It had never been a secret that Sunset Shimmer always liked school. It was one of the reasons she so easily got into Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns in the first place. But now she found herself enjoying it more than she ever had in her life. Heck, she was enjoying life more than she ever had in her life. And the comfortable weight of the guitar slung across her back was a wonderful reminder of what had made her so happy.
With a smile on her lips, her hand plucked her keys from her jacket pocket and deftly opened the lock to her front door, letting her step in with a slight bounce. Her heart leapt however at the sight that greeted her in the living room.
“What are you doing here?!” Sunset Shimmer yanked the guitar off of her back and swung it at the nearest head she could reach, almost by reflex alone.
“Whoa, hey hey!” Adagio Dazzle barely dodged the axe, dancing away from the door with her hands in the air. “We didn’t come for a fight!”
“You broke into my house!”
“For a good reason, I assure you!”
Sunset’s grip tightened on the neck of her guitar. “You’ll forgive me for not believing you!”
“Doesn’t matter what you believe,” came a deeper voice from the darkened room.
Sunset whipped around, keeping her makeshift weapon raised as she sought out the source of the second voice. There sat Aria Blaze on the sofa, leaning against the far armrest and gazing at Sunset with a less-than-enthused expression. Sunset turned away after a moment, eyes scanning rest of the living room. “Where’s the third one?”
“Probably still passed out on your bed.”
“Go check on her,” Adagio ordered, making a brief gesture toward the hallway without taking her eyes off Sunset and her guitar. Aria complied without a word, walking off toward the bedroom and out of sight.
“I’m still waiting to hear that reason,” Sunset growled.
“We’re here because you’re our only way out of this torturous place.” Adagio held up a hand as Sunset’s face began to twist into that of mild confusion. “We need to get out of here, and soon. You’re the only one who has been to Equestria, so you’re all we have.”
“You… you want to go back? To Equestria?”
“Wow, you sure catch on quick,” commented Aria, her head poking out from the bedroom doorway. A sharp look from Adagio sent her back inside, however, after a short roll of her violet eyes.
“Wait, how do you know that I—”
“As I said before,” Adagio cut in, “we know all about you and your friends, Sunset Shimmer, and we need you to take us back.”
Sunset Shimmer couldn’t help an astonished chuckle. “Why in the world do you think I would ever let you go back? You’re psychopaths who caused enough trouble here with only those trinkets of yours, Celestia knows I wouldn’t let you back into Equestria to wreak havoc there too.”
Adagio gritted her teeth for a moment, then took a deep breath and opened her fists before speaking again. “I’m not saying you should do it, I’m saying we need you to.”
“Why?”
“Because we’re starving.” There was no humor or deceit in Adagio’s rose eyes as she spoke. “Since our gems broke we’ve tried to sustain ourselves however we can. Meat, vegetables, water, none of it works on us; none of it can sustain us. The spell that banished us here changed our bodies, but it didn’t change our nature. We need energy to live, energy we can’t get anymore.”
Their tone was so sincere Sunset was almost tempted to believe it right then and there. “Why should I believe you?”
“You don’t have to believe me, go talk to Sonata Dusk, if she’s awake.” Adagio moved well toward one side to make a path toward the bedroom door, eyes still focused on Sunset.
Finally she let the guitar fall to her side, but didn’t take her eyes off of Adagio as she passed. The light in the bedroom was already turned on when she entered, letting her see instantly Aria Blaze sitting on the edge of the bed, with Sonata Dusk’s hand clenched tightly in one of hers. Aside from the shallow rising and falling of her chest that came with each breath, there was no life or movement from the Dazzling lying across the middle of the bed. Even her flesh had a strange pale hue to it.
The guitar fell from Sunset’s fingers altogether, clanging to the floor beside her. “Is she okay? She’s not already…”
“She’s weak, but she’ll wake up again… a few more times at least.” Adagio moved in front of Sunset again. “Do you believe us now?”
Sunset took a step forward, one hand hovering just ahead of her chest and eyes flitting to each of the three girls in turn. “Maybe. But how would going back fix any of this?”
“The gems you and your friends destroyed granted us power in this world. Without them, we cannot sustain ourselves.” Adagio raised up an index finger as she continued. “However, in Equestria, they merely enhanced us, increasing what power we already had in that world. If we return, so shall our powers. Without them…” She waved a hand toward the still-unconscious Sonata Dusk.
“So,” Sunset began, her brow furrowed, “you need me to take you back to Equestria so you can get your power back.” Adagio nodded and opened her mouth, but Sunset cut her off. “So you can try to enslave everyone again, right?”
Aria looked to Adagio, and then both turned back to Sunset. “We…”
“You already tried it twice, now. Why should I give you a third chance?”
Almost as if on cue, a quiet voice reached Sunset’s ear. “Oh, hey, it’s that Equestrian girl. Is she gonna do it?”
“We don’t know yet,” Aria Blaze responded. She turned her attention back to Sonata, who was now watching Sunset from her place on the bed. “She doesn’t trust us.”
“She probably shouldn’t; we are pretty bad.”
Aria narrowed her eyes at the reclining girl. “If you weren’t about to die, I’d smack you.”
“I suppose all we can give you is our word,” Adagio cut in, her eyes still on Sunset. “Weakened as we are now, we wouldn’t be able to cause much harm, even if we wanted to.”
Sunset turned her head to one side, eyeing all three girls. She was at a loss. The three were monsters, by most measures, and probably didn’t deserve another chance… but hadn’t she herself been horrible once? Should they be given the same chance she had? “I… I’m not sure.”
“If you’re gonna make a decision, could you do it sometime soon?” Aria inquired flatly. “Sonata may not last much longer.”
Sunset sighed, releasing the breath she hadn’t quite realized she’d been holding. “I need to talk to Twilight. She’s the one who controls the portal, anyway.”
“Don’t let us stop you. We’ll be waiting in here.” Adagio moved to sit on the other side of the bed with her two companions.
Sunset approached her nightstand to grab her enchanted journal, carrying it back out to the living room and turning on a floor lamp to write by. As she sat down on the sofa and turned to the next blank page of the book, she realized her hands were shaking a bit. Before anything else, she stopped to close her eyes and force herself to calm down. She didn’t like the Dazzlings, but knowing that their lives were in her hands was something she didn’t ask for.
Of course, they could still be lying. Manipulating her like they had everyone else. All an elaborate ruse, faked to return to a realm where they still had power. It was what they did, after all. Part of her hoped it was a lie, because she didn’t want to be responsible if Twilight chose not to let them back into Equestria. Sunset wouldn’t blame her if she didn’t.
Steeling herself, Sunset lifted her pen from the middle of the pages and began to write.
Princess Twilight Sparkle, please respond to this as soon as you see it. I really need to speak with you ASAP. Lives could be at stake.
It sounded so trite. It didn’t carry at all how she was feeling right now, but maybe that was for the best. Time was of the essence, and the quicker they could make this decision, the better. Thankfully, she didn’t have to wait very long before text began to appear on the blank page, written by an unseen hand… or mouth.
Lives? What do you mean? Did more monsters show up?
Sunset brought her pen back to the page.
In a manner of speaking, yes. The Dazzlings just showed up in my house. I think they’re seriously sick. Not mentally, we already knew that, but physically.
What’s going on? Tell me everything.
In a hasty scribble, Sunset Shimmer poured everything Adagio Dazzle had told her onto the page. As she read it back it sounded so strange and inconceivable that she thought herself an idiot for believing a word of it, but something kept her from passing it all off as fake. Something in Adagio’s frightened eyes and Sonata’s weak, shivering voice. It was possible. After all, they hadn’t come through the portal the way Sunset and Twilight did. Maybe the spell that banished them wasn’t perfect.
Are you absolutely sure this is all genuine? They exist to manipulate and use people.
No, I’m not sure about anything, but I don’t think they’re lying either. And I definitely don’t want to be responsible for refusing if it turns out to be true.
Sunset sat on the couch, book held in her lap and watching the pages, but nothing more was coming. She waited with the back end of her pen tapping against the page, glancing toward the bedroom every minute or so. She could hear the Dazzlings quietly talking just down the hall, but couldn’t quite make out what was being said. She was just about to bring her pen back down to ask what was going on when another set of words finally appeared.
I’m coming. Meet me outside the school in thirty minutes.
Sunset wrote a simple affirmative response and closed the book. She let out a slow breath, one thumb rubbing itself over the front cover of the tome for a moment before she stood up. Her boots brought her to the bedroom doorway, resting a hand against the frame. As she spoke, two of the three girls inside the room turned toward her. “Can you carry her?” She got a pair of nods in response. “Twilight says to meet her back at the school. Come on.”
Adagio raised a single brow, but Sunset simply turned and walked back to the living room. She leaned her chest against the back of her sofa, book still clutched in both her trembling hands. She’d done what she could, for better or worse. It was up to Twilight, now. She would know what to do, what decision to make. She usually did, anyway.
Sonata Dusk joined Sunset shortly, her limp body suspended between Adagio and Aria, showing only faint signs of feet shuffling across the carpet. She raised and tilted her head, one eye looking sideways at Adagio to ask, “Are we going home?”
The other two sirens both looked to Sunset for an answer, but she just shook her head and replied, “I don’t know. She didn’t say yet.” She turned away from the trio and opened the front door. “Let’s go see her, and you can try to convince her yourself.”
The walk to Canterlot High wasn’t a particularly long one, the result of Sunset’s forethought when picking housing. Short as the distance itself was, the fact that two of the girls bore the near-dead weight of a third slowed them more than a little. For the most part, all four travelers remained quiet until the school grounds came into view.
“Almost there, Sonata,” Adagio whispered.
Sonata only managed a one-word response without even lifting her head. “Cool.”
Princess Twilight Sparkle was already waiting beside the statue out front of CHS, watching them approach through the moonlight with a careful, critical eye. It must have been quite a sight, the two Dazzlings carrying their friend… sister? Sunset wasn’t even sure. Not that it mattered. Her mind was beginning to wander as they approached the statue. She just wanted to get this over with and have the weight of this responsibility off her shoulders.
“Adagio Dazzle.” Twilight nodded formally as the group approached.
“Princess Twilight.” Adagio gently lifted Sonata’s arm from around her shoulders, leaving her in Aria’s care as she approached the princess with her hands spread out to her sides and head tilted slightly forward. “It seems we’re at your mercy.”
Twilight wasted no time. “You’ve attempted to take over the world twice now, in two different worlds.”
“That’s true.”
“You don’t regret any of it.”
“That’s also true.”
“Will you try to take over Equestria again?”
Adagio shook her head. “No, we won’t. I doubt we can. We’re just normal sirens now, without our medallions.”
Twilight narrowed her eyes. “Normal sirens are still dangerous.”
“Can’t get anything past this one, huh?” Aria interjected.
Adagio only spared a brief, yet dirty glance toward her fellow before responding. “Again, you’re right.”
Twilight crossed her arms. “So give me one good reason to let you back into Equestria.”
“Because you’re not a murderer, are you?” Adagio gestured back to Sonata Dusk again, who was lying on the grass now with her head in Aria’s lap. “All we want now is to survive, Princess Twilight, just like any living thing. We’ll take any oath or make any promise you want us to if you’ll just let us do that.”
Twilight stared at Adagio for a moment, then moved past her to kneel down beside Sonata, who was still awake, but had a dazed look on her face.
Sonata blinked. “Oh, hey… other Equestrian girl.”
“Twilight.”
Sonata scoffed tiredly. “Is not. It’s nighttime.”
Twilight ran a hand over the girl’s arm slowly, then up across her forehead. “She has a fever. A pretty bad one…”
Aria shifted slightly, a hand of her own resting on Sonata’s shoulder as a stray breeze rustled her pigtails. “She’s getting worse. Probably won’t be much longer, now.”
Twilight’s hand pulled back, resting on one of her knees. “What about the rest of you? You don’t seem as sick.” She glanced at the other two before bringing her gaze back to the incapacitated girl.
Adagio sighed. “Sonata has never been the strongest of us, I’m afraid.”
“Or the smartest,” Aria added, her fingers gently massaging Sonata’s shoulder. “She’s actually a real pain.”
“Then why are you so worried about her?” Sunset asked, crossing her arms against her ribs from her spot on the grass.
“She’s one of us,” was Aria’s simple reply. “Why wouldn’t we be?”
Twilight’s eyes swiveled back to Aria, giving a long steady gaze before looking down at Sonata again, stroking her arm with two fingers.
Meanwhile Adagio turned back to Sunset, who was leaning against the base of the statue. “What about you, Sunset Shimmer? What would you do?” She took a few steps toward the leather-jacketed girl, clearly in no hurry to reach her. “I’m curious, I must say, to hear your thoughts on the matter. After all, you and I aren’t so dissimilar, now are we?”
“We’re not the same,” Sunset tersely replied, her voice low.
“Perhaps not, but once…” Adagio trailed off, coming to a stop a few feet from Sunset. “What do you think should be done?”
“It’s not my decision.”
“And if it were?”
The siren stared at Sunset, and Sunset stared right back. Both faces were as cold and motionless as the statue beside them. What would Sunset do if she had to make the choice? What would she have done to someone who’d done the things she herself had? Condemn them, or give them another chance? Let them go… or let them die?
At last, Sunset’s stoney face faltered, and she receded slightly from the siren. She shook her head, whispering, “I don’t know.”
Adagio tilted her head a little, but then turned back around as Twilight began speaking again.
“You know, if Starswirl the Bearded had the power to banish you and weaken you like this, he probably had the power to kill you too… but he chose not to. He knew how dangerous you were, but he found a way to let you live.”
For the first time since Sunset had met her, Adagio Dazzle seemed to be at a loss for words. Twilight looked up at her finally from Sonata’s inert form. “I want your word, Adagio. I want your word that you’ll never prey on a pony ever again.”
“I can’t give you that word.” Adagio said flatly as she crossed her arms over her stomach. “Ponies provide the greatest amount of energy in all of Equestria… we can’t survive just on scared rabbits and chickens. We barely survived all this time on humans.”
“If I leave you here you’ll die… if I take you back, you’ll cause unrest in Equestria.” Twilight stood up again slowly. “Is that what you’re telling me?”
“It’s what we are, Princess Twilight. We don’t have a choice.”
Twilight stared at her for a moment, then turned to Sunset Shimmer. She took in a breath, but someone cut her off before she could speak.
“Haven’t we been punished enough?” asked Adagio, prompting Twilight to turn her head. The siren’s normally-strong voice had lost its trademarked edge. “A millenium in this hole, feeding off scraps that can barely sustain us. Have we not paid for the damage we caused many times over?”
Twilight didn’t answer, turning back around. “Sunset Shimmer, can I speak with you privately?”
“Y-yeah, of course.” A bit confused, Sunset moved away from the three Dazzlings with Twilight. “What can I do?”
“Help me…” Twilight took a deep breath. “This is one of the most difficult decisions I’ve ever had to make. What are your thoughts on this?”
“I think I’ve run out of thoughts, Twilight.” Sunset Shimmer pulled her jacket tighter around her shoulders. “These three are despicable, they’ve used everyone around them, and done terrible things across two worlds… but I just don’t feel right letting them die. Not like this.”
“You’re right…” Twilight looked at her steadily. “Not like this.”
She turned to march back toward the sirens, two of which were now kneeling on either side of the third. Sonata was still lying on the grass, looking dazedly at the others. Twilight cleared her throat, bringing the attention of all three to her. “Starswirl the Bearded exiled you because of your greed for power and the disharmony you spread all over Equestria, but he didn’t exile you because of your nature.”
Her eyes scanned over each of the sirens in turn as she continued, “I want to know one more thing… have any of you ever tried to kill anypony? Or any humans?”
Adagio shook her head immediately. “Not even once. We had no reason to, and we never hated anyone. We were just doing what we needed to to survive...” She coughed lightly into one hand. “Besides the two incidents.”
Twilight smiled slightly. “I believe you, Adagio. I want your word that you will restrain yourselves from going overboard again, and never cause more mischief than you need to survive. Promise me that.”
Adagio stood up slowly, holding a hand to her chest. “You have my word, Princess. No more than we need.”
Aria sighed, looking up at Twilight from beneath her brow. “Not like we haven’t had to make due with the bare minimum before. Fine, I promise. Being hungry is better than starving to death.” She looked down to Sonata, whose eyes seemed to be tracing imaginary constellations in the sky. Aria prodded her with an elbow.
“Yeah, sure,” Sonata muttered. “You got it.”
Twilight nodded firmly. “Very well. My judgment as a princess of Equestria is that you will be allowed back into our land, and set free.”
“S-seriously?” Adagio stared up at her from the grass with a look of shock on her face. “Just like that?”
“You’ve been serving your punishment here for a long time, Adagio. We can’t punish you for the rest of eternity, regardless of your crime. Besides, this wouldn’t be the first time someone we thought was beyond reform… well, was reformed.” Twilight’s gaze flicked back toward Sunset Shimmer, who felt a warmth spread through her cheeks.
Adagio was staring at her with a blank look of shock on her face, Aria was staring at the grass with a sharp, thoughtful look in her eye, and Sonata seemed to be counting invisible fireflies, nearly oblivious to the discussion going on around her. Sunset Shimmer couldn’t be sure if it was the illness or just her natural state of mind, though.
“I… I barely know what to say.” Adagio shook her head. “I almost expected you would lock us up if you let us go back at all…”
“As I said, you’ve been punished for more than long enough.” Twilight approached Sonata Dusk to kneel beside her, gently taking her shoulder and pulling her up from Aria’s lap. “Everyone deserves a second chance.”
With the other two sirens stunned into silence, Sunset Shimmer took a few steps forward to carefully take Sonata’s other arm, lifting it over her shoulder and helping Twilight lift her to her feet.
Sonata’s head flopped sideways. “Oh… are we going somewhere again?”
Twilight smiled warmly and lifted her head to look at her. “Yes, you are. You’re going home.”
“Oh. Yaaaaay,” Sonata squeaked with a soft smile.
Sunset Shimmer helped Twilight approach the portal with the siren dangling between them, stopping right at the mirror’s face to glance back at the other two.
“I don’t think she wants to go back alone,” Sunset reminded them with a wry smile. Before they could even respond Sunset took the last step forward with Twilight, carrying them through the portal.
Sunset Shimmer had almost forgotten what it felt like to land on all four hooves. The only time in years when she had been a pony was sneaking out to steal the Element of Magic, and she had been so focused she had barely had time to appreciate it. Now she almost felt like she was going to fall over. Moving on two legs had felt so natural after so long…
But her familiar new sensations gave way to the most haunting sound she had ever heard echoing through the crystalline chamber. She turned slowly to see the most beautiful creatures she had ever seen in her life behind her. The twisted and angry beasts that had taken form on the stage before were, in the flesh, smooth merpony-like creatures with scales that glittered gently even in the soft moonlight from the chamber windows.
The blue siren was still lying weakly on the floor, but a gentle, almost ethereal hum from the other two seemed to be flowing through the creature, giving it enough energy to at least lift its head. Their song definitely had power like Sunset had never heard before, even from their songs back in Canterlot High, but just as the cold tinge of fear tugged at her, it was lifted when Adagio’s golden head lifted and she floated through the air towards them.
“I don’t know how to thank you, Princess Twilight,” its flutelike voice sang in a soft tone. “We didn’t even expect to keep our lives, let alone see home again.”
Twilight beamed at the siren. “Keep your promise, and you can live out the rest of your lives as you see fit.”
“We’ll remember.” Adagio whirled to float back towards the other two. Adagio and Aria’s songs combined and flowed through the chamber, turning their bodies into a glowing mist, and lifting Sonata’s more inert form off the ground to join them.
“See ya around!” Sonata’s song echoed toward the two ponies before the three sirens drifted toward the window, lifting through it one at a time and heading out into the moonlit sky beyond.
“I guess there really is nothing like returning home again… I honestly think they’ll keep their promise. Sometimes showing somepony a little kindness is all they need.” Twilight turned to Sunset, her smile fading once she saw her. “Sunset Shimmer? Are you okay?”
Sunset looked around at the chamber curiously, feeling the weight of her body on her hooves scraping against the ground. It felt so powerfully familiar, and yet…
“Yeah, I’m okay.” Sunset turned back toward her. “I just think I’d like to get back to my own home, now.”
Twilight stared at her for a moment, then nodded in acceptance. “Write to me any time, Sunset Shimmer.”
“Yeah, you too.” Sunset saluted quickly with one hoof, then hurried to rush back through the mirror. As Twilight had said, there was nothing quite like returning home...