Phoenix

“Did you two just feel that!?” Adagio tore around the corner, water dripping freely from her nude frame as she panted heavily, eyeing the other two Sirens forcefully.

“I, uh…” Aria looked stunned as she stared at her lead sister, shocked at what had just resonated in her. “I guess you actually have a chance of being right, Adagio…”

“Is it…” the pair turned at looked at Sonata, the cyan Siren appearing to have new life breathed into her veins. “Could it really be her…?”

***

Sonata had taken the loss of Sunset the hardest of the three, the normally lively and energetic Equestrian having been driven to pit of despair that neither Adagio nor Aria had ever seen in their many years. The Siren had retreated away from everyone and everything, a dark pall falling over the Siren’s Den as Sonata retreated to her room, refusing to interact with either of her sisters as she preferred to be left by herself.

The trio had taken a vacation of sorts from school, the newly appointed Principal Cadance approving their time off to grieve for their loss, and had remained isolated from the rest of the world. When they were forced to go out, it was often left upon Adagio to go scavenging for household supplies, or occasionally Aria would leave the house only to return at some absurd hour of the night in some sort of hammered, wasted, or drugged up state, often times passing out just inside the house.

Adagio had been the only one to return to the school when their vacation was up, leading to an awkward discussion with Principal Cadance about the actions of her sisters. Cadance agreed to keep the three of them enrolled, with Adagio having to cart all of their paperwork to the house and forcing them to complete it.

More than a few times had someone or some people tried to stop by and visit with the Sirens. The Sparkle Family had brought over flowers the day after Sunset’s funeral. Adagio was the one who answered, and welcomed them in for a quick drink. Aria could be heard cursing as she hammered away at something in the garage, and when Adagio called for her the crass Siren had responded with a rather startlingly loud Equestrian curse, more or less telling her sister to “Fuck off!”. Adagio had to explain that all three of them were still grieving, and apologized for Aria’s outburst. When asked where Sonata was, Adagio hesitated to answer.

The next to stop by were the rest of the Shadowbolt’s that regularly shared a lunch table with the four Equestrians. They were shooed away by a bloodshot eyed Sonata, the girl reeking of smells unfit for mortal life.

The Orchestra Group never showed up, though they had received word from Adagio about the state of the house, and were warned to stay away.

The Rainboom’s… they had been chased away by a drunk out of her mind Aria, the girl wielding an archaic looking shotgun and cursing at them in Equestrian. Thankfully for all parties involved, the shotgun wasn’t loaded.

The last visitor to show up was Princess Twilight, the girl having been picked up by Adagio just a little ways away from Canterlot High School. When asked why, the Siren swore to the Princess of Friendship that she would never again set foot on grounds within one hundred feet of that school. The two had sat at the surprisingly messy kitchen table of the Siren’s Den, Adagio halfheartedly apologizing for the state of the house, saying that all the care of the house had been left to her, with Aria spending most of her time out getting drunk, high, or trying to get into fights, and Sonata having not been out of her room, save for using the washroom, in the last week.

Princess Twilight sat there, studying the ancient Equestrian monster with a newfound understanding. She had come to understand what had happened that day, to fully learn of the atrocities that had occurred on the school’s grounds, and she was lost. She had seen firsthand the destruction wrought upon Equestria by Tirek when he had absorbed the entirety of Ponykind’s magics. She had read of how the Sirens and Wendigos had almost brought Equestria to ruin in the past. She had been thrown away by her own friends and family when Chrysalis had invaded. Yet she still couldn’t understand why Sunset was treated the way she had been.

She came to terms with the fact that, while the Sirens were not repentant of their past actions and misdeeds against Equestria, they were still the closest thing Sunset Shimmer had had for family on this side of the mirror portal.

The two Equestrians had talked for over an hour about what to do regarding the Sirens, the relationships between Gaia and Equestria, even what was to be done with Sunset’s magic journal that was used to help link the two worlds. It had been decided to shelve some of the conversation for a later date, thanks to Aria bursting through the door, her lip puffy and split open as she flailed onto the ground, belching as the beer bottle in her hand shattered onto the stonework floor. The Sirens would keep the journal, as it was the easiest way for the two worlds to communicate, and Princess Twilight would power down the contraption on the Equestrian side of the portal to make sure that no one would be able to cross over either way.

That had been during the third week of March. That Friday, Sonata vanished, and it was only found out when Adagio had tried to take food up to the girl’s room in the morning. Adagio ended up calling in sick to school, instead spending her time driving around town with a hungover Aria, searching every bar, brothel, and crack den in an effort to find their emotionally unstable sister.

They eventually found her in the alley where they had discovered Sunset’s body, Adagio sprinting over to the slumped over form of the cyan Siren. Sonata had appeared to try and take a knife to her arms, yet thankfully failed to puncture her delicate skin, though her pyjama top had not been spared from her actions. All around the girl sat empty booze bottles and cans, as well as used syringes and other drug paraphernalia. Sonata had been rushed to the hospital, Adagio thanking Princess’ Celestia and Luna themselves that somehow the girl had survived, though she had to struggle to contain Aria from assaulting the recovering girl, insulting her in Equestrian as she tried to land blows on the silent girl.

Sonata had spent the week in the hospital, with Adagio and Aria staying with her the entire time, well almost, as Aria spent the first night out doing something reckless as usual. The three departed at the end of the week, but not without Adagio having to use what little magic that she had recovered to manipulate the minds of the hospital staff.

Once they were home, Sonata broke down, the girl flooding the stone floor with her tears as she cried out like a foal for her sister, their savior, to come back to them. Adagio had carried Sonata up and into her room, Adagio rushing over to Sonata’s to deposit the girl’s filthy clothing into her hamper before returning and tucking the girl in for the night. Aria had stayed home that night, causing the lead Siren to let out a sigh of relief as she pulled the brand new wine bottle up to her mouth, draining it with long, deep, pulls practiced over the millennia.

The two had talked, with Aria apologizing for her behavior, saying that she hadn’t realized just how risky she was being. It was thanks to Sonata and that first night in the hospital that Aria had discerned just how important the other two Sirens were to her, and just how much she meant to them. There was a silence as Adagio tried to come to terms with just what Aria had said, the girl saying to ignore her rambling as she headed off to bed.

That weekend was spent at home, the three actually getting together for the first time since the day of the funeral, cleaning and organizing the house. It was Adagio that said the three of them should go out and have lunch somewhere on Monday, the other two agreeing quietly as they continued with their chores. The ride over had been quiet enough, the three sharing unrelated small talk, but it wasn’t until they passed CHS that things got heated. Aria had said that they should burn the school to the ground and piss on its ashes in memory of Sunset, with Sonata quietly responding that Sunset wouldn’t like that if she were here.

Adagio hadn’t spoken up until they had parked just outside of Pepper’s, saying that she believed Sunset was actually still alive and out there as the trio entered the cafe. That was when Aria had gotten loud, her emotions driving her as she responded to her sister.

“Look, I wish she was still around as much as you! But she’s gone, Adagio! You were there, we all saw the body!”

***

“I mean, even I felt that…” Aria said, her eyes seeming oddly energized. “Equestrian Magic…”

“But it was really far away…” Sonata had moved to the window, her colour seeming to return to her body as she tried to look in the direction of what the three had felt.

“There’s no doubting it,” Adagio said, walking forward, a hopeful look on her face. “That was Equestrian Magic… Come on! We need to go investigate!”

Aria and Sonata looked at one another as Adagio tore back up the stairs, water spraying wildly around her as she rushed to get dressed.

***

“This is where it happened all right…” Aria said as the three Equestrians got out of Adagio’s car. “Gods… I can still feel it in the air!”

“And it… it feels like Sunset…!” Sonata added, the girl closing her eyes as she stood there, absorbing the world around her.

“I think… it’s coming from further in there.” Adagio said softly, starting to walk down a small trail between the copse. “Follow me you two…”

It had started with a slow, careful walk, but as the Sirens got closer and closer to the middle of the woods, their pace quickened, until they were running to get to the middle.

“She was here!” Sonata called out, the girl laughing and hooting as the three came to a clearing with a large, crystal clear lake. “I know it was her! There’s no- Sunset is alive!”

“I don’t…” Aria looked around, actually able to perceive the residue magic lingering in the air. “Is this what you two see…?”

“It’s almost blinding… Sunset must have used everything while she was here.” Adagio looked around, silently observing the clearing. If it weren’t for the fact that she was able to discern the magic in the air, the clearing would have seemed like no life had ever been here before.

“But why…?” Sonata paused and looked back to her sister, dread starting to build inside of her.

“There’s so little magic in this world… So how was she able to unleash this much?” Aria added.

“I don’t know…” Adagio said softly, her face falling as she searched through her memories, her face lighting up as she came to a realization. “But I think I know who might!”