Search for the Truth

One speaker became two people, spidering down from the clifftops. One climbed so skillfully she almost swam over the stone, the dagger in her hands never turning away from Zephyr; her companion, one hand wrapped tightly with cloth, slid down with less grace but more speed, and what Zephyr thought (though he was almost certainly wrong) was a squeal.

They reached the valley floor and walked over to the waystone, there pausing to look Miss Tiara's company over. Carefully, Zephyr took a step forward, blocking their view of his leader as much as he could, and gave them a look-over in reply. As he did so, his eyes widened; they were leaner, thinner, more haggard than when he'd seen them last, and their voices had evidently changed, but up close those diversions faded away, revealing the familiar faces underneath.

Aria Blaze curled her lip as he stared. "Take a picture," she rasped in her now-huskier voice. "It'll last longer."

"The Dazzlings?" Miss Tiara said, peeking out from behind Zephyr's insufficiently protective shield. "What are you doing here?"

"We could ask you the same question," Aria curtly replied.

"Then why don't we?" the other one, Sonata if Zephyr remembered correctly, asked, her voice higher-pitched and squeakier than he remembered. "I thought you wanted to know-"

"Figure of speech, Sonata," Aria cut her off. "It's a figure of speech. We are asking them, and they'd better answer." The dagger in her hand twitched, making what would happen to them if they refused clear.

Miss Tiara stepped completely out from behind Zephyr, head held high, face like stone, and declared, "We're on a quest to bring Homestria the truth, unfiltered and undelayed. We're here because Starlight Glimmer and the Unmarked are nearby, and Homestria needs to know what they're up to, especially once Captain Armor arrives. Hard-hitting, fact-based news, straight from the front lines; that's what we're here for."

"Ooh!" Sonata smiled. "Pretty speech! Are you really a Siren, too?"

"We've discussed this, Sonata," Aria groaned, indicating that they hadn't simply done so once. "There are no other Sirens here, it's just us thr-two. Making a good speech isn't just a Circenican talent."

"But she was trying to convince me!" Sonata argued. "She was trying to sway me, Ari, you heard her!"

"Again, not just a Circenican talent," Aria replied, voice clipped. "We don't have a monopoly on rhetoric."

"But Dagi said that nobody speaks like a Siren!" Sonata protested.

"Adagio said a lot of things," Aria snapped. "A lot of them weren't true, like that."

"Or that you'd be able to beat Rainbow Dash at the Battle of the Bands," Scootaloo smirked.

"Oh, yeah!" Sonata nodded. "She and the other bearers were really strong!"

"Wait," Scootaloo blinked. "You're not mad about that?"

"Why would I be?" Sonata tilted her head in confusion. "We fought them, they were stronger than us, we lost. That's natural, the way things are supposed to be. Why would I get mad at things going the way they were supposed to? Dagi-"

"Adagio never blamed you for what you did to us," Aria interrupted, her voice dark and seething. "Adagio never hated you for destroying our heartstones like that, or driving us out. Adagio never wanted revenge on you for turning us into bandits and scavengers. Adagio never even thought of going 'against nature' like that, of trying to bring our conquerors to justice. Adagio was willing to accept 'nature's course,' Adagio was willing to turn the other cheek, Adagio was willing to let you go."

Eyes burning with anger glared at them. "I'm not Adagio."

"None of us were with Sunset on stage," Zephyr weakly replied, trying to protect his companions. "We're innocent."

"Maybe you are," Aria snorted. "But I know that the smart-mouth behind you is special to Sunset's rainbow friend in some way, and if she calls herself loyal she can't just let her little friend get hurt by the monster Siren, can she?"

"How about the shy one's brother?" Zephyr asked, stepping protectively in front of Scootaloo. "Don't you think he would be more satisfying to threaten? Rainbow Dash would get angry if you threatened Scootaloo, her friend; what do you think Fluttershy would do if you threatened me, her brother?" (Probably get even angrier; his sister hid it well, but she got angry, in her own way, just as much as Platinum did.)

"That's why you're here!" Miss Tiara blurted out, snapping her fingers.

"We're here because we threatened Fluttershy's brother?" Sonata blinked in confusion.

"No," Miss Tiara shook her head. "You're out here because Starlight killed your sister. She set it up so that it looked like the government killed her, but you know it was really her or one of the Unmarked who did it, and now you're waiting to see them brought to justice. Isn't that right?"

"No," Sonata shook her head, cheeks puffed in annoyance. "We shouldn't be out here at all. Ari said there would be too much security for us to stay in Castellot, and she made us go after the Unmarked before Dagi's funeral. If we'd stayed we could've given her a proper one, but Ari said it was too big of a risk, and now you've buried her and icky worms are gonna eat her. It's not enough that Ari had to do it from far away, you also had to stop her from-"

Aria's hand closed over Sonata's mouth. "Sonata," she hissed, voice made of ice. "one of these days you are going to learn the meaning of the phrase 'think before you speak.' When that day comes, Adagio will be the first to congratulate you. She'll be able to do so because apparently you learning not to blurt out everything you know is a sign that the world's ending."

"What weren't you able to do?" Miss Tiara asked. "And what did you have to do from far away?"

"None of your business," she snapped back.

"You were in Castellot?" Silver Spoon frowned. "Were you trying to rescue-"

A flick of the wrist, a hum, and Silver Spoon's braid fluttered to the ground, cleanly shorn off. The girl herself mutely touched the severed plait, mouth moving up and down in fear and shock.

"Our business is our own," Aria warned as another dagger slid into her waiting fingers. "If you value your lives, don't meddle in ours'."

"Don't you dare threaten Silver Spoon," Miss Tiara stepped forward angrily.

"I'm not threatening her," Aria retorted. "I'm threatening all of you. If any of you meddle with us-"

"Heard, received, understood," Zephyr nodded hastily. "So sorry for bothering you, best of luck with-er, whatever you're doing, we'll just be-"

"Coming with us," Aria cut him off, pointing the dagger at him. "I'm not stupid, the instant you're out of sight you'll tell Shimmer that you saw us, and we'll have to deal with even more people crawling around. We already have the Nocturnes and the Unmarked to deal with, we don't need her and her friends hounding us, too."

"And what do you think they'll do when they hear we're missing?" Scootaloo shot back.

Aria's smile looked like it belonged on a shark. "They'll come looking for you," she replied. "And they'll find you. Just not the way they expect."

Aria drove them from the hollow at the tip of her blade, making it abundantly clear exactly what she would do if they tried to run or fight. The fury in Scootaloo's eyes had made Zephyr fear that she would try anyway, but she thankfully proved him wrong, contenting herself with dragging her feet and complaining as much as she could.

Sonata led them through the forest, Zephyr and Silver Spoon right behind her, Scootaloo and Miss Tiara following them, Aria bringing up the rear and driving them whenever they threatened to stop.

As they marched, Zephyr gradually became conscious of a sound, one almost beyond his hearing, a faint murmuring rumble. It seemed to be coming from their guide, whispered words that begged him to understand.

Before he could ask her what she was saying, though, a pair of lantern eyes blazed out of the darkness, looking away from them for the moment. A Nocturne, mirror-eyed to see better in the forest's darkness. Zephyr bit his lip; if he called out, they might bring word to Captain Armor and rescue the others, even if he had to sacrifice himself. On the other hand, they could try to fight, and he'd die a fool's death alongside them. How much was the unknown Nocturne's life worth to him? Did he dare risk killing them for a chance at escape?

The choice was made for him when Aria roughly dragged him into a hollow behind a tree where the others already lay hid, Sonata still maintaining her mysterious chanting. Aria thrust him among his leaders, then stood flush against the tree in front of them, bracing for combat. Sadly, her shift in focus didn't provide any opportunity for escape; they were surrounded by tree on all sides but two, and those were blocked by the Sirens.

The Nocturne's footsteps crept closer, deftly and nigh-silently crossing the forest floor. The air was tense; even Zephyr, hoping that the Nocturne would catch sight of them, found himself holding his breath.

Step. Step. Step.

They were just on the other side of the tree now. A warning cry climbed up Zephyr's throat, and desperately he forced it back down; he couldn't risk the Nocturne's life, not like this. If they heard a stranger tell them to run, they wouldn't obey immediately; they would try to find what they were running from, and Aria would quickly show them that it was the grave. If he wanted to alert them at all, he needed to wait until they saw him.

Step. Step. Step.

That time was drawing near, the Nocturne's footsteps creeping around the tree. Zephyr's heart pounded; their path would deliver them right to Aria. He wouldn't have much time to warn them.

Step. Step. Step.

The lantern eyes reappeared, their bearer sidling along a small ravine a few steps away from the tree. They poured over it like fog, the searing eyes rising up and up until they locked with Zephyr's, a cry rose up in his throat-

-and fell back down as they turned away, hesitantly heading back the way they'd come.

He watched, eyes bulging, as they disappeared, and listened, ears unbelieving, as their faint footsteps passed away without changing pace.

After a few moments of silence, Aria sighed and relaxed, then turned to her sister with a grateful nod. "Good work, Sonata," she whispered.

"Thanks," she quietly replied, smiling wearily. "Would it be alright if we stopped for a rest here, though? Keeping them from noticing us was t-t-tiring," she ended with a yawn.

"Wait a minute," Scootaloo hissed. "I thought you all lost your magic after Dash and the others broke those pendant things?"

"Those pendant things," Aria snapped. "were our heartstones, the last real link to our home that we had. The sorcerer took everything else away when he threw us over here. Shimmer and her minions basically broke our legs at the Battle of the Bands, stole the last reminder of who we were away from us. There's no more Siren to us physically anymore; you took it all away, forced us to become you."

"You were trying to mind-control us!" Scootaloo protested.

"We were using our words, magic or otherwise, to get what we wanted," Aria said. "and you decided that the only thing to do was kick our teeth out. Shimmer used her brain to try to mind-control you; why not take that away from her?"

"As far as I know," Zephyr cut in, hopefully before tempers could flare. "Fluttershy and the others never intended to destroy your heartstones. I'm sure if they knew what they'd done, they'd do everything they could to make up for it."

"Saying 'sorry'," Aria snarled. "isn't enough to make up for breaking someone's legs, even by accident."

Though Zephyr flinched, he pressed on, asking, "Then what is?"

Aria hesitated.

Meanwhile, her sister spoke up, saying, "It's a bit harder to do magic without our heartstones, yeah, but not impossible. We just had to get back to basics, WCS."

"WCS?" Miss Tiara rose a brow. "I know initials when I hear them. What's WCS stand for?"

"What all magic's born from," Sonata smiled. "W's for words, sounds and meanings ordering the flow of magic. C's for components, the materials that generate that flow. And S stands for sacrifice, what you give up in exchange for the spell."

"Or who," Silver Spoon murmured warily.

"That's a bit more advanced," Sonata replied. "Blood, life... they multiply a spell's effects, both in a good way and a bad way. If you win with blood-magic, you win bigger; if you lose, you lose bigger, too. And the more blood you put in, the more it multiplies; one drop makes a light spell brighter, a body turns it into an explosion. Most serious mages believe that the multiplier is too unpredictable to justify killing or even hurting others, though almost all the greats try to put at least a little bit of their own blood into their spells, increase power as well as control. I think the multiplier started reaching uncontrollable levels at twelve drops, though eleven was a bit tricky, too, and ten was too expensive to provide consistently." She puffed out her cheeks in annoyance. "The others all said that six was the ideal amount, but I proved that seven provided more than it cost. We could've revolutionized spellweaving, but no, they said my data was inconclusive. Well, they said my data were inconclusive, but then I told them that the singular collection of my data was conclusive and that saying 'my data were' sounded stupid, then one of them said that I sounded stupid, and before you know it tables and chairs are flying, blows are getting tossed around, spells mixed with insults, and by the time the guard broke it up-"

"Sonata," Aria sighed, rubbing the bridge of her nose. "I don't think they're interested in hearing about your adventures in the Academy."

"Actually," Zephyr said. "I find it rather interesting. It... well, it's helping me understand you better, see you as something other than-than the monsters we thought you were."

"We are monsters," Aria snorted. "Just like Shimmer was, just like Starlight is, just like all of you are. All of us are monsters, just like all of us are heroes. I've conquered innocents and tyrants, fought good and evil, picked my teeth with heroes and monsters. You've all done the same; show me someone who's only done good, and I'll show you a liar. I am a monster, and a hero, and a citizen. I'm good, bad, and someone who can choose between the two."

"Aw, don't worry, Ari," Sonata smiled. "Remember what Dagi said; 'Don't be afraid of being called a monster; the weak call those who know their strength and wield it monsters. Don't be afraid of being called a monster, be afraid of being weak and calling others monsters.'"

Aria glared at her. "Adagio lied."

Aria pressed Scootaloo into helping set up camp, sending a dagger slashing through Zephyr's (abomination of a) bun when she refused. She took the warning; she didn't like him (understandably so), but she wasn't willing to risk his death.

Shortly, they'd managed to set up camp in the hollow of the tree, a low fire burning to keep them warm. Miss Tiara was talking, almost enraptured, with one of their captors, eagerly listening as she babbled about magic. Though Aria clearly wasn't pleased with it, she didn't tell her to stop, something which Zephyr was thankful for; leaving aside what he was learning, Sonata's excited words mercifully eased the tension in the air, heavy as the air before a storm.

"So," Miss Tiara asked as she scribbled in her notebook. "fire disrupts magic, you said?"

"It disrupts a spell's manifestation, yes," Sonata explained. "Basically, spells either move or transform energy, and a fire's basically all energy, so it doesn't just get in the spell's way, it keeps pushing itself into the spell's space. Things like walls block most magic, but fire blocks it and messes it up with its constant changing."

"It doesn't stop a spell being woven, though," Aria growled in warning. "so don't even think of trying to use it to escape."

"Plus," Sonata continued. "the higher-level the spell, the greater the chance that disruption will result in dispersal instead of dissipation. And as Dagi put it, 'dissipation means 'poof,' dispersal means 'boom!'' Of course, some spells you want to go 'boom' instead of 'poof,' but that's another story."

"Where'd you learn all this?" Silver Spoon asked. "From Adagio?"

"No, silly," Sonata giggled. "Dagi didn't know half the things I learned about magic, she told me so herself! Yeah, she had to clarify some things for me early on, but that's what elders do; they teach the young so that they can learn what to teach their own young. Dagi built the first few bricks, but the rest of the column was mine."

"What was your relationship to her?" Miss Tiara frowned. "Back at the Battle-back when we first encountered you, it seemed like you were friends, maybe sisters, but what you just said made it sound more like she was your mother."

Zephyr's eyes widened; if Miss Tiara was right, Aria's anger and reservation would make all too much sense. To have lost not a friend or a sister but a mother... He shivered, then looked nervously at the tense, dagger-wielding Siren. If Miss Tiara was right, perhaps it would be best to drop it; poking such a recent, gaping wound might not be the best idea.

"Oh, I'm not related to Dagi or Ari at all," Sonata waved dismissively.

"Really?" Miss Tiara blinked. "But you three seemed so close. Was it more like Scootaloo's club, you were just really close friends?"

"Pfft," Sonata snorted. "No, we're sisters! Really, would friends stick together like me and Ari have?"

Miss Tiara looked back at her in confusion. "I thought you said you weren't related to them."

"She's not," Aria spoke up. "She's the daughter of..." A flicker of discomfort crossed her face. "... one of Adagio's maids, Whimsica. Adagio... met her when she was carrying Sonata, took her in, and when Sonata was born she treated her like a sister, maybe a niece at the most... parental. I'm Adagio's sister by blood, though." She glowered. "I was, anyway."

"Dagi treated me like a princess," Sonata sighed wistfully. "Giving Mom what she needed to provide for me, giving me gifts of her own, paying my way at the Academy-she gave me way more than I deserved, me and Mom."

Aria's shoulders hiked in discomfort. Strangely, Zephyr noticed, she didn't look angry; instead, she looked simply uncomfortable, nervous...

... afraid?

"Maids and gifts," Silver Spoon mused, dragging Zephyr's attention away. "I'm guessing she was rich?"

"The richest Siren in Charybdis," Sonata smiled back. "She could've bought everyone else in the empire and still have some left over." She pouted angrily. "At least, until those meanies on the court took almost all of it away. All they left us was the old family house, and they acted like we should be thankful that they did. Is it a surprise that we left? We had nothing to hold us back; they'd stolen it all. Well, almost all of it, but Dagi gave that to Mom before we left." A pensive look came over her face. "I wonder what happened to her, after we left."

"Either the hegemon had her killed," Aria growled. "or she died of old age. She's gone, Sonata, has been for centuries."

"Centuries?" Silver Spoon whispered, eyes wide. "You've been alive for centuries?"

"One good thing that came out of the sorcerer's scheme," Aria darkly smirked. "Over here, our heartstones preserved us from old age, as well as some sicknesses. Without them, we'd've been dust long before you were even born. Of course, since they're gone now," she scowled. "we don't even have that. And since all our old friends didn't have them, they won't be around to see us off."

"You've mentioned heartstones a few times," Zephyr spoke up. "Might I ask what exactly they were? I mean, I know they were important to you, very much so, but what specifically were they? Were they biological, like a unicorn's horn?"

"No," Aria snorted. "More like Shimmer and her minions' gems."

"How do you know about that?" Scootaloo accused. "Have you been spying on them?"

"Of course," Aria rolled her eyes. "How else would I figure out how to take revenge? And it wasn't that hard, I had to do more work to keep what I was doing hidden from Adagio than from Shimmer and her minions."

"Once Captain Armor hears about that," Scootaloo growled. "you're gonna-"

"-already have used you to extort a pardon," Aria interrupted, voice cool. "If they want you back safe, they'll need to pay our price."

"How much is that?" Miss Tiara asked, clearly (foolishly) preparing to offer to have her father pay it, inviting their captor to press for more.

Instead of naming a number, though, Aria said, "A pardon, guarantee of safety, and passage to Griffonstone. The Golden Steel always need more spears."

"Ha!" Scootaloo crowed. "Joke's on you! Mom and dad told me that Griffonstone's actually calming down, and so's the rest of Groveria! 'Always' doesn't last forever, seems like."

Aria's face contorted in anger. "Then your safety," she spat. "doesn't last forever, seems-"

"Ari," Sonata protested. "they're hostages, you're not supposed to hurt them."

And just like that, the fuse burned down.

"Just like we're supposed to be rulers of all we survey!?" Aria exploded at her adopted sister. "Just like Sirens are supposed to be better than the feeble mainlanders!? Just like we were supposed to crush Sunset Shimmer at the Battle of the Bands!? Just like Adagio was supposed to know what to do!? Just like she was supposed to rule!? Just like she wasn't supposed to die!? Supposed is a lie, Sonata! It's bait meant to lure people into doing what their superiors want by promising them a reward that never materializes! Supposed does nothing! It's nothing but a lie! It's a charm that will kill you by making you do things that are supposed to pay off, and supposed never pays up! Supposed is a story, but we live in the real world!"

"The stories aren't real," Zephyr whispered, eyes wide in recognition. "You understand it, too."

Aria's searing glare turned on him, driving him back a step. "What do you know?" she snapped.

Shaking in fear, he forced himself to reply, saying, "I know that the stories say that there can be more to me if I act like the hero, that I can do good if I do what they say, that I can be proud of myself if I follow their instructions. And I know that they lie; there's no heroism in me, no good, nothing to be proud of. I tried to fill myself up with stories, and they left me even emptier than before. My life proves the truth of your words, Aria. The stories said that I could make something of myself: look at me, and know they lied."

The hollow was stricken dumb. Even the sounds of the forest around them died. Silver Spoon, Miss Tiara, and Sonata gaped at him in horror, Scootaloo stared at him in shock, and even Aria's rage was stunned by his words, leaving the woman staring at him in dismay.

Silence fell around the fire.

And then was broken by a feeble voice crying out, "Help, help."