Cliffhanger
Sunset walked across the floor of Sugarcube Corner up to the counter, admiring the displays of cakes in differing hues. The smell of coffee wasn’t overpowering, but nonetheless struck her, having spent several weeks away from it. She grinned at Mrs. Cake, asking for a medium-sized tea and a small slice of chocolate gateaux. Her friends queued up behind her, chatting amongst themselves as she ordered. Mr. Cake readied her tea and cake and brought it over on a tray, while Sunset sorted out money with Mrs. Cake at the till register. After collecting her change, slipping it into her purse, and depositing that back in her pocket, she smiled at her friends in line behind her. Figuring that six trays would crowd the table they chose, she elected to leave it at the counter, picking up her cup and saucer in one hand and her small plate of gateaux in the other. She turned to face into the room, intending to pick a table for them all, and froze.
It was a small miracle she somehow didn’t drop her tea, imagining the white china shattering on the hard floor. No muscles in Sunset’s body moved, even those used for breathing. There, at a table in the far corner from the door, sat someone with their back to her; someone Sunset recognised instantly, though all she could see were tight black jeans and heeled black leather boots, with everything else concealed behind a gargantuan mass of curly orange hair with yellow streaks running through it. Two other familiar forms sat on the sofa on the opposite side of the table, and although that meant that Sunset could see their faces, they didn’t hold her attention as much as the first.
“You!” she exhaled, forcing her lungs into operation once more, the word carrying despite its low volume, thanks to its intensity. This caused her friends to look around; those that turned to her looked puzzled, while those who looked in the same direction she herself did reacted in the same way she had, all motion ceasing.
The orange hair shook and then swung around as its owner turned in her direction, and magenta eyes locked onto her own, revealing a face she thought and hoped she’d never see again. Adagio’s expression was a flat stare, and the world felt as if it had gone silent for a few seconds, not daring to interrupt the tension in that held look.
“Sit down,” Adagio commanded, jerking her head towards the table behind her without breaking eye contact, her voice like steel in its hardness, and holding less warmth than the depths of space. Neither Sunset nor her friends made any motion to respond or move, though thankfully all breathing and cardiac functions had resumed, albeit well above their normal rate.
“We’ve got a lot to talk about,” Adagio announced in the same tone, and then turned away, back to her table, the expectation implicit that the Rainbooms would do as instructed without her supervision or persuasion. Sunset took a deep breath and put one foot in front of the other, starting the reluctant walk over to the sirens’ table, cake and tea still in her hands, and after a few steps she heard her friends moving to follow. Once their leader had turned away, Sunset’s gaze had fallen to the other two sirens. The blue one watched as the Rainbooms approached, although her expression was grim. The purple one didn’t even look up, but sat with her arms crossed and her jaw set.
Sunset lowered her tea and her cake plate to the table in the spot next to Adagio, all thoughts of eating forgotten, and slowly sat down. Adagio continued to look ahead, not having moved since she’d turned back around, her face unchanging, as Sunset’s friends warily approached the other seats.
<The end. Fade to black>.
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I have a theory about the next movie. As you know, the movie ended with what looks to be magic being released into the human world. My theory is that this will attract the attention of certain parties, one of which could be The Dazzlings.
You're a sly one.
I finished the first chapter and was, just like when I saw the movie, sorely disappointed by a lack of Dazzliciousness. You can guess how that worked out in the end. 
I think I remember agreeing with you both that Rainbow Rocks is the best and that the sirens shouldn't return, but there's definitely some good framework with which their return could be handled pretty well. For the moment, I'm still inclined to believe that something like that probably won't happen and I will be skeptical if it does, but it's certainly an interesting thought, if one that I'm kind of hoping remains confined to fanfiction.
I'm afraid I don't really have much to say on this scene specifically, just because it's too short to really go in depth, but the lead up to it was good and the payoff was thought-provoking. I would be very interested in seeing a continuation of this scene.
7623277 I suspect you may be correct. If they were to be brought back, that would at least be an excellent way to do it; it would power them up enough to be able to return without just being shadows of their former selves, and since it wouldn't necessarily be quite as tied to negative energy as their pendants were, it might even offer them an opportunity for a happy ending (without needing to completely change their natures and sell out and become good).
Sorry, would you mind editing your comment please so that the last line, about the Dazzlings, is covered by a spoiler tag? I'm trying to keep their appearance completely secret, hence them not having character tags for the story. Thanks!
7623561 Without wanting to feed too much ego into it, I honestly think that if they had been in the movie, this is how it would have been done. And they were mentioned twice in the dialogue, where Friendship Games only showed their logo, which I'd hoped would be foreshadowing for the stinger. Alas, no.
Intellectually I completely agree with you. Even if they returned more powerful than before, an already-defeated villain is rarely quite as intimidating, because the heroes (and audience) know they've already been beaten once, so how hard can it be to beat them again? Also Rainbow Rocks was the perfect match for them as a film; it was designed with them in mind from the start, and so there were legitimate in-universe opportunities to perform their songs in-full, and a singing enemy was the ideal threat for the premise. So anything short of 'Rainbow Rocks 2' would have its work cut out to include them as effectively. If TheManOfMadness' theory below is correct, then they might be able to shift away from singing a little bit and become threatening in a more general way, but that might lose some of what made them special.
That said, the moment I heard the false-spoiler that inspired this story, I was so excited that all those concerns went out the window. I would be ecstatic to learn that they were coming back for real, and I think for once that might even overtake nervousness that they wouldn't be as good. Perhaps when the movie was over, I would lament their inclusion for sullying their legacy, but right up until that point I'd be all for it. I think you may be right in that it's something fan fiction can do better than the show, though. We will see!
That's completely fair about the scene specifically, there isn't much to say at all, just as there wouldn't be for the Sci-Twi teaser at the end of film 2, I think in that situation the writers would try to leave it as open as possible to fuel all the different interpretations in the year leading up to the next film.
Lives up to its title.
7636852 Hey, great to hear from you, I was worried you'd disappeared
Thanks very much, I'm really glad you liked it, thanks for reading!
7636996 group of people armed with torches and pitchforks comes to Arthur's home we want more lol
If only if only, eh?
You captured the personas of all of the mane six in that first chapter perfectly, you need to write more for this show dude!
7694169 Sorry, I've only just seen that you commented on this, either I missed the notification (which I think unlikely) or it forgot to tell me. And just when I'd messaged you back saying all my notifications had been working fine
I suddenly realised your name wasn't mentioned anywhere in the credits, which was an oversight on my part, I have now added it (with some thoughtfully ambiguous phrasing for good measure).
Anyway, thanks very much! Hopefully it's not too late, and something like this could still happen in future installments, we can but wait and see. Writing for the Humane Six was an unexpected treat; although I wasn't all that sure about writing for Sci-Twi, so made her conveniently absent. I'm really glad I got to do this little one-shot (I guess I can't really call it that, as it's two chapters, but meh) as I got to try a tone and approach I'd never have gone for otherwise, and if those six show up in my other story it probably won't be for many thousands of words yet. And without any of the story planning, the backstory theorising, or the having to make sure that every thought and line of dialogue is perfectly tuned, I was able to kind of just live the characters a lot more. So I really enjoyed the experience.
Considerably moreso than the film I watched the same day.
Unfortunately this story faces a rather unavoidable flaw - listing it in the groups made for those who might appreciate the cliffhanger is an ending spoiler in itself, and renders the whole thing a bit pointless!
This was adorable!
(And just in case you don't know...you're going to get THREE NEW Equestria Girls episodes before the movie opens...)
"The Magnificent Seven"...
You're welcome!
I hereby refer you to my stories, "A Visit by Sunset Shimmer" and "Buckball Mania" for more Adagio!
Crystalheart
Honestly, I heavily disagree with that author's note.
Not only do I think Friendship Games and Legend of Everfree are superior to Rainbow Rocks, but I also like the villains from those two movies more than the Sirens.
8014395 Thanks very much! I pretty much just started writing, with only the final scene in mind, and that was what came out. I think the dialogue is closest to the show in this one, out of the things I've written. Not having any plot to work towards meant I could just have each character say whatever I imagined their on-screen selves saying, where my other words are much more structured and have to convey certain points beside character (and all tend to be more serious in tone than the show, too), where this is pure character, so I find it easiest to hear these lines in the character's actual voices and see their faces saying them.
Thanks, I heard that too, although I hadn't at the time I wrote this story. My guess (and what I'd do in the creators' shoes) is that one will focus on the Rainbooms, one on the Shadowbolts, and one on the Dazzlings. That way we get to catch up with villains who haven't appeared on-screen since 2014, and the Shadowbolts can get some badly-needed screentime to offer some deeper characterisation.
I think I read the first chapter of The Magnificent Seven and couldn't get on with it; I may be thinking of a different story though...
Sorry to be a pain, but would you mind covering your last line with a spoiler tag please? This story isn't even in any of the siren groups, for fear of spoiling the ending (because the ending is, ultimately, the main appeal of the story in my eyes).
8016241 The 'if only' bit? Yeah, it was rather presumptive of me... That's very much how I felt the moment I finished writing the story and started on the note. And, truthfully, that hasn't really changed. I didn't mind Legend Of Everfree, I thought it corrected a lot of the things Friendship Games got wrong, but it didn't really do that much to appeal to me either. Kind of felt like it didn't really go anywhere. Perhaps I'll like it more on a second viewing, which I haven't yet given it - but then, I'm not exactly excited to
I, erm... hmmm! I'm really glad you liked Friendship Games. I'm happy it appealed to you and that you got something out of the experience of watching it that I very much did not. As such, I'd rather not sound like I'm trying to take that away from you by going on about why I didn't like it, so I shall summarise by saying that I'd never encountered a FIM episode or movie that I actively disliked until I saw that, and I followed it with an angry bath and a day of talking myself down from writing a fix fic of Adagio showing up and demonstrating to various characters why what they were doing was, in my opinion, wrong.
I'm sorry, thanks for the interest, but I suspect we aren't ever going to agree on this
As such, I can't really see you enjoying most of my other stories, sorry, I doubt they'd be your cup of tea 
8016936 Yeah, just looking through the description of your other completed EQG fic, and looking through the comments, I don't think I'd enjoy it too much.
Not just because I like Friendship Games and Legend of Everfree a lot, but because I'm a huge fan of both versions of RD, so I don't like it when I feel that either of them gets treated in a way that's not deserved.
8016911
Umm...
How do I do that? And which part?
Crystalheart
8016980 I suspect not
I wouldn't say Rainbow gets badly treated, just that she's not too self-aware. But I know how little it can take to put me off a story when characters I like don't come out on top, so if you think she's in the Best Pony (or Best Human) area, then fair enough. I do like her, but I don't want to write from her POV again for a long time!
8017016 Referring to your line:
If you go to edit post (the pencil button in the top right corner of the post box, next to the dustbin/trash can, then select the whole line I mentioned and press the black 'Sp' button on the post edit bar, just to the left of the emoticon button, and then press save, that ought to do it.
8017760
Yeah, that probably is the case.
It's just that when I see the words "humiliated and embarrassed" in the description, and one of the tags is either version of RD, that's not a combination I like to see.
8018132 No, I can understand that.
I don't think it's as bad as that makes it sound, and it's probably more a statement on how bad I am at writing story descriptions, but I think in this case you're right to avoid it 
8018216 Thanks for the understanding.
8017764
OKAY! Got it!
Crystalheart
Omai!
Quite agree, I prefer this over Pinkie blowing up the dock again.
8054303 T hee hee... For months I've been waiting for an opportunity to say 'Hey, I think this one might be in the ballpark of your cup of tea' without spoiling why
I figure the story has no impact whatsoever if you know it's coming, so I couldn't even add it to any of the siren groups 
It just seemed so perfectly set up in the movie - they had the leaking statue (a perfect setup for their return if ever there were one), they mentioned the sirens by name twice in the script, whereas in Friendship Games the only reference is the siren symbol showing up near the beginning, and the guy who inspired this whole story pointed out afterwards that there's a LOE moment where Pinkie shows up (I think sometime around when they're discovering their powers, but haven't actually rewatched it to check) and for a second is an ominous poofy-haired silhouette in the doorway. So to me the expected stinger scene was perfectly telegraphed and... never materialised? I almost thought the stinger we did see was a mistake, and they'd missed out the obviously-intended siren one by accident.
Side-note: This was the story I meant when I said I knew how freeing it could be to write without having to think of the wider ramifications of character and plot decisions when working with a blank story canvas, and how in that circumstance one could happily (literally 'happily,' but also its usual figurative use of 'easily') write thousands of words at a time.
8054341
I was a few clicks from adding it to a certain group when that realization hit me, yes.
At this point, I'd kind of just like to know they're okay. We know they can eat other food, but with the revelation that changelings really do need love to survive, Aria's "I need a meal" comment has me a little uncomfortable.
There is certainly some delightful breathing room with the light simplicity of one-shots.
8054362 I don't know, I rest fairly assured from Twilight's commentary while reading the siren tale that the negative energy only powered their voices, so I'm still reasonably convinced it was only a metaphorical meal.
As you mention changelings, it's Chrysalis' recent return that really puts me off trusting the writers to handle the sirens' second coming.
8054341 who or what are the stingers?
8109124 'Stinger' is a term for a scene right at the end of a movie, after the credits have rolled, usually only a few seconds long.
So the stinger in Rainbow Rocks was of Sci-Twi saying that there's definitely something up at CHS, and in Friendship Games was Pri-Twi meeting Sci-Twi for the first time.
8109162 ahh ok lol when i looked up king of the stingers most of the results had to do with king sombra so im like mmmmmmaybe sombra was in charge of a biker gang in the human world hince the "the stingers" tagline......do with that info what you will.......
i was also reminded of jem for some reason ....wasnt that boomers band?
8109371 Ah, I've never actually tried looking it up, that's interesting to know! I didn't really know what to call the story, and quite liked the play on the song King of the Swingers from the Jungle Book, so I went with that.
Sorry, I never saw any Jem, but you're right, looking at Wikipedia it says the Stingers were one of the rival bands.
8339765
Yeah, but I couldn't think of anything to say.
8339828 No problem!