If one had to describe this day, the word they would use is "dull". Very few people were about in the streets, the weather wasn't all that great, and all around there was just this sense of quiet prevailing everywhere. Needless to say, it was the kind of day where nobody expected anything special to happen. And it was into such a day that Adagio Dazzle found herself walking down the street. Although appearing young, this was the once-feared Queen of the Sirens, now bereft of all the powers that once made her a threat to humanity. The look on her face was one of utter disinterest. Today was just another day to her, as she carried a bag that was unmistakeably filled with groceries, heading towards a small apartment block on the corner of the street. It didn't take her long to reach the place, and soon, she was making her way into the elevator that lead up to her floor, where she and her sisters had been living in a modest apartment since their defeat. The calming music played in the ride up was repetitive to her ears, but nevertheless soothing in it's own way.
Once on her floor, she continued carrying her bag down the hallways until she reached the familiar sight of her apartment door. Struggling to hold the bag in one hand, the Siren leader soon managed to find her key after rummaging around in her pocket for a little bit. With the door now unlocked, Adagio made her way inside, closing the door with a kick behind her, after which she called out to whoever was inside.
"I'm home!"
At first, there was no response. However, as she carefully placed her groceries on a nearby table, she heard the sound of approaching footsteps, and looked up to find her sister, Aria, emerging from the door that she knew led to the latter's bedroom. The purple-haired girl looked at Adagio with a look that could only be described as relief. This was quite unlike how Aria usually regarded her elder sister, so, as one might expect, Adagio was rather taken aback by it, especially after Aria started speaking to her with a clear amount of desperation in her voice.
"Adagio! Thank Faust you're here! I don't know how much more of her I could take!"
That was all the information Adagio needed, as she let out a sigh and raised a hand to rub the temple on one side of her head, trying her best to relieve the stress from it.
"Okay...what has Sonata done now?"
The exasperation in Adagio's voice was clear, as was the look of annoyance on Aria's face after hearing her sister talk like that. Nevertheless, she answered.
"Sonata got given this present from the Rainblossoms, and now she just won't shut up about it!"
The mention of their one-time rivals' names, or at least Aria's attempt at using their right name, got Adagio's attention immediately. Her expression became one of curiosity, as she now looked past Aria to the door that led to Sonata's room. Intrigue gripped her as she made her way past Aria and towards the door in question, after which she opened it and looked within. Sure enough, there was Sonata, kneeling on the floor and bearing a look of utter joy. Although the youngest Siren was often prone to experiencing happy moments more than the other two, it was the source of this new happiness that caught Adagio's attention. Before the blue-haired girl, placed square in the middle of the floor, was a plant pot. It was filled with soil and had a small plant poking out of the top of it. Well, Adagio thought, plant would probably be giving it way too much credit. From the looks of it I'd say it's little more than a black twig. Even in spite of that first impression, Adagio entered the room in earnest, catching the attention of Sonata, who then rose to her feet with a big smile on her face.
"Isn't it great, Dagi? Pinkie gave it to me before school ended today!"
Although there was a time when Adagio would have not been above simply criticising Sonata for this rather childish behaviour, these days she was prone to being a bit more sensitive, at least by her standards. As such, she put one a small smile for her.
"Well, Nata, it's certainly...something."
Fortunately for her, Sonata was too wrapped up in her own world to really catch the lack of interest in her sister's tone, and instead turned back to the plant on the floor. Kneeling beside it, she reached forward and pulled off what Adagio now saw was a note that had been attached to the far side of it. Standing again, Sonata offered the note to Adagio, who promptly took it and began to read out loud.
"Dear Adagio. As you know, I'm always looking for ways to help bridge the gap between you girls and us. As such, I thought you might like this gift, a special plant all the way from Equestria, given to us by Twilight herself. I hope you'll like it. She certainly seemed to. You should have seen her going on about how it was unique amongst Equestrian flora and such. Anyways, I really wanted you guys to have it, and I hope it brightens up your apartment. Sincerely, Sunset Shimmer."
The writing is definitely Sunset's, so I know it came from her. Still, she thinks I'd like this little thing? Oh well, maybe it's a pony thing. Adagio let out a sigh before handing the note back to Sonata.
"Did Pinkie say anything else before she gave it to you?"
The blue Siren put a finger to her chin and began pondering, which was a look that Adagio couldn't help but chuckle at. After a few moments, Sonata answered.
"Only that it was grown specially by some guy from Equestria. Dissy-Cord...Disco-Lord...something like that."
Hmmm, I'm sure I've heard that name before. Was it in some history book or something? Ah, probably not important if he grows plants for a living. Looking down at the plant, Adagio placed a hand on her hip and regarded it carefully. It was a gift, so she couldn't be ungrateful about it exactly. Even so, she felt Sonata was getting just a tad too excited about it. And given how tightly-wound Aria was already, she figured it's probably be a good idea to get her little sister away from this new gift so she could at least stop gushing about it for five minutes. Thinking on that, it didn't take Adagio long to think of something.
"Sonata, I need you to do me a favour."
Sonata looked at her sister with curiosity on her face, leading to Adagio explaining herself further.
"I need you and Aria to deal with some of our laundry. It's starting to build up."
The blue Siren started to pout somewhat after hearing that. She always hates chores, Adagio thought. Not that I blame her of course. Despite Sonata's silent objections, she still gave a sigh and a nod before walking past Adagio and out into the main room of the apartment. Adagio followed her and the two of them walked over to the corner of that room, where, as Adagio said, there was a relatively large pile of used clothes just left there. Turning, Adagio looked over to Aria, who had since started occupying herself with reading a nearby magazine. Frowning a little, Adagio gave a brief but loud whistle, catching Aria's attention, after which she pointed to the pile of clothes nearby. Aria looked from her sister to the pile and then back to Adagio before giving her a look of "are you kidding me?" Adagio's frown deepened, resulting in Aria groaning in annoyance, after which she reluctantly got up and walked over to the pile. The elder sister watched as her two siblings sorted through the clothes and put them into a pair of baskets, which the two promptly picked up.
Adagio opened the door of their apartment, letting them both out, but not before being given another scowl by Aria, though this time, Adagio merely responded to it with a smirk and a wave, furthering the younger Siren's annoyance even more. Closing the door behind them, Adagio allowed herself a moment of calm now that she was alone, raising her arms and stretching for a bit before exhaling and looking around the apartment. It was here, however, that she realised that she actually had little to do herself, and so soon found herself walking back to Sonata's room, where that diminutive plant was still standing in it's pot on the ground. Raising an eyebrow at it, Adagio knelt down beside the pot, giving the tiny black plant a poke with her finger. I know Sonata tends to get worked up about unimportant stuff, but I didn't think even she could get so interested in this withered little thing. I guess maybe it might grow one day, so who knows? And with that thought, Adagio stood herself up once again before turning around, ready to leave her sister's room once more.
However, before she could reach for the knob of the door, she began to hear something strange. If she had to guess, she would have said it sounded like a combination of both creaking wood and rustling leaves. Huh, unless I stepped into a forest without realising it, that doesn't seem right. Under normal circumstances, Adagio would have turned around to see where the sound was coming from. Unfortunately, she did not get the chance, as she felt a sudden and unexpected sensation of something wrapping around her. Letting out a brief yelp of surprise, Adagio tried to leap forward to get away from this thus-far unseen assailant, but she was too late, as she soon found her arms tightly pinned to the side of her body, with some strange black tendril, like a snake, wrapping itself around her middle. She tried pulling her arms away, maybe to try and grab at the door again, but she soon found that this thing, whatever it was, simply had too strong of a grip on her. And if that was not bad enough, now she felt it tug at her, not only pulling her further from the door, but also turning her around in the process.
Naturally though, once she'd been spun around, she could now see what was going on, and a look of shock crossed her face when she did so. Her assailant was, to her absolute surprise, the plant that had been given to her as a gift. Although, it was no longer just a tiny twig, but now more like something out of a horror book, growing large and spreading out it's tendrils in many directions all around the room. Still struggling, Adagio's mind was filled with, what else, angry thoughts. If this is Sunset's idea of a joke, it's not funny, she thought to herself. However, those thoughts soon turned to worry as she felt the one strong tendril around her pulling her towards the centre of this plant-like mass, where even more of it's, for lack of a better word, branches, were poised and waiting for her. Seeing them and their tentacle-like appearance, one thought was now prevalent in Adagio's mind; I enjoy a little bit of intimate attention as much as the next woman, but if this is going where the Internet has led me to think it's going, then someone is going to fry for this!
"Let me go!"
Her words were commanding, but the plant, if it was even capable of understanding her, did not heed them. Expecting the worst, the elder Siren struggled greatly against her bonds, but without success, and soon, she felt herself being lifted up by the sheer strength of these things. Looking more than a little worried, Adagio watched each and every tendril that hovered around her, wondering which would be the one to make the first move. I wouldn't mind so much if they'd just get on with it! All this waiting gets on my nerves! Eventually, her time of waiting came to an end, as she finally saw one of the tendrils move forward. Although still struggling, Adagio was now occupied with seeing where this thing was going and what it was doing. However, rather than try and go for any of her more "intimate" areas, it instead, snaked around her, moving behind where she couldn't see. Confused, Adagio craned her neck around as much as she could, and saw that the tendril in question was now splitting into two smaller ones, both of which now wrapping themselves around her purple boots. Although not sure where this was going, Adagio watched as, with one almighty yank, the tendrils pulled her boots clean off, exposing her light-purple leggings.
Okay, she thought to herself, this is not going where I thought it was going. I guess I should be relieved at that. However, that less-fearful thought was brought to an abrupt end, as the two smaller tendrils moved away taking her boots with them. In their place, another tendril arrived and, without warning, coiled around Adagio's ankles, holding them firmly together. Like before, the Siren struggled, but was yet again unable to break free of the plant's hold. Ceasing her struggle, she instead looked back behind her, just in time to see yet another tendril, this one also split in two at the end, like the forked tongue of a snake, slowly approaching her bound feet. And now, her eyes began to widen as realisation dawned on her. Oh no! Not that! Oh please, if any God or whatever is up there, please don't let this go where I think it's going! I'll never live it down! But, her new fear was soon proved to be true, as the forked tendril finally reached her feet, their tips gently pressing against her two heels before slowly sliding down her still-covered soles.
The effect was immediate, as a sense of ticklishness, the kind she had not experienced for years, suddenly shot through her. As soon as it began, she bit down on her lower lip, holding her mouth closed with all of her might. If this thing thinks it's going to get a laugh out of me, it's got another thing coming! I am Adagio Dazzle! Queen of the Sirens! And I refuse to be humiliated by some lowly plant! However, the tendrils seemed to care little for her resolve, as they continued slowly and methodically stroking up and down her restrained feet. If there was one thing Adagio hated, it was being under someone else's power, being dominated. And yet, despite the tendrils' continued efforts, the Siren refused to give an inch, never letting out even the tiniest giggle. Although, there were one or two moments that had her snorting like a pig when laughter was close, much to her embarrassment. Still, she was holding her ground against this mildly ticklish assault. Maybe it'll get bored and let me go? Could I be that lucky?
Sadly for Adagio, she was not that lucky. As she finally began to feel the tendrils move away from her feet. Although she had not laughed once, she'd nevertheless practically exhausted herself in trying to hold back the laughter, and so now found herself panting to catch her breath. This respite was a brief one however, as the tendrils shot towards her feet yet again. However, this time was different, as they were no longer tickling her, but rather wrapping around the loose ends of her leggings, just beyond where her big toes were located, They gripped the end of the leggings tightly before pulling back, with Adagio looking back to see her clothing stretched to breaking point. That moment came sooner than she would have liked though, as a loud ripping sound was soon followed by her seeing the ends of her leggings now torn away, completely exposing her feet. Great, and after all that time I spent finding leggings in a colour I liked. The air of the room was cool on her feet, but that was little compared to the feeling of dread as the tendrils resumed their approach towards them.
Adagio renewed her struggle, but like every time before, the tendrils merely tightened their grip. And soon enough, she found herself once more under assault, as the two smaller tendrils resumed their strokes up and down her soles. With her leggings on it was bad enough, but now her feet were complete bare, and the ticklish sensations had become even more intense as a result. Like before, Adagio bit down on her lip, but this time it was even more difficult to keep the laughter in. Are those things going even faster than before? This is torture! What did I ever do to deserve this? I mean, sure, I tried to take over the world, and yeah I did kinda make some people's lives a living Hell over the centuries. But apart from that I'm not so deserving of this, right? Her philosophical musings were put on hold however as, within moments, the Siren found herself right on the threshold of what she could take. As if sensing this, two smaller tendrils appeared and, without her noticing, wrapped themselves around her big toes, pulling them back and leaving her soles taught. With her feet now immobile, a few more strokes of the tendrils were all it took to finally send her into a fit of laughter.
"STAHAHAHAHAP!"
Her screams of laughter echoed throughout the apartment, and for several minutes, Adagio put up with the relentless tickling, even fearing at one point that she may pass out from it. However, it was at this point that she managed to hear something over the sound of her own laughter. Is that the front door? Oh, that's just great. Someone here to witness my humiliation. Wait...someone's here! I'm saved!
"HEHEHEHEHELP!!!" she called out, still laughing all the time.
It took mere moments for her to get some kind of response, as the door of the room burst open, revealing none other than Aria on the other side. Adagio's eyes widened a spark of hope within them as she called out to her sister.
"AHAHAHAHAHARIA! HEHEHEHELP ME!!!"
However, rather than simply leap to the rescue like some kind of generic action hero, Aria merely stood there, her face complete blank as she surveyed the scene before her. Adagio watched as she looked down to her bare arm, pinching it slightly, much to the former's annoyance. Yes, Aria, this isn't a dream. Now stop wasting time and get over here! I need someone to help me out of this thing! But, rather than comply with Adagio's obvious wishes, Aria's face merely morphed into a mischievous smirk, leading to no end of confusion for the Siren leader. She watched as Aria reached into her back pocket before pulling out what Adagio instantly recognised as her phone. Flipping it up, Aria pressed a few buttons before holding it up, and it wasn't long before Adagio figured out what she was doing. No! For the love of Faust, don't tell me you're doing what I think your doing! As if hearing Adagio's thoughts, Aria began to speak up.
"You know, Sis, I know a few guys who would pay good money to see footage like this."
Adagio would have most likely scolded Aria then and there, if it hadn't been for her current predicament. All she could do was let out torrents of endless laughter as the tendrils continued their assault. However, it wasn't long before a second presence was heard, and Adagio looked up in a hopeful manner yet again as she saw Sonata enter the room, standing alongside Aria and looking utterly shocked at what her beloved "gift" was doing to her sister. Even if she hadn't been laughing uncontrollably, Adagio would still have given her little sister a smile. Oh, Sonata! Sweet, kind Sonata! You'll help me, won't you? However, Sonata's expression became somewhat blank as she turned from Adagio to Aria, seeing what the latter was doing, before turning back to Adagio. In mere moments, Sonata's face now bore the same devilish smirk as Aria, and she too pulled out a phone from her back pocket. Together, both she and Aria continued to record footage of Adagio in her predicament, much to the latter's absolute fury. As their sister's laughter continued to ring throughout the apartment, Sonata leaned closer to Aria.
"So...do we help her after we're done?"
Aria considered that before smirking yet again.
"Sure...after we thank Sunset for the gift."
