Breaking Aria's Armor
"I can't believe this! Now the whole school must think I'm crazy! H-he just— Why did he—? Ergh!"
Sunset was locked in a fugue state, pacing around the empty music room and ranting to no one in particular. Occasionally, she stopped pacing to let loose some angry riffs on her guitar, hoping it would make her feel better. But no matter how much she tried to vent, her frustration and embarrassment would not disappear.
"Right in the middle of the cafeteria, too," she grumbled. "Who does that tyrant think he is? How stupid does he think I am? Why did I ever agree to try and appease him in the first place if he was just gonna try to turn me against my friends?! This is—"
Her thoughts were interrupted by a knock on the door. Thinking it was someone getting prepared for a class, she sighed.
"Look, I'm sorry if I'm hogging the room," she said. "You can come in if you want; I'll just go somewhere else."
The door opened, revealing a grumpy-looking Aria with a moist shirt. Off to the side, Sunset could see that Sonata was behind her. Sunset glared at Aria.
"In case you haven't noticed, I'm at a really low ebb right now," she growled. "I don't have time to deal with you guys."
Aria shrugged. "Fine, whatever. I'll just—"
Just when she turned to leave, she saw Sonata's sad, tear-stained face. Heaving a great sigh, she did an about-face and marched right back into the music room.
"Look, I don't like you, and you don't like me," she said, folding her arms. "But I promise, I'm not trying to cause trouble or laugh at you."
Sunset narrowed her eyes. "Alright then. What do you want?"
Aria clutched at her arm, and her shoulders became tense. "Well, the thing is, I need your he— I need your he-ha-hoo... I need your h— mmmgh."
"Just spit it out already," Sunset snarled. "I don't have the patience for this."
Aria averted her gaze. "P-please don't make me say it. This is humiliating enough as is. I don't even want to be here right now."
It didn't take long for Sunset to figure out what Aria was talking about. "You mean, you want my help?"
"Y-yes, that," said Aria, blushing slightly.
Sunset turned her back to Aria. "Well, sorry to disappoint, but I kinda have my own problems at the moment."
"Yeah, I noticed," said Aria. "B-but, try looking at it this way. You want to be alone, and I don't want to be here. The faster we wrap this up, the faster we can get out of each other's way. Deal?"
Sunset turned her head and gave Aria a sideways glance. "Okay, what's going on?"
Aria sighed. "It's Sonata. Ever since Discord got here, she's been flipping out. It was funny at first, but now it's just gotten annoying. Could you just, I don't know, use your Equestrian magic to zap her and make her feel better so I can get on with my life?"
Sunset tilted her head and raised an eyebrow. "Hang on. You're not afraid of Discord?"
Aria scoffed. "In case you didn't know, I hate this world. I also hate the fact that I was banished here. As far as I'm concerned, Discord can do whatever he wants to this place. It's no skin off my nose."
"Really? Because it seems to be bothering your colleague Sonata," said Sunset, crossing her arms.
"Well, that's because she's being a scaredy cat," Aria huffed. "Adagio and I aren't afraid of him in the slightest. Heck, Adagio's even deluded herself into thinking that if we team up with Discord, he'll give us our powers back."
Sunset blinked. "Wait, don't you guys always work together?"
"Hey, just because Adagio happens to be the smartest doesn't mean she controls what I think," Aria growled. "Although I'm beginning to wonder how smart she really is after seeing what lengths she's gone to in order to win Discord's favor. That or losing her powers must've really gone to her head."
"I would think that you would want your powers back, too," Sunset stated.
"Oh, don't get me wrong. I will never forgive you guys for ruining our lives," Aria said coldly, shooting Sunset a glare. "I just know better than to trust Discord. Knowing him, he's probably just teasing Adagio with a promise that he'll never keep. You know how he is."
Sunset furrowed her brow. "Let me see if I've got this straight. Adagio wants to join forces with Discord, Sonata is afraid of him, and you're just not getting involved at all."
"That about sums it up," said Aria with a shrug.
"Then, why are you asking me to help Sonata?"
"Well, it's either that or she keeps using me as her personal handkerchief," Aria grumbled, pointing to the mucus stain on her undershirt. "After you had your little meltdown in the cafeteria, she decided to have one of her own. She thinks that it's Discord's doing, and at this point, I kinda believe her."
"What do you mean?" inquired Sunset.
"It's hard to explain," said Aria, casting her gaze over to the door. "She said something about messing everything up, but that's about all I could make out. Even then, it doesn't make much sense to me. We've been causing trouble and feeding off of negative energy ever since we banded together in Equestria. There's no reason for Sonata to get all broken up about your little spat."
Sunset stroked her chin in thought. "Hmm. I might have to agree with you. Sonata didn't really do anything wrong. It was all Discord's fault."
"Him and Adagio," Aria corrected. "Then again, I don't think Adagio deserves that much credit. She was just lucky that Discord took an interest in the 'present' she left in your locker."
Sunset's eyes went wide. "Wait, what? That was Adagio's doing?!"
"Yep," said Aria. "She thought it would make it easier for Discord to corrupt you or some such nonsense."
"And you're telling me this, why?" Sunset asked, arching an eyebrow. "I thought you said you didn't want us to get rid of Discord."
Aria laughed. "Oh, please. Like you guys would be able to even touch him. I'm not worried about that at all. In fact, I'm looking forward to seeing Discord trounce you losers."
"But, what about Adagio?"
"What about her?" Aria snapped. "In case you didn't pick up on it, I'm not exactly on her side on this one. Whatever happens to her is her own darn fault."
"Yet you're worried about Sonata."
Aria winced. "Th-that's different. I just want Sonata to stop being an idiotic pest. There's nothing more to it."
Sunset didn't quite believe her, but she decided to drop the subject. "If you say so," she said, furrowing her brow and closing her eyes. "So, Adagio booby-trapped my locker to appease Discord, and Sonata mentioned that she was talking to him earlier today. They could be working together. But, Discord didn't seem too happy about the incident. Then again, why did he go after Applejack if he wasn't trying to make me turn on my friends?"
"Don't ask me. I don't know, nor do I care," said Aria bluntly. "Now, let's get back to my problem, shall we?"
"Your problem?" Sunset asked, folding her arms. "Wouldn't it be Sonata's problem if she's the one beating herself up over nothing?"
Aria deadpanned and pointed to the stain on her shirt again. "As long as she keeps overreacting like this, it's my problem. That's the only reason I'm even talking to you in the first place. I need you to fix Sonata and make her normal again."
"So, you're worried that Sonata's not herself?" said Sunset.
"Th-that's not it," Aria sputtered. "I-I could honestly care less about what happens to her."
Sunset raised an eyebrow. "So, you do care about her?"
"N-no! I just said I didn't!"
"No, you said you could care less. That means you care about her, at least a little bit," said Sunset frankly.
Aria blushed. "Nuh-uh. Y-you're just making that up."
Sunset's face clouded with concern. "Why do you act like caring about her is such a bad thing? I mean, I used to think that, but I never had any real friends before the Fall Formal. I didn't think I needed them. On the other hand, you and the other Sirens have always been together as far as I know. Even though you were spreading your dark influence out of a desire for power and adoration, you three still had each other."
Aria scoffed. "Oh, give me a break. Like I would be so crushed if I went one day without Adagio's nagging or Sonata saying something stupid."
Sunset furrowed her brow. "Well, if Sonata knows that you feel this way about her, why did she trust you to do this for her?"
"Because she's an idiot. Duh," said Aria. "She's always been an idiot. She never pays attention, she wouldn't survive a day without me or Adagio, and she always has that sickening sunny demeanor no matter, what, happens..."
Aria trailed off and hid her face. "W-wait, f-forget that last part."
A ghost of a smile crossed Sunset's face. "You miss that about her, don't you? That's why you agreed to help her."
Aria bit her lip. "N-no. Th-that's not true," she whimpered. "I-I just don't like seeing her cry. Especially when she keeps using my shirt as a tissue; that can get very irritating. Besides, she's just being paranoid over nothing. She doesn't need your approval for anything, but because Discord is around, she's trying to get all chummy with our biggest enemy. I-I just don't understand her."
Sunset nodded contemplatively. "Well, I don't think it's my place to say what she's thinking exactly. But if I were to guess, you guys seem to thrive on getting attention. When we promised to listen to Sonata, that must've felt good for her. But once that was gone, she felt like she did something wrong. I think this might be her first experience with feeling guilt."
Aria chuckled bitterly. "Yeah, right. It's just Discord messing with her empty head."
"Keep in mind this is only speculation," said Sunset. "As such, I don't think I need my Equestrian magic to 'cure' her, seeing as there's nothing to cure. All you need to do is tell her that she did nothing wrong, and that I forgive her anyway."
Aria gave Sunset a sideways glance. "Can't you do it?"
"I would, but to be honest, you've given me quite a bit to think about," said Sunset, rubbing her arm. "Believe it or not, Discord claimed that he's not even interested in taking over. He just wanted to be my friend. I wasn't sure if I could believe him, but after what you told me about Adagio, well..."
"You think he's telling the truth?" said Aria. "Heh, that'll be the day."
"That's just it. I can't be sure," Sunset admitted. "I thought him going after Applejack was definitive proof that he hadn't changed at all, but now things aren't so cut-and-dry anymore. I-it's just so frustrating."
Aria shrugged. "Well, that's your problem, not mine. I don't know what's going on in Discord's brain, nor do I care. All I want is for Sonata to be her silly self again."
Sunset smiled. "Y'know, without the evil magic and stuff, you Sirens don't seem to be that bad. Well, you and Sonata, at least."
Aria gave Sunset a bemused look. "Don't get all sentimental on me. I did my thing, so I'm gonna bounce. I don't know if this forgiveness shtick is gonna make Sonata feel better, but I'm willing to try anything."
"I'm sure it'll work," said Sunset. "And, thanks for sharing all this with me, um, you."
Aria arched an eyebrow. "Excuse me?"
"I'm, sorry. I completely forgot your name," Sunset said, brushing the back of her head sheepishly.
Aria deadpanned. "You're serious."
"To be fair, you're not exactly that talkative in class," Sunset retorted.
Aria let out an exasperated groan. "It's Aria. My name is Aria."
"Oh, right," said Sunset. "Well, thanks again, Aria."
"Don't mention it," said Aria, narrowing her eyes. "And I mean it; don't mention this. We never spoke, I still hate you for taking away my powers, and if you tell anyone otherwise, I'm gonna knock your block off. You got that?"
Sunset wasn't the least bit intimidated. "Got it," she said plainly.
"Good," said Aria, giving Sunset an "I'm watching you" gesture. With that, she marched out of the room. Sunset let out a large sigh.
Okay, so I'm back to where I started with Discord. Except I'm not because I snapped at him and made him angry, she mused. I guess there's nothing to do now except wait for him to make the next move. I just hope it doesn't interfere with the concert...
***
Sonata perked up as soon as Aria emerged from the Music Room. "What'd she say? What'd she say?"
Aria sighed. "She told me to tell you that she forgives you for messing up, even though you didn't really do anything wrong."
Sonata breathed a sigh of relief. "So, she's not mad at me?"
"Doesn't seem like it," said Aria. "And by the way, you owe me big time."
Sonata beamed and tackled Aria into a hug. "Oh, thank you, Aria! Thank you thank you thank you~!"
"G-get off!" Aria grunted as her cheeks began to burn. "Y-you're gonna embarrass us both! Stop it before someone sees—"
"Well, you look happy."
As if on cue, Adagio came walking in. Sonata squeaked in terror and hid herself behind Aria.
"H-hi, Adagio," she stammered. "H-how's it going?"
"You've been acting strange all day, Sonata. And I want to know why," Adagio demanded.
Sonata gulped. "Wh-what are you talking about? I-I'd never hide stuff from you."
"Don't you have somewhere else to be?" Aria asked, crossing her arms. "You know, tracking down that dracaonequus hubby of yours?"
"Now, why would she need to do that when I'm right here?"
A sinister voice echoed from all directions, causing Sonata to shiver even more. Suddenly, two yellow eyes with red pupils opened up on the wall, revealing a Discord-shaped indent running along it. Sonata yelped and hid herself even more. Adagio bowed.
"Milord. So nice to see you," she said. "I saw what happened in the cafeteria. I take it all went well?"
"Not quite," said Discord with a pout "Because of your brilliant idea, now Sunset trusts me even less."
Adagio scoffed. "She may be clever, but we can still win her over, milord."
"About that," said Discord, stroking his goatee. "I've done some thinking, and I do believe I have the perfect plan that'll give us all what we want."
Adagio gave her partners a smug smile. "You hear that, girls? I told you Discord would help us." She then turned back to the camouflaged draconequus. "What is this plan, milord?"
Discord snapped his fingers, and each of the Sirens suddenly found a card in their hands.
"These are backstage passes to the Rainbooms' concert tonight, with an address of where to go," he explained. "Once you arrive there, all will be revealed."
"And how exactly can we trust you?" asked Aria, folding her arms.
"Because I'm offering a chance for all of us to come out on top," said Discord plainly. "You can take it or leave it, but just know that you'll be missing out if you don't show up."
"We'll be there, milord," said Adagio with a bow. "Count on it."
"Um, what do you mean 'we?'" asked Aria, raising an eyebrow.
Adagio deadpanned. "Come on, Aria. This is the moment we've been waiting for. Discord himself is giving us his word that we'll all get what we want. You aren't just going to let this slip through your fingers, are you?"
Sonata looked up at Discord. "So, you're not going to make me grow the wings of a bat and stomp around like a zombie while singing 'Row, row, row your boat' through a carwash?"
Aria did a double take. "Where do you keep getting these specific scenarios?!"
"Oh, don't tell me he wouldn't do it!" Sonata barked back.
"Girls, girls. There's no need to fight. I assure you, as long as you follow my plan, nothing bad will befall you," Discord promised.
Sonata looked back at the pass in her hand, and then at Aria. "Um, if I agree to do this, will you do it with me?"
Aria opened her mouth to say no, but she couldn't bring herself to do it. Finally, she sighed.
"Yeah, alright," she relented. "But you still owe me."
"Splendid," said Discord, rubbing his hands together. "I'd better go on ahead and make some preparations. See you tonight."
With that, his form faded into the wall. A sinister gleam flashed in Adagio's eyes.
"When we get our magic back, I expect a full apology from both of you," she gloated.
Aria rolled her eyes. "Whatever."
The three Sirens went off their separate ways. Aria shook her head.
I still can't believe Sonata talked me into this, she thought. Well, I guess it could've been worse. At least Adagio and Discord prevented her from doing the "I'm Right, You're Wrong" dance. I don't think whatever's left of my dignity would've survived that. I just hope it survives whatever Discord has in store for us tonight...
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This has to be one of the best Discords written on this site.
This is going to be a fun next few chapters.
Listened to this while reading. Now I'm imagining the Dazzlings as 20% more badass.
That aside, I look forward to seeing where this goes, and pray it doesn't end on a stupid note. Don't let me down, Metool.
Oh boy...Being the Fluttercord shipper I am I hope Adagio realizes that she is not really Discord's type. Also what does Discord have in mind i wonder. Also ED EDD n EDDY REFERENCE YAY!
Reminds me of something TFS Vegeta would say.
And was never named in the movie except at the beginning and in the credits.
Cloudcookooland, where else?
Also, makes me wonder what exactly Discord has in mind for the three? It's obvious he's manipulating them, but what is his plan?
Wonder if Discord even gave them the right address.
oooohhhhh...
i just love how you picture Adagio, with all the bowing and the "milord's".
Anyone ever wonder why it's always a thousand years? A thousand years ago must have been fuckin' piss. Sombra, the Sirens, Nightmare Moon, Tirek.
5390549 Full scale humiliation so epic that songs will be sung about it for generations?
Now Sunset, give them some credit. They won't assume you're delusional... Maybe hiding in their bunkers till after the inevitable supernatural showdown, but they won't think you crazy!
"It's not like I think of her as a little sister or that she's the closest thing I've had to a friend in my whole life or something!"
Adagio: "No more TV for you!"
Sonata: "But Ed is my Spirit Animal!"
Anyway, glad to see Sunset is showing some sense!
5390575
Wouldn't put it past him, Lord of Trolling as he is.
Oh boy. Here's hoping this mess ends well.
AHAHAHA! Oh, poor Aria.
" She's over a thousand years old, just by her time on Earth. That's like, Dark Ages, Black Plague old. She's probably picked up a few tricks.
It's a trap!
5390574
I've always assumed, that with the potential exception of Nightmare Moon, "1000 years ago" is an Equestrian idiom for a really long time ago.
The Secret Slime Action is...
Being invited to a Concert by Discord
5390610 IT'S A TARP, as my friends would say.
5390754 Hey, I watch that show sometimes!
Aria: "So, where is the Rainblossom concert anyway"
Adaggio: "Apparently is in some local called "The Blue Oyster"
Sonata: "Oysters? I love Oysters! Can we eat some?"
(Gender bender version, of course)
Oh, the fun is just building up. Can't wait for the inevitable fun.
5390754
Hey, that wasn't a show I'd think would be referenced on this site! Nice.
5390574
The Sirens are unclear. All we know is Starswirl banished them, but we don't know the range of his life (which, with Granny Smith apparently being several centuries old, could have been quite long indeed), and it could have happened at any point during it. We know he was around before Celestia and Luna took the thrones, but we don't know how much longer he lived afterwards. It's possible that it could have happened after Nightmare Moon was initially defeated.
5390549
I thought Discord was under the mistaken impression that they were also reformed, or at least on his side?
5391228
You have a point, and besides, the show can't mean exactly 1000 years ago, except for Nightmare Moon, so, possibly different points during those thousand years, we know Discord must have been first, then Tirek, then probably Sombra, then Nightmare Moon and since Celestia was still torn up about Luna, Starswirl had to banish the Sirens. That's just my idea though.
5391228
I dunno, it's Discord, who knows?
5390549
Yeah, that's kinda why I had Sunset forget Aria's name. I was poking fun at that little tidbit.
Aria was disturbingly cute in this chapter.
Is that a Weird Al reference I spot?
5390549 friendship
Oh noes! Discord has clearly gone back to evil!
I must now destroy him with the Holy Hand Grenade of Antioch!
5391560
I gathered.
Aria's gone soft.
5390550
You raise a good point; he never said it was the address for the concert. All he said was they had backstage passes to the concert, that there was an address to go to, and that it would get all of them what they want. But they all want different things.
Discord wants to be Sunset's friend.
Sonata wants more friends period (look at her interactions with the Rainbooms, particular how she's constantly concerned that they hate her).
Aria wants Sonata to be happy (for reasons which are "wink presently unclear wink wink").
And Adagio wants to be special again (she says she wants her powers, but really, she just doesn't want to be a background Siren).
5392178
Yes, but can you count to five?
5393169 I'm not saying she wouldn't know what the word means, but that she wouldn't use it. People tend to be more relaxed in their vocabulary when they speak with others, mostly so they don't have to stop to explain less commonly used words.
5393207 Understandable, but I still stand by my "copacetic is a hip word that a cool person would use" explanation.
5393227
The irony being that 'hip' is an uncool word.
You know what word I love using, because it is fantastic?
Ginchy.
Ginchy is a ginchy word, if you grok my jive.
But if I ever saw another author have Rainbow Dash say it, I would endeavour to track them down and slap them.
Just because a word is 'cool' doesn't mean it's remotely in-character. For instance, try to imagine Rainbow Dash's dumb-jock scratchy-voice saying 'copacetic'. It is a nuanced word. Reading it, you can't tell how to pronounce it. It's wrong.
5393257 The funny thing is, I can picture Rainbow Dash saying that word, which is why I went with it. I don't know why; it just sounds right to me.
5393333 Wait, that was from an episode of Ed, Edd, and Eddy? Which one? :D
I just want to say that I love how you write the Dazzlings.
Well, Aria and Sonata, at least.
But still, love them.
Aria, your tsundere is showing
Ha, great fun. Aria being tsundere is hilarious and Sonata's extremely weird fears about what Discord will do are really entertaining.
Also ""No, you said you could care less." I love that bit, because sooooo many fanfics get expressions like that wrong. You just made this little grammar nazi all happy.
Great chapter. Write more. I wish me a chapter for Christmas.
Happy writing and a merry Christmas (or your holiday of choice) if you don't update before that day.
Bard. What are you doing.
You're making me ship DiscoDazzle.
Bard. Stahp.
5394205 Darling, you just made me ship them by the virtue of that pairing's name: 'DiscoDazzle". SUCH a ring to it, let me tell you!~
5392888 No, but I can count to 3!
Well it took you a week but you managed to deliver, not that I'm complaining. I got chills when Discord said... "Once you arrive there, all will be revealed."
I can't wait to see what happens next.
Oh and to all those who are thinking of a Discord and Dazzle pairing, all I can say is, "For the love of all that is descent and sacred, don't do it!!!!!"
Ed, Edd, and Eddy reference at the end! I'm loving this!
Can't wait to see how it ends.
5396132 The number of thy counting shall be three. The number of thy counting shall not be four, nor shall it be two, excepting that thou then proceed to three. Three shall be the counting of thy number.
5406619 Five is RIGHT OUT!
You can't have a fugue with just one guitar!
Seeing as you had no problem ruining others people's lives without shedding a single tear you don't really have a leg to stand on there Aria.