//------------------------------// // Battle of the Band Moms // Story: Auntie Adagio // by Rune Soldier Dan //------------------------------// Neither Applejack nor her friends – bless their hearts – were particularly intelligent in hiding their secret plans against the sirens. A few afternoons loitering outside the barn door taught Adagio all about Princess Twilight, the chaos the siren duo raised in their school, and the Rainbooms’ deeply misguided plan to write their own musical counter-spell. It was so foolish. Teenagers perhaps could be excused, but this Princess Twilight should know better than to challenge ancient virtuosos of music at their greatest strength. Adagio… did nothing, said nothing. They all thought she was a human, blissfully unaware of the peril about to be unleashed. What, was she to confess to being not only a monster, but one of the very sirens they steeled themselves to face? An end to the trust, the sustaining love. She would have to leave, far sooner than she hoped. Perhaps word would spread after her and the next family would be wary of such a convenient angel. She watched them head out for the Band Battle. Applejack grinned goofily when Adagio kissed her in front of her friends. Their cheer was palpable, their hearts full of righteous will and the supreme confidence of adolescence. It would, she mused, be fine. The victorious sirens would prey on cities, not a little farmhouse. And if Applejack was lost, the remaining three’s love would be more than enough to feed Adagio. The girl was was a spare, in the end. Superfluous. The thoughts didn’t stop Adagio from climbing into their car, nor did they slow her as she buckled in. She met her own eyes in the mirror. “So it was you who changed, after all.” To the cruel, ancient minds of Sonata Dusk and Aria Blaze, the spirited and incompetent resistance of their alleged enemies was just part of the hunt. No different in anything but setting to the dark seas they once called home. It was the chase, not the kill, which gave them sustenance. Prey would be hounded for days – mocked, injured, fed false hope only to replace it with terror and despair. They could have used the hypnotized faculty to eject the Rainbooms. But to sabotage then save them, to attract scorn and jealousy from the school such that the sirens themselves weren’t the ones to trap them beneath the stage? Delicious. Adagio could taste it all even from outside the venue. Anger, spite, envy, malice. It was an explosion of sensation, coming on all the harder for her diet of bland, filling love. An addict’s first hit after ten years clean. She did not pause, even now. It would be so easy to join in with the other sirens. To reclaim their powers and feast until the burning of the world. Instead she kicked down the door to the backstage closet. Applejack and the other once-trapped girls stared at her. “Auntie?” Applejack asked, then squinted and shook her head. “Wait, how come you ain’t off your rocker like everyone else?” Adagio hadn’t thought of an alibi. “Power of love, I don’t know. You kids get out of here while I go have a talk with those two. Auntie’s got this.” Twilight stood up at once, followed a hair behind by Sunset. “We can’t do that! This whole city is in danger!” “Miss Adagio, these guys are sirens. I know it sounds crazy but they’re trying to regain their magic so they can spread chaos across the world.” Adagio grit her teeth. “Pretty crazy, yeah. All the more reason you should leave it to me.” “Our music has magic power,” Applejack said, meeting her gaze with honest green eyes. “Please believe us on this. We can stop them, but there ain’t much time.” “Of course I believe you, but...” Adagio interrupted herself with a sharp breath, and a bit of her old manipulative skills returned. “You called them sirens, right? Matching music against a siren sounds like a losing plan. It’s the exact thing they’re incredible at.” That gave them all a second’s pause, broken by Sunset. “You have a better idea?” “Yeah, kind of.” Adagio bounced her finger between them as though counting. “You know what, we can do this together. There are eight of us and two of them. Sounds easy enough to me.” They didn’t seem to understand, so she punched her palm with a satisfying clap. “Oh, wow. Okay.” Rainbow grinned and nudged Applejack. “Dude, your aunt rocks.” Twilight kicked a little at the ground. “I don’t really like the idea of ending this with violence.” They were cutting it so damn close. Adagio growled. “How do you like the idea of ending this with losing?” “Fair point. Let’s go.” It seemed like a good idea at the time. The sirens were singers, not fighters. Sonata looked to her with confusion. “Adagio?” A few of the Rainbooms exchanged glances. A lie could be fed to them later. “Hi, girls.” Adagio reached into her purse and pulled out a purple high-heeled shoe Granny bought for her their first Christmas together. They charged. Eight against two. The sirens were overwhelmed in seconds. Then green light glowed from the duo’s gems. Magic cracked the air, and in a burst of existence a pair of ten-foot serpentine sea ponies appeared, blasting the Rainbooms back. An oversight. Long centuries had made Adagio used to them not being able to transform. Not without magic… and now they had it. The pair lunged, bowling over their human aggressors. What looked like a sure thing one way turned the opposite. Two huge predators among unarmed teenagers. Their last trump, and the Rainbooms had no answer. A blue tail toppled Adagio. Stars exploded in her vision. She staggered upright, seeing the disorganized girls trying to help each other retreat. But the sirens were faster, stronger. They bullied and herded the Rainbooms, could have killed half of them by now if they tried. But that wasn’t how sirens hunted. It would be long and messy. Still, so much prey was hard to handle. An early kill was wasteful, but would cause so much delicious terror in those who remained. All the better if it was the tallest and strongest of them. Sonata swung her tail at Fluttershy. Applejack ran right for it, taking the blow square on. The dazed girl sat up to find both looming tall above her, swaying like snakes ready to strike. Aria was the older one, and got first dibs. She lunged, with teeth as long as a human hand opened for the bite. Something scaled and yellow slammed her from the side. It all felt so natural, like Adagio had been a proper siren yesterday and not a thousand years ago. Her hooves gripped perfectly to twist and throw Aria onto her back. They hissed to each other. Sirens did not fight on even terms – they hunted the weak cruelly, or they fled. Aria snapped her teeth on instinct, seeking to injure or scare. Adagio brought both hooves down squarely on Aria’s head. The eyes rolled up and the purple form went limp. It was done in five seconds. Her gaze snapped to Sonata, who wore fear before it hardened into rage. Adagio was not the only one changed by this world – in the ocean, sirens would flee an equal fight. Today, the stakes were too high. Both lunged. Sonata slithered to her left and bit hard into Adagio’s neck. But their teeth weren’t built for each others’ thick scales. Adagio grunted with pain and a spurt of blood flew out. Nothing more. Then Adagio wrapped one leg around Sonata’s neck and punched her solidly in the face. The second was enough to knock her out, and the blue siren fell to the stage. The adrenaline faded, leaving Adagio able to think again. She hadn’t consciously meant to charge them, or even transform. Like her body had moved on its own. Her huge body. The Rainbooms looked so small, staring up to her with shock. Tall Applejack, who even at sixteen had grown an inch taller than Adagio, could not be seen save for the hat covering her head as she approached to arm’s reach. A soft hand rested on Adagio’s scaled tail. “Auntie.” The hat grew closer. Adagio’s vision lowered like she was on a Ferris Wheel. Her siren form vanished into the air, leaving her hand pressed to Applejack’s. The girl gave an unsteady smile. “Wow, your neck ain’t even red now.” “Wounds heal with the transformation.” Adagio threw out her curls, averting her gaze… ...For the last time. “But the miasma these two created will need to be dispelled by some good vibes before the school can snap out of it. Seems like a job for the Rainbooms.” “Of course,” Applejack said. “You’ll wait for us, right?” Adagio shrugged, still looking away. “Yeah.” “Promise me.” Another shrug. “Auntie.” A smile curled at the ends of Adagio’s lips. “You saw right through me, huh?” “I’ve know you for ten years,” Applejack said. “Reckon I can read you okay by now.” “Fine, fine.” Adagio pushed her gently away. Maybe it was just as well: a chance to come clean before the end. “I promise to stick around til after the show. I’ll tell you everything. You deserve it.” She lurked around the edges of the crowd as the Rainbooms performed. They weren’t siren-good, but they were… great, even. More than good enough to counter the sirens’ lingering magic. Maybe their little band battle would have worked, after all. They packed up their instruments while the rest of the school went home. Then they returned from behind the curtain to find Adagio seated on the stage, facing the now-empty stands. It was Twilight who spoke first. “Star Swirl’s writings said there were three sirens.” “That’s correct.” Adagio told them the story, all of it. The sirens’ defeat and exile to Earth, where they blamed each other and parted ways. The long time spent surviving in the underbelly of society, hunting from city to city. The crash. The cruel idea to slip into the Apple family and live off love instead of fear. To Adagio, that was the end of the story. Not to Applejack. “You’re still coming home tonight, right?” “No,” Adagio said, looking up. With the stage lights off, the stars could be seen. “It’s time for me to find a new family. Presuming your pony friend doesn’t force me back to Equestria.” She kept her eyes on the stars, only smiling as Twilight’s voice came from behind. “No need to glare, AJ! I’m not forcing her anywhere. We would have been doomed without her.” “I wonder,” Adagio breathed, then spoke up. “Are you taking the other two with you? No offense, but Equestria throwing its trash here caused this whole mess.” “Of course,” Twilight said. The other sirens were still unconscious, now tied up in the back. Booted feet stepped forwards, drawing Applejack’s voice nearer. “Fine, done. Now what’s this about getting a new family?” “If I’m going to keep living peacefully among humans, I’ll need love to sustain myself.” “Ain’t mine… no, wait a second.” Applejack hopped off the stage, then turned to stand directly in front of Adagio. No dodging the gaze now as the girl looked up to her with hurt and expectation. “Ain’t my love good enough?” Adagio gave her a wan smile. “I’m an ancient emotion-drinking monster, in case you weren’t paying attention.” Applejack’s green eyes grew shiny with unspent tears. “Monster my foot, you’re our guardian angel! Your sang me to sleep when I cried, brought in money, taught me how to handle my own dumb feelings...” “I told you,” Adagio said softly so her voice wouldn’t crack. “I just needed you.” “And we need you! You said you’d always be there for me. Don’t make yourself a liar.” “Little late for that,” Adagio mused. “But it’s not just a choice, sweetie. I need the love.” Applejack gave a snort and crossed her arms. “Don’t buy me? Fine. Proof is in the pudding. Taste me, or however you do it. See if the love’s dropped off any.” Adagio swallowed. Then trembled, for there was more love than ever, and the taste was the most wonderful thing she had ever known. Applejack saw the realization in her eyes. “See? I love you, just as you love me.” Adagio shot her gaze away. “I don’t… I mean, I don’t know what love is, really. I don’t want to lie. I don’t know if what I feel for you really is that.” “Heck, no one knows what love really is.” Applejack reached up her hand. Adagio accepted, then hopped from the stage into an embrace. “But I know what it looks like. It looks like a yellow siren sea monster charging in for the rescue, because that’s what it takes to save her family.” Adagio confessed the truth to the other Apples that very night. It became news, then old news. Most days it wasn’t worth bringing up with everything else going on. Harvests, business decisions, Christmases. Time passed so wonderfully, so terribly. She wouldn’t trade it for anything in the world. Graduations. Hospital visits. “What are you gonna do?” Granny asked, so slim and wrinkled in her hospital gown. “Appease an old woman’s curiosity. You gonna stay on as the Apple guardian angel for my grandkids’ grandkids and beyond, or you gonna pick a time and move on?” “I really don’t know,” Adagio confessed. “No shame. You’re young.” Granny coughed and laughed. “I don’t want you to feel like you’re saddled to the farm. Stay if you end up wanting to stay, go if you end up wanting to go, same if you ever want to come back. It’ll all be fine, girl. I love you, you know.” Adagio held her hand. “Yes, I do.” Granny was stuck in the wheelchair by the time the first of her grandchildren got married. It became Adagio’s duty to walk them down the aisle. “A crooked tie on your own wedding day.” Adagio plucked at Macintosh’s neck as they waited behind the last curtain. He giggled nervously under the attention. “Quit fussin’, Auntie.” “Hush, you. After today you’ll be Sugar Belle’s to fuss over, this is my last chance.” Adagio paused. Fifteen years, twenty? It was getting hard to keep track. She embraced him, rested her head below the tie. He was so tall now. “Mac, my big strong boy.” He wrapped his arms around her, just for a moment more. Then they walked down the aisle and the happy day went on. The other siblings got married in that same church, each in their own time. They stood behind the same curtain, obediently still as Adagio fixed their ties. “Why did you go with an ascot?” Adagio chided as she undid Applejack’s entirely. “You’ve never worn ascots.” “Rarity wanted it,” Applejack said with a goofy little smile that spoke of firm wedding-night plans with her beloved. “Always with the ascots,” Adagio grumbled to Apple Bloom three years later. “Pink ascot, pink hair bow.” Apple Bloom stuck out her tongue, grinning cheekily. “I think it looks right cute.” And then there were no more weddings. No crayon drawings on the refrigerator, no fresh cookies as they studied, no jam sessions in the barn. Gone, yes, but replaced. Then came vacations which they never had money for before. Meet-ups for holidays, football games, or no reason at all. Working together for harvests and floods. She was their auntie, and they loved her. They still did, even as Adagio stood one day before three gravestones. The Apple family had a whole lot to their own. Pacing the line would bring her from mother to grandmother to great, and back again. All buried so close to those they loved in an unbroken chain. She smiled to Pear Butter’s name, now resting with her husband on one side and mother-in-law on the other. No more guilt or fear. If Pear’s ghost appeared, they would be the best of friends. “Auntie?” Applejack approached her, tall and nearly as broad as her brother. A lifetime in the sun had turned her skin a dusky tone, and now cracks and grooves ran along her weathered face. Gray had entered her long blonde hair, yet still she spoke with that soft, deferential tone she used for no one else. “Being here got me thinking. I just want to ask: are you going to be okay?” Adagio raised one eyebrow with an indulgent smile, prompting Applejack to continue. “When I’m gone. When we’re gone. What will you do for love?” “Tell you a secret?” Adagio asked, her face alight with benign mischief. Applejack gave a grin of her own. “You got any left?” “Just one.” “Fire away.” Adagio turned away from her, to the newest grave next to Pear Butter’s. “I still feel her love,” Adagio whispered, then her voice grew strong. “It tastes like apple liquor and smells like old playing cards.” Applejack put a hand to her mouth as tears sprang to her eyes. The world grew glassy and Adagio wiped her own. “Even now she loves me, wherever she is. So yes, I will be okay. You won’t stop loving me when you die.” Adagio took hold of her niece’s weathered hand and gave it a squeeze. “Just as I won’t stop loving you.”