The Dazzlings Get Superpowers

by CGPH

Part 4: Glory of the Sun

Adagio slumped back in her armchair.

She let out a long, well-deserved sigh, crossed her legs on the footrest and allowed her slippers to fall from her feet. She flipped the TV onto something dumb and proceeded to let her mind wander.

Ever since they’d wound up with the Canterlot Royal Police Force as sleeper agents, things had been running smoother than ever for the girls. The competition had all either been bought out or abandoned their territory, leaving Canterlot entirely to Adagio’s mercy. So far she had been a peaceful ruler, but now she was beginning to set her eyes on something bigger.

Why stop at Canterlot? In less than a year she and her sisters had risen from sewer rats to royalty; imagine where they could go from here.

The thought made Adagio smile as she snuggled deeper into the armchair.

Somewhere in her mind, she was debating seeking out Sunset Shimmer and the Rainshrooms. Not for anything malicious (though the fact that was an accessible option now pleased her to no end), but instead purely to see the look on their faces. True, Adagio hadn’t won in the way she’d expected to win, but that didn’t matter. A win was still a win, and Adagio had done it.

She opened her mouth, and as barely more than a whisper, spoke to herself.

“We are now restored,
no choice but to love us.
We can't be ignored,
we’ve claimed our reward.
Now they need us,
victorious,
no one can stop us now.”

She wouldn’t dare attempt to sing it without her magical voice. Though it wasn’t like she particularly needed it, anymore.

She realized the irony of it all now. She’d been going about it wrong the entire time. At first she had wallowed in self-pity, thinking that because she lost her voice, she was no longer a siren. But now her true colours had shone through. She had always been a siren, and that was why she had been given her voice. The magic didn’t make her, she made the magic.

It didn’t define her; she was capable of living without it. She was capable of winning without it.

Adagio smirked to herself.

This was going to only be the beginning. She had a meeting with a new group of smugglers from Saddle Arabia in a few days and depending on how well that went it could open the door to her expanding her business out of the country. As soon as they had ties elsewhere they could finally skip Canterlot and move onto bigger and better things. Namely, a better apartment.

As much as Adagio had grown to like living here for the past few years, she was a Queen now, and it was time she treated herself as such. The time for keeping a low-profile was over, and she had the money and numbers on her side to secure her immunity from the law.

A castle was what she had in mind, as a nice call back to her years in Equestria. A huge castle in the countryside, that people would have to travel for hours to reach but be able to see from miles away. If people wanted her attention they'd have to write a formal letter seeking an audience, then when they arrived they’d enter through huge iron gates with stone leviathans on either side, then bow to her in the throne room, which would be an exact recreation of the one from Game of Thrones. She’d sit on the Iron Throne, crown on her head and sisters by her side. She might even offer the Canterlot Royal Police Force residences in the castle as her Royal Guard.

Tch-ku

The sound of the door lock being fiddled with interrupted her fantasy.

She looked at the time.

2:00AM

Adagio’s ego-train suddenly came to a crashing halt.

It was them.

They’d been out doing it again.

The euphoria she had been feeling drained from her body, leaving a nauseous anxiety in its wake. She swallowed, her mouth suddenly dry.

At first she had pretended not to notice. She would brush off their disappearances and dismiss the ever-mounting evidence as odd coincidences. She'd disassociate herself with it as much as she could, turning a blind eye in hopes she was wrong.

Then, when that had become too difficult, she tried denying it. She fed herself lies so convincing that at one point, even she’d believed them. She was mistaken, and if she wasn’t, she was positive they were going to come to their senses eventually.

A month later and it had become a noticeable problem.

Truth be told, their successes weren’t as consistent as Adagio told herself they were. She wasn't the only one who had begun to notice the absences. Seeds of doubt had been be sown, and that was a problem for business. The President built her legacy on superior fire power, and Adagio’s threatening tone could only get her so far when it came to armed drug lords. She may be the leader, but their success was built on a team effort.

The door to their apartment clicked open, and from the corner of her eye Adagio spied the two figures enter the room. The lights were off, so she could see them, but they couldn’t see her.

For the briefest of seconds, she wanted to let them go. She wanted to continue the façade: she took no pleasure in asserting her authority over her sisters. She loved them dearly, but wasn’t blind to the fact it was fear, not respect, that kept them in line.

But now this was serious, their foolishness was putting them at risk of losing everything they'd worked for, and that she couldn’t allow.

“You two are in late.”

The two figures froze on the spot.

A glow of purple light, and the main light flashed on. Aria and Sonata were stood half-stride to the staircase, carrying a large duffle bag between them. An unusual look of shock plastered the girls face, as they stared towards the source of the voice.

“Adagio!” Aria said suddenly. “We thought you were in bed.”

Adagio nodded. She pulled herself up from the armchair and crossed the room to them. She gestured towards the duffle bag.

“What’s in the bag?”

Whenever Adagio tried to intimidate others, she usually put on her husky, seductive voice. Sex appeal was one of her best weapons, and it was a technique she had mastered.

But when she intimidated her sisters, she was the opposite. She was strict, serious and threatening, like a schoolyard bully. She was a force of nature and would tear apart anything foolish enough to get into her path. It wasn’t a mood either of them enjoyed seeing Adagio in.

Neither of them answered her question. Instead, their eyes slowly sank to the floor. Even Aria’s obnoxious mouth wasn’t one that wanted to mess with a pissed-off Adagio.

Adagio leaned in closer.

“I know what you've been doing,” she whispered harshly.

Before continuing, she let her words hang in their air for a moment. Even without seeing their faces, she could feel her sisters dread beginning to rise.

“From Sonata, I could understand. She’s an idiot who has no idea how the world works. But from you?”

Aria leaned back, trying discreetly to put distance between her sister and herself. Adagio spotted this, and merely leaned in more.

“I didn’t want to believe it. I never thought my own sisters could do something so foolish. It’s like everything we’ve ever worked towards meant nothing to you!”

At her scolding, both sister’s heads sank lower and lower, until they were almost entirely facing the floor.

“Look at me,” she commanded them.

Hesitantly, the girls raised their heads. Sonata was biting her lip, tears forming in her eyes.

And an uncommon expression accompanied Aria’s face. Regret? Fear? It was a rare sight to see Aria vulnerable, it almost made Adagio want to call off her verbal attack. But she needed her sisters to know that when she was serious, she was serious. Despite their fear, the two sisters maintained their eye contact; the last thing either of them wanted was to further angeri Adagio.

“People have started to notice! You don’t show up for our meetings or trades, and I’m left to try and explain why. I come up with something, of course, but that’s because I’m good at my job. We are supposed to come across as a powerful force. And we can’t do that, when two thirds of our power is off playing dress up!”

The two girls maintained eye contact, but didn’t dare speak a word. It almost angered Adagio how cooperative they were being. In a way it was good, it meant they recognized what they were doing was wrong, but it was doing nothing to help Adagio let off her steam.

“What is it they call you?” she asked abruptly.

Her question went unanswered.

She moved in closer to Sonata, staring daggers into her tear-stained eyes.

“What do they call you?” she repeated.

Sonata let out a small whimper.

“B-B…Bee-Bee,” she choked.

“What?”

“Bee-Bee.”

“Bee-Bee?” Adagio repeated.

Sonata subtly nodded.

Adagio’s lips turned up.

“What a stupid name,” she spat. “Stupid name for a stupid girl. Works pretty well!”

She turned her attention to Aria, who had a much harder expression on. She looked to be grinding her teeth.

“And you?”

After a moment, Aria replied coldly.

“Violet Enchantress.”

Adagio erupted in a sudden laughter, and pointed directly at Aria’s face.

“What the hell is that supposed to be!? You think you’re some kind of witch? You gonna join the Justice League?”

Adagio lunged forward, getting inches away from Aria’s face.

“Gimme a break. Violet Enchantress, my ass. How embarrassing.”

Adagio could sense Aria wanted nothing more than to punch her, but knew she never would. Aria had no problem recognizing authority, she just needed to be reminded of who possessed it.

When Adagio finally pulled away, she relaxed her tone to that of a scolded teacher.

“Next time you’re needed, you don’t go. This is the end of it, right now. You throw that bag away, and we forget all about this. It’s pathetic. I’m not having you two risk everything we’ve worked so hard to get.”

Adagio took a step back, and admired the fact her sisters had remained entirely silent and motionless throughout their scolding. Then again, at this point she’d have been surprised if she got any form of resistance from them. They knew better than to argue with her when she was like this.

“Go to bed. Get out of my sight.”

The second she finished the command, the two girls took off in a run towards the staircase. Before they made it to the top Adagio could already hear Sonata loudly weeping.

Only after she heard both bedroom doors slam did she untense and collapse back into her armchair.

She didn’t enjoy scaring her sisters.

But she was the leader, and sometimes they needed reminder of why that was.

She’d bitten the bullet now, the worst was over with. They weren’t going to disobey her again, she probably just guaranteed herself another five years of obedience before another reminder was due. As stupid as Sonata was, and as rebellious Aria was, fear was one emotion neither of them had any problem understanding.

---

The sun hung high in the sky, slowly roasting the world beneath it. Spring had begun, but with the sudden turn the weather had taken these past few days, one wouldn’t be mistaken for thinking they were deep into summer.

The absence of windows, combined with the large roof and lack of ventilation had caused the President’s warehouse to cook. The air inside was hot and sticky; fuses were short and tempers flared. Even on her throne, where she declared herself untouchable by all, Adagio could feel a stream of sweat slithering down her back. The men in front of her fared better, as they were from a climate that was used to it.

Dr. Caballeron was a dark man, both physically and metaphorically. He was the modern day equivalent of a pirate; his name was known all around the world, he swore his allegiance to the highest price, and he even had the stereotypical greasy hair to match. He was also the source of a good chunk of Adagio’s profit, as lots of his stolen goods often found their way into Canterlot.

“It is truly a pleasure to get to meet you in person, Madam President!” Caballeron spoke in a thick accent, before bowing.

Adagio nodded, offering a small smile.

“The feeling is mutual, Doctor Caballeron. You’ve been a faithful resource to my family. Think of Canterlot as your home; treat it with respect and you will always be welcome here.”

Caballeron gave a hearty smile and turned to his men.

“Beautiful and kind! We are lucky to have a woman such as yourself as President, aren’t we boys?”

His men all chuckled and nodded in agreement.

There was a lot about Caballeron that Adagio didn’t like. His respect was in the right place, she didn’t doubt that, but he was far more casual around her than she would have liked. She wanted those who entered her throne room to be quaking in fear, whereas he looked upon her like a casual man would do his boss, and not as the almighty ruler that she was.

The way he addressed his friends reminded her of the male students at CHS. Happy-go-lucky pigs… but who worked surprisingly hard given the right incentive. And Adagio knew just what that incentive was.

She forced a smile.

“You flatter me,” Adagio purred. “I’m sure having some big, strong men such as yourselves as members of our family will do all some good.”

The 'big, strong men' line was cliché, she knew that, but the pirates didn’t seem wise to her act. Instead, they just smiled harder at her compliments.

“But, down to business,” she crossed her legs. “You know why I’ve summoned you. You and your boys do some fine work. It seems that, not by coincidence, a lot of your merchandise makes it into my hands. My guess is Canterlot is one of your number one customers.”

Caballeron nodded.

“My crew and I deal all over the world, but it is correct that the Canterlot has been a good source of business for us. We have many contacts here, and even had our share of encounters with the previous occupier of your title! A scary man... We were never particularly fond of him. So of course, you understand our delight when we come seeking him and happen across you!”

Adagio rolled her eyes. “Good, so, as I was saying… You make a lot of sales here. And then what usually happens is people sell your stock to me, and then I sell them on myself, correct?”

“Beautiful, kind and smart!” Caballeron gave a light applause.

“Again, flattered!” Adagio tried not to sound too annoyed. “I brought you here because I believe we have an opportunity to polish our business routine, provided you are up for it. Most of your items end up as my property regardless of who you sell them to in Canterlot, and that in-between period while others are selling can slow things for my business.”

“And you’re feeling we cut out the middleman and just trade directly?”

Adagio pushed past the urge to shout at him for the interruption. Instead she turned the side of her lips into a half-smile.

“You’re an intelligent man, Doctor.”

Caballeron stroked a hand through his greasy hair.

“I’m not just good looks, m’lady. Me and my men don’t make our living through pure brawn alone! It takes a smart man to be successful in today’s society. I can’t begin to imagine how difficult that must be for a woman.”

Adagio cocked an eyebrow. Like the air in the room, her temper had been slowly boiling. She responded before she had chance to stop herself.

“What is that supposed to imply, Doctor?”

Caballeron held his hands up, smiling. “Nothing, Madam President! But you know how it is, try as they might, it’s still a man’s world. You’re lucky me and my boys are such hardcore feminists… others might find it difficult to take a woman in your position so seriously. But the future is female, and whatnot.”

Adagio was not rapidly beginning to dislike Doctor Caballeron. She took a deep breath.

“Your social acceptance is apprecia-.”

“Indeed! In fact, my boy Summer here even voted for Hillary! He’s the only registered voter here, as most of us don’t legally exist, but rest assured if we did she’d have gotten our vote as well!”

“Then-“

“We love women, don’t we boys? Heck I was even married to one once!”

“Enough!” Adagio snapped. “I am your President and you will let me speak! I’ve never been interrupted so many times, your disrespect will get you killed one day!”

Caballeron and his men fell silent, but in a surprising twist to Adagio, their positive attitudes didn’t falter. Silence hung in the air for a moment before any of them spoke. And when someone finally did, you could have heard a pin drop.

“And?” Caballeron asked.

Blood rushed to Adagio’s face.

“And?” she repeated, seething.

Caballeron laughed, and stuffed his hands into his pockets. Looking down, he casually approached Adagio’s throne, getting closer than anyone she had allowed before.

“Madam President…” He chuckled. “Me and my boys are more intelligent than you give us credit for. We have heard the stories about you, and truth be told, we thought they were exactly that. Stories. Fisherman’s tales.”

“Get to your point!”

“Well, naturally, we wanted to find out for ourselves. And, to cut straight to the point, we have done nothing but act disrespectfully towards you since we arrived, and yet... we still have our heads?”

Adagio could feel a sudden anxiety enveloping her. She bit her lip.

She knew this was going to happen.

“What’s your point?” she asked, less confidently.

“Well… We are disappointed, frankly! We travelled the seas because we were promised supervillains. Powerful, gorgeous queens of the underground! And as of yet... all we have met is a single teenage girl? I’m sure that by now, if the rumours were true, you would not have allowed our opprobrium to continue.”

“You came here to test me?” Adagio chewed her lip. “That’s not a wise game to play, Doctor.”

Callaberon smiled, and took a scan of the room.

“Indeed. However, I do not appear to be losing,” he smirked.

His insolence made Adagio want nothing more than to remove his head from his shoulders. She pushed back her rapidly growing feeling of exposure, determined not to let the Doctor know he had the advantage.

As she struggled to find the words to respond with, he continued.

“I am curious though, as to how a simple teenage girl was able to get herself into a position of such power. Rumour has you disposed of the previous President in person, and then you claimed his throne as your own.”

“I am not a simple teenage girl!” she spat.

“Perhaps... but I am beginning to wonder? Maybe it was a stroke of luck that found you in this position? Maybe what you lack in brawn, you make up for in intelligence. I'm sure there's something there, because for all intents and purposes my dear, you, do not make sense.”

Out of view, Adagio began to anxiously fiddle with her hair.

“Why is that?”

“What kind of crime-boss allows herself to meet up with a group of mysterious and attractive men, such as ourselves… while leaving herself so incredibly vulnerable?” A smirk made its way onto his lips. “Now, to me that does not sound like smart leadership. Not unless you have something hidden up your sleeve we have yet to know about.”

Adagio growled.

“You come into my territory, enter my throne room as welcomed guests, and then disrespect me like this? Question my authority? You talk to me like some hussy you find at a bar? I did not get to my position by luck, Doctor Caballeron, you will do well to remember that. Rumours are based off truth, and trust me when I say you do not want to know what lies up my sleeve.”

For once, Caballeron was quiet. He stood with his hands in his pockets, examining Adagio up and down. He chewed his lips.

“You know, you’re a good looking girl, Madam President. Which makes what is about to happen all the more unfortunate.”

Caballeron let out a sharp whistle. In one motion all of his men simultaneously produced guns pointing her way.

Adagio didn’t allow herself time panic. She had lost her power, but not her intelligence. She knew when she walked into this she was at a disadvantage, and had planned accordingly. She couldn't allow the seeds to be sown, any insolence had to be eradicated.

Her hands shot into her sleeves, wrapped around small plastic triggers and pulled.

A huge explosion tore through the warehouse. The walls and window were blown out by the shock wave, sending debris smashing into the nearby buildings. The roof caved in and crushed the few men that hadn't already been sent hurtling into the stratosphere. The boom was heard from miles off, causing nearly every car alarm in Canterlot to sound. A roaring fireball rose into the skies above the wreckage.

At the centre of the rumble, Adagio sat entirely unharmed. The roof had missed her as it fell in, but her clothes had been entirely burned away and replaced with a heavy coating of soot in their place. The only area not covered by the dust were her cheeks, which had two spotless lines trailing down them.

She was crying.

---

“Horrible news this evening as yet another armed robbery at the Canterlot Royal Bank is in progress. From the security footage we can see that six men have entered the building with their faces covered, and they are suspected to have hostages ranging in the dozens. No casualties have been reported yet and the Police force are yet to arrive on the scene. This is unfortunately yet another example of the rising crime levels the city has been facing over the past few months, the cause of which is currently unknown. We will now be going live to the Canterlot Confidential who are present at the scene.”

The TV flicked over.

She didn't need to watch any more. She already knew what was going on.

She glanced at the curtains and through the tiny crack that allowed a line of sunlight into the room. It was day out, but Adagio had only been awake hours.

Weeks had passed since their main source of income had gone. When business dropped, the investors pulled out. Her people lost faith in her. Eventually even her control over the Police Force wavered. Everything she had worked towards and achieved had completely and totally crumbled, and now the city was at war clawing for its scraps.

Now more than ever, she found herself thinking back to their defeat at Canterlot High School. They had never been beaten down like that before; it should have been the beginning of their end. But Adagio was strong-willed and she fought back. They lost the game, so she changed the rules. And, lo and behold, they had bounced back better and more powerful than they ever had been.

This time it didn't feel like that. Last time it had been a devastating blow, everything that made them who they were had been snatched swiftly from them. But this time was different, this time it had withered away slowly. She had to sit there, defenceless, as she watched the grip on her power slowly lessen. Last time they had gone out on a bang; this time, a whimper.

A leader needs to know how to lose before they know how to win. And contrary to what they would have others believe, The Dazzlings had lost many times before. Against the Rainbooms, against the Salem Trials, against Starswirl the Bearded, against the Crystal Empire, the list went on. But each time, no matter how bad they came out of it, Adagio would pull them back. She had a drive within her that only got stronger with each failure.

But this time?

The drive failed her. She didn't want to bounce back. She wanted to lay in the dark, curled up on the sofa eating rice and getting fat. She had finally experienced total victory and dominance, so anything less now just... didn't seem worth it.

She flicked the channel over again, tuning it onto something dumb. She pulled her feet up under the blanket and stretched her neck back, popping the bone in a few places. The dry tear residue on her cheeks cracked as her skin stretched.

As she tried zoning out to the TV she heard noises above her. Noises not loud enough to drown out the sound of the drivel, but definitely loud enough to be noticeable. It didn't take her long to connect the dots.

Anxiety washed over her.

Perhaps it was bitterness that caused her temper, perhaps it was pettiness. She didn't much care anymore, all that mattered was she was emotional and she felt justified directing it at those who deserved it.

She pushed her blanket off and stood up. As the noises upstairs got closer, she found her stomach begin to boil. This wasn't going to be a warning like the last time. There would be no regret or sympathy for what she was about to do. She was going to take pleasure in it.

They had taken everything away from her.

She had given them the clothes from her back, yet it was they only thought about themselves. It was them who drove the final nail into her coffin.

She positioned herself between the staircase and the door, blocking their exit.

“Where do you think you’re going?”

They stopped in their tracks, but it wasn’t like last time. They didn’t jump, they weren’t scared. Instead Aria stepped forward, determination on her face.

“Go back to sleep, Adagio. We’re not doing anything wrong."

Adagio’s stomach churned and her vision flashed red.

“You’re really feeling that brave?” she asked through her teeth.

Her intimidation was doing nothing. Aria remained stone faced and expressionless, while Sonata watched her uncomfortably from the back. At this point she should have had them both quivering in their slippers.

Aria shrugged, and then proceeded to look Adagio directly in the eye.

“What’re you going to do?”

Adagio could barely hear her over the ringing in her ears. Her nostrils flared and she swallowed the deep lump forming in her throat. In contrast to the extreme anger she felt coursing through every inch of her body, she very noticeably didn’t make a move.

As Adagio tried to sort through her anger enough to come up with a response, Aria continued.

“You got so caught up in playing things the way you wanted to play them that it never occured to you there might be a better alternative,” she explained

“We are happy,” she pointed to herself and Sonata. “We have everything that we never even knew we wanted! People love us now, and they love us because they want to, not because we’re forcing them to.”

Adagio sucked in a deep breath. If she let loose and unleashed on them exactly how she was feeling right now none of them might have come out of it alive.

“Go back upstairs,” she spoke through her teeth.

“No, Adagio!” Aria hit back instantly. “We’ve been going the wrong way about it our whole lives, I see that now! Sonata saw first but I was too much of an idiot to listen to her, but now I see it! Being feared is nothing compared to being loved.”

It was not like Adagio to get emotional when angry. Frankly, she doubted that she’d cried in front of another person within the past thousand years, her sisters included. But that didn’t stop her eyes from welling up now.

“I love you. I love both of you.”

Aria swallowed and took a step back. Her stone expression broke for the first time, but was replaced with something infinitely worse.

Sympathy.

Towards her.

It was never a image Adagio dreamed she’d see.

Aria shook her head.

“If you loved us you’d see what you’re doing. You’re killing yourself and dragging us down with you, all because you’re too ignorant to see there's a different way!”

Adagio blinked away the tears. Her anger was quickly spiralling into something else. She tensed up, and showed her teeth.

“We are sirens.”

“Not anymore!” Sonata exclaimed, stepping forward so she was beside Aria.

While a lot weaker, she stared her down with an equal expression. If it had been any other time, Adagio might have even been proud of her for standing up for herself. Sonata knew how to stay determined once she knew was she was doing, but this was the first time that ever involved going against her older sister.

“We are never gonna make up for all the bad stuff we did in the past but it’s not too late to try. Please, Dagi, come with us and then you’ll see! People like us, we give them hope.”

Adagio closed her eyes, allowing tears to roll down her cheeks. More and more she felt the anger draining from her and being replaced with helplessness, with frustration, with denial, with… too much.

Way too much.

“I don’t care about people,” she struggled, quieter now, “I care about us! You’re my sisters and everything I have ever done I’ve done for you! It’s taken thousands of years, but we finally had everything and you two just threw it away like the whole effort was nothing! Why can’t I win?!”

“It’s not about winning anymore, Adagio,” Aria pleaded.

“Then what is it about?!” she snapped.

Sonata stepped forward.

“It’s about being happy.”

She made to place her hand on Adagio’s shoulder. The second in made contact, Adagio roughly shrugged it off.

A silence fell over the girls, as if each one waiting for the other to make the next move. For a full few seconds, the only sounds in the apartment was Adagio’s snivelling and the background noise from the television.

Aria glanced up at the television, watching it for a moment.

“We need to go, please move out of the way,” she asked Adagio.

“No,” Adagio choked on one of her sobs.

“Adagio, please. There’s a better way to all of this.”

“No.”

“Please Dagi!”

“I am your big sister... and I’m telling you to-”

The rest of Adagio’s sentence turned into light choking sounds. Try as she might have done, she couldn’t force out more than a few sputtering noises..

A purple glow had surrounded Adagio, freezing her every movement.

Sonata gasped.

“Aria!”

With a stone-cold expression of determination, Aria silent moved Adagio from their path. It was only for a few seconds, and few feet across the ground, and a few inches off the floor. But no matter how little the act was, that didn’t stop Adagio from collapsing into a sobbing pile on the floor after her grip was released.

Her sister.

Her own sister.

She didn’t hear them leave after that, but she knew they had.

So she lay alone, clawing at her own torso, hidden beneath a pillow of her hair, crying violently into the void. She cried until she couldn’t cry anymore, and then continued by wailing and dry heaving. This wasn’t just from now; this was months, possibly years of built emotion, all flowing out of her now like a raging rapid. Her mind was such a mess with conflicting feelings and clashing colours that it was a few solid minutes of this before she was even able to get a straight thought out.

They left her.

Now she’d lost even them.

Adagio was choking on her own drool and tears. She took a violent breath in, and curled into the fetal position.

What did she have to live for?

Why was she still alive?

Why was she ever alive, if she was always destined to failure?

She’s lost everything.

Everything and everyone.

Everyone.

Even them.

She needed out. She needed to escape.

She had nowhere left to turn, nowhere safe to retreat. She was completely alone in an ocean full of people that hated her, and she’d just lost her only lifeline. Her sisters were everything that drove her, she lived for them. She didn’t care about power. She didn’t care about being adored. For years her mind had been clouded, but she saw the truth now. She cared about them, and everything she had ever done was to help them survive and make them happy.

But now they were gone. They were gone and she pushed them away. She needed to get out of this horrible torment that was her life, and she needed to right now.

She would give anything. She would do anything. She would try anything.

“It’s about being happy.”

The words hurt her.

She needed to get away from them.

“If you loved us you’d see what you are doing.”

She saw it now, she saw it all too clearly.

She was their downfall, she pushed them away when she needed them most and now she had lost it all. There was no carrying on from here, no way back.

She couldn’t breath. She couldn’t breath. She needed air.

Adagio tugged at the curtains, only now realizing she had stood up. A stream of sunlight filtered into the room. The heat felt good on her tear-stained face.

“We are happy.”

They were happy now because they had stopped following her. Finally, after all these years they’d wised up and realized she had no clue what she was doing. She was just a damn good actor. So good she’d even fooled herself.

She clicked the lock off the frame and the window swung open a few inches. A surprisingly refreshing breeze snaked its way in, giving her a sensation of euphoria. She forced slow, shallow breaths.

“There’s a better way to all of this.”

She choked.

“Is there?”

Adagio looked out over the city. It was a beautiful day. The sun was shining and people were out enjoying themselves. Even from here, she could hear the distant chatter of voices, birds chirping and cars driving. And on a beautiful day like this, where else would she be?

Locked inside, completely alone.

But it didn’t have to be like that.

There was one way out of this, she knew.

All this crying and weeping she was doing, it was just because she knew that she had well and truly lost. And what did she do when she lost?

Changed the rules.

She sniffed in hard.

It was only now, through all this heartbreak, had she ever considered it. Did it have to be this hard? Putting her through all this just to get her here?

There was nothing left to lose anymore, and it was called a leap of faith for a reason.

---

The building was surrounded. On each side, six members of the Canterlot Royal Police Force stood, weapons pointed and waiting for the signal to storm the building. Of course that signal was likely never to come, as the SWAT team was merely a few blocks away by car, but each of them stood determined nonetheless.

“Send the hostages outside and then come out with your hands up!” Captain Armor shouted into the bullhorn.

No response came, as expected. The SWAT team was still over twenty minutes away and there were still hostages inside, facts that right now were weighing down heavily on the Captain.

Placing the bullhorn on the bonnet of his car, he buried his face in his hands, groaning gently to himself. He needed to act. This city had gone to hell the past few weeks and it was up to him to fix it. He needed to do his damn job.

Picking up the bullhorn again, he was ready to give the command to storm the building, but suddenly stopped himself.

There was a crying woman feet in front of him.

“Please, help me!” she pleaded.

He launched forward as she collapsed into his arms. He suddenly couldn’t find his words, but held the woman in close.

Then suddenly, a flash of light, and two more people appeared before him. People he now recognised as the hostages.

He smirked.

Things had just taken a dramatic turn in their favour.

For the third time the flash occurred, and this time he saw it. A blue bolt of lightning zoomed out of the main doors of the building, stopped momentarily beside him and then shot back into the building. There was now a whimpering businessman beside him.

Inside the building, things were chaotic.

People shouted and ran in different directions. The fire alarm was blaring. Men in masks barked orders.

A wall of bullets made their way towards a group of cowering hostages in slow motion. The blue lightning returned and charged directly at the gun that fired the shots. Sweeping under the rain of fire, the lightning took out the legs of the shooter and then grabbed them into a headlock as they hit the floor. The bullets themselves continued forward, until a solid purple wall materialized around them, freezing them all in place.

Suddenly, things were sped back up again.

The purple glow disappeared and the bullets clatter to the floor, leaving the hostages unharmed. There was a loud CRACK and the shooters body went stiff, neck broke.

“That’s three for me!” Bee-Bee shouted.

Bee-Bee was kitted out in a light blue spandex jumpsuit, with symmetrical lightning stripes on each side and BB logo in the middle of her chest. Her only exposed area was the bottom of her face, which showed off her glimmering smile and a small gap at the back of her cowl, allowing a ponytail to hang loose.

“We aren’t doing points!” The Enchantress shouted.

Violet Enchantress didn’t have a one-piece costume, instead hers was a mixture of items that made her look like a Hot Topic reject. Long-sleeve fingertip-less gloves, torn leggings under a poofy purple and black skirt and a stainless steel black tiara that covered her forehead.

“Only because if we were I’d be winninnnng!” Bee-Bee sang, before darting across the room again.

Enchantress growled, before turning her attention to more important matters. Her hands glowed again, and she pushed a blast of energy towards two fleeing robbers. Hitting them in the back, they dropped to the ground and then began trying to claw their way free. But it was useless, as Enchantress redirected her power to fasten around their legs and lift them into the air. A few solid smacks against the wall and the both went limp.

Two shots signaled behind her. Acting quick, she swung the floating men around, crashing them into the shooter and taking him out. Bee-Bee’s blue lightning shot past, deflecting the bullets already been fired and into the nearby wall.

“That’s four for me!” Enchantress shouted.

“It doesn’t count if I saved you!”

“I had it under control!” she snapped.

Enchantress’ and Bee-Bee’s teasing was suddenly drowned out by shouting from the other side of the room. They turned their attention, only to see the remaining robbers all crowding together behind a fallen counter.

“Get the hostages out, I’ll get them,” Enchantress told her sister.

Bee-Bee saluted and in a flash, began one by one evacuating each of the hostages from the building.

Enchantress put up a wall of energy between her and the criminals and started approaching them.

“Right boys, this doesn’t have to get uglier. We’ll only hurt you if you try and hurt anyone. Heck, you guys put your weapons down I’ll even give you a few seconds headstart through the back door.”

Her words of bargaining apparently doing nothing, she dropped her energy shield.

“Have it your way,” she tried to hide her grin.

Using her telekinesis, she picked up weapons dropped by their comrades and began firing at the men. Unfortunately the men had actually found themselves decent cover, having pulled a heavy counter back so it was propped against a stone column. Annoyed, Enchantress stopped firing.

Only little did she knew that when she did, she was playing into a trap.

The counter pulled back and suddenly a large man in riot armour charged for her. Caught off guard, she was only able to freeze the man inches from him punching her in the jaw. But the second he froze still, Enchantress suddenly found herself under a barrage of bullet fire. She redirected her energy into a forcefield, and then immediately received a punch to the jaw, sending her flying backwards onto the ground.

“Son of a-!” she cursed.

Before she could regain her surroundings, she suddenly found herself being lifted into the air by the large man and slammed backwards against a wall.

Groaning, she pushed out an energy field in every direction she could manage. He flew back, allowing her to drop to the floor, coughing and struggling to regain her composure. Enchantress only had time to get herself to her knees before another attack was upon her. Weapons fired on her from all angles and she realized now she had been surrounded. She lifted an energy shield, freezing the bullets in mid air, but the firing continued.

She knew it was only a matter of time before something like this happened. Criminals were intelligent, and she and Bee-Bee were far from unstoppable. Her matter manipulation was not an endless source of power, and she would get tired eventually.

After a few solid seconds of endless firing, she was able to climb to her feet, but the strain of her force field began to set in. Holding out her arms, she gritted her teeth against the over looming pain, and in one final expulsion, pushed the forcefield out, sending the purple energy and bullets out backwards.

Enchantress dropped to her knees, panting. There was a satisfying series of yelps and screams that signified at least a few of the criminals being hit by her return fire. But before she had chance to access her damage, a solid, armoured kick collided with her head, sending her sliding across the floor.

The bullets had merely indented themselves in his riot armour and the large man was back upon her. She kicked viciously at the floor, putting as much distance between herself and the oncoming threat as she could. As she stuck her arms out to freeze him, she found her power was completely drained, or had been weakened enough that he was able to fight it.

“Bee-Bee!” she screamed.

Instantly, the blue lightning entered the scene and collided with the large man. Bee-Bee leapt, throwing her entire body weight into him and spearing him in the waist. He was large, Bee-Bee was small, but the speed at which she had crashed into him caused him to stumble and fall to the ground.

Relief washed over Enchantress, but it came too soon.

Click, click

Click, click

Click, click

Only three of the criminals remained, and all of them had weapons pointed at her. They fired.

Bee-Bee was trapped under the armoured man, and by the time she freed herself it was too late. The bullets whizzed past her head and towards the defenseless Enchantress, who had no hope of escape.

Enchantress closed her eyes, ready for the worst.

But it never came.

She opened her eyes, only to see her vision blocked by a familiar shade of yellow.

“Wha..?”

She was pulled silently to her feet.

Her saviour looked a bit worse for wear. She was wearing the pinstripe suit from her meetings as the President, now adorned by four bullet holes on the front, but otherwise looked exhausted. But the only factor Enchantress lingered on was the smile on her face.

“Adagio,” Enchantress smiled.

“That’s Madame President to you.”

“You came!”

The President nodded, taking a breath.

“I’m… trying something a little different.”

Enchantress couldn’t find her words, but she didn’t need to. The President turned, signaling their younger sister.

“Ready boobie?”

“It’s Bee-Bee!”

“Ready Bee-Bee?”

“You bet I am!”

The President smiled. It wasn’t a sure smile, but a smile nonetheless.

“Take it away,” she gestured.

Enchantress nodded, and for the first time, took the lead.

“Bee-Bee, disarm them from behind, Madam President, grab a gun and follow my lead. Let's show these suckers whose city they are in."

Das Ende.

Author's Note:

Thank you for reading, would love to hear what you guys thought of this!

Comments

[Speedy Silverstreak]

I legit thought Adagio was just gonna jump amd end it. But she finally got what she needed

[Rhulain]

8665381
Well it wouldn't have worked either way. She would have hit the ground and got up again.

[Gundamdragon]

Ok I can't help but think of names for Adgio the super heroine.

Gold shield was what came first.
Immortal boss, cause she where's that pinstripe suit. Love that by the way. Or maybe steel madam, or the iron maiden.

It's so nice and it be awesome if they get magic back from being hero's.

[Tethered-Angel]

This story really deserves more attention.

[Hopelight]

This deserves a sequel with the Rainbooms teaming up with them.

Now, what names would be good for them.

8665872
Madame President is an awesome name, and give Dagi a break, it's the only thing she has left from that time.

[Jake Witt]

I still want a super powered fight. Like CA: Civil War or X-Men vs Avengers.