No magic, no jobs, no plans. Starting anew, the sirens need a new life, and it's far more likely that it will get worse, before it gets better.
A thousand years of habits. A thousand years of relying on mugging people, of convincing them to give up their cash so they could live the easy life.Just a few bars, and that's all the sirens ever needed.
And in one night, all of it, is gone. They're mortal now, and must obey the rules that mortals do. They have no friends, no experience, and little in the way of safety nets. Even turning to each other for support is something they've never been great at.
But now it's either they figure it all out, or starve in an alley somewhere.
Warning: While the dark or tragedy tag are not here, the beginning of this is probably one of the harshest things I have ever written for one reason. It's realistic, or, it feels that way to me. No magic, no special gifts, no wacky setting. Just three girls, all who have issues with one another, trying to piece their lives back together.
Also, this story is comment driven, so if you want to suggest what the next step to recovery should be, or what you would like to see the three do in general, leave a comment, and it may very well become a reality.
Sonata blinked. She had been staring at the floor for… for so long. She blinked, her eyes hurting as they finally moved again. Not a part of her had wanted to move though, not while she had ‘listened’. Of course, when Dagi got like this, there was no listening. There was simply being a wall to be yelled at.
She looked up, to see the yellow siren in one of the other chairs that was in their small apartment. She looked peaceful, with her hands on her thighs, and her head resting against one of the sides of the chair, and Sonata wondered how long she had been like that. She wouldn’t be surprised if it’d been quite some time, as she herself had checked out for most of the rant that she had been given.
Not that anyone could blame her, or, so she hoped. She didn’t like negative stuff like this. She could be mean, sure, but just being angry, or sad, or cruel, that wasn’t her style. Or, at least, that’s what she told herself. Then again, if she wasn’t a bad girl, then shouldn’t she have won tonight?
She reached to her necklace, and felt the now loose fabric that was her choker. Before it was tight, held together by a very unique clasp. Now that it was gone though, the choker was useless, and she’d had to hold onto it tight to not lose the fabric on the walk home due to the wind. She didn’t want to lose it though, no matter what the others said.
She glanced at the hallways that led to the three’s bedrooms. Sonata knew that she should go to bed. It was far too late, and there was a lot that they needed to figure out tomorrow. She didn’t want to think about why though, as that thought caused her head to start shutting down, and made her want to run.
It couldn’t be ignored forever though. Sooner or later, she would want to open her mouth again, and she bet she would even want to sing eventually, despite… Sonata shut her eyes against the tears in her eyes, and the voices that screamed at her. She couldn’t face it alone though. She just couldn’t.
She ran down the hallway, her chest feeling like it was about to implode, before she slammed her fist against one of the doors. Her whole body shook as she tried to bring it back for another slam, but no part of her wanted to move. She was simply paralyzed, and the voices in her mind, ones she’d hoped she’d banished after a century of living in this horrible dimension, began getting louder.
She tried to choke something out, but again, nothing came out. She didn’t want to go back to her room. Didn’t want to be left alone in the dark, where she could blame herself, hate herself… harm herself. No, she needed in.
“Come in, Sonata.”
Sonata almost crashed through the door, the words having given her the strength to even move. She continued to stumble across the room, and making her way slowly to the third siren of the house. She only hoped Aria was in a… okay mood. She of course trusted Aria more than Adagio did, as their ‘leader’ usually acted like Aria was out for her position, but that didn’t mean she could simply ignore how cruel and cold the purple girl could be.
But she needed her.
“A-Aria, I-I hope I’m n-not waking you up.”
The other siren shuffled a little bit, but still kept her back to Sonata. Then, she threw out some of the blanket behind her, showing that it wasn’t tucked under her anymore. She then said, in that same, gruff tone as always, “Come on over. I know why you’re here, and besides, who could sleep through that cow’s screaming?
Sonata slowly stepped over, making sure to control her movements. She didn’t want to end up breaking down, and getting made fun of by Aria. Not when she was already being plenty of a burden. So, she slowly slid under the sheet, and wrapped her arms around the other girl, making sure that she wasn’t hissed at, or told no, as she did so.
Instead, Aria was quiet, a fact that Sonata was happy about. A quiet Aria usually meant a happy Aria, and they all could use that right now. She didn’t dare question why though, because she knew that would make the other girl angry, and she didn’t want that. She just wanted something to cuddle.
She squeezed Aria a bit more, her shaky breaths beginning to calm as she felt the other girl’s warmth against her. She was tired, so tired, and was just ready for a bit of sleep. Then she could wake up and be happy, and peppy, just like she always was. Then Dagi could calm down, and they could begin to be a happy family again. But first she needed sleep.
As Sonata finally relaxed, Aria glanced over her shoulder and let out a soft sigh. She had thought of telling the blue brat that she couldn’t come in, but she had never been able to shake the image of Sonata after Adagio’s first rant here, and the… She shut her eyes, the tears in her eyes coming back, and continued to stain her cheeks.
“Stupid tears.” She hadn’t been able to look at Sonata because of them. Didn’t want the girl to see how much this hurt. Hell, they’d stopped her from even going and stopping Adagio from putting the poor, blue siren on the edge like this. But the tears proved that she would have just started yelling too, and then Sonata wouldn’t have been willing to come see her.
She raised a hand and wrapped her fingers around one of Sonata’s hands. They felt fragile in her hands, and Aria couldn’t help but remember the long, somber talks that her and Adagio had had over the centuries. Always about the same topic, but always dismissed in the end. But now, with this having happened, could she simply say ‘She’s our sister’ when asked about Sonata?
She shut her eyes, knowing, like Sonata, that if she thought about it too much, she would just go into shutdown, and she had a lot of work ahead of her if she didn’t want their family to be destroyed. And she wasn’t going to let that happen.
Adagio groaned as she slumped over the table in their kitchen/dining room. She had slept like shit the night before, and had the worst crick in her neck. Not only that, but she found out today that her coffee supply was apparently running a touch thin, which added just another bill to the list that she already had. She could just give it up of course, but since Aria would probably refuse to give up her smoking habit, she didn’t plan on giving up hers.
Of course, that was the question now: What would they give up? She lifted up her coffee cup as she began to consider it. They weren’t especially frivolous, not in her opinion. Sure, they went to a couple shows, kept extensive wardrobes, and ate out a good bit, but why shouldn’t they be able to enjoy themselves?
Adagio sighed, knowing that it was a poor excuse. The expenses were fine when they went to things they could use in their performances too, but now… She groaned, wishing they could simply return to how things were; when they could hum a few bars, grab a few wallets, and not have to worry about anything else for the month.
But now, she had no voice. Not only that, but Adagio felt far more tired than she ever had in the past centuries, and she could almost bet on why. And one night was all it had taken. One night that was supposed to be their moment of absolute freedom, and instead it now choked her more than any other in her life.
“Careful, or you’ll break your mug.”
Adagio glanced over to see Aria in the doorway. It was a touch surprising to see the bitch of their group fully dressed so early, but who knows, she might be trying to work off some of the weight she had. The jab helped Adagio not spit venom, even while she knew it was false. She would need another venting session though, if not just to calm herself down.
She tapped her fingers on the side of the coffee mug while Aria walked over to the kitchen. “Watch how much you decide to have. We’re gonna need to try to have less, or we might not make rent this month.”
Aria rolled her eyes as she popped two english muffins into the toaster. “Someone’s forgetting about the savings we all have. We’ll be fine for at least another month from what I know. However, if someone had listened to me so long ago, I bet we’d be able to afford a house right now.”
Adagio narrowed her eyes at Aria, before waving the blaming away. What was done was done, and she had her reasons for keeping their savings sparse. “Oh yes, and you complained so often on those days when you did absolutely nothing, instead of going out and bolstering your own savings. Face it, we all thought we would get out of this place, so why would we have even wanted a house?”
Aria kept her mouth shut at first, deciding not to bring up what sort of bank account she had, or the balance in it. Instead she just began to get ready for when the toaster pops. “I suppose not. Now though, I think we better see about getting a paper, and looking in the help wanted ads.”
Adagio let out another groan at this, even though she knew it was inevitable. They needed some sort of income, and petty theft wouldn’t cover it anymore. At least, unless they found new tactics. Her eyes narrowed, and she bit into her lower lip as she gave that some thought. A little bit of planning, the right use of their wardrobes… It wouldn’t be the stage performances they used to put on, but it could work.
“I usually don’t like whenever you have that look on. It almost never means anything good for any of us.”
Adagio rolled her eyes, knowing that her false generalization was like her earlier jab: just something to make her feel better. If Aria was being honest, she would have to admit that it was always her plans that had gotten them through the tougher times. She was the one to realize that the humans could be abused through their voices, had orchestrated their moves through Canterlot High, and everything in between. The only times they went south was…
Adagio glanced back at Aria, and saw the other woman narrow her eyes. Before she could open her mouth, the other siren said, “No.”
Adagio stopped for a moment, before narrowing her brow. “I didn’t even say anything.”
Aria began to butter her english muffins to stop her from balling her hands into fists. “You don’t need to. I’ve lived with you long enough, and listened to you blame every last thing on Sonata enough times that I know where your head is going. And I’m not going to deal with it tonight. The answer is just no. She is our sister.”
Adagio’s eyes narrowed at the word. It was a lie, a lie that Aria rarely played into, unless she was trying to pull at some emotional string. In fact, Sonata was the one to have originally called them sister, and only after centuries of getting called it did it even slip into Adagio’s head. Thinking of them as her sisters made it harder for her to be rational, and lookout for herself, so she usually discarded it.
But, looking into those firm eyes of Aria’s, she knew that the other girl was going to be stubborn, just as always. Still, she could remind her why one of them who could actually think logically was important.
She took one more sip of her coffee, before saying, “Alright, but remember that the more you hold back on letting her go, the more bruises I’ll need to clean on her face.”
Aria froze at the words, before she dropped her food, and turned hard on the tile floor. She said nothing, didn’t even dare to look at the cunt at the table, but instead just grabbed her jacket. She then stomped through the door, refusing to look back at the thin lipped smile that Adagio would be wearing.
Adagio, for her part, simply sipped her coffee, and began considering just how she might be able to not have to get a real job, so she could keep being the mastermind she enjoyed being.
Aria ran along the jogger’s path in the park, her breath coming out in clouds from the early morning chill. The first rays of the sun were out to say hi, but she honestly wished they weren’t there. She didn’t want ‘nice’ things right now.
”What did you do, Sonata? Why didn’t you listen to us?”
“W-well, I thought-”
“Exactly, you thought!”
“Aria, no!”
Aria picked up her pace as she rounded the bend. Another jogger was coming her way, and managed to wave at her. She was not so kind, and lifted one finger towards him as they passed each other. He yelled at her back, and for a moment, she wondered how he would handle a punch.
She didn’t feel the same weakness Adagio did. When she flexed her muscles, she could feel them all tense, ready to make a living, or let loose some steam. Or…
”Well, happy Aria? You punched her off the cliff.”
“Oh, come on, we’ve all survived worse. Besides, she’s the reason we lost Starswhirl’s stupid challenge, so she deserves it.”
“I still want you to apologize to her, Aria. She is our sister, and if we wanna get home, and out of these… weird forms, than we’re going to need her.”
“Fine! Sonata, get the fuck up.”
“.......”
“Sonata!”
“.......”
Aria grunted as pain shot through her arm. She wasn’t like that anymore. She could handle the frustration now. Adagio was the one who couldn’t put up with either of them. Hated them, screamed at them. She… She…
”Aria, get off of her!”
“I liked it here, you stupid cunt, and now we have to leave!”
“Aria!”
The purple girl grabbed the sides of her head as she shut her eyes. The memories were lying. She had control, she could be calm, she didn’t let problems affect her. She was like Adagio that way. That’s why she could be-
”Leader? Are you serious? You’re mugging trick may have worked, but the first time either Sonata or I screw up one of your half baked plans, what are you gonna do?”
“Adagio, I swear to-”
“Swear what? To use that? At least I only yell”
Aria slumped against the tree she had punched, her body shaking. A thousand years, she’d been dysfunctional, able to get away with it because she thought it was okay, or that nothing would come of it.
The episodes were infrequent, when her dysfunctional side were com out. She wasn’t like Adagio, who just stopped caring over time, or Sonata who was always fucking stupid. No, she only did it when she got mad, or really drunk, or if she didn’t have a smoke in too long. She wasn’t like those two. She was… right?
Aria shut her eyes, her vision blurring from something in her eyes. It was so annoying, but no matter what, the bit of debri wouldn’t go away, and made something wet roll down her face.
And then she cried, realizing that she was still trying to excuse her abuse, or deny the guilt, even while her target had sought her out for comfort last night, just like the idiot she was.
