Setting Up The Stage

It was a typical day in the city of Canterlot. At Canterlot High in the band room, most of the Rainbooms along with Starlight Glimmer, Princess Twilight's pupil from Equestria, and Spike were all relaxing as they sat around the room near the instruments while Starlight was reading a book. With them were Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, Manic and Silver as they took it easy as well with Sonic taking a small nap while the others were scattered around the room. So far, everything seemed quiet and uneventful.

Suddenly, the door burst open, catching everyone's attention and waking Sonic up from his nap as he and the others turned to see what had caused it. Standing by the entrance to the Bandroom was Rarity. She appeared to be out of breath as she was panting heavily and gasping for air.

"Wow, Rarity, what's the emergency?" Sunset asked with concern.

Rarity took a few more deep breaths before she regained her composure and was able to speak properly as she stood up straight.

"Because I just discovered the greatest thing!" She announced happily as she formed a wild grin on her face.

"Define, 'greatest'." Silver skeptically said with air quotes. " Most of the time whenever you say things like this, it's usually about some fashiony stuff we've never heard of."

"Oh, no, no, no, darling." Rarity replied. "This time, I'm quite sure you've all heard of the person I'm going to talk about."

"Oooooh, can I guess? Can I, can I, can I, can I, can I, can I..." Pinkie went on in an excited manner as she jumped up and down before Rainbow Dash covered her mouth, so Rarity could speak.

"I hope it's worth waking me up from my nap from." Sonic stated in a tired tone as he rose up and did a few stretches.

"Trust me, you won't want to miss this news! I have two wonderful things to tell you all!" Rarity eagerly said. "First of all, Today, I just heard that Mina and the Forget me Knots are going to be holding a special concert right here in our own city!!!! How amazing is that?!"

"You mean the famous pop band that's usually on a world tour? They're coming to our city? That's pretty cool." Rainbow Dash commented.

"I know, it's wonderful!" Rarity gushed.

Hearing the name Mina caused Sonic, Knuckles, Tails and Manic's ears to perk up as the 4 of them each rose up from where they were sitting.

"Mina's coming here? Neat, it's been a while since I've seen her." Manic stated, causing the Rainbooms, Starlight, and Silver to turn towards him and the rest of the group with curious looks.

"That's funny. You make it sound like you personally know her." Pinkie noticed.

"That's because we do." Sonic casually said, which earned him looks of surprise while Rarity's jaw dropped open.

"And just how do you know her exactly?" Twilight inquired.

"That's easy. We knew her while we were kids back in Knothole where we grew up. Sonic and I hung around with her a few times and watched her always sing. When we started the whole hero stuff, we even saved her a couple times. In fact, I even used to play for her old band." Manic explained as he met with looks of awe now from the Rainbooms.

"Knuckles and I don't know her as well as these two, but we've seen her in person a few times when we've helped out with the whole rescue thing." Tails said as Knuckles nodded to confirm it was true.

"I worked as her bodyguard once or twice." Knuckles added.

Before anyone else could say anything, Rarity suddenly dashed towards Manic and gripped his shoulders so tightly he could feel her fingernails digging into his skin. Her face was up close to his and he started to feel uncomfortable.

"You mean you personally know a famous singer and you've never bothered to tell me???!!!" Rarity shrieked.

"I didn't think there was a need to bring it up. You never asked." Manic nervously replied.

"How was I supposed to ask if I didn't even know???!!!" Rarity yelled as her grip on Manic's shoulders grew tighter.

"Ummm...Rarity...." Fluttershy shyly interrupted, causing both Manic and Rarity to turn to her. "Didn't you say you had two things to tell us?"

Hearing this made Rarity's face light up as she let go of Manic, much to his relief.

"Oh, that's right!" Rarity recalled before she got another smile on her face. "Well, remember when I said that Mina and her band we're doing a special concert? Get this. It's a duet with Countess Colutara!

This time, the name of Countess Colutara caught AppleJack's attention as she took a step forward.

"Countess Coloratura? We'll If I didn't know any better, I'd say that sounds like ma old friend, Coloratura" AppleJack brought up, now making her the center of attention as Rarity's jaw dropped once more.

"That's funny. You make it sound like you personally know Countess Coloratura." Pinkie said

"I might. Back when I was younger, I went to camp and became close friends with another girl called Coloratura. I thought that name was pretty fancy for her, so I just called her Rara for short. Woo-wee! We had a great time there and she was always singin' and tellin' me her dream about making it big." AppleJack elaborated.

Sonic took out his phone and quickly typed in the name Countess Colutara. He then displayed a picture of a girl with light-aquamarine gray skin and black hair with a moderate opal streak tied into a bun on the back while she had a frill in the front. She wore a light gray top with black sparkling pants alongside green sparkling shoes. Seeing this image made AppleJack beam.

"We'll Ah'll be! That really is Rara!" AppleJack exclaimed happily. "It's good to see she's managed to get to her dream of becomin' big."

"In that case, welcome to the 'I know a celebrity club'." Sonic told AJ as he gave her the thumbs up.

Meanwhile, Rarity looked on in disbelief at what she had just heard.

"Unbelievable. My friends know celebrities and they didn't even bother to tell me. I've never felt so betrayed." Rarity said as she did a dramatic fainting motion.

"Again, you never brought it up." Manic reminded her, making Rarity turn away from him from.

"Huh, back in Equestria, there's a Countess Coloratura there and she knows that AppleJack as well. Guess this world and back home have more in common than I thought." Starlight said.

"Well, you're in for something different if you see her play with Mina. She's like one of a kind." Tails told her, making Starlight look up in thought. Her first concert in this world. She liked the sound of that.

"This is pretty cool, actually. When they come by, you guys should totally say hi." Sunset suggested. "Rarity, do you know when they're going to be arriving?"

"Well, if I recall. Mina's scheduled to appear on the Canterlot amphitheater later this afternoon. I've heard it's already being set up for their arrival." Rarity informed them.

"Great. So when schools over, we can all dash by there and catch up." Sonic said as everyone else appeared to be in agreement.

Later that day, the entire group had arrived at the Canterlot Amphitheatre, which as Rarity said, was being prepared for the arrival of the two pop stars by various crew members. It was now coloured black with red curtains draped in front of it while a yellow staircase was being built. A series of lights were being placed on the top alongside a few speakers on the side as the group looked on from the sidelines and waited for the stars to arrive. Silver and Starlight appeared to be most interested in the setup.

"Wow, they do go out of their way to prep for their concerts. Guess I finally get to see how enjoyable they actually are. I've never been." Silver said as he looked at all the decorations.

"Me too. Well, not a concert ever, but a concert in this world." Starlight said to him as the two of them looked on. She liked that she wasn't the only one new to things in this world.

As the group continued to wait, Rarity was taking deep breathes in as she tried to keep her calm.

"I can't believe I'm going to meet two famous pop stars in person!" She gushed. "Ok, Rarity, don't mess this up."

"Ya will if ya keep stressin' yerself about this." AppleJack told her. "Ya got nothin' to be worried about, Rara's just a regular person like you and me. She's not some big demandin' diva."

"Mina's the same. She's pretty down to earth. So need to freak yourself out on this. Take it easy." Manic further said as Rarity turned to the two of them.

"Oooh, well, you can never be too careful with stars." Rarity answered.

"Manic, Pinkie over here!" Manic and Pinkie Pie suddenly heard a loud familiar cheerful voice say to him.

Manic and the rest of the group turned around to see that the voice belonged to Sonata Dusk, one of the three Dazzlings as she eagerly waved over with a smile on her face. Next to her were her two companions, Aria Blaze and Adagio Dazzle. The former seemed indifferent while the latter really looked like she'd be anywhere else.

"Sonata!" Pinkie responded with joy as she and Manic walked over with the others to meet up with the Dazzlings. As they did, Sonata and Pinkie exchanged hugs while the former turned to Manic with a large smile.

"It's kinda been a while. How've you been?"Manic questioned.

"Oh, The girls and I have been pretty great!" Sonata said as she turned to her two 'friends' who just seemed disinterested.

"Not up to your old taking over the world tricks, are you?" Rainbow Dash joked. "Cuz you know what'll happen if you do."

"As if. Besides, I doubt you'd be able to do anything about it, Rainbow Freak." Aria shot to Rainbow Dash, causing the two girls to stare each other down. Before anything could happen, Sonic dashed in front of them.

"Hey, hey, no need for arguing. We're all friends now, remember?" Sonic said as he looked between the two groups. His eyes then landed on Adagio, who gave Sonic an unfriendly glare, causing him to look away in a slightly confused manner.

"Anyway, what brings you guys here?" Sunset asked.

"Well, we heard that were was going to be some kind of concert around here and it sounded like a suuuper cool and thought like it would be a fun idea to check it out!" Sonata explained.

"Actually, Aria and I only came here to make sure Sonata doesn't get lost trying to find her way home." Adagio quickly told the others.

"Come on, Adagio, don't be so grumpy. I know you wanted to check it out, too, seeing as we used to sing!" Sonata stated, causing Adagio to form an incredibly sour look.

"Don't remind me." She muttered silently under her breath.

Starlight then walked forward so she could properly introduce herself to the Dazzlings.

"Hi, my name's Starlight." She started off. "I'm from....out of town."

"Ah, it's ok. You can tell them that you're from Equestria too. They are too. They used to be evil sirens who tried to over take the school but they're nice now!" Pinkie quickly said, as Starlight's eyes widened slightly before she looked back at the Dazzlings.

"Yep, for realzies!" Sonata confirmed. "But about the nice stuff especially." This caused Adagio to roll her eyes while Aria just didn't seem to care.

"Well, that explains Rainbow's comment on taking over the world. And also...I guess I kinda tried to do what you did, so we have that in common too." Starlight said with a smile, which Sonata returned.

"Whatever." Aria said. She then took another look at the group and she raised an eyebrow.

"Hey, uh...isn't Shadow with you guys?" Aria suddenly asked in a slow tone.

"Nah. You know Shadow. He definitely wouldn't come around with us to a place here." Knuckles informed her as he crossed his arms.

"Oh..." Aria said in a tone that sounded slightly disappointed as she just looked down at the ground, which Fluttershy noticed.

"Um...is there a problem?" She asked Aria, which suddenly made her change her expression.

"No! Why would there be?!" She snapped, making Fluttershy shrink back slightly, as Sonata giggled, which made Aria pout slightly.

"So, are you guys like super pumped for the concert?!" Sonata then asked.

"Of course. It turns out that the performers are personal friends that some of us know. How cool is that?" Sonic answered.

"Yes, but it would have been 'cooler' if you had mentioned it before." Rarity snarked as Manic sighed.

"What part of , 'you never asked' do you not understand?" Manic dryly said.

"Anyway, we were planning on catching up. How about we introduce you guys as well?" Sonic continued.

"That sounds awesome!" Sonata squealed with delight.

"Meh, whatever." Aria said in a bored tone.

"I already made it clear I'm not that into this whole 'concert' stuff. I'll pass." Adagio responded, much to most of the group's confusion.

"Hey, don't be like that. It's a chance to meet famous pop-stars." Sonic went on in an attempt to change her mind. Adagio shot Sonic a hostile look in response.

"Save it, Blue." She said, which put him off a little as Sonic backed up slightly.

Before the conversation could continue, the loud sound of bus approaching was then heard by everyone, causing them to turn towards its direction. There they saw a gray tour-bus that was decorated with a series of multicolored stars was approaching. On the side was written 'Forget Me Knots' in capital letters which were colored yellow and purple. As the entire group looked on to see the bus, Rarity became all giddy that it was putting Pinkie Pie to shame.

"Oh my....it's her, it's her, it's her, it's her, it's her.." She went on as she went full on fangirl by moving up and down in place so rapidly before Silver used his powers to halt her movements suddenly, which calmed her down. She then noticed all the strange looks she was getting and formed an embarrassed look before she turned to Silver.

"*Ahem*, thank you." Rarity sheepily said.

The bus then came to a complete stop in front of the stage. After it did, the door immediately opened, revealing a teenage girl with long purple hair that was held back by a green headband and green eyes. She wore a purple and black top along with a skirt of the same color alongside green boots with purple stripes in the middle. Her arms were covered in black wristbands with purple jewels on them. She then looked out towards the area to get a better view.

"It's about time! So this is the city of Canter-" She went on before her eyes landed on the entire group waiting near the edge of the stage. When she noticed Sonic and Manic, her face broke out into a huge smile as she gained a twinkle in her eye.

"Ohmigosh!!!!!!!! Sonic, Manic!" Mina cried out as she eagerly rushed down the steps of her bus towards where the two of them were. She then jumped towards Manic with a giant hug, almost knocking him back as everyone else seemed slightly surprised at her reaction.

"*Ooof* Nice to see you too, Mina." Manic grunted as Mina let him go to get a better look with a smile. She then turned to Sonic and gave him a hug as well.

"Oh my gosh, it's been sooo long!" Mina exclaimed as she finished her hug with Sonic, which let her see Knuckles and Tails, causing her to see wave to the two of them.

"Long time, no see, Mina." Tails said as he waved back and Knuckles did a small smile.

"When I heard Canterlot was going to be the next place I was performing, I just had to see you guys!" Mina explained to the four of them.

"Likewise." Sonic told her before his eyes darted back to an excited Rarity and the rest of the Rainbooms. "Though some of our friends might be more eager to see you than we are."

Mina looked back to see the Rainbooms and she did a small grin.

"Oh, are these the new friends you've guys made here?" She asked.

"We are." Sunset confirmed as she and her band got closer to Mina.

"My name is Sunset Shimmer." Sunset introduced. "That's Twilight Sparkle, Rainbow Dash, AppleJack, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, and Rarity." She added as she pointed to the rest of her friends, who were giving Mina welcoming looks.

"Oh, hi! Nice to meet you all." Mina greeted.

"Same." Rainbow Dash replied. "FYI, we have a band of our own and not too brag or anything, but we're pretty awesome."

"Really? I'd love to hear you guys play some time then." Mina said with a curious tone.

"You got it!" Rainbow promised.

Rarity slowly then began to approach Mina as she wore an awestruck face. She couldn't believe she was actually meeting her in person.

"Mina..I'd just like to say, I am a huge fan! I am absolutely honored to meet you." Rarity said as she tried to keep her enthusiasm in check.

"Oh, you don't have to be like that. Just treat me like you would anyone else." Mina told her as she shook Rarity's hand, making her slightly overwhelmed at her praise.

Mina then looked around to see Silver and Starlight coming up with the Dazzlings not too far behind.

"Hi, I'm Starlight. Starlight welcomed.

"Silver." Silver presented.

"I'd just like to say, we're looking forward to your concert. The two of us haven't really seen one here." Starlight added.

"Really, then lucky for you, you guys are in for a real treat." Mina said. "Though I gotta ask, you two have really never seen a concert? Did you like live in some dystopia or barren wasteland?"

At Mina's joke, Silver coughed uneasily as he looked around the area. Her joke was much more accurate than she realized.

"Wow, I can't believe I'm face to face with a real celebrity!" Mina heard Sonata gush, making her look to now see her and the other two Dazzlings.

"Hi! My names Sonata! She's Adagio and that's Aria!" Sonata happily said to Mina as she eagerly took hold of her hand. Aria had a neutral expression while Adagio just seemed like she really didn't want to be there.

"The three of us used to sing too!" Sonata said. "But we don't do that anymore."

"Oh, how come?" Mina wondered.

Before Sonata could blab and make things awkward, Aria quickly answered for her.

"It's....complicated," Aria said.

"Oh, that's too bad." Mina said. "Singing is really awesome, y'know?"

"Tell me about it. Being on the stage and having the whole crowd look at you rocks." Sonata agreed.

The mention of this caused Adagio's face to darken even further but she didn't say anything as she just crossed her arms, though tightly. She just turned away, which Sonic couldn't help but notice in the back.

"Mina, we have to follow the schedule." A male's voice said, causing everyone to turn around. There they saw that it belonged to a teenager wearing a white vest over a black shirt with a yellow frowning 'smiley face' on it alongside baggy blue jeans. He had somewhat messy jet-black hair and was wearing red-tinted round glasses. As he got closer, Sonic and Manic's expressions changed to less-enthusiastic ones.

"Oh, great," Manic said softly under his breath.

"No, biggie, Ash!" Mina said as the teen got close and was eventually in front of the entire group.

"Everyone, this is Ash, my boyfriend." Mina introduced.

"And her manager." Ash added, which made the others a slightly taken back due how young he was.

"Wow, you're her manager at this age? That's impressive. You must have excellent coordination and organization skills. Glad to see I'm not the only one who puts so much priority on that." Twilight said in an impressed tone.

"I just get the job done and no not when to waste time. Like being here right now." He said in a clearly disinterested manner, which caused Twilight and most of the group to form looks of uncertainty due to his attitude.

"Ash, be nice." Mina reprimanded in a small tone. "These are my friends. You remember Sonic and Manic right?"

Ash turned to the two of them and his face looked like he was almost making a glare. Sonic and Manic's reactions made it clear they weren't happy to see him and it was likewise with Ash. There was a long awkward silence as everyone just stared on.

"Is it just me or did things get tenser?" Spike whispered to Twilight, who nodded in agreement.

"You know, you two can wait in line and meet Mina like everyone else." Ash finally said.

"What's the deal? Like Mina said, we're friends." Sonic answered in a calm tone.

"Also, nice to see you haven't changed at all, Ash." Manic said with an icy tone.

This comment caused Ash to glare at Manic. Before he could respond, Mina put her arm on him.

"Ash, what were you saying about that schedule?" She quickly questioned.

"Oh, right. Well, the rest of the band is waiting at the hotel and you've got to be there to discuss you're part of the duet." Ash told her, which made Mina realize how serious it was.

"Oh, you're right. I should go ASAP." Mina agreed as she and Ash started to head back to the bus. As they did, Mina quickly turned back to the others.

"Sonic, Manic, later, you sooo have to show me around! We'll keep in contact!" Mina requested. "It was nice to meet everyone, bye!"

"No problem, see you later, !" Sonic called back as everyone else, save for Aria and Adagio waved back as Mina entered her bus. The engine soon started and the bus headed off.

"Well, she was soooo nice!" Sonata happily noticed.

"Yeah, wish I could say the same on Ash." Manic said as he rolled his eyes with displeasure.

"We could tell him and you aren't exactly fond of each other's company." Sunset noticed.

"Let's just say Ash can be kind of a jerk." Knuckles explained as Sonic nodded in agreement.

"If Knuckles and I agree on something, take our word for it." He said, backing up his statement.

"Ah well, it still must have been nice for y'all to catch up." AppleJack said before she took a look out towards the streets of the city. "Though I wonder if I'll see Rara today."

"Oh, you will. She's coming right now. That limo has her symbol." Pinkie said as she pointed ahead, causing the other heads to turn to see what exactly Pinkie was pointing.

The group looked to see a long black limousine which had on its front and sides, a golden star with different colored musical notes emerging from it before it stopped in place. From it, Countess Coloratura came out, shortly followed by white-skinned with frizzy pink hair and glasses in a blue suit and red tie. He appeared to be on a call with someone as he wore an earpiece and was looking around. Countess Coloratura peered out to see the stage in front of her.

"Rara!" She then heard. The sound of her childhood nickname caught her attention and she turned around to see where it was coming from. There she saw AppleJack coming up towards her with a smile. She squinted a bit as she looked on before her expression softened.

"AJ?" She said as she started to recognize her childhood friend as AppleJack was now standing in front of her. "Oh, wow! It really is you!"

AppleJack and Coloratura then exchanged in a hug just as the rest of the group started walking up, though Adagio seemed to be lagging behind. The two friends then ended their embrace.

"AJ, it's been ages!" Coloratura said. "I've missed you so much!"

"It's great to see you again, Rara!" AppleJack replied. "And Ah sure am glad to hear how big you've gotten."

"Ahem." Rarity said, making AppleJack and Coloratura turn to see her thrilled expression with the others. AppleJack rolled her eyes but she kept a smile on her face.

"Oh. I guess I should introduce y'all. These ar-" AppleJack started to say before she was suddenly interrupted.

"Countess Coloratura! Just what do you think you're doing socializing with these commoners?!" The man in the suit said in a very flamboyant and demanding tone as all eyes were on him.

"Oh, it's all right, Svengallop." Coloratura. "This is my old friend, AJ. We were just catching up."

Svengallop took a look at AppleJack and he didn't seem too impressed. He then turned away from her in a snotty manner, much to AppleJack's dismay.

"You can catch up later. Right now, we have to make it to the hotel and start working on your duet! I've heard your partner has already arrived. We need to leave now! Besides, the spa massages end around 8 and it's already 5!" Svengallop announced before he marched off in a haughty manner.

Coloratura then turned to AppleJack with a slightly disappointed look.

"I'm sorry, AJ, but my managers right. But we'll be sure to catch up later, I promise. See you soon." She said as she walked back to the limo.

"You betcha." AppleJack agreed as she watched her old friend enter the limo. It then started up and drove off, leaving the entire group to look on.

"Well, she seemed soooo nice." Sonata stated.

"Is there a trend or something with jerky managers?" Manic quipped.

"I concur. That manager was quite rude! I didn't even get a chance to introduce myself to Coloratura!" Rarity complained.

"It's fine. You heard her, we'll catch up some other time." AppleJack said.

"But this is going to be sooooo cool, seeing two stars sing on stage at the same time!" Sonata said out loud as she marveled at the thought. "Just thinking about it reminds me of when we used to sing. With all those adoring fans, being the center of the show..."

As Sonata reminiscing about the past, Adagio couldn't avoid hearing what she was saying and as she did, she looked like she was almost about to burst. She clenched her fist tightly and tried her best to remain her composure, but this was as far as she could stand before she let out a loud sigh, which everyone else noticed.

"Whew, I don't know about you, but I'm exhausted." Adagio said out loud. "Sonata, Aria, you two can stay here but I'll just head back to our place. I need some R and R."

Adagio then as quickly as she could, tried to rush away from the group.

"Wait." Sonic's voice said, causing her to grumble and grit her teeth but lucky for her, he didn't see it.

"Would you like some company on the way back?" Sonic offered.

Adagio forced a smile and turned around to answer him.

"Oh, no, I'm fine, really. I'd prefer to be alone." Adagio said in a hurry before she took off before Sonic could try and insist. She rushed into the street as the others watched her disappear, especially Sonic.

"Hmmm...is it just me or does she seem....kinda weird?" Pinkie suddenly said.

Deep in the city, Adagio was walking through it alone for some time. She wore an incredibly stressed out and frustrated look as she got further into the heart of the city. This was due to everything she had heard from before about the concert. An event where one is one stage and adored by all. Which is, what Sonata had mentioned, she, Aria and herself used to do.

And there was the problem. 'Used to.' Despite it being a while since they had lost their powers, Adagio still dearly missed when they had the ability to command others due to their bidding with their song. She recalled when she was the center and everyone followed her. What she loved the most about it was the power. She had the power to command everyone around her and it was amazing. However, that all changed when they had been defeated and stripped of their powers by the Rainbooms. Despite Sonata's attempts to have her play nice, a part of Adagio couldn't help but still resent them for making her lose her power. She so desperately wanted it back! She had tried to 'adjust' to this normal life like Sonata and Aria(maybe), but she just couldn't do it and today was the last straw. All this talk of a concert reminded her of the time she had that power and she couldn't just stand there and not desire it back.

Adagio let out a disappointed sigh as she leaned into an alleyway. She slightly slouched down as she looked up in a nostalgic tone.

"All my power..having everyone under my command...at this point, I'd do anything to have a way to get my magic back." Adagio expressed out loud as she clenched her fist tightly.

"Well my dear, you might be in luck." Adagio suddenly heard a raspy voice say, startling her as she jumped up.

"What?! Who's there?!" She demanded as she frantically looked around. "Show yourself!"

Adagio then stepped back into the shadowed corner of the alley.

"As you wish." The voice said as two red menacing eyes appeared behind Adagio from the shadows. She then heard a sinister chuckle, making her eyes widen as she turned around to see the shadows from behind on the wall, making her back up.

The shadows then molded off the wall and on to the floor to make a dark puddle of some sort. From it, a figure then began to rise up. Emerging from the darkness was tall gruesome figure wearing a dark purple body suit with gray gloves and boots. One of his hands was shaped like a lobster and his long white and sharp beard dangled to the ground. A dark cape came from his back as Adagio noticed his bat ears and large rhino-like horn. The figure gave her a sinister grin, showing his sharp teeth as Adagio looked on. She was left speechless.

"Ixis Naugus....at your service." Naugus introduced as he held up his clawed glove, which crackled with green electricity.

Another Oppurtunity

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Another Oppurtunity

Adagio looked on at the grinning wizard as his hand still glowed with green energy. Honestly, Naugus's sudden appearance was unnerving to her and she began to back away from him slowly.

"Ixis Naugus?" She said with distaste. "Just who and what are you exactly?"

"No need to be frightened, child." Naugus responded as he brought his clawed hand down, making the energy disappear from it. "I am a powerful wizard who spends most of his days traveling. Whenever I can, I appear to those who are in need of aid and it sounds like you, my dear, could use a helping hand."

Naugus attempted to get closer to Adagio, but she suddenly stood up straight and stared him down with a skeptical and hostile look, much to his confusion as he raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah, I don't buy that all." Adagio dismissed. "I'm no fool and definitely not some normal girl. From what I've seen so far, you certainly don't look like you spend your days spreading 'kindness'. Now, you better tell me who you really are or else. I happen to be in contact with a goody-two shoes who could get here in the blink of an eye."

Adagio's description made Naugus realize immediately that she was talking about Sonic, causing him to form a look of dismay as his eyes widened.

"What?! You know the Quicks-" Naugus slipped in a tone of panic before he covered his mouth. Hearing this made Adagio's eyes widen with curiosity as Naugus started to regret his sudden outburst.

"Aha! I knew there was something off about you and it sounds like you really don't want to meet my contact. Spill and maybe I won't point him in the right direction." She threatened, causing Naugus to grit his teeth.

"(Curses! This girl is much more intelligent than I thought. She's nothing like the last one!)" He thought to himself. ("Though this may not necessarily be a bad thing......)"

"Start talking. I don't like waiting." Adagio demanded, making Naugus scowl as he growled quietly.

"Bah! Fine then, I guess there is no point in trying to keep up a charade!" Naugus agreed as he raised his clawed glove up in the air. "I am Ixis Naugus, a wizard, and follower of the mighty ancient Order of Ixis!"

"Wizard, huh? So you must have experience with magic then?" Adagio said in a curious tone. This situation was starting to sound interesting.

"Of course! My powers are unrivaled by none!" Naugus boasted. He then looked down at Adagio with a look of interest as he put his hand to his chin.

"Now, then, what about you? As you said before, you don't seem like an ordinary girl and your words about regaining lost magic have piqued my interest. Just who are you exactly?" Naugus questioned.

"Well, my name is Adagio Dazzle. And you are correct, there's nothing ordinary about me. The truth is, I am actually siren from another world who was banished to this dimension and was trapped in this form." Adagio explained. " I did, however, retain my magic, which was the ability to enthrall anyone under my control with my voice but it was taken from me."

Hearing this captured Naugus's attention 100 percent. A magical creature from another dimension who once had the ability to control others? This sounded like it could be useful somehow.

"Hmmmm..." Naugus said as he stroked his beard after listening to Adagio's story. "How very intriguing. It appears the two of us have more in common than we thought. I believe I might have a proposition which could work in both of our interest.

Adagio raised a cautious eyebrow. So far, she didn't trust this Naugus figure at all. However, his talk of being a wizard did gain Adagio's curiosity and honestly, she so wanted her magic back. She felt as if though she had an opportunity in front of her and she didn't want to waste it.

"(If I play my cards right, this encounter may work in my favor. I'll play nice with this wizard for now.) She thought to herself. "Fine, I'll bite. What did you have in mind?"

"Well, perhaps it would be easier if I showed you." Naugus said as he turned his back towards her. "Grab on to my cape."

Adagio was hesitant at Naugus's order but she wanted to see what he had in store. With reluctance, she grabbed onto his cape.

"Hold on tight. This method of travel is quite unorthodox." Naugus warned.

"Wait, what do you-" Adagio began before she and Naugus suddenly melted into the shadows at the bottom and began to move around at high speed.

Sometime later, a large black puddle emerged underground in some kind of hole. The puddle started to bubble before Naugus and Adagio emerged from it. Naugus stood up straight and dusted himself off while Adagio fell to the ground as she started coughing and gasping for air. She then took a few deep breaths before she turned to Naugus with a furious look.

"What was that?!!" She yelled. "That was one of most unpleasant experiences in my life!!!"

Naugus slightly lowered his eyebrows as he heard her complaints.

"Feh." Naugus replied as he turned to Adagio and gave her a glare. "For your information, it is called Shadow Melding, an efficient way to travel for those with true magical power."

"You could have given me a warning!" She shouted.

"I did." Naugus answered. "Now enough of your whining and follow me."

Adagio grit her teeth. She did not like the way Naugus spoke to her, but his plan could have been promising, so she just bit her tongue and followed him.

Naugus stepped forward in near the walls of rocks in front of him and raised his hand. As he did, a chunk of the wall opened up, revealing the entrance to a pathway of some kind as Adagio looked on.

"Come in." Naugus invited as he walked through the entrance, with Adagio not too far behind.

Adagio followed Naugus through a dark and rocky pathway, making him close the entrance as soon as she joined them. He then began to lead her deeper into the path. The two of them walked through for some time. Adagio couldn't see a thing, so she had no idea where the path led.

"Just where are you taking me?" She inquired to Naugus.

"You'll see." Naugus said. As he did, Adagio noticed a light coming up from ahead, which indicated they had arrived at their destination.

Adagio and Naugus headed towards the light and entered the area which was its source. When they did, Adagio was able to see where Naugus had taken her. It was a large room of some sort and scattered around the wall were ancient symbols which seemed to glow purple. Below them were several triangular shaped markings, each separated by glowing orange flames which gave light into the room. In the center was a large round platform surrounded by smaller triangular markings. Adagio looked around the entire room as Naugus approached the platform. He then stood on it as he turned to face Adagio with a sinister grin.

"What is this place?" She asked him.

"This, my dear, is a Ritual Chamber that can only be constructed by a wizard from the order of Ixis. " Naugus explained. "This is used by a magician in order to amplify their powers to cast a magical spell. After my last...defeat...I spent all my time constructing this chamber for a chance to hatch my plan."

"Which is?" Adagio replied.

"My goal is to cast an Eldritch Rites, a spell which allows me to enslave the minds of anyone under it. I wish to unleash it on a larger scale, so I can have an entire population under my control. With all those minds bent to my will, I will be able to revive the order of Ixis!" Naugus exclaimed with a malicious smile, while Adagio looked on.

"(Enslavement spell, huh?)" Adagio thought. "So, if you have this chamber ready, why haven't you cast the spell yet?"

Naugus then looked down to Adagio and frowned.

"Because I am missing two important elements. One, I need to wait for an entire population to be in one place at the same time in order for the spell to have full effect. Second, I need an artifact of great power to amplify my powers to ensure the spell succeeds one hundred percent. An example of such an artifact would be a Chaos Emerald. Nauguse elaborated.

The missing pieces of Naugus's plan sounded interesting to Adagio. She began to go over them until she got an idea as she formed an ambitious smile.

"(Looks like I've just found my chance.)" She decided. "Well, I have some interesting news I think you'd like to hear."

Naugus turned to Adagio with a look of interest, which indicated he was listening.

"First, I've heard that there's going to be an event, a special concert that's going to occur in Canterlot soon. Knowing how popular it is, I'm sure most, if not all of the city's population will be there." Adagio started, causing Naugus's eyes to widen with delight.

"Really?! This is excellent. That would be the perfect time to cast my spell!" Naugus eagerly said. "Now, if I could just do something about getting an artifact.."

"Well, it's a good thing you've met me. I happen to be...acquaintances with people who have access to an artifact you're looking for, a Chaos Emerald. Based on your statements from earlier, I assume you know Sonic?" Adagio went on, which made Naugus face her with a bewildered look.

"So you really do know the Quickster." Naugus said as he stroked his beard once more as Adagio nodded.

"I can win his and his friend's trust and get you a Chaos Emerald, giving you what you need to cast your spell." Adagio nodded, which made Naugus's face break into a greedy smile as he began to chuckle.

"Yes....yes....excellent!" Naugus said with pleasure. "This is wonderful! You have proven yourself to be quite useful so far for my plan. Perhaps you'd like to be my apprentice?"

This made Adagio gain a look of displeasure as she crossed her arms.

"Hold on just a second. If I'm going to help you, we need to settle on a couple of rules." She stated, making Naugus confused.

"Rules?" He asked as if he didn't hear right.

"Yes. First, I don't do apprenticeships. You're not the one calling the shots here. If I'm going to help you, you're going to have to treat me like an equal." Adagio said, which made Naugus give her a glare once more.

"You...who do you think you're talking to?! This is my plan and I-"Naugus started before Adagio cut him off.

"Keep up that attitude and maybe I'll just blab to Sonic your entire plan. You know how much he loves stopping evil plans." Adagio threatened which made Naugus growl. "Aside from that, you need me to get you an emerald in an easy way."

Naugus was stuck. As much as he hated to admit it, Adagio had a point there. Using her would be the quickest and most efficient way to carry out his plan. He couldn't afford to waste any more time.

"Fine. I suppose we can be equals in this plan." He begrudgingly agreed. He'd meet her demands...for now.

"That's a good wizard." Adagio said in a sly tone. "Second, I want to use that Chaos Emerald to restore my magic. So we'll share its power between us."

"I see no problem with that." Naugus agreed. "The two of us can have this entire city under our control!"

"Good, then in that case, I'm all aboard." Adagio said. After she said this, Naugus turned to her with an intrigued expression.

"Though I must know, if you are a friend of the Quicksters, why are you so quick to betray him?" Naugus said, which made Adagio scoff.

"Please! He's not my friend. Between you and me, I personally don't like him at all, no matter how hard he tries to be friendly." Adagio dismissed. Hearing this caused Naugus to burst into laughter.

"Hahahaha! I love it! You're close to the Quickster and he doesn't know that you're willing to betray him right under his nose!" Naugus cackled.

Hearing this caused Adagio to form a look of unease as she gripped her arm and looked down a little. However, she then quickly shook her head and lifted it back up again.

"(Wait, what was I doing? I can't hesitate now. This is my best chance to get my power back and that's all that matters.)" She reaffirmed in her mind. She then stared back at Naugus.

"All right, Naugus, let's get this plan of ours started." Adagio told him with a sly smile.

Leading up to the Spectacle

View Online

Leading up to the Spectacle

It was now the evening in Canterlot. In one alleyway, the shadows began to move around before they concentrated on one area on the floor and made a puddle. A few moments later, Adagio emerged from it as she got down on her knees, gasping and panting for air.

"*cough * *wheeze* That is the worst way to travel!"She exclaimed with extreme distaste as she tried to regain control of her breathing.

Behind her, two red eyes appeared on the puddle of shadows. They belonged to Naugus.

"Shadow-Melding is meant to be stealthy. You defeat its purpose with that reaction of yours." His voice said in an echo as he spoke through the shadows. "You cannot let our plan be interrupted by something as trivial as this."

Adagio finally managed to get her breathing under control as she stood up straight and cleared her throat. She then looked back at Naugus with a glare.

"I know what I'm doing. I'll do my part just fine without any of your meddling." Adagio dismissed. Hearing this caused Naugus's eyes to glow red with anger.

"Don't you lecture me, girl!" He snapped in a venomous tone.

"No, don't you underestimate me!" Adagio retorted as she pointed a stern finger towards the shadows. "I have this under control! You better keep your end of the deal unless you want Sonic getting in the way again."

The glow from Naugus's eyes vanished but he still glowered towards Adagio.

"Feh! Just report back to me once you've gotten the Chaos Emerald. Take this." Naugus said as a golden ring with a green jewel in the center emerged from the puddle and into Adagio's hands, causing her to examine it. "This will allow you to contact me when your mission is finished."

"You won't have to wait long." Adagio answered as she put away the ring in her pocket.

"Good. I await your return." Naugus said as his eyes disappeared, causing the shadows to return to their normal spot before he had arrived.

After this, Adagio emerged from the alleyway and began to traverse down the sidewalk. She walked for a few minutes before she came in front of the apartment building she shared with her two fellow sirens. Adagio then entered it and climbed up the stairs to the second floor, where her room was. Once she was there, Adagio turned to her right to see a door. She took out a key from her pocket and used it to enter the room. When she did, she noticed Sonata was on the couch in the living room while Aria was by the counter. The two of them heard the sound of the door clicking and turned to see their leader in front of them.

"Hi, Adagio!" Sonata happily waved as she got up from the couch. Aria, on the other hand, stood straight and crossed her arms as she gave Adagio a look, who noticed this.

"What?" Adagio asked her.

"Just where were you?" Aria demanded. "You said you were coming straight home but when Sonata and I got here, you were gone."

Adagio cursed slightly in her head. Her time with Naugus must have taken her longer than she had anticipated, putting her in a somewhat difficult situation. Should she tell Aria and Sonata about the plan which could regain their magic back?

"(No, it's too risky. Sonata's been hanging around that group for too often, so there's a chance she might tell them about the plan. Aria might go for it, but I feel like she might try to one-up me and seize the power all for herself.)'" Adagio decided. "(Sorry girls, better if I'm just a solo act this time.)"

"I just decided to go around and explore the city more. Turns out I was feeling a lot better than I thought, that's all." Adagio told Aria before she marched up to her and gave her an authoritative look.

"Besides, I don't have to tell you where I go anyway." She added in a haughty manner, causing Aria to give her a small glare before she just turned away from her.

"Whatever." Aria said with disinterest.

Adagio then turned her sights towards Sonata.

"Sonata, while I was on my walk, I started to think that maybe this concert isn't such a bad thing."She said, surprising both Sonata and Aria.

"For realsies?" Sonata said in a tone of slight disbelief.

"Yes, really. Going to it might be nostalgic, wouldn't you say?" Adagio continued.

"I don't know what that means, but if it's something good, then I guess it is." Sonata agreed.

"It does. Anyway, did you hear Sonic or anyone else mention when they are planning to be with their pop star friends?" Adagio asked. "I'd like to see if I could tag along maybe. Get me in the right mood."

"Well, Sonic, Manic, and AppleJack promised to take their friends for a tour of the city pretty early in the morning so that they don't attract too much attention. Around 6...I think." Sonata told her.

"6? Perfect." Adagio said as she formed smile, which her two fellow sires found odd. "Well, now I'm quite tired because of my walk, so I'll just head to bed."

Adagio walked past the two of them as she headed towards the back and entered a room on the right before she closed it. After she did, both Sonata and Aria exchanged looks.

"Does Adagio seem....off to you?" Aria asked.

"Hmmm, I guess she was being kind of weird but a lot of our friends are weird, so she must be fine!" Sonata answered, causing Aria to roll her eyes.

The next day around 6 in the morning, the sun was just rising as,Sonic, Manic and AppleJack were waiting around the entrance to CHS. Manic and AppleJack stood up straight while Sonic was pacing around back and forth.

"It sure is nice that we get to show our friends around." AppleJack stated. "Rara and I have so much catching up to do."

"I get you." Manic agreed. "I know Mina's going to want to learn about all of our adventures we've done around here. You gonna tell Rara about your magic?"

Before AppleJack could answer, she was cutoff by the someone answering for her.

"Well, I think you should. Wouldn't be a delight to share?" Adagio's voice suddenly said, catching the attention of all 3 soon to be tour guides. Sonic stopped moving in order to turn and see Adagio was heading towards them with a friendly face.

"Adagio?" He asked with a confused expression as he rose an eyebrow.

"Hello, Sonic." She greeted before she looked at Manic and AppleJack. "Manic, AppleJack, how're you guys?"

The three of them wore stumped expressions on their faces as they all faced each other, with Manic scratching the back of his head.

"Uh, we're doin' alright?" AppleJack replied.

"So......why are you here?" Manic bluntly asked.

"Oh, Sonata told me that the three of you were going to show around Mina and Countess Coltra." Adagio began.

"Coloratura." AppleJack corrected.

"That's what I said." Adagio replied. "Anyway, Sonata told me what you guys were up to, so I decided I'd like to tag along."

Hearing this caused the trio to become even more confused. This was the last thing they were expecting to hear from Adagio of all people.

"But didn't you say earlier you didn't care about this concert stuff?" Sonic brought up. "Why the sudden interest?"

Adagio wore a smile but on the inside, she was starting to get annoyed already.

"(Ugghhhh....what's with all the questions?!) She thought to herself in an irritated manner.

"What, a girl can't change her mind?" Adagio said as she walked up to Sonic and rested her hand on his shoulder, making his eyes dart back and forth.

"I did some thinking and realized that this is actually pretty cool. I mean, meeting two world-renowned singers in the same place, how often does that happen?" She went on. "And besides, seeing those two reminds me of when I used to sing. It's nostalgic, having all the atten- I mean fun when you're up on stage. So I thought, why not let me tag along with your little tour?

Adagio gave Sonic a smile as Manic and AppleJack exchanged looks one more.. Sonic put his head down for a bit before he lifted it up and returned Adagio's smile.

"Sure, why not?" Sonic answered. "It's good to hear you've change your mind. You're going to have a good time."

"Awww, thanks, Blue." Adagio said as she gave Sonic a wink, making him rub his nose a little. "So, where are the two guest of honor?"

"They should be here soon." AppleJack said as she started to look around before her eyes lit up. "I see Rara's limo."

Countess Coloratura's limousine from before then began to pull up in the CHS driveway before it stopped in front of Sonic and the others. The door then opened to reveal Coloratura, shortly followed by an unhappy looking Svengallop.

"AJ!" Coloratura exclaimed as she and AppleJack hugged. "I'm so glad I could make time for this!"

"Me too." AppleJack said before she turned to the rest of her friends. "Rara, these are some of my friends. This is Sonic, Manic, and Adagio."

Adagio gave Coloratura a smile while Manic gave the peace sign and Sonic the thumbs up.

"Yo." Manic greeted.

"Nice to finally meet you, Coloratura." Sonic said. "I'm pretty pumped to hear you play with Mina."

"Wow, thanks." Coloratura answered. "I'm looking forward to meeting Mina herself too."

As AppleJack and Coloratura got closer to meet the others, Svengallop suddenly blocked off their path. He gazed down at Adagio with a dismissive look before he looked at Sonic and Manic with distaste.

"All right, listen up. You need to remember, who you're dealing with. She's not just anybody. She's Countess Coloratura, managed by me. You hear that? Me!" Svengallop started. "So when you're around her, you're going to have to keep her image good. If she looks bad, then it means I look bad. I have a reputation to keep and I don't need it to be ruined by a couple of punks."

Sonic and Manic both frowned while Adagio simply raised an eyebrow. Before any of them could retaliate, Coloratura quickly interjected.

"Svengallop, it's ok. They're AJ's friends, so they're fine with me." She told him as Svengallop whipped his back and snorted.

"Hmph." He said as he turned around, causing AppleJack to give him a glare he didn't notice.

"Suit yourself. You can be with these commoners. I'm off for a luxurious day by the hotel pool." Svengallop said in a snooty manner as he got in the car. It's engine started and he drove off, leaving the group behind.

"What's with that tool?" Manic said in an annoyed tone.

"Just who in tarnation does that Svengallop think he is?" AppleJack expressed with disapproval as she put her foot down.

"Yes...Svengallop can be...difficult at times.." Coloratura said with a displeased look as she lowered her eyebrows. "But I owe a lot to his managing. Anyway, I can't wait to start this tour. Do you know when Mina should here?"

Just as Coloratura asked that, Mina's tour bus parked in the entrance of Canterlot. The door then swung open to reveal an eager Mina, with Ash lagging not too far behind as everyone turned to see her.

"What's up guys?!" Mina said as she came in front of the group.

"Hey, Mina, glad to see you're full of energy already." Sonic said, making Mina beam. Ash just stood there as he was silent.

"Howdy." AppleJack said as Mina turned to see her.

"Oh, you were from the other day. Nice to see you again, AppleJack, right?" Mina responded, as AppleJack nodded and adjusted her hat slightly.

Mina then looked and her eyes landed on Coloratura. When the two singers saw each other, their eyes widened with slight awe.

"Oh my gosh, it's so cool to finally meet you!" They said in unison as they exchanged greeting hugs.

"Mina, I've heard some of your work and it's an so cool to get to perform with you." Coloratura said as the hug ended.

"I'm really looking forward to it. I know the two of us will rock this concert. I've been working my butt off in order to match your style." Mina responded.

"I know it's going to sound sweet." Manic added in a wishful tone.

"Yeah, with the band you're not in. The one you got kicked out of." Ash scoffed, earning him a dirty look from Manic.

"One, I left. And second, I'm glad I'm not in the band seeing as I don't have to be managed by you!" Manic shot back, causing Ash to return Manic's look.

"Ash, hon, please shut up." Mina requested as she came and put her arm him, making him stand down. "Coloratura, this is Ash, my manager, and boyfriend."

"Oh, nice to meet you." Coloratura said as Ash just waved half-heartedly.

"Wow, isn't this just amazing? I'm standing in front of two idols." Adagio gushed, earning her everyone's attention as they looked back to see her. She walked up and took Mina's hand.

"I was there the other day and I'd like to apologize if I didn't seem too interested," Adagio stated. "I wasn't thinking it was a big deal at first, but now that I actually see you two, I've changed my mind. I'm really looking forward to it."

"Oh, well, I hope to see you there." Mina responded as Adagio smiled in a sly manner.

"Now that everyone's here, let's get this tour started." AppleJack announced.

"Sure thing." Mina agreed. "Ash, are you coming?"

"Nah, I gotta finish setting up the band. I'll leave you to it, later." Ash said as he began to walk back to his bus.

"Bye, sweetie!" Mina called back.

"Oh, good, I don't need his baggage." Sonic muttered under his breath with belief.

Manic, Mina, AppleJack and Coloratura started to walk ahead to begin the tour. Adagio was just about to join them before she was stopped Sonic as he placed his hand on her shoulder, making her a little confused as she turned to face him.

"Hey, Adagio. The other day, I couldn't help but notice you seem pretty bothered about something the entire time and when you left early." Sonic said to her with concern. "I mean, I guess you're better now, but I was wondering, if it still bothers you, do you want to talk about it maybe?"

"Oh, Sonic, I appreciate the concern, but you don't need to worry you little blue head." Adagio said as she affectionally poked his nose. "As I said before, I'm perfectly fine. Now, we have a tour going on and we can't keep the others waiting."

Adagio then walked on ahead to join the others, leaving Sonic behind as he placed his fingers to his chin.

And so the tour of the city began. The group first started downtown in the city as they showed the two pop-stars around, letting them see a number of businesses such as Rarity's boutique, the Music Center, the Animal Shelter where Fluttershy worked, and even the Flim Flam Brother's Emporium (which was closed thankfully). They passed by where their friends lived as well as they displayed their houses. They then arrived at the location of the Canterlot Mall, which still hadn't opened yet, but they at least got to know where it was in case they wanted to come back later on, though Mina was a little disappointed that she couldn't go on and take a look. During their tour, they passed by Crystal Prep, which they hurried past, not too keen on dwelling on their rival school. As they continued to walk by, they moved by the outskirts of the forest and were able to admire the surrounding nature, particularly the large streams. However, what was the most noticeable aspect of the tour was the way Adagio was acting. Instead of being grumpy like she was the day before, she was extremely pleasant and friendly. She started up a chat with Mina and Coloratura as she praised their singing and success, showed admiration for all the things AppleJack was able to identify and even laughed at Sonic's jokes. Manic and AppleJack weren't expecting this attitude from Adagio while Sonic himself was especially taken back due to the fact that he had never seen Adagio like this before. It was quite strange.

As they continued to explore Canterlot, the group suddenly came across a giant saddle-shaped amphitheater on their left. It caught Coloratura's attention as she turned to see it.

"Hey, AJ, what's that amphitheater for?" She asked, causing the others to look towards it as well.

"Oh, well I'll be. It's been a while since we came here." AppleJack started as she recognized the theatre. "It was the final stage for our school's musical showcase. Woo-wee, the finale was-.

AppleJack then suddenly stopped what she was saying as she realized what she had said as Sonic and Manic eyes widened. She had mentioned the musical showcase, as in the one where she and her friends had defeated Adagio, who was now with them. She formed a sheepish look as she turned to siren, who wore a smile on her face while Coloratura and Mina looked confused. The situation now seemed kind of awkward.

"Oh, Ah'm sorry, Adagio." AppleJack went on. "It's been a while and I forgot this could remind you of....

"What? You can say it. It reminds me of the time when I used to sing." Adagio replied in a casual manner, much to the others surprise.

'And you're ok with that?" Manic slowly asked as Adagio nodded.

"Of course, why wouldn't I be. The past is the past. I can't dwell on it forever. It's time to look ahead for the future." Adagio said with optimism.

Manic and AppleJack faced each other as Sonic simply raised an eyebrow while Coloratura and Mina still looked lost.

"Uh, if you don't mind me asking, why'd you stop singing in the first place?" Mina asked, as AppleJack put her hat down slightly over her face. After all, she was one of the reasons why Adagio didn't sing anymore.

"Let's just say it's a long story." Adagio dismissed. "Anyway, why waste your time telling it when we could get a better look at the city? Come on, let's go!"

Adagio strutted along ahead with Coloratura and Mina following, leaving Sonic, Manic and AppleJack to look on as they wondered what just happened.

"Ok, what's with her? She's just been so nice which was already weird and when we mention her past defeat, nothing." Manic wondered outloud.

"Maybe bein' with Sonata's just rubbed off on her." AppleJack suggested with a shrug.

"Maybe..." Sonic said to himself as he crossed his arms.

As the tour continued to go on, the group found themselves back in downtown and this time, they stopped at the Sugar Cube Corner. It was still relatively early, so they were the first customers of the day. When they entered, Mrs. Cake was astonished to see two famous singers entering her store and tried to keep herself calm as she introduced herself. She ended up giving everyone free Pumpkin Spice latte's as she tried to make a good first impression. Inside the group sat down as Sonic, Manic and AppleJack began to catch up further with Mina and Coloratura while they waited for their drinks. Adagio excused herself to go outside as she needed some fresh air. She took a few steps from the store and stood by the sidewalk. When she did, she let out a loud and irritated sigh.

"This is ludicrous! How can they stand being so happy all the time?!" She said in a spiteful tone. "I was going crazy, especially when they brought me back to the place of my defeat!"

Suddenly, Adagio noticed a green glow coming from her pocket. She reached inside it to pull out the magic ring Naugus had given her. She held it up to her face and when she did, the glow vanished and Naugus's face was on the gem.

"Adagio, can you hear me?" Naugus asked, causing Adagio to look around to make sure no one could see. She then faced the ring.

"Yeah, I can. Just what are you doing exactly?" She asked.

"I'm asking how goes your mission. I need to prepare this spell." Naugus said, causing her to frown.

"And you will. I'm doing my part, so you just need to have some patience. I said I'll get you an emerald, so you're going to get an emerald." Adagio firmly told him as Naugus growled slightly.

"Watch your tone, girl." He hissed, making Adagio rolled her eyes.

"You watch it. I told you, I'm not some lackey." She said. Naugus wanted to say more but he managed to control himself as this time his growl was subtle.

"Just contact me when you're done." Naugus said the ring flashed green again. This time, Naugus's face had vanished from it.

Just shortly after, the door of the Sugar Cube Corner opened, revealing Sonic as he held two drinks in his hand. Adagio turned and quickly put the ring in her hand as she forced herself to smile.

"Oh, Sonic. What brings you out here?" She asked 'sweetly.'

"Well first, I came to hand you your drink. They just came to our table." He said as he handed Adagio one cup of coffee, which she took.

"Aww, thanks, Blue." She responded.

"And second." Sonic began as stood next to Adagio before he gave her a serious look, which puzzled her. "I was hoping the two of us could chat."

"What do you mean?" Adagio replied.

"Well, I wanted to chat about the way you've been acting." He started as Adagio's eyes widened and darted around, which Sonic didn't notice.

"What's wrong with the way I'm acting? I mean, I'm being all nice and friendly. Isn't that normal?" Adagio said in a nervous tone.

"Let's be honest. For you, not exactly. No offense." Sonic answered. "Like I said earlier, I noticed something seemed to bother you the other day and now that all of your sudden you're acting so happy, I can't help but feel something is still on your mind. Hiding your real emotions isn't a good thing for your head. So if you've got any baggage, it's best to just let it all out."

Adagio was honestly surprised at hearing this coming from Sonic. She usually figured he was just a happy-go-lucky guy going with the flow, but here, he was showing some insight. She had to admit, she found it a little impressive. She then let out a small sigh.

"So I guess I didn't have you fooled then?" She admitted as she crouched down on the sidewalk alongside him.

"Sonic, I'm going to say it. You were right, there is something that's been bothering me for quite a while. Sometimes how much is small or big, but with everything that's happening now, I just can't ignore it anymore. I miss the magic I once had. When I had the power to be the center of attention and command everyone to adore me. I know to you, it sounds bad but as a Siren...it's kind of who I am. I loved being on the stage and having so many people look at you with awe. It's been that way for me so long that when I all of a sudden lost it, I just wasn't sure what to do. I've tried to adjust to this 'normal life, I really have, but sometimes I feel like it's not for me or like I'm living a lie. Seeing Mina and Coloratura come here and do what I used to do just brought up all those feelings of how much I missed what my magic got me. Through having everyone under my voice, it was how I could actually feel...like I was worth something I guess and without it...."

Adagio suddenly stopped herself as she let out another sigh, slightly astonished at all she had just said. Honestly, she wasn't expecting to reveal that much of how she felt. She then turned to see Sonic looking up in the sky as he seemed to be in thought over what she had just said.

"Well, being a magical siren, your situation is certainly unique. So it sounds like you feel like you need your magic in order to feel like you mean something. But when you look at it, it was...fake." He began as Adagio turned to him, not understanding what he meant.

"Fake?" She repeated.

"Yeah. You said before you're not sure if you're living a lie, but when you think about, when you had your magic, you were. Sure you talked about people loving you, but they didn't mean it. They only did it because you messed with their heads. Now, you may not be able to command people just like that, but the way I see it, it's for the better. Now you actually have the chance to be yourself and earn and prove your worth. Yeah, Mina and Coloratura have a lot of fans, but it's because their fans actually like them for what they've done on their own, which is sing." Sonic said as Adagio just looked at him. She had never actually looked at it that way before as she looked down with some uncertainty.

"......I.....I'm not sure if that would work for me. I've never actually had to something like that before..." She confessed with some unease in her voice before Sonic put his hand on her shoulder and gave her the thumbs up.

"Don't sweat it. You've got a bunch of friends now, so that's a start. And we're here to back you up." He promised in a reassuring manner.

Now, Adagio didn't know what to say. She had never opened up like this before, even Aria and Sonata. But now that she did, she found herself.....feeling somewhat relieved. As she took in Sonic's words, she looked out at the nearby shops. While looking around, her eyes landed on a necklace that was displayed on a mannequin in front of a store and noticed there was a blue gem in the center. Upon seeing this, Adagio suddenly remembered why she was even there in the first place. She hadn't come here to chat with Sonic on her feelings. She was here to find a way to get an emerald. Right?

("What have I been doing? I.....I...I've been wasting time, that's what. I need to get his emerald. That's my mission, focus on that Adagio!)" She thought. She then pondered over what had happened.

"(Hmm, maybe this wasn't just a complete waste of time. After all that, he must trust me now. I can use this to my advantage)." Adagio realized in her head. She looked back at the gem on the necklace, which reminded her of her own broken pendant. This gave her an idea.

Adagio then noticeably placed her hand on where her old pendant used to be and clenched that area tightly as she looked on at the jewelry shop. She made sure Sonic noticed.

"That necklace over there got your eye?" He asked.

"Not exactly. It's just that seeing it over there reminded me of my pendant which I used to have when I had magic. Now I heard your talk on how maybe no magic is for the better, but with the pendant, it meant more to me than just magic." Adagio explained. "It's always been with me and it was part of who I am. Even if it didn't return my magic, I would still like to have it as a memento.

"That's rough." Sonic agreed. "Sorry about that you had to lose it."

"I wish I could've found a way to keep it safe." Adagio continued on as she made direct eye contact with Sonic. "Like how you do with those Emeralds of yours. I know that Shadow carries one with them but I've heard there are more. When you have them, what's your secret to keeping them safe?"

"You see, the Chaos Emeralds scatter each time they're used, so we have to go on a scavenger hunt for them most times. But whichever ones we manage to get our hands on, Tails keep it at his workshop, like the one we have now." He explained.

That was all Adagio needed to here. She now had a location where the to get the emerald. The rest was going to be easy.

"Really? That is rather smart of you to take such precautions." Adagio praised with a smile.

Before the two of them could continue their conversation, they heard the sounds of what appeared to be coming from a large mob, which caught their interest. The two of them stood up from where they were sitting and turned to see that in front of Sugar Cube Corner, was a huge crowd of people who were desperately trying to get in.

"What could that be?" Sonic wondered as he and Adagio approached for a better look.

The two of them squeezed themselves through the mob of people to see what exactly had them so riled up. As they did, they entered the shop to see Mrs. Cake hiding behind her counter while on the left, Mina, Manic, Coloratura and AppleJack were pressed against their seats due to having so many people swarm around them. The two singers looked uncomfortable while Manic and AppleJack seemed annoyed.

"I can't believe Mina is where I get my coffee every day!" One person shouted.

"And she's with Countess Coloratura!" Another yelled.

"Sign my stomach!' A person screamed.

The crowd of adoring fans got closer and closer as the singers were swarmed as Manic and AppleJack tried to push them back.

"Hey, back off, you guys! Haven't you heard of personal space?!" Manic yelled.

"Mina and Rara are here to just have a nice drink! They can sign your...whatever later!" AppleJack added.

Unfortunately, what they said fell on deaf ears as the crowd got even closer, much to their dismay. Sonic put his hand on his face while Adagio raised an eyebrow.

"Yeesh. This does not look good." Sonic observed.

"So, any ideas, Blue?" Adagio asked as Sonic gave her a quick smirk.

"As a matter of fact, yeah."

Suddenly, a large gust of wind was blown throughout the shop as blue bur passed through it, much to the mob's shock. When the wind died down, Coloratura and Mina had vanished along with Sonic, Manic, AppleJack, and Adagio as the crowd was stumped as they blinked and began looking around frantically. Mrs.Cake slowly rose up from her counter to see some money placed on it.

Back at CHS, a blue blur appeared in front of it, revealing the entire group and Sonic shortly after. Coloratura seemed astonished over what just happened as she stared out with her jaw open while Mina seemed giddy. Adagio's hair was now slightly frizzy as AppleJack adjusted her hat and Manic rolled his eyes. Sonic then turned to face them as he dusted his hands.

"There, problem solved." He said.

"Show off. I could've done that." Manic grumbled.

"So why didn't you?" Sonic teased as Manic grumbled even more.

"Oh my gosh, I forgot how much I missed that!" Mina gushed.

"Sonic, again, please let us know when yer goin' to do that." AppleJack said before she turned to Coloratura, who still had the same look of disbelief. "How you holdin' up, Rara?"

Coloratura shook her head and fixed her hair.

"Wow...we were just there and now we're here...so quickly...what just..." She said in a small voice as Mina gripped her hands.

"Don't worry about it. It was just Sonic. He's the fastest thing alive." Mina explained as Coloratura turned to Sonic, who nodded to confirm this.

"He's...fast." Is all she could say before she regained her composure and sighed. "Though I guess that means its the end of our tour then."

"Sorry about that. I guess we lost track of time." AppleJack said.

"It's ok. We more or less saw the whole city and it was great to catch up with you guys and get to know others." Mina said as she turned to Adagio, who smiled after she got her hair back to normal.

"At this time now, we should head back to our hotels to get ready for the concert. I'm so pumped and hope to see you guys there." Coloratura expressed.

"Oh, but not as much as we are." Adagio stated in a cryptic tone. "After today, I can't wait for it to start."

"Since you two are still out in the open, Manic and I will take you back to get ready." Sonic offered as Coloratura looked a little uneasy though Mina gave her a reassuring look.

"You get used to it." She said.

"Ah guess Adagio and I will tell the others get ready and meet us up at the concert." AppleJack said.

"That sounds great. But I'll head home first, need a little rest after being out for so long. I'll catch up, don't worry. Adagio replied.

"Then it's settled. We'll see you guys later then." Sonic answered as he took Coloratura's hand as Manic took Mina's. Before he could dash off, Adagio spoke up.

"Oh and Sonic. Thanks." She told him, causing him to chuckle slightly.

"Don't mention it." He answered before he and Manic dashed off with the two singers.

"Well, Ah'll see ya around Adagio." AppleJack told the siren before she headed off in her own direction, leaving Adagio alone. Due to this, she didn't notice the ambitious grin Adagio made after she was gone.

Later, it was early in the evening. By this time, most of the city's citizens were leaving their homes as they went off to the concert, which was supposed to be starting in around one hour as they filled the streets. Meanwhile, as this was happening, Adagio was discretely walking through the streets in the heart of the city, trying not to be seen. While everyone else appeared to be heading towards the main spectacle, it seemed she was headed in the opposite direction.

"That tour was useful. It let me remember where I need to go." She said to herself as she continued to walk along her path.

After walking for a few blocks, Adagio then found herself in front of Tails' house, a medium sized yellow building. The lights were off, indicating that no one was home. She smirked as she saw this.

"Perfect." She said as she walked ahead. "Looks like he's already left for the concert."

Adagio got closer to the house before she walked past it. Behind, she noticed Tails' workshop in front of her.

"Bingo." Adagio muttered under breath as she began to approach it. As she did, she noticed the large garage door with the two fox tails symbol was in her way. She looked up at it with indifference.

"It's a good thing I anticipated this." Adagio stated as she took out a long wire from her pocket which had a small hook attached to it.

Adagio went up to the garage door with the hook in her hand. She then stood on her tiptoes in order to reach the top as she slid the hook underneath, putting it on the other side. She then gripped the wire and moved it around a bit, trying to catch on to something. She did this for a bit before she felt she had snagged something as her eyes widened.

"Got it!" She exclaimed. "Let's hope this works."

Adagio then pulled the wire. As she did, she heard a latching sound and then some creaking. After this, the garage door then slowly began to open, much to her delight before the entrance was wide in front of her.

"I can't believe that actually worked. Sometimes what Aria watches isn't so useless after all." She commented as she entered the workshop.

Adagio took a look around Tail's place, which was mostly clean with a few mechanical inventions around. She then put her hand on her chin.

"Now then, if I was a super-powerful gem, where would I be?" She thought loud. She then looked at the shelf in the back, which caught her interest.

Adagio moved to the back of the room and started to examine the shelf, which appeared to be empty as she tapped her chin. Then, she noticed something that stood out to her. She saw the middle platform seemed to be leaning a bit more downwards than the others. Adagio placed her hand and then moved it all the way down. Doing this caused her to hear a mechanical noise and the shelf started to slide out of the way to the side. When it was done, she saw a large safe right in front of her as she grinned.

"That was easier than I thought." She said as she knelt down in front of it. She then formed a mildly annoyed look as she saw that the case had a blank digital bar and to the right of it, a keypad full of letters.

"A password. That's just great." She groaned. "How am I supposed to guess what that is?"

Adagio then turned around at the lab to see if there was anything that could give her a clue on what a password might be. She examined the room on the left first before she moved her way to the right. So far, she didn't have much luck. As she continued to look on, her eyes landed on the computer at Tails's desk. She noticed written underneath it was 'property of Miles Prower.' Adagio then looked back at the blank label on the safe. It seemed as if though it needed 3 letters.

"Miles Prower...."The cunning siren pondered for a bit before she put two and two together as her eyes widened. She then walked towards the safe and knelt down once more. On the keypad, she pressed the letters M, P and H in that order. After she did, she heard a beeping sound as the safe door slightly opened.

"I gotta give the kids prop, that's a little clever. But it's not clever enough to outwit me." Adagio boasted before she reached and opened the door fully.

After she did, Adagio saw a bright light emerge from the safe as she began to look on in awe. In front of her was a purple Chaos Emerald. It shone brightly as the glimmer was reflected in her eyes. The sight was breathtaking.

"Oh my....this jewel might be even more beautiful than my pendant." She said as she took the emerald in her hand and examined it further.

"Well, my job is done. I better inform Naugus."She said as she used her other hand to reach into her pocket to pull out her magic ring.

"Naugus, come in, Naugus." Adagio called, though there was no response, causing her to put her hands on her hips.

"Come on!" She yelled in an exasperated manner.

"You sure sound impatient." Sonic's voice said, startling Adagio as she gasped.

The Main Event

View Online

The Main Event

Adagio quickly turned around to see leaning against the entrance of the garage was Sonic, who had his arms folded and his eyelids lowered. The color drained from Adagio's face as she saw him . She was just frozen as she didn't know what to say. He had caught red-handed stealing the emerald

"Sonic?!" She nearly yelled. "W-what are you doing here? I-I thought you were headed towards the concert?"

"Yeah, I was going to head to the concert." Sonic started as he now stood up straight and began to walk to Adagio."But, I just had a feeling you'd be here y'know? Seeing as in our conversation you suddenly shifted the topic to the Chaos Emeralds."

"What are y-" Adagio began before Sonic cut her off.

"Adagio, I'm not stupid. Come on, you start a sudden showing a sudden interest in the Chaos Emeralds and wanted to know our secret to keeping them safe? I knew you were after it." Sonic went on before he formed a look of disappointment on his face. "I was hoping I would be wrong."

Adagio cursed in her head. She had to give him credit, Sonic was a lot smarter than she thought he was.

"Fine, you caught me." Adagio admitted as she raised her hands up in defeat.

"Adagio., you're stealing an emerald from us...why?" Sonic asked. "Why would you do that?"

Before Adagio could answer, the golden ring she had earlier suddenly lit up from her pocket, which caught Sonic's attention,

"Adagio.....Adagio....do you hear me, girl?" Naugus's voice said, causing Adagio to reach in her pocket and take out the ring, which had Naugus's face displayed on it. Hearing Naugus's name made Sonic's eyes widened.

"I am aware you were trying to contact me? Does this me-" Naugus started to say before he was interrupted by Sonic's reaction.

"Wait, Naugus!?" He yelled with dismay, causing Naugus to frown towards Adagio.

"Adagio, is there someone with you?" Wait, that voice....." Naugus said before he formed a slightly panicked expression and then growled. "Is that the Quickster?! He found you out! You said you wouldn't get caught!!

"Pipe down!" Adagio instructed. "He can hear everything!"

"I should've known you'd be behind this, creep!" Sonic exclaimed as Naugus trembled with rage. The golden ring then lifted itself from Adagio's hand and turned to face Sonic, who glared intensely at his nemesis.

"Yes, Quickster, it is, I." Naugus spoke.

"You've got some nerve showing up again after what happened at Camp Everfree." Sonic started as he pointed a finger at the wizard before he put two and two together. Or so he thought.

"I get it now! You must've messed with Adagio's head to get her to do your dirty work!" Sonic said in an accusing manner as he snapped his fingers. "Mind controlling my friend....that just gives me another reason for me to give you a beatdown."

"Insufferable little..." Naugus cursed.

"Come on, ugly! Come here from wherever you hiding and face me, man to weirdo!" Sonic taunted which made Naugus form a look of rage on his face as his eyes glowed.

"Fine then, Quickster! If you're in such a hurry to die....then so be it!" Naugus screamed.

The ring began to crackle with electricity, causing Adagio to step back while Sonic got in a fighting stance. Cracks then began to emerge on the ring's gemstone as it rumbled violently before Naugus burst from it with a roar as he landed on the ground. He then turned to Sonic with a mad grin, making Sonic cringe.

"Eughhh...I was starting to forget you're much creepier in person." Sonic said with disgust.

"Insolent pest! I'll shut that mouth of your's for good!" Naugus declared as he fired a series of fireballs at Sonic.

Using his speed, Sonic was able to easily avoid them as he quick-stepped to get out of their way. As another series of fireballs approached him, he started to kick them back at Naugus, who waved his hand as they vanished.

"Ha! You can't use my own magic against me!" Naugus boasted as now fired a stream of flames towards Sonic, who formed a look of worry as he ran from it.

"That's it! Flee Quickster!" Naugus mocked with delight.

As the stream of flames pursued Sonic, he suddenly stopped in his tracks. As the fire got near him, Sonic then dashed around in a circle, creating a small cyclone that collided with flames, putting them out. He then charged towards Naugus as a blue streak. As he was incoming, Naugus made a series of rock pillars emerge in front of him as he raised his hand. Sonic smashed through them as he zigzagged from one pillar to another before he got close to Naugus. He then unleashed a an axe kick, which Naugus blocked by creating a crystal shield. The impact blew Sonic back up in the air.

"How's this, boy?!" Naugus shouted as he lifted remaining debris from the pillars and launched them at Sonic.

Mid-air, Sonic moved past the rocks Naugus shot before he grabbed on to a large one. Using his feet, he pushed it away with strong force as made a blue field. As the rock came Naugus, he split it in half. As soon as he did, Sonic knocked him back in the face as a blue streak.

"Boom, headshot!" Sonic boasted as he slid against the ground while Naugus recoiled from the attack.

"It means nothing, you welp!" Naugus retorted as he fired a blast of ice to Sonic.

Instead of running, Sonic turned his legs into a figure 8 move while in place before he released a shockwave against the ground, which collided with the ice blast. He then dashed to Naugus a streak once more, though the wizard lifted himself up using air to avoid his attack.

"The cold is your enemy, Quickster!" Naugus shouted as he fired a series of ice spikes to Sonic.

Using his speed, Sonic dodged most of the darts though he caught some of them in his hand before he dashed out of their way. To the side, he wound up his hand before he released the ice spikes back to Naugus. In response, Naugus turned his body into flames as the ice melted upon contact.

"I already told you, you cannot use my own magic against me!" He stated

"Blah blah, heard you before." Sonic dismissed as he rushed to Naugus.

Naugus then raised his hand, causing a rocky structure to come from the ground as Sonic was on it, launching the speedster up in the air as he cried out before he crashed on the ground. As he shook his head when rising up, a wall of fire then came around him, making him cry out once more as Naugus grinned.

"Burn, Quickster!" Naugus cackled.

Sonic gripped his head as while he was still trapped in the wall of flames and was starting to sweat due to the heat.

"(Gotta say, Naugus is pretty tough. I gotta do something he wouldn't expect....) He thought to himself.

Adagio looked on as she saw Naugus giving a sinister grin as he watched the wall of fire.

"What's the matter?! I don't hear any quips!" Naugus said in a mocking tone.

Just after he said that, the wall of flames started being put out as waves of dirt emerged from the ground, dousing them much to Naugus's confusion. He then saw it was Sonic, who used his figure 8 move while he tilted to the side, causing the dirt to erupt from the ground. He then wiped his brow with relief when he was finished causing Naugus to clench his fist.

"Why won't you die?!" Naugus said with frustration.

"Someone's gotta ruin your fun." Sonic answered as he sped towards the sorcerer.

Naugus fired a blast of crystal waves as Sonic sidestepped from them in order to reach his foe. When he got close enough, he swung with a punch, though Naugus turned his body into air, making his attack useless as Naugus jumped back.

"Hey, that's cheap!" Sonic complained.

"Feh!" Naugus just said as he released a powerful gust of wind to Sonic.

In order to not be blown away, Sonic used his figure 8 move to push himself as he struggled against Naugus's wind.

Meanwhile, Adagio was looking on at the battle. First, her eyes landed on Sonic before she turned to Naugus. She then looked down and clutched the emerald in her hand. This fight was getting out of hand and she had to do something.

Naugus then released another fire blast from his hands at Sonic, who clenched his teeth as he saw this incoming. With his quick reflexes, he was able to slide underneath the fire blast and past Naugus as well, slightly catching him off guard. Naugus then turned around to see Sonic coming for him at full speed using his figure 8 move.

"Alright, ugly, I'll hit you faster than you can change!"Sonic promised as he raised a fist.

Before Sonic could get any closer or Naugus get a chance to defend himself, a purple soundwave that sounded similar to a loud opera came towards Sonic, causing him to cover his ears as he stopped in his tracks.

"An opening!" Naugus realized as he fired a blast of crystals at Sonic's chest, crystallizing most of his upper body as he fell to the ground and was pinned against it due to the crystals. He tried to struggle, but he couldn't move. Sonic then heard the sound of footsteps, causing him to turn and see Adagio walking towards him as she held the purple Chaos Emerald, much to his chagrin.

"Adagio? Wh-" Was all Sonic could say before Adagio raised a finger, cutting him off.

"I'm going to stop you right there, Blue." She said as she looked down at Sonic. "I might as well just come clean anyway. This whole time, Naugus hasn't had me under some spell. I've been doing everything on my own will."

Hearing this made Sonic's face turn into a look that was a mixture of hurt and apall. He stopped struggling as he looked directly at Adagio.

"You're...working with Naugus? Why?" Sonic questioned.

"The two of us made a deal. If I get him the Chaos Emerald for his little spell, I can get my magic back." Adagio explained.

"Adagio, no! You can't work with Naugus!" Sonic shouted. "What about our friends? Aria, Sonata? What we talked about earlier?"

Adagio formed a look of distaste as she stared down at her blue-haired captive.

"First, they're your friends, not mine." Adagio started. "Second, it's every Siren for herself. Lastly, what we talked about doesn't mean anything. Like I said, I've been living a lie trying to be one of you but whether you like it or not, this is who I am. A Siren who values her magical power over anything else, no matter the cost."

Sonic looked on with disbelief at Adagio's word before his expression softened.

"Adagio, don't. You're better than this. I know you are." He pleaded.

"You don't know anything about me." She coldly answered. "I don't have anything left to say to you. Naugus, here's your emerald."

"Adagio, wait!" Sonic cried but Adagio ignored him as she walked up to Naugus and handed him the emerald, causing him to form a wicked grin as he gladly took it. He then marched over to Sonic and gripped his cheeks with his claw while he knelt down.

"Hahaha! How does it feel, Quickster? To be betrayed by one who you thought was your friend?" Naugus sneered as Sonic turned his head away from Naugus but said nothing.

"My plan will now come to fruition!" Naugus declared as he rose up and clutched the emerald in his hand. A surge of purple electricity began to surge through his body as his eyes began to flash green.

Naugus then motioned his hand and Sonic was lifted from the ground via crystals, though he was still immobile. He grit his teeth due to his inability to move.

"Now then, to make sure you aren't a bother!"Naugus yelled as he fired a large green energy wave at Sonic, which zapped him as Sonic winced. Afterward, Sonic found himself trapped in a giant pillar of crystals which were growing all over his body.

"There. Now come, Adagio. We have work to do." Naugus said as he turned his back to Sonic and walked forward. Adagio looked back to see the crystals engulfing Sonic before they came over his face entirely. She turned away from him and began to follow Naugus.

Meanwhile, in the city, Silver was walking among the masses of people who were heading towards the concert. He looked around to see just how many citizens were going there.

"Wow, these concerts must be a big deal." He noticed. "I've never seen so many people heading towards one place. Granted though, in my future, there's barely anyone."

As Silver looked on ahead, he noticed a girl with dark purple hair and green highlights, causing his eyes to widen with familiarity.

"Oh, there's Starlight. We can head out to the concert together." Silver decided as he walked forward.

"Hey, Starlight. Nice to see yo-" Silver was saying before the girl turned around to reveal that it wasn't Starlight at all. It was Aria, much to Silver's surprise as she raised an eyebrow. Next to her was Sonata, who turned around as well.

"Hi, Silver!" Sonata greeted as she waved to him.

"Did you just call me Starlight?" Aria asked as she crossed her arms.

"Of course, he did, duh! I heard it. Is your hearing ok, Aria?" Sonata asked as Aria groaned due to her ditziness.

"Oh, sorry. I thought you were someone else." Silver said as he rubbed the back of his head.

"Silver, over here!" Silver heard Starlight's voice call out to him. He turned alongside the two sirens to see Starlight heading over.

"Glad I found someone among this huge crowd." She said before she noticed Aria and Sonata. "I see you've had better luck than me."

"Yeah. He thought I was you."Aria explained, making Starlight form a puzzled look as she and Aria now looked at Silver.

"You thought she was me? Why would you think that?" She asked.

Silver looked back and forth between Aria and Starlight, the former who looked a somewhat annoyed with him. Both of girls were purple, with purple hair and green stripes throughout them. Honestly, it was easy to see how he could mix them.

"Well, I mean...Uh..." Silver slowly said. He was kind of in an awkward position.

"It's because you two look so much alike, duh!" Sonata interjected. "You two have the same color, same color hair, and even green stuff."

This caused Aria and Starlight to both turn and observe each other to see if it was indeed true.

"As if. Don't lump me in the same category as her." Aria dismissed, making Starlight put her hands on her hips.

"Hey! What's that supposed to mean?!" She asked in a slightly offended tone.

Before Aria could answer, a green flash suddenly appeared in front of the small group, startling them as they backed away. It died down to reveal itself as Shadow, who took a took a look around at where he was.

"Oh....Uh, hey...Shadow." Silver said with a confused expression.

"Any reason why you just popped out of nowhere?" Starlight asked.

"I saw the massive migration and I just came to see what was the cause of it." Shadow answered before he turned to see Aria and Sonata. Sonata flashed him a smile, while Aria took a look away, slightly flustered.

"Why are they here?" Shadow questioned to Silver and Starlight.

"Cuz, we're friends, duh!" Sonata answered as Shadow folded his arms.

"Well, all of us we're heading towards a special duet concert." Silver elaborated.

"I see. Well, have fun with that." Shadow said. He prepared to take his leave.

"Wait!" Aria suddenly called out, making Shadow turn to her. When they made eye contact, her cheeks turned a little red.

"I mean.....Shadow.... since you're already here,....do you want to head out with me-I mean us, to the concert?' Aria asked in a somewhat shy manner.

"Fine." Shadow answered as Aria's eyes lit up.

"Really?!" She said with a hint of excitement before she calmed down and regained her composure. "I mean, whatever, if that's what you want, I won't stop you."

Aria then heard Sonata giggle, causing her to turn to her fellow siren with a look of irritation.

"What's so funny?!" Aria demanded as Sonata giggled more.

"Nothing." Sonata cheerfully said as she walked, with Aria lagging behind though she grumbled. Silver and Starlight then looked to Shadow.

"I thought you wouldn't like these sort of things." Starlight brought up as she raised a curious eyebrow.

"I do not. This is just a chance for me to keep an eye on those sirens. You can never be too careful." Shadow answered as he walked forward. Silver and Starlight faced each other and shrugged.

The five of them walked ahead for quite a bit before they entered the stadium where the concert was being held. It was quite packed with tons of eager and excited fans and most of the lights were off except for a few stage lights that emerged from ahead. The stage was set up with sound speakers, a drum kit, and a large curtain though Mina and Coloratura were nowhere to be seen.

"You guys are here, great!" Pinkie shouted from the right, causing the group of five to turn to see her and the rest of the larger group, who had seats uprfront. " And you brought Shady, even better!"

Shadow said nothing as he simply turned away from Pinkie Pie and crossed her arms.

"This is going to be so much fun!" Sonata gushed alongside Pinkie as Aria remained indifferent.

"It's going to be great hearin' Rara sing up in person. I haven't heard her in ages." AppleJack expressed as she looked up ahead.

"With Mina's music, it's going to be even better." Manic assured her.

AppleJack then noticed that among Aria and Sonata, Adagio was absent.

"Adagio's not with you?" She asked the two of them.

"She said she'll meet us here, eventually." Aria explained in a bored tone.

"Adding on that point, has anyone seen Sonic?" Sunset wondered. "I figured he would be the first here."

"I wouldn't worry about it. Sonic'll be here soon enough. Must've have overslept on a nap or something." Tails suggested.

Behind the curtains on the different sides, both Coloratura and Mina were getting ready. On her side, Coloratura was with Svengallop as she placed an earphone in her ear and was adjusting it.

"Just remember. Don't let her show you up! You're managed by me, so you'll have to be the star!" Svengallop said as Coloratura formed a sour look on her face due to his demands.

"It's not about that, Svengallop." She said. "Also, thanks for the encouraging words."

On the other side, Mina's band was getting ready as they held their instruments in place. Mina put her hands together as Ash came and wrapped his arm around her.

"How do you feel?" He asked her.

"Like I'm going to throwup." Mina confessed.

"Don't worry. You'll do great as usual, babe. Now get out there and give them a show they won't forget." Ash encouraged, putting Mina's anxiety at ease.

Outside, the crowd was still waiting for the event to start and was already pump. As they were, Manic frowned as he examined the stadium.

"Man, Sonic better not miss this. It'll be totally uncool if-" He said before all the lights turned off at once, making Rarity and most of the crowd shriek with delight.

A series of lights then shone on the stage, revealing both Coloratura and Mina alongside her bad, making the crowd scream even louder. Mina gripped her mike alongside Coloratura.

"Welcome, Canterlot!" Mina began. "You may know me, my band and my partner....'

"But you don't know what treat you're in for!" Coloratura finished. "3...2......1

While all this was happening, Naugus was using air to fly himself towards a large crater with Adagio holding onto his cape. The two of them descended down in the giant hole where Naugus's chamber was. Naugus the landed , making Adagio let go of his garment. He then activated the entrance to the cave as the two of them entered it. A little while later, they were now in the ritual chamber. Naugus then held up the Chaos Emerald with delight.

"Excellent! This is excellent! Now I have all I need to complete the ritual!" He said in a victorious tone as Adagio folded her arms.

"Ahem!" She said, making Naugus turn towards her.

"What about my part of the deal?" She reminded. Instead of getting annoyed, Naugus just gave a her a sinister smile.

"Of course! You deserve to be rewarded. Though you did make a mistake with the Quickster catching you, I'd say you made it up for it by giving me a chance to attack him as well as betraying him right to his face!" Naugus cackled with delight.

Adagio said nothing as her face just darkened.

"Whatever. Can I just get my magic back?" She requested.

Naugus held the Chaos Emerald as his hand glowed with green energy. He then aimed it directly at Adagio, making her a little uneasy.

"Now, hold still." Naugus instructed as with the power of the emerald, he fired a green wave with purple electricity around at Adagio, who winced as the energy touched her.

Adagio took in the surge of power. As she did, she felt a pair of ears growing on her head. From her back, a pair of aquatic wings emerged from her back before they were encased in orange crystals. A pair orange boots which had light orange stripes and red armour covering the tips and knees were on her legs while she gained light purple leggings. She was now wearing a dark purple coloured top and short skirt adjourned with small red jewels and orange shiny scales while her shoulders were covered in two red hexagonal shaped pads. She wore two orange armoured scaled wristbands with purple cut gloves and on the top of her head, she gained a black spiked tiara. Adagio looked at her new attire in awe.

"Ok, I wasn't expecting this." She admitted before she broke out a wide smile on her face and clenched her fist. "But I can....feel it! My magic, it's back!"

"Of course. I kept my end of the deal." Naugus said as he took a bow before he turned back to the center of the chamber. "Now, it's time for my reward!"

Naugus's eyes glowed green as he invoked the power of the emerald once more as he raised his hand. As he did, a giant green crystalline chalice rose from the center, making Adagio look in with interest. The glow vanished from Naugus's eyes and now, large green smoke was emerging from the chalice.

"Soon....the Order of Ixis will rise again!" He declared as surrounded the top of the chalice with both hands.

A Dazzling Performance

View Online

At the stadium, the concert appeared to be a huge success. Mina and Coloratura were killing with their performance as the audience adored their music with everyone in the crowd cheering and dancing to the tunes. Mostly, everyone. Shadow and Aria were just standing there with their arms folded, though the latter did find herself tapping her feet a bit. Manic was enjoying the concert too, but he couldn't help but wonder where his brother was. It wasn't like Sonic to miss something as huge as this.

"(I don't want to ruin my concert experience, but just where is Sonic exactly? What could be keeping him?)" He thought to himself.

The crowd continued to enjoy the tunes for a bit more as a green vapor began to seep through the ground in a discrete manner, causing no one to notice it. The mist only reached ground level as it started to spread around the area, turning the entire area green. As she was upstage singing, Mina noticed the green shade that was on the floor, puzzling her.

"(Since when did the ground turn green? Is it some kind of special effect?)" She wondered.

Suddenly, the entire ground lit up with a green glow, which caught Mina and Coloratura's attention alongside the band while the audience noticed this well and looked down in order to see what was happening. They were perplexed as they examined it.

"Ooooh, glowy!" Pinkie said with delight as Sonata broke out in a smile as well.

"Is this part of the concert or somethin'?" AppleJack asked.

"I've ne-" Manic started to say before suddenly, a green shockwave was sent through the entire crowd, enveloping everyone there in a green flash before they were all electrocuted.

"Aaaaaaaahhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!" Everyone in the crowd screamed, much to Mina and Coloratura's astonishment as the two of them stopped singing. The latter put her hand to her mouth as the entire audience was now pain over this green force. Some people began to fall down on the floor as others struggled.

"What's....happening....?"Aria grunted as she came to her knees.

As the crowd was affected by this force, some people's eyes started to turn yellow with a fiendish glow. They were all immobile and couldn't move from their spots while they moaned out in pain. Mina and Coloratura looked on with horror to see their fans in such a state.

"What's going on? What is this?!" Coloratura said in an alarmed and frightened tone.

"I-I don't know. Coloratura, we have to-" Mina started to say before the green vapor extended to the stage and suddenly, the two pop stars and the band were struck by the same wave as everyone else in the crowd as they cried out and fell on the floor. Mina clutched herself as Coloratura reached for her mike which had fallen from her hand.

Ash and Svengallop emerged from behind the curtains as they heard all the commotion from behind and stopped in their track as Svengallop gasped. The two of them saw everyone was trapped by the green energy.

"Mina!" Ash called out as he rushed to see his girlfriend in danger. As soon as he got close to her, he was too affected by the green energy as he grunted and fell to the floor.

Svengallop just looked around, completely frozen as he tried to understand what was happening. Coloratura saw him and reached out her hand.

"Svengallop...help..." She said weakly as he backed away.

"I....I'm getting out here!" He yelled. He started to make a run for it but the green mist came under where he was and he became paralyzed by the green energy as well as he let out a loud shrill and crashed on the floor.

Everyone could barely move or speak as whatever force they were under had them completely trapped in its sway.

Meanwhile, back in Naugus's lair, the evil wizard was conducting his spell as Adagio just continued to look on.

"Excellent....this is excellent..."Naugus said with a wicked grin as he was concentrated on the spell while green mist continued to emerge from the chalice. "I just need to concentrate for some more time and then the spell will be fully complete. The order of Ixis will be reborn!"

Naugus let out an evil laugh as Adagio just wore a neutral expression. She had her magic back and even received an upgrade towards it. Yet....she didn't feel fulfilled. She didn't know why, but there was something nagging in the back of her mind. She let out a bored sigh.

"Listen, you can have fun with your spell and all, but I'm going outside for some fresh air." Adagio announced.

"Yes, yes, take it easy." Naugus replied without even turning to face her as he was focused on the spell. "You should be able to enjoy your reward after your stellar performance."

Adagio squinted slightly but said nothing as she headed towards the exit of the cave.

Using her new crystal wings, Adagio flew out of the hole in the ground and towards the city. Honestly, the ability to fly again was amazing as Adagio felt the wind through her hair and on her entire body. She stopped mid-air and looked down at one her arm guards, causing her to see her reflection inside. She looked amazing with this new outfit.

So, why? Why wasn't she totally content with all of that? Don't get her wrong, Adagio loved having her magic but she was feeling that this...wasn't enough. She then began to descend down towards the ground and landed on a nearby hilltop.

"What's wrong with you Adagio? You have your magic. This what you wanted, remember? This all that matters." She said to herself, though she only felt herself believing about half of all of it. She clenched her fist in frustration.

"Whatever! I'm sure I can get over this feeling by just finding some new pawns to adore me." She decided. Shortly after she did, Adagio noticed a green flash was coming from her right, causing her to turn towards it. She couldn't see it fully.

"That must be Naugus's spell. I'm curious to see how it looks." Adagio wondered. She then floated up to get a better view as she flew towards it.

Adagio flew closer to the source of the flash and then she saw it was coming from the concert, as the area was green. There, she noticed that Mina, Coloratura, and the crowd were all on the floor, twitching as they surrounded by green energy. She saw that some of the crowd's eyes were glowing yellow. Seeing this made her raise an eyebrow but she continued to observe it. In the crowd, her eyes landed the Rainbooms and the rest of the group, who were among those afflicted. Next to them, she saw Aria and Sonata as well. Seeing them like that made her expression soften slightly before she frowned.

"It doesn't matter, Adagio. It's every Siren for herself, remember?" She said in a low voice as she turned away from the scene and began to slowly drift from it.

'You said before you're not sure if you're living a lie, but when you think about, when you had your magic, you were.' She suddenly remembered Sonic saying with his trademark smile, which made her frown go deeper.

'Don't sweat it. You've got a bunch of friends now, so that's a start. And we're here to back you up.' His words now echoed in her head. Adagio then shook her head and began to massage her temples.

"No, Adagio! Don't let him get in your head! You made a choice! Power! And it was worth it!" She declared out loud before her voice grew smaller and she gripped her shoulders. "Right?"

Adagio now looked around at the practically empty city. At this moment, it wasn't too far off from how she was feeling right now. She clenched both of her fists this time and let out a groan of frustration.

"Urgh, so much for fresh air!" She nearly yelled. "I'll just go back to the cave and wait around there for a bit. Maybe then I'll stop being irrational and realize I made the right choice."

Adagio then floated up in the air and began to head back towards the entrance of Naugus's cavern as she flew above the hole and floated down towards the entrance. She now began to walk in the dark pathway towards the chamber. As she approached it, she suddenly heard Naugus laughing.

"Hahahaha! This is perfect!" He yelled,making Adagio roll her eyes.

"Is he seriously boasting out loud?" She said with distaste.

"Once I have the order of Ixis, then the entire world will soon fall to my knees and I will take my rightful place as king! The Quickster is no longer a nuisance to get in my way. That siren proved more useful than I imagined." Naugus said, which caught Adagio's attention and she decided to listen further.

"Yes, she's made a good servant, but perhaps she's too smart for her own good." Naugus went on. "Once the spell is finished, I should cast a spell to bend her mind to my will as well. I can't have her pose a challenge to my authority. With her magic though, it would be handy to keep her around. Yes, then she'll be the perfect pawn, fitting for her."

Adagio had heard everything that Naugus had just said as she stopped in her track. Her face was one of slight shock and offense as she began to fill up with intense rage. She could barely contain herself as she grit her teeth and closed her fists tightly.

"(What?! That.....imbecile first has the nerve to call me a servant and now he says I should be a pawn?! How dare he?!)" She thought to herself. She was now starting to feel angry at herself for even working with him in the first place. Adagio let out a few huffs and puffs in order to release some of her anger and started to control her breathing.

"(I don't think so!)" She declared in her head. "(Ok, Adagio. You're mad but don't act too rashly. I want him to pay but I need a plan. Even with my magic, I'm hesitant to take him on my own. I need help. But everyone else is under his spell. Everyone except...)"

Adagio then realized what she had to do as she looked up with a determined expression.

Back near the entrance of Tails' garage, Adagio flew down in the area. In front of her was a giant mass of crystals, meant to be used as a prison to hold Sonic. She got closer to it and examined it.

"Ok, here goes." Adagio said.

Adagio then released a red sonic scream in the form of singing on the mass of crystals. As the waves hit the crystals, a few cracks began to form, causing Adagio to raise her voice. This caused the cracks on the crystals to grow larger and larger. Adagio raised her voice even more as the crystal started to chip off before all of them shattered, releasing a startled Sonic who then fell to the floor on his hands and knees.

Sonic then began to exhale briefly before he rose up with his eyes closed. He then began to massage his head as he appeared to be quite dazed

"Arghhh. Ok...really starting to get tired of that..." He groaned as he tried to regain his composure. He then opened his eyes to see Adagio right in front of him. Doing this made him lower his eyebrows and he crossed his arms.

"Adagio...you freed me?" He asked with suspicion before he noticed her outfit. "Nice bling by the way."

"I did. With my magic." She added, which made Sonic form a small glare.

"Yeah, the only thing you care about, right?" He said in a judgemental tone. "I hope it was worth-"

"Save the lecture, Blue." Adagio interrupted. "We don't have time to stand here and be at each other's throats. Naugus could finish the spell at any time and we have to stop him."

"Wait, just a minute. We?!" Sonic said as if he didn't hear right. "The only reason why he was able to do his spell in the first place is cuz you helped him take the emerald. Why the sudden change in heart?"

"Because he thinks I'm just a pawn and I don't like that." Adagio answered. "Everyone else is under his spell, leaving just the two of us. Whether you like it or not, I'm the only help you can get now."

Sonic put his hand on his chin. She had a point. If it was just the two of them, he was going to have to make do.

"Fine." He agreed as he raised his hands. "Though I gotta ask, you sure you're not turning against Naugus for any other reason. Guilty conscience maybe?"

Adagio shot Sonic a glare. " I already told you why. And you heard everything I said from before. I only have one reason only."

"Sure, keep telling yourself that." Sonic said, making Adagio look away.

"Look, I know where he's doing the spell. Follow me and then we can stop him." She said.

Adagio rose in the air and took off, leaving Sonic to look up ahead as he watched her fly. He then formed a serious look and sped off after her.

Back in his chamber, Naugus was heavily concentrated on the spell as his eyes flashed green and he wore a mad grin.

"Soon....just a bit more....then it'll all be mine...." He said with greed as he began to drool slightly.

Suddenly, Sonic dashed inside the chamber and in front of the wizard's face. Naugus gasped as if he had seen a ghost when he saw Sonic right in front him.

"Hey, Naugus, I promised I would hit you before you change elements. Here's me keeping that promise!" Sonic declared as he swung his fist and socked Naugus, causing him to fall back towards the wall. He regained his posture as he looked at Sonic with disbelief who had a fighting stance.

"The Quickster?! But how can this be?! You were encased in my crystals!" Naugus yelled.

Just then, Adagio entered the chamber using her wings and came down next to Sonic. When Naugus saw this, he put two and two together as he formed a look of immense rage, causing his eyes to glow dangerously red.

"You...You traitor!!!" Naugus roared. "After I've given you your magic back, this is how you repay me?!"

"You're one to talk seeing as you were planning on betraying me by making me your pawn! I told you, I'm no lackey!" Adagio shot back as Naugus scowled. "And don't even try to deny it. I heard you say while you were boasting out loud."

Naugus's scowl grew even deeper as Sonic shook his head.

"Revealing your evil plans out loud? Come on ugly, haven't you taken villainy 101?"Sonic taunted while Naugus growled.

"Silence!" The warlock hissed. "I will not let you ruin my plans. I've come this far and no one will deny me my right to rule! This chamber will a tomb for the both of you.

Naugus's eyes and claw glowed green before he fired a giant wave of crystalline energy. In order to counteract it, Adagio released a red sonic scream from her mouth which clashed with the blast. While this happened, Sonic became a blue streak as he charged towards Naugus, who made rocky stalagmites emerge from the ground. Sonic smashed through each of them, though Naugus flew in the air using wind before Sonic could hit him. He was then joined by Adagio, who flew above him.

"Traitors will burn!" He threatened as he fired a series of fireballs towards Adagio.

Adagio evaded Naugus's flames and released a series of sonic blasts, which Naugus managed to dodge. The two of them were engaged in a mid-air battle as they tried to hit each other. Meanwhile, Sonic dashed up as a streak to Naugus, who managed to block his attack with a crystal shield. Due to this, he was left open and Adagio shot a sonic scream, which blew Naugus on the floor. When he reached the ground, he slid against it. He saw that Sonic and Adagio were still mid-air, so he then slammed them down on the ground with a gust of wind. Once they were on the floor, Naugus raised his claw, making the ground shake as he lifted two boulders and attempted to crush them. Luckily, Sonic reacted just in time as he rose from the floor and sped him and Adagio out of harm's way. As they did, a wall of fire emerged in front of them, forcing Sonic to stop in his tracks. It then began to home in on the two of them but Adagio fired a sonic scream to disperse the flames. Naugus grumbled slightly and sunk his claw into the ground. As he did, a giant array of crystals emerged from it. In response, Sonic crashed into them using his boost shattering them as crystals went flying everywhere, though Naugus made a smirk. He raised his hand and a few crystals reformed themselves into a mouth guard, which he launched past Sonic and onto Adagio's mouth.

"Mrrrf!" Adagio cried as the guard hit her, making Sonic look back.

"Adagio!" He cried out.

"Worry about yourself, Quickster!" Naugus yelled as he fired a jet stream of water at Sonic, which smashed him into the wall ahead.

Adagio struggled a bit as she tried to remove the guard from her mouth before she fired a small sonic blast to destroy it. She then turned to Naugus with a glare.

"You're going to pay for that." She said in a menacing tone as she began to charge up another scream.

"My dear...could you keep silent for a bit." Naugus said as he raised his claw.

Once he did this, a stream of air surrounded Adagio before she began to find it difficult to breathe. She began to put her hands around her neck and struggled not to fall unconscious.

At the wall, Sonic rose up and rubbed his head before he looked on ahead. Doing this caused him to see Naugus trying to rip the air from Adagio's lungs. He then moved as fast as he could towards the evil sorcerer.

"Hey, Naugus! Why don't you have a taste of your own medicine!" Sonic yelled as he began to move around Naugus, making a tornado of his own as the latter suddenly rose up in the air. When this happened, his grip on Adagio faded as she came to the ground and started to gasp for air.

In the air, Naugus formed a small tornado underneath him, removing himself from the wind Sonic created.

"Foolish boy, your tricks cannot harm me!" Naugus said as he released a large fiery explosion from his entire body. Sonic realized the danger of this and dashed away before the flames could reach him. He then grabbed Adagio, as well and the two of them hid behind large debris as Naugus's burst covered the area.

"You ok?" Sonic asked as he turned to Adagio who took in many deep breaths.

"This is absurd. Even with the two of us, he can still fend us off!" Adagio complained.

"It's because of that Chaos Emerald he has. He's bad enough on his own and the emerald makes his magic even stronger." Sonic explained. "If we could take it from him, it would give us an advantage. The problem is like you said. He can fend the both of us off at the same time, not leaving a chance for openings."

Adagio put her hand to her chin as she thought over what Sonic said. She then formed a slight smile.

"I wouldn't be so sure of that, Blue." She said as she turned to Sonic. "I'm going to tap into my full magical power. This should give you the edge you need."

"Are you sure? Naugus isn't someone to take lightly." Sonic cautioned.

"Neither am I." Adagio firmly said.. "He should have learned. I said I'll cover you, just follow my lead."

Sonic looked a little unsure despite Adagio's insistence but they didn't have too many options at this point. He just gave her a nod.

"Ha, feeble children! Are you dead already?"Naugus questioned in a cruel tone.

Adagio then stopped out to face Naugus as she now stared him down, causing Naugus's face to twist into a wicked smile as he drooled slightly.

"Adagio...you were separated from the Quickster?" He said. "Good. A traitor like you deserves your own special kind of suffering."

"You disgust me." Adagio replied. "You're going to regret underestimating me, Naugus. I'll make sure that you do!

Adagio's body then began to glow with an orange aura before her eyes flashed orange as well. As she did, she threw her arms up in the air and energy began to rise from her body. Above her, the energy then collected into a single mass before that mass began to take shape. The energy was now in the form a crystalline orange colored hippocampus. Its lower body was that of a fish while its upper body was more horselike and scaly with a sparkling fin in the background. This was Adagio's true siren form as Naugus looked on with curiosity at her avatar.

"I see...this must be your siren form. Impressive, but it means nothing to an Ixis Wizard!" Naugus declared.

Naugus's body began to crackle with purple electricity before he started to glow an orangish-reddish shade. As he did, this caused him to grow larger and his appearance was more grotesque as he now gave off a fiery aura with flames bursting from his eyes and beard. He was now facing off against Adagio's avatar.

Adagio fired a gigantic sound wave from her avatar while Naugus released a stream of flames in response. The two attacks clashed, putting the two of them at a stalemate as Adagio slid back from the impact. Sonic was right, he was powerful. But so was she. She was a siren after all.

Adagio raised her voice even higher, causing her sonic blast to grow larger and stronger. The blast started to push back Naugus's flames but he didn't seem to be bothered by this. He just let out a small grin.

"Fool. You're no match for me!" Naugus screamed as his flames grew larger and began to push through Adagio's blast. She herself was being pushed back even further and grunted as sweat came over her. She looked on with a determined look and continued to raise her voice. As she did, her avatar began to crack due to the pressure that was placed on it as her attack and Naugus's were now equal once more. Naugus recoiled his hand a bit before he shot it straight out, increasing the force of the blast as the flames swept past and covered Adagio's avatar, causing it to crack before it shattered completely, blowing her onto the floor. Adagio was quite weakened and her new outfit had cracks in it as well. She could hardly pick herself up as she rose slightly from the floor. Above her, Naugus was standing, still in his giant form.

"That's what you get for trying to challenge me. Now, learn your place, girl!" Naugus said as he brought his claw down to crush Adagio.

As soon as he did, a blue streak reached for the hand in which Naugus held the Chaos Emerald in.

"Yoink!" Sonic called out as he took the Chaos Emerald from Naugus. Doing this made the troll wizard turn back to his normal size, much to his shock as he looked around at himself.

"What?!" He called out as he looked to see Sonic come to next to Adagio while displaying the purple emerald.

"How could you forget about me, Naugus? I thought we had something special." Sonic teased as Naugus began to tremble with rage.

"No! I will not let this happen! I don't need the emerald! My sorcery is unmatched!" Naugus said in an unhinged tone.

"Maybe...but I'm a guy with a Chaos Emerald." Sonic said in a smug tone.

"Shut your mouth!" Naugus said as his claw began to glow green and he charged up an attack.

"Chaos...Control!" Sonic said as he held up the emerald. Doing this caused a distorted wave to cover the area before it retreated back into the emerald. After this, everything was frozen in time, including Naugus. Sonic was the exception as he walked up to Naugus and tapped his finger to his chin before he sped through him numerous times as a blue streak. When he was done, he walked back to where Adagio was and held the emerald up again, causing time to flow normally.

As soon as this happened, Naugus's body reacted to getting hit by Sonic many times as he flailed around for a bit before he was launched high up in the air. The sorcerer then came crashing down on the ground head first and let out a small groan but he didn't get up. Meanwhile, Sonic helped Adagio rise from the ground.

"Ok, I think Naugus is down for the count." Sonic observed. "Looks like we won."

"Urghhh...It's not over yet, Blue." Adagio said with some weakness in her voice. "We have to destroy that chalice he has. "

Adagio closed her eyes and her body glowed once more as energy rose up in the air, reforming her siren avatar, though it had cracks on it. Through it, Adagio took in a deep breath before she released her most powerful sonic scream yet, making Sonic cover his eyes as giant red ripples were released. The scream covered the entire chamber and reached the chalice, causing it to crack while also damaging the chamber as it shook and began to fall apart. At the same time, Adagio's avatar and her clothes were beginning to be covered in cracks. The chalice was destroyed completely as the pieces fell to the floor as the chamber started to rumble and collapse. Shortly after, Adagio's siren fell to pieces while her new form cracked off, returning her back to her original attire as she stopped her scream and began to fall to the floor. Before she hit it, Sonic managed to catch her. He then saw that she was barely conscious.

"You need to take it easy." Sonic said as he now carried Adagio in bridal fashion and turned towards the exit as he felt the trembling chamber as rocks began to fall everywhere. "And we need to get out of here before we're buried alive."

Sonic then zipped out of the chamber. As he did, Naugus rose slightly from the ground and noticed everything that was happening around him, much to his dismay. He then noticed his destroyed chalice and sank to the floor on his knees.

"No....all my planning......ruined...." He said as he couldn't believe everything that happened to him. His feelings quickly turned to anger as he looked on ahead with eyes turning red once more.

"No.....if my plan falls....then so do you, Quickster! NO ESCAPE!" Naugus shouted as his eyes flashed a green wave.

Sonic was running through the cavern while holding Adagio. As he moved through it, a series of green crystal spikes emerged from everywhere, putting him on the defense.

"Wow!" Sonic said as he struggled to not get trapped by the crystals. "That Naugus doesn't give up."

Sonic continued to dash forward as spikes kept trying to block his path. He did his best to avoid them but they started growing in number and appearing more quickly. Plus, he also had Adagio to worry about.

"Man, there's got to be a better way out." He murmured to himself. This caused him to remember the Chaos Emerald he was holding and he slapped his forehead.

"Duh." Sonic said as he grabbed the emerald tightly.

"Chaos...Control!" He yelled as he and Adagio vanished in a green flash just as the cavern was totally covered by green crystals.

Above the giant hole in the ground, a green flash appeared, revealing Sonic and Adagio as it died down. Sonic set down Adagio on the ground as he looked down the hole to see the cavern crumbling before it collapsed entirely, leaving a giant pile of rocks at the bottom.

"Is it over?" Adagio called from behind, causing Sonic to turn around to see her rising up as she held her head.

"Yeah, I'd say we won. We sure rocked Naugus's world." Sonic quipped, making Adagio groan.

"Please. My head hurts already." She complained. Adagio then shook her head and noticed the state of her body. She found herself wearing her old outfit, much to her displeasure.

"Oh, no....please don't tell me that..." Adagio said with slight worry before she took a deep breath and tried to fire a sonic wave from her mouth. Instead, a small shrill emerged from her mouth as Sonic looked on. Adagio groaned once more as she stomped her foot angrily.

"Y'know, stopping bad guys usually makes people happy." Sonic said as he walked up to Adagio.

"Well, it turns out that I'm back to square one. I lost my magic...again." Adagio said as she facepalmed. "I mean, I helped save the day. Shouldn't I get a prize or something?"

"Actually, you did betray me and helped Naugus start his spell in the first place, so honestly, I'd say this is fair." Sonic said as he crossed his arms, causing Adagio to give him a pout as she now folded hers.

"But I do want to say...I'm proud of you, Adagio. You ended up doing the right thing in the end." He continued in a warm tone as Adagio just slightly glanced at him.

"Whatever. I already told you, I didn't do it for the reasons you think." She insisted as Sonic just rolled his eyes. She was almost as hard-headed as Knuckles.

"We should probably go check on the concert to see how everyone else is doing." He suggested.

"Like I care." Adagio dismissed.

"Come on, you don't have anything better to do." Sonic pointed out. He did have a point there, which made Adagio sigh as her arms fell.

"Fine." She agreed in a reluctant tone.

Sonic then picked up Adagio in a bridal position once more, causing her to give him a glare while he just made a look of defense. The two of them then dashed off. As they ran, Sonic spoke up.

"Hey, I gotta ask though." He said. "That seahorse thing you made back there. That's what you really look like?"

"Yes. Beautiful isn't it? Much better than this bland mortal form." Adagio responded while Sonic kept silent.

"Huh, neat." Is all he said.

The two of them arrived at the outskirts of the concert in order to observe it. As they did, they saw that everyone else was still on the floor and the green glow was gone. They then noticed the others on the ground and headed towards them. Sonic put Adagio down and the two of them looked around.

"Yeesh, Naugus's spell must've been pretty nasty." Sonic commented.

"They'll be fine. If it's anything like the mind control I used to do, there shouldn't be any side effects." Adagio said.

Suddenly, the entire group began to moan and stir as they lifted themselves up from the ground, much to Sonic's relief and Adagio's indifference.

"Wow....that was not fun." Sonata weakly said.

"You said it, sister." Pinkie agreed.

"If these are what concerts are like, I think I'll pass on them." Silver grumbled.

"I think I'm with you on this one." Starlight said in compliance as she winced a little.

"Why is it that every time I'm with you people, something always goes wrong?" Shadow asked.

"Come on, faker, don't act like it isn't fun." Sonic said, which caused everyone to turn towards him and Adagio.

"Sonic? What the hay's goin' on?" AppleJack asked.

"Yeah, just where were you?" Manic demanded.

"I'll just bring you guys up to speed. You were all under a spell that Naugus cast. He beefed it up using a stolen Chaos Emerald." Sonic elaborated which made everyone perk up.

"Naugus? You mean that evil wizard we beat at Camp Everfree?" Twilight questioned, as Sonic nodded.

"Oh, he's not anywhere nearby is he?" Fluttershy wondered with fright as she looked around uneasily.

"Naugus eh? Where is he? I wanna a crack at him." Knuckles said as he raised his fist.

"Sorry to burst your bubble, Knux, but he's down." Sonic informed him. "And Adagio helped."

Adagio gave Sonic a slightly bewildered look for putting her on the spot like that as everyone else looked at her with surprised looks.

"Our Adagio?" Aria asked with disbelief. "No way."

"Yeah, for once, I'm with her. This is some kind of joke, isn't it, Sonic?" Rainbow Dash stated.

"Oh, it's true. Thanks to her, Naugus's spell was broken. She was a true hero today." Sonic added with a smile.

Adagio then turned to all the looks she was receiving while still being slightly annoyed at Sonic. She just crossed her arms.

"Well..yeah. Sonic was just so pathetic at his inability to stop him alone and I just couldn't watch someone make a fool out of themselves unless I do it." Adagio muttered somewhat loudly.

Sunset walked up to Adagio and beamed.

"If that's the case. Then we all owe a lot you, Adagio. You saved our lives." Sunset said as she offered her hand to Adagio, who just turned away.

"Whatever, Rainboom. This isn't going to be a recurring thing." Adagio told her, making Sunset shrug.

"Wow, Adagio, I'm sooo happy for you! You're a hero that saved all our friends!" Sonata gushed as Adagio frowned.

"Didn't you hear me?" Adagio said as she pinched her nose.

"Sounds you like had quite an adventure." Tails said. "But how did Naugus get an emerald? It was locked away in my workshop. How'd he know where to find it?"

Sonic and Adagio both froze as they glanced at each other. Honestly, Sonic didn't feel like ratting Adagio out seeing as she did help and had already lost her magic, so he figured he'd cut her some slack. It wouldn't hurt to keep this just between them.

"Eh, must've been some wizard stuff, bro." Sonic quickly answered. "Anyway, you should probably make tighter security."

"This is wonderful! You've managed to save the concert!" Rarity squealed, causing her to be on the receiving end of many annoyed looks and she blushed slightly. "Oh and stopped that madman of course."

"Speaking of which." AppleJack said as she turned around to the stage to see Mina, Coloratura and the band on the ground with their managers.

"Rara!" She cried out as she headed to the stage, followed by Sonic and Manic. The three of them arrived on the stage to see the popstars rising along with the people around them.

"Mina, are you ok?" Ash asked as he helped her up.

"Yeah...just need to clear my head for a bit." Mina said as she turned to Coloratura. "How do you feel, Coloratura?"

"What just...happened?" She responded in a confused and dazed tone.

"Rara! You're ok!" AppleJack said as she hugged her friend while Sonic and Manic gathered around as Mina noticed.

"Let me guess...bad guy plot or something?" Mina said as Manic nodded to confirm it.

"Don't worry, I helped put an end to it." Sonic said as he rubbed his fist across his chest.

"Sorry you got caught up in it." Manic apologized as he rubbed the back of his head.

"Are you kidding? It wouldn't be a reunion without getting involved in one of your adventures!" Mina happily said.

"I guess you did alright." Ash reluctantly admitted under his breath.

"Yeah, Sonic saved the day and you didn't." Manic said with a smug tone as Ash just grumbled and said nothing.

"Does this kind of stuff always happen to you guys?" Coloratura asked as everyone else nodded to confirm, which made her sigh.

"Then it's a good thing we can count you." She said before she turned to Svengallop with a furious look. "Unlike some people! I saw you trying to ditch me, Svengallop!"

Svengallop gulped as he now received an onslaught of dirty looks from everyone present as he adjusted his tie.

"You tried to leave, Rara?!" AppleJack nearly yelled.

"Dude, not cool!" Sonic said in a disapproving manner.

"Well, I, uhh...." He tried to say before Coloratura just waved her hand in a dismissive manner.

"Forget it. I'll deal with you later." She said before she turned to Mina and flashed a huge grin. "We have a show to finish."

"You're right about that." Mina said as she stepped forward and picked up two mikes. She handed one to Coloratura and put the other one to her mouth as her band got their instruments ready.

"Attention, Canterlot!" Mina yelled out for the entire crowd to hear as she was now the center of attention. "We're sorry about that little interruption we had!"

"But we're not going to let it ruin us from giving you what you came for! Let the show go on!" Coloratura shouted, causing the crowd to break out in applause and cheers as Sonic, Manic and AppleJack came down to rejoin them as Ash stepped to the side while he pushing Svengallop away.

"3...2...1!" Both singers counted down before they started to resume their concert as the crowd started to enjoy the music playing.

Within the crowd, Adagio noticed how almost everyone went back to enjoying the music. She just did a hmph and prepared to leave. As soon as she took one step, Sonic came in front of her.

"Thought you might try to pull something like this." Sonic said.

"Listen Blue, I have no reason to stay." Adagio told him.

"Look, we're the good guys and we won. We deserve to celebrate." Sonic said. "Hey, I know you're probably bummed out losing your magic but look on the bright side. I think you've got something better if you remember what I said earlier."

Adagio was silent as she looked around towards the others, who were having fun at the concert save for Shadow and Aria as usual. She looked down, though her expression softened.

"I guess.......I should thank you for not ratting me out earlier." She admitted as Sonic put a hand on her shoulder.

"Hey, what're friends for?" He said, which made Adagio smirk.

"I'll say it again. Don't push your luck, Blue." She said. "Anyway, I guess anything is better than sitting at home and moping around about my lost magic. By the way, I will get it back one day. Somehow.

"Heh. I let it slide this time, but if you try anything again, I'll be there to stop you." Sonic said in a playful manner with a wink.

"Challenge accepted." Adagio replied as she put her hands on her hips with a sly smile.

The two of them looked up ahead with the rest crowd at the ongoing musical show, which was even more lively than before.

Sonic and EQG: The Main Attraction

by SonicAKG

Setting Up The Stage

Another Oppurtunity

Leading up to the Spectacle

The Main Event

A Dazzling Performance