Canterlot High was theirs, and they new it. Together, Adagio, Aria and Sonata sat where they were, looking down on all the other students here. No matter what band or signer had chosen to participate in this Battle of the Bands that they now felt a need to be in, they were unknowingly under the spell of the Sirens. The three were the masters here, and nobody even knew it. Adagio chuckled to herself, relishing in the thought of once more being the puppet-master of all she surveyed. How long had it been since she had this kind of control? This kind of power? It delighted her, stirring fond memories of days long by when she and her kin were truly a force to be reckoned with. But, all good things came to an end, and she knew she had more important things to do than simply sit here and reminisce. There was a threat to her rule, and that threat just so happened to be the source of the very power she and the others now sought. All she needed to do was get to it, and already plans were forming in her mind on how to do that. It would take careful work, but she was certain that they were going to come out on top.

"So, what's the move?" Aria asked.

Adagio never let her eyes stray from the other students as she responded.

"Patience, my dear colleague. We'll watch and wait for now, and soon enough our enemies will give us an opening."

"You really think so?" Sonata enquired.

Another chuckle from Adagio.

"Oh, trust me, given enough time, the so-called 'good guys' always slip up in some way. They'll make an error, or give us some insight, and when they do, we'll seize it and put ourselves at the top of the food chain."

She rubbed her hands together, gleefully imagining what it would be like to get that treasured power back in their possession once more.

"We've waited a long time for a moment like this, so what's a short while longer?"

"Okay, I'm all in favour of waiting patiently and coming up with a decent plan, but there's other ways to do it, you know?"

Adagio's shoulders slumped, and she turned around, as indeed did Aria and Sonata, to look upon the one who had spoken. There he was, sitting one row above them, looking to them with his usual mix of tiredness and irritation.

"Kevin. Sweetheart. How delightful to see you again," Adagio remarked through gritted teeth.

Kevin himself simply rolled his eyes.

"Spare me the sarcasm, Adagio. You're talking to a master of it."

To that, Adagio actually looked amused.

"I assure you, the only master this place will have in the near future is me."

Then, she saw her two cohorts give her some side-eye, after which she gave a begrudging sigh.

"Okay, me and these two, I guess."

The others seemed satisfied with that, at least for now, and Sonata especially seemed rather chipper as she too spoke to Kevin.

"Yep! You've got nothing to worry about, Kevin! Dagi always knows what she's doing!"

Kevin raised an eyebrow as he looked to her.

"Oh, I've no doubt she's got a fairly solid plan brewing. Heck, I'll even go so far as to say she's got her act together more than most I've worked with."

Adagio smirked to that.

"Oh, stop, you're too kind."

Kevin rolled his eyes to her words, then got back to business.

"But you know, there really is a quick and easy solution to this, if you're interested."

Aria looked to him with curiosity.

"Oh yeah? What?"

Kevin leaned forward then started counting off his fingers.

"This whole plan of yours is to get your hands on Equestrian magic right?"

"Yeah?" Aria replied.

"And as soon as you get it, you'll be all-powerful or whatever it is you were before, right?"

"Yeah?"

"And your whole plan revolves around trying to coax it out of that other girl-band, who you've sussed out has this magic themselves, right?"

"...What's your point?"

Kevin sighed again, rubbing the bridge of his nose.

"My point...is that you've overlooked one key detail in this whole scenario. And that's the fact that, if they have Equestrian magic, that means it must have been brought here somehow, right?"

Adagio blinked, scratching the side of her cheek briefly.

"I...suppose so?"

Kevin nodded.

"And if those girls have it, that means that either it came here of it's own accord and they took it up, or one or more of them has the means to get back to Equestria, right?"

The Dazzlings looked to each other, culminating in Sonata tilting her head slightly.

"Huh...I guess it does."

Aria frowned.

"Wait...so you're telling me that there just some door to Equestria lying around here that we just never knew about?"

Kevin shrugged.

"Can you think of any other way those girls could have had access to this power?"

Silence fell, and the Sirens again looked to one another, after which Adagio Started to smirk again.

"So...if there is a door to Equestria..."

"Then we can just walk through it!" Aria continued.

"And then we can just get Equestrian magic like we used to!" Sonata finished.

Kevin folded his arms and gave a firm nod.

"Bingo! By Jove I think they've got it!"

Though slightly irritated at his attitude, Adagio kept her feelings in-check, instead raising a finger to him.

"There is one small issue here, Kevin old boy. There may be a portal to Equestria around here, but that doesn't mean we know how to get to it. How do you suggest we jump that little hurdle?"

Kevin stared at her for a time, then matched her smirk before starting to speak in a way that clearly sounded like he was just pretending to know less than he did.

"Oh, gee, you're right. How can we possibly solve that problem? I mean, it's not as if you're in the middle of a school who has a great deal of experience with those girls where there's someone who could possibly tell you about them. And hey, it's not as if you're in a position where you have strong magical influence over that school where you can just use your power to make them tell you everything you need to know. Alas, I simply do not know how to get us out of this bind."

Adagio gave him an utterly deadpan look.

"You know, sarcasm really doesn't suit you."

Kevin snorted.

"Pfft! As if you're seriously not expecting that from me at this point."

Grumbling, Adagio looked away from him, and instead turned to the other students in the gymnasium.

"Alright then, we're on an intel-gathering mission now, apparently. We just need to find someone who looks suitably stoogey."

Then, as if on cue, the doors of the gym opened to reveal two extra students, Snips and Snails, entering to join the rest of the kids, after which the Dazzlings gave them a simultaneous look of predatory delight.

"Well, well, well...target acquired."

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