//------------------------------// // Chapter 5 // Story: Another Dazzlings Redemption story // by writer283 //------------------------------// Many, many years ago... The quiet flow of a small river mixed with the sounds of nearby wildlife and leaves rustling in the warm summer breeze filled the air of the forest that the sirens were traveling through. Aria looked down at the softly flowing water and smiled at her reflection. She reached her front hooves into the river and splashed her face. She let out a calm sigh and listened to the sounds of the forest around her and the steadily increasing sound of giggling. Aria looked to the middle of the river and saw her companion swimming against the current. “Look, Aria, I'm a salmon” Sonata joked. Aria let out a chuckle, thoroughly entertained by Sonata's antics. “I think you're a little big to be a salmon” said Aria. “Then I'm a super salmon!” she cheered before bursting out from the water “So, where are we heading to next?” Sonata asked as she hovered over the river. “There's a few other little towns out here that are just ripe for the picking, and far too long of a distance from any sort of unwanted attention” Aria replied. “Isn't attention a good thing?” asked Sonata. “I mean the kind of attention that gets word out to the empire's guard and sends them after us” replied Aria “As long as we stick to these little backwater towns, we'll never go hungry and we'll never end up in a dungeon” “Well, I don't know about that last town. It seemed like we didn't get as much energy as we usually do” Sonata said as she dipped her hoof into the water. Aria nodded in agreement “I noticed that too, I guess that they were a little off put by you going too sharp on those high notes” “Did not!” Sonata shouted. “Don't worry, I'm just teasing you. The next town will be better, I promise” Aria said reassuringly. “Okay, but I get to do lead next time” said Sonata. “Fine, just don't go too wild” Aria said before stretching herself out “Lets hit the road” A sudden rustle in the bushes attracted Aria's attention. A quick look over of the bushes revealed no source for the noise. Aria remained vigilant, it wouldn't have been the first time some hunter had tried to make trophies of her and Sonata. “What do you see?” Sonata asked as she hovered towards her companion. “I heard something, but I...” Aria stopped as she looked to Sonata and noticed her companions gaze fixated on a single point. Aria followed Sonata's stare to a large bush. A faint, strained breathing sound came from the bush. “Hey!” Aria called out. Before either of them could react, a streak of yellow bolted out from the bush and quickly darted away. The two siren's remained still, both perplexed by the odd occurrence. Sonata gave Aria a small shove on the shoulder “Why'd you yell, you scared it away” she said. “Excuse me if I'm not keen on making friends with things that lurk in bushes” Aria said without a hint of concern as she began to hover away. Sonata looked in the direction the creature had gone for a brief moment before joining Aria on her path. “I think I would have named it, Cinnamon” Sonata said cheerfully. The two sirens didn't realize it at the moment, but they had both encountered Adagio Dazzle for the very first time. Sunday 1:21 “Do you think we should go get a nurse?” Rainbow Dash asked Applejack. “I don't think she's here on weekends” Applejack replied. “Well, should we... do C.P.R?” asked Rainbow. “Didn't Spear already try that?” replied Applejack. “I don't think jumping off the bleachers, doing mouth to mouth, then running away yelling “sniped” really counts” said Rainbow. “Hmm... Maybe we shouldn't tell her that happened when she wakes up” said Applejack. Aria eyes fluttered open as she regained consciousness. The world was blurry as her eyes looked to a large multicolored blur looming over her. Aria's vision quickly cleared, revealing the blur to be, Rainbow Dash. She let out a groan as she began to feel a light throbbing in her forehead. “Easy there” Applejack cautioned “You may have a concussion” “I got hit by a ball, not a brick. I'm pretty sure I'll survive” Aria said as she slowly got to her feet “Well, congratulations” she said as she dusted the grass off her back. “For what?” Applejack asked. “You two succeeded in making me hate you more than I already did” said Aria “What with the hick spitting on me, and her demon ball hitting me in the face” “Hey!” Rainbow interjected “The thing with the ball was your own fault... and don't call Applejack a hick” Rainbow glanced over to Applejack for a moment, but quickly turned away as she saw Applejack shooting her an annoyed stare. “When you kick a soccer ball, you kick it with the top of your foot, or the side, not with your toe” Rainbow said before dropping the ball to the ground. She gave it a small kick and the ball rolled toward, Aria. “What am I supposed to do with this?” she asked. “Give it another try, but kick it like I told you to” Rainbow replied. “As if” Aria said, rolling her eyes as she turned to walk away from the two. “So you won't even try, what's up with you Sirens, was singing seriously all you could do, you can't even kick a ball?” asked Rainbow. Aria let out a frustrated growl “Shut Up!” she yelled. “Well, why don't you prove me wrong?” Rainbow asked. Aria stopped in her tracks and after a few moments, she turned back towards the pair. She wore a more defined scowl on her face than before. She approached the ball, stopping a few feet away from it. “Just kick the ball into that net, but hit it like I told you” Rainbow said encouragingly. “Rainbow, are you sure this is...” Applejack began. “I just want to see her do it” Rainbow interrupted as she stepped out of the path between Aria and the net. Aria looked down at the ball as if it was some age old enemy. She reared her leg back and swung it at the ball, only for it to be abruptly taken out of her path by Rainbow Dash. Aria glared at the rainbow haired girl. “You said you wanted me to kick the stupid ball!” Aria yelled at Rainbow Dash. “No, I said I wanted you to kick the ball the way I told you” Rainbow replied “I could tell by the way you had your foot pointed that you were gonna make the same mistake as before... or do you just like being unconscious? Now, try it again, but kick it the way I told you” Rainbow said as she gently kicked the ball back toward Aria. Aria clenched her hands into fists as she let out a muffled shriek “How could you devote so much time to something as simple as kicking a ball?” “I don't appreciate people mocking something they know nothing about” Rainbow replied “Plus, I honestly want to see you do it right, so you can at least walk away from this with some sort of positive memory” she said with a smirk. “Oh yeah like me going like this” Aria said as she reared her foot back “is going to make me feel better!” Aria let loose a powerful kick and the ball rocketed through the air, curving nicely to land right into the top left corner of the net. Aria stared at the ball, surprised she had actually made a goal. “That was one darn fine kick. That's exactly where ya want it to end up too” Applejack said encouragingly. “I told ya, it's all in the foot. Either that or it was a fluke” Rainbow said as she began to walk over to the net. Aria rolled her eyes and began to walk away, but to her surprise the farm girl followed her. “Wait a second, ya still look mad. Didn't ya see what ya did?” Applejack asked. “It's like your friend said, I probably just got lucky” Aria replied. “Now you quit that” Applejack said as she reached out and placed her hand on Aria's shoulder. Aria looked at the farm girls hand, then glared at Applejack before brushing her hand off. “Rainbow didn't mean that, it's just her way of complimenting ya. Fluke or not, I'd say that was a mighty good kick for someone who's never hit a soccer ball before. Ya know, if ya wanted, Rainbow could teach ya how to make a shot like that on purpose” “Don't waste your time on me” Aria mumbled. “Hey, don't put yourself down like that” Applejack said with more annoyance than concern. “Then stop acting like such an annoying little saint. I didn't come here to give you another notch in your magic of friendship belt!” yelled Aria. “Then why in the heck did you come here?” Applejack asked, quickly growing annoyed with the siren. “Why do you keep pretending like you care, ya hick” Aria replied, also growing extremely aggravated by Applejack's pestering presence. “Ya want me to be honest, fine! I don't care, and you know why? Because you sirens haven't done anything with yourselves since we beat you. I figured that you'd be like Sunset, that you'd change after you got knocked down a peg, but ya haven't, and it seems like you don't want to either” “Oh praise be with the perfect farm girl” Aria said in a mocking tone before flicking Applejack in the nose “I wonder where her perfection comes from, maybe it comes from her stupid hat!” Aria yelled before swiping the hat off Applejack's head. She then threw it to the ground and stomped on it repeatedly. Aria then looked Applejack dead in the eye “What ya gonna do now, go running to your dumb hick fam...” Before Aria could finish, Applejack grabbed her by her hoody and tugged her closer. “Don't you ever call my family hicks!!!” Applejack yelled. Aria froze, she could tell by the girls pull that she was far stronger than her. Aria had always envisioned the moment she could tussle with the girls who ruined her life, but this wasn't how she had imagined it. The farm girl looked ready to tear her pig tails off and beat her to a bloody pulp, far from the sniveling and helpless person she had imagined to face. Her lips quivered and she shut her eyes as she awaited what was coming... but nothing did. She suddenly felt Applejack's grip loosen. “I'm sorry” Appejack said as she released, Aria. Aria opened her eyes and she stepped back. She observed the look of remorse on Applejack's face, an expression that she had not seen much of in her very long life. “What's going on?” Rainbow called as she quickly ran over to the two. Before Aria could think about what she was doing, she suddenly began to sprint away as fast as her legs could carry her. “What happened, did she take a swing at you or something?' Rainbow asked Applejack. Applejack let out a disappointed sigh “No, I just overreacted a bit... well, more like a whole lot” “Don't feel bad, maybe a good shock of reality is what she needed” Rainbow said as she grabbed Applejack's hat off the ground “Plus, she did wreck your hat” “I just got so mad that she didn't seem to care about anything. They're just throwing their lives away with pointless hate” Applejack said as she took her hat from Rainbow and began to dust it off. “I hear ya, but contrary to popular belief, we're not miracle workers” Back at the Dazzling's apartment... Sonata laid asleep on the couch, clutching a throw pillow as though it were a stuffed animal. A sudden loud slam instantly roused her from her sleep. She quickly shot up and looked at the door to see Aria looking like she had just been chased by an axe murderer. “Why are you so sweaty looking?” asked Sonata. Aria was too caught up in her own situation to deliver an insulting response. She placed her back against the wall and slid down to the floor. “What happened?” Sonata asked, quickly growing more concerned. Aria's fearful expression eventually turned into a confused look of despair. “Aria, are you okay?” Sonata asked as she approached her fellow siren. “I'm fine” Aria replied in a harsh tone. Sonata let out an aggravated huff and rolled her eyes at the all too typical behavior “Fine, don't tell me what's wrong, just go ahead and be that way” Sonata said as she turned away from Aria. “Sonata...” Aria said in a uncharacteristically soft voice “Do you think I'm still a siren?” “What kind of a question is that, of course we're still sirens, we just don't sing anymore” Sonata replied, clearly not understanding the depth of the question. “But... wasn't that what being a siren was all about, singing, and being in control” said Aria. “What do you mean?” Sonata asked. Aria looked up at Sonata, revealing the tears streaming down her face “You know how I thought I could just beat up those stupid girls? I always thought I could handle anything this stupid world could throw at me... but today I realized that among these humans I'm just a weakling... I've never wanted to go back home so bad” Sonata quickly rushed to her despairing friend and knelt down beside her “Hey, don't be so sad, try to think of the positives, positive number one, fingers are very useful” “No!” Aria shrieked “What's wrong with you, don't you ever stop being so stupidly cheerful” A blank expression came to Sonata's face as she looked at the floor “Well, I'm not happy all the time. Like when you guys are at work, or when I try to hum along to a tune and it comes out all scratchy, and when I forget I can't hover and fall on the floor... and I miss home sometimes, too” Aria felt guilt tug at her throat for her insensitivity. It was an odd sight to see Sonata so down; in an odd way it put her own situation into perspective. The two sat quietly for several minutes wallowing in self pity “Well, this is about the time that I get up and watch something dumb and funny on T.V” Sonata said as she stood up “You want to come, or do you need a few more minutes?” Aria was still noticeably upset by her past encounter, but it seemed the moment had met it's climax and she would much rather spend the wind down on the couch than sitting on the floor. “Okay” Aria replied as she stood up and walked over to the couch “You know, I missed this” she said as she sat down. “Missed what?” Sonata asked as she flipped through the channels. “You know, this, you and me just hanging out, no Adagio hanging over our heads and ripping apart everything we say” Aria said as she wiped the water from her eyes. “It's not always like... yeah, yeah you're right” replied Sonata. “Remember when we first found her and she was so nervous she could hardly move” Aria said as she chuckled at the memory. “Yeah, whatever happened to that? After the first few times she performed with us she couldn't wait to get out in front of a crowd” “I guess we created a monster” Aria said jokingly. “Come to think of it, I don't think Adagio ever performed without us since we met her. I hope she doesn't lose it on those girls” said Sonata. “Don't worry, Adagio talks big but she couldn't punch through a marshmallow” said Aria. “That's not what I meant” Canterlot High Gymnasium 2:05 pm. Adagio, the self proclaimed leader of the sirens, once a legendary creature known for absolute control and dominance over her victims... stood motionless just off center of the gymnasium stage. She stood alone, in a red dress, looking out at the small crowd of fashion forwards students staring back up at her. There was no sound other than the distant buzzing of an air conditioning unit. All eyes were on Adagio, all the attention was on Adagio, many would think this would be a dream come true for the siren. But for a moment, the cruel Adagio was gone, replaced by a version of herself she thought she had long forgotten. The scared creature that hid in the bushes so long ago had returned and she had no idea why.