Queen Aria Dominant, Prominent
"Sonata, would you quit playing on that phone?" Adagio snapped, smacking Sonata's clicking fingers. "I can't concentrate with you clacking away on that thing."
Sonata frowned and she scooted away from Adagio so she wouldn't be able to reach her. "I'm not playing on it, I'm texting! Pinkie wants to know if I want to come over for a sleepover." A small noise came from her phone and her eyes darted down to look at it. She giggled. "Tee-hee, she sent me a picture of a kitty! Cats aren't supposed to wear people clothes!"
Adagio smacked her hand again, knocking the phone out of it. "Would you stop with that? There's a reason I have a 'no phone' policy in the car, Sonata." She let out an aggravated growl as the light before her turned red, making her face look dramatic and demonic at the same time. "Ugh, we're never going to be able to catch up with her because of these stupid lights!"
Sonata picked her phone up from the floor and subconsciously brushed it as she looked at Adagio. "Why are we following Aria? You never really said anything about it before out dragged me out of bed."
Adagio let out another angry growl and she slammed her hands on the steering wheel, emitting a loud honk . "Move it, you moron! The light's green, you blind sack of potatoes!" Adagio took a deep breath and her gaze flicked over to Sonata. "Sorry, Nata. I know you don't like seeing me act like that."
"Yeah, I'm not a big fan of road rage," Sonata said quietly, her eyes going to the window. She had been in the car with both Aria and Adagio driving at different times, but at least Aria had the decency not to scream and slam her hands whenever a driver cut her off.
Adagio rolled her eyes. "Yeah, well, maybe if these lugs knew how to drive, then we wouldn't have these problems!" Adagio rolled her window down and put her head through it. "Hey, you idiot, get a move on! There are people waiting here!"
Sonata sighed a bit as Adagio put her head back in the car. "I really hate when you shout at other people."
Adagio let out a grunt as she rolled the window up. "Maybe people shouldn't be idiots, then."
"OK." Sonata knew that it wasn't directed at her, but she still acknowledged it nonetheless. "Anyway, why are we following Aria? Is she in trouble or something?"
"No," Adagio told her. "No, she's not in trouble." She turned a corner, sending a spray of water onto the sidewalk. "At least, not with us. She's been acting rather odd these past couple weeks, and no one knows why. None of those ridiculous Rainbooms seem to know--"
"Hey!" Sonata smacked her arm. "You promised you'd be nice to them! You Pinkie Promised!"
Adagio rolled her eyes once more. "Fine, none of the girls seem to know, either."
"All Aria does is listen to her music on her phone," Sonata commented. "I mean, like, she doesn't even talk when we're at lunch!"
Adagio rolled her eyes. "Typical. No wonder none of them seem to know much about her or what she's been doing."
"Yeah, but we know stuff about her!" Sonata said. "Besides, I'm sure she isn't up to anything too crazy!"
"Well, you obviously don't remember that much from when you were little." Adagio sighed a bit. "She was always getting into trouble... Of course, I wasn't any better, but I at least had some restraint in certain areas."
Sonata frowned. "I hate being the youngest... I can't remember anything you two do."
"Well, you were little." Adagio took another turn. "Besides, we've got bigger things to worry about than our old childhood memories."
It had all started a couple weeks ago, when Aria had gotten a new phone and a pair of headphones with it. She ended up downloading some music, and suddenly, she wasn't moaning and groaning as much. She had her headphones in, which sometimes caused Adagio to smack her over the head since Aria couldn't hear her for a better part of the time.
Then, things began to get stranger as Aria started sneaking off into the middle of the night. Adagio never questioned her verbally, but she did find herself beginning to grow worrisome as Aria drudged into the kitchen the following morning with bags under her eyes. Then, things began to heat up as she received calls from the school saying that Aria was sleeping in class and her grades were starting to slip.
However, it wasn't until tonight that Adagio's worry began to reach it's limit. As she was going downstairs to get a drink, she caught a glimpse of Aria getting into a stranger's car and driving off. Adagio snatched Sonata out of bed and dragged her to the car to go after her, though their chase was soon decelerated as they reached the first couple batches of stoplights. Both were wearing their hoodies and sweatpants.
"I can't imagine what could be so important that she's losing sleep over it," Adagio observed out loud. "I mean, she never cared much for education to begin with, but she at least kept it together enough for her to get through."
"Maybe she's having nightmares...?" Sonata guessed.
Adagio shook her head. "No. No, I think it's more than that. Besides, the only one who gets nightmares is you, Sonata."
"The dwarf was hiding behind that pole and he was staring at me with his wishing eyes!" Sonata exclaimed defensively, turning in her seat to face Adagio.
Adagio's lids fell down halfway. "I rest my case."
Sonata huffed and crossed her arms resolutely. "Maybe it's not that big a deal. Ari might just want some alone time."
"She gets enough 'alone time' in her room." Adagio's eyes widened and she slammed her feet on the brake. "There it is! There's the car she was in!"
"Ow." Sonata rubbed her forehead where it slammed the dashboard. "Try not to hit the brakes so hard, please?"
"Whatever. We just have to--" Adagio let out a shriek as she opened the door and she held her head. "What the hell?" She looked at the window, where several locks of her hair was stuck in the window. "Ugh, I hate my hair."
Sonata giggled. "OK, now we're even."
Adagio let out a growl of annoyance as she yanked her hair out, several sprigs of curly orange hair hanging from the window crack. "Shut up."
Both girls looked at the black van with interest, and they looked through the window to see if anyone was in it. They looked at each other and shook their heads in confirmation, then continued forth.
The sidewalk led to an alley, where some streetlights illuminated the darkness and gave light to the mildewy, moldy mess that was Canterlot's alleys. Adagio let out a noise of disgust and she shook her foot out as something squished under her foot.
"Ugh, Aria better be getting murdered or else this entire trip will have been a waste," Adagio muttered under her breath, shaking her boot to get the slime off of it.
"Hey, look!" Sonata called, pointing down the alley. "I see some lights coming from down there!"
Adagio held up a hand to silence her, then stepped forward to lead the way. She felt a prick of unease as the sounds of voices increased with every step she took, but she continued on, her eyes flicking to Sonata to see if she was still behind her. Then, as they rounded a corner, both of their jaws dropped in simultaneous shock.
"What the hell?" Adagio blurted out, completely flabbergasted.
In front of them was a group of teens, all wearing sagging clothes of different varieties. Many of the boys, and some of the girls even, were wearing backwards snap back caps, each holding a logo for a different franchise of sorts. A lot of them were talking indistinctly, though the words Adagio did hear weren't very familiar to her ears.
"Yo, yo, yo, we got another challenger comin' up!" called out a random boy. He stood above them all, standing on a speaker that was attached a series of wires and plugs. He was in the same attire as the others, though the only difference was that he had a microphone in his hands.
"Challenger?" Sonata whispered.
Adagio's eyes widened. "Is Aria in a underground fighting ring?!"
"Yo, mind your business, curly," said a boy, turning to look at her.
"What?" Adagio blurted out, receiving a couple of glares her way. She growled in irritation, then grabbed Sonata's hand. "Come on, obviously we're in the wrong place. We must have made a wrong turn or something--"
"Now, here we go! We got Spittin' Rhymes going up against our reignin' champ, Queen Aria!" called the announcer, earning several whoots and calls of approval.
"Queen Aria?" Sonata and Adagio repeated, turning to each other in confusion.
"Oh, I have to see this!" Sonata exclaimed, shoving into the crowd.
"Nata!" Adagio called out, reaching after her. She growled in annoyance as she saw that she was out of reach and she crammed herself in the sea of bodies, hoping to find Sonata. She collapsed against the ground as she broke through finally, then pulled herself up. She sighed in relief as she saw Sonata standing near her. "Sonata, come on, we should probably--" She froze, her eyes widening. "Aria?"
Aria turned towards her, giving Adagio a good look at what she was wearing. Her pigtails were gone from sight, her hair hanging behind her like a curtain. Her normal attire was replaced with white tank top, a black hoodie, and black jeans, along with a series of brand names embroidered onto the pockets of her jeans and sneakers. Then, the most bizarre of the attire, was the golden chain that hung from her neck, holding the word "QUEEN" across her chest.
"Adagio? Sonata? What are you doing here?" she asked, her eyes narrowing. "Did you two follow me here?"
"We were worried about you!" Sonata said. "We thought you were kidnapped!"
Aria rolled her eyes. "Well, I wasn't. I'm here because Spittin' Rhymes thinks he can beat me."
"Beat you at what?" Adagio questioned exasperatedly. "What is so important that you've been sneaking out to do it for the past few weeks?"
Suddenly, a beat started resonating from the speakers, causing Adagio and Sonata to cover their ears as the sound pounded outwards. Aria, however, didn't seem bothered by it whatsoever. In fact, when it started, she smiled a bit, which was a big shocker for her.
Then, a guy stepped forward, dressed in the same attire at the other boys in the lot. He picked up a mic from another guy and put it to his mouth. "Alright, Queenie, you prepared to lose?"
Aria smirked. "Only if you are."
"What?" Adagio blurted out, still extremely confused. "Aria, what's happening?"
"Battle! Battle! Battle!" the crowd called, letting our jeers and shouts. The guy standing opposite of Aria smirked in return and did something extremely unexpected...
He began to rap.
Adagio's jaw dropped and her eyes widened to the size of saucers. "I... I..." She looked at Aria. "Aria, what's going on? Why is he rapping? I mean, shouldn't he be throwing left hooks or... whatever it is people do in underground fighting rings?"
Aria didn't pay her any mind, though. She was too busy watching her apparent opponent rap, her head bobbing to the beat. She didn't give away any signs of being bothered by his speed or words, even though they escalated and became rather demeaning to her. By the time he was done, the entire crowd was shouting out and calling Aria out.
"Ooooh, the Queen's got some fierce competition! Let's see how she fairs against Spittin' Rhymes!"
"Gladly," Aria replied, her smirk widening. "Yo, could you turn it up? I wanna show this boy how it's done."
"Why are you talking like that?!" Adagio exclaimed. "None of this makes any sense! Why are you all here having rap battles? It's past curfew and you have school tomorrow!"
"Shhh, Aria's about to spit some serious rhymes and show some bitches how it's done!" Sonata called out, shushing Adagio with her hand.
Adagio smacked her hand away. "Sonata, don't curse!"
Aria turned to Adagio. "Yo, Dagio, maybe you could shut it up? I got a rep to uphold."
"Aria!" Adagio gasped, horrified.
Aria stepped up, then tossed her jacket behind her. "Aight, Rhymes, let me show ya how it's done."
And then she started rapping. And that's not a joke. Aria Blaze, former Siren who used to be able to captivate millions with the sound of her voice alone and has lived for over a thousand years, was rapping. And the shocking thing was, she was doing a really good job of it.
Her flow was smooth and her words were popping, slamming in time with the beat. Her hips swiveled as she flicked her free hand back and forth, her head rotating with her hips as she spit out more rhymes. She took a couple strides in Spittin' Rhymes direction and soon, she was standing in front of him, her words reaching their peak.
Then, as her final word escaped her, she dropped her mic, the sound resonating throughout the area. The entire crowd was silent as they tried to process her words, including Adagio and Sonata, both of whom were still reeling from the discovery of Aria's ability to rap at all.
Then, Sonata broke through the silence. "Whoo! Way to go, Aria!"
"Hellz yeah!" screamed a girl from the crowd. "Long live the Queen of Bad Bitches!"
"I love you, Your Majesty!" called out another girl.
"Damn straight you do," Aria replied, shooting her a wink.
"Aria!" Adagio shouted, stomping over to her. "Just what do you think you're doing?"
"Uh, being a boss ass bitch?" Aria answered, as if it were obvious.
Adagio smacked a hand to her face. "OK, that's it! This is the end of your little... rap battles! And stop cussing like that! You're better than that!"
Aria rolled her eyes. "Why are you telling me what to do? I'm old enough to make my own decisions."
"Get to the car." Adagio's eyes narrowed to thin slits. "Right now."
Aria glared at her. "No. I won't." She crossed her arms. "You can't tell me what to do anymore, Adagio. You're not big and scary anymore, now that your powers are gone."
Adagio gaped at her, shocked at her words.
"Besides, I'm good at this." Aria sent a look to the girls at the sidelines, some of whom were giggling and waving at her. She waved back with a smile. "And it's got it's perks."
Adagio frowned at her. "You mean to tell me that you've been wasting your time on this stupid hobby? You could have been working for school or looking for a job or something! Why this of all things?"
Aria's eyes softened a bit. "Because I like making music."
Adagio blinked. "What?"
"I like making music." Aria looked off a bit. "I haven't been able to do it as much since we lost our voices... And I didn't know what to do now that my powers are gone, too." She smiled. "But, ever since I listened some of those rap albums, I feel... more enlivened, I guess. Besides, now Snips and Snails, like, worship me now."
"How is that an accomplishment?!" Adagio exclaimed, throwing her arms out to the side.
"Because they do everything I say and they call me Queen Aria." Aria picked up her necklace and raised her brows. "What, you think I bought this?"
"Oh my, God, I swear, if that is actual gold..." Adagio muttered, pinching the bridge of her nose.
"Relax, it isn't." Aria looked off to the side. "Yo, Snips, Snails, is this real gold?"
"Naw, Queenie, it ain't!" a voice from the crowd shouted.
Aria turned to Adagio and shrugged. "See, told you."
Adagio frowned. "I don't really understand why rapping of all things. I mean, you could learn some new skills or maybe learn something useful. I just don't see how rapping can be a genuine replacement for singing."
"Pfft, I know that. But, truth is, I kinda always liked rap."
"You did?" Sonata and Adagio blurted out, totally shocked.
Aria nodded. "Yeah. Remember a couple years ago when I asked if I could take the lead in one of our songs?"
Adagio gaped at her. "You don't mean to say that you were gonna rap for one of our feedings?"
"Well?!" Aria shouted, throwing her arms at her side. "Besides, it's not like you ever stepped down to let me!"
Adagio opened her mouth and held up a hand with an extended finger, ready to argue. Instead, she sighed and put a hand to her face, then put it down to look at Aria. "Are you sure this is what you wanna do? I mean, I'm not sure about all this?"
"So, are you alright with it?" Aria asked, a bit wary.
"Maybe." Adagio sighed. "I don't understand it... And I don't know if I want to." She rolled her eyes in remembrance of Aria using the vernacular. But, then she smiled a bit. "But, if it makes you happy, I guess I can live with it." She frowned again. "Just don't start smoking blunts 'erryday' or anything. I don't know if I can handle that."
Aria chuckled. "Yeah, yeah, OK, whatever. You don't have to worry about that-- that isn't for me anyhow. So, what? You gonna stay and watch?"
"Hmm, maybe some other time. It's past Sonata's bedtime, you know."
"Hey, I'm not even tired!" Sonata let out a small yawn and smacked her lips. "OK, I'll go to the car... I'm sleepy."
Adagio smiled and held Sonata close, then spared Aria a glance. "Just make sure you get a ride, OK?"
"Alright, Mom," Aria said with a roll of her eyes.
Adagio frowned. "Don't push it." She took Sonata and pulled her with her. "Come on, Nata, time to get you home."
"OK..." Sonata murmured sleepily, leaning into Adagio.
As the two girls left the crowd and rounded the corner away from them, the announcer jumped from the speakers and next to Aria. "Yo, that's some fam you got right there. Mad respect, man."
"You know it," Aria responded, exchanging a series of hand movements with the announcer. She looked to where they used to be and smiled. "You know it."
Author's Note
THIS IS WHERE I GOT THE IDEA, OH MY GOD TUMBLR HAS RUINED ME. There's also a version that says Nicki Minaj should voice her, but I couldn't find it. So this vid will have to do.
This is the epic rap that Aria spit because QUEEN NICKI DOMINANT, PROMINENT.
Edit: This has been revised as of 3/2/15.
