Phoenix

"Hello?" came the voice from the other side of phone. It was rather rough sounding, an annoyed yet curious tone to it. Adagio groaned internally as she realized who's number it was.

"Hello, Ms. Rainbow Dash. I found your flyer looking for information about-"

"Who is this? Your voice sounds familiar..." Rainbow Dash said, obviously pondering the thought.

"Who is it Rainbow?" came a second, more refined sounding voice, rather nearby given the volume of it.

"Haaaa..." Adagio rubbed the bridge of her nose firmly. "Look, just put me on speaker phone, alright?"

"Hey! Your not the boss of me!" Rainbow shot back, only to be silenced by Adagio.

"Please? I don't have all day."

"Hey! It's one'a them Sirens!" came a third voice, an obvious country accent dripping heavy from it. Obviously Rainbow had just put them on speakerphone.

"Hey, you're right! How'd you get my number!"

"From one of those sheets you've plastered all over town, numbnuts." Aria growled darkly before Adagio could even speak.

"Aria, sit." commanded Adagio in an exhausted manner before turning her attention back to the phone. "Look, I was told to call this number if I had information about one Sunset Shimmer." Murmurs broke out on the other end before Rainbow came back on.

"What have you done with Sunset, monsters!"

"Hey! Who are you calling monsters!" Sonata shouted, angrily approaching the phone in Adagio's grasp. "Where were you when-"

"Sonata, sit. I do agree with her, however. What have my sisters and I done to receive such a verbal attack this time?" Adagio asked incredulously.

"You really have to ask that after what you three did at the Battle of the Bands?" Rainbow asked, her anger seeping through the phone.

"Hm, sounds to me like you girls don't want to hear about who you're looking for. You know, the one who saved your sorry asses at that event?" Adagio added. "Very well. You shall not be hearing from us again."

"Wait!"

Adagio's thumb paused overtop of the end call icon on her phone.

"Oh, hello Princess." She said with a smirk. "Whatever are you doing here?"

"Stow it, Adagio. I've had enough issues these last weeks because of these five." Adagio was taken aback by how upset the Princess sounded. "Now tell me, what do you know about Sunset."

Adagio paused for a minute, looking over at her two sisters who gave her noncommittal looks in response.

"Two days from now, Ponyville Commons, Eight AM sharp."

***

"So tell me, Princess, how is Equestria doing?" Adagio asked, her body language portraying a spider talking to the prey in her web. "It has been ever so long since me and my sisters have seen it."

"Why you-" Rainbow started to dash forward, only to be blocked by Princess Twilight.

"Where is she?" Princess Twilight asked simply. She looked tired. Tired and beaten and at wits end judging by the bags under her eyes and the mess of her hair. Uet her eyes held a fire to them.

"Oh, I could certainly tell you..." Adagio said, suddenly gaining interest in the nails on her hand, before grinning over at the six girls in front of her. All of them were a mess. "But I want to learn something first."

Twilight stood there defiantly, her face a stony visage of silence, before she nodded her head slowly, eyes unblinking as they watched Adagio. The other five girls looked like they wanted to disagree, but held their tongues. Fear, Adagio thought, recognizing their states of mind.

"What do you know about what happened to her?" Adagio asked simply, crossing her arms as she studied them.

"She was scapegoated and attacked by students. Now where is she." the Princess responded.

"Ah, ah, ah." Adagio waggled a finger dismissively. "There had to be more to it than that, but I suppose I owe you an answer of some sort. Tit for tat and all. Sonata, tell them."

"She's safe at our home resting." The normally cheery girl spat out as she reluctantly trudged forward, earning gasps from the gathered Rainbooms.

"Why is she with you guys!"

"Give her back!"

"Can we-"

"Shut up!" Twilight screamed, not even looking back at the girls behind her. “What more do you want to know? CHS has been the target of what I am told is “Cyber-Bullying”, and everyone decided it was Sunset on the flimsiest bucking evidence! She begged them to believe her and they didn’t listen! And when she tried to talk to them the other day they stole her journal and sent her away. Now we don’t bucking know where she is, but supposedly you girls do.”

The other two sirens looked to their leader as Twilight finished her bitter rant, Adagio unmoving during the whole ordeal, until she started laughing. It started soft, yet empty, hollow of any emotion, reaching a crescendo of shrill howling as the Rainbooms backed away.

“Please… Please tell me you are lying dear Princess.” Adagio managed to bark out between gasps of breath. “Please tell me you and your friends didn’t throw her away after she saved your sorry asses!”

Aria’s face started to shift into a rather malicious grin, followed by chuckle emanating from her mouth, slowly matching Adagio’s own.

Sonata blanched as she started to put the pieces together, slowly backstepping and shaking her head, mumbling under her breath.

Adagio finally calmed down, wiping away her chilly tears, the last few giggles escaping from her mouth as she straightened, a maniac look beaming at the gather girls.

“I’m not sure I want to tell you now, to be honest. You all drove her to a dark point judging by the state we found her in. Maybe even darker if what I suspect is true.”

The Rainbooms at looked at Adagio in shock, muttering amongst one another as they tried to figure out what it was that the Siren meant.

“I want to see her.” Princess Twilight said, taking a step forward.

“She wouldn’t even recognize you right now!” Sonata shouted, running forward and grabbing Twilight by the arms, shaking the girl as tears streamed down her face.

“Hey! Let go of her!” Rainbow shouted, running forward and trying to separate the two, only to go flying back as Sonata delivered a well aimed palm to the girl’s nose, as evident by the blood starting to stream down it.

“Why’n tarnation would ya do that!” Applejack shouted, running forward and trying to stem the slow oozing of blood from the athlete’s nose.

“Because she’s at home with no memories and half her body wrapped up in casts because of you monsters!” she blubbered out, holding onto Twilight and weakly beating a fist against the girl’s shoulder. “She risked everything for you and that’s the thanks she gets!? Two destroyed limbs and potentially permanent amnesia!?”

Shocked gasps rose out of the Rainbooms at Sonata’s teary announcement, the evil glint in the pinpricks that were Adagio’s eyes grew ever more prominent.

“You see!? Maybe it is best that we take care of her after all! It seems you were the reason she ended up with us!” she cried, harsh laughter once again coming forth.

“C’mon, Sonny. Let go of the statue here.” Aria said, grinning maliciously as she pried her sister off of the form of Princess Twilight, frozen in shock and abstract horror.

“She saved us!” Sonata wailed as she walked away. “She saved you monsters and she saved us from ourselves!”

Princess Twilight stood there, watching as the Sirens slowly making their way back to their car. She remained there even as she heard Rainbow Dash get helped to her feet, the teen cursing wildly the whole time.

“C’mon, Princess, we should-”

“Get your hands off of me, traitor.” Twilight warned Applejack coldly, the teens hand shooting back with it’s owner as the Princess of Friendship slowly turned around, fury and brimstone in her fury filled gaze. “Each and every one of you… Traitors. I trusted you. I trusted you all to show Sunset Shimmer the magic of Friendship. And you failed.”

The five girls shuddered in terror as the second shortest girl amongst them stalked towards them, fire seeming to pool around her eyes.

“Give. It. To. Me.” she commanded, hand out stretched.

“Wh-what are-”

“GIVE IT TO ME! Give me her journal! None of you deserve it, and maybe, just maybe, those three will actually be able to help Sunset!” Twilight screamed at the cowering teens. Applejack rushed to rummage around in her knapsack, quickly pulling out a book covered with a dual toned sun and handing it to the furious girl, hands shaking the whole way.

“A-are ya sure, Tw-”

The teen ripped the book from the farmer’s hand without a second look and raced after the Sirens, hair flailing behind her.

***

“Wait! Please, wait!”

The Sirens stopped when they heard Princess Twilight’s voice, the three turning around under the gateway to the park towards the approaching girl. The single approaching girl.

“Please…” Twilight huffed, doubling over and panting wildly as she shoved a book towards them. “Please… keep hold… of this… I beg you… let me know… how she is…”

Adagio reached down and grabbed the book, taking in the familiar colours of the dual toned sun on its cover. She looked at the heaving Princess coldly, studying the desperate features.

“Fine. You alone gave her a chance, and seem to be trying to help.” Adagio said before pulling out her keys and unlocking her running car. “Get in, we’ll drop you off at the portal.”