Burning Sirens

Chapters

2. Descent
4. Sonata's Quest
5. Memories
6. Fire of Despair
1. Hungry Heart
3. In the Dark

2. Descent

“Stop them!”

Townsfolk who heard this shout turned around, but could only catch a glimpse of three girls sprinting past them before they had the time to react. Aria would sneer if the situation wasn’t so serious.

One of the advantages of wearing a magical pendant that kept its owner in good health was the ability to outrun malnourished pursuers easily. But the sirens weren’t out of danger yet, as those who failed to stop them joined the chase instead.

“Where are you going?” Adagio asked from behind as Aria ran through a narrow street. Aria realized she had no idea. Darting in a random direction and hoping it would lead to safety was hardly the best course of action. She slowed down for a moment to let Adagio pass ahead, hoping she would have a plan, or at least know where to go. In all likelihood, Adagio, having spent the whole morning out of the inn, had a better knowledge of the town than Aria.

They went through more streets, dodging barrels and crates, slaloming between people and pigs, jumping over cats and dogs. The townspeople kept chasing them relentlessly, while Aria found breathing was becoming difficult.

They arrived at the bridge built over the river that crossed the town. Adagio looked at the ships moored in the harbor further downstream, then at the water below. Aria briefly wondered if jumping in the river was a viable option. Their pursuers probably wouldn’t follow them, so they would be able to swim out of the town’s walls.

However, they could also break some bones or drown, and Aria was sure their pendants didn’t immunize them against that. The best option was to keep moving forward. The three sirens ran across the bridge and reached the other half of the town. Aria’s legs and lungs were burning, but she had to continue.

After a few more streets, one of the town’s gates finally came in sight. The guard posted next to it didn’t seem to be looking in their direction, and maybe it would be possible to pass before he noticed them.

Adagio slowed down, but Aria decided to take the risk. She rushed past Adagio and made a run for the gate.

At the last moment, the guard spotted her and held his halberd across the entrance. Aria’s stomach violently collided with the weapon’s pole, sending her tumbling to the ground, breathless.

She wrapped her arms around her abdomen and curved her back, striving to keep her eyes open. Feeling nauseous and dizzy, she could barely hear Sonata shout her name. She vaguely distinguished the pursuers closing in, and Adagio escaping towards a nearby alley. She hoped Adagio had a plan, and wasn’t abandoning her.

Hearing a loud shriek nearby, she painfully turned her head to see Sonata being held by three people. The door’s guard appeared in Aria’s field of vision. He grabbed her and raised her to her feet. At least a dozen of other people surrounded them.

Aria and Sonata struggled to get free, but they were outnumbered, and Aria was too weak to do anything effective anyway. She didn’t want to give up; the exit was only a few feet away… but there was nothing she could do.

Adagio walked up to her two companions, flanked by the two soldiers and seemingly making no move to escape. Sonata quieted down, and Aria was in no shape to keep fighting. The soldiers gathered the three girls and escorted them through the main street. Most of the townsfolk nearby decided to accompany them, to make sure the suspects wouldn’t escape again. On the way, Sonata pressed herself against Adagio, biting her fingers and darting her eyes left and right. Aria was holding her stomach and clenching her teeth.

“Are you feeling well?” Adagio asked.

Aria felt awful, but she didn’t want to make it known. Moreover, she knew that the magic powers of her jewel would heal her injury much faster than for ordinary people. She turned to face Adagio and replied, “I’ll be fine.”

She then noticed that Adagio’s pendant was missing. She tried to recall the last time she had seen it. Adagio was definitely wearing it in the tavern. Did she lose it during the chase? Or did she remove it after Aria had been captured?

Aria hoped this was part of one of Adagio’s brilliant plans, since she couldn’t think of one herself. Singing was too risky at the moment, as they were surrounded by hostile people – including two carrying weapons – and most of them were too far to be immediately affected by their spell. Besides, Aria wasn’t sure she was in condition to sing.

They were led to an imposing edifice, but Aria didn’t pay much attention to the following events, letting Adagio handle the bureaucratic formalities as they were brought before an important-looking man, maybe the mayor or a sergeant. She only heard Adagio trying to explain that it was just a misunderstanding, and the man declaring that the girls would be sent to jail until their trial for witchcraft.

After a short trip, with the crowd still following them, they reached the jail, a sturdy stone building not far from the town square. In the main hall, the sirens ended up alone with a jailer and the two soldiers, who seemed to have lowered their guard. It looked like a good occasion to sing…

“I have to confiscate this for safekeeping,” the jailer said, pointing at Aria’s pendant.

Aria’s eyes snapped wide open and she immediately clenched her hand around the jewel. “No! You’re not touching it.”

The soldiers exchanged glances, then approached her with menacing looks. She backed against the wall. Adagio told her to give it without a fuss, but Aria didn’t listen. She was not going to surrender her pendant. It was too precious. She needed it.

When they grabbed her, she tried to kick them to keep them away, but before long she found herself immobilized on the floor, screaming as they forcibly removed the gem from her necklace. She felt power disappearing from her body, leaving her weak and vulnerable.

The jailer asked for Sonata’s pendant next. Aria couldn’t see her face, but she imagined Sonata was reluctant.

“Just give him your pendant. You will get it back when we leave,” Adagio said with a soft voice.

Aria painfully hauled herself up. In an adjacent room, the jailer placed both jewels in a wooden chest, along with the key to the inn room that Adagio gave him. He locked the chest then led the girls deeper in the building.

After a couple corridors, the sirens were brought past a grilled iron door, into a cell that already housed three female prisoners. One of them, a red-haired girl with pink skin, spoke up when the newcomers entered. “It’s getting crowded in here.”

A window with iron bars was pierced on the stone wall opposite to the door, giving a view of the street on the other side. Some of the people who had followed the sirens were still there, observing the prisoners with either interested looks or frowns. Aria replied with a defiant glare.

“Don’t stay in front of the window,” Adagio muttered, pulling her to the side, though Aria didn’t understand why.

She looked around the cell. It was devoid of any furniture, and rather small for six people. The pink girl and a blue-skinned middle-aged woman were sitting on the stone floor, playing cards. In a corner on the opposite side of the cell, an old woman was staring at the wall, unfazed by her surroundings.

Without notice, the jailer grabbed Aria’s arm and placed a handcuff around it, the contact with the cold metal making her shiver. Only then Aria realized he was holding a chain and manacles.

“What are you doing!?” She tried to back away, to no avail.

“I’m putting you in irons. You’re a troublesome girl.”

“Don’t try to resist,” Adagio sighed. Resisting was exactly what Aria wanted to do, but the soldiers were still standing menacingly behind the door, ready to intervene if necessary.

Aria felt heat rise to her face. Repressing the urge to fight, she gritted her teeth, letting the jailer handcuff her and tie a chain between the manacles and one of the window’s bars. Meanwhile, the blue woman openly laughed at her expense. Aria already hated her.

Finally, the jailer left, locking the door behind him, and the soldiers also walked away. Aria cursed them all under her breath.

The shackles weren’t excessively heavy, but she couldn’t stand being restrained like that. She spread her wrists apart as far as she could, with the faint hope that the chain linking them would break.

“Don’t stay in front of the window,” Adagio said again.

Aria let herself fall down against the wall, out of passersby’s sight. She didn’t want to be seen like that anyway. Still, she wondered, “Why not?”

Adagio sat in front of her, and Sonata next to Adagio. “If we want to avoid being recognized, we should be seen by as few people as possible.”

Aria raised an eyebrow. “But many townsfolk have seen us already.”

“Even then, let’s not worsen the situation. After all…” She leaned forward and brought her voice to a whisper, throwing cautious glances at their cellmates before continuing, even though the pink girl was looking at the sirens with attention. “Once we’re outside, if people recognize us and see we are not in jail as we are supposed to… I fear they may want to bypass the trial and deliver justice by themselves.”

“So we are going to leave?” Sonata asked, twiddling her fingers nervously around the empty space where her pendant used to be.

Adagio nodded. “I still have mine. As soon as the jailer comes back, and when the streets are clear…”

“Hey there, newcomers,” the girl said, popping up next to them and startling Aria. “I’m Rubyshine.” Aria didn’t bother remembering the name and was sure she would forget it within ten minutes.

Sonata smiled weakly. “I’m Sonata Dusk.”

Aria groaned. “We’re trying to discuss in private here,” she said, crossing her arms as much as her manacles allowed her to. Rubyshine grinned and stayed where she was without a word, as if she was expecting the sirens to continue their “private” conversation in front of her. Aria was starting to hate her as well.

“This place is awful.”

Though the other prisoners couldn’t know, Aria was not talking just about this cell or the jail. A buried disgust for the human world was being rekindled in her mind.

A slight pain in her stomach grabbed her attention. She didn’t understand where it came from. Of course, she clearly remembered her encounter with the town’s guard earlier, but the pain had dulled down while they were walking to the jail, thanks to the regenerative powers of her pendant. Even if she wasn’t wearing it now, the injury shouldn’t have reappeared. As she rubbed her abdomen, she realized this pain was actually a different feeling from before.

“Are you all right?” Sonata asked.

“My stomach feels strange. I don’t know what it is…”

“Isn’t that because you ran into a pole?”

Aria shook her head. “No, it’s different. As if… it was empty.”

“That’s hunger, dimwit”, the woman said without even looking at her.

Sonata leaned toward Aria and spoke with a soft tone. “Aria, when was the last time you ate food?”

Aria couldn’t remember. At least two weeks, probably. While she could admit that some of the human food tasted good, she usually avoided eating it due to the digestive aftereffects. Eating had never been necessary for the sirens; at long as there was magic in their pendants, it would keep them alive. Aria realized that, without that jewel, eating was more than just a luxury.

That thought made her dizzy. Without her pendant, she was vulnerable to natural hazards such as starvation, diseases, or aging. And, from what she had seen of this world, diseases were quite common. She instinctively held a hand to the base of her neck, grasping the air. Her breathing accelerated and sweat formed on her brow.

“Calm down,” Adagio said. “We’ll get out of here, and retrieve what is ours.” One of their cellmates chuckled, but she paid no attention.

Aria tried to compose herself. At least Adagio had a plan, so there was still hope. All she could do now was trust her.

Even though it was Adagio’s fault if she was in this situation to begin with.

“You can always beg food from passersby outside,” Rubyshine said, pointing at the window. Begging? Aria didn’t even consider it, no matter how much her stomach protested.

Sonata didn’t seem to have the same pride. “Oooh, can I try?” she asked. Did she think it was some kind of game?

“No, you shouldn’t let people see you.” Adagio stood up. “By the way, Sonata,” she said with a stricter tone, “remind me to scold you once we’re alone.”

Sonata looked up and blinked. “Huh? Why?”

“Because you’re a moron,” Aria said, frowning at her. She knew what Adagio was referring to, but Sonata was as oblivious as always.

Sonata jumped up and clenched her fists. “You are a moron!”

“Girls! Cut it out!”

Aria stood up and took a few steps towards Sonata, stretching the chain behind her. “You’re the one who always speaks without thinking.”

“Am not!”

“Are too!”

Aria barely had the time to see Adagio grab the chain before she was suddenly yanked back, and crashed into the wall. It took her a second to understand what had happened. She glared at Adagio and clumsily straightened herself while the woman chuckled, and Sonata tried to repress a laugh.

Adagio placed herself between the two other sirens. “Can’t you two stay quiet for a moment?” She sighed, lowering her shoulder. “Sometimes I wonder why I even put up with you.”

“What a lively band,” Rubyshine said with a large grin. “So, what are you here for? Disturbing the peace?”

The woman, who was now leaning against the wall, spoke up, rolling her eyes. “Didn’t you hear the mob earlier? They’re accused of being witches, like us.”

Adagio’s eyes brightened and she turned towards Rubyshine, smiling. “So, you are the witches I have heard about.”

Sonata moved aside, making sure Adagio stood between her and the girl. She poked her head above Adagio’s shoulder and asked hesitantly, “Are you really a witch?”

Aria sat again and clenched her teeth. She knew all too well where this conversation was going, and waited for her companions to realize their stupidity.

Rubyshine shrugged. “No, I don’t think so. The neighbors claimed I’ve been casting diseases and eating infants, but I’ve never done any of this, as far as I know.”

“They’re just a bunch of lunatics who don’t like us,” the woman said, her voice trailing with anger.

Rubyshine continued, “But maybe the old Green Clover over there is really one. I’ve heard rumors about her.”

The sirens looked at the old woman, still sitting in a corner and staring at the wall. She hadn’t moved since they had entered the cell.

Adagio slowly walked to her. “Hello?” The old woman muttered something unintelligible in return. Adagio leaned closer. “Excuse me?”

“Leave me alone. Don’t touch me.” She grumbled more things that sounded like gibberish. For a moment, Aria wondered if this place was supposed to be a jail or an asylum.

Adagio rubbed her chin for a moment, then she cautiously glanced around and slipped a hand through the top of her dress, retrieving the red jewel that was hidden there. She held the gem at its rightful place against her chest, and chanted the traditional siren song, pacing back and forth along the cell’s length.

Aria knew what she was trying to do. Beings with magic inside of them could resist the sirens’ spell. In Equestria, they always had more difficulty charming unicorns than earth ponies or pegasi. The most powerful unicorns, like the bearded wizard who had banished them, weren’t affected at all.

After a moment, the three human prisoners half-closed their eyes, which briefly shined green, and mindlessly stared at Adagio. That was the sign that they had fallen under her spell, and it had taken the same time as usual.

Adagio looked down. “It doesn’t look like any of them are actually witches.”

Aria had been waiting for that moment. “What a surprise,” she spat, her voice dripping with sarcasm. She and Adagio glared at each other. “We’ve followed a false lead and came here for nothing. Again. I knew coming to this town was a stupid idea. And now we’re stuck in that cage.”

Adagio dropped her jewel inside her dress and put her hands on her hips. “Are you saying it is my fault if we’re in jail?”

“Yes. It was all your idea. Because of you, we’re trapped here and I end up like this.” Aria stretched the chain between her handcuffs for emphasis. “And you’re at fault for a lot more than that,” she muttered. She remembered how, a long time ago, Adagio had convinced her to leave the sea and travel to the land of ponies, but their conquest of Equestria eventually led to their banishment to this world.

“You can only blame yourself. You wouldn’t be chained if you hadn’t tried to resist. You should have let me handle everything instead of attacking the soldiers and running away.”

Aria frowned and growled; she couldn’t believe Adagio was trying to put the blame on her. Her arms shook uncontrollably. She wanted to shout, but no words came to mind.

After a few seconds, Sonata broke the silence. “So, I’ve been wondering,” she said to no one in particular, a hand under her chin, “what will happen to us if we’re found guilty of witchcraft? Pillory?” Aria rolled her eyes at her ignorance.

Rubyshine put a hand on Sonata’s shoulder, making her jump. “Nah, they’ll probably hang or burn us.” Aria couldn’t help but think that she sounded strangely indifferent to the prospect. The woman on the other hand had more of a reaction, staring at the ground with a dejected face.

Sonata looked at the girl and blinked. “Burn? Where?”

Rubyshine snickered, and with a big smile she explained, “Everywhere. Basically, they tie you to a big stick and –”

Adagio interrupted and separated them by pulling Sonata’s arm. “You don’t want to know.” Sonata tilted her head, looking confused.

Aria was now convinced that this jail doubled as a madhouse, and was starting to doubt that Rubyshine had never eaten a baby.

Powerless, hungry, chained, angry, and surrounded by crazy people, Aria felt it couldn’t get worse. Part of her wanted to cry, but she resisted. She wished she could be anywhere else, away from this accursed town. She had no other option than to wait for Adagio to get her out of this place. This was going to be a long day.

4. Sonata's Quest

When Sonata woke up, the room was still dark. The first lights of dawn were barely visible through the shutters. What little she could see was unfamiliar, and it took her a few seconds to remember where she was. She had slept not at the inn, but in Midnight Storm’s house.

Adagio and Aria were still asleep. Soon they would wake up, and the three of them would leave the city, abandoning their belongings in the inn room.

Sonata’s possession mostly consisted in clothes and toys, and the thought of losing the latter made her heart pinch. Adagio had said, “We’ll replace them,” but one of them would be hard to replace, and it happened to be her favorite toy.

An idea crossed her mind. Maybe she could return to the inn, retrieve her toys, and come back here before Adagio noticed she was gone. All she needed was the key to their inn room, and she knew exactly where it was.

She pondered that plan for a moment. Obviously Adagio would disapprove of it, as she never liked it when Sonata wandered on her own. On the other hand, if she didn’t go, she would never see her toys again.

Sonata slipped out of the bed as quietly as possible and crept to the chest. She slowly opened the lid. Inside, all she could see was black, but she remembered where she had put her clothes, and where Adagio had put hers. She slid her hand in the chest and blindly searched through its contents.

She quickly found what she was looking for. In a corner, her dress, belt, and hair ribbon; in the center, a cold, small item of irregular shape that could only be the key. She grabbed everything, carefully closed the chest, dressed up in silence, and groped her way downstairs.

The door squeaked as she unlocked it, and she hoped it hadn’t awoken her sleeping companions. She opened it and poked her head outside, into the chill morning air. The streets, as far as she could see, were deserted.

Just then, the day bell rang. Sonata knew it meant the end of the curfew; therefore, she could go out without fear of being arrested. She stepped out of the house and ran, determined to accomplish her quest.

She quickly realized she didn’t know the way to the inn. Looking around, she saw people coming out of their homes, and asked a woman for directions. Once she got the necessary information, she resumed her trip, making a particular effort to memorize her itinerary so that she wouldn’t get lost on the way back, or else Adagio would get angry again. And Adagio getting angry was never pleasant.

“Aren’t you one of the witches from yesterday?”

A chill ran down her spine as she heard these words. She stopped, and her mind relived the events of the previous day. It occurred to her that, even if she wasn’t breaking curfew, she still could be arrested, due to the crazy townspeople believing she was a witch.

“It can’t be her; the witches should be in jail right now.”

“She does look like one of them.”

She pressed herself against a building, hoping she would disappear in the shadows. All around, people were staring at her. Her legs quivered, and she felt herself melting under the weight of the accusatory glares and murmurs. If only Adagio was there…

“Hey there, Sonata.”

Sonata emerged from her thoughts and, like everyone in the crowd, looked at the person who had just addressed her.

“Oh, Midnight Storm! Good morning.” It had taken her a second to identify him, as he was no longer wearing a weapon or armor. She smiled. He could be trusted; after all, he was under her spell.

“I know her,” he told the crowd. “She isn’t a witch, trust me.”

Some skeptical mutters emerged, but the townsfolk progressively walked away. Sonata felt lighter as the stares vanished. Some people were still looking at her distrustfully, but she ignored them and approached Midnight Storm.

“Are you going back home?”

He yawned. “Yeah. I hope you girls aren’t using the bed anymore.”

“Well, Adagio and Aria were still asleep when I left, but I’m sure they will wake up soon – Ah!” She suddenly remembered her quest. “I have to go to the inn, see you later!” She darted off.

When she reached the bridge, she encountered a small white dog wandering by the river. She stopped. It was so cute that she got an urge to pet and hug it. After all, Aria wasn’t there to stop her and claim she was wasting time.

Simultaneously, she got an urge to grab the dog by a leg and suspend it over the water, threatening to drop it, just to see its reaction. Wouldn’t that be fun? After all, Adagio wasn’t there to stop her and complain that she could get them in trouble.

But Sonata had a quest to accomplish. She couldn’t be distracted. For her toys. She took a deep breath and reluctantly resumed her journey.

She ran across the bridge and through a few more streets before she finally reached her destination. She halted in front of the inn’s gate, panting. At least, no one she had met seemed to have recognized her. But then again, she didn’t look at their faces to check.

She entered the timber building. The main hall was empty and uncharacteristically silent. The innkeeper was absent, probably having gone to attend mass.

Only a few steps separated her from her goal, but the more she approached, the more she shivered. As she turned the key in the lock, Adagio’s word resonated in her mind.

“People know we’re not from this town. When they notice we’ve escaped, the inn is the first place they’ll search. In fact, the soldiers may have already gone there and confiscated our belongings.”

Her heart pounded behind her ribs. Maybe everything was already gone, and her quest was vain. Maybe she had already failed. She pushed the door with apprehension.

Wooden figurines and a ball were strayed on the floor next to the bed, the one Sonata had shared with Aria the previous night. Her leather satchel lay next to the floor, where she had left it, and Aria’s bag was at the foot of the bed. Everything was just as she remembered it.

Still shaking, she kneeled next to her bag and looked inside. When she got confirmation that her favorite toy was still there, she let out a deep breath.

In the bag, she also noticed her hooded cape, and remembered what Adagio had said. It could be useful. A new idea popped up in Sonata’s mind, born from a desire to help her companions. If she gathered the capes of all three sirens and brought them all back, it may make Adagio and Aria happy.

With her bag full of toys, the capes probably wouldn’t all fit inside. She had to make some room, and the only way was to remove toys.

She stared inside the satchel for a minute, trying to decide on which ones to sacrifice. Why was it so difficult to choose? She could always replace them later. Adagio had said so. Finally, she extracted a large part of her toys and dropped them on the floor. Only a handful remained in the bag, and she added the ball, even if it was damaged.

Then she opened Aria’s bag to take her cape, but the other items there caught her attention. She realized how selfish it would be of her if she brought back her toys but let the belongings of the other sirens be lost. Aria and Adagio would certainly be disappointed at her, maybe even angry, and Sonata didn’t want that. She resolved to bring something for them besides the capes. Maybe that would make them even happier.

She considered simply taking everyone’s bags, but it would be too heavy for her, so she decided to pick up some of their personal effects. She slid a hand in Aria’s bag, and after retrieving the hooded cape, she grabbed a couple items at random to transfer to her own bag.

First was a small knife in its sheath. Sonata frowned as she remembered how Aria had used it the day before. Her ball would never be the same.

The second item was a leather-bound book, one of several books that Aria possessed. Sonata didn’t know their contents, nor did she know how Aria had gotten this one. She may have charmed its previous owner, or she may have written it herself; Sonata had seen her do both.

Being done with Aria’s bag, she looked at the other side of the room, where Adagio’s bed was, and at its foot, a chest where she had seen Adagio store her bag. She opened it and retrieved Adagio’s cape and one of her dresses, as well as her purse.

Sonata’s bag was packed full; it was time to leave. She hauled the strap over her shoulder and exited the room.

When she went back to the inn’s main hall, two men who weren’t there before, both wearing armor and helmet, were standing in her way.

One of them was a tall man carrying a halberd, and Sonata could swear he was one of the soldiers who had arrested her on the previous day. The other man was smaller and wearing a sword at his belt.

“That’s one of them,” the tall one said.

Sonata shivered as the small one approached her. Her instinct told her to run away, but they were blocking the only exit.

“I am sergeant Iron Blade. I shall bring you back to the jail you escaped from.”

Sonata gulped, and Adagio’s words echoed through her head again.

“When they notice we’ve escaped, the inn is the first place they’ll search.”

Only then did Sonata realize exactly what she had done.

* * * * * *

Adagio rushed upstairs to the bed and violently shook Aria, which made the latter groan.

“Wake up! Sonata’s gone.”

“What?” Aria asked drowsily.

Adagio couldn’t afford waiting for her to wake up properly. She grabbed the lazy siren by the shoulders and hauled her chest to bring their faces close. “Sonata is gone. She left the house. Do you know where she went?”

She knew she had hardly any chance to receive a positive answer, but she clung to that hope.

“I was sleeping, in case you haven’t noticed.” Aria pushed Adagio’s arms away and let herself fall back on the mattress.

Footsteps resonated below. Could it be Sonata? Adagio hurried down. Unfortunately, she didn’t meet a siren, but only Midnight Storm.

“Good morning,” he said.

She wasn’t in the mood to return the greeting. “Have you seen my companion, Sonata?” Again, she wasn’t expecting him to reply in the affirmative.

“Yeah, I met her,” he said as he climbed the stairs. “Said she was going to the inn.”

To the inn? Of course, that foolish, scatterbrained siren would do that. After mentally cursing Midnight Storm for advancing so slowly, since the staircase was too narrow for Adagio to pass him, Adagio went back to Aria.

“Come, we have to go after Sonata.”

Aria rolled onto her other side, facing away from Adagio. “What for? I don’t care what happens to her. Just tell me when we’re leaving the town. Until then, I’m staying here.”

“Can you at least move to the side?” Midnight Storm said as he started undressing, “I’m going to bed.”

With another groan, Aria got up. She had never liked humans, and sleeping in the same bad as one was probably too much for her.

“Are you coming then?” Adagio asked while retrieving her clothes.

“Ugh, fine. Let’s go find the moron and get us all killed in the process.”

Adagio couldn’t tell what was going on through Aria’s mind. She understood wanting to let Sonata cope with potential troubles on her own, of course, but after the way Aria had criticized Adagio’s decisions on the previous day, why would she agree to look for Sonata now if she thought, rightly so, that it was so dangerous?

Adagio shook her head. She had more important things to do than question Aria’s actions. The two sirens dressed up and asked their host for directions, then went downstairs.

“We should cover our hair to minimize the chances of being recognized,” Adagio said, looking around. Some pieces of worn-out cloth lay on the table, and she wrapped one atop her head.

“Ew. I’m not putting that on my hair.”

It was moments like that that convinced Adagio that she was the only siren in this world with a survival instinct or a fully functional brain. Not wanting to waste any more time, she didn’t argue and just sighed. After some effort to cram her mass of hair under it, she tied the cloth below her chin, even though the contact was uncomfortable, and she knew it probably wouldn’t stay in place for long.

Adagio and Aria left the house and ran towards the inn. On the way, after just a couple blocks, they came across a passerby who gave them a strange look. Adagio feared he might have recognized them. She tried to ignore him and kept moving forward, hoping he wouldn’t attempt anything.

To avoid trouble, Adagio decided to go through the smallest, least frequented streets as much as possible. But despite these precautions, they were still taking a high risk. All because of Sonata.

After a trip across half the town, they were almost at the inn and reached the main street, larger and straighter than the rest, when Adagio saw a group of people coming towards them, and Sonata was among them. Adagio quickly retreated to a nearby alley, followed by Aria, and hid behind a barrel, stealthily observing the group as they passed across the two sirens.

Sonata was carrying a stuffed bag and was looking at the floor as she walked. A soldier was grabbing her arm, walking alongside her. Another, smaller soldier was walking a few feet in before them, telling passersby to step aside. Around them, townsfolk were tagging along, and among them, Adagio even recognized people who had chased them the previous day. As expected, Sonata had gotten in trouble. What was she thinking when she left the house?

Finally getting tired of the cloth tied unstably around her head, Adagio unfastened it and dropped it while trying to figure out the best course of action. Once again, singing wouldn’t work; they wouldn’t be able to charm everyone at once due to the distance between them. Moreover, the townspeople may recognize her or Aria, and attack them before the spell took effect.

Adagio poked her head out of the alley and frantically looked around for something that could be of use. On the side of the street, in the direction opposite from where Sonata was, a horse drawing a cart was stationed, and a man was unloading sacks from the cart. Adagio got an idea, albeit a perilous one. She turned towards Aria.

Aria was leaning against a house, her arms crossed, and her face looking much grouchier than usual.

Adagio wondered when Aria got like this. Thinking about it, she hadn’t gotten a good look at Aria’s face since she woke up. When they were in Midnight Storm’s house, it was too dark to see properly, and when they were outside, she didn’t really look at Aria, simply expecting her to follow. Maybe she was still angry due to their argument that night.

Adagio would worry about it later. “We could use this cart. Let’s charm that man.”

* * * * * *

Sonata had been dragged out of the inn before she could think of what to do, and now the soldier and the sergeant Iron Blade were leading her back to the jail. Townspeople were gathering around them with curiosity, and some were once again giving her distrustful stares and pointed fingers.

“A witch?”

“Hasn’t she been already arrested yesterday?”

“Did she use her sorcery to escape?”

Sonata wanted to run away and hide, and the strong grip of the soldier on her arm only increased her discomfort. She wished Adagio was there to tell her what to do. But Sonata was alone, so she had to think of something by herself.

She knew her powers were limited, but even if she could just charm the soldier and make him let her go, then she would have a chance to escape. The other people would probably try to catch her, or the sergeant may attack her, but that was her only option, or at least the only one she could think of.

As she was considering this, a sound like a rumble mixed with clops grew louder from behind her. It was eventually joined by a shriek, which caused her and her whole escort to turn around.

A horse drawing a cart was galloping straight towards them. Adagio sat at the front, next to a man holding the reins, while Aria was inside the cart, leaning on the edge.

“Out of the way!” Adagio shouted.

Chaos erupted around Sonata. Screams resonated; people ran and jumped away, and she found herself pulled to the side of the street. She was disoriented by the disorder, but when she heard Aria shout her name, she looked at the cart again. Aria was reaching out a hand to her.

Just as the cart passed in front of her, Sonata leaped forward. Aria grabbed her, and the force of the movement made the soldier release his grip. Sonata tried to haul herself over the edge of the cart, a task made difficult by the wind hitting her and the frequent jumps of the vehicle on the uneven road.

“Stop!”

Her eyes widened when she saw that Iron Blade was also grabbing the cart, and was struggling with Adagio. Finally, Aria pulled her inside. Sonata fell against the hard wood while Aria rushed to help Adagio, pushing the sergeant who eventually let go and disappeared in a blur.

Adagio told the driver to slow down. Even though they were in a relatively large and straight street, Sonata knew it wasn’t meant for galloping carts, and their situation was dangerous.

With a loud knock, Sonata suddenly found herself thrown in the air and unconsciously screamed as the world spun around her.

A wave of pain surged through her right leg when it collided with something hard shortly before she crashed into the ground. Her mind was fuzzy; her pain was the only thing she could think about. She heard someone call her name, then she was grabbed by the waist and lifted. Her bag hit her side, reminding her she was still carrying it.

She slowly opened her eyes, though she didn’t know when she had closed them. The cart was on its side, the horse was lying down, and the driver was getting up with difficulty. She hoped the horse was all right, but didn’t get the opportunity to check.

“Can you walk?” Adagio asked, apparently being the one who was holding her.

She was with Adagio. Regardless of the pain and all the troubles, that thought reassured her.

Sonata tried to take a step, but the pain surged again. “No…”

Aria entered her field of vision and grabbed her to help her walk. “We have to go.”

The three sirens entered the closest alley, Sonata using her uninjured leg while wrapping her arms around Adagio and Aria’s necks. She didn’t know where they were going, but she was sure Adagio had a plan.

They passed through a few streets without meeting anyone, save for a girl who was playing with a toy horse on wheels without paying attention to anything around her. Sonata looked at the toy with envy, and considered snatching it for herself, but the other sirens didn’t leave her the opportunity to halt.

Around the corner, Adagio opened the door of a small wooden building by the riverside. Inside, it looked like a warehouse, with crates and barrels piled around the only room. Adagio closed the door behind them while Aria asked if someone was inside, getting no reply. Sonata sat on a crate.

“We can’t stay here,” Aria said. “If the door was unlocked, the owner is not far. And the soldiers will come looking for us.”

Adagio stomped the floor. “I know!” she said with an angry tone that made Sonata recoil. “This is only a temporary hideout while we plan the next move.”

Sonata let out a deep breath. She was certain everything was going to be fine. Adagio would come up with something, and while her leg was injured, her magic pendant would soon heal it.

“Sonata.”

That was Adagio’s voice, and it sounded particularly unpleasant. Sonata timidly looked up.

She was slapped so hard that she fell to the ground, the pain in her leg rushing again. Her lips trembled as she met the glare of Adagio, whose face was distorted with rage.

“What were you doing outside?” Adagio hissed.

Sonata crawled back until she bumped into a crate, while Adagio advanced threateningly. “I, I wanted to get my toys…” Adagio growled, and Sonata buried her head under her arms. “I also retrieved our capes! You said you wanted them!”

“You idiot!” Adagio grabbed Sonata’s dress and held her face in front of hers. “I told you we could do without. Do you realize how careless you’ve been? That you could have lost your life?”

“I’m sorry,” Sonata muttered, her throat aching.

Adagio dropped her, and said sternly, “If you ever get in trouble again, I will not come to help you.”

Aria nodded.

Sonata felt like her heart had turned into ice. “You can’t! You can’t abandon me!” Adagio flinched slightly at the outburst, but her face stayed impassive. Sonata felt her eyes getting wet and wiped them with her sleeve. “We’ve always been together, all these centuries. You’ve always been there for me. We should care for each other…”

“Shut up,” Aria said before turning to Adagio, while Sonata wiped her eyes again. “Why don’t we leave her behind now? She’s just going to slow us down if she can’t walk.”

Adagio shook her head. “That may not be necessary. The harbor is nearby; we should try to leave by ship rather than through the gates.” She approached Sonata. Even though Adagio seemed to have calmed down a little, Sonata recoiled.

“You said you retrieved our hoods?”

Sonata hastily opened her bag and took out one of the hooded capes. “Yes, here.”

Adagio put it on and pulled the hood over her head, hiding her massive hair. “I’m going to get us a vessel,” she said as she walked towards the door. “You two stay here,” she added, looking at Sonata. “And if someone enters, sing.”

She opened the door and, after cautiously peeking outside, she left.

5. Memories

While Sonata, sitting on a crate, massaged her injured leg, Aria was leaning against the wall of the warehouse, taking advantage of the silence to focus and put some order among the numerous thoughts and emotions that muddied her mind, and none of them were positive.

Things had been going downhill since the sirens entered the town. Aria couldn’t help holding Adagio responsible for everything – except the events of the few previous minutes, which had been entirely Sonata’s fault.

In addition, Aria hated this place. During the past century or so, she had stopped caring about her surroundings, finding everything boring instead. But the recent events, especially the way she had been treated while in jail, had rekindled a deep contempt toward this despicable world and its inhabitants. This, coupled with the emptiness in her heart that had come back and replaced the hole in her stomach as soon as she had retrieved her pendant, officially made this day the most disagreeable in at least the past two decades.

But that wasn’t even the worst of it. Ever since that conversation with Adagio on the previous evening, she had been haunted by the horrible sentiment that Adagio was right, and the implications were frightening. Aria had slept badly because of that, so she resolved that she would not think about it anymore until she left the town, or else it may make her crazy.

Instead, she focused on yet another thing that was making this day awful. Pain had been coursing through her left side since she had been ejected from the cart, and the collision with the ground also damaged the bottom part of her dress, which was now torn and dirtied with something brown that may or may not be mud. Aria looked at her gown with disgust.

“Er, I have a dress in my bag.”

So much for the silence. At least she didn’t say something stupid this time.

“In fact, it’s one of Adagio’s,” Sonata said as she handed out the garment.

Aria took and examined it. Brightly colored and embroidered, it was of much better quality than their everyday clothes. Adagio wore it when the three of them invited themselves to a fancy feast at a lord’s castle. It would attract attention, but at least it was clean. Aria walked to a dark corner of the building to change.

She considered saying thanks, but then again, it was Sonata’s fault her dress was in this state to begin with. If she hadn’t left the house on her own, they would already be out of town. Why did they even bother going after her?

“Did you really put yourself in danger just for some toys?” Aria asked as she threw her dirty dress away.

“Well, there was one in particular.” Aria noted that Sonata’s voice was still trembling slightly. “Because, it’s the only thing I have that reminds me of home.”

Aria raised an eyebrow. “Home? I always thought you didn’t care.”

“I don’t complain about it like you always do, but I hate this world, too. And Adagio does too. We’re all in the same situation.” After a pause, Sonata added with a dispirited tone, “I remember, like, almost nothing about Equestria. I mean, we’ve spent so little time there compared to here…”

“You don’t need to tell me.” Aria’s own memories of their home world were scarce and hazy, though she couldn’t tell whether that was a bad thing.

Once she had finished donning Adagio’s dress, she walked back to Sonata. “So, what is that toy?”

Sonata pulled a wooden sculpture out of her bag and let Aria take a good look at it. It represented a familiar creature, well detailed; the upper part resembled a horse, with a long muzzle and two hooves, but adorned with fins on the cheeks, legs and along the back. The lower part looked like a fish tail. The whole figurine was covered in two tones of worn-out purple paint, save for a red shape on the chest.

The sight brought back bitter memories of a delightful past that was gone forever. Aria wanted to look away and forget about it, but curiosity and confusion overwhelmed her. “How… where did you get that?”

“When we were in Nürnberg,” Sonata said, smiling fondly. Having never paid attention to cities’ names, Aria had no idea where or when that was, but decided to stay silent and let Sonata continue. “I sang to a toymaker and asked him to make it for me. I, huh…” Sonata’s voice weakened, and she looked down. “I showed him a siren picture that… that I found in your stuff. But I put it back afterward!”

Aria knew she should be angry that Sonata had been prying into her belongings, even if it had been long ago, but something else preoccupied her. Namely, the toy’s color.

“Why is it… me?”

Sonata held the toy close to her chest. “Well, in fact I asked for three of them. But Adagio made us leave the city before the others were finished.”

Part of Aria was disappointed by that explanation. In any case, she found it hard to believe that, as stupid as Sonata was, she would take so much risk just for this chunk of wood. Did she want a memento of her past life so badly? And would it be so hard to get another one? If a picture of a siren was all she needed to get a similar toy, she could have simply asked.

A tinge of remorse rushed to Aria’s mind when she suddenly recalled a time, a few years or a few decades ago, when Sonata had requested her just that, and had received a less than polite answer.

“You really think we’ll never go back home?” Sonata asked, interrupting Aria’s thoughts. The answer was so obvious to Aria that she couldn’t understand why her companions had a different opinion. She leaned close to Sonata and looked in her eyes sternly.

“Of course. You still believe otherwise?”

“Adagio says –”

Aria had seen this reply coming, and had to restrain herself from shouting how dumb and naïve Sonata was. Instead, she grabbed her shoulder and shook her lightly.

“Forget what Adagio says. What do you think? Do you still have hope, after all the time we’ve been stuck here? All the times we’ve failed to find a lead?”

Sonata pushed Aria away, then looked up pensively for a few seconds.

“Maybe you’re right,” she finally said, twiddling her fingers. “But, if we’re really stuck in this world, then how come you’re not trying to enjoy it more?”

Aria blinked. “What?”

“I remember what Adagio said yesterday. You don’t care about anything in this world. So…”

Great. Just the one thing Aria was struggling not to think about. She tried to push her thoughts into a far corner of her mind.

“There must be something you like here, right? Besides singing and eating magic, I mean. Even if this place sucks compared to Equestria. For example, I like the food. And the toys. And the festivals.”

Aria shook her head and raised her voice. “No, Sonata. I can’t enjoy anything in this world. It’s not just bland; it’s also barbaric. I’ve never liked ponies, but at least they don’t burn other ponies, you know? But above all, what I really liked back at home was swimming and flying. And I can’t do that with this lame body,” she said, knocking her chest, before turning away. “I have nothing to care about here.”

“Well, you have us!”

Aria groaned, massaging her forehead and mentally cursing Sonata’s inability to understand the gravity of the situation. As if being together was making things any better. “You are so stupid.”

“No, you!”

Aria rolled her eyes and decided to ignore her. She walked to a window and peeked outside, hoping to spot a distraction of some kind.

A dozen yards away, a horse-drawn cart trotted along the street, and suddenly bumped into a man who was transporting a barrel, knocking him down. The man painfully got up and shouted at the cart’s driver, who shouted back. Aria couldn’t make out the words, but it was clear these two were arguing, and to her, that only meant one thing: free food.

She rushed to Sonata. “Give me a hood!” Sonata complied, then Aria opened the door, hood on the head. “Just stay here, I’ll be right back.”

“But Adagio said –”

Aria left the warehouse, closing the door behind her.

A cloud of green mist appeared around the two troublemakers, who were now all but fighting, while Aria approached as nonchalantly as possible. She chanted a simple but beautiful melody, lost amidst the clamor, but it didn’t matter if no one heard it. It was not intended to control people; it merely triggered her feeding. People started to gather around the commotion, none of them noticing the mist as it swirled into Aria’s pendant, leaving her heart a little less empty than before.

She had gotten what she wanted; it was now time to return to the warehouse. Before she walked away, the crowd caught her attention. It seemed like a dozen of people had popped up around her out of nowhere, and she could recognize some of them, who had been surrounding Sonata just a few minutes earlier. She tried to keep her head cool, telling herself that they were not looking at her.

An armored soldier, the same one who had held onto the cart, emerged from the pack, and addressed the two men in the middle with a firm voice. “Stop this at once. You are breaching the peace.”

They both immediately quieted down, though still looking at each other with defiance.

“Now,” he continued, this time to the whole crowd, “we are looking for escaped witches. Three young maids with much hair. Has anyone seen them?”

Aria swallowed and slowly backed away. She could feel sweat forming on her forehead. But there was no reason to worry. They couldn’t recognize her now that she had covered her hair and changed her dress, could they?

“Oh, I’ve seen them!”

Everyone turned towards the one who had spoken, a little girl pulling a toy horse. Aria remembered passing by her earlier, but at that time, she had believed the girl hadn’t been paying attention to the sirens.

The girl pointed at the warehouse which was still housing Sonata. “They went in there.”

Aria froze, watching helplessly as the mob rushed to the building.

* * * * * *

Alone in the warehouse, Sonata sat on a crate, cuddling a rag doll she had retrieved from the inn room. Her satchel lay on the ground below her. Her leg was slowly healing, and she was now able to walk, albeit with difficulty.

She couldn’t stop replaying the events of the previous minutes in her head. She had always been ashamed when Adagio was angry with her, and this time was no exception, but this was the first time Adagio considered dumping her. Aria occasionally mentioned it, but she was just a meanie, and Adagio never listened. Sonata had always believed they would stay together. The prospect of Adagio abandoning her made her heart sink.

The door opened with a slam, and sergeant Iron Blade stepped in, followed by a multitude of townsfolk who soon surrounded Sonata.

“There’s the witch!”

“Hang her!”

“Burn her!”

Sonata squeezed the doll against her chest, quivering. She wanted to hide behind a crate, but her body refused to move. What had Adagio said? “If someone enters, sing.” Sonata decided to do just that, but as the first note left her throat, Iron Blade grabbed her by the arm and pulled her to her feet.

“Where are your two companions?”

“They aren’t here,” she replied with a trembling voice. “They –” She was about to tell the truth, but quickly realized that it would be a terrible idea. “Think before you speak,” Adagio had said. And Sonata would never let Adagio or Aria get in trouble, no matter what happened to her.

“They’re already out of town. They left me behind because I hurt my leg and I can’t run,” she continued, telling the first lie that came to mind. She hoped it was convincing; she had never been a good liar. That had always been Adagio’s thing.

Thankfully, Iron Blade seemed to believe her and released her, though she was quickly grabbed by other people. “Bring her to the jail,” he commanded as he led the way. They dragged Sonata out of the warehouse, but as soon as she was outside, protests emerged from the crowd.

“Wait a minute, she’s already escaped!”

“Twice!”

“She could use her powers on us anytime.”

“We’d better kill her right now.”

“We cannot allow a witch to live.”

“Let’s burn her!”

Sonata felt dizzy. She let her doll slip out of her hand and wrapped her arms around her chest as much as she could. The world around her became a blur, and she could barely hear Iron Blade hopelessly ordering the crowd to stop while she was dragged away.

She couldn’t hold back her tears. She feared she now understood what they meant by “burn”, and worst of all, she knew she was alone. No one was going to rescue her this time.

* * * * * *

“I’d be happy to transport you aboard my ship, beautiful lady,” captain Moonwave said, proudly showing the vessel moored to the wharf behind him.

“I knew you would agree,” Adagio replied, a sinister smile plastered on her face.

The harbor was quiet at that hour, with only four ships docked, and barely more dockers and sailors walking around and working in the warehouses lining the riverside. Adagio had easily found an opportunity to charm them without people around who could have suspected something. Captain Moonwave, who was planning to leave for the next town downstream a little later, would take her aboard, and the dockers would let them leave the harbor without questions. They wouldn’t have to travel on foot this time.

“So, will you transport my companions as well?”

Moonwave scratched his head. “Hum, well, I can take them, but I’ll have to charge a fee. I’m just making an exception for you.”

“Oh, of course. They will give the payment once they’re on board.” Or they will simply sing and make him forget about the fee. “I’ll go and bring them. Please wait a minute.”

He shrugged. “No need to hurry. It’ll take a while before the rest of my crew comes back.”

She jogged to the warehouse, and when it came into view, she halted and gasped. A crowd had amassed in front of the building. They marched away while she stood there, her heart palpitating as she feared the worst. For a moment, she stayed immobile, not daring approach the warehouse.

“Adagio!” a voice said in a loud whisper. She turned her head as a girl ran to her side. On second look, it was actually Aria, wearing a hood and… one of Adagio’s fancy dresses?

She wanted to ask how and why this had happened, but decided against it since there were more pressing issues. What mattered was that Aria was safe. Adagio let out a small sigh of relief, though she couldn’t ignore that one siren was still unaccounted for.

“Where’s Sonata?”

Panting, Aria replied between two breaths, “They got her. They’re going to burn her on the town square. Right now.”

Adagio’s chest became heavy. She frowned, looking at the street where the crowd had disappeared, and tried her best to keep her composure and clear her mind to think of the best course of action.

“So, what do we do?” Aria asked with a wavering voice. “I know you said you wouldn’t save her…”

Despite what she had said, Adagio didn’t actually want to abandon Sonata, especially to such a horrible death. But she had no choice. She shook her head. “We cannot save her. We can’t charm everyone at once, and if we try, we’ll just be captured like her. We have to leave her behind.” She felt every word hurt her throat as she spoke them.

Aria stared at the ground and nodded slightly. Adagio moved towards the docks and motioned for Aria to follow. “Come, I’ve found a ship for us.”

“Wait, I think her bag is still inside. I’ll fetch it.” Aria ran to the now deserted warehouse, picking up a discarded doll on the way. Adagio guessed it couldn’t hurt to bring whatever Sonata had retrieved from the inn. Aria came back with the bag across her shoulder, stuffing the doll inside and shuffling through the contents.

As they walked to the docks, Adagio threw a last glance back, before deciding to stop thinking about Sonata.

Meanwhile, Aria commented on her findings. “Here’s her Aria toy…” Adagio raised an eyebrow, but didn’t ask. “My knife? Nice. And… huh?” Aria pulled out a leather-bound book and blinked.

It had to be one of Aria’s books; Adagio had possessed books before, but Aria was the only siren who had kept any with her. Aria opened the cover. On the center of the first page, the words “Memories of a better world” were written. With a groan, Aria put the book back in the bag.

“What’s that?” Adagio asked.

“Just stuff I wrote a while ago. About home.”

This piqued Adagio’s curiosity and she mentally noted to try to read it later. But something bothered her. “Why do you seem unhappy about it?”

Aria gritted her teeth and looked away. Before Adagio could ask more questions, they had reached their destination and captain Moonwave spoke up.

“There you are, lady. Hmm, I thought you said you had two companions?”

Adagio held her hands behind her back and faked a smile. “Yes, she… cannot come with us. In any case, can we stay in your ship until you’re ready to leave?”

“As you wish. Get on board,” he said, showing the ramp between the ship and the wharf. “You may even stay in my cabin.”

Aria advanced first; Adagio followed her after thanking the captain. As she walked up the ramp, her thoughts focused on the book. In a flash, her own memories of Equestria flooded her mind.

* * * * * *

Adagio Dazzle was born in the Spiral Reef, below the western Equestrian seas, among a small colony of sirens. They led a simple life, swimming, singing, cultivating seaweeds, breeding mollusks, hunting fishes, and occasionally attacking ships.

When they spotted a ship on the surface, sirens would emerge and sing, luring the sailors, usually ponies. Even when their jewels were empty, their voices had a minimal amount of power, and two or three sirens working together could charm a pony and turn it against its peers. The resulting altercation would feed the sirens with negative energy.

This energy increased the power of their voices, but that wasn’t the reason they caused disputes. Aside from the feeling of euphoria it provided, it was well known that absorbing negativity increased a siren’s lifespan.

Adagio wasn’t satisfied with such a life. She knew she was capable of much more. Ponies lived on the land; they could find more ponies there in a day than on the seas in a lifetime.

They could soar to the land, charm a single pony, get a little energy, become more powerful, charm more ponies, and repeat indefinitely. They could get enough power to make all of Equestria adore them. It was the perfect plan.

But no other siren realized this. They said it wouldn’t work, that it was too dangerous. They pointed out that unicorns weren’t affected by their spell, ignoring that this problem would be solved by gaining more power. They said that the land was not for sirens, that they couldn’t grow seafood there and that they couldn’t stay overwater for more than a few hours. Some even called her crazy. No siren understood her genius.

Except for Sonata Dusk.

Adagio and Sonata had known each other roughly since the latter’s birth, but at first, they weren’t particularly close. Until Sonata lost her parents to a kraken attack. The rudimentary siren society didn’t have anything to tend orphans, so Sonata was left fending for herself, and was doing pretty bad at it. Out of pity, Adagio decided to care for her once in a while, sharing food and spending some time with her. Before long, Sonata was following her every move, despite Adagio’s protests, and the two sirens were teaming up to charm sailors.

Although Sonata was an idiot in most situations, she could at least recognize how brilliant Adagio’s plan was. It had been, in fact, Sonata’s idea to leave the Spiral Reef and find sirens from other colonies to join them. Adagio didn’t like associating with strangers, but it was worth a shot.

But after visiting half a dozen other reefs, they had made little progress. No siren, aside from Aria Blaze from the Emerald Reef, wanted to join them in their quest for Equestria’s conquest. Adagio gave up trying to enlist more followers, and stuck with Sonata and Aria.

The three of them flew to the land, and quickly absorbed more power than they could ever imagine. Their bliss lasted for a dozen of years, until they met a bearded unicorn wizard. After a fierce confrontation, the sirens were sucked by a vortex he conjured, and sent across dimensions to this magic-less world.

Adagio had to find a way back, but she had no idea how. Her only strategy was to look for traces of magic, hoping there was a portal somewhere. Although she never admitted it, Adagio had always felt their predicament was her fault, for it had been her plan that started it all. It was now her responsibility to bring Sonata and Aria back to Equestria.

* * * * * *

Her responsibility.

Adagio stopped in the middle of the ramp as these words echoed through her head.

“I can’t do this.”

“Do what?” Aria asked, looking at her from the deck.

Adagio clenched her fists. “Abandon Sonata.”

“But you just said it was impossible to help her!”

“I know, but… I have to try. I have to do something, no matter what.” Adagio turned away and walked down, ignoring the part of her mind that was telling her how irrational she was acting. Passing by Moonwave, she told him, “I’ll be back soon.”

“No worries,” he said, tipping his hat.

Adagio turned back at Aria, who was frowning. “Are you coming?”

“No.”

Adagio couldn’t blame her. Without another word, she rushed to the town square.

* * * * * *

Standing near the center of the town square, Sonata helplessly watched the townspeople prepare her execution. Some were gathering fagots or straw bales; others were bringing a stake. Most were merely spectators.

They had tied her up around the chest and arms, and two men, one on each side of her, stood guard, the one on her left holding one end of the rope. She couldn’t escape. Even if she charmed these two, she wouldn’t go far before the rest of the town caught her again.

Sonata wondered if Adagio would have found a way out had she been there. Adagio had always been able to escape from the most dangerous situations or solve any problem… except when it came to returning to Equestria. Maybe Aria was right, and they would never go back.

It no longer mattered anyway, for she was about to die. She only had one question now: would she be reunited with her parents?

Regardless of the answer, she resolved to do the one thing sirens can always do: sing. If she was going to die, she would die singing.

* * * * * *

Aria groaned in frustration as Adagio disappeared behind a warehouse. This enterprise was an utter waste of time at best, and suicide at worst. Now all she could do was wait, and hope Adagio would come back.

As she dropped the bag on the deck, her thoughts wandered to the book inside. In the past, reading it would fill her with soothing nostalgia. Now, thinking of Equestria, knowing she would never return, just made her bitter. While she couldn’t bring herself to get rid of the book, she wanted to forget about it and its contents.

But now that the memories had invited themselves back to her mind, she couldn’t make them leave.

She remembered her childhood in the Emerald Reef. During her first years, she would accompany her parents everywhere, but as soon as she was big enough to swim alone, she did.

She didn’t socialize much, being more interested in seeing how fast she could swim or fly than playing with her peers. She enjoyed straying away from the reef and exploring every corner of the ocean floor, no matter how dangerous it was.

Then, she met Adagio and Sonata from the Spiral Reef. They had this big plan about flying to the land and charming every pony. She loved it. She admired them for how ambitious they were.

The conquest of Equestria had indubitably been the best time of Aria’s life. So much power, so much delight. Something in her changed permanently, and she now needed power; she no longer tolerated holding just a small amount. She suspected the same change affected Adagio and Sonata as well.

Then, they were banished, and the nightmare began.

The three sirens eventually realized that, as long as there was some power in their pendants, they were essentially immortal. They didn’t know why. Maybe it was due to their new, alien bodies; maybe the large amount of power they had absorbed from Equestria had changed their jewels permanently; or maybe it had always been that way, and they had never noticed because no siren under the sea had ever kept power for a long time.

Thus, the three of them had to spend the rest of their endless lives in this bland, pathetic world. Even after all these centuries, even knowing he was probably long dead, she would never stop hating the unicorn wizard for that.

No one could understand her pain. Except maybe for Adagio and Sonata, who, as Sonata had said, were in the same boat as her. But they were gone. Sonata was about to burn, and Adagio may be caught as well. Then Aria would be alone.

Solitude had never bothered her back in Equestria, and in this world, she had never considered it. But the prospect of ending up alone was becoming more and more likely, and it was frightening. As much as she loathed relying on others, she had to admit that in this world, she wouldn’t know what to do without Adagio’s guidance.

And then there was that voice in her head telling her that her life here was a waste of time anyway. Attempting to save Sonata may be suicide, but the alternative was not worth living.

Aria opened the bag and took her knife, then disembarked and ran after Adagio.

6. Fire of Despair

Cloaked in the darkness of a narrow alley connected to the town square, Adagio carefully observed the plaza, looking for anything that could help her.

The square was a large space bordered by a couple of important-looking stone buildings, and many timber houses. Several wooden crates and barrels were stacked up against the houses, including open barrels full of water for fire emergencies.

In the center of the square, townsfolk were erecting a stake. A few feet away from it, a tied up Sonata stood between two tall men. She had closed her eyes and was moving her lips. Adagio couldn’t hear her, but judging by the way the two men waved their heads up and down in rhythm, she guessed Sonata was singing and had put them under her spell.

Around Sonata, a large and noisy crowd waited. Some people gathered combustible materials; others were already holding lit torches. A small fire burned on the ground, not too far from the stake, and a woman next to it distributed torches to whoever wanted one.

A certain man on the side of the plaza caught Adagio’s attention. It was Midnight Storm, their host of the previous night. What was he doing here? The last time she had seen him, he was going to bed. Maybe the commotion prevented him from sleeping. Fidgeting, he kept throwing glances all around him, at Sonata, at the stake, at the fire… Adagio remembered that he was already under their spell, and they had convinced him they were not witches. That could be useful.

Adagio examined the square again, trying to come up with a plan. Rescuing Sonata would be difficult. There wasn’t any way to approach her without being noticed, unless…

A hand suddenly fell on Adagio’s shoulder; she instantly sprang and turned around, stumbling back before catching herself against a barrel, and finally, she recognized Aria. Adagio relaxed with a smile. Aria had decided to come after all…

“So, what’s the plan?” Aria asked.

While Adagio took a second to think, she noticed Aria’s knife attached to her belt. She looked at Sonata. “Can you free her?”

“I can cut the rope, yes, but with all these people around, I’ll need a distraction.”

“Hm. I may have an idea, but it’s a dangerous one. And it may not even suffice.”

Aria smirked. “Hey, if I didn’t want to take risks, I would have stayed on the boat.”

Adagio nodded. She couldn’t afford hesitating any longer. It was time to act.

* * * * * *

Adagio sneaked through the crowd, instinctively pulling her hood further over her head while praying no one would recognize her. She approached the woman who was giving torches and extended a hand. Before she could say anything, the woman gave her a torch with a grin. Forcing herself to smile, Adagio grabbed the stick and muttered thanks. She couldn’t believe how happy the woman was about what the townsfolk were about to do, but she tried not to show her emotions.

Adagio plunged the upper end of the torch into the fire to ignite it. She then held the stick upright while avoiding looking at the unsettling flame, and cautiously retreated to the side of the square. She cast many glances around to make sure nobody was looking at her; thankfully, most people had their eyes on Sonata or the stake. Then she entered another dark alley, her arm trembling with increasing intensity with each step.

She threw the torch through the nearest open window, hoping nobody was inside the house. In order to delay people’s effort in putting out the impending fire, she knocked down a barrel of water, spilling its contents to the ground.

“What are you doing!?” someone exclaimed from the square as she toppled a second barrel. She quickly fled in the opposite direction. She didn’t know if she was being pursued, but she knew she had to come back to the square, preferably via a different street. And while she ran, she couldn’t help but think that what she just did was a horrible thing.

* * * * * *

“Fire!”

All gazes turned to the thick cloud of black smoke that emerged from a side of the town square. Among a chorus of gasps and screams, people rushed to the source of the disaster, dropping torches and other effects. In less than a minute, most of the plaza had cleared; only a dozen of townsfolk remained in place, the majority of them around Sonata. But for Aria, that was enough of a distraction.

Torn between the desire to run as fast as possible and the need to proceed slowly to avoid drawing suspicion, she awkwardly advanced towards Sonata, who kept singing with closed eyes, either indifferent or oblivious to the chaos.

Finally reaching the singing siren, Aria leaned and whispered in her ear, calling her name. Sonata’s voice trailed off and she slowly opened her eyes, looking straight ahead with a blank expression.

“Turn them against each other,” Aria said before trotting away. Sonata frowned and, after a second of silence, began a new song.

There are witches all around you
They even hide among men, really
Attack them before they curse you
I’m already bound so don’t mind me

The two men next to Sonata eyed each other and the rest of the crowd with distrust. One of them dropped the rope he was holding and jumped on the other, attacking him with punches and calling him a witch. While Sonata slipped away, the other man fought back while accusing different people. The altercation attracted the attention of the other townsfolk around, and before Aria knew it, a brawl erupted.

Aria rushed to Sonata again. She grabbed the rope tied around Sonata’s chest and sawed through it with her knife, slashing fiber after fiber, while from the corner of her eye, she saw Adagio rejoin the plaza and approach Midnight Storm.

She eventually split the rope in two, and Sonata, after a little twisting, freed herself. Just when Aria turned to leave, a man violently clasped her right forearm.

“Where do you think you’re going?” he barked. He gritted his teeth, and Aria thought he was about to bite her. She tried to pull her arm away, but he refused to release her.

As much as she didn’t like using violence, she couldn’t see any other solution. The man was muscular, but disarmed. If she transferred her knife to her free hand, she would be able to stab him.

Just as she brought her left hand to the knife, he grasped her left arm as well, immobilizing her. She attempted to struggle, but he was much stronger than she was, and the pain of the pressure weakened her.

Aria didn’t have the time to think of her next move when Sonata wrapped half of the sliced roped around the man’s neck and tightened as hard as she could. He brought his hands to his neck, freeing Aria who took a few steps back. Sonata immediately let go of the rope and the two sirens fled, though Sonata limped.

It didn’t take long before the man caught up with them. Just as he was about to seize Sonata, Midnight Storm interposed himself between the angry man and the sirens, grabbing him by the chest and shouting, “Leave them alone!”

While they fought, Aria and Sonata kept running and reached the edge of the square, where Adagio was waiting for them.

Aria looked back one last time. A green mist floated above the ground, generated by the conflict between the people Sonata had charmed and those they suspected. Aria hesitated, wanting to go back and feed on it.

She felt a hand take her own, and turned around to meet Sonata’s concerned gaze. Without a word, Sonata pulled Aria away from the dangerous plaza and jogged towards the harbor. Aria accelerated, keeping up to Sonata’s pace, and although she had no need to be led any more, she let Sonata keep hold of her hand.

* * * * * *

When the sirens reached the docks, captain Moonwave was still waiting for them. Adagio glanced behind; no one seemed to have followed them. But she didn’t want to consider herself safe as long as they were in the town.

Moonwave let the girls come aboard and enter his cabin. On the way, Aria picked up Sonata’s bag from the deck and dropped it in the room.

“We have to stay hidden until the ship departs,” Adagio said as she stood next to the door, cautiously peeking at the port, while Aria and Sonata sat in silence.

After a wait of several minutes, the rest of the crew came back. From what Adagio could gather of their conversation with Moonwave, the mass had to be interrupted due to a nearby fire. The captain then introduced the girls to the sailors, saying they were passengers.

Adagio felt lighter as they were finally about to leave. Moonwave ordered his men to maneuver out of the harbor. The dockers unmoored the ship, and the crew kedged it away from the wharf. The whole process took much longer than Adagio would have liked, while she peered out of the cabin, worried that someone would barge in at any moment.

The ship had moved by three feet when someone ran to it, shouting, “Stop!”

“Oh, that’s sergeant Iron Blade!” Sonata said behind Adagio’s shoulder.

Adagio took a deep breath, then left the cabin. “Don’t let him aboard!”

“Sorry miss,” a sailor replied, “but I don’t want to get in trouble.” He threw a rope ladder overboard, while the ship stopped moving.

While the sailors were wondering what was happening, Iron Blade climbed on the deck and, facing the sirens with a look of determination, drew his sword. Adagio stared at him with a similar look, hoping Aria and Sonata were doing the same, though she felt Sonata was actually hiding behind her.

At least he was alone, which meant the sirens had a chance, but he had a weapon. Singing at the wrong time could be fatal.

“You have no way of escape,” he said. “Surrender now.”

Aria advanced. “We’re about to leave this stupid town! Just leave us alone! We won’t come back.”

“Never! You are witches, therefore evil…”

The sailors let out gasps and various expressions of surprise, while Sonata exclaimed, “We aren’t witches!”

“… And it is my sworn duty to protect the town from fiends such as you!” He pointed his sword at Adagio.

“Are you really witches?” a sailor asked.

Adagio waved her arm to dismiss the notion. “It’s a mere misunderstanding. Why don’t you put your sword away so we can explain?” She put her hands behind her back and forced a smile. Her gaze shifted to the massive cloud of smoke visible behind the sergeant, ascending from somewhere in the distance. They weren’t witches, certainly. But evil?

He shook his head. “No. I will not let you buy time.”

Adagio raised her hands in defeat. “Very well, we surrender,” she said, eliciting reactions from Sonata and Aria.

“Huh?”

“We do?”

“Just trust me.” Adagio hesitantly walked to Iron Blade, her heart pounding. He didn’t let his guard down. Still, she had to try. Stopping just out of reach of his weapon, she sang.

Oooh oh oh oooh oh…

Aria and Sonata’s voices joined her own. Iron Blade frowned deeper and took a step forward. Adagio couldn’t stop now. Still singing, she closed the distance and placed her hand on his shoulder.

He flinched and raised his sword further, but didn’t attack her. He turned as she circled him. Ignoring the dryness of her throat, she kept singing, and her hip brushed his. Meanwhile Aria and Sonata were walking about the deck, singing to all the sailors.

After a moment, Iron Blade’s empty glaze convinced Adagio that he was under her spell. He was the last thing preventing them from leaving the town, and he was now under her control.

* * * * * *

The song over, Iron Blade, fully confident that he had no reason to bother the three girls further, jumped in the river and swam back to the land. The crew resumed kedging the ship until they could hoist the sails. At last, the ship passed the city’s walls, and Sonata allowed herself to relax, letting out a deep breath. Adagio and Aria pulled their hoods back, releasing their hair.

The three sirens gathered in the captain’s cabin again. Adagio sat on the bed while Aria leaned against the wall. Sonata stood in the middle.

“Do you think we’re safe now?” Aria asked.

“Yes, they probably won’t go after us,” Adagio replied. “However, we should stay away from this town for at least the next fifteen years.”

“Girls…” Sonata said hesitantly, rocking back and forth on her heels. “Huh, thanks.”

Aria raised an eyebrow. “For what?”

“For saving me! I, I thought they were going to burn me for real. And you said, you said you wouldn’t come to help me…” She lowered her head as her voice trailed off.

“I… changed my mind. Forget about that,” Adagio said. Sonata couldn’t remember the last time she heard her speak like that, without her usual confidence. It made her chest heavy, until she properly processed Adagio’s words. She wasn’t going to abandon her after all. Sonata’s worries disappeared in an instant.

“Here’s your stuff, by the way,” Aria said, holding out a leather bag. Sonata snatched it with a “thanks” and sat on the floor, searching through the contents as if she had been given an unknown present, smiling every time she discovered and took out a toy. A rag doll, a spinning top, a ripped leather ball, a whistle… and a purple siren figurine.

Adagio leaned towards it. “Is that Aria?” Sonata nodded.

“If you need something else that reminds you of home, you can take my book.”

Curious, Sonata grabbed the tome and flipped through the pages. The text and numerous illustrations described in detail the Emerald Reef, the sirens, even the land of Equestria and the ponies, rekindling ancient almost-forgotten memories. For a moment, the ship and the world seemed to disappear as she imagined herself swimming under the Equestrian seas alongside her parents.

At one point, she recognized the siren picture that she had once borrowed to commission her Aria toy.

On several other pages, the paper and ink were blurred in some spots as if drops of water had fallen on them. Sonata guessed that Aria had carelessly let her book open under the rain.

Adagio’s voice brought Sonata back to reality. “Aria?”

Aria, who had been looking through the window, slowly turned to face Adagio. She looked so sullen that it sent a shiver down Sonata’s spine.

“You haven’t been looking well all day,” Adagio continued. “Is it because of what I said yesterday?”

Aria sighed. “You were right. I don’t care about this world. And… I never wanted to be immortal. Especially not here.”

“Look, I’m sorry. It’s my fault if we’re here –”

“No, it isn’t.” Aria let her back slid down against the wall as she sat on the floor. “I never really blamed you. The real responsible is that unicorn wizard; I knew that. But now we’re stuck here and… I don’t want to continue.”

Adagio sat down next to Aria. Sonata couldn’t quite understand what was going on through Aria’s mind; she rarely did. But she wanted to do something. She crawled to Aria’s other side.

“I’m sure you can find something you enjoy here. You just have to try. Hey, how about we play the card game I learned in jail? I just need cards.”

Aria frowned. “No, Sonata…”

“She may be right, actually,” Adagio said. Sonata almost squealed with delight.

“What?”

“Not about the cards,” Adagio explained. “What I mean is, we’ve spent all the time we’ve been here looking for a way back, mostly because that’s what I wanted. I felt I had to make up for bringing us here. As you said, it’s probably futile. It’s time we do things you two want to do.”

Sonata jumped up, unable to contain her enthusiasm. “Oooh! Can we go back to Nürnberg? I want to get more toys!”

Adagio smiled. “We will, but I want to listen to Aria first.”

“But there’s nothing I want to do.”

“You just have to try new things. We’ll see what we can find in the next town.”

“I know what we can do right now!” Sonata exclaimed. “Let’s cause a mutiny!”

Adagio and Aria both laughed, which made Sonata all warm inside. They stood up, and Aria raised a hand to her pendant, smiling deviously. “Now that sounds fun.”

Adagio moved towards the door. “All right, girls. It’s time to make this journey a little more exciting.”

As Sonata stepped out of the cabin and into the sunlight, she felt like nothing could ever go wrong again.

~ The End ~

Author's Note

Special thanks to Sweets82 for pre-reading.

That was my very first story. Hope you enjoyed it!
Constructive criticism is welcome.

Thanks for reading!

1. Hungry Heart

Aria was woken up by a loud sound. Groaning, she opened her eyes and scanned her surroundings, looking for the source of the nuisance. Her gaze fell upon the blue-haired girl sitting on the floor next to the bed she was lying on. The girl – or rather, siren – threw a ball at an assortment of small wooden horses and soldiers, knocking down half of them.

Aria winced at the resulting cacophony and hauled herself to a sitting position. “Sonata, I’m trying to sleep.”

Sonata looked at her with a blank expression, tilting her head. “But, it’s the middle of the day. You’re supposed to sleep during the night, you know.”

Aria crossed her arms. “But I’m bored.” She glanced at the other bed in the inn room, the one Adagio had claimed for herself. Adagio had left earlier in the morning to talk with townsfolk and get information about stuff Aria didn’t care about, and Aria had quickly run out of things to do.

Sonata stood up and poked Aria’s arm with a toy horse. “Then come and play with me! I know a lot of games.”

“No. Just let me sleep.” Aria brushed the horse away with the back of her hand. She couldn’t comprehend what entertainment Sonata found in those things. Toys were for children a few years old, not for sirens several centuries old.

With a humph, Sonata left Aria’s side and picked up her ball. Aria gritted her teeth as the puerile siren showed no intention of avoiding making noise.

Her thoughts got distracted by a growing sensation of emptiness in her heart, though she knew the feeling was actually coming from the red jewel attached to her necklace.

Back in Equestria, this gem had been a part of her body. Now, as long as it stayed next to the top of her chest, where it used to be, it would still work like a part of her body, and she would be able to feel the power flowing inside – which was, at that moment, a very small amount. The emptiness was almost painful, and the desire to fill that hole in her heart was becoming increasingly difficult to suppress.

“Say, how about we go and find some negative energy to feed on?”

“Not now, I’m playing,” Sonata replied while placing her fallen toys upright.

Moving to the side of the bed, Aria groaned. She couldn’t believe the other siren preferred those infantile pastimes to food. “You’re such a baby, Sonata.”

In retaliation, said baby hurled her leather ball into Aria’s chest, cutting her breath. Mentally cursing her, Aria grabbed the projectile, and with her other hand, reached for the knife she had placed on the nightstand. She stabbed the ball, intending to rip it to shreds.

As soon as the blade pierced the leather, Sonata shrieked as if the knife had been aimed at her, with such force that Aria flinched. Sonata jumped on her and tried to snatch the ball out of her hands, apparently too stupid to realize that she placed herself directly on the knife’s path. Aria struggled to keep the ball in her grasp while finding a way to stab it again without any risk of accidentally harming her fellow siren.

The battle lasted a few seconds before they were interrupted by a loud voice.

“Just what are you doing!?”

They both froze and looked at the interloper, a girl with a large mass of orange hair who stood with her arms crossed in front of the now opened door, glaring daggers at them.

“Hey Adagio!” Sonata said with a large smile as she jumped next to her, while Aria sat on the side of her bed.

Adagio slammed the door behind her. “Can’t I leave you two alone without you breaking something?”

Aria furtively tossed the slashed ball to the floor. “She started it,” she and Sonata said at the same time. Adagio massaged her forehead.

Aria hesitantly changed the subject. “So, anyway, I’m hungry. Can we go and get some food?”

“Oh! I’m kind of hungry too,” Sonata added, holding her pendant between her fingers. Aria rolled her eyes. Couldn’t she have realized that earlier?

Adagio sighed. “Fine. Maybe that will calm you down.” Sonata let out a squeal of satisfaction while Aria stood up and smirked. Adagio continued, “We’ll find a tavern and do as usual.” The two other sirens nodded. Sing, turn people against each other, and collect the negative energy. They knew the drill.

Aria inserted her knife in its leather sheath. As she attached it to her belt, Adagio said, “Aria, you should put that knife away. We don’t want to look suspicious.”

Aria looked at her weapon. She enjoyed carrying it; its presence reassured her. With a sigh, she detached it and tossed it in her bag at the foot of the bed.

The three sirens left the room. As they passed through the main hall of the inn, Sonata waved goodbye to the innkeeper. Aria couldn’t understand how Sonata could be so nice towards people, and yet so malicious when talking about all the things they could make them do. Her niceness, unlike Adagio’s, couldn’t be an act, since she was too stupid for that, but when they had charmed the innkeeper on the previous day to get the room for free, Sonata had been jumping excitedly like a child receiving a new toy.

Following Adagio outside the inn, Aria couldn’t help frowning as her gaze wandered over the scenery. Old wooden houses were pressed against each other along narrow, dirty streets where animals wandered about, while people were going about their daily lives. It looked just like any other town they had visited in the past decades, bland and uninspiring. Aria didn’t even know the name of this town, nor did she care.

The only thing making the trip more annoying than boring was Sonata’s antics. Aria had to pull her back in line several times when she strayed from the group to pet a horse or scare chickens.

At a corner, while Adagio asked passersby for directions, Aria noticed a pair of armed soldiers marching nearby. Now that was unusual. She tapped Adagio’s shoulder once she was done conversing.

“Do you know why there’s a patrol here during the day?”

Adagio nodded. “I have heard of it. It’s because of the recent witch craze. The mayor raised a special militia to reassure the citizens.”

Aria remembered the reason of their presence in this town. They had heard that a few people had been accused of witchcraft, and Adagio had decided to come here and investigate, even though Aria was convinced it was a bad idea. In fact, she was almost sure townsfolk were looking at them with suspicion. She hoped they wouldn’t stay in this town for too long.

“There,” Adagio finally said, pointing at the hanging sing of a tavern representing a red lion. She stopped before the entrance and turned toward her companions. “Ready, girls?”

Aria nodded, already imagining herself filling her heart with sweet negative energy.

“It smells so good!” Sonata exclaimed, jumping on place and clenching her hands together. “Say, can we get some food, I mean, human food, while we’re here?”

Aria groaned. “That isn’t what we’re here for. Can’t you focus a little?” she said, pressing a finger against Sonata’s chest. Sonata brushed it away.

“I like food, okay? Maybe you wouldn’t be so grumpy if you ate more often.”

“Enough, you two,” Adagio grumbled through gritted teeth. “We’re going inside.” She entered the building and motioned the other sirens to follow.

The tavern’s interior was poorly lit, but Aria had to admit that, by this world’s standard, the atmosphere was rather jovial. Sitting at the various tables, people were talking, eating, drinking, playing, laughing.

That wasn’t going to last, though, she would make sure of that. The three sirens looked at each other with malicious grins.

Their jewels shone when the first notes left their throats. In perfect harmony, they sang the traditional siren song while they paced between the tables. The beautiful melody resonated through the tavern. Patrons looked at the singers with curiosity.

Then Adagio added words to the tune. Lyrics about not trusting your peers, about your neighbors being thieves and your fellow players being cheaters.

The sirens had done this routine regularly since their arrival in this world. Walking around the establishment, singing and dancing, getting people’s attention, and letting them hear the sirens’ singing voices long enough to fall under their spell.

The low amount of power available in this world was restricting their voices’ ranges and abilities. This meant they could only charm people who were near enough – which is why they had to move around as they sang – and they could only bend people’s opinions and thoughts to some extent. Fortunately, experience had shown that getting people or ponies to argue with each other was surprisingly easy.

The sirens made a few dance moves, waving their arms in synchrony. It didn’t add anything to the spell, but it enhanced the spectacle. As much as Aria despised humans, she always enjoyed showing off her performing skills while less talented people watched her with admiration.

It didn’t take long before the patrons stopped looking at her and started looking at each other with suspicion. This was no less satisfying for Aria, since they had fallen under her charm, and were taking her words as truth.

* * * * * *

In a corner of the tavern, an old man sat alone, eating stew. As his age had rendered him all but deaf, he didn’t seek socializing; instead, he was coming here only for food and drinks.

When he saw three unfamiliar girls walking around, moving their arms and swinging their hips, he didn’t question it. But not long after, he noticed a change in the behavior of the other patrons. They began throwing distrustful glances, pointing fingers at each other. That was already strange, but just a few second later, a man punched another in the jaw, and soon a brawl involving half of the tavern erupted. Meanwhile, the three mysterious girls were watching the scene with sinister grins on their faces.

The old man could only come to one conclusion, which sent a shiver down his spine. His spoon slipped out of his hand. The whole town was in danger; he had to do something. Making sure the girls were not looking at him, he quietly retreated towards the exit and left the tavern to seek help.

* * * * * *

The sirens’ pendants had another property: in their proximity, the ambient negative energy manifested itself as a green mist that other people seemed unable to see. As the sirens sang the last notes, the mist shifted, attracted by the red jewels, and plunged into them. Aria could feel her heart absorbing the negativity and the hole inside of her being filled.

And yet, she wanted more. Most of the hole was still there, but they had taken all the energy available. There wasn’t any more mist even though the patrons weren’t calming down.

In fact, the atmosphere got worse. People started physically assaulting each other while food and cups flew across the room. Despite her lingering hunger, Aria couldn’t help smiling at the chaotic scene, knowing she had been involved in its inception.

From the corner of her eye, she saw Adagio walk away, and followed her to a table in a corner, where Sonata was seated and helping herself from an unattended bowl of stew. Aria repressed an urge to slap herself.

“Feeling better?” Sonata asked through her full mouth.

Aria raised a hand to her pendant. “Barely.” She sighed softly as unwelcome memories rushed back to her mind. In the past, it would only take the negative energy of a dozen ponies to fill her heart.

“We should go back to the inn now,” Adagio said. “Staying here for too long could get dangerous.”

The other sirens agreed. Sonata stood up and, carrying the bowl, she kept eating while they sneaked out. Aria wanted to point out that they were not supposed to take the utensils away, before deciding that it was none of her concern.

The commotion from the fight quieted down once they were outside. They had only walked a few dozen feet away from the tavern when they encountered an old man accompanied by two soldiers, walking in their direction. Pointing at the sirens, the man shouted, “There they are! Those three girls!”

They sirens stopped. Aria clenched her fists, fearing the worst and hoping it wasn’t what she expected. As the soldiers walked up to them, Sonata positioned herself behind Adagio. Around them, people gathered, watching with curiosity.

“You three are being accused of witchcraft,” one of the soldiers said. “Come with us.”

And that was precisely why Aria thought coming to this town was a terrible idea. She could hear a few gasps among the onlookers, and whispers of “witches!”

“We are not witches!” Sonata said with a trembling voice. “We’re sirens!”

Aria immediately shoved her elbow in Sonata’s side, ignoring the resulting cry of pain. How could Sonata be so stupid?

Adagio jumped between them and the soldiers. “She means we’re performers. Would you like to hear a song?”

“No!” The soldier grabbed Adagio’s arm; his colleague grasped his halberd with both hands and walked behind the sirens, looking at them menacingly.

Aria didn’t know what Adagio’s plan was, but she wasn’t going to stand here and let herself be arrested. She had been imprisoned in the past, and she had hated it. Her mind raced, searching for the options.

It didn’t look like the soldiers would let them sing long enough to be charmed. Moreover, the onlookers were probably out of range. They always avoided singing in open air and in front of a crowd for that reason; there was a risk that people coming or going would notice something was wrong without falling under their spell.

Aria decided that the best course of action was to run. She normally didn’t use violence against living being – no matter how many times she had wanted to punch Sonata in the face, she never actually did. However, in this situation, violence seemed inevitable.

She snatched the bowl of stew from Sonata’s hands and threw it into the face of the soldier in front of them, then kicked him in the leg. The soldier let go of Adagio, and Aria instantly ran away, followed by her companions.

The soldiers, as well as some of the townsfolk, gave chase.

3. In the Dark

Hours passed uneventfully in the small cell. Sonata played cards with Rubyshine and the blue woman. Aria just sat, frowning and trying to cross her arms, regularly complaining about her empty stomach. The old woman kept staring at the wall, coughing once in a while.

As for Adagio, she waited for the jailer to return, chatting with the other prisoners, watching the card game, or peeking out the window. The crowd that had been gathered outside had now dispersed; fewer and fewer people could be seen in the streets as the sky darkened.

From the corner of her eyes, she occasionally spotted Aria and Sonata holding a hand to their neck, as if still wearing their pendants. Adagio’s own pendant was hidden under her dress, against her abdomen, withheld by her belt. It was too far from its original position to be effective, but at least she could retrieve it if necessary.

She didn’t want to spend any more time than necessary in this unpleasant place. She certainly wasn’t going to wait until the trial. Now that the streets were becoming empty, they had a chance to escape without being seen by someone who knew they were accused of witchcraft. If they could leave the town, then they’d be safe. Probably.

As the darkness shrouded the cell, the players stopped their game, unable to distinguish the cards. Sonata moved to sit next to Adagio. At dusk, a bell rang throughout the town, signaling the beginning of the curfew.

“We should go to bed now,” Rubyshine said.

Sonata looked around. “What bed?”

“We sleep on the ground.”

Sonata moaned. ”But it’s hard and cold!”

“We don’t have any other option right now,” Adagio said. She didn’t like the idea, being used to a certain level of comfort, but there was no way to escape at that moment.

Sonata leaned on Adagio and asked, in a whisper loud enough for everyone to hear, “Adagio, can I sleep on you?”

Adagio blinked. She looked at Sonata’s face to see if she was joking, but the darkness made it hard to discern anything. After a few seconds she asked, “Excuse me?”

“I want to use you as a pillow.”

Adagio pushed her away. “No, you cannot.”

Sonata turned towards the other siren. “Aria?”

“Don’t even ask.”

Adagio ignored Sonata’s additional moans as her attention was caught elsewhere. She heard footsteps approaching, and the hallway brightened. The jailer appeared behind the door, holding a lantern that illuminated the cell with a yellow glow. He glanced around the room and counted the prisoners under his breath.

In a chorus of clanks, Aria dashed next to Adagio and grabbed her dress; startled, Adagio recoiled a few inches, thinking for a moment that she was being attacked, before Aria whispered, “Come on, do it!”

Adagio knew what Aria was talking about, but a part of her thought that breaking out in the middle of the night was a bad idea, due to all the criminals roaming at those hours, and the town’s gates being closed.

But Aria was shivering, and the distress pervading her face made Adagio’s heart pinch. She turned her head towards the third siren. Sonata was staring at her with pleading eyes, and maybe it was due to the lighting, but she looked paler than usual.

Adagio made her decision. She stood up, pushing Aria away, and reached for the pendant inside her dress. Holding it next to the base of her neck, she addressed the jailer as he was about to leave.

“Excuse me, sir. Would you like to hear a… lullaby?”

The guard looked at her with curiosity, and she sang. Note after note flowed from her throat, imbued with power from her jewel, weaving a beautiful melody.

Birds should not be confined
Let them fly with the wind
Come here and listen to me
Open the door; set us free

Soon a green shine flashed in his eyes, and his gaze became empty. Adagio kept singing while a malicious smile crept across her face. Another pathetic creature had fallen under her spell.

Once the song was over, the jailer spoke up. “I’ll gladly let you go, beautiful lady. I don’t think you should be here. But I can’t release your companions.”

Sonata rushed to the door. “Why not?”

Adagio clutched the jewel in her hand. She knew why. That was due to the limitation of her power. Because she had been the only one to sing, the jailer only fell under her charm, and was only willing to do favors for her.

If her voice had been more powerful, she would have been able to make him do anything, and he wouldn’t have thought twice before releasing everyone. Nostalgic memories of Equestria rushed to her mind, from a time when she could gain total control over nearly every pony who had heard her voice…

She brushed the thoughts aside, having important matters to attend to. Even with a weak voice, she still had the option to manipulate the jailer with mere words.

Faking an innocent smile, she said, “I need them to escort me through the night. You wouldn’t want me to get assaulted by criminals, would you?”

He scratched his head. “Well…”

“If releasing them is such a problem, don’t worry; they will come back here once I’ve reached my home.”

“What!? I don’t w–”

Adagio shoved her elbow into Sonata’s side, cutting her speech.

The jailer sighed and reached for his keys. The two sirens stepped aside. All prisoners stayed silent; only the metallic sound of the opening lock resonated in the cell. He entered, walked to Aria, and placed the lantern on the floor. Grabbing her wrist, he proceeded to remove her irons.

As soon as she was unbound, she leaped to her feet and hurried to the door, muttering something that Adagio didn’t discern, but judging by the frown that hadn’t left Aria’s face, it was probably not pleasant. She could have at least pretended to be grateful. Aria had never understood the necessity to feign cordialness.

The sirens and the jailer left the cell. As he locked the door, Sonata waved goodbye to her former cellmates.

“Good riddance,” the woman replied.

The sirens went back to the room where their possessions were stored. The jailer returned the key of the inn room to Adagio; she attached it to her belt, even though she wasn’t planning to use it again.

“Wait!” Sonata exclaimed as he closed the chest. “What about our pendants?”

He shook his head. “Since you two are going to come back, I have no reason to give those jewels back. I’d rather keep them as insurance.”

Aria growled and clenched her fists and teeth. Adagio feared she was about to do something reckless again. She had to act quickly.

“Can you at least let them look at the jewels for a few seconds? Just to make sure they haven’t been damaged.”

The jailer complied and handed Aria and Sonata one jewel each. They couldn’t tell them apart, but it didn’t matter. After exchanging wicked smiles, the three sirens sang. Soon the jailer changed his mind, and with his agreement, the girls left the jail with their possessions.

The last lights of the day had faded away, and the moon was hidden by the walls of the nearby houses, turning the streets into a black mass scattered with the faint yellow glows of lamps and candles behind some windows, and the occasional wandering lantern of the watchmen.

Adagio cautiously advanced through the darkness, her companions tailing after her. The sirens’ footsteps and murmurs were the only sounds audible in the eerie silence of the night.

“Do you know how to go back to the inn?” Sonata whispered.

Adagio sighed. “We’re not returning to the inn; the front door should be locked by now. We have to leave the town. We won’t be safe as long as we stay here.”

“All our stuff is in the inn room,” Aria protested.

Adagio didn’t like having to explain everything, especially in such a situation, but her comrades’ inability to figure out things by themselves left her no choice.

Sonata grabbed Adagio’s arm. “But, all my toys…”

“We’ll replace them. Now, be quiet and follow me.”

Adagio’s plan was to find one of the town’s gates and convince the guards to open it. On the way, they had to avoid the patrolling watchmen, as the girls would be brought back to the jail if they were found outside during curfew hours. Of course, they could simply charm the watchmen, but it seemed safer not to get caught.

They also had to avoid thieves and assassins. Not carrying a source of light had the advantage of making the sirens invisible, hidden in the veil of the night. Hopefully, this would let them stay away from trouble. Of course, it also had an obvious disadvantage.

“Do you have any idea where you’re going?” Aria asked.

Though she wouldn’t admit it, Adagio was lost. The darkness made all the streets look the same, when she could see them at all. It didn’t help that she was unfamiliar with the town, having only arrived there a little more than a day ago. Her only hope was to advance in a single direction until they find the town’s walls, then walk along it until they reach a gate.

“Of course I do.”

They meandered for a while, evading patrols twice. As time passed and she couldn’t tell if they had made any significant progress, Adagio found herself sweating increasingly despite the coolness of the air. She tried her best to keep her composure; after all, the other sirens were relying on her.

Finally, Adagio let out a sigh of relief as they arrived in front of a gate. Two armed guards were keeping it, one posted on each side of the massive wooden door. The sirens stepped forward in the light of their lanterns.

“Who goes there?” a guard asked.

Adagio smiled and bowed slightly. “Good evening, sirs. My companions and I regrettably lost track of the time and missed the bell. Could you please open the door for us?”

Behind her, she could hear Aria whisper, “Why don’t we just sing?”

Adagio wanted to avoid attracting attention, but soon found she had no choice as the other guard said, “Hey, aren’t you witches?”

Adagio sweated again. “Not at all,” she said, her voice sounding less confident. “Let me explain. With a song.”

The sirens’ beautiful singing voices resonated through the night, though they tried to keep the volume low. In the lyrics, Adagio made sure to specify that they were ordinary girls and not witches.

Once the song was over, the first guard said, “I’d love to help you, but I can’t open the door. Don’t have the keys.”

Adagio froze and blinked. “You don’t?”

“No, the sergeant keeps them. We just guard the door.”

Adagio clenched her fists as her mind raced to find something to say or do. “We need a place to spend the night. Could you help us?”

The guards looked at each other hesitantly, then the second one said, “Normally, since you’re out during curfew, I should bring you to the jail,” – Aria groaned – “but, well, I guess I can make an exception for you and lodge you for the night.” Adagio grinned. “Come with me.”

As they walked away, the other guard spoke up. “Hey, are you just going to let me guard the gate alone?”

“Just give me a minute. I’ll be back soon.”

The sirens followed the guard, who introduced himself on the way as Midnight Storm, to his home, a wooden house located a couple blocks away from the gate, where he lived alone. After unlocking the door and leading them inside, he used the flame of his lantern to light an oil lamp. He left to resume his duty, and Adagio locked the door behind him. The sirens found themselves alone in a dark room, gathered around the lamp.

“At least we have a place to stay tonight,” Adagio said, looking around the narrow room. The lamp rested on a table placed against the wall. The only other furniture visible was a bench under the table, a large cupboard, and a stool in the back, next to an open hearth with glowing embers. A staircase led above, presumably to the bedroom.

Adagio held the lamp and climbed the stairs, creaking the wood with each step. The room upstairs contained a large bed with a wooden chest at its foot, and a stool that may have served as a nightstand, on which Adagio put the lamp.

Once Aria and Sonata had joined her, Adagio spoke up. “We’ll leave the town tomorrow morning. We’ll wait until mass, when the streets are mostly empty. That way we’ll have less chance of being recognized. Then we’ll keep travelling during the next days just in case. Maybe leave the country…”

“That was an awful plan,” Aria spat, not trying to hide the anger in her voice. Sitting on the bed with her arm crossed, she glared at Adagio.

Adagio felt the heat rise in her face. She remembered their conversation in the cell earlier. Apparently, Aria had never changed her mind, simply waiting for the right time to resume the argument.

“All right, speak up. Are you still blaming me for what happened? Do you think it’s my fault if we have the town after us?”

“Of course it’s your fault. You wanted to come here. A town full of crazy people who see witches everywhere. Just so we could discover that there isn’t any magic here.”

Adagio clenched her fists and raised her voice. “I’m trying to find a way out of this world!”

“It’s been centuries!” Aria jumped to her feet, her voice shaking slightly. “We’ve crossed half of the world following all kinds of rumors and it has never led us anywhere. After all the times we’ve tried and failed, how come you haven’t given up yet? There is no Equestrian magic in this world. This should be clear by now.”

Aria took a deep breath. Adagio stayed silent, looking at her impassibly. Sonata remained aside, biting her fingers while throwing glances back and forth at them.

Aria continued, “And even if we did find Equestrian magic here, it would probably be just pathetic banished creatures like us, and not a way back home. We’ve been wasting our time, all these years.” She added, slowly, “We wouldn’t even be stuck in this horrible world if it weren’t for you.”

Adagio rushed forward and grabbed Aria by the top of her dress, bringing their faces inches from each other. “I never forced you to follow me. If you didn’t want to take part in the plan, you should have just swum back to your reef.”

As Aria struggled, Adagio eventually released her grip. She put her hands on her hips, and with a softer voice, she added, “And by the way, ever since we’ve been in this world, I’ve never seen you come up with a more productive idea. You don’t care about anything here, and you don’t think we can go back to Equestria. What would you have us do, then? Stay in bed until we starve to death?”

Aria crossed her arms again and looked away, grinding her teeth. A few seconds of silence passed, comforting Adagio in her convictions. Part of her felt it was time to stop the conversation, but her anger clouded her reason, and she continued.

“If you disagree with my decisions so much, why are you even sticking with me? You could have parted ways long ago. Just leave right now, so I won’t have to see your sullen face again.”

Sonata gasped, causing Aria to look at her before facing Adagio again.

“You wanted to scold Sonata.”

Adagio immediately turned toward the third siren, her anger shifting targets. “Yes. You.”

Sonata became paler and took a few steps backwards as Adagio approached, until her back hit a wall.

“What did you have in mind, telling people we were sirens?”

“But, we are!” Sonata replied, her voice trembling and uncertain.

“No one is supposed to know. Is that so hard to understand? Are you trying to get us in trouble?”

Sonata shrank and hid her head behind her arms, whimpering.

“Think before you speak!” Adagio spat. She considered going further, but finally her reason emerged, and her anger soothed down.

Aria was standing in front of the now opened wooden chest, which apparently didn’t have a lock, and was untying her belt. Adagio drew near and peeked inside. It predictably contained clothes from Midnight Storm, but nothing that seemed useful to them.

Aria removed her dress, then placed it and her belt in the chest, keeping only her undertunic on. She untied her hair, removed her shoes, and without a word or a glance to her companions, lay in the bed, her back turned to them.

Adagio briefly wondered if she had gone too far, before turning her attention back to the chest.

“We’ll have an easier time going unrecognized if we cover our hair and wear different clothes,” she said, mostly to herself. “But it doesn’t look like our host can help us.”

“We all have hooded capes in the inn room,” Sonata timidly said.

“I know, but we can’t go back there. We’ll have to do without.”

Adagio decided there was nothing left to do for the day. She and Sonata undressed like Aria had done, and they went to bed. Adagio lain in the center and told Sonata to blow off the lamp.

Sonata perked up as she picked up the lamp, as if she was about to do something particularly exciting. She held the flame next to her mouth, and in a puff, the room went dark.

* * * * * *

The ring of the day bell resonated in the room, waking Adagio up. She partially opened her eyes. The faint light of dawn filtered through the shutters. Though it was still dark, Adagio was able to distinguish shapes.

The first thing she noticed was that Sonata wasn’t in the bed. Aria, on the other hand, was still there, unmoving, her back turned to Adagio, and a hand around her pendant.

Adagio got up and cautiously went down the stairs. On the ground floor, she opened the shutters, letting more light penetrate. Then she noticed something was very wrong.

The door was ajar, and Sonata was nowhere to be found.