//------------------------------// // The Cube // Story: Dazzlings v.s. Dazzlings // by PinkFluffyUnicorn99 //------------------------------// It had been three months, two weeks, and six days since the Battle of the Bands. Since the Dazzlings had been humiliated and booed at by the very people who were supposed to adore them. Now, instead of being mankind's rightful rulers, they were the tenants of the dirtiest, cheapest, most terrible apartment in the multiverse. Aria Blaze reclined on the shabby-looking sofa, which had definitely seen better days. Her purple ponytails, streaked with brilliant turquoise, were now coming apart, the star bands clinging loosely to a few strands. She was wearing a white tank top, cargo pants, and her usual scowl. Today, she looked even grumpier than normal, as her channel surfing wasn't yielding very good results. Finally she slammed the remote onto the the ancient coffee table with a growl. "There's nothing good to watch!" "If you can't find anything of your liking, would you be so kind as to switch off the TV?" a voice commented dryly, and its owner, Adagio Dazzle, entered the living room with her arms crossed. She was the trio's self-declared leader, although Aria had challenged her authority several times. But instead of drafting plans for world domination, the yellow ex-siren now monitored how much of their money was spent. This included checking how much money was being wasted with Aria's pointless search. Aria opened her mouth to retort, but she never got around to it, for the always-cheerful Sonata Dusk had arrived. Her innocence and optimism might have made her a welcome addition to any friend circle, but it didn't get her any favors here. The other two didn't think she had ever taken villainy seriously, and to some viewpoints it could be proven with the next statement. "If you aren't watching anymore, can I use the TV? The marathon of Glitter and Kitty is on and I don't want to miss it." "Who said I wasn't--" Aria began, and then the change came over her face. "Of course," she said sweetly, syrup oozing from every letter. She held the remote out to the blue girl. "You can watch whatever you want." Sonata looked suspiciously at it, and then back up into Aria's smiling face. "Are you sure?" Aria shrugged. "Only way to know is to take it." She knew Aria was probably going to trick her, but, oh, maybe she wasn't, maybe she really wanted to be nice for a change.....Sonata reached out for the remote slowly and cautiously. When it still didn't go anywhere, she knew she had been right. Aria was being nice! Her hand was about to grasp it-- --only to fall short as it was snatched back. "Seriously? You fell for that? You're way too easy to fool, Sonata," taunted Aria. Sonata felt anger explode inside of her, mushroom cloud-style. "That...that...that was so mean! You're so MEAN!" she yelled, trying to tug the remote away from her. Aria, though, was too strong, and she held onto it like it was the easiest thing in the world. "Gimme the remote, or I'll--" "You'll what? Get a unicorn to fart rainbows in my face?" Aria sneered. "No, I was GOING to say get Adagio to kick you out, but that sounds even BETTER!" Sonata fired back, now pulling as hard as she possibly could. "Oh, please. The only one she'd even think about kicking out is you." That was when the insult trading began. "You're really, really mean!" "You can't grow up." "You're awful!" "You're the worst." "You're dumb!" "OH, YEAH? WELL I THINK YOU'RE A F--" "GIRLS! FOR ONCE IN YOUR LIVES COULD YOU QUIT BICKERING LIKE CHILDREN?!" Adagio shouted, finally losing her temper. "You know what I think?" she continued, after the pair had been silenced. "I think part of the reason we lost is because of you two morons arguing all the time!" Aria stood up, eyes blazing. "Says the one whose stupid plans got us here!" "Stupid? My plan was completely foolproof. If those Rainbooms hadn't gotten lucky at the end, every denizen of this cursed world would have adored us!" "So if it was the Rainbooms who wrecked your plan, then how did we get in the picture?" "I just said that! You both spent a considerable amount of time fighting instead of dutifully following orders!" "Tsk, tsk, tsk. Is this what the high and mighty sirens have come to be? Living in a tiny apartment and squabbling over petty matters? It's a pity, it truly is," interrupted a third voice, which caused the Dazzlings to look towards the sound. Standing on the dirty, worn carpeting was a teenage girl roughly the age of the Rainbooms. Skin as white as cloud, jet-black hair streaked with indigo, hoodie, ripped jeans, combat boots, Rubik's cube in her left hand....she wasn't anyone the trio recognized from CHS for sure. Yet she knew who they were, and weirder still, she had somehow entered the apartment without opening anything or making any noise. There were only two possible choices: either they were all going insane and this girl was imaginary, or she had.... “Equestrian magic?” the girl finished in an amused tone, as if she knew what they were thinking. “Exactly. Am I correct in assuming that this is what you three now lack?” Adagio was the first to find her voice, though it took her a few seconds. “Who are you and why are you here?” The girl laughed, a sound that seemed to cut into the Dazzlings’ ears. “Adagio, why this hostility? I’m on your side, after all.” “You didn’t answer the questions,” snarled Aria. “Because you can answer them yourself,” was the response. At first the three were confused, but as soon as she held out the Rubik's cube for them to examine, their doubt melted into pure amazement. At first glance it looked like a regular, unsolved cube. However, when the girls drifted closer, they could hear a barely audible hum, and when they looked even closer, they noticed a subtle glow. Captivated, Aria reached out to touch it, sparks of magic dancing up her fingers like electricity. She had fallen so deep under the spell the cube had cast over her that she didn't notice the growing heat under her fingers until it practically burned her. "Ow!" Aria tore her hand away and shook it, cursing under her breath. "Did I forget to tell you that you can't touch it until it's ready? Oh, I'm so sorry," apologized the girl, in a tone that indicated she was actually the opposite. "What do you mean by 'ready'? What kind of magic does this contain anyway?" Adagio asked, eyes narrowed. The girl leaned closer, smile growing unpleasantly wider by the second. "The power to send anybody and anything into other dimensions." If they had been amazed earlier, they were shocked in the first degree now. The room was so silent you could hear a pin drop, but inside the girls' heads there was the kind of chaos Discord would have been proud of. They couldn't believe it. They just could not believe it. "It seems that Star Swirl's magic is quite easy to replicate, at least for a unicorn as advanced as I," the girl boasted. "Every time I send someone into another dimension and they die there, the magic in my cube only grows stronger, able to reach even more dimensions. And my cube's power is such that nobody will EVER look down upon Onyx Stone AGAIN!!" The girl's expression suddenly softened, although the grin hadn't quite been erased. "But I'm not here to send you to the same fate. I've seen what you were capable of with your magic, and if you join me, I can give you more power than you ever dreamed." She held her arm out for a handshake. "All you need to do is say yes." Sonata and Aria glanced at one another, any hostility between them erased. It was here that Adagio managed to recover from her stunned state and force a smile. "Could we have a moment?" "Take all the time you need. The offer's not going anywhere," said the girl. The Dazzlings went to Sonata's room, where Aria made sure to lock the door. This was a good place to go when one needed alone time, as the blue wallpaper with pink spots, the army of stuffed animals on the bed, and the photographs of the rare times all three had been in a good mood made it feel cosy. And alone time was exactly what the trio needed. They stood quietly, unsure of where to begin, until Sonata broke the silence. "I don't want to do it. Everything about her feels wrong," she whispered. "She sends people into other dimensions to die, for Celestia's sake! I mean, we wanted to rule the world too, but we never used our magic to kill anyone. I'm with Sonata. This is just too much," Aria agreed. "I can't say I disagree. While the invitation itself is extremely tempting, the means she uses are shocking, to say the least. I also don't get the feeling that Onyx is genuine with her offer. She seems like the type of person who would stab us in the back the second she gets the chance," Adagio concluded, and gave a somewhat wistful sigh. "I suppose that's that, then." "But how are we going to tell her? Won't she be mad?" inquired Sonata, eyes wide. Aria smirked and went to the door, unlocking and opening it. "Easy. We're going to say that the deal's off and kick her out...." Her voice trailed off as she saw someone standing there. It was Onyx wearing a twisted smile, cube in hand. "I see that you've refused my perfectly good offer." The cube's glow began to increase. Adagio saw this danger immediately and laughed nervously. "N-no, of course not. We're just thinking it out. Maybe you could come back in a few days and we could tell you our decision then?" "Oh, I'm not going anywhere," Onyx snarled, tone abruptly losing its smoothness. She began to advance towards the door, leaving the Dazzlings no choice but to take fearful steps backwards. "My generosity was wasted on you three. You could have been rulers! You could have been adored!" She stopped to regain her calm manner, and then shrugged. "But I guess you'll have to settle for being victims of the same fate I awarded to everyone else." Before the Dazzlings could even react to these words, Onyx began to solve the cube with a swiftness that would beat a Guinness World Record holder. It began to glow brighter and brighter, blinding the Dazzlings and swallowing up the room in its light. The trio never saw Onyx toss the cube towards them, never saw the gaping void in the floor that the cube opened. They would only remember the brilliant, brilliant brightness and then falling, until it all had dimmed into black. And before that, they would faintly recall hearing a voice. "Ta-ta, girls. Have fun meeting death."