Finally got this one out! Also, if you're interested, I drew a picture of Aria's confrontation with 'other Aria' so that you'd know what it looked like. It's on my DeviantArt page. And in case you forgot, my username on DA is Datrandomcat (obviously). Enjoy! ^.^
Aria woke up with a start, gasping. Her head darted in every direction before stopping and sighing with relief.
"Phew, it was just a dream…" She breathed.
"Aria, you're finally awake!" She heard a familiar voice say. She looked up and saw the golden siren hovering just above her.
"Adagio?" She muttered. Adagio flew down next to Aria and gave her a concerned smile.
"Hey, Ari. How're you feeling? You're quite lucky to be alive, you know." She said. Aria blinked and shook her head.
"Uh…I guess I'm okay…" She then gasped. "Wait, where's Sonata?!" Adagio chuckled lightly.
"Calm down, Aria. She should be back soon. She's getting some food for us. I stayed behind to look after you. She wanted to stay instead, but I'm a little out of practice. She'd have a much better chance of actually catching something than me." Aria nodded slowly in understanding.
"So…what happened while I was out? What did Sonata do?" She asked curiously. Adagio looked down and closed her eyes with a sigh.
"She…was so worried. So scared." She shook her head. "I've never seen her so upset. She cried and blamed herself, saying that it was her fault. As for what happened…we took you to Twilight, and she took us to a friendly zebra named Zecora. The zebra gave you a potion thing, and the wound healed quite quickly." Aria looked down, then looked at her side. She suddenly blinked in surprise. The wound was gone!
"How long was I out?" She asked. Adagio looked up.
"About three days."
"Three days?!" Aria asked incredulously. The golden siren nodded. "Well, that explains why I'm so hungry."
"Which is exactly why I sent Sonata out looking for food with the dolphins. I could tell you were gonna wake up sometime soon. You were moving for the first time since the incident." Aria nodded. Then, suddenly, all of the memories of what happened before she fell unconscious came rushing back to her. She gasped.
"Wait, Sonata's out there?!" She asked. Adagio looked slightly surprised at the sudden panicked outburst, but she nodded. "She's out there with those…those…creatures?!" She exclaimed. Adagio tilted her head.
"Creatures?" She asked. "They're dolphins, dear." Aria growled.
"No, they're monsters! They're the reason I almost died! They caused the ship to collapse on me!"
"Oh, hush now, Aria. They're just a couple of dolphins. I'm sure they couldn't do such a thing."
"You weren't there!"
"So? Look, I'm sure it was just a misunderstanding. You were scared, you thought you saw something, and you can't explain it, so you blame it on a couple of measly dolphins who couldn't hurt you even if they tried." Aria was at the brink with her temper, but she closed her eyes and sighed in an attempt to cool herself down. Then, with a growl, she turned away from her leader.
"Whatever, Adagio. Say what you want, but I'm going to go look for S-" Suddenly, Aria was splashed with water as something jumped from the waves. She growled and shook herself off like a dog as she felt something land on the rocks next to her. She looked over and saw none other than Sonata perched in front of Adagio and holding a bunch of fish in her jaws. She dropped them in front of her leader and grinned.
"I'm back, Dagi! And look at all the food I brought!" Adagio smiled.
"Good girl, Sonata." The blue siren giggled and touched her nose to Adagio's affectionately. The golden siren chuckled. "Oh, hey, guess what?"
"What?" Sonata asked with a curious tilt of her head. Adagio smiled a bit wider.
"Look behind you." She said. Sonata's head whipped around, and she gasped so loudly, it nearly hurt Aria's ears.
"ARI!" She screeched happily, literally throwing herself at Aria and landing on top of her, supporting herself with her two forelegs. As Aria lied on her back, she chuckled slightly as Sonata began showering her with affection. She nuzzled and licked Aria's face like a happy puppy. "Oh, I missed you so much, and I was so scared, and I thought you'd never wake up! I'm so sorry I didn't listen to you! I love you so much! Please forgive me!" She said all in one breathe.
"Hey..." She said softly, nuzzling Sonata back. "…it's okay, Dusky. I forgive you. Sorry that I worried you so much…" Sonata let out a happy sigh as she pressed herself close to Aria, nuzzling under her chin.
"Aww, look at that…" Adagio said mockingly "How adorable." Aria hissed in response.
"Quiet, you old hag." She said with slight annoyance, but in a joking manner. Adagio rolled her eyes with a chuckle. Then, suddenly, Aria heard the sound of clicking, and she stiffened.
"Oh, they're finally back!" Sonata said, getting off of Aria so that she could get up. The purple siren slowly moved until she was upright, and looked at the water. There, both dolphins were, a couple of fish in each of their mouths. Aria felt burning fury inside of her as she looked at them. She scanned their eyes, looking for the green flash to indicate that she wasn't just crazy, but nothing was to be seen. They were just normal, black dolphin eyes. The purple siren narrowed her eyes, her cat-like pupils constricting. Adagio saw this and sighed, shaking her head slightly. Sonata went over to the water's edge and smiled at the two sea creatures, taking the food that they were offering. She put the freshly-killed fish in the pile over by Adagio. She then looked at Aria. "Hey, the dolphins were nice enough to help me hunt for you!" She said cheerfully. "You must be starving after not eating for so long! Here." She said, taking a few fish from the pile and plopping them in front of Aria. "Eat up!"
Aria eyed the food suspiciously, then glanced at the dolphins. She didn't trust anything they did, let alone hunt for her. What if these fish were poisoned? Those damn dolphins probably did something to them. But as Sonata nudged the fish towards her with her muzzle pleadingly, she couldn't help but concede. With a sigh, she smiled in thanks at Sonata before taking a bite out of one of the fish. Her taste buds immediately went into a frenzy, relishing at the taste of food. It had been three days, after all. They haven't touched food since. And, surprisingly, it didn't taste peculiar, strange, or suspicious. In fact, it tasted like one of the best fish she'd ever had! With a smile and a ravenous hunger taking over as she realized just how hungry she was, she began tearing into the fish. Sonata smiled gleefully, and Adagio chuckled.
"Guess someone was hungry." The golden siren laughed.
~o~O~o~
Chrysalis was resting in her seaside cave, flipping through the pages of the book. She smiled victoriously to herself, realizing that not only did this book contain information on the sirens, but it was also somewhat up-to-date, meaning that it also held recent information on them. She read page after page, learning about their history and why they disappeared for so long. It also said that they had gems that channeled their singing and magic, and gave them the power to cast others under their hypnotic spell. But, after their last attempt, the gems were shattered. Chrysalis, now understanding this, pondered for a moment. So, they're unable to sing. Makes sense, now. That may hinder my plans, but perhaps I can find another way to use them… She thought. Suddenly, a wave of drowsiness came over the queen, and she let out an exhausted yawn.
"Well…" She muttered to herself. "…I guess I should get some rest. Then, tomorrow, I can find out how to make good use of my soon-to-be allies." She said. She went to close the book, but spotted something before she did, causing her to stop. "What's this?" She wondered to herself curiously, turning to a certain page. Her eyes widened when she landed on a page about…herself. Well, now…that's interesting. But seeing as the book's title includes 'conveyers of dark magic,' I'm not surprised I'm in here, too. She thought. She read down the page, curious to see what they had to say about her. As she read, she grinned to herself as it spoke of her misdeeds against Celestia and the citizens of Canterlot. She smiled proudly as it talked about all the damage she'd caused. Then, as she neared the end, it talked in great detail about her defeat, saying that it was 'easily done thanks to the power of Princess Mi Amore Cadenza and Shining Armor's love.' This sickened Chrysalis to her core, and she snarled at the book. "Celebrate while you can, ponies. But know that I will return, and I will return with a vengeance…"
Oh, noes...
