A Delicious Victory
“Sunset Shimmer! We need YOU!”
Hesitant at first, Sunset took a deep breath, narrowed her eyes and mustered up her courage as she grabbed the microphone that had rolled up to her feet. With the microphone in hand, she pulled off her jacket and tossed it away as she joined the Rainbooms and faced the threat before them with a determined look in her eyes.
It was in the final moments of the Battle of the Bands.
The Dazzlings, ancient sirens of Equestria, had taken over the minds of the school and orchestrated a 'Battle of the Bands' to strengthen their hold over the students and the faculty by feeding off their negativity in an attempt to tap into the hidden source of Equestrian magic that surrounded the school.
When Twilight, Sunset and the Rainbooms arrived to confront them during the finals, they challenged them by playing their own music in order to break the Dazzlings hold over the students before it became too strong.
In response, the Dazzlings created three giant menacing projections to extend their reach and battle the Rainbooms head on. These were revealed to be their true siren forms. They were flying hippocampi. Equine sea-creatures, nearly as big as dragons and each equipped with two front-hooves and the tail of a fish.
These projections somehow not only extended the Dazzlings reach, but also amplified their power as the projections voices were enough to overwhelm the Rainboom's song and music.
Even with the sound mixing talents of Vinyl Scratch, the Rainboom's music was not enough to beat their magic. They needed help.
They needed Sunset's voice.
Taking her place beside Twilight, Vinyl Scratch started up the music beat as Sunset brought the microphone close to her lips and was ready to sing.
But then... Something happened.
Sunset couldn't explain it. Despite being ready...
...with the fate of the entire school at stake, as well as the whole world...
...She froze.
“What's wrong?” Twilight cried out, puzzled by Sunset's actions. “What are you waiting for? SING!!”
Sunset closed her eyes and painfully bit her lips as voices suddenly echoed through her mind. These were the voices of her fellow students who still viewed her as a bad girl. Ever since she made everyone’s lives miserable, as well as enslaving their minds in an attempt to conquer Equestria, Sunset still felt the stings of guilt and regret.
“Now that's the bad girl we love to hate!”
“I knew she was still trouble!”
“The real Sunset Shimmer is bad!”
“Sunset? What's wrong?”
'What if they're right?' Sunset tearfully thought to herself. 'I've done nothing but make one terrible mistake after another. What if this is another mistake? How can they put their faith in me like this, after everything I've done? Why??'
“Sunset!”
“I can't Twilight!” Sunset chocked. “I... I can't sing. I...”
Seeing no further sign of retaliation, the Dazzlings gleefully seized this opportunity. They mustered their power and prepared their siren projections for their final attack. With all of their might, they unleashed a barrage of powerful soundwaves that tore through the Rainbooms instruments, shattering them and knocking the girls over.
The attack was so massive the girls and Spike all passed out.
Even Vinyl Scratch's mobile Bass Cannon was critically hit. Luckily, she jumped to safety just moments before it completely blew up. Sadly, the shockwave of her car exploding knocked her out cold as well.
With no one and nothing left standing in their way, the Dazzlings proceeded to finish what they started. This had been a time long coming ever since they were banished by Starswirl the Bearded. The Dazzlings sang the final note of their song. As they did, the red glow in their eyes (as well as the red aura surrounding them) intensified.
Unfurling their wings, all three then gracefully elevated from the stage, while their pendants sucked in all the negative energy from the crowd below them. The enthralled audience began to grow increasingly weaker and more tired as the Dazzlings effortlessly drained them all of their negative emotions, filling themselves up to the brink.
Once the limit was reached and Dazzlings felt they had enough, their projections then flew back and positioned themselves behind their respective counterpart. Using the magic of their pendants, now overflowing and bursting with raw negative energy, the Dazzlings spread their arms and prepared themselves as ropes of magical bonds suddenly shot out from the engraved gems on their projections chests and wrapped around them.
Grinning victoriously, all three were calmly pulled inside the gems of their siren counterpart. Once inside, the Dazzlings released all their harvested negative energy, and within moments, their projections chests began to glow with intense red light. It got brighter and brighter until all three practically exploded in a blinding red flash.
Every teacher, student and competitive singer were blinded by the light, their senses completely overwhelmed by the sirens' magic. Exhausted and utterly drained, they all dropped to the ground and passed out.
Once the light had finally died down, the projections opened their eyes and looked down at the crowd of unconscious students and teachers. Then they looked themselves over and discovered they weren't transparent anymore. And their gems were now glowing and red like the girl's pendants.
The apple green one belonging to Adagio waved its fish-like tail around, slowly raised its hooves and inspected them before smiling in delight. “Finally!”
“It's about time...” voiced the one belonging to Aria.
“Is... is it real?” asked the third one belonging to Sonata as she nervously touched her scaly equine face. “Did we actually do it?”
“Yes Sonata...” replied Adagio. “We did it. We have our own bodies again.”
“YAY! Wo-hooo~!” Sonata cheered loudly while doing a backflip in the air. Adagio and Aria continued to look themselves over, feeling overly satisfied by the results.
“It's good to be back.” said Aria relieved, regarding her looks in one of the many mirrors on stage. “I don't think I could've taken another second in that weak pathetic body. Blech!”
“I agree, Aria.” replied Adagio as she stroked the scales on her forelegs and admired the curves and features of her siren body. “This is SO much better.”
“So... What now?” asked Sonata as she rejoined them.
“Now?” Adagio snickered. “Now, my dear Sonata, we take over this world. Now that we have our true forms again, our magic is more powerful than ever. With it we'll spread our song of dominance far and wide with no wizard or princess to stop us. Soon everyone on this pitiful world will bend to our will. They'll shower us with admiration and gifts, all the while they bicker and fight among themselves for our amusement, feeding us with all the negative energy we could possibly wish for.”
She let out a loud cackle. “This world's society will slowly crumble and its people will be our slaves. Tonight, my dear sisters! We have become GODS!”
“Really? Gods?!” Sonata squealed with excitement. “THAT IS SO AWESOME!” She suddenly shot into the air and spread her hooves happily as she addressed to the world in celebration with a booming voice. “BEHOLD MORTALS! I, SONATA DUSK, AM YOUR NEW GODESS OF TACOS! I HEREBY DECLARE EVERY DAY 'TACO TUESDAY' DAY!”
Adagio just smiled and shook her head. She then noticed Aria was being awfully quiet. “What's the matter Aria? Aren't you going to celebrate your newly acquired 'godhood'?”
“What about them?” Aria pointed down at the Rainbooms, who were still lying on the grass amongst their broken instruments, tossing and turning as they were slowly beginning to recover.
“So? What about them?” Adagio shrugged with disinterest. “They're beaten. They're no threat to us now.”
“They could still cause trouble for us...”
“Just look at them Aria. They're tiny and helpless before us now, like the pathetic 'shrimps' they are.”
Upon hearing the word 'shrimp', Aria suddenly got an idea and sported a sinister grin on her face. “You know Adagio. We are sirens...”
Adagio understood what Aria was suggesting and grinned as well. “And you know what Aria? You're right. We ARE sirens. And it would be a shame to let such a delicious moment go to waste...”
“Delicious?” exclaimed Sonata as she suddenly dropped in between them, wrapping her hooves buddily around their shoulders. “What are we talking about? What's delicious? Tacos? Are you guys hungry? I know I am. All this singing and becoming a god has actually made me really hungry.” She then clapped her hooves together as she had an idea.
“I know! As the Goddess of Tacos, I'm going to have all our new slaves make us the biggest tacos in the world!”
“Actually Sonata...” Adagio interrupted while pushing Sonata's hoof away. “...we were thinking that as the new 'goddesses' of this world, we should commemorate this special occasion with a 'sacrificial feast'.”
Sonata looked confused. “Huh?”
“Just look at them down there, Sonata...” Aria directed her attention to the Rainbooms below. “...don't they just make a lovely 'offering'?”
Sonata just blinked. Aria facehoofed.
“Ugh! Okay then, how about this; Look at this 'spread'. Wouldn't you rather sample these 'tacos'?” Aria winked at her.
The wheels in Sonata's mind slowly turned as she finally got it. “Ooh! Yeah!” She turned her sights back down on the Rainbooms, licking her lips gleefully. “I would very much like to sample these 'tacos'...” she grinned.
With that said, all three Sirens slowly descended towards the unsuspecting Rainbooms.
*****
“Twilight..?”
Hearing Sunset's weak voice stirred Twilight back to life. “Sunset...”
“Twilight...” Shaken up and trembling, Sunset slowly sat up while painfully clutching her chest. Her head hanging low in shame with tears streaming from her eyes. “I'm so sorry Twilight. I tried... I tried and I failed us all.”
“Sunset, no...” Twilight rubbed her eyes and slowly pushed herself up from the ground to face Sunset. As she did, the other Rainbooms began to wake up as well. “It's not your fault.”
“Stop it Twilight! You know it is! I messed up!” Sunset bawled into her hands, completely unaware of the three large hippocampi that were slowly descending down towards them. “Everybody was right! I'm not special. I couldn't even save the day.”
“Sunset, STOP IT!” Twilight yelled while shaking away the dizziness. Opening her eyes, she could just make out the blurry image of Sunset in front of her, while also seeing something big and yellowish lowering down right behind her.
Unbeknownst to everyone, Adagio had settled down just a few feet away from Sunset. With a mischievous grin, Adagio shushed Aria, who in turn shushed Sonata, as she silently lowered her head down, stopping just inches away from Sunset...
“Face it Twilight! You were wrong about me!” Sunset wailed, unaware of Adagio's gaping maw slowly opening behind her.
“No Sunset! I-”
Twilight's words froze and she found herself gaping in silent horror. She was soon joined by the other Rainbooms who all did the same thing. Sunset, drying away the tears from her eyes, quickly noticed that Twilight had gone mysteriously quiet and soon saw the look on her and everyone else's faces.
“What? Twilight? What is it?”
“S- S- S- Sunset...” Twilight stuttered as she slowly raised her trembling arm and pointed at the threat behind her.
“Huh?” Sunset turned around, only to find herself staring down a dark, flesh-like tunnel covered in drool, equipped with a large wet tongue and surrounded by rows of big sharp teeth. “What th-?!”
CHOMP!
Everyone gasped in horror.
Before Sunset even knew what was happening, Adagio clamped her jaws down on her, trapping her halfway inside her mouth with only her legs still sticking out.
“SUNSET!!!” Twilight screamed.
Adagio slowly rose back up to full height, giggling as she could feel Sunset's tiny legs kick against her chin and the sound of her muffled screams emitting from inside her scaly cheeks.
Adagio then closed her eyes, tilted her head slowly back and calmly slurped in the rest of her.
“SUNSET!!!”
Twilight and the Rainbooms watched helplessly as their friend completely disappear inside Adagio mouth. With a loud gulp, Adagio swallowed Sunset whole. A faint bulge could be seen traveling down Adagio's scaly throat before disappearing inside her chest, causing her gem to emit a faint glow as it did.
Adagio lowered her head and sighed while licking her grinning lips.
“So...” Aria asked curiously. “How was she?”
“Not bad...” she grinned.
“You...” Finally snapping out of her trance, Twilight trembled as she stood up and faced the Sirens who now turned their attention back to both her and her friends. “You ate her... YOU ATE SUNSET?!!”
“That I did.” Adagio snickered. Everyone, including Twilight went pale with disgust.
“Why you...” Applejack growled while tightening her fist. “She never deserved that!”
“Oh my goodness! OH MY GOODNESS!” Fluttershy trembled tearfully. “Poor Sunset!”
“I... I think I'm going to faint...” Rarity muttered while trying to keep herself from passing out. “And vomit...” She quickly shielded her mouth.
“TOTALLY NOT COOL!” Rainbow Dash yelled angrily.
“CANNIBALS!!!” yelled Pinkie as she pointed an accusing finger at them.
That last remark by Pinkie made Aria laugh. “Cannibals? Us?” she snorted. “Please! We're not from this world. And we're SIRENS. Despite how we looked before, we were never the same.”
“This is so exciting!” Sonata licked her lips eagerly as she eyed the Rainbooms up close. “I'm curious to know how you all taste...” She then eyed Rarity. “I just know you're going to taste great. Dibs on the pretty one!”
That caused Rarity to finally faint.
“Rarity!” Spike yelled.
“How could you?” Twilight chocked as tears started streaming down her face. “Sunset... Why?!”
“Aw... Now now little 'princess'...” Adagio cooed. “Don't despair.” She licked her lips. “There's still room for you to keep her company.” With large toothy grins, she and her two drooling associates began to move in closer with hungry looks in their eyes.
Twilight and the Rainbooms began to slowly back away. “Twilight... What do we do?” a terrified Applejack whispered while trying to keep herself from completely losing it.
“I don't know...” an equally terrified Twilight whispered in response, not taking her eyes of the three large behemoths as they menacingly leaned over them with their drooling maws. “I just don't know...”
“Now...” Adagio began. “Since I had the pleasure of starting first, being the leader and all... I suppose it's your turn now, Aria.”
“Aw... No fair.” Sonata pouted.
Aria brought a hoof to her chin, pondering as she looked the Rainbooms over. “Hmm... Let's see...” She soon narrowed her eyes on Rainbow Dash. “I think I'll start with you, Rainbow 'Dish'!” She mocked. “You seemed to really enjoy getting under our skin. Wanna stay under mine?”
“IF I'M GOING TO BE SOME FREAK'S LUNCH, I'M NOT GOING DOWN WITHOUT A FIGHT!” Rainbow Dash yelled as she suddenly flared her wings and took to the skies. Everyone, including the sirens, watched with surprise as she ascended further and further up.
“RAINBOW! NO! WE HAVE TO COME UP WITH A PLAN!” yelled Twilight.
“YOU WANT ME? COME AND GET ME YOU HIPPO!”
“She's mine!” Aira growled as she coiled up and shot straight into the air after Rainbow. Traveling at tremendous speed, Aria soared towards Rainbow Dash with her mouth wide open.
CHOMP!
“WOAH!” Rainbow just barely avoided a cruel fate as she dodged Aria's snapping jaws. “Nya nya~! Come and get me!”
“Why you...” Aria growled. “I'm going to enjoy having you inside me!”
Aria started chasing Rainbow all over the skies. Every now and then she came close to devouring her, only for Rainbow to dodge her at the last moment on every turn.
Rainbow proved to be too quick for her, but Aria was relentlessly determined to get her.
“YOU THINK YOU CAN ESCAPE ME?” Aria bellowed. “I CAN DO THIS ALL NIGHT!”
“OH YEAH? WELL, I CAN DO THIS FOREVER!” teased Rainbow.
As everyone watched the wild chase in sky, Twilight quickly noticed that Adagio and Sonata were distracted and didn't pay them any notice. Rainbow's unpredictable habit of doing without thinking had given them a window of opportunity.
Twilight knew she had to think of a plan. But with Sunset now trapped inside Adagio and Rainbow currently trying to avoid getting eaten by Aria, she realized that she had been left with very few options. Their instruments were destroyed and the Dazzlings were now too powerful for them to handle in their current state.
Seeing no chance for victory, Twilight knew there was only one thing they could do...
Retreat.
“Girls!” she whispered. “We have to run! NOW!!”
“RUN?!?” a confused Applejack exclaimed in a loud whisper. “Run where??!”
“The portal!” replied Twilight. “We have to escape to Equestria! We can't win this!”
“Flee to Equestria?”
“Leave Canterlot High?” added Fluttershy.
“Leave our FRIENDS?” yelled Pinkie.
“Twilight, we can't jus' abandon everyone!” said Applejack. “There has to be a way we can stop this! And what about Sunset? We can't jus' give up on her!”
“I know Applejack and I'm sorry, but there's nothing we can do for her now. Please! Rainbow has only bought us a few seconds! Come Spike!” with that, Twilight grabbed Spike and headed in the direction of the portal. Applejack looked to Pinkie and Fluttershy.
With a heavy sigh, all three quickly joined Twilight and followed close behind.
“WAIT!” yelled Spike suddenly, causing all of them to stop. “Aren't we missing someone?”
Pinkie then gasped as she suddenly realized they indeed had forgotten someone. “OH NO! WE FORGOT RARITY!”
Everyone looked back and sure enough, Rarity was still lying unconscious on the ground.
“Oh no! Rarity!” yelled Fluttershy.
“Keep going! I'll get her.” Applejack ran back as fast as she could. She was only a short distance away from reaching her, when Sonata at that moment turned her gaze down and quickly realized what was going on.
“Hey!”
“Shoot!” Applejack skidded to a halt.
Sonata's yell gained the attention of Adagio. “Keep it down Sonata! I'm trying to watch Aria make a fool of herself-”
“They're running away!”
“What?!?” exclaimed Adagio as she quickly turned around and spotted Applejack, with the others further away.
Applejack knew she had no chance in saving Rarity now, not without getting caught herself. With a heavy heart, she turned around and fled after Twilight and the others, tears streaming down her face as she did.
“Ah'm sorry Rarity... Ah'm so sorry!”
Adagio was about give chase when she suddenly noticed something on the ground before them.
“Hurry! We have to catch them!” Sonata was about to fly after them, when Adagio blocked her path and pointed on the ground.
“Not all of them...”
“Huh?” Confused at first, Sonata looked down and saw with surprise Rarity lying there. “Oh!” She shoot Adagio a pleading, puppy-dog look, pouting her lips and whimpering.
“Go ahead Sonata.” Adagio rolled her eyes before leaving her. “I'll just help myself with the others.” She licked her lips and went ahead in pursuit.
“Just leave some for me, okay!” Sonata called out after her. “I'll be right with you!” Adagio didn't reply but Sonata was too excited to care if she heard her or not.
As soon as Adagio had left, Sonata eagerly lowered herself down on the ground before Rarity. She positioned her lips just inches away from Rarity's feet and gently grabbed them.
“Mm..?” Rarity moaned. “What happened..?” Rarity realized she was lying on the ground. “I must've passed out... Wha-” Suddenly, she felt herself being pulled along the grass. Sitting up, Rarity saw with horror that her body was already halfway inside the mouth of Sonata, who playfully grinned at her while slowly slurping her in.
“No...” Rarity pleaded, her lips trembling and tears brimming from her eyes as she was pulled further in. “Please... Have mercy! My fabulous attire will be utterly ruined!” Ignoring Rarity's plea, Sonata slurped her in faster. Rarity let out a loud shriek that was immediately muffled as she disappeared between her lips and into her mouth.
“Mmm~!” Sonata moaned, blissfully savoring Rarity's flavor. She then rose herself back up from the ground and swallowed. A bulge with the still screaming Rarity descended down her throat, before finally going silent as it vanished inside her chest.
“That was great!” Sonata waged her tail happily while licking her lips. “Not as good as tacos, but still really good!”
Taking a brief moment to float around on her back and playfully pat her belly, Sonata noticed her gem was glowing rather brighter than usual. “Ooh... pretty.” Curious as to why that happened, Sonata remembered that Adagio was way ahead of her and hurried after her. “Hey Adagio! Wait up!”
*****
“Ah can't believe Ah jus' left her there!” Applejack cried angrily through her clenched teeth, cursing herself as they ran. “Ah shoulda' grabbed her when Ah had tha chance!”
“You couldn't have saved her, Applejack. Not by getting eaten yourself.” said Twilight bitterly. “We have to reach the portal. Once we get to Equestria, we can think of a way to fix this!”
“Sorry girls, but you're not going anywhere.”
All three girls jumped as Adagio suddenly appeared before them, blocking their way.
“We can't allow you to ruin everything we have worked so hard to accomplish, can we Sonata?”
“No way!” replied Sonata, surprising the girls as she arrived from behind them. “Besides... I'm still hungry.”
Spike's ears dropped and his eyes went wide, brimming with mournful tears. “Rarity..? No... “
”Ya didn't...” Applejack glared angrily at Sonata.
“I did.” Sonata grinned while proudly rubbing her belly. “Don't worry. She didn't feel a thing.”
“THAT'S SUPPOSED TO MAKE ME FEEL BETTER?!!” Applejack roared. “YA... YA MONSTER!!”
Spike said nothing. Instead he silently buried his face on Twilight's shoulder, while Twilight did her best to comfort him.
Sonata gasped. “M- Monster?” she whimpered while looking to Adagio with a quivering lower lip. “Am I a monster, Adagio?”
“No Sonata...” Adagio smiled. “We're not monsters. We're sirens. No... In fact, we're GODS! They should feel honored becoming part of us.”
“Yeah!” Sonata glowered back at Applejack. “Adagio is right. You're just being ungrateful!”
“Why Ah oughta...”
“Enough stalling Sonata. Let us just get on with this.” Both Adagio and Sonata started to circle the girls like two hungry sharks. “Now then... Which one do you want Sonata? The 'sour apple' or the 'sugar bomb'?”
“HEY!!” both Applejack and Pinkie yelled.
“Ooh! Ooh! Let me have the cute one! Please?” Sonata exclaimed, eying Fluttershy.
Fluttershy gulped. “M-me?”
“Please Adagio! She's so cute! I'll bet she's even better than the pretty one!”
“Alright Sonata.” Adagio smiled before setting her sights on Twilight. “You can have that one, while I take little miss 'princess' here, and her precious little runt too.”
Twilight gasped, holding Spike close to her.
“Time to rejoin your friend!” With that, Adagio dived towards them with her jaws wide open. Spike closed his eyes while Twilight was too terrified to move.
“NO!”
“TWILIGHT!”
Everything happened so fast. Out of nowhere, Applejack dashed forward, pushing Twilight and Spike out of the way. As they fell to the ground, Twilight quickly looked up and watched as Adagio blindly bared down on the brave cowgirl.
“Run Twilight...” Applejack smiled weakly, just before she was snatched up by Adagio.
“APPLEJACK!!!”
“GO TWILIGHT! SAVE YERSELF!” Applejack yelled as she struggled to keep Adagio's jaws from completely closing. “GET OUT OF HERE! GET TO EQUES-” Her words were cut off as Adagio trapped her inside her mouth and swallowed her. Twilight stared in heartwrenching horror as Applejack disappeared down Adagio's gullet to join Sunset.
Adagio licked her lips. “Mmm... I think I made a mistake earlier.” she snickered. “She was actually a rather 'sweet' apple...”
Twilight looked on in silence as a Stetson slowly tumbled to the ground before being carried off by a gust of wind. “No...”
“Come on Twilight!” yelled Pinkie, pulling Twilight back up on her feet and away from the scene with Spike close behind. Fluttershy however, did not move an inch. “Fluttershy! Come on!”
“Applejack...” Fluttershy whispered.
“Fluttershy come on!” Pinkie gasped and her eyes widened as Sonata slowly approached Fluttershy. “FLUTTERSHY, LOOK OUT! SHE'S GOING TO EAT YOU!”
“Go Pinkie...” said Fluttershy. “Go! Get Twilight to the portal! I'll only slow you down!”
“But...”
“GO! Don't worry about me...”
Pinkie and Fluttershy exchanged silent looks before Pinkie finally nodded and forcefully led Twilight away. Adagio was about to give chase, when Fluttershy spread her arms and wings, blocking her path.
“What?” Adagio laughed. “So brave all of a sudden? Are you planning on stopping us all by yourself?”
Fluttershy gulped but stood her ground. She mustered up whatever courage she had and faced her. “I won't let you get Twilight!” she glared at Adagio. “I won't let you hurt anymore of my friends!”
Adagio could easily devour the girl for her impudence. Instead she turned to Sonata. “Go ahead, Sonata. She's all yours.”
“YAY!” Sonata clapped her hooves, licked her lips and eagerly floated towards Fluttershy, her tongue hanging out and panting like an excited dog. She opened her mouth wide and was ready to chomp down on her.
“NO!” Fluttershy's angry shout caused Sonata to suddenly jump and back away. “I won't let you!!” To Sonata's complete surprise, she couldn't move. She was frozen in place.
“What are you doing Sonata?” Adagio yelled. “Eat her!”
“I... I...” Sonata couldn't explain it. That stare. Somehow Fluttershy's stare was keeping her at bay. Despite being many times her size, that stare for some reason made Sonata afraid of her.
“What's the matter with you, Sonata?”
“I... I can't Adagio! She's... She's staring at me!”
“Staring??!” Adagio replied in utter confusion. She knew Sonata was weird at times, but never this weird. She floated up beside Sonata to see what was really going on. “What are you talking about-?”
To Adagio's surprise, sweat began to form on her scales. She couldn't figure it out, but somehow Fluttershy's stare seemed to burrow itself into her soul.
“How dare you..?” Much to Adagio and Sonata's shock, they were backing away from her. “HOW DARE YOU?!!”
*****
Meanwhile high above, the chase continued as Aria relentlessly pursued Rainbow Dash all over the sky. No matter how many times Aria had Rainbow cornered, Rainbow would always slip away or hide behind a cloud just before she could snap her jaws down on her.
While Rainbow seemed to enjoy the situation, Aria was getting angrier and more dangerous.
“YOU BETTER PRAY I DON'T GET YOU, BECAUSE NOW I'M GOING TO CHEW!!” she bellowed.
Rainbow stopped in midair, turned around and stuck out her tongue while pulling down her lower left eyelid. “Nya~! I'll bet by now your jaw is so numb, you couldn't even chew marshmallow!”
Aria growled at her and increased her speed. To Rainbow's credit, her jaw was indeed getting more and more numb the more she tried to chomp down on her. She gaped as wide as she could and tried again to make a grab for her.
Rainbow was about to pull off another amazing dodge, when she glanced down at that moment and gasped. “Fluttershy!?” She saw her friend Fluttershy being ganged up by Adagio and Sonata. Loyal to the end, Rainbow quickly dived down to aid Fluttershy, avoiding Aria's jaws once again.
Aria snarled and cursed her luck until she noticed that Rainbow Dash was now suddenly ignoring her and diving down towards Adagio and Sonata. Spotting the one called Fluttershy and realizing that the little cocky girl was going to play hero, she saw a golden opportunity to finally finish their little game of cat and mouse.
She hovered herself in position and waited for the perfect moment to strike...
*****
On the ground, Fluttershy continued to stare down the two sirens, quite literally as she was now hovering before them. She was using every ounce of her strength to keep them locked in her gaze. She knew that any distraction would break her hold on them.
“How dare you eat my friends?!” Fluttershy scolded. “If you let them go, I'll promise to forgive you and-”
“MOVE FLUTTERSHY!”
“Huh?!” a surprised Fluttershy looked up and saw Rainbow Dash diving straight towards Adagio and Sonata. “Rainbow..? NO! STOP! I DON'T NEED YOUR-”
Ignoring Fluttershy, Rainbow struck down on the two sirens and hit them hard at the back of the head before quickly pulling back up. “TAKE THIS!”
“HEY!”
“OW!”
“Ha! How do you like that? There's more where that came from!” Rainbow taunted.
“RAINBOW! STOP YOU DON'T-!”
“WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR FLUTTERSHY?! RUN!!”
Fluttershy gasped. “RAINBOW! LOOK OUT!!”
“Huh?” Rainbow looked up, too late to find herself flying straight into the smiling, gaping maw of Aria as she dived towards her from the opposite direction.
“GOTCHA!”
Before Rainbow could think to dodge, she was suddenly surrounded by darkness as Aria's jaws finally snapped shut around her and trapped her inside.
“NO! RAINBOW!”
As Fluttershy watched in horror, the unexpected (and painful) interruption by Rainbow Dash was just what Adagio and Sonata needed to break away from the Stare. Sonata shook her head and looked utterly confused while Adagio was still in pain and clutching her head, trying to suppress it.
“Huh?” Sonata uttered. “What happened?”
“Sonata!” Adagio yelled angrily. “The girl!”
Sonata blinked before she finally remembered and eyed Fluttershy. “Oh yeah!”
Still watching the events happening above, Fluttershy quickly realized that she had forgotten something important. Turning around to stare down Adagio and Sonata again, Fluttershy instead found herself staring down Sonata's throat as she was surrounded by teeth. “Oh dear...”
NOM!
*****
'At last!' Aria triumphantly thought to herself as she felt Rainbow struggle in her mouth. 'Now to finish you off...' Aria tried to chew like she promised. But, like Rainbow said, her jaw had become too numb. 'Oh well... You'll suffer none the less. Enjoy to your new home you little-'
Aria was about to swallow Rainbow, when, to Aria's unpleasant surprise, Rainbow slowly began to force her mouth open. 'What? Impossible! She can't be-'
Using what strength she had, Rainbow refused to give up as she slowly forced Aria's jaws open in a desperate attempt to escape.
“OH NO U DN'T!” Aria yelled angrily as she struggled to close her mouth again to keep Rainbow in. “I'MM GNING THO SWOLLOW U!”
“I... won't... give... Hng!” Rainbow shouted through her clenched teeth, fighting back to keep Aria from swallowing her.. “You... won't... have... me...”
On the ground, Adagio shook her head to rid herself of the awful stare that still lingered in her mind, while Sonata silently watched with puffy cheeks as Fluttershy was trapped in her mouth, her cries muffled and whimpering as she fought to escape with very little success.
“Who would've thought that girl had such willpower...” Adagio groaned as the images finally faded. She then glanced up to find that Aria had finally caught Rainbow, but was now having trouble finishing her off.
“For crying out loud...” Adagio grumbled in annoyance. “Looks like Aria needs some help. Follow the others! Find that portal and make sure that the little princess doesn't escape!”
“Mm-hm!” Sonata nodded.
“And will you swallow that pest already? I don't want to see those eyes ever again!”
As Adagio flew up to aid Aria, Sonata tilted her back and swallowed Fluttershy.
“GULP! Mmm~! So good!” she cooed, licking her lips and patting her belly before flying off to intercept the remaining Rainbooms.
*****
Meanwhile, the struggle continued with Aria still trying to eat Rainbow. And Rainbow fighting to keep Aria's big mouth open.
“WLL U GT NN ALLEADY!” Aria bellowed.
“Hng! Never...” Rainbow replied angrily through her clenched teeth.
“Need any help, Aria?”
Aria glanced down and saw Adagio as she floated up beside her. “NO!!” she yelled, covering Rainbow in spit as she did.
“Eew...”
“I CN DO TIS!!”
Adagio sighed and shook her head. “Pathetic... All of that boasting and you can't even eat a measly little Rainboom?”
“HEY!” Rainbow yelled. “Who are you calling 'measly'?”
“Sonata and I have already finished off four of them, and here you are still struggling with your first.” This news caused Aria to narrow her eyes and growl.
“SONADA HS ALLEADY HD MOE THN ME??!”
“Wait!” Rainbow yelled to Adagio. “You have already eaten three of my friends??!”
“Indeed.” Adagio chuckled while patting her belly. “Your little friend Applejack truly lived up to her name. And your other friends Rarity and Fluttershy are already spending time in Sonata.”
“Why you...” Rainbow angrily gritted her teeth. While the news of the fate of her friends hit her hard, Rainbow still refused to give up.
“Come now, you're in a hopeless situation.” Adagio shook her head. “You're only delaying the inevitable. Just let it go and accept your fate.”
“Never!”
“Aria, are you really going to let her embarrass you like this? You're making Sonata look PROFESSIONAL!”
A furious Aria narrowed her eyes and mustered all her strength to close her jaw.
No matter how much of a fight Rainbow put up, she soon began to feel the immense pressure of Aria's jaw suddenly becoming too much for her. She could feel her footing beginning to slip and the dark abyss below her getting closer and closer.
Rainbow hated to admit it, but this was one fight she was not going to win.
“No..!” Rainbow whimpered as Aria's jaws were now inches from sealing her in. “I'm Rainbow Dash! The captain of every sportsclub in CHS! I can't go out like this! I can't go out like-”
CHOMP!
Wasting no time, Aria quickly tilted her head far back and swallowed hard, causing Rainbow to finally lose her grip. In one desperate move, Rainbow made a grab for the uvula and held on. It sadly wasn't enough as it was too slippery and Rainbow was pulled down the throat towards the dark waiting chamber within the evil siren.
“NOOOOOOOOoooooooooooooo!”
With a loud gulp, a bulge quickly traveled down Aria's throat before crashing down into her belly. Aria let out a loud and triumphant roar.
“FINALLY!” she laughed wickedly as she could already feel Rainbow thrashing around inside her, throwing herself against the walls of her belly in a futile attempt to get out. “I'm going to make sure you have it really uncomfortable in there!”
“If you're done playing around, perhaps we can finally finish this up? We have to stop little miss princess from reaching Equestria and spoiling everything.”
“Gladly!” Aria grinned as she followed Adagio. “Just remember that one of them is mine!”
*****
“Hurry up, Twilight!” yelled Pinkie as she pulled Twilight's arm to keep her moving. “We're almost there!”
Twilight was eerily quiet. She had done nothing but stare tearfully into space ever since Applejack was taken out right in front of her.
She had gotten so lost in her grief that Pinkie and Spike had resorted to force her along as she almost seemed to have lost the ability to use her legs.
They eventually managed reached the grounds of the school where the statue was located. They had managed to stay hidden from Sonata, who was already circling the statue looking for them, by using bushes as camouflage.
“We're almost there Twilight!” Pinkie whispered as she carefully popped out of the bush and eyed the statue that was now just a stone throw away. She then looked up at Sonata and observing her flight pattern.“If we time it just right, we can sneak past her before she even knows it. Are you guys ready?”
“I'm ready!” replied Spike, although his legs were visibly shaking. “Are you ready Twilight?”
Twilight didn't answer. Spike looked at her and saw the expressionless look on her face.
“Twilight..?”
Suddenly, Twilight collapsed on her knees and wept.
“Twilight!” Spike yelled. Twilight then sat down on the grass. Spike quickly ran behind her and tried to desperately push her back up on her feet. “Don't stop now! Get up Twilight! Please!”
“Come on Twilight! You're almost home!” Pinkie tried to encourage her as she made a grab for her arms to pull her up.
“NO!” Twilight yelled, swatting Pinkie's hands away. Her sudden outburst startled both Pinkie and Spike. “DON'T YOU UNDERSTAND!? IT'S OVER!!”.
Pinkie and Spike backed away and silently watched as Twilight huddled her legs together and buried her face between her kneecaps, weeping.
“Sorry... I... I can't...” Trembling, she looked up at Pinkie. Her tears flowing freely. “I'm sorry... I'm so sorry! It wasn't supposed to end this way. It wasn't...”
“Twilight...”
“TWILIGHT!” Spike suddenly yelled, pointing up. Twilight and Pinkie looked up and saw that Adagio and Aria had arrived. Thinking quickly, Pinkie crouched down, pulled both Twilight and Spike close together and placing her hands over their mouths to keep them quiet.
“Sonata!”
“Oh! Hi Adagio! Aria!” Sonata waved at them.
“Were are they? Where's Twilight?”
“I don't know.” Sonata shrugged. “I've been here several minutes now and I haven't seen her, that dog or the 'sugar bomb'.”
“They must be around here somewhere!” Adagio narrowed her eyes and scouted the area around the statue. “Spread out! They are here. I know it. Find them!”
“And you keep your hooves off, Sonata!” yelled Aria. “The 'sugar bomb' is mine!”
Sonata rolled her eyes. “Sheesh! Alright Aria. I've already had the pretty one and the cute one.”
“Fluttershy..?” Twilight's tearfully whimpered. “No...”
“And how was little 'Miss Rainboom'?” asked Sonata.
“She put up a good fight...” Aria giggled as she caressed her belly. “...Too bad it wasn't enough.”
“Rainbow...” Twilight sobbed.
“Focus Aria!” Adagio barked. “Find them!”
“With pleasure.” replied Aria.
“Roger!” said Sonata with a salute.
“Twilight Sparkle!” Adagio called out. “I know you can hear me! You and that pink friend of yours are the only ones left. Just give up and accept your fate!”
After hearing that, Twilight broke away from Pinkie's hold and backed up against the wall of the school with the look of defeat in her eyes. “They're gone...”
“Twilight...”
“I... I can't believe it!” Twilight cried. “Our friends... They're gone!”
“Twilight...”
“Sunset... Rarity... Applejack... And now Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash... Oh Pinkie Pie, I'm SO sorry!” she wrapped her arms tight around Pinkie, buried her face on her shoulder and wept. “You asked for my help and now look at us. I failed you...”
Pinkie frowned. “Twilight...”
“It's over, Pinkie! Our friends are gone and I can't do a thing to save them! This world is doomed!”
“TWILIGHT!” Pinkie suddenly pushed Twilight off her and slapped her. “Stop it Twilight! Stop beating yourself up over this. This isn't your fault!”
Twilight rubbed her chin and dried her tears. “But... But the sirens... I...” She didn't get to finish as Pinkie grabbed by the lapel and looked her directly in the eyes.
“Yes Twilight, the sirens have won! Yes Twilight, it's curtains for the world! And YES Twilight, our friends have been eaten like everyday marshmallows! And you know what?”
Twilight tearfully shook her head. “What?”
“I'm fine.”
“Huh?” Twilight's eyes widened and she nearly fell back in shock. “Pinkie..? What are you talking about?”
“It's the end of the world, Twilight. And I'm feeling fine. Sure, it's all bleak and terrible right now, but it's not really the end, is it? Twilight, no matter what happens, the party will go on. We will survive. I don't know what'll happen or what's gonna happen, but I just know we will be okay.”
“Pinkie...”
“Listen Twilight! I promised Fluttershy I would get you to the portal and back to Equestria, and that's exactly what I'm going to do. And if I get eaten doing it, then I going down with a party.”
“No Pinkie! Come with me!” Twilight begged. “Please! I can't let you stay here!”
“It'll be okay Twilight. Trust me.” Pinkie dried Twilight's tears and winked. “Besides, you already have a Pinkie Pie over there. Having another one will just be too confusing.”
While Twilight would admit that having just one Pinkie Pie was a hoof-full, she would've gladly gotten used to having one more. While Pinkie's speech didn't make the situation any brighter, Twilight was moved by her strange sense of bravery. She dried her eyes and smiled back.
“You're right Pinkie... I don't like it, but you're right. If only there was another way...”
Pinkie smiled and then eyed Spike. “Take care of Twilight, Spike.” She patted him on the head. “I'll miss you both.”
"Pinkie Pie..."
“But how are we going to get past them?” asked Twilight.
“Hmmmm...” Pinkie pondered for a moment and then noticed they weren't that far from Shop Class. She snapped her fingers as she got an idea. “I got it!”
She grabbed Twilight's hand and quickly led both her and Spike inside the school through an open window. “I know just what to do. Listen...”
*****
“Anything?” asked Adagio as they finished another sweep over the area.
“Nothing.” replied Aria.
“Not here either.” replied Sonata.
“They better not have reached the portal already.” Adagio growled. “They must be around here som-”
“Yo-hoo!”
Their ears twitched as they heard a familiar voice and turned their sights towards the sound, seeing Pinkie Pie bursting out the front doors of the school with Twilight and Spike in tow. “Here we are!” she waved before dashing off.
Adagio didn't waste a second as she immediately gave chase, followed close after by the others.
Pinkie ran as fast as she could, but outrunning the sirens proved to be utterly futile as Adagio dived down and snagged Twilight and Spike away from Pinkie's hands.
“Twilight!” Pinkie gasped before she too was suddenly hoisted up from the ground by Aria who grabbed her attire with her teeth. “Woah!”
“Finally!” Adagio grinned. With a light flick of her head, she tossed the limp forms of Twilight and Spike into the air and landed them in her mouth. “Glomf! Mm~!”
“TWILIGHT!!!” Pinkie screamed.
“Mmm~! Hm!?!” Adagio's eyes widened as something didn't feel right. Or rather... It didn't TASTE right! She quickly spat Twilight and Spike back out on the ground and gave them a closer look. They were nothing more but a pair of poorly designed dummies.
“What the-!??”
“Sucker!” Pinkie smiled. “Made those in Shop Class. Pretty convincing, huh?”
“But... But where's-”
“GO TWILIGHT! GO!!” Pinkie yelled.
“WHAT?!!” Adagio turned around to suddenly see Twilight and Spike standing by the statue.
“Come on, Twilight!” Spike yelled as he quickly jumped into the portal.
Twilight hesitated. “Pinkie...”
“Go Twilight!” Pinkie smiled.
Twilight looked sadly away before finally rushing through the portal just as Adagio made a desperate dive towards her, avoiding her snapping jaws at the very last second.
“NO!!!” Adagio roared.
“YES!” Pinkie cheered. “Take care Twilight...” Pinkie smiled while waving, knowing her friends had escaped and was safe beyond the sirens' reach.
“You think this changes anything?” Aria hissed venomously as she glared at Pinkie. “You're still trapped here with us.”
“I know...” replied Pinkie with a shrug. “But at least you didn't get Twilight. And that's what's most important.” Pinkie was then flung into the air. She made a backflip before diving down headfirst into Aria's waiting maw. “Move aside Dashie! Here I come!”
*****
Back in Twilight's castle...
The Mane Six were patiently waiting for Twilight to return. Most of them had settled down in the library with sleeping bags. Reading books of playing games while they waited. Rainbow on the other hoof was constantly on guard, trotting impatiently back and forth, stopping every once in a while just to look at the mirror, contemplating on going in after Twilight.
But of course, being the Element of Loyalty, she waited. That... and because Applejack kept reminding her.
“I can't stand all this waiting!” Rainbow complained. “I really want to know what's going on. Maybe she needs help?”
“Even if she does Rainbow, she still sorta got us there already.” said Applejack. “Besides, Twilight is a big pony. If a pony like her can handle a monster like Tirek, then she can handle a trio of-”
Applejack was cut off as there was suddenly a loud beeping noise. The instruments on Twilight's console started blinking and the mirror began to glow. Realizing this could only mean one thing, all the ponies got up and gathered around Applejack and Rainbow Dash to greet their friend.
“Welcome back Twi-”
And familiar lavender pony, holding tight around a purple dragon, suddenly flew out of the mirror towards them. “AAAAAAAAH!!!”
“Watch out!”
“Incoming!”
The ponies quickly jumped aside as Twilight and Spike landed hard on the floor before them. Her friends then quickly gathered around to help them up. At first they were overjoyed to see Twilight back, but then quickly realized that something was terribly wrong.
“Twilight? Everythin' alright sugarcube?” asked Applejack concerned.
“How did it go?” asked Rainbow Dash. “Did you beat the sirens?”
“Goodness!” Rarity gasped by the look on Twilight distraught face. “Twilight dear, what happened?”
“Girls!” Twilight shouted, tears streaming down as she did. “We have to do something! The sirens... They-”
“Woah! WOAH! Calm down sugarcube!” said Applejack. “Breathe and calm down.”
Twilight eventually calmed down and breathed while drying her tears.
“Now, once more Twilight. What happened?”
“Yeah!” Pinkie joined in. “You're acting like somepony just got eaten...”
*****
Back at Canterlot High...
“*GULP!* BLECH!” Aria stuck out her tongue and gagged in disgust. She looked like she was about to vomit.
“What the matter, Aria?” Sonata snickered. “Wasn't she to your liking?”
“No, she was fine.” Aria replied, still feeling a bit queasy as her stomach rumbled. “Just... too sweet... Seriously, did she sleep on a pile of sugar?”
Sonata just giggled. She then turned her attention to Adagio, who was glaring at the statue. “A pity she got away, Adagio.”
Adagio said nothing.
“Oh well... I suppose there's nothing we do about that now. Guess we'll just have to wait around until she shows up again with Princess Celestia or something...”
Adagio narrowed her eyes. “Or do we?”
Sonata and Aria shot her a curious look. “What do you mean?”
“She can't return if there's no portal...”
Adagio suddenly flew up into the air and hovered high above the statue. The others looked on in silence as she inhaled deeply and let out a powerful shriek that shattered the statue completely, causing it to explode in a huge cloud of debris, along with its pillar and the foundation it stood on.
*****
Back in Twilight's castle...
Twilight and Spike had just finished telling their friends of what had transpired in the Human World. Of their disastrous defeat by the sirens and the fate of their human counterparts.
All of their friends' reactions were mixed, but no less different.
“Sweet Celestia...” Applejack muttered in horror.
“I... I think I'm going to faint...” said Rarity before covering her mouth. “...and vomit!”
Fluttershy dropped her ears and whimpered. “Oh my goodness! Oh my goodness..!”
“We have to do something!” yelled Pinkie. “We have to save them!”
“She's right! We gotta save them!” Rainbow Dash eagerly slammed her hooves together. “Let's go over there and kick some siren tail!” She was about to rush into the portal before Twilight stopped her.
“And we WILL! But we can't just rush in! We'll all become easy targets if we do.”
“Then what are we supposed to do?” asked Rarity. “We have to do something!”
“We must contact Celestia! She can-huh?”
Just then, a loud noise suddenly emitted from the mirror. Twilight's console lit up, its instruments going crazy with everything beeping and flashing wildly as the mirror started to shake. It then began to glow incredibly bright, forcing everypony to look away and shield their eyes.
“Twilight?!” Applejack yelled. “What's happenin'?!!”
“I... I don't know! The mirror... It's-”
Then there was a loud, deafening noise that nearly shook the entire castle, causing the ponies and Spike to drop down on the floor and cover their ears. The console overloaded and blew up. The library was covered in smoke and the explosion caused every book fall off their shelves.
The noise ceased as the light finally faded as the mirror powered down.
Once the smoke had cleared, a coughing Twilight rubbed her eyes and looked up at the console in shock. “No...”
“What in the HAY was that??!” Rainbow coughed, waving the smoke away from her eyes. “Twilight, what happened?!!”
“No!” Twilight panicked and hurried to the mirror. She then looked over her console, or what was left of it. Everything was destroyed. “No! Nononono-NO!!!”
Her friends quickly ran up to her. “Twilight?” Fluttershy gently pushed past the others and placed a hoof on Twilight's shoulder. “What is it? What happened?”
“The portal... It's closed. My console... It's all ruined...”
“Twilight?”
“I...” Utterly distraught, Twilight's lips quivered as more tears formed around her eyes. “I failed...”
“Twilight..?”
“I failed them... I failed them all...” She finally broke down on her ruined console and wept.
Everypony shared worried and confused looks. They didn't know what had happened, but only knew it was really, REALLY bad.
*****
At Canterlot High...
“Well... I guess that's that.” said Adagio, dusting off her hooves and looking rather pleased with herself.
Once the dust had settled, Aria and Sonata slolwy opened their eyes and were shocked to discover there was nothing left of the statue or the portal. The only thing they saw now, was a deep smoking crater where both once stood.
“Now we don't have to worry about Equestria giving us any trouble.”
“You do realize you just destroyed our only source of Equestrian magic, right?” asked Aria with a hint of sarcasm.
“Yeah Adagio.” Sonata joined in with concern. “What if we lose our magic again?”
Adagio gave them a reassuring smile. “We won't.” She turned around and directed their attention to their gems, all three glowing and pulsating bright with energy.
“Why are they glowing like that?” asked Aria. “I don't remember them doing that before.”
Adagio was a bit curious about that herself but instead just shrugged. “It doesn't matter. The point is that the negativity of this world will sustain our magic. As long as everyone adores us...”
“...their hate for eachother will fuel our magic!” Aria finished with a wicked grin.
“Yay!” Sonata squealed, happily clapping her hooves together.
“That's right girls.” Adagio smiled. “This world is now our kingdom!”
Aria laughed. “You're right! It may not be Equestria, but it'll serve us well-” Suddenly, a faint rumbling was heard coming from inside Aria's belly. Aria painfully held her stomach and shielded her mouth as if something was coming back out.
“Are you okay?” Adagio asked concerned, backing away and using Sonata as a shield just in case.
“I... Think I'm gonna- *BURP!*”
To the sirens utter surprise, confetti and streamers suddenly burped out of Aria's mouth. Adagio and Sonata curiously followed the colorful litter falling to the ground before looking back at Aria in confusion.
“That was fun, Aria!” Sonata grinned. “Do it again!”
“Confetti??” Adagio tilted her head to the side in confusion.
Aria looked down at her stomach as the rumbling continued. “Either I'm suffering serious indigestion or there's a party in my belly...”
“Curious...” Adagio rubbed her chin while looking closely at Aria's stomach. “Most curious...”
“Are you having a party in your stomach? Let me listen!” Sonata pushed herself past Adagio, pressed her ear against Aria's stomach and listened.
“Wow! There really is a party in there! And I think I can hear music! Shoo-Bee-Doo~! Shoo-Shoo-Be-Doo~! Shoo-Be-Doo~! Shoo-Shoo-”
Aria angrily pressed her snout against Sonata's, staring daggers at her. “Back off or I'll 'Shoo-Be-Doo' on you!” Sonata gulped and backed away. “This isn't funny-BURP!” She quickly covered her mouth and blushed as more confetti came flying out.
Sonata laughed. “I think it's VERY funny! You have a party in your tummy!”
Aria snarled at her.
“Now now Aria...” Adagio cooed while separating the two. “We'll worry about your tummy troubles later.” Adagio then elevated high into the air. She was soon joined by her fellow sirens and they set their sights towards the city in the distance.
“I believe it's time we made our claim to this world. We'll start with the city. The confusion and chaos that follow will mark the beginning of our rule and the fall of theirs. Come my sisters! Let us sing our song of conquest and watch the fun!”
With that, the sirens sailed across the skies towards the city, their beautiful and enchanted melody echoing through the air. Already it reached the ears of everyone in the suburbs.
It wasn't long before arguments between family and friends began breaking out...
*****
Back in Twilight's castle...
Twilight was wreck. She had spent nearly an hour frantically piecing back together the destroyed console, with her friends silently observing her in worry. They had never seen her this upset. And after everything they had heard, they didn't blame her.
Twilight was now standing by her console, constantly pushing down on the same non-functioning button without anything happening. Even after she got the console back in working order, the mirror still wouldn't re-open.
“Twilight, darling...” a deeply concerned Rarity approached her. “You've been pushing the same button for nearly ten minutes. I don't think it's going to open-”
“IT HAS TO OPEN!!” Twilight yelled suddenly, causing Rarity to jump back in fright. “I CAN'T FORSAKE MY CANTERLOT HIGH FRIENDS! THEY ARE IN DANGER! THEIR WORLD IS IN DANGER!! I'M THEIR ONLY HOPE! I... I...” Twilight breathed heavily and stopped pushing the button, her tears welling up. “I... I can't...”
Rarity quickly raced forward and embraced Twilight in an effort to comfort her. Everypony else hung their heads in grief. Applejack took off her Stetson and mournfully pressed it against her chest, while Pinkie's mane and tail deflated.
“What can we do?” asked Rainbow. “I feel so helpless standing here.”
“Those... Those MONSTERS!” Fluttershy wept uncontrollably as Applejack tried to comfort her. The mere thought of all those innocent lives at the mercy of the sirens was too much for her to bear. “I... I can't stay here... I need to go home. I can't...”
“It's okay sugarcube...” Applejack followed her out. “Ah reckon we all should probably go. There's nothin' we can do here...”
“What?!” exclaimed Rainbow. “We're just going to leave?? A world is in serious danger and Twilight needs our help! We can't just-”
“Go...”
Everypony, including Rainbow, looked to Twilight. “Twilight..?”
“Just go... Applejack is right... Without the portal, there's nothing we can do.”
Rarity's eyes widened. “Twilight! You can't be serious!”
“Is... Isn't there anything we can do?” asked Rainbow. “Twilight?”
“Even if I somehow manage to find a way to re-establish a new portal to the Human World, it'll already be too late...” Twilight gently removed Rarity's hoof and looked away. “Just go... Please...”
Hesitant at first, Rarity rejoined her friends and followed them out the library, leaving Twilight alone.
Watching their friends leave, Spike turned towards Twilight and slowly approached her. “Twilight...”
“Go...”
“Come along Spike.” called Applejack from outside. “Ya heard Twilight. She needs to be alone...”
Spike shot Twilight one last glance before sadly exiting the door to catch up with the others.
Alone, Twilight quietly trotted over to the mirror and placed a hoof on the glass, looking tearfully beyond her reflection at the imaginary image of Canterlot High and her CHS friends in sorrow and regret.
“I'm sorry... I'm so sorry.”
*****
Meanwhile, in the Human World...
The sky was a crimson red. It had only taken an hour, but already the damage was evident.
Resting on top of a skyscraper high above the city, Adagio, Aria and Sonata calmly watched with amusement as the humans below them bickered and argued with one another. Their melody had spread like a disease throughout the city, affecting everyone who heard them.
The streets were in uproar. Cars were crashing into eachother and traffic was jammed as drivers stopped to argue with one another. Shops and stores were broken into and looted. Fires were breaking out almost everywhere. Pedestrians fought and bickered with one another over everything while police desperately tried to maintain order, inadvertently added more fuel to a fire that would not extinguish.
Chaos ruled.
“What a glorious sight.” Aria sighed happily. “I really missed this.”
“And this just the beginning girls...” Adagio grinned. “Soon everybody in the world will fall to our enchanting voices.” She sniffed the air and inhaled fumes that now covered the city like an eerie green mist. “Already the sky is filled with so much negativity. Such lovely aroma...”
Sonata leaned far out over the edge of the building and loudly snorted in a large amount of fumes. “Ah~! So much hatred and anger! I just LOVE the HATE!”. She sniffed in some more.
“Oh!” She then caught wind of another delicious scent. “Mm~! HOT DOGS! Someone must've knocked over a Hot Dog stand.”
“Right you are, Sonata.” replied Adagio. “This hate is lovely. And with it our magic will grow and our voices will reach even further to every man, woman and child.”
“And you know what the best part is?” Aria directed their attention to some approaching vans and helicopters below, all wearing different logos. Once the vans stopped, people came out with microphones and cameras. Even the helicopters had cameras mounted on them.
“We don't have to travel far and wide to do it either. Looks like the News has arrived. Which means that everyone in the country will be watching and HEARING this.”
“Then perhaps we shouldn't disappoint our new audience and give them some music with the news...” Adagio grinned.
“I love technology.” Aria sighed.
“Me too.”
“Not me!” said Sonata. “I love tacos! And HOT DOGS! You girls like hot dogs, right?”
“Not happening, Sonata...” replied Aria with a frown.
“Except us.” Adagio rose up. “Tonight, WE are 'happening'. Ready girls..?”
The three sirens nodded in unison and prepared to sing as the helicopters got closer.
“BURP!”
The sirens paused as Aria once again burped up more confetti and streamers.
“AW COME ON!” Aria spat. “This is getting ridiculous!!”
Sonata laughed. “You look like a Thanksgiving Day float!”
“Honestly Aria...” Adagio facehoofed. “Would you PLEASE get that under control. It's embarrassing!”
Unbeknownst to the sirens, and especially Adagio, a faint humanoid figure could be seen from inside Adagio's gem, peering out.
*****
Inside Adagio...
“Tis bites...” Applejack huffed as she glanced down at the city from the other side of the gem.
Behind her was a large dark chamber of pulsating walls of flesh, with the large gem serving as a window to the outside, as well as illuminating the chamber itself in a crimson light while the faint sound of Adagio's rhythmic heartbeat could be heard.
“We can't let 'em get away with this!” She began to pound and kick on the gem. “We have to get out of here Sunset!”
“Believe me Applejack, I've tried everything that I can think of. But there's no way out of here as far as I can see. I'm afraid we're stuck in here...”
Unable to make a crack or dent on the gem, Applejack sighed, turned around and leaned back against it in defeat. She then slumped down on her knees and wept. “Mah family... Applebloom... Big Mac... Granny...” She covered her face and sobbed. “Ah jus' can't bear knowing they're still out there with those monsters.” She felt Sunset gently rubbing her shoulder.
“I know it doesn't help much Applejack, but have faith. They will be okay. Everything will be okay.”
Applejack dried her tears. “Ah REALLY hope so. Speakin' of 'okay', how come we ain't... ya know... digested? What kind of stomach is this?”
She then threw Sunset a puzzled look. “Or fer that matter, how come yer a pony? Ah thought our world prevented that.”
The unicorn with a sun-shaped cutiemark examined her hooves and looked herself over while shrugging. “I have no idea...” She then looked around the chamber. “I also have no idea what to make of this place. I don't think we're in Adagio's stomach.” She then eyed the gem. “Call me crazy, but I think that gem saved us.”
“Saved us?” Applejack scratched her head, silently mourning the loss of her hat. “The gem? Why would it save us?”
“'Save' is probably not the right word. More like it absorbed us and trapped us here in this... place. It's probably what's keeping us alive too, I think...”
Sunset rubbed her chin as she pondered. “My guess is that you being the Element of Honesty saved you since you're somehow possessing Equestrian magic. And I assume I was spared because I'm an Equestrian unicorn with inherent magic. As to why I lost my human form... Your guess is as good as mine.”
“So it 'saved' us because we have magic? Ya really think that's the reason?”
Sunset shrugged. “I honestly have no idea... It's either that or we're dead and our souls are forever trapped in some kind of Tartaros...”
Applejack was silent for a moment. “Ah like the first one better to be honest...” She leaned back against the gem again and sighed. “So what do we do now?”
Sunset looked back out through the gem to the world outside and sighed as well. “I'm afraid we'll just have to stay here and wait.”
“Wait fer what? And how long?”
Sunset sighed again and sat down. “A miracle..? And as for how long..?” She didn't finish. It was pretty clear she had no idea how long they would be trapped. Sunset saw the sad look on Applejack's face and the guilt finally became too much for her.
“Applejack...” she mustered forth in a trembling voice. “I'm sorry about all this. Everything happened because I chocked up. Everything is my fault!”
“No Sunset...”
“Please! Don't act like it wasn't my fault! Because it IS! Everyone was counting on me and I failed!” she wept. “And now you and everyone else is trapped like we are. I'm so sorry...”
“Sunset...” Applejack put on a gentle smile. “Ah don't blame ya fer tis.”
“Why not?!” she half-shouted. “It's all my fault!”
“Because yer mah friend. Because me and mah friends are yer friends. And friends forgive eachother.”
Sunset couldn't help but feel a bit touched as her tears kept flowing. Still she wasn't entirely convinced. “How can you forgive me so easily? After everything I did. After what I've done to your world!”
“Because everythin' ya did befur is in the past and we fergave ya fer that long ago, and that's the honest truth. Tis place... What's happenin' outside... All that is the Dazzlings. Not you. Ah know it looks bad, but ya shouldn't blame yerself. What's important is that ya at least tried and we can't ask fer more than that. Fortune jus' simply wasn't in our favor...”
Applejack's comforting words made Sunset smile as it seemed to soothe her pain.
“Trust me, Sunset. We'll find a way out of tis mess.” said Applejack, now with a burning fire in her eyes. “No one keeps an Apple down. And this siren ain't gonna keep THIS Apple down either! Or her best friend!”
A tearful Sunset smiled greatly at that.
“Ah jus' know ya'll find us a way out of this! An' Ah'm here fer ya all the way, no matter what!”
“You're right...” Sunset sniffed and dried her tears. “You're right! I promise! I will find a way to get us and our friends out one day. By Celestia, I promise I'll make things right! I'll-”
Sunset was suddenly startled as she felt something touch her horn. She turned her head and quickly noticed it was Applejack, who in turn jumped and quickly pulled her hand away. “What are you doing?”
“Ah'm sorry!” Applejack blushed. “Ah didn't mean to. It's jus'...” She chuckled a bit. “To be honest... Ah've never seen or touched an actual unicorn's horn befur.” She slowly raised her hand again. “M-May Ah?”
Sunset just smiled. “Sure. Go ahead.”
Applejack trembled a bit as she carefully touched Sunset's horn again and stroke it. Sunset couldn't help but giggle at that.
“Even after everythin' Ah've seen in mah short years at Canterlot High, it's still feels really amazin'...” Once finished, Applejack folded her knees together and scooted a bit closer to Sunset. “Ah suppose since we're goin' to be here a while, maybe ya can tell me a bit about Equestria and how magic works there. Jus' so we can get our minds off what's goin' on outside til we can think of a plan.”
“Of course.” Sunset smiled. “You see, in Equestria...”
*****
Meanwhile, inside Sonata...
“Oh my goodness! Oh my goodness! This is TERRIBLE!” exclaimed Fluttershy as she and Rarity peered out through Sonata's gem, witnessing the city below slowly falling apart. “Rarity! Have you seen anything so dreadful?”
“Uh-hu...”
“All those poor people! It's awful!”
“I don't know darling...” replied Rarity. “It looks rather divine on this side...”
Fluttershy threw Rarity a confused glance before realizing that Rarity was eying something else. “Um... we're not talking about the gem Rarity...”
“Hm?” Rarity suddenly realized what she was doing and snapped out of her trance while nervously trying to correct her mistake. “Oh! OH! The city! Those poor people! Of course darling! I didn't mean... It's just-”
“It's okay Rarity...” Fluttershy sighed as she turned away from the view and sat down, wrapping her knees together and looking sad. Rarity moved away from the gem as well and knelt down beside her.
“Fluttershy..? Are you alright?”
“It's really it, isn't it Rarity?”
“Is 'what' it?”
“The end...”
“Fluttershy!” Rarity gasped. “Now you pull yourself together! Granted, I can't explain why we were given this 'front-row seat' to the... um... apocalypse... But that doesn't mean we should give up!”
“But what can we do? We can't get out of here...”
“No...” Rarity admitted as she sat down opposite of her. “...But that doesn't mean we still can't have hope.”
“Hope? What hope is there?”
“There's always hope darling. No matter what happens, we'll get out of this... this flying monstrosity and set things right. You'll see.”
“Really, Rarity?” Fluttershy lit up with a hopeful glimmer in her eyes. “Do you really think we can escape and save everyone?”
Rarity's expression was blank for a moment before smiling nervously. “Of course, darling!” She quickly turned away and bit her finger. While she hated to lie to her, Fluttershy needed to believe there was hope. She hated to see her cry.
“I'm certain there is a way out of here. And when we find it, we'll...” Looking into those hopeful eyes, Rarity finally couldn't bear it anymore. “Oh who am I kidding?!” she cried. “We're DOOMED!”
“Um... Okay..?” Fluttershy was disheartened by Rarity's change in attitude, but wasn't too surprised.
“I'm so sorry dear, but I simply have no idea! I'm sorry for lying to you like that but I just don't know what to do! It's all hopeless!”
“It's okay Rarity...” Fluttershy comforted her. “I know you were just trying to cheer me up...”
“Just look at us Fluttershy! Not only did we lose the Battle of the Bands and fail everyone. We got eaten by a whimsical BACKUP SINGER! And you want to know what the worst part of all this is?”
“There's 'worse' than being eaten..?”
“My brilliant Rainboom designs are utterly ruined! Just look at yours! Look at mine! All my work! It's all been for nothi-hi-hi-hi-ing!” she wailed.
Fluttershy sadly looked away. “I'm sorry Rarity. I know how much work you must've put into all this...”
Rarity sniffed and dried her eyes. “Oh well. It's just material anyway. I'm more concerned about you. I just know you must be worried sick about all your animals at the shelter.”
“It's okay Rarity. I always made sure that the animals would get out of their cages if something were to happen to me. I'm just sad I won't see any of them again... Not even Angel Bunny! Poor thing! He must be worried sick!” she paused. “Or maybe not... Tell you truth, he sometimes seems more cheerful and happy when I'm not around...”
“Yes... well...” Rarity scratched her head. “At least your animals will be fine.”
“I hope so...”
Rarity suddenly narrowed her eyes and stood up while facing her, looking very serious. “Don't you lose it, Fluttershy. Hope is all we have left now! And by the great designer in the sky, we'll one day get out of this... this 'backup glutton'!”
“But didn't you just say it was hopeless a moment ago?”
“I know darling.” Rarity sheepishly waved it off and sat down again. “I just felt it needed to be said...”
“It did.” Fluttershy smiled. “And Rarity?”
“Hm?”
“I'm glad I'm here with you.”
Rarity smiled. “As am I...”
*****
And inside Aria...
“LET ME OUT! LET ME OUT OF HERE!” Rainbow bellowed, continuously hammering her fists at the smooth glass surface of Aria's gem to no avail. “YOU CAN'T KEEP ME IN HERE!”
“Calm down Dashie...” said Pinkie Pie as she was lying down and relaxing with her arms folded behind her head. “...Just sit down and try to relax. We're not going anywhere anytime soon.”
After a long while of pounding, Rainbow finally gave up, pressed her face against its surface and slid painfully down on her knees. “It's not fair...” she groaned. “It can't end like this! I don't want to spend the rest of my life inside this hippo!”
“Hippocampus, Dashie.” Pinkie corrected her. “Look on the bright side. You have me.”
Rainbow suddenly shot back up and hammered some more. “LET ME OUT OF HERE!!!”
“Calm down!” Pinkie said as she got up, grabbed Rainbow's shoulders and pulled her away from the gem. “Just calm down and relax.” She forced her down on the fleshy floor and sat down opposite of her. “And smile! Smiling always cheers me up.”
“It's a little hard to smile when the world is being taken over by overgrown sea-horses! Seriously! SEA-HORSES! I never saw THAT coming!”
“Shoo-Be-Doo~! Shoo-Shoo-Be-Doo~!” Pinkie sang. She then had a thought and giggled. “That reminds me of a video I saw the other day. About this weird movie critic who kept yelling a lot.”
“Who's that?”
“I don't remember his name, but he does so I wouldn't have to.” she grinned. “Anyway, he traveled to this future and-”
“How can you be so cheerful?!!” Rainbow shouted, grabbing Pinkie by her shoulders and shaking her. “We failed to stop the Dazzlings! And on top of that, WE GOT EATEN!! Aren't you the least bit scared??! Don't you care about what will happen to everybody?!” She let go of Pinkie, who kept shaking before eventually stopping herself by grabbing her head and straightening her pupils as they too stopped shaking.
“Of course I care!” replied Pinkie. “Which is why left those surprises.”
“Surprises..?” Rainbow tilted her head at that. “You mean those 'Party Bombs' you mentioned? Just how many of those did you leave back there?”
“Why everything I could fit in my hair of course! Ooh! That reminds me...” She rummaged through her hair and pulled out two plates with a slice of cake on each. “Cake? I always travel prepared.” She handed a plate to Rainbow and then rummaged some more in her hair before pulling out two bottles of apple cider. “To wash it down with.” She added before popping the corks and handing one over to Rainbow.
“I'll admit Pinkie...” Rainbow smiled, probably for the first time since she got eaten. “You really know how to brighten things up, even at the worst times.”
“Yup!” replied Pinkie with a smile. “I know it won't help a lot, but at least we can take comfort knowing we still have eachother and that our friends are safe too.”
“You think so?”
“Sure! I mean, if this happened to us, the same must've happened to them. Gee, I hope their not feeling too sad without me to cheer them up-”
Both girls were suddenly startled by another explosion. They glanced out the gem and noticed confetti and streamers falling past as Aria's voice could be heard above them..
“OH, FOR CRYING OUT LOUD!!!”
Rainbow curiously eyed Pinkie with a smile. “So Pinkie... Just HOW MANY bombs did you leave back there..?”
Pinkie just giggled. “Depends... How high can you count?”
END