Limestone hadn't moved a muscle and didn't plan to. "How would someone tell when a siren is using their magic on them?"

"Well, now we're getting interesting. Is Sonata not playing nice? No, forget that, I'll have more fun questions once I've given you your answer." Aria sat up with her back against the wall. "If the siren is capable—and all three of us were—the beloved pet wouldn't feel a thing. The siren's magic would wrap around the free-thinking parts of their mind and force them to rationalize everything that happened—right up until they were licking their owner's feet.

"How do you know you're not into girls? Have you ever fucked one?"

"I tried. Got drunk enough that I didn't look too close and found myself in bed with a girl. Apparently I'm too much like a guy for lesbians." The label—when Limestone had it shouted at her—had stung a little at the time, but she had learned to live with her muscles.

"So she wasn't bi?"

"Nope. She was a lesbian—and that's two answers, but I'll cut you some slack." It didn't hurt Limestone to spill. She was well adjusted enough that she doubted anything Aria could say would get under her skin. "How can a human put up a defense against a siren getting in their head? Are there other creatures from Equestria that'll do the same?"

"Isn't this just so friendly? Look at us, sharing answers back and forth. We might as well just hug and get it over with. Friendship rules, you know, and I'm totally rehabilitated." When Limestone didn't even budge, Aria rolled her eyes. "And here I thought you were going to appreciate my kind of humor. Okay. There is no defense a normal human with no magic can put up against us. There are some you call witches, ones with their own magic of this world, who have made things difficult for us in the past. We killed all we ever found. As for your second question—since I got two answers, it's only fair I return the favor. Every second creature in Equestria seems to have some kind of mental control of others. Changelings, sirens, lamia… to name just a few."

"Look, I don't have anymore questions." Aria shrugged her shoulders. "But you've been a good sport, miss attack dog, so why don't you—" She'd been slowly sipping at the anger of the guards who'd been set to guard her. Aria didn't have much magic, but she had enough for a single target. "… fight your way out and kill as many guards as you can?"

Searing pain hit Limestone's chest like a hammer. She'd tensed up behind the strike the moment she'd felt it, and her own physical stature had saved her from getting knocked over. She didn't have kevlar on, and the hit didn't feel like a bullet, but the look on Aria's face told her something else should have happened.

Aria stared as Limestone reached into her jacket's inner pocket and pulled out a slip of paper that looked singed and blackened around the edges. "A talisman?! Who the fuck gave you a talisman?!"

The typed words on the paperwork had faded to reveal flowing script that Limestone couldn't understand. Only one thing on the document remained—the signature. General Raven Inkwell. "Well I'll be…" She slipped the paper back into her jacket pocket and turned her attention to Aria. "Looks like we both get a surprise to—hey!"

Lunging at Limestone, Aria tried to grab the woman's head with her hand, only to find a fist connecting with her cheek. Stars swirled in her vision, but she was a siren—she was tougher than a normal human. "Let me in, little puppy, let me play!"

Limestone was surprised at how easily Aria had shrugged off the punch. She kept silent, focusing on defense while whoever was watching the cameras called an alert—at least she hoped someone was watching the cameras.

Aria knew she didn't have long, and with only a shred of her power left, she lunged toward Limestone—heedless of fists—only to be grabbed at the wrist and shoulder and thrown onto her back. When a punch landed in her gut, all the fight went out of her and she slumped and curled into a ball of agony.

The door behind Limestone opened and two big men with shock-batons rushed in, pushed her off Aria, and started shocking Aria until the siren rushed to the back wall.

"Don't let her touch your head! She was trying to grab me and used some of her magic!" She didn't hear any acknowledgment from the two guards, but they shoved Aria to the back of the cell with the batons and held their ground.

"Please leave the cell, ma'am."

Limestone nodded and backed out and into the hall. As she watched the two guards back out, she realized something odd about how the one who'd spoken—in particular how he'd spoken. The words had been mostly right, but there were odd edges to them that reminded her of someone who was deaf. It made sense to her, since from what they knew the sirens couldn't do anything without speaking.

When the door closed, Limestone smirked and gave the two big guys a thumbs-up. "I don't need Adagio until I've spoken to the general and Sonata." She could still feel a slight heat coming from the paperwork in her pocket.

The drive back to their offices had been a time for Limestone to think over what had happened and the importance of everything said and done. She started putting together a report for the black-site administrators as well as a series of questions for her own command chain. After all, orders flowed down, but complaints flowed up. Parking, she made her way into the office she shared with the general and knocked once on Inkwell's office door.

"Yeah, come in, sergeant." Raven Inkwell had felt when her magic had flared in the talisman and she'd had nearly an hour to prepare for this conversation. When Limestone walked into the office—practically using up all the oxygen due to her physical size—Raven leaned back a bit in her seat. "Sit down and ask."

"Did you make this?" Pulling out the paper, Limestone set it down on the desk. The edges still showed signs of burns, but was otherwise intact.

Reaching for the paper with both her hand and her magic, Raven could feel the burning magic that'd been triggered to protect Limestone. "We don't exactly have a staff here, sergeant. I wrote that paperwork for you—tell me what happened."

Like any good, trained soldier, Limestone debriefed to Raven. She left out no detail—not even that she suspected that the guards at the black-site were deaf. When she got to the attack by Aria, Raven's passive face turned down a little into a frown. Undaunted, she finished her report.

"The siren was right, that is a talisman." Raven weighed her options, wondering how far she should trust Limestone. "I think you're right. We should interview Sonata Dusk—if only because she probably expects a visit from us. What do you think of the talisman?"

"You made it, and if the siren wasn't lying, that makes you a witch, sir." Limestone suspected as much. You don't get to stay in active armed forces if you suddenly have an attack of the supernatural kind. Limestone's twitchy, pony ears would be enough to have seen her discharged. If the general was a witch, that would be plenty enough to see her discharged after a lengthy questioning. "Which leads me to ask, how did you make it to general?"

Raven smirked. "Too damn smart to be a grunt. Did anyone else tell you that?"

"No, sir."

"I didn't know I was a witch until I had a Type C grab me and try to drain my magic. I didn't even know I had magic." Raven turned her hand palm up and created a soft, blue flame in the middle of her palm. "I was relieved of my command immediately, of course, but the joint-chiefs believed me when I told them I didn't know about it before—but then they turned it back on me. I was given a budget and told to find out about it and if there might be any military uses.

"I investigated for eight years, and though I found a lot of useful little tricks, our magic never came close to being useful as a battlefield tool." Nodding to Limestone, Raven reached a hand out as her cat jumped up on her desk. "Now, that magic from Equestria? That's some useful stuff. Dangerous as nuclear waste, though."

"So, you and me? Different kinds of magic. Shame you didn't get a bit higher up in rank before yours outed." Spotting her familiar, Raven sighed. "Time to introduce the last member of our little team. Sergeant Limestone Pie, this is Captain Penny. She likes scratches behind her left ear, but if you do that you'll never get rid of her."

Watching as the cat jumped up on the desk, Limestone reached a hand out toward it. When the feline finished sniffing her fingers and rubbed her cheek against them, Limestone smirked and rubbed the aforementioned ear. "I get on pretty good with cats, sir."

"And I get on pretty good with humans who pet me." Penny tilted her head just right to get the most out of Limestone's petting. "If you stop, I'll bite you."

The threat was enough to break the shock Limestone had at hearing the cat talk. She set her fingers back in motion.

Purring, Penny turned to look at Raven. "What did I tell you?"

"Nothing I didn't already suspect." Lifting her eyes from her familiar, Raven once more addressed Limestone. "I'll make you another ward for your visit to Sonata Dusk—the friendly Type D."

"Wait. Can you do something different?" Finding herself relaxing as she rubbed at Penny's ear, Limestone had a better idea. "We want to foster trust, which means that kind of overt defense is overkill."

"What do you suggest?"

Limestone felt herself being completely disarmed by the purring mound of fluff. "Something more like a dosimeter. No active defense, just be able to check it after the fact to see if anything was used on me. She's a civilian who hasn't broken the law, we shouldn't have to wear body-armor to a meeting with her. Knowing when I've been shot, however, would be nice. Aria knew exactly what your ward was and what you are.

"So, let's treat this Sonata Dusk as just another citizen with a gun who chooses not to use it on me. If she does, then we retaliate."

Leaning back in her chair, Raven contemplated sending her field agent out without that body-armor. "I'll have something for you tomorrow. Please, be careful, sergeant."

"Yes, sir."

Author's Note

General Inkwell: Do you have any concern regarding the unknown magic leaking out in Canterlot and affect its inhabitants?

"Of course I do, there's just nothing I can do about it. Every second person here seems to be leaking the damn stuff now—cleaning up this mess would require us to kill half the population of—and the graduates of—Canterlot High School and Crystal Prep." The general leaned back on her chair and started petting the cat that jumped up to take their place on her lap. "My discretion is well respected, but I don't think I could presume that much leeway."

So I do this "Ask X" thing. X can be any pony within the story. You can ask them anything and they will definitely, hopefully reply. Keep the questions appropriate to the age-rating of the stories, and they will answer the best question in the author notes of the next chapter. The more votes a comment has the more likely I will get it to the right pony to answer. Try to keep it to one question per post! They will pick one question per chapter.

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