The clear night sky had given way to a great deal of coolness in the air, but not so much that it kept people from wanting to be out in it. Such was the case tonight, as there were many people walking the streets of Canterlot, either in pairs or in groups, looking like they were having an otherwise enjoyable time. Amidst all of this, and stepping out of what appeared to be a small local theatre, were three girls, Rarity, Sugarcoat and Adagio. All three had smiles upon their faces, albeit with a small one for Sugarcoat, and were all clad in overcoats to help them deal with the coolness of the night around them. Whatever they'd just been in for, they'd obviously enjoyed it, as evidenced by Rarity when she turned to speak to Sugarcoat.
"Oh, I absolutely must say, that was a fine performance, darling!"
Adagio also turned to the Crystal Prep girl, nodding in agreement.
"Indeed. I'm not one for ballet usually, but that was actually rather enjoyable."
Sugarcoat, as was usually her way, was hard to read, nodding to both of her companions for the evening before adding her own voice to matters.
"Thank you. I usually spend my free time practising. Glad to hear it does me some good."
Rarity, brushing aside some of her hair, maintained her smile.
"And so it has! A shame more of your classmates can't appreciate it more."
Sugarcoat looked to her with a raised eyebrow.
"And you say your friends couldn't make it?"
There was a moment of slight embarrassment for the young fashionista, but she soon recovered, coughing nervously, much to Adagio's amusement, before addressing that point.
"Yes, well...at least we're here to see it, right, Adagio?"
The eldest Siren sister soon answered.
"Quite."
For a time, none of the three girls said anything to one another, merely choosing to look forward as they made their way further down the street. However, after about a block or two, Adagio broke the silence, addressing the other girls.
"I think this way should get us all home a bit sooner."
Turning, both Rarity and Sugarcoat now saw what Adagio was referring two. Beside them, nestled between two buildings, was an alleyway. Given the time it was, there was little light to show what was within, but even so, there, on the other side, was unquestionably the other street. However, as one would expect, merely seeing this supposed shortcut brought little confidence for Rarity.
"Um...are you certain this is a good idea, Adagio?"
The Siren rolled her eyes.
"Of course. My sisters and I use it every other day. Trust me, there's nothing in here that could give us cause for concern."
And just like that, without even letting the other girls say another word, Adagio had started moving into the alleyway. Rarity looked like she was going to call out to her, only to stop when she saw her friend walking off. After briefly glancing to one another, Rarity and Sugarcoat soon followed. It was even colder in the alleyway than it was on the main street, and while not dirty exactly, the place nevertheless seemed like the kind of area one would normally avoid. But Adagio, as usual, seemed unconcerned by this, continuing onwards, even as the other girls had managed to catch up to her. However, it was not long afterwards, when they were about halfway through it, when a noise caught their attention. To the concern of Rarity and Sugarcoat, it was, without question, the sound of footsteps that were not their own. But, they kept moving, hoping it would pass. Sadly, it did not, and soon, a voice joined those footsteps.
"Well now...what do we have here?"
Instantly, all three froze in place, with Rarity in particular looking utterly terrified. Slowly, the girls started to turn around, and there, right in front of them, was someone they knew was going to be there. A figured, decked out all in black, wearing a mask that completely concealed his face. From the looks of him, he was somewhat older than they were, and definitely larger. But that alone was not what concerned the girls. For in this figure's hand was, indisputably, a knife. Admittedly, it was a small one, probably a pen-knife, but still something to be worried about. As the figure took a single step forward, he raised that weapon, speaking up in that gravelly tone of his.
"Alright now...hand over whatever money you got, nice and easy."
Rarity was shaking in place, and Sugarcoat, while trying her best to maintain her usual stoic appearance, was starting to crack slightly under this rather frightening situation they'd found themselves in. By contrast, Adagio, raising an eyebrow, merely placed one hand upon her hip, taking a step forward.
"I'm sorry, young man, but I feel that this is something of an error of yours."
All eyes turned to her, with the man seeming confused, while the other girls looked to Adagio as though she'd just said the most shocking thing in the world. As for the Siren herself, she maintained her calm demeanour, flipping aside some of her hair before continuing.
"We're merely passing through. So, if you don't mind, we'll just be on our way. Put your little knife away and we'll pretend this didn't happen."
Silence fell, but only for a moment, as the unidentified assailant spoke up again, this time in a louder and angrier voice than before.
"What, you think this is a joke?! Do as I say and you won't get any of this!"
He raised his knife in a menacing manner, eliciting a fearful reaction from Rarity and Sugarcoat. In fact, so worried were they that they started to take a few steps backwards, causing Adagio to frown at them slightly.
"Now now, girls. You shouldn't back down from poor behaviour like this. It only encourages them."
The figure narrowed his eyes.
"This is your last chance, girly. Give me your money...or else!"
Seeing that look in his eyes, Adagio, remaining unfazed, let out a long sigh.
"Very well...don't say I didn't warn you."
So, with everyone looking to her, she got down to one knee, wherein she started to unbuckle one of her shoes, followed shortly by the other, much to the amusement of the mugger.
"Oh, what, you gonna throw your shoes at me or something?"
But Adagio simply shook her head.
"No. I just don't like having to fight in heels."
As before, everybody looked to her with utter shock at her words, and the man, whoever he was, soon descended back into his prior amusement.
"You...you're kidding, right?"
Now barefoot, Adagio stood upright, gracefully slipping out of her overcoat and casually handing it to Rarity. With that done, she started taking a few steps closer to her opponent, all while Rarity silently urged her not to do so. As for the mugger, his earlier frown returned.
"I'll do it! Don't think I won't!"
But Adagio merely smirked.
"Go on then."
The man watched as the Siren drew closer and closer, causing him both confusion and anger in equal measure. Eventually, there came a point where she was so close that he just knew that he had to do something, otherwise his threat would just be an empty one. He narrowed his eyes, raised his knife hand, then thrust forward with great strength. Rarity, for her part, covered her eyes, letting out a high-pitched yelp as she did so. But, strangely, the screams of pain she expected to hear from her friend did not come. Nor were there any sounds of a struggle. Instead, and after some time, she started to peek through her fingers, seeing, to her surprise, what had truly happened. The man had indeed tried to strike at Adagio. But instead of being stabbed, the Siren had merely grabbed hold of his wrist, and was holding him in place, with the tip of the knife barely an inch from her chest. On her side of things, Adagio seemed greatly amused, while the man continued to struggle to get his knife further towards her.
"I...I...how...?!"
But the "mere girl" before him chuckled.
"Oh my. Having trouble, are we?"
Rarity and Sugarcoat looked to her, utterly amazed by what they were seeing. But the mugger, rather expectedly, was furious with what was going on right now, and continued to struggle to get his wrist free from the girl who, from the looks of it, was completely bored by all of this. Eventually, and to everyone's surprise, she let go, causing the man to stumble backwards somewhat. As his eyes focused on her, Adagio once more placed her hands upon her hips.
"Now then, getting back to the matter of final warnings..."
But she was cut off, and the man again tried to swing at her. Again, she caught his wrist, and again, he was angered by it.
"You think you're so tough with your..."
This time, it was his turn to be cut off, as he was struck mid-rant on the underside of his chin by the palm of Adagio's free hand. The effect was immediate, as he yelped in pain, prompting Adagio to release him once more. Rarity had a hard time seeing what was going on from her distance, but even so, her keen eyes could make out what appeared to be an emerging blood stain on the mouth-area of the man's mask, which was followed by him babbling further.
"Mah...mah tungah!"
After taking a moment to recover somewhat, and looking back to Adagio, his eyes widened with pure hatred.
"You...you BITCH!!!"
To that, Adagio simply shook her head and gave a few "tsk" sounds.
"Now then, is that any way to speak to a lady?"
The man attacked in earnest, slashing the air wildly as he ran towards Adagio. But, in a feat that once more impressed both Rarity and Sugarcoat, the eldest Siren sister did a full-on backflip, escaping her attacker's strike. This carried on for some time, with her flipping back and back and back, not unlike an Olympic gymnast, all while the man was frustrated with every attempted slash he made. On the final flip, however, Adagio's leg was perfectly positioned to, at the right moment, kick him in the face, causing him to once again stumble backwards. At this point, Adagio had moved so far back that she had now re-joined Rarity and Sugarcoat. As the mugger tried to recover from this embarrassing failure on his part, Adagio sighed, looking to him with incredulity.
"So...are we done here?"
The man panted heavily, though whether from tiredness or anger, they could not say. All they knew was that he soon started growling like some kind of wild animal, before charging forward and screaming at the top of his lungs. As Rarity and Sugarcoat moved further away from this, Adagio sighed, shaking her head in disapproval. She took one step forward, waited for just the right moment, then, just as the man raised his knife for his attack, she leapt up, spun in mid-air, and struck him with her foot right across his face. This time, her attack had greater impact, and the man was sent falling to the ground. Though clearly inexperienced in this sort of thing, Rarity could tell that he had been knocked unconscious. As for Adagio, she once more shook her head at the sight of the man.
"Foolish man. Such poor judgement."
She turned, seeing the dumbfounded looks on the faces of the other girls, causing her to shrug her shoulders.
"What? You think my sisters and I could spend thousands of years in a world as dangerous as this one without learning a few tricks here and there?"
Rarity continued to be speechless after that, at least for a few moments, before finally getting herself out of her shocked state, looking over to the fallen man nearby.
"So...what do we do now?"
Adagio too looked to the man.
"I believe the proper course of action is to call the authorities and have him taken away."
Placing one hand on her hip, the Siren glanced around the alleyway with a look of disappointment.
"I must say, I'll have to tell my sisters that this is one shortcut we shouldn't be taking in future. Seems the neighbourhood isn't as civil as it used to be."
The calm way she was handling all of this shocked Rarity greatly, but for the time being, she got back to the business of getting out her phone, with her fingers already pressing on the numbers needed for the emergency services. As for Sugarcoat, she quietly walked up to Adagio, and, to the latter's surprise, handed her shoes to her.
"Ah! Yes, thank you, Sugarcoat."
In that moment, she glanced down at the floor.
"As nice as it was to get a bit more movement in my day, my feet will need a major scrub after this."
And with that, she walked off to the side, finding a nice little spot to kneel down and get her shoes back on. While she was away, Sugarcoat looked over to Rarity and, in her usual way, spoke in a somewhat emotionless manner, though far less certain than normal.
"It occurs to me that you and your friends were lucky to only have to fight the Sirens through magic."
Hearing that, Rarity paused, glancing over to Adagio, before yet again looking to her Crystal Prep companion, smiling as she did so.
"Well, as Pinkie would probably say...this just gives us more reason to be happy that they're our friends now."
