Adagio hummed softly, shifting against the body beside her. Large, soft breasts, it must have been Sonata. The assumption was strengthened by the flaccid length pressing against her thigh. Snuggling closer to the warmth, Adagio allowed each of her senses to return gradually.

Light filtered through her eyelids from high above, so they must have been in the basement. She must have missed her suppressants, which was unfortunate. They would need to have one of their human minions make some more. Her mouth tasted sour; she needed to brush her teeth after however long this cycle had lasted. There was movement from upstairs, so Aria was awake. Hopefully, she was making breakfast because Adagio was starving. Even human food would satisfy her at this point. Finally, her sense of smell returned and with it came a thundering realization.

Sunset’s eyes flew open as a blood-curdling scream rent the air. Seconds later, a foot connected with her stomach and she was flying off the bed. Landing heavily on the floor, the orange-skinned woman groaned and rubbed her head as she turned bleary turquoise eyes to the trembling figure on the bed. Clearly, Adagio did not approve of who she had woken up to.

“You!” the yellow siren snarled, teeth sharp and eyes burning. Sunset suddenly understood how Adagio could pull off the role of Alpha so well. The woman’s temper and expressions alone would have fooled anyone, even without her song. Claws gripped the blankets to Adagio’s body as the leader of the singing trio glared daggers at the woman on the ground.

From upstairs, the others awake in the house perked up. Aria sighed from where she was cooking breakfast for herself, Pinkie Pie, Applejack and Rarity. “Looks like Adagio’s awake,” she grumbled. “And not at all happy.”

“It’s a good thing Sunset didn’ mark’er,” Applejack huffed as Rarity sipped her morning tea nonchalantly.

“Shall we go check to make sure our friend is still alive?” suggested the fashionista. “After all, though she is an Omega, Adagio has the personality of an Alpha. Sunset may have a bit of trouble.”

Pinkie hopped up and led the quartet into the basement where Adagio was ranting on the bed and Sunset was sitting cross-legged on the floor, listening to her. The four of them leaned around the doorway as they watched the situation calmly.

“…not degrading enough for you to strip us of our power for who knows how long, but this as well?” Adagio demanded, waving her hands between them. “So often, my plans fail by one small missed factor, but this is even worse than Star Swirl banishing us. To be mated by the enemy! I’ll never be able to show my face anywhere ever again. My status as an Omega will be known to everyone and no one will look at me with the same level of respect. And to top it all off, I’m the lapdog of an Alpha!”

Sunset rubbed her head tiredly as she listened to the enraged woman. “If I remember correctly, there was a point at which you enjoyed being in my lap,” she grumbled. Aria cringed, spotting the mistake instantly.

Amethyst eyes turned to slits and burned brightly. Grabbing a nearby pillow, Adagio launched herself off the bed and slammed the weaponized mass of fluff into the side of Sunset’s head. The taller woman’s neck cracked as she toppled slightly. Adagio did not let up, smacking the pillow into her head again. Tears streamed down Adagio’s cheeks as the siren continued her assault. She didn’t stop until Sunset was flat on her back and holding her head in pain.

Pinkie Pie and Rarity giggled slightly at the display while Applejack cocked her head. “How can a fluffy pillow hurt so much?” she wondered aloud.

“The force behind each swing is one of Adagio’s best traits,” Aria smirked. “One smack alone, if she’s angry enough, will send you into whiplash. It’s her preferred attack method.”

“That’s so cute!” Pinkie Pie cooed, before Aria covered her mouth quickly.

”Once, she nearly broke my neck with a throw pillow because I broke her favorite unicorn figurine. You wanna be on the receiving end of that?”

The trio grimaced at that and turned to their friend with a tad more concern. Adagio panted slightly as she sat cross-legged beside the agonized Sunset Shimmer. Tears still slid down her cheeks, but she wiped them away irritably. “Every single time,” she whispered. “Every time, something goes wrong. Some minor flaw that couldn’t possibly have been accounted for leads to our downfall. First banished, which, admittedly, wasn’t all that bad. Now? Now, starving, hoarse, and disgraced.”

“Starving?” Sunset grunted, pulling herself into a sitting position and moving slightly away from the fuming ginger.

Adagio scoffed and crossed her arms irritably. “We’re sirens, nitwit. We feed on emotions. Human food can sustain us, but just barely. Until our jewels come back, we’re stuck being hungry for Poseidon knows how long.”

“In our defense, you were trying to take over the world,” Sunset pointed out. She finally regained her breath from the attack and rubbed her neck to ease some of the soreness. “We couldn’t just let you do that.”

“We would’ve won had you stayed out of it,” Adagio retorted calmly, amethyst eyes glaring into Sunset’s turquoise.

The former unicorn shook her head. “As I said, couldn’t let you do that.”

There was a moment of silence before Adagio turned to Sunset curiously. “I was able to hurt you,” she stated. “How?”

Sunset quirked an eyebrow in confusion. “You… hit me…?”

“But isn’t there a rule of some kind preventing the mates of Alphas from injuring them in any way?” Adagio asked curiously, her natural intellect sparked. “Mother told us that being an Omega and mated to one of you was similar to being chained down. Unable to fight back, forced to take orders, being watched at all times and used for nothing but sex.”

“Look,” Sunset sighed, rubbing her head. “I don’t know how things were in Equestria a thousand years ago, but they certainly aren’t that way now if that’s what it was like. Being an Alpha is more of a personality trait than a position now. We are still leaders, still in charge, but we don’t just dominate whoever walks in our paths. We’re not barbarians.” Adagio’s eyebrows furrowed and Sunset added, “There’s also the fact that I haven’t marked you.”

This caught the yellow siren off guard. “How could a creature so ruled by desires not mark me…?” she murmured, clearly trying to understand the situation. “All you do is take…”

“Like I said, Alphas in Equestria aren’t like that anymore. And there are some mirrors of that in this world, too. For starters, so long as I’m in this world, I can only have one marked mate because I’m an Alpha.”

Shock colored deep pink eyes and Adagio frowned. “That makes absolutely no sense if you’re building a pack…”

“That’s what I said,” Aria piped in, coming to sit beside her sister as it seemed the pair had calmed enough for company. Sunset immediately blushed, but the purple siren and Pinkie seemed indifferent to her state of dress. Applejack and Rarity, on the other hand, looked anywhere but at Sunset as they settled on the carpet as well.

Adagio nodded to her sister. “So, I take it only being able to have one mark is why my neck is still clear?”

“That’s right,” Sunset affirmed. “I figured you would wake up and still hate me, which would suck if I had marked you. Wanted you to let your steam out first before we talked about the several times you asked me to mark you. You have a right to a conscious choice in this, not some decision made in the heat of passion that you’ll regret later.”

To her credit, Adagio actually looked touched at the sentiment before her smirk returned. “While being mated to you might not seem so dire now that a few things have been cleared up, there’s still the part in which my sisters and I no longer have our voices nor proper sustenance. Truth be told, Sirens don’t take their mates when in weakened states.”

“Maybe we should move this party upstairs?” Applejack suggested.

Pinkie Pie perked up excitedly. “Party?” she gasped, but Aria shut her down immediately with a glare. “Right. Seriousness first, then party.”

Adagio stood and swayed over to a wardrobe on the other side of the room. Stepping inside, she closed the doors for a moment before reemerging in a golden tank top and purple shorts. Sunset caught a similar outfit and quickly clothed herself. The group proceeded back up the stairs where Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Sonata and Twilight were all waiting in the kitchen.

“Where were you guys?” Dash asked. “We heard a scream, but nobody was here when we came down.”

“Adagio and Sunset just needed to talk some things out,” Rarity explained calmly, retaking her seat.

“And Adagio attacked Sunset with a pillow!” Pinkie added.

Rainbow Dash snorted at the mental image. “That doesn’t sound so bad.”

“Why don’t you piss her off next time then?” Sunset challenged, rubbing her neck subconsciously.

The group all settled around the table. Aria handed out plates of food and both she and Sonata flanked Adagio’s seat, keeping a close eye on their guests. There was silence for a few moments as the two groups watched one another and ate their breakfast. Finally, Twilight cleared her throat. “Now that all three of you are here, there are a few things we’d actually like to ask you about yourselves. Since Adagio seems to be of her right mind, I think it’s time to talk.”

Author's Note

*cracks neck* Goodness I've been waiting for it to get to this part. I've had this chapter and the following two written since the very beginning. *cracks knuckles* Prepare yourselves for a history lesson, cause feels are on the way.

All constructive criticism and feedback is welcome in the comments!