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Description
Bright green grass blanketed a number of small hillsides. The blades swayed and curled with the spring breeze, and the trees dotted about gave the softest of rustles with their vibrant leaves. The bottom of the hills stretched out into a decently sized park; blacktops, sidewalks, benches, a playground and fountain, all relatively calm with the few figures moving and going about their day under the warm sunrays.

Unnoticed or not was a feminine figure, sitting at the top of a grassy incline. Well-dressed with curly ginger hair pulled back into a thick messy bun, Adagio had her arms wrapped around a smaller shape within her lap. There sat a little girl, with short, thick curls of pale hair that transitioned to shades of light orange and cinnamon. Her magenta eyes, much like the woman behind her, were trained on her mother's face, her expression full of curiosity.

"But where did the sirens live, mama?"

At once, Adagio's eyes lit up. Originally hunched over from fatigue, energy seemed to return to her as her gaze focused on the sky, staring out towards something far off and unseen.

"Oh believe me, dear, it was a gorgeous place. The filth they call oceans here could never compare." Adagio's pupils glimmered. "The Isles of Anthemosa. Try imagining clear, sparkling blue-green water, as far as your eyes could see. There were these small islands, covered with trees and flowery meadows and just surrounded by coral reefs with every color of the rainbow. The cliffsides were covered with green and created these private waterway valleys that the sirens would use to swim between the islands."

"Oh..." the girl whispered. She leaned her head against her mother's chest, enraptured by the pictures painted in her mind. "That sounds so pretty..."

"Yeah...it really was, Forte."

In Adagio's reverie, there was an expression that Forte had seen only a handful of times when her mother thought no one was paying attention. Something distant. Tired. Sad even, in the crinkles around the woman's eyes. It was an expression that always brought nervous butterflies to her tummy. Forte reached up with a pudgy hand and lightly tugged at the collar of her mother's sweater.

"Mama? Are you okay?"

Adagio eyelids fluttered, and like a switch, she smirked down at her daughter's worried face. She readjusted Forte, having the girl sit with her back against her chest before hugging her closer. "Oh hush, I'm fine. I was thinking back is all...a lot of time has passed, but it's so clear in my head."

Forte tilted her head back, eyes full of wonder. "Is it still there? Can we go see it?"

Adagio winced.

She didn't respond right away. Before Forte could ask again, her mother muttered.

"Maybe...but even if it is, we have no way of going back to our world."

"Huh? Why not?"

Adagio's expression grew grave and hardened.
"Because a fool of a wizard used his magic to banish us from Equestria." She nearly snarled out. "And here we are. Just a meager one hundred years later."

Eyebrows pulling back, Forte turned her head, nervousness creeping into her voice. "Why would he do that...?"

"Because. We were powerful. And we were feared."

Adagio's tone was even. Matter-of-fact. She leaned forward to rest her chin on the twin buns atop Forte's head. "The ponies called our magic evil and shunned us as 'beasts'. And after we gained power over them and forced them to respect our voices and glory, they thought sending us to another realm was just a fantastic idea."

Adagio glared down at the rest of the park below. Humans walked about, alone or in groups, and her pupils narrowed sharply at them. "All this time we've been forced to look like these human scum and bumble our way around this miserable planet. The three of us tried to regain our full power once, and reclaim control so we could once again live freely and with the recognition we sirens deserved."
Expression darkening, her jaw tightened. "And not only did the humans rip that away from us...they destroyed our only means of living and protecting ourselves."

"Oh..." Forte murmured, balling her fists into her lap. While young, and though Adagio was sure there was only so much a child like herself could grasp, she knew well that her girl was precocious enough to understand her tale to an extent.
A silence came between the two. It took several heartbeats before Forte's voice reached her ears.
"What about the other sirens? Don't they miss you?"

Adagio's form stiffened. But soon enough she forced her muscles to ease up, although her arms wound tighter around her daughter.

"They're..."

Breathing out deeply, Adagio closed her eyes. "The others are gone, sweetheart. It's just...us. We're what's left."

Forte whipped around, then, bug-eyed. "W-what happened?"

Adagio's eyes opened halfway, vision unfocused, watching something unfolding before her that only she could see.

"The... " She cleared her throat, forcing her voice to be firmer. "The Cataclysm happened. That's what took them away."

Puzzled, Forte shot her mother a questioning look. "'Cata'what...?"

Adagio heaved a sigh. "Even I don't completely know what happened that day. But..." A bitter smile curled on her lips. "Thanks to...maybe cruel luck. Or timing. Only three stupidly young, stupidly careless sirens survived the fall."
Adagio chuckled darkly, eyes lowering tiredly to the grass. "Yeah, just...three very stupid sisters."

The young girl's brow furrowed. "You...Aunt Sonata, and Aunt Aria?"

Looking down at her daughter, Adagio found Forte's smaller, rounder face staring up at her anxiously. Expression softening, the siren offered the girl a weak half-smile. "That obvious, hun?"

A breath was deeply inhaled through the woman's nose, then slowly exhaled through her mouth; her attempt at regaining her composure as she shifted in place. A certain weight under her shirt made itself known, and Adagio brought back a tender smile, remembering what she really wanted to share the most.

"But hey. Even if you were born to a family of complete idiots, guess what? You're special."

Adagio laughed, whole-hearted and freely, as her daughter perked up, that child-like curiosity returning in the form of a head tilt. "Special?"

A deep adoration that only ever seemed to surface when the siren was with her daughter washed over her. Adagio playfully tapped her on the nose. "Yeah, of course. Because even if it's only half, you're a siren, too." Adagio reached up, fondly brushing a thumb against Forte's cheek. "And with you around? Our legacy as sirens gets to live on. And that's undeniably special."

Reaching under her high collar, Adagio pulled at a previously hidden silver chain. At the end of it, freed from the confines of her sweater, hung a single palm-sized red gem. While visible cracks broke through its surface, a shard or two missing, the stone shone and reflected Forte's bright expression. Adagio smirked. "Now hold out your hands."

As the pendant came to rest within Forte's outstretched palms, the girl saw that, while unnoticed at first, the jewel was giving off the faintest of red glows against her dark skin. Adagio continued, "In Equestria, every siren was born with a gem like this. While we're magical ourselves, this is where we really harnessed our power."

"Your necklace is magical?"

"When enough energy was stored? Oh, like you wouldn't believe."

Adagio chuckled quietly to herself, staring into the reflective surface of her pendant. "This...used to be a part of me, before we came here. When our enemies shattered our gems all those years ago, I was lucky enough to piece mine back together, even if it wasn't the same after. It's helped carry me through these years...but I think I've used it enough."

Adagio cupped Forte's hands and closed her fingers tightly around the necklace. "You're a smart girl, Forte. I don't know if being half-human will affect anything. We can certainly test it when you're a bit older, but from now on, it's yours."

Forte gawked at her mother. "I...I get to keep it?"

"Keep it at home for now, but sure." While the siren brushed back the loose strands on her daughter's head, she took a moment to give Forte a stern squint. "Now you better keep it safe for me. It was an absolute pain having it fixed."

"I will!"

There was no pause or even the slightest bit of hesitation in Forte's response. She gave her mother the biggest grin she could, revealing a set of slightly pointed canines. Adagio couldn't stop herself from sharing the toothy grin and nuzzling her daughter into a tight hug. It won her a fit of giggles, and Adagio sighed into Forte's hair.

"That's my girl..."

"Awww...how come Gio doesn't hug US like that, Aria?"

"Sonata, you are just...a master at blowing covers, aren't you?"

"Hmph! YOU'RE a master!"

With the sound of approaching footsteps, Adagio whipped her head around. Behind her on the other side of the hill stood a familiar woman, her streaked blue hair tied back into a looped ponytail. Crossing her arms, Sonata was pouting at another recognizable face beside her, one framed by a short bob of purple and cyan hair.

Aria's hands were stuffed within her jean pockets as she walked past Sonata, giving her sister an eye roll as she did. Almost instantaneously, Adagio's air shifted into one far more aggressive. She glowered at her younger sisters, her lip curling and ever so slightly revealing a short fang.

"I'm sorry, who said you could follow me here?"

"You came home from work, grabbed Forte, and left without a word." Aria shrugged, stopping a few feet behind where Adagio sat. "It's not our fault that you never said not to follow."

"And I can't BELIEVE you didn't invite us!" Sonata exclaimed, jumping in next to Aria. It was obvious the violet-haired siren was barely holding back a groan. "I mean it's SUCH a nice day today! We could have pulled out a blanket and had a nice family picnic and-"

Distracted by her own irritation, Adagio hadn't noticed her daughter rising up from her lap, holding the gemstone close to her chest.

"Sorry Sonata..."

Forte ducked her head guiltily. In the blink of an eye, the little girl squeaked as a set of arms swept her up into a second bear hug.

"AWW, c'mere, yoooou!" Sonata cooed, cuddling her niece. "Mama Sonata could never be mad at you!"

Adagio sputtered in disbelief. Jumping to her feet she marched up to her youngest sibling, prodding a firm finger into her chest. "EXCUSE ME, you little- I don't remember naming you her mom!"

As she spoke, Sonata's eyes awkwardly wandered off to the side until she abruptly gasped with the utmost delight. Holding Forte under one arm like a ragdoll, the woman hovered her second hand above her eyes to peer into the distance.

"Oh. My. GOD, YOU GUYS, A HOTDOG CART! EVEN BETTER!" A second gasp. "Wait, hold on...you don't think...would they have tacos too?! Tacos are just crunchy hotdogs, right?!"
Sonata squealed, practically tossing Forte up and then catching her with both of her arms. It earned her a yell from Adagio, one she either ignored or didn't hear in her state of sheer joy. "WELL I'MMA FIND OUT! Don't worry, Te, big sis's got you!"

And with that, she took off running down the incline. The sound of Forte's bubbly laughter faded into the distance as Sonata made a beeline for the food cart at the bottom of the hill. Adagio bristled and cupped her hands around her mouth.

"I DON'T REMEMBER ADOPTING YOU, EITHER!"

"That's debatable..." Aria muttered, massaging her forehead.

"YOU DROP HER AND SHE WON'T BE THE ONLY ONE WITH A CONCUSSION!"

A whistle and a slow clap. "Wow. Sure got her there, Adagio."

With a growl, Adagio plopped back onto the grass, her searing magenta eyes piercing into Sonata's form. Even from a distance she could make out the confused, overwhelmed expression of the cart owner, no doubt sweating under Sonata's eager questions and demands. "I swear, you two just always have to kill the moment."

She didn't turn her head at the sound of rustling grass, signifying Aria taking a seat beside her. A still silence took hold of the air between them, only the sound of distant chatter and the soft breeze meeting their ears. It took a few tense heartbeats before Aria hummed, leaning back on her hands.

"...well. Guess that explains why you woke up one day and suddenly wanted to make a human."

"Siren." Adagio snapped. Side-eyeing Aria, she huffed. "Should've known you'd eavesdrop too... I swear to Lugh you're both so annoying..."

Aria remained unfazed. Surprisingly she neither shot her older sister a challenging look nor a comeback like the defiant middle child Adagio knew she typically was. Aria stared off into space instead, making no move to look at her sister. When she didn't continue immediately, Adagio could feel her patience wearing thinner than it already was.

"Well? What of it? If you're planning to mock me you better spit it-"

"Was it seriously that hard just to tell us that from the getgo?"

Adagio's mouth hung open for a moment, slowly closing as Aria's words processed. She eyed Aria again, taking in the woman's nonchalant posture and air. Yet there was a tension to those purple eyes, even if it wasn't being focused directly onto Adagio herself.

Adagio pulled her legs closer to her chest, wrapping her arms around them.

"...I don't have to tell you anything," she grumbled stubbornly, resting her chin on a knee. "I'm the leader here."

"...pft. Oh yeah?" Seeing Aria turn her head in her peripheral, Adagio shifted her gaze to catch her sister raising an eyebrow at her. "You know, I'm so used to you calling us idiots, I never thought you considered yourself one, oh wise leader."

It took a moment for Adagio to recall the exact words she had spoken to her daughter. She scoffed.

"I'm still with you two, aren't I?" A strong wind blew by, causing the ginger-haired woman to push the curls of her long bangs back. "Honestly...how have we stayed together for this long?"

"Gee, it's almost like we're family," Aria answered dryly. Adagio lazily shrugged, turning her head away.

"Any of us could have walked away at any point. Especially now. It's not like we can combine our magic anymore."

"Uh-huh. Sure."

With a grunt, Aria laid back against the grass, propping her head up with her arms. "It's not like you didn't have the past century to do something if you really believed that."

Adagio's silence didn't go unnoticed. The older siren's expression was unreadable as she stared blankly at the hill below. Aria lightly rolled her eyes. In a single moment, her sister's silent thoughts were clear to her. "...and if we believed that, we wouldn't still be here, would we? Geez...you really are dumb."

"...you talk too much." Adagio muttered, glaring at nothing in particular. The corner of Aria's mouth quirked upward.

"Well too bad, loser. You and Forte are stuck with me for the rest of our short, miserable lives here. Sonata too...until she inevitably burns the condo down. Then we'll talk."

No response. While Adagio didn't look at her, whether Aria could see it or not, there was just the faintest hint of relief beneath the stress lines of the siren's face.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever...I-"

Adagio cut herself off, her eyes narrowing. Aria quickly sat up as the older siren threw herself back up to her feet, shouting out furiously with clenched fists;
"SONATA, DON'T YOU DARE PILE HOT DOGS ON HER HEAD!"

Tension broken, Aria sighed heavily, digging a pinkie into her aching ear. "For Lugh's sake, maybe one day you'll both figure out volume control..."

"HAH! Sure. And maybe one day you'll start crocheting cute little trinkets with Sonata."

Aria's face wrinkled with disgust. While Adagio ran off, charging towards their younger sister at a speed that almost had Aria pitying her, the violet-haired woman didn't miss the teasing edge to her sarcasm. It was light, genuine, and a very Adagio-like retort that Aria could swear she hadn't heard in years. For so long it was all business, all standoffish, all ways to keep busy and keep her sisters out of her headspace, one that was now just a little less of a mystery.

With a stretch and a roll of her neck, Aria stood back up and stuffed her hands into her pockets. Bracing herself, she began her trek down to meet up with the rest of her crazy yet somehow bearable disaster of a family.

_____________________________________________________________________

Here comes Mia, throwing in her first puzzle piece of Destinyverse lore.

When you care about yo sis's wellbeing and you’re there for her but you’re too stubborn to say it outright so you have to be weird and indirect about it

I’ve come to realize upon writing this chapter that the Dazzlings are my favorite MLP villains. I mean, song-based villains where every one of their songs is freaking bOMB, who are endearing and fun and genuinely threatening?? Holy shit yeh
And if you somehow don’t know who they are, behold their final battle that gets me hyped every time .

In fact, it's the lyrics in this song that caught my attention and inspired so many of the ideas I have for their potential story. I always felt like there was more to the Dazzlings than just three power-hungry, attention-seeking ancient beasts.

Anyway! There will be a Destinyverse Character Headcanon upload about the Dazzlings next, one that’ll go into their history and the aftermath of the Rainbow Rocks film! Most questions will be answered there~ But until then;

It was all fun and exciting when the sirens regained the full power of their voices and nearly took over the human world at large. But in the end they lost, and they paid the price with their gems and magic. Stripped of their pride and left utterly defenseless in a world they never quite belonged in, the sirens' loss took its heaviest toll on their once resilient leader.

After a long road of struggle to regain security in their lives, Adagio - to the shock and complete bafflement of Sonata and Aria - one day abruptly decided to have a progeny of her own, no explanations. And with the power of science and a donor, Adagio was able to have what became the little spark of hope she desired in her life; Forte Fermata, her half-human, half-siren daughter.

There will be more to come for this family.

Destinyverse Archives
Feat.
Forte

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Description
Bright green grass blanketed a number of small hillsides. The blades swayed and curled with the spring breeze, and the trees dotted about gave the softest of rustles with their vibrant leaves. The bottom of the hills stretched out into a decently sized park; blacktops, sidewalks, benches, a playground and fountain, all relatively calm with the few figures moving and going about their day under the warm sunrays.

Unnoticed or not was a feminine figure, sitting at the top of a grassy incline. Well-dressed with curly ginger hair pulled back into a thick messy bun, Adagio had her arms wrapped around a smaller shape within her lap. There sat a little girl, with short, thick curls of pale hair that transitioned to shades of light orange and cinnamon. Her magenta eyes, much like the woman behind her, were trained on her mother's face, her expression full of curiosity.

"But where did the sirens live, mama?"

At once, Adagio's eyes lit up. Originally hunched over from fatigue, energy seemed to return to her as her gaze focused on the sky, staring out towards something far off and unseen.

"Oh believe me, dear, it was a gorgeous place. The filth they call oceans here could never compare." Adagio's pupils glimmered. "The Isles of Anthemosa. Try imagining clear, sparkling blue-green water, as far as your eyes could see. There were these small islands, covered with trees and flowery meadows and just surrounded by coral reefs with every color of the rainbow. The cliffsides were covered with green and created these private waterway valleys that the sirens would use to swim between the islands."

"Oh..." the girl whispered. She leaned her head against her mother's chest, enraptured by the pictures painted in her mind. "That sounds so pretty..."

"Yeah...it really was, Forte."

In Adagio's reverie, there was an expression that Forte had seen only a handful of times when her mother thought no one was paying attention. Something distant. Tired. Sad even, in the crinkles around the woman's eyes. It was an expression that always brought nervous butterflies to her tummy. Forte reached up with a pudgy hand and lightly tugged at the collar of her mother's sweater.

"Mama? Are you okay?"

Adagio eyelids fluttered, and like a switch, she smirked down at her daughter's worried face. She readjusted Forte, having the girl sit with her back against her chest before hugging her closer. "Oh hush, I'm fine. I was thinking back is all...a lot of time has passed, but it's so clear in my head."

Forte tilted her head back, eyes full of wonder. "Is it still there? Can we go see it?"

Adagio winced.

She didn't respond right away. Before Forte could ask again, her mother muttered.

"Maybe...but even if it is, we have no way of going back to our world."

"Huh? Why not?"

Adagio's expression grew grave and hardened.
"Because a fool of a wizard used his magic to banish us from Equestria." She nearly snarled out. "And here we are. Just a meager one hundred years later."

Eyebrows pulling back, Forte turned her head, nervousness creeping into her voice. "Why would he do that...?"

"Because. We were powerful. And we were feared."

Adagio's tone was even. Matter-of-fact. She leaned forward to rest her chin on the twin buns atop Forte's head. "The ponies called our magic evil and shunned us as 'beasts'. And after we gained power over them and forced them to respect our voices and glory, they thought sending us to another realm was just a fantastic idea."

Adagio glared down at the rest of the park below. Humans walked about, alone or in groups, and her pupils narrowed sharply at them. "All this time we've been forced to look like these human scum and bumble our way around this miserable planet. The three of us tried to regain our full power once, and reclaim control so we could once again live freely and with the recognition we sirens deserved."
Expression darkening, her jaw tightened. "And not only did the humans rip that away from us...they destroyed our only means of living and protecting ourselves."

"Oh..." Forte murmured, balling her fists into her lap. While young, and though Adagio was sure there was only so much a child like herself could grasp, she knew well that her girl was precocious enough to understand her tale to an extent.
A silence came between the two. It took several heartbeats before Forte's voice reached her ears.
"What about the other sirens? Don't they miss you?"

Adagio's form stiffened. But soon enough she forced her muscles to ease up, although her arms wound tighter around her daughter.

"They're..."

Breathing out deeply, Adagio closed her eyes. "The others are gone, sweetheart. It's just...us. We're what's left."

Forte whipped around, then, bug-eyed. "W-what happened?"

Adagio's eyes opened halfway, vision unfocused, watching something unfolding before her that only she could see.

"The... " She cleared her throat, forcing her voice to be firmer. "The Cataclysm happened. That's what took them away."

Puzzled, Forte shot her mother a questioning look. "'Cata'what...?"

Adagio heaved a sigh. "Even I don't completely know what happened that day. But..." A bitter smile curled on her lips. "Thanks to...maybe cruel luck. Or timing. Only three stupidly young, stupidly careless sirens survived the fall."
Adagio chuckled darkly, eyes lowering tiredly to the grass. "Yeah, just...three very stupid sisters."

The young girl's brow furrowed. "You...Aunt Sonata, and Aunt Aria?"

Looking down at her daughter, Adagio found Forte's smaller, rounder face staring up at her anxiously. Expression softening, the siren offered the girl a weak half-smile. "That obvious, hun?"

A breath was deeply inhaled through the woman's nose, then slowly exhaled through her mouth; her attempt at regaining her composure as she shifted in place. A certain weight under her shirt made itself known, and Adagio brought back a tender smile, remembering what she really wanted to share the most.

"But hey. Even if you were born to a family of complete idiots, guess what? You're special."

Adagio laughed, whole-hearted and freely, as her daughter perked up, that child-like curiosity returning in the form of a head tilt. "Special?"

A deep adoration that only ever seemed to surface when the siren was with her daughter washed over her. Adagio playfully tapped her on the nose. "Yeah, of course. Because even if it's only half, you're a siren, too." Adagio reached up, fondly brushing a thumb against Forte's cheek. "And with you around? Our legacy as sirens gets to live on. And that's undeniably special."

Reaching under her high collar, Adagio pulled at a previously hidden silver chain. At the end of it, freed from the confines of her sweater, hung a single palm-sized red gem. While visible cracks broke through its surface, a shard or two missing, the stone shone and reflected Forte's bright expression. Adagio smirked. "Now hold out your hands."

As the pendant came to rest within Forte's outstretched palms, the girl saw that, while unnoticed at first, the jewel was giving off the faintest of red glows against her dark skin. Adagio continued, "In Equestria, every siren was born with a gem like this. While we're magical ourselves, this is where we really harnessed our power."

"Your necklace is magical?"

"When enough energy was stored? Oh, like you wouldn't believe."

Adagio chuckled quietly to herself, staring into the reflective surface of her pendant. "This...used to be a part of me, before we came here. When our enemies shattered our gems all those years ago, I was lucky enough to piece mine back together, even if it wasn't the same after. It's helped carry me through these years...but I think I've used it enough."

Adagio cupped Forte's hands and closed her fingers tightly around the necklace. "You're a smart girl, Forte. I don't know if being half-human will affect anything. We can certainly test it when you're a bit older, but from now on, it's yours."

Forte gawked at her mother. "I...I get to keep it?"

"Keep it at home for now, but sure." While the siren brushed back the loose strands on her daughter's head, she took a moment to give Forte a stern squint. "Now you better keep it safe for me. It was an absolute pain having it fixed."

"I will!"

There was no pause or even the slightest bit of hesitation in Forte's response. She gave her mother the biggest grin she could, revealing a set of slightly pointed canines. Adagio couldn't stop herself from sharing the toothy grin and nuzzling her daughter into a tight hug. It won her a fit of giggles, and Adagio sighed into Forte's hair.

"That's my girl..."

"Awww...how come Gio doesn't hug US like that, Aria?"

"Sonata, you are just...a master at blowing covers, aren't you?"

"Hmph! YOU'RE a master!"

With the sound of approaching footsteps, Adagio whipped her head around. Behind her on the other side of the hill stood a familiar woman, her streaked blue hair tied back into a looped ponytail. Crossing her arms, Sonata was pouting at another recognizable face beside her, one framed by a short bob of purple and cyan hair.

Aria's hands were stuffed within her jean pockets as she walked past Sonata, giving her sister an eye roll as she did. Almost instantaneously, Adagio's air shifted into one far more aggressive. She glowered at her younger sisters, her lip curling and ever so slightly revealing a short fang.

"I'm sorry, who said you could follow me here?"

"You came home from work, grabbed Forte, and left without a word." Aria shrugged, stopping a few feet behind where Adagio sat. "It's not our fault that you never said not to follow."

"And I can't BELIEVE you didn't invite us!" Sonata exclaimed, jumping in next to Aria. It was obvious the violet-haired siren was barely holding back a groan. "I mean it's SUCH a nice day today! We could have pulled out a blanket and had a nice family picnic and-"

Distracted by her own irritation, Adagio hadn't noticed her daughter rising up from her lap, holding the gemstone close to her chest.

"Sorry Sonata..."

Forte ducked her head guiltily. In the blink of an eye, the little girl squeaked as a set of arms swept her up into a second bear hug.

"AWW, c'mere, yoooou!" Sonata cooed, cuddling her niece. "Mama Sonata could never be mad at you!"

Adagio sputtered in disbelief. Jumping to her feet she marched up to her youngest sibling, prodding a firm finger into her chest. "EXCUSE ME, you little- I don't remember naming you her mom!"

As she spoke, Sonata's eyes awkwardly wandered off to the side until she abruptly gasped with the utmost delight. Holding Forte under one arm like a ragdoll, the woman hovered her second hand above her eyes to peer into the distance.

"Oh. My. GOD, YOU GUYS, A HOTDOG CART! EVEN BETTER!" A second gasp. "Wait, hold on...you don't think...would they have tacos too?! Tacos are just crunchy hotdogs, right?!"
Sonata squealed, practically tossing Forte up and then catching her with both of her arms. It earned her a yell from Adagio, one she either ignored or didn't hear in her state of sheer joy. "WELL I'MMA FIND OUT! Don't worry, Te, big sis's got you!"

And with that, she took off running down the incline. The sound of Forte's bubbly laughter faded into the distance as Sonata made a beeline for the food cart at the bottom of the hill. Adagio bristled and cupped her hands around her mouth.

"I DON'T REMEMBER ADOPTING YOU, EITHER!"

"That's debatable..." Aria muttered, massaging her forehead.

"YOU DROP HER AND SHE WON'T BE THE ONLY ONE WITH A CONCUSSION!"

A whistle and a slow clap. "Wow. Sure got her there, Adagio."

With a growl, Adagio plopped back onto the grass, her searing magenta eyes piercing into Sonata's form. Even from a distance she could make out the confused, overwhelmed expression of the cart owner, no doubt sweating under Sonata's eager questions and demands. "I swear, you two just always have to kill the moment."

She didn't turn her head at the sound of rustling grass, signifying Aria taking a seat beside her. A still silence took hold of the air between them, only the sound of distant chatter and the soft breeze meeting their ears. It took a few tense heartbeats before Aria hummed, leaning back on her hands.

"...well. Guess that explains why you woke up one day and suddenly wanted to make a human."

"Siren." Adagio snapped. Side-eyeing Aria, she huffed. "Should've known you'd eavesdrop too... I swear to Lugh you're both so annoying..."

Aria remained unfazed. Surprisingly she neither shot her older sister a challenging look nor a comeback like the defiant middle child Adagio knew she typically was. Aria stared off into space instead, making no move to look at her sister. When she didn't continue immediately, Adagio could feel her patience wearing thinner than it already was.

"Well? What of it? If you're planning to mock me you better spit it-"

"Was it seriously that hard just to tell us that from the getgo?"

Adagio's mouth hung open for a moment, slowly closing as Aria's words processed. She eyed Aria again, taking in the woman's nonchalant posture and air. Yet there was a tension to those purple eyes, even if it wasn't being focused directly onto Adagio herself.

Adagio pulled her legs closer to her chest, wrapping her arms around them.

"...I don't have to tell you anything," she grumbled stubbornly, resting her chin on a knee. "I'm the leader here."

"...pft. Oh yeah?" Seeing Aria turn her head in her peripheral, Adagio shifted her gaze to catch her sister raising an eyebrow at her. "You know, I'm so used to you calling us idiots, I never thought you considered yourself one, oh wise leader."

It took a moment for Adagio to recall the exact words she had spoken to her daughter. She scoffed.

"I'm still with you two, aren't I?" A strong wind blew by, causing the ginger-haired woman to push the curls of her long bangs back. "Honestly...how have we stayed together for this long?"

"Gee, it's almost like we're family," Aria answered dryly. Adagio lazily shrugged, turning her head away.

"Any of us could have walked away at any point. Especially now. It's not like we can combine our magic anymore."

"Uh-huh. Sure."

With a grunt, Aria laid back against the grass, propping her head up with her arms. "It's not like you didn't have the past century to do something if you really believed that."

Adagio's silence didn't go unnoticed. The older siren's expression was unreadable as she stared blankly at the hill below. Aria lightly rolled her eyes. In a single moment, her sister's silent thoughts were clear to her. "...and if we believed that, we wouldn't still be here, would we? Geez...you really are dumb."

"...you talk too much." Adagio muttered, glaring at nothing in particular. The corner of Aria's mouth quirked upward.

"Well too bad, loser. You and Forte are stuck with me for the rest of our short, miserable lives here. Sonata too...until she inevitably burns the condo down. Then we'll talk."

No response. While Adagio didn't look at her, whether Aria could see it or not, there was just the faintest hint of relief beneath the stress lines of the siren's face.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever...I-"

Adagio cut herself off, her eyes narrowing. Aria quickly sat up as the older siren threw herself back up to her feet, shouting out furiously with clenched fists;
"SONATA, DON'T YOU DARE PILE HOT DOGS ON HER HEAD!"

Tension broken, Aria sighed heavily, digging a pinkie into her aching ear. "For Lugh's sake, maybe one day you'll both figure out volume control..."

"HAH! Sure. And maybe one day you'll start crocheting cute little trinkets with Sonata."

Aria's face wrinkled with disgust. While Adagio ran off, charging towards their younger sister at a speed that almost had Aria pitying her, the violet-haired woman didn't miss the teasing edge to her sarcasm. It was light, genuine, and a very Adagio-like retort that Aria could swear she hadn't heard in years. For so long it was all business, all standoffish, all ways to keep busy and keep her sisters out of her headspace, one that was now just a little less of a mystery.

With a stretch and a roll of her neck, Aria stood back up and stuffed her hands into her pockets. Bracing herself, she began her trek down to meet up with the rest of her crazy yet somehow bearable disaster of a family.

_____________________________________________________________________

Here comes Mia, throwing in her first puzzle piece of Destinyverse lore.

When you care about yo sis's wellbeing and you’re there for her but you’re too stubborn to say it outright so you have to be weird and indirect about it

I’ve come to realize upon writing this chapter that the Dazzlings are my favorite MLP villains. I mean, song-based villains where every one of their songs is freaking bOMB, who are endearing and fun and genuinely threatening?? Holy shit yeh
And if you somehow don’t know who they are, behold their final battle that gets me hyped every time .

In fact, it's the lyrics in this song that caught my attention and inspired so many of the ideas I have for their potential story. I always felt like there was more to the Dazzlings than just three power-hungry, attention-seeking ancient beasts.

Anyway! There will be a Destinyverse Character Headcanon upload about the Dazzlings next, one that’ll go into their history and the aftermath of the Rainbow Rocks film! Most questions will be answered there~ But until then;

It was all fun and exciting when the sirens regained the full power of their voices and nearly took over the human world at large. But in the end they lost, and they paid the price with their gems and magic. Stripped of their pride and left utterly defenseless in a world they never quite belonged in, the sirens' loss took its heaviest toll on their once resilient leader.

After a long road of struggle to regain security in their lives, Adagio - to the shock and complete bafflement of Sonata and Aria - one day abruptly decided to have a progeny of her own, no explanations. And with the power of science and a donor, Adagio was able to have what became the little spark of hope she desired in her life; Forte Fermata, her half-human, half-siren daughter.

There will be more to come for this family.

Destinyverse Archives
Feat.
Forte

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