Part 1 - Dark, Yet DarkerView OnlineThe Unravelling of Adagio DazzlePart 1 - Dark, Yet DarkerThe Unraveling of Adagio Dazzle It was done. She knew it would happen one day, but never did she imagine like this. It was almost an ironic way to meet their end. They had been queens, gods, once. They watched civilizations rise and fall - they had helped them fall. To have been defeated and humiliated by mere teenagers... it was bad, but she would have given anything for their suffering to have ended there. The Rainbooms were none-the-wiser that on the day they had defeated Adagio Dazzle, Aria Blaze and Sonata Dusk, they had sentenced them to a fate worse than death. Their demise hadn't come with a bang, but with a slow decay. Things had seemed okay at the beginning, they had returned home to lick their wounds, regroup and replan. Only after realizing the damage done to their powers was permanent did the depression begin to kick in. The voices – their voices, were what made them what they were. A siren without a voice was like a bird without wings, or a fish without fins. And what happens when you removed those creatures' specially evolved features? The birds fell from the sky, and the fish starved to death. She sighed. How could she even begin to tell them? They were her responsibility, no matter the world or the century; they had always been hers to protect. They may have been sisters but she raised them like they were her own. And how could a mother even begin to prepare her babies for the inevitable? It was cruel, it was unjust. The only thing that kept her going was her utter contempt for the Rainbooms, but even that began to fade as hunger took over. Adagio looked to her youngest. She was watching TV, blissfully unaware of the fate baring down on her. Sonata was born the runt of the litter -so intelligence had never been her strongest suit- but Adagio didn't doubt she was also beginning to feel the stabbing feeling in the pit of her stomach. Even now, she swore she could see the bones beginning to show through her cheeks. “Sonata, honey,” she cooed. Sonata drew her attention away from the TV and smiled at her older sister. “Ya 'dagi?” Adagio gave a small smile. Leave it to Sonata to inspire a glimmer of hope with her cuteness, even when facing oblivion. “How are you feeling?” Sonata took a second to respond, more than likely mulling the question over. “Pretty good, a little hungry. When's Aria coming back from the store?” A wash of anxieties hit Adagio. She swallowed. They had tried replacing their diets with human food, even before the loss of their magic. It provided a little sustenance, and was definitely tasty, but was no match for the vast quantities of magical energy they needed to survive. This shouldn't be allowed. This was just plain cruel. And she knew the worst was yet to come. Sonata was going to stay hungry, they all were. Adagio was going to have to watch her sisters waste away to nothing, and there was nothing she could do about it. It was a fate worse than death, and frankly, Adagio would have preferred to have dropped dead on that band stand. “Dagi?” Adagio looked up, having gotten lost in her thoughts. Sonata observed her with obvious concern in her eyes. “You okay? You don't look so good?” Adagio forced a hollow smile and took her sister's hand in her own. “I'm fine. Everything's fine, don't worry.” “Adagio, you're like, super cold, you sure you're okay?” She smiled. “Yes. I'm fine." Days went by. Days, and then weeks. Months, maybe? She had stopped counting, it didn't seem worth it. She would pray every night when she went to bed it would be her last time, and then curse when she woke up the next morning. And she could barely look at them anymore. They weren't her sisters. Everything her sisters were, everything that Adagio had nurtured and loved, had died on that stage. She'd look at them now and where she once felt love and comfort... now was just sympathy. Sympathy and anger for what they had become. It was blasphemous to her and outright insulting to their memory. These walking corpses were not Aria and Sonata. They looked like them, they talked like them, even argued like them... but it wasn't them. When you're around each other almost every second of your immortal life, and when you get to know each other as well as her sisters did, you begin to see past physical appearances. The light -the aurora they emitted- the very essence of what made them themselves was now gone. The wheels were still turning but the driver had left the vehicle. They were just pale, cheap imitations of what they once were... and it sickened her. She didn't know whether to cry or rage. The knowledge it was her actions that had done this to them was not lost on her, and had long gone past the point of simply depressing her. The fallen wished for death almost daily, but knew that even in their living dead state, she could never abandon her sisters. Whatever was left of them was hers to protect. She had failed them in life, and owed it to them to not fail them in death. So they would carry on with their 'normal' lives as long they could. Aria got a job and Sonata went back to attending CHS. The only bright side she took from the situation was that her sisters didn't appear to be aware of their decay. Of course she could see it bright as day, and she knew the harsh reality that at this point, each of them had barely days left. The shorter the better, as far as she was concerned. The mental weight of being aware of her families coming demise was beginning to take it's toll on her. She could barely bring herself to talk to either of them anymore without bursting into tears. Which they had noticed, of course. “Adagio, you're really starting to scare us!” That was when Adagio had made the decision not to tell them. They had confronted her about her behavior and had presented the prefect opportunity for her to explain what was going on. She would later try convincing herself she made the noble choice, by letting them enjoy their last days of semi-existence without the harsh reality of the situation baring down on them. But she knew her real reasons were not so brave. She was too chicken. She spent her life protecting and caring for these girls, and simply could not look them in the eyes and tell them they were going to die. Even if she had grown to despise what they had become. It was a lie. It had all been a dirty, dirty trick. They weren't dying. This whole time Adagio had been ticking off days on the calendar, praying that when they finally passed they went peacefully. But they weren't dying, because that would have been way too lucky. They were suffering from a fate way worse. They were already dead. Adagio couldn't even recognize her sisters at this point. Aria and Sonata were long gone and what inhabited their bodies were faded echoes. She would sit in the living room for hours, watching them stumble around mindlessly. They could function, sure. They knew how to eat, sleep, and do housework. But the noises they made weren't words... or none that Adagio could understand. It had been weeks since she had successfully communicated with either of them. Probably the worse part was that somewhere, deep, deep down inside them, a small part of her sisters still existed. The Not-Sonata would bring her food, and the Not-Aria had even tried establishing contact via hand signals. They still cared about her. Or, they thought they did. Adagio arrived at the conclusion they probably worked like computer programs, and did what they did because that's what they were supposed to do, not because they wanted to. Physically they were little more than blurry silhouettes at this point, but from the small parts of behavior Adagio could make out, they still acted roughly the same as her sisters. This made something awaken inside Adagio. Where she used to feel despair and depression, she now felt angry. She was angry before, but this was different. Earlier it was directed at the Rainbooms, at Sunset Shimmer, but now it was everywhere. It was the situation she was angry at. She felt cheated. She had been done dirty, like a pathetic joke. She had not only lost her sisters, she had these two abombinations left in their place. She tried not to hate them, but found it so difficult. She reminded herself constantly that it wasn't their fault, that they were just as much a victim of circumstance as her. But it didn't work, and every time she spotted one of them she couldn't ignore the fact her sisters had died for them. Then finally, after she-didn't-know-how-long of sitting down and crying about it, she got the urge to take matters into her own hands. Adagio was not a merciful creature by nature, but the rules changed when it was her family. She had been protecting her girls since they were all born, and she realized now it was her duty to see it through to the end. Again, this was never, ever, how she imagined the great Dazzlings would meet their end, but desperate times called for desperate measures. She waited until night fall, when the Not-Aria had disappeared and then slowly crept into action. Sneaking quietly into the Not-Sonata's room, she spied her target sleeping on the bed. From the outside, it almost looked vaguely recognizable as the sister she would have once died to protect. That made what was about to happen even more painful on her side. She grabbed the spare pillow. She was decided, she would do anything to protect her sisters... even if that meant putting them out of their misery. Adagio climbed across the large bed, never taking her eyes off the Not-Sonata. It was fast asleep, snoring and drooling onto the pillow it was spooning. She wanted to say goodbye. She wanted to kiss it on the forehead, tell it how much she loved it, anything in tribute to the sister she had lost. But she couldn't without breaking up, and she had to be strong right now. For Sonata. This was the best mercy she could give her. The pillow was placed over it's face and gently pushed down on. Seconds ticked over. Adagio could feel the hot tears on her cheeks. The body began twitching. “Shh, it's okay. Everything's fine,” she tried to ease it. More seconds. The body began to thrash. The Not-Sonata was awake. Adagio tightened her grip, forcing her body weight down onto the pillow. “Sshhhhhhh,” she repeated, trying to maintain a soft tone while gritting her teeth. She could hear voices coming from beneath the pillow but couldn't determine what was being said. Adagio shifted her body weight onto the pillow. The Not-Sonata's failing limbs had began flailing around, but not enough to make Adagio stop. She bit her lip and closed her eyes. Surely it wouldn't be much longer now. Sonata wasn't as strong as her two sisters; there was a reason Adagio had chosen to free her first. A stray punch collided with Adagio's jaw, momentarily allowing the Not-Sonata a gasp of breath and time to let out a blood-curdling scream. “NO!” Adagio forced the pillow harder down onto it's face. But it now knew exactly where Adagio was and began directing all of it's attacks towards her face. Another punch collided with her nose, breaking it instantly, while the other hand dug its nails into her jaw and started scraping away her skin. Adagio could feel a sudden warm presence on her face and assumed it to be her own blood. She took a twisted sense of pride that Sonata wasn't going out without a fight. Her knuckles began to turn white and she forced the pillow down harder. “GET THE FUCK AWAY FROM HER!” A sudden force tackled her from the side and onto the floor. The room was alive with noise. Her eyes tried to focus and picked up on the Not-Aria as her attacker. It was leaning over her, and quickly delivered a punch down into Adagio's face, knocking her head to the side and causing bright black splodges to dot in and out of her vision. Pennies. Adagio could taste pennies. Wait, not pennies. Blood. Lots of blood. Her blood. She pulled herself back to the bedroom. The room was spinning. The Not-Aria was on the bed with the Not-Sonata. They were both shouting. What they were saying, Adagio couldn't make out, but knew they were obviously distressed. She had tried to do this gently and during the night because she knew the two would overreact if they caught on to what she was trying to do. If only they could see things from her point of view. She pitied them; they would never understand that she was trying to help them. Was clinging onto this miserable, empty existence really that important to them? Adagio didn't have time to further this thought before the Not-Aria dove back onto her again, throwing another punch and enveloping her vision in darkness. Author's Note Trying a little experiment with this fic, would love to know what you guys think
Part 2 - The Abyss Gazes BackView OnlineThe Unravelling of Adagio DazzlePart 2 - The Abyss Gazes BackThe rain fell hard. Cars splashed as they shot down the roads, unwillingly sending waves of dirty water onto the pavements and soaking the legs of pedestrians. As night began to fall, the droplets of water camouflaged into the darkness , leaving only the sound of their impacts remaining. Hours passed. The rain began to fade, or rather, was drowned out by the howling of sharp wind. It was a harsh and cold night outside, that much was obvious. Then suddenly, a spark of orange on the horizon, and the wind began to calm. Birds emerged from their nests and greeted the sun as it rose into the sky. People, cars and dogs followed suit; the day had begun. Later, night fell yet again. With it returned the rain, this time accompanied by zeus weapon of choice; lightening. What was it going to be next? Would the rain go? Or with the way the weather had been turning, would it become snow? Would her view be buried under a blanket of white? Now that, that would be an interesting change. She hoped that would happen. All she had now was this window. Her wants, her needs, her passions... all of it was but a distant, blurred memory. Now, it was just her and this window. Morning, noon and night. She didn’t sleep anymore, she just drifted in and out of consciousness. Sometimes, if she was feeling particularly energetic, she even switched positions. She didn’t know what to do. She wanted an answer, but at the same time, didn’t have the effort to find one. Not this time. No more cards left. She always pulled them back from their lowest point, but how could anyone come back from this? The thought had occurred to her - at what point was something classed as non-existent? Say there was an area of space, billions of miles away, that had no matter, or gas, or gravity, and wasn’t even reached by sources of light. Did that area exist? If it was entirely unaffected by the elements and remained unchanged for millenia, was it even really there? Adagio was jealous of it. Non-existence was a preferable reality to her own. She had even considering becoming a permanent member of the void. It would be so simple. Just unlatch the window she had grown so close to and step out into oblivion. Simple, yes, but whenever she worked up the courage to try it... Oh. That made sense now. She was scared to do it herself. Yet, she had built a barrier behind her door to stop contact with the two beings she was sure would more than happily assist her. Why had she done that? Not working up the courage to do it herself was understandable, but why was she scared of others doing it? She didn’t have anything left to live for, so why was she so scared? Why? The answer, frankly, was simple. Let it be known that when push had come to shove, Adagio Dazzle was a coward. And this was her punishment. She was a siren, feeding on jealousy and hatred was her biology. But there were other ways, she knew. Adagio used to say nothing could help them, but she was lying. There were spells, enchantments, or even skilled ponies out there that could have helped. Of course, back then she never saw it as lying. She always saw herself as the unsung hero, doing everything she must to provide for her sisters. When in reality, she just like playing the villain. She enjoyed it, she was good at it! But now faced with the void, if she could do it all again… It would be different. If she’d have known this would be her punishment, she'd take it all back. Every fibre of the woman she had become. She’d betray it all. Every single thing that made her who she was, she would trade it right now, just to make things go back to the way they once were. Just to take her back to Equestria. Just to give them their powers back. Just to make her sisters come back. But that was an empty hope. Things were never going to go back to the way they were. Now, it was just her and the window, stretching on for eternity until she finally worked up the nerve to end it herself. Maybe she would do it tonight. Then again, maybe it would snow. She would hate to miss that. Adagio sucked in a sharp and deep breath as pain shot through her body. Her knuckles clenched tight, and she forced down on the breath she was holding in. She held this position for as long as she could, before finally pulling her head out from under the running water and gasping for breath. The water around her feet was running red, caused by the large gash along her nose. It didn’t appear broken, luckily, but the Not-Aria had definitely retained her sisters level of strength and done a good deal of damage. Only when she was sure the sister-things had definitely left the house did she dare venture out of her room. About time as well, as her face had become crusted with dried blood, and her hair matted together with sweat and vomit. Not showering hadn’t bothered her at first, but now the smell was being to get to her, and she refused to leave behind an ugly corpse, whatever the situation. Pressing her hand against the cool tile wall, she lowered herself to sit on the bath floor. Slowly the red around her began to fade, turning a slight pink before disappearing all together. At what point had she messed up? She was born a siren, and did what always came naturally to her. Was her mistake enjoying it so much? Humans were born omnivores. They ate meat. They did what came naturally to them. How was doing what she did any different to humans buying meat at the store? Will they all too one day meet the same fate as her? Or something worse? Were the lives of animals really less important than the feelings of other humans? All Adagio did was make people sad; humans killed their food to eat it. Yet here she was, alone, while families sat around the dinner table enjoying roasted dinners. Would it make her happy if she knew they would suffer too one day? No, surprisingly. For the first time, seeing others suffer wouldn’t do anything for her. She didn’t want revenge, or vengeance. She just wanted her sisters back. She could feel it. Inside her. It was difficult to describe, but as each day passed she became more and more aware of it. There was a snake wrapped around her skeleton. It was living. Breathing. Moving. Something alive was shuffling around inside her, trying to find a way out. It’s exit was destroyed, but it was still in there. It was alive, and it was starving. Dying. It was dying inside her and she was defenseless to help it. Adagio clutched at her chest. “I can feel you. You’re there.” When unicorns came to this world they lost their horns, but retained their magic. A unicorn in this world had just as much magical ability as she had in Equestria, but no conduit to access it. Why sirens were different to unicorns she didn’t know, but when they had come to this world, they had pendants that took the form of that conduit. So surely by that logic, what they suffered was the equivalent of a unicorn losing their horn? They still had the magic inside them, just lacked a way to expull it. She didn’t know where to even begin finding an alternate way to extract it. Of course during the first few weeks after the accident that was all her life had consisted of -trying different gemstones and gluing together pieces of the old ones- but none of it had worked, obviously Eventually she stopped trying, it simply meant- “Wait,” she said suddenly, her voice less than a whisper. The tiny hairs on the back of her neck stood on end. She repeated that thought process back to herself. “You're still there… just... inside.” There was a hope. The magic was still alive, inside them. All she had to do was get it out. And she would do so by any means necessary.
Part 3 - Through Fire and FlamesView OnlineThe Unravelling of Adagio DazzlePart 3 - Through Fire and FlamesAuthor's Note Authors Warning: This is where the story gets freaky, viewer discretion is advised. Part 3 - Through Fire and Flames Inside them. Inside them. Inside them. The words circled her head for hours to come. Their resurrection was possible. And possible was all she needed. It didn’t take long for her to develop ideas, but none of them would be easy. They were difficult not only physically, but morally speaking, as well. She had tried on herself first. It had proven difficult, and very, very painful. The pain had become so harsh in fact, that was what made her realize she wouldn't get anywhere trying it on herself. She simply couldn’t get anything done while experiencing the pain herself; it was too distracting for her to think properly. She knew what had to be done. There was no hesitation about it. She had a chance at getting her sisters and their power back, so she would take it, no matter the cost. Wrapping her arm up tightly in a bandage, Adagio began to make plans. She was not physically stronger than either of her sisters ghosts. The Not-Sonata, maybe, but in her malnourished state she doubted she could over-power her. She would need to be clever, and luckily Adagio's strength was not only as a strategist, but as a damn good one. She waited for both of them to leave the apartment. At this time, the Not-Sonata would be in school, a confusing habit the ghoul had retained. She wasn’t sure why the Not-Aria had left, but it had provided her with the perfect opportunity. After dragging down the makeshift barricade down from behind her door, Adagio ventured out into the apartment. It was surprisingly clean, for the most part. It was clean, but it was empty. Very empty. This was the apartment she had shared with her sisters. Being in here without them was just… just… Adagio swallowed, shaking her head. She had this. She knew what she was doing. Quickly and quietly, she made her way down to the broom cupboard and pulled out a cricket bat. It was the bat they primarily kept in case of intruders, but also for playing occasionally when they had vacationed, making it quite appropriate that it would be a tool in her sisters resurrection. Speaking of which… The Not-Aria was strong, there was no chance she would be able to touch the Not-Sonata while it was around. Which meant it would have to be the target. Adagio lay in wait. Minutes passed. Hours? She couldn't tell. She stood glued in her hiding place, waiting like an ambush predator. Finally the key in the door clicked, and it was showtime. “I’M SORRY ABOUT THIS I PROMISE.” Adagio swung the bat with all her might. Before it had any time to react, the Not-Aria was knocked from its feet and sent flailing back into the corridor outside their house. As it hit the floor Adagio leaped over it, ready to strike again. It didn’t get up. For a brief second, Adagio experienced a moment of panic. She was expecting a fight, or a yell, anything. She dove to the ground, and quickly found reassurance with the confirmation of a pulse. Tossing the bat away from them, Adagio scooped up the Not-Aria by it’s shoulders and dragged it back into the house. “Aria, baby, I need your help," she whispered into it's ear. “You probably can’t understand me… or what I’m about to do, but I promise it’s for the best.” Adagio kicked open the door to her bedroom. She already had her equipment set up, all made from makeshift utensils and a pair of handcuffs attached to her bed. Dragging the unconscious Not-Aria, she hoisted its upper half onto her bed and then with a heave, pulled at it's belt until the whole thing was lifted it fully into place. As she locked the handcuffs in place, the Not-Aria began to stir. Adagio couldn’t make out anything beyond static noise, but was sure it was trying to talk. “Hey, hey...” Adagio said in her best soothing voice, sitting beside it on the bed. “Listen, Aria… I know you don’t know what’s going on, but it’s going to be okay.” The harder she looked at the Not-Aria, the more she began to notice. Like a camera coming in and out of focus, small details began to make themselves known to her. It had pink skin and purple hair, just like the real Aria once had. That, if anything, was the final convincing Adagio needed. She soothed the Not-Aria, stroking her hair. “I’m gonna bring you back. It’s not gonna be easy but… I know what I have to do. This is all gonna be worth it in the end, I promise.” To say this was difficult would be an understatement. The Not-Aria had fought against her none-stop, further cementing her theory it was not self aware, otherwise it would have understood she was trying to help it. It had gotten so bad Adagio ended up having to force a gag into its mouth, as the sounds it had been producing were starting to make her skin crawl. What was far more annoying, however, was that she didn’t seem to be making any process. Just where exactly was magic even stored in the body? In unicorns it was fairly obviously the brain, since the horn was on the head, but sirens? She had no clue, and frankly… she was beginning to make a mess. Stepping back from her work, she dropped her tools and groaned. Her hard work had caused her to bleed through her bandage. How long ago had she applied it? It looked to be getting dark out, but so far as Adagio could figure out it was winter, which meant she probably still had a few hours befo- A sudden shriek from behind her. Okay. Maybe she didn’t have as good a grasp of the time as she thought she had. Adagio spun around, just in time to see the Not-Sonata running from her room. Never mind the time, she should have remembered to lock her door! Celestia, what was wrong with her!? No wonder she had been beaten by teenagers. “Sonata! Come back here!” This was what she had wanted to avoid. So far as she could tell, the Not-Aria and Not-Sonata followed the basic behavior of her sisters. And Sonata was emotional, timid and quick to overreact. She hoped to explain the situation to her in a way she knew wouldn’t have been able to do with the aggressive Not-Aria, but now that idea had gone down the drain. Entering out into the hallway, Adagio tried to locate the bat she had used earlier on the Not-Aria, only to find it had gone. Fantastic. “Sonata, listen to me. You don’t understand what's going on... I’m trying to help you.” Her words echoed in the apartment. No response came. In fact, if she hadn’t had heard and seen the Not-Sonata, she would almost have sworn she was home alone. Adagio slowly crept over to the front door, shifting the lock into place. “Sonata, come out. Please, I’m really tired and we don’t have to do this.” A slight shuffling came from somewhere in the apartment. The living room? Her bedroom? It could have come from either. Deciding the noise wasn’t the Not-Aria beginning to stir, she made her way into the living room and called out again. “Sonat-” WHACK! "GAH!" The wooden bat collided with her face. A burning sensation filled her body as her already-damaged nose was further broken by the impact. Adagio dropped to the floor, cursing profusely to herself. “You little shit!” she unsuccessfully made to grab the Not-Sonata’s ankles as it ran past. Groaning, Adagio pulled herself up. Wiping the blood from her mouth and face, she dragged herself off the floor by the door handle. Switching onto her two feet, she called out yet again, noticeably less reassuring than before. “Sonata, honey…” Supporting herself on the wall, Adagio switched rooms and limped into the kitchen. Target sighted. She crossed the room and pulled a large kitchen knife out from its stand on the counter. “If you do that again…” she seethed, “then I’m going to kill you. Now stop playing games.” Holding the knife out in front of her, Adagio waddled back into the hallway. She could immediately hear a noise going from her left. Using a hand to support herself on the wall, she made her way to Sonata’s old room. She threw the door open, knife at the ready. “Sonata!” The room was empty. Action figures, band posters and a messy-unmade bed, but no Not-Sonata.. But, she had heard a noise coming from in here. Which meant… “Hiding? Seriously?” she rolled her eyes. She wished she could communicate with them. She doubted that to the ghouls her words sounded like anything other than that same static fuzz she heard when they tried to communicate with her. That, and the fact they might not even have the mental understanding to comprehend human speech. Talking to them was more for her own benefit. If she could pretend that by talking to them, maybe somewhere in the back of their heads her sisters were still alive and hearing her, then it gave her an end goal. Even if she couldn’t make contact, reassuring them she was coming for them offered herself a little reassurance as well. “You’re not making this any easier for me, you know!” she told the empty room. They actually used to play like this, what felt like forever ago. It probably was a forever ago, thinking about it. Back in Equestria, back in their true forms, they’d play hide and seek in the shallow water. Sonata’s body was small, which made her great at hiding in rock pools. She could fit into places she and Aria could not, which had come in quite handy during their shoplifting days in this world. Fortunately, playing those games as a child had made Adagio as good at finding her as Sonata was at hiding. “Sonata, I know you’re…” Adagio dropped to her knees, “...under the bed!” Nobody was under the bed. “That’s vaguely embarrassing.” Then suddenly, a new noise. Adagio pressed her head against the carpet. Metal, clicking? Rattling? “Oh you little shit!” Adagio leapt from the floor and dove back into the hallway. The Not-Sonata was stretched over the Not-Aria, tugging at the handcuffs that held her. She didn’t know how it had given her the slip, but then again… Adagio was well aware she probably wasn’t in her best mindset right now. The Not-Sonata leaped back from the bed, and pointed out the cricket bat in front of Adagio. “Put it down,” Adagio held her knife out at equal distance. “You have nowhere to go and nobody is coming for you. I’m trying to help you, let me.” Kicking her back leg out, Adagio closed the door behind herself.
Part 4 - Avenge Her FallenView OnlineThe Unravelling of Adagio DazzlePart 4 - Avenge Her FallenSomething has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter.
