Another day, another feeling of isolation was felt by Rarity's person. She leaned against a wall at the public park, looking at the clear skies as she tried to think about how her current situation made any sense whatsoever.
"I just don't understand: the sirens brainwashed everyone with their music to feed on their negativity, and that's not something one can just forgive and forget." Rarity lowered her head and frowned. "Why would Sweetie Belle choose to stay with those monsters?"
"Yeah, I wonder why."
Rarity flinched and turned around to see the one who spoke was none other than Aria Blaze, who took a bite out of a golden apple she held. "It truly is the question of the century."
"You're the third siren," Rarity remarked, lowering her eyelids. "The purple one who's always frowning."
"The name's Aria Blaze, genius," Aria responded sternly. "Although, after this encounter, you'll probably want to forget you ever met me."
Rarity narrowed her eyes, but calmed down as she saw the apple she was holding. "That's a funny-looking apple you got there. Where did you get it?"
"From a funny-looking apple tree, perhaps?" Aria responded with a hint of sarcastic condescendence in her tone. "Look, if you're going to ask questions, skip the "Sonata levels of dumb" questions and ask something that actually matters."
Rarity clenched her fist, honestly wanting to punch the siren in the face. However, that would not only be unladylike, but once she thought about it, maybe Aria's presence was a hidden blessing? "The other sirens gave advice to my sister and her friends. Are you here to do the same thing with me?"
Aria shook her head and smirked. "Not in the slightest, no. I'm just here to bask in the glorious sight of you being so lost in the aftermath of being in your sister's shoes, a position you put yourself in by your own hand, by the way."
"Stuck in Sweetie Belle's shoes?" Rarity asked. "What are you talking about?"
"Yelled at by your own sister, denied a chance to explain yourself, and left behind to feel abandoned by one of your own siblings," Aria grinned smugly. "Do you see the similarities now?"
Rarity clenched her fists. "I didn't abandon Sweetie Belle!"
Aria threw the apple high up in the sky, and with her freed hand she pinned Rarity against the wall, looking at her sternly, and strictly at her eyes as she explained:
"When you lashed out at her, when you scolded her for the cyberbullying fiasco, you didn't see her as your sister. In that moment, who you saw was not your sister, but a piece of Anon-A-Miss who had lived under your roof, and played you like a fool while she was playing a part in a scheme to undermine Sunset Shimmer! To make everyone think she was back to her old ways!"
Aria tightly held Rarity's wrist and leaned closer.
"A scheme you only helped further by joining with your friends in accepting Sunset was Anon-A-Miss, despite no evidence to support it! You and her "friends" condemned her for no reason at all, and once your sister and her friends came out to you, they were forgiven, while Sunset had to on to live with the thought her friends had conmed Aria smirked maliciously. "And you know what's the worst part?"
Aria leaned closer to Rarity's ear, and with a sadistic smile, she whispered:
"You. Did it. Willingly."
Rarity dropped to her knees and Aria released her just as the apple came down from the sky, landing right back at her hand, allowing Aria to take a bite out of it as she took a couple steps back and enjoyed the sight.
"Yeah, this feels good," Aria snickered. "I'll be nice enough and apologize for breaking you like that, but I'm forced to be all nice and cheerful when I work at the music store, and being so nice to such musically blind people makes me sick. Still, thank you for giving me the wonderful medicine of verbal humilliation!"
Aria curtsied, throwing a smug look at Rarity when the girl briefly glanced at her. As she began walking away, though, Rarity stood up and sighed.
"You're angry at me, aren't you?"
Aria stopped on her tracks and turned around, raising an eyebrow as Rarity explained:
"From what you said, Sweetie Belle told you about what I told her when I got angry at her. And considering your relationship with your bandmates seems to be like sisters, you probably saw yourself in Sweetie Belle, and Adagio as me. So, you snapped at me and told me all that... to make me see how Sweetie Belle felt in that moment. To make me truly realize how much I had hurt her. That was your intention, Right?"
Aria paused, and burst out laughing at the ridiculous motion, only for her to slow down once she saw Rarity looking confused at her. "You were serious?"
Rarity nodded, causing Aria to shake her head and chuckle. "Adagio can be rough around the edges, but act nice when the time calls for it. Sonata has no problem being friendly with other people as long as they don't get on her bad side. Me? I'm a prick who enjoys watching people squirm and cry, bonus points if their misery was brought by their own mistakes."
Aria took another bite out of her apple. "I didn't snap at you because I wanted you to know how much you hurt your sister. I snapped at you because I felt like ruining your day. That's it."
Aria kept walking, and Rarity stood still as she processed what she heard, culminating in her extending her hand forward and shouting, "W-Wait!"
Aria shook her head in disgust and turned back to the fashionista. "You still think I'm here to give you advice, don't you? I just told you, I came here to ruin your day, nothing more, nothing less. And now that I'm done with you, I'm going home-"
"Please, just this once, I need some advice on how to get Sweetie Belle back to my side," Rarity pleaded, clasping her hands. "Is there something I can do?"
"Not at all, at least, there's nothing you can do that would help the situation," Aria took a deep breath. "If you try talking to her, she's not going to listen. If you try to send her an apology gift, she'll think you're bribing her. And if you're dumb enough to promise her you won't do it if she comes back to you, she'll just see that statement for what it is: a hollow, desperate plead for a victim to return to the one who victimized them."
Rarity lowered her head, and Aria shook her head. "The best thing I can tell you is, get ready to fight for her forgiveness. Because out of you and her friends, I believe you'll be the one she'll have the hardest time forgiving."
With her words spoken, Aria resumed her walking once more, leaving Rarity to take a deep breath and calm down before she told the siren two simple words:
"Thank you."
This caused Aria to stop once again, this time blinking and looking at the ground as she processed what she had just heard... a process she chose to ignore as she resumed walking soon after, finishing her apple and throwing it away afterwards.
Later, at the sirens' house, Aria found herself standing in front of a sleeping Sweetie Belle, scowling at her while she talked to herself.
So here you are, sleeping like a baby, despite knowing what kind of damage you've done. It feels good, doesn't it? To get the "affection" and "friendship" with Adagio. I bet that makes you think you're safe, that things won't get worse while you're here.
Aria narrowed her eyes and crouched down, meeting face-to-face with the sleeping girl.
But you're wrong: you broke your friendship with your friends. You broke your relationship with your sister. Now I wonder, what else will you break? How many more bridges will you burn before you finally tell the truth?
Aria stood up and took a deep breath.
I will deal with your friends first, just as Sonata and Adagio have done. If they prove to be liars just like you, good, if not... well...
Aria leaned towards Sweetie Belle's whispered, "You can't lie forever, especially to a siren. The lie will eventually come out, and when it does, not even Adagio will remain by your side."
Aria walked out of the room, and closed the door. A few seconds after her footsteps could no longer be heard, Sweetie Belle opened her eyes, and rolling up to face the ceiling, she clutched her chest and took several deep breaths.
If Aria was being honest at all, and the intensity of their encounter was a sign of things to come... Sweetie Belle could only pray the siren was bluffing...