A woman stood amongst the night light, looking quite out of place amongst the grey concrete of the many buildings around her and the neon signs that lit up on the one before her.

Her flesh was a dark, rick shade of magenta, in contrast to the pale tan dress that draped over her form, one stripe over each of her voluptuous breasts and cinched at her waist with a gold belt, before then spilling down between her legs as if no more than a lengthy loincloth, but far finer in texture. Another band of gold wrapped around her upper arm on her right, with a purple fabric band around her lower-left arm, with one more of both gold and purple around her right wrist, and a final gold one around her left ankle. The sandals she wore less extravagant though, seeming more made of simple fabric than anything else, but were still finely crafted all the same.

It was a look of ancient regality; she knew that much, and it was only made clearer by the purple veil that covered her hair and draped down each side of her neck, a gold tiara of sorts holding it in place on the brim of her head, but also with the two golden hoops that pierced each of her ears, the black makeup that existed on the bottoms of her eyes, the purple shadow that showed when they closed, and even the sharp shade of orange of her irises.

She did not belong in this world, that was to be sure—but she was hardly the only one.

The building before her was somewhat different than all the others, as it was no tower of glass that reached for the stars, nor even the fat blocks which housed people as if they were toys to watch—no, this place was humble in a sense, short in height and medium in area, and the colours of the facade and entrance subtle. But the woman knew there was far more to this place than first appearance, and the sign itself was evidence of that.

It’s colour was a sharp neon of yellow, cyan, and pink, and the style an elegant cursive, with the text itself reading 'Siren's Song'; a indication so clear to the woman that the place was meant to lure you in with slow and subtle song, and then trap you in its depths with its passion. However, that name made it even clearer as to who was in control of the place—after all, the woman knew those individuals quite well.

As she moved towards the building, and the pair of doors that served as its entrance pushed a short ways into the facade, she could see another person standing before the door—a ‘bouncer’, she believed the term was. The person was large and strong, clear as day as she approached, clad in a black suit that highlighted their pale skin and masculine physique, yet they did not seem to be a male. Their dark hair was short, to be sure, but the swell of their breasts and the slight snatch of their waist made it clear enough to experienced woman that they were instead a she.

“Your name?” The bouncer asked as the woman came and stopped within a few steps of her, her voice deep and brusque, yet still clearly feminine. It was lovely in a way, but the woman rather preferred a voice that held some elegance and true intelligence behind it...

“My name is more sacred than to be spoken in this sullied space,” The woman herself spoke, her voice deep and powerful in its own right, yet beholding that very elegance and intelligence she coveted, but also laced tightly with a deep mysteriousness, “Nor is it to be heard by mortal ears like yours.”

The bouncer was hardly fazed, just raising an eyebrow slightly and addressing the other person curtly, “I’m sure it is. But unless you actually have something I can call you that the bosses know, I can’t let you in.”

“Hmmm...” The woman mused, watching the other person for a few seconds, and then she said with mild intrigue, “Well, these bosses do know me, but I suppose...” As the bouncer remained put, still unfazed, the woman smiled and spoke a little more slowly, mystery creeping further into her voice, “I know a great many things, and am capable of things you could never comprehend. I bore of seeing the same things repeated yet again, so perhaps you’ll entertain me with a question:

“I am the most powerful thing in the world,” She begun, a deep sense of power slowly filling her words, “Everyone fights against me, and everyone wants more of me,” Her voice begun to echo just slightly through the cityscape around her, “I can help build towns, castles, empires, and planets, and I can help tear them down just the same,” Her voice grew deeper, her tone yet more powerful, “You may capture me in a frame, but not in a bottle,” She paused for a moment, letting the tense silence stick in the air, feeling almost oppressive if one reached out and felt it... before she finally finished, “What am I?”

However, the bouncer was unamused, that tension seeming not to reach her. “I don’t really care for riddles, girl,” She spoke with a vague sense of annoyance, and moved to reach a hand out for the woman in question, “So if that’s all ya got, then—” She cut herself as her hand went to grab the woman’s arm... but failed to. An utterly baffled look came up on her face as her hand couldn’t get within a centimeter or two of the woman’s arm, her own body held back by some mysterious force, no matter how much she began to lean herself forward to try and overcome it.

A laugh came out of the mysterious woman from watching the bouncer fail to contact her, as she spoke with a deep humour, “That’s a wrong answer, girl. A shame really... that one was quite easy.” She moved her arm forward, pushing the bouncer’s back, and then the woman moved forward herself, pushing the bouncer back as well. “The answer, you see, was time,” She spoke, pushing the other person far enough back to press her into the wall of the building and right next to the entrance door, her face attempting to keep a composed look of defiance, but the fear and confusion of what was happening to her bled through quite thoroughly.

“I ask these riddles, because, you see...” The woman continued, staring deeply into the other person’s eyes, practically feeling the fear wafting off of her as the woman pushed her arm further forward, pinning the bouncer to the wall, “...I have all the time in the world... and I tend to get a little bored of this simple fear.” Raising her arm up and picking a finger out, she moved it up to the bouncer’s head, which now held a layer of sweat on it from its owner’s fear, and then she tapped her forehead, and the bouncer was out like a light. The large person fell forward into the woman’s arms, completely unconscious, and she stepped back and crouched down to settle the bouncer onto the floor, sitting back against the wall.

The woman sighed with a disappointment and despondency while she stood back up, and spoke aloud to herself, “Yet another spiteful mortal... when will they listen to the words of those that know better..?” Shaking her head, she stepped past the unconscious human and opened the door to the building, and headed inside.

The atmosphere of the modern age never failed to perplex the woman, she reflected as she sat on a cushioned wooden stool before a lengthy bar, one coloured mahogany as it stretched a ways to both her left and right. Behind the bar lay a myriad of bottles of all sorts, organized by what looked to be age, and settled atop the shelves that lined the back wall, only broken up into thirds by some groups of cupboards. It was a fancy place, but quite unlike the true extravagance of years long past—and yet, it held some of the same blood...

The room itself was expansive and lavish, carpeted in a deep teal and populated with table setups the color of coral. The wall opposite the bar was made of glass, yet the night outside didn’t shine through, for instead it was water, synthetic sunlight refracted through it and showing off the sea life that swam about inside. The people that worked the place, bussing across tables for the patrons or sweeping the carpet and cleaning empty tables, were all clad in attire that was folded like robes—though more accurately called a ‘kimono’—and held a base of clear blue with shimmering scales that formed a tail crossing the robe’s front, and the name of the lounge on the back.

A lounge... The name itself felt so strange to her, as it spoke of high class and general professionality, and yet the place itself was shrouded in darkness under the cover of night, hidden away in a nondescript exterior as if it was ashamed of itself. Time, it seems, kept slipping her by, and before she knew it, the castles that reached into the sky and ballrooms plated with gold became glass towers that punched through the clouds and hideaways for people that remained out of the law’s sight.

“Oh my gosh, it’s you!”

...Though she wasn’t quite alone in all of that.

A smile came up on her face as she turned her attention to another woman behind the bar—or rather, reaching her body over the bar and quickly wrapping her arms around the woman. She could already tell who it was by the voice alone, but the pale blue skin of the person and her cerulean hair, with stripes of dark blue made it clear that this was Sonata Dusk, of the three Sirens.

“Wow, it’s been forever since I’ve seen you, girl!” Sonata cheered, pulling away from her hug and standing back behind the bar, but her beaming grin never left her face.

“Well, if you consider anything more than a century ‘forever’, then I suppose you’re correct,” The other woman replied, still smiling herself, though her voice retained her own level of mystery as she observed the Siren. The attire she wore was much like the rest of the worker’s clothing, in that ‘kimono’ style, but hers was a lovely pink, lined with images of flowers and held together around her waist by a sort of belt, maroon in colour and tightened around by an azure ribbon. That wasn’t to mention the way she wore it, with only one arm in the appropriate sleeve, leaving a section of her chest uncovered by the robe, but at least her actual breasts were covered by a white binder, wrapped like a bandage around her chest. Sonata’s exposed arm was tattooed with imagery of waves, and to fully complete the ‘look’, as it were, her hair was tied back in a ponytail, held together with a pair of decorative sticks.

Truly, the only thing that may have stood out would be the red gem, hung as a pendant around her neck and seeming to glow with some strange power...

“But, given your previous disposition, Sonata Dusk,” The woman continued to speak, a wisp of humour tinting her voice, “Any more than a few days would do.”

“Oh, hush, you,” The Siren retorted with a roll of her eyes, and leaned herself on the bar, her exposed arm supporting the rest of her body while her clothed arm was held on her hip. “At least I’m better than everyone else in this age. All this ‘internet’ stuff goes so fast, and it keeps ‘em from thinking about anything for more than a second!”

“It’s gotten far worse since we last met, hm?” The other woman mused, sighing dramatically and then turning her gaze across the lounge, observing the other people in there, with a fair many of them on those peculiar little ‘cell phones’. “I suppose it was always inevitable, and I morbidly wonder how far it can go. But,” She muttered morosely, some longing seeping into her voice, “I do so wish for a return to the days when people debated silly concepts like our lifespans and existence for literal decades. They’ve all but given up now...”

A small huff of a amusement came from the Siren, and she retorted teasingly, “Oh, you would, wouldn’t you? Always cooped up in that crypt, asking interlopers riddles that you’ve refined for longer than you could count.” The woman looked back over at her, seeing her shake her head with a smile, and add, “Shame it took you so long to get reincarnated into a more mobile body, Sphinx.”

A deep, faintly echoing laugh came from the woman—no, the Sphinx—as she recalled her own conditions of living. “It was what I was meant for, Sonata Dusk,” She spoke, leaning somewhat over the bar towards the Siren in question, “Though I do suppose it was more than just the curses that kept me there that stopped me from shattering these puny mortals’ fragile facsimiles of reality they’ve made for themselves.” She closed her eyes and sighed longingly once more, “Oh, I can still hear the screams as they saw me for themselves, so ‘impossibly’ powerful and old...”

“Must’ve been more fun than the Ponies,” Sonata muttered in reply, perhaps a tinge of jealousy coating her tone, “At least our world had actual magic known to them. Here? Not so much.”

A slow nod came from the Sphinx, recounting the many times she and the Sirens had spoken in the past. “I can’t say enough how even I can’t fathom falling from a world full of magic... to one as dreary as this one.” She looked down at the bar for a moment in thought, then back up at the other ‘human’, “How many worlds must there be out there, and you had to land in such a pitiful one as this...”

A sigh, slow, but reassuring came from the Siren, and the hand of her exposed arm landed on the Sphinx’s shoulder, and she said, “You’re evidence enough that it could have been a lot worse. We could have our magic weakened, or stripped entirely. And, perhaps it’s lucky that we landed so long before everything became as... solid as it is today.”

“Oh, please,” Another voice retorted sarcastically, and the Sphinx didn’t even need to look over her shoulder to know who it belonged to, “This world’s rotting to death, and is one wrong step away from absolute annihilation.” The way that last word was spoken, with a mix of disgusted scorn and almost manic glee—it felt all too familiar across the ages.

“Aria Blaze,” She greeted the newcomer, looking over as the pink-skinned Siren with purple hair and green stripes, pulled back into a pair of ‘pigtails’, and a red gem much like her sister’s, but instead locked into a choker that held tight to her neck. Her form was donned in a kimono like the other Siren’s as well, but Aria’s attire was a blueish-green, and it was hardly worn by her so much as it was just draped over her shoulders, neither arm in their sleeve and the ‘belt’ not even knotted to protect her dignity. As such, the white binding wraps that covered her rather meagre breasts were quite easy to see, as was the utter lack of anything covering the rest of her privates.

“Nice seeing you again, Sphinx,” Aria replied fondly, her smile clearly aware of her ‘openness’ but also quite uncaring for it. Even then, she wasn’t one to show herself off too easily, and as she sat down on another bar stool beside the Sphinx, her robe covered her form and hid anything that might’ve been considered ‘private’.

However, not all of the parties around were so keen on allowing such a barebones away of covering oneself, as Sonata spoke up with a titter, “You might want to actually put that thing on, Ari’; you know ‘Dagi’s not gonna like you spreading your ‘womanliness’ like that.”

“Well, she oughta suck it up,” The other Siren shot back with a roll of her eyes, “The pervy twerps of this world ain’t gonna look away unless she actually gets her hands dirty.”

“Tsk tsk tsk...” Sonata clicked her tongue while turning around and reaching for a few specific bottles from the back wall, and threw a wary glance towards the back of the room, which the Sphinx followed to see a pair of doors all the way against the far wall, past which the final Siren no doubt lay in wait. “Well, if you wanna face the Abyssal Void herself, be my guest,” She spoke with a vaguely ominous tone, though without any reaction from her sister, before she then quickly pivoted to ask, “How was the fight?”

A short scoff came from Aria. “‘Fight’?” She quipped, and shook her head, “Nah, that big shot got spanked.”

“Another muscled-up idiot?” The other Siren asked in amusement while she landed the bottles on the bar table, and then reached under it to collect an odd silver bottle and pair of short glasses that got put next to the other bottles.

“You know it. This guy had some heft, thought that would do him some good. Me though, I’ve fought actual sumo wrestlers,” She snarked back, throwing a glance and her smirk to the Sphinx.

A nod of understanding came from the Sphinx herself, and she gave a short ‘hmm’ before replying, “Mortals have always been quite foolish, many of them arrogant and self-aggrandizing.” She watched as Sonata popped open the normal bottles with a practiced ease, and took the top off the silver bottle as well, then poured the drinks from the former into the latter at what must’ve been a specific ratio, then put the top back on the silver bottle before picking it up and shaking it around with an odd level of grace. “If this were your other sister, I’d imagine this is would a plan to knock that out of them and teach them their place, but with you...” A light chuckle escaped her lips, “Well, you’ve always liked starting fights.”

“Oh, don’t say it’s so!” Aria shot back with mock offense, even pulling back a bit to emphasize it, but then laughed it off and went on, “It’s not like it ain’t teaching these jackasses their place, beating their asses to a pulp down in that ring. Though, that whole ‘we art as gods’ deal is more your and Goldfin’s thing.” Turning back to the other Siren, who finished up shaking the bottle, then popped the top back off and poured the mixture into both of the glasses, making sure not to spill a drop between them. “Thanks, Blue,” She said, then grabbed one of the glasses and turned it back, quickly downing about half of the alcohol it one gulp, and being unfazed by it.

Sphinx gave another ‘hmm’ as she observed the other glass, no doubt for herself, with the translucent brown fluid bubbling up a bit from all the shaking. Reaching for it, she grasped it carefully and raised to her face below her nose, and let the stark scent flow into her nostrils, burning at them just a bit. “I fear even immortals have their moments of foolishness too,” She mused, swirling the glass around for a moment, “For these toxins poison our minds, yet we continue to seek them out.”

“It gets pretty boring living at full capacity for centuries, we all know that,” Sonata spoke in return, grabbing the normal bottles and putting them back on their places on the shelves. “Only a shame they can’t keep for too long,” She added with a pointed look at the other immortal.

“That and maybe it just numbs the pain of seeing all the dumb crap mortals get up to...” Aria grumbled back, taking another swig of her glass.

“Oh, knock it off. Existentialism doesn’t suit you,” The other Siren chided lightly, turning back around to face her ‘customers’, and added specifically to the Sphinx, “That’s more you and Dagi’s thing.”

A small laugh came from the Sphinx at that, and she took a more polite drink of her glass, smiling a bit more at the pleasant, yet potent mix of flavours. “It’s quite natural,” She spoke amusedly, “We are the eldest of us four. I may have more experience with humanity, but you have described Ponies in similar ways that I have with Humans. You may have only been in this world since 300 AD compared to my 3000 BC,” She went on, leaning back as she recalled the times she’d talked to them before, especially their first meeting, “But you have lived nearly as long as I, and fed off the foolishness of mortals in that time. Our mentalities are likewise... quite similar.

“Speaking of your other sister though...” She said, shaking her head as she set her glass back down, sliding it over to Aria, and pushing herself off the seat to stand up, “I would like to speak with her as well.”

Aria rolled her eyes good-naturedly as she finished her own glass, and replaced it with the other immortal’s, waving her off without a word.

Sonata had something to say though, with her cheery voice; “Oh, sure, but do come back—we have a lot to catch up on!”

“Of course,” The Sphinx replied with a smile and nod, then turned to head off deeper into the room, back towards that door at the far end. That final Siren was the one she always liked to talk to the most, and it was because they were the most similar, as Sonata had just pointed out. Even back when they all first met, Adagio was the most intelligent out of the three Sirens...

She recalled that day as clear as ever, the shattering of the once-great Roman Empire leaving many soldiers dead, but there were a few that had preserved through it all. They wandered west, and she spotted them amongst sandy beaches, the Sun beaming down as harsh as always...

After all the battles those three fought, she did not blame them for being wary of a mysterious traveller, one who spoke in literal riddles, despite her own surprise at seeing seasoned warriors look so young. Such a visage gave her a question, and she asked it thusly: “I keep getting used up, yet never empty. I claim the world itself, both inside and out. I let you see others fall again and again. I am the most feared thing, whether I exist or not. What am I?”

One said Earth. One said blood. The final... said eternity.

That final creature knew who asked the question at the same moment she who asked the question knew what the creatures were. It could only have been another that allowed them to understand, with the Sphinx not new to them, but they new to her.

It was no surprise to see that trio bend the world to their whim as they did, with time always on their side against anyone else that may come up against them. Unlike them though, the Sphinx didn’t care much about power, and was content to wander the world and find the secrets that lay underneath it all...

Sighing as she let the memories fade, the immortal stepped up to the lavish pair of doors, a rich purple in colour and marked with the magenta treble clef and golden diamond that the eldest Siren used as her insignia, and knocked solidly on them.

Knock! Knock! Knock!

“Enter...” A voice spoke beyond the door, muffled by it, yet still clearly elegant.

Grabbing ahold of one of the doors’ golden handles, the Sphinx opened it and slipped inside, closing it behind her to let the ambient noises of the main room quiet behind her. From there, she observed the room she was in; its entire colour scheme was of purples, golds, and some reds, with a large wardrobe and pair of dressers against the left wall, purple in colour, gold in accent, and with red gems on their handles. The right wall held a trio of dark wood bookshelves, and while some of the total shelves did contain books, most of them ancient and likely containing memories of past centuries, the rest of the shelves were taken up by gold-framed photographs, golden statues, and similarly golden medals. Her ‘contributions to society’, as humans described winning beauty and fashion contests, were quite numerous and only grew as time went on, but the psychology studies that truly let her take the world by storm were simply laid atop the bookshelves, along with the stacks of degrees she needed to make them.

The rest of the room continued the themes, with the floor carpeted in a dark purple, lines of gold running across it like waves in a sea, and the ceiling was dimly lit with a massive golden chandelier, the shape of it inlayed with rubies and its individual lights in the shape of seashells. Below that lay a violet desk and golden chair, the latter thick and plush with deep red cushioning and the former laden with stacks of paper and a pair of golden fountain pens, along with a proper inkwell to finish the set.

And finally, and the back of the room, lay a large four-poster bed in a royal purple, translucent curtains on each side bar the back, which itself was a painted wood, soft and fluffy pillows piled against it, much like the thick comforter draped across the actual mattress. And, sitting on top of that comforter, on the edge of the bed, was Adagio Dazzle the golden Siren. Her attire was much like her sisters, but she had both of her sleeves on, only some cleavage of her chest shown below her neck, and right under the glimmering ruby amulet hanging from that neck. The look was certainly more professional than the other Sirens, only highlighting the intelligence of the woman, but her legs were still fully exposed from under her kimono, the tattoo of the physical Siren she used to be shown clearly, which itself highlighted her power. But what told the most about her was her expression...

“It is lovely to see you again, Sphinx,” Adagio spoke, her voice elegant and rich, with a facade of primness and propriety, yet with a deep lust hidden underneath; a lust to tease, a lust to take, and lust to show everyone what she was capable of. That expression on her face was much the same, a sharp smirk of her mouth and her eyes lowered to what otherwise may have looked like a glare, clear with their determination, with her face tilted just so to cast the upper half of her face in a light shadow, making her appear somewhat ominous. Even to someone not so well-versed in reading others as either the Sphinx or the Siren herself, it would be clear that this is not a woman to trifle with. She knew her place, above all the puny mortals below her, and able to mold them to her will with ease.

“It has been far too long, Adagio Dazzle,” The Sphinx spoke in reply, moving deeper into the room and going around the desk in the center towards the bed at the back. “I see you’ve taken to yet another section of society, though I am unsure of what power this will grant you over the world itself.”

A low laugh escaped the Siren as she pushed herself across the edge of the bed to offer the other immortal room to sit. “Oh, not everything is living as Vampires in hidden mansions or controlling swaths of industrial factories. In fact...” She smiled instead of smirked, and it was clear she was glad about something, the Sphinx realized as she sat on the bed next to the Siren, “I do believe this will be are most important gambit yet.”

“‘Gambit’?” The Sphinx replied, curious as she leaned slightly towards the other immortal, “I believed you were simply hiding away in such a non-descript building...”

“Don’t give me that,” Adagio replied with closed eyes and a slow shake of her head, “Biding our time has always been essential, and you know that.”

“Mortals forgive quite a lot...” The Sphinx muttered back, leaning herself back, but keeping her eyes locked on the Siren. “I doubt even the bouncer that I.. ‘charmed’ will believe I were anything but a mirage.”

Adagio tilted her head, her grin coming back as she spoke, “Mm, taking out my workers like that? That will come out of your tab...”

The other immortal smiled and laughed back. “As if.” Shaking her head, she then asked more seriously, “You have always been the most careful of us four, but to say this time shall be most important? It is intriguing...”

“Indeed...” Adagio responded with a light sigh, “We have accrued much power in this world from all our time here, but... none of it can compare to a way back.”

The Sphinx started, an incredible rarity for one as old as her. She knew the golden Siren to never lie with such words, so... “After all this time..?” She asked breathlessly.

“Mm,” The Siren grunted, looking away for a second. “I have seen... a mare come from that world, and assert herself here. She is blithe and naïve, so details were easy to get from her without a clue of our existence, even despite her...” She laughed a bit, “Ungregarious demeanor.” Looking back to the other immortal, she continued, “She is furious... and seems to believe herself a god in the making.”

“And yet, she is naught but a tool to you,” The Sphinx answered, already aware of the plan to be set in motion.

“She will be discarded, but only after I figure out how to make that damned portal work,” Adagio said in return, determination and anger tinting her voice.

The other immortal nodded slowly in understanding, closing her eyes as she pondered the consequences... “I do not know of the full power you had back there...” She begun carefully, keeping her eyes closed, “And though I do trust your word... I must wonder, is it worth discarding your impact on this world?”

“...We can only control this world so well for how connected it is,” The Siren replied, her tone neutral, “Our reach was limited in the past, and within Equestria, even moreso. But now, I have learned from that fool that Equestria has been connected, and our reach shall be vast. I am more certain than ever,” She went on, her voice regaining her determination and righteous fury while the Sphinx opened her eyes to see it, “That this is what we must do. My sisters may be more content than I in this world, to fight and control the humans here, but they still desire the power we once had, which will be expanded exponentially with the new connections of Equestria.”

“Of course,” The Sphinx returned with confidence, even despite her misgivings, which she voiced thusly, “I do imagine there would some resistance, though—especially from the greater connections that world now has.”

Adagio tittered in response, but nodded all the same. “I still have much to learn of that world, ‘tis true, but from what I’ve seen so far...” She sighed, her mouth growing into a wide, sharp smile, “They’re weaker than ever. Foolish leadership and bickering nations; all it will take is a few well-placed matches and the world will burn, and all those mortals’ hatred will be our to consume, and control them like toys...”

“Quite a shame; I’d imagine you’d like a fight after biding this much time,” The Sphinx quipped back with a grin of her own, getting a light-hearted scoff out of the other immortal. “You ought to watch yourself as Equestria falls though,” She went on, her tone more serious and morose, “Those phantoms of your dead kind won’t play nice with the rage that will suffuse that land.” She looked to the side for a moment in thought, then turned back and asked curiously, “What did you call them again?”

“The Windigos, yes...” The Siren muttered in a level of annoyance, and leaned back into a post of her bed, clearly still somewhat perturbed by those things, “...We’ll have the first feast of the hatred, and control all those mortals. They will hate each other, under our control, but there will still be a semblance of order; there’s no ruling a fallen kingdom, after all.” Swinging her legs up and over the other creature’s and resting them on the bed beside her, Adagio went on, “The mortals will fight as pawns in our game, and we will wipe those things off the map for good.”

Nodding slowly as she pondered the plan, the Sphinx shifted herself back into the bed post on her side to match the other immortal’s position, though she kept her legs hanging off the edge. “...There are a great many other beast you have told me of,” She spoke, letting her eyes wander up to the ceiling in thought, “The smaller ones shall be warded off by the military might under you, but the larger Ursas and the Tatzlwurms may require their own crusades to defeat.” A short ‘mm’ of acknowledgement came from the Siren, but the Sphinx was left silent for some time before—

She gasped audibly, then looked to the Siren and spoke ardently, “You mentioned another Sphinx you met over there, yes?”

Adagio looked back, surprised for a moment, but ideas quickly dawning on her. “...Yes, she does—or did, at the very least...” She muttered in return, slightly breathless herself, “...She always liked asking the mortals her riddles, same as you, but, hmm...”

“But she would disappointed and aggravated by mortals losing themselves to anger, unable to form societies to worship or be befuddled by her,” The Sphinx spoke back, true understanding in her tone, as no any other creature—or even immortal—could understand a Sphinx as much as one themselves could.

Nodding slowly, the Siren then assented, “...We may need some more structure to the world under us than I had thought.”

“For myself as well as her?”

Starting slightly, Adagio clearly realized the implication of that question, and smiled with intrigue. “I would love to treat a dear friend well in our conquest...” She said compassionately, but it fell into muddled worry as she went on, “Though I am uncertain if your counterpart would take too well to you.” Looking more intently at the Sphinx herself, she mused, “I suppose you’d have a better idea than I.”

“I find myself fascinated by the idea of another of my kind,” The Sphinx returned, that very fascination clear in her breathless voice. “You have told me of other immortals in that world, and I have cherished my time with you, but to find another... one as interested in the secrets of the world as I... there would be nothing like it.”

“And as for the size difference?” The Siren questioned with humour.

“I almost forgot...” The other immortal muttered back, looking away and letting a breath out. “It still very much intrigues me, to be sure, but I to tend to be... ‘set in my ways’, so to speak, so this would no doubt play havoc with my mind.”

Adagio nodded in agreement; “I would say that it does. There was much change when we were sent here, including our forms, but the size of those forms made it even harder to understand how to even move.”

“I do suppose I have an advantage of already having been quadrupedal,” The Sphinx mused in return, “But I appreciate the concern. Still, I am... not as ready as you are to give this world up, and would further appreciate the chance to traverse between them at my leisure.”

The Siren scoffed lightly in response, “Oh, don’t imagine that wouldn’t like that as well.” The two laughed for a moment, but she then continued on, “I may not have a full understanding of how that portal works yet, but if I can manage it, I would very much enjoy to have two worlds under my whim.” She chuckled darkly, and while the other immortal may not have taken as much pleasure in subjugation as the Sirens did, it was still a pleasure to her to watch her friends work thusly. “That single has no idea what she has wrought upon her world...”

“Ah, I almost forgot to ask...” The Sphinx spoke, getting the golden Siren’s attention, “Who, pray tell, is this fool?”

A thin, powerful grin crept up Adagio Dazzle’s face, and she answered, “A so-called apprentice to a ‘Princess Celestia’. And her name... is Sunset Shimmer.”

Author's Note

This has got to be the most unique take on this contest’s idea of ‘exploring a character who we only know the counterpart of’, and I was pretty excited when I first thought of the Sphinx. Though.. it did take a lot more thinking to actually figure out a story that would work with her, and so I eventually roped in a headcanon of mine with the Sirens. Obviously, this is all pre- all the main EqG stuff, and you can have whatever take on it you’d like, but I’ll just say here that I’m hardly a fan of a sextet of teenagers besting millennia-old Sirens that have been on Earth for quite some time.

FYI, the outfits for the lounge were inspired by this image: