Aldrin: poor adagio and sonata unless without powers so cute. :3

At the moment, the most likely scenario for a Dazzling Redemption I can see is them getting their hands on amulets like what they had (possibly from a certain finely-facial haired wizard?), except they work via the power of friendship and harmony rather than strife.
 
Why yes, I am suggesting that they feed off the power of FiM.
 
However, we must remember something very important: Friendship is most devious, and it’s power has strong transformative tendencies.
 
I mean, look at Discord!

@Red-Supernova  
The difference with Evil Sunset is that she, as a stereotypically evil intellectual, was a sociopath. She was extremely goal-oriented with an absence of empathy. It wasn’t the pain of her victims that she delighted in, but rather the apparent success of her plan. She didn’t even care what happened to those she stepped on along the way. I’m fairly confident this is the result of her having grown up in Canterlot society, a conclusion Celestia must also have reached leading her to send Twilight to Ponyville.
 
When Discord caused misery and suffering, it was as a side effect of getting his kicks, not an intentional part of the process. That is to say, sadism as we understand it is too straightforward for somebody like him. He doesn’t go out of his way to hurt the ponies, just tries to fuck with them and often ends up taking it too far. He’s not intentionally malevolent per se, just psychotic and immature with way too much power for those traits. Of course, that combination in and of itself is plenty reason to see him as a threat to everyone’s well-being.
 
King Sombra’s intentions and motivations are really too unclear to categorize. Near as I could tell, he just wanted his body and his kingdom back. Which is understandable, even if he shouldn’t have the latter.
 
Queen Chrysalis is a pretty great and sympathetic villain as long as you ignore the comics. Her goal was to feed her children/army/kingdom, but she got too greedy, went crazy from the power, overreached and failed. Since positive emotions are food for her kind though, her understanding of them would naturally be tenuous at best.
 
Tyrek is somehow both more straightforward and more difficult to understand. His goal was conquest and subjugation of the pony races, pure and simple. The problem with his means of doing it is that it was wholly unsustainable. With the ponies lacking the magic to do anything, he would have to do everything himself. That kind of makes him a perfect foil for Celestia, who delegates too much and leaves herself powerless at times when she needs to have power. In his case, he does not make delegation an option and hoards an abundance of power he can’t use in any practical way.
 
I think Nightmare Moon is what Party of One looks like on a Princess, with some PTSD mixed in. Luna went through all the same battles as Celestia as they rose to power, but visibly earlier in her life. So she was dealing with a combination of nearly supreme power, isolation, combat experience (which is not kind to horses), adolescence, ascension to royalty, and Second Child syndrome, on top of spending her nights in an alternate reality comprised of the dreams of a large number of very fearful critters. A loss of sanity was kind of a foregone conclusion.
 
It is kind of a wonder that Celestia hasn’t lost it, though. Then again, maybe the Princess Project is how she expresses her madness.
 
As for the Sirens, they’re not insane. Like the Changelings, they’re doing what comes naturally to them. To them, turning the ponies against each other with their music in order to feed off their magic in the form of “negative energy” is like any other predator ripping apart its prey. Which means that sadism means something different to them, as simply a means of expressing their enjoyment of their food. That said, it also means that how they treat each other can be judged like any other social interaction. And they only appear to get along out of necessity. Though for different reasons and to different extents, they all hate each other. Except for Sonata, although it’s debatable whether or not her behavior is a form of escapism or if that’s really the way she is.
 
In any case, I stand by my assertion that I think Adagio expresses herself way too physically for someone who can control people with her voice. There was a lot of touching in this movie, which I guess is ok, it’s a hallmark of their society or something. But Adagio forcibly grabbed Aria at least twice, and both backups instinctively retreat from Adagio’s hands a lot, and their faces show that they are genuinely afraid of her. I’d like to think I’m reading too much into that, but that’s where the signs are pointing.

@Somber Star  
If the movie was five minutes longer, then we could have had a proper aftermath scene about them.
 
Well that’s a typical villain’s tactic, demoralizing their enemies. Sunset Shimmer did the exact same thing back in the first movie.
 
Sonata would have an easier time on trying to turn her life around but it wouldn’t be fair to leave out Adagio and Aria. Even after all the times they have argued with each other, they could never abandon each other.
 
Yeah, Aria is like the lone wolf of the group and while it does tie in with her name, even she can’t leave Adagio and Sonata behind.
 
Yes, Adagio does like taking pride in being dominant but I think after their defeat, her confidence went down the drain. She would try to show resistance in still being angry at the Mane Six and Sunset Shimmer but will eventually break down.
 
I’ve explained my thoughts about the Dazzlings a lot better when talking to my friends and while I don’t think I can counter-claim your arguments, I still stand by my headcanon and theories.

@Red-Supernova  
Good point, however, I don’t think they are actually sisters. I think they’re just friends, but by only their plans to regain their powers and finish what they failed to complete in Equestria.

@Red-Supernova  
That doesn’t strike me as a good reason to see them in a good light, especially since there were only a couple minutes of movie left after that point, and one of those was credits. “Harmless” does not mean “benign”, and given the situation surrounding their departure, a return is likely to be an ill one. As was the case with Trixie, who was neutral (although kind of a bitch, like RD) until she was publicly humiliated and ostracized (like the Dazzlings are now) and returned on the warpath.
 
In any case, the backups might be redeemable, but unlike them and even most other villains, Adagio has been shown to actually enjoy causing others pain (as seen just after the Twilight vs Flash moment). Aria and Sonata laughed as well, and have taken part in firing shots at the group’s target of the moment, but much of what they do is on cue from Adagio, who is the true sadist of the group.
 
If the group stays together, they’re coming back for revenge. If they fracture, Sonata might seek shelter in the redemption offered Sunset. She’s the “Omega” type bully, who’s just in it to be accepted. The other two pick on her a lot, but they also don’t abandon her (although their reasoning is less than altruistic). She’ll have the least trouble integrating because of her light-hearted personality. Although she is no less guilty of her actions, she will be more readily forgiven because she would be considered to have been incapable of thinking for herself.
 
Aria will try to do her own thing, probably try to find a way to get the ability to sing back so she can have a spotlight to herself. It’s clear that she’s a “Beta”, she knows it and she doesn’t like it. She’s always been chafing under Adagio’s rule and at Sonata’s side. It also ties into her name: an aria is a solo piece within an opera. Then of course, she’ll learn that the downside of going it alone is that even miserable company is better than being lonely, at which point she might try out the whole friendship thing, and although it’ll never really sit well with her, she’ll see it as better than the alternative.
 
Adagio would still seek revenge, naturally, as the “Alpha” her intent as an individual or a member of the group would be the same, because the group’s intent would be dictated by hers. Up until her encounter with the Rainbooms, even at her lowest point, she still had some power. She still had at least two others under her control. She’s clearly used to having her dominance accepted, no matter how reluctantly, and anyone who succeeds in resisting is food. Worse still for her, she was crushed at the brink of triumph: she nearly had the power to take over the alt world and possibly start finding a way back into Equestria.
 
In any case, I would prefer it if you organized your thoughts before you posted them here.

@Somber Star  
I made my theories off of observations of their behavior as well, but the main reason(s) why I see them in a good light was that once they were defeated and ran off the stage, they were never shown again. I was so interested in them that I wanted to what became of them in the end. And saying that “they’re just ordinary teenage girls now” doesn’t explain much.  
As for my hypothesis, I have to admit that I don’t really have it all organized. ^^; Most of what I wrote about them were on chat conversations with my friends on Steam. But if you are really interested, I’ll put down what I can remember.

@Red-Supernova  
Well, mine was based off of observations of their behavior in the movie, generally a lot of minor clues things that most people wouldn’t notice (like how Adagio communicates primarily with her hands despite the power of her voice, and how Aria turns her face away from the other two when she’s actually mad), but I’d like to see your hypothesis and the reasoning behind it.

@Somber Star  
Interesting theory. But I still prefer the one I came up with for the Dazzlings. (If you’re interested in knowing, I can tell you.)
 
Also, I’m still unsure of the fact that they’ve spent over a thousand years in the EqG world. They could have been sent at some different point in that world’s time.
 
Nah, I consider Tirek to be the show’s true villain so far.

@Red-Supernova  
“Fear will keep them in line.” In order to break free, Aria has to choose between facing Adagio’s wrath (which if Sonata’s instinctive reaction to Adagio’s hand crossing in front of her in one of their hallway scenes is any indication, includes a willingness to break a gem for disobedience); and dying alone, a monster in a world she was banished to for behaving in a way true to her nature.
 
It’s one of those things that seem minor to a minor but truly monstrous to an adult because of their greater potential scope of ramifications. It’s pretty well-established that Adagio is not above hurting anyone to get she wants. There’s no reason to believe this doesn’t include the other sirens. Kids will see the Dazzling’s relationship as one bully keeping her lackeys under her thumb with brute force the way bullies do. Adults will take into account the true horror of the fact she’s been doing that to them for over a thousand years. The sad case with Aria and Sonata is that, as with most real abuse victims, they’re probably too scared or too conditioned to try running away or fighting back. And worse is that their incompatible personalities keeps them fighting between themselves instead of banding together. And you know, at one point in their history, they might have all been friends.
 
I think, in the history of the show, Tirek and Adagio have been its only true villains, as both are unrepentant in their willingness to turn on those who care about them to get what they want.

@Somber Star  
The fact that Sonata already has some doesn’t surprise me. But I would love to see a sympathetic pic of the Dazzlings altogether in the same picture.
 
@SuperSonic15  
And yet despite her constant arguing with her sisters, she is still with them.

@OptimusPrimevil  
Interesting theory. She does have that air of wanting to break out hovering around her, since she always gets into arguments with Sonata. Then there’s the bit before the cafeteria when she tries to take command before Adagio puts her back in place.

@SuperSonic15  
EG3 would probably redeem them… i wouldn’t be surprised if ARIA would be the breakout star of the three in the sequel

@Red-Supernova  
Give it time. I’m sure some of the “You got what you deserved” hype will wear off and some “I feel sorry for them” hype will set in.
 
Patience, my friend. Patience.

@Red-Supernova  
There are none of Adagio (who strikes as completely unsympathetic), one other of Aria besides this one, and 7 others for Sonata, the fan pet. Then again, that’s only using the tags “sad” and any one of the Dazzling’s names. I don’t know the tagmanteaus.

@ThisGuyHasNoName  
Its the best thing I have for now until we get an official explanatory follow-up to them from the writers.
 
@SuperSonic15  
And their worst nightmare had come true. They are now lonely and miserable with nothing else to lose but themselves.
 
God, it still annoys me that NO ONE has drawn any remorseful pics of the Dazzlings altogether yet.

@Red-Supernova  
I always considered that as well. Sunset offering the Dazzlings a chance to attempt redemption themselves, but for them, it was a lot tougher.
 
 
@Red-Supernova  
All they had was their pendants and powers left. Once those were gone, it took a little case of reality to finally break their spirits completely at how they were now harmless, leaving them more miserable than ever.

@Red-Supernova
 
Well, have fun with your head-canons then.
 
I’ll be sticking to cold, hard facts in the meantime. =P

@ThisGuyHasNoName  
Well I have been thinking up fanfic scenarios for them ever since I saw Rainbow Rocks over a month ago, so I’ve done a lot of thought about them.
 
@OptimusPrimevil  
Their pendents broke first and then their spirits as the audience booed them off the stage.

@OptimusPrimevil
 
Great tactic for the uninishiated. But we are inishiated

@QuasarNova  
yes

@OptimusPrimevil
 
And that givesh you power, over me?

@QuasarNova  
for the record, the amulets broke first but they tried to keep on singing. they got careless at the end

@OptimusPrimevil
 
Victory has defeated them

I was wondering what would break first…their spirit or their amulets?