//------------------------------// // Chapter Nine: Retribution // Story: The Sun Shines No More // by CGPH //------------------------------// Despite the large sun desperately clinging to the horizon, the air was cold and harsh. Large shadows were cast throughout the barren streets of Canterlot. The sky and the streets were both clear, empty, as to be expected this time of year. It was a November evening and the sun was setting; all was calm. All was at rest… aside from three teenage girls. Together, the particularly unusual trio stalked through the empty streets like rats, scavenging whatever they could and making a break for it at the first sign of human contact. Now was the best time for their hunting, people were in bed and the streets were clear, making moving around unseen easy. And unseen was exactly what they needed. Adagio Dazzle skulked up the street, followed closely behind by Aria Blaze and Sonata Dusk. Their eyes watched the ground as they walked, their heads hidden deep beneath large hoods. Their choice of wardrobe helped them attract less attention. Normally attention was something these girls would never shy away from… but they had an interesting history with the people of this town. And the recent scavenging and thieving they had been doing had not helped them get into anybody’s good books. As the girls stalked the streets, Aria slowed to a pause behind them. She lifted her head up. “Wait,” she said, sniffing the air. Sonata raised her head too, glancing around with cautious eyes. She inhaled, instantly recognizing the smell that had caught Aria’s attention. Her vision landed on the entrance to an alleyway up ahead. “There,” she pointed in the direction of the smell. Without another word, the three girls made a beeline towards the alley. They moved quickly and with purpose, as if the entrance was about to close up any minute. As they turned the corner, they were met with the sight of a dark and damp alleyway and at the end of it... four trash cans. The girls came to a halt, Adagio breathed. “Sonata, keep a look out,” she told her younger sister. The blue girl nodded and took a step to the side, concealing herself behind the wall of the alley and looking out onto the street. “Make this quick, it’s freezing,” she told Aria. The two girls made their way over to the trash cans. “I’ll say,” Aria huffed. “Remind me why we can’t do this during the day? Y’know, when it’s warm?” Adagio lifted the lid off one of the trash cans and grimaced at what she found. “You know why, Aria.” The two girls began rooting through the trash cans, pulling out anything they deemed of value or half-way edible. Any other time they’d be almost puking, performing such a disgusting act, but times were desperate. Besides, their hands were so cold Aria couldn’t even feel whatever that sticky orange mess was she'd just stuck her hand in. Their haul wasn’t that bad. Better than what they usually found. Half a packet of chips, some leftover fries, an apple core with a good quarter of apple still attached, and a half empty bottle of cola. They quickly stuffed all their finds into the pockets of their hoodies and moved to the next cans. Aria lifted the lid off hers and instantly let out a chuckle. “Hey loser,” she said in a raised voice. “Got half a taco over here for ya.” Sonata’s head instantly snapped back towards them, eyes wide in shock. “Really?” Adagio and Aria both laughed quietly, amused by their sister’s childish nature. Aria stepped back from the trash can, gesturing towards it. “Help yourself,” she chuckled. As Sonata quickly made her way over to them, Adagio scorned her sister. “Aria, she can’t eat that, it’s next to a diaper,” Adagio pointed to the wrapped up bundle next to it. Aria shrugged. “Diaper’s sealed, I don’t see a problem.” Adagio frowned, “well, if you don’t see a problem, why don’t you eat it?” “I promised it to Sonata,” she shrugged again. Sonata came to a stop between her two sisters and without hesitation, made to pick up the half rotten tortilla. “Sonata,” Adagio said sternly, “don’t eat that.” Sonatas hand paused as she looked up to Adagio with sympathetic eyes. “But… I’m hungry.” There was no humor in her voice. No cheer or giddiness over the prospect of eating her favorite meal. Adagio swallowed and shook her head. “Sonata… even if it hasn’t touched the diaper, look at it, half the meat has rotted off anyway. You can’t risk getting ill again.” Sonata looked away from Adagio, her hand still outstretched. Memories of her last time with food poisoning haunted her, and she wasn’t the only one. Each of the former Dazzlings had fallen gravely ill since they lost their house, and not all of it a result from food poisoning. Adagio was right, they really didn’t have the supplies or strength for one of them to fall ill again. Then again… she was so hungry… and not all of the meat looked spoiled. Sonata went to lunge forward for the taco again, but her wrist was quickly seized by Adagio. The grip was tight. “No.” Adagio roughly pulled Sonata’s hand away from the rotten meat and pushed it aside. Sonata stepped back, rubbing her now-sore wrist. “Go keep watch,” Adagio told her. Sonata’s eyes met the floor and she obeyed, slowly walking back to where she originally stood. Adagio sent a scowl in Aria’s direction before continuing to root through the trash. The sky reflected the mood of the group, as darkness began to set in. The sun had finally dropped below the horizon, but the clear sky meant the city had no protection by the clouds from the endless void of cold space above it. Above them stars twinkled and shined, but the trio were too preoccupied by the hot puffs of smoke escaping their mouths. Adagio tugged at her hoodie, trying to cover up as much skin area as possible. Even with the distance between the three, she could hear Sonata’s teeth loudly chattering. “I’m freezing,” Aria groaned. Adagio nodded. “Just a few more places then we can get back home,” she had meant for that to sound encouraging, but the prospect of rooting through garbage in this weather was far from it. “Girls…” Sonata said from her position a few feet away. “You might want to come look at this.” Adagio and Aria both raised their heads, sending a confused glance in each others’ direction. Silently, the two girls approached Sonata’s position and peaked out onto the street. Several meters away, a lone girl was making her way down the street towards them. Aria’s eyebrows shot into her hairline. “Is that…?” Sonata nodded. “Yep.” Aria blinked and took a deep breath. “Holy cow…” She looked from Sonata to Adagio. “What do we do?” she asked. “I think we should hide,” Sonata said instantly. Aria frowned. “Forget that, I’m not hiding. Adagio, what should we do?” All eyes fell onto Adagio, who continued to stare blankly at the unknowing girl. Sonata squinted and waved her hand in front of her sister’s face. “Earth to Dagi.” Adagio blinked, her mind returning to her. She looked between her two sisters, confusion riddled across her face. She took another glance out at the girl, before taking a deep breath and standing up straight. When she finally spoke, her voice was low. “When she walks by... I’m goinna grab her. Aria, you get her, and Sonata, you keep watch.” Both sisters’ eyes widened in surprise. “You serious?” Aria asked, a cautious smile growing on her face. “W-what are we going to do?” Sonata asked gently, growing rapidly uncomfortable. Adagio swallowed and cracked her neck to the side. “Exactly what she did to us.” Sonatas eyes glanced around nervously. “But we’re not gonna… you know, like… hurt her, are we?” Aria sent a disgusted look in her direction. Adagio’s face was hardened and cold. “Yes, Sonata. We’re going to hurt her.” Sonata nodded fast and took a deep breath. It was obvious to tell she was not okay with that idea. Seeing her sister begin to panic, Adagios mood faltered and she let out a sigh. “We’re not going to kill her,” she comforted, then continued, “Just hurt her… a lot. Now get ready,” The girls quickly moved into place. Adagio positioned herself where Sonata had previously stood, hidden in the shadows but with good access to the street beyond. Aria stood, fists at the ready, eager to pounce. Sonata stood furthest from the entrance, playing with her nails nervously. The seconds ticked down and soon the sound of footsteps began to drawn in closer. Sonata’s stomach churned, Adagio’s heart leaped into her throat and Aria’s knuckles grew white in anticipation. A orange and black figure walked past them, lost in their own world and completely unaware of the three's presence. Adagio leaped forward, snatching the girl by the scruff of her neck and yanking her back. They yelped out in surprise and instantly fell backwards, unintentionally pinning Adagio against the alleyway wall. The sisters leaped into place. “Wha–” the person’s cry of confusion was cut short by Aria’s fist smashing into her cheek. Their body shuddered and went limp. Adrenaline coursing through her body, Adagio pushed herself up, wrapping her arms around the victim’s shoulders, pulling her in tight. Shaking the pain away from her fist, Aria quickly delivered another punch into the person’s stomach. They let out a violent dry heave. The girl tried pulling herself free, but even despite her recent loss of weight, Adagio’s armlock was no match for her disorientated defense. Yanking her back again, Adagio swung her round, launching the girl into the wall behind. She simply collapsed to the floor before them, too dazed to put up a fight. It was then the girls got their first good look at the face of their victim. It was an orange-haired girl, sporting a purple scarf and a black leather jacket. She almost looked like a biker, but the three sirens knew her nature couldn’t be more opposite. Blood trickled from her mouth, clearly a result of Aria’s punch to the face. Behind them, Sonata's eyes were fixed out onto the dimly-lit street, afraid to look back. Adagio dove in, wrapping her hands around one of the girl’s arms and dragging her off the floor. Aria joined, and they lifted their victim up into the standing position, pinned against the wall. The girl tried relentlessly to wriggle free, but it was to no avail. She'd begun crying, which made what happened next even more satisfying for sisters. Using as much strength as she could muster, Aria delivered the hardest punch she could muster into the girl’s stomach. “AUUUGGH!” After months of repressed rage and aggression, the Dazzlings had finally found their release. Their months of starvation, injuries, illness, freezing nights, scavenging and prayers finally seemed all worth it. Adagio snagged the girl’s hair and lifted her head up. Her eyes rolled around loosely in her head, unable to focus on one thing. It was a shame she was so disorientated, Adagio thought, having almost wished she had the satisfaction of hearing her beg for mercy. She gritted her teeth and delivered a fierce punch into the girl’s cheek. The girl’s body was sent careening to the side, but she remained firmly pinned against the wall. Copying Adagio, Aria too took a hand full of the girl’s fringe. But what came next wasn’t a punch, instead Aria slammed the girls head into the brick wall behind her. An inhuman noise rumbled from the girl’s mouth, and as her head dropped down again, a splatter of blood shone on the wall behind her. Sonata dared to peak a look behind her. The girl was defenseless as they violently laid into her. The way they relentlessly delivered punch after punch, never tiring or showing mercy… it made Sonata glad she was on their side. Her eyes focused on the girl. She was in a very bad shape, blood coming from her nose and mouth and eyes unable to stay open. Sonata shivered. She didn’t like that girl. She didn’t like her one bit. But… she didn’t deserve this, did she? All the bad things that had happened to them recently were because of her, as Adagio had constantly reminded them. It should make her happy to see her finally getting what she deserved. But it didn’t. As blow after blow was delivered, Sonata couldn’t help but notice the girl had entirely stopped moving now. She took a step towards her sisters. “Guys…?” she asked quietly. Her sisters had now began grunting with each hit they dealt. It was like they were in a trance, each punch being delivered getting harder and harder. The air around them stunk of sweat. Sonata couldn’t take her eyes off the girl’s limp body. “Girls… you said we wouldn’t…” Her voice went completely unheard. It was not unlike her sisters to ignore or dismiss her, but this time it was important. Sonata was in the right, Adagio said they weren’t going to kill her. So by standing by and letting them do it… she’d be going against what she was told to do, wasn’t she? She wasn’t allowed to disobey Adagio. Moving in as close as she dared, Sonata gently tugged on Adagio’s hoodie. “Dagi…” Still no reaction. She tugged again, harder this time. “Adagio, stop,” she said a bit louder this time. Her sisters continued, ignoring her entirely. Sonata swallowed. She was sure she was in the right, wasn’t she? She was, so why weren’t they listening to her? “Adagio, stop!” she delivered a gentle push to Adagio, who didn’t feel it. Sonata frowned and turned to her sister. “Aria!” she tried grabbing her sister’s hand, but it was instantly torn free and sent into the defenseless girls face. Sonata looked again at the beaten girl. Her face had bruised over and covered in blood, her body shivered uncontrollably and her head dangled loosely from her shoulders. She couldn’t tell if she was still conscious or not. A suddenly rush of sympathy flared in Sonata’s chest, causing her to close her eyes and shout, “STOP, Y-YOU’RE GONNA KILL HER!” As she reopened them again, she found her sisters to be continuing completely in ignorance. Her temper flared. Sonata threw herself onto Aria, tearing her away from the girl. “Aria, please stop! She’s had enough!” she begged. Aria violently pushed Sonata aside and dove instantly back into beating the girl. Sonata turned on her heels and tried to same with Adagio, pulling her arms free of the girl. “Adagio, you said we weren’t going to kill her! We need to go, please!” Adagio went to push Sonata away, but caught her eye for brief second. That second was all Adagio needed, she could see the fear welling in her baby sister’s eyes. Tears had begun to well and her lip had started trembling. She didn’t return to beating the girl. Aria’s head snapped in their direction, and one look from Adagio was enough to tell her to stop. Aria looked away from Adagio’s death glare, over to Sonata’s puppy dog face, and then back at the girl hanging limply in her arms. Giving a heavy sigh of frustration, Aria released the girl, who dropped unceremoniously onto the floor. “You said you weren’t going to! That’s what you said! You said it!” Sonata cried. “She’ll live,” Adagio said coldly. She looked over to Sonata, and offered her a comforting hand on her shoulder. “Come on, let’s get out of here.” Adagio and Sonata turned, quickly making their way out of the alley. As they stepped out onto the empty street, they noticed they were on their own. They glanced back down the alley, only to see Aria staring scornfully down at the girl’s body. “Aria!” Adagio snapped. Aria looked over to her sisters, and then back down at girl. Her hands tightened into fists, and she delivered one last kick of frustration into the girl’s chest. The girl coughed and curled up, confirming to them that she was at least still alive. Aria then slowly re-joined her sisters. “We need to go, won’t be long until she calls the cops,” Adagio ordered. With that, the three sisters took off into the night. The door to the Dazzlings’ rundown flat flew open, and in stomped the three sisters. “God, that felt good!” Aria groaned, punching the air. Sonata ran past the two and dived down onto the blow up mattress, pulling the blanket over her head. Even through the blanket, her sobs were still audible. Aria rolled her eyes. The three girls were in pitch blackness, since their bill for electricity was long overdue. They didn’t massively mind, they had got used to seeing in the dark. What they did mind however, was when the money for the electric had ran out, so had the bill for the heating. Adagio and Aria made their way over to the kitchen counter and began unloading the contents of their pockets. “Did you see the look on her face when you grabbed her? Man, that’s gonna hurt in the morning!” Aria, still high on the adrenaline, launched an already-chipped mug straight into the wall and shattered it into pieces. Adagio gave a small smile. Aria was right, that had been extremely satisfying. But it was just as stupid, she knew. They were supposed to be keeping a low profile, now it would only be a matter of time before they had the cops after them, and they really weren’t in any position to skip town. They could barely keep the apartment they were currently in, never mind trying to make a new start somewhere. “Oi, cheer up,” Aria said, loudly munching on some of the stale chips they had found. “Don’t tell me you’re feeling sorry for her too?” Adagio’s gaze caught her sisters and she smiled, shaking her head. “I’m fine. Just caught up in it all,” Adagio looked down at her blood stained hands. She gave a weak smile. “Hear the noise she made when you hit her in the stomach?” she said quietly. She lifted her head and caught Aria’s gaze. The two siblings shared a knowing smile and laughed. Aria smacked her hands down onto the counter enthusiastically. “That’ll show her! It’s gonna be a long time before little Miss Bacon Hair and her Rainshrooms think about messing with us again! Oh, and check this…” Aria pulled one last thing out from her pocket and laid it out on the counter before them. “You stole her scarf!?” Adagio laughed out loud. Aria nodded. A bloodied purple scarf lay on the counter. “Damn right I did, you know purple’s my color. Thought I’d treat myself.” Adagio frowned. “What does that say?” she leaned in to get a closer look at the scarf. “SS?” The two girls looked at each other in confusion. They had been on this planet a long time, and had learned more than enough of the SS' history. “That girl’s into some weeeirrrddd shiz,” Aria laughed. Her attention was then drawn over to the crying form of Sonata, hidden beneath their shared blanket. Aria shook her head again. “Cry baby.” Adagio frowned. “Aria.” “What? She is, she couldn’t even handle watching!” “It’s not a competition. You know what she’s like, forget her,” Adagio gestured away from the crying girl. She placed her hand on her sister’s shoulder, pulling her in intimately and looking her in the eyes. “And anyway… tonight, we won. That’s all that matters,” she purred. Aria’s frown grew into a toothy grin as she nodded. “Hell yeah we did.” That night seemed so far away now. The last time they had truly been happy. And even then, not all of them had been happy. They had traumatized Sonata and it had been days before she’d started to act normal around them again. Adagio liked using fear to keep her sisters in line but… not like that. Life had been hell since what happened at the Battle of the Bands. If she would even call it life. They had lost their magic, their house, their wealth. What the Rainboom girl had said earlier was true, they had hit rock bottom. Adagio put on a strong face for her sisters, but even she wasn’t entirely sure they were going to come back from it. They had been staring into the void for a long time now, and as every day passed she began to feel maybe letting go was the easier option. Adagio turned, her eyes coming to rest on her sisters. Moonlight shone in from the window, revealing their sleeping forms. They were huddled together on the blown up mattress, Aria holding Sonata tight in her arms. It looked like a cute scene between loving sisters, but in realty they needed to be that close to keep warm. Usually they would have Adagio joining them, but not tonight. It hasn’t been that way for a while, in fact. Ever since Adagio had begun realizing they might finally be nearing the end of the line, her nights had become sleepless. How could she tell her younger sisters they were in a hopeless situation? That thought wasn’t what occupied her mind tonight though. Adagio looked over to the kitchen counter. On it sat the gift basket the Rainbooms had left them. It was untouched, the plastic wrapping around it totally intact. She was a proud siren. Normally she would rather die than accept charity, especially from an enemy. That girl had nerve, turning up where they lived. Adagio had wanted to throw open the door and finish what she’d started a week ago. And she would have, had the girl not have brought backup. Adagio’s knuckles clenched white. She didn’t know what to do. She didn’t know how to carry on. For the first time in her entire life, she had no plan. No more tricks up her sleeve. No more plot twists. This really was it now… she could feel their story coming to a close. She didn’t believe a word of what the girl had said, she couldn’t. Nobody was that forgiving. The gift basket was a lure she had hoped to use to trick them into coming out. It was probably laced with poison. That’s what Adagio would have done, anyway. Lure the enemy into a false sense of security then strike. Classic Trojan horse technique. So if Adagio believed it to be a trick… why did she bring the basket inside? She didn’t have an answer. Was it because she deep down wanted to believe the Rainbooms’ offer was as good as it sounded? Was it because eating possibly poisoned food was a better alternative to starving? Was it because she was willing to do anything to keep her sisters alive? She didn’t know. Her head was clouded, so many conflicted feelings had been brought up tonight she couldn’t think straight. She looked over to her sisters again. They were so peaceful when they slept. A flicker of warmth sparked in Adagio's heart. It had always been the three of them, even back hundreds of years ago, even when they were still in Equestria. They had fought, they had argued, they had even walked away, but in the end they had always ended up each other again. They were a family, and they had survived thousands of years with nothing but themselves to keep them each other going. As long as they were intact, they were strong. They were unbeatable. Or they had been, until now. Was Adagio really staring at the end? Things had never got this bad before. Was this the way it was always supposed to go? Or did she have a chance to change their path? It had always been the three of them. Adagio Dazzle, Aria Blaze and Sonata Dusk. They had been given many names over many life times. The Dazzlings. The Sirens. The Brides of Dracula. The Three Wise Men. The Medusa. The Trimurti. Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva. Whatever the name they had worn, it had always been them. The three of them, just them. And they had been happy together. To accept help now would be betraying everything they had ever worked for. She couldn’t give up. What kind of leader would she be to surrender now? They could make it through this. They had done it before. As long as they had each other, anything was possible. The Rainbooms were just a distraction… taken to tempt them away from each other. Adagio knew what was going on, and it wasn’t going to work. So long as the three sirens had each other, they would come out on top. That was the way it had always been. They had their magic taken, but not their strength. They were going to come back from this. They were. And when they did, Sunset Shimmer was going to pay. Adagio stormed over to the kitchen counter and snatched up the basket. Slamming it down into the sink, she flicked the switch on the garbage disposable. The mechanism groaned and churned, but eventually it began tearing into the peace offering. They didn’t need her help, and Sunset would regret thinking they needed it. They were better than her, even now. They hadn’t been defeated, they had just retreated. They had retreated and waited until the time was right, and then they struck back, they struck back hard. That was why Sunset was doing this. She didn’t want to admit defeat, she didn’t want to accept that even with the big flashy show at the end of the Battle of the Bands, she had still lost. She was taking pity on them. The mechanism churned in protest as Adagio forced the basket deeper into its gears. She smiled a mad grin, relishing the bits of confetti and debris as they spat back up at her like it was the blood of her enemies. Sunset thought she was on top. She thought she was better than them. She thought she’d won. Well she hadn’t, and Adagio was going to prove it. She was going to come back from this, stronger than ever… And when she did, oh boy when she did, were the Rainbooms going to pay… On the other side of the room, a Sonata snuggled deeper into Aria’s arms. The noise of the garbage disposal had always scared her, but that wasn’t what was keeping her awake. Luckily, the roaring sound was enough to drown out the grumbling of her stomach. She choked back a sob, hearing the sound of their only hope going down the drain.