Another night of living off the scraps of others. This is what went through the mind of the young woman who had just walked out the back door of the local bakery. Her bouffant orange hair had lost the volume that it once had, a side effect of not having been able to wash up in about a week. Her lavender waistcoat and leggings were stained and frayed, and her royal purple one piece was faded beyond any treatment. All her faux gold accessories, from her belt to her anklets, went from a lovely luster to something more akin to a rusted-out Oldsmobile. In her arms, she carried four loaves of stale bread, their only source of carbohydrates for the past month or so. That was the fate of Adagio Dazzle and her Dazzlings: from three sirens on the rise to rule the prison they were locked in, to three ordinary tramps living under an overpass, barely able to eat enough to survive.

Thoughts like this passed through her mind repeatedly as she approached their small “camp”. In the center, a fire burned dimly in a vain attempt to keep them warm, sputtering and cracking as it fought off its inevitable death. Close to it was a collection of old blankets and moth-eaten pillows serving as their bedding. Not too far from it all, another person stood leaning on a pillar, head on a swivel before Adagio walked up.

This person’s wardrobe was in a similar state to Adagio, her tube top turned from “light cream” to “old drywall”. Her signature sea foam green vest was curiously absent, but Adagio didn’t pay it any mind. Her violet hair was done up in her usual twin tails, the mint green streak in her hair darkened significantly. This was Aria Blaze, the self-proclaimed muscle of the three.

Adagio walked up to her and breathed out a tired sigh before she said quietly, “Anything happen while I was gone?”, as she handed her one of the loaves. She had assigned Aria to the role of night watch in her absence, making sure that everyone and everything they had left wasn’t stolen or destroyed. She was the most apt out of them, especially considering their sister.

Aria shook her head and looked over at the pile of bedding. She then grumbled out, “Well, nothing outside of the usual. That old guy Fried Fuse came stumbling around here again, trying to tell us stories about his ‘good ol’ days’. Tried to get him to fuck off, but Sonata wanted to hear ‘em.” With a small smirk on her face, she knelt in the blankets, looking at the person sized bump in the center. “After she started to nod off, he told me she was his favorite person in the world. Dunno if that was the drink talking or what, but Sonata loved that.”, she whispered as the lump began to shift. She then said with a full smile, “I’m thinking she found herself a new friend.”

Adagio giggled and said, “Well, good to hear you didn’t have to beat him senseless. And don’t worry, next time he comes around, he’s welcome.” As she said this, she noticed that the blankets had parted to reveal the individual responsible for creating the lump: Sonata Dusk.

Sonata let out a cute yawn as she nuzzled into the blankets, wearing Aria’s vest as an extra layer of warmth. Under it was her standard attire, with her reddish-purple short sleeve jacket and pink skirt with knee high shoes combo. The various shades of blue in her hair were sprawled out from the epicenter of her head.

With a warm smile, she looked over to her two sisters and said sleepily, “Morning guys.” As she rubbed her eyes to wake herself up further, she sat up slowly, the bones in her back cracking as she stretched.

Adagio quickly sat down next to her sister and wrapped an arm around her, saying with a giggle, “It’s still the middle of the night, Sonata.” She noticed that in this new situation, with all the horrible side effects, they had all become noticeably…nicer to each other. Where there was once snark and venom, there was now playful banter and trust. They truly were sisters now as opposed to partners in conquest. As she wrapped her arm around Sonata, Adagio gave her a loaf of bread, which she immediately dug into.

Aria chuckled and said to Sonata, “I was just telling Adagio about that old bastard’s visit.”

Sonata, mouth full of bread, thought for a moment before she gave a look of realization and swallowed the food. She then gave a massive grin and said, “Yeah! He was so nice. Told us all about his life. Oh, did you know that he lived on the street for, like, fifteen years? Isn’t that crazy?!” She was talking a mile a minute, clearly excited about the old man.

Adagio chuckled at her excitement. If any of them could serve as the poster child for making the best of a bad situation, this girl would be at the front of the audition line without question. Adagio could remember many nights where she was sobbing in her sleep, dreaming bittersweet dreams of their power to influence others and how it was lost, when she would suddenly wake up to find Sonata just lying there next to her, holding her, and telling her it was all right. Every day, she woke them all up excitedly to watch the shops open, watching all the people going about their daily shopping with wide eyed wonder. It was this joy at the simple things that kept the other girls grounded during some…dark times.

As Sonata continued her recollection, Aria crouched down next to her and tapped her shoulder, getting her attention. She then said in as warm of a tone as her voice could muster, “Hey Sonata. I gotta talk to Dagi for a bit. You enjoy your bread and we’ll be back in a bit, kay?” After a nod of confirmation from her, Aria stood up and looked at Adagio with a serious expression, jerking her head over to one of the pillars.

Adagio nodded and followed her over to the more secluded area and gave a sigh as she got there. She took one look at Aria, saw the expression on her face, and stated bluntly, “I know exactly what you are going to say…and no, Aria.”

Aria gave a low growl and whispered, “Come ON, Adagio! You can’t honestly expect Sonata to live off stale bread, old fruits, and lukewarm milk.” She then leaned in and said slowly, as if to try to make it clearer, “If we’re gonna survive on the streets, then we are gonna have to steal some shit.”

Adagio pinched the bridge of her nose and said sarcastically, “Oh sure, and maybe when the police catch us and cart us all off to jail, we’ll at least have matching jumpsuits.” She then shook her head and said in a slightly angry tone, “Is that really what you want for Sonata? A life on the run from the police AND the rest of the city?”

Aria rolled her eyes and spat back, “Well, it’s not like it’d be a downgrade if we DID get caught. Least we’d get three square a day plus a bed.” She then walked closer to her and growled out, “Either way, it’s better than your GENIUS idea.”

With a deep sigh, Adagio leveled herself and said calmly, “I told you, if we WERE to go with it, I’d be the only one who would have to do anything. I’d be doing it for the both of you.”

Aria began to pace to calm herself down and said, “Oh sure, Dagi. Sucking some guy’s dick so that us three young girls can shack up with the same creep DEFINITELY won’t lead to anything resembling sexual assault.” She then balled her hands into fists, blood boiling as, venomously, she spat out, “So you’d rather have some perv feeling her up than have her in jail?”

Just before Adagio was about to blow up at her, they both heard that familiar sweet voice come from the other side of the pillar. “Umm…g-guys?” Shortly after that, Sonata poked her head out from behind the pillar and said reassuringly, “I-it’s ok. Really. I don’t mind living like this. I’m not hungry, and I haven’t gotten sick in a week and a half!”

A moment of silence followed that felt like the silence before the first gunshot in a war rang out. That moment before it’s decided whether the two sides are going to hug out their differences or stab each other in the gut. After that moment, Adagio took a deep breath and opened her arms to Sonata for a hug.

The hug was accepted with great fervor as Sonata quickly walked up to her and embraced her tightly. As she stood there holding her, Aria slowly joined in the embrace as well, both holding Sonata between them. They stayed like this for a good minute before Adagio began to speak.

“I’m sorry, Sonata. It’s just…it’s been so hard for us.”, Adagio choked out in a pained tone. She then began to sob lightly as she continued. “We are trying so hard to give each other a livable existence, but…without our powers or our voices, it’s…it’s hard.”

Sonata gave Adagio a light squeeze as she thought about what to say. Every possible corny Aesop ran through her head on fast forward, trying to find one that would fit the situation. After deciding that none of them would be any good, she decided to just tell the truth. With a smile, she said, “Well, we were ok after being sent here, weren’t we? If we could go through that, we can go through this.”

Aria gave a chuckle, still completely thrown off by the idea that Sonata of all people was the one to provide them with words of wisdom. When Sonata turned to her with a confused expression, she simply sighed and said, “I dunno what force out there put someone like you with someone like us, but I’ll be damned if I’m not thankful for it.”

Sonata giggled at this and said, “Same-sies.” Just as she was getting comfortable in this little friendship huddle, she noticed something weird off in the distance. Usually, there would be a homeless man wandering through their camp. Sometimes it would be old Fried Fuse, sometimes someone else. This time, however, instead of those usual visitors, there was a tall man in a black suit carrying a briefcase. His skin was an immaculate peach and his hair was combed with artisanal precision, the brown hair complementing the black lensed spectacles. She wasn’t sure WHEN the man showed up, but it looked like he was there a while. Nervously, she patted both Adagio and Aria on the arm before pointing at their new guest and asking, “Who’s that guy?”

Aria looked toward where she was pointing and furrowed her brow. “Good question.”, she said in a growl as she walked forward, her lips quickly turning into a menacing sneer that could stop a charging bear. When she took a few steps forward, she called out to the man in a challenging tone, “Hey, tight-ass! The fuck you starin’ at, huh?”

Adagio hung back and stood in front of Sonata, sizing up this man. From the look of him, he seemed to be a personal bodyguard or representative for someone. Certainly, he was built enough to the point that the lot of them rushing him would be a bad idea. After Aria made her advance, however, she noticed that he seemed to turn his attention to the ground, as if thinking about how to proceed.

After a moment, the man suddenly adopted an attempt at a friendly grin, a vain attempt for everyone but Sonata. He then walked up with robotic rhythm, voice of a trained sales representative as he said, “Good evening Miss Blaze, Miss Dazzle, Miss Dusk. I represent the talent scouting firm employed by the young up and coming internet content producer Red Room.”

Adagio, keeping her cool and staying close to Sonata, said in a wary tone, “Firstly, I have never even heard of this producer, yet he has an entire firm on payroll? Secondly, how do you know who we are?” This almost seemed too perfectly timed. One of the lowest points of their lives, and this scout just HAPPENS to find them and know their names? Almost like it was scripted for them by some cosmic joker.

With a nod of his head, the man said, “Happy to clarify, Miss. In order, he is establishing his presence using his inheritance from his father, former head of Valiant Video Enterprises before his unfortunate passing. Second, naturally he knows you. The Sirens of Canterlot High. There are few people in this city who DON’T know you at this point…for better or worse.”

Sonata, feeling a bit more comfortable, finally spoke up herself, asking politely, “W-what would he want with US, Mister? We can’t sing anymore…”

The man smiled and bent down to eye level, saying in a tone like a parent speaking to a baby, “I’m glad you asked, young lady.” He then straightened up and said to all of them, “He took note of your stage presence during the contest and thought that you would make wonderfully strong female leads in his most ambitious production.” He then tapped his suitcase and said, “We’re prepared to give you a generous ten thousand dollars each as a down payment.”

Adagio looked to her sisters, Aria with her bullshit detector going off the charts, and even Sonata losing what little comfort she had. Ten thousand dollars? For a group of girls only known for almost destroying the world? No way in hell they were buying what he was selling. With a shake of her head, Adagio said, “Thank you for the offer, sir, but we’ll have to pass. Can’t just trust ANYONE who gave us these promises, you understand.”

This caused the man’s friendly smile to immediately fall, replaced with the stoic expression from before. He then lowered the briefcase and straightened his tie. The next words to come out of his mouth would send all the girl’s hearts directly into their stomachs.

“I’m afraid you don’t have a choice, girls.”

Suddenly, two figures came out from the shadows and grabbed Sonata and Adagio, placing rags over their noses and mouths. Aria whipped around when she heard the struggle, playing right into the hands of their attackers. Just as she was about to run to their aid, the representative had pulled a Billy club from his suit jacket and knocked her out with one swift strike to the back of the head.

This caused Adagio to let out a scream, the resulting inhalation sending her to chloroform induced la-la land that much quicker. She looked over to Sonata, already out cold, and felt tears in her eyes as she started to slip away as well. Just before the lights went out, she heard that same stoic voice shout out one more time.

“Get the leads to their places, people. We’re live in ten.”

Author's Note

Please let me know what you guys think! I’ve been working on this for some time, and I wanna see what people think!