriff from seeing her cry out in the open like that, and she wished to just run away right at that moment, but she could not. This was her mother talking to her, and nopony else. Mind-controlled or not... she wanted this.

"I hope one day we can see each other again, my dear. Know that, while many things may change, I will always be there for you, and will always be your loving mother. I hope this message finds its way to you, my dear child, and that you find yourself able to return to my embrace soon."

The radio gradually switched to a fizzling static noise as the voice cut out.

"Skystar..."

Silverstream's voice was already being drowned out under a hail of sobs, cries and incoherent shouts and curses. Anger, fear, regret, sadness, it was all there and in Skystar's head right then and there. The young princess just couldn't handle it. She was not her mother, she was not the leader she was, and even if she were they were all doomed and lost.

Silverstream gasped and was left with her mouth open as her friend turned tail and rushed out of the room. The former friendship student's own heart dropped when she heard a final, hurried chant from her fleeing friend as she burst through the door before rushing down the hallway outside.

"I'm sorry, mum. I love you too."

Silverstream's claw lowered only slowly, and before she closed her mouth, a heavy sighed escaped the Hippogriff who was otherwise so carefree and ecstatic about all things of life. She had read about so many things in Equestria while in school there. How villain after villain had attacked Equestria, only for good and friendship to triumph in the end. Tirek, Chrysalis, Discord, Nightmare Moon and many others.

That's what really made her worried. Her many lessons about friendship and the power it held? They proved useless now. This was nothing like what the professors had taught her, and evil was winning, and fast.

She and the rest of the room, who was about as gloomy and depressed as she was now, perked up as the radio sprung to life for a second time. A voice came through, but a different one, now.

"I hope you are still with us." The voice of Adagio sounded as manipulative as it sounded outright sinister. "I expect our honoured guest to have made a positive impression on you all. Though, just to remind you, and this means you specifically, little princess: surrender now, and you will all be unharmed as your little resistance is made to be forgotten. Continue to resist, and... well, I suppose we might start plucking a few feathers, so to speak."

Nocreature found the will to turn the radio off. The voice was savage and borderline sadistic, and they could hear her giggle at her own threats, too.

"But we know that every good performance requires an audience, of course," the voice on the radio continued fiendishly, "and so we had helpful servants of ours do some digging and investigation. Funny how some ponies and griffs never did regularly show up at work anymore, or how they weren't seen in public in who knows how long."

The voice cackled again, impressed by itself even still. Silverstream found her annoying and unbearable.

"If you believe the pretty, little princess is the only one in trouble, think again. Let's just say I would recommend you surrender when we come for you, else your families might not be around to see you again. Or maybe I'm bluffing? Tssk, tssk, tssk. Who can tell, really?"

The radio transmission cut out abruptly, and reverted to pure static. Someone finally bent over the table and turned the device off, ushering the room in silence, finally.

Silverstream, for her part, simply turned about, back to that stupid thing that had spouted all those things, and marched out of the room, both angry and upset at a lot of different things. But that didn't matter to her then. She was concerned about her friend, because whatever she was feeling, Skystar was probably feeling it three times over.

---

Adagio was ready for another endurance test on her temper. Sonata, of all creatures, had asked to speak to her as soon as possible about something she had apparently 'invented'. The thought of her teal-coloured helper 'inventing' anything inspired boredom and frustration as much as it did dread.

When the door to her bedroom opened without a prior knock, she already knew who it would be. Nopony under their spell would have been suicidal enough to carelessly roam into her chambers like that. One creature, though, continuously was.

"Adagio! Oh good, you're here!" The youngest of the three sirens as familiarly loud and cheerful, which fell on rather deaf ears for an Adagio that was resting on her bed, eyes closed.

"Of course I'm here, Sonata. This is my room, you know."

"Well yes! But we all have a lot to do now and you and Aria are always doing thing together and also there's that new Hippogriff you tasked and also-" Sonata paused and took a deep breath. "Aaanyway, I was looking for you!"

"Yes, you told me so." Adagio's eyes opened to a squint as she looked up and over at her companion who floated in the water besides her bed. "Care to tell me why or do you just plan on standing there all-day?"

"Oh right!" Sonata replied as if she had completely forgotten up until then. "So, you know how this resistance thing came to be because it's, like, really hard for us to sing to everyone at least once, right?"

"Right," Adagio replied coldly.

"And you know how it's suuuper hard and tiring to do that for, like, millions of creatures?" the teal siren continued.

"Yes."

"And you know how you tried to use that radio thing a few weeks ago to see if we could spread our song through that, but it didn't work?"

"...Sonata, what is your point?"

"Ta-daaa!" Adagio's eyes, previously barely open as she rested on her bed, shot open wide as Sonata revealed a glowing item from behind her back. The yellow siren hadn't even noticed how her guest had kept one fin behind her back that entire time until now, but here she was presenting a black necklace, with a stainless, refined, red gem hanging from it. A perfect, albeit smaller, copy of the very gems inlaid upon the chest of the sirens themselves. "Eh? Ehhhh?" Sonata continued, teasingly presenting her product as she moved it about left and right. "What do you think?"

Sonata brought out a wide smile as Adagio rose from her resting position and tried to immediately snatch the necklace, but its 'inventor' was faster and pulled back in time.

"Not so fast, now!"

"Sonata, what... what is this!?" For perhaps the first time since their return... or ever, maybe, the self-anointed leader of the trio felt respect for the usual clutz of the group. This.... yes, yes this seemed interesting even on a surface level. "This isn't just jewelry you found in a store, is it?" she asked further, just to make sure.

"Nope! I had this made fro magical crystals! You know, the ones that are really, really rare over here?"

"But... only the Crystal Empire has-"

"Double nope! Turns out ponies just needed to dig! There's a few sprinkled around on Aris, so I took them and had some tests done."

Adagio blinked at the ditzy siren twice over, and shook her head as if waking from a brief trance. "Tests? Are you telling me you made this?"

"Somehow!" Sonata seemed surprised by her own words, but the result she was holding in her left fin was proof enough. "Ok, to be fair, it took like, a lot of attempts... but it worked! On an unrelated note, the research lab near Howlington blew up..."

"The-"

"Twice."

Sonata could only blush and look innocent as Adagio facepalmed hard, shaking her head. And to think she had been proud of Sonata just a moment ago.

"Ugh, nevermind that. What does it do?"

"Basically, it's like our own gems. Whoever wears it is able to enthrall others with their singing. But! There is an added catch!"

"Being?"

"I had the spell modified by fusing it with our own magic spell. Anycreature wearing this will be put under our spell, and anycreature they themselves sing to will therefore also fall under our spell."

Slowly, this time, Adagio reached out for the necklace, and this time, Sonata was glad to pass it on.

"So you mean to tell me that you found a way for us to pass on our spell to others and spread it even faster, further, and more thoroughly?"

She inspected the gem carefully, stroking its crystal clear surface with her left fin. This was not a joke item, she could tell. She saw herself mirrored in it, and likewise saw the sinister grin that formed on her face.

"Yep!" Sonata appeared to reply very simply, but still carrying the same type of happy smile as before. She was glad her invention had caught on with her personal idol.

"Sonata, how many of these can you make?"

That question caused the teal siren to pause for a little, and she shrugged with a slightly embarassed grin.

"Ehhh, not a lot. It's still a prototype, and the exact crystals it needs are pretty hard to find. I guess... maybe one every two months? Assuming I don't blow- I mean, assuming the scientists don't blow anything up. That's what I meant to say." She nodded and crossed her fins confidently. Adagio rolled her eyes for but a moment at the remark.

"Hmph. Then we'll have to make the most out of the ones we can get." The siren leader held up the necklace before her face, letting the gem dangle in front of her eyes. "Tell Aria we- no, you, have found another key to solving the magic deficiency problem."

"Tell Aria about the magic defa... defe..."

Adagio lowered the necklace and groaned.

"Just tell her you found something to help with our magic problem," Adagio repeated, in laypony's terms.

"Got'cha!" Sonata responded, and was already moving back out as she forgot to shut the door behind her.

Comments

[PearlyDoesStuff]

Useful tacofishe