"So, I am doing what now?" Aria muttered to herself. "Going to the pony world without telling Adagio? Gosh, I'm insane."
The former siren walked down the sidewalk one breezy afternoon. Instead of her usual pigtails, her hair was down in one loose ponytail, still kept with her star hairband. She wore an offwhite tank top as well as jean shorts and slip-on shoes, a style she had decided would keep her cool in the warming weather.
Aria was silent as she continued her walk. Jeez, what the heck made me do this? Certainly not Sonata, that ditzy fool wouldn't have the brains to find the portal! Maybe it was the fact she had started watching a kids' TV show involving a kick-butt cast fighting aliens from another dimension that had sparked her interest in returning to Equestria's dimension.
Aria cursed inwardly. Adagio would have her head if she discovered Aria had access to Equestria. But, hopefully, that would not happen.
As Aria brushed past a low-hanging branch, Canterlot High School came into view. Its magenta walls lined with large windows gleamed in the sunlight. In front of it stood a statue of a horse.
That doesn't do the pony race justice, Aria thought every time she saw it.
Bushes dotted the campus, and Aria stood there just looking for a moment, before she shook herself back to the present.
The portal had been insanely obvious once Aria thought about it.
"A bush!" she exclaimed, looking around. "So many to chose from, it would be tedious for any evil doers to search for. Luckily, this evildoer knows exactly what she's doing!"
Aria jogged over to the nearest bush and pried the branches open. No portal.
"Whatever." Aria scrunched her nose to cover up her annoyance. "I bet it's in the next one." Aria darted to another bush. Nothing there. After checking several more, she came to an important conclusion.
"I am either terrible at portal-finding, or I'm being even stupider than Sonata and there is no portal in the bushes," she declared. "Given a choice between the two, it's a tough contest." Aria shifted her weight from foot to foot.
"But I am not going back home until I find this portal!" Aria declared.
"Psst-"
"And I am not getting any help from mysterious voices hiding in the bushes!" Aria added testily. Pinkie Pie ran out of the bushes, a pout on her face.
"Seriously? There was someone there?" Aria's eyes widened in disbelief. "I thought I was just hearing things!"
"Uhm, that's nice." Pinkie had started to scribble in a book and wasn't paying any attention to Aria. Aria blew her bangs out of her face and rolled her eyes.
"Whatever, I can find that portal by myself."
Aria looked around again. Not in the bushes. Not anywhere inside Canterlot High.
Aria sighed as she let her eyes wander across the pale horse statue-
"Argh, how could I have been so blind?!" Aria exclaimed, facepalming. "It's the statue!"
"Congratulations!" Pinkie chirped, scribbling away. Aria shot her a dirty look before approaching the statue.
This is it, she thought to herself. Back to Equestria. And then Aria stepped into the portal.
Aria was... right where she had last been, when Starswirl had banished her to Equestria.
"Wait, what?" Aria looked around. She was in the wings behind a stage. Aria looked down.
"I'm a pony!" she exclaimed in shock. "Not a siren! What? How?"
A piece of paper fluttered to Aria's hooves. The siren-turned-human-turned-pony bent down to read it.
"'Dear Aria, we thought we'd surprise you, since you didn't want our help. Instead of appearing in Twilight's house present day, we borrowed our friend Minuette's time spells and sent you back to Canterlot, a thousand years into the past! Have fun! Pinkie Pie and Pinkie Pie.'" Aria furrowed her brow.
So, would I run into my past self and past Adagio and Sonata? she wondered. Another piece of paper fluttered to her hooves.
"'Minuette says,'" Aria read, "'that this is more like looking into a mirror. You can see your past selves, but they can't see you, and you can't affect them. Stop asking questions, okay? Go explore!'"
How did the know what I was thinking? Aria wondered. Another paper flittered down.
"'Stop asking!'" Aria read. "'Go explore!'
"Alright, I will! Sheesh." Aria rolled her eyes as she walked out on stage. The place seemed deserted, except for a janitor pony sweeping up popcorn.
"This is... surreal," Aria admitted to herself. The bright blue sky seemed ancient. Aria had stepped into a painting of the past.
"I guess I could explore Canterlot Castle for a little bit," she decided, hopping off stage. Aria walked right past the janitor pony. Obviously, he paid her no heed because she was basically invisible.
Once Aria left the quiet stage, constant chatter filled her ears.
Clip, clop, clip, clop, went the sound of ponies' hooves walking along the dusty road. Aria looked around in absolute wonder.
I've never stopped to marvel at this place, she thought. Tall, cultured buildings spiraled into the sky. Canterlot Castle stoof above all of those buildings, however.
"Wouldn't it it be fun," Aria mused to herself, "to pretend I was a princess? Here where Sonata isn't gonna give me grief? Present Sonata, anyways."
Aria turned a street corner and was confronted by Canterlot Castle almost immediately. Her smile brightening, Aria trotted up to the magnificent gates. She tentatively put a hoof up to the iron, and felt her hoof slip through it.
"I'm a ghost," Aria marveled. "Awesome." Aria trotted easily through the barrier and found herself in the main hall.
Aside from several guards Aria had just passed, there was one other pony visible in the room. Princess Celestia stood idly near her throne, loooking just as Aria remembered her. This Celestia was much prettier than Long Legs McLizard Lips at Canterlot High. She was youthful, radiant, and her flowing hair glowed like the sun.
"Starswirl, come in!" Celestia spoke suddenly. Aria flinched as a very familiar unicorn trotted in from the left.
"Celestia, I believe we have some trouble," Starswirl told her. Aria swaggered right up to him, intent on listening to this conversation.
"What is it?" Celestia asked.
"I just witnessed three merponies parading through the streets," Starswirl informed her. "They sang a bit, and I noticed something disturbing. Ponies began to fight as soon as they sang."
"Those sound like sirens," Celestia responded thoughtfully.
Aria's ears flattened.
"Indeed, that is my suspicion as well," Starswirl confirmed.
"Do you believe you can find a way to stop them, should they cause any trouble?" Celestia asked.
Aria's conscious briefly slipped away from the conversation.
I told Adagio coming to Canterlot was a bad idea. I was right! Starswirl noticed us immediately, Aria thought, gazing at nothing.
"... I'm sure you can think of something, Starswirl," Celestia was saying. Aria shook her head to clear her mind of the flashback.
"Thank you for your support, Celestia." Starswirl nodded. Bowing slightly, he trotted out of the throne room.
"Hey, come back!" Aria shook a hoof at him. "This is your fault, you old hag! You banished us!"
Starswirl obviously did not hear her, and left through the doorway.
Hmph! Aria snorted.
"I HATE this guy," she muttered as she cantered after him. Maybe- just maybe- she could change history somehow and change her circumstances. It was a lame plan, but who said she couldn't try?
"Yo, come back here!" she shouted again, walking after him.
Starswirl continued trotting. He turned the corner, leaving Aria to scramble after him. She muttered a few choice names under her breath.
"Okay, this is stupid," Aria muttered. "If I can't change anything, I want to go home!"
A paper bopped her on the nose.
"'You can't go home until you learn a lesson.' WHAT THE HECK, PINKIE?!" Aria shook another fist-hoof at the sky. "What am I supposed to do, follow Starswirl around all day?"
"I can't believe I followed Starswirl around for 2 days," Aria grumbled. Having found no alternative way to escape, Aria had resigned to this torture.
She wasn't looking so well, actually. Aria's ponytails were scruffy and dirtied from the dusty streets. Her ears twitched in annoyance, and her pink coat was dulled. The dust hadn't done this to the mare, however.
Aria's mouth contorted into an even deeper scowl as she recalled the events of the past days. It was all so very familiar. Starswirl had just invented pop music and sent three sirens into a portal.
"This better not be his house," Aria grumbled as Starswirl led her up to a regular-looking marble house. "Is this his bucking house?!"
Starswirl pushed the door open, and Aria entered into the dimly lit abode. He made his way to a plush chair in the next room. Aria's eyes slid around. Papers littered the place, and several candles were scattered around.
"Fire hazard," Aria muttered. Starswirl's magic enveloped a nearby book. He began to write in it, muttering something under his breath all the while.
What is he saying? Aria stepped closer to read over his shoulder.
'Indeed, maybe they could have used their magic for good instead of evil, Aria read silently. But it was not to be- Aria stopped reading with an indignant snort.
"Ha! This idiot clearly does not understand my magic!" she growled. "It doesn't work for being good. Siren magic only works for evil, for adoration!"
A scroll appeared at her hooves. Still annoyed, Aria bent to pick it up.
The instant her nose touched the parchment, Aria felt a gust of cold wind. Aria shut her eyes and shivered.
Aria blinked again, and she was back at Canterlot High.
"W-what? What just happened?" Aria gasped, looking around. Pinkie Pie, a pale blue girl, another Pinkie Pie, and another pale blue girl stood in front of her.
"Hey, Aria!" the second blue girl waved her hand. Her blue hair was bound in a bun, and her fuchsia eyes carried the regular sparkle of stupidity.
"Sonata! Where you in on this? And why are there two Pinkie Pies? And who's the other girl dressed like Renet from TMNT?"
"Oh, you were just gone for two days and Sonata got suspicious!" the first Pinkie Pie chirped.
"So I went to the portal and I found Pinkie and Minuette hanging around!" Sonata continued.
"I'm from the pony world!" the second Pinkie beamed and waved.
"And because you can't learn a friendship lesson on your own, we're taking you to a dance club!" Sonata exclaimed. She linked her arms with Aria. Minuette linked her arms on Aria's other side.
"This is gonna be fun!" she exclaimed.
"What are you doing?" Aria asked, annoyed.
"To show you the power of music in a non-evil way!" both Pinkies informed her.
"Noooooooooooo!" Aria wailed as the four girls dragged her down the street.