Some like beautiful, perfect, and pretty
I see the good in the bad and the ugly
I need the volume one louder than ten
Put the pedal to the metal, needle into the red
Aria refused to look up.
The sky was up. It was dark so that meant the moon was up as well and for the second time in her life, she felt the moon mock her. The great ivory orb in the inky blackness was just a reminder. A realization of just how much time she had spent during the day. Normally, that wouldn't have bugged her but tonight? Tonight was different. Instead of embracing the darkness that flooded the void above her, maybe basking in the afterglow of a quick snack, she loathed what it meant. She had spent practically the entire day, all the way through the afternoon and past the sunset with him.
Aria took a quick swig of her sugary drink. How many of these bloody things had she had by now? Eh, whatever. He was buying, might as well take advantage, right?
She shivered. The night's cold was already falling upon her.
As her steps clicked and clacked along the pathway, her mind wandered to the spiraling events that had led her up to now. She gritted her teeth slightly, nothing went as planned. Nothing went according to Adagio's plan and the very alive, very-still-not-eye-gouged human walking in the opposite direction from her just moments ago was a clear indication of that.
So, why wasn't she livid about that? She had so many opportunities and she left him with all of his teeth still in his mouth. What was wrong with her? She could finally look at him without feeling the urge to coat the world in bile and she didn't even break a finger off. What the Hell stopped her?
Aria glanced down at her drink as she shook the contents around in her hand. A soft smile fell upon her face. She didn't even notice.
True to his word, he took her somewhere where they could sip on something. Not that she much cared, not like she was thirsty. And maybe a little hungry. Being human's the worst, after all. She could definitely have picked a better place to go than whatever the joint was that she followed him into, it was full of them. Sugar-something or other, it was called, she wasn't really paying attention. The lady behind the counter was fat and blue though. Much to her chagrin, he clearly wasn't as distasteful towards his kind as she was and picked out a booth. Not that she said anything about it, mind you.
They sat there for a while. For the life of her, Aria can't remember why but he was buying her food, so she ran with it.
Even as time seemed the drag on forever for her as she just sat there across from him, sculling down every smootie, milkshake and soda that was put in front of her, she felt...not bored. He barely spoke a word to her, Hell, the only sounds he really made was when they split an order of muffins. It was the strangest thing, she wasn't really content to just do nothing with the entity of her suffering but at the same time, she didn't know what else she wanted to do.
That is until she noticed him take out his phone. It was barely five minutes later of him just silently scrolling through whatever he had open when she lunged forward and snatched it. Don't ask her why, she just wanted to. Her eyes widened at what she found on the tiny, illuminated screen.
Aria's face felt warm again at the memory. She gritted her teeth at that.
The slightly dumbfounded look on his mug was lost on her as she leaned her face closer to the screen. It was music. Titles, artists, albums, years, genres, it was all music. More importantly and much to her light bewilderment, it was music she knew. Well, most of it, anyway.
She'd like to say that she just scoffed and handed it back. Or better yet, cackled madly while she ran outside and threw it into heavy traffic but then she'd be lying.
They started talking.
It seemed for every song she found that she was familiar with was just another short conversation. The word 'short' became relative after a while. Before she noticed, she couldn't shut up. She didn't like that, that wasn't like her, it was too Sonata-esque but...she just couldn't. Neither could he, oddly enough and when a rare moment of silence happened to fall over the two, she could see something in his face. It was as if he was wondering the exact same thing she was. She found herself staring. And staring.
Smiling. He was always fucking smiling at her too. She prayed to Tirek that she wasn't too...
Suddenly, she didn't feel so cold.
"Ugh."
Aria was purple but she was as pink as that stupid lollipop the whole way home.
She was at the back again.
Aria raised a hand up to the base of her neck, her fingers danced lightly around the jagged curves of her pendant. It felt cold, lifeless to the touch. Weak and empty. She couldn't wait to fix that. Luckily, she wouldn't have to wait very long, today was the day the stupid humans all got in their stupid bands and played in the stupid tournament thingy. All she had to do was get up on stage when it was their turn, sing her boring harmonic back-up singing while Adagio fucked the minds of the stupid, stupid humans. She does that and boy, did she like it. Maybe too much. Aria was just in it for the energy, Cheesehead always needed to make it weird and seductive. How anyone was attracted to that flat-chested cheeto was beyond her.
Aria felt a little extra bitter towards the orange skank after the ordeal that took place when she got home last night. The phrase; 'where in Tartarus were you?!' sprung to mind more than anything. Still, her skill at slamming her door shut never fails to end a confrontation. She's good like that.
The black that filled her natural green streaks hadn't come out yet. She was kind of on the fence about that. She never had to dye her hair before, truth be told, she wasn't really sure how the stuff worked. After a long look in the mirror this morning, staring at herself in that leather coat and thinking more and more about how annoying that stupid Bacon-haired bitch was, she ditched it. Besides, she liked her ripped green shirt better. As much as she enjoyed wearing what possibly used to be a pony, she'll wear whatever the frig she wanted. Problem, bub?
"Hey, Aria!" Screeched the Worst 'cause she's the worst. She turned to look at her with half a mind to staple her eyes together. "It's your boyfriend~!"
More confused than anything, Aria looked in the direction Toothpaste was pointing. Huh, it was hi-Wait, what?!
"Shut up, Sonata!" Just to emphasize. Just a quick jab to the shoulder. Just...she really needed to shut up.
"Owwww!!" Taco-bitch whined. "Daaagiiiiiiiiiiiii'! Aria hit me!"
Cheesehead just scoffed. Aria snickered and folded her arms, grinning to herself.
And she kept grinning as she looked back up to him further down the hallway. His head buried in an open locker. She didn't frown. She still wasn't frowning when his face popped out into view. He looked...different. His gaze rose up and much to her chagrin, met her's and her eyebrows cocked. The dumb vest was still there but he wasn't wearing those stupid shades anymore or the dumb shirt with the sleeves that could stretch over his fingers. She didn't like it, she didn't like the new look. She didn't. She hated his eyes and she hated whatever band was printed on his T-shirt. She even hated the shade of black that it was. Not that she liked the other one but she definitely did not like the new one...really. What was wrong with his face? Why was it pink? Why was she still not frowning!?
Oh, he was smiling at her now.
The amount of conscious effort it took for her to avert her eyes and keep on walking like not an idiot was embarrassing. What the frig was happening to her? There was a weird force she felt course through her body as she past him. She shrugged it off and was glad to just be on her wa-
"Hiya!"
She stopped. Adagio stopped after a few more steps.
"I'm Sonata! Nice to meetcha!"
She slowly turned around. She felt cold. At least, she thought she did. There, standing just out of strangling reach was literally the two worst things in existence. They were looking at eachother, one confused, the other beaming like an idiot because she was an idiot.
"Do you love Aria?"
"What?"
The indignant smack of Cheesehead's hand hitting her face fell on deaf ears to the toughest fucking Siren. The little beating thing in her chest felt like a cartoon anvil right then and there. Her face morphed into a horrifying shade of blue as her pupils shrunk in the great pools of white in her weirdly large head. Why the frig was that idiot doing?!
"'Cause she loves you~."
Petrified, Aria watched Sonata lean up to Grimlock (You can see how serious this is given what she's referring to them as) on her toes, holding her hands together and batting her eyes at him like some...some...what the Hell was she DOING!?
Adagio giggled lightly.
An emotion stirred within her bowels. One she just couldn't put a word to but whatever it was, it drove her. Every step felt like one eternity after another. Her muscles in her arm felt strained as she reached out. The next few moments were filled with screaming, running and at the end of it all, Aria opened her palm to find a bundle of blue hair sitting in it.
Her face scrunched up as she dusted off the ripped-off cerulean locks from her hand on her knee and gave a quick look around.
Humans. Everywhere.
She sat on the highest step in one of the, you know, those really tall rows of chair you they had around here. If they had a proper name, she didn't care about it. Next to her was Cheesehead with her legs crossed and looking extra smug, like more smug than usual, you'd think that'd be impossible but she was doing it. Sonata had pulled out a brush from...somewhere and just kept on and kept stroking it through her freshly torn hair. That got Aria to chuckle.
A voice caught her attention. Oh, good, it was Chapstick-Lips Mclonglegs barking away something on the stage below. Aria groaned and turned around, putting her left foot up and leaning back on the wall behind her.
"...our three newest students encouraged us to turn this event into something exciting!"
Slipping in a little smug smirk, Aria glanced to her sisters. Sonata waved. Adagio flicked at her hair. Aria raised her hands and clasped them behind her head. All was as it should be.
But wait, it gets better.
"...who is it going to be?"
Just as the shorter blue one said that, it was like a buffet. It was amazing how quick they went from cheering excitedly together in the stands to almost cannibalizing eachother. Not that she was complaining. She eyed the green mist that seeped from the adolescent chaos with glee as it swam to her and her sisters. One quick look at the other two, noticing the absolute malicious delight of Cheesehead's mug and the almost ravishingly hungry expression of Toothpaste's, all she could was relate to them as their pendants sucked in the emerald fog faster than Bill Murray in the Overlook Hotel.
"Do you feel that girls?" Adagio asked, looking over to her. "Our true power is being restored." She said, balling her hands maniacally. Aria chuckled. Sonata giggled. They did not sound evil at all.
"And that's before-" Aria followed Cheesehead's gaze. Oh, good, it was the Raindropbooms. Yeah, she got a good briefing about who they were this morning. Adagio had been busy yesterday while she...had also been busy. "-we tap into the strongest magic here."
Her brow creased. "But the Painblosoms or whatever the frig' they're called aren't under our spell. How exactly are we supposed to get to their magic?"
"The Rainbooms are just as-"
"Ya know, I've been thinkin'!"
Ever so slowly, both her and Cheesehead turned their now very confused and slightly frightened gazes to Sonata, who sat there with her chin resting on her knuckle, her face morphed into a look of pure contemplation.
"How do the Rainboogers even have Equestrian magic?"
Aria counted the seconds. She only got up to two before Adagio's hand made a bee-line for her face. To her surprise, no smack was made, right before impact, she stopped, staring straight ahead at nothing as if her brain had just been punched. Watching her sister sink back into her spot, Aria began to think aswell. She refused to believe Sonata had actually asked a valid question but she couldn't deny it.
"...Huh."
"I mean...right?"
"It doesn't matter." Adagio said. "We can find out later. The plan hasn't changed." She continued. "All they need is a little push in the wrong direction and I guarantee..." She grinned. "By the end of this, everyone will be lining up to give them a shove."
Aria shrugged.
Rap.
She couldn't stand rap.
And they were rapping. Badly.
Aria tried desperately to block all sound from entering her ears. One of her eyes cracked open and she spotted some blue-haired bitch sitting at the opposite end on the top of the stand bobbing along to the music blaring from her headphones like no one's fucking business. She turned her head to see the other blue-haired bitch patting her knees, smiling and swaying her head about to the horrible bloody noise. Adagio just kept checking herself over like some Prom queen. Seriously, you nails look the exact same way they did two minutes ago!
She couldn't take it anymore.
First with that stupid, classical violin performance by that...strangely and kind of grossly ripped guy, then with those freakin' hippies! Seriously, those tree-huggers might as well have just come out of stage with a couple of buckets. Now this?! It didn't help that no matter what the frig' it was, that idiot, Sonata would rock out to it like it was the greatest thing since star-shaped hair-scrunchies!
Oh, no. Don't. Please don't. Don't you friggin' dare, no, don't you dare drop the fucking Micro-
YOU DROPPED THE MICROPHONES, YOU BASTARDS!
Oh, good, it's the 'good guys' up next. Nope, her ears have bled enough today.
"Hey Aria~ Where ya goin'?"
"Anywhere but here." *coughriseagainstcough*
"Gonna go make-out with your boooooyyyyfrieeeeennd~?"
Too late to gouge out her eyes, she was already at the door. "Shut up, Sonata." She muttered.
"We've just got the day-"
SLAM. Nope.
Aria leaned back on the wall adjacent to the door and sighed, crossing her arms over her chest. Just once. Just one time in this whole stupid thing would be enough for her. To watch one of the other bands and not feel sick to her stomach. None of them got it. None of them really knew music like her. It was all too...light. Her fingers dug a little harder into her arms at a stray thought. Even her own music was too light. Too harmonic, too...clean but it wasn't up to her. She was a Siren, her entire purpose swirled around the word 'harmony', that's just how it was. Time and time again, she sang the same friggin' thing. It worked but...Aria couldn't help but feel a little hollow at tha-was she being watched?
Sure enough, she wasn't alone. Was she ever for her time standing out in the hall? Her gaze shifted to the opposite wall from where she stood. Her mind went blank as she caught his stare. He was just sitting there with his back to the wall, looking at her without expression. She found herself staring back.
"...Hey." Don't ask her what compelled her to speak.
"I was wondering."
"What?"
"How long it would be before you got the Hell out of there." She didn't want to admit it but her first reaction was to giggle. Aria Blaze did not fucking giggle.
"Yeah, well...they all suck." She stopped. "Hang on. Aren't you competing?"
He shook his head. "It's pointless."
Her teeth gritted together. "Why do you say that about everything?"
He smiled. "I don't...at least, anymore." Her face felt warm. Why did it keep doing that? "Which is weird..."
"Why?"
"Well...I guess I just haven't been feeling myself lately."
She rolled her eyes. "I know what that's like." Her hands squeezed her arms a little tighter. "Trust me."
He grinned to himself. "Well, after you punched me the other day, you'll have to forgive me if I don't."
She groaned. "Oh, get over it, you baby." Her head sank a little into herself. "It wasn't even that hard..."
There was a few moments of silence before he spoke again. "Do you play?"
"An instrument?"
"Yeah."
"Yeah, I played guitar but I gave it up a long time ago." She muttered. Strange, why did she give it up? Oh, that's right, it didn't matter. Their voices were enough, more than enough, even. "You?"
"No."
"Why not?"
"It's pointless." He grinned.
"Ugh." If he was just a little closer, his eyes would be gone. "Just...just shut up and play something."
Grimlock cocked an eyebrow but smirked regardless. She can neither confirm nor deny that that little chuckle he made her face just a little warmer as he reached into his pocket. He swiped at his phone twice and smiled. Seconds later, Aria fell into a new world, or rather, a very familiar world of bliss. Now, this was music.
He knew music...just like her.
"You know..." He began. "I've heard your group's act and..."
Aria's body slithered down the wall until she was sitting across from him. "What?"
"It's not you."
Her eyes widened slightly. "And how would you know what I am?"
She kind of felt like an idiot when she saw the expression on his face. As much as Aria loathed to admit it but she knew that by now, she was an open book to him. Just as he was one to her. Aria thought that a little odd. In reality, they knew next to nothing about eachother. Surely he'd be alot more frightened of her if he did but after yesterday and the kindred look in their eyes.
Two snares of the same drum-kit, it seemed. She didn't like how that sounded. Disregard all of that. In fact, this entire scene never happened, deal? Cool, let's keep going.
"I think you should do something."
"Like what?"
"Don't know." He said it but Aria had some idea of just what he was thinking about. It was in that sly little smirk on his face. Finding herself staring again."Hey, listen." He began out of nowhere. Aria took note of how weirdly quiet he was being. "There's this music store on the edge of town, just opened up and I've wanted to check it out..."
Her body shot up so her back wasn't hitting the wall anymore. Why did she... "Uh huh?"
"So, tomorrow. Do you wanna...wanna go with me? I mean, see what's it all about and stuff, you know." He scratched the back of his neck.
Her mouth moved faster than her brain. Her stupid, stupid brain. "Alrig-"
BANG
"Aria and whatshisface! Sittin' in a tree! K-I-S-S-I-"
"SONATA!!"
One more moment.
That's all she needed, she only needed one more moment. Just one. More. Moment of choking that little blue brat to death before that bitch, Cheesehead pulled her away. Aria didn't even question why her sister's suddenly decided to leave the show and start aimlessly wandering the halls. She just scowled at everything and kept her arms folded while she walked alongside them.
Still, seeing that purple know-it-all crying like a bitch cheered her up a bit. Just a bit.
"Tears already?" Adagio said. "This is only the first round."
Aria chuckled. Sonata giggled. They really need to work on their evil laughs.
"The next band to perform will be Trixie and the Illusions."
Ugh, if she had to hear that grossly tall bitch's voice again..."Better head back. We're supposed to go on after Trixie."
"Who's Trixie?" Toothpaste asked, like the idiot she was.
Adagio scoffed. "Oh, just some girl with an ego too big for her own good."
"Ohhhh...what's an ego?"
Oh, good, it was Bacon-hair. "Uhh, Adagio?"
"Yeah."
"You're never gonna get away with this."
Aria scoffed. "Why? Because you didn't?" Adagio teased.
Long story short, Aria felt just a little better after that encounter. The fact that they missed all of the previous show didn't fail to help a bit either. She got the feeling that this 'Trixie' wouldn't be any different from the rest of the bands. Ugh, she hated that name.
It wasn't long after that they were standing behind the curtain. Sonata kept playing with her collar. "Remember girls." Adagio began talking but Aria couldn't stop staring. "We wanna save the good stuff-" Staring at something right in front of her. "-for when our true power-" It was a guitar. An electric guitar, still plugged in it's amp from it's last performance. It looked so alone to her. Her fingers twitched slightly at the sight. Old urges resurfaced, it had been so long..."-is restored."
The curtain rose but Aria wasn't standing there.
Oh Whoa Oh Whoa
Adagio didn't even noticed until she heard the noise.
You didn't know that you fell
She looked to the side, confused.
Oh Whoa Oh Whoa
There was Aria at the end of the stage.
Now that you're under our spell
Now she was at the front of it.
No one's more punk than Aria Blaze.