Things get sorta interesting here :3

Sonata walked through the streets of Baltimare. She was looking for the purple siren, but there was no sign that she was there. No singing, no fighting ponies. It seemed like a normal city day. She looked around curiously, confusion written on her expression. Where was she? Did she already move on to another town? The blue pony's spirit dropped at the possibility.

Sonata was now trotting on the outskirts of the city when she heard a low rumbling noise. She followed it, and it lead her to an old barn that looked worn and abandoned. The roof was in shambles, leaving miniscule shelter to whatever was inside. But the sound was coming from within. Sonata slowly moved towards the barn and nudged open the large doors with her snout. She gasped at what she saw. There Aria was, in siren form, sleeping on the large piles of hay. Her expression was peaceful and content, and that made Sonata smile a bit at the sight. As the purple siren steadily breathed in and out, a low rumbling sound escaped when she exhaled.

Sonata slowly went up to her. She didn't have to be too quiet because the sound of Aria's breathing drowned out her light hoofsteps. She went up to where her head was and her eyes landed on the gemstone around her neck. Her eyes widened. It's right there... She though. Maybe if I can just...take it off of her, it might rid her of the corruption! And she's asleep right now, anyway... Sonata leaned towards the glimmering blue stone. She took a hoof and placed it gently on the gem. Here goes nothing... But before she could do anything, Aria began to stir, and Sonata froze, her body going stiff with fear. But the purple siren didn't wake up. She did, however, roll over a bit, causing Sonata to loose sight of the gem under the mass of the siren. She growled slightly. Damn it, Aria... Sonata slowly tried to make her way around to the other side of the sleeping siren, nearly getting swallowed by all the hay that lay around. She was able to get to a point where the gem was visible once more, and she slowly moved towards it again. She looked at Aria's face cautiously. Her eyes were still closed. Sonata held her breath and reached for the gem. Currently, she was in between the back wall of the barn and the carnivorous siren, with nearly just enough room to fit her. She would have to be careful not to wake Aria up. For if she did, she wouldn't be able to get out in time, making her a suitable meal for the other creature. She narrowed her eyes at the oval gem. She couldn't see perfectly in the barn, despite the lack of a full roof, but the gem gleamed in the dim light, so she knew where to grab. She took her hoof and tried to put it under the lace securing it to the siren's neck so that she could hook it and hopefully rip it off. But...where was the lace? She delicately felt the siren's neck so as to not wake her up, but her search became more frantic when she couldn't locate one. Wait, was it...attached to her?! No, that can't be...right? How could a different gem attach to a siren?! She wished she'd payed more attention to detail when she and Adagio had had that little altercation with her. She could've seen what it really was. But if it is attached to her, then there'd be no way to get rid of it without hurting her, unless she was out of siren form.

Sonata blinked herself back to reality when she noticed a change in the atmosphere. The heavy, deep-sleep breathing. It had stopped. Her eyes widened, and she turned her head. Her ears immediately went back when she saw a large, purple eye glaring at her. She stood rigid, and dared not move. Their eyes were locked, and both were still as could be. Neither one moved, or even dared blink. Sonata's breath caught in her throat, and she was internally panicking. She was trapped. There'd be no way to escape in time. She was at the complete mercy of the other siren. Sonata jumped when a low rumbling was heard coming from Aria's throat, and her heartbeat quickened when the purple siren leaned toward her, jaws wide open, big enough to fit the pony fully inside. Sonata squeezed her eyes shut and prepared for the worst. But she gasped in surprise and shock when she felt the jaws wrap delicately around her torso, and felt herself get lifted into the air. She craned her neck, trying to see Aria's face, but she couldn't. So she just did the only thing she could, and hung limply in Aria's jaws and awaited what fate she would be served. But she was surprised when she was taken outside and laid gently in the grass and left there, the purple siren heading back into the shelter of the barn. Sonata looked after her curiously, wondering what just happened. She trotted over to the barn and looked inside, seeing Aria curled up, this time facing the door. The purple siren lifted her head and growled, but it sounded halfhearted.

"Go, before I change my mind." Sonata took a step back.

"Aria-"

"I said go!" Sonata whimpered and lowered her head, but didn't leave. Aria just rolled her eyes. "Whatever..." She grumbled, plopping her head back down and closing her eyes. Sonata took a few slow steps into the old barn, her eyes focused on the other siren.

"Aria, please talk to me..." She muttered. "And don't tell me to go away. Just please talk to me." Aria opened her eyes slightly with a groan. She looked at Sonata, her pupils turning to slits.

"There's nothing to talk about. And why should I trust you, anyway? You obviously care more about Adagio than me, taking her side over mine and all." Sonata snorted and stamped her hoof against the ground angrily.

"Is that what this is all about?!" She asked incredulously. "You did all this just because you're a little jealous?!" Aria immediately lifted her head and snarled at her.

"Of course not, you imbecile! That's just why I can't trust you to be there for me. So sorry if I'm a little skeptical when you say you can help me." She growled. Sonata shook her head.

"Aria, are you serious?! I'm not going to take your side all the time! Just like you won't always take my side! You can't be right every single time! And just because I took someone else's side doesn't mean I care more about them! It just means that I agree with them more! So just stop this power crap and go back to just being Aria! Back to...back to being with me..." Aria looked at Sonata for a moment, her expression unreadable. But then she growled and moved until her face was inches from Sonata's.

"Maybe you're right. Maybe I'm overreacting." She growled. "But...I've never felt so great. So...alive. And that's something...that's something you never could've given me. Not if I stayed where I was..." She then paused, and looked down, as if contemplating something. Suddenly, she looked up at Sonata. "Unless...unless you joined me." Sonata jerked her head back.

"What?!"

"We could share this power. We can be together like you want! We both get what we want!" Sonata paused, seeing truth in her words. But she saw the wrongness of it all.

"No, I can't. I won't. This is wrong and you know it!" Aria narrowed her eyes and huffed.

"Disagreeing with me again, I see. Guess I just can't do anything right!" She snarled, snapping at Sonata, who jumped out of the way just in time.

"Aria, control your temper before you do something you'll regret!" Aria growled, baring her teeth.

"The only thing I regret...is meeting you and Adagio!" She roared, lunging at Sonata again. Sonata dodged once more, but Aria had managed to snag her tail, ultimately ripping some of the hair out. "Rgh! Stop moving!" She growled.

"No! You stop acting like this!" Sonata countered. Aria snarled at her, a growl rising in her throat again. But then, suddenly, she stopped, and her ears perked. Sonata noticed this and tilted her head to the side curiously. Aria was staring out into the distance, her attention seemingly focused on something. "A-aria...?"

"Shut up!" The purple siren seethed at her, obviously trying to hear something that Sonata could not. The blue pony perked her ears and rotated them, surveying her surroundings. Still nothing. Maybe since Aria was in siren form, her hearing was better. "What the-" She heard Aria say. She looked at the purple siren curiously. Then, suddenly, she heard a screech come from above, causing her to jump. She looked up and saw something unexpected. There, flying somewhat clumsily, was a black, winged creature, and it was diving straight at them. Forgetting their previous rivalry, Sonata instinctively ran behind Aria for protection.

With a loud thud, the creature landed in front of them, dust flying into the air. When the air cleared, before them stood quite an unexpected sight indeed. It was a dragon. A dark grey, nearly black dragon, that was about half the size of a siren. What was strange was that it had normal front dragon claws, but its hind legs were...paws? What a strange-looking dragon. But, however strange, it was beautiful to look at. It was a dark, smokey gray with small fringes going down its back. It had a slim, delicate, feminine figure, and had beautiful yellow eyes. It also had two fangs poking from the front of its mouth, protruding past the lips.

It glared at the two, its lips slightly pulled back it a light snarl. Aria growled at it, snapping at the air as a sign of aggression. But the creature did not budge. Sonata would've gone into siren form and helped Aria fend it off, but she couldn't take her eyes off of it. Something about it seemed just so...familiar. Why? She didn't often engage with dragons. But something about this dragon caught her attention for whatever reason. Aria turned her head and saw Sonata cowering behind her. She growled.

"Get away from me!" She whipped Sonata with her tail, causing the little pony to tumble forward, falling hard in the dirt. The dragon snarled and made a few advancing steps towards Aria. The purple siren froze and glared at the dragon. "You back off!" She warned. Sonata shakily stood up, her wound from earlier now open again. She whimpered as it began bleeding again, and she let herself fall back to the ground, ceasing her efforts. Seeing this, the dragon snarled, thinking Aria was the one who gave her the injury, and finally lunged at the purple siren. With a surprised yelp, Aria fell backwards as the dragon barreled into her. It pinned her down and began snapping at her throat, but Aria held it away with her forelegs. Sonata saw this and tried to stand up again, despite the pain, and succeeded. She looked anxiously at the two tussling on the ground.

"Stop it! Stop fighting!" The dragon only ignored her and continued its assault on Aria. The purple siren took matters into her own hooves, though, and whacked the dragon's side with her massive tail, sending it sprawling to the side. Aria quickly flew up into the air, trying to get some distance from it, but it quickly jumped up again and lunged at her once more. But it wasn't going for her throat this time. It flew up into the air, and began attempting to slash at Aria's chest, right where the gem was embedded. Aria kept dodging out of the way, though, so it was never able to hit its unusual mark. But, finally, Aria's luck ran out when she tried to act on the offensive, and snap at the dragon. She missed, but she was now in close proximity to the beast, allowing it access to her gemstone. With a roar, it slashed at her, leaving three gaping marks on her chest, and scratches on the gem. Sonata stiffened. No! She took a step forward. "Hey, stop it! Leave her alone!" The dragon then took notice of Sonata yelling at it, and turned its head to look at her. Finding an opening, Aria flew into the air and darted off, retreating from the scene, defeated for now. Noticing that she was now alone with the beast that gave Aria a beating, she gulped and stepped back, ears lowered.

The dragon's expression, however, was different when it looked at her. It was soft and kind, almost like how a mother would look at her child. A rumbling sound began emanating from the creature's throat, but it wasn't growling. It sounded more like...a sad excuse for a purr. Sonata jumped when it began moving towards her, and she backed up a bit more. The dragon moved until it was right in front of her, and it leaned its head down to get eye-level with her. Sonata looked the creature in the eyes, and she gasped. She knew why this dragon seemed so familiar. She looked intently at its fierce, golden eyes and smiled a bit.

"Sweet Celestia...oh, I missed you..."

Some of you know, but those who don't, who do you think the dragon is? Or did we ever meet it in the first place? Could it be a new character from Sonata's past, or no? Find out in the next chapter :D