New Emotions
Aria's P.O.V.
What was she doing here?! I haven’t seen her, nor any of her stupid friends, since they foiled our plans back during the Battle of the Bands. That was a while ago, but it was still fresh in my mind. Why is she here all of a sudden?! Why did she come back?! I felt my predator instincts kick in and I went on the defensive. Something was different, though, she wasn’t the same confident person I met back then. Not only was her appearance slightly different, but her demeanor was completely different too. Has she gone soft since then? She seemed so docile now, even fearful.
She stuttered, taking a few steps back from me, raising her hands like I’d attack her if she turned her back on me. “L-Listen, I don’t want any trouble. I don’t even know you. It’s just that I have…”
“You don’t even know me?” I snapped at her. “Do you think I’m some kind of fool?! You know perfectly well who I am! Don’t play innocent with me!”
I saw that Twilight Sparkle backed away more, shaking like a defenseless puppy. It was so pathetic. What happened to her? This was the girl who led those losers to defeat my sisters and I so long ago?
I was about to say something when I heard a familiar skipping and humming behind me. My hair on my neck stood up at the ear scraping sound of a voice behind me, the kind that makes you want to hit your head against the wall.
“Heya, Aria! I found the fairy tale I wanted!” My sister, Sonata, was holding a book titled: The Beauty and the Draconequus, the children's edition. Sonata glanced from me to the scared girl in front of me. “Oh, hi there! Long time no see! Oh, I’m sorry for the whole world domination thingy. I like what you did with your hair. Are those glasses new?”
“Wh-What? N-No… I’ve always worn glasses,” Twilight seemed as confused as she was terrified. “I-I think you’re confusing me from someone else. I have been told there’s another me. A pony me. You might be mistaking me for her.”
“Another you?” My irritation faded, just a little. “You’re human, then?”
Four eyes nodded quickly. “Y-Yes! I’m just a normal girl trying to live her life without harming anyone. I have been looking for that book all over town. I went to my regular bookstore, but…”
“I didn’t ask for the story of your life.” I frowned at the scrawny nerd, who started to shake in fear again. I looked at the last copy of, Young Sorceress Academia and took hold of it. “I want this book as well. I don’t care how much you want it, it’s mine! You’re too late!”
“Why are you being so mean to her, Aria? She’s just trying to be nice.” Sonata pouted. I groaned and looked away feeling my temper rise again.
I rounded on my sister pointing a finger at her nose, causing her to go cross eyed with how close I was.
“I’ll behave however I like! You’re free to go home if you don’t like it, Sonata.” I crossed my arms and glanced back at Sparkle. She was staring at us.
“Why are you still here? You’re not getting this book here. Beat it!” I snapped at the girl.
“S-Sorry, sorry!” Twilight Sparkle stepped back before leaving the store in a rush.
I followed her with my eyes through the windows as she ran down the street until she was no longer visible before I sighed and grinned. I’m glad that annoying brat is finally gone. However, my sister killed my mood, as usual.
“That was uncalled for, Aria.” Sonata looked mad and had her arms crossed. I glared down at my younger sister as she adopted my signature pose. Was she mocking me?
“So what? Don’t bother me and give me your book so we can pay and go home.”
I waved my hand for her to give me the book. After that little encounter I didn’t have the patience or energy to care. I just wanted to get home so I could read in peace.
My sister gave me her book but didn’t change her expression. “Take it. I’ll go look for her to apologize.”
“Sonata, no! Just leave her! Sonata!” Of course she didn’t listen to me.
My sister walked briskly out the store and ran in the direction the geek went. I groaned again, scratching my head out of irritation and headed towards the cash register to pay for the books. I can’t believe this. I’ll have to look for Sonata before I go home or else Adagio will get pissed at me... again. Why did she always force me to take Sonata with me?
The last time we lost Sonata, she went missing for an entire day and to this day Adagio still won’t let me hear the end of it. The bookstore isn’t far from our home, but Sonata will still manage to get lost somehow, I just know it. Why did she have to insist to look for that annoying girl?
The human Twilight Sparkle. It took my sisters and I quite some time to get used to the fact we lost all of our magic. We lost everything that night. Seeing the nerd reminded me of what her Pony counterpart and her pesky friends did. Without our amulets, we were completely lost in an unknown world again, powerless and fragile, but not completely defenseless. Thankfully we still had ways to fend for ourselves which I was grateful for.
Aside from that the only other good thing to come from that was we discovered that we could feed on normal human food to survive. We realized the amulets made us completely dependent on magic. With them gone we could adapt to this world. It wasn’t easy, but we managed. We now live our lives as normal as any human would. In the end, we were liberated from the amulets. I guess that’s why Sonata greeted the nerd with such joy. I bet Adagio wouldn’t mind seeing her either. She had nothing to do with, The Battle of the Bands.
“Next!” I was the next in line so I walked forward. “Shall I wrap one of them as a gift?”
“No.” This world's Twilight Sparkle... She's really not the same person that took away our magic, right? Dammit! I’m starting to feel a little bad for yelling at a girl I mistook for someone else... Is this what people call guilt? I’ll have to talk to her.
I looked up at the cashier and quickly held up my hand, “Wait…” The cashier was about to place my book inside the bag, but I had a slight change of heart. I can’t believe I’m doing this. I pointed at the book, Young Sorceress Academia. “I changed my mind. Wrap that one for a gift.”
I walked out of the bookstore and looked around for any sign of that blue menace of a sister. I had to find Sonata before she ran too far and I would have to search the city for her. I started by heading in the direction I saw her go after this world’s Twilight, I figured that was a good start. It hadn't been long since they left, so with any luck I shouldn’t have any problem finding them.
As expected, I didn’t have any trouble finding them. Thankfully, they were just around the corner, talking lightheartedly. That really annoyed me.
“Sonata, don’t run off like that again! Do you remember what happened last time?” I said, when I was close enough for her to hear me. Twilight Sparkle’s smile disappeared the moment she saw me.
“I’m sorry, Aria, but I had to follow her to apologize.” My younger sister was still smiling, no doubt from the conversation she was having with the human nerd.
“Don’t apologize on my behalf, Sonata. Wait for me by the bookstore. I’ll be there shortly.”
“Okay, but please, don’t-” I glared down at Sonata with a snarl and she went stiff. “Y-Yes, ma’am!”
I watched as my sister ran without looking back. She learned the hard way not to make me repeat myself after many, many times. Once she was far enough, I glanced back at Twilight Sparkle. She was shaking slightly as the fear took over her body again. This is definitely not the same girl who disrupted our plans to take over.
“I-I promise, you’ll never see me again. Please, don’t hurt me…”
I watched as the pathetic girl covered her face behind her arms, as if it would make a difference.
“I’m not going to hurt you, if you let me speak.” The nerd nodded and remained silent. Here we go… “Listen, I don’t usually apologize, so you better thank me. I’m… sorry…”
I took a short pause before continuing. I could count with a hand how many times I meant those words. “You reminded me of someone else, someone I hate. It brought back bad memories that are still fresh to me.”
“Oh…” Twilight Sparkle stopped shaking. She wasn’t visibly scared anymore. “W-Well, thank you. I accept your apology. I, umm… I came here due to an emergency."
That got my attention. I must have looked confused, because she went on to elaborate even though I didn’t care. "You see, I went all around town looking for the book we both wanted but wherever I went, it was sold out. I don't want to fight so you can have it! You won’t see me again! I’m sorry for disturbing you!”
Sparkle turned around and tried to run away, but I stopped her from leaving by calling out to her.
“W-Wait!” I searched for the wrapped-up book in the bag after the nerd turned around. With the gift wrapped book in my hand, I took a deep breath before offering it to her. “H-Here…”
“What’s this?” She seemed puzzled looking at the wrapped gift with wonder.
“It’s… a gift, dork,” I said, looking away. “You’re supposed to open it to find out.”
Twilight Sparkle did not find my sarcasm amusing. By the looks of it, she got offended. Maybe I should be more careful with my words. “I decided to buy you something to… show you that I’m really sorry.”
“I see.” She took my offer, giving me a faint smile before opening the present. Her jaw dropped when she saw the book I was giving her.
“But this is…” She gazed up at me. “A-Are you sure? It’s obvious that you want this book as much as me, and I came here as my last option. I don’t want to feel like I’m stealing it from you.”
“You’re not stealing it. Listen, I never give away anything. My sister, Sonata, steals the television from me. I wanted to buy this book to have something to do. I don’t really know if I’ll like it. It’s not what I usually read. You said you came here because of an emergency. That means you want this book more than me.”
Truth was I really wanted the book, but if I made a fuss about it she might argue with me about it. After all this I really just wanted to go home. Talking to her was just a formality at this point, an unnecessary one I felt.
“I don’t know what to say, but… thank you…” Twilight Sparkle hugged the book while a big smile took over her face. “Thank you so much!”
“It’s nothing. I just-” The nerd hugged me all of the sudden. I tried to pry the little weirdo off me, but she was stronger than her tiny frame would have suggested.
“It’s something for me! I have to repay you somehow. Oh, I know! Meet me at the mall, near the fountain tomorrow, and I’ll make it up to you!”
“The mall?” I raised an eyebrow before chuckling. “Have you seen my clothes? They’re all ripped and old. I can’t afford new clothing, let alone the mall and it's overpriced stores.”
“Okay… sorry, I didn’t mean to offend…”
The girl got upset again. I then felt something deep in my chest tighten. I hated that feeling. The feeling of guilt, because it usually meant trouble for me later. Sometimes I really hate my feelings.
“Don’t worry, I’m not offended.” She looked up at me. Her mood was still the same. I sighed. “Perhaps we can meet somewhere less… sophisticated?”
Twilight Sparkle grinned as soon as I finished my sentence, which relieved me for some reason. Why did I care so much about how she feels?
“There’s a nice park near where I live. I go there all the time with my dog. The park's name's Greystone.”
“It’s far from here, but I know where it is. I’ll meet you there tomorrow, if that’s what you want.”
“Yes, thank you! Does 3pm work for you?”
“Sure, I’ll see you there.” I really didn’t want to go.
“Great!” The little nerd remained smiling. A long moment of silence followed in which we remained staring at each other awkwardly. When it was obvious that she wasn’t going to say anything else, I spoke again.
“So… if that’s all, I’ll be going now. I said I wouldn’t take long.”
“Right, I have to go too. I was also supposed to return home quickly. I’ll see you tomorrow. Bye!” Twilight Sparkle waved at me as she left.
I didn’t wave back. When she was far enough, I turned around and walked where Sonata was waiting for my return. I was still processing what just happened. A girl resembling a former enemy shows up, I yelled at her, thinking that I would enjoy making her cry, but instead, I felt regret. Why? I’m never soft with anyone. Why should I start now?
“You didn’t yell at her again, did you, Aria?” Sonata asked as soon as I reached her.
“No, stupid. If I did, you would have heard me. Come on let’s go,” I shoved the bag with her book into her hands and continued walking. “We just talked.”
“You two talked? What about? Tell me, tell me, TELL ME!” Sonata was skipping around me like a sugar rush nutjob. Wherever I looked, she was there, like a blurry blue lightning bolt. She’s so annoying!
“It’s not a big deal. She just thanked me for giving her the book we both wanted.” I said while putting my hands in my vest pockets.
My sister gasped loudly. “You gave her the book?! But Aria, you’ve been excited about it’s release for months! You wanted that book more than anything!”
“I know, I know!” I sighed. That’s another thing that surprised me. Lying to Twilight Sparkle by saying I didn’t want that book as much as her, so she wouldn’t feel guilty accepting it. I glanced at Sonata, which I instantly regretted after seeing her big stupid grin.
“That was so nice of you! I never thought you would ever do something like that!” I groaned and looked away. “So… what else?”
I already knew I would regret telling her. “She… wants to see me again. Tomorrow, at 3pm.”
Sonata gasped loudly. Yup. I’m already regretting this. “You have a playdate with her?! Yay! Oh! You should bring her something nice to start off on the right foot!”
I growled loud enough that my sister stepped back, but she kept her stupid grin. I want to punch her face so hard right now. Again, I held myself back knowing if I acted on that instinct Adagio would have my hide.
“I already gave her something! Besides, I’m not sure if I’ll go.”
Sonata gasped in an over dramatic way. “What?! She’s going to be waiting for you! Are you going to abandon her?!”
“So, what? First of all I’m not abandoning her! She’s not some lost puppy I adopted. Besides why do you care?! Before, you wouldn’t have cared if I ditched someone,” I said, in an aggravated tone.
“Yes, well... that was before,” My sister adapted a serious expression she rarely does. “Our lives are different now, Aria. Adagio and I are not mean anymore. Why do you insist on being such a butt?”
“I don’t care how you or Adagio are! If I want to keep being this way, it’s my own damn problem!” I yelled back at her.
Sonata huffed, and crossed her arms looking away. She didn’t open her mouth again to argue with me. Good. I was tired of discussing this subject and focused on getting home. The rest of the walk was peaceful and quiet, just the way I like it. I also got a rare sight of Sonata not talking every few seconds, which helped improve my mood.
When we reached our home, I opened the door and walked in with Sonata right behind me. “We’re back.” I called out to hear if Adagio was home still.
“Well, well, you sure took your time. Considering the bookstore is just two blocks away.” Adagio said, walking into the living room to receive us. Her eyes darted from me to Sonata. “Why the long face? Aria, I asked you not to mistreat her. What did you do?”
Ugh, I hate it when Adagio gets like this. She acts like a mother and treats me and my sister like her hatchlings. It’s so patronizing and annoying!
“You were the one who forced me to take her with me!” I raised my arms into the air with my outburst before crossing them and avoiding Adagio’s gaze. “Besides, everything was fine until we stumbled across an unwanted face.”
“Unwanted face?” Adagio blinked in confusion. “Who did you meet?”
“Remember the people who shattered our Gems and humiliated us?” I glanced at my older sister as I spoke. She nodded, so I spoke again. “We ran into one of them. Well, kind of. The Twilight Sparkle from this world, not the pony.”
“Really? You met the human self of that equestrian girl?” Adagio didn’t seem to be either happy or angry by the reminder of that fateful night. She and Sonata had really moved on while I was still bitter and lingering on that.
“Yes, and she invited Aria to meet her tomorrow, at 3pm, but she’s planning not to go!” I swear by the seven seas, Sonata and her big mouth...
“Sonata!” I glared at my younger sister, who got startled by my rage. I raised my fist ready to punch her face, but she quickly ran behind Adagio’s back to take cover. “You little snitch! When I get ahold of you I’ll strangle you!”
“You will do no such thing!” Adagio frowned stepping in my way to protect our little sister from her untimely demise at my hand. She placed her hands on her hips. “Are you really going to make her wait, only for you to never show up?”
“So? Who cares?! It’s unlikely that we’ll meet again. She’s not from around here.” I walked towards the couch to sit and turned on the T.V. I was about to turn it on when my older sister stood in front of it blocking it so the remote wouldn’t turn it on.
“It doesn’t matter if you see her again or not! You’re not going to ditch her like that! You will go to that meeting.” My sister stated.
“I won’t! You can’t tell me what to do!”
Wow, what a comeback. What am I, four?
“No, I can't, but I can blackmail you.” Adagio then smirked maliciously.
She slowly walked over to my VHS collection, running her finger seductively over their surfaces, like she would when trying to charm someone. For me and my sister, it was an action that meant trouble for us. It was one of the few things that scared me.
“If you don’t meet up with her tomorrow, I’ll stop lending you money for you to rent those boring VHS movies you enjoy so much.” She inspected her finger like she didn’t care, but I knew she did. She knew my one weakness and was still sinister enough to exploit it.
“You wouldn’t dare…”
“Oh, I would.” Adagio kept a cheshire grin as she tapped her fingers.
She might not be evil anymore, by the seas I have no idea why, but that doesn’t mean she’s not terrifying. Those movies are my only source of entertainment since I gave away the last copy of the book I wanted. I’m going to kill Sonata for ratting me out! I made eye contact with my other sister, who was hiding around the wall corner peeking out at me. When she noticed I saw her she quickly hid herself from my view. Smartest thing she’s done all day.
“Okay, fine! I’ll go to that stupid meeting. Now, move! Let me watch T.V.”
Adagio chuckled and smiled patting my head like a dog. “Good girl.”
I smacked her hands away and she walked towards the coat rack and took her coat and purse from it, alongside the keys to the car. “I’ll do the shopping for today’s dinner. Is there anything in particular you want to eat?”
“Not really. Just don’t buy peanuts.”
“You’re the only of us who is allergic to them. Reading the ingredients of chocolate bars won’t kill you. Ignorance will. Anybody would say you learned that by force after your last misfortune.”
“I was hungry and there was nothing else to eat!” I glanced at Adagio. I did not need the reminder.
“Dinner was about to be ready, Aria. You should have been patient like I asked.” Adagio said as she put on her coat and took her purse. “Instead, we had to rush you to the hospital and the food got spoiled.” I groaned and looked away. My older sister sighed and walked towards the door. “I’ll be back soon. Try not to murder Sonata while I’m gone, okay?”
“I can’t make that promise.” I turned on the T.V. after Adagio left.
But then I noticed something from the corner of my eye. I turned my head and spotted Sonata by the kitchen having a snack while she stared at me. I frowned and she quickly ran towards her room with the book she bought. At last I have some peace and quiet. I tuned on a show I recently got into. It was about the police in action. It wasn’t the best show, but it wasn’t the worst either. It prevented me from getting bored.
The Next Day…
It was almost time to go to meet with that nerd. A part of me refused to go, despite Adagio’s blackmail, but another part was telling me to go because, for some reason, I cared about her feelings. Not much, but I did. Even so, I continued watching T.V. until Adagio showed up.
“Aren’t you supposed to meet your new friend in half an hour?”
“She’s not my friend.” I hissed.
My sister sighed. “Regardless of that, you must go. Don’t you think I won’t forget about what I told you yesterday. I have a job and Sonata is applying for some. I’m being nice enough to allow you to slack off. If you don’t do as I say, you’ll have to look for a job as well.”
I growled and looked away. “Why do you insist so much on me meeting her again?”
“Because…” Adagio crossed her arms. “You need a friend. It will be good for you.”
“I’m fine on my own. Why do I need a friend?”
“To change your attitude, that’s a reason.” Adagio snapped back at me.
“I’m comfortable with how I am.” Adagio frowned and walked towards the plug. “What are you doing?”
“It’s for your own good, Aria. I feel it would be good for you,” She said, softly to me.
“Don’t-!” My sister unplugged the T.V. “Oh, shoot! You made me miss the best part!”
“That will be the least of your worries if you don’t leave right now. Go, or I’ll lock you out of your room!”
I wanted to keep refusing to go, but I knew there was no point in continuing to argue. Adagio had me at this. I can’t win against her. Besides, it will make my guilt disappear. “Fine, I’ll go! If only to get you to leave me alone!”
“Good.” My sister nodded and grabbed money from her pocket. “You might still be able to catch the bus. You’ll never make it on foot,” She said, as she gave me the cash.
“Yeah, yeah.” I took the money and walked out the house.
“Have fun!” I’m sure Adagio waved at me, but I didn’t look back. I walked towards the nearest bus stop with my hands in my pockets.
When I arrived at the bus station, I had to wait for five minutes before my transport arrived. I walked in, paid and then sat as far as I could from the other passengers. This was going to be a long day. I had my eyes set on the window to not miss my stop. Everything was going smoothly for a while. However, at one point, I felt something on one of my twin tails. I turned my head around only to find a woman holding her baby. The baby must have grabbed on my hair. The child stared at me full of curiosity. I tried to ignore the baby and glanced back at the window, but my hair started to be pulled again.
“Oh, I’m sorry. My son seems to be fascinated by your long hair,” The baby's mom said. I didn't say anything to the woman.
Instead, I looked out the window again while the boy kept playing with my hair. I was not in the mood. Then, I realized I just missed my stop.
“Just my luck…” I stood up and walked towards the back door, I pulled the stop cord so the bus would stop on the next corner.
I had no watch with me, so I don’t know if I’m late or not. I walked at a fast pace, nearly bumping into some people, until I reached my destination. The park wasn’t too big, but it wasn’t small either. Four eyes asked me to come here, but she didn’t say exactly where. I looked around as I walked. Families and friends walked around me, and I ignored them. I continued to walk until I found her. She was sitting on a picnic table, alone, with her arms on the table and her chin on them. I sighed in relief. Good, she’s still here. I then took a deep breath and approached her. She must have heard my footsteps closing in, because she glanced at my direction when I was close enough.
“Oh… you actually came,” She was surprised to see me.
“I said I would come, didn’t I?” I stood by the table. “Am I late?”
“Just five minutes. Please, sit,” I glared at her for a moment before sitting in front of her. She smiled back at me. “I’m glad that you came.”
“Yeah, well, you got me here. What do you want?” She was taken aback.
I probably sounded too harsh.
“I... just want to talk. Get to know you.“
“Why would you? In case you haven’t noticed, I’m not a nice person.”
That much was true, I’m not a nice person. I rarely am nice to others.
“I don’t think that’s true. When you apologized to me, it seemed genuine. And then, your gift…”
“Trust me, you don’t want to know me.“ I saw that she started to search for something in her purse. “What are you doing?”
“I-I brought the book... I thought we could share it. I have already read three chapters. You can read the first three and then we meet again to discuss what we have read so far, but it seems you're not interested in making friends...”
“I don't need friends.” I noticed her disappointment. There’s that guilt again. “B-But I suppose that's not a bad idea... It might take a while for more copies to arrive in the store and I do want to read it...”
The nerd smiled. “S-So... deal?” She passed me the book. I stared at it, then glanced at the girl before glancing back at the book again. Seems like I have no choice unless I want to wait for who knows how long, and with Sonata stealing my television time, I will have nothing to do. I sighed before speaking again.
“Yeah, whatever.” I took the book and started to read it.
“The main character, Hikari Kasamoto, seems to really idolize a sorceress by the name of Amélie Delacour. But some people are telling her…”
I held up a hand stopping her mid sentence.
“No spoilers!” I glared at the girl in front of me.
She gasped and covered her mouth. “I-I’m sorry! I got carried away!” I focused on the book again. I read a couple of pages before she spoke again. “So... you mistook me for my other me…”
“I did.” I didn’t move my eyes from the book.
“Do you know her, then? Are you from here or from the world of my other me?”
I closed my eyes with impatience. “You ask too many questions. I'm trying to read.”
“Oh, I’m sorry... again…”
When I reached the end of a paragraph, I glanced at her and then sighed before answering. “I'm Equestrian, yes, but I was not her friend. I didn't even meet her until she came to this world, months ago."
“Really? That's... fascinating!” The nerd grinned.
I groaned before speaking again. “I guess.” My attention focused on the book again, until I was interrupted not much later.
“How’s your world like?”
I glared at her again, this time frowning more. “Keep this up and I’ll leave.”
“I’ll shut up…” she sighed sadly and looked away. There we go again.
“Look, I’m sorry, but can’t the questions wait? I want to at least read a chapter without interruptions.”
“I understand. It’s just that I’m curious. It’s a curse sometimes. I realized it a few days ago…” I grumbled lightly without diverting my eyes from the book. “Oh, I’m…”
“Sorry, I know.” Thankfully, after her last slip, she remained silent and I was able to finish the first chapter with no more interruptions.
I actually wanted to keep reading, but Twilight Sparkle was staring at me, with her eyes shining. She was ready to hear my thoughts so far. “It’s… better than I expected. So far, the only antagonist seems to be within Hikari herself with her lack of magic skill.”
“I know, right?! So many stories, shows, and movies rely on villains as the main plot. It’s so relieving to finally find one where the main problem is the inexperience of the protagonist! Plus, her being so clumsy and lighthearted makes her so relatable!”
“Yeah. Her personality reminds me of my sister, Sonata. Oh, and that English student introduced at the end of the chapter, Iris Winslet. She only had one line and I already like her!”
“Oh, then you’re going to love her when you read the following chapters!”
“Don’t say another word or I’ll steal back this book from you!” After my last sentence, I realized I was acting differently than usual.
I always enjoyed Sci-Fi and fantasy, but I did a good job hiding that side of me. And now, without a warning, I released my inner me. I have never acted like this before with anyone. Not even my sisters, but I did it in front of a stranger. One with a similar taste as me. She didn’t mock me, wasn’t weirded out. She was smiling. Which relieved me. Speaking about my guilty pleasure without shame felt… good. I feel like I just removed a massive amount of weight from my shoulders.
I even smiled when I was debating my thoughts with her. “Umm… that was… interesting. I have never done it before. Debating this stuff, I mean…”
“Me neither. I don’t have a lot of friends that are my age, so I had to keep everything to myself.”
“That’s a shame," We remained silent for a while, I looked around the park for no reason in particular. Then, I glanced back at the girl sitting right in front of me. She was staring at the table. “So… what do you usually do with boredom?”
“Hmm?” She raised her head to see me. “Oh! Well, I have my dog, Spike, my books, my movies. I also used to have a lab, but since I transferred to a new school, I lost the location and now need a new one.”
“A lab?” I chuckled. “Are you a mad scientist or something?”
“N-No. I’m sane. I just love science, that’s all…” She really got offended.
“Hey, relax. I was just kidding.” Despite my clarification, she still appeared to be sad. I should distract her from the subject. “So… you said you have movies. What genre are you interested in?”
Twilight Sparkle smiled, which relieved me. “I enjoy a little of everything. But the genres I love the most are science fiction and fantasy. I have quite a collection. How about you?”
“Same as you, although I have limitations with the movies I can get. I only own a VCR. Luckily, there’s a rental video store near my home that still has VHS movies. Not many people in my neighborhood can afford a DVD player or Internet.”
“You actually have a VCR? That’s amazing!” her eyes were shining again.
“You know what that is?” I raised an eyebrow.
“Please…” The nerd removed her glasses, looking boastful. “I know all about technology, either dated or outdated. Electronics is a hobby of mine.”
“Is that so?” I said looking away. “I’m no expert, but I try to know more about them. Sometimes, my T.V. or VCR breaks and we have to take them to repair, which we can barely afford.”
“I have read, seen photos and watched videos about VCRs, but I have never seen one in person.” She put her glasses back on. “I could teach you something.”
“I’ll consider it. Thank you, though.”
The nerd smiled and checked the time on her cell phone. “I must go. My parents and I are going to spend the day together.”
“Okay.” I gave her the book. She took it and placed it in her purse before taking a piece of paper and a pen. “What are you doing?”
“I’m writing my phone number. Call me when you want to read again, or just to talk. I’ll be happy to hear from you again.”
“Umm… sure. I might give you a call.” I said as I took the piece of paper she gave me. The girl nodded, smiling still. “I’ll see you later.” I stood up and turned around, but she stopped me with her voice.
“Wait!” I stood still, but I didn’t face her. “You… didn’t tell me your name.”
I considered not telling her, but I still didn’t want to hurt her feelings. I decided to grant her request after taking a deep breath. “My name’s Aria. Aria Blaze.”
“I’m Twilight Sparkle. But you can call me just Twilight. It’s nice to meet you.”
After a few moments of silence, I turned my head just enough to see her and smiled a little. “Okay, Just Twilight. It’s nice to meet you too.”
Twilight giggled and I started to walk away, waving at her without turning around again. If I get bored one of these days, I’ll give her a call. Talking with her wasn’t as bad as I thought. My eyes opened widely. Oh, no… when Adagio and Sonata learn about this, I won’t hear the end of it.
In case some of you haven’t picked it up yet, the book both Twilight and Aria love is a parody of the anime Little Witch Academia, which I highly recommend 
What are your thoughts on this crackship so far? 
I want to thank zalla661 for revising this chapter before its release 
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Hmm... I hesitate to criticize the characterization of the sirens, because so much of it has to be invented, but I'm rather put off by how nice Aria is here. That bit where she decided to let Twilight have the book just didn't feel at all like her to me--this is the same person who looked happiest when trying to brainwash students into adoring her, but suddenly she feels bad about taking a book someone else wanted? I like the idea of Aria and Twilight bonding over a shared love for science fiction and stuff, but this just doesn't feel much like Aria to me so far.
On a more technical note, I saw this happening a few times throughout the story:
The dialogue here was often super confusing to read because having Twilight do a thing after dialogue immediately makes me assume that she was the one who was speaking. So in that paragraph I quoted, the context made it clear that Aria was the one talking, but it took a moment for me to realize that because the narration went straight to Twilight doing a thing. Slapping a dialogue tag on should clear it up, though.
9262171
I don't speak for MS but I too have reservations about a friendly off the bat Aria, but hey you know its fun to read regardless right? 
Funny that you mention it. Both MS and I missed an important thing aside form this. We forgot the AU tag atop of this slight over sight. Thanks for pointing it out for us.
Yeah, the dialogue should be fixed. I'll take better care for that in the future.
If you ever see anything else that's hard to understand or out of place please let us know. 
9262171 I understand your comment. Like my editor said, we forgot adding the AU tag
Thank you for bringing it up. I do hope that, regardless, you are able to enjoy this story. This won't be the only time Aria will be shown to have a nicer side
About that dialogue you pointed out... yeah, I can see why people might get confused
That actually went pretty well. I'm curious to see more between the two of them.
I'm actually surprised that Adagio made Aria go to the park to see Sci-Twi and Sonata being nice to her, considering that the Dazzlings had a not-so-great history with the Rainbooms.
9262352 I added a new tag. The Dazzlings pretty much got reformed off screen. Aria was the only one who was still bitter with them, until Sonata made her change her mind. In the chapter, it's mentioned that the amulets made them dependent of magic. Once destroyed, they could consume regular food and have normal lives.
9262290
I mean, I don't have any problem with Aria having a nicer side. I've written her as having one, and I think a nice moment from her can really stand out when done right. But here, when she's nice right away to a stranger, it makes her feel less like she's basically gruff and angry with a hidden, rarely-seen nice side--which I'm alright with--and more like she's fundamentally nice and just a little gruff and abrasive about it.
And I get it, I guess? If she's reformed by this point, then, sure, okay, maybe she can be nicer. That wasn't clear to me from reading the story at first, though; there is that bit about how they had to adapt to different food, but that, to me, didn't immediately connect to them having 'reformed.' I think I still wouldn't agree with this kind of characterization for a post-reformation Aria, but that's getting more into headcanon territory.
But... sorry, having the sirens reformed offscreen like this kinda kills my interest in the story. Not saying it's a bad choice--I think with the sirens, consistency within the story is almost as important as consistency with canon, if not more important, so you can probably make it work from here on out--but it does make me think we've got very different ideas of how Aria should be. And that's fine. If this is how you see Aria and how you like writing her, then I hope this story goes well. But it's not sounding like my kind of thing, sorry
9263084 It's okay. Again, I understand what you say. I suppose I was focused on making the ship work, and I forgot about elaborating the Dazzlings' reformation. I do intend to explain it better later on, but for now, Aria will be behaving similarly to how she did in this chapter. I hoped explaining that the amulets made them dependent on magic and the curse being lifted after they got destroyed would be enough explanation for now. Then again, I know I can't please everybody.
The problem is, I just wrote a fic which consisted on 40 chapters and it took me more than a year to finish it. I wanted my next big project not to last that long because I have more stories I want to write. By having the Dazzlings reformed off screen, I saved a lot of chapters. I have read a fic where the Dazzlings returned as nice people and the Rainbooms had their reservations, but accepted them rather quickly. I saw no one commenting negatively on that. Probably because the fic was so well written. I know I'm not perfect and, like I said, I can't please everybody. So, if this story isn't for you, I won't be mad. You were kind to me and were honest about your thoughts without being hostile. That's good enough for me
Just wanted to say I've enjoyed the first two chapters and I can't wait to see where this goes. Also, the fact that Aria and the rest are nicer in this story certainly makes sense to me, I've always thought that feeding off negative emotions might have influenced them so, combined with a broken curse, it just seemed right. Still, I hope that even with sci-twi influencing her Aria dosn't get too much nicer, I can't imagination her ever loosing all her sharp edges.
9264897 I'm glad you're enjoying it
Don't worry, Aria won't be doing charity nor will achieve world peace. She will keep being badass and edgy, but with a soft side
9263096
Yep, can definitely see the appeal!
It doesn't surprise me that other people didn't complain much about it with that other story. My own belief has pretty always been that the Dazzlings are at their most interesting when they're not better, nicer people, but I think I'm usually in the minority there. I am really happy to see someone starting another long story about them, though (There can never be enough!), so I really hope that this keeps going, and I might give it a second chance when it's finished.
9266451 That other story I mentioned is partly why I'm writting this one. It's the reason why I got fond with nicer Dazzlings and the reason I wanted to try it myself, although with a different siren. It doesn't mean that I'll write Aria like a role model, though. She will keep her personality, her main traits, she will still be aggressive. But she will also have moments where she just opens herself when she's all alone with Sci-Twi. That's what I'm focusing on. Instead of writting a redemtion arc, I'll write an already "good" Aria struggling to open up to someone. After all, as far as we know, she has never had any friend nor talked to anybody outside her sisters.
So, I respect your views. We all have our tastes and favorites
Sounds more like a thread, rather than blackmail.
Really? Now days Aria would not have trouble paying for cheap DVD player.
This is such a Sonata thing to say.
10301309 Very true
...The way Twilight talks about VCRs makes me feel super old.
10829142 You're not alone