Silence of a Siren

By Mist

Prologue

16 Hours Until Execution

“BRING ME TWILIGHT SPARKLE! I WANT TO SPEAK WITH THE PRINCESS!” I screamed at the highest decibel level that my voice would allow. With fury and anger, I rattled the steel bars that kept me locked away, the bars that blocked my exit back into the open world, back into Equestria where I could escape the horrid punishment that was about to befall me.

I couldn’t remember how long I had been screaming, my voice had grown hoarse and was starting to crack with each sentence that left my throat, but my will had not been shaken yet; at this point, it was my dying will, the same kind of determination that some would get when they are faced with an obstacle that would mean the end of them if they could not pass it, except this time it truly was my own end.

I, Adagio Dazzle had been convicted of murder in the first degree in the royal court of Equestria. The punishment for that crime was death. That punishment was to be carried out in the next sixteen hours. In sixteen hours from that moment, I would be dead, a memory, just a bad dream.

It’s an odd feeling, knowing that you will die soon; odder when you have lived as long as I have. For nearly 2,300 years I have lived, and all that time the thought of death was always more of a “what if” scenario, not a “when” one. When you are immortal, the concept of death seems like such a foreign thing. You would see things die all the time, but it never truly connected.

“Stay here, I’ll go see if I can find her…” I overheard what I assumed to be the captain of the guards that were protecting my small dungeon cell.

I could hear his subordinate giving a salute and the captain muttering something under his breath before hoof steps echoed up the staircase leading to the castle proper. Canterlot Castle was a massive estate, one that I had never been in prior to today. It was odd thinking that when I arrived at this castle, my largest concern was spending the next few decades locked in a cage very similar to the one I sat in at that moment, now I wished I could spend longer in it than the remainder of a single day.

Exhausted from my screeching I tried to call the attention of one of the guards. “Hey, you…”

He ignored me at first until I increased my volume, booming my voice over to him. “Hey, fuckface!”

He grumbled and turned toward my cell and raised a brow. “What, prisoner?”

“Where’d the captain go?” I asked.

“None of your business, prisoner.” He growled.

“YOU FUCKING PIECE OF SHIT! COME INSIDE THIS CAGE AND SAY THAT TO ME! I DARE YOU! I FUCKING DARE YOU!” I screeched, rattling the cage some more, the energy in my body almost completely used up at that point, I could barely move, but somehow I managed to get my body to answer the commands I was giving it.

He ignored my threats, but I continued moving autonomously, my mouth spurting out every single profanity that I could think of, calling him every name that popped into my head and screeching in the hopes that he would obey me.

Everything froze though when I caught the sound of hoof steps from the stairs, and there standing a good few feet from the cell was a tired-looking Princess Twilight Sparkle. The mare opened and closed her eyes a few times and let out a yawn. Somehow despite clearly being awoken from her recent slumber, her mane was neat and tidy, not a strand of hair out of place.

Her eyes betrayed her however and their half-closed state made it obvious that she was haggard.

“Princess Twilight Sparkle… You came at last… I wanted to speak with you…” I spoke calmly, trying to regain some of my lost composure.

The Princess rose a brow and shot me a suspicious look of awry and annoyance. “And what makes you think I have any interest in talking to you? Especially after you ripped me out of bed…”

She had a valid point, but I ignored it. “There’s a lot that I need to tell you…”

For a moment I thought she would tell me to blow it out my ass or to tell me that it wasn’t her problem, but instead, the words that came out of her mouth surprised even myself. “Open the cage…”

Instantly, her decision was met with disapproval as one of the guards perked up and objected. “Ma’am-“

He didn’t even get an attempt at finishing that sentence as Twilight gave a dismissing hoof gesture and then signaled once again to open the cell. “It’s all right, I’ll be fine, open it…” Twilight assured.

She was a tough mare to read at that moment. It was difficult to tell if she truly knew she’d be fine or if she simply was bluffing to keep me from attempting anything the moment that door opened.

That creaking noise that echoed through the dungeon was perhaps the loudest sound I ever recalled hearing. What it lacked in decibels it made up for in impact. In my mind, all I could hear was my heart pounding as the Princess of Friendship slowly stepped forward into my tiny cell, a sigh escaping her as she sat down at the small table situated in the center of the cell.

I sat on the other side of her in front of my uneaten food from earlier. I wasn’t hungry, I couldn’t eat knowing my life would be over soon.

“Alright, you have my attention… What do you want?” Princess Twilight asked, clearly ready to get this over with.

“Make them go away…” I commanded, gesturing toward all the guards protecting the cell.

To my surprise, Twilight nodded and shooed away her ponies. Perhaps sleep deprivation made the Princess loosen her judgment. “Shoo, I have it under control…”

“But ma’am!” The captain tried to protest Twilight’s choice only to get the death glare from the good princess.

“That’s an order, Captain.” Twilight growled at him, her lack of sleep evidently getting to her.

Once he and the others all vacated the area and Twilight was certain they were out of earshot, she leaned back and relaxed herself.

“Alright, so talk…” Twilight instructed.

Adjusting in my seat across from the Alicorn princess, I spoke up, my voice still slightly cracked from the screaming prior. “This will take a little while, you may want to make yourself comfortable…”

The Princess smirked at me. “I guess I’m pulling an all-nighter tonight… We’ve got a few hours to talk it over…”

I nodded. “It’s probably best that I start at the beginning, way far back…”

Twilight held up a hoof stopping me before I had even begun. “I hope you don’t think telling me some sob story is going to convince me to change my mind about your execution later.”

I shook my head. “No… I am going to die. That much has clearly already been decided. My fate was sealed when I pulled that trigger…”

The Princess looked puzzled, confused even. “Then why tell me anything? What’s the point?”

I smirked at her before leaning back in my seat. “I just wanted my side to be known by someone. No one really wanted to understand my side of things in that courtroom… They only care that I did it, not why or how…”

“Generally that’s how the law works… Seldom does it matter why you committed murder only that you did…” Twilight reminded.

Never in my life did I imagine I’d be getting a lecture on the law from Princess Twilight Sparkle, but there in my last few hours of life it was happening.

“I guess… I just want the whole story out there, even if it is just with one pony… At least it’ll be with the pony that gave my death sentence…” I smirked. “Rest assured, when sixteen hours pass, I will be dead, but before then I want my story told…”

The Princess sighed and nodded. “Go ahead then… Tell me the story of Adagio Dazzle…”

Author's Note

Hey, you're all reading the author's notes! That's mighty kind of you! Welcome to the newest story! It's going to be a wild ride and I'm sure for avid Shadows fans, you'll be in for a few shocks and surprises. Stay tuned for updates every Thursday!