"Alright. If you're going to try and impersonate the three of us, then you need to embody three important parts of being a Dazzling." Adagio cracked her fingers and flexed her arms like a ballerina. "Poise. Composure. And allure. I'm going to teach the three of you all of these straight away, so that you're better prepared to handle the competition."
"I have a question." Sweetie Belle raised her hand.
"Go on." Adagio replied.
"Do we have to have pacifiers?" Sweetie Belle tilted her head to the side.
"What?" Adagio turned around to see that both Aria and Sonata were still sucking on the pacifiers with their hands behind their heads. "Oh, for goddess's sake, you two. We've got business at hand!" Adagio yanked both pacifiers out of Sonata and Aria's mouths. She saw Sonata was about to wail as loud as she could, but she slapped her hand over the blue siren's mouth. "Get over it, Sonata. You're a grown woman, for crying out loud..." She turned back to the Cutie Mark Crusaders, who couldn't help but stifle a giggle. "You'll have to excuse them. They're both idiots."
"Alright. So... how do we act like you?" Scootaloo asked.
"It's going to take a while to teach you all, but I'm sure that we can manage." Adagio's smile returned as she walked back up to the crusaders. "I assume that you and the other CHS students are fast learners?"
"As fast as we're gonna be." Scootaloo shrugged and pointed the tip of her shoes at the ground. "Miss Cheerilee says that we're a special case at times. Says that we focus too much on being internet stars half the time."
"Eh, good enough." Adagio walked into another room, leading her sisters and the CMCs into it. "Now then. I'm going to be teaching you some pretty big words, so if you don't know what they mean, feel free to grab a dictionary."
"Or just use your phone! It's much faster!" Sonata raised her finger and wagged her hips.
"Sonata, who's teaching this class?" Adagio leaned in and gave her an alien look.
"I thought we were all teaching it together." Sonata gave a ditsy smile. "I mean, we're gonna be teaching these kids to act like us so they can try and win a silly little contest."
"Ugh. Sonata, it's time like this were I wish you were a little bit smarter." Aria scowled and looked the other way. "At least smart enough so that you could've actually helped us out with this."
"I can too help you girls!" Sonata stomped her feet.
"Now I'm regretting taking those things out of your mouth. You're just going off the handle again..." Adagio facepalmed and slid her hand down her body. Letting out a groan, she went back to the crusaders. "I do apologise. Before my sisters get into any trouble—again—I'm just going to give you a lesson in being a lady."
"I think we're kinda getting some good stuff already." Sweetie Belle fished out a notepad and pencil from her backpack and began writing down notes. "Anyway. Go on, Adagio."
"The first rule of being a lady like me is to learn the proper etiquette." Adagio stepped forward and slithered behind the girls. "Being the leader and all, you are expected to be both smart and strong at the same time. You can't have one trait without the other, after all."
“So, do we need to go to the gym as well?” Scootaloo tilted her head.
“What?” Adagio lifted her brows.
“Well, you said strong and smart in the same sentence, so do we have to go to the gym and work out?”
“No! That’s not what I me—”
“If you say that we’ve gotta get stronger, then that means you want us to be lifting weights and doing bench presses?” Applebloom stared at Adagio bug-eyed. “I mean, I’m all fer a bit of exercise, but doesn’t it seem a bit weird?”
“Yeah. How are muscles going to make us look more attractive?” Sweetie Belle lifted her finger. “That’s like if you want a nerd to take up bullying lessons to make him seem tougher.”
“Girls, just let me—”
“Adagio. You’ve got some weird teachings y’know.” Scootaloo crossed her arms. “Rainbow Dash might like the idea of me getting stronger, but I’ve gotta agree with Sweetie Belle on this. We’re trying to look beautiful, not ripped.”
“Shut it! All of you!” Adagio ferociously stomped the ground with her feet and blew smoke out of her nose. “At NO POINT did I ever suggest that you three go to the gym and work out! It’s just a figure of speech!” She was about to run towards them like a bull to a matador, but too some deep breaths and stretched her arms. “No. No. I am a lady. A true lady doesn’t let frustrations get to her...” she whispered to herself.
“Says the Dazzling who almost murdered three little girls.” Aria scoffed and turned her back to Adagio. “Some lady you are, Adagio.”
“At least I’m not some tramp who likes heavy metal over orchestral magnificence!” Adagio glared daggers at Aria. “How many times have I had to listen to whatever bullshittery you put on every night in bed without me wanting to kill someone?! Answer me that!”
“Hey! Watch your mouth, Dagi!” Sonata stood up and pouted, puffing out her cheeks. “There are kids here! Watch your profanity...”
“Oh, grow up, Sonata.” Adagio slapped Sonata’s head away. “They’re high schoolers. One way or another, they’re gonna learn to swear once someone breaks them in.”
“The reason we’re still together is something no-one’s ever going to understand.” Aria facepalmed and shook her head, walking out of the room. “Well, enjoy your little class, Adagio. I’m gonna go somewhere that isn’t full of losers.”
“Aria! Get your filthy ass back here right now!” Adagio snarled and darted over to Aria, tightly latching on to her shoulders. “We are trying to turn these three little snot-nosed brats into us, so that they can win some poncy little contest and TRY to re-establish our good graces with the students of CHS!”
“Well, I think it’s a wasted effort, we’re powerless pariahs, and we’ve gotta just live with it.” Aria threw Adagio to the ground. “You should just learn to accept failure as well, Adagio. We lost Equestria, we lost the Battle of the Bands, and now we’re gonna lose our lives because we don’t have our pendants anymore. We might as well try to LIVE whatever’s left of our mortal lives before we die with no-one coming to our funerals!” She yanked the door shut, leaving Adagio on her haunches.
“Whoa.” Applebloom broke the silence and watched Adagio climb back onto her feet. “Are you girls always like this?”
Adagio simply sighed and brushed some of her hair back. “No. No we weren’t, you three. In fact, we used to be in sync with one another.” She took a quick glance at the door. “Well... most of the time.”
“We had everything we could’ve ever wanted, we didn’t fight as much as we used to, and everything just seemed to go well for us. Kinda like we were celebrities.” Sonata walked forward and brushed Adagio down. “But then the Battle of the Bands happened and... the Rainbooms ruined our lives.”
“Listen, girls. We’re a bit on edge because we haven’t had anything to eat in a few months.” Adagio put her hand to her forehead and groaned. “Siren magic isn’t anything like the magic you’ve had to deal with. We NEED to eat to stay alive. And because the Rainbooms shattered our pendants, we can’t eat. We’re going to starve and die any day now.” As if the timing couldn’t have been more perfect, Adagio’s stomach growled loudly. “I’m hungry and no mortal food is going to cure me. I NEED to feast off of anger and hatred, as do Aria and Sonata.”
“Why?” Applebloom began to tear up and moved towards Adagio and Sonata, who both clutched their stomachs, wincing in agony as more growls escaped from them. “If mah sister had known about all this, she would’ve stopped the Battle of the Bands completely. It ain’t right something like this to happen.”
“Yeah. Not even Sunset Shimmer would’ve let you three end up like this if she knew the truth.” Sweetie Belle tenderly patted the sirens’ bellies. “And now there’s nothing that we can do. We’re not exactly magical pony people from another world, y’know.”
“Even if the Battle of the Bands was a bit of a mess, it’s not fair on any of you that anyone—even the Rainbooms ruined your lives like this.” Scootaloo came over and wrapped her arm around Sonata’s shoulders. “I used to look up to those girls whenever disaster struck Canterlot High. But after seeing this—” she held her arms down around the two felled sirens. “I wouldn’t even look in their directions. You might all have been the bad guys, but that doesn’t mean that you’re really bad girls, right?”
“We were never evil. What might have looked like us acting malicious was really because we reveled in seeing others tear themselves apart with petty feuds.” Adagio coiled some hair around her fingers. “We couldn’t help causing chaos and misery for the students of Canterlot High at the tournament; it was just who we were. There was no changing what we were, what we had to do to stay alive, and how we were going to get what we wanted and needed.”
“But the Rainbooms just saw us as evil sirens who were hellbent on conquering this new world since we’d been kicked out of Equestria by that meanie, Starswirl the Bearded.” Sonata brushed her face. “It’s not fair, I know. We keep saying that to ourselves each and every day after we lost the Battle of the Bands. But it’s the bed we’ve made so we’ve gotta, like sleep in it, y’know?”
“And even though the bed might seem like a piece of shit thrown together by some stupid peasant who doesn’t know the different between a treble clef and a bar note, and that it might have been peed on by someone else, we’ve still gotta sleep in it.” Adagio turned her back to the Crusaders and pressed her head against the wall. “No other place wants us now that we’re down on our lucks.”
“Aw... Adagio...” Applebloom rubbed her hand through Adagio’s long locks of hair and gave her a calm smile. “We never knew this. If we did, we would’ve rushed against the Rainbooms, screaming at them to stop the fight.” She swallowed and held her hand into a fist. “Actually... I think I’ve got an idea in mind.”
“An idea?” Adagio tilted her head and looked up at the Crusaders.
“You’re going to help us learn to act like you. And I feel that, in return, we should do something for you.” Applebloom felt the heartbeat in Adagio’s chest get slower. “We’re gonna find some way to get you your powers back once the Fall Formal’s over, and we’re gonna make sure that no-one takes it away from you again—not even the Rainbooms.”
“Applebloom? What are you saying?” Sweetie Belle’s jaw dropped at Applebloom’s proposal. “We can’t go to Equestria, the Rainbooms wouldn’t want to help the Dazzlings out, and we don’t even know the first thing about magic! We’ve got more chance of becoming brain surgeon astronauts than getting the Dazzlings’ magical powers back.”
“I know, but we can’t just sit back when there are people like this in danger!” Applebloom turned back towards the Crusaders and threw her arms down towards them. “Look. This goes beyond the Battle of the Bands. Because our big sisters took their powers away, they’re just gonna starve to death if no-one gives them a hand. Magic or not, we’ve gotta try and get the Dazzlings rehabilitated and back on their feet.” Another few rumbles burst out of Adagio and Sonata’s stomachs. “And fast...”
“Look, Crusaders. I appreciate the concern you all have for us, but I’m afraid that your talking marshmallow is right.” Adagio stood back up, wobbling around on her legs as she felt the struggles of hunger begin to eat away at her. “I don’t think anyone who comes from this world will be able to help us. Only the Rainbooms know about Equestrian magic, and I doubt that they’ll ever want to help us after the way we treated both them and the students of Canterlot High. If anything, they’ll just leave us alone, laugh in our faces, or just point us towards the other students, who’ll do the same thing, but even worse.”
“No they won’t.” Applebloom shook her head. “Because we’re going to make sure that the students don’t laugh at you, Dazzlings. Once they hear your side of the story, they’ll all feel really sorry for you and try whatever they can to get you back to what you do best.”
“How can you tell?” Sonata asked.
“We’ve been at Canterlot High for a long time now. Things are starting to quiet down after the Battle of the Bands.” Scootaloo nodded. “After the Friendship Games and trip to Camp Everfree, Twilight seems to be the talk of the town. Not the Twilight you know from Equestria, but the one from this world.”
“You can’t mistake her,” chirped Sweetie Belle. “This new Twilight wears glasses, has some kind of weird purple locket around her neck at times, and even has a little lab back at Crystal Prep. Don’t know what’s happened to it now that she transferred to CHS, though.”
“Look, we’re gettin’ off track here!” Applebloom waved her hands out in front of the Crusaders. “The Dazzlings’ days are numbered, and whether the Rainbooms like it or not, we’ve gotta help these three out!” She turned back to the Dazzlings and held her arm out. “So, do we have a deal? You help us learn to act like you, and we try to get you your magical powers back.”
“Well... it’s a bit of a weak compromise for us helping you win the Fall Formal...” Adagio let the request sink around in her mind and dance within her inner recesses. She had already lost everything, and didn’t see the negative side of allying with the CMCs. “Alright. Looks like we have a deal, girls. Let’s see what you can do.”
“We won’t let you down, Adagio.” Applebloom shook Adagio’s hand.
“And if we do, then we’re sorry.” Sweetie Belle rubbed the ground with the tip of her feet.
“Alright. Let’s get back to business, shall we?” Adagio smiled as she stood up straight and led the CMCs back to their places. “By the time we’re done here, that little competition should be in the bag for you three.”
Don’t mind them, they’re bronies.
You might want to keep the kids away from the TV set for this.
Also, I am loving Adagio trying to teach them proper etiquette.
Am I the only one that’s worried that the Dazzlings are gonna backstab the CMC once they get their powers back?
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Nope.
Geez, Scootaloo. You all just got done saying how there’s no way the Rainbooms would’ve destroyed the pendants if they knew it’d starve the Dazzlings, and here you are completely and immediately denouncing them.
And, uh...
From all I’ve seen, if there’s one thing the students of CHS know how to do, it’s hold a grudge.
So, the Rainbooms are the bad guys now?
And I am pretty sure Adagio said during Rainbow Rocks that "this entire pathetic world will soon be doing our bidding"... And now she is saying that she didn't want to conquer the world?
Also, even if it's their nature, that doesn't make them good. Sure, Discord spreads Chaos too; but in his case is more like the "crazy" type of Chaos, not anger, hate and strife. Not to mention, if the Dazzlings were not stopped who said things would not go bad for everyone else but them? Hum!?
Sorry, I love the Dazzlings as characters and villains. But when someone says that their actions are justified or that it wasn't something bad at all or anything around those lines, I got call bullshit!
And death is part of life, for fuck's sake! We all are going to die some day, so yeah, the Dazzlings being mortals, not a problem to me.
I think Dagio is tricking them. They’re not dying.
8215635
As tricky as they are, I don’t think they can fake growling stomachs.
I think you massively mischaracterized Aria, she’s not Sonata... while she’s subordinate to Adagio, she’s clearly more self-thinking and would more likely get pissed off at Sonata in this setting before Adagio
I'm gonna say this right now, the Sirens chose to do what they did. As tragic as their situation is, it's their own damn fault. You commit a crime, it's your fault and no one else's that you go to prison.
I see a bunch of different ways this story could go from here on but I'll keep them to myself. I'll also refrain from judging the characterisation of the Dazzlings until I have more than 3 chapters of information on them except saying that they feel like some characteristic shown in the movie were blown up here. But I have to live with that. (Sonata made a the comment about it being taco tuesday ONCE in the entire movie and all of bronydom seems to focus on that one detail. I don't have to like it but I made piece with that fact.)
The reason I am commenting is the fact that the last chapters played on the street. Out in the open. And suddenly there is "another room" to go to and a door to be yanked shut. There was no indication of them ever having moved and I don't really see the crusaders following Adagio into any house/room/appartment without a word. Or at all really, I don't think they trusted her enough at the end of last chapter or the start of this chapter.
PS:
8223561 Assuming Adagio is telling the truth then the Sirens in this fic can ONLY get nourishment out of negativity (and all that other stuff). How much is them not starving themself to death a "crime"? Can you condemn a carnivore for eating meat? (If you can, then this discussion is over and I have nothing to say to you.) If you can't than that's the same thing the sirens did. And the Rainbooms destroying the gems was literally a death sentence. Not sure about Twilight but the rest of the Rainbooms can at least plead ignorance but other than that, they basically murdered the sirens because they ate food. Again: that is assuming Adagio is telling the truth.
PPS:
Shadowmane PX-4, you should probably give uotapo credit for the cover art.
8228727 I can't condemn a carnivore for eating meat - that'd be hypocritical, given that I ingest meat at least once a day.
My argument is that the Sirens committed an act of evil, knowing that it was an act of evil, rather than attempt to find some alternate solution to their problem. It's the difference between a wolf killing a rabbit in order to eat and a human being killing someone's pet rabbit when they could just as easily go to the corner market and buy some chicken - the former is acting on instinct, while the latter is thoughtfully being needlessly cruel when a more pragmatic option is available.