Adagio Dazzle stood and watched the empty road in dismay. There was little to do in the dim alleyway she and her sisters hung out in.
It was somewhere around 3 in the morning. The moon and stars were hidden behind dark clouds. Perfect weather to describe how Adagio felt.
Like absolute garbage.
Opening her palm, she stared at the broken shards of her amulet. Or what was left of it. After the Battle of the Bands, Adagio had tried to find the pieces of her amulet in a feeble attempt to restore it to its former glory. But most of the shards from the three amulets were gone, swept away with the rest of the garbage.
She couldn't believe a month had passed since then.
"If only those cursed girls didn't have Sunset Shimmer," Adagio growled. A slight breeze made goosebumps crawl on her skin, but she ignored it.
"Adagio," Aria called out from behind Adagio. "How long are you going to stay out here?"
Adagio turned to face Aria. She crossed her arms and glared at her. "As long as I want," she replied. "Weren't you sleeping?"
"I was," Aria explained, "but it's getting cold down there."
"Well, maybe we should have taken more from the charity house," Adagio snapped, scanning Aria's clothing. She was dressed in a black T-shirt, dark blue pants, and checkered sneakers. Not enough to withstand the night chill.
"There wasn't anything left!" Aria yelled. "We took all that we could! Now, get back inside the basement. There's something I don't like about tonight."
"You're afraid of tonight?" Adagio asked, smirking as she placed her hands on her hips.
"No," Aria replied. She glanced up at the sky, a storm in the midst of brewing. "I just have this feeling..."
Adagio rolled her eyes. "Alright, I'll come inside," she said. She followed Aria to the hidden hole under a few empty wooden crates. Aria hopped into the hole and hit the ground running. Adagio lowered herself into the hole, stepping down on the iron bars which acted as bars. She kept her upper body out and was about to put the boxes on top of each other to conceal the hole when she heard lightning boom.
A lightning bolt rippled across the sky with an intense light. Seconds later, it was gone, but Adagio noticed something odd. The wind was picking up, making her hair fly to one side. The storm was becoming more extreme by the minute. More lightning crackled, thunder boomed, and the wind howled. A chill went up Adagio's back as she heard whispering.
The Pieces of Harmony are here.
They are hidden in this world.
We shall have the Pieces of Harmony, even if it takes the rest of our lives.
Adagio held in a gasp as she watched several figures in cloaks with hoods pass by. They each had their own aura, every aura more intense than the last. She counted a dozen of them.
The last figure had the strongest aura. Around Adagio, everything seemed to shake and crumble. She could feel her grip on reality slip away...
They all finally passed, making Adagio gasp for air, for reality. She took several breaths before a sharp pain pierced her chest. She suddenly remembered she had felt this exact pain before...
"No," she mumbled. The storm had stopped. All that was left of any sign of the dozen people were the clouds and a soft drizzle that fell on the ground.
"Adagio? What was that?" She heard Sonata ask from the basement.
Adagio quickly covered the hole with the boxes and clambered down into the basement. It was lit by ceiling office lights and a few candles. The basement was in a good condition, but they had found it worse for wear at the beginning. Right now, the ladder was in the bottom right corner of the room. There were two other rooms, a bathroom and a way to their apartment, but they preferred to stay in the basement.
Aria and Sonata were pale and shivering. Adagio had never seen them as scared as they were now. Adagio probably had the same look on her face.
"I'm not going to lie," Adagio said. "The storm was caused by the 12 Fragments. They're here. They're looking for the Pieces of Harmony."
Sonata and Aria paled even more if it was possible. "B-But only we know where they are!" Sonata said.
"I know," Adagio mumbled, "but they could find it. Then we'd have no chance to fix our amulets."
"How do we keep them safe?" Aria asked.
"We only have one way to keep them safe," Adagio said darkly. "And neither of you will like the plan."
"Do we have to do it tonight?" Sonata asked.
Adagio shook her head. "Not until we sense danger near the Pieces," she replied. "Right now, we can rest easy. Let's go back to bed."
Aria and Sonata exchanged uneasy looks as they went back to their apartment. Adagio clutched her broken amulet closely. Let's hope the Deadly Dozen don't find the Pieces of Harmony soon, she thought.
Months later...
Adagio woke up in a cold sweat. Her nightmare was anything but a dream.
"Sonata! Aria!" Adagio yelled, running out of bed.
She ran into the living room and found Aria and Sonata dressed in their usual clothing, the clothing they had worn to Canterlot High. Aria clamped a metal wrist crossbow onto her left arm, and Sonata cracked her knuckles nervously.
"It's go time," Aria said darkly, loading her crossbow.
Adagio nodded gravely. "Time to finish what Celestia started," she said. She turned and bolted to get changed and armed for battle.