Where coastal canopies blot out day—That's where the stolen tome of the ancient mariner placed the three sisters. Magnus Lodestone faced the cave’s gaping maw, smiling. His tracking and looting skills had again paid off. 

The three were huddled in the dark. Long tails and scaly limbs wound together, making it difficult to decipher where one ended and another began. 

The golden witch spoke first. “You are fortunate, wanderer. Our song would've had you gleefully drowning yourself two hundred paces back.”

Magnus tucked the tome into his saddlebag and approached the leviathan that legend called Adagio. “Then why didn't you?” 

“Intrigue,” she replied.

“Hunger,” growled her sister, Aria.

“Boredom!” called Sonata, their youngest, passing the traveler a savagely toothy grin. From what Magnus could gather, her elders didn’t appreciate this outburst. 

“Why have you sought us out?” Adagio asked.

“Must be important for you to have taken such risk,” Aria said.

“Well,” Magnus replied, “I desire a requiem.”

The trio balked. Adagio rested her chin upon one hoof. “Suppose we decided to humor this ridiculous request. Just whom might this requiem be for?” 

“Somepony sick?” Sonata inquired.

“It would be mine,” Magnus sighed, lowering onto his haunches. “You see, come tomorrow, I am to be executed.”

“Splendid,” Aria chuckled.

"Is that right?" Adagio said, tapping a hoof against stone. “Your diarchy does not condone capital punishment. Why would the princesses make exception for you?”

“You’ve stolen Celestia’s cake, haven’t you?” Sonata asked. “I’ve heard rumors about ponies who purloin her sweets.”

Magnus chuckled, shaking his head. “Nothing of the sort. It isn’t the princesses who desire my head, but the Lord Beakford.”

“Ahh, a griffon king,” Adagio purred, dots connecting inside her notoriously shrewd mind. “You must've stolen from him then.” 

“I [i]might[/i] have acquired a [i]sizeable[/i] ruby from a [i]purportedly[/i] significant monument,” Magnus chirped, looking everywhere except into the witch’s eyes. 

“Mm. I see. And like any wronged griffon lord, he has threatened Equestria with war, hasn’t he?” Adagio laughed. “Oh, yes, thief. You shall indeed perish. But I cannot understand why you would ever suppose that we three might wish to sing for you.”

“Sounds like a bloody good time as is,” snorted Aria. 

“Your delusions of grandeur are admirable, but not in any way inspiring. To sing, we must feel [i]inspired[/i].” Adagio's teeth gleamed. Her sisters spread their jaws. “Now, I’m afraid, we must bid you good day, stallion—and goodbye.”

“E-energy!” Magnus blurted, stumbling backward over his hooves. “Heard you love it! Not only can I promise mounds of energy if you show, but I could also steal from the royal palace. I have absolutely no intention of dying tomorrow, but also do not desire being hunted forever. I require your assistance. Make spectators forget they ever wanted me, and I will steal whatever you desire in return.”

The enchantresses shrieked.

“[i]You[/i]? Rob the princesses?” Aria guffawed. “Delusions of grandeur, indeed.”

“I've done it before!” Magnus reached into his saddlebag to retrieve a golden crown inset with amethyst. “I am Magnus Lodestone. If anypony is able to do so, it is I.”

“Th-that isn’t...” Aria choked. “It couldn’t be...”

Adagio lunged forward to scrape the crown with one sharp incisor. "'Tis real!" she gasped.

Aria forced an unimpressed smirk. “Hmph. Lodestone. Never heard of you. However, [i]if[/i] you're offering to complete an impossible mission on our behalf…”

“And feed us…” Sonata giggled.

“Then, I [i]suppose[/i] we've time to entertain your request,” Adagio finished. “The princesses’ legendary journal. We want it.”

“V-very good,” Magnus beamed, looking a bit [i]too[/i] confident. “S-so, we have a deal! Atop the highest peak where griffon lands begin; that's where they will take me.”

Adagio scrutinized the stallion’s feigned aplomb. “Fine. The requiem is yours. One to save your soul. But only if you are true in all you have said. We can [i]smell[/i] lies, you know.” She grinned. “Our song just may betray you if you prove yourself one. You might find yourself headless after all.”

Magnus gulped and nodded. 

"Then listen well," the sisters hummed in unison, "to a song of your salvation or ruin." 

Rapturous harmony swelled.

[i]"Make way, make way for the dead one walking,
Who wondered where his head might’ve gone.
May all who see him hush their talking,
And witness him escape into some great beyond.
For freedom awaits the sincere heart,
A heart that has stood in its own truth.
No doom awaits he who faces death boldly,
Where a deceiver mightst fear her gleaming tooth."[/i]