Drastic Initiative
"Stupid Aria. Stupid Sonata. How dare they defy me. Don't they realize that they're nothing without my genius to guide them?"
Even though she was seven blocks away from her home at this point, Adagio was still sore at her subordinates. Although she had her fair share of disagreements with Aria and Sonata, this particular argument was something she would not forgive them for. She gave them a plan, and they told her they wouldn't do it. This angered her to no end. Before losing her powers, no one ever said "no" to Adagio Dazzle, let alone her compatriots. She continued to vent her frustrations aloud to the cold night air as she walked down the empty sidewalk.
"Well, I'll show them. I never needed those idiots, anyway. And once my plan comes together, they'll be begging me to bask in the glory," said Adagio. She stopped at a lamppost and leaned against it to rest. "So, Aria thinks that I have nothing to offer Discord, does she? Well, we'll just see about that."
As she basked in the lamppost's dim glow, a quartet of hungry eyes stared at her from an alleyway across the street. Before she could notice them, they disappeared into the shadows. After a pause, she snapped her fingers.
"I know just what to do," she said to no one in particular. "Discord said that he was after Sunset Shimmer, right? He must be planning to manipulate her into carrying out his dastardly schemes. So, all I have to do is give her a little shove in the right direction, away from her friends and towards the she-demon she truly is. That way, Discord can corrupt her without too much effort! It's brilliant!"
Just then, she heard a loud clang behind her. Curious, she turned around to see what it was, only to find an overturned trashcan with no sign of a culprit. With a shrug, she turned back around and began crossing the street.
"But of course, I have to be careful about this," she mused. "If I want Discord to give me my powers back, I need to follow his rules. That means whatever I do to nudge Sunset Shimmer, it has to make as little sense as possible. Hmm, I'll need some supplies. Where did I put my wallet?"
She patted down her waitress uniform, only to find that it was not in any of its pockets. With a growl, she tore of the blue skirt, revealing her usual purple outfit underneath. Once out of her grease-stained uniform, she found her wallet without much trouble.
"Ah, there we go," she said. She opened it up, and a group of moths flew out. A vein on her forehead bulged as she stared at the three dollars that made up the wallet's contents.
"Okay, fine. Th-that's fine," Adagio said in a strained tone. "N-no need to lose your temper so soon. You just need to use some of that vintage Adagio Dazzle ingenuity, that's all. My magic may be gone, but I still have—"
She was interrupted by a collection of growls behind her. She turned around and raised an eyebrow. Four stray dogs had appeared from the shadows, and three of them were glaring at her and snarling. The first dog was a red doberman with a rounded jaw and glistening fangs. The second was a large brown bulldog that appeared to have some sort of spiky lump on its tail. The third was an unusually scrawny German Shepard with purple fur and orange hair over its eyes. The only dog that didn't seem to be growling at Adagio was what appeared to be a cross-eyed mixed breed with green fur and multi-colored spots. This dog simply stared off into space with its tongue hanging out. Adagio huffed.
"Oh, it's just a bunch of mangey mutts," she scoffed. "What do you want?"
The doberman bared more of its teeth and arched its back. Adagio was still unfazed.
"Look, I don't have any food, if that's what you're thinking," she said. "Even if I did, I wouldn't share it with the likes of you. So go bug someone else."
None of the dogs listened to her. Three of them began to advance while the cross-eyed one simply stood there and scratched itself with its hind leg. A mixture of frustration and fear welled up in Adagio's chest.
"D-didn't you hear me, you stupid mutts? I said scram! Beat it! Shoo!" she snapped. "I have a lot to do tonight, and I haven't the time nor the inclination to deal wi— DAH!"
She was cut off by the doberman lunging forward and snapping his jaws just inches away from her pant leg. Finally realizing the predicament she was in, she broke into a run. The four dogs were quick on her heels, their angry barks echoing throughout the city.
***
"Okay, minor setback," said Adagio, nursing a few nips the dogs left on her. "But I can't let this kind of stop me. If I did, I'd be no better than those two layabouts back home. Now, it's time I got what I need."
She entered a small park, taking care not to attract the attention of any policemen on their rounds. Venturing off the beaten path, she heard a buzzing sound coming from the underbrush. She grinned.
"A hornet's nest. Perfect," she whispered. She took her waitress uniform and began tearing it apart shred by shred. "I won't need this anymore now that Discord will give me back my powers. It's about time this stupid thing was put to good use."
Part of the uniform was converted into a makeshift satchel to store all of her spoils. She then wrapped the rest of her uniform around her arms to protect them from getting stung. She peeled back the bushes, revealing the circular nest on the ground.
"Alright, Adagio. Easy now," she told herself, sweat trickling down her brow as she reach out. "Gently, gently..."
She then noticed something out of the corner of her eye. Turning her head, she saw the cross-eyed dog from before staring back at her. One of its eyes drifted over to her leg. Adagio blanched.
"N-no. Shoo," she hissed. "Go away!"
The cross-eyed dog opened its large jaw, only to shut it again. Its eyes never left Adagio's leg.
"My leg it not a bone, you mongrel!" Adagio snarled. "Go bite someone else!"
But the dog didn't leave. It just kept staring at Adagio's leg, opening and closing its jaws at random intervals. Finally, Adagio couldn't take it any more.
"I said GO AWAY!"
She kicked the dog right in the jaw, sending it flying back with a yip. She gave the dog a smug smile.
"Yeah, that's what you g—"
Her triumph was interrupted by a loud and incredibly angry buzzing in her ear. The recoil of her kick caused her to slide forward, nudging the nest and disturbing the hornets. Adagio screamed in pain and terror as the entire swarm surrounded her, stinging her from every angle.
***
"Th-that was probably more trouble than it was worth," Adagio grumbled, using the scraps of her uniform as makeshift bandages. "I'm going to have to try something a bit safer."
She continued walking through the park, scooping up anything that she could use. Thorn bushes, rocks, poison ivy, and more all got stuffed into her satchel. At the park's exit, she heard a bunch of cricket chirping. Another sinister grin formed on her face.
"So, the Rainbooms like music, eh?" she said. "Well, let's see if they'll like these fellow!"
She burst through the underbrush, happening upon a group of eleven crickets singing their nightly tune. As soon as they saw her, they began to scatter.
"Oh, no you don't!" Adagio yelled. "Come here, you stupid crickets! Come here!"
She ran back and forth trying to snatch up as many of the small insects as she could. Alas, the crickets were simply too fast for her, dashing in between and around her legs. In one desperate attempt, she tried to pounce on them, only to land face first into the ground. Her entire collection of junk went flying every which way as the crickets made their escape. Adagio pounded her fist into the gravel walkway.
"I said come here, not go away!" she screamed.
A collection of familiar growls followed by one odd squawk echoed behind her. Turning her head, she saw that the stray dogs had returned. Her eyes went wide.
"N-no, I didn't mean you guys!" she shrieked. "Get away from— mmph!"
She was interrupted when the collective weight of all four dogs pressed her face into the ground. Their howls of triumph could be heard all around the block.
***
"Okay, first thing I do when Discord and I take over is that all dogs have to give me back rubs," Adagio swore to herself. "That'll teach them to mess with the likes of me."
The moon was directly above her as she limped over to her next stop. It was a simple apple orchard at the edge of town. All of the lights in the farmhouse were off, indicating that everyone was asleep. Adagio chortled and rubbed her hands together.
"I should've come here in the first place," she said, dipping her voice so as not to disturb any of the animals. "This is sure to give Sunset the shove towards corruption."
With her makeshift satchel slung over her shoulder, she snuck into the large red barn. As soon as she was inside, she fell to her knees and scooped up handful after handful of hay. She stuffed each handful into her satchel until it was full to bursting, snickering all the while.
"There, that ought to do it," she said, feeling quite pleased with herself. "Next to get all this to the school so my plan can really begin."
When she emerged from the barn, she discovered that the lights in the farmhouse were on. Someone was standing on the front porch, but from Adagio's vantage point, it was hard to tell who it was.
"Y'sure you heard somethin' out here, girl?" asked a familiar rustic voice.
A bark was heard, and Adagio's blood ran cold.
Oh no. Not another one! she thought.
She tried to tiptoe her way out of the barn, but the objects in her satchel rustled with every step she took. Just when she got outside, a brown sheltie started yapping like mad.
"Hey you! Stop right there!" the dog's owner called out. "Winona, sic 'em!"
The sheltie barked and dashed towards Adagio. Not wanting to be tormented by dogs a fourth time, Adagio darted away as fast as her damaged legs could carry her. She continued running down the dirt road until she didn't hear the dog barking anymore. As soon as she thought she was safe, she took a moment to catch her breath.
"E-eyes on the prize, Adagio. E-eyes on the prize," she panted, a sinister twinkle in her eye. "Once you become Discord's queen, this'll all be worth it..."
Cookie for anyone who can guess who the stray dogs are. 
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Garble, Crackle, and whatever those other dragons in that episode were named.
5292721 And the award goes to:
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Congrats, my friend.
Although interestingly enough, none of the other dragons in that episode were actually named. I just call the other two Mace and Gnarly myself.
5292734
Yay! And those cookies look amazing.
Wow Adagio. Things are not coming up for you.
The dogs are the teenage dragons from Dragon Quest. Now where's my cookie
5292721
5292734
Hah! That's brilliant!
I've always kinda been wondering about this dragon=dog equation... Dogs don't exactly have long lifespans, after all, while dragons live for centuries. Even made me consider a story once, about the human-world Twilight sending her Spike to Equestria so he has a longer life.
Oh whatever. Great reference, though I hope we'll see Discord again next chapter.
5292815 Someone already beat you to it, but here you go anyway.
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5292817
Celestia and Luna have the same problem. I think this is one of those things that we can just attribute to really bad writing in EqG.
5292842
I wouldn't call it bad writing persay... I mean, that's the kind of stuff that would happen with every two universes that have different laws of physics. Still, I think it would be funny to see a former dog struggling with sentient thought, speech and fitting in with society.
5292859
I would. It is just full of plot holes and missing explanations. Why is Spike a dog? Have Celestia and Luna been alive for centuries on the human side of the mirror? If not, how does that inconsistency work? How long has Sunset been over there? What has she been doing and how has she been living there? How did she find out about Twilight, the Elements, and the crown? Where are humanTwilight and humanSunset, and why aren't they at CHS? Why is everyone else at CHS, no matter what their ages and locations in Equestria?
I could probably come up with more, but those are the ones that come to mind immediately for me.
Rainbow Rocks wasn't quite as bad with the plot holes (and it was definitely more enjoyable all around, in my opinion), but it still had some. Why do the girls' transformations kick in when they play music? What have the sirens been doing for the past 1000+ years? Why do they get to (apparently) be immortal? Why haven't they taken over the world if they can make people do what they want? Just how much time has passed since EqG? Is time between the two worlds at all consistent?
But I agree that that could be an entertaining story.
Yay Crackle!
I have no idea what Adagio thinks she's doing.
5292842
Remember that we don't really know how things work in EqG. For all we know it could be a near-eternal high school world like you find in many sitcoms and cartoons where you have the same characters in the same grade for season after season. In such a setting, the higher ranks of school authority may well be nigh-immortal.
Now a note about this story: I wouldn't say that Winona is a Border Collie, her proportions are wrong and her nose is too pointed. OTOH, she is a near-perfect match for a Sheltie.
How low the mighty have fallen
Adagio is doomed. So very doomed.
The hydra!
*reads the other comments*
Oh, it's the dorky dragons? Awww. I thought it was the hydra.
Anyway...I love that Adagio's having trouble with dogs.
Must be because she's...
*puts on sunglasses*
...a bitch.
YYYYEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAHHHHH!!!
The four doges are the Hydra heads aren't they?
Adagio, FLUTTERSHY WILL BE DISCORD'S QUEEN!! DUH!
Okay, fangirl dream out of the way...
There's no way Discord would fall for Adagio! I mean, she's persuasive and manipulative, but not THAT manipulative.
5292949 We've already seen the Diamond Dogs in their human form (particularly in the EqG short Piano Player). Why would it be them?
5293027 I've heard Winona described as a border collie in a different fic. It was after someone corrected the author that she's not a beagle. Can't say I've ever heard of a sheltie, though.
5293206 If they were the hydra, why would they all have distinctive and differentiating characteristics?
oooooooooooohhhhhhhhhhhhh......so THAT'S who those doggies were.
5293299
Shelties, (or more properly Shetland Sheepdogs), are a breed which is related to the collies. They tend to look like a small rough collie, (e.g. Lassie).
Ha, great comedy here. I kinda feel bad for her, but it is still great fun to read.
Looking forward to more of Discord and Shimmer though.
Guessing diamond dogs, but that is just because that is the only thing coming to mind.
Only thing left to say is: Good chapter, hoping for more soon. Happy writing.
5293483 Ah. Alright, thanks.
5293502 Again, we already saw the humanized Diamond Dogs in canon. Why would these stray dogs be them?
5293524
Well, excuse me. The answer would be: 'Cause I haven't ever seen anything other than the TV-show.
It is proof that your writing is good (and my love of all things Discord) that I even care about any humanized ponies. I have only the vaguest idea who the characters from the humanized world are and what they have done there, so the fact that I still enjoy the chapters that are only about them shows that you have some talent at writing characters and comedy well.
5293554 Ah, okay. Sorry, I meant not offense, mate. I didn't know you weren't familiar with EqG. Though I'm really glad you enjoy my writing.
5293574
I'll live. Tired and slightly cranky and I still managed to keep things straight and point to the good stuff, so not exactly very offended. Get writing!
Wow, you actually made bad for Adgio... is there something wrong with me here?
So... four dogs jump on her back and later on she is limping away. I am assuming you're not implying...
And yeah, Garble, Crackle, and the others from Dragon Quest.
Adagio reminded me of Twilight in Season 1 episode 15.....It was funny when she got hurt!
Seems I was correct in assuming that the dogs were the EQG equivalent of Garble and his gang.
Oh Adagio. I actually feel sorry for her. Going through all this trouble and Discord is a good guy now. Also, I know kinda want to see Adagio and Discord get together romantically. I don't know why.
5294089 Hey, if you think that sequence of events is implying something, that's your prerogative. I honestly had no intention of implying anything other than the fact that Adagio was severely hurt.
Hilarious chapter. And the best part is, Adagio deserves every second of it.
Oh boy, I'm enjoying this too much
I better grab me some popcorn, I bet Discord has some
This was pretty funny. More!
I keep trying to read this story, but I just can't get over the way it's written. I'm not trying to be harsh here, but this dialogue is so dry and expository, and I keep getting taken out of the story by the fact that these characters are all talking out loud even when they're alone about things that should be inner thoughts. And the narration isn't much better. You can't just tell me how a character feels. That's lazy and it does nothing for me as a reader. Nothing is handled with subtlety here. I like the concept, and I really think the building blocks are here for a truly great story, but the technical details are all done in such a perfunctory manner that I can't get myself invested in it.
It's not lacking for creativity, but your writing style needs work. I'd recommend seeking out a pre-reader or editor who could provide you with some in-depth advice on improving your style.
5323564 While I appreciate your candid review, I can't help but feel confused. The expository dialogue thing I get (though the first three chapters are meant to set the stage, and as such, exposition should be expected), but I felt that I have been doing quite a bit of showing rather than telling. Or at least, I try to keep a balance between the two. As such, I don't understand why you think otherwise.
5293125 Hey now, mister, you should watch that tongue of yours! You shouldn't insult Winona by comparing her to Adagio!
Anyway, I feel bad for Adagio, though I'm glad at least one version of Garble isn 't being utterly useless to society.
Diamond dogs? :3
5353106 I direct you to my previous comments explaining why it can't be the Diamond Dogs.
Don't you realize how stupid you're about to be?
This should be good.
If he were still evil, yes it would be.
Well, at least she's smart, more or less.
Smart move.
Minor setback? Wow, you do not give up.
He won't.
You monster!
Serves you right.
You really are desperate.
The stray dogs are the dragon teens from the episode where spike goes on a self-discovering journey.
That green dog reminds me of Gir.
5899784
If it starts making waffles with peanuts and soap in them, it could be.
5470500
Specifically, Garble and pals, and Crackle.
At this point, I'm guessing that it's about even money whether or not Adagio is dead before even Discord gets to her!
rumble and his lackeys from dragon quest
6696216 Rumble?
I believe you meant Garble, mate.
Adagio Dazzle: Literal dog kicker
not sure if the cookie is still up for offer on this old story but the dogs where the dragon bullies
7055329 Quite a few people already beat you to it, but here you go, anyway.
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