The Canterlot streets at night weren't pretty. Garbage drifted in the wind. Rain poured from the heavens. There weren't any streetlights to illuminate her way.
But Aria Blaze was still pushing.
Aria didn't want to be there, but she was starving, to say the least. Ever since Adagio left, it was up to Aria to find food for Sonata, who shuffled alongside Aria, blankly. Every few yards, Sonata would stop abruptly and Aria would have to pick Sonata up again. Aria knew that Sonata was on the brink of going insane, which, for a siren, ultimately meant death.
It was a sad place. The Rebel Hatchet was filled with food, and men and women so drunk that the drop of a pin could start a fight so enormous that it could feed the two sirens for days. Or at least it used to.
But Aria knew in her heart that she could not afford to come everyday. She was posing as a high school student, nonetheless, one that no one in Canterlot wanted to see ever again. If one of the workers or even the customers saw her every day, they would wonder many things that Aria would have no good excuse for. One, why would a high school girl be visiting a bar, all day, every day? Two, shouldn't she be in school? (Although, Aria could say that she and Sonata were dropouts, which wasn't that far from the truth.) Three, where are these girls' parents?
Aria shook away her worries as she stepped into the bar quietly and drifted over to a small booth. She had waited for months for this moment, game night. There would be betting, there would be drinking, there would be yelling, and Aria's mouth watered just thinking about it.
But the hardest part would be feeding. Aria had found some makeshift gems that weren't as strong as her old one, but they would have to do, Aria hoped. She knew it would be even harder for Sonata, though, who stared at Aria with blank eyes, and hadn't spoken ever since the Battle of the Bands.
The night passed. Aria got enough energy to last her a while, and she hoped that Sonata did as well. Aria slung Sonata's arm over her shoulder, and the two headed home.
Aria didn't have any money, but Adagio had persuaded the building owner to let them stay using her magic, back when Adagio was still around and the sirens had their magic.
As Aria lowered Sonata in the bed as she did every night, she remembered how much she hated Adagio. Mere days after the Battle of the Bands, Adagio promised that she would return with plentiful sources of food. It had been years since Aria had seen Adagio, none the less heard of any food sources.
She hoped that Adagio had died.
Sonata fell asleep quickly, as usual. Aria put her hair up and turned on the hot water, filling the tub. She sighed as she lowered herself into the bubbles.
Aria crawled into the bed and wrapped herself around Sonata's cold body. She held in her tears as she always did. The Dazzlings do not cry, Adagio had once told her. Unlike ponies and humans, we don't have emotions. We don't feel happy or sad, we don't love. We just feed, and that's all that matters.
Aria couldn't help it, though. She had to take care of Sonata. She had to love her and make sure that she was well. Aria had to feel sad sometimes, just because sirens really did have emotions when they weren't acting power-crazy.
Or at least, that's what Aria told herself. Aria wanted to prove everything that Adagio ever told her wrong.
Aria was awoken the next morning by Sonata's shivering body. Aria helped her out of bed and into the tub, where she scrubbed Sonata clean. Then, they got dressed and sat around the table.
Aria sometimes enjoy coffee in the mornings when she didn't sleep enough or correctly, and she assumed that Sonata still liked hot chocolate, for every morning, Sonata gulped down a few cups. Sirens didn't really drink anything, but over the years Aria had trained herself not to gag and throw it up. Adagio had left a couple hundred dollars for hot chocolate and coffee until she returned.
Often, Aria was bored. She wished that they could go out and just window shop or something, but it was hard for Sonata to walk and Aria knew that she would be beaten or something if anyone from Canterlot High saw them. She was deathly afraid of the humans.
Sonata went to look out the window, so Aria sat down on the bed and began to do her morning thought-exercise.
I am Aria Blaze, a Dazzling. My sister Adagio Dazzle has left and has probably starved to death, and my sister Sonata Dusk is going insane and there's nothing I can do. I will probably starve as well.
Aria sighed and pulled of her pants before slipping under the covers again. She thought of her time in Equestria.
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Sirens aren't born in Equestria. They are their own race with their own kingdom, and they travel throughout kingdoms and worlds and universes to feed off of hate and despair. The Siren Queen orders off families in large groups to specific places, and the Dazzlings were no exception. Their families were sent to Equestria on a long, tireless voyage.
Adagio Dazzle was the oldest, Aria Blaze the middle child, and Sonata Dusk the youngest. They were the only Siren children on the voyage, and all throughout the swimming they filled the time with games and singing. Adagio promised that they would always be friends, never leaving each other's sides.
The news of the Siren kingdom being attacked had never reached the voyage. Everyone in the kingdom was killed, the cities destroyed with no remains. The Siren Voyage made up the last of the population, and they didn't even know.
The party stopped to rest one night, and the young Sirens curled up together in a tiny cave of a cut rock. The older Sirens nested together in a coral bed.
The raid began. The older sirens fought and fought, but they weren't experienced. Their hides, inners, and bones were taken, with nothing left.
The Dazzlings could not have been more afraid when they could not find their parents. They searched for days, eventually getting lost. Adagio knew that the older Sirens must have been gone for good, so she and the Dazzlings swam on until they reached land.
Sirens can go on for months without feeding if they wish, and the Dazzlings hadn't eaten in weeks. They needed to feed.
The Sirens reached a strange land, eventually. Little creatures swam in the water and played on the beaches, as Siren children do, but they were not Sirens. The Dazzlings had never seen anything like these creatures, and had read of thousands of creatures throughout all dimensions. The Dazzlings were afraid to approach the intelligent creatures.
The Dazzlings sat and waited on some large, flat rocks far away from the shore, so the Dazzlings could observe the creatures without being observed. Sometimes, large ships would pass and the Dazzlings would hide fearfully in the water.
One day, Adagio was starving. Her friends huddled around her and worried. Adagio thought she couldn't go on any longer, and began calling for help to the Gods in Siren tongue. A ship happened to be passsing, and heard the cry, but apparently, to them it sounded like a beautiful song. The Dazzlings turned their attention to the ship, where they heard fighting. A green mist drifted off the ship and into the gems embedded in the Dazzlings' chests.
The other Dazzlings were filled with joy as they joined Adagio, calling for food.
The mist rolled off the ship easily, and soon enough Adagio was healthy again. The Dazzlings decided that they would band together as sisters and feed at those rocks together.
For years, the Dazzlings terrorized the foolish creatures with their awful cries for help, forgiveness, and countless other things. They thought that they could have lived there forever, until an ugly creature with a long, white beard opened a portal and sent them away.
The Dazzlings awoke with another form. They could no longer speak their native tongue, and the gems that were embedded in their chests were turned into pendants around their necks. The Dazzlings were fearful, but soon came to think that their banishment was a blessing, for it was incredibly easier to be seen by the "humans" and still be able to feed. They were incredibly grateful for their beautiful bodies.
But it got harder. People began to recognize them and kick them out of stores and restaurants and buildings for causing trouble. The Dazzlings craved Equestrian magic.
Until, they found it.
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Aria didn't even remember falling asleep. But she definitely remembers waking up.
A door opened, and Aria's heartbeat rose as she sat up thinking that Sonata left somehow, but she was surprised and fearful as the door opened and Adagio emerged, holding Sunset Shimmer's arm.
Aria couldn't move. Adagio looked so different. She had cut her hair short, and was wearing normal clothes. And of course, Sunset Shimmer, who looked much older (and had tied her hair up), was holding her arm.
"Aria, come here and hug me!" Adagio exclaimed, extending her arms.
Aria did not. "What are you doing here?"
Adagio raised an eyebrow. "What?"
Aria stood up and clenched her fists. "Do you even understand how angry I am right now?"
"Aria, what on Earth do you mean?"
Sunset bit her lip. "Dagi, I thought you said Aria and Sonata were de-"
"Dead!?" Aria cut through her sentence like a knife through butter. "You told her we were dead? What is she doing here anyway, Adagio? Why is she calling you 'Dagi?'"
"I'm gonna step outside," Sunset said quietly.
When the door shut, Adagio raced over and rammed into Aria, knocking her to the floor. "Shut up, you ungrateful bitch! Listen to what I have to say!"
"No!" Aria stood up. "You listen! Sonata is dead. You hear me? Dead. I tried to help, but I'm not selfish. I don't care where you've been or what you've been doing. I hoped you were dead, and I still do. Get out, and never come back.
Adagio grabbed Aria's arm, pushing sharp nails into her flesh. "I have a girlfriend."
"What?"
"You heard me. I was feeding off of Sunset because I told her that you two were dead. I couldn't bring you back because I lied, and I hate lying."
"That's not true."
"Sunset loves me, because apparently she felt so bad for me, and now I'm here. I can't come back because..."
"Maybe I do love her a little."
Aria pulled away. "I don't care."
"Listen, Aria. We're breaking up. That's why I came. Sunset probably doesn't trust me anymore, because that stupid lie is what got me into this mess. She's so young, Aria. So young. I'm old, you know that." Adagio sighed. "Aria, I'm so sorry. I'll leave if you want because I'm of no use to you, you can find sustenance better than I. But I want you to know that I am sorry, and I will be punished because I'll probably end up in a hundred more relationships. Goodbye, Aria."
Adagio went to the door, and was just about to close it when she said, "I'm sorry about Sonata."
"She's not really dead. I just said that so you'd feel bad. I'm helping her get back on her own feet," Aria said, putting her hands on her hips.
The last thing Aria ever saw of Adagio was a bitten lip.
The door closed, and Aria pressed her head against it. She couldn't hear words, only mumbles, but she soon heard crying and footsteps, Adagio walking away, as she did with her sisters when they needed her the most.
Part of Aria wanted to open the door and let Sunset in as she listened to Sunset's crying. But, after a moment, the crying stopped suddenly and Aria thought Sunset left, but Aria didn't hear footsteps. Strange, Aria thought.
"Sonata?" Aria called. "Do you need more hot cocoa?"
Aria walked into the kitchen to see it empty. Her heartbeat went up as she paced around. Did Dagi take her? Where else could she have gone?
Aria slowly turned her head to the window.
She knew what had happened before she looked out and saw a blue body sprawled on the lawn, limbs facing where they shouldn't have been.
The last part of Aria's life was spent crying.
