//------------------------------// // LBS: Real Romance Beats Incestial Implications // Story: Love Beats Stupid // by chillbook1 //------------------------------// Aria moved through the lunch line as quickly as she could. When selecting her meal, she resigned herself to pointing instead of verbally communicating with anyone. When she had her tray made, she paid her money and strode across the massive cafeteria. She garnered a few glares and looks of terror, which was nothing new to her. Aria scanned the room for a moment before finding the table she wanted. She made her way to it then, balancing her tray on her right hand, she grabbed a chair from an adjacent table with her left. Aria slid the chair to the head of her table, dropped down, and started eating. After a few bites of her sandwich, she heard the wonderfully shrill shriek that told her Sonata was near. “Ari!” squealed Sonata. She jumped from behind Aria, both of them wearing matching grins. Sonata dropped her tray next to Aria’s and jumped into Aria’s lap. “Hey, Sony,” said Aria. She leaned forward and kissed Sonata softly. “What’s up?” “Not much, but I didn’t think you’d be here!” said Sonata, though she was obviously pleased. “Oh, sorry, guys. What’s up with you?” Sunset Shimmer, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Fluttershy, and even Pinkie Pie managed to remain entirely silent the whole time, watching with similar looks of shock, confusion, and discomfort. “Howdy, Sonata,” said Applejack uneasily. “Uh… Wanna take this one, Sunny?” “Right. Sorry,” said Sunset, shaking her head and making her fiery hair dance. “So… You gonna fill us in here, Sony?” “What do you mean?” asked Sonata, taking a nibble of her own lunch. “Well, you know that we’re friends now,” said Sunset. “Uh-huh,” nodded Sonata. “And we love having you here, eating lunch with us. You’re tons of fun,” continued Sunset. Sonata nodded, but didn’t answer through her mouthful of food. “Right. I guess what I’m trying to ask is… Well, one of the questions, anyway… Why is Aria here?” “I can leave,” said Aria flatly. “No, no, that’s not what she meant, darling,” said Rarity, jutting into the conversation. “We are all just at a loss.” “What’s so confusing?” asked Aria. “Um… Well… You hate us,” said Fluttershy. “Uh-huh.” “And now you’re sitting with us at lunch,” said Rainbow. “How did you even get in? I thought Celestia expelled you.” “Yes and yes,” said Aria, taking another bite. “If y’all hate us, and yer not even ‘posed to be here, why’re ya eatin lunch with us?” asked Applejack. “I hate your guts. I do. Sonata doesn’t.” Sunset shimmied uncomfortably in her seat. She cleared her throat and tried to think of a way to word her question that would give her an answer she could work with. “Alright. Um… What’s going on with you two?” asked Sunset. “Why were you two just… making out?” Aria scoffed and slid her tray to the side. She had fallen into a habit recently of stroking her hand down Sonata’s ponytail, which is what she did now. “First of all, that was hardly ‘making out’. There was no tongue going on,” said Aria, ignoring how uncomfortable the other girls were. “Second, why do you think we were kissing?” “Perhaps that was the wrong question,” said Rarity. “Yeah, I guess so,” agreed Sunset. “You two are together now, obviously. You guys should know that I don’t care who gets with who, so long as everybody is cool with it. I just have to admit that I’m rather curious.” “Oh. Never met a girl who was into girls before, huh?” asked Sonata. “Nah. That’s not what she meant,” said Applejack. “Me an’ Dash are sorta the resident lesbians here, so she already knows a bit ‘bout that.” “I don’t want to say the wrong thing in case it offends you,” said Sunset Shimmer. “How did it happen? You… You falling for…” “How’d you end up dating your sister?” asked Pinkie finally. If everyone else felt their face get warm, Aria’s melted onto the table. Even Sonata, who had been calm the entire conversation, found herself with her jaw hitting the floor next to Aria’s. The couple looked at each other, then back to the girls, still unable to respond. “Well… That was certainly not the way I would have asked,” said Rarity. “Sonata is not my sister,” said Aria. “Why would I be dating my sister?” “We’re not trying to judge you or anything. Like I said, as long as you guys are both cool with it, I think it’s okay,” said Sunset Shimmer. “If the love is right, the love is good.” “We have different last names!” said Sonata. “Sonata Dusk, Aria Blaze. See? They don’t even sound the same.” “That doesn’t actually mean anything. Plenty of siblings have different last names,” said Rainbow Dash. “I swear, me and Nata are not related,” said Aria. “I didn’t meet her until I was, like, fifty-four!” “Again, doesn’t mean anything,” pointed out Sunset. “If you don’t want to talk about it, we can drop the subject. I’m sorry for even bringing it up.” “She’s not my sister! Both of my parents were dead by the time she was born! I have, like, forty years on Sonata,” insisted Aria. The entire table, save for Sonata, seemed intrigued by this fact. “That is a rather large age-gap, don’t you agree?” asked Rarity. “When you live for a thousand years, age doesn’t matter in the same way anymore,” growled Aria. She was getting fed up with the group of girls, interrogating her for no particular reason. This conversation went on for a few minutes more, Aria steadily growing more irate with every second. Even Sonata seemed to be getting a little annoyed, but she never showed it too much. Aria had defended herself in every single way possible, but none of it seemed to be good enough for the six girls. And, Aria noticed, despite Sunset Shimmer’s insistence that it didn’t matter and that they could drop the subject, she seemed to have no issue with the continued arguing. “Look, I don’t know how else I can say this,” said Aria. “You won’t accept any proof short of a DNA test!” “That would make an interesting episode of Maury,” said Sunset with a smirk. “I can see it now: ‘1000 year old Siren wants to prove that she’s not dating her sister’! Ratings would be through the roof.” “You are despicable,” growled Aria. “Sony, get off me for a sec. I gotta go to the bathroom.” Sonata jumped to her feet, smiling dreamily as if nothing else in that moment mattered. There weren’t many areas in which Aria considered Sonata superior, but keeping her cool was definitely one of them. By the time Aria was standing, Sonata had reclaimed the seat and had already started chatting with the rest of the table. Aria shook her head, turned, and walked right into a passer-by. “Watch where you’re-” said Trixie, rubbing her throbbing nose. “Hey! What are you doing here, Jezebel?” “Last time I checked, it’s a free country. Yeah, definitely,” said Aria. “Pretty sure I was there when that decision was made, too.” Sonata pivoted her head, saw Trixie, and turned right back to the table. Her smile faded, and she resigned herself to silently eat the remnants of Aria’s lunch. Aria noticed and took note, but didn’t dare remove her attention from Trixie. “You have some nerve, Jezebel, bumping into Trixie after she so graciously helped you get ready for your date!” said Trixie, as if Aria should be bowing right about now. “You screwed me out of three comics and gave me motion sickness,” snarled Aria. “Trust me, I am almost regretting it.” “Was your date not worth it?” asked Trixie smugly. “Though Trixie suspects that it was your fault! How did you trick some poor soul into going out with you in the first place?” “Hey! I’ll have you know that Aria was a perfect date!” said Sonata. Trixie looked confused for a second, then all of the pieces fell into place. “So you’re date was with her?” laughed Trixie. “Jezebel Blaze and Slow-nata Dusk. Now that Trixie thinks about it, it is rather fitting.” A meter in Aria’s brain went from “fairly irate”, straight past “intense fury”, broke through the end of the bar and landed somewhere past “murderous intent”. “Is there anyone who would be offended if I punched Tripsy in the face?” asked Aria. Fluttershy, Pinkie, and Sonata raised their hands while the other girls leaned back and watched. After a bit of a glare from Pinkie, Sunset Shimmer reluctantly raised her hand. “Well, then, sorry in advance,” said Aria. She grabbed Trixie by the collar and lifted her off of her feet, the magician letting out a fearful yelp, then reared her fist back. She felt a hand grip her wrist and, with surprising strength, held her fist back. “Don’t hit her, Ari. It’s fine,” said Sonata. “She calls me that all the time.” “Nobody calls you slow except for me,” growled Aria. Sonata gave her a begging look which restrained Aria’s punch far more than her hand ever could. “Listen here, Trixie. If you don’t want me to knock your lights out, you’re going to listen to everything I say,” said Aria. “You’re going to apologize to Sony for being a bully. You’re going to say ‘I’m so sorry, Ms. Sonata, I’ll never do it again’. Then, you’re going to bring me my comics and pray we never cross paths in the halls. Do you understand me?” Trixie, incapable of proper speech, only managed to let out a series of whines while nodding her head. Aria dropped Trixie to the ground and stepped out of the way. Trixie practically ran past Aria, stopped in front of Sonata, and bowed her head. “I am so sorry, Ms. Sonata, I’ll never do it again,” said Trixie, forgetting to speak in third-person out of fear. Then, she ran out of the cafeteria to get Aria’s comics. “Ms. Sonata?” asked Sunset Shimmer. “Oh, shut up. I was trying to get Tripsy to show my girl some respect, okay?” growled Aria. “No, no, I was impressed. It’s cute, really.” “I thought it was sweet, if a little aggressive,” agreed Fluttershy. “That’s the only way she knows how to do things,” said Sonata. Without much warning she leapt into Aria’s arms, the latter nearly dropping the former. “For chrissakes, Nata! One day, you’re gonna try that and break your friggin face cause I couldn’t catch you!” said Aria. “Nope! I know that you’ll always be there to catch me!” said Sonata, smiling widely and nuzzling her head into Aria’s neck. “Awwww!” squealed the girls, causing Aria’s face to grow warm and red. “I didn’t know cuddling was a spectator sport!” snapped Aria. “Don’t you have somewhere to be?” RIIING!!! Aria stood and savored the moment while everyone else in the cafeteria started to rise and exit. All that mattered was that she was holding Sonata in her arms, and that what she said was true. “You’re right,” said Aria. “I’ll always catch you."