//------------------------------// // 7 - Aria // Story: Dazzling New Life // by AFanaticRabbit //------------------------------// At first, Aria had no idea what grabbed her. For a moment, she looked down while she was yanked backwards and thrown against a wall, but the grip around her middle and legs proved itself almost invisible, and only the hints of magic surrounded her entire body. She pulled against it, only getting an inch or two of give and nowhere near enough to find the leverage and push herself off. The situation became more apparent when the mare Sunset bumped into stepped toward her, staring at her body. She hadn’t seen much unicorn magic, even from Sunset’s casual use, but Aria figured out what the raspberry-pink glow around the unicorn’s horn meant. For all her outward cool and pride in her body—Sunset’s work, but hers to flaunt—Aria couldn’t help but feel self-conscious. She didn’t mind the looks she got when walking through the street; she could control how she presented herself, even fire off a glare to get them to look away, but not this mare. She was in control of Aria and refused even to acknowledge her eyes. To further that, the commotion drew a crowd to watch and stare, to lay their eyes on Aria in a way that she had no say. Sunset stood just behind the mare, her wide eyes locked onto her. The moment stretched out, and Aria wondered if Sunset would do anything. “Can you put her down, please?” She eventually asked. It wasn’t as commanding as Aria had hoped. “This is fascinating work,” the mare said, turning Aria around and squeezing her front into the white-washed wall. “I’d heard there were others. I didn’t think you’d spend so much time on making more than one.” The mare threw a grin over her shoulder while turning Aria around again. “You’re behind this model, right? I never thought I’d see something like this in my life. I’d only ever read about it…” “Put her down,” Sunset repeated, her voice louder, more commanding. She even added a stamp for emphasis. Aria sighed in relief. There was the commander-in-chub she knew. “Last time I let one of your models go, it ran away. Oh, ah—“The mare rubbed the back of her neck “—Sorry about any water damage it took. That was genuinely not my fault. Though I’m guessing you have at least one more somewhere I don’t know about. Mind if I take this one? I want to see how a fully functioning model work and determine if my theories are correct. I’ll try and put it back together again. Oooh!” The mare bounced on her hooves, rapidly hopping from one to the other so fast her torso barely moved. “This is so exciting. I didn’t think I’d find something so fascinating here!” Sunset’s eyebrows knitted tight as anger and confusion crossed her face. “How do you know I have others?” The mare giggled and pointed to Aria, and she turned her head up, stretching her neck. Kicking down, Aria struggled to push back. “You have a bit of a signature. Same general shape and that core is hot—” Darn right, it was. “—If I was paying attention, I bet I could have felt that power from down the street.” “I’ll take those compliments,” said Aria through her teeth, “but I’d like to be let down now.” The mare blinked at Aria, then tilted her head as she regarded her with violet eyes. “Is that dialogue pre-recorded? I’m impressed by how much effort you put into it! I can’t wait to see the logic facets and aetheric connections you’ve thrown together. This is fascinating.” “She would like to be let down. She’s not your plaything.” “What, and it’s yours?” The mare snickered at Sunset. "It?" said Aria, indignant. Sunset grunted, then gave the other unicorn a firm shove. While it wasn’t hard enough to knock her over, she did stumble, and her grip faltered. It was only for a second, and only by a little, but it was enough that Aria curled herself up, placed her rear hooves on the wall and pushed her torso up with her front legs like she was crouching sideways. The mare didn’t notice, as her glare was directed at Sunset. “What was that for?” she shouted. “She and I asked plenty of times.” Sunset lowered her gaze, with indignant fury in her eyes, and her horn lit with faint, sparkling blue. It was an expression and emotion Aria had yet to see. Sunset had been angry—Aria got the feeling that was her default emotion—but this was beyond her baseline. It was kind of scary. And hot. Aria grinned. The unicorn blew a raspberry at Sunset and waved her off. “I’m just being curious! Let me take it to where I’m staying. I promise I’ll bring it back in one—“ The mare’s eyes met Aria’s, and she took her chance by launching herself forward. The telekinetic grip around Aria’s waist and limbs had a combined tightness and looseness about it. She felt no pressure, but the pull was all too real. Not that it stopped Aria from using all her strength, putting dents into the wall, and travelling forward until she could barely punt the unicorn in the chest. She was going for something harder and admittedly more permanent, but she supposed it was for the best that all she managed to do was knock the wind out of the mare and break her concentration. Aria skidded across the cobblestones, then, with a deft kick, took control of her inertia and tipped up into a low crouch. Only disoriented for a moment, she made eye contact with Sunset, and then with a simple flick of her eyes, both ran down the street, away from the mare and away from the busiest parts of Ponyville. At first, the crowd around them parted, like water sheered aside by glass, though just a few dozen metres down, it thickened again by those ignorant of the conflict behind Aria. “Stop!” The voice was low and strained and came from behind them. Aria glanced over her shoulder to see the unicorn standing, a hoof held over her chest. Whatever pain she was in, she managed to power through, and her horn shot out something resembling a pink mist. It closed the gap between them. “Sunset!” Aria yelled, turning forward. Sunset slowed herself enough to get behind Aria, and a single flicker of light burst from her horn and detonated the hard edges of the mist. Sunset skidded to a halt, her hooves thock-thock-thocking over the cobbles while she remained surprisingly stable and upright. Before Aria could halt herself, Sunset shouted, “Get somewhere safe. I’ll be fine.” Aria slowed and briefly tried half-trotting sideways, but she found her joint’s limits instead and wobbled sideways and forward at the same time. “We can both take her,” Aria said. “Just do that again and—“ “No! We’re not fighting her. Go.” Sunset shot out another explosion of faint blue light that battered apart more misty tendrils. For a second, Aria thought about being obstinate, continuing to refuse, but a glance at the stubborn lavender unicorn settled her course of action. She’d trusted Sunset’s judgement before. She hoped she was right to do so again. “Out of the way!” Aria barked, and more ponies parted in front of her, giving Aria plenty of space to gallop. She knew she was headed in the rough direction of the forest, but other than the main street, none of Ponyville’s roads seemed straight. Up ahead, it seemed like the street Aria found herself on was about to come to a dead end, or maybe it forked off in several directions. She didn’t find out and instead stumbled to a halt short of colliding with a pair of ponies clad in glistening golden armour that had just stepped out of a store and didn’t seem to take note of the crowd’s parting. Aria stared at them for a half-second, and they at her, until the yellow-coated stallion peered over Aria’s shoulder. Following his gaze, Aria saw what she could only describe as a twisting blue-pink fire spiralling upward. He then looked back at Aria. “Do you know what’s going on over there?” “Uh…” Aria’s eyes flicked between him and glancing over her shoulder. “…Are you involved in any way?” he asked, his expression turning a little more severe than confused. Aria, deciding she didn’t want to get tangled with authorities when she technically wasn’t a citizen, turned and ran. Two sets of hooves followed after her, and while she found she was a little faster, it was only by that small amount. Instead of running back into the fray with Sunset and the unicorn, Aria cut across the crowd into an alley between several houses. Well, perhaps it was more accurate to say she made herself an alley to dive between by making a her-shaped hole in several fences. There she kicked up dirt and trampled flowers and gained the ire of a pale pony with red hair. She didn’t hear exactly what she said, but the only other time she’d heard some words was under Sunset’s breath. Still, it was enough to give her pursuers pause. The guard that hadn’t spoken did now, asking the pony she’d passed if she was okay, only to receive another line of expletives. After meandering through more crowds, crossing another street, and galloping down another alley, all Aria had left was the first stallion on her hocks, trailing far enough behind that she lost sight of him when she turned on the third thoroughfare. He’d know which way she went, but it bought her just a few moments’ reprieve. This street, she recognised. To her right, the road opened up to grassy fields and towered, finer-looking homes. The one decorated with swirling, violet poles and filigreed artistic renditions of ponies on its upper level was serendipitously familiar. Aria slammed the door open and shut it behind her just as hard, earning a shriek from Rarity, who was standing in the next room alone, needles and threads in the air around her. They all clattered to the floor when she screamed again, a combination of fury and fear crossing her features. “Aria, what—What is happening?” “I need to hide here for a bit,” Aria said. “Five, ten minutes.” While the anger lingered on Rarity’s face, her eyebrows remaining crossed together, her frown softened. “What’s happening?” she asked again. “Is it something I should be worried about?” Aria gave the front door a nervous look, worrying that another pony would burst in any moment or there would be a knock that very second. While it had two diamond-shaped windows, they were both thankfully frosted, letting light in but not revealing any shapes or details beyond. “Maybe?” Aria wondered how to explain herself. “Sunset and I ran into somepony and… Look, just five minutes. If anypony comes in asking about me, just tell them I’m not here, that you don’t know me or whatever, alright?” Rarity stared Aria down for another few seconds, and Aria worried that she’d refuse. She’d given Aria her fashionable ‘fit and treated her like a regular pony, fawning over her beauty aside. She had no reason to harbour her. Then she gestured her head to the main room. “Go, pull the curtains on one of the fitting rooms. If anypony comes in, I will ensure they don’t step a hoof within a yard of you. And stay as long as you need.” With a sigh, Aria dipped her head in thanks. She wasted no time picking out the fitting room at the far end of the shop floor. As she pulled the curtains closed, she left just a small enough gap to peer through to the front door. It was effortless to hide and wait. Not needing to breathe or needing to worry about the little twitches and spasms living ponies dealt with meant Aria could stand as still as the ponyquins that dotted the shop floor. The thought of adopting their same pose floated through Aria’s head, maybe finding a stool to balance on. She didn’t let herself laugh when she realised how much of a Sonata thought that was. She also watched Rarity collect up her needles and thread, and for a moment, she looked Aria’s way, holding a needle out with a grin and mouthing, “You owe me.” “Yes, I do,” Aria muttered, then fell entirely silent. Watching Rarity work was fascinating. The clothes on Aria’s back weren’t made wholesale but were fitted to her from other designs already present, and from what she could tell, Rarity was doing similar work to a dark blue dress in the middle of the shop. It was long and flowing and had small gems or crystals in the skirt that shimmered and shone when she pulled on the fabric, cinching it in or pulling it out. Aria could probably stay there all day if it wasn’t for more pressing matters or the guilt of taking advantage of Rarity. It was nice to have that moment of relief, but she’d need to find Sunset or head home to her sisters to return in bigger numbers, even if it was just her and Adagio. After waiting a while—probably longer than the five or ten minutes she’d promised—Aria reached forward to part the curtains but stopped when somepony knocked at the front door. Rarity calmly stuck pins and needles into the ponyquin’s head. “That’s how you make yourself known,” she said, not quite to Aria, but it was intended for her. She shot a smile Aria’s way, then made her way over to the door. If Aria could breathe, the air would have caught in her throat. Standing in the doorway was the unicorn from before; to either side of her were more ponies in golden armour. They weren’t the same pair she’d run from, but they must be colleagues all the same. “Hello, Rarity.” The unicorn was all smiles, chipper and cheerful. “Hello, Twilight! What a pleasure it is to see you. I’m still working on your dress at the moment.” Twilight leaned over Rarity’s shoulder, and for a moment, Aria thought she was caught. If she genuinely could detect her... Still, Aria endeavoured to remain as still as possible, hoping that maybe, just maybe, Twilight wasn’t looking through the tiny crack in the curtain. “I see. It looks gorgeous, and—are those constellations on the side?” Rarity giggled and nodded. “Yes, they are. I skimmed through the book you gave me and picked out some I thought would look best. I’m still pondering how to include something to represent a comet, but I’m sure I will figure it out.” Twilight giggled back. “I’m sure you will, but don’t go too overboard with it.” Then, Twilight straightened herself and adopted a more severe and neutral expression. “But that’s not why I’m here. I’m looking for something. You know those… ponies you mentioned to me the other day?” Rarity took a step back, and one ear turned toward Aria. “Oh, uh, it was some days ago. What of them?” “I’m looking for one of them. Tall, lilac, purple mane with streaks of blue. I didn’t get a look at her cutie mark. Have you seen her pass by or come in?” Taking another step back, Rarity put a hoof to her chin. “Mmh, I can’t say I have, darling.” Twilight’s ears drooped. “That’s a shame. We have her friend waiting for her, Sunrise or whatever her name was. Are you sure you haven’t seen her?” After a moment’s hesitation, Rarity shook her head. “No, I’m sure I haven’t, Twilight. I haven’t seen hide nor hair of the three of them since before I told you about them. Has there been some trouble? Is she in danger?” Twilight shook her head. “It’s… It’s nothing. If you haven’t seen them, then you haven’t seen them. Thank you for your time.” She then looked at the dress again. “Good luck with the dress. I’m looking forward to seeing it finished for the Festival. I’ll speak to you later.” Twilight turned and left, taking the two ponies with her. Rarity stepped out and waved them off, calling out after them. “Take care, darling!” Before she even shut the door, Aria stepped out from behind the curtains, her lips turned down. So were Rarity’s. “I could have done with a little warning that I’d have the authorities at more doorstep.” That took Aria aback, and she planed her ears out. The thought hadn’t occurred to her before, but the fact those ponies were dressed so garishly could have meant only a few things, and all of them would have involved authority in one way or another. “Sorry. I didn’t think that would be a problem.” She cleared her throat. “Now, what have you mentioned about us to Twilight?” Rarity craned her head back and blinked. “You heard all of that?” Aria nodded. “Every word.” Before Rarity shuffled back from Aria, she added. “I’m not mad. You couldn’t know there’d be trouble telling her anything. I just want to know what you told her.” Rarity glanced to her side. “Not much,” she said after a moment’s hesitation. “She’s new in Ponyville, but I’ve taken a shine to her, as have a few others. She’s a little awkward, a little too blunt, but she makes up for that with enthusiasm.” She cleared her throat. “None of which is about what I told her. Sorry, you just have that judgemental stare down to an art.” Aria made an effort to relax her face. “Better?” “Better. Anyway, I haven’t said much. I told her how beautiful you and Sonata are, how… fantastical and otherworldly you look.” There was no blood to warm Aria’s cheeks, but she did rub one foreleg with the other, garnering a grin from Rarity. “I’m not saying that to flatter you, as true a statement as it is. Beyond your looks, I mentioned the work I did for you two and talked a little about Sunset and her work around town. Other than that, I’m unsure what else I may have mentioned. I think she was a little curious where you all stay, but beyond telling her you live somewhere in the forest, I haven’t a clue.” Aria groaned. “Great.” “Prejudice is unbecoming!” With another groan, Aria rolled her eyes. “I’m not—Okay, I said I’m not mad at you, but I’m a little mad. That’s gonna complicate things.” Aria began to pace around in front of the fitting room. “Now that I’ve told my part, it’s time you tell me what is happening. Should I be worried now that I’m involved? Do you think Sunset is safe?” Aria stopped pacing. “Crap.” “Language!” Aria glared at Rarity. “I’m not actually sure what is happening,” she admitted. “So far, only one of my sisters and I have actually interacted with her. Sunset, too, I guess. She’s just as fascinated by me as you are, but she seems to be…” She rolled the words around her tongue. “More invasive about it, I guess. Persistent little bi—“ Rarity glared at Aria, and Aria redirected the conversation. “She mentioned she has Sunset somewhere. Do you have any idea where?” Rarity thought about that for a moment. “Not entirely, no. You could try the town hall or the old library, I suppose. The former would be a good meeting point for anypony, and the latter is where Twilight spends most of her time. I believe she might actually live there.” Rarity shuddered. “I could not stand living somewhere so dusty.” “It’s somewhere, I guess.” Humming, Rarity collected her needles and pins once more. “I’m starting to wonder if I should even continue talking to any of you after this. Nothing has happened yet, but nopony comes barging into one’s place of work like you did without being scared of something. I really hope you aren’t going to cause me more problems.” Aria shook her head. “No. Sorry. I had to figure something out and stumbled in, more or less.” “No excuses, darling. I know how it is.” Rarity picked up her work again, once again reshaping fabric and stitching it into new positions. “I do have one more question, however; Are you really from Canterlot?” Aria kept silent for a few moments. She could keep up the lie but owed Rarity a little truth. “I’m pretty sure Sunset is.” “I see.” Rarity sighed and gestured to the door with a hoof. “Give it another few minutes, just to be safe. But I don’t want you back here until whatever it is that’s going on between you is resolved. I did this once to be kind, but I won’t have you taking advantage of my generosity by putting me between my friends. Understood?” Aria nodded. “Understood.” Then she blinked. “Wait, friends?” Rarity held out a hoof, waving it to and fro, frog up. “More or less. Sunset more, you less.” She then smiled at Aria once more. “I do like you, Aria, don’t get me wrong. Now, I recommend you head out and find Sunset. If Twilight was asking after her, she’s probably fine, by my guess.” It was back to the cloak for Aria, though this one was generally prettier. It was one more act of kindness that Rarity explained away as making Aria more weatherproof, but Aria knew what Rarity meant by it. Don’t get spotted. Hide your face. Sadly, there wasn’t much Aria could do about her height, but it was what it was. Keeping to the edges of the busier streets, Aria kept her eyes and ears open, trying to spot Sunset’s shock of hair among the crowd on the off chance the mare had escaped Twilight. That proved more challenging than expected, as the number of false positives that got Aria’s proverbial heart thumping was too high. She’d shoved the first pony around only to find it was a scrawny earth pony stallion rather than her creator. Barging into the town hall seemed, to Aria, like a foolhardy plan. That would get everyponies’s attention, and being just her, she’d be overwhelmed. It made sense to Aria to try the library first. The directions that Rarity had given Aria were clear enough. Most of the town flowed off the main street, like capillaries off an artery. Aria merely needed to count five streets to the right past the main town square, and she’d be there. Along the way, she did at least stick her nose into a few other places she could think Sunset to be. The first was the street they were separated at. While it was still busy, the crowd had dispersed somewhat, and Aria dared not step out onto it when she spotted the volume of guards marching up and down. Not enough to be an army by any stretch, but enough for Aria to be concerned. Other than that, there wasn’t any evidence of Sunset or her little duel with Twilight. From the light show she saw, Aria was a little disappointed there were fewer broken windows or burning roofs. But that was probably for the best. Aria also briefly checked the freight station but saw nothing had changed, even at a distance. The same sentries that spooked Sunset were stationed there, heads held high and ears and eyes alert. Aria dared not get closer than the corner of the street, and turned tail to head toward her destination. When Aria turned onto the street that housed the library, she realised she wasn’t really sure what she thought to expect. The first thing that stood out was how distinctive it was; the library was either made to look like a tree or had been carved out of one. Some of its branches, however, looked a little dead, with cables wrapped around them and then pointing off in various directions, connecting to the greater web of black silk tied to the surrounding houses and businesses. Like Sunset’s home, it also had a tall, metal spire jutting out from the tip, just poking above the branches that still had plenty of leaves. Its trunk wasn’t as natural-seeming as the rest of it, though. Pieces of wood were missing or covered in purple crystal, almost like a base of it wrapped around the great tree’s shockingly wide trunk. Aria was sure she couldn’t use the barging-through-wood trick she had earlier. She also counted a pair of guards outside, and no way to sneak up to the tree—library—without being spotted. At the very least, their presence confirmed the library’s importance. Aria waited at the corner, leaning against the wall on the far side to reduce her chances of being made by the guards. It allowed her to watch them, and she summoned her focus to fall still. Everypony walked around her like she was merely a part of the scenery, and after leaning her front hooves on the wall, her height allowed her an almost unmitigated view of the entrance. While Aria stared, she also considered her options for getting in and finding Sunset, though she also realised she’d need to be sure Sunset was even there in the first place. She’d certainly need to get closer, to try and look through the windowed door—she couldn’t see any other windows at ground level—and if she was made, she didn’t feel like running would be as productive. Still, as big and tough as she was, she didn’t fancy her chances against ponies who probably had more formal training on how to fight. Aria waited long enough to be satisfied there were unlikely to be more guards nearby. She hadn’t seen any of them poking their heads out of alleys, and no patrols had passed her. With that information, she disappeared back around the corner and pondered. Her eyes rose to the banners and cables crisscrossing the air above her like loose, chaotic stitching, and an idea came to her. Perhaps… Grinning to herself, Aria dipped into an adjacent street, then to one of the back paths between homes. There were no cables there, though at least one strip of multi-coloured bunting was hanging between two houses diagonally. Following it, she found exactly what she wanted. A conveniently placed ladder, high enough that she could probably get a hoof onto the roof. Climbing the ladder was easy enough, but getting a grip onto the roof was harder. There were no sharp angles or hard surfaces to get a hold of, just tightly bundled hay that slipped free with her weight. Aria had to grapple with the material long enough she’d thinned it out and exposed a small measure of wood beneath, but that allowed her to hook her hoof around the frame and hoist herself up. Keeping herself low, she crawled up to the peak and peered at the library. Just her luck, she could see into it and made out a familiar mane and horn. That left Aria just one more problem: How to get herself in and get her and Sunset out. She considered trying the cables, but they didn’t look strong enough to hold her weight. The gap was too significant for her to jump, and the roof was too steep besides. So, she considered the one really, really stupid option available to her. Aria would try the front door. Her journey off the roof was less than graceful, and while her slide down the thatching was smooth at first, she couldn’t stop herself from slipping off and landing flat on the dirt below. Fortunately, the landing wasn’t too rough, and she could stand and dust herself off, finding nothing more than some mud and grass stains on the cloak and clothing beneath. Aria continued through the alley and stopped shy of the street beyond, with her snout and eyes peering up and down. She spotted the guards again, who seemed to pay her no mind, while she eyed up the passersby. She didn’t need a significant gap in traffic. Any would do, one just a pony or two long. She didn’t need to wait more than a minute for it to come, and she bolted out and across the road. The ponies she crossed in front of came to startled stops and stared at her in surprise as she tucked her head down and smashed into the side of one of the guards. She carried through, putting her strength and weight into the shove, but where she expected the second guard to fall, he proved to be a solid wall of muscle and metal. The first guard collapsed onto the ground between them, wheezing, and Aria glanced between them and the second, then sheepishly grinned. She tried throwing a punch with a foreleg, but the guard batted it aside and placed a second hoof underneath her shoulder. For a confusing moment, the entire world around Aria was flipped upside down, her colourful cloak billowing out. She collided with the floor and bounced, the cloak slipping off her, but she quickly climbed back to her hooves before the guard’s leg came down on her throat. “Not sure that would have done much,” she said. “C’mon, don’t make this harder than it has to be.” The guard launched himself forward, and something formed beside him. She twigged onto his horn, glowing a deep purple, matching the pointed object. “That’s meant to be my line.” Yeah. No. Aria wasn’t being out-quipped by someone so deadpan. Backpedalling, Aria kept her distance from the summoned blade. She tried to turn as she did, becoming mindful of the crowd bordering their arena, but she felt it out, bumping into hooves and listening for the jeers. At first, it was hard to accurately discern the blade’s shape as it whizzed and whipped around before her, but the more she watched it, the more she made out. It was single-edged, and its translucent surface appeared cracked. She could also just about make out the guard wasn’t trying to catch her with the edge but the flat side of the blade. That would cause some damage, but she’d deal with it. She swung out a leg just in time to smash the blade and sent it whirling back. It hadn’t broken as she’d hoped, but that confirmed that the cracks were likely for looks. At the same time, the guard kicked himself forward, aiming a hoof at Aria’s face. It didn’t connect, as she threw up her other leg and batted his punch to the side, then lifted him by the shoulder and tossed him over. The stallion smashed into the ground on his back, and Aria’s weight came down on his head. As she stared down at him, her eyes widened in surprise. He was breathing, but he wasn’t getting back up. “Can’t believe that worked.” Aria looked up and back to the library, ignoring the eyes locked onto her, then ran for the door before shouldering it open. It wasn’t meant to open inward, so it popped off its hinges, snapping where it hung to the frame. Once inside, Aria thought she’d been transported across the valley. While the walls were wooden and shelves lined with books, instruments sat on tables, and cables ran across the ceiling, all tied to machines that filled in gaps between the shelves. In the middle of the room was a squat box smothered with dials, switches, and buttons, and while Aria couldn’t read the labels, she knew they were similar to those on the machine that birthed her. In an alcove above her, another guard had whirled around and hopped over the railing. Where Aria expected her to fall, she glided across the distance toward Aria, a hoof outstretched. It connected with her cheek, twisting her head around and producing an odd squelching sound. At least Aria could track the pegasus as she landed behind her, pirouetting on her front legs as she did, then using her wings to propel herself forward in a gallop. The moment before she swung again, Aria tried the trick she’d used before. Strangely, though, she didn’t see her front legs, and where she’d expected the weight and inertia of the attack to keep her upright, instead, Aria fell. That’s when she realised she’d fallen forward, and she was looking over her ass. Fortunately, that meant the pegasus’ aim was thrown off, and all Aria felt of her presence was a gust of wind overhead. It bought her a few moments to feel around her head and find the terrible rip around her throat. Carefully but quickly, she gripped her head by the jaw and twisted back, producing more of the squelching, and saw the Pegasus bearing down on her, wings flared. Aria kicked at the ground with all her strength and rose onto her back legs. She towered over the pegasus, who approached Aria undeterred. She even matched Aria’s stance before Aria could fall forward again and threw a punch connecting with her chest’s middle. Whatever the guard was expecting to happen didn’t, and Aria dropped herself down on top of the guard, her hooves on her wings. Something gave, and the guard screamed, and like before, when Aria stood up, she confirmed the guard wouldn’t or couldn’t follow. Glancing around the room, with no evidence of Sunset being present, Aria took to the stairs and climbed them to the alcove the pegasus had come from. There she found Sunset sitting at a table by herself, a device locked around her horn, and she stared at Aria with wide eyes. “We should get going,” Aria said with a grin.