Aria Ignite

Chapters

The Villain, the Ex-villain and the Side Character
Opportunity Knocks
Detention with Sunset
Aria Comes Over
Fruitless part 1: All for Nothing
The Call
The Interschool Sports Competition
Amnesia and Other Such Miracles
Weekend at AJ's
The Gift that Keeps on Giving
Rainbow's Boyfriend
No One's Property
Fruitless part 2: Foiled Again
And the Winner is...
Crouching Diva, Hidden Geek
Lost at Pinkie's Party
Sunset P.I.
...
Hell To Pay
Things You Don't Do For the Homie
Aria and Me
Unwanted Guests
The New Norm
Talking to Sunset

The Villain, the Ex-villain and the Side Character

"My name is Lost Legacy and I have a huge crush on Aria Blaze."

"Shut up, Snips!" I snapped at one of my two best friends.

He continued to make kissing noises at me until Snails joined in. I bid them both to keep quiet again and when they wouldn't, I outed that Snails was crushing on Snip's sister, Sugar. While the two argued, I made my way over to Aria.

As usual, she was sitting alone after having glared Sunset Shimmer into retreat. Everyday for the past three days, I'd seen Sunset try to be friendly with the former member of the Dazzlings, but she would have none of it. With each step, my common sense asked If another ex-villain couldn't through to her, what makes you think you can? I answered by telling it to be quiet.

"Was there something you needed?"

I was so busy arguing with my subconscious that I didn't even realize that I'd completed my journey. My common sense sat back on an imaginary chair and asked Now what, genius?

"Um..." I started real smooth like. "My name is Lost Leg-"

"I didn't ask you that," she spat. "Whatd'you want?"

I gulped as my common sense had a hearty laugh at my expense.

I pushed forward. "I was just wondering... uh... if you... if you wanted some company at lunch."

Her eyes narrowed accusingly. "Do I look lonely to you?" she asked maliciously.

Without thinking I answered. "Yes."

For a brief moment, her eyes burned red. I'm not being figurative, they literally became encompassed in a crimson glow that almost seemed to physically push me back. The bell rang and her eyes returned to normal. She sighed and got up. She threw away her half sandwich and walked back to class through the huge opening that the other students gave her in disgust. Snips and Snails came over to me still arguing,

"I'm just saying she has a cute butt," Snails reasoned.

"Ew!" Snips pretended to gag. "What if I said that about Spice?"

Snails shoved Snips. "My sister's in grade school," he raged.

His friend was about to respond but looked at me instead. "How'd it go Loverboy?"

Responding to their shared love of bad jokes, Snails laughed.

"Not good," I admitted. "I'll try again on Monday."

"Seriously?" They both seemed genuinely shocked.

"Dude, she's a supervillain," Snips said. He made his fingers into claws and swiped at me while growling.

I stepped back to avoid a loose bit of spittle. "Yeah, well, so were you two."

"That was different," Snails chimed in. "She hypnotized us."

Sunset, who happened to be passing by on her way to leaving the lunchroom, flared up. "For the last time! I didn't hypnotize you guys! I hypnotized everyone else! You followed me because you wanted to!"

"A likely story," Snips glared at her.

"Ugh!" the fiery-haired girl threw up her arms into the air and stormed out.

I felt a little bad for her. I mean, she had redeemed herself at the Battle of the Bands but there were still a few people who held her in the highest contempt. After all, the Dazzlings had only tried to eat our spirits, Sunset had tried to turn us into an army and wage war against another dimension. Still... if anyone was eventually going to figure out how to break down Aria's walls, it would be her.

"Sunset, wait up!" I called and ran after her.

"Lost!" Snails called after me.

Just then Sugar walked past and winked in his direction. I left the lunchroom as it became filled with the bickering of my two best friends.

Opportunity Knocks

Our last class of the day was PE. I loved PE mainly because I was so boss at it. If it weren't for Rainbow Dash, tomboy extraordinaire, I'd be at the top of the class. Still, I didn't make it easy for her.

We were having our physical exams when I'd finally gotten my chance to spend time with Aria. Coach put us through a series of tests to determine if we were at an acceptable level of fitness. Dash and I, of course came out above average and had started a friendly game of one-on-one soccer. Kick for kick, step for step, Dash and I were equally matched; thirty minutes later, neither of us had scored a single point. Just as I'd gotten a decent opening with which to assert my dominance over my rainbow-haired rival, I was distracted by a damning yell directed at Aria. Dash stole the ball and launched it mercilessly at my goal.

"Dash! Lost! Get over here!" Coach screamed.

We looked at each other, silently asking what we could be in trouble for and went over. The coach stood tall, six foot five with bright orange skin and blonde hair. He wore an ever-present scowl that only either got less angry or more angry. Today, it was more angry as it glared down at the sweating purple mess that was Aria.

"This girl," he started, loud and booming though we knew quite well that this was the softest his voice could get. "Doesn't think she can try hard enough to pass my test. Even Fluttershy passed. Fluttershy!"

Dash's face morphed into one of pride.

"I'm going to redo the test next week for the failures!" he said failures with extra accusation and several students behind him groaned. "But I want one of you two to work with this one."

"Don't look at me," Dash said rudely. She glared at Aria so hard the other girl flinched.

Coach turned to me.

"I've got detention this evening," I answered.

Dumbass! Why would you say that?!?

Because it's true!

Coach was persistent, "Invite her over during the weekend, tonight, Monday morning, I don't care when. Just make sure she's able to pass the test by Monday afternoon."

I was silent. Was this really happening? A real reason for me to talk to and get to know Aria... and she couldn't say no?

Coach asked, "Well?"

Common Sense wanted to know too. Well?

"I'll do it," I answered.

Coach grunted and walked away leaving Aria to look at me disdainfully. I looked back trying to manage 'cute and flirty' but only came up with something that felt like 'mean and arrogant'. She snorted and walked away. And thus the mystery as to why I've been single all these years has been solved.

"Game is one-zero," Dash said from behind and kicked the ball to me.

I stared at Aria's back for a little while longer. Her purple aquamarine-streaked hair blew slightly with her movements and the light breeze that was kicking up. She seemed angry, that much was sure, but beyond that... I could see that she was scared. Without her sisters to back her up or her singing to control us paired with her apparent lack of physical strength, she was completely at our mercy. She was exposed to the harsh teasing she no doubt endured when the Rainbooms weren't around to scold the others. Behind that wall of, dare I say, bitchiness, was a scared little girl that wanted a friend. I smiled. I now had the perfect opportunity to become that friend. If I helped her pass her test, she might become more open to me sitting with her at lunch and then she'd see that I'm really a cool guy and then she'd fall for me and then we'd...

My mind trailed off. I was getting ahead of myself. Step one: set a date when I'd train her. That was the current goal.

For now, however, I had to even the score with Dash.

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.

Aria Comes Over

When I say Saturday was the hardest I've ever worked, I'm not exaggerating in the least. Mom had me do the entire Spring cleaning that we'd missed a few weeks before. We turned the house inside out and outside in. After she'd given up and said we could do the rest on Sunday, I continued. I dusted everything that could be dusted and scrubbed anything that didn't sparkle at first glance. It was at unholy hours of the morning that I finally collapsed in my bed.

With no school the next day, I hadn't set my alarm and with no alarm, it was at 11:30 that I finally got up.

"Legacy, honey," Mom called as she stuck her head into my room. "Lost, wake up."

I murmured something along the lines of "Give me till Monday, I'll pay you for the cider."

"Cider?" Mom queried. "There's a pretty girl here to see you."

That got me.

My eyes bounced open and I jumped right into sitting position.

"Pinkish skin, purple hair?" I asked for confirmation.

Mom looked thoughtful. "Her skin looks more fuchsia to me," she said.

"Aria!" I shot out of the room, stopped at the top of the stairs and sniffed. The acrid odor of sweat and Lemon Pledge wafting off me stung my nose.

I looked down into the living room to see Aria sitting uncomfortably stiff on my couch. She wore a purple track suit with an aquamarine streak running through it that matched her hair. Speaking of, it wasn't in its usual twin tail style but was strung as a single ponytail. She looked around and eventually settled on me. I drew back.

"Stall her," I hissed at Mom.

"Are you sure, honey?" she asked. "What about the Pact?"

"Forget the Pact," I told her to forget the Pact of '09 which stated that she wasn't allowed to speak to any of my friends that came over.

I dashed off to take a shower while Mom descended the stairs in a manner that made me sure I'd regret my decision.

Fifteen minutes later, I slid down the banister to put a stop to whatever torture Aria was having to endure. As I landed, she looked up to me and smiled. Not the I-totally-like-you smile that I'd always wanted but a I-know-something-super-embarrassing-about-you smile. I took one look at the photo album Mom was holding and put on my oh-crap face.

"Aria?"

"Yes?" There was definitely a giggle in that voice.

I snatched the album from Mom and told Aria to follow me. She did without question. Once in the backyard, I ditched the album and led Aria to the jungle gym. I ran her through a few basic drills to assess the true limits of her physical body and I grew to understand why Coach put her in my care. She could do one push up, max. Half a chin up and could run a full five meters before collapsing in exhaustion. I set to work grilling her how my father had done me and, by one, we had to stop.

"Kids!" Mom called. "I made sandys."

"You up for a little lunch?" I asked her.

Instead of answering, she gasped for air. I chuckled and went in for the tray of food and a blanket. We sat and ate in silence. Afterwards, Mom brought out a pitcher of lemonade.

I kept trying to find the perfect moment to spring a question or start a conversation but Aria's walls were back up. She nibbled at the sandwich and kept her gaze away from me at all times. Even asking her if she'd like another sandwich seemed to breed hostility, so I kept my mouth shut. After lunch and a fifteen minute rest, we went back to it. By six, she was able to manage the required ten push ups, ten chin ups and three laps around the field (equivalent to ten laps around my back yard.

We got another rest while looking at the sunset. The blue sky had ignited into a fury of orange and red. The sun was moving noticeably quickly as we watched it.

"Beautiful," she said.

"What was that?"

"The sunset, it's beautiful," she repeated. "Adagio never let us watch the sunset, even back in Equestria. It was always about her plan to rule the world this and her plan to rule the world that. Sonata and I were always so sick of it."

"What was it like?" I asked.

"Annoying," she replied. "Adagio likes the sound of her own voice. It's like she's under her own spell."

I laughed a little but corrected her, "I meant Equestria. That's the same world Twilight Sparkle and Sunset Shimmer are from, isn't it?"

Aria nodded.

"It was beautiful," she said in a mesmerized tone. "Imagine a world where everyone is friends with each other. Where no matter if you're a pony or a dragon or a griffin, you can still get along with others. A world where even I could belong, if I'd chosen my own way."

"That sounds like Canterlot High," I said. "Well, after Twilight came along anyway."

Aria looked at me as if she couldn't believe I was being serious.

"I'm a monster," she said. "Not only in appearance," Before my eyes, her hand morphed into a hoof. A bead of sweat ran down her forehead and it changed back. "But inside. I tried to hurt you."

"So did Sunset," I reasoned. "And yet..."

"Sunset is changed," Aria's voice was rising. "She's got friends to help her. I don't have anyone!"

I was quiet. Now was my chance. I could assure her that I would be there for her. That, no matter what anyone said, I would still stand up for her. But, the words weren't coming out.

Common Sense asked Will you really, Lost? When it comes down to it, would you be willing to risk what you have for someone who could very well still be evil?

Before I could answer, Aria said, "I should go."

"I'll walk you to the bus stop," I offered. She didn't snap at me so I took it as her version of okay.

"Thanks," Aria said when we'd gotten to the stop. "For today. I mean..."

"It's alright," I let her know.

The bus was coming.

"Aria...?"

She looked at me. "Yeah?"

"You said before, when we were talking about Equestria, that you could have belonged in Equestria if you'd chosen your own way," I paused for a short while, both to let what I was saying soak in and to finally decide on what I was ready to do. "It's not too late. You can, I mean, if you ever need a friend, I'll be there."

The bus stopped and the doors opened. Without so much as a dramatic pause, Aria stepped onto the bus and left me alone to make the long journey back.

Fruitless part 1: All for Nothing

For the first part of the day I didn't see Aria. As we only had one class together I either had to wait for lunch or until PE in the afternoon to see her. In my English class before lunch, Sunset brushed past my desk.

"Did you call her?"

"I texted her," I said. "We hung out on Sunday."

Sunset grunted and walked off to join Rarity by the window.

At lunch, even after Sunset's daily failed attempt, I still kept my seat. I reasoned that it was better to wait until after she actually passed the test when she'd actually have something to be grateful for. Step two: acquire gratitude.

"Not going over today," Snails asked with the straw of his empty juice box sticking out of the corner of his mouth.

I waited a little before answering. Aria looked up from her salad, connected eyes with me for half a second and then went back to her intense concentration. I sighed.

"Not today," I answered.

Snails shrugged and turned to ask Snips if he'd watched the new Starswirl series the weekend before.

During PE, Rainbow challenged be to a rematch while the others got their make up test. I got so into the game that I forgot to look out for Aria. By the end of the class, I'd won (2-1) but I'd lost sight of Aria. I looked around the field but she was nowhere to be found. I wasn't sure what I expected. Certainly not a cliche movie bit of her running up and giving me a huge hug, but something. Maybe just a mumbled Thank you or something.

"You okay?"

I looked around to see Dash holding the soccer ball and looking at me quizzically.

"You've been pretty distracted these past few days," she observed.

"It's nothing," I replied and went to collect by backpack.

Rainbow wasn't about to be brushed off.

"This isn't about Aria, is it?" she asked.

No answer.

"Dude, give up," she tossed the ball to Coach. "People like that don't change. She's a bad egg!"

"Sunset changed," I flared up. It felt like I was using her as a reference too many times.

Rainbow, however, wasn't fazed. "She had friendship blasted into her! Aria's still a risk," Dash said.

"She's a risk I'm will to take on," I muttered and shouldered my book bag.

Dash rolled her eyes. "Whatever." and went to get her bag.

Even after school, I hadn't found Aria. I knew she left early but never before class ended. Lunch on Tuesday, I saw her sitting alone with her same angry-depressed look. Sunset failed again and I went over.

After a brief argument with Common Sense, I decided to forgo the greeting and just sit down. I took a bite of my mac and cheese and she looked at me as if I'd zipped down my pants and waggled my goods in front of her.

"Hi," I said with a friendly smile.

Aria gathered her food and got up.

"Where are you going?" I asked in surprise.

"Look, Lost Leg," she started. "You're a nice guy and-"

"Legacy."

"What?"

"My name is Lost Legacy," I corrected. "You never actually let me finish my introduction last week."

"Whatever," she scoffed. "You're a nice guy and I'm grateful for your help (I passed BTW) but I don't need your pity."

Rather than correct her about pity, I asked about what she'd said on Sunday instead.

"Forget about Sunday," she told me. "You helped me once and if I can help it, it won't happen again. Now, either you leave or I leave."

I failed to move.

She spun on her heels, tossed out her food and left the lunch room.

I looked over at Sunset. She was looking right at me and gave a disapproving head shake. I turned my attention to Snips and Snails who were having a terrible time containing their laughter. I looked back to the door where Aria had disappeared. Step two was essentially completed, she did say she was grateful, but step three... there was no step three.

I groaned and speared the yellow half circles in my bowl.

The Call

As I sat at home, I reviewed what had happened. Tuesday was a dud. I groaned and fell backwards on my bed. I was so sure that things between Aria and me had changed but it seemed that all of Sunday had been a huge waste. To be honest though, I really couldn't pinpoint what I'd done wrong. Did I work her too hard? That couldn't be it, she still talked to me after. Did I ask too many questions? Nah, she answered them all without problem. The only time things seemed not to be going well was at the bus stop when I offered to be her friend.

ARGH!

I wished I could just ask her without the risk of embarrassment like in the lunch room.

And then... I remembered I could. I snatched my phone of the bedside table and sifted through my contacts. Right there, fourteenth number, Blaze, Aria. I opened the text field. There was only my address and her 'kk'. I started tapping out a message but stopped halfway through. Texts were simple but she could always ignore me. I blocked my caller ID and dialed in the number. It began to ring.

"Hello?" on the third ring, someone who was definitely not Aria picked up.

"Um... Is Aria there?" I asked.

The voice immediately got happy. It immediately began chattering thirty words a second but the only ones I picked up were 'Are you Aria's boyfriend?'.

"Adagio! Aria's got a boyfriend and he's on the pho-" I hung up.

Oh crap! If that wasn't Aria and she was calling Adagio, that meant it was Sonata. Crapcrapcrapcrapcrapcrap! Well, anybody that wasn't Aria was a bad thing.

First you see me riding on a sonic boom

I looked down at my phone.

BLAZE, ARIA

Shit!

I stopped the call and turned my phone off. Yeah, I definitely messed up.

"Sonuvabitch!"

Snips, Snails and I were at Sugar Cube Corner where we usually met on Wednesday's for our Starswirl's Demons card tournament. Pinkie Pie was in a heated argument around the counter with Snip's sister, Sugar, about whether candy corn or licorice was the best Halloween candy. The grade schoolers, Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo and Applebloom were having some kind of club outing three tables down from us. All that didn't stop Aria from storming in and calling me all kinds of bastard.

"My boyfriend?" she yelled after she'd finished her string of curses, most of which I'm sure aren't from Earth. "You called my sisters and said you were my boyfriend!?!"

"Not cool dude," Snails made known. He snatched up his ultra rare Starswirl the Unbearded card as if my lameness would rub off on it.

"I didn't," I tried to defend myself. "I called and Sonata thought I was your boyfriend and then she called Adagio and-"

"So then you called after I told you not to?" she started again with the strange mix of Earthly and Equestrian curse words.

"Aria, I'm sorry," I apologized. "I wanted to figure out why you were so hostile to me."

"Hostile?" she looked shocked. "You thought that was hostile."

Everyone was looking at us.

Her eyes began glowing red again.

"I was trying to be nice before, 'cause you helped me out," her voice got louder and started to fall out of sync with itself. "But I want you to leave me alone! Stop trying to talk to me! Stop trying to sit with me at lunch! Stay out of my way and out of my sight! I don't need your pity and I don't need your friendship, got it?"

I nodded slowly.

"Give me your phone," she commanded.

I knew that she wanted to delete her number. I shamefully handed her my cell while everyone watched in anticipation. Even Mr. and Mrs. Cake who ran Sugar Cube Corner came out to see what was up. Aria took the phone and in her one hand, crushed it. She let the pieces of metal, plastic and glass trickle down on the table before me. She stormed out, her boots making indents in the tiles as she walked away. Sugar ran to push the door open for her knowing full well that, in that rage, she would have torn it off the hinges. As soon as the door swung shut, all eyes turned to me.

I sat there, no words in my throat, no words in my mind. To avoid eye contact, I looked at the pile of dust that used to be my cell.

"Duuuuuude," Snips drawled. At that moment, I couldn't agree more.

The Interschool Sports Competition

For the next few weeks, I stayed out of Aria's way. Let it not be said that I wasn't persistent, but after the fiasco at SC Corner, I decided that I should probably back down. Sunset was surprisingly supportive. After Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle leaked word to their class and Pinkie sent word back to the Rainbooms, the story spread like a deadly disease. Everybody who was anybody knew what went down between me and Aria. Even Principal Celestia gave me a sympathetic head shake now and again. As with all juicy rumors, this one underwent several metamorphoses. In one version, Aria and I had indeed been going out in secret but then I started to get clingy and wanted to go out in public so she ended it. In another version, I'd showed up at her house with a boombox and begged her to be my girlfriend. In a version no doubt spread by Pinkie, we were pink and blue gummy dinosaurs living in the ice cream mountains. As for Aria, if she wanted to look at something but she'd have to see me while turning her head, she didn't bother. She didn't even walk across my path. Anything that I previously touched had become poison to her. We were farther apart now than we were before.

But I still liked her.

"Attention school," announced Principal Celestia at the assembly four weeks after the SC Corner Incident. "In one week, we will be having our Interschool Sports Competition with Manehatten High. I don't even know why we bother having these things anymore because every time we do, it seems as if some demon from another world tries to ruin it." She glared at Sunset and Aria. "We, of course, rest our hopes of victory on the shoulders of our fine athletes." She called the names.

"Rainbow Dash!" She went up.

"Applejack!" She went up.

"Flash Sentry!" He went up.

"Lost Legacy!" I went up.

"Bulk Biceps!" He went up.

I stopped listening as I reached the podium. Looking down at the crowd of students, I felt even more self conscious. While everyone was looked upon with pride, pity washed over me. Pity and mocking smiles. Twenty eight days and I was still the hottest topic in Canterlot Daily. I looked at Aria. She had apparently found something fascinating in her fingernails. Snips and Snails shot me two thumbs up each. Best friends until the end. I returned their thumbs ups.

Three extra days of gym. All of us except Bulk groaned. After a meeting with Principal Celestia and a rare but terrifying view at her competitive side, she cancelled our Tuesday through Thursday afternoon classes for extra time training. For the past three years, the Manehatten Shadowbolts had wiped the floor with the Wondercolts and Celestia was determined not to let it happen again. If it weren't for Vice-Principal Luna, she would have cleared our entire week.

We all decided to pair up while we trained and Rainbow and I chose each other. Of course I'd asked why she hadn't gone with Applejack who was laughing it up with Flash. Dash admitted that though she was good friends with Applejack, the two couldn't stand each other when it came to contests.

As the week drew out, Dash and I supported each other through less than safe games of soccer and assorted training till we bled. Afterward, we'd share a laugh and hang out by the water cooler and poke fun at the other kids still in class. Spending time with Dash definitely took my mind off Aria. Or, at least, it did until the Friday.

"Goal shot!" Dash called out.

"In your dreams!" I kicked the ball, rebounding all her energy back at her.

"I don't dream, I live!" she struck the ball again. All the built up energy launched it high into the air.

As it came down, I gave it my all... but my aim was off. Instead of blasting it at Dash, I sent it over to where the other, nonathletic kids were suffering Coach's wrath.

WHAM!

If this was a cartoon, the entire screen would have shook as it connected with the side of Aria's head. A collective scream went up as she went down.

Rainbow and I ran over to her and pushed to the front. Aria lay on the ground, unmoving, while the ball lolled lazily beside her head. There was a red splotch on it and only then did we notice the steady red lake draining from her ear.

Somebody ran to get Nurse Redheart while Coach pushed us all away. I could almost feel the rumors start to breathe and take flight. She dumped him so he attacked her.

But at that moment, I wasn't worrying about that. Aria lay sprawled out on the ground and she wasn't so much as breathing. W... was she going to be okay?

Amnesia and Other Such Miracles

The good news was that Aria was alive.

After a huge fuss on the field, Bulk and I helped Nurse Redheart with getting her on a stretcher and back to the nurse's office. There was a small gathering outside the door as they waited for the verdict. As the perpetrator, I was allowed to stay inside and help. She didn't say but I knew it was because Nurse Redheart knew what it would be like for me out there.

Why'd you do it? It was on purpose, wasn't it? Were you trying to kill her? Was it because she dumped you?

After a while, the snow colored nurse walked outside and announced that Aria was indeed breathing and that she needed to rest for at least another hour or two. She left me in the room while she went to attend a staff meeting.

Looking down at Aria, I saw the girl I had a humongous crush on. I saw the girl who had chewed me out in front of a crowd and crushed my cellphone in a fit of supernatural rage. I saw the girl who, along with her sisters, tried to eat my soul. I saw the girl, who more than anything else, needed a friend.

Sure, she had made it abundantly clear that I was off the list as an option but she'd neglected to say why. Why was it that she hated me that badly?

Well, she had a reason now: I gave her a concussion with the business end of a soccer ball. I'd have to apologize for that when she woke up. You know, before she killed me.

I looked around the room at all the medical supplies. Our school was well stocked; it was almost like being in a real hospital room. There was even a heart monitor and a defibrillator and a-

Ugh! I was boring myself.

I seriously just wanted to leave but it didn't feel right just abandoning the girl I'd knocked out. Still, I wanted to do something. I could have passed the time playing a game on my phone but... yeah.

The bandage over her ear had become fully soaked red and was starting to leak. I cautiously opened the door and looked out. Nurse Redheart wasn't on her way and I really didn't want to leave Aria alone.

I sifted through one of the cabinets and pulled out a bandage and gauze. Remembering my 4H training from back in grade school, I set to work removing the soaked bandage. I tried to peel it off slowly.

"Ow!"

Aria sat up with a start and clasped her hand to her ear.

"Ow!" she exclaimed again.

She looked around and settled at me. I waited for the incoming slap that would have probably shattered my jaw. But it never came.

"Who are you and what are you doing?" she asked.

Was she serious?

"Are you serious?" I asked.

"Do I look like I'm joking?" she was angry but also genuinely confused. And then she was scared. "Oh God, I'm bleeding."

"Lie back down," I ordered. "And stay still."

She did as she was told and I changed the bandage.

"Thanks," she said with a smile when I was finished. "You still haven't said you you are?"

"Lost," I answered. "Lost Legacy."

She smiled sweetly.

"Well, Lost Lost Legacy, it was very nice of you to help me with that bandage... even if I don't know where it came from," she said. She looked around again. "Looks like I'm in the nurse's office, because of this injury I guess."

I nodded.

She sat up and hopped off the bed. "I feel and little better now, so could you please tell her that I left?" she asked me.

I nodded again.

"Thanks," she said again and went over to the aquamarine flower print book bag in the chair by the door. "Is this mine?"

Once more, I nodded.

She took it up and opened the door. Before going through, she came back inside, planted a kiss on my cheek and skipped out.

"That's not funny, dude," Snips told me.

"I josh you not," I said, my feet folded at the foot of his bed.

Snails was playing some fighting game or the other on Snip's PlayOffice 3.

"You are my idol, man!" he praised. "Knock a girl out and get a kiss."

"It's not funny," I shot him a glare at his computer chair. "Something's wrong with her."

"I'll say," Snails joked turning around. "Maybe you gave her brain damage."

Snips laughed but I didn't. It was a distinct possibility. Oh crap, what if I did give her brain damage? In addition to the never-ending guilt, I doubt her sisters would take too kindly to that. If all of them were experiencing the weird power surges that was enough to destroy the very ground they walked on... and they had my address... I drew up my knees and buried my face in them.

"C'mon, man, chill out," Snips said. "I'm pretty sure it was just a fluke. Monday morning, she's gonna be hating on you just like the past few weeks."

A little part of me hoped so. It was what I was used to; what was normal. If anything, brain damaged Aria was scarier than pissed off Aria. Whatever damage I'd inflicted could wear off at any moment and then what? One second she's nice and giving me pecks on the cheek and the next she'd have me in a choke hold until I blacked out.

A message came in on Snails' phone. He paused the game and read it. He unpaused it and handed it to me.

"It's for you."

I took it and read it:

Hi snls (or is ths snps) i cn nvr tl u gz aprt anwy its pinkie with an ie and dsh wnts 2 tlk 2 lst cz she cnt rch hm n hs fn cz of wat hpnd wth aria tht dy u knw course u do u wr ther bt anywy cn u pt hm on?

My eyes and brain hurt trying to decipher the message. Eventually I tapped in:

This is he

A minute later:

Hey Lost, its me Dash. Anyway, Aj said we could use her farm for som last minute training so we were gonn meet there at like 12 or sum on Saturday. That cool?

I thought about it. I definitely didn't need to be bugging about Aria all weekend and hanging with Dash seemed to be the only surefire way that didn't happen.

Totes

Kl. BTW could you erase Pinkie's number from Snails' fone when your done. I don't want him trying anything

No prob

Then I proceeded to erase the conversation. Alright, now I had something to take my mind off of Aria this weekend. At least for Saturday.

"Knock, knock," Sugar stuck her head inside Snips' bedroom.

"Get out," Snips threw his Ninja Tortoise action figure at her. As a testament to his physical skill, it missed by a wide margin and cracked the wall.

"I need help with my math homework," Sugar said, she wiped and strand of amber hair behind her ear. "I need help from Snails."

Snails paused his game and whipped around in excitement.

Snips glared at him. "I'll help you!" he shouted back at Sugar.

"No way," she scoffed. "I want higher than a D this time."

"Lost," Snips called to me. "You're good at math, help her out."

"No can do," I said. "I've gotta go rest up. I have training tomorrow."

Before Snips could find another option, Snails was up and out the door with Sugar. I followed. As I closed the door behind, I could hear Snips mutter forlornly:

"Hit a girl, get a kiss. My sister likes Snails. The end of the world is nigh."

Weekend at AJ's

Saturday was long coming. With all my worrying about Aria, time slowed to a crawl. I was thankful for the sweet release of sleep that Friday night and for the stress of getting ready Saturday morning. The bus pulled up outside Sweet Apple Acres at 11:55 and I made my way to the Apple Family's big red barn.

"Hey Lost!" Dash's voice called to me from the field.

With her were Bulk Biceps, Applejack and a feisty girl from my science class, Spitfire. Spitfire was among the highest of the high in terms of popularity. Along with Sunset's crew and Trixie's Diva club, Spitfire's clique were the official Wondercolts. All were extreme athletes that, while maybe not as good as Rainbow Dash, commanded her respect and awe. And she doesn't respect anyone.

"Where're the others?" I asked knowing that at least a dozen of us were called up during the assembly.

"Thunderlane has to babysit his little brother. Soarin sprained his ankle, he'll be better by Monday though. Fleetfoot is..." she continued listing out her clique's excuses leaving me to wonder why I even bothered to ask.

"I hope y'all don't mind," Applejack said, her voice mixed with something Southern. "I'll be chipping out from time t' time t' take care of mah chores."

"No worries, AJ," Dash assured her and set to work outlining the day's training schedule.

At 3, Spitfire and I were competing to see who could do more jumps with the jump rope. I was just about to cave when I heard Sunset's voice call to Dash. I stopped, attracted to the noise. Dash ran to her and the two chattered while Bulk, Spitfire and I looked on. AJ was somewhere inside the house.

Dash came back looking apologetic. She told us that she'd forgotten that she'd also set up a practice session for the Rainbooms and had to duck out for a while. As she explained, I noticed Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy and Rarity skipping, shuffling and strutting toward the barn. Spitfire told her it was okay and the three of us continued or practice. We took a break at 4 and went to listen to the Rainbooms.

"Damn," Dash mumbled. "Day's over, I'm tired and I don't feel like I got a damn thing done."

It was a little after 7 and the only ones left at the Apple farm were me, Dash and everyone who lived there. Dash and I lay out in the field though staring at the stars as they began to blossom in the sky.

"It wasn't that bad," I assured her. "I definitely feel faster."

She laughed and punch me not so lightly on the shoulder.

"Be honest Lost," she said. "Do you think we stand a chance at the competition."

I turned my head to her. "Manehatten doesn't stand a chance. After all... we've got you."

"And Spitfire," Dash added.

Of course, Spitfire.

"Wanna come by tomorrow?" Dash asked.

"Hm?" I pretended to hear so that she would clarify.

"Tomorrow," she didn't disappoint. "We could get in an hour or two of soccer."

"Um..." I went through my list of things to do on Sunday. No homework, no chores... no Aria. "Sure."

"Great!" Dash sat up.

"Hey Lovebirds!" Applejack was calling from her window. Her voice was so loud that we heard her clearly. "Get off my land!" Turning around, I could see a grin on her face.

For as long as I'd known Dash, she was opposed to anything concerning romance. At the mention of 'lovebirds' she took off toward her friend. Sensing that my welcome had long since expired, I made my way home.

"Hey Lost!" I heard Rainbow behind me as I was walking down the dirt trail to the bus stop just outside the farm.

I stopped and turned. Dash and Applejack were stuck mid-wrestle.

"AJ says that, since it's late, you can stay over tonight!" she called.

I raised my eyebrows. This had to be interesting.

I went with them back to the big house. Inside, Big Mac, Applejack's older brother, and Apple Bloom were setting up the table in the kitchen for dinner. Applejack made her way to the stove to help her grandmother. Rainbow bopped Bloom on the head and ran around as the little girl chased her.

In the meantime, I called my mother to tell her that I was sleeping over at the Apple Farm. She almost had a heart attack on the other end because she thought I'd be alone with all girls. I had to assure her that Applejack's older brother was there

"Apple Bloom, stop it!" Big Mac boomed. His voice sent chills down my spine. His sister stopped immediately and went shamefully to her seat at the table.

Rainbow took a seat opposite from her and Big Mac took one end of the table. Their grandmother placed a pot of stew in the middle of the table and took up residence at the other end. Applejack glared at Rainbow for taking her seat but her friend was too busy digging in to pay her any attention. The blonde girl drew up two chairs, one she put beside Rainbow and the other she handed to me to go sit beside Apple Bloom. The young girl looked up at me in what I could have sworn was sympathy. With a rush, I remembered that she'd been there at Sugar Cube Corner for the Incident. I hung my head and sat down.

Dinner with the Apple family (plus Rainbow) was fun, to say the least. Usually it was just me and Mother and she already knew everything about me there was to know. Granny Smith questioned me as if I was in a job interview. Apple Bloom stuck in with the occasional awkward question about Aria but Big Mac shushed her. The big guy didn't talk very much and any question directed at him was swiftly yet completely answered by a low droning 'eyup' or 'nnope'.

After dinner, the Apple siblings went to finish some last minute chores. Rainbow ran off with Applejack to help with her.

"You've got to earn your dinner here," Granny Smith joked.

Though she said it, it was evidenced in her voice that it was my choice. Of course, I decided to help out. I would have helped Apple Bloom scrape the rain gutters but I really couldn't stand her constant questioning and pitiful looks. Instead I helped Big Mac carry hay bales around.

That night, I bunked with Big Mac while Rainbow bunked with Applejack. Apple Bloom complained that she was the only one without a roommate but we all just laughed at her.

That night, I found myself outside the house walking around the orchards. Big Mac, understanding insomnia, left the doors open so that I could get back in.

"Can't sleep, huh?" I heard Rainbow's voice.

She was there, under the moonlight looking like a rainbow-haired Artemis. I wasn't sure why Artemis was the comparison I came up with, but it felt right.

"Neither can you," I deduced.

She smiled and walked over to me. "Full moons never sat right with me," she explained looking up at the silver circle in the sky.

I smirked but didn't respond.

"You haven't been on many sleepovers, have you?" she asked. "You were so awkward in there."

Actually I'd slept over at Snips' place plenty of times. Every month we had a Guy's Night where we played card games and watched sci-fi movies; pretty much the same things we usually did together but on that night it lasted till morning.

"Not with girls," I admitted.

Dash laughed till she snorted. "Loosen up," she said. "AJ and I are hardly what you'd call girls."

"I think you guys are girls," I told her, my steps were in time with hers. She looked back to me and I smiled at her.

"Uh... still like Aria?" it was a fair attempt at a conversation change but it sparked a dormant rage in me.

"Yes," I answered firmly. Nothing she, nor Sunset said would change how I felt about Aria.

Dash stopped walking and turned to face me fully.

"She's bad!" she insisted. "She tried to eat your soul; doesn't that count for anything?"

"She's sorry," I rebutted. Even as I said it, though, I didn't believe it. If she was sorry, wouldn't she have said it?

Dash took the words right out of my mouth.

I couldn't waste time thinking. That would mean doubt. "Maybe she's afraid," I answered. "Maybe she doesn't know if we will accept her or not and the best way she sees is by just being there, taking on our hatred until we get tired of it."

Dash was quiet. I was closer to her. I didn't realize that I'd walked closer as I was defending Aria and now, the space between us was so small I could hear her soft breathing. I was also close enough to realize how pretty she was. That was a word boys used to describe her at their own risk. Snails did once and she broke his nose. At the time I hadn't seen it but now I did. Her multicolored hair framed her cyan skin; her rose colored eyes glistened uncertainly as they searched mine for the reason I defended her enemy so much. In that moment, I also noticed them doing something else: begging me to make her believe. Dash was never the most understanding girl in the world but she wasn't bad. She wanted to believe that Aria was good but she only knew what she knew.

A sudden movement launched Dash into my arms and I instinctively locked them around her protectively.

"Fruit bat," she assured me. "They hang around here sometimes."

"You don't seem used to them," I commented.

A blush spread across her face and she pulled away. I let her go.

"Say nothing, to nobody," she threatened.

I did a zip motion across my mouth and tossed away the imaginary key.

"Think we should head back to the house?" I asked.

Dash looked at the moon instead of at me. "I want to stay out a little longer."

I thought about going back on my own but guy instinct told me that she wanted me there with her. We wandered around the orchard silently, like ghosts, till the break of dawn when we sneaked back into the house.

Our soccer match was little more than disappointing. With both of us tired, we only manged to make weak passes at each other's goals before collapsing from fatigue on the field. Applejack laughed and tossed a blanket over us as we both fell asleep on the grass.

In the afternoon, when we awoke, we helped the Apples pick their apples. The chores of the family were starting to seem fun to me, especially after Big Mac permanently silenced Apple Bloom's questioning (he threatened to tear down her club house which was behind the farm). It was here that I saw another side of Rainbow. She worked hard, as if the picking and lifting and cleaning were her responsibility and not just favors being done to a friend. She caught me staring at her on more than one occasion but only blushed and went back to work.

That was odd; Rainbow never blushed.

After lunch, Apple Bloom's friends, Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle, stole her from our chore party and gathered around the back in their, still standing, treehouse. Sunset and Rarity visited; both were surprised to see me there sweeping out the barn. Dash excused herself. Rarity was her ride home. I spent another hour with Applejack and Big Mac. With most of the chores already done, they taught me how to make Granny Smith's Apple Pie. With that, I really felt like part of the family.

"See you at the Competition tomorrow, Sugar Cube," Applejack said as I left.

Big Mac nodded his farewell.

"See ya tomorrow, Lost," Apple Bloom said as she passed through the kitchen carrying a roll of duct tape.

As I walked down the dirt trail again, my mind began to wander. Without Dash and Applejack's farm to distract me, I began thinking about Aria again and her condition. Would the amnesia have worn off by now and she was back to hating me? What if it didn't and her sisters now hated me? Having magical monsters from another dimension for enemies really wasn't in my vision for how this school year would have gone.

The bus rolled around as soon as I reached the stop. Well, only tomorrow would tell if Aria was back to normal. Remembering the kiss, I began to wonder, sparing the wrath of her sisters, did I want her back to normal?

The Gift that Keeps on Giving

"LOST!" the angry yell greeted me as I stepped into the school building.

Coming towards me were three girls... if you could call them that. Adagio Dazzle, Sonata Dusk and Aria Blaze all marched towards me looking as if they were either going to give me the most furious hug of all time or a beat down. As they got closer, however, I noticed that only Adagio seemed angry. Aria was smiling at me and Sonata looked confused as to where she was.

"Hi Lost Lost," Aria greeted.

I remembered my introduction from the nurse's office the previous Friday. Had I damaged her so badly that she thought my name was actually Lost Lost?

"It's only one 'Lost', actually," I corrected.

"I know," she said moving a few strands of hair behind her ear. "It was a joke."

"Oh." Now I just felt stupid.

Sonata looked at her sister and her face exploded into a grin.

"You're the boyfriend!" she blurted out in excitement.

"Be quiet, Sonata!" Adagio hissed in a voice that gave away that she was the one who'd yelled earlier.

"He's not my boyfriend," Aria was blushing. "I mean, I don't think he is." She looked at me in genuine confusion. "Are you?"

Though every bone in my body screamed YES! Common Sense made me answer, "No." It wouldn't have been the best idea to answer yes while Adagio was looking at me like she wanted to gouge my eyes out with her manicured nails.

If I wasn't mistaken, she looked a bit disappointed at my answer.

"Hey Aria!" That was Sunset's voice.

She skipped me and went straight to the waiting Aria. The latter looked at her with vague recollection.

"Sunset, right?" she asked to confirm.

Sunset nodded.

"We're... friends, right?"

A puzzled looked scratched Sunset's face and she shot me a look. She turned back to Aria and nodded. Then, like girls do, they dived into a deep conversation of compliments and gossip.

With her sister distracted, Adagio took me aside, followed by Sonata.

"Alright, spill. What did you do to my sister?" she demanded.

"Nothing," I insisted. "Well, nothing on purpose. I mean, I didn't mean to hit her."

"Is there a counter spell?"

"Excuse me?"

"A counter spell," Adagio was getting impatient. "For whatever magic you hit her with."

"Magic?"

"Duh," Sonata voiced. "You used magic on her to make her forget how badly you screwed up with her at Sugar Cube Corner."

Adagio turned on her sister. "I told you NOT to talk to him, you idiot. What if he cursed you too?"

"I didn't curse anyone," I defended myself.

"Yeah right," Sonata already forgot her sister's warning. "Her memories are pretty jacked up. It had to be magic. It's not like accidentally hitting her in the head with a soccer ball could do that?"

Adagio was about to yell at Sonata but took note of the sheepish look on my face.

"Oh my Celestia, that's exactly what happened, isn't it?" she deduced.

I nodded slowly.

For a moment, I thought I saw her eyes getting red but her expression quickly softened.

"Oh well, it can't be helped," she said and turned around.

"Wait," I stopped her from walking away. "You mean you're okay with her being like this?"

"Uh, yeah," Adagio replied. "I just wanted to make sure it wasn't something you could do to me."

"And to be honest," Sonata spoke again, much to the visible irritation of Adagio. "I was getting really tired of her calling me 'the worst'."

I couldn't believe it. I'd knocked Aria clear into amnesia and the only thing her sisters were worried about was if I could harm them. No wonder Aria felt so alone in the world. I looked at her and Sunset; the two were laughing and trying to talk at the same time. She looked happier than I'd ever seen her. Maybe... maybe what I'd done wasn't so bad.

Adagio and Sonata made for the back of the school where the Competition was being held. Aria told Sunset later and ran off to join them. As usual, Sunset was immediately on my case.

"Rainbow told me what happened," she stated.

"Did she also tell you it was an accident?" I queried.

"She didn't need to. I know you'd never intentionally hurt her."

I was ready to get angry and defend my position but I was caught off guard. Sunset didn't assume the worst in me. That was some good progress right there.

She noticed the look on my face and smiled. "Yes, Lost, you managed to convince me that you mean to do right by Aria," she said.

"Thanks Sunset, I..." I stopped short and narrowed my eyes at her. "You're just happy that Aria's talking to you now, aren't you?" I accused.

Then it was her turn to be caught off guard.

"No way," she denied, glaring at me for good measure. Her glare wasn't as poisonous as before, though, weakened by guilt.

"You actually like that I gave her her amnesia, don't you?" I continued.

Her gaze hardened but I could see it in her eyes.

"I'll see you when I'm cheering for Dash," she said and went toward the Competition as well.

I lingered behind a while longer. I smiled despite myself. Aria was happy. She was making friends, her sisters' selfishness didn't seem to be affecting her and, best of all, she seemed to like me. I guess hitting her in the head full force with a soccer ball was the best thing I could have done for her. Now just to make she she never found out about it.

I headed to the Competition as well.

Rainbow's Boyfriend

Yeah, I was shocked to find out she had one too.

Rainbow and I weren't best friends, I'd never go so far as to call us that. After all, I never showed up in the movies (fourth wall break) but I got along really well with her. I knew half of all her favorite stuff and I could match her in any game we played. I knew there were things we didn't know about each other but I couldn't keep my eyes from bugging when she brought over a guy to me and introduced him as Silver Point, her boyfriend.

He was eighteen, a year older than us, and from Manehatten. Apparently he was where Rainbow's hostility for Manehatten High came from as he was the captain of their main sports team: The Shadowbolts. Even though they had that intense rivalry between them, they got along. Just like Rainbow and me. Looking at the gray-skinned guy with a white mullet (I kid you not, he had a mullet), I couldn't help but feel emasculated. Where I was a physically fit athlete/nerd, he was a buff, all-meat-diet man. It didn't help when Snips, Snails and Sugar scoped me out and came over to say 'hey'. Silver look one bemused look at them and walked away with his arm around Rainbow.

Sugar whined about why she had to be there and Snips reminded her that their parents entrusted him to watch her. He cast a warning glare at Snails.

"How's your girlfriend?" Snails asked.

"She's not my girlfriend," I stated. "She's doing fine." I looked around for her.

I found her a little way off with her sisters. Adagio and Sonata were flirting with some of the guys from Manehatten High that hadn't heard about the Battle. Everyone who had, gave them a wide berth, avoiding them like the plague. Aria hung a few feet away from them with Sunset.

"Does she hate you?" Snips wondered.

"She kissed him last time, remember?" Snails reminded him.

"Maybe she came to her senses," he reasoned.

"Uh... Snails," Sugar said. "Could you... show me where the bathroom is?"

"S... sure," Snails replied following behind as she walked away.

The intercom sounded asking all the athletes to line up for the first race.

"Good luck," Snips said and ran after his sister yelling that she went to school with them and she knew where the bathroom was.

I made my way to the race track. Just my luck, I was lined up with Silver Point.

"Hey," I greeted.

He grunted.

"Rainbow's boyfriend, right?"

"You got a problem?" he challenged.

"None at all," I held up my hands in submission.

"Dash talks a lot about you," he said none too happily. "Legacy Lost, was it?"

"Lost Legacy."

"On your marks!" Coach announced from the sides.

"You a good friend of hers?"

"I guess. We get along."

"Get set!"

"Well, you need to know that I don't like sharing my property."

"Property?"

"Go!"

We took off. There were three other guys from Manehatten in the race and two guys from Canterlot but I only focused on Silver. This guy seriously, without a hint of humor on his face, called Rainbow Dash his property. Maybe it was a kink of hers. Outside of our regular soccer games and whatever we said during them, I didn't know anything about her. After all, she did hate girly monikers, maybe she liked being dominated. Then why was I getting so angry? My feet dug into the ground like hooves as I pushed against the wind. Silver was ahead of me but I was gaining. Everyone else was lagging behind but I wasn't aiming to beat them. Why did my desire to overtake Silver feel so personal? I mean, even if he was being disrespectful to Rainbow, what business was it of mine?

"You're friends," Common Sense answered. "What more reason do you need?"

"But she likes him," I retorted.

"She doesn't know how he talks about her when she's not around," Common Sense responded.

"How would you know?" I spat.

"What's my name?"

The race was over. As close as I was, the finish line came first and Silver won. I came second and one of our guys came third.

"Watch yourself," Silver murmured to me and went to the waiting crowd.

Among them was Rainbow. She hugged him and kissed him.

"Enjoy your victory while you can," she warned him. "Lost, Spitfire and I are gonna take you down." She looked over to me. "Good job out there Lost!"

I waved.

"Oh, my race," she noticed as the girls were lining up. "Wish me luck Lost." And she turned to go.

"Luck," I said after her.

"Hold on," Silver grabbed her had and spun her into himself. He kissed her deeply. "There's my luck."

When she pulled away, Rainbow bit her lip. "Shouldn't have done that," she said. "Now you're gonna lose."

My skin crawled. I didn't like that guy.

No One's Property

I didn't stick around for Rainbow's race. Halfway through her circuit I got tired of getting threatening looks form Silver and went to find Sunset. She was with Aria, but also with her other friends. They looked nervous to be around Aria to say the least, with the exception of Pinkie Pie, but Sunset's presence kept them there. Adagio and Sonata were nowhere to be found, not that I had any particular interest in finding them.

"Hey Lost Lost," she greeted when she saw me coming.

I was a little glad to see that she hadn't been discouraged from running her joke with me. It was kind of annoying though.

"How is everything?" I asked.

Before anyone could answer, Pinkie Pie exploded with every known synonym for the word 'great' ever. Some of them I swore she made up.

"Exiffilent!" she concluded while everyone laughed.

"What she said," Sunset confirmed. "Hey, if you have time, we could all hang out before your next race. The more the merrier."

"I think that's a fantastic idea, darling," Rarity commended, though I think she just wanted another person who wasn't Aria to further dilute her presence.

"I can hang out," I agreed.

The seven of us walked around for about five minutes while Sunset and Aria chattered. I caught a bit of their conversation and, I kid you not, they were comparing villainy notes.

"Trying to turn me against my friends was genius," Sunset told her. "I swear it would have worked if it wasn't for the magic they used on me."

"That was my idea," Aria admitted. "Adagio is definitely the meaner one but I could tell you stories of all my plans."

"Go on."

No wonder the others felt nervous.

"Lost Legacy!" the intercom announced. "You are needed at the field. The discus toss is about to begin! Lost Legacy!"

"Gotta go," I told them, a little glad to not be a part of whatever it was that they were talking about.

The discus was horrible.

There was nothing inherently wrong with my physical strength, but my hand-eye coordination was on par with a mole. I threw it far, but in the wrong direction. Referee, Manehatten's coach, had to duck to avoid her head being taken clean off. I was disqualified without a second thought. Bulk Biceps won that event for us guys. I sat back during the females toss and some chick named Shatter Heart from Manehatten took it home.

Rainbow was beyond pissed. She plopped down beside me and fumed that Spitfire should have won that event. I calmly tried to explain to her that Spitfire couldn't throw to save her own life. Dash knew I wasn't lying. As much as she wanted to believe that Spitfire was God in bike shorts, Spitfire had the physical strength of a sparrow. She was fast though that I had to admit.

"How are you and Silver getting along?" Dash asked.

"Hm? Great, why do you ask?"

Dash chuckled. "He can get a bit clingy especially around my guy friends," she replied.

I thought back to the short time I'd known Dash. "You don't have any guy friends," I told her.

She gave me a duh look. "Exactly."

"Well I guess no guy likes to share his property," the words were out of my mouth before I could stop them.

Rainbow's anger flared hotter than any fire. "I am NO ONE'S property!" she stated with cold fury. "Got that?"

"Got it," I said and she stormed off.

"Told you," Common Sense chimed.

"Quiet you," I said out loud.

Fruitless part 2: Foiled Again

After my next race (which I completely owned!) I went off to walk with Snips, Snails and Sugar. Snails was separated from Sugar by a fuming Snips; it was an awkward walk to say the least. The day was almost over. After a couple more events, we'd have the boys and girls race, in which all the athletes from both schools would be put on the same track. It was the race we were all looking forward to.

"Snips," Sugar whined. "Can I go home now?"

"No," he said. "You're not leaving my sight!"

"Can I go home?" Snails tried.

"You either," Snips turned his glare to his best friend.

"What's the big deal?" I asked. "If they want to hook up, let them."

Snips turned on me. "You wouldn't understand. You don't have a sister."

I looked down. His statement seemed innocent enough. Just stating a fact, right. But he didn't know. In fact, no one else knew. Destiny was my older sister. She was nineteen when she'd died about ten years ago. None of my friends knew about her and I didn't care to talk about her.

"Yeah," I mumbled. "I don't."

"Lost!"

I looked up. There were an awful lot of girls yelling my name lately.

Sunset ran up to me. "Have you seen Aria?"

"No," I answered. "Is she missing?"

"Yeah, she went to the bathroom a while back but she didn't come back," Sunset explained.

"Did you check the bathroom?" I asked.

She shot me a dirty look.

"Alright," I sighed. "I guess I can-"

"Lost!"

I whipped around to see Rainbow running toward me. She stopped and looked around at all of us in turn.

"Have any of you seen Silver?" she asked. "The boys and girls race coming up and he's nowhere to be found. I'm getting worried."

I noticed that she didn't say something like "I don't want him to be late for his beat down". Rainbow Dash was genuinely worried about this guy, which made me dislike him even more for claiming her like an object. It also caused me to open my big mouth and...

"I'll look for him," I offered.

"What about Aria?" Sunset asked.

Oh, right. She was missing too. Damn.

"Sugar," I pointed at Snip's sister. "You come with me. Snips and Snails go look for Aria."

Snips gave me a suspicious look as his sister walked over to me. I shook my head to let him know that I wasn't planning on hitting on Sugar. I had to take her with me, else the other two would never cover any ground. We separated and I went in search of Silver Point.

"We should have asked where she last saw him," I said to Sugar when I realized that I had no idea where to look.

"Maybe he went to the bathroom," Sugar suggested.

"You think so?" I asked.

"It's worth a shot."

We split up, Sugar checking the Porta Potties and me checking the bathrooms in the school. I wandered around the hallways looking for that telltale white mullet. I rounded the corner to the bathrooms and saw it. Immediately the acrid taste of hatred pooled into my mouth. It subsided when I saw the purple hair mixed with the white. The purple hair, streaked with aquamarine, was attached to a fuschia head which was making out with Silver Point. In case I was being a little vague, the girl of my dreams was sucking face with my recent public enemy number one.

I retreated behind the wall and fumed. It was bad enough that he was making time with Rainbow, but he had to get involved with Aria now. Of all the girls in the school, Aria. What would Rainbow think?

You've got to tell her.

Oh, hey there Common Sense. I haven't heard from you in a whole five minutes.

Cut the wise cracks; Rainbow needs to know that her boyfriend is cheating on her.

It'll crush her.

Would you rather her continue being in love with this asshole than be depressed.

Actually...

Don't answer that.

I really was considering keeping Rainbow in the dark. On the one hand, I hated Silver Point, not only for making time with Aria, but for mistreating Dash. On the other hand, she really liked him and finding out about what a jerk he was would depress her. Before that little show of concern, I didn't think she'd miss him if she dumped him, but I could see that she really was into him. I didn't want to be the guy that took her happiness from her. Then again, after all the movies I'd watched, keeping it to myself could only end badly.

"Alright, I'll go out first," I heard Silver tell Aria.

Crap! If he found out that I'd caught him in the act, what would he do? I was a pretty fit guy, but Silver was one step behind Bulk Biceps. He couldn't snap me like a twig but maybe like a really sturdy pencil. I ran back a little way and then ran toward him as he was coming around the corner.

"What the-?!" he exclaimed as we collided.

"Oh there you are," I pretended to be relieved to find him. "Dash has been looking everywhere for you."

"Is that so?" he said eyeing me. "Then I guess I should go to her."

I grinned sheepishly, wanting him to hurry and leave so that I could confront Aria. Did she know that Silver was Rainbow's boyfriend? Was she intentionally making out with another girl's boy? Maybe that soccer ball to the head made her evil again but it was showing up subtly? Either way, I had to find out. That's when Silver's hand came down on my shoulder.

"What did you see?" he asked.

"See what?" I wasn't just playing dumb, my mind had actually frozen up from the fear.

He spun me around so that we were both facing the same direction and he put his arm around me.

"Good," he said, leading me out of the school with him.

I managed to sneak a look back only to see Aria staring forlornly at him. She didn't even notice me! I was so close! She'd forgotten that she hated me and, up until this morning, she'd actually liked me; so how did I manage to lose her again?

And the Winner is...

It goes without saying that the boys and girls race was a whole new level of personal for me. Whether it was luck or fate or God, somebody was screwing with me and Silver and I were placed side by side again. I couldn't let him win this one; I had to see which of us was the better man. I knew that winning this race meant little in the grand scheme of things but not even Common Sense fought me on this one. If I won, I'd be better.

We all lined up and the starter gave his standard Ready, set, go! In the blink of an eye, we were off.

About thirty of us leveled the flattened ground in pursuit of the red line at the end but I was only focused on one. Silver cruised along looking mighty comfortable as he kept time with me. I was pushing but my speed was nothing for him. We left most of the competition behind as we ran along with each other. I'm really downplaying this, imagine two horses, no, zebra (one with a laughable white mullet) making headway across the Savannah. In my mind's eye, I could see smaller animal rushing to get out of our way. I could see our hooves crash down and shatter the Earth beneath. And then Silver got bored. He back to pull ahead at an almost effortless pace. I began to push forward, straining my limits but as Silver began to try harder, the distance between us grew.

And then I heard it.

The cheering.

I heard Snips and Snails from the sidelines, louder than everyone else. I heard Sugar, her voice weaker but managing to be heard among the others. I heard Sunset calling my name while the others cheered for Rainbow and Applejack. It was faint but Apple Bloom's voice was in there as well. I even heard Common Sense inside me cheering.

Go Lost!

I'll tell you this, there are few sights in this world more satisfying than the face Silver put on when I caught up with him. Suddenly, Spitfire and Shatter Heart, the Manehatten girl who'd won the discus toss, sped from behind us. It seemed they had been playing the same 'hide your true speed for last' game that Silver had been, but now they blazed from the rear straight to the front and put an ocean's worth of distance between us in the process. That was okay. They weren't the ones I wanted to beat.

Also ahead of us, Rainbow Dash and Applejack were running in sync with each other. They were smiling with each other but I could feel the intense rivalry burning the air between them. Spitfire and Shatter were still leagues ahead of them but they seemed to have shut out everything else to focus on beating each other. I decided to follow their example and the screams and cheers ebbed away into the distance. It was only me and Silver. We were stepping in line with each other but one of us had to come out on top. As much as I wanted to convince myself that this was only for the race, I knew inside that it was something more. I HAD to be better than Silver. He had gotten the girl I've been into since forever and still managed to keep the adoration of the near impossible to please, Rainbow Dash, it would kill me if I failed to him anymore. Silver was going hard, the sweat on his forehead showing just how much effort it was taking him to keep up. In the meantime, I'd already hit my limit and was pushing past it. My legs ached and my head hurt. I was not going to be okay the moment I stopped, but for now, stopping was nowhere on my mind.

My mind lapsed and I caught a glimpse of what was happening in real time. Shatter Heart, who up until now was keeping perfect time with Spitfire, had stumbled. In that one second it took to steady herself, Spitfire, Rainbow, Applejack, Silver and I surged past leaving her to play catch up ahead of the slower racers. I tuned out again when Spitfire cleared the finish line first. Silver and I didn't once leave each other behind. It was intense. Judging by the cheering that pierced my focused mind, Rainbow and Applejack had cleared the finish line together. There was only me and Silver left.

And then everything slowed down. We were only about five steps from the finish line and neither of us had managed to pull ahead. And then I got to thinking, if my athlete side couldn't beat him, maybe my nerd side could. I began to picture us playing Starswirl's Demons. On my side, I had the Aria card and the Rainbow card. Silver pulled a card from the new platinum deck and played the Chrysalis' Deception card. That took control of my cards and brought them over to his side. In real time, he made a step ahead of me, four more to go.

But I had the platinum deck as well. I pulled out the Windingo Blizzard card which raised my speed by +200. Then I took out the (custom job) Lost Legacy Is Better Than You card. I pulled ahead, closing the three step space left. Silver drove himself forward but it was too late. I'd already beat him.

I collapsed and blacked out for few moments while the other races came up behind and the screams of the crowd washed over me. I awoke to Rainbow Dash hugging me and screaming that I'd won.

"What about you and Applejack?" I managed, remembering their closeness.

"We crossed at the same time," Rainbow explained. "And since we both come from Canterlot, they decided that we should share the silver."

"Cool," I responded. "So that means..."

"You got the bronze!" she squealed. "With all the extra points from you, Spitfire, AJ and I, Canterlot High wins!"

She hugged me again and all my joints screamed. But I didn't mind. I'd beat him. I'd beaten Silver Point.

"Good job, Dashie."

My good mood drained away.

Rainbow left my side and ran into Silver's arms. He lifted her off the ground, twirled her around and ended with a deep kiss on her lips. I cringed. Mid-kiss, he opened his eyes and looked at me. In his eyes I realized, winning the race didn't mean squat. Maybe I was faster than him by about a step, but in the end, Silver got the girl.

On the podium, Spitfire proudly displayed her gold medal. Rainbow and Applejack stood side by side with their arms around each other and the silver medal in between them, the intense rivalry had evaporated. I stood there with the strongest smile I could muster without thinking about it. I was more focused on finding Aria in the crowd. If I found her now I could ask her about what she knew of Silver when I got down off the podium. I passed over Snips and Snails and waved to them subconsciously. I looked to the back and that's where I found Aria... deeply kissing Silver. How the hell did this guy have any saliva left?

I looked at Rainbow but she was too busy fawning over her medal and congratulating Spitfire to notice. I didn't get it. How could he be so public with his infidelity and STILL GET AWAY WITH IT?

For the first time since I began asking myself these questions, Common Sense was quiet.

And then I realized fully that the race meant nothing. It didn't even mean I was faster than him. My fake smile vanished and I dropped my medal. I didn't win anything. At the end of the day, Rainbow was still enamored with him and Aria, whether she knew or not, was still his make out buddy. Silver had won the day and, like the disgruntled Shadowbolts scattered about in the audience, I couldn't help but grudgingly clap for him.

Crouching Diva, Hidden Geek

Tuesday was a day off for us. Principal Celestia was so happy with out victory over the Shadowbolts that she'd actually intended to clear our entire week. If it weren't for Vice Principal Luna reminding her that we still had a curriculum to complete, she might have actually gone through with it. Still, it was decided that we needed at least one full day to recover.

Snips, Snails and I decided to move our Wednesday game of Starswirl's Demons to Tuesday and met up at the Sugar Cube Corner a little before twelve. I hadn't been to SCC since my fall out with Aria but I decided that since she'd recovered (if you could call it that) it was safe to return.

Mr. and Mrs. Cake still gave me wary glances as if my very presence my cause random drama to appear. Pinkie Pie wasn't there but a plate piled high with cupcakes sat on the counter with a colourful note stating that they were for her. Other than my friends and the Cakes, the Corner was empty. A couple minutes into our game, the door opened and Sunset came in. She looked around for a while and then walked over to us.

"Hey Sunset," I greeted.

"Hey Lost," she returned. She matched Snips' and Snails' angry glares with a curtly nod.

Before I could ask why she was here, she explained, "The girls are all having some pet party at Fluttershy's place and Aria's off with some new boy she met yesterday." As soon as she said that, she gave me a confused look. "Why isn't she with you? She really seemed to like you."

I shrugged. I contemplated asking her if Aria knew that Silver was involved with Rainbow already, but by the way she seemed comfortable saying that Aria was off with a boy, she didn't know who the boy was. I thought about telling her but then I felt Silver's hand on my shoulder again. I shuddered and looked back to my game.

"Mind if I play with you guys?" she asked.

"You?" scoffed Snips. "Don't make us laugh."

Sunset dug into her pocket and removed a pack of cards which she slammed down on the table. Snips, Snails and I crowded around to see. Our eyes nearly fell out of our heads when we saw that it was the Starswirl's Demons- Nightmare Expansion Pack. It had only been out for all of two days.

"How?" I struggled to ask. "How did you get this?"

She answered, "When I was first banished here, I had to find something to do until the portal opened again."

"You never mentioned being a Starswirl fan," Snips piped.

Sunset twisted her face to mock him. "Like I'd ever tell you two," she said. "You'd blab to the whole school and I'd lose all my popularity."

Snips folded his arms and looked away in a huff but Snails and I still stared in wonder at the Nightmare Expansion Pack. Below it, we noticed was a more worn out pack that was torn at the edges.

"Alright," I said after I was finished drooling. "Let's play."

It was a hard lesson for us to learn just how ruthless Sunset really was.

Even after we bid her not to use the Expansion Pack since it was more advanced than the cards we had, she decimated us with her mismatched pack. None of us saw that Ahuizotl's Roar coming.

At three, we decided that we'd had enough and put our cards away. In fact, I could have sworn that I saw an inkling of respect in Snips' and Snails' eyes as they glared at Sunset.

"Looks like Pinkie isn't coming for these," we heard Mrs. Cake say. "Sunset dear."

Sunset pocketed her cards and looked up.

"Could you take these to Pinkie for us? It seems she forgot that she ordered them."

"Oh, those are probably for the pet party," Sunset said as she went for the plate. "Sure I'll take them to her."

"Thank you dearie," Mrs. Cake said before going to tend to the sudden crying of her son.

"I have to go now guys," Sunset said to us in a cheeky tone . "Maybe I'll play you guys some other time."

"We have to go too," Snails said as he and Snips gathered up their things.

They dashed out of The Corner in the direction of the comic book store.

"Aren't you going as well?" Sunset queried.

I shook my head. "Nah," I answered. "When Aria crushed my phone, Mom cut off my allowance till I can buy a new one."

"Aw," she mused. "Well, since you aren't doing anything, want to come with?"

I looked around. The Corner was empty, with even Mr. and Mrs. Cake in the back making baby noises at their kids. I sighed.

"Sure," I replied. "I've never been to one of Pinkie's parties."

Sunset grinned. "Then you're in a for a huge surprise."

Lost at Pinkie's Party

To be honest I expected Fluttershy to live in some kind of hollowed out tree at the edge of a forest. I surprised when Sunset and I walked up the driveway to a neat suburban house. Granted it had an amazing garden and thin creepers running up the side, it was just as ordinary as the house next door. Not exactly the master headquarters of Canterlot High's nature warrior.

Even before Sunset knocked at the door, I head Fluttershy whisper-shout at Pinkie to leave something alone. Applejack opened the door though she turned back to yell at Pinkie.

"Dammit Pinkie!" she yelled. "Leave Fluttershy alone!"

She turned to us. "Hey Sunset. Lost. What brings you two here?"

Sunset raised the plate. "Pinkie forgot to pick up her cupcakes," she explained.

Applejack shook her head and thanked Sunset. She took the plate and invited the two inside. The inside of Fluttershy's house was pretty normal as well, save for the toothless alligator lying mid-combat with with a tortoise. Rainbow was lounging on a purple couch facing a TV turned to the sports channel, Rarity could be heard upstairs rifling through Fluttershy's belongings choosing what stayed and what had to be thrown out, Pinkie was gripping a photo album as she ran away from Fluttershy who was giving chase. Applejack put the cupcakes on the coffee table in front of Dash and bid Pinkie to look in her direction. Distracted by the cupcakes, she dropped the album and skipped to the table.

"Hi Lost," Fluttershy greeted me as she took up her album.

I gave a small wave.

"Lost's here?" I heard Rainbow. She raised her hand and waved. "Hey Lost."

"Hey Dash," I returned.

A small brown dog ran between my legs followed by a rather irritable looking white rabbit. So this was a Pinkie Pie party. I had to say, I wasn't impressed.

Sunset seemed to have been reading my mind. She leaned over and whispered, "Wait till she has her sugar fix."

"Sugar fix?"

But Sunset had already left to join Rarity upstairs.

"ALRIGHT PARTY PONIES! PINKIE IS READY TO GET STARTED!" the pink girl's shriek was so loud that I almost didn't hear it.

Then, I kid you not, music began playing from nowhere. A disco ball lowered from Fluttershy's ceiling and began spinning. Despite the fact that disco's been dead since before I was born, it was rather tasteful. Fluttershy and Applejack brought out bowls of chips and dip and strobe lights fired off in all directions.

"What the-?" I could only gape at all the things that seemed to happen with no human help.

"Pretty cool, huh?" Sunset had somehow appeared beside me again and was wriggling herself in what I think she imagined dancing was like.

"Unbelievably," I admitted.

While the girls went to dancing, the small dog and the rabbit were showing them up with dance moves that really shouldn't have been possible for them. The tortoise appeared to be trying but it was moving to slowly to seem like anything but raising and lowering its foreleg. The alligator, with the help of a cloud-white cat, was staging a search and retrieve mission for a bowl of graham crackers.

"You gonna dance or stand there and lame up the party?" Rainbow asked from across the room.

I grinned. Given no other option, I began to dance.

It didn't take long for me to get bored of dancing, especially after I noticed Dash sneaking outside.

I followed intending to strike up conversation but I held back when I heard her on the phone.

"Silver! Where the hell are you? I've called you like six times already! Call me back!" she pocketed the phone and leaned against the fence that separated Fluttershy's garden from the street.

A chill ran down my spine as I heard her sigh. That damned Silver was probably with Aria this whole time. Barring the fact that she was amazing and I'd probably spend the whole day with her again if I could, he had a duty to Rainbow Dash. Even if he found it completely necessary to cheat on her, the least he could do was still answer her calls.

A crash sounded in the house, followed by several voices screaming at Pinkie. Dash turned around and saw me.

She immediately straightened up and wiped her face. It was only then that I realized that she was crying.

Before Common Sense could yell at me, "It's about Silver, isn't it?"

Rainbow's face stalled. It was as if she was wondering whether to be mad at me for suggesting that a mere boy could get her to cry, get mad at me for eavesdropping or get mad at me for realizing that she was sad. In the end, she chose neither and nodded.

Tell her!

No!

"Hasn't it only been a couple hours?" I queried.

"Yeah," she admitted. "But he never misses my calls. Ever."

"Maybe he's really busy."

Yeah, busy tongue wrestling with Aria.

"He would have told me," she said. "He always tells me when he's busy. For the past five years."

Those two had been together all of five years? No wonder she was so attached. Still...

"I think you're overreacting."

Dumbass! Never tell a girl she's overreacting! That's what makes them overreact!

And it did. Rainbow scowled and snapped, "You wouldn't understand. You've never been in love!"

"Haven't I?" I asked her.

"Aria doesn't count," she followed up. "You don't really love her."

I myself wasn't too clear on what I felt for Aria beyond the initial attraction, especially after her fling with Silver, but I still felt a bit offended.

"How can you say that?" I asked.

"If you did, you'd want to be with her right now and not let her be off with some guy she met at the Competition," when I stared at her with surprised eyes, she added, "Sunset mentioned it."

"Then... does that mean that Silver doesn't love you?" the words just spilled out of my mouth.

Rainbow didn't answer. It was clear that she knew that Silver was in a position to answer his phone but refused to, but it didn't seem like the possibility of Silver's feelings for her waning crossed her mind. And I was the asshole who brought it up.

"I... I'm sorry Dash, I didn't mean it," I apologized.

This was even more reason not to tell her about Aria. Revealing that her boyfriend would rather be with a mythical monster than so much as call her back would be too much for anyone.

Just then, Dash's phone rang and she answered it. Her face immediately began glowing bright cyan as she grinned.

"It's Silver," she mouthed and then walked away to talk to him.

I was semi-relieved. On the bright side, Rainbow was happy again and all doubts that probably the only person she's ever loved didn't love her back were gone. On the other hand, that was exactly what was happening and she was being played like a banjo. I realized that this was a fault line and the longer it took for Dash to find out, the more it would grow. Eventually, it would all come crashing down and Dash would be right underneath it.

I had to make it so that she found out on her own and soon. But before that, I needed to figure out Aria's part in all this. Was she just an innocent girl as caught up in Silver's charm as Dash or was she just as much to blame as Silver? It was time to play detective.

"Lost!" I heard Sunset call from inside the house. "Pinkie's gonna finish off the cupcakes! Come now if you want any!"

...

Tomorrow I'd play detective.

Sunset P.I.

The best way to get information out of Aria was to have Sunset do it.

The ball to the head had unlocked what camaraderie she felt towards Sunset and the two were even sitting at lunch that Wednesday. Judging by the smile that Aria gave me whenever I looked over at her, I was welcomed at the table as well but I stayed with Snips and Snails. They were arguing about Snails' interest in Sugar again so it was easy for me to block them out while I formulated a plan to get Sunset to prying the information out of Aria without either of them realizing what I was doing.

By the end of lunch I still had no ideas. I ambushed Sunset on her way to math class. I figured Common Sense would help me out if I just improvised.

"Hey Sunset," I started out real smooth-like.

"Oh hey Lost," she returned cheerfully.

"Can I talk to you about Aria?"

"No problem," she replied.

I bitterly thought back to how she was when I'd first asked her about Aria all those weeks ago. I guess she really was just bitter that Aria wouldn't talk to her. Now the two were friends and she was open to being my wingman... woman. That had to wait though.

"Aria's new guy, can you find out who he is?" I requested.

Sunset smirked. "It took a bit longer than I thought it would but there's the jealousy," she said.

"Jealousy? No, no, no," I corrected. "It's just that... I think I know who it is."

Her smirk turned to pity. It irritated me.

"One of your friends?" she said. "Would Snips or Snails really go out with Aria behind your back?"

"Those jokers?" I almost laughed. "No, not them. It's... someone I know about. Could you find out for me?"

"Sure," she agreed as we entered Ms. Cheerilee's class. "We're going to the mall today so I'll bring it up. I'll give you the report tomorrow."

"Cool."

Great. Now that I had my own detective on the case, everything would be okay. I could only hope that Sunset would receive answers vague enough for her to remain in the dark while I could decipher Aria's involvement. It was a huge gamble but having Sunset do it would increase my chances of getting what I wanted by at least 70 percent. It was a scientific fact that girls could not keep their mouths shut around other girls when it came to a hot guy. I suppose Silver passed for that in some countries.

From the moment I took my seat to the moment school ended, I was distracted trying to think of all the ways it could go wrong. I tried thinking of all the ways it would go right but the list ended before Ms. Cheerilee even entered the classroom.

"Sorry Lost."

It was early, a couple minutes before the first bell started off the school day. Sunset had found me on the field behind the school getting in some extra track and field practice. She relayed the previous afternoon's events and concluded by saying she still had no idea who Aria's new boyfriend was. She'd purposely asked vague questions to not look like she was snooping and Aria had responded with even vaguer answers.

"I said 'You've been out with your new guy for a couple days now, you met him at the competition, right?'" Sunset told me. "She replied 'Yeah' So then I asked 'He sounds like a real catch. Where could a girl like me find a guy like that?' and she laughed and said 'On the field'."

"Yeah, that's pretty vague," I admitted. "I wasn't sure what I expected."

"I could try again," she offered. "We're going out again today."

"Please," I pleaded.

"Get Snails' phone though," she told me. "I'll call you and let you listen in on the convo. If you hear anything that tips you off..."

"Alright, cool," I answered as the bell rang. "Thanks Sunset, I really appreciate this."

"Anything for a friend," she replied and walked ahead as I stopped.

Sunset had been very friendly towards me lately (I mean, she invited me to one of Pinkie Pie's parties) but I really never considered her thinking of me as a friend. I wasn't any less human than any of my schoolmates, but I could somehow tell that it was Sunset saying that and not just the magic.

Snips was only too happy to snatch away Snails' cell and give it to me. When Snails protested, Snips reasoned that he didn't have anyone to call anyway and then he dared him to say he was going to call Sugar.

We were at Sugar Cube Corner and my two best friends gave me room while I listened in on Sunset's date with Aria, secret agent style. I felt like Hetacon from Iron Gear listening in Solid Salamander's adventure.

"So, Aria, doing anything tomorrow?

laughter "I told you already, Sunset. I'll be out with... him.

girlish giggling "He must be real special."

"I really want you to meet him one day, but he says he's not ready to meet you guys."

"You guys? I thought I was your only friend."

Silence, possibly Aria playfully punching Sunset or something.

"My sisters count. And probably that guy Lost."

"Lost?"

"Yeah?" I misread her question as being directed to me.

"What was that?"

"What was what?"

I knew that she shouldn't have been able to hear me from inside Sunset's pocket. The fact that I was struggling to hear their conversation was testament to that. Maybe it was a siren thing.

"You must be hearing things. What does Lost have to do with this new guy?"

"Nothing much. It's just... well I kind of figured we could be friends. He helped me out when I was in the nurse's office."

"And your new guy didn't want to meet the mighty hero who rescued you?" Sarcasm.

"Screw you too, Sunset," I murmured.

"What IS that?"

"I didn't hear anything."

"It sounded like it was coming from your denims."

"Probably just a text message. Your guy didn't want to meet us." Sunset seemed to have noticed that Aria could hear me as well and was directing her back to the conversation.

There was reluctance in her voice but Aria went on: Yeah. He was especially against Lost."

"He knows Lost?"

"Yeah, they were both at the Competition."

"Oh yeah, he saw him on the winners' stand."

"Not just there, they were in the race together."

NO!

I could almost hear Sunset putting all the pieces together. She was going to figure it out!

"Aria, what's your boyfriend's name?"

"NO!" I screamed. Everyone in The Corner looked up at me, but I ignored them. My plan was falling apart. Considering that it barely existed in the first place, it didn't have far to fall.

"Okay, I definitely heard something coming from your pants."

There was the sound of brief struggle.

"Lost? Why's Lost on your phone?"

"I must have butt dialed him. I'll cut the call, but what's your boy-"

The call was cut off. I sighed. That was it, Sunset knew.

Sure enough, ten minutes later, she burst through the door.

"SHE'S GOING OUT WITH SILVER!"

After I'd shushed Sunset, I admitted that I knew that Aria was going out with Rainbow's boyfriend but I followed by asking her what I wanted to know.

"Does Aria know that he's already Rainbow's boyfriend?" I asked in a hushed tone.

Sunset looked at me gravely and replied...

...

"She doesn't."

Hell To Pay

Now that I was assured that Aria was innocent, it was time to hatch a plan to mess with Silver. The only problem was that Sunset wanted in. She was nice enough not to tell Rainbow about Silver's infidelity and even nicer to to mention that I knew about it but I didn't want her getting more involved than she already was. She, however, insisted that she be included in the big Get Back At Silver Plot. I was powerless to resist.

After brainstorming for a couple hours, the best we came up with was my original plan: having Dash find out about it herself. We planned as best we could but I wasn't the devious type and the magic in Sunset seemed to cause her physical pain every time she came up with something clever. In the end, the plan was for Sunset to lead Rainbow to Aria and Silver's next date. I was to trail behind them and make sure that they stayed together no matter what. Our plan date came three days later on Saturday.

Sunset had told me where Aria and Silver were hanging out and I was already there in the mall's movie theater. They were watching a Swedish chick flick, I'm guessing so that none of Rainbow's friends would be there to catch them. I hung back a few seats from them and spied; Snail's phone in my pocket. It wasn't long before I got tired of watching them and paid a little attention to the movie. Almost two hours later, I was in tears and Aria and Silver had yet to come up for air. I dialed Sunset.

"Were you crying?" she asked after hearing my weak hey.

"No," I lied. "The movie just ended and I think they're going to head out now."

"Alright," she replied. "I'll try to get Dash over there now."

I hung up and followed Aria and Silver. Ducking behind potted plants and benches and people, I managed to keep my distance and not lose them. They had stopped to get some ice-cream when I got a call from Sunset. I felt comfortable that I wouldn't be seen from behind the giant fern so I answered it.

"We have a problem," greeted Sunset.

"What happened?"

"I was trying to convince Rainbow to go to the mall but she wouldn't go and I got a little frustrated and..." Sunset trailed off.

I understood though. Sunset let it slip. Rainbow knows. And now she knows we knew.

"How long till she gets here?"

"At the speed she's driving, about ten minutes," Sunset replied.

"Excuse me!"

I looked up from my position to see both Silver and Aria glaring down at me.

"I really hope you just lost a contact," Aria said. "Or this is going to get really awkward."

Silver wasn't as trusting. "The hell are you doing here, Legacy?"

I had no answer. Scratch that. I had an answer but none that wouldn't label me as a creep to Aria or cause Silver to beat me a few heartbeats from death. I sighed. I had about ten, maybe fifteen minutes before Rainbow found us in the entire mall, if I was going down, the least I could do was stall them.

"I was actually looking for you guys," I told them.

"Why?" Aria wanted to know.

Well, that caught me off guard. Who knew they'd want to know why I was skulking around looking for them?

"Because..." I scrambled for the best lie I could think of. "My grandmother died!"

"What?" Aria sounded horrified; Silver glared harder at me.

Too far Common Sense let me know.

"Would you like some fries?" I corrected. "That's what I said."

Aria was understandably confused.

"You were sneaking behind the plant because you want to ask us out for fries?" she asked.

With no other ideas, I nodded.

Aria looked at Silver. Astonishingly, he smiled.

"Sounds legit," he said.

I was surprised at first that Silver was buying my story but then I realized that his hands we just as tied as mine were. If he showed unnecessary aggressiveness, Aria would get suspicious as to why and he'd have to tell her. It would all come down without me touching it. Silently thanking God, I led them to the stand that sold hay fries. My school's obsession with horse related things was unnerving to say the least but it was even scarier in the mall. At the same time, hay fries aren't half bad. We sat down to eat and I checked my watch. About six minutes left.

"So," I asked. "How'd you guys meet?"

Aria grinned as if she was waiting for an excuse to tell the story. Silver narrowed his eyes at me but remained quiet until he could find a reason for her not to tell me.

Aria went off explaining how Silver had found her shortly after she split from Sunset and the others at the Competition and had told her how pretty she was. Of course, she wasn't as easily swayed but he was so smooth in talking to her that her defenses soon broke down. I had no doubt that even his charm couldn't have swayed her before her concussion. I silently cursed myself and wore a fake smile. As Aria chattered on, Silver racked his brain for any reason to shut her up.

"Why do you want to go out with us all of a sudden?" he asked.

Aria stopped, her eyes becoming quizzical as she wondered as well.

Luckily, I didn't have to answer that as Snails' phone began to ring.

"I've got to take this," I told them and turned around to answer it.

"Maybe we should abandon this mission," Sunset told me. "Rainbow is pretty pissed."

I shuddered as I imagined what Rainbow being angry was like.

"What then?" I queried.

"Get them to sneak out of the mall, give Rainbow some time to calm down," she said. "We're just at the food court and- Oh shit."

"Oh shit," I heard Silver mumble behind me.

I turned to see him looking to his left. I followed his gaze to see Rainbow at the entrance of the food court with Sunset behind her looking like a scared animal. Rainbow started toward us.

Silver whipped around to glare at me. "You set me up!" he yelled in realization.

He raised his fist but Rainbow got to him first. Her fist struck him solidly across the face and took him off his chair.

"What the hell do you think you're doing!?" Aria screamed.

"I could ask you the same damn thing!" Rainbow retaliated, her fist going up again.

"Rainbow, stop!" Sunset pleaded. "Aria didn't know."

"Shut up Sunset," Rainbow snapped. "I don't think I've forgiven you just yet."

"Look, Dashie," Silver said standing up. "It's not what it looks like."

Rainbow folded her arms and waited for him to explain. Surprised at this rare moment of Rainbow being reasonable, Silver struggled to find words.

"Aria and I were just out shopping, like friends," he said.

"Excuse me?" Aria said. "Friends?"

"No, no," Silver tried again. "I mean, you and I are obviously on a date but Dashie wouldn't understand that."

"Wouldn't understand that I'm being cheated on?" Rainbow piped in.

"I'm not cheating on you," Silver insisted. "I just happen to be here while Aria is..."

I almost felt sorry for him, watching him struggle between the two girls like that.

Aria held up her hand to quiet him. She seemed calm but I could tell that she was anything but. I wasn't sure if the others noticed it but there was a faint red glow in her eyes.

"Just tell me this," Aria spoke. "Are you and Rainbow going out or not?"

"It's not like that," he said. "Not really! I mean..."

Rainbow punched him again. "Just answer the fucking question!" she spat.

Slowly, he nodded.

Aria grit her jaw and nodded.

"Not anymore you aren't," Rainbow said. "I honestly can't believe you. We were... You and I... I thought you loved me."

"I do!" Silver claimed.

"Then give me a halfway decent reason why you're out with this siren!" Rainbow demanded.

In rare moment of decency, Silver admitted, "Aria is beautiful but I was the one who initiated. There's no need to call her names."

As nice as it was that he decided to take the blame himself, I felt the need to jump in, "You don't understand. Aria Blaze is an actual mythological creature."

"You keep your ass quiet," he snapped at me. "In fact, this is all your fault."

He lashed out so quickly that I almost didn't see it. His fist stopped a centimeter from my face. I was so frightened that I almost didn't hear the haunting melody in the background. It took me a second to place it, but I eventually recognized it as the same thing that wafted through my mind a few months ago when... The Dazzlings performed. I looked to Aria to see her singing, her eyes glowing bright red. On her chest, a red jewel formed from thin air.

I looked to Rainbow who had forgotten her spat with Silver and was looking as concerned as she should have. Sunset was mouthing oh no over and over again. The weird thing was, as hauntingly beautiful as the melody was, it didn't influence me in anyway. I wasn't feeling angry or jealous. Sunset and Rainbow only looked reasonably scared but otherwise unaffected. Then who was it affecting. I got my answer when Silver reached for his own neck. He looked as if he was trying to fight himself but was getting nowhere. He began to scratch.

I looked at Aria but she was glaring at Silver, her voice producing green mist that surrounded only him.

"Aria," Dash said sympathetically. "Maybe you should calm down a bit."

"NO!" that was definitely a legion voice. "He's going to pay for what he did!"

Silver's fingernails broke his skin but he kept scratching.

"Aria," I tried. "Murder isn't the way."

The song stopped for a moment while Aria turned her attention to me. She smiled a very creepy smile and replied, "It's not murder if he does it himself." The song continued and so did Silver.

Not seeing any other options, Rainbow launched a fist at Aria but she caught it and squeezed until there was a crack and Rainbow pulled it back hurriedly to nurse it.

"Don't feed the bad wolf," Sunset pleaded.

Aria's song stopped as she looked at Sunset.

"You remember I told you," the ex-villain continued. "There are two wolves that are always fighting inside each of us: a good wolf and a bad wolf. The one who wins is the one you feed. Don't feed the bad wolf, Aria. You're better than that; I know you are. We all know you are. Lost knows you are."

She looked at me and I tried my best to look like someone she would calm down for rather than the scared child I felt like. She switched her gaze to Silver who was covered in blood at this point. The mist seemed to be hurting him just as much as his flayed neck. Aria blinked and the red glow was gone. Silver's arms fell limply to his sides and he took a deep breath as if Aria's song had also prevented him from breathing. All the green mist flowed into her jewel and she swallowed, the red glow in her eyes briefly flashing back into existence. I wasn't a doctor but I could see that Silver's injuries were only skin deep. It looked as if Sunset had stopped Aria before he could dig straight to his thorax. It would grow back in time but he was never going to forget Aria, that was for sure.

"Leave," Aria bid him.

He seemed stunned. Stunned at her just letting him go or stunned that she had almost forced him to kill himself, I wasn't sure but he just stood staring into her face.

Aria slammed her fist on the table and shattered it, "LEAVE!"

Silver snapped out of his stupor and hightailed it from the mall taking with him the attention of all the bystanders.

Things You Don't Do For the Homie

We'd made the front page.

At lunch on Monday, I sat with Sunset at Aria's table (minus the Aria) with a newspaper in between us. On the cover was a cellphone picture of Aria singing, Silver scratching throat out and Sunset, Rainbow and I watching in fear; the title read: MONSTERS AMONG US?

My first thought was cynical: our school has been attacked twice by a maniacal humanized pony turned all powerful demon and trio of soul-eating sirens and you're only just realizing that there are monsters among us? I swore, this town was so lax that if a girl suddenly developed a device to steal magical power and subsequently rip holes in the fabric of space and time and ultimately turn into another demon forcing one of Rainbow's group (let's say Sunset) to become a goddess-like creature in order to defeat her, they still wouldn't know that something was up.

That being said, Sunset was worried.

"This isn't good. No wonder Aria isn't here," she said.

"So the town picked up on a little supernatural stuff, big deal," I scoffed. "All she has to do is lay low for a while; they'll forget about it."

"The town isn't the problem," she said. "It's her sisters. If they think what Aria did endangered them then they're gonna take it out on her."

"Can we do anything to help?" I asked.

"I probably can," Sunset put emphasis on the word I.

I understood. As involved as I was in their world now, I was still only human.

Sunset seemed to notice my dejection and pointed over to Rainbow Dash who was barely picking at her food. Her other friends were respectfully giving her space while they chattered on.

"Go cheer up Dash," she said. "She could use the company."

I nodded and got up. On my way walking over to her, Snails ambushed me and dragged me off to the hallway.

"I need your help," he said before I could ask.

"What is it?" I queried.

"I've got a date with Sugar later tonight and I'm really not prepared," he told me.

"A date with Sugar? And Snips is okay with this?" I asked.

"Well... kind of. I mean, he's not really okay per say but he's..."

"He doesn't know, does he?"

Snails shook his head.

"Do you just hate life?" I wondered out loud. "He's going to flip if he finds out. We're talking about the guy who has a restraining order from the entire cast of Transformers."

"That's why you're not going to say anything," he insisted.

On some level, I knew he was threatening me but it was hard to take him seriously. He looked like an anorexic tangerine in a tacky sweater.

"What do you need?" I asked, trying not to laugh.

"Come by after school," he said. "I really need help."

I thought about it. Did I want to help Snails date Sugar behind Snips' back? Then, thinking to the hilarity that would ensue I answered myself yes.

"No problem, pal," I said.

He hugged me tightly. "Thankyouthankyouthankyouthankyou!"

"Yeah," I said trying to push him off me.

A couple of the lower grade kids walked by and giggled.

"Snails," I spoke calmly. "If you don't let me go right now, I'll kill you faster than Snips will when he finds out about Sugar."

As the image flashed into his mind, he released me.

"I'll be there at four thirty," I told him. "What time is your date?"

"Five thirty," he replied.

"Good, we'll have an hour. See you after school."

I walked away hoping to get to Rainbow before the end of lunch, but I was too late. Her friends were there but her seat was empty. I glanced over to Sunset but she shrugged.

Oh well I thought. I'll talk to her tomorrow

I arrived at Snails' place right on time. I had planned to ask Rainbow for a lift after school so that I could talk to her without having to wait until the next day but her friends told me that she had left immediately after dismissal. I didn't ask Snips as I knew he'd want to hang out with us and that would ruin Snails' plan. I took the bus.

As soon as Snails dragged me inside, I knew I had made a mistake.

The air was thick with cologne and his hair was slicked back with so much hair gel I was sure it was a fire hazard. Admittedly, he was wearing a nice suit (much too nice for a first date with his best friend's younger sister) but he was also wearing a pair of glasses to, no doubt, make himself look more intellectual.

Spice walked out with a handkerchief over her mouth.

"Please take him to his room," she pleaded with me.

I nodded and led him to his room and closed the door.

"Alright," I said. "What do you need? Wardrobe advice? Do's and don't during a date? Want me to tag along?"

From his dresser, Snails produced an amber wig.

He didn't need to tell me what he wanted me to do.

"Bye," I said and tried to leave.

He blocked my path and begged me to stay.

"I can just give you advice," I offered.

"I'll forget it," he insisted. "At least if you pretend to be Sugar I can think of this during the date."

My face wrinkled involuntarily. "Don't ever say that again!" I said firmly. "What if I come with you and do the talking so you don't mess up?"

His eyes began to water.

I sighed and put on the wig. "I hope you go to hell," I let him know.

He broke out into a grin and sat on his bed. I pulled up a chair and crossed my legs all lady-like just how Sugar did.

"H... hi Sugar," he started.

I cringed. "Hi Snails," I choked out.

"You look nice tonight."

"Thanks, you lo... you look nice too."

"Really?"

I nodded. "Why are you wearing glasses though? You know I've seen you before and I know exactly how smart you are so those aren't going to impress me."

He snatched the glasses off his face and pocketed them. "W... what would you like to eat?"

I broke character for a minute, "Apart from that weird flavour of ice-cream, I don't know what she likes."

"In almost any situation, fries is her go to choice, but if it's a fancy setting, she'll go for Caesar salad with fettuccine and a non-alcoholic white wine at the side," he replied.

I narrowed my eyes at him because it was weird and he blushed because he knew it.

The rest of the hour went like that: me trying my damnedest to be Sugar and him interjecting fun facts about her where I fell short. Five thirty took entirely too long to roll around.

"It's time!" he squeaked.

I couldn't pull off that wig fast enough. I gave Snails a few last minute words of encouragement and laughed as he dived out of the house. I looked at Spice who was lounging on the couch with her handkerchief as the last traces of his cologne lingered.

"You have a really weird brother," I told her.

"Try living with him," she replied.

I was on my way home, a few steps from my driveway, in fact, trying to erase the feelings of Snails flirting with me in place of Sugar. Things were said that could not be unheard. I was mid-shudder when I looked up and saw someone with bright purple hair leaning against my door. I stopped and stared for a few seconds until she noticed me.

"Hey Lost," Aria greeted. "Can I come in?"

Aria and Me

Mom came in with two steaming cups of tea and placed them in front of us. We thanked her but didn't touch them.

"Well?" I asked. "To what do I owe this pleasure?"

Aria blushed and looked away.

"I... uh... I wanted to talk to you," she said. "About what happened on Saturday."

"With Silver?" I wanted to make sure. "Listen, I don't think of you any-"

"I like you!" she blurted out.

Wow!

I had thought that she was trying to make sure that I wasn't afraid of her after seeing that her powers were back (and that was largely true) but this left me speechless. I couldn't think of what to say so I took a long drawn out sip of my tea.

Aria coughed and tried to compose herself.

"When I... when I was angry at Silver, I couldn't think of anything better than to kill him," she said. "I really was going to. No matter anyone said. Even if my powers hadn't come back was going to-"

"Does!" I interrupted. "This story have a point?"

She chuckled nervously and pushed her hair behind her ear.

"When Sunset called out to me and she reminded me about the wolves, it didn't mean much to be honest," she continued. "It was when she said that you knew I was better that I felt something."

I sipped my tea again.

"I don't remember a lot of what happened before I woke up in the nurse's office, but I remember that you were there for me," she said. "Even before that. I don't really remember being here but I knew the way. I... also remember you offering to be my friend. Obviously, I accepted but I should have asked for more."

I was busy sipping my tea and trying to stave off the feelings of guilt but I stopped to speak.

"What are you saying?" I asked.

She grabbed my hands so suddenly that, were it not for my embarrassingly impressive ability to hold Starswirl's Demons cards steady for hours at a time, I would have spilled the tea. She patiently waited for me to put down the cup before speaking again.

"I want to be your girlfriend," she said.

That was it. I had won the game. This was what it had all been about, getting Aria to be mine and now I had her. One word was all it would take and she would be Mrs. Lost Legacy. Common Sense was giving me high fives in my mind.

Hey guys

Who are you? Common Sense asked.

New guy: Guilt

Aw, damn it!

"Are you sure?" I asked. "I mean, you literally just got out of a bad break up. Maybe you need some cooldown time."

"I know," she said. "But I'm still new to this whole 'being normal' thing and I need someone who is willing to go the extra mile to help me out."

"Like a really good friend?"

She seemed to notice that I wasn't immediately on board with being with her. "Don't you like me?" she asked.

I gripped her hands. "Of course I do!" I asserted. "From the moment I saw you, I've been trying to impress you. I've always wanted to be your boyfriend."

She was still wary and I kicked myself to think that I might have just lost my surefire shot at Aria.

"So what's the matter?" she asked.

"I'm just looking out for you, is all," I told her. "I don't want you to just rush into another relationship so quickly while you're still emotionally fragile."

She reeled backwards. "I am not fragile," she scoffed. "I have feelings for you Lost, I always have. I just... You were so cool and athletic and stuff that I never thought you'd be interested in me."

"I'm plenty interested," I said.

"Then...?" she looked at me quizzically.

Common Sense managed to hold down Guilt while I answered, "Yeah, I'll be your boyfriend."

Mom came around the corner trying to look as if she hadn't been listening on our conversation. She was carrying two bowls of ice-cream and placed them in front of us.

"For you two lovebi- friends!" she cut herself off. "Friends until Lost decides tells me otherwise." She winked at me and left.

I really couldn't get myself to feel mad at her for snooping. Aria was my girlfriend now, what was there to get angry about?

I looked at Aria and she smiled back. It had never struck me more than at that moment how different she looked than how she was before the concussion. Even thinking back to the battle of the bands, her only smiles have been devilish and secretive. After that, she didn't smile at all. Now, here she was, sitting on my couch, smiling sweetly. It was sort of unnatural and I immediately began to question myself. This wasn't the version of Aria I'd fallen for. Granted, this one was a lot nicer and actually wanted to be around me, but it wasn't really Aria.

"Want to watch a movie?" she asked spying my collection of DVDs under the television stand.

"Sure," I answered.

I didn't really matter though.

She got up and went to rifle through my collection.

"How comes you aren't at home?" I asked. "It's almost six."

"Sunset is over at my place talking to my sisters about something or the other," she answered with her back still turned. "She said she'd text me when she was done."

"About a month back you'd said you couldn't be out at night," I said. "Was that just a curfew or does something happen to you?"

She looked over her shoulder with a playful smile. "Don't tell me you're scared of me now," she mused.

"O... of course not!" I let her know.

"Good." the put in the DVD and came back to the couch with me.

She kicked her feet up across my lap and gave me a questioning look to make sure it was okay. I didn't respond as I was contrasting how relaxed she was now to how stiff and uncomfortable she had been when she'd first visited.

She seemed to take this as my not being on board and tried to move her feet. I held them in place and gave her the 'okay' smile. I did not intend on messing up so soon. I had just broken the fruitless cycle and I intended to keep it that way. We were going to enjoy that movie in peace, Guilt and Common Sense were going to keep quiet and I was going to hold Aria like a good boyfriend!

And that's exactly what happened.

Unwanted Guests

The next day, I was met by three different people wanting to tell me three different things.

Snails was there with his face in complete anguish, Sunset was clear that she needed to discuss... things (most likely siren-related) and Aria just really wanted to tell me how her night went. Is it any surprise that I picked Aria?

I let the others know I would catch them later and I walked away with Aria. She told me what had happened after she received a text midway through the movie and left. She had denied me walking her to the bus stop as her sisters were going to pick her up and she wasn't ready to tell them about us as of yet. She went on about how unnaturally nice they were to her in the car and how they didn't blame her for what happened with Silver and the news. In fact, she excitedly told me that they too had gotten their powers back and had used them to ward off the news people. That worried me a little but she assured me that it was fine and that they had no desire for revenge. She went on to admit that they pried out of her the fact that she and I were now a thing, but they seemed cool with it. By cool with it, she meant that neither of them were at school with her threatening to kill me and that was good enough.

I dropped Aria off at her classroom before heading to mine. After, I went to English where Sunset was waiting for me with her arms folded. I made my way over to the empty seat beside her but, before I could sit down, Rarity claimed it. I sighed and found another seat, Sunset's news would have to wait.

If there was one thing to say about Sunset, she was determined. Through a combination of yelling out random jokes and throwing paper balls at me, she had managed to get us both detention. At the very least, she seemed pretty pleased with herself.

I wanted to sit with Aria at lunch, but I also wanted to go talk to Dash. I got to do neither of those things as Snails commandeered me and walked me toward the boys' bathroom. This had to be serious.

"I messed up," he said. The distressed look on his face hadn't changed since the morning.

"Obviously," I commented. "What happened? She didn't like your creepy, I mean charming knowledge of everything about her."

He shook his head. "That part was fine," he said. "In fact, the whole dinner was great."

I arched one of my eyebrows to let him know that I was waiting for the part where he screwed up.

"I took her home," he explained. "Snips wasn't there. Something about an emergency release at the comic book store, so I walked her to the door. Then she leaned in for a goodbye kiss."

"This is all so fascinating," I chimed in. "But it seems everything went even better than our practice."

"I'm getting to the bad part," he continued. "So, I kissed her... and then we started making out and it was great... and then it wasn't."

"What?"

Snails shrugged. "I dunno. One minute everything was perfect, the next I realized that I was tongue wrestling little Sugar."

"In all fairness," I offered. "Sugar isn't that little anymore. She's only a year younger than us, but you probably feel that way because we grew up knowing her as Snip's little sister."

"Maybe."

"Did she feel that way too?"

"Maybe, I don't know. I pulled away, told her goodnight and left," he sobbed.

I patted his back. "Come on, it's not that bad. I mean, compare that with my first date with Aria."

"You haven't had any kind of date with Aria," he reminded me.

I scowled at him.

"This is why you're forever alone," I said as I walked toward the door. I turned back out of sympathy and general best friendliness, "Call her and apologize. Tell her you had a good time and would like to do it again."

Snails gave me a smile. "Thanks, Lost."

Detention for the English teacher was a lot less interactive than Ms. Cheerilee's. Our only task was to sit in the same room until the end; whatever we wanted to do was our business.

"About the sirens," Sunset hissed. "They have their powers back. All of them."

"I know," I whispered back. "Aria told me."

Talking was among the things we could do in the detention room, but we figured that it was best if no one knew that were were discussing.

"She said it was fine though," I added.

Sunset nodded in agreement. "I know," she confirmed. "Something about them changed. They're still angry little monsters that should be avoided at all costs, but they're no longer bitter."

"Question," I voiced. "If they're magical beings that feed on hatred, what have they been eating this whole time? If they could eat regular food before then why didn't they instead of starving?"

"Magic and this world are two very different things," Sunset answered. "Before, the sirens could only feed on negative emotions and, for some reason, tacos. The moment they lost their powers, they effectively became human and able to digest regular food. The thing is, now, it seems that this world has integrated with their Equestrian biology too much and so, even with their powers back, they can eat regular food so there's no need for them to incite rage anymore."

"That's great," I whispered.

She smiled. "I know."

I got the feeling that there was something else.

Before I could ask, she muttered, "No there's no need to send them there."

"Send them where?" I asked slightly defensively. "What are you talking about?"

"A little while back, I asked Twilight for a spell to banish the the sirens to Tartarus," she admitted.

I jumped up and raised my voice, "You were going to send Aria to hell!?"

The teacher looked up and fixed me with a disapproving glare. I sat down.

"It's fine," Sunset said. "She hasn't been able to find one yet and, even if she does, I have no reason to use it." She repeated, "It's fine."

We walked out of the detention room in silence. Aria stood there waiting for me. She immediately flung herself at me and I caught her.

"Hi Lost!" she was perky, very happy. She gave me a quick kiss as a greeting.

She'd gotten really attached, really fast. I didn't really have a problem with that, but I couldn't help but wondering if the real Aria, if I had managed to woo her, would have gotten this close this fast. I must have stopped smiling during my thoughts because she cocked her head to the side and asked if I was okay. I wasn't sad, by any means, but I had to force a smile to tell her that I was okay. Then her smile faded. Somewhere, faintly, I heard a brief crackling of electricity.

"Are you okay?" I asked her. I cast a glance at Sunset but she was focused on Aria.

After a while Aria shook her head slightly and said, "Yeah," in an annoyed voice. "Why wouldn't I be?"

Inside my head, I saw the words 'Be Careful What You Wish For' flash for a moment.

Put her back! I thought quickly.

Aria blinked as if she was waking from a dream and smiled.

"I'm going home," she said. "And no, I'm fine on my own."

"Are you sure?" I wondered out loud. "Because I have no prob-"

She kissed me to shut me up. Not a bad way, to be honest.

"Bye, Lost," she said when she'd pulled away and ran off toward the back of the school.

I looked at Sunset who looked mildly concerned. I agreed that something felt slightly off but I really didn't want to go into that at the moment so I kept walking. When we'd reached the school steps, I turned to her.

"Is Dash coming to pick you up?"

She shook her head. "Dash hasn't been herself lately," she replied. "In fact, I think she skipped today."

Thinking about it, I hadn't seen her in PE. I was about to respond when Ol' Tailchaser rolled up. Snips stuck his head over the door.

"Hey Lost, since you're still here, want a lift?" he asked. He cast a scornful glance at Sunset. "I suppose you can come too."

"You're too kind," she cringed as she wriggled in next to me.

"Onward, Chariot Man!" I commanded in my most high and mighty voice. "Bring me to the gates of my castle... after dropping off the fair maiden."

"Fair!?" Sunset put as much exaggeration into her voice as possible. "Good sir, I am a princess!"

"And I'm the Third Fool of Banterbury, bring this wench to the local brothel!" I retorted.

She punched me lightly and spoke, "Pleasure to make your acquaintance, fool." She turned to Snips and pointed forward, "Now make haste, my palace awaits."

"You can both bite a spicy pickle!" Snails joined in our game and drove off.

"Oh, hi Sugar," I greeted when I noticed her sitting in the shotgun seat.

She nodded.

"Is something wrong?" I asked, briefly forgetting the whole situation with Snails.

"Don't mind her," Snips advised. "She's been like that since yesterday."

I tapped her shoulder discreetly and she turned around. I pushed my hand across my field of vision slowly, then I made my hand into a phone and put it to my ear and then I pointed to her. She seemed to get the message that Snails would call her later and her eyes brightened.

That was one problem solved and I was done for the day.

Snips dropped me off before Sunset and I waved goodbye to them. I couldn't wait to get inside, get some tea and maybe worry about Aria for a couple of hours.

I stepped in and called for my mom to make me some tea.

"Hi Lost."

"Hi Mo-" I stopped short. That wasn't my mother's voice.

I looked up into my living room and groaned at a scene that only I could hate. Two beautiful girls kicking back on my couch. Granted, these girls were Adagio and Sonata.

The New Norm

"I'm going to ask why you're here and you have to tell me, okay?" I let them know. "Why are you here?"

I had become a lot more calm in dealing with mythological monsters. My heart rate was only going at the speed of sound and not twice as it usually did.

"We need to talk to you," Adagio replied simply. Her eyes were fixed on the television in front of her. I could hear what was undoubtedly Canterlot Idol.

"How did you get in?" I wondered out loud and looked around for Mother.

Adagio smiled knowingly but didn't look away from the TV. "We sang a song for your mother," she said. "She liked it so much, she let us in."

My mom walked in immediately, bringing two cups of tea. I looked into her eyes but found them deadened and glazed over. She placed the cups down in front of Adagio and Sonata. She looked at me and her eyes sprang back to life.

"Oh Lost, you're here!" she said as if she hadn't just walked right past me. "Dinner will be ready in a few minutes so don't get too comfortable."

She went back to the kitchen.

I wasn't sure whether to glare or be afraid.

Sonata opened her mouth and I flinched. All she said, however, was that my movie collection sucked.

"Why so scared?" Adagio asked.

"You have your powers back," I stated. "How did that happen?"

"It's the funniest thing," Sonata sounded way too happy. "So, Sunset came over yesterday and was telling us not to be too hard on Aria. Of course, Adagio told her to go... do things to herself and that we can do what we want to our sister. Then Sunset started to threaten that she was gonna banish us to Tartarus if we so much as made Aria cry. We were so mad that our crystals grew back."

"We were still going to kill her," Adagio chimed in. "But we were too happy. We let her go. Sonata, shut up, I'm watching TV."

I took a chance and stood in front of the television set.

"That's great but it doesn't explain why you're here," I said.

Sonata was trying to look around me but Adagio kept staring ahead as if she could see right through me. Could sirens do that?

"We heard about you and Aria," Adagio said refusing to look me in the face. "We wanted to lay down some ground rules."

Rules?

"Rules?"

Adagio's brilliant raspberry eyes raised to meet mine.

"Rule number one," she said. "The sisters' will is absolute. Whatever we say you two do or don't do is what happens."

"That's outrageous!" I shouted at her.

She waved her hand at me which could have been her either waving off my admonition or telling me to move.

"We don't really care what you two want to do, just so long as you realize that when we do decide on something, you do obey," she clarified, which really didn't make things better.

"Rule number two," Sonata said. "Anything involving magic comes through us first."

Adagio nodded her agreement. "We can't have you two running around using siren magic on some Paper Towns kind of date," she explained.

"Okay that sounds reasonable but-"

"Rule number three," Sonata cut me off. "On movie night, Aria chooses the movie."

I sighed. "Really?" I looked to Adagio to silence Sonata again but she nodded gravely.

"It's true," she said. "Your taste in films is detestable."

"Is there a rule number four?" I asked, desperate to get the speech over with and get them out of my house.

"As a matter of fact," Adagio stood while she spoke. "There is."

Sonata stood as well and the two stalked over to me menacingly. I became aware that their eyes had begun glowing red.

"Understand this," Adagio spoke in a voice of the legion. "You are mortal. Very mortal."

Sonata's hand flicked with the speed of a snake attacking a mouse and gripped me by the throat. She lifted me off the ground with next to no effort.

"If Aria ever comes home sad," Adagio continued, glaring deep into my eyes. "Discord forbid that she has even a single tear in her eye. We'll come back and rip you limb from pathetic human limb. Got it?"

It was hard to nod with Sonata's hand encapsulating my neck but I managed.

"Good," Adagio's eyes went back to normal and Sonata dropped me.

I coughed and rubbed my neck.

"Will you be leaving soon?" I gasped.

"About that," the two girls collapsed on my couch again. "Our little... talk with Sunset kinda broke our TV."

Adagio waved her hand at me and this time I was sure she wanted me to stop blocking her. I complied.

"We'll be hanging out here from time to time," Sonata finished with an innocent smile.

I wanted to argue but Common Sense told me it was best not to.

Just then, Mom walked in. Her eyes were normal as she looked at me smiling.

"Since you've been good these last few weeks," she said. "And you've been saving your allowance. Look what I got you."

From her pocket, she produced a brand new cellphone. I took it silently. My emotions were swirling between joy and fear and so I had no proper reaction at the ready.

"Try not to destroy this one," she said. "And dinner's ready."

I was on my way to the kitchen when I had a thought.

"Mom," I said. "Can Adagio and Sonata join us?"

She turned to look at me. "Who?" she asked.

I stepped to the side, allowing her to see the two girls that were paying us no attention. Mom's eyes glazed over again.

"Mistresses, would you like to join us for a meal?" she asked courteously.

Adagio looked up with an annoyed expression.

"What?" she wondered at first. "No, no. Feed the boy; we're fine."

I folded my arms and glared at them, making sure to keep a good distance.

"Fix her," I demanded.

Adagio ignored me but Sonata looked sheepish.

"About that," she said. "It's been a while since we've had our powers and we're still kinda getting used to them again so..."

"So... what?"

"We... kinda, maybe, a little have no idea how," she confessed.

She noted the look of loss on my face and quickly added, "It's temporary though. I just don't know when it'll wear off. Maybe tomorrow, maybe next week... there's a good chance it'll keep up until the next leap year. It's definitely temporary though."

I wanted to argue but I couldn't. Sonata and Adagio scared me; I had to accept their promise that my mother would be okay. The best I could do for now was to keep my mouth closed and go with her to dinner.

Talking to Sunset

"No."

"C'mon."

"In what way could that possibly help her?"

While I fumbled for a reason, Sunset continued to walk away.

"Wait up!"

"I have to get to math."

"We both have the same class."

A pause. "I don't want to be late."

"Miss Cheerilee is always late 'cause she has to mark attendance for the lower grades."

Another pause. "I don't want to lose my seat by Pinkie."

"You never sit by Pinkie... ever."

One more pause. "I just-"

"Why not just admit you don't want to talk to me?"

"Fine. I don't want to talk to you."

That kind of stung. I asked, "Why not?"

Sunset Shimmer stopped; progress.

"Because," she said. "You want me to talk you up to Aria under the guise of being her friend, when really you just want to be her boyfriend."

Well, dang! The girl was spot on.

"Further more," she continued. "She just got out of a really bad fight, she's the object of hatred for the ENTIRE school and she and her sisters aren't on the best of terms right now. Do you really think she needs to be worrying about boys at this point?"

Sunset took my stunned silence as the answer she wanted.

"Exactly," she said. "Now if you would kindly leave Aria (and me) alone, that'd be great."

She twisted around and flounced the rest of the way to class.

As luck would have it, Ms. Cheerilee finished marking the lower grades' attendance early and Sunset and I were indeed late. After a stern lecture and the punishment of having to write an essay after school in the library on why punctuality is the cornerstone of society, we were allowed to sit. Me beside the musical whiz, Octavia, and Sunset, ironically, by Pinkie Pie.