Ch.1 Yellow Tail
The sound of footsteps echoed loudly in the air like a thick fog, the sounds bounced off the brick building to the right that whisk by as a fast flowing blur of detail. Tapping and clacking were joined by the faint yet audible footsteps in the distance in hot pursuit. Accompanying the steady panicked movements were the voices of youthful jubilance and praise, teenagers were jeering for the victors of the of a dire contest of skill and cunning. The cacophony eerily wafted through the campus grounds in a chorus of which seemed like static and white noise through amalgamation.
If one were to look behind them they would see the looming yet fading image of a stage that had been set up in the sports field with colorful lights beaming into the sky. The glow of lighting emphasized the epicenter of a former titanic fight that had come and gone unbeknownst to the grander populace of the town at large. The defeated were fleeing ground zero with as much gusto as a frightened doe would from a prowling mountain lion, pushing their escape beyond what they would have thought possible.
The three girls passed by locked doors of the school building in utter panic and unbridled terror, the fear of what was coming drew sweat to the skin and a dryness in the throat. With thudding hearts the palpitations were almost loud enough to be heard from the neck alone in the mostly vacated grounds, the air had a chill from the sweat beading along any exposed skin. Little could be given much to thought other than the instinct of survival at the helm, with the sweet relief of the open streets and the large town beyond ever tantalizingly close it could only buy more time. Muscles burned from the sudden prolonged sprint in unaccustomed bodies, the taste of iron from over exerted lungs and throats teased taste buds with the rich metallic flavor. Skin ached from the chaffing caused by the flamboyant dresses that were never meant to be incorporated into exercise.
The once illustrious Equestrian sirens otherwise known as the Dazzlings, were in full retreat from the failed scheme to gain power over the human world with their enchanted voices by their foes the Rainbooms. The hapless young women fled the area with the utmost importance with ragged breaths, their hands soon tore away at the annoying flapping garments that were nothing but garnish to their wardrobe for the stage. Fabric screamed as the puffy shoulder sleeves on Adagio were discarded carelessly, the tie on Sonata couldn't withstand both her hands tugging away as it too ripped from the pulls, and Aria yanked away at her long skirt until it was just above the knees to ease the rigorous trek. They had to get rid of the source of irritation which arose quickly and lessen the drag in their run, with the real threat of magically induced reprisal not far from their boot heels. Distant sounds of trailing shoes on concrete walkway indicated they were indeed being followed with the same amount of energy and perseverance.
A fire flared in their extremities as well as their lungs with the intensity of a kiln, they would have put any serviceman to shame with the distance they covered in such a short amount of time. Having distanced over the back area of Canterlot High and all the way to the front lawn, only then did the girls finally speak through pain that ravaged their very material forms.
“Our… oouuu…” the severely overworked dry throat of Aria kept her from saying much and more to coughing out her desperate breaths.
“…pen…dants… lost!” Sonata picked up, while trying to swallow away her own suffering like a fish out of water, the lining of her throat felt as if it were chalk and sand.
They pressed on despite the clear detrimental effects upon their health, having cleared the main road up to the first block of homes they grasped for more distance until the school was no longer visible from a glance. Fearing neither a passing vehicle or being ran over by speeding metal carriages called cars and trucks, they blindly avoided being hit by several beams of light which screeched upon seeing them sprint perpendicular to their path. Where they ended up had only come to their forethought as Adagio collapsed to her knees scraping them in the process, she caught herself with her hands just before her face could have fell into the hard gray walkway under her. She dry heaved a few times as the taxing escape culminated upon them like a surging tide from a mini tsunami, thankfully they did not need to eat prior to the event which she was more than happy to not sully themselves in public.
Having never been put through such a strenuous act since she was a young siren, the full on dash the former sirens endured reminded them of their limitations as hairless apes. They sorely missed their Equestrian bodies with the muscular powerhouse of a tail that even levitating through the air could crush a cart with a single gesture. Beautiful frames which could handle days of continuous swimming with no cramping or burning as they were sorely feeling at the moment. Were Adagio able to speak then as she was doubled over on the sidewalk like the others, she would have cursed the Rainbooms to Tartarus and again with their final magic attack having shattered their pendants and essentially defanging them. Her enraged and defeated spirit coagulated into a black mire that scorned any attempt to think beyond immediate safety so she could plot her revenge, but their energy level were also running on fumes.
"Hhhaaa! Hhhhaaaa! I... ack!!" Dazzle coughed from her dry and abused throat.
Denied even the ability to fluently talk properly she gave up saying anything else, her head painfully looked about their immediate surroundings and found that they had come to rest at an intersection of roads. A bright red light shone in the twilight sky suspended from a steel pole where a small procession of metal carriages known as vehicles to humans awaited for the command to move. Some small while others were of a different model altogether as one poor sap once explained to her before she drained him of his frustration at work in a place called a garage. Some were meant to transport goods while others primarily carried more humans from one location to another without the need of a pony to draw it, it was all electricity and burnable liquids. Two lanes over the colorful cars and trucks was a large behemoth, a fuel tanker if she remembered correctly. It was a monster of metal and rubber that reminded her of the Swamp Maggots that nearly mistook her for a meal once upon a time. The shape vaguely reminded her of that bulbous horror which she thankfully came to find out just fed on dead trees. Though the other characteristic they shared was the foul odor both emitted, a choking miasma of exhaust only served to make the Dazzlings sensitive airways to flare up once more.
In their dower condition the traffic signal turned green and soon relieved them of the smog inducing machines which the evening breeze cleared the air within minutes. Their pain was barely noticed by the sparse pedestrians anywhere nearby, as Adagio soon looked up to see once again. As late as it was there were a few people walking in different directions, oblivious to the magical battle which tore the sky with their true forms and the Rainbooms spell that manifested into a bright alicorn. How they didn't seem to panic like ponies often did or even were aware of their surroundings had made them such perfect food if their world had any magic to help assist in feeding. Water all around and barely a drop to drink, now they couldn't even drink the measly dew off the leaves.
'Curse those stupid good for nothings!! ME!!?! Adagio Dazzle of the Dazzlings defeated and left to this pathetic form!' she thought to herself, 'Are we just simple pigs like the rest of these walking dull minded fools!? A siren... humiliated and shamed like this!'
She hadn't the energy to act out and even pound the concrete with a fist, what little residual magic they might have had was going to work on their bodies already. A fresh cleansing chill trying to render aid to them but the girls were far too distracted to notice much. Aria peered up as she fought to cough even more in defiance of her own condition when the light tapping of footwear grew louder before them. It turned out to be a jogging man with a headset out for a nightly run, a white tee shirt with a tiger in the center and short green shorts that hugged his thighs. He gave a cocked eyebrow to the former sirens but went on his merrily way when he saw Blaze, her hatred for the Rainbooms evident in her purple eyes sent him hurriedly onward.
“Ad…adag… DANG... IT!!!” Aria managed to force out her haggered esophagus irritated from the cars before.
Sonata and Adagio were just recovering themselves when the cerulean girl spoke up as well, "Adagio! Where... where to now?" she asked as her left hand groped for the missing pendant subconsciously.
"Hi...hide for... time." the curly haired Equestrian replied, she tried to ignore the taste of blood from her sore throat to the back end of her tongue as if a greasy coin had been shoved down her mouth.
The sounds of the town gearing down for the night echoed once more as a few more vehicles drove down the other perpendicular road. The lights of the surrounding buildings beginning to shut off by their occupants, storefronts had seen their last opening hour come to an end and thus the workers were setting up to leave. A jet liner rumbled overhead like an angry Condor, the red and blue lights on the tips of its wings faintly visible to Sonata as she gazed upon it. Amid other random sounds of the town, she managed to pick up on the voices of the possessed Canterlot students they had been trying to escape from. Her human ears twitched to the tickling reverberations three blocks behind them, they were close and mildly shouting as they tried to hone in on their quarry. She remembered when they first took off and saw the sickly green glow in their eyes that overtook them in a maddened state, she couldn't understand what was happening but she knew they were in danger since then. The dread had begun to crawl up her body as she stared back down the path they came from. Having swallowed the lump in her throat from the sheer tension of the moment, her violet eyes frantically searched for refuge in lieu of Dazzle's authority.
“In…there!” Sonata viciously pointed out with a shaky finger to their right, both of which had also caught sounds of the victims of their broken gemstones encroaching upon their position.
Her enthusiasm, while warranted, unfortunately drew the eyes of the a few people awaiting at the crosswalks a road over. The bike rider and a lone skateboarder punk turning heads at the rather overzealous scene, murmurs were whispered as they watched the Dazzlings seem to panic. Considering the state the Dazzlings were in it was no wonder, but the leader of the trio grimaced at the unwanted eyes and ears.
"Ge... get INSIDE!" she shouted powering through the embarrassment she suffered as her legs quivered like a palm tree in a typhoon.
Aria's eyes were already locked onto the big red building with a hand to her mouth to stifle her racking cough she couldn't suppress any longer. Directly beside them sat a classic diner sporting electric signs with food motifs and the common variety diner specialties painted along the side of the walls. A single story structure with long oval windows of gold frames, spanned a house and a half on the street they were on with a several foot tall smoke stack spewing forth a counter to the invisible toxic haze of the roads. Well trimmed shrubs decorated the perimeter as they lead the eyes from the greenery towards double doors which looked like something out of the 1980’s era they lived through not long ago. Adagio could see that there were few people inside as she managed to get to her feet, it was late enough that they probably happened across closing hour most likely. It was a good safe zone for them to recuperate and regroup with witnesses of the customers and the staff of the restaurant to reassure them from the coming threat. She leapt to it like she had done back home, still the young siren trying desperately to stay from being prey from larger monsters.
Before either of the other two subordinates managed to stand themselves, they were grappled by the collars of their attire and the remnant chokers of their former pendants. Grabbing her cohorts she quickly and haphazardly dragged the two through the doors just as another call of anger from their pursuers. Having had to bite her tongue to avoid giving into the resurgent fatigue as her muscles screamed in dreary resistence, the sirens loudly entered the restaurant like a bat out of Tartarus. They had earned the full attention of those inside, huffing all the way to the nearest empty red cushioned booth and crashed into the seats while trying to make themselves as small as possible. Waitresses and the cashier of the restaurant froze in place, patrons ceased enjoying their supper from the theatrics that happened in the once quiet eatery.
To everyone else the trio was dressed in tatters from their attempts to make it easier to vacate Canterlot High, but in the process of their mad dash their hair was frayed and frazzled in different directions. Their faces seemed as if they could scare the dead into submission with blemished makeup from tears caused by dry eyes of hauling as fast as they could. Out of anyone who ever visited the diner they had to be the most troubled looking to ever passed through those doors in all the years of business, so spoke the faces of the employees.
The Dazzlings finally let themselves relax unabated by the still looming threat of the possessed students that lurked outside, missing the sight of them as the boys and girls zipped by. Adagio sank into her seat even more as she tried to corral her wildly running mind, she needed to have clarity to think and assess the situation. Why they were being followed she could only guess from her own handiwork corrupted and twisted from whatever those fools had done to them.
'Being followed like that... how dare they make me relive my youth! What kind of spell they used not only destroyed our gems but it reversed the effects of my music. I can only guess that instead of adoring us our dispelling magic made them hate us!' she growled lightly too forgone to really put umpf into it, 'All of our magic is gone because of it, so the effect shouldn't last too long on those dullards. Without our voices to influence them.'
She looked to her pack, the once illustrious and memorizing Dazzlings, she sensed their safety was secured until the establishment they concealed themselves in closed for the night. It was the least she could do even though without their stones they were no longer a semblance of their old selves, it was her duty to keep everyone safe. Voice or no voice she was still their leader, their matriarch which among siren kind meant only being replaced or death would stop her.
'It's just another setback... just a setback...' she thought to herself feeling her legs beginning to lock up in pain, 'Just like all the other times.'
Aria had given into her weakened state after finding herself caste into the booth nearly hitting the wall with her head, even after positioning herself as best she could in a proper upright state. She could feel her lungs rebel against her as it ached to inhale as much as let a breath out, she grimaced as the back of her throat felt like she had swallowed a cactus. Her haggard body gave out in moments wanting rest and recovery even if the will of the spirit needed to remain awake.
She felt how soaked her striped stockings were as they and the rest of her garb chilled to the diner's air conditioning, 'I've never felt so filthy in my life!' joining Adagio in cursing the Rainbooms with her very enraged soul.
The fury however never made it out of her as the worn out condition of she was in made a steel cage that the phoenix couldn't escape from. She'd scream to the heavens in righteous madness if every cell in her was not seizing up like a rusty machine. Aria had struggled for a moment longer until she caved in to the inevitable, not caring about how undignified she looked to any sights of those that might be peering. Her eyes closed as she laid into the booth seat with full abandon where she gradually ended up sliding to her right and against Adagio's bare shoulder. Having received no reaction though she cared not even if there was one, Aria embraced the veil of sleep with a comfy place for her head.
'I'll let this slide just this once, for now all my indignation is reserved for those blasted talentless hacks!' Dazzle sighed as she too felt tired to push her subordinate off of her, a special kind of exhaustion she fathomed would be the deepest sleep she'd experience which crept upon her as well.
Sonata on the other side of the table had already laid out sprawled like a dozing cat on her open seat, the only sign of her being alive was the slow rise of her visible arm. Peacefully snoring so soon as it seem and barely detected by Adagio whose eyes fluttered like boiling pot of water. Doing anything to stave away from falling asleep and risk getting kicked out, she desperately focused on what she could smell and hear. The clatter of dishes and the sizzling of deep fryers from the kitchen caught her ears, light chatter could be heard but it was far too low for her to discern. Adagio's stomach couldn’t even come up with a pang of hunger from the aromas in the atmosphere, the scent of heavy oil and fat cooking morsels that fattened humans who frequented such places. Beyond that there was little else to anchor onto, and it troubled the eldest Dazzling as she began to lose the battle to remain among the living. She willed her hands to her face and held them in place, even as her arms felt as if they had been shattered in many places.
The pulsing veins throbbed into notice as her heart had begun to deepen its pressure, Adagio hadn't realized why her body was suddenly becoming so audible. Instead she welcomed it as it stirred what dwindling control she had, from the soft thick pulse of life sustaining fluid had sprouted something akin to a tingling pain. She reacted to it positively and rose from the growing ache with some kind of energy to harness, it was that very soreness only brought thoughts of disparagement and hate that served its purpose.
She whispered to herself into her cupped hands, "We are sirens... masters of song and voice... none could ever escape our music. And yet..."
All her previous ploys to garner magic in the backwater world they had been stuck in were mocked by Aria at each and every turn. She finally had a chance to turn it all around with Equestrian mana somehow lingering in that loathsome school, they had all the pieces in place to succeed and dominate the naked apes. Then those cursed students and their equestrian magic uprooted their venture into godhood so easily thanks to that Sunset Shimmer.
How much hatred Adagio had for that female human was a power that was unquenchable, it drew out a vein in her forehead even as her blood pressure continued to climb. She wanted to think more of how much she detested those girls, how she wished she could turn it into power so the three of them could retaliate and make them suffer. In lieu of some kind of restoration the drumming organ took over her hearing as it became louder and louder, playing to a tune which infuriated her passionate disdain. For what felt like minutes she soon wanted the noise to stop so she could think in peace, smashing her hands against her face as she grit her teeth together. Had it been too much to ask after being shamed to gain a moments rest, even a stay at some human restaurant for half an hour?
'Why won't it stop!? I just need to think!' she screamed in her mind.
Her hands which she had brought to her face clenched into fists, her patience finally snapped from the beating percussion that pushed her over the precipice. Her head shot up with eyes wide and ablaze with her fists slamming into the table, she looked wild and mad to anyone else but it was a controlled release. Just when her hands met the polished well used red table that shook the shakers and napkin dispenser, a cold hand gently found itself touching her right forearm. A jolt from the temperature drop upon her right arm quelled her mindset with shock, her glower beaming at the latest interloper that dared stress her out even more.
Adagio appeared as if she had a bucket of cold water tossed upon her when she looked to see who the contact came from, the poor soul that stumbled upon the trio innocently enough. A waitress stood leaning over the table wearing a worried frantic face, one whose face that upon realizing did the deep waves of her blood finally abate to a normal level. Dressed in a dated waitress garb of white with hints of blue and pink, a small ticket book sat in a chest pocket which threatened to fall out from the woman's lean. Just behind her was a black uniformed police officer coming into view, a tall man well around six feet in hteight made Adagio freeze on the spot and drop any emotional expression she had. Human royal guards though unlike the ponies, these protectors were armed and had many a ways to apprehend a suspect both deadly and non-lethal, an aspect she found new and strange. They were the ones she avoided at all possible costs as from city to city, coast to coast, and department to another they had such a varying attitude that she did not want to entangle herself with them even if they sang. Right then and there she had just such an individual within such proximity she did not know if she would have been better off with the pursuing students or him.
“Ma’am! Are… you… okay!?” the thirty some year old woman asked for the eight time which only then her voice came through, her brown eyes searching for an answer in the shamed enchantress.
It became apparent that the remaining customers in the diner were all looking at the scene playing out which Adagio noticed after she regained some composure. With a gulp, the feeling of perspiration threatened to surface again as Adagio stuttered a reply. She knew then that she'd have to watch her words carefully least she be drawn into something she'd regret.
Dazzle cleared her throat and forced her voice through the still taxed vocal cords, "We're fine... honestly." she put on the best smile she could muster with Aria lightly sleeping on her left arm oblivious to the circumstances.
The waitress brushed her own forehead in relief, “You had us worried there sug! You just ran in here looking like this and just dy'n for air! Why Officer Bismuth here nearly burst outside looking for those good fer nothings who were chas'n ya! You not hurt are ya?!” the older woman had a motherly tone about her inquiry, something Adagio was rather surprised by.
The lead siren could barely afford much of a nod as her eyes darted everywhere trying to find a way out of the attention they drew upon themselves. The two dullards that were her packmates were far too gone and unreliable, still out of the question with their breathlessness and left her to handle the situation alone. With no other option to turn to Adagio gazed upon the tall human guard thinking of a way to respond, all the while wondering where the drumming had gone to.
“Madam? I just need to ask you a few questions… if you don’t mind that is?” The imposing figure asked as his badge shined under the overhead lights, more or less commanded as he adjusted his hat to tip in a greeting gesture.
‘Ugh!! Why didn’t we just stay out there! Could have at least thrown ourselves into traffic!’ she barked mentally as she played off the situation.
"Madam?" he asked again.
Dazzle smiled with a quiver as she felt a strange coolness grace upon her very soul that seemed to relax and sooth her throat from its ravaged state, "I am so... terribly sorry for the inconvenience we've... put on upon you and this fine eating establishment." she went on too focused on spinning the truthless tale, "My sisters and I were coming back... from... a concert and we um... bumped into the wrong crowd... sort of speak."
The officer jotted down her story onto a small notepad he had pulled from a pouch on his occupied black leather belt. Using a small pen he extracted from his uniform pen protector he took down every word she had to give.
She continued with a strange resolve she hadn't figured why it was coming to her so well though the fake story had to be told, "We apologized to them honest! But they did not want our sincerest words and instead... they came at us. So we ran away, we even had to go through a garden... I think the rose bushes tore at our clothes. We ran and ran... until we ended up here. I can't say... where those mean people went, we were just too exhausted to concentrate!"
Adagio couldn’t afford to let on to their true pursuers to the police, as the term magic in this world was at most a smokescreen act or a joke. Even the risk of being punished by the law for nearly taking over a school might have some grounds to affect them and somehow she knew the Rainbooms would love to see that happen.
Expertly she had the two around her fingers as they accepted the fiction like hatchlings being warned about the Devourer of the Deep to keep them in the nest. Having gave little info to the police officer to sate his questioning, she breathed sweet release once he excused himself to leave for his patrol car as he so put it.
"Thank you madam, I'll be sure to send any word out for suspicious activity involving such matters. Do be sure to stay among public areas to avoid such confrontations, there are always those who look out for others. Good day to you, I need to send this to dispatch." Officer Bismuth tipped his cap to her before taking his leave, how strange his very presence seemed to relinquish the effects of their mad dash to freedom.
The pitter patter of a small glass-like object hit the waxed floor like tiny marbles and quickly forgotten, 'Hopefully we won't be seeing any one like him for a while with all the fake contact information I gave him. Last thing we need to be going through is being hunted by the police, without our powers we'd be minnows in a net. And I'm not giving those vile heathens the satisfaction of seeing us on the news in handcuffs, there's no way what we've done in the past hasn't been recorded somehow!'
Aria began to stir, albeit painfully, hosting the look of the same intrigue at the attention they amassed as Dazzle had, she was also one who hated surprises. Fortunately, she came to just as the cop was leaving which saved the golden siren the complication that the sour attitude would have brought up. Blaze gazed at the waitress who reappeared with menus and ice cold water for the three as if they were a charity case. Bombarding them with on the house specials for the poor souls the catfish dragged in. Even then she too felt just a little bit better like a strong shot of naked espresso as she often partook in the days prior to their fall, the painful aches subsiding enough to make being awake tolerable.
“Please, Mr. Crisp back at the fryers wants ya’ll to feel safe here. Have anything on the menu, no cost whatsoever it's on the house.” The waitress smiled as if it hadn't been the first time the same thing happened once before.
Aria having missed everything up until then looked upon the woman with caution as she struggled to say something without sounding obscene. Yet as she tried she had been too slow to act and was superseded by the stranger who treated them to an open buffet.
“No woman should be as fearful like I see in you three, I hope Officer Bismuth catches whoever did this to you. I knew someone was after you three, working here as long as I have you see some things!” The lady admitted confidently as she pushed Sonata's glass closer to the cerulean siren who groggily arose completely lost to all that just transpired.
“Th-thank you, really you don’t need to do this. We’ll be ouuu…” Adagio tried to push away the generosity, only to fail as their now human mortal forms immediately craved nourishment for some strange reason, the linger scent of fried food calling to their stomachs like a dinner bell or a large audience ready for their songs.
Adagio came to acknowledge that their new state meant they had new commitments to uphold if they were to live any further devoid of immortality, ‘As if this day couldn’t get any worse, now our bodies are like these primates in every sense of the word!! We have to actually eat food to live as often as they do! Gah!’ Adagio yelled into her mind even as she smiled to the waitress taking the menu handed to her.
Almost as if she were revived like some undead entity Dusk came to life when she groggily opened the three page laminated pamphlet, “Oh! Do you have tacos!” she asked as she supported herself by her right elbow on the tabletop wearily, having shot up to the free food offer like a king mackerel striking bait fish.
With a new resurgence of normalcy in at least one of the girls, the waitress beamed happily, “For you three, it would be our pleasure to make you the best dang tacos you’ll ever taste!”
Sonata could barely muster anything beyond a hobbled fist pump into the air before falling back onto the red seating with a loud sigh of satisfaction, unlike the others she always had an appetite since they'd known one another. The waitress soon turned her attention on the last two Dazzlings awaiting their orders. Her hand ready to scribble the item numbers they selected and eager to give to the cook.
Adagio blinked before realizing she had to speak and with a quick look through the choices she picked one that seemed right, “We'll take the house special... the Atlantic Catch sandwich, the both of us will have it.” She grinned innocently, hoping her answer would send the woman away.
“Right on it miss, I can already hear the meat sizzling and the fish fry'n!” the waitress beamed leaving with the menus she grabbed to the kitchen.
The instant they were alone, Adagio fell into her arms after she crossed them onto the tablet, with a loud groan of aggravation nearly knocking over their cups of water in the process. Aria's shoulders dropped with the coast clear as she relaxed having no want to lose the chipperness that had greeted them like an oasis in a desert. She lazily grasped the dripping glass of crystal clear goodness and took a swig to get the taste of metal out of her mouth, akin to a greasy coin she had not sucked on like candy. Her scowling eyes panned around their environment and caught the gazes that still lingered upon them, men and women in work cloths were gossiping about them. She had no patience and barely the fuel as it were, but she did the next best thing and expressed a toothy snarl which dispatched the onlookers. She snickered as they went back to their meals and avoided their table as if she would throttle them at any moment.
Shutting out the diner noises and sights, Adagio took a deep breath and composed herself. Looking up to see Sonata gulping down her drink greedily with Aria following suit beside her, leaving her to be the last one. Dejected and lost at what to do next the golden haired leader took her own serving feeling the iced water cool to the touch. The beads of condensation soaked into her palms as she brought it to her lips, it was then that she caught her reflection in the surface as it rippled from movement. While they were none worse for wear in their looks she could have sworn that moments ago they had seemed to be dragged through dirt.
'What was that just then, my heart... I couldn't hear nothing but the pulse? Now all of the sudden we're feeling and acting better? Something's not right... no... perhaps we've finally... become human?!' she pondered as her eyes widened, 'Well we can't use magic now, with our gems gone then maybe this physical transformation since we were sent here buffers out existence? I could have sworn mother said a siren dies without their gem? Mother...'
It was that name which dropped all curiosity and froze the former siren into inaction, her eyes no longer receiving the world but of a memory long ago. A promise she made that couldn't be kept after their powers were taken away, a promise which herald the very moment it was made. That was all Adagio could see and it brought a tear rolling down her cheek, one that went unnoticed as the other two were coming to their own terms with their new lives.
Slamming her glass onto the table with a clatter, “We’re done for… No pendants means no powers… stuck inside these worthless meat sacks and no future!”
“No powers means our voices are lost... forever…” Sonata spoke in a morose tone as she felt her neck for the absent ruby.
Adagio quietly sniffled out the weak moment and downed her drink quickly, she had no time to mourn her personal mission. They had no home to call their own and without their abilities they had only what bits were left in their collective wallet from singing gigs they easily amassed prior to their defeat. Soon their financial situation would go red, but for the time being fortune smiled upon them with generosity from the people they had fed upon. It was a new fire which burned in the icy realm of depression, one directed at their conquerors just to spite them.
The mist of despair hung around the girls even as their food eventually arrived, their entire spirits were sucked dry of feelings that no physical stimulation could fix. No matter what the waitress tried to say to liven the mood, her attempts were all in vain. Thankfully, she wasn’t able to pester them long as soon the restaurant neared closing time, and her cleaning duties beckoned with utmost importance and she bid them a good night.
"They may have ruined us but we will not let them laugh at us. I will find a way to keep us off the streets, even if we have to get... Jobs! We cannot have the Rainbooms see us like a sinking ship! We will get our revenge on them in due time, but we have an image to uphold girls." she told them as her fingers turned white from the pressure of her grasp on the glass.
Aria nodded, "Before anything else I want to wrap my hands around that color spectrum narcissist and really turn her blue!"
Sonata hadn't quite the level of hatred against the group but knew it was wise to keep in line, "Ya but we don't know anything? Like for realzies what are you gonna do for umm... bits? I don't wanna look like that mean crusty man we saw back at Manehatten!"
"Ugh! Don't remind me of those tweakers, that one dazed out of his mind that sucker punched me in the back of the head!!" Blaze growled as she pinched the bridge of her nose, "Maybe at least that bloody face I left him made him ever regret messing with me."
She slammed a fist onto the table and shook the condiments for use, it hurt to do so with a sharp spike of pain for her efforts. Having forgotten the lost magic it was clearly evident they no longer possessed the durability and strength they once had. A mere gesture of frustration turned into a regrettable move on her part, truly they were the monkeys down to the core.
Sonata giggled at her misfortune even as Aria grumbled back at her, "With our gems goes our voices and other stuff." her other hand rubbed the afflicted palm.
"Let that be a lesson to you both as well. Last thing I need to worry about is finding out either of you has been taken to a hospital." Adagio scolded just as the tip tap of heeled shoes announced the arrival of their meals.
Striding with a joyous smile the waitress balanced all three dishes on a large gray metal tray, each meal on a thick porcelain plate. Gently they were placed before each of the proper recipients with accompanying napkins and silverware, for a diner they were crafted rather well and not like some grease trap they expected. Sonata had her three heavily stuffed corn shells which were pieced in a crisp layer upon layer of freshly prepared meat, greens, and some kind of red sauce. The ground beef still sizzled from being pulled off the pan and lacked the excessive oil from the other versions she seemed to adore so much. Contrasting the darkened bovine flesh was chopped lettuce that appeared as if it had come straight from the fields and fiery red diced tomatoes that mirrored their old gems. The strange garnish had a tangy note in the aroma, peppery almost from what Adagio could make out.
"Finest dang tacos you'll ever eat in town! And for you two our thickest chunk of cod in stock! Bread just came out of the oven too, hope ya'll enjoy and don't hesitate ta call for seconds." the older woman beamed with pride, gently patting Dazzle on her right shoulder before leaving, "Consider this place a safe house if ya ever find yourself runn'n from those no good rattlesnakes."
Adagio smiled back even though in her head she wanted to bite at the limb, using all her will to avoid doing so and relegated herself back to the table. She inspected her dish looking for anything off only to find nothing but a perfectly arranged dinner complete with golden fries and dipping sauce in a small paper cup. It was a sesame seed bun of caramel brown toasted exterior, containing a fried breaded hearty serving of the flaky fish. Black pepper dotted the savory morsel among the crumbly coating of cornmeal, thick leaves of lettuce were partnered with freshly sliced nightshade fruit. A cream oozed along the sides just enough to entice the visual excitement but not to make handling an utter mess. Another surprise came to Adagio to see their luck turn out for once and with no signs of a back hand from taking the offer.
"Well, at least they know how to make a good sandwich here." Blaze chuckled to herself after having taking a nip at a piece of poking cod, the crunchy exterior audible to the others as she chewed.
Sonata spared no effort to commentate as she downed the first shelled meal nearly without chewing past three or four times. The mirth on her lips spoke enough for her enjoyment that little else needed to be said in her case. It left Dazzle to her food to which she shrugged and braved on through, since the others were more than eager to dive in from hunger or taste it mattered little.
The first succulent bite had reaffirmed Aria's claim with the perfect balance of texture and flavor with every ingredient, a rather shocking reality that the former siren had to admit, "Wow, these are pretty good? I was half expecting something like that Within and Outward fast food place we tried three years ago."
"Nah, this stuff's actually good, gotta hand it to the humans for once." Aria commended as she worked past half of the bread encased item nearly nipping her own fingers between her teeth.
The Dazzlings had eaten everything from crumbs and to all, with what starchy items bagged for later consumption once they found a place to sleep. The food had the effect of caloric overload and dulled their worries to minor concerns with the pleasantness of being sated. Their beasts of hunger which longed only for physical food rather than negative energy had been put to sleep. Sonata was the only one to offer any kind of thanks to the staff, complimenting on the crunchy tacos with half her normal vigor. Adagio and Aria assumed she’d be the better to do so, as they would have simply given little gratitude if it let them escape without further interaction. The airhead of a packmate could easily garner good feelings from strangers with her aloof sense of life, almost as if she passed for one of the them. She served her purpose in the group one way or another which cemented her position in the Dazzlings, least she only caused ire in Adagio and caste away.
Having sealed the deal with the eatery, the trio felt more alive than ever since they collapsed before the place two hours ago. If their stomachs were not brimming with digesting sustenance that would last till morning they might have noticed their reality become less hostile towards them. Rather it was a peaceful night under a dull violet sky from the town lights, distant stars dusted the vast void above the siren but they knew not of the grand scale of the world beyond their perception.
Adagio entrusted Dusk to carry their likely breakfast and turned the corner of the intersection up ahead on the right where she finally could start planning, “We have what how much? Three hundred bits and a single room to rent alone is a quarter of that amount!?” Aria fumed as they started to put distance between the restaurant and themselves.
“I’m sure we can find some place cheap to stay us over the night. Just follow my lead girls and we’ll be out of this accursed place soon enough.” Adagio replied as she took the lead in the direction of where their old clothes were stashed away as part of a contingency plan she had hoped they wouldn't have needed.
“What if we just went back and said the pendants were controlling us? I bet Principle Celestia could take us…” Sonata spoke up with a clueless reality soon desolated by Aria.
“Oh My Gosh!! Can’t you just shut it up! What are you?! You… are… the… worst Sonata!! Like I'd ever want to placate to those herring! I won't be under any of their thumbs while they mock us day in day out, you've seen how they treat their own so what makes us any different?!” Aria yelled throwing her hands to her head as if a migraine were beginning.
Sonata winced from the reciprocation of her idea, afraid of saying anymore that could arise further reprisal. Adagio simply put a hand to her forehead as if nausea was trying to rear its ugly head. Trying to remember the places they scoped out to stay a night was easy enough in their condition, the bickering sirens behind her were of little aid to her addled mind as it were. Her barely stable energy level was enough with the addition of a full stomach to stay away a violent outburst to calm the arguing hatchlings they were, they never made it easy.
Aria spouted off more inane protests to their lives in the gutter as her bitterness and crumbled patience resurfaced. In a fit of emotional rage her arms swung around to exaggerate the situation they were in as well as to blow off steam. Flailing limbs that soon found purchase upon a bystanders skull as they passed by a rather gloomy looking group of leather jacketed men. Though she caused herself more injury than the person she hit, grasping the right arm she derailed into cursing to herself.
"GAH!! What's your head made of... steel?!" she spat worried she might have broken a finger or knuckle from the dull throbbing that followed.
Sonata and her froze on the spot even as Adagio continued oblivious to the Tartarus that was just opened behind her. The blue skinned girl gazed upon the hardened figure who snapped his neck to the trio with a face that only a mother could love. The group of four men who had the smell of whiskey upon their attire turned towards the girls with surprise and agitation. The one affected by Aria’s mood rubbed his nose and forehead before setting his sights on the young woman. Sonata could only gaze at the imposing figure that stood a good seven inches above them, built like a diamond dog and the scowl of a timberwolf. Even for such a klutz of a person as she was, her mind easily deduced that they were in even more trouble than before. Dealing with the Rainbooms would be a fun compared to the pissed off human that geared up to retaliate with the venom in his crusty bloodshot eyes.
“HEY! PRICK! YOU STREET SUCKING SLUG!” his voice boomed throughout the empty street, drawing the Dazzlings into the horrific reality full swing.
Left in a state of panic, fear, and awe the girls turned to see the aggressor who wanted their undivided attention. Taking in the gang of irritable violent looking men, it was Adagio who regretted not keeping the cop with them or at least using him as transportation. Though they lacked any way of reading emotions, the drunkard's state was palpable enough to register without their rubies.
“You hit me… So that means someone’s face is meeting the road…” the filthy man seethed as he slowly started to close the distance with wobbly eyes and sense of direction, his boots hitting the pavement with a purpose.
Adagio could only muster a flurry of confused attempts looking for a way to escape and getting away from the sudden beating they were faced with. Aria was not any better, having had the true essence of terror rooted into her feet like a magnet to metal with no voice to stop the threat. There was no one around to help them as late into the night as it were, most people had gone home and any passing vehicles were going by too quickly to be of aid or even notice. They had nowhere to go with nothing short of any kind of hope to hang onto, the very human feeling of dread seeped into their cores like a creeping cold of a blizzard. Adagio and Sonata could likely get away, as it was Aria who started the confrontation with her outburst. Yet the way of their kind would never allow such an option to be executed, the pod stuck together no matter what.
Adagio quickly scanned one last time for a way to escape, she couldn't trust alleyways for being trapped into an ever further isolated spot to be attacked in. No hotel or open business around offered any salvation, they were in the dead shopping district of the nocturnal ghost town like guppies without a cove to escape a trout. A good mile run had any hope of finding sanctuary for the Dazzlings, but they were far beyond making another mad dash in their state, Dazzle knew they wouldn't make three hundred feet.
“I’m going to wring you a new one ya mook!” The lime green man sneered, his shortly cropped orange spiked hair held in place by styling gel gave him an even uglier look that repulsed the sirens.
“Dude! They’re just girls, come on I don’t want to go to prison just because you're sensitive!” One of the gang member's associates whined.
“Ya, and I’m not bailing you out if you do too. I ain’t got the money after getting my hand fixed from last time!” The third thug fussed wanting to avoid the confrontation.
“No!.... You're going to suffer for hitting me ya wench!” the offended man cracked his knuckles as a diabolical smile spread upon his filthy mouth, off yellow teeth could be seen under the nearby street light.
Before Adagio could yell for Aria to run, the thudding sound of workman boots of the assailant echoed instead as he closed distance with the backwards treading girl. A malicious intent was all the more prevalent like a sign of ‘The Doom is Nigh’ any crazy man would shout in Manehatten streets. The hostile had a few badges sewed upon his leather jacket, many Adagio had no clue to their purpose other than intimidation and glory like many equestrian royal guard displayed. Humans on the other hand had a far sinister purpose for such marks, especially concerning the criminal types she had come to learn of ages ago.
"We... we should run for it?!" Sonata peeped though to no avail.
Aria failed to move her legs beyond the shaky snail's retreat she was already doing, holding her arm close to her with no action to take other then stare fearfully into fate. The former siren looked up as he picked up his pace to be a foot away, never letting her watering eyes stray away from the punishment she was about to receive. The vile man with a stubble of facial hair that decorated his jawline possessed fierce eyes that starred down into her as he geared up for a straight knockout punch. Aria could tell he was unabated by the any thought most humans held of morale customs. He was far too drunk to comprehend his actions, yet now powerful enough to deal damage to her face and her fellows as it seemed.
She could see the hit coming like a prediction even though he hadn't acted just yet, primed and ready to take her lights out and more. It was all happening so fast, she’d probably feel the pain after a few strokes of his knuckles and her face on the pavement. Of all the days she had to give into her tendencies, Aria truly regretted what she said to Sonata as seconds became agonizing minutes. She couldn’t bear to witness her own beating, and opted to shut her eyes to better deal with the pain coming her way. Not even the lowly human wouldn't see nor gain any joy from her, she would take the shots as proud as she was and the siren she had been.
“ARIA!!” Dusk yelled out.
“ARIA NO!!!” Adagio tried to dash in between them but her body had become a slug, dotage like a wakening dragon atop its hoard, she cursed herself for being so slow with the few steps she needed to save her idiot.
Before her fellow band mates could intervene, she tensed herself to buffer the first salvos in hopes the drunk had only a few volleys to pack. The coming reprisal had been forced to the back of her mind, her memories surged forward out of sheer anxiety as she recalled how she ended up in such a dire circumstance. Memories of Equestria, her childhood, and her mother were the most prominent of them all that lead her to this moment and those were what she held onto.
‘This totally blows big time! I’m going to die here and now. I blame you Adagio!’ she told herself as she relegated her all to the moment.
Fully awaiting the fight like a charging bull shark, Aria braced through saline drops that dripped out of her shut eyes. It took thirty seconds of nothing happening to get her realize something had gone awry, she immediately heard a struggle and believed it to be Dazzle's doing for her sake.
Somehow somehow, the great All Father Poseidon had gifted them a way out of the Tartarus pit and showed a way out. If the stories her mother had told her as a pup were to be believed, she was a believer then once her eyes beheld the unfolding scene that went in their favor.
Instead of Adagio holding the man at bay so she could run away, there stood a stranger they hadn't seen before or that it mattered. A yellow fleshed red haired man stood to the side holding the quivering arm which would have struck her, it appeared that the drunk was putting his all into finishing the act to no avail. Having grasped the fist, the impromptu bystander put the other hand to the exposed throat of the retched soul and used his left leg to position himself to force the aggressor to the ground as he took the steps to do so. The mysterious person had saved Aria and the girls from the stupid actions of the low life's almost out of the blue, there was always a bigger fish out there.
What appeared to be a man of any other on the street wore the trappings of casual friday's, no distinguishing factors to set him apart. It was far too dark with the faint street lights to give much more to analyze, but they did offer first class seats to the flipping of the assailant harshly onto his back. With a suddenness that seemed to be a mere blur, a work boot had found itself perched onto the leather jacketed man who wheezed from the near instantaneous move that knocked the air out of his lungs.
Adagio could only muster a questioning response as she reached Aria and pulled her away, while Sonata looked on with a slack jaw at the fun scene unfolding. There before them their lives were saved by a random someone from the throws of rage that had been brought forth by one of their own. Although his back was to them, a voice commanded fear with each spoken word even though they spoke softly. The former sirens picked up on the reactions of the fellow's gang who not only wore surprise, they looked utterly astounded in their inebriated stupor.
“Hmmm… what do we have here?” the unknown person purred with a rather insidious tone.
The simple brute grunted trying to get up with little effort only to stumble from the hand still pressing down onto his throat. He coughed trying to rebel and failing at the same time, it was as if his brain were too clouded to register the predicament that would cripple his resolve in seconds.
“Best get a move on… or lest my hand and... foot slip?” the broad shoulders remained still as he primed and readied the booted foot above the man's genitals just as the grip slowly tightening around the wind pipe just enough to drive the point home.
“Sod off man!” he spat a bit of spittle upon the good Samaritan, "That chick... she's got it com'n!!"
Adagio grabbed Sonata as well and pulled everyone from the splash zone if the conflict became a one on four fight.
“Dude, I warned you man. Should have left them alone... ya nonce.” the other barely conscious buddies beckoned as they looked on with curiosity from a safer distance, the others sharing the same kind of 'I told you so'.
With the loss of any backup to rely on there was little else to do, “Leave… please.” The man added as he got off the angry drunk, dusting himself off in the process and even offered a hand to help.
Adagio could only watch as the situation thankfully devolved into a bitter parting and hopefully enough alcohol in the offenders system made sure they'd forget this meeting. Five minutes passed by before the safety of their well being couldn’t be called into question when the vile men turned the corner away from all of them to never be seen again. Their interloper kept his vigilance however as if awaiting a fight to still come, refusing to move the whole time just in case they sprinted around the corner of the building down the street. Humans were always so violent, a far cry from Equestrian ponies and their ways as the hairless apes tended towards negativity far more than any other being they'd fed upon. What had unfolded before the girls would scar them for the rest of their stay in this world as powerless, voiceless, mythical beings.
As a lone truck passed behind the Dazzlings with the sound of its tires scraping the road they heard that voice speak out, “Are you alright?” the figure asked as he listed his head to turn to the awaiting eyes.
“You just… saved us? For realzies?!” Sonata gasped going into her kid-like nature once again.
The man simple nodded as he finally showed his face. Something about had caused Adagio to forego thanking him and instead sought her memories back home for the eyes she beheld. Unlike humanity the group had once fed upon, something odd about the facial structure of this particular human rubbed her the wrong way and they had traveled the world over. His eyes may have been the deal breaker for the most part with an amber glow that seemed to dim for a moment if not a second before going completely gray, though only she noticed herself. He was no Adonis of Calamazoo, far from any threat she would fear immediately like the barracudas just then. Something imposing emanated from his presence even if it felt repressed to some degree, and she knew a predator when she saw one.
Where had she seen or felt that before? Everything within her mind screamed to raise red flags. She hadn’t known the man before and yet his gaze simply exuded an essence of its own that bugged her to no end. It caused Adagio to scowl as she pulled the others closer to her, she wanted to run away and get as far from the town as humanly possible.
“You… why?” Aria blurted out finally breaking her awe.