The cold never felt so brutal. Rarely was the nipping winter air a nuisance, and the chilling emptiness of a void soul was something they had grown accustomed to and embraced. Never had they felt the very blood in their veins freeze to a near standstill. What magic used to flow through their bodies and power their voices was also keeping them warm and comfortable in their mortal forms. There was always something about magic that seemed to keep one at a high, relaxing temperature, like some sort of heater embedded in in one's very being, constantly ventilating it's energy through the gaps between molecules to surround them in an imaginary-yet-functioning source of warmth. Once the pendants shattered, all that pressure and heat escaped, leaving the Dazzlings to suffer through a painful breeze. Never had they thought they would fear hypothermia in what used to be comforting Summer nights.
That old coffee shop on the corner, the blue, two story building with glass doors beneath a frilled, red overhang. That was their refuge, their place to gather on the frustratingly cold nights they now had to endure. No longer there to feed of the hatred spread around by the bickering couples and friends that filled the cafe, but they would if they could. The place had become a goldmine for negative energy since they decided to stop by each night. Dozens of evil eyes staring into them as they entered through the transparent doors and chimed the bell above them. One could see the near instant change from carefree, joyful conversation in their absence to an atmosphere filled with scorn once that especially cold breeze followed the sirens inside. It was an all too familiar occasion for everyone involved. The green and two purple hoodies were enough to draw a disgusted look to them from the moment they were spotted to the moment they sat down, and most of the time the harassment didn't end there.
The trio of sirens took their seat in the booth in the back of the cafe, Adagio up against wall while the others took the seats facing her with Sonata closest to the window. "Well well well," said a masculine voice from the adjacent booth behind Sonata and Aria. Adagio's and Sonata's eyes followed the sound of the footsteps behind the purple siren, who didn't need to look. She knew who it was. "Looks like the entertainment's here."
"What do you want, Flash?" Aria snapped, holding her head in her hand with her elbow rested on the table.
"Oh, I'm sorry," Flash said. "I didn't realize my band was chopped liver. I can't possibly expect the most talented girls on campus to pay us inferior bands any mind."
"Fine," Aria lay her hands down on the table and stared the lead guitarist in the eyes, completely disregarding the bulky drummer and black and white-haired bass player. She kept leaning forward until she felt the massage had sunk in, then returned to her slouched position. "There, you got what you wanted. Now get away from us."
"That's it?" Flash continued, keeping the same smug expression. "We were hoping that you would be nice enough to maybe sing us a little song with those captivating voices of yours."
"Flash," Adagio stopped him. "You should probably leave her be right now."
"We can't just get one little song? Just one so I can get that feeling again of falling under your spell."
Aria put her palms on the tabletop and pushed herself out of her seat. She reached out for Flash's shirt collar and gave it a twist, pulling his face not even an inch from her own. His band-mates tried to help him, but the guitarist held up his hands on either side of him, telling them to stay put. "Look here, Flash Sentry," Aria growled. "We know our magic's gone. We know that you know that our magic's gone. But what you need to know is that we may be mortal now, but so are you. You're no stronger than we are."
"And you expect me to just believe that?" His face still had that same confident smile that infuriated the Dazzling. She let go of the collar and shoved him down onto the ground. She tried to tackle him and wail on the guitarist, but his buddies grabbed Aria by the arms as she kept trying to pull out of their grasp on her knees. Flash stood up and brushed off his jeans. Aria rose back up to her feet again and pulled her arm free from the scrawny bass player on her right. She stood still so beefstick would let go willingly, and they backed up once they thought she was calm enough. Flash looked back up at the Dazzling in irritation. "I'll let you have this one. Don't want my coffee getting too cold."
He lead his band-mates back to their booth, Aria lunging her upper body forward as Flash passed by. She watched, unmoving until they retook their seats. Only then did she return to her own. She looked glumly back down at the table and rustled her hands inside her front hoodie pocket. Her friends could hear the shaking of some solid material from under the table. Adagio looked at her in concern. "You realize it's still broken, right?"
Aria pulled her cupped hands out of her pocket and dumped the pieces of her red magical pendant on the tabletop. "Oh don't act like you don't carry yours." The other two sirens reached into their hoodies and played around with their shards, making sure they still could feel every last piece. They've kept them close enough, they knew how many pieces there were and how many pieces. They all shared the same sad look to each other.
"Do you think we'll ever get our voices back?" Sonata asked them.
"I don't know," Aria answered. She looked back down at her shattered gem. "But it doesn't hurt to keep hope close." Despite that message to her companions, she didn't really know why she kept the pieces with her. They didn't know where the Equestrian magic came from and, by extension, how to trace it back to their world. They probably wouldn't get an answer from anyone from CHS, or even the whole city for that matter. Not everyone was going to show them a little generosity after they just attempted world domination, and they certainly weren't deserving of any. What hope did they have?
Aria's deep thought was suddenly stopped by the chime of the bell above the door. The ringing gave her a bit of a startle but she quickly came to her senses and glanced over her shoulder to see who walked in. He was an especially wimpy kid with dark blue skin and hair that faded from icy-blue to white. He was wearing a pair of copper glasses along with a green polo shirt. She might have seen him in school, but with the massive crowd at her feet all the time, who could notice?
The guy made his way through the coffee shop, eyes facing the trio of sirens in the last booth. Aria wanted to think that he was glancing over and heading to the booth behind them, but when he didn't stop at Flash's booth she quickly gathered her gem fragments in her hands and stuffed them back into her jacket. The newcomer came along and parked himself right next to Adagio, shoving her aside with a smile that the Dazzlings couldn't tell was sarcastic or not. "Well, well, well," he started. "If it isn't my favorite girls on campus."
"Get out of here," Adagio ordered him, shoving him out of the seat. Unsurprisingly, it didn't take much effort. The guy landed right on his tail end as the entire cafe chuckled. He paid them no mind and just stood back up, brushing off his jeans.
"We've had enough of this tonight, creep," Aria blurted out. "And the last guy who messed with us is lucky I didn't break his nose." She turned around and glared at Flash who was already staring angrily back at her.
"I'm sorry I had to force myself upon you like that," the mystery student apologized. "Very immature. You know what? Here, let me make it up to you." The mystery kid turned around to meet the cashier behind the beige counter and pulled out his black leather wallet. He pointed to a shelf full of pastries and pulled out a bill while the lady fetched his order. He left the money on the counter and came back with a plastic wrapped scone and put in front of Aria. The Dazzling didn't even bother to take her eyes off of him to look at it.
"I don't like scones," she stated in monotone.
"I like scones!" Sonata said gleefully. Aria slid the scone Sonata's way, still not taking her frustrated eyes off the icy-haired kid. Sonata unwrapped the scone and started nibbling at the edges.
"Allow me to introduce myself," the Dazzlings finally decided. "My name is Frost." He reached to Aria for a handshake. "Phoenix Frost." Aria ignored the hand outstretched before her and just stared disapprovingly at Phoenix. He still had that devilish smile on him, and it was difficult to tell whether he had something devious planned or was just happy to be there. It was pretty creepy, actually. He realized that he wouldn't be receiving a warm welcome, but the grin he kept said that he saw it coming anyway. "Fine then. I suppose you aren't interested in my company."
"Whatever gave you that impression?" Adagio asked rhetorically.
"I was just simply hoping that someone so lonesome as yourselves would be more welcoming of a friendly face."
"Look, we get it," Aria snapped. "The world hates us. We don't need you to rub it in like everyone else."
Phoenix tried to show shock but that smile ruined the whole illusion. "Whoever said I was insulting you? I was genuinely looking forward to spending some time with the most talented girls in school."
"Ok, just stop right the-" Aria began, before being directly interrupted by Frost's continuation.
"We could become friends and share secrets with each other," Phoenix rambled as Adagio and Aria held their heads in their hands. Sonata parted her attention from her scone and looked at Phoenix in confusion. "Like what our favorite games are, our favorite TV shows..." He paused. Phoenix leaned over the table and whispered, "How to get to Equestria." For once that smile seemed sincere. With his intentions clear, Adagio shifted herself towards the window, and Frost happily took a seat right next to her. Aria still hated the idea of even having him in her presence, but something told her he wasn't going away even if she made a verbal objection.
Frost happily took the seat next to the siren and rested his elbows on the table, hands folded in front of that maniac smile of his. He exhaled loudly, as if the red leather seating were the most comfortable thing in the world. "Oh this is nice. Isn't it nice?" He awaited a response from the trio of power-stripped girls surrounding him were anticipating their information too much to give a response. Well, Adagio and Aria did, Sonata had a scone to keep her occupied, but there was still an awkward silence. "Alright, then let's get down to business."
"Oh, no," Adagio insisted sarcastically. "You take your sweet old time."
Frost turned to the siren mocking him with his hand between them. "Have some patience, Dagi," he advised. "Gotta play these things out right."
The Dazzlings exchanged confused glances. Aria decided she should be the one to speak. "What do you mean 'play these things out'?"
"Ah who'm I kidding," Frost chuckled. "I totally planned half this stuff out."
The booth was completely quiet. "You planned this out?" Adagio asked, trying to get that desperately needed clarification.
"Indeed I did," he replied with a shameless smile. Adagio held her head in her hands again. "And I have no regrets doing so."
Adagio peeked her head out to Aria. "Of all the people who could get us back to power, it had to be this idiot?" she tried whispering, but it was still loud enough to be heard halfway across the cafe.
"Oh yes, that's where we were. Well I'm more than willing to help you ladies get you're voices back."
Sonata looked up from her scone. "Really?" she erupted in joy. "You can help us get our magic back?" Her fellow sirens looked like they knew they should have been disappointed in her inability to grasp the reason why they let him sit there in the first place, but as long as they've known Sonata, they've grown to expect it.
Phoenix leaned across the tabletop and pinched the blue Dazzling on her scone-filled cheek. "You're adorable when you talk, you know that?" Aria slapped his hand off her friend while Sonata tried to hide a blush behind her.
"Don't touch her," the purple siren demanded, pointing fiercely at Frost. "Just get to the point."
"Alright, alright," he said, trying to calm her. "I know how important this is to you. You deserve your fame. It's not like your small-scale hypnosis act is going down in history anytime soon. And if it does, it's gonna be as simple as 'Some people claim there were women to blame, now they're wasting away again in...' um, well I'll have to work out that last part. But you get the idea."
"Cut to the chase," Adagio urged.
"Yeah, yeah. So lucky for you, the portal to that horse world is on school grounds."
"Go on," Aria said, keeping the conversation on track.
"That statue of the stallion in front of the main doors. The base is your ticket back home."
"See, that's all we wanted," Adagio said, patting Frost on the back. "C'mon, girls."
"No, that's not all you want. There's more."
"How much more?" Aria asked, clearly antsy to get going.
Phoenix held up his index finger. "Well first off, it's the part of the platform that faces the school." He lifted a second finger. "Second of all, it's got some magical stuff powering it. Or a magical timer or something. Either way, you're gonna need to figure out how to get it working before you can get back to your world."
The sirens grunted in unison. "Great," Adagio complained. "It couldn't be that simple."
"I'm sorry I can't help you with anything else," Frost apologized. "But, hey, you're a patient woman, Adagio. I have faith in you."
The sirens' brains were fried. What was this guy trying to do? Was he trying to be a jerk or just overly sarcastic? He appeared to have full intentions of helping them, but the way he did it made them wonder whether or not he was misleading them. Adagio snapped out of it and told her companions to get up. "We just gotta get the ball rolling here." Aria didn't hesitate to start out of her seat, but she stopped once she heard Phoenix's voice again.
"Actually, before you go, one last thing," he said, hopeful that they would listen.
Aria slowly sat back down. "What?" she asked in frustration.
"If you hate the people who hang out around here, why do you come back?" All three Dazzlings' eyes turned to the window beside them, their eyes wide as they journeyed back into their memories. They could see the rainbow blast in the school yard as if the event were happening at that moment. They knew it wasn't. It wouldn't mean anything if it were anyway. They brought their eyes back down to the table.
Adagio sighed, "I guess this is just where it all started." She looked back up at Phoenix. "Our new beginning. It sparked in this shop. I guess it's just been more comfortable, coming to a place where we could feel hopeful of finding a new start in life."
Phoenix nodded. "Looks like it payed off."
Adagio smiled. "Yeah, it did."
"Well what are you still doing here?" Frost asked. "Here's that new chance you've been waiting for. Get on it!" He stood to the side of the booth and let Adagio out of her seat. She made her way to the exit, Aria following closely behind her. Sonata slid out to follow Aria, but before she started walking towards the door, she turned back to Phoenix, the blush having returned. She walked up to him hesitantly.
"So, you really think I'm cute?" Sonata asked, playing with her hair hanging on the side of her face.
He shifted in place searching for the right response. "Um. Look, I wouldn't make too much out of it. You're still technically an alien." All the hopefulness drained from her light blue face, and Frost felt understandably guilty. "Hey, don't be like that," he said, lifting her shin back up. "You'll find someone." He gave her a smile as her fellow sirens called her name. "You'd better catch up with them. You got places to be."
Sonata nodded, still looking glum, and turned to the door. Phoenix watched her hurry out the glass doors to meet up with the other sirens. Frost turned around when the doors shut behind her and smacked himself upside the head. "Stupid."
"Are you sure we can trust him, Adagio?" Aria asked. "He's not exactly blunt about it, but he's got jerk written across his forehead in red marker."
The Dazzlings stopped on the corner just outside the cafe, waiting for the light to turn and the crosswalk to clear. "If you were so against having him around the whole time, why didn't you object when I moved over?" Adagio replied.
"Sorry that my outbursts of hatred weren't making it clear to you," she apologized sarcastically. "Not like you ever give me a chance to make the decisions, anyway." She pulled out her phone and started toying with whatever content she had on it.
"And it is because of your hesitation to capitalize on these opportunities that I take charge every time. Feel grateful that I let you go nuts on Flash." The light turned red and the cars halted at the crosswalk. "C'mon," Adagio said, gesturing them forward. Aria didn't look away from her phone to walk across.
"And you honestly believe we can trust him?" Aria questioned, eyes still glued to her phone.
"I thought he was nice enough," Sonata offered.
"We don't exactly have any other leads here, Aria. And I'd rather not just let myself rot away when there's the possibility of a solution right at our fingertips." She glanced across the street to her right towards Canterlot High. The stone statue of the horse stood tall in the building's front yard, and looked surprisingly nice in moonlight. But something else caught her eye closer to the entrance. There was a red and yellow-haired girl in a black leather jacked running toward the doors, carrying a brown, hardback book with a sun-like insignia on the cover. Once they were across the street, Adagio held out her arm to her left to stop the other sirens. Sonata struggled to regain her balance from the sudden stop and Aria, still not looking away from her phone, bumped into her arm and dropped it on the sidewalk. She picked it up and followed Adagio's eyes to the school.
Sunset Shimmer yanked open the doors and ran inside, no struggle at all. "Waaaait, aren't the doors supposed to be locked?" Sonata asked.
"Oh yeah," Aria chuckled. "I had a little fight with Bulk Biceps the other day. Managed to break the front door locks in the process."
Both Dazzlings turned to her in shock. "You had a fight with Bulk Biceps and lived?" Adagio asked, stunned.
"Let's put it this way," Aria said with a smirk. "One of us got two weeks suspension, the other got a broken arm." Adagio and Sonata looked away with blank expressions while Aria kept grinning. "Good times." The school doors flew open again, and Sunset came running out, this time without her book, and disappeared into the base of the horse statue.
Adagio smiled back to Aria. "I think that Phoenix kid was right." She turned around and held her hand up to her breast, gripping the imaginary pendant that dropped down from her neck. "Let's go, shall we?" After waiting for a few cars to pass and the road before them to clear, the Dazzlings jaywalked to the school grounds. They would be afraid of a cop giving them a ticket had they not been about to cross into another dimension entirely. That, and they've seen officers dancing in the crosswalk to direct traffic. Not the most efficient police force around.
The sirens found themselves standing between the staircase to the main doors and the large white face of the statue's base, the stone stallion's head rising night into the clear night sky above, surrounding itself in an array of stars by the hundreds. Adagio was the first to walk to the bast of the statue. It was then that she started to think. What if it wasn't open? What if that Sunset still had the key to getting in and out of there? What if they were still stuck in this world and forced to endure the scorn and cold? Adagio shivered and rubbed up and down her arms.
"You gonna go through the portal, or what?" Aria asked. "We don't have all night."
The yellow siren turned over her shoulder, "I didn't see you step up to give it the first look!" Her eyes narrowed, while Aria lightly shut her eyes and shrugged with her crossed arms. Adagio turned back to the monument, the anger in her face instantly replaced with worry. She ever so slowly lifted her right index finger to chest-level and pointed towards it's pristine wall. Biting her lip, she slowly extended her arm, watching her fingertip approach the portal every inch of the way. Adagio felt her back getting stiffer and stiffer as her finger closed in on those last small distance. For the final stretch, she closed her eyes and let her hand just move forward. She felt a stony texture on her fingertip compressing the flesh until it wouldn't give in anymore.
Adagio opened her eyes to see her finger pressed up against the statue's base. Her hear sank as she quickly poked at it again. Her expression filled with rage and she began pounding the face of the statue with her fist. "Come on!" she grunted, pushing against the sealed portal with her left hand as her right continued slamming against it. She gave up after about five hits, and looked back up at the horse statue in rage. "You couldn't let me have one thing could you!?" She started breathing heavily in anger when she suddenly heard the squeak of door hinges behind her. Adagio turned around to see Aria holding open the main door, waiting for the other two to follow her. Adagio looked at her like she was crazy. "What are you doing?"
"I saw brute force wasn't working so I tried this. Don't worry, I have a backup plan."
Sonata nonchalantly walked through the open door, Adagio trudging behind her and stopped just outside the building.
"Are you trying to make a point?" she asked, giving Aria a disgusted glare.
"Just get in," Aria ordered. "We don't have all night." Adagio gave her the evil eye as she passed through the entryway. Aria wasn't phased. She just let the door close behind her and started down the first hallway on the right of the main foyer while her companions waited for instructions. They saw her take the route from the corners of her eyes and strolled behind the silent Dazzling. The darkness would probably make most students want to pack night vision goggles, given seeing anything two feet in front of your face was initially impossible, but CHS has so many poorly lit hallways, the sirens' eyes could adjust quickly. Plus, the school's air conditioning didn't run at this hour, so it was nice and warm inside. Stuffy, but warm.
Aria walked down the hallway counting lockers on the right wall as she went along, the other two just following, still waiting for that instruction. Adagio was growing impatient. "So what are we-" she began.
"Shh," Aria cut off, holding up her finger. She didn't want to lose track of where she was. The darkness might not have been a big issue to them, but it was still difficult to read the locker numbers without straining one's eyes. She stopped and grabbed the lock with her left hand. "Ah," she sighed, holding out her right hand so Sonata wouldn't obliviously bump into her.
"This isn't your locker, Aria," Adagio brought up.
"I know," she replied, still giving no emotion. "It's Sunset's."
Sonata and Adagio exchanged concerned glances. "And, why do you know her locker number?" Adagio asked.
"Little brat wants to stand by the Rainbooms so I'm gonna treat her like an enemy. And a smart revenge-seeker always does their research." She lifted the padlock up as far as the handle would allow, revealing the keyhole in the back for when someone forgets the combination. Aria looked up towards the ceiling as she shuffled her right hand around in her pocket. She pulled out a black bobby pin, next to invisible in the dark lighting, and stuck it into the lock's keyhole and played with it until the lock opened up.
After taking the lock off, Aria gingerly opened the locker and started digging inside. Adagio grew impatient again. "What are you-" she started, but her question was answered when Aria pulled out a brown hardback book with a red and yellow fire motif on the cover.
Aria leaned her left side up against the ajar locker and flipped the book open before her chest. "Let's see what we got here," she said, scanning the pages. She came across the first blank page and read the text on the previous page aloud. "Dear, Sunset Shimmer. We've had a bit of a crisis here in Equestria and it has everypony stuck here in Canterlot. We're fine, but the clean-up's limited how far we can move from the city. I figured while we have Equestria's entire population right here in one place, this would be a great time to introduce you to my friends. I'll have the portal open for you if you can make it. P.S. Bring a jacket. Your friend, Twilight Sparkle."
Adagio and Sonata exchanged glances again, this time Adagio was baring an evil grin. Sonata was confused, of course. The blue siren's companions looked at her in disappointment. They weren't shocked by her obliviousness, but rather ashamed that she still hadn't caught on to the fact that inside that head of her's she did, in fact, have a brain. She just needed to use it.
"What?" she asked. "How does this help us? Twilight had the portal open for Sunset Shimmer."
"And what if it's still open?" Aria asked in monotone.
"Ooooooohhhh," Sonata responded.
Adagio and Aria looked at each other, as if telepathically asking, "Where did we get her?"
"Wait," she continued her thoughts. "It's already closed. We tried already."
She made a good point, somehow, and the reality sank back in on the other two. "Right," Aria said glumly.
"But this book does tell us something else," Adagio said, grinning. "She can turn it on whenever she wants to."
"Yeah, so?" Aria asked.
"So, all we need to do is turn the portal on, and we're home free."
"And how do you propose we do that?"
"Look, it's obvious Twilight isn't coming back to this world on occasion to break into Sunset's locker and write messages in her journal. This message was magically transferred to the pages. If we write something in this book, the magic should activate the portal."
"I don't think that's how it opens," Aria said, rolling her eyes.
"Well I don't pay you to think," Adagio snapped. "Besides, it's our one shot. Now, I appreciate finding us a way through, Aria, but let someone who will communicate take it from here, ok?" The orange siren headed back for the main entrance, Sonata following her gleefully while Aria stood back and stuck her tongue out behind her back. "We're leaving, Aria" Adagio called.
"Let me close up the locker," she called back as an excuse. She lived up to it, though, and covered her tracks. Holding onto the book, Aria sprinted down the hall to catch up with the other sirens. Adagio walked out the doorway, passing the door to Sonata behind her, who forgot about Aria and let it fly back and hit her in the face. The purple siren opened the door and rubbed her forehead, giving Sonata a snarl.
"Aria, the book," Adagio ordered, her arm extended behind her while she gazed upon the stone statue in anticipation. Aria violently handed her the journal and Adagio took her eyes off the monument to flip to the next blank page. She smiled at the off-white paper and rubbed across it with her fingertips. It was then she realized that she had nothing to write with. Lowering the book slightly, she turned over her shoulder and gave Aria and Sonata an embarrassed smile. "Um, do either of you happen to have a pen?"
"I do!" Sonata answered excitedly. She reached into the inside of her hoodie pocket and pulled out a light blue ballpoint pen and held it out for Adagio to take.
She hesitated to take the writing utensil from her hand, as she was surprised she just managed to have a pen on her at this time of night. Listening to her better judgement, Adagio didn't question it and took the pen. "You know, as utterly clueless as you are, Sonata, you're useful when we need you to be." Sonata smiled and Adagio turned back to the journal, holding up the pen. "This is it, girls." Lowering the pen to the paper, the orange siren's grin grew wider. Ever so neatly, she wrote out the words, We're not done yet onto the blank sheet of paper.
She lifted the pen away and the text flashed in white magic. Hopefulness surged through her blood and Adagio looked back towards the statue's base again. She jogged right to it, stopping just before the face with barely enough room to breathe. She tucked the pen in her fingers she used to grasp the book in her left hand, and lifted her now free right hand up to the statue. Relaxing her fingertips, Adagio extended her arm towards it until she felt her fingertips lightly touch the surface. Only this time, the texture wasn't stony. Rings of white magic formed around her fingers, just barely passing between worlds.
Adagio yanked her hand back at the unworldly feeling, but the sensation stayed with her long enough to feel the magical energy heat up her entire hand, even after the fingers and the portal parted. Aria and Sonata's faces lit up from the bottom of the staircase before the school entrance and they came running to Adagio's side. the orange siren reached into her hoodie pocket and grabbed her pendant shards, gripping them tightly. With another look up, Adagio grinned menacingly from ear to ear with fire burning in her eyes, eager to begin her domination. She took off at full speed through the portal, forgetting completely about Sonata and Aria who didn't react before their leader was completely through. Aria bared a small grin and Sonata couldn't even tough her lips together, and they rushed into the magical gateway back to the world populated by their future subjects.
Adagio felt herself phase into existence again on the other side of the rift and struggle to bring herself to a halt. The first thing she had noticed wasn't the massive crystal castle with a circle of chairs surrounding an empty space between them and a 6-pointed star design in the center, but was immediately chilled by the frigid draft violently coursing through her scaly siren body. The wind caught onto the majestic yellow sails lining her spine all the way down to her fish-like tail. Sonata and Aria came through the portal just seconds after she arrived, and with a look back, Adagio saw them in their true forms with indentations in their breasts where their pendants would normally be, levitating above the pristine crystal floor and immediately shivering together. Behind them, the portal back to the human world was surrounded by an impressive scientific structure with a book identical to Sunset's sitting in on a rack above the gateway. Right off the bat, all three of them knew that if they had to withstand this cold for any longer than they needed to, they would surely freeze to death. They needed to fix their gems and get some magic in them fast.
Speaking of which, Adagio scanned the room for the shattered pendants so they could get to fixing them. She quickly took notice to the three sets of dark red gemstones scattered out in front of each siren in the direction they passed through the portal. The momentum must have carried them along since there was nothing to hold them in this world. Nonetheless, Adagio directed her companions to scoop up their pendants in their hooves and bring them over to the star emblem on the ground. They clumped them in their own little piles to ensure that none of the fragments got mixed up with a piece of another gem.
"So how are we going to fix these?" Aria asked, turning directly to Adagio.
"We're in a castle, so there must be a library somewhere," Adagio offered. She looked down the single hallway leading to the massive crystal doorway, no more than four doors on either side. "And it doesn't seem like we'll have to make a thorough search." Adagio slowly glided through the hallway, going left and right and checking through every door one by one. The first few doors were nothing of importance to them, just the kitchen, restroom, and an observatory. But in time, Adagio found herself at the third door on the left, an inside was the most impressive library she'd ever laid her eyes on. Every wall in the octagonal room was lined high with bookshelves on top of bookshelves and a rectangular desk in the middle of the room. Each wall had it's own category and every group of shelves it's own subcategory. Whoever owned this library was organized beyond compare.
Aria and Sonata met up with Adagio outside the doors as she scanned the categories on the walls. One by one, she quickly read the labels in the center of the walls: Historical, Fantasy, and a piece of paper with Egghead Section written on it in red crayon taped over that wall's label. The chilling wind came through and blew the piece of paper off the label, revealing the section to be the Science Fiction section. Adagio kept going until she found the one wall she'd been looking for: Magic.
She drifted in closer, sorting through the subcategories. There was one for plant magic, ice magic, fire magic, even dark magic. At the bottom of the section was a subcategory entitled Power Boosters. The yellow siren reached for a scroll neighboring a book called How To Turn Yourself Into A Living Orbital Friendship Cannon written by Twilight herself. Adagio brought the scroll over to the desk in the center of the room. She unfurled the parchment and read it to herself in her head, and her eyes widened. "This is it!" Adagio rolled the scroll back up and rushed back to the circle of chairs where the amulet shards rested, Sonata and Aria not far behind.
With hustle, Adagio unfurled the scroll once again and placed it on the seat of a chair with a trio of diamonds at the top. She read it once more, but aloud this time. "When your foe overpowers you, the fight not going as planned. Simply recite this spell to gain the upper hand." With those last words, Adagio felt a massive surge of heat fill her chest and branch out to all corners of her body. And it felt gooood.
Her razor sharp fangs peeked out from behind her lips. She could feel it. All that magic built up inside her body at once, and she felt so alive. But she couldn't keep admiring the sweet memory of having power becoming reality. There were more pressing matters, and Adagio could feel the power slowly draining from her. With hesitation, the yellow siren tried to test her vocal cords, see if she could still create that lovely melody with the magic flowing through her. Her jaw stuttered as she fearfully made the attempt. But when she finally tried...
Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaah. Aaaa-aaaa-aaaaaaaaaaaah.
Perfect. The same captivating tone and unobstructed fluidity echoed off the shimmering purple walls of the castle. This would do, and she knew that for certain when she saw the fragments begin to levitate when she started to sing. She gave it another go.
Aaaaaa-aaa-aaa-aaa-aaaah. Aaaaaa-aaaaa-aaaaaaaaaaah.
The shards littering the floor rose to the sky again, each individual piece spinning around in one of three orbits around a central area. One by one, the fragments linked themselves together, molding together without the slightest crack left to be seen. Adagio couldn't stop now, she was so close. But she could feel her momentary magical strength fleeing her body. Even so, she urged herself on.
Aaaaaaaaaah. Aaaaaaaaaaah.
All three sirens watched as the last pieces of the gemstones merged together, and as they did a vibrant red light began emitting from their cores, reflecting off of every surface of the castle interior. After no more than two seconds of blinding light, it subsided and the gems shot themselves right into the indentation in the sirens' chests. It stung, feeling it mold back into their flesh, but they didn't care. The day had finally come, and there's nothing to fix a little pain like feeding off the magical energy of the entire population of a bickering province.
Once she was positive the gems and the sirens were one once again, she stopped singing, letting silence fill the castle. No sound was made, save for the simultaneous deep breaths taken by all three sirens. "Well girls," Adagio began. Aria and Sonata looked at her with anticipating grins, and Adagio looked back with no more than a dark of her eyes.
"Welcome to the show."
Twilight paced back and forth in the throne room of her massive castle, her hoofsteps echoing off the walls and large set of purple crystal doors just behind her. Behind her were the two royal pegasi guards she had taken with her to pull the chariot back to Canterlot. They had the standard look to them: white coats, blue manes, and golden armor. She couldn't leave them out in the raging blizzard just outside; they'd freeze to the ground. Granted, the chariot would likely be buried a few inches in snow by the time Sunset came through the portal to join her, at the rate it was coming down. The draft was absolutely horrible, as well. Despite popular belief, crystal structures don't have very good insulation. She didn't know how the Crystal Empire citizens put up with it, living in the arctic and all.
Every so often, Twilight would stop her pacing to look back at the portal, making sure it was still active. Each time, nothing changed but the colors in the swirling vortex leading to the human world. The book she used to make contact with Sunset was sitting pretty in the little stand used to power the whole thing. The only foreseeable thing that could cause the portal deactivate would be if the frost came over one of the Tesla coils on the side, yet Twilight still found it necessary to check. Her patience was wearing a bit thin, too. She hadn't received a response, so she wasn't even sure if Sunset was making her way to her, and Twilight could feel the cold freezing her blood solid. She stuck it out as long as she could, though. Wouldn't be very friendly to leave and keep Sunset stuck in a frozen wasteland, barely able to adjust to having hooves again, let alone use magic.
After a few more rounds of pacing and deep thought, Twilight was alerted to a static-like sound coming from the portal, a prismatic array of colors catching her eye. With an excited look up, Twilight watched as the tan-coated pony with a red and yellow mane passed into her world, initially standing on her hind hooves before fell down to all fours. She wasn't used to using four limbs to support her body, so Sunset immediately collapsed on her fore-hooves and face-planted on the cold, hard, crystal floor. With of the few spins of her eyes, she held a hoof up so Twilight could guide her to a stand, which the lavender alicorn did gladly.
Sunset Shimmer gave her friend a smile. "Thanks, Twilight," she said as a sudden chill ran down her, well, everything. "By Celestia, it's cold." She sat down and wrapped herself in her front hooves, shivering all the while.
Twilight snickered, "I told you to bring a jacket."
"You try finding a jacket that fits on ponies in another dimension!" Sunset argued. Both of them gave a laugh and Twilight helped Sunset up again.
"Let's get going," Twilight insisted. "It's a long trip back to Canterlot and you've already seen what I've been putting up with." With a nod, Sunset followed her steadily back to the exit. Walking really helped her regain control, given that walking on four hooves was easier than on two feet and that she just needed a little momentum to make it feel natural again. The Royal guards stood away from the doors as Twilight and Sunset each magically flung one inward. A pile of snow flooded into the castle and over everypony's hooves, sending shivers right up their spines. Sunset jumped back onto solid ground and shivered like she'd never shivered before.
"C'mon, we don't have much time to lose," Twilight urged. "The storm's not stopping and it's only been getting worse." The pegasi headed out and did their best to pull the chariot out of the snow bank, Twilight and Sunset following and closing the doors behind them. The alicorn kindly lifted the chariot clean out of the snow, shaking the crystal out of the wheels and cleaning out the creases on the sides that gave the model a winged look. She dumped all the snow out from the back of the chariot, careful not to bury anypony, and set it back down gently on the ground.
While the royal pegasi strapped up, Twilight lead Sunset into the bed of the chariot. Both of them had to shield their faces from the millions of snowflakes blowing directly into their faces until they decided to just turn their backs to the front and sit down. "We're ready!" Twilight alerted the chariot pullers. Without hesitation, the pegasi sprinted along the cold ground, picking up speed until they had enough to rise into the heavens, near blinded by the snowfall.
Twilight had figured she'd use the time to fill Sunset in on the current events, specifically why such a harsh blizzard had swept over all of Equestria. It took over half the ride to Canterlot, but it took their minds off the cold, at least for a little while.
"Ok," Sunset began. "So Magmare came back from thousands of years being trapped in the Earth's core..."
"Uh-huh," Twilight said.
"Frostborn beat Magmare."
"Yes."
"Frostborn tried to freeze over the planet."
"Mmhm."
"Nearly did."
"You got it."
"You made friends with the changelings and learned how to steal magic."
"Surprisingly, yes."
"And you beat Frostborn, splitting his soul in two, and sentencing him back to the poles."
"Ding ding ding," Twilight congratulated.
"Well that explains what happened, but why is it still happening?" Sunset asked. "When Magmare was defeated, all the fire that she summoned disappeared. Why is Frostborn's magic staying?"
"I don't know," Twilight admitted. "I've been looking into it, but I can't find a plausible solution."
"Do you think it could be Windegos?" Sunset offered.
"I don't think so. Windegos only come out when there's conflict to feed off of. Even though the fighting's stopped and I blasted away Frostborn, it's not going away. One thing's for sure, though. There's something out there keeping this storm alive, and it's holding a grudge against us."
One of the royal pegasi called to the girls in the back. "We're coming up on Canterlot, girls."
"Thanks," Twilight called back. She lowered her voice to a near mumble. "Finally, we can get some warmth." Looking up, the two passengers watched as they passed under the edge on the storm and into a sunlit clearing with a beautiful architectural design with pristine, white walls topped with vibrant gold-tiled roofs. Both girls stood up and stretched out their legs just as they heard five female voices shouting Twilight's name in excitement.
Every one of Twilight's closest friends was there: Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, Rarity, Rainbow Dash, and Applejack. Spike, too of course, but he wasn't in a hurry to make himself the center of attention. "And company," Twilight said, wrapping her hoof around Sunset's neck. The faces of her friends, with the exception of Spike, grew noticeably uncomfortable. Maybe expecting such a warm welcome for someone who was last seen stealing a vital piece of an anti-evil rainbow laser and Equestria's practically one method of defense was a little much to ask.
"Don't worry girls, she's friendly," Twilight assured her friends. Their expressions didn't change much.
"Yeeeaah," Rainbow Dash began. "I wanna believe you Twilight, but she's still kinda iffy to us."
"Why?" Twilight asked. "I told you all the story about how she helped us defeat the sirens in the other world. I think she's trustworthy.
"Uh, listen Twilight," Applejack stepped in. "We've been talkin' while you were gone, and we're just trying to keep a lookout for trouble. Sunset here went crazy at Canterlot High cause she had some magic under her belt. Now she's back in Equestria and she got some again." Applejack pointed her hoof to Sunset's horn. "Last time we gave a reformed pony some time to run free, mah orchard was dun flooded by high noon."
Sunset shifted her hooves a little and ducked down behind the front of the chariot in embarrassment, and Twilight took immediate notice. Twilight did the talking for her, "Trust me, I wouldn't have brought Sunset back here if I didn't think she was completely on our side." The alicorn glanced down at her friend in the chariot and gave a smile. "C'mon, I'll let you talk with these girls for a while. It'll give you some time to build up some confidence."
Sunset Shimmer smiled back up to her. "Thanks, Twilight."
Now if you'll excuse me," Twilight said. "I have something I've been meaning to look at. You girls should chat, get to know each other a little better. If you need me, I'll be in the royal library." Twilight left the chariot and made her way through a crowd of ponies gathered in the courtyard, out of sight. It wasn't easy, moving through the entire population of Equestria all gathered in one place, but she pulled it off. Sunset watched her friend trail off, but was quickly reminded that she had friends to make, again.
About a half hour passed since Twilight left Sunset Shimmer in the hooves of her friends. She'd cooped herself up in the dimly lit Canterlot Royal library, searching through the Star Swirl the Bearded section. He'd always have an answer for something bizarre in the world. Perhaps the answer to why this blizzard was so persistent was hidden in his archives. She'd spent so much time searching, but found nothing. No scroll nor book had anything to do with strange behavior of inclement weather of any variety. Just complex spells and studies in astronomy, oddly enough.
Twilight heard footsteps outside the library entrance, and a mare's shadow overlapped the small patch of light seeping onto the room. "Twilight?" the mare called out, her voice easily recognized as Sunset's. "You in here?"
"I'm here," Twilight replied, not taking her eyes off her reading. Sunset followed the sound of her voice to find the purple alicorn hidden away in the corner, lying down beside the bookcase. "How was your time with the girls?" Twilight asked.
Sunset took a seat next to her, smiling as an indication that things had gone well. "It was fun actually. I kinda forgot what kind of crazy things go on in Equestria, what with the same things around at school all the time."
"With a few exceptions," Twilight reminded her.
Sunset chuckled, "Yeah. With a few exceptions."
"So what did you talk about?" Twilight asked, still not taking her eyes off the book.
"Well I figured since you've already touched up with them on the big things, I just kinda skimmed through my memory for some little stories. Like there was this one time when we went to the carnival and Pinkie Pie got a bunch of cotton candy stuck in her hair. I don't know how it got in there, but we spent almost a whole hour trying to get it out just because we couldn't tell what was hair and what was candy." Sunset looked away and snickered under her breath, "What a field day that was."
"It sounds like you bonded well."
"I'd definitely say so. I can actually talk straight to them now." She redirected her attention to Twilight and her reading. "What are you reading, anyway?
"Going through Star Swirl's records and studies. I figured he'd have something to help us solve this blizzard mystery."
"Any luck so far?" Sunset asked.
"Not yet, but here's something I found interesting." Twilight drew a hardback book out from under the bookshelf, where she had been storing it. The cover was brown and bore the words Astronomical Studies in gold font. "I was always least interested in Star Swirls' fascination in the stars and their magic, but I understood that was a foundation for the majority of his work." Twilight flipped open the book around halfway, scanning the pages at she went along. Eventually she found a page with a picture of a constellation outlined to resemble an alicorn standing on it's hind hooves, flailing it's forehooves in the air.
"The Celestial Thinning," Twilight read the title aloud. She continued to read the notes the old wizard left behind. "After careful look at the consistency of magical energy in Equestria, I've detected a pattern in the strength of this magic that causes it to change, depending on the period of time. Magic works on a schedule that causes it to both increase and decrease given the moment in time in the cycle. The difference between the seasonal shifts and magical shifts, I've noticed, is the instead on an annual cycle, the magical calender renews once every five years. On the first day of this penta-annual calender, the night sky reveals an unusual formation in the stars, a unique constellation. This alicorn-like arrangement of the stars is only visible on this night, and is accompanied by the strongest magic accessible by ponies. This moment is referred to the Celestial Thinning, where it is theorized that the barrier between our world and one beyond it is at it's thinnest, and the magical energy can easily pass through the barrier. I know not what lies in this alternate dimension, but it's presence is strong and should not be trifled with."
"So what does this mean?" Sunset asked. "Is the Celestial Thinning happening sometime soon?"
"If my math is right, the Thinning should be here in only three days, which means that the magical energy flowing through the land is not at it's near peak. The influence on this blizzard must be from the magical energy flow, and if Star Swirl's right, whatever's waiting beyond that barrier."
"Hey, Twilight!" called a new voice from the library entrance. The two bookworms looked back to see Rainbow Dash peeking her head out from behind the wall. "Princess Celestia wanted me to fetch you. Well, she wanted to see Sunset, mostly, but I assume you're coming with her."
"Um, be right there," Twilight replied. "We were in the middle of something."
"Hey, don't shoot the messenger. I'll just tell her you're on your way." With that, Dash pulled back around the corner, leaving behind only the gust that came from her burst down the hallway to flip open a few books on the outermost shelves.
Twilight closed up the book and levitated it back up to the top shelf. Sunset spoke up in worry, "You don't think Princess Celestia's going to be too unforgiving with me, right?"
"I doubt it. Times are tough right now, but I don't think Princess Celestia is going to be quick to banish an old student of her's, even if she did wreak a little havoc and try to invade Canterlot." They shared a small chuckle. "Besides, she can trust her star pupil to bring somepony back to their senses."
"Why does everything you say sound so braggy?" Sunset asked sarcastically. They laughed again in unison. "C'mon, we should get going. This library is good at catching a draft." It was still hard to believe that nopony outside had come indoors to shrink the crowd size. The entire walk back was free of ponies. Not much a complaint, given that it was still kinda cramped in the library alone, but someone had to use their heads. Perhaps they were afraid they would get separated from their families.
About halfway back, a dumb question sparked in Sunset's head. "Wait, can't we just teleport back?" She and Twilight stopped in their tracks and smacked themselves upside the head.
"Don't bring this up to Princess Celestia, ok?" Twilight pleaded.
"What, so I can tell her I forgot too?"
Twilight lowered her hoof from her face, revealing the sheepish smile behind it. "Let's just go back."
"Yeah, that's probably best." Their horns glowed in vibrant shades of purple and green, and in a flash, Sunset and Twilight found themselves standing before the chariot they had arrived in. Standing between them and the chariot was Princess Celestia herself with her back to her former students, talking with Twilight's friends as they awaited their arrival.
"Princess Celestia," Twilight announced, Celestia turning around at the mention of her name. "Sunset Shimmer, as you requested her."
The unicorn and solar alicorn met each other with smiles, though one was sincere and one was nervous. "Oh, it's been long indeed," Celestia opened up. "Hasn't it Sunset Shimmer?"
Sunset leaned over to Twilight and whispered in her ear, "Is she being serious or no?"
Celestia chuckled. "Yes, I'm being serious. Twilight has told me many good things about you. Some bad, but mostly good."
"With all due respect, Princess, I'm kinda concerned with the jokes."
"Fine, then," she sighed. "A time to joke is so rare for the regal types." She coughed to herself. "Well, if you insist. It's my pleasure to welcome you back with open hooves."
Twilight kicked Sunset subtly in the back hoof, causing her to stumble towards Celestia. Sunset found herself face to breastplate with Celestia and blushed a little at how uncomfortably close she'd gotten. Celestia took the chance to wrap her neck and forehoof around the dazed mare, who wasn't sure what to think of it anymore.
"I'm glad to have you back with us," Celestia whispered to Sunset.
Sunset Shimmer gave a cautious hug back, but still tried to accept it. Celestia let her go before the awkwardness became a little too much for her. Sunset backed away slowly with her hoof rubbing the back of her head. "Hehe, thanks."
"There it is, girls," Adagio announced, pointing up to the white, summery city built on the cliff edge. The sirens hovered at the mountain's base, staying out of the blizzard by staying under the overhangs of the city. All three sirens looked back down at their jewels embedded in their chests, grinning maniacally. just begging to be refilled with the sweet warmth of energy once more.
"Adagio," Aria said. "Why don't you start us off?"
"I'd love to." Before they began, the eager sirens held themselves back to take in the sight of Canterlot with the knowledge that their ticket to dominance was just above their heads. Adagio took a deep breath, feeling that last bit of magic left over from the spell she used earlier. It wasn't as much as before, but it was still something she hadn't tasted in a while, and what a delectable taste it was. "Would you look at at that, girls? We're finally back in the saddle and we're getting spoon fed a limitless supply of magic right from the start."
"Never thought a return would be this easy," Aria agreed.
"I can't wait! I'm so excited to sing again!"
"Quiet, Sonata," Adagio insisted. "Let's make our entrance a little more surprising." The yellow siren inhaled until her lungs were filled to the brim, and she exhaled singing in a beautiful melody she knew by heart.
Aaaaaahaahaaah Aaaaahaaaah
The trio or fish-horse hybrids elegantly soared to the height of Canterlot, Adagio leading them with her beautiful song that would soon reach the ears of the ponies just above. She could feel something wrong, though. As she sung she just felt weaker. Maybe it was just the cold and flying upward tiring her out. Either way, she was getting to the top if it killed her.
Twilight could felt a little twitch in her ear. She heard them alright, though faintly over the sound of her chattering friends, and she was well aware of what was coming, even if she didn't want to believe it. "Everypony be quiet!" Twilight ordered the others around her. They all stopped and looked around, keeping an ear open for whatever the lavender alicorn had detected. "Do you hear that?" A gust of wind rolled by, muting much of the subtle noises in the area. In a short time, the wind subsided and the noise was replaced with the sensational voice of Adagio herself.
Aaaahaaaahaaaaah
The trio of sirens revealed themselves from below the courtyard balcony looking over the western mountains. Simultaneously, the mermare-like beasts ascended into the air above the crowd in their full glory with wicked smiles drawn across their faces. Sunset Shimmer's eyes gaped open. "Everypony cover your ears!" she exclaimed. She threw herself down on her flank and planted both hooves on her floppy little ears. It hadn't been as effective as she'd hoped. Adagio's voice was still booming enough to be clearly heard even with one's ears covered, which meant that even the most oblivious thing in the area had no excuse to miss the quick voice crack in one of her breaths.
Aaaaaaahaaaaaaaah
Adagio stopped at her falter and her eyes opened in shock. How? She had the magic, at least she thought she did. The yellow siren looked down at her magic gem once more and suddenly felt a near painful chill run down her spine.
Sunset took her hooves off her ears and eyeballed the powerless siren. She hovered defenseless alongside her companions, stunned at the unfortunate timing that she'd had. Aria nonchalantly glanced over to her. "Adagio, what happened?" she asked.
Adagio's face was stricken with fear. "No magic," she choked, a little louder than she meant to. As in loud enough for the suspicious ponies below to hear.
Sunset sighed in relief but quickly reminded herself of the potential danger these three were capable of. "Princess Celestia!" she called. The princess turned her head towards the fiery-maned unicorn, awaiting her suggestion. "Can you shoot them down? We can't let these three run loose around Equestria." Celestia nodded and returned her attention to the dazed sirens in the sky above her with a charged horn.
"Um, Adagio," Aria said with a nudge. Adagio shook her head to pull herself out of oblivion, but just a few seconds too late. A bright yellow bolt of light made impact with her forehead and numbed Adagio's body for a moment, and the siren plummeted down to the icy ground below. Aria and Sonata tried to scramble, but Sunset and Twilight unleashed some barrages of their own, both sirens taking a few hits before falling down to meet Adagio on the frozen wastes.
Adagio Dazzle felt that bitter coldness rush over scaly body one last time as the limp bodies of her friends came crashing down beside her. Her eyes felt heavy, and it was hard not to shut them with the jolts of pain striking her back as she rested it on the frozen ground. Quite suddenly she felt the chill start to subside, and it began to feel easy to close her eyes. As if going to sleep, Adagio let her eyelids fold over her eyeballs with a slow exhale. Her world turned black just as an impossibly deep, yet strangely familiar voice echoed in her head.
"Rest, frail child. Rest well."
