• Published 18th Mar 2015
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Love Beats Stupid - chillbook1

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LBS: Love Beats Stupid

Aria Blaze was not very good at making friends. When she first met Adagio, they had a very strong mutual hatred for each other. Aria despised everything about Adagio; Her arrogance, her holier-than-thou attitude, her irritatingly perfect voice. Above all else, what made Aria hate Adagio was that she was the leader. Who made that decision? Adagio, that’s who. So, when she, Aria, and Sonata were thrown from their cushy homes deep in the seas of Equestria, all eyes were on Adagio.

For her credit, Adagio did rather well for them. She kept them all alive and out of prison for over a thousand years (no easy feat, given Aria’s anger issues). What’s more, Adagio managed to force the three to tolerate each other. Sonata, of course, was all for being “bestiest friends in the whole wide world”, as she put it, but Aria was less than excited for her two new roommates. Still, Aria never murdered the other girl, so Adagio thought she did her job as a leader well. Soon enough, Adagio began to enjoy their company, even Aria’s. They all started to feel what the Sirens could only assume to be friendship, and a sense of obligation towards one another.

As soon as she saw Sunset Shimmer pick up the microphone during the final confrontation between the Sirens and the Rainbooms, Adagio knew that everything she worked so hard for would fall apart. Even as she and her comrades (Adagio refused to call them her friends. She didn’t need that type of stress in her life) were being defeated, the biggest blow was the realization that they were finished. More than their defeat, more than even the destruction of their pendants, Adagio was hit with the reality that Aria would be leaving.

Not that Adagio was especially fond of Aria, but they had spent so many years living under the same roof that life without her was unthinkable. Adagio cursed herself for falling victim to the ploys of friendship, especially knowing what could happen. Defeat was always a possibility, one that Adagio always kept in her mind. She thought she developed a contingency for any scenario, but never had she considered the notion that Aria might leave, or that she might not want her to.

Which is why it came as a massive (and secretly pleasant) surprise to Adagio that Aria continued living with them with no sign of leaving. On the contrary, Aria seemed to make herself even more comfortable in their little two bedroom apartment. Adagio took the slightly smaller bedroom, which forced Aria and Sonata to share a room, much to Aria’s chargin.

Two weeks after the Battle of the Bands and still all seemed well. Adagio had started working at the local music shop while Aria did who-knows-what and Sonata… Well, Sonata always seemed to be in her own little world.

It wasn’t until a month after their defeat did Adagio notice a change. Aria, who had always pranked and teased Sonata, was getting more and more heinous. Sometimes, Aria could reduce her fellow Siren to tears. Adagio had her theories, but none seemed too plausible. Besides, Adagio had reasoned, what’s the harm in a little teasing? Sonata was a big girl, and she could deal with having her feelings hurt every now and then. Eventually, Aria would get bored of bullying Sonata and find a new hobby. Or so Adagio thought.

She wasn’t entirely wrong, but things went in a slightly different direction than she thought.


“What’s for dinner?” asked Sonata, throwing herself onto Aria’s lap. Aria managed to move her comic just in time to avoid a terrible rip.

“My fist, if you don’t get off me,” growled Aria. Sonata just giggled and rolled into a more comfortable position in her bestie’s lap. Aria grumbled some form of “move” before giving up and burying her nose in her comic.

“Where’s Dagi?” asked Sonata. She reached into her pocket and pulled out her cell phone, then started flipping through Instagram.

“In the shower. You gonna order something?” asked Aria, flipping her page. A small, sinister grin broke out over her pale purple face. “Or are you going to cook something up for us? Try not to burn down the kitchen this time.”

Sonata felt her cheeks grow hot in embarrassment. She did admit that it was a huge screw-up, even for her, but that was almost a year ago! Sonata wondered about statute of limitations for burning food.

“It was a simple mistake!” said Sonata defensively. She rolled onto her stomach to keep from looking at Aria. “Anyone could’ve made that mistake!”

“You forgot to put water in your instant ramen, you moron,” snorted Aria. “Maybe the kitchen isn’t the place for you.”

“Fine. We can order something. What’re you in the mode for, Ari?” asked Sonata, twirling a little strand of her shiny blue hair. “Pizza? Chinese? Tacos?” Sonata put extra emphasis on the last option, as if that would somehow make Aria more inclined to choose it.

Aria’s mind started racing evilly. There were a lot of ways to mess with Sonata here, and Aria would settle only for the meanest. She bit her lip slightly when the thought formed in her head, and she had to stifle a chuckle. If Sonata noticed, she didn’t act like it. She just kept flipping through her phone and repeated herself.

“I asked you what you’re in the mood for,” said Sonata. As seriously and darkly as she could, Aria gave her answer.

“Sushi.”

At first, Sonata didn’t really understand what was said. She knew that word meant something bad, because Adagio had yelled at her the time she suggested they try it. Aria’s evil grin grew wider as she heard Sonata’s tiny gasp of understanding.

“Sushi?” asked Sonata shakily. “Y-you mean… Like fish?”

“Yup. Fish and rice and seaweed,” said Aria, barely choking back her laughter. “Fish. Just like you, Sony. Maybe I’ll take a big bite of you.”

Sonata tensed slightly, but still didn’t move. Aria pondered how far she could push it. She leaned forward until her mouth was a few centimeters from Sonata’s ear.

“Yum,” snarled Aria. Then, she bit down (none too softly) on Sonata’s ear.

“Eep!” Sonata shrieked, then rocketed from her seat. Aria could’ve sworn she saw a dust-cloud silhouette of Sonata. Aria laughed and laughed and laughed some more, just barely covering the sound of Sonata’s crying from the kitchen.

“Ahem,” A light cough grabbed Aria’s attention and stopped her laughter. On the staircase to Aria’s left was a towel-clad, dripping-wet Siren in the form of Adagio Dazzle. Her hair, normally a massive curly mane, was slick, wet, straight, and almost touching her ankles. Besides her towel, the only thing Adagio seemed to be wearing was a green face mask (to keep up her flawless complexion) and a smug grin.

“That’s a good look for you,” said Aria sarcastically. She closed her comic book, all hope of getting any reading done gone for the night. “You should go out like that.”

“I finally figured it out,” laughed Adagio, clutching her towel. She gently and daintily stepped down, her smile growing as Aria’s fell.

“What’re you talking about?” asked Aria.

“I understand it now. The reason you decided to stay after the Battle, the reason you keep bullying her,” Adagio made her way to the couch. “Perhaps the reason you came along with us in the first place.”

“And that is?” asked Aria. She kicked her feet up on the sofa and closed her eyes.

“You have a crush on Sonata.”

Never in her entire life had Aria moved faster than when she sat up just then. The look on her face went from slight amusement, skipped right past her default mask of indifference, and went straight to the most intense of loathing. Adagio smirked in spite of herself; Normally, the person on the receiving end of one of those glares would also receive a black eye and bloody nose.

“I’m only going to say this once, Adagio, and then we are never, ever going to talk about that again,” whispered Aria. She grabbed Adagio by the shoulders.“I do not, nor have I ever, nor will I ever have a crush on Sonata.”

“It makes perfect sense. You bully her because you don’t know how to deal with your feelings,” chuckled Adagio, shaking free of Aria’s loose grip. “That’s rather adorable, I think. You should ask her out.”

For a moment, Aria thought she must’ve learned French at some point.

“Did you not hear what I just said? I don’t have a crush on Sonata!” Aria half-shouted. “Now drop it.”

“Oh! That orchestra is playing next week! You should take her there. Oh, you two will be so cute together.” Adagio’s smirk grew wider when she noticed the faint blush rising on Aria’s cheeks.

“I don’t like Sonata!” shouted Aria loudly. “Get it through your head! I don’t like her and I never will! Nobody likes her, and I’m not going to be the first!” Somewhere behind her, Aria heard a tiny gasp and an even tinier sob. Aria locked eyes with Sonata for about half a second before the crying Siren ran up the stairs and off to her room. Aria flinched when she heard the loud slam of the door.

“Wow… I’ve never seen her so upset,” said Adagio. If things were different, she might be inclined to help. But a problem like this, Adagio decided, had to be fixed by the creator. “Well? You have a damsel who is thoroughly in distress. Go save her, Ser Aria.”

“When I get back, I am punching your teeth down your throat,” growled Aria. She rose to her feet. “Gimme your keys.”

Adagio raised an eyebrow in confusion. Not only was she surprised that Aria did indeed intend to fix her mistake, but also by the fact that Adagio’s precious car was needed.

“Kitchen counter. What do you intend to do?” said Adagio. Aria didn’t answer. She was so angry that the words she was forming in her head could never be properly enunciated. Which, Aria realized, was probably for the best. She had some strong words to say, and they were probably things she could go without saying. That didn’t stop Aria from shouting them in her head, even as she grabbed up Adagio’s keys, slipped into a pair of sneakers, and slid out of the door.

“Moron.” Aria grumbled, the door closing behind her.


Aria and Sonata shared a room. When they first moved in, Aria had made things very clear about whose side was whose. The door, conveniently placed in the dead center of the wall, made for a great imaginary boundary line that soon became a physical line of tape down the middle of the room.

The left side was plastered with posters, as many as Sonata could fit. It was an odd mix of One Direction, NSYNC, Dr. Dre, Eminem, and any other artist that Sonata ever liked, all proudly displayed on her wall. Sonata’s bed was untidy and her floor littered with paper and candy wrappers.

The right side was the exact opposite. The walls were barren, everything was clean and neat. At first, Sonata assumed Aria was just a neat freak, but it seemed to be more than that. Aria hardly ever slept in her bed, or at all, if Sonata’s memory served her well.
Sonata wiped the tears from her face and brought her blanket up her face, covering her nose. She sniffled but still couldn’t understand why she was crying. She knew that Aria didn’t like her in any way, romantically or otherwise. It also wasn’t a secret that she didn’t have very many friends. Still, Aria’s words stung.

KNOCK!
KNOCK!

“Who is it?” squeaked Sonata.

“Open the door, Sonata,” That was definitely Adagio’s voice. Sonata threw her protective blanket off of her body and shuffled to the door. She unlocked it and pulled it open. Standing on the other side was Aria, one hand holding her phone and the other hand holding a box of tacos.

“Hey,” said Aria.

“Y-you recorded Dagi's voice?” asked Sonata. “Did you really have to do that?”

“Would you have let me in otherwise?” asked Aria. She shook her head. The question was rhetorical. “Here. Got you some food.”

“I’m not very hungry,” lied Sonata. Her stomach betrayed her almost immediately by letting out a growl that could silence a dragon.

“Eat. I swear, it’s not poison,” said Aria. She gave the box to Sonata, who reluctantly accepted it. “Sonata…”

“No. It’s okay. You were just calling it how you saw it,” said Sonata, her hands shaking. “I know that you and Dagi don’t really like me, and I don’t have any friends at school. I was just being a baby.”

“No, you weren’t. I was being stupid,” scoffed Aria. “I don’t know what I was afraid of, but I didn’t want you to know the truth.”

Sonata tilted her head slightly in confusion. Aria gestured for her to sit down, and they both took a seat on Sonata’s bed. Aria would’ve denied it, and she did for several years after the fact, but she was nervous. Her heart was racing. She was being pumped with more adrenaline than she was during the Battle. Of course she was. What happened here was actually important.

“I was lying, Sony. People like you. Out of all of us, people probably like you the best,” said Aria. Sonata was getting nervous. Aria was being way too nice to her, and that normally meant that she was about to try something terrible.

“Are… Are you okay, Ari?” asked Sonata.

“I never meant to make you cry,” grumbled Aria. “You’re way more irritating when you’re bawling your eyes out into a tub of ice cream.” Things seemed to loosen up, much to Aria’s pleasure. Sonata smiled slightly, just enough to calm her friend.

“It’s okay. I know you’d never try to hurt my feelings too hard!” Sonata’s smile grew until Aria could see every single one of her shining white teeth.

Aria was about to vomit. Her heart was going to rip itself out of her chest and kick her in the stomach before running away. That was the only explanation for what she was feeling. It couldn’t be nerves. Her, Aria Blaze, nervous? Impossible.

“Adagio likes you, Sonata,” said Aria. “And I guess I do, too.” Sonata’s eyes grew brighter, and she let out a delighted squeal. “Don’t think that means I’m just gonna start treating you like a goddess. It’s just… I realized that you could be a lot more annoying.”

Aria had never done anything like this before, so she had no experience. Even a thousand years or more on Earth hadn’t been enough to bring the hermit out of her shell for longer than to pick up a comic book from the local nerd hang-out. Aria never talked to humans if she could avoid it. The idea of asking Adagio for advice was unthinkable. If the Siren leader’s ego got any larger, it’d have its own zip code. Aria had no time for any research, so she was doing everything based on instinct and her gut feelings.

And something in her gut told her that now was time.

“Look, Sonata,” said Aria. She reached into her pocket. “There’s a… an orchestra playing in town next week.”

“Uh-huh. I tried asking Dagi to take me, but she said ‘no’!” complained Sonata. “I really wanna go…”

“Well, uh… I have…” Aria couldn’t get the words out. She tried to find a delicate, non-embarrassing way to say it.

Screw it.

“I have tickets, do you want to go with me?” asked Aria as quickly as she could. Sonata jumped from her bed and squeezed Aria in a tight hug. Aria wiggled in her captor’s arms, trying (and failing) to hide the blush rising in her cheeks.

“That’s so nice! I never thought you’d do something like that for me and Dagi!” squealed Sonata.

“Uh… Adagio said she didn’t want to go, so I only bought two tickets,” said Aria, breathing as best as she could with her ribs being crushed. “It’s just you and me.”

“Hm?” Sonata dropped Aria from her hug. “That sounds almost like a date.”

“Well, maybe it is. Is that so terrible?” asked Aria, trying to keep her voice from cracking like it did whenever she got flustered. She was doing pretty good.

“Hm… A date with Ari… Don’t you think that’s weird?” asked Sonata.

“Fine! It doesn’t have to be a date, geez! I don’t even know why I said that,” said Aria. Her voice finally cracked, causing her to blush even more.

Aria felt two thin, spindly arms wrap themselves around her. Sonata pulled her into a hug, this one far less confining. She pecked Aria on the cheek and whispered in her ear.

“I’d love to go with you,” said Sonata. Then, she dropped her arms from Aria, took the box of tacos from the bed, and skipped out of the room. Aria stared blankly at the wall, shell-shocked.

“Smooth move, Casanova,” snickered Adagio from the doorframe.

“Bite me, Dag,” said Aria, smiling uncharacteristically wide. “You’ll have the house to yourself Friday night.”

“Good. I need a break from you morons.”

Aria Blaze was not very good at making friends. But, at that moment, that wasn’t important. All that mattered was that she had a date.

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