Everypony held their breath as Aria and Starlight stared each other down, waiting to see who would make the first move.
Everypony except one.
“Wait! Wait, don’t fight!”
Rushing between the two mares, Sonata looked back and forth between them, her expression stricken. “Everypony just take a chill tablet, okay? You don’t need to get all up in each other’s faces this much when you only just met!”
“Are you kidding me?!” It was difficult to say whether anger or disbelief was stronger on Aria’s face right then. “Sonata, this troublemaker just showed up out of nowhere and started badmouthing Lex! How can you act like you’re okay with that?!”
Sonata grimaced at that, but didn’t back down. “Look, I know that wasn’t, like, the best introduction ever, but think about it! A lot of ponies have a problem with Lex at first, but end up becoming friends with him later! Like that one mare he saved a while back, Cloud-something or other! Or what about whatshername, Garden Grate? She fought him the first time they met, but now she thinks he’s the bee’s elbows! And then there’s you! You tried to kill him, remember? And now you guys are totes doin’ it!”
“Sure, after he slapped me down,” shot back Aria, “just like he did those other ponies.” Her lip curled in a sneer then, her eyes moving over to Starlight. “So I think I’ll save him the trouble, this time, and give the new girl her attitude adjustment right now.”
“Starlight’s my friend, Aria.” Sonata let that statement speak for itself, pausing for a moment before continuing. “Plus, she’s all about helping ponies, just like Lex! I know that her way of doing things can seem, like, super hard to deal with at first, and I’m still getting used to not singing anymore-”
“Wait, what?!” Aria’s jaw dropped at that, looking at Sonata in horror. “You don’t sing anymore?!”
Flinching, Sonata hesitated, glancing back at Starlight. It was only when the other mare gave her an encouraging nod that she looked back at her sister. “Not now that my cutie mark’s gone. It was totes making everyone else feel bad that I was, like, so good at it and they weren’t.”
Aria just stared at her, unable to believe what she was hearing. Ever since Lex had given her back her voice, she had found a reason to sing every single day. Whether it was a simple tune to keep herself entertained while leading a crew of ponies into Vanhoover or as part of a little show for Lex to help get him in the mood at night, Aria had reveled in being able to raise her voice in song after having been without it for so long. It was part of her nature as a Siren, as fundamental to who she was as her need to be adored. Even if Sonata hadn’t gone through the same hardships, it was unthinkable that she would feel any differently.
“There. You see, Aria?” Starlight stepped forward, her smirk still in place as she put her staff across her back again, giving Sonata a nod of satisfaction before focusing back on the mare across from her. “Your sister gave up her special talent, and now she has more friends than ever before. You will too, if you say goodbye to your cutie mark.”
But Aria’s gaze was locked on Sonata now, paying Starlight no mind. “I just got my voice back,” she hissed softly, not so much as blinking. “And now you’re telling me to give it up again?”
“Not your whole voice,” pleaded Sonata, “just the singing part of it, like what happened after we lost the Battle of the Bands back on Earth. I know that sounds like the worst, but just give it a chance! For realsies, this will bring us closer together, just like Lex did! You’ll see!”
“Oh I see, alright,” growled Aria, resuming her aggressive posture. “I see exactly what’s going on here.”
Nothing about the way Sonata was acting made sense. Even beyond her usual brainless antics, her behavior now was beyond unusual. But with that last bombshell, Aria had finally realized why that was.
The new hairstyle. Standing up for someone who’d criticized Lex. Losing her ability to sing and acting like that was a good thing. Not to mention subtler clues, like the way she kept wincing, as though reluctant to push her positions even as she kept glancing at that Starlight chick for approval. Aria had seen those signs often enough over the course of her life to know what they meant.
That mare, Starlight Glimmer, hadn’t just removed Sonata’s cutie mark.
She’d put her under an enchantment as well.
The realization made sweat run down the back of Aria’s neck. The enchantment itself didn’t seem like anything special; based on the way Sonata was acting, it was a run of the mill spell to make her think – or rather, feel – that Starlight was a trusted friend, to the point of being able to talk Sonata into doing things that she wouldn’t have otherwise. Even during their time on Earth, where their powers had been drastically curtailed, a spell that minor had still come effortlessly to Aria and her sisters, and they had used it liberally since that world’s humans had been so easy to control.
But Sonata was a Siren, which meant that enchantments of any type – let alone such a weak one – shouldn’t have worked on her at all. That had been why, for all of their endless squabbling, the three of them had never bothered trying to use their powers on each other during their time on Earth. It would have been like if they’d tried to drown each other back when they’d all had their original, water-breathing bodies: completely pointless. But unlike their ability to breathe underwater, Aria knew that their immunity to – as part of their ability to utilize – enchantments was a fundamental part of who she and her sisters were, regardless of what bodies they had now.
And yet Starlight Glimmer had somehow done it anyway.
Which meant that she was no ordinary pony. At the very least, she had to be a spellcaster of considerable power, the way Lex was.
Or, Aria decided, her gaze moving to the staff slung across Starlight’s back, remembering the way the other mare had wielded it like a weapon, she’s using a really powerful magic item.
Oblivious to the thoughts running through Aria’s mind, Sonata was still trying to convince her to stand down. “…and you know that Lex wouldn’t attack someone just because they were, like, saying mean things about him, so he wouldn’t want you to either! And-”
“Put a sock in it, Sonata!” barked Aria, knowing that you couldn’t reason with someone under an enchantment. “I’m done talking to you.”
Ignoring the hurt look on Sonata’s face, Aria turned all of her attention to the purple pony who was still watching the exchange with a smug look on her face. “You said your name was Starlight?” She didn’t wait for an answer before continuing. “Well you’re going to be seeing stars unless you give Sonata her cutie mark back right now…and undo whatever spell you’ve got her under.”
Starlight tilted her head, blinking in an exaggerated manner as she touched a hoof to her chest. “A spell? I don’t have her under a spell. I’ve simply freed her from the burden of her cutie mark and made her equal to the rest of us. And since she’s our friend now, I couldn’t possibly ruin her happiness by putting it back, especially since she doesn’t want it anyway.” Her smirk returned then, glancing over at Sonata. “Do you?”
Again, a pained look crossed Sonata’s face, but she forced a smile a moment later, shaking her head. “Nope!”
Her expression brimming with satisfaction, Starlight ushered Sonata back toward the rest of her entourage. “And there you have it. She knows that she’s better off this way.” Looking around at the crowd of ponies that was still watching the exchange – albeit from a slightly greater distance now, sensing the tension in the air – Starlight raised her voice as she waved a hoof at the four members of her retinue behind her. “And she’s not the only one! These four are just a few of the ponies who’ve found a better life by giving up their cutie marks! In our village, nopony is better than anypony else! We don’t have ponies who are strong or weak, pretty or ugly, talented or unskilled! Everyone is equal, which means that everyone is happy! If you want to live like that, instead of having to stay here and have Lex Legis lord his specialness over you, all you have to do is step forward right now and let me use this Staff of Sameness to relieve you of your cutie mark!”
Aria tensed, unable to help but glance back at the assembled ponies. She knew that most of them were firmly in Lex’s camp, but she hadn’t finished justifying Lex’s choice about who to resurrect before Starlight butted in. Such a sensitive issue, combined with how some of the newcomers weren’t favorably disposed toward him to begin with, could lead to some ponies – potentially more than a few – taking Starlight up on her offer. And if I try and fight her after they do, Aria realized, I’ll look like the bad guy! That would make things even worse! Even saying that she’d put Sonata under an enchantment would just sound like an excuse then!
Fighting down a surge of frustration, Aria hesitated, trying to decide if she should throw herself at Starlight right now before anyone answered, or use her own magic to try and sway the crowd. Both options had advantages and disadvantages, but-
“He doesn’t lord it over us.”
The voice came from an earth stallion that Aria didn’t recognize, stepping forward along with an earth mare who had a foreleg around him. The two were almost mirror images of each other, as he had a soft yellow coat with a bright orange mane and tail, while hers were exactly the opposite. More distinctive were their cutie marks, with his being a pair of shiny boots while hers was a pair of peaches connected at the stem. Stepping gingerly, as though his hooves were sore, he stallion nevertheless looked right at Starlight as he spoke. “Lex doesn’t lord how special he is over us.”
The stallion’s declaration set the crowd to murmuring, and made Starlight frown. “Of course he does! Sonata told me all about what he’s done here, fighting monsters and changing Sirens into ponies, and now he’s even bringing the dead back to life! How can you stand living here knowing that you’ll never measure up to that?!”
“Because I don’t want to measure up to that!”
Aria took a lot of pleasure in the stupefied expression that came over Starlight’s face then.
The stallion kept speaking. “Having that much power…being that special…it’s not something that just anypony can handle. I couldn’t. I couldn’t deal with having even a little bit of real authority. Instead I let myself be deceived, and was manipulated into doing terrible things, all because I became convinced that what I was doing was important.”
“That’s all the more reason why you should give up your cutie mark and come to my village!” pressed Starlight. “No one’s more important than anyone else there!”
But the stallion shook his head. “I got into trouble because I was fooled into thinking that I was part of something special. But it took someone who was actually special, and knew how to handle it, to make me realize how wrong I was. It was a painful lesson, in more ways than one, but it was one that I needed to learn, and only someone who wasn't like everyone else could have made me realize that. And even though it’s still hard to live with, I’m grateful for it.” He paused then, and the mare next to him whispered something in his ear, causing him to give her a warm smile before looking back at Starlight. “Lex Legis doesn’t lord how special he is over us. Instead, he uses his special qualities for us.”
A round of cheering broke out at that, as the assembled ponies hollered and stomped their hooves. Aria couldn’t help but snicker, watching as Starlight grit her teeth, clearly incensed over being so completely rejected. “And there you have it,” Aria snickered once the shouting had died down. “No one’s buying what you’re selling. So you can either give me back my sister – cutie mark and all – or I can make you. Your choice.”
Looking like she’d just bit into an apple and found a worm, Starlight looked over the crowd one last time before letting her eyes settle on Aria. “I guess I should have gone with my original plan to convince Lex of the superiority of our philosophy first, since he has such a grip over this town…”
“Um, Starlight?” ventured Sonata. “Maybe we should just go to River’s manor, then? Lex is probably-”
“QUIET!” roared Starlight, turning to glare at Sonata, who cowered at the sudden display of anger. Seeing that the other mare was properly intimidated, Starlight kept speaking to her even as she turned back toward Aria. “I’ll deal with Lex later! In the meantime, it seems I'll need to make a more convincing demonstration about why our way of life is superior!”
Aria smirked. “I was hoping you’d say that.”
An instant later, she began to sing a spell at the same moment that Starlight swung her staff around.