Story Storage 2.0
by Jabbie
Chapters
In Shadows
An old wooden cottage creaked beneath relentless gusts of wind. Within, a small pegasus cowered at the center of the front room, where the light from her lantern created a small sphere of comfort. Rain pelted her windows while thunder crackled overhead. Her teeth chattered and chills ran up her spine.
"Please go away," she whispered. "Leave me alone..."
"Go away?" a distant voice filled the room. "Why?"
Fluttershy bit her tongue and wept. "Please..."
"I will not. This place is my home."
The shivering pegasus shook her head and covered her eyes. "No. No it's not!"
"Silly girl, do you not realize who I am?" the voice asked.
Fluttershy opened her eyes to see a giant shadow stretched across her wall shaped in her own image. Its eyes opened and a devilish grin slithered across its face.
"I'm you."
***
Fiction
Twilight Sparkle wobbled to her hooves and shook the blurriness from her head. As her vision focused, she found herself in a twilit world of temporal distortion.
"Where am I?" she asked aloud, then spotted a misshapen clock drifting off into space. "Or better yet, when am I?"
"I'm going to pretend I didn't just hear that completely lame time joke and move things along now," Discord said as a tiny version of himself slithered out from behind Twilight's ear.
"Where's Spike?!" Twilight demanded.
Discord shrugged as he stood atop Twilight's muzzle, forcing her cross-eyed. "How should I know where the little twerp ran off to? If you ask me we're better off."
Twilight shook the provocative demigod away and stomped the ground. "I'm not helping you with anything until we find Spike."
Discord returned to his usual size as he bashfully kicked at the ground beneath. "Alright, Twilight, you win. I'm rather certain I spotted Spike falling from the sky somewhere over that way there... ish."
Twilight followed his stretching and twisting talon with her gaze until it managed to point straight towards a black castle sitting on the horizon. Above it a swirling lightning storm flashed and rumbled, and beneath an enormous wall of blue fire raged. Twilight's eye twitched as she began to hyperventilate.
"Discord!" she shouted. "You're going to poof into that castle and get Spike out this instant, or I won't be helping you with anything, ever again!"
Discord rolled his eyes and condescendingly waved the flustered princess down. "Alright, alright. I'll come clean, Twilight. I pushed Spike off in that direction. I knew it was the only way I could get you to go in there. I'd love to go deal with this on my own, but you see," he pointed to the wall of flames." Once I cross that wall, I lose all my powers. You, on the other paw, will be more powerful than ever."
"And what in that castle is so important that you'd go through all this trouble just to get me in there?" Twilight asked.
"All in due time, Princess. All in due time." Discord rubbed his inter-species hands together, and grinned. Deviously. Menacingly. Maniacally as lightning crackled behind him!
"Okay, I'll do it. I imagine playing along is the only way to get home, anyhow. So let's go." Twilight begrudgingly trudged towards the distant castle with Discord cheerfully skipping by her side.
Come Clarity
A thick smoky haze fell over charred cavern walls. Water dripped from the stalactites onto an endless pile of gold coins and precious jewels. Among the treasure rested various golden artifacts that were beyond value; a goblet once owned by an ancient king, a dazzling tiara adorned with brilliant opal spheres, and above all, an ancient swivel mirror.
The mirror rested atop a mound of melted gold and shimmered in the dim light. Its legs were crafted from the wood of a throne taken from a conquered empire long, long ago. The frame was lined with the purest of silver and a flawless cut and polished oval of crystal lay fastened over top a plate of gold, which cast the finest reflection possible. Around the lustrous frame of the mirror, many ancient symbols were etched into it. A vague luminescent green light glowed from within the gouged etchings, and it pulsed.
Beneath the gentle sound water droplets splashing against golden coins, silence reigned aside from a distant and faint heartbeat coming from all directions. Suddenly a bright light illuminated the forgotten cavern, and a flash of green sparked from the mirror, then the beating stopped. With a final flash of green light, the etched symbols along the edge of the mirror faded into black.
~~~
One last look behind, and terrors are staring back at me. One final regret, as silence descends, this monster is still roaming free. This monster is still here. NEVER! This monster is inside of me.
~~~Several Days Earlier~~~
"Well this is interesting," Rarity stated as she skimmed a book regarding ancient treasure and artifacts. "It would appear that there is an abandoned dragon's cave atop a mountain that everypony is too afraid to enter due to some superstitious curse nonsense."
Twilight Sparkle looked up from a book of her own and snickered. "While curses do tend to be superstitious nonsense, I'm sure there are other, better reasons that ponies avoid that cave."
"Perhaps so." Rarity continued to read. "Well, listen to this, While it is known that the dragon left his horde of treasure over a millennium ago and never returned, the locals believe that the dragon's soul still guards the cave. They forcefully restrict entry under fear that the Dragon's Curse will otherwise destroy their rural village."
"You're right. That is interesting." Twilight Sparkle shrugged and stifled a yawn.
Rarity rolled her eyes and dropped the book. "Twilight, dear, don't you see?!" she shouted. "This is more than just interesting this is a golden opportunity to gain priceless and fabulous treasures."
"I'm sure that cave has been looted a thousand times over by now. Not to mention the fact that rural mountain town yokels aren't exactly known for being easily swayed. They'll never let us in." Twilight Sparkle shook her head and gave a quick nod. "Trust me on this one."
Rarity huffed as dozens of fantastical imaginations flooded her mind from herself sporting an emerald king's crown to being dressed in gold silken robes. "Are you absolutely certain we can't try? You're a princess now, Twilight. Your loyal subjects are obliged to obey your every wish. Why not flash your badge every now and again, so to speak?"
"Well..." Twilight began to speak, then froze as she gazed into her friend's wide, shimmering blue eyes. "I..."
Rarity widened her gaze and pouted her lip. "Please..."
Twilight sighed and averted her gaze. "Well if it really means that much to you, I suppose we could try. I can't make any promises that the locals will recognize my authority, though."
"Thank you! Thank you! Thank you so much, Twilight!" Rarity jumped up and rushed to her friend's side to pull her into a constricting hug. "I just know that this'll be worth it. Just you wait and see, love."
"I'll schedule us a train ride up the mountain in the morning..." Twilight choked and patted Rarity's back.
***Present Day***
A Siren's Call To Harmony
Adagio, Aria and Sonata made a hasty retreat after being defeated by the Rainbooms during the Battle of the Bands showdown. As they contemplate what to do and where to go from there, they discover a startling secret about themselves, as well as the magic they've absorbed.
"Can you believe this?" Adagio frantically paced back and forth in a small apartment bedroom, her eyes fixed on the red shards resting on the palm of her hand. "Can you believe this?!"
Aria leaned against the doorway with her arms crossed. "Drop it, Adagio. We'll get by just like we always do."
"How?!" Adagio snapped back, and tightly squeezed the shattered gemstone, its sharp edges pricking her palm. "If we can't sing, then how are we going to do anything? We're stuck! We're done!" she shouted as she chucked the shards across the room and into the wall.
Aria shielded her face and flinched. "Calm down, 'Dagi!" she shouted. "We're going to be fine." Aria gulped and glanced down to the floor, where Sonata sat in silence with her face against her knees, sniffling.
Adagio pressed her fingertips against her forehead and plopped down onto the foot of her bed. She took a deep breath and looked up between her fingers into Aria's eyes, who turned away and more tightly crossed her arms. "Please, Aria, if you're so damn sure, what's going to save us now?"
"I don't know!" Aria spat. "This never would have happened if you hadn't..."
Adagio's eyes shot open as she stood off the bed and marched up to Aria, grabbing the collar of her black and green dress, and pressing her nose against hers. "You're going to blame me for this?!"
Sonata bit down on her fingertips and winced, she opened her mouth to protest, but she was frozen at the sight of her leader enraged. "Please," she quietly muttered.
Aria gritted her teeth and turned away. "We never should have went to that school."
"You don't think I realize that now?!" Adagio pushed Aria into the wall with her fist, releasing her as she turned around and stepped away. "Hindsight is twenty-twenty, isn't it..."
Sonata peeked up through her bangs and shrugged. "We almost won, though."
Aria placed her hand on her sore collarbone and grimaced, a second ache radiating from within. "Shut up, Sonata."
Sonata glared at Aria and pouted, clenching her fists.
Adagio resumed her pacing, staring at her open palms. "Both of you, shut up and listen to me. I can still feel it. There's still something inside of us. Maybe... maybe we can..." She grunted and rubbed her temples. "We need to think."
Aria glanced down at her boots and rubbed the bare area whereupon her pendant once rested. "What do you mean? Our magic's gone."
Adagio stood still and looked up to the ceiling, taking a deep breath through her nostrils. "Maybe not. We lost our pendants, but the magic is still there. What we're lacking is a conduit to exude it from our cores. We absorbed enough Equestrian Magic from those girls to last us another thousand years. It didn't simply disappear when our pendants shattered."
Aria closed her eyes and focused on her inner being, a sense of warmth and power surging in her chest. "I don't know, Adagio. Even if you're right, how can we replace our pendants. I doubt this world has anything like that."
Sonata tilted her head and raised an eyebrow. "Those other girls didn't have pendants and they still used their magic on us."
Adagio's eyes shot wide open and she reached down to grab Sonata's shoulders, who flinched and closed her eyes. "Sonata, I can't believe I'm saying this, but you're a genius!"
Sonata tentatively opened one eye and gulped. "I am?"
Aria rubbed her chin. "I get it. Those girls figured out a different way to unleash the magic inside of them all on their own. Maybe we can do that, too."
"Not maybe. We will do that. We just need to figure out how." Adagio sat back down and looked up at Aria, who still had her hand on her chest where she had been shoved. "I'm..."
Aria shook her head. "It's fine."
Sonata smiled and tapped her knees.
Adagio tilted her head. "Those girls activated their magic by playing instruments, or through music in general, rather."
"Turns out we can't sing, though," Aria pointed out. "I don't think we have the patience to learn."
Adagio huffed. "We can sing. Anyone can sing. We'll just have to actually try for a change."
"Ahhh la la la," Sonata sang.
Aria rolled her eyes and scoffed. "You call that trying? Do it like this." She cleared her throat and puffed out her chest. "Aawh--no that's awful. We can't do this."
"Maybe there's something else, then." Adagio took a deep, long breath and felt herself deflating, the fire inside her chest quenched by hopelessness welling up from deep in her stomach. "Let's call it a night..."
"But I'm hungry." Sonata groaned.
"Of course you are," Aria said as she smacked herself on the forehead. "We don't need to eat, you know."
"I need to eat!" Sonata jumped up and adorably wiggled her shoulders in anger.
Aria shooed her away. "Fine, go eat. I don't care."
Adagio glanced towards Sonata and grinned. "Bring me back something, will you?"
"Are you serious?" Aria shook her head. "Fine... bring me back something, too. I don't feel like going out."
"Okay!" Sonata merrily skipped over to the dresser drawer and dug through a mound of cash. She gathered up what she thought she might need and headed towards the front door. "I'll be back in a few!"
"Hurry up." Aria shivered and lowered her eyes. "We should go with her," she said as Sonata slammed the door behind herself.
"She'll be fine," Adagio said, brushing it off. "No one will recognize us here in the city. If someone does, Sonata can handle herself."
Aria nodded. "Yeah..." She walked across the room and took a seat next to Adagio on the bed. "So what are we gonna do?"
Adagio slowly shook her head. "We're going to figure this out. But for now... I hate to admit it, but you're right. We need to calm down. We'll make it though this like we always do."
Aria pulled the striped gloves off of her hands and sat them down at the foot of the bed, then reached down and took Adagio's hands, unbuckling the spiked bracelets from her wrists. "Glad you're finally coming around. Let's be honest; we have everything we need to survive here for the foreseeable future."
"I know that, but..." Adagio pulled her hands away and looked up. "I want more... It's in our nature. We deserve more than this."
Aria glanced around the small bedroom and into the living room through the doorway. "This isn't so bad. We own this place, which is low-key enough not to draw attention. We have more money than we'll ever need, and we have..."
Adagio lowered her eyebrows and shot a glance at Aria. "We have what?"
Aria averted her gaze and swallowed her emotions. "It's stupid to say, but we have each other, too."
Adagio scoffed and lowered her eyes. "We were so close. We could have had the whole world."
Aria ground her teeth and narrowed her eyes. "If I see Sunset Shimmer again... I'll... I'll..." She balled her fist.
"I'm right there with you. We had them beat if not for her." Adagio threw her arms in the air and fell backwards across the bed. "I hate unicorns."
Aria let her arms fall limp and sighed. "Well, we'll get revenge someday."
"Yes we will," Adagio said, staring blankly at the ceiling. "I'm tired."
Aria chuckled and kicked her boots off, then reached down and grabbed Adagio's, unlatching the buckles. She slid them off and dropped them onto the floor. "Do you think we'll ever get used to these bodies?"
"I'm used to it," Adagio muttered as she wiggled her toes. "I miss flying, though. When we transformed earlier, and I had those wings... That was nice."
Aria stared at her fingers for several moments before making a fist. She then flattened the green skirt attached to her corset and pressed her knees together. "Don't you feel... weak?"
Adagio grunted and rolled her eyes. "No... yes... I don't know! It doesn't matter."
Aria grinned as she watched Adagio rubbing her temples and laying back, her long, poofy hair dangling over the edge of the bed. She looked up and down her body, noting the purple dress and bow tie speckled with seemingly randomly placed golden dots. "Your bow is stupid."
"You're stupid!" Adagio shouted, ripping the bow off of her chest and tossing it onto the floor.
Aria chuckled and crossed her arms. "You know, Adagio, I don't have a reason to be afraid of you anymore. We're equals now if you think about it."
Adagio leaned up and faced Aria, her eyebrows lowered and her mouth straight. "You really think so?"
Aria shrugged. "We don't have a way to use our magic, so yeah."
Adagio's eye twitched and she reached out towards Aria's shirt again, but this time was stopped by a hand grabbing her wrist. Adagio glanced down as her wrist was squeezed, and she yanked it away.
"What's wrong?" Aria grinned. "Scared?"
"Me afraid of you? Don't make me laugh," Adagio said as she rubbed her wrist.
"Heh." Aria huffed. "Reminds me of when we were kids, when the gems in our chests activated."
Adagio frowned and lifted her feet onto the bed, hugging her knees. "Those gems were literally a part of us. Our hearts... how can they be lost?"
"I don't know anything about that." Aria sighed, then changed the subject. "We were rivals, remember? Except... you always were a little stronger." Aria leaned back and looked up. "I miss those days."
Adagio lowered her eyes and frowned. "Those days are long gone."
Aria rubbed the red mark on her chest and inhaled deeply. "We used to be friends, too. Maybe now that we... you know."
"We're still friends. We've always been friends," Adagio said, flicking her wrist and brushing the girl off.
Aria raised an eyebrow. "Not really, Adagio. You just push me around and yell at me. You've always been mean spirited--hell, I have too--but the old you never would have hurt me."
Adagio bit her lip and wrapped her hands into her hair. "I... You're right. But if I'm so bad, then why don't you just leave?"
"What, and take care of Sonata? That's not happening, and I'd never leave her here with y--"
"I've never laid a finger on Sonata!" Adagio interrupted.
Aria glanced away. "I don't know that."
Adagio squeezed the end of her short dress and turned red. "This is why I get so mad at you two! You say such stupid things all the time!"
"Go ahead and hit me again, then." Aria gritted her teeth and leaned forward. "Just when I thought maybe things could be better between us, you have to prove me wrong!"
"I hate you!" Adagio shouted.
Aria winced and scooted back. "I hate you more..."
Adagio groaned and stretched one leg out. "Can't you just stop provoking me with your stupid comments?"
"I'm not trying to provoke you. Maybe you should stop lashing out all the time." Aria glared and kicked Adagio's foot off of the bed.
"Not trying to provoke me?! What do you call that?" Adagio shouted, gesturing towards her leg.
Aria grinned and shrugged. "What're you gonna do about it?"
Adagio leaned forward and crawled across the bed on her hands and knees until she was face to face with Aria, who held her cocky grin. "You think you can manipulate me? What are you playing at?"
Aria balled her fist and punched Adagio on the shoulder.
She sat back on her feet and rubbed her arm. "Ow..."
"What, you don't like that?" Aria asked with lowered eyebrows.
Adagio raised her fist and made Aria recoil, hiding her face. "Relax." She sighed. "I'm sorry, alright?"
Aria opened her eyes and grinned. "Did you just say that you're sorry?"
Adagio rolled her eyes. "Shut up."
"I didn't hear you. Say it again." Aria laughed and placed her hands on Adagio's tightly clenched fists.
"Don't push your luck, Aria!" Adagio attempted to yank her hands away, but instead pulled Aria against her chest.
Aria gulped with wide eyes as she found herself chest to chest with Adagio, their noses nearly touching. "Uhm..."
Adagio placed her hands on Aria's shoulders and felt her cheeks getting hot. "That was an accident."
Aria raised an eyebrow and smirked. "Sure it was."
A fire in Adagio's chest was instantly rekindled as one snarky comment too many burned into her heart. She shook Aria's shoulders back and forth. "Why do you do this?"
"Look, if you're trying to kiss me or whatever, just say so." Aria raised her eyebrows and smiled. "If that's what you want."
"Are you kidding me?" Adagio shoved Aria onto the bed and crawled over her. "You have to be kidding me. You think I want to kiss you? I want to strangle you!"
"Honestly, I get it: You're frustrated over everything that happened tonight. You can take it out on me. I'll live." Aria grabbed Adagio's hands and placed them on her neck.
Adagio pulled her hands away and stared into Aria's eyes, straddling her. "You're trying to get me to finish venting on you, so that when Sonata comes back..."
Aria shrugged. "I didn't think it through that much. I'm just kinda going along with the flow or whatever."
Adagio groaned and rolled her eyes. "You're not as dumb as I say you are, just so you know."
"I know," Aria said, her hands on Adagio's hips. "So... what's going on? You just gonna sit on me now?"
Adagio leaned back down and placed her hands on Aria's cheeks. She tilted her head and pressed her lips against Aria's mouth, holding a kiss for several seconds before leaning up.
Aria's pink cheeks flushed red and she gasped. "Wha... I... 'Dagi?"
"You said you wanted me to kiss you." Adagio smirked. "You're welcome."
"I didn't say... mmmh" Aria was cut off by yet another kiss. She reached around Adagio's head and pulled against her massive hair.
Adagio parted her lips as soon as she felt the arms pulling her down, invigorated. She squeezed her eyes shut and slid her tongue into Aria's open mouth. She opened and closed her lips, pushing deeper and stroking her tongue against Aria's with each repetition. She bit down on her lower lip and let it slowly slide between her teeth, then leaned up.
"Is that it?" Aria asked, her breaths short and quick.
Adagio wiped her mouth and bit her lip. "Did you feel that?"
Aria shrugged, her cheeks flushed.
"I felt something..." Adagio looked at her hands as her heart fluttered. "Let's keep doing this."
Aria nodded and bent her knee between Adagio's legs, who sat back and raised an eyebrow.
"That might be a bit much, Aria," she said as she lifted Aria's legs and pulled down her white and purple striped stockings. Adagio then removed her jacket and tossed it onto the floor, wearing only a light purple top over her dress. She then crawled between Aria's legs and rested her lips on her chest, kissing the sore spot.
Aria blushed and turned her head. "Adagio..."
"Shut up. Don't talk." Adagio made her way to Aria's neck, nuzzling her before gently kissing up the length of it.
Aria quivered and rubbed her knees against Adagio's hips, her entire body tingling. "You know Sonata's gonna walk in on us any minute now, right?" she said, her voice low and breathy.
"Let her." Adagio lightly flicked her tongue beneath Aria's chin before turning her head and shoving it between her lips. She grabbed Aria's pigtails and pulled on them like handlebars, her tongue sliding deeper into her mouth.
"Mmm," Aria instinctively hummed as she swirled her tongue against the one exploring her mouth. She felt her body heat rising as she lifted her legs and wrapped them around Adagio's back. With her eyes tightly closed, the world around her was spinning and tilted, and she squeezed onto Adagio's hair to steady herself.
"Mmmm," Adagio hummed back, matching Aria's pitch as she wrapped her hands up in the sheets and felt herself losing focus, a disorienting, overwhelming surge falling over her head and dizzying her.
Aria ran her hands down the length of Adagio's long, poofy hair, and when she reached what she thought should be the end, it kept going, drastically longer than it should have been. She forced her hands between the hair and her friend's back, then ran her hands upwards, gasping as she felt something unusual. "Adagio?" she muttered, breaking their kiss, a string of saliva connecting their glistening lips.
Adagio opened her eyes and shook her head, focusing her blurry vision and wiping her mouth. As she came to, she involuntarily fluttered the wings that had sprouted from her back. She shuddered and started to giggle, a malevolent grin slithering across her cheeks.
"You transformed!" Aria leaned up on her elbows, then felt her own wings pressing against the bed. "I did too?!"
Adagio closed her eyes and took a deep breath, then opened her mouth. "Ahhh~" she sang, her voice flawlessly carrying a note into the still air.
"Ahhhh, ahhhh~" Aria joined her in harmony.
"Do you feel it now?" Adagio unleashed a malicious laugh and balled her fists, sitting between Aria's legs.
Aria leaned up and rubbed her hands together, chuckling, but as quickly as the transformation transpired, it faded. "What happened?"
Adagio frowned and looked at her hands. "I don't know."
"It's, like, as soon as we were ready to do something bad, the magic went away." Aria noted.
Adagio's eyes stayed locked on her subtly shaking hands, and she cleared her throat. "Maybe... but what's more important is the question of how we triggered the transformation."
"When we kissed, duh." Aria rolled her eyes.
Adagio lowered her eyebrows with a straight face. "No. It's something else."
Aria shrugged and reached out, grabbing Adagio's hand. "Forget it. We'll figure it out later."
"I'm not going to just--" Adagio stifled herself as she heard the front door flying open.
"I'm home!" Sonata called out. "I have snacks."
Aria stood up and brushed the wrinkles off of her dress, then pulled Adagio to her feet. "Let's go eat."
Adagio grunted and followed her friend into the front room, where Sonata had spread out an array of fast-foods on a coffee table. "Good job, Sonata."
Sonata beamed and gestured towards the food. "Let's see. I got pizza, sandwiches, fries, and... oh wait. Looks like I lost a bag."
"Smooth, Sonata. Can't you do anything right?" Aria stuck her tongue out and crossed her arms.
"Hey!" Sonata glared across the table. "Most of what I bought made it home."
Aria chuckled and glanced to Adagio, who was picking the toppings off of a slice of pizza. "I'm just messing with you, Sonata. Thanks."
Sonata smiled and slid a sandwich across the table towards Aria. "You're welcome. I know we don't technically need to eat, but that's one of the joys of being human, right?"
Aria shrugged and glanced to Adagio. "Yeah, that's one of them, I guess."
Sonata covered her mouth and giggled, out of the loop, yet still finding humor in her friend's words. "Did you two make up while I was gone?"
"You could say that," Adagio answered. "I'm... s..."
"Go on, say it 'Dagi." Aria nodded towards Sonata. "Do it."
"Yeah, say it!" Sonata smiled and pounded the table. "Say it. Say it. Say it."
"Fine!" Adagio grunted. "I'm sorry for yelling at you two all the time."
"Aw, that's okay. I don't mind." Sonata chirped and took a big bite out of her sandwich.
"Yeah we don't really care about that, Adagio," Aria said. "It's not a big deal. I actually like it."
Adagio dragged her hand down her face and swallowed her frustration. "You two..."
Sonata bumped Aria with her elbow and winked, her mouth full of bread. Aria tilted her head forward and chuckled.
Adagio let loose a short, breathy laugh. She glanced to her two partners and smiled, a sudden feeling of fulfillment entering her heart as she watched them getting along. With a deep breath, a familiar magical aura welled up in her chest, and her eyes shot wide open.
"Uh... you okay?" Aria asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Yeah." Adagio winked and held a finger to her lips. "Hmmm," she hummed, doing her best to hold a note.
Aria and Sonata glanced to each other and then back to Adagio, puzzled.
"I think I just figured something out." Adagio reached forward and grabbed each girl's hand. "Hum with me, and don't sound terrible. If you try, you can do it."
"Eh..." Aria resisted and frowned as Sonata grabbed her hand. "What are we doing?"
Adagio shot a sharp glare at Aria and snarled. "Don't start! Just listen to me, okay?"
"Fine!" Aria groaned and accepted Sonata's hand, who cheerfully awaited her orders.
"Okay, now close your eyes and just hum with me. Don't be embarrassed, it'll be just like old times if we pull this off." Adagio cleared her throat and hummed, her breath steady and her voice soft.
The three formed a triangle sitting around a small table, holding hands. They each closed their eyes and hummed in unison. Adagio cringed as the three off-pitch voices discordantly clashed, but as they continued, the slowly began to resonate. "That's it," Adagio said. "Keep it up."
"Ahhh~" Adagio opened her mouth and sounded her voice as the other two girls continued to hum.
The three swayed in synchronization, and the sound they produced grew into an eerie, haunting refrain, filling the room. A mutual image entered their minds as the world began to spin around them, their eyes locked shut. Three young sirens flew through Equestrian skies with large, dazzling red rubies implanted into their chests that glimmered in the sunlight. The three sirens opened their mouths and sang out loud as they circled a mountaintop, long flowing fins trailing behind them as they soared. Their song echoed through the world, and the gems on their chests glowed bright. Suddenly, a blinding flash was emitted from each gem, and the three girls opened their eyes.
Adagio violently grabbed at her chest to find a pendant dangling around her neck once again, but she was left disappointed.
"Look," Sonata said, pointing to Aria's wings, who spread them widely and freed the long hair running down her back.
"You too," Aria called out. "And you." She pointed to each girl.
Adagio grinned and shook her head. "Our gems have been restored."
"What?" Aria reached down and grabbed her necklace, no gem present. "No they haven't."
"It's our hearts." Adagio pumped her fists and breathed in deeply. "It's so simple. When the three of us are in harmony, we're our true selves."
"Huh?" Sonata asked, quizzically tilting her head.
Adagio smacked herself and groaned. "Equestrian Magic!" she shouted. "The magic inside of us right now is the same magic those girls have. It's harmony that activates it."
Sonata continued staring with a blank expression.
"Try to keep up," Aria said with a scoff. "So, how long will this last?"
"I don't know? How should I know?!" Adagio shouted. "All I know is..." she trailed off as her wings dissipated and her hair shortened, the magical energy fading.
"We've got a lot of practicing to do if we want to maintain the transformation." Aria noted. "As soon as the harmony breaks, we deactivate."
Adagio slumped back onto the couch and sighed. "...Harmony. Why can't they have had a different, better, more practical kind of magic?"
"Harmony's not so bad," Sonata added. "I mean, music is kind of our thing, right?"
Aria shrugged and nibbled at her sandwich. "Hmph," she mumbled. "Seems like we have a good start, though."
"Creating harmony between the three of us is going to be the biggest challenge I've ever faced. I don't know if I'm up to the task." Adagio grinned and looked at her two partners, elbowing each other before Aria smacked the sandwich out of Sonata's hands. "This is gonna take a while..."
"We've got all the time in the world." Aria leaned back in her chair and kicked her feet onto the table.
"Ew!" Sonata snatched the food away and took it into the kitchen.
Adagio rubbed her temples and closed her eyes. "You two are going to be the end of me, I swear..." She opened her eyes to see Sonata leaning over the back of Aria's chair and stealing a bite of her sandwich, and she smiled.
"Maybe we'll be alright. Just gotta learn a little bit about harmony, is all."