Aria Blaze: Throat Puncher

by Dubs Rewatcher


NEVER

In the time since she had been banished to Earth, Aria had learned three things: one, that human food was absolutely disgusting, no matter what Sonata said; two, that hands really were infinitely more disgusting than hooves; and three, that regardless of how cumbersome clothing could be, it was never appropriate to strip naked in public. Another trip to jail and a five-hundred-dollar fine had taught her that one.

Twenty human years later, the Dazzlings—a name Adagio had chosen for them—sat in the corner booth of a small coffee shop in downtown Canterlot. The café was flooding with a shimmering green fog, which rose from the linoleum like smoke from a fire. Along with it came the shouts and shrieks of two dozen arguing teenagers and, faintly in the background, the clear voices of the Dazzlings.

Aria felt the hatred, fear, and sadness rushing through her limbs, feeding her soul. And yet, as she felt the emotions run dry, her body still ached with hunger.

The hunger. No matter what they did, it never went away. Twenty years, and still Aria couldn’t go five hours without feeling like she was about to pass out.

“Ugh,” Aria muttered, ripping her hood off and sinking into her seat. “That was barely worth the effort, Adagio. I’m tired of fast food! I need a meal.”

Across from her, she heard Adagio sigh softly. “The energy in this world isn’t the same as in Equestria!” Adagio said, taking her own hood off. She took a quick glance around and leaned into her comrades before murmuring, “We can only gain so much power here.”

As another pang of hunger shot through her, Aria growled and sank even lower. “I wish we’d never been banished to this awful place!”

“Really?” Adagio asked, throwing out her trademark grin. “I love it here!”

Aria cursed under her breath and looked away. Her eyes drifted down to her hands. Hands—they still squicked her out. She hated the way they curled, the way they left oily prints on everything she touched, the way her fingers looked like the legs of a fat spider. She couldn’t bear to look at them for more than a few seconds.

But then her eyes drifted over to the half-eaten donut sitting in front of Sonata, and her stomach curled. Adagio said they needed to eat human food to “keep up appearances,” but it just made Aria want to puke.

The nausea was enough to snap her out of her thoughts, just in time to catch Sonata chirping, “Because I think this place is the worst!”

“I think you’re the worst, Sonata,” Aria shot back without missing a beat.

“Oh, yeah?” Sonata said, turning up her nose. “Well, I think you’re—”

“Ugh,” Adagio said, rubbing her temples. “I’ll tell you one thing: being stuck here with you two isn’t making this world any more”—she clenched her teeth—"bearable.”

The temptation to argue rose up Aria’s throat, but she bit her tongue. From the tone of Adagio’s voice, she would be taking the last word in this argument. As usual.

Aria and Sonata always followed Adagio’s orders. Always. Even when they knew the orders were stupid. Without orders came chaos, and with chaos came undue attention that would land them back in jail, or worse: on an autopsy table. At least, according to Adagio.

The three of them had known each other since they were just hatchlings, born to the same school of sirens. Adagio had always been bossy, and as the Elders' first choice to kill Celestia, she'd enjoyed that much more of an ego trip—even if her very first "brilliant" plan had gotten them all banished. Adagio was the leader, and as much as Aria hated to admit it, she and Sonata were the assistants.

So Aria kept her mouth shut and let the frustration bubble silently. No need to ruin everything over a simple argument. She took a long breath and tried to ignore the gnawing in her soul. Was the mall still open? Maybe they could stop by for a quick snack—

A muted boom cut through the air and a blinding light swallowed the café. The entire restaurant paused for a moment as everyone turned to stare out the window. Across town, a massive glowing pillar of energy had shot down from the clouds and ripped into the earth.

Every hair on Aria’s body stood up as if hit by a blast of static. She felt a jolting tingle running through her veins, up her legs, through her chest, down her arms, and into her fingers. Her fists tightened unconsciously, even as Adagio sprang from her seat and sprinted outside.

“Where is she going?” Sonata asked. “She didn’t even finish her coffee!”

Aria didn’t answer. Her limbs had gone rigid.

Sonata raised a brow, but soon enough shrugged and clambered over Aria to leave the booth and head outside. Aria took a moment more to stare at the pillar of light before all the feeling returned to her bones at once. Everything went blurry, and it took every bit of willpower she had not to collapse onto the floor. If her stomach was curling before, now it was ripping itself apart. And her hands… they itched with the force of a thousand mosquito bites.

Aria shook the spots out of her vision and followed the other two outside, scratching at her palms as she went. She found Sonata and Adagio standing together. Sonata shaded her eyes, while Adagio stood near the street, eyes locked on the sky, every limb shuddering.

The Dazzlings watched together as twin rainbows shot from where the energy pillar had hit, spiraling around one another until they had reached about a mile into the sky. An even brighter light ripped through the city as they connected. Then, in one blinding flash, a shifting, morphing beam of prismatic light flew from the twisted rainbows, hitting something on the ground and sending burning lasers shooting in every direction.

And yet, as soon as it had started, it was over. The sky returned to its normal color, and the rainbows disappeared.

Aria tried to speak, but her throat felt like it had collapsed. What the Tartarus was that?

“Did you feel that?” Adagio spluttered, grasping the gem hanging from her neck. She turned to the others and grinned. “Do you know what that is?”

Aria tried and failed to unclench her fists. Her fingers ached from how hard she pressed them together. A strange sort of feeling swirled through her, pooling in her hands, begging to be let out. It felt like ants crawling through her veins.

“It’s Equestrian magic!” Adagio hissed, grabbing Aria and pulling her close.

‘You could do it,’ her brain whispered in a voice not her own. Her fists clenched tighter. ‘Punch her. She’s so close. She won’t expect it.’

Aria pushed the intrusive thought away and forced her hands into her pockets. Adagio was still staring at her, waiting for a response, but Aria couldn’t think of a word to say.

“Equestrian magic?” Sonata asked. “But I thought this world didn’t have magic!”

“It does now,” Adagio said. She chuckled and walked to the street before striking a pose: chin high, and one hand on her hip. “And we’re going to use it to make everyone in this pathetic little world adore us.”

Sonata smiled at Aria, and Aria forced herself to return the gesture.

Together with Sonata, she walked forward and struck a pose of her own, crossing her arms and smirking into the air. Strangely enough, the Dazzlings seemed to do a lot of posing—Aria figured it was Adagio’s way of relieving stress.

And honestly? It worked. Aria allowed herself a deep breath. If Adagio was right, and there really was Equestrian magic in this world, then, well… maybe for once she would finally be able to rid herself of that damned hunger. Maybe for once she could be happy.

But what was it that just happened to her? And what was that weird voice?

“Hey!”

The itching in Aria’s hands came rushing back as a nasally voice rang through the air, aimed right at them. Aria spun around, only to find a young woman in a green uniform heading straight for them, a deep frown etched into her face. She stopped right in front of Aria and jabbed a finger into her chest. “Do you really think you can just leave without paying? I saw you buy a coffee! I know that you—”

‘Punch her.’

Aria punched her in the throat. The waitress fell, grasping at her chest.

As the woman struggled to speak, Aria leaned down and pressed their foreheads together. “The coffee was free,” she spat.

The waitress shook her head and choked out, “But you can’t—”

‘Again.’

Aria punched her in the throat again. “The coffee was free!”

After a moment spent trying simply to breathe, the waitress nodded and scrambled away, limping back toward the coffee shop. Aria dusted off her still-tingling knuckles and strode back to her partners, who were just staring.

“Why did you do that?” Sonata asked, taking a step back.

Aria opened her mouth, reaching for an answer—but stopped when she realized that she didn’t have one. Punching that woman in the throat had just felt so natural, so genuine; she didn’t even have to think before doing it. It just happened. And that strange voice...

She looked at her shoes. “She was annoying me, so I shut her up.”

“You certainly did,” Adagio muttered. She narrowed her eyes. “Do you know what would happen if that waitress went running off to the cops about how some girl in a hoodie left without paying and then attacked her? They’d be after us in a second.” Adagio jabbed a finger into Aria’s chest. “Don’t do that again. Understand?”

Aria didn’t lift her eyes. “Yeah.”

Adagio nodded and walked away. Sonata paused for a moment to gaze at Aria and rub her arm before following.

Aria clenched her itching fists and gritted her teeth. Heat swirled through her face, and her brain felt like it was covered in fuzz. She wanted to push Adagio to the ground and show her what it was like to take orders.

No. Aria forced herself to follow. Hurting Adagio wouldn’t solve anything. But if Adagio really thought she could just boss Aria around like that, then she’d have another thing coming. Aria wouldn’t take it.

She glanced down at her fists. Suddenly, they didn’t seem so bad.