Aria Ignite

by Third Brony

Detention with Sunset

The game ended with Rainbow winning. I'd almost managed to score but the ball entered the net after the bell rung. Rainbow gloated as usual, gave me a friendly Better luck next time and went off to find her friends.

As the field cleared out, I saw Aria scuffling moodily back to school. I was about to call to her but she looked my way. She didn't exactly say come over, but the look wasn't as hostile as it could have been.

"Do you really have detention today?" she asked when I'd jogged up to her.

The question was equal parts inquisitive as it was accusing as if she believed I was using it as an excuse not to be around her.

"Yeah," I answered. "I got in late to Cheerilee's class and she totally flipped."

Aria's mesmerizing purple eyes scanned my face for any hint of a lie. Satisfied, or her version of it, she dropped her face back down to the ground.

"So..." she spoke just as we reached Canterlot High's side entrance. "When do you want to train me?"

I wormed through my brain training to free up my schedule as much as possible. Anything that wasn't going to kill me could wait until the week after.

"I can't be out at night," Aria added.

"How's Sunday?" I asked. "I've got a butt ton of chores on Saturday, but Sunday's free." Because I'll be doing all my Sunday stuff on Saturday, I failed to tell her.

Aria was quiet for a whole thirty seconds.

"Sure," she said after a while. "I can be by at twelve."

"Better make it eleven," I insisted. "You could use the extra time."

The shadow of a ghost of a smile passed over her face and then quickly died again. She looked around, everywhere but my face.

"I have to go," she said. "Text me your address."

Before I could tell her that I didn't have her phone number, she popped out a marker and scribbled it on my arm.

"Don't call," she warned gravely. "Just text me the address and then forget that number."

"Uh... sure," I replied completely intending to do the opposite.

With one last sour look in my face, she turned and walked away.

---

"Dash told me."

"Huh?" I looked up from my half filled sheet of paper. I was making excellent progress on my detention essay.

"That you volunteered to personally train Aria," Sunset was glaring at me now. Her hands covered her paper so I had no idea if she'd even started yet. "Didn't I tell you to leave her alone?"

"It wasn't my fault," I defended. "Coach asked me to help and I said yes."

Sunset's cyan eyes dropped down to my arm.

"That's her number, isn't it?" she queried.

"No," I lied. "It's... Octavia's."

Sunset made it clear that she didn't believe me.

"Lost, I'm begging you now," she said. "Not as a former villain or even as a friend, I'm begging you as a decent human being, do not use that number. She doesn't deserve to have any drama in her life so soon."

I looked at Sunset. She was genuinely pleading with me. I understood what she was saying and, to some degree, I agreed but...

"I'm sorry," I answered. "Aria needs a friend. I can hold off on aiming to be her boyfriend but I'm helping her pass her PE test."

Sunset grunted. Not exactly exasperation, but not quite something pleasant. She got up and went to Ms. Cheerilee with her paper. Our teacher thanked her and went back to marking papers. Sunset walked over to the door of the library and stopped. She glanced at me, then pulled out a notebook from her breast pocket and began jotting something down.

When I finished my paper, I handed it to Ms. Cheerilee. She thanked me, gathered her papers together and left. I snatched up my backpack and left as well, Sunset walking with me.

"Were you waiting on me?" I asked.

She didn't answer.

I changed the question. "You and Aria are a lot alike, aren't you?"

Her anger flared up.

"If this is about me destroying the-"

"No, no," I put up my hands as if warding off the blows she was imagining giving me. "I just meant that... well, you used to hide behind a tough facade but in reality, you just wanted friends."

"I wanted power," she snarled, not necessarily at me. "And, to be honest, a part of me still does. I don't even know why I'm telling you this, but... sometimes, when I'm with the girls... there's a little voice in my head, a voice that tries to push me to tear them apart again. I could rule this school out of sheer popularity, but... I can't explain it."

"You can't," answered for her. "Because the hatred the others feel for you."

"I don't WANT to," she said forcefully. "I'm happy just being Sunset Shimmer, Twilight's replacement. I love having friends that, no matter how badly I mess up, still look out for me."

I didn't know how to respond to that. By the sounds of things, Sunset herself didn't know exactly what she was talking about.

"To answer your question," she said as we left the front gates. "Yes, Aria and I are a lot alike. The difference is, I had friendship magically blasted into me. I still want it but inside, I'm fighting it. Aria's genuinely trying to change. Why else would she come back here? Why else would she opt to deal with all the crap the others are no doubt putting her through?"

She paused again and again I was speechless.

She looked at me pleadingly once more. "Lost," she said. "If you don't intend to follow through and become her friend, then don't call her."

My response was cut off by the honking of Ol' Tailchaser, Snip's car. It was red convertible who's top had been lost months ago. Snails and I had both queried how in the world one lost the top of a car but Snips had only said It happens.

My two friends waved stupidly at me and glared maliciously at Sunset.

"Want a ride?" I offered. "I'm sure I can get them to leave you alone at least for the first five minutes."

Like Aria, a phantom smile passed over her face as she appeared to consider it.

Almost on cue, a cyan coloured car with rainbow print lightning bolts plastered over it pulled up alongside Ol' Tailchaser and honked. A pink girl with poufy cotton candy coloured hair stuck her head out the window and grinned happily at us both.

"C'mon party ponies!" she squealed. "We're having an end of the week party and Fluttershy's place!"

The pink-haired yellow girl who sat quietly beside her spoke up in a voice that was just above a whisper, "I didn't agree to that."

Sunset smiled apologetically.

"That's my ride," she said and ran toward the Dash driven car.

She opened the door and looked back at me. "Remember what I said." And she got in.

I went to Snips' car and slipped in the backseat.