Siren Days

by Spyder27

So, What Now?

Chapter III: So, What Now?

The gymnasium of Canterlot High is a lot bigger than I remember it being… The last time I was here, I hypnotized the whole school with Aria and Sonata. The only ones who weren’t affected were Sunset and her friends. I’m still not sure how they didn’t fall to our spell, but a part of me is grateful they were able to foil our plans. If we had succeeded, I wouldn’t have this life of mine… I’d still be a siren full of lust for power. Just thinking about the possibility of me hurting Sunset is… Well, I don’t like thinking about it… Bringing my hand to my scarf, I take a deep breath, trying to ignore the people inside this room. I’ve already noticed a couple of people staring at me since we got here, but I’ve tried to be strong for Apple Bloom’s sake. I promised I would do anything to help fix the mistake I made and I can’t afford to break another promise with her…

Walking across the shiny floor, I recognize a few of the people around us, but most of them fade into obscurity. Some light music plays in the gymnasium to try and give a relaxing atmosphere to the contestants before the competition begins, but honestly? I’m anything but relaxed at this moment… Even with the coat and scarf Sunset gave me, I can’t help but feel nervous. If I just act confident enough, maybe no one will bother me…

“Are ya nervous?” Apple Bloom asks me, prompting me to look down at the young girl, a concerned expression dawning on her face.

“A little bit. Why do you ask?” Apple Bloom looks around the room shortly before giving me a slight nudge, her gold cape flowing behind her as we walk.

“Cause truth be told, I kinda am too.” I can’t help but raise my eyebrow at the cowgirl, a confused feeling coming over me quickly. She’s nervous? I thought she’s done this competition before. Shouldn’t she be used to this? Besides, it’s not like she has people who hate her here.

Actually, I probably shouldn’t assume that… Apple Bloom has told me about her issues with bullies in the past. Surely she doesn’t have the whole school against her though, right? I know at least half the school remembers me as some siren who tried to take control of everyone… If Apple Bloom has a similar problem, I can’t imagine how hard it would be on her. “But you know how this process goes, right?” I ask her with a skeptical look, making Apple Bloom shrug slightly.

“I suppose so. All we really hafta do now is wait until they tell us to begin. I guess we will just stand around and socialize until then.” Socializing… Usually, it’s not too difficult for me to strike up a random conversation, even if it’s a fake attempt to gain someone’s favor, but here? I’d rather just disappear… Wearing my flashy attire doesn’t help with the fact that I don’t want to be seen, but I will have to find some way to deal with it. “From that weird face you have, I’m guessin’ you don’t wanna socialize, huh?”

“Weird face…? What do you mean?” I ask her in a confused tone, briefly bringing my hand to my cheek to try and find out if something is out of the ordinary.

“Whenever you’re conflicted, you always squint one of your eyes and keep your eyebrow raised. Sometimes, you even stick up your lip a little when you’re thinking of a solution,” Apple Bloom tells me so nonchalantly that it sounds normal, despite the fact that she’s talking about my facial movements.

“I do not,” I quietly respond, crossing my arms as I look down at the young girl. Does she really know that much about my body language…? How perceptive is she? Furthermore, am I really that predictable? No, I’m not… Right? I was a master of charisma and manipulation back in the day. Have I lost that gift…?

“You’re doing the defensive stance ya always do,” Apple Bloom tells me while she walks away, prompting me to follow her towards the edge of the room. I guess I have lost it…? I mean, I never want to be that power-hungry siren again, but… I was pretty talented… And I let myself lose those talents… I replaced them with my tendency to be anti-social and the abilities I learned from the rough parts of town. After all the work I’ve done, I still haven’t proven that I can be more confident in myself…

Those gifts aren’t lost forever, right…? I can try to relearn them… “Whatever. What do you want to do while we wait?” I ask the young cowgirl, looking around the room carefully.

“We don’t really have much to do until the competition starts, honestly. The one thing I do want to do is find Scoots and Sweetie Belle and wish them luck.” Apple Bloom’s eyes scan the people in front of us with a small frown, trying to find her friends.

“Who are Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle teaming up with? Isn’t this competition supposed to be one student and one adult?” I ask the cowgirl curiously, leaning against the wall Apple Bloom led us to.

“They’re probably with Rarity and Rainbow Dash again. Though, I suppose it depends on if they were busy or such.” Apple Bloom looks at me and puts her two index fingers close together, locking her eyes with me. “All of them are pretty close with each other, so I would be surprised if Rarity and Dash weren’t here.”

Sometimes, I can’t help but question why Rainbow Dash is close to Scootaloo. They aren’t sisters and friendships between two generations are not really that common. I mean, Apple Bloom and I are friends, but we’re sort of a rare case. When it comes to Rarity and Sweetie Belle, I don’t even know why the fashionista comes to half of these things when she complains a lot. She and her sister have such wildly different interests, but they still have a pretty strong bond. I guess that happens sometimes… I can’t exactly say Apple Bloom and I share a lot of interests. Even Sunset and I have different things we like. Though, with her, we have a lot more things we like to do together than separately. “Why didn’t you ask Applejack to do this with you? You two have a pretty strong relationship, so wouldn’t you want to do this with her?” Apple Bloom shrugs slightly to my question, her eyes still glued on the crowd around us. The smell of everyone and the room is almost overwhelming… The mixing of perfumes and hygiene products. The scent of rubber from sneakers. The vague smell of dirt and dust in the air… It all sorta makes me feel dizzy.

“I’ve done this with my big sis before and she has some investors she wanted to talk to. You know, with selling our products and all.” Apple Bloom makes a gesture to symbolize her holding something small, presumably an apple.

“Ah. Well, what about your big brother?” I ask her, trying to distract myself from all the smells. And the stares… Even though I’ve already noticed quite a few people staring at me, I haven’t had anyone directly talk to me. That could be a good or bad thing, depending on context. Mostly, it depends on what they’re saying about me. As long as I can leave this school alive, then it will be fine. Just… don’t let them get to you, Adagio. You’re alright. You can handle this, right? You’re Adagio Dazzle and you’re a changed person. Siren… Whatever. If they can’t handle that, then it’s their loss. Yeah…

“He don’t really like school functions. And he’s helping our granny get around. She isn’t as mobile as she used to be…” A solemn expression comes to Apple Bloom’s face as she looks to the floor, her shoulders drooping slightly from whatever thought is on her mind. Within a moment, however, the young cowgirl forces herself to perk up, locking her eyes with me once again. “But we will be able to win this! I think so at least~ Do you think we can…?”

“Apple Bloom,” I say in a teasing tone, bringing my hand to my hip with a smirk. “Do you really doubt us? You have a master siren on your side~ You think that we’ll fail with our combined talent?” I may not be as confident as I once was, but at least I can admit I have a little value now. That’s something I couldn’t do back in December… I just need to keep working at it.

“Well, no! I was just um… well, maybe I was doubting us. But that’s because you haven’t seemed that confident and there are a lot of people participating… And I’m not sure about my own abilities.”

“The only reason I haven’t seemed confident is because I’ve been… worried about my past. In no way do I think I lack what it takes. You’re talking to Adagio Dazzle, remember?” I ask her with a raised eyebrow, giving her yet another smirk. “Besides, you’re also pretty talented. Don’t doubt yourself. You’re the same Apple Bloom who taught me how to confess my feelings to Sunset and reminded me that I’m still worth a damn. Give yourself some credit.”

Apple Bloom blushes slightly to my statement, seemingly not used to hearing things like that. Before she can respond to me, she giggles slightly, shaking her head. “I mean, you only needed a reminder. I think ya still knew how amazing you can be if you try. Though, it’s nice to see you being this confident~” Apple Bloom tells me with a thumbs up, smiling at my display of confidence and charisma. “Just don’t let others get to ya and I’m sure we’ll do fine in this competition~”

“Note taken,” I respond with a slight nod, pushing her shoulder slightly. “Speaking of the competition, I was thinking. How exactly will we know who has the cheat sheet?” From what Apple Bloom’s told me, only one team is given a legitimate cheat sheet by the vice principal. I highly doubt our team will get it, considering my previous record, but I’m sure Apple Bloom and I can handle the first couple of activities, but if we want to win, that sheet may be our best shot.

“Ah, that. Well, every competition, Vice Principal Luna ‘unofficially’ gives a team her cheat sheet. This team is sorta called the Moon Knights by our school since they’re supposed to be so secretive and all,” Apple Bloom reiterates the lore of the competition to me, using small hand gestures to help her message. “Since they’re supposed to be secret, it’s kinda difficult to find out which team has the sheet. Some teams never give away the fact that they’re the Moon Knights since they take things slow and make it look like they’re just a normal team. The best thing we can do is be observant of everyone else and try to pinpoint who’s the most suspicious.”

“So, in short…” Looking towards the crowd with a slight smile, I can’t help but feel a little overwhelmed and intrigued at the same time. “We will need to stick together, but we also need to cover all our bases. Interesting.” This will be a… fun game.

“Basically. Do ya have any plans?” The cowgirl looks a little intimidated by the monumental task, but she swallows and puts on a brave face.

“I think we shouldn’t focus on the same teams. If we’re both looking into the actions of Team A, then Team B will escape our grasp. For all we know, they would be the ‘Moon Knights,’” I tell her with air quotes, my eyes rolling slightly at the ridiculous name. “If we-” Before I can say another word, my eyes focus on the one person walking in our direction. Instantly, the white woman registers in my mind, her colorful hair being unforgettable at this point. I’ve seen it only twice in my life. In this world and in Equestria… Within a moment, Apple Bloom follows my gaze, surprise washing over her face.

“Oh! Hey, Principal Celestia!” Apple Bloom exclaims in a surprised tone, seemingly happy to see her principal walking towards us.

“Hello there, Apple Bloom~ How are we doing today?” she asks her after closing the distance between us, her eyes switching between Apple Bloom and me.

“Feelin’ confident that we can do this!” Apple Bloom happily tells her, grabbing onto my arm with a smile. It seems that their relationship isn’t as… weird as the one I have with the principal…

“I see~ I wasn’t expecting to see you here, Ms. Dazzle,” Celestia refers to me, holding her hand out to me with a kind smile. The fact that Celestia still treats me as if nothing happened between us is still confusing for me. I suppose that just goes to show how professional and mature she is, despite the fact most people would be justified in feeling angry for my past actions.

Taking her hand in my own, I return the smile with a slight nod. “What can I say? Apple Bloom has a way of convincing me to do what she wants.” Celestia chuckles at my explanation, looking towards the girl beside me.

“Yes, she does have a tendency to do that, doesn’t she? I’ve heard Cheerilee talk about the same situation.” A sheepish grin comes to Apple Bloom, her hand gently scratching the back of her head.

“W-well, I can’t help it if the rules can be bent in some ways, right?” A nervous chuckle comes from her, the statement making Celestia smile.

“That’s a good observation and quality to have~ Make sure to keep it.” Without wasting another second, her eyes look towards me and her smile becomes softer. “I have to go, but I do hope to see you two succeed. It’s nice to see you back, Ms. Dazzle.” Celestia gives both of us a small bow of her head, walking away from the both of us.

“Bye, Principal Celestia!” Apple Bloom responds with a wave, both of us seeing her return the wave before making her way towards the stage. “Oh, horse apples! It’s already time?! I need to go tell Scoots and Sweetie Belle good luck!” Apple Bloom exclaims before running away from me, my eyes barely able to catch the dust trail behind her. So, it’s about to start, huh? I’m not sure what prompted Celestia to greet us. I guess it has to do with me being here… I’m sure we can do this. Watch out, everyone. Apple Bloom and Adagio Dazzle are coming your way…

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“You think it’s Silver Spoon’s team?” Apple Bloom asks me with her eyes trained on the gold pieces in her hand, trying to piece them together. Every activity on the school’s grounds will give a team a gold piece if they complete it. Apparently, all of these pieces are supposed to form the school’s symbol. Whoever has the symbol complete first wins the competition. The first few activities we’ve done were simply child’s play. One activity was a music quiz that asked teams to identify what note was played, but a lot of people seemed to struggle on that one. We passed that pretty easily with my experience singing and teaching music to others.

“I don’t think so. I taught the girl during the summer and I don’t think she can hold a secret that well.” Considering the fact that she LOVED to gossip, I would assume the girl would probably say something accidentally to out her team. Since nothing has pointed to her, I predict that they don’t have the cheat sheet. “Do you have any suspicions?” I ask Apple Bloom as we walk down the relatively empty hallway. Usually, schools are pretty packed with students, but since the activities are spread all over the school, it makes it a lot less difficult to travel from one to the next.

“No clue, but I do know that I’ll go crazy if even one of these pieces goes missing,” Apple Bloom tells me as her eyes still intently look at the tiny parts, trying to find a way to put them together.

“Do you know how many activities we have left?” Taking the pieces from Apple Bloom’s hand, I quietly put them in a side pocket of my bag, making sure to zip it up afterward.

“I think we have… ten left…? So, roughly half?” Apple Bloom tells me with an exhausted face, both of us seemingly drained from the amount of work this has required so far. “I’ll tell ya. Whoever has the cheat sheet is being smart by not going too fast. If they were found out, everyone would know about it.”

“How would every team know about it…?” I ask her with a skeptical look, the hallway giving slight echoes to our footsteps.

“Teams tell each other. Chaos ensues. Even if we’re not told, we would pretty much find out who it is once the chaos starts. As long as an official moderator doesn’t catch the cheat sheet, everything goes.” Apple Bloom throws her arms into the air, seemingly frustrated that the ‘chaos’ hasn’t started yet.

“Isn’t the whole point of the cheat sheet to try and steal it to get through the harder activities?” I ask her with confusion, questioning the whole reward in telling other teams.

“Some teams want to play fairly, so they want the team with the sheet to be caught. The more chaos, the bigger chance they will be caught.”

“Sounds like goody two-shoes…” Both of us sigh at my statement, knowing that our main goal is to steal that MacGuffin. “So, we need to find a way to determine who has it and steal it without anyone else finding out.”

“It’s not that simple…” Apple Bloom droops even lower as we walk, an annoyed expression coming to her face. “It’s likely that the team we steal the sheet from will tell everyone else to get revenge. So, yeah. We kinda need to hurry if we get it.” Huh. We’ll have to get through the last section of the competition quickly in that case… There was some term Sunset used for this type of situation. What was it…? It was related to games… What would Sunset say here? “That means that we will have to find out who has it, steal the sheet and then run through the rest of the activities.” Run… Run is close. What was that damned term? “On the bright side, we did win the race at my family reunion~ I guess that just goes to show how fast we can be, huh?” Fast. Quick… That’s related too, right…? Speed…?

“Speedrun,” I quietly state, a smile finally coming to my face and relief washing over me for finally remembering the term. I’m not that into video games, but I know that if Sunset was here, she’d probably use that term to refer to this pseudo race. Looking towards Apple Bloom, I notice the clear confusion on her face. “What?”

“What in the hootenanny do you mean?” Apple Bloom asks me, the confusion about my statement only growing in her eyes.

“Sorry. I was trying to remember something Sunset said. She would call the last part of this competition something like a speedrun,” I tell Apple Bloom with a shrug, my hand reaching up to my scarf once again. Even though I sometimes can’t understand Sunset, her antics never bore me. Each day is a new adventure with her and I can’t help but love her and that smile~

“Huh. Can I ask ya another question?” Ask me another question…? Usually, Apple Bloom doesn’t hesitate to ask questions, regardless of the context. She just runs ahead with the conversation and tells me what she thinks. I guess that’s due to her family being pretty honest, despite the situation. Sometimes, that means they’re too blunt…

“Uh, sure, I guess?”

“Why do ya touch your scarf all the time? Ever since you got it, you always touch it at least once during our time together. Well, if ya have it on, that is.” Her eyes watch my hand with a curious look, making me feel a little self-conscious about the action as a whole. I guess I do… I kind of forget that I even touch it considering just how often I do it. Whenever I’m nervous, anxious or unsure, I always reach for it just to feel the soft material. It reminds me of Sunset’s warm smile… Her soft touch… I guess it comforts me…?

“Mostly because it helps me feel… calm. And it reminds me of the people close to me. That’s all.” Averting my gaze from Apple Bloom, I look down the corridor, trying to think of the upcoming activities.

“I see,” Apple Bloom tells me with a slight nod, a long silence following after. Only the sound of our footsteps echoes down the hall. Most of the lights in this hallway are turned off due to there being no activities here, but Apple Bloom told me this was a shortcut. As a result, natural light pours in from the windows, making the corridor seem vaguely… peaceful. “Is that also the reason you talk to yourself?”

Looking towards Apple Bloom, I raise my eyebrow slightly, wondering just what in the hell she’s talking about. “What do you mean?”

“I heard ya talking to yourself. After one of our activities, you kept saying things like ‘That’s not the point’ and ‘You don’t understand.’ Is that how ya calm yourself down as well?” Apple Bloom asks me without looking at me, a slightly concerned expression dawning on her. She heard me say that…? I thought I was alone… I specifically tried to avoid everyone, but… I guess she overheard our conversation… Between me and her. She wasn’t supposed to hear that. The only people who know about her are Sunset and Twilight. I wanted to keep it that way.

“I… can’t really talk to you about that,” I whisper, looking towards the window with a frown. My reflection doesn’t appear beside Apple Bloom’s… Only a shadow can be seen, red eyes emanating from the darkness. “Not yet.” Looking back at Apple Bloom, a concerned stare meets my eyes, Apple Bloom’s face conflicted beyond measure.

“But-”

“Trust me. I will tell you, just not now. I’d prefer for this competition to be fun, alright?” The young cowgirl’s conflicted tone doesn’t disappear, her eyes looking towards the floor as she takes a deep breath.

“Alright. I trust ya,” she responds with a small nod, trying to give me a smile.

“Thank you. Now do you mind if I stop for a moment? I need to use the restroom,” I tell her with a nervous smile, pointing towards the restroom. Both of us stop in the middle of the hallway and Apple Bloom smirks at me, shrugging her shoulders.

“Just be quick, okay?” she teases me with a hand gesture to tell me to go. Giving her a thumbs up, I can’t help but roll my eyes at Apple Bloom’s tease, walking towards the restroom quickly. A part of me wishes Apple Bloom didn’t hear me talking to her, but at least she’s willing to drop the topic for the time being. For now, our focus should be on doing our best in this competition, even if we don’t win. Not on my hallucinations… After all, the whole reason I’m here is to make up for the promise I broke at the Apple Family reunion.

Opening the door to the restroom, the sound of a couple voices catches my attention. No one is around this part of the school… It’s practically abandoned here. Why would there be people in here? Looking back, Apple Bloom is already pretty far down the hallway, clearly deciding to go ahead. Who would be here of all places? Closing the door quietly, a short white hallway of tile presumably leads to the toilets, voices echoing off the walls. “This doesn’t make any sense!” a raspy voice exclaims, making my eyes widen slightly. This voice… is pretty familiar. Walking quietly to the edge of the wall, I hear an exhausted sigh come from around the corner. Isn’t that… Rainbow Dash? “Some of the answers were straightforward, but these are just nonsensical hints!” she exclaims again, clearly frustrated with something.

“Well, they never said all the answers would be on here,” a young voice responds to Rainbow Dash, making me immediately recognize who the second person is. What are Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo even talking about?

“Wasn’t that the whole point? I mean, rumors only said that it gave you answers, not hints.” The sound of paper ruffling can be heard, both of them going quiet for a moment.

“Well, Luna did say it wouldn’t be too easy, so I assume this is to make it just a teensy bit more fair?” Luna…? Wait… Paper. Answers. Hints. And Luna most of all…? No. It can’t be. Right…? Are they the Moon Knights…?

Comments

[Blood Rarity]

[ScisetShimmerEvan]

“Cause truth be told, I kinda am too.” I can’t help but raise my eyebrow at the cowgirl, a confused feeling coming over me quickly. She’s nervous? I thought she’s done this competition before. Shouldn’t she be used to this? Besides, it’s not like she has people who hate her here.

That's where your wrong Adagio as there is 2 people who aren't firends with AB.

“Well, Luna did say it wouldn’t be too easy, so I assume this is to make it just a teensy bit more fair?” Luna…? Wait… Paper. Answers. Hints. And Luna most of all…? No. It can’t be. Right…? Are they the Moon Knights…?

Judging from what we heard, yes.