Chapters
As the music of our friendship survives...survives...surviiiiiiiiiiiiiiives~!”
The enormous magical unicorn apparition shot its equally enormous rainbow laser at the sirens. They faded in the blinding light while holding up their arms to try and shield against the purifying fire. Everything they had become was being stripped away.
It hurt.
It burned.
And yet…
...weight was being lifted from their hearts. As the red jewel necklaces cracked, they each began to feel something deep inside they had long since forgotten. A version of themselves that they were each born with and lost over the years of hatred and abuse of power. Their true siren form: innocent and with an abundant love of both life and their fellow creatures.
Their bodies had been pushed back down onto the stage when the laser hit so when it was over that was where they were. On the stage for all of CHS to see. Broken and returned to their old original siren selves. Now harmless and incapable of singing a seduced crowd into a raging army.
They were bare.
Naked.
But that wasn’t so much an issue since they were no longer human. Sirens were creatures part pony and part fish complete with scales down their lower half and fins for tails. Apparently, the Equestrian magic had reverted them to their Equestrian bodies. But something was very off besides the bemused looks of the otherwise aloof crowd.
Of course, the lack of water was a more serious concern to the three female half-equine fish rather than the bizarrely large world around them. The trio of sirens flailed and flopped around in panic. It felt like they were beginning to dry out under the sweltering hot lights of the stage and complete lack of moisture.
“Water! Water!” Aria screamed, eyes wide in horror.
Sonata coughed painfully and tried tumbling back from the intense lights.
Adagio used her equine hooves to pull herself along the rough boards of the stage. She had no clue where to go, though. She couldn’t remember any major sources of water around.
Thankfully, even as the large audience began to laugh at them in ignorance of their peril, a savior swept through the crowd like a hurricane and practically jumped onto the stage so she wouldn’t waste time going around to the stairs. Her voice was nothing like the gentle shy tone it normally was. No, only the rare animal ever heard this urgency from her and only when the animal was in severe danger.
“Applejack, get the hose from the storeroom quick! There’s a spigot around the corner! Rainbow! Rarity! Help me get them down to AJ! Pinkie, find a basin! Twilight we need the truck at the animal nursery. Everyone hurry! They can’t survive long like this!”
Adagio felt her mind slipping. Her gills were collapsing and she was choking. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see her sisters were barely moving. If only she hadn’t pushed them so far none of this would have happened. They could have gone on surviving without ever going to CHS. It would have been hard but they would have at least lived. That was her last thought as a pair of warm blue arms wrapped around her and picked her up.
“Gah!” Adagio shouted upon reviving. Her eyes shot open and her tail slapped around wildly.
Water.
Water!
She was in water!
Only her outer eyelids had opened. The inner clear set were still closed. She was underwater and her scales didn’t feel like they were suffocating her. This was a miracle! She took note of her surroundings-
-only to be tackled by a familiar blue siren.
“Oh my gosh. Oh my gosh. Oh my gosh!” Sonata squealed in total joy, her voice only slightly warped by talking underwater. As sirens, they had no issue speaking beneath the surface and their words were far clearer than if a human attempted it. It was hard to even tell that Sonata had collapsed earlier just like her sisters. But then this was Sonata, after all. “You’re awake! Oh my gosh, Dagi! Aria won’t talk to me!”
“Is she dead?” Adagio began to worry and swam around her blue sister.
“No,” grumbled the purple one. She was floating on the other side of the whatever-they-were-in. Her hooves were crossed against her chest and she had her back to them. “Just leave me alone.”
Adagio knew this mood. Aria got this way every time she felt her dignity had been slighted. And Great Siren Goddesses had they all been slighted. However, as the eldest of them, Adagio knew better than to let her emotions affect their ability to survive. Their situation had changed enormously and they would all have to tread – or swim – carefully in order to live another day.
First things first: where were they?
The place they were in was not very deep. Barely twice as deep as they were long. It was circular too, judging by the way the rubber walls curved about. The surface was smooth though and there were no sharp rivets or joining spots. In a way it was like a large bathtub and an odd sprinkling of light made the water’s surface look almost like marble. Before she could reach the surface to look around, a pair of blue arms crashed into the water and grabbed her out of it.
A very familiar face greeted her as she was held in the open air, dripping above the pool below her. This was one of those blasted ringleaders. Rainbow Dash.
“You sure they are okay like this?” Rainbow stared hard at the small siren in her hands. She held the creature at a distance and seemed to be wearing some kind of thick off-white apron.
Fluttershy was right next to her and was smiling sweetly at Adagio while she opened some sort of can. “Yes. Be gentle and let her lower half into the water if she starts looking uncomfortable. The danger was the heat and lack of moisture closing their gills on the stage. Not simply being out of the water.”
“How do you know anything about us?” Adagio wanted to sneer at first but she was piecing together in her mind what had happened and couldn’t bring herself to pour venom on her saviors.
“I guessed at first, but Sonata has told us all about your original forms,” Fluttershy replied sweetly and tossed some sort of chip like thing into the water. Sonata rose to the surface, grabbed it in her mouth, and dived again with a happy face.
“Okay. Why are we so small? I should be bigger than you,” Adagio frowned and was not surprised in the least that Sonata had sung like a bird.
Indeed, her torso fit nicely in Rainbow’s hands. If Fluttershy would compare them to a regular animal then she might put them at just barely larger than a chihuahua. The siren’s voice didn’t seem too badly changed for the size but any intimidating presence she might have had before was completely gone. Even the sharp teeth of her larger apparition were far less menacing in this form.
“That’s easy,” another voice said from the opposite side of the pool. It was that purple girl who was one of the other ringleaders. “The magical counterspell used magic from the portal’s dimensional flux to create a virtual leyline converted at a rate of three over two point five based on the power source I constructed to reopen the portal, which caused an inverted-”
“The spell made ya tiny,” Applejack cut in to get to the point. Twilight frowned and flattened her brows in frustration at that. “Good thing too. Take my granny’s ol’ semi to haul ya if y’all were right-sized. Never would have gotten to the farm and back before y’all keeled over.”
A small blue siren head popped up above the water below Adagio. Sonata was looking one way and another like a miniature dog so energetic and happy she might pass out from the excitement. “Oh oh oh!” Sonata practically yipped at Fluttershy. “Can you hold me again? And toss me back into the middle of the pool?! That was so much fun!”
“How long has she been awake?” Adagio deadpanned.
“About an hour,” Rainbow replied with a smirk but carefully lowered the siren back into the water and let her go. “Aria was up about half an hour ago. You were the last one to come around.”
Adagio said nothing immediately, but she remained half above the water and looking at the group of human friends that had defeated them. Her mind tried figuring out what to do next. What could they do?
A loud splash made Adagio look back to the pool’s center. Sonata had just been tossed there by a giggling Fluttershy. Those two were sure hitting it off. The pink one – Pinkie Pie – was also at an edge splashing some water on Sonata after the girl came back to the surface.
Now that Adagio got a better look, though, it appeared they were in some sort of back yard. It was green almost everywhere and the grass looked plush enough not to hurt if she fell out of the pool. A mossy stone wall encircled the yard and a house made up the fourth side that wasn’t made of the same wall. A large willow tree shaded them overhead and the above-ground pool they were in looked even larger from the surface. It was about twelve feet across and barely came up higher than the waists of the human girls.
She processed all of this and quickly realized they would not be going anywhere unless these girls helped them to do it.
“You!” Adagio squinted at the one called Rainbow Dash.
“Got a problem, squirt?” Rainbow smirked again.
“Dashie!” Fluttershy scolded her friend’s uncalled-for remark.
“You were the one that carried me, right?” Adagio asked unfazed.
Rainbow seemed taken back by the question. She answered slow and unsure. “Yeeeaaah,” she crossed her arms, “Fluttershy got Sonata, and Rarity carried Aria. I’d carry all three of you in a flash, but it’s hard just to carry one of you because those scales are so slippery. Even dry-”
“Thanks,” Adagio fought to keep her eyes on Rainbow’s. It wasn’t easy and her heart burned with saying it to someone who she wanted to merely use and discard previously – at best. But she wasn’t stupid. This girl had saved her life. These girls had saved all of them without a need to and Adagio had a feeling the debt would never be repaid.
Rainbow’s arms fell out of the cross and she looked genuinely surprised. Perhaps even uncomfortable. “I...it was...”
“The right thing to do,” Rarity finished for her struggling friend. The white teenager was looking down into the water a quarter of the pool’s distance away. “Even if it was a tad...icky. This form is simply the way you are and that is hardly your fault.”
Adagio could make out the vague form of Aria underwater even from the bright lighting above the surface. The purple siren was a grump but she knew she owed her life as well. She was at least looking back at Rarity.
“So what now?” the lead siren finally asked.
“Now,” yet another voice said from a lawn chair behind Rainbow Dash. The blue girl moved aside and revealed none other than the trump card the girls had pulled out against the sirens. Sunset Shimmer. She pulled off a pair of sunglasses that reflected the bright glare of the sun where it peaked through the willow’s branches. “We adopt some fishies.”
You know who’s backyard you’re in?” Sunset Shimmer said with acres of self-confidence and a mouth curved up in a high smirk.
Adagio guessed from the pause that an answer was being requested for the rhetorical question. She ducked under the water for a second to refresh herself and then gave it. “Yours?”
“Nope,” Sunset chuckled.
A giggle from her side let Adagio know who might in fact be the owner.
“Mine, of course,” Rarity waved her hand as if it were a trifle to mention. “Or perhaps I should clarify that it belongs to my parents. I only recently have begun looking at possible locations for a home and boutique of my own.”
“Bouti-” Aria squinted in disgust but was cut short.
“Aria, play with me,” Sonata grabbed her sister’s waist with her hooves and tugged backwards.
“No.”
“Pretty please?” Sonata tried her puppy dog eyes.
If there was a substance with less emotion than stone then that was what made up Aria’s face. “No.”
“Rarity’s was closest,” Fluttershy explained to Adagio. “And her parents had set this pool up just recently.”
“For Sweetie Belle and her fellow Cutie Mark Crusaders,” Rarity turned deadpan. She loathed to recall some of the trouble those three had caused her.
Applejack shook her head and sighed. Applebloom gave her more than a smidgeon of her own grief. “Cutie Mark Crusader Ocean Divers,” she groaned. “Never heard of scuba diving in a kiddie pool, though.”
“Anyways,” Sunset crossed her arms and sat on the edge of the lawn chair. “This isn’t going to be simple or easy. You’re not going to be able to live like regular human girls. We can’t just set you loose in the ocean either. If some shark came along and ate you, we’d never forgive ourselves. Besides, it’d be nothing but old-fashioned survival out there anyways.”
Twilight, who was clutching a thick notebook, hummed at her own thoughts. “We can’t give you to any other people or let others find out because they might experiment on you or even...dissect...”
“How about making us human again?” Adagio frowned. She saw where this was going.
“You were hit with the Rainbow Laser of Awesomeness,” Rainbow Dash splayed her hands out. “It’s not like getting a makeover .”
Rarity gave a miffed look to the blue girl’s scoffing.
“Besides,” Pinkie Pie squealed, “why would you want to stop being so adorable ~!”
Adagio facehoofed.
“It would not be wise,” Twilight closed her notebook and put it under and arm. “In all the instances that the powers of Harmony were used in Equestria as well as this world, it was to right what was wrong. Undoing what has already happened would be sewing disharmony which is the very definition of creating problems. This form must be the one you were meant to have.”
“We were meant to be less than half your size?” Adagio followed Rainbow in scoffing, though for a different reason.
Sunset answered instead. “You were meant to take a form that would make you grow as individuals. Whether that be as a human or...small siren,” the orange girl tried to remain serious and stifle a laugh. “I’m originally a unicorn mare but I’m a human right now because that is where my path lies for now.”
Aria must have been paying attention in spite of Sonata’s persistence. She burst above the surface next to Adagio and practically barked. “We don’t want anything to do with your Equestrian destiny garbage!”
Adagio gave her sister a sideways look and held out a hoof to stop her from saying more.
Sunset’s surprised and confused face was shared by all the other girls besides Twilight.
“Wha-”
“You wouldn’t know,” Adagio put in before Rainbow could ask. She demonstrated once again her more carefully managed emotions and turned to Sunset. “We are much older than any of you and lived more of our lives in Equestria. Not here. Obviously both you and Twilight Sparkle are influenced by the land you came from. That land, Equestria, has certain myths and beliefs that everyone grows up in and believes so deeply that they never think to question it. We never believed in the philosophies of Harmonic Destiny that rule Equestrian culture.”
Twilight nodded to herself in confirmation of the contemporary and foreign philosophy books she had poured over back at her library – the same as any other topic. “Sometimes philosophical concepts can appear religious in nature when looked at from a foreign cultural perspective. Harmonic Destiny underlays every instance of the magic of Harmony itself-”
“Would somebody please speak normal?” Applejack put her hands on her hips with a deep frown.
Sunset exchanged a look with Twilight, who shrugged. “The sirens don’t believe in fate or destiny,” the redhead put more simply. “Or harmony.”
“But what about the Rainbow Laser?” the blue athlete insisted.
“We’re not denying your magical powers,” Aria spoke up as if she were having to painstakingly explain to someone far below her level of intelligence.
Adagio continued her previous train of thought. “It’s not something I expect any of you to understand. No offense,” she added while repeatedly reminding herself that these girls were their saviors. “We’d all rather figure out what we’re going to do now that we’re like this – not argue philosophy.”
Twilight bowed her head in agreement. Sunset looked sideways in thought but couldn’t come up with many good options. Thus it was Rarity who was next to speak since Pinkie Pie was busy once again playing with Sonata.
“The big question is: what do you want to do with your lives?” the fashionista proposed and went to take Sunset’s spot on the lawnchair.
Aria bit her lip and Adagio felt a weight on her even without all of the eyes of anticipation glued onto her. Sonata was likely unaware of the conversation to begin with.
SPLASH!
“Heheheh,” Pinkie and Sonata both giggled as they exchanged splashes of water at each other.
SPLASH! SPLASH!
Some of the spray hit the back of Adagio’s head.
“Power and control would have been nice,” Adagio said to herself more than anyone present. “But maybe I was just fooling myself before that we’d ever have it after we were banished to this world.”
“It doesn’t matter,” Aria grumped with tightly crossed hooves. “Even if we had some small amount of power before, there’s nothing left now. We have no song and no bodies either .”
“I know that!” the elder sister snapped back at Aria. Then she forced herself to calm down. Old habits would get them nowhere. She sighed and continued. “What do you do...with a powerless life?”
“I thought we weren’t going to be philosa...phila...” Rainbow tried to say.
“Philosophical ,” Adagio grinned at the blue girl and then added, “dunce.”
“Hey, you enjoy picking on me or something?” Rainbow came right up to the edge of the pool.
Sunset facepalmed.
“I’m a two foot long siren who will likely be surviving on fish flakes,” Adagio deadpanned. “Words are all I’ve got, Rainbow Dash.”
Perhaps it was the realism in what Adagio said or perhaps it was the fact that she chose to use Rainbow’s real name, but that surprised the blue girl. She didn’t know what comeback to use or if she should try for a comeback at all.
“Crustacean-sourced food,” Fluttershy spoke up at last. She moved from where Sonata was to a spot next to Rainbow. “I’ve matched as much as I know about your biology to known species and it’s safest to say that your ideal food would be crustaceans such as crabs or lobsters.”
“Oh my,” Rarity said from her laying spot on the lawn chair. “Quite the refined taste, in my opinion.”
“Isn’t that kind of...sad?” Applejack couldn’t help but wonder as she looked around for a chair of her own to sit down on. “For the crabs, I mean.”
Fluttershy pursed her lips and her gaze fell a bit. “Well, yes. But it’s natural. All life depends on other life. Cats eat fish, owls eat mice, and wolves eat deer. It’s nature’s cycle.”
“Why would you even ask about that?” Adagio peaked a brow in honest curiosity.
Twilight was the one to reply after asking Applejack to bring them more chairs from inside. “Fluttershy cares a lot about animals. She does in both worlds. I mean, here and in Equestria.”
Aria asked the obvious before her sister could. She hooked her forelegs on the lip of the pool and stared at Fluttershy. “Are we animals to you? Is that why you wanted to save us?”
The yellow girl looked very frightened by the approach and Rainbow was about to say something to the effect of “cool off.” But Fluttershy overcame her feelings and replied anyways.
“No,” she said solidly. “I mean,” she turned soft again quickly, “humans are a variety of animal as well, so I don’t see you as different. That’s why I think we should all care about each other...”
“Totally!” Sonata finally burst back into the talk by jumping over Aria and landing in Fluttershy’s arms. The human girl almost fell back from the surprise but caught the siren all the same. “We should all get along. With crab cakes!”
That made Fluttershy’s serious expression soften and give her a giggle back.
“I’ll take the food but hold on the sap, please,” Aria made a gesture as if she were going to gag.
Sunset decided to wrap up their line of conversation, since she came to the same conclusion Adagio just had. “You three have to decide for the first time in maybe a hundred years what you want to do with your lives. And you have to think of it taking into consideration your new forms. Don’t rush it. Think about it. In the meantime, we’ll take care of your needs so you can get by.”
Rarity pulled the sunglasses down from the top of her head to cover her eyes. A nice rest was what she could use. “My parents were made aware of the situation,” she explained while fighting back a yawn. “Purely out of necessity, of course. However, they did not want me keeping more than two pets, so only one of you may stay here for a length of time.”
“Pets?” Adagio groaned.
“It was the best way to explain it,” Sunset defended.
“Fluttershy already has the equipment at her house to keep you,” Rainbow put in. “But she’s at the limit too with her parents, which means we need to set up one more pool for one of you. Since Tank is basically a totally self-sufficient tortoise, my parents had no problem agreeing to it. They’re pretty cool like that.”
“So we’re going to be split up?” Sonata turned teary in Fluttershy’s arms. Her eyes seemed big and more watery than usual.
“No, of course not ,” Fluttershy assured and rocked the siren in her arms. “Just as soon as we graduate and one of us gets a place where all three of you can be together. If that’s what you want.”
Sonata eagerly nodded. Adagio’s lips shifted back and forth as she thought, but she nodded slowly all the same. Aria just rolled her eyes and shrugged.
“So that’s what you meant by adoption,” the purple siren commented.
“I adopt Fluttershy!” Sonata shouted out so fast she nearly spoke over Aria. The blue siren’s fish tail was wagging back and forth in joy as her equine muzzle nuzzled the human’s chest.
“Awww,” Fluttershy cooed and hugged Sonata back.
Adagio looked to her grumpy sister after dunking underwater for a second to refresh herself. “I guess that leaves us to decide between Rainbow Dash and Rarity.”
“I get Rainbow,” Aria glared back. “I’m not going to stay with some fashion police princess .”
Adagio grew an evil smirk at that. “Alright then,” she nodded in agreement and then looked to an expectant Rainbow Dash.
“So which of you guppies am I going to get stuck with?” Rainbow grinned, as if she got personal enjoyment from using such terms on them.
“I’m staying with Rainbow Dash,” Adagio declared loud enough for everyone to hear.
Aria’s jaw dropped.
Rainbow shrugged. “Well I suppose it’s the better option. I mean, I wasn’t exactly keen on getting stuck with Ms. Negative either.”
“No!” Aria shouted at her sister. “You agreed! I’m staying with her!”
“Sorry,” Adagio laughed. “But I think some quality time with different company would do you some good.”
Aria looked to Sunset in panic. “You! Why can’t you host me?”
Sunset sighed and shrugged. “I’ve got special housing arrangements. No pets allowed.”
“You!” Aria looked to the purple human who was now sitting on a chair that Applejack got out and set up. “You take me!”
Twilight looked up from her notes. “I don’t live in this world. I have to go back to Equestria this evening.”
Aria’s eyes were turning to swirls of hopelessness and she felt her body slipping down into the water of despair around her. Before she could ask, Applejack put a hand up from her own chair she was sitting in, arranged on the back patio.
“I don’t have the time o’ day to look after ya,” the farmgirl explained. “Too much work on top of school. Besides, don’t want Winona to find out whether or not she likes the taste of fish.”
The last remaining one was Pinkie, who stopped leaning over the pool’s edge to play with the water. She twiddled her thumbs and blushed. “My parents are still kind of upset I got Gummy without asking first. They won’t let me have anything else.”
Aria turned her head to find someone – anyone! But when her gaze turned around, there was Rarity right in front of her at the edge of the pool. She must have gotten up from her chair while Aria wasn’t looking. The siren’s face paled and she gulped.
“Oh, don’t be so dramatic , darling,” Rarity waved her hand and gave what she believed to be an assuring smile. “We will simply have the best of times . Perhaps I can even help you get in touch with your inner self by designing outfits for you. Oh, it will be divine !”
Aria poured all of her soul-wrenching despair into her shout.
“Noooooooooooooooooooo!”
It was time. Time once again to put on the ears. They were the last ears Fluttershy would ever wear.
Again.
A splashing sound came from Sonata’s pool in the backyard. Quite audible since the screen door was open. Angel was enjoying some time in the grass and simultaneously avoiding the drops of water flying out from the lip of the pool. Sonata was as excited for the holiday as Fluttershy. After all, they had bonded extensively over the months and having someone kind and positive matching her own optimism meant a lot to the siren.
“I found it!” Fluttershy called out to the small horsefish.
The girl sped out of the backdoor and practically hopped up to the edge of the mini pool. She was wearing a pastel pink sundress that went well with her long hair. Atop her head was a white pair of bunny ears she equipped for this special day. She had even made a special request of Rarity a week before for a waterproof siren-sized version of the signature bunny ears.
Rarity had hardly needed the suggestion since she had been designing outfits and costumes for Aria in her free time. Much like Fluttershy, Rarity was the type who enjoyed doing what was her normal day-to-day work as a hobby as well. She truly loved her craft and perhaps that was something that made Fluttershy and her such good friends.
Sonata was zipping around the pool in hyper-energetic circles. “It’s Bunny Sunday! Bunny Sunday!” she squealed happily.
“Easter,” Fluttershy corrected with a soft giggle. She reached over the edge of the pool and Sonata came up to her, bobbing up and down as if she were keeping beat with some unheard song. The human girl put the band on the siren’s head. It fit against the curve of her face and the top fin of her head in such a way that it would stay. Most likely a feat only possible because Rarity had Aria to model for her.
“Yay~!” Sonata shouted out in a more powerful version of Fluttershy’s own cheer. “I’m a bunny, Flutters! Bunny siren!”
Fluttershy gave a coo at the cuteness as the little blue siren ducked under the water and jumped back out to flip and dive all without losing the white and pink ears.
“I’ll go get the truck,” Fluttershy told her small friend and started back to the living room where she kept the key box. “We need to pick up Dashie and Dagi before we go over to Rarity’s for the Easter party.”
After picking up the other human and siren, the four were headed towards Rarity’s house. From the semi-enclosed tank on the flatbed, the two sirens discussed their anticipation for the day. One was obviously more enthusiastic than the other but Sonata was quite happy to see that Adagio’s mood was not as sour as she feared it might be. The girl had loosened up over time.
“Didn’t Dashie give you some ears too?!” Sonata wiggled her tail and tapped her forehooves together.
Adagio was laying on the bottom of the tank with her and had her head propped against a hoof in a lazy manner. “She’s tormented me about it all week. I told her I’d wear it at the party so she’d leave me alone.”
“It’s so amazing you two get along so well!” Sonata exclaimed and hugged her siren sister tight around her scaly waist.
“I just told you she torments me,” Adagio responded with a dead expression.
“And I can tell you both have so much fun!”
Adagio's cheeks puffed out with indignation but she didn’t deny it.
“Still,” Sonata said while leaning back from the hug, “I can’t wait until Flutters gets her new place and we can all be together all the time instead of just visits. I know why we had to be at different places for a while, but I really do love you and Aria so much!”
Adagio felt her lungs squeeze from the renewed and rather tight hug from her sister. Her gills breathed in deep to compensate.
“We’ve been through so much over the years, but we’ve never had an egg hunt before!” Sonata said and swam around in a short loop. “Flutters is gonna hold me up and help me look around Rarity’s yard for it!”
Adagio raised a brow. “Rarity’s yard doesn’t have that much in it to hide anything well.”
Sonata stopped and put her hooves on her scaly hips. “So not true, Dagi. Rarity’s mom started gardening just last month. There’s a ton of things and places to look!”
The orange siren hummed at that thoughtfully. If that was true then perhaps it might be interesting, after all. Of course, she’d have to ask Rainbow to hold her while they looked. She’d be teased endlessly but she was used to it by now and often had her own snide comebacks – some of which Rainbow had yet to recover from.
A sudden stop to the vague sense of movement in the water let the girls know that Fluttershy had just parked them at Rarity’s house. There was a pause and then a creak as the flatbed door opened and a pair of humans climbed up on it. The breathing cover that kept water spillage down clicked and then slid off.
“Sup, Dagi?” Rainbow grinned with her sunglasses still on.
Both sirens swam to the surface and Adagio shook her head at her own companion. “You still don’t look cool, Bluebutt.”
“Happy Easter to you too,” Rainbow laughed and grabbed the siren around the waist. She was careful with her grip and her balance getting off the flatbed. “Hey, Fluttershy. Isn’t there some easier way to do this?”
The yellow girl gave a graceful sigh as she too carried her own siren off the truck, though she wore an apron now and held Sonata like a baby against her chest. “None of the other vehicles we have can handle the smaller transport tanks and this one has to be locked over the back axle.”
“Who knew water was so heavy,” Rainbow chuckled. “I must drink two gallons every day for sports practice. Never gained any weight.”
“That’s not how it works, doofus,” Adagio gave her human a sly look.
“Whatever, fishflanks,” Rainbow shrugged and used her elbow to hit the doorbell button when they came up to the front door. “You’re dripping everywhere.”
The door opened and the familiar fashionista behind it was already prepared. “I have the towels!”
Both sirens were used to the short trek through Rarity’s house to the backyard where the larger tank was set up. Rarity was squeamish about anything messy and never let a single drop onto the white carpet. In any case, the shade and lower natural lighting of the house was an improvement over the glaring clear sky day of the front porch and driveway. Even the backyard had the shade of the big willow tree.
Sonata looked about ready to leap out of Fluttershy’s arms in excitement when they stepped through the backdoor into the perfectly maintained grassy yard. All of the human girls were there along with the unicorn-turned-human Sunset. Twilight wasn’t here since she was back in Equestria, but it was a large gathering nonetheless.
And there was Aria Blaze, leaning against the side of the pool with the grumpiest look anyone had ever seen on the girl. Her frown was so deep that it might have fallen off her face. And there on her head and hooves was the reason, Adagio guessed. A pair of cute white and pink bunny ears like the ones Sonata was still wearing. But also a pair of equally adorable bunny paws fit over Aria’s forehooves like a pair of gloves.
By the time Rainbow and Fluttershy placed the still wet sirens into the pool with their third sister, Adagio was laughing her little fishie tail off.
“Bahahahahahahah,” Adagio wailed. Her small hooves pounded the water while she had her fit of hilarity. “Little- hahahahaha…little bun- hahahhaha….little bunny Aria!” she barely managed to say through her laughter.
Aria’s lightning fast glare of death only made her laugh harder and Sonata coo more.
“You’re soooooo cute~” Sonata fidgeted her hooves together and blushed.
“One more word, Sonata,” Aria warned with her signature I-will-end-you voice. “One. More. Word.”
“Happy Easter!” Pinkie Pie shouted with even more energy than Sonata as she raced up to the pool and grabbed all three sirens into a group hug.
“Pinkie, you are all wet now,” Rarity complained as she gave Applejack a plate of snacks. “Use an apron like Fluttershy.”
“Oh don’t be a wet blanket,” Pinkie Pie waved a hand after releasing the sirens back into the pool.
“Pinkie,” Sunset giggled. “I think you’re the wet blanket now.”
The party girl looked down to see she was indeed dripping all the way down to her skirt and onto the grass. “Towel!” she shouted and zoomed away.
“Are we gonna do this egg hunt or what?” Rainbow Dash ran from one end of the yard to the other with her hand over her eyes to help her see and block any sun that could impair her getting first place.
“It’s not a race, RD,” Applejack facepalmed and groaned. “And ya just got here.”
“Easter baskets!” Pinkie zipped up between Fluttershy and Sunset, who had been talking. She handed them each baskets that matched their colors and zoomed to each of the others as well. When she got to Rainbow Dash, the towel around her waist finally flew off and hit Applejack in the face.
“Ohohohohoho!” Pinkie Pie put on her own pair of bunny ears and sat in the grass with her pink basket. “What did I get? What did I get?!”
Applejack pulled the towel from her face with a deadpan look. “You made it yourself. You already know .”
“Let her have her fun,” Sunset put a hand on AJ’s shoulder and smiled.
Meanwhile, Fluttershy was coming back with three tiny baskets as well. They were all yellow rather than matching the color of the sirens but it took her quite some time to find a way to make baskets for them given the water issue. Rather than regular weave, the baskets were rubber. Much like the contents, which were also devoid of any fake grass. Everything she had made sure was “siren safe.”
Three very different looks greeted her from the pool as she came up to them in the pleasantly cool shade beneath the willow. One looked as excited as Pinkie, the other a combination of amusement and calm victory, while the last spoke “you’ve got to be kidding me.”
“I hope you like them,” Fluttershy blushed and handed the tiny baskets to each of the sirens in the water. “Happy Easter...”
The basket she gave to Aria slipped between her bunny paws and sank into the water. The resulting expression on the purple siren’s face revealed the part of her soul that had just died. She just stayed floating there on the surface while Sonata quickly ducked down and grabbed the basket for her.
“Here,” Adagio tried to hold back her laughter and help her sister. She used her teeth to pull off the bunny paws and put them in her basket. “There.”
“Oooooooooooo,” Sonata’s eyes sparkled after she gave Aria her basket back. “I got a bunny toy!”
SQUEAK!
All of the sirens’ eyes grew enormous.
“Oh my gosh, it squeaks!” Sonata squealed in joy and tossed it across the pool. It hit the water’s surface.
SQUEAK!
Aria turned mortified and Sonata swam to it in an instant to grab it again.
SQUEAK!
Adagio knew where this was going. “Yeah, that’s going to get old in two-”
SQUEAK!
“It’s old,” Aria declared.
SQUEAK! SQUEAK! SQUEAK!
Fluttershy giggled and tried covering her mouth with a hand.
“Let’s see-” Adagio began.
SQUEAK!
“-what I got,” she finished.
While Sonata began using her tail to bat the squeaky bunny around the pool, Adagio rummaged through her basket. There were some fish flakes – her preferred flavor. A rubber rope toy she assumed she would play with against Sonata, small crab patties that were her all-time favorite delicacy, and a necklace on the bottom. It was some kind of soft non-metal string she assumed wouldn’t break down or rust in the water. On it was her symbol. A jewel with a treble clef.
Her eyes watered up differently than they usually did underwater. “Thank you,” she looked up to the comparatively large human Fluttershy.
Aria’s face finally softened and she looked into her own basket again. There was one for her as well with her own mark. If Sonata ever finished with the bunny then she’d likely find hers. In spite of her sour mood, Aria forced herself to look to the yellow girl as well. “I owe you.”
“It’s nothing,” Fluttershy fidgeted and waved it off. Although she was usually much more timid around others, the pet-like size and nature of the sirens made it easier for her. “I’m just so happy that you’re happy.”
Sonata dived under the water for momentum and then leaped out of it as if she were flying. She landed in Fluttershy’s arms. The girl was used to the leaping siren and caught her like it was second nature. The blue songfish was more openly affectionate than the others and nuzzled her cheek to Fluttershy’s.
“Egg hunt!” declared an exuberant Pinkie Pie from across the yard.
“Over there!” Adagio ordered Rainbow. The blue girl carried her against her chest, unlike the way she once carried her at a distance – as if the siren had rabies. Adagio enjoyed the soft warmth since it came from equally wet skin rather than dry moisture-absorbing fabric. Rainbow had decided to change into her bikini rather than get a “wet apron” as Fluttershy called them.
“Behind the flower pot!” Aria commanded more strictly. Rarity was her carrier and the girl was indeed using the apron instead. In spite of being hesitant about playing, Aria did end up joining the egg hunt and was now the one who was most into it. She was determined to win.
“Maybe in the birdhouse?” Sonata guessed. Fluttershy, in her swimsuit like Rainbow, padded across the plush grass and politely asked the resident bird if she had any foreign eggs in her house.
“Five!” Aria shouted from the garden area.
“Hurry, Bluebutt,” Adagio worried. “We’re going to lose this!”
Rainbow frowned. “We found more when we looked where I wanted to!”
“Four!” Sonata shouted after she and Fluttershy found an egg on the branch behind the birdhouse.
From a chair on the back patio, Pinkie pouted. “When’s it gonna be my turn? I can’t hunt when I was the one that hid them.”
“As soon as this hunt is over,” Sunset saluted the girl from across the yard. By her tally it was almost over. Only two eggs remained and Sunset only had two herself, which meant she was not going to make it for first place. It came down to the sirens, who had gotten some help of course from their companions. 5-4-4. Any of them could win.
That’s when Sonata and Fluttershy happened across the teal and dandelion colored egg behind the pool pump. There was a pair of “yays” that had a stereo effect.
Aria would sweat if she could. Instead, she was starting to feel dry. She would have asked for a dunk in the nice warm pool but she was determined to win this. So she almost flipped out of Rarity’s arms when she saw a speck of coloring peaking out of the grass behind some of the carrots still growing in the garden soil.
“There! Faster!”
“Here here, darling,” Rarity tutted and stepped daintily around her mother’s crops.
Aria wiggled out of the human’s hold and landed her hooves on the egg just before Adagio and her speedy human could get there. “Ahahahahaha!” she gufawed with no shame and hoisted the pink flower pattern egg in her tiny forehooves. “I am victorious!!”
Everyone was silent and staring at her.
Aria realized then that she was smiling. And happy. And not grumpy.
With a blush, she lowered the egg and gulped. “Um...I mean, whatever,” she tossed the egg behind her. It hit the grass and thus did not break.
Rarity made a very lady-like giggle and picked up the siren from the moist soil. “Let’s get you rinsed off and into the water again, darling.”
Adagio gave her sister a knowing grin from Rainbow’s arms while Sonata waved her hooves back and forth. “Yay, Aria. Go, sis, go!” the blue one cheered.
However, the first girl to comment on the end of the egg hunt was Pinkie Pie!
“YES! MY TURN!”
Beach Time! The bright yellow sun. The warm crunchy sand. The wash of the ocean upon the shore. The song of the sea-faring birds.
“Oh oh oh oh!” Sonata thrashed about in excitement, her large tail fin swishing back and forth wildly.
“Oh oh oh my,” Fluttershy exclaimed along with her fishy friend. She wobbled back and forth on her feet as she tried to remain upright. Walking while holding a squirming siren was not an easy task. “Oh, please be still, Sonata,” she pleaded. The girl almost fell over as she attempted to transport the small siren to the protected beachside lagoon. “We’re almost there.”
Sonata simply could not contain herself. “I’m just so happy to be able to spend more time with my sisters at the beach! In the ocean! Well, a lagoon. But still. Dagi and Ari didn’t used to be the best sisters to be around, but they’ve become much more positive and fun. It’s been so long!”
No doubt starting with their loss of their siren song and the “transformative circumstances” thereafter, Fluttershy thought. She was lucky, however, to wind up with Sonata since she was the most kind and least difficult to handle. Well, besides the excited thrashing. Even Aria may have come around under Rarity’s care, but that took a very long time and incredible patience on part of the fashionista.
When they got close to the rocky area enveloping the lagoon from the adjacent ocean, she could spot Rainbow Dash already present and playing a game with her songfish. It appeared to be some version of fetch using sinking water toys. They took turns and it was particularly amusing to see Adagio jump out of the water and throw the diving stick midair with her mouth to get maximum distance. Rainbow thrust herself underwater in hot pursuit.
“Hey there!” Sunset Shimmer called from the edge of the water. Further up from the wet zone was their collection of towels, sun umbrellas, cooler, and such. The bikini-wearing redhead turned from watching Adagio and walked over to meet Fluttershy. She helped hold up the flailing siren as they stepped together into the water.
“Thanks,” Fluttershy gave her appreciation. “Ready, Sonata?”
“Let’s go!” the blue songfish squirmed in excitement.
Sunset helped her friend hold the siren out between them once they were almost hip deep in water. “One,” she began.
“Two,” Fluttershy counted.
“Three!”
The pair of girls swung the siren out so that she was tossed far forward into the deep water. Sonata dove in headfirst and struck the water as naturally as any leaping fish.
SPLASH!
Fluttershy giggled as they shielded themselves from the spray of the fallout. Turning to Sunset, she struck up a conversation and stepped back out of the water. “Who was able to make it?”
Sunset moved to help once they had stepped out of the water onto the dry sand. The pink-haired girl was struggling with a thin half-cover that wrapped around her waist and provided some concealment to the underlying bikini piece. It was a rather risque outfit for Fluttershy even with the practically see-through wrap on her hips and the cropped open blouse of equal thickness. The only rational behind it was what Sunset already knew – Rarity had fussed her into choosing it on account of it being “perfect” on her “delicate” frame.
The knot on the lower wrap finally came undone in Sunset’s hands and she spread to out so it would dry while hanging from the angled stem of her beach umbrella. Fluttershy took off the blouse as well since it hardly went well without the wrap. She wanted to swim anyways.
“Just me, Rainbow, and Rarity,” Sunset sighed. “Pinkie will show up in a bit. She said she’d be late because of some work with the Cakes. AJ had harvest duty.”
“That’s unfortunate,” Fluttershy remarked but not too sadly. She was happy at least most of her friends could make it for the outing. “Where’s Rarity and Aria?”
“Off around the boulders over there,” Sunset pointed further down the lagoon’s water line. “Something about getting ready for Tag.”
“Tag?” Fluttershy giggled and then stretched a bit.
Sunset responded in equally good humor. “Adagio had the idea to play a game of underwater tag. We get to play too, but not against the sirens since they have such an advantage over us in the water.”
“Sounds fun,” the kind girl pipped cheerfully. Having recently applied sunscreen, she had no need for the additional work. “I suppose we can at least get in the water while we wait for Aria and Rarity. Do you know if she’s been put in at least a little bit of water over there?”
The redhead nodded and led her friend back to the water’s edge. “I checked on them just before you got here. There’s actually a small pool over there.”
“Oh good,” Fluttershy let out the rest of her concern with a final breath before stepping back into the admittedly warm summertime water. She scanned the relatively small lagoon for present occupants. Rainbow was visible further down and away from the ocean side, but both sirens must have been underwater. “Want to help me find the girls?” she asked Sunset.
The other girl gave a thumbs up and thrust herself forward into the water once they were above their hips. It was a forward-moving rather than downwards dive, so Sunset moved into deeper water while adjusting her eyes beneath the surface. Once she did so, she could see Fluttershy nearby – also underwater and even waving at her while holding her breath.
Fluttershy looked around this deeper part of the lagoon, which was closer now to Dashie and so she suspected the sirens were not far. She had more familiarity with the small water creatures than Sunset, so she knew where to look. Either way, the view underwater was beautiful.
The water was not quite crystal clear but it was very easy to see through none the less. Visibility was perfect for the first twenty-five feet or so. She saw a terrain of arching rocks on the floor and collections of tropical fish finding cover when disturbed. There was even a small crab picking at some algae on one of the large rough rocks.
Deep green plants also covered the floor and some of the longer ones seemed to aspire to be kelp, though came up short. There were even plants of orange and red, some stretching around like leafless underwater shrubs. Beams of sunlight penetrated the surface and angled down against them, helping to illuminate the seascape that was not too dark to begin with.
Aha, Fluttershy thought to herself as she saw a form dart beneath the arch of a rock formation. It was yellow with magnificent golden fins – the top one almost like a sail. Two small hooves were held against its chest as it swam with a magnificent and natural wag of the fins and tail.
Sunset went after the small siren after checking the target of Fluttershy’s gaze. The animal-loving girl also had some breath left so she decided to drift around to the rock archway, since she knew Sonata would not be too far away. In fact, she quickly found the little blue songfish on the other side of the rocks.
Sonata stared down a tiny guppy, but it didn’t look hostile. It was a deep and serious gaze, like something was being communicated without words. The fish opened and closed its mouth as it breathed, bubbles moving upwards from it. Sonata’s eyes widened and then returned along with the rest of her face to an overjoyed expression. She reached out with her forehoof and lightly bumped the fish’s forward right fin.
The fish swam along after that, leaving Fluttershy wondering what it was about. She could normally communicate with animals but she hadn’t been close enough to get a proper read on what happened. She swam to the top to get some air and by the time she took a fresh breath in the bright light above the surface, Sonata was popping up next to her.
“We’re gonna have so much fun!” the little blue siren flapped her tiny hooves on the water’s surface.
Fluttershy giggled, rubbing the songfish’s head. “We already are. Look, isn’t that Aria over there?”
Sonata snapped her head to look back in the direction her caretaker was pointing and indeed could make out in the distance the image of two individuals. One was Rarity walking up the edge of the water in a rather provocative bikini in the same shade of purple as her still styled hair. The other was a purple songfish in her arms, adorned by an assortment of bracelets on her hooves and a more delicate-looking silver necklace that held a brilliant amethyst in the center. These things might only have been noticeable at such a distance because the sun reflected off them, casting outwards beautiful pastel-like shades of color.
“Oh! Ari~!” Sonata shouted out and sped away like a miniature motorboat towards her sister.
Fluttershy smiled and followed her, though at a much more relaxed pace. Today was simply for relaxation. No plans. It had been a while since she and at least some of the girls had done that. As much as Fluttershy loved the animal shelter, the fresh air of this place was rejuvenating to her spirit.
Sonata reached the shallow water just as Adagio did. They used their hooves to crawl up the thinly submerged sand. Rarity stepped only partly into this, putting Aria down gently before her where she could crawl back into deeper water with her sisters.
“Hey, Nata,” Aria greeted with hardly a hint of grump. She tossed her head back the way Rarity often did and gave a proud grin that Adagio rolled her eyes at. “What do you think? Snazzy, huh?”
“Ooooooh, pretty,” Sonata’s eyes sparkled as she peered close at her sister’s jewel necklace.
“You’re going to get choked by that in the water,” Adagio crossed her forehooves.
“Pfft,” the purple siren blew it off and started crawling farther into the water to refresh herself. “Jealous.”
Adagio’s cheeks puffed up and her face burned at that.
“Oh I see,” Sonata remarked as she followed her sibling. “It’s got an extra attachment on the back so it stays in place with your fin.”
“Clever,” Adagio grumbled and followed behind them. “It’s too bad we’ll be on the same team in tag.”
“Actually,” Aria began and just then got deep enough to dive underwater. “Ahhhh,” she breathed out naturally in the warm relaxing liquid. Her sisters followed so that they were all beneath the surface. “I’m teaming up with Nata today,” she put a forehoof around her blue sister.
“What?” Adagio crossed her forehooves.
“We played together last time and I want to team up with Taco Tuesday instead. We haven’t spent as much time together.”
“Awww,” Sonata cooed and squeezed her sister in a tight hug. “You’re so nice, Ari~!”
Adagio gagged. “When did you get so sappy?”
“When I realized we’re all we’ve got.”
The blunt honesty and seriousness of the line surprised not only Adagio but also Sonata. The golden siren came out of her surprise with a heavy thought while the blue one merely had eyes sparkling. Sonata would have appeared overjoyed now but she had seemed as much before and thus it was difficult to discern the difference.
They had drifted over to a collection of sea sponges and starfish. Some were of brilliant yellows and oranges while a couple had speckles of blue or red against green exteriors. Though none were dangerous to them, they didn’t think to bother the creatures. They had a game in mind and the teams had been drawn.
“I guess it was inevitable,” Adagio splayed out her forelegs. “After all, I can win any contest as a solo act and everybody knows it.”
“I wonder who you got that from,” Aria said sarcastically and with a provocative smirk. “Where’s your human anyways?”
The answer came as a certain rainbow-haired human lazily paddled by them with a self-assured grin. She appeared less at home in the underwater world than the songfish, but by no means out of her league. Captain of the swimming club indeed.
“We’ll start with Aria,” Adagio proclaimed without contest.
They swam to the nearest spire of coral and Aria put her two small hooves against it, causing a few tiny fish to dart back into their protective crevices. Sonata gave Aria a wink before swimming off fast. Before Adagio did the same, she reminded her purple sister.
“Twenty seconds. No less.”
Aria just smirked in reply.
Once Adagio was out of sight, she closed her eyes and counted.
It didn’t take long to find Adagio. Sonata may have been required to go in the opposite direction but what Dagi didn’t realize was that they had a secret helper. Comrade Guppy! The miniature but brightly colored tropical fish was darting from coral cover to coral cover, keeping a tail on Adagio. Once he saw her find a lush group of golden seaweed to lose herself in, he rocketed back in Sonata’s direction. A few flashes of his neon and multi-colored tail told the blue siren all she needed.
After all, Sonata was exceptionally fluent in the guppy language.
She waved her own much larger tail and zipped back along the ridge of coral to the downturn where the golden-hued plants rested. Aria’s countdown was over by a solid ten seconds, so her find was legitimate…if one didn’t count the guppy spying.
“Gotcha!” Sonata giggled as she collided with her golden sister hiding in the plants.
“Darnit, Sonata!” Adagio cried out and battled her sister’s hugging and cheek nuzzling. “How in Tartarus did you find me so fast?!”
“I’m that good!” Sonata stuck her tongue out.
Adagio responded with a deadpan expression.
A silent moment.
“You cheated didn’t you?” Adagio’s deadpan continued.
“N-noooo...” Sonata replied unconvincingly, her eyes wandering about.
Before Adagio could act on the traitorous little songfish, she was roughly tapped on the back. She turned around just in time to see the purple blur zip away.
“Thanks for digging her out, Sonata!” Aria chuckled as she swam away. “Oh and tag you’re it, Adagio!”
“Hey-!” Adagio began to protest but Sonata took the moment to flee as well.
“Catch us if you can!” the blue siren giggled.
“Oh you two are going to get it !” Adagio seethed before launching herself into hot pursuit.
Meanwhile, Rainbow Dash and Sunset Shimmer tried to convince a water-averse Rarity to join the tag match. It took Fluttershy’s assistance to drag the girl into the perfectly inviting warm water. Rarity’s wet hair, flattened by the soaking, caused her to be the most vengeful competitor in the match by far.
