FIENDship is Magic Issue 3

My Little Pony: FIENDship is Magic #3: Sirens is the third issue of IDW Publishing's FIENDship is Magic comic miniseries. In the issue, Adagio Dazzle, Aria Blaze, and Sonata Dusk begin their hypnotic siege on Equestria.

Summary
In ancient Equestria, the sirens named Adagio Dazzle, Aria Blaze, and Sonata Dusk—having fed on the disharmony of ponies across the land—set their sights on the capital city of Canterlot. Aria fears running into the princesses and royal guards, but Adagio assures that their subtle mind control magic won't arouse suspicion.

As luck would have it, Canterlot is holding a musical competition in its Coltosseum, and the sirens decide to enter, granting them the largest possible audience on which to use their magic. However, the sirens' outdated musical style is met with negative reception, and they are harshly cast out. Their performance catches the attention of Star Swirl the Bearded.

Later that day, Adagio realizes that they need to modernize their music in order to meet Canterlot's higher standards. After hearing Sonata pop some bubble gum, Adagio is inspired to create "pop" music. The next day, the sirens reenter the competition, and their new musical style captures the hearts of the audience—except for Star Swirl the Bearded. Star Swirl recognizes what the sirens' magic is doing and, knowing that regular magic will be ineffective, tries to beat them at their own game.

At a concert venue hosted by the sirens, Star Swirl attempts to combat their music with his own. Though his first attempt fails, Star Swirl slowly improves his musical ability as he engages in repeated battles against the sirens. In what would become known as the "music wars," Star Swirl and the sirens invent new musical instruments and genres.

Despite Star Swirl's efforts, the sirens best him each time. Unable to fight back with magic or music, he resorts to using the Crystal Mirror to banish the sirens to another world, where no magic exists for them to exploit. Star Swirl hopes that this other world could succeed where he'd failed, and he considers his inability to defeat and redeem the sirens his greatest failure.

In the comic's epilogue, the sirens land in a modern city street, taking on human forms, and discover a lack of magic in the world around them. However, Adagio notes that enough magic remains in their gem pendants for them to continue using their magic, and she leads her fellow sirens to explore this new world.

Quotes

 * Adagio Dazzle: Soon, we'll have all of Equestria at our command! And it all begins... in Canterlot!


 * Adagio Dazzle: We'll have a guaranteed audience!
 * Sonata Dusk: Ooh! I can try out that tune I've been working on!
 * Aria Blaze: Not like that, Sonata—we'll have an audience to hypnotize!
 * Sonata Dusk: Ohhh...


 * Adagio Dazzle: Excuse me, kind stallion! We wish to participate?
 * Entry Clerk: Name?
 * Adagio Dazzle: The Sirens. (With two "S"s.)


 * Coltosseum Judge: Performing next, we have... the SSirens!


 * Aria Blaze: If we're going to dominate this city, we may need to modernize our repertoire!
 * Sonata Dusk: Huh?
 * Aria Blaze: We need to come up with new songs.
 * Sonata Dusk: Oh.


 * Star Swirl the Bearded: Their mesmerizing music could be the doom of Equestria! But how to counter it? All my magic will be useless against those tantalizing tunes! So if I cannot use magic... perhaps another tool will be more effective!


 * Star Swirl the Bearded: Clearly stronger measures are required.


 * Aria Blaze: Where—Where are we?
 * Sonata Dusk: What happened to my hooves?!
 * Adagio Dazzle: Curse that old fool! He's trapped us in another world!
 * Aria Blaze: I-I can't feel any magic! This is a world without magic!
 * Adagio Dazzle: Not entirely without... There's still a whisper of magic left in our pendants! Enough for us to keep singing! Enough to gather the energy of chaos... and maybe, one day... to go back home.