“It’s been, like, three days!” Rainbow Dash groaned as the group convened at lunch. The previous day, Rarity had explained to Principal Celestia and Vice Principal Luna where Sunset Shimmer and the Dazzlings were. None of them understood why Aria and Sonata refused to come to the school, but it most likely had to do with not trusting Sunset with their sister. Rarity was careful not to mention Adagio’s actual status, knowing it wasn’t her place to disclose such information. “How long does this chick’s heat cycle last?”

“Considering her, ah, status,” Rarity murmured, filing her nails calmly. “and potency, for that matter, it is highly likely that her heat cycles can last anywhere between three to seven days.”

Rainbow Dash gasped. “What? We might have to stay there for a week? Seriously?”

Twilight nodded. She had stayed behind to ponder some things about the Dazzlings and actually experience human high school. Having already ascended to princesshood, most of the scientific and mathematical classes were below her level, but the differences in history and literature were intriguing. The purple alicorn found it fascinating how humans have no knowledge of magic and yet, had known of unicorns, pegasi, dragons and other creatures found in Equestria. Considering the portal’s existence, it was highly likely the creatures had come through long before now, or perhaps been banished like the Sirens.

Rainbow Dash laid her head on the table with a sigh. “If I’d known an Omega’s heat cycle could last that long, I’d’ve brought more videogames.”

“Rainbow, I don’ think it’s a good idea to talk about’er status out in th’ open like that,” Applejack scolded her. “People could be listenin’ and that’s her private business.”

“Please,” the athlete snorted, waving off the concern. “Everybody’s clearly lost in their own thing. Besides, it’s not like no one’s ever gonna find out.”

Rarity placed a hand to her forehead and felt her mate place a hand on her shoulder soothingly. Neither of them knew what they were going to do with Rainbow Dash. Thankfully, they didn’t have to do anything.

“Dash,” Fluttershy piped up. “You remember those Alphas that Sunset Shimmer saved me from in freshman year?”

“Uh, yeah?” Rainbow responded. Her eyes narrowed at the memory and she had actually thanked Sunset at the time.

Fluttershy bit her lip. “I’m not the only Omega they went after.”

“What does that have to do with…” Amethyst eyes widened in understanding and Rainbow sighed. “Okay, fair point. Fine. No talk of that girl’s real status at school, got it.”

“Thank goodness for Fluttershy,” Rarity breathed as Applejack chuckled in relief.

Just then, the bell for classes rang and Pinkie jumped up. “Last one to the Dazzlings’ place after school is a party-pooper!”

“Aw, no fair!” Rainbow called. “I’ve got practice!”

Fluttershy laughed softly and took her mate’s hand. “I’ll stay behind with you, Dashy, that way, you’re not alone.”

The group dispersed for classes and the day continued on as usual. Once classes let out for the day, Applejack, Rarity, Twilight and Pinkie waved goodbye to Shy and Dash before climbing into Applejack’s truck and heading for the manor. None of them were particularly happy about needing to return there every day, but they didn’t know what the Sirens would do to Sunset if Adagio’s heat cycle ended without them there.

Pulling up, the group strode for the front door. Rarity paused to, once again, take in the beauty of the large home. She really needed to ask the Sirens how they had managed to procure such a beautiful abode. Following after the others, she found them standing in the foyer in shock.

“What is the matter, dears?” Rarity asked, turning to the sitting room and understanding why they had paused.

Aria and Sonata glared at them irritably from one of the couches, both nude with Aria straddling Sonata’s hips. Neither group moved for a moment before Aria growled lowly and slid from her sister. “Buzz officially killed,” she grumbled, helping Sonata up. “Haven’t had a proper pounding in months and you just have to walk in now.”

“Aw, Ari, don’t be that way,” Sonata chirped, wrapping her arms around her mate from behind. Voice deepening to a husky murmur, she added, “After all, now we can shower.”

Aria’s eyes lit up at the reminder and the pair sauntered passed the stunned group and up the stairs, not bothering to pick up their discarded clothing. As they disappeared, Applejack took a deep breath and shook her head to clear it of the image of perky blue breasts. Pinkie blinked swaying magenta hips from her mind’s eye and turned to the others. “So, who wants something to eat? Anyone else hungry?”

“Don’t touch the kitchen until we get down there, you little shit!” Aria’s voice rang out from upstairs. “If I find even a little of our chocolate or icing missing, I’m shaving your head!”

Pinkie pouted at that, but complied. After all, it was rude to ignore someone else’s wishes in their own home. “Perhaps, just some water,” Rarity suggested, making her way toward the large kitchen.

“Sounds good to me!” Applejack agreed. “Might have to bring some cider for these gals tomorrow, cause their beverage selection is lackin’.”

The group settled around the kitchen table as they waited for the sisters to return from their shower. As Pinkie grew lost in a daydream and Twilight began studying her literature book, Rarity and Applejack cuddled together. There was silence for a few moments before a thought occurred to Rarity.

“I wonder…” the fashionista murmured. “Twilight, darling, could you tell us about the Alphas in Equestria?”

Twilight glanced up at her friend in confusion. “What do you mean?”

“Well, dear, the Sirens seemed fairly adamant that Alphas were bad news in Equestria. However, it is understandable that such a concept could have come about because of their upbringing. So, if you wouldn’t mind, I would love to know what your Alphas are like.”

The purple princess blinked to her alabaster friend and slowly tapped her chin. “Well,” she mused. “Alphas aren’t as evil as the Sirens were saying. I’m not sure about the era they grew up in, but status is more of just a title than anything now. We still lead packs and are ripe for positions of power, but it’s not a free-for-all. No Omega slaves, or Beta-slaughtering or any of that.”

Twilight momentarily cringed at the memory of Aria explaining how things had been in the old days of Equestria. To think, ponies used to trade one another like cattle. Granted, Rainbow Dash had attempted something similar at one point, but nothing quite as serious as what the Sirens had told them. It made her stomach turn at the thought and she wondered if the Human World had a parallel of such events.

Rarity nodded in understanding and the group lapsed into silence once more. Pinkie glanced to the basement door a moment and cocked her head. “They must be resting,” she muttered. “I can’t hear anything from down there.”

“Considerin’ it’s been three days, I reckon Sunset’s probably tired,” Applejack chuckled. “I can imagine Adagio might be a bit tuckered too. No tellin’ whether her heat’ll be over when they wake up, though.”

“I hope it ends soon,” Twilight sighed. “I don’t want my friends in Ponyville to get too worried about me.”

Spike popped from her backpack, stretching and yawning. “I’m sure they’re fine,” he mumbled, rubbing his eyes sleepily. “They know ya can take care of yourself.”

Twilight smiled at him and allowed him to jump onto her lap. She scratched behind his ears as she went back to her reading. Spike always was good at assuaging her fears… even if it didn’t help get rid of them completely.

The sound of footsteps drew the group’s attention to the stairs. Aria and Sonata sauntered into the kitchen, blessedly wearing clothing. The sisters smirked at them all and Sonata strolled to the fridge, grabbing some drinks. Distributing them to their guests, she nodded to them and settled against the counter with Aria.

“Enjoy your shower?” Spike asked curiously.

Sonata giggled as Aria gave the softest of purrs. “Yeah, it was a good one,” the blunette snickered, turning to grab a box of crackers from one of the cabinets. “Haven’t exercised like that in a while.”

The group shifted at her casual tone and shrugged to one another. Aria eyed them contemptuously and her eyes alighted on Twilight. They narrowed ever-so-slightly as Aria replayed the order in her mind. If Adagio was an actual Alpha, Aria could have called her for help against the command, but with her heat cycle consuming her so completely, Adagio wouldn’t have been much help as an Omega.

“So, what’s up at the prison?” she grumbled, crossing her arms.

“School’s fine,” Applejack shrugged. “Buncha students talkin’ ‘bout the Battle.” Aria’s eyes narrowed just slightly. “They liked ya music, minus the mind controllin’ bit.”

Sonata beamed at her. “Dagi writes good songs. And we’re naturals at singing cause we’re Sirens.”

“Translation: of course they liked our songs,” Aria laughed with a self-assured smile. “We were born to sing for them.”

Rarity perked up. “So, Adagio is the only one to write songs for the group?”

“I can’t write music,” Sonata chirped nonchalantly.

“And I don’t have the patience to learn,” Aria added. “It’s just easier to let Dag write’em and all we gotta do is sing and eat.”

“Sounds a bit lazy,” Applejack murmured skeptically.

Two pairs of eyes glared at her irritably. Aria bared her teeth and growled, “Maybe to a farmgirl, but Sirens aren’t human. The more energy we expend to get food, the more we need. If the payout can be bigger than the cost, we’ll take it.”

Applejack huffed at the concept, but Rarity placed a calming hand on her arm. The blonde settled down at her mate’s touch and sat back in the chair, sipping the apple juice Sonata had tossed her. The group lapsed into silence once more until the front door opening caught their attention.

“…and did ya see the way I broke the defense? Awesome! They didn’t stand a chance. We are so gonna kill it at the upcoming game.”

Sonata and Aria rolled their eyes at the sound of Rainbow Dash’s boasting. “Great,” the violet-haired siren snarled. “Another headache incoming.”

“Yo,” Rainbow Dash called, waving as she and Fluttershy entered the kitchen. “Flutts stopped by my house so I could grab some games. Anybody wanna play?”

“Sure do,” Applejack grinned, standing and pecking Rarity’s hand. “Gonna toast ya.”

“Ha!” the athlete snorted. “We’ll see about that. To the living room!”

Sonata shook her head at them and began rummaging around in the cabinets for materials for dinner. Pinkie, who had kept herself quiet for the time being, finally piped up. “Can we make cupcakes?” she pleaded, turning her large eyes on Sonata.

Sonata glanced to Aria, who shrugged and waved her on. With a smile, Sonata bounced over to Pinkie Pie and the pair began getting the supplies together for some cupcakes. The twin-tailed siren rolled her eyes, but spared a small smile to her mate’s excitement. She pulled out her phone and began scrolling through the notifications, boredly thumbing away the ones that didn’t matter.

Twilight glanced to Spike as he coughed slightly. “You alright, Spike?” the lavender princess inquired.

“I think the princesses are trying to send you mail,” the dragon murmured, coughing once more. “There’s a disturbance in my ability to burp it out.”

“It’s most likely due to the lack of magic and your changed form,” Twilight murmured. “Well, hopefully it’s not urgent. The others knew I was leaving and they know I won’t be back until I’ve made sure the problem is stable. Everything should be fine until then.”

Spike nodded, but the musing had caught Aria’s attention and the magenta woman cocked her head. “You just left?” she asked slowly. “Just like that?”

“Yeah,” the princess replied. “Ponyville is pretty self-sufficient, so I can leave and return as necessary without disrupting too much.”

“So, lemme get this right,” Aria huffed. “The royalty is so lax that a princess can go missing and nobody bats an eye? What do you even do then?”

Twilight bit her lip. She herself had been wondering the same thing for some time. Thankfully, with the defeat of Tirek, she was more sure of her position than before. “It’s the duty of myself and the other Elements of Harmony to spread the message of friendship and harmony throughout Equestria,” she responded. “We defeat enemies that Princesses Celestia and Luna are unable to, like Tirek and Discord. Princess Cadence is so busy in the Crystal Empire that it’s too difficult to call upon her for help in those situations.”

Aria shook her head as Sonata removed the first batch of cupcakes from the oven. “Weird freaking ponies,” she muttered.

As the next batch of cupcakes went into the oven, the basement door slowly creaked open. All paused in their actions as they turned their attention to the lone figure making her way up. Hair mussed and gait slightly sluggish, Sunset appeared in the basement doorway and made a beeline for the kitchen.

“Hey, sleepyhead!” Twilight called to her friend, Spike giving the former villainess a friendly wave.

“Hey, everyone,” Sunset called, covering a yawn. “Something smells good.”

“We’re making cupcakes!” Pinkie cheered, gesturing to herself and Sonata.

Sunset nodded and strode for the refrigerator. Leaning down, she found a water bottle and grabbed it happily. It wasn’t necessarily that she was tired of Adagio’s heat, but three days of sex and sleep was not healthy. She figured it must have been their magic keeping them from flat-out dying. Still, water. Water was good, both for her throat and her energy. Adagio had at least one more day in her. Sunset needed to be ready to deliver.

“So, how’s Adagio?” Spike called to the fiery-haired woman.

“She’s insatiable,” Sunset chuckled, leaning against the counter. “So hungry and wanting.”

“Dagi’s always been like that,” Sonata chirped as she tossed Pinkie the sprinkles. “Her heat cycles before the suppressants were invented lasted a whole week.”

Sunset hummed appreciatively and took a drink from her water bottle. “That kind of appetite is hard to come by. I haven’t found a lot of Omegas or Betas in this world with a sex drive that high.”

Aria’s eyes narrowed at the insinuation and she grunted, “Have you marked her?”

A blush covered Sunset’s cheeks and she scratched the back of her head awkwardly. “She’s asked me to several times, but I haven’t marked her yet.”

“Why not?” Sonata asked. She was also suspicious of the Alpha’s motives for wanting their sister, but she was also genuinely confused as to why Sunset wouldn’t take the chance.

“It’s a little… complicated,” the orange woman sighed, taking a seat at the table beside Rarity. “I don’t want to mark her only to have her come down from her heat and realize she didn’t want me to. I want it to be a conscious decision on her part for me to become her mate.”

Rarity cut in with a nod, placing a hand on the taller woman’s shoulder. “Sunset is correct. We just defeated you three and stripped you of your power. We’re lucky the ramifications seem minimal, but your resentment towards us is quite obvious. If Sunset were to mark your sister and Adagio is still angry with us once her cycle is over, that puts Sunset in a very unfortunate predicament.”

“How?” Aria snorted. “It’s not like she doesn’t have her eye on the alicorn from Equestria. Why not just leave Dag for the princess?”

Sunset shifted and glanced to her friends. Pinkie Pie and Rarity both shrugged at her and the former unicorn sighed. Twilight gave no indication that she had heard aside from the slight blush covering her cheeks as she stared hard at the textbook in front of her. Spike merely snickered behind his paw. “Twilight and I aren’t interested in one another romantically, but even if I was, marking Adagio would prevent me from marking anyone else. Alphas can only have one marked mate in this world.”

There was the sound of something breaking and all heads whipped up to find Aria and Sonata staring at Sunset with their jaws wide. The two sirens blinked at the Alpha for a moment before Aria asked, “You… can only mark one mate for life here? What kind of sense does that make? How the hell are you to lead a pack if you can only have one mate?”

“Well, I can still conceive with Betas and Omegas,” Sunset explained. “I just can’t mark them unless I’m absolutely sure. The most Adagio and I have been doing is flirting all week, but we were on opposing sides. I don’t even know if my scent is attractive to her.”

“Of course it is!” Sonata exclaimed. “You didn’t notice the first day we met you? Your scent when you came into the hall nearly sent her spiraling into heat right then and there. She’s been into you since she met you!” Aria smacked the ponytailed girl over the head irritably. Adagio was going to kill them if she ever found out Sonata had spilled.

Sighing, she conceded that some further information was necessary now that Sonata had said so much. “Look, Adagio is picky. Like, really picky. Almost every scent she’s ever come across has disgusted her to no end.”

“Sometimes, she even holds her breath when in a large crowd,” Sonata added.

“Your scent is the first one since we were born that Adagio hasn’t rejected, even a little,” Aria continued with a pointed glare thrown at the blunette. “The only scents she’s ever liked are mine and Sonata’s.”

Sunset stared down at the table for a moment. “I suppose that makes me feel a little better. Still, I don’t want to mark her until she’s of her right mind.”

Sonata shrugged and took the cupcakes from the oven, handing them to Pinkie Pie. The party girl easily extracted the treats from the pan onto the platter and went about prepping the pan for the next batch. Sliding the pan to the blunette, Pinkie grabbed up the icing to decorate the warm pastries.

Aria watched them for a moment before her eyes strayed to the basement. She licked her lips, thinking of Adagio lying down there, ready to be mated again. Sonata hadn’t been lying when she’d said they hadn’t mated their sister in a long time. Ever since they saw that magic, Adagio had planned nonstop on how to extract it properly. She hadn’t let them mate her at all during that time and had used suppressants to help her focus. It irked the violet-haired siren to no end that Adagio finally went into heat and they weren’t the ones taking care of her.

The rest of the group simply sat around the table, minding their business. Rarity filed her nails to perfection as Sunset took another drink from her water bottle. Pinkie and Sonata finished their tower of cupcakes as a groan from Rainbow Dash sounded in the living room.

Suddenly, Sonata’s head whipped up as Sunset’s and Aria’s did the same. All three looked to the basement as a soft moan was heard. The youngest siren licked her lips and grinned happily. She made to bound for the basement, but Aria stopped her with a roll of her eyes. The twin-tailed siren motioned to the amber woman already heading for the basement. Sonata pouted and Aria huffed, “Maybe next heat cycle, Nata. But you know Dagi doesn’t switch partners during a cycle. We’ll tag-team her on the next one.”

“My, she really is picky, isn’t she?” Rarity murmured, blowing on her nails. “It seems we may have more in common than I originally thought.”

The pair of Sirens glanced at her skeptically before Sonata went back to decorating and Aria headed to the living room to see if the rainbow head had lost another round yet. A pitiful moan affirmed her suspicions and she smirked. At least she could still glean some pain from these pathetic humans, even without her magic.

Author's Note

Ah, good to be back.