"Good morning students of Canterlot High, this is your principle speaking." The outdated speaker system popped and crackled with each syllable. "Most likely everyone has already heard about the events that transpired in these very halls yesterday. For those unaware one of your fellow students who shall remain unnamed was viciously attacked by another student."
Ms. Cheerilee's class room was silent but all eyes were on the purple skinned girl sitting in the corner. No one had to say her name, they all knew it was her. "*Psst* Flash. You know I'm still grateful for you saving me right?"
"Yes I know, but I'm trying to hear." Satisfied Aria went back to listening.
"-wait are you serious? That's his real name? *Ahem* The reason I'm addressing the school today is not only to denounce such vile actions but also to address the reactions of the student body itself." There was a audible sigh behind the microphone, as if Celestia was not quite ready to talk about what was next. "Shortly after the incident occurred social media exploded with line after line of what I can only describe as disgusting hatred."
A little electric buzz indicated a second microphone turning on. "I was shocked to see many accounts of students I know personally praising the unnamed assailants actions and blaming his victim. I've even seen threats spelled out that they would finish what he started. Principle Celestia and I have come to a unanimous decision, there will be a zero tolerance policy for such online behavior. Any student partaking in this hateful behavior will have their parents or guardians contacted as well as face possible suspension." It was a touchy subject for VP Luna, the sheer amount of bile thrown her way after her return to CHS almost drove her away once more.
"By no means are you required to like every student here, but treating your fellow humans with basic respect and dignity is a requirement. That is all, you may now return to your classes." The hum of the intercom faded and the textbook pages started flipping once more.
She hadn't realized just how much she and her sisters had riled up the school against them. Aria had made a conscious choice not to use any social media at all, no Facebook, no Twitter. Why would she want to waste her time looking at pictures of food or reading what boring mortals were thinking of while on the toilet?
"So Flashy, you weren't among those nasty little trolls saying such mean things about me, were you?"
"What, hell no! I don't even have an account, my parents won't let me." At the mention of parents Flash clutched at his shoulder, almost like he were in pain.
Aria was feeling uncharacteristically outgoing, "You okay there Flashy?"
"Y-Yeah it's nothing." With that the subject was swept under the rug, though a troubled relationship with family was something she could use to her advantage.
The rest of school that day was a blast, at every class it was apparent all the students wanted to get in some kind of altercation. But the warning from Celestia and her knight in shining armor standing beside her was like a invisible force field keeping everyone she didn't want at bay.
*****
Once the final bell rang Adagio and Sonata were there at the door to wave her off, "Good luck Ari!"
"Here, I got you some earplugs." Adagio handed over two little foam beans, "Your going to need them."
"You're really serious about them sucking?"
"Think 'Disaster Area' but on a smaller scale."
"Still large enough to create deadly earthquakes?"
"Smaller than that but about equal in quality."
"Damn." Aria slipped the godsend earplugs into her pocket and headed outside to where Flash was waiting. "Sorry to keep you waiting, so where are we heading? Your place?"
"Naw, my dad is completely tone deaf and can't understand our genius. Instead we have to practice in Brawly's basement, it's alright but it's kind of dingy." He gave a little shudder, "If you see any rats just, just don't mess with them."
"Ooh rats, you sure know the most romantic places to take a girl don't you Flashy?"
"Wait, romantic?"
"It's a joke numb skull, jeezus you can be pretty dense sometimes." The look on Flash's face backed up her assertion, much akin to that of a confused little puppy. "Let's just get going already."
Rather than walk all the way to Brawly's home the two just took the city bus. It was near the outskirts of town in a run down shack, the windows busted out and covered over with a sheet of clear visqueen so as to keep natural light coming in. The T1:11 siding had seen better days and desperately needed a new coat of stain. Otherwise the only notable thing about the home was what remained of a brick chimney, long since toppled over, the gaping hole of the flume filled in with cement.
"Well it's certainly ... charming." Aria said with a snicker.
"Yeah I know it's nothing to look at, they're not exactly rolling in the Benjamin's." Flash walked up to the metal screen door and peered inside, "Mrs. Beats? It's me Flash, is it alright if we come inside?"
A gruff and vaguely female voice replied, "Come on in, just make sure you shut the door behind ya." Once they entered Aria was blessed with a clearer view of the Beats residence that she really didn't want. Huge sections of the house lacked any flooring to speak of and what it did have was nearing the end of it's life. Mrs. Beats was reclined in an old Lazy Boy watching Mexican soap operas on a tube tv still wearing the Goodwill sticker.
"Are Brawly and Ringo already downstairs?"
"Yeah, they said they've been waitin' for ya to get here. Say who's you're new gal pal?"
"Glad to meet you Mrs. Beats, my name's Aria."
"Oh no need to be formal with me Aria, you can call me Bethany. It's only the boys that insist on calling me Mrs." Bethany took a sip from the large glass of sweet tea on the side table. "You kids let me know once you're gettin' hungry and I'll make some nuggets for ya'll."
Flash was quick to turn her down, "Really Mrs. Beats, that's not necessary. We ate plenty at school."
"Nonsense, Flashy here is skinny as a twig. We'd be glad to eat here Bethany." She took hold of Flash's hand and pulled him towards the stairs.
"What the heck Aria, these guys are dirt poor and we don't need to be taking food out of their mouths."
"Did you know in many cultures it's considered very rude to refuse an offer of food, in reality you're denying them the opportunity to be a good host. It's a matter of pride, even if it's just chicken nuggets." It was a universal theory Aria kept to herself that all humans were like that, whether it was to show off who had the bigger coin purse or in want to benefit others. "Besides, I'm actually hungry. That slop the lunch lady was serving was appalling."
Flash didn't have anything to counter with, Granny Smith's mystery surprise had been a particularly bad stench of awful today. So rather than argue he led her downstairs into the basement. When the rounded down the last creaky step Aria was greeted by a particularly large and bold rat, he stood on his hind legs and stared at the two newcomers with his milky red eyes.
"Shoo vermin." Aria demanded with a kick in the rat's general direction. He merely dodged and went back to staring with hungry intensity.
"Aw that's just Buster, he's wondering if you have any scraps on ya." A muscled arm popped up over the edge of the couch. "Hey Buster, go get it boy!" The arm tossed a handful of tortilla chips into the corner of the room causing Buster to run off after them.
"Hey Brawly, won't feeding those things just encourage them to stay?"
"That's the idea bro, Buster and the other rats keep the cockroaches and other bugs away. Plus they're super cute." The arm was followed by Brawly's head, his hair was a minty shade of blue though by no means did he smell of it. He was dressed modestly in a dull orange V-neck that had gone out of style in the late seventies along with a pair of those red fingerless gloves that serve no real purpose.
"Look mate I don't care what you have running around down here, just so long as it stays out of my hair and out of my food." The other teen lazing about down in the subterranean lair was dressed much more elaborately. He had a pair of tight black jeans, a red short sleeve dress shirt, a white vest lifted from a rental tuxedo all accented by a blue necktie, arm bands and tinted shades. As a crown to top it all off he had two streaks of white running through his black mop of a hairstyle.
"So guys, I wanted you to meet my new friend Aria. We kinda gotta stick together so I hope you don't mind her being here while we practice."
"S' alright with me bro." Brawly said with little conviction.
"Wait Aria? I thought your girlfriend's name was Twilight or something like that."
"What? N-No, I mean yes! Aria was one of the Dazzlings from the Battle of the Bands."
"Oh, whatever. Everyone looks the same when I got these shades on."
Flash rolled his eyes at that remark, the obvious solution would be to take the shades off. "So yeah this is Ringo and you already met Brawly."
"Charmed." Aria said as she slipped the earplugs inside. From then on everything was a nice tone of mute, in between segments of trying to accomplish her homework she could see Flash and the others tuning their instruments, attempting to jam, complaining at each other when said jam didn't happen and devolving into an argument. Wisely she waited until her homework was done before intervening.
"- And where would this band be without me huh?!"
"Probably being picked up by a record label that's where!"
"Oh yeah, that's rich mate."
"Guys I think we should all just chill out, your filling this space with negative vibes."
"Oh give the hippy surfer crap a break Brawly."
"Why don't you give the fake British accent a rest, 'Clarence.'"
"I told you not to call me that, my name is Ringo now!"
"Boys..."
"You know what, this band is over. I'm going solo, and when your stuck flipping burgers I'll be on stage shredding like Axl."
"Boys..."
"Fine then if this band is over you can the the fark out of my basement."
"BOYS!" All three quarrelers drew silent and turned their attention to the woman in the room. "Thank you. While normally I'd be overjoyed to see three friends at each others throats because that would mean a free dose of magic for me. At the moment however I've lost my powers, that means I gain nothing from you fighting and in fact it's quite annoying."
"Whoa that's cold she-bra."
"Thank you, also what?" Aria took a moment to compose herself, "Now what seems to be the issue between you guys?" No one was eager to speak up so she spoke up for them. "Let me guess, you're all pretty new at music and are having trouble gelling together. You want to play like your favorite bands but are finding it much harder then they make it look. How was that?"
Young Sentry was stunned, "Yeah! How'd you know?"
"I have allot more wisdom than my youthful appearance would suggest." Aria tossed around her pigtails as if to accentuate her statement. "I've also been singing with my sisters for quite some time so I know a bit about artistic struggles. So first off why don't you let me know what kinds of music you enjoy."
Ringo (don't call me Clarence) was first to volunteer, eagerly blurting out his preferences. "I really like 'The Monkees'!"
"Alright The Monkees, that's a great inspiration. Can you play me the drum beat to 'Pleasant Valley Sunday'?"
Though he had obscuring shades on it was clear he was confused. "Uh no, I'm not a drummer I'm a bassist and keyboardist when we need it. Brawly's our drummer."
"Oh, sorry. I just assumed cause your calling yourself Ringo..."
"Yeah?"
"You know, Ringo Starr, drummer in the greatest group ever. Great artist in his own right, you aren't serious right?" To her shock and eternal disappointment he was serious in his ignorance. "Oh-kay, Brawly how about you. What musicians do you listen to?"
"Pretty much anything that's survived the test of time, so 'Beach Boys', 'Frankie Valli'. If it was on the soundtrack to 'American Graffiti' then odds are I'm down with it." He seemed quite proud of his eclectic tastes in music and he showed it with his yellowed smile.
"Alright early rock, those are some great influences too. What about you lover boy?"
"Me?"
"Is there anyone else I've been hitting on for the last two days?" As the words left her lips something occurred to the siren, in the last few days her attention had been solely on this one boy. In years past she would do the same manipulation and conniving on a dozen men at the same time. 'Could it be because he's... No it can't be.'
Flash Sentry who by this time was getting used to the flirtation handed out the curt reply of, 'Not your boyfriend' before answering the question. "I dunno, all the greats. 'Guns and Roses,' 'Queen,' 'Led Zeppelin,' I'm a rocker it's everything you'd expect."
She had a pretty good idea of what the problem was, but fixing it would mean something she wasn't sure she was willing to do. "So you all like various forms of rock from different periods of time. Do you know what they all have but you're group is missing?"
"Hard work and determination?" Said Ringo.
"Actual talent?" Said Brawly.
"Addiction to narcotics, alcohol and or sexually transmitted diseases?" Said Flash
"Jezzus, I was going to say a vocalist. All the groups you enjoy have very strong singers, maybe not the best of lyrical content but memorable singers." Aria Looked each of them in the eye individually. "Think about 'The Beach Boys' Brawly, would anyone remember them without their harmonies?"
"Probably not."
"What about the 'Monkees' Ringo? Where would they be without Davy Jones?" Ringo seemed to give it a thought then shuddered in fear. "And Flash do I even have to ask what 'Queen' would be without Freddy?"
"No."
"So, what I'm suggesting is you need someone who can sing for your group. Can any of you guys sing?"
"Nope." Ringo said with a smirk.
"Sorry bra, god blessed me with the rhythm in my hands and nowhere else."
Flash seemed reluctant to answer, "I, I'm not that good at it."
In turn Aria rolled her eyes, her reasoning for what she was about to do was shaky at best. "Well as you know I'm a pretty good singer myself. I may have lost a bit of my touch when the Rainbloomers hit me with their 'friendship magic.' But I'm still experienced."
"Aria, are you saying you want to be in the band?" Flash looked genuinely touched.
"Maybe, why don't you give me a test drive first." She walked over to the amp siting idle in the corner and plugged in a mike, "And Flash, I mean that both ways." She gave him a seductive wink then turned to the rest of the group. "How about 'Rhiannon'? You guys think you could play that for me?"
Unsure shrugs were shared between them all, but if attempting a song they weren't practiced in meant possibly gaining an experienced vocalist then, well to quote herself. 'When we say jump, you say how high?'
"I'll give it a shot, the bass line isn't too complicated on that one." Ringo picked up his bass guitar and strapped it on.
Brawly followed suit by taking his seat behind the drum kit. "Did I forget to mention I love 'Fleetwood Mac'? Cause I totally love them too."
Flash was last once more strapping on his bright red and white guitar, "Alright, Aria. One, two, a one two three-"
*****
Well by no means did these three teens and one immortal masquerading as a teen sound anywhere as good as 'Fleetwood Mac' they still sounded decent. More importantly the addition of a voice was enough to keep them from trying to outperform each other. Aria's rendition of Stevie Nicks' moving melody was ... unique. Not bad but, not quite as good as the original.
"God you sound like eff'in Yoko Ono!" Ringo stated in an out of turn remark.
Aria didn't mind the insult but she had an important question. "How do you know who Yoko Ono is and not Ringo Starr?!?"
"Naw man, that's harsh. If anything I'd say she sound more like whatshername, you know the 'Bette Davis Eyes' lady." Brawly parted the hair from his eyes and looked her over, "Yeah she's definitely got that vibe goin' on."
"Come on mate, Kim Carnes?"
"Are you saying there's something wrong with sounding like Kim?"
"No, but how old is she? Eighteen?"
"One thousand eighteen-" Aria held out her had as if to appreciate her fingernails, if her curse of immortality had one upside it was the eternal youth. "-but who's counting?"
"Damn Flash, your new girlfriend is awesome!"
"You hear that 'boyfriend'? Sounds like your friends like me. So am I in the band?"
He'd remained mostly silent since the song had ended, he wasn't prepared for what he was feeling. When she sang those words, 'Taken by, taken by the sky.' And how she moved, it was stirring something inside him, not like when he first bumped into Twilight. That was like, well he didn't know how to explain it. They'd shared the fall formal and that was about it, after that it was just assumed they would be in a relationship together and he hadn't bothered to question why.
But now, this new girl had come into his life, Aria Blaze. Wise beyond her appearance, with a beautiful if not raspy singing voice and to top it all off quite beautiful herself. His feelings were summed up nicely by the lyrics, 'Is this love that I'm feeling?' "Yeah, your in." What he was agreeing to even he didn't know, but somehow the decision seemed right. "Well, 'Flash in the pan' can't just be a cover band. If we're really gonna get big then we're going to need some original songs for our repertoire."
"Wait, you're band is named Flash in the pan? Really?"
"Whats wrong with that? I thought it was clever."
Aria suppressed a snicker, "No-no, nothing wrong with that. It's definitely not a statement about the longevity of your high school garage band." When she saw how upset that was making him she stopped, "Hey now, it's a good name. At the very least everyone's going to remember it."
Just then the friendly face of Mrs. Beats poked her head through the doorway of the basement. "Hey Brawly your father is home so it's time for dinner. Set aside your toys and clean up."
"Coming mom!" Brawly tossed his drumstick aside and they landed somewhere in the pile of dirty sweat shirts. "You guys wanna stay? We're having nuggets tonight."
"Sorry mate, my dad's already got a huge spread set out at home. I'll give a ring tomorrow, see when we're getting together again." Ringo placed his bass into the hard plastic case and walked up the stairs, waving goodbye before leaving.
"What about you two? We even got the real ones this time and not the mystery meat nuggets shaped like clowns."
Aria gave Flash a look, subtly trying to remind him of the conversation they'd had earlier. "Yeah, sure Brawly. We can stay." She smiled, the plan was going good, he was already following her wishes. Before long he'd be wrapped around her little finger.
The rest of the night was shared in good company with genuine chicken nuggets, tater tots, barbecue sauce and sweet tea. The conversation was somewhat unsophisticated but pleasant nonetheless. To occupy her mind Aria began thinking up new lyrics, a skill set she hadn't used for quite sometime. Even if joining the band was just so she could more easily sway Flash's affections, it didn't mean she couldn't have some fun along the way.