//------------------------------// // PUNCHER // Story: Aria Blaze: Throat Puncher // by Dubs Rewatcher //------------------------------// The next day, Aria and her followers patrolled Canterlot High, stomachs growling. “Hey, kid!” Aria said, slamming her palms down on a cafeteria table. She put on her most jovial smile. “Whatcha got there?” Flash Sentry jumped at the voice. Looking around, he quickly discovered that his bandmates had fled. He darted a glance at the other two Blazings, who stood only a few feet away, and held his guitar a bit closer to his chest. “What are you talking about? I don’t have anything.” “Really? Because that looks like a guitar.” Aria sat down next to Flash, close enough that she could blow a breath across his bare neck. “And a nice one, too. Mind if I take a look?” “Why?” Flash asked. He scooted a few inches away, only for Aria to follow him. “What are you gonna do with it?” “Nothing, nothing!” Aria said. “I just wanna see it! I’m a curious musician!” “I… I don’t know.” Flash looked down at the instrument, running his fingers along the taut strings. “My granddad got it for me.  It’s, like, my favorite thing in the world.” “You don’t know?” Aria said. Behind her back, she clenched a fist. “Well, why don’t you think a little harder—“ “It’s okay!” Sonata said, walking up to the two. She placed a gentle hand on Flash’s shoulder and smiled. “Aria’s not gonna do anything bad. She’s, like, the most careful person I know! You can totally trust your most prized possessions with her.” Aria smirked as she watched Flash nod and glance back down at his guitar. He sighed. “Well, I guess it might be okay. But, like, be careful with it!” He handed it to Aria. “Thank you so much!” Aria said, grabbing the guitar. “I promise I’ll give it right back.” With that, she smashed the guitar against a wall; Flash screamed and Sonata giggled as chips of wood and plastic flew through the air. Aria slammed the guitar against the wall again and kept slamming it until the neck snapped off and the body cracked into two jagged chunks. “What are you doing?!” Flash yelped. He leapt at Aria. “Leave the guitar alone, you—” Aria punched him in the throat, and he crashed to the ground. She laughed as he grabbed his wrecked guitar and limped away. The fear and sadness rushed into Aria’s veins like an adrenaline shot. Pleasure raced through her. She held onto the feeling for as long as possible, then let out a deep, shuddering breath. She had been spending most of the morning like this, taking out random students for a rush of negativity. Boys had the best throats; crunchy and hard. Girls’ throats felt like puff pastries in comparison. “Well, that’s another band that’ll have to drop out,” Aria said, kicking away a hunk of wood. “What does that make now? Twenty drop-outs? Twenty-five?" “Thirty.” Sonata sat down. “We’re totally gonna win!” “Well, duh,” Aria said. She put her hands on her hips and smiled down at Sonata. “I gotta say, it’s nice having at least one loyal follower.” She jabbed a finger over her shoulder. “It’s too bad we have to carry that piece of trash.” Leaning against the wall a few feet away, Adagio opened her eyes and glowered at Aria. Dark bags hung under her eyes, and her once-curly hair ran in wild streaks, jutting out in all directions. She took in a breath, as if she were going to shout something back—but let it out in a sharp hiss. “What was that?” Aria said to her. “Got something to say?” “Sure,” spat Adagio. “Aren’t we supposed to be feeding off the negative energy this Battle of the Bands creates? If you keep attacking people, there won’t be any students left to compete.” Aria prepared a comeback, but Sonata cut her off. “She hasn't punched everyone,” said Sonata. “There are still, like, loads left. We don’t have to worry.” “That’s absolutely right,” Aria said. As Adagio rolled her eyes, Aria smiled and turned back to Sonata. “Y’know, for a while, I was starting to think that you liked the humans.” “No way!” Sonata said. “You’re our leader now, so I’m with you all the way. And I told you: I wanna take over the world as much as you.” “That’s good to hear,” Aria said. She turned and walked away. “But I still…” Sonata paused and looked to the floor. “I still don’t like all the throat punching. There’s a difference between breaking someone’s guitar and breaking someone’s, like, body.” Aria stopped midstep. Balling up a fist, she spun around and marched up to Sonata— But stopped when Sonata flinched away, crumpling into her seat and covering her face. Aria kept her fist raised high, but she felt the heaviness weighing down on her joints—the same pain she had felt last night, digging into her gut. Aria swallowed a curse and turned back around, crossing her arms. “Yeah, well… I don’t like it when you breathe.” Adagio snorted. “Clever.” Aria punched her in the throat. “Don’t talk back to me!” she screamed as Adagio collapsed. “Guys, stop!” Sonata said, stepping between them. She pressed a hand into Aria’s chest and pushed her away. “We shouldn’t be fighting like this!” “Don’t touch me!” Aria snapped. She slapped away Sonata’s hand and rushed off, brushing off her shirt. No one had the right to touch her. No one was good enough. She pulled her jacket on a little tighter and walked away. “Come on. If you two keep whining, we’ll be late for our next round.” The three left the cafeteria behind and headed for the gymnasium. Aria swaggered in front, naturally, with Sonata following close behind. Adagio, however, just drudged along, eyes glued to the floor. Normally Aria would threaten her in an attempt to make her walk faster, but there was something about Adagio’s lethargy that just made Aria feel so excited. To think, Adagio Dazzle, self-proclaimed Greatest Siren in History, chosen by the Elders themselves, brought to heel like a common mutt. Her hands tingled with anticipation as they turned the corner into the hallway leading to the auditorium. The negative energy was calling to her, ready to be eaten. They were nearing the end of their journey, and she couldn’t be happier. That happiness disappeared in an instant when she realized that Sundown Stammer was blocking the auditorium doors. Sunny leaned against the far wall, enveloped in darkness. She kept a steady glare leveled at Aria as she walked forward. Her throat was still swollen. “You’re never gonna get away with this.” Aria punched her in the throat. While Sunroof writhed in pain on the floor, Aria’s vision pulsed with anger. Everything was a blur as she gazed down at the heaving mass that lay before her. Sunset tried to lean on a locker, tried to stand, but Aria kicked her legs out from under her, and she collapsed. “When will you learn to stop getting in my way?” Aria asked, grabbing a fistful of Sunset’s hair. She yanked her up and exposed her throat. She wound up another punch. “Am I gonna have to kill you?” “No!” Sonata shouted, grabbing Aria’s arm. Aria dropped Sunset, spun around, and swung at Sonata’s throat, but a single look into Sonata’s narrowed, burning eyes sent that icicle through Aria’s chest once again. Her hands burned, but her stomach felt like it was filled with ice. “Don’t touch me,” Aria spat. Her chest heaved. “Leave her alone,” Sonata said. “She hasn’t done anything to us!” ‘Hurt her.’ “She tried to talk to me!” “So? Are you just gonna start punching anyone who talks to you?” Sonata asked. “Because that’s totally stupid!” ‘PUNCH HER KILL HER’ Aria pushed Sonata away and threw her hands to her head, tugging at her hairline. Her brain was splitting apart, and her knuckles were on fire. It was all Aria could do to hobble over to the gymnasium doors. She leaned on the doorway for support. “Are you coming?” she shouted back, panting. Adagio scurried over to meet her, but Sonata stayed for a moment. She tried to keep glaring at Aria, but soon enough her hard glance broke, and she sighed. “I’m sorry,” Sonata muttered to Sunfish. “I promise, Aria’s not usually such a barnacle.” Sunset was crying. Sonata hurried to catch up with her fellow Blazings. The door locked behind them, leaving Sunday to weep on the floor, alone. As they walked, Aria kept her gaze pointed straight ahead, not daring to look at either of her partners. And yet she couldn’t erase Sonata’s face from her mind—for when Sonata grabbed her, and Aria looked into her eyes, she saw something she had never seen in Sonata before: rage. But it didn’t matter. There was no threat. Sonata was worthless, even more pathetic than the humans. She was weak, and when the time came, Aria would break her too. Oh-whoa-oh, oh-whoa-oh, Now that you're under our spell... From the stage, Aria stared straight forward, right into the eyes of Principal Celestia. As their song ended and applause filled the auditorium, Celestia looked away and pulled up her collar to cover her throat. Snickering, Aria led her followers off the stage and into the sea of hypnotized teenagers. "We were so great!" Sonata said, pumping a fist. "I think that might be the best song we've ever done. And we don't even have all our magic yet!" "Same," said Aria. She shot a glance back at Adagio. "Even with someone dragging us down." Adagio kept her eyes on her feet. Aria stopped and gazed across the auditorium, studying what few bands were left. Throughout the day, Aria had systematically eliminated band after band, breaking either their instruments or their throats—usually both. By the time semi-finals rolled around, only four bands were left: the Blazings, the Rainbooms, Trixie and the Illusions, and some techno group called "The Snapshots," led by a weird girl with white hair and sunglasses who wouldn't stop taking pictures of everything in sight. In other words, the Blazings were the only ones left with any real musical talent. Trixie's band had been awful, predictably. Not only was their song boring and repetitive, but halfway through, Trixie tripped over again and let another dove fly from her skirt. They might have been able to recover... if the dove hadn't gone and pooped right on Luna's head. The Rainbooms hadn't even finished their performance; they had gotten barely a verse in before Sandy Stinger tackled the colorful one right off the stage. "I swear," said Aria, "we don't even need to force Celestia and Luna to push us into the finals. No one can compete with us." And no matter which band got joined the Blazings in the finals, Aria won. Were the Rainbooms to make finals, Aria would just order Trixie to neutralize them. And if Trixie made it through, the Rainbooms would have no way of stopping Aria before she reached full power. Aria had concocted the perfect plan—without Adagio's help. "I haven't had this much fun in, like, centuries!" Sonata said. "Hey, Ari, once this is over and all the humans are our slaves, can we have another singing contest? Just, like, for funzies?" "Shush!" Aria hissed, pushing Sonata away. "They're announcing the finalists!" All of CHS crowded formed a circle around the table at the center of the auditorium, where Celestia and Luna stood, holding clipboards filled with papers. The sisters skimmed through their notes and shared a few hushed words—Aria caught Celestia's gaze for just long enough to bare her teeth—then Luna grabbed a microphone and smiled at the crowd. "Boys and girls, aspiring musicians and accomplished songwriters!" Luna said. "We thank you for your patience. It was not easy, but Principal Celestia and I believe we have finally come to a decision on the two bands moving forward to the final round, tonight at Barnyard Bargains Stadium! Now, the first band that will be going onto the finals is—" Celestia grabbed the microphone out of her hands and yipped, "The Blazings! The Blazings will be moving on because they are a fantastic band and deserve all the love and support we can give them. Isn't that right, students?" The crowd gave a hesitant and bewildered murmur of agreement. Aria nodded. Luna shot Celestia a furrow-browed glance, but took the microphone back all the same. "Moving on... this next pick took a large amount of thought and consideration. All three bands left in the running put on wonderful performances, but only one can go on to compete in the finals of Canterlot High School's first ever Battle of—" "Get on with it!" Aria yelled. Luna scowled. "As you wish." Aria rubbed her hands together and glanced at her potential opponents. Rainbooms, Illusions... get ready to become my slaves. "The band that will be joining the Blazings in tonight's finals," Luna said, "is The Snapshots!" Aria's smile died. Everyone in the crowd groaned—except for the weird white-haired girl and her two friends, who giggled and shared a highfive. "Wunderbar!" the white-haired one said. "Our magicks have been recognized!" Behind Aria, Adagio stifled a giggle. "Aw," she said, "looks like your little plan didn't work out!" Sonata smiled. "They were really good." The white-haired girl whipped out her camera and tripod, and set them up to take a photo of her and her bandmates. "Smile!" she said. "Show the camera your most graceful pose!" A few second later, the camera went off with a great flash—but all it captured was the image of Aria punching the white-haired girl in the throat. "Aria Blaze!" Luna cried. "What do you think you're—" Aria sprinted over and punched Luna in the throat. As she collapsed, Aria grabbed Celestia and threw her onto the judging table. "Please, no!" Celestia said, covering her throat. "Have mercy!" "The Snapshots are disqualified!" Aria said. "But—" Aria punched the space next to Celestia's head so hard her fist went through the table. "The Snapshots are disqualified!" "Alright, alright! Just don't hurt me!" Celestia said. Aria kept her pinned down for a few seconds more, but then let her go. Celestia fell to her knees and crawled across the floor to her clipboard and microphone. Curled up into a shaking ball, Celestia stammered, "The Snapshots are disqualified. As such, the next highest-scoring band will proceed to the finals: the Rainbooms." Everyone in the crowd groaned even harder. "What?" Octavia said, sneering. "This is outrageous!" Flash Sentry nodded. "Yeah, they were terrible!" "The Rainbooms' dark magic strikes again," Trixie said. The Rainbooms cringed away from the ocean of insults, huddling together against a wall. Aria panted, sweat gluing her bangs to her face. The alien voice raged in her head. Rubbing her fists, she walked off, back to where Sonata and Adagio stood. She passed by the Rainbooms on the way. "Aria!" Applejack called, raising her voice to speak over the booing. She stepped forward and tipped her hat. "Thanks for the help. I think." Aria punched Applejack in the throat. The rest of the Rainbooms gasped and ran to pick her up, but backed off when Aria grabbed Sunset Shimmer, punched her in the throat again, and screamed at the rest, "I will eat your souls, Equestrians!" She tossed Sunset's limp body onto Applejack's and stormed off. Rarity stomped a foot. "I am not a horse!" Aria snatched Sonata and Adagio's collars and dragged them out of the noisy auditorium, into the hallway. "Thank goddess that's over," Aria said. Her entire body burned, as if she were a computer left running too long. Adagio scowled. "Are you pretending to be an idiot, or are you really just this stupid?" "Excuse me?" Aria said. "Why did you let the Rainbooms get into the finals?" Adagio asked. "You just gave them another chance to launch a counterspell!" "Haven't you been listening?" Aria asked. She jerked a thumb back toward the auditorium. "This is why we have Trixie. The Rainbooms will never make it to the finals—Trixie will take them out before they go on, and then Trixie's band will take their place." "So why didn't you just tell Celestia to put Trixie in the finals? What's the point of putting the Rainbooms in, only to take them out?" Aria blinked. 'punch her' "What if Trixie fails, hm?" Adagio stepped forward, forcing Aria to take a step back. "What then? It's seven-on-three; we can't take them out ourselves. What if the Rainbooms get a chance to perform, and they destroy us?" 'KILL HER' Sonata tried to step between the two. "Girls, c'mon, stop fighting." Aria wanted to scream, wanted to point out that using Trixie had been Adagio's idea in the first place, but the only comeback she could think of was, "Shut up!" She slammed her shaking hands into Adagio'a chest. Adagio didn't budge. "You're so obsessed with your little power fantasy that you're messing everything up! We're going to die here, alone and starving, all because you can't control your wretched hands!" she's right 'KILL' oh goddess she's right she's right 'PUNCH PUNCH KILL' Breathing hard, Aria threw a punch, but it sailed straight past Adagio's throat and into open air. Before she could try again, Adagio shot forward and shoved her to the ground. The back of Aria's head smacked against the hard linoleum floor, shattering all her thoughts into pieces. "You're an idiot," Adagio said, kicking a stunned Aria in the side. "You're a failure! You'll never compare to me, and you know it!" Sonata grabbed Adagio's arm. "Dagi! Stop!" 'get up GRAB her get up' "You really thought you could replace me?" Adagio said. She stomped on Aria's outstretched hand, and Aria let out a horrid howl. "Thought you could break my confidence, make me humble? You're not even worthy to pick the algae from my scales. I am Adagio Dazzle, Queen of the Sirens, Mistress of the Melody! And what are you? 'Aria Blaze, Queen of Punching Throats?'" 'grab her stop her do it' Aria could barely hear Adagio's insults over the shrieking in her head. She hadn't felt pain, sadness, humiliation like this since the voice arrived, all those months ago. Her ribs and hand burning, she climbed onto her knees—only for Adagio to kick her in the side again. Aria crumpled against the lockers. "Stop," Aria gasped, spit rolling off her lips. "Why? Are you going to cry?" Adagio bent over and leaned into Aria, close enough that their noses touched. "You're never going to touch me again, Blaze. Once we win, you're going to become my slave, just like the humans." 'NO' With a primal roar, Aria threw her head forward, cracking her forehead against Adagio's nose. Adagio shrieked and reeled back, holding her face. She had barely let out a curse before Aria leapt up, tackled her to the ground, and drove a fist hard into Adagio's nose. Aria heard an unnatural crack, felt a vibration travel up her arm. Sonata screamed. Aria's heart pumped, her brain pulsed. She threw punch after punch, attacking Adagio from every direction. Adagio kept her throat covered with an arm, but that didn't stop Aria from aiming for it again and again and again, over and over until the yellow skin on Adagio's arm became a burning red. Adagio yelled and whimpered, but Aria didn't stop. She would never stop. Not until Adagio learned her place, not until Adagio suffered, not until she died and rotted— What are you doing? The first truly clear thought Aria had heard in days. It was enough to freeze her in place, giving Adagio time to scramble away, blood dripping from her lip and nose. She curled up against the wall, staring with pinpricked pupils. Aria watched her former ally bleed with glazed-over eyes. She felt like she was watching the scene through a window—like her body was an empty shell, like it belonged to someone else. Her mind stayed quiet. Aria had forgotten how nice it felt not to have screaming in her head every minute of every day. Then she saw Sonata. The screaming came back. Sonata hurried over to where Adagio lay. She tore off her scrunchie and pressed it to Adagio's mangled nose, trying fruitlessly to stem the flow of blood. Aria's mouth felt like a minefield; it took all her effort just to muster up, "I'm—" "Get out!" Sonata said through gritted teeth. "You—just go away!" Her words tasted like poison. Aria gulped down her nausea and stood up on trembling legs. With her aching hand pressed to her bruised ribs, she turned around and hobbled away. 'No one talks to you like that. Go back there and hurt her, too.' But Aria kept walking. She kept walking, letting the voice in her head fester and grow until what brief quiet she had found faded away completely. Her fists itched. Hunger gnawed at her stomach. She needed to find Trixie and tell her what to do. She needed to win, no matter how many friends she lost.