Sirens: The documentary seen
Author's Note
No sad content yet. You can skip if you just want to get to the main story.
Prologue
Twilight's third visit to the human world involved a task that should've been undertaken the last time: finding the Sirens. Through some reconnaissance, the girls were able to locate them some distance away from the town. They were slightly surprised by what they discovered. The Sirens were living in a very nice two story house, and it was apparent that they weren't short on money.
"We've been here for a thousand years, wouldn't it be weird if we didn't have some amount of money after all that time?" Adagio explained a little coldly when questioned.
After explaining that they meant no harm and wanted to give them a second chance, the Sirens reluctantly agreed on two conditions. That they be given their singing back and be given a chance to return to Equestria.
The latter turned out to be the hardest obviously, but not just because everyone was hesitant about it. Celestia permitted them to step through the portal so as to make amends, but when all three attempted to pass, they couldn't. They received a painful shock when coming into contact with the portal. Twilight deduced that since it was Starswirl who banished them, only he could allow them to return, and he was dead as far as anypony knew. Twilight swore that she would do everything in her power to find a way to reverse what Starswirl had done, but she has yet to find anything. Before departing, the Sirens asked that she check on the status of their species.
During the time between Twilight's fourth and fifth visits, the sirens had made some good progress with making amends and being forgiven. Even at a slightly better rate than Sunset, who did her best to hide her jealousy. They were given some small leniency after explaining that what they did was in their nature, though the other students were still weary of them.
When Twilight returned for the fifth time, she informed them that sirens weren't as prevalent in Equestria as they had been a thousand years ago. They were almost regarded as legend if not for historical and scientific accounts. The best she could come up with is that they were mostly seen, albeit rarely, in the open ocean near deep waters.
This information increased the three girls certainty of the decision they had made in private. They told Twilight that staying in the human world was most likely the better option for them, though not the preferred one. After spending a thousand years here, growing more used to it and somewhat fond of it, they felt it would be a better home. Not to mention the catching up they would have to do if they returned. They were certain that a few of their species customs and practices most likely changed in their time away. They also had no idea if the longevity they had somehow retained after the battle would be affected after crossing through. They weren't exactly eager to see if they would turn to dust.
Certain aspects of the human world became a silver lining for the Sirens. Adagio had grown quite accustomed to her incredibly attractive body and using it to her advantage. She had done so in Equestria, but it was more difficult when they all basically had the same body structure. And her large mass of hair was like a crown to her.
Aria had been a moody girl in Equestria, but in the human world, there was a much greater abundance of things to enjoyably hate. Such as the Twilight novels, the Fifty Shades of Grey novels, Justin Beiber (she wet herself during his roast), just to name a few.
Sonata was fond of tacos, a few anime's, Japanese culture apparently, tacos, a skill in cooking, sharing thoughts with Pinkie, tacos, anything with Amanda Seyfried after watching Mean Girls and connecting with her character, oh yeah and tacos.
Twilight also brought with her a magic healing gem to address the Siren's first condition. She explained that with an incantation, it should bring back their singing abilities without their magical properties. And it worked, much to everyone's surprise, and the Sirens gratitude.
After their acceptance into the group, Pinkie invited them to their sleepovers every time. The first few were slightly uncomfortable, but they eventually became enjoyable. Aria turned out to be fond of sports, and would get into intense debates with Rainbow Dash and sometimes Applejack. Sonata and Pinkie had their talks of just about anything while also enjoying baking with one another. Adagio loved talking fashion with Rarity, though still wouldn't allow her access to her hair.
"Please?"
"No"
"Please?"
"No"
"Pa-le-he-he-heaaaaaaaase!"
"No one touches my hair but me, unless I allow it."
"Oh but darling, you must allow me to work on it. The possibilities are haunting my dreams."
"So you've been dreaming about me have you?" Adagio said with a suggestive smirk.
"Don't change the subject"
The back and forth of begging and rejecting happened more than once, and always ended with Rarity giving up after half an hour.
When Twilight wrote of her next visit, Pinkie decided to do something different with their sleep over.
Sirens: The documentary seen
Cries, communication, and hallucinations
[Warning: A bit of summarization of the documentary]
The swirl of some kind of vortex was the last thing they saw before being dropped into open waters. Adagio swam up and breached the surface, coughing up water after feeling the foreign sensation of suffocating underwater. Adagio looked around in confusion and shock, seeing that it was suddenly night time and there was a mild storm. The waves weren't massive or crazy, but still difficult to navigate somehow.
"Aria! Sonata!" Adagio called out to her companions who she felt were like sisters to her, but didn't receive a reply until a minute later.
"Adagio!"
"Aria! Where are you?!" Adagio looked around until she saw a strange figure waving to her. It had Aria's color but it looked different from her. It was holding another of it's kind in one it's arms, said individual appearing to be unconscious. When Adagio brought up her own arm to wave to the creature, she saw a hand rather than a hoof. It was then she realized that her and her companions had been transformed into another species.
"Adagio! I see rocks!" the transformed Aria pointed to a grouping of rocks sticking out of the water behind Adagio. They appeared to be sufficient to rest on. Aria began swimming towards them with some difficulty due to carrying the unconscious Sonata. Adagio swam to her and grabbed hold of Sonata's other arm, and they swam for the rocks.
They pulled themselves onto the surface that had been smoothed down by the waves after so many years. Aria coughed up water she had accidentally let in during the swim before tending to Sonata. She turned the girl over and placed her head near the edge before rubbing her back from bottom to top, occasionally patting it.
Adagio soon joined in, fearing for her companions well being. Luckily, all three of them had observed sailors and ponies on land do a similar action to expel water from a drowning individual's lungs. Sonata eventually coughed up water into the ocean and breathed deeply to her companion's relief. When she brought herself up, she backed away in fear of the strange creatures she saw.
"Sonata it's okay" Aria assured her "It's us."
"Yes Sonata, it is"
Sonata looked at the two of them unsurely before looking down at herself. She began to breathe erratically as she looked over her new body, scared and confused. Aria soon came over and embraced her, whispering to her that everything would be okay.
Adagio meanwhile inspected their new forms. They now had long, admittedly pretty hair on their heads rather than fins. Their hooves were replaced with hands, their tales with legs, and their scales with hairless skin. Thanks to a travelling circus passing through the land they resided near when controlling others, she had some idea of what they now were. Aside from the feet, Adagio surmised that they were some sort of ape or another creature of a simian nature. Not one that she had ever seen, but one apparently capable of speech.
Adagio then raised her head and let out of scream that was a mixture of rage and fear, but the fear was more prominent.
"τι συνέβη?! Adagio!" Sonata repeated herself in English when she got no reply from Adagio "What happened?!"
Adagio was now crouched forward, breathing heavily with her hands on the rocky surface. Her new hands then curled into fists as she began to shake with rage, and she vowed an eternal hatred of the unicorn that did this to them.
"I don't know Sonata" Adagio told the youngest of the three as she approached to embrace them "I don't know." The three girls huddled together, sharing their warmth as Sonata began to release tears of fear and despair. Aria held her tears back to stay strong for Sonata, while Adagio closed her eyes as she held onto her companions. The trio soon drifted off into a depressed sleep, unaware that they were being watched by a figure in the water.
The individual had been swimming in the uneasy waters when it saw three figures land in the sea from above. It's pod had taken refuge in an underwater cave to ride out the storm. It followed them from below until they reached the rock formation and brought themselves out. It swam up to the surface some distance away to observe these strange creatures that appeared somewhat similar to it's own species.
It had caught glimpses of creatures like these when it swam near land, and was warned away from them. But when one of them let out a scream, it was startled to find that it understood what the creature was feeling. It was scared, and confused, and angry. The individual watched as the three creatures slipped into slumber before remembering the nature of the waves. It dived back down to rejoin it's pod before the waves could pull it way from the entrance to the cave. It made no mention of the creatures to it's pod as it rejoined it's mate and youngling.
"When did this come out?"
"Adagio, what's going on?" Sunset asked. Adagio turned to Sunset with a serious face and repeated her question, emphasizing each word.
"2012" Pinkie answered "Why? What is going on?"
"They actually found them" Sonata said in wonder.
"There's no way they did" Aria argued "If this came out in 2012, it would've had a bigger impact. Scientists would be going crazy."
"We need to watch the rest" Sonata said simply.
"Whoa, hold on" Twilight said "What are guys talking about? Who is 'them'?"
Adagio let out a sigh before responding. "Them....the subject of this documentary."
"But I thought you said there weren't any-" Twilight addressed Rainbow but was cut off by Aria.
"Well she was wrong, okay?" the twin tailed girl said with an attitude before turning her head away with a sorrowful look "They do exist here."
"You've seen them?" Fluttershy asked with both wonder and slight skepticism.
"We've met them" Sonata responded while staring at the black screen "Can we get to watching now?"
"Wait, you have to tell us about this" Twilight insisted.
"We will" Adagio claimed "After we see all of it."
"But-"
"We need to see what's on here" Adagio said.
"Um, Sony" Pinkie said nervously "I don't think you'll want to see everything"
"Yes I do" Sonata said before turning to Pinkie with emotional eyes "I need to see everything."
"........Okay" Pinkie said finally, anxious of what the three girls were about to see. The three sirens sat next to each other with Sonata in the middle, Adagio to her right, and Aria to her left. The other girls shifted in place, somewhat uneasy at the turn of events, and Sonata hit play.
The boy's official statement of finding a body had been changed, and the Navy took the remains of what had been found. "And I believe I know what it is that they took." A CG creation of a webbed hand pressed against the small window of a water tank before cutting to black and the title appeared. Mermaids The Body Found
The girls looked to the three sirens, who just continued to look at the screen intently.
The narrator described the mass whale beaching in Washington state in 2004 and the arrival of a NOAA research team (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) looking into the cause, the arrival shown through reenactment. One of the three marine biologists had linked past whale beachings to the Navy testing experimental sonar weapons, which lead to the program's suspension. A resurgence of the tests was thought to be the cause of the beaching. The other two scientists have agreed to speak about the events.
A section of the beach was closed off, and men in hazmat suits were investigating something that couldn't be seen. Aria noticeably narrowed her eyes in curiosity and leaned forward when she saw this. Adagio cocked an eyebrow while Sonata stayed the same. Fluttershy looked away when tissue samples were taken from the whales, even though the on-screen whales were fake.
The scientists expected to see that the organs of the whales had collapsed as they usually do when they're beached without water to support the weight. Instead they found lesions that were consistent with blunt force trauma. The theory was that the Navy's apparent new sonar used infrasound, low frequency though very powerful sound waves that travelled at great speed and force that could be weaponized. They believed that this actually killed the whales instead of scaring them into the shallow waters.
"Barbaric" Aria said with venom in her voice. Hearing her disapprove of something violent was something new and unsettling to the other girls.
NOAA thankfully had arrays that record audio in the waters, and they brought one out to see if their theory was correct. A reenactment played with the actual recording. At first there were whale vocalizations, which brought a small smile to Sonata's face, but then there was the priming of the sonar weapon, which was like a *bwaa*sound effect from a Christopher Nolan film. Sonata's smile became an uncertain frown, which spread to her sisters as silence followed, with a few sounds of uncertainty from the whales.
And then bam, there was the sound of an impact, soon followed by the scared and painful cries of the whales. Sonata let out a small gasp and placed a hand on her mouth, Adagio closed her eyes and turned away, and Aria slowly raised her hands to cover her ears, while her eyes conveyed anger and horror. Fluttershy had covered her ears and turned away after the priming sound. The faces of the rest of the girls also softened in sympathy and sadness.
"Sony" Pinkie said almost insistently as she reached for the remote, looking to stop the program to spare her friend the pain. But Sonata jerked her hand away with the remote. She didn't want to stop it.
"Brian was so preoccupied with cataloguing this sonic blast, that he almost missed what else was there." A different sound began, that drew the attention of everyone. It was exactly like the previous Bloop recording, but with the addition of pained cries. There much more vocalizations however, compared to the last one.
"There's so many of them" Sonata said as she recognized the vocalizations.
After explaining that they still had no idea what this creature was, shaky footage of a water tank in a Naval facility was played, which showed the previous CG webbed hand creation in its "original form." It was darker, slightly distorted and the hand put against the glass could barely be seen.
Sonata forwarded through the commercials, and a silhouetted individual with a distorted voice explained how the Navy knew that leaks were inevitable, but they've learned how to control them, such as branding the footage a fake. "What I can tell you, is that I've seen a creature in the Navy's possession. We took it after the first tests in Washington State." The sirens shifted themselves when footage of the sand covered body appeared again.
In the following months, the NOAA team responded to whale beachings happening on American coastlines, with other beachings occurring all over the globe. They began to hear of reports about bodies washing up with the whales. There were also reports of strange looking spears being found, which had been a past occurrence.
A German fisherman gives his account of reeling in fish from deep waters, and finding some killed with these spears. On one of his trips, something had crawled out of one of the nets they pulled in, and he took a picture. The picture showed a silhouetted figure in the water, the shape looking like a mermaid.
"Well that looks pretty fake" Aria commented in her usual tone.
"Definitely" Adagio agreed "The shape is too good."
"What about the spears?" Sunset asked.
"That's true" Sonata confirmed "We found a few of those ourselves."
"How?" AJ asked.
"We've had a few jobs in the fishing department" Aria explained "I remember we would laugh and roll our eyes at the guys who would rant about the sea people making them. But we always though about it ourselves. We even kept a few of those spears."
The NOAA team continued to build profiles of the beachings and continuously analyzed the recordings, making comparisons with whales and dolphins. But the recordings sounded more intricate and advanced, so they brought in help from an animal communications specialist. He was able to lower the recording to the range of human hearing, revealing a much more complex noise from thousands of signifiers. "So, what you see here is language. They're talking to one another."
This all fascinated Twilight, who was desperately wishing she had a notebook and pen. The three sirens were merely listening and staring at the screen as if having seen the face of God.
"Our theory was this was a new species of dolphin. But there's another theory we should've considered sooner: The Aquatic Ape Theory. It's a theory about us, really, about where we come from." Twilight sped out of the room and zoomed back in with a notebook and pencil she had found, momentarily startling the others. She had thankfully improved her handwriting during her previous visits and practiced every time she visited after. She sat next to Sunset beside the bed with an eager smile and wide open eyes.
"Why are we so different from other terrestrial animals? According to the theory, it's because there was a time when early humans spent much of their lives in the sea. And the traits that make us so different from other land animals are a legacy from this period."
Humans can control their breathing like marine mammals and can hold their breath longer than any other land animal. The human record for breath holding is nearly twenty minutes, almost as long as a dolphin can dive. They have more flexible spines than apes and partial webbing between their toes and fingers.
Infant's hold their breath automatically when submerged and instinctively know how to swim. Body hair is shed and there's a layer of insulating fat that retains warmth in water. Only marine mammals are born with as thick a fat layer.
"Hey why'd you pause it?" Twilight protested.
"You wanna tell her Dagi?" Sonata asked.
"Yeah, sorry to disappoint you princess" Adagio began "But we've looked into it and the theory has mostly been discredited. But it hasn't been falsified. It just lacks larger supporting evidence. Then again, we've met these....individuals, so there's clearly some truth to it."
"..........Oh" Twilight said, absorbing the information "Well I'm still gonna take as many notes as I can." Sonata resumed the program while she and everyone else suppressed a laugh.
Some modern humans are so well adapted to life underwater that some walk across the ocean floor while hunting. The Moken people of Southeast Asia can contract their pupils at will to control for water distortion and see underwater as clearly as though wearing a mask.
Humans however shed salty tears and sweat, where salt and water are valuable resources. Other land animals can conserve these efficiently but humans don't, because part of their evolution took place in the sea.
And although it's theoretical for humans, it is documented science that the lad to sea transition has happened before. Orcas evolved from a wolf like ancestor millions of years ago. A more recent example is brown bears that split off and became polar bears, who can hold their breath for minutes at a time and even developed webbing in their front paws to help them swim.
Twilight was soaking all this in like a sponge. "Even I didn't know that. I've never really studied evolution, though I find it kind of fascinating."
"Don't go tellin' that ta any of mah older relatives" Applejack stated "You'll end up feeling like you're back in Sunday School."
"There's Sunday School here?!" Twilight exclaimed happily.
"Oh right" Applejack remembered "Y'all don't have the same religions over in Equestria."
A dramatic reenactment played of early humans seven million years ago, possibly learning to stand upright from waiting in the shallows for food. The crustaceans and shellfish were rich in brain building nutrients that could advance intelligence over time. Earthquakes, volcanic activity and rising waters drove some further inland, while they retained traits developed from their time near the sea. Others however might have gone further into the water.
"Oh they did" Adagio said.
After seeing the group of early humans gathered on a rock in the middle of the ocean, Sonata was suddenly reminded of a hard moment in her life with her sisters. A ship they had been on had unexpectedly sunk, and they were some of the few who managed to survive by reaching a lifeboat in time.
Much like when they had first arrived in the human world, Sonata was comforted by her sisters as she cried herself to sleep. Aria never told anyone, but this had caused her to have a nightmare of Sonata falling out and drowning. She still remembered being the first to wake up the next day with a start, her face red from the tears her nightmare had caused.
They drifted in the open ocean away from the other survivors, and were isolated for a week. At least that's how long they thought it was; they lost track after day five. The small amount of fresh water they had brought with them ran out by day four, and the were sure they would die without having managed to bring food.
They had resolved to using they're enchanted voices to call out for help, hoping that any sort of sea vessel would be near enough to hear them. Adagio and Aria gave up after their water ran out so as not to increase their thirst. Sonata however continued, albeit faintly and with little range.
The three had lain back in the boat with Adagio and Aria drifting off to sleep. Sonata continued to vocalize at a low volume, never giving up hope. She suddenly heard a thud in the boat and slowly looked up, expecting to see that one of her companions had slipped. Instead she saw a large tuna fish in the middle of the boat, flapping weakly before dying.
Sonata sat up, looking at the fish in confusion before looking around the still waters. What she saw on one side of the boat made her believe that the dehydration was causing her to hallucinate. The head of a human was bobbing up and down in the water, looking at her, but it was its appearance that enforced her hallucination belief. It had no hair, it had slightly larger eyes, and it had smooth, light blue skin similar to a dolphin or a whale.
The two stared at each other for a minute before Sonata said something. "Thanks" she said hoarsely from her dry throat. The figure then descended into the water, and Sonata caught a glimpse of it's tail as it swam away. She awoke her companions and told them that a tuna had jumped into the boat. While technically safe to eat when raw, Adagio pointed out that the salt in the fish would dehydrate them even more.
Not ten minutes later, the three sirens felt drops falling on their faces, and awoke to a sudden downpour from a grouping of rainclouds. The trio stood up in the boat and began to exclaim happily as the water fell on them. Thinking quickly, they used one of their rubbery coats as a makeshift bag to capture the rainwater and distributed it to their canteens. There was enough water to last all three of them a few days if rationed properly. They began to eat the tuna after rehydrating and were thankfully accustomed to the taste of raw fish from their past lives.
They ate as much as they could and dumped what little was left into the water, knowing that as humans, the fish would go bad soon and make them sick.
They're stroke of luck soon became bittersweet when they recalled they were still stranded. Sonata however had taken the recent events as a sign and resumed her vocalizations. And luck stroke again when they were rescued by a fishing trawler the next day. Sonata displayed a well earned smug smile when the captain said they had heard her voice.
"Maybe you're not so useless after all" Aria commented "But you're still the worst."
"You are!"
"Girls" Adagio cut in "let's save the bickering for when we get back to land okay?"
"Ugh, fine"
"Sure Dagi"
"Good. Now I'm going to go collapse on one of the beds we've been provided."
"Same here" Aria said as she followed her leader.
"You girls go ahead, I'll catch up" Sonata said as she leaned against the railing to look at the passing waters.
"Suit yourself Sonata"
"Make sure to tie yourself to the rails incase you fall over, ditz" Aria half mocked half warned the blue girl.
"Haha Ari, go to sleep"
"Hey, that's part of what I say to you"
Sonata shook her head with a smile as she turned back to the waters, not bothering to give another response. She stared at the ocean for fifteen minutes, reflecting on the irony that they almost died in this world's version of what they had called home. Before she removed herself to join her companions, she could've sworn her mind was playing tricks on her again when she saw a figure briefly swimming alongside the boat.
It wasn't until many years later that she would discover she hadn't been hallucinating.
Author's Note
Now I hope I have your attention.
I just realized while writing this chapter that I was giving Sonata a more prominent role in this.
There will be a bit of summarization of the documentary throughout.