Aria Blaze: Throat Puncher

Chapters

Prologue: The Genesis of the Throat Puncher
NEVER
EVER
MESS
WITH
THE
ARIA
BLAZE:
THROAT
PUNCHER
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH
Epilogue: The Passion of the Throat Puncher

Prologue: The Genesis of the Throat Puncher

Aria looked up just in time to see Adagio press her naked body against the jail cell's iron bars and scream, "Let me out of here!" Adagio threw a twisted glare down the hallway. “Do you know who I am? I'm Adagio Dazzle! Queen of the Sirens and Mistress of the Melody! I demand respect!”

The police officer down the hall turned a page in her magazine. “Shut it, wackjob.”

“Wackjob? Why, you…” Adagio gripped the bars hard enough to turn her fists white. “You will unlock this cell, or you will die tonight by my hooves—claws. Talons. Whatever these wretched things are!”

“Fingers,” Aria said under her breath, tuning Adagio out. She stared at the tiny tentacles that wiggled in front of her eyes. They were connected to… palms? Yeah, that sounded right. They were hands! And when she balled them up, they became fists. She had seen these sorts of things before; monkeys had them.

Am I a monkey?

“Damn that unicorn!” Adagio said for the fourth time. She kicked the wall, nearly doubling over in pain as her bare foot bounced against the concrete. “Damn him and his stupid beard!”

The thudding sound of Adagio’s kick made Aria jump. Every neuron in her brain ran on overdrive. Her skull pounded.

And yet, when she looked across the jail cell at Sonata, she couldn’t help but feel lucky. Curled into a fetal position on the cell’s one bed, Sonata rocked back and forth, shuddering with every breath. Every few moments she would meet Aria’s gaze, only to look away and mutter something into her knees. Ragged locks of hair spilled over her shoulders. Her cheeks were still wet.

Aria snorted and went back to examining her new body—these bulbous sacs on her chest looked interesting—but couldn’t concentrate. As Sonata kept wheezing, Aria traveled across the floor to where Sonata sat and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. She pulled Sonata against her and Sonata leaned into the touch, digging her fingers into Aria’s leg.

I hate you, Aria thought. You’re so stupid. But even as the words flew through her mind, she pulled Sonata tighter and smoothed out her hair.

Sonata had a reason to be acting this way, after all. No one could have prepared any of them for the burning torture that was going through the Crystal Mirror. Even sitting there, Aria still felt Star Swirl’s magic wrapping around her, ripping her body apart and putting it back together again… and that wasn’t to mention the humiliation of being arrested mere minutes after stepping out of the portal. What had they done? Taken off their clothes? Sirens didn’t wear clothes; those were for stupid ponies, and apparently stupid monkeys too.

And Sonata had comforted her like this too, right? Back when they were just hatchlings—

Adagio growled and plopped down on the bed, next to Aria. “I hate everything.”

Sonata looked up. “Even me?”

“Especially you,” Adagio said, gritting her teeth. “This is all your fault! If it wasn’t for you attracting so much attention, Star Swirl would have never discovered our plan to take over Canterlot, and we wouldn’t be in this mess!”

As Sonata started to cry, Adagio jumped to her feet and paced around the cell again. She glared down at her new body. “What even are these things? We look ridiculous! It’s like a bundle of misshapen sticks glued themselves together and started walking around!” She held up her shaking hands. “And what are these? Sausages? In what world are sausages superior to hooves?”

Adagio’s yelps bounced off the walls and down the hall, turning the cell into an echo chamber and hurting Aria’s already throbbing head. “Would you shut up?” Aria asked, covering her ears. “You complain so much, you sound like a pony.”

“I’d almost rather be a pony at this point,” Adagio said. “This is absolutely ridiculous. I am not spending a single moment more dealing with these disgusting new bodies.”

“Oh, yeah?” Aria said, scowling. “What are you gonna do about it, then?”

Adagio spent a long moment thinking before sighing and raising her hand. “All in favor of throwing ourselves off of the nearest cliff?”

Aria narrowed her eyes. “Seriously?”

“What? It’s certainly better than starving to death now that we have no magic.”

“But,” Sonata choked out, lifting her head from her knees. She took a deep breath and managed to steady herself enough to say, “But we still have our Amulets. What if we can still feed?”

“That’s the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard,” Adagio snapped, sending Sonata back into her own knees. “Did you not listen to the Elders a day in your life? The Harmonic Amulets run off of magic. Without it, they might as well be scraps of seaweed. And without working Amulets, we’re powerless.”

As Sonata trembled again, Aria touched a finger to her own amulet—and took a sharp breath. Somewhere deep inside the gem, she felt something… buzzing. It felt like electricity on her skin. It was faint, but it was there.

Maybe Sonata was right…?

A metallic slam came from the end of the hallway. Adagio and Aria jumped up and scurried over to the bars and glanced down at the female officer. She was talking in hushed tones to a scrawny male cop, who held the sirens’ clothes in his hands. The woman gave him a nod, then headed out the door. As soon as she left, a grin stretched across the man’s face.

“Well!” he called to Aria and Adagio, sauntering over. “How are my favorite streakers?”

“Unlock this cell,” Adagio said, “or I swear there will be Tartarus to pay!”

“Yeah, yeah, you’ll get out of here soon.” The cop stopped in front of their cell and leered at them. “Wouldn’t want to upset a bunch of pretty girls like you.”

Aria had no care for her new body, but even so she couldn’t help but feel nauseous as the officer ran his eyes up and down her naked body. Whatever these sacs on her chest were—they looked a bit like the udders of a cow—this guy liked them.

Crossing her arms over her chest, Aria walked up to the front of the cell, close enough that she could have grabbed him through the bars. “You gonna give us those clothes?” she asked.

“In a minute.” Throwing their clothes to the floor, the officer leaned forward and chuckled. “Just enjoying the view.”

Aria’s face burned. She could feel herself going crosseyed in agitation as this filthy creature stared at her, sizing her up like she were a chunk of meat. He leaned in closer, and Aria tightened her hands into fists. Suddenly, her delicate fingers had melded into a hard ball. Aria wanted nothing more than to make this guy go away—to hurt him. But without an order from Adagio, she knew she shouldn’t do anything.

“So,” the officer murmured, his face inches away from hers. “How old are you, sweetie?”

Aria punched him in the throat.

Her fist shot out before the man could even blink. Her knuckles crunched against his fleshy skin, and immediately he let out a gargled yelp and fell to the ground. Adagio flinched away and Sonata jumped off the bed.

Meanwhile, Aria just stood there, arm outstretched and breaths shallow. That had just been a complete impulse. She hadn’t meant to…

A familiar scent filled her nostrils.

“Fear,” Adagio said, eyes going wide. She grabbed Aria’s shoulder. “He’s creating negative energy!”

“What do we do?” Sonata asked, running up to join them.

“Sing!” Aria said.

Standing side-by-side, the three girls lifted their heads high and sang. As Aria's melodious voice trailed through the air, melding with the others', thick green smoke rose from the man's shaking body. Even as he lay there, sprawled across the floor, his pupils shrank to pinpoints. He tried to reach for the holster on his hip, but his arm went limp. The wave of pleasure that came with feeding coursed through Aria, and the entire world seemed to slow. Her Amulet pulsed with energy.

After a few moments, the smoke faded, and the sirens ended their song. The officer sat up and gave them a blank look.

“He’s under our control,” Adagio said. She laughed. “Our Amulets still work!”

Sonata put her hands on her hips. “Told you so.”

“Don’t give me that grin,” Adagio said, scowling. “Yes, you were right. But that certainly wasn’t a full meal—it could barely be called lunch, if we’re being honest.” She sighed. “But I suppose it was a start. As long as our Amulets continue to function, we won’t starve.”

“Wait,” Sonata said, touching her gem. “You said that the Elders said these wouldn’t work without magic to power them. Does that mean… they were wrong?”

“Of course not,” Adagio scoffed. “The Elders are never wrong. Maybe I just misheard them.”

Aria gulped, still shaken by the crunch of her victim’s flesh. “This guy is under our spell. What do we do with him?”

“Oh!” Sonata raised her hand. “What if we—”

“No,” Adagio finished. She kneeled down until she was at eye level with him. “You, my friend, are going to let us out of this cell. You’re going to give us those clothes, give us all your money, and you’re going to escort us out of this jail.”

The officer nodded. “Uh-huh.”

The next few minutes were spent using their new slave. The officer let them out without question, and as soon as they clothed themselves, gave them his wallet, then led them out of the hall and back into the station proper. They waited a few minutes for him to fill out some paperwork, but as soon as he finished they were let go, free to roam where they liked. They waited until they had walked a few blocks before stopping to talk.

“So we’re not gonna starve?” Sonata asked.

“It appears that way,” Adagio said, fingering her amulet. “Thank you, Aria. You really should have waited for me to tell you to attack him, but… good work.” She smirked. “Looks like you did something right for once.”

Aria nodded and shoved her hands into her sweatshirt pockets. Her knuckles throbbed; monkey throats were tougher than they looked. Not only tough, but disgusting. Squishy, warm… Ugh. Back in Equestria, she had hit quite a few creatures with her hooves, but this was different. You couldn’t feel anything from a hoof punch. But a fist? You could feel everything.

She had used her fists to save them, sure, but she never wanted to do something like that again. Just the memory made her kind of nauseous.

“Come on,” Adagio said, strolling down the sidewalk. She flipped through the dollar bills in the cop's wallet. “Let’s go find somewhere to spend the night. If we really are stuck in this stupid world, I’m not spending the rest of my immortal life in an alleyway.”

“And maybe we can get some fancy clothes!” Sonata chirped, following after. “I’ve always wanted to try on one of those skirts all the rich pony girls wear.”

Aria just grunted and joined the pack. But in her pockets, she clenched her fists again, unnerved by the way her skin tightened over bone.

NEVER

In the time since she had been banished to Earth, Aria had learned three things: one, that human food was absolutely disgusting, no matter what Sonata said; two, that hands really were infinitely more disgusting than hooves; and three, that regardless of how cumbersome clothing could be, it was never appropriate to strip naked in public. Another trip to jail and a five-hundred-dollar fine had taught her that one.

Twenty human years later, the Dazzlings—a name Adagio had chosen for them—sat in the corner booth of a small coffee shop in downtown Canterlot. The café was flooding with a shimmering green fog, which rose from the linoleum like smoke from a fire. Along with it came the shouts and shrieks of two dozen arguing teenagers and, faintly in the background, the clear voices of the Dazzlings.

Aria felt the hatred, fear, and sadness rushing through her limbs, feeding her soul. And yet, as she felt the emotions run dry, her body still ached with hunger.

The hunger. No matter what they did, it never went away. Twenty years, and still Aria couldn’t go five hours without feeling like she was about to pass out.

“Ugh,” Aria muttered, ripping her hood off and sinking into her seat. “That was barely worth the effort, Adagio. I’m tired of fast food! I need a meal.”

Across from her, she heard Adagio sigh softly. “The energy in this world isn’t the same as in Equestria!” Adagio said, taking her own hood off. She took a quick glance around and leaned into her comrades before murmuring, “We can only gain so much power here.”

As another pang of hunger shot through her, Aria growled and sank even lower. “I wish we’d never been banished to this awful place!”

“Really?” Adagio asked, throwing out her trademark grin. “I love it here!”

Aria cursed under her breath and looked away. Her eyes drifted down to her hands. Hands—they still squicked her out. She hated the way they curled, the way they left oily prints on everything she touched, the way her fingers looked like the legs of a fat spider. She couldn’t bear to look at them for more than a few seconds.

But then her eyes drifted over to the half-eaten donut sitting in front of Sonata, and her stomach curled. Adagio said they needed to eat human food to “keep up appearances,” but it just made Aria want to puke.

The nausea was enough to snap her out of her thoughts, just in time to catch Sonata chirping, “Because I think this place is the worst!”

“I think you’re the worst, Sonata,” Aria shot back without missing a beat.

“Oh, yeah?” Sonata said, turning up her nose. “Well, I think you’re—”

“Ugh,” Adagio said, rubbing her temples. “I’ll tell you one thing: being stuck here with you two isn’t making this world any more”—she clenched her teeth—"bearable.”

The temptation to argue rose up Aria’s throat, but she bit her tongue. From the tone of Adagio’s voice, she would be taking the last word in this argument. As usual.

Aria and Sonata always followed Adagio’s orders. Always. Even when they knew the orders were stupid. Without orders came chaos, and with chaos came undue attention that would land them back in jail, or worse: on an autopsy table. At least, according to Adagio.

The three of them had known each other since they were just hatchlings, born to the same school of sirens. Adagio had always been bossy, and as the Elders' first choice to kill Celestia, she'd enjoyed that much more of an ego trip—even if her very first "brilliant" plan had gotten them all banished. Adagio was the leader, and as much as Aria hated to admit it, she and Sonata were the assistants.

So Aria kept her mouth shut and let the frustration bubble silently. No need to ruin everything over a simple argument. She took a long breath and tried to ignore the gnawing in her soul. Was the mall still open? Maybe they could stop by for a quick snack—

A muted boom cut through the air and a blinding light swallowed the café. The entire restaurant paused for a moment as everyone turned to stare out the window. Across town, a massive glowing pillar of energy had shot down from the clouds and ripped into the earth.

Every hair on Aria’s body stood up as if hit by a blast of static. She felt a jolting tingle running through her veins, up her legs, through her chest, down her arms, and into her fingers. Her fists tightened unconsciously, even as Adagio sprang from her seat and sprinted outside.

“Where is she going?” Sonata asked. “She didn’t even finish her coffee!”

Aria didn’t answer. Her limbs had gone rigid.

Sonata raised a brow, but soon enough shrugged and clambered over Aria to leave the booth and head outside. Aria took a moment more to stare at the pillar of light before all the feeling returned to her bones at once. Everything went blurry, and it took every bit of willpower she had not to collapse onto the floor. If her stomach was curling before, now it was ripping itself apart. And her hands… they itched with the force of a thousand mosquito bites.

Aria shook the spots out of her vision and followed the other two outside, scratching at her palms as she went. She found Sonata and Adagio standing together. Sonata shaded her eyes, while Adagio stood near the street, eyes locked on the sky, every limb shuddering.

The Dazzlings watched together as twin rainbows shot from where the energy pillar had hit, spiraling around one another until they had reached about a mile into the sky. An even brighter light ripped through the city as they connected. Then, in one blinding flash, a shifting, morphing beam of prismatic light flew from the twisted rainbows, hitting something on the ground and sending burning lasers shooting in every direction.

And yet, as soon as it had started, it was over. The sky returned to its normal color, and the rainbows disappeared.

Aria tried to speak, but her throat felt like it had collapsed. What the Tartarus was that?

“Did you feel that?” Adagio spluttered, grasping the gem hanging from her neck. She turned to the others and grinned. “Do you know what that is?”

Aria tried and failed to unclench her fists. Her fingers ached from how hard she pressed them together. A strange sort of feeling swirled through her, pooling in her hands, begging to be let out. It felt like ants crawling through her veins.

“It’s Equestrian magic!” Adagio hissed, grabbing Aria and pulling her close.

‘You could do it,’ her brain whispered in a voice not her own. Her fists clenched tighter. ‘Punch her. She’s so close. She won’t expect it.’

Aria pushed the intrusive thought away and forced her hands into her pockets. Adagio was still staring at her, waiting for a response, but Aria couldn’t think of a word to say.

“Equestrian magic?” Sonata asked. “But I thought this world didn’t have magic!”

“It does now,” Adagio said. She chuckled and walked to the street before striking a pose: chin high, and one hand on her hip. “And we’re going to use it to make everyone in this pathetic little world adore us.”

Sonata smiled at Aria, and Aria forced herself to return the gesture.

Together with Sonata, she walked forward and struck a pose of her own, crossing her arms and smirking into the air. Strangely enough, the Dazzlings seemed to do a lot of posing—Aria figured it was Adagio’s way of relieving stress.

And honestly? It worked. Aria allowed herself a deep breath. If Adagio was right, and there really was Equestrian magic in this world, then, well… maybe for once she would finally be able to rid herself of that damned hunger. Maybe for once she could be happy.

But what was it that just happened to her? And what was that weird voice?

“Hey!”

The itching in Aria’s hands came rushing back as a nasally voice rang through the air, aimed right at them. Aria spun around, only to find a young woman in a green uniform heading straight for them, a deep frown etched into her face. She stopped right in front of Aria and jabbed a finger into her chest. “Do you really think you can just leave without paying? I saw you buy a coffee! I know that you—”

‘Punch her.’

Aria punched her in the throat. The waitress fell, grasping at her chest.

As the woman struggled to speak, Aria leaned down and pressed their foreheads together. “The coffee was free,” she spat.

The waitress shook her head and choked out, “But you can’t—”

‘Again.’

Aria punched her in the throat again. “The coffee was free!”

After a moment spent trying simply to breathe, the waitress nodded and scrambled away, limping back toward the coffee shop. Aria dusted off her still-tingling knuckles and strode back to her partners, who were just staring.

“Why did you do that?” Sonata asked, taking a step back.

Aria opened her mouth, reaching for an answer—but stopped when she realized that she didn’t have one. Punching that woman in the throat had just felt so natural, so genuine; she didn’t even have to think before doing it. It just happened. And that strange voice...

She looked at her shoes. “She was annoying me, so I shut her up.”

“You certainly did,” Adagio muttered. She narrowed her eyes. “Do you know what would happen if that waitress went running off to the cops about how some girl in a hoodie left without paying and then attacked her? They’d be after us in a second.” Adagio jabbed a finger into Aria’s chest. “Don’t do that again. Understand?”

Aria didn’t lift her eyes. “Yeah.”

Adagio nodded and walked away. Sonata paused for a moment to gaze at Aria and rub her arm before following.

Aria clenched her itching fists and gritted her teeth. Heat swirled through her face, and her brain felt like it was covered in fuzz. She wanted to push Adagio to the ground and show her what it was like to take orders.

No. Aria forced herself to follow. Hurting Adagio wouldn’t solve anything. But if Adagio really thought she could just boss Aria around like that, then she’d have another thing coming. Aria wouldn’t take it.

She glanced down at her fists. Suddenly, they didn’t seem so bad.

EVER

Aria watched her next victim with a devilish smirk.

Star Swirl the Bearded stood in his bedchambers, staring at the Crystal Mirror, the scene of his greatest triumph. With a smile, he raised his head high into the air, basking in the jingle of the many bells hooked to his hat. He truly thought he the greatest unicorn ever to live.

Aria jumped out of the mirror and punched him in the throat. She remained a human, even after stepping out of the glass.

The elderly unicorn couldn’t even scream out in surprise as he fell to the marble floor. He gasped a few times, trying to scramble away, but it was no use. He soon passed out, lulled to sleep by the sound of Aria’s laughter.

Aria stifled her guffaws to mere snickers and turned to the doorway, just in time for two burly pegasus guards to rush in, wings flared. “Stop!” they yelled in unison. They leapt forward, aiming straight for Aria. They would rip her to shreds and send the scraps back through the mirror.

Aria sidestepped them both and, when they turned back around, punched them both in the throat. She grinned as they fell, crumpling into a heap right on top of Star Swirl. Aria drank in their pained groans like nectar, letting it fill her. Did they really think hooves could beat hands? Idiots.

“Enough.”

Aria flicked a glance towards the doorway. Princess Celestia met Aria’s eyes with a glare as she walked in, horn alight with magic. The alicorn tensed her legs, ready to fight. “This has gone on for long enough!” she declared, her voice loud enough to crack the windows. “Cursed siren, you must be punished for your crimes! Stand down now, or be destroyed.”

Aria smirked and, with a single finger, gestured for Celestia to come at her.

Celestia nodded. “As you wish.”

The entire room went red as a great ball of fire rose from the tip of Celestia’s horn, as if she were summoning the sun itself. The Princess roared and launched the miniature sun straight at Aria’s head. It incinerated everything in its path, destroying all, leaving none, and it was about to obliterate Aria—

Aria punched the ball of fire in the throat. It exploded into a whirlwind of hot dust, leaving her completely unscathed.

Celestia took a few steps back. “What? But how? That should have killed you! That should have—”

Aria ran up and punched Celestia in the throat.

As Celestia tumbled down, she let out an agonized cry. “Why?” she asked as Aria stood over her, her teeth bared like a crazed hyena. “Why are you doing this?”

“Because I can,” Aria said. She leaned down and grabbed Celestia’s head, forcing the Princess to look her in the eyes. “Now say my name.”

“What?” Celestia stammered, eyes filling with tears. “But I don’t—”

“Say my name!” Aria screamed, punching Celestia in the throat again.

Celestia nodded, but stayed silent. It was as if the words were caught on her lips. Her cheeks bulged with a name unsaid, a demand uncompleted. It was only as Aria raised her fist high into the air, ready to crush Celestia’s windpipe for good, that the royal, immortal alicorn yelped: “Ari, it’s time to wake up!”

Aria opened her eyes to find Sonata’s face hanging just above hers, close enough that their breaths mixed. Sonata had Aria pinned beneath the blanket with all four limbs, and with every new second babbled a bit louder. “Are you awake yet?”

“I was having a good dream,” Aria grumbled, balling up her fists.

“Aw, really? That’s so nice!” Sonata said. “I love good dreams! They’re so… well, good!” She giggled into her hand, giving Aria enough leeway to pull her arms out of the blanket.

‘Punish her.’

Aria punched Sonata in the throat.

Sonata flew off the bed and cried out in pain as she hit the floor back-first. “Ow,” she said, breathing hard. Sonata lifted herself up and glared at Aria. “What was that for?” she asked, voice scratchy.

Veins bulged in Aria’s tensed arms. She took a few deep breaths and wiped off the sheen of sweat that covered her forehead. Did I just…? Aria thought, watching as Sonata massaged her throat. Aria gulped. I did.

“Don’t wake me when I’m sleeping!” Aria sputtered, slamming a fist noiselessly into the mattress. “And you know that you’re supposed to stay out of my room!”

“Since when?”

“Since forever!” Aria said. “Why are you even in here?”

“Adagio told me to wake you,” Sonata said. “We’re gonna go check out that school. You know, the one that we saw the magic coming from like two months ago?”

An image of that mystic light flashed through Aria’s mind, and with it came a chill creeping down her back. She shoved the memory away and pulled the covers off of her body. “Oh,” she said, striding over to her closet. “Why didn’t you just say so?”

“I was gonna, but then you hit me!” Sonata said. She paused for a moment before lifting herself off the ground and muttering, “That really hurt, y’know.”

“Whatever.” Aria pulled out a pair of purple jeans. “Why are you still in my room?”

Sonata started to argue, but stopped before she could finish a single sentence. She sighed and walked out, massaging her throat.

As soon as the door was closed, Aria dropped the jeans onto her bed and backed up against a wall, wringing her burning knuckles. Her heart still thumped with enough force to rattle her chest, and her breaths came in quivering whispers.

Ever since that night in the café nearly two months ago, weird things had been going on. Weirder than usual, at least—and living with Sonata, a girl who still believed that tiny pixies lived inside the television and acted out all the programs, that was saying something.

Every moment of every day, her hands tingled. Sometimes, it felt like static was crawling across her skin, slipping through her bones. Other times, her knuckles burned as if they were being pressed against a hot iron. She had tried all sorts of ointments, oils… she had even started drinking green tea at one point, hearing that it helped calm your nerves. It had taken three tries just to swallow a drop of that human-made dreck without gagging.

She had been tracking it, and it seemed like her hands hurt the worst when she was angry—and lately, that was pretty common. She could barely make it through a sentence of conversation without wanting to throw herself out a window, to tear her own ears off, to punch whichever stupid human she was talking to in the throat until they couldn’t ever bother her again.

Sometimes she couldn’t help herself. Sometimes, without even thinking about it, she would just throw a punch, straight to the center of someone’s throat. They would gurgle on the ground as she ran away. Aria was amazed that no one had reported her yet.

And that dream... She had been having that same dream every night for a month now. Every time she got a little farther, punched a little harder. Honestly, it was a pretty nice dream. After all, she was pretty good at punching throats.

‘You’re not good,’ said the strange voice. ‘You’re fantastic.’

“Heh.” Aria nodded. “I am, aren’t I?”

Sonata’s face flashed through her mind.

Aria pounded an itching fist against the wall. How could she have attacked one of her own? She had sworn never to touch them. What was she thinking?

…And why had it felt so good?

Her arms trembled at the memory. Looking Sonata in the eyes, just to jab a fist straight into her stupid little throat. She loved the way Sonata’s skin dented under her knuckles like dough, ready to be pounded flat. Aria wanted to try it again—

“No!” Aria growled, slapping herself.

Whatever was going on with her, whatever this voice was, she wouldn’t let it win. She just needed to take a few deep breaths and calm down.

“Aria!” Adagio screamed from across the apartment. “Hurry up! We’re not going to miss our chance at world domination because you can’t find a pair of jeans that fit!”

Aria punched a hole through her wall.

MESS

Aria stifled a yawn and looked up at the window. “Could I just get a coffee?”

The coffee vendor nodded and offered her a grin before ducking back inside his large metal cart.

A stiff early morning breeze rolled through the streets as Aria stood and waited for her drink. She was a block away from Canterlot High School, which, according to the newspapers, was where the “Rainbow Laser” had struck. A local gossip rag had mentioned something about a fire demon, and teenage girls growing wings… Probably just a crock, but even so, it was clear that something had happened. Aria could only imagine what kind of weird stuff had gone down there.

Not that it would ever prove a problem to her. Fire demons still had throats, right?

The itching returned, but before it could grow into the tortuous burning, Aria clasped her hands in front of her chest and wrung them. She couldn’t go five minutes without crushing her hands together, grabbing at her palms as if they were about to fall off. Callouses covered her fingers. Massaging her hands like that was one of the few treatments she had found to stop the tingling—albeit only for a few minutes.

Sonata and Adagio had already gone ahead to scout out the school and figure out the best way to infiltrate it. In the two months since seeing the rainbow laser, they had done as much research as they could on the school. There was quite a bit of info to be gleaned, but one fact stood at the front of Aria’s brain: Canterlot High School housed nearly one thousand students.

Just the number made her mouth water. To think, a thousand stupid teenagers, all under their control? It would be a feast greater than any they had ever had before—and maybe it would finally be enough to fill up the black hole that was her soul.

“Here you are, young lady!” the coffee vendor said, poking his head out of the cart again. He handed over the steaming cup and received a crumpled-up dollar bill, hastily fished out of Aria’s pocket.

Aria took a deep whiff of the drink, smiling as its bitter fragrance swam through her nostrils. Unlike Sonata, she had never developed a taste for human food—the donuts and muffins that filled the rest of the vendor’s cart just filled her with nausea. And yet, she had come to love coffee. The way it kicked every sense into overdrive, as if shocking her with a taser… it was like the buzzing from her Amulet turned into a liquid.

Her high was dampened a bit, however, when she realized the coffee vendor still had his hand outstretched.

She raised a brow. “You need something?”

“You gave me a dollar,” he said. “Coffee’s a dollar-fifty.”

“What? Since when?”

“Since yesterday. Raised prices. Inflation and all that.”

Aria rolled her eyes, but rummaged around in her pockets all the same. She pulled out a wad of lint. “I don’t have fifty cents.”

“Well then,” the coffee vendor said with a frown, “I think I’m gonna have to ask for that coffee back.”

“Seriously?” Aria asked. “I already drank from it. If I give it back, you’re just gonna pour it out anyway.”

“It’s the principle of it!” he said. “You don’t pay, and all of a sudden every goth girl in the city thinks they can get free coffee! It’ll be madness!”

“You’re not going to make me pay,” Aria said with a scowl.

The vendor shrugged. “I think I gotta.”

Aria’s breathing hastened. “Okay,” she muttered, placing the cup of coffee on the sidewalk next to her. With quick, jerky steps, she walked around to the back of the vendor’s cart and opened the back door, revealing a nervous coffee vendor.

He didn’t even yell as Aria punched him in the throat and sent him crashing to the floor.

Aria spent a moment glaring at him, silently daring him to make a move. When it was clear that he wasn’t getting up, she backed off—only for shock to wash over her. She watched the man’s writhing body, stared at the growing bruise on his throat. It had felt even doughier than it looked.

She shouldn’t have done that. It was stupid, stupid.

...But he had tried to take her coffee. And who was he to talk back to her? Some stupid human?

Pushing down the disgust, Aria slammed the cart’s door closed. She made sure no one had seen her before grabbing her coffee and hurrying off. As she sipped at her drink, she prepared herself for the glorious feast that was to come.

WITH

About half an hour later, the Dazzlings sat in a wide, well-lit office. Apparently it belonged to the principal of Canterlot High School, whoever that was—the sign on the door was falling off, it was so old. Not even the secretary had given the principal’s name.

Aria slumped in her seat, wringing her hands and trying desperately to block out Sonata’s screechy babbling. She was rambling about teddy bears, or love, or something—all Aria knew was that with every word, her headache only grew.

Between the two of them sat Adagio, eyes closed and breathing deeply. After realizing that dramatic posing was tacky, she had picked up meditation as a way of dealing with her frustrations. Aria had tried it once or twice, but it just didn’t click with her; all it did was make her want to punch something in the throat.

The thought echoed through Aria’s mind. She wrung her hands harder.

A soft click went off behind them, followed by the long creaking of the door being opened. All three of the Dazzlings put on their most cordial smiles as the Principal took her seat in front of them. When the older woman returned their grins, however, Aria couldn’t help but notice that whoever this woman was, she looked vaguely familiar…

“Good morning!” the woman said. “It’s wonderful to hear that you three are thinking of joining us here at CHS. My name is Principal Celestia, and I—”

Aria didn’t hear anything else. Every muscle tensed at the name—Celestia? What in the world was she doing here? Had they been found out? Had the pony princess come to kill them? This wasn’t how it was supposed to end. Aria tightened her fists and bared her teeth, eyes locked onto Celestia’s pudgy, vulnerable throat.

No.

She let out her wrath in a single hissing breath. This type of thing had happened before. When they first arrived, they found out that the mayor of Canterlot was one Starswirl “the Bearded.” The librarian down the road was named Clover, there lived a monarch halfway across the world named Princess Platinum... Everyone in Equestria seemed to have some sort of human counterpart—even Celestia, it seemed. Who would have thought that such a mighty and respected alicorn would be reduced to a mere high school principal? Just the thought made Aria laugh.

It took Aria a few moments to realize that she was laughing out loud. Heat swirled through her face as she noticed everyone staring at her, heads tilted, eyebrows raised. Aria crossed her arms and spat, “What?”

Celestia frowned. “I asked for your name, dear.”

“Oh.” Aria gulped down her embarrassment and sat up a bit straighter. “Aria. Aria Blaze.”

“That’s a lovely name,” Celestia said, very nearly making Aria gag. She turned back to Adagio, whose innocent smile hadn’t broken for a second. “If I may ask, how do you three know each other?”

“We’re sisters,” Adagio said, pulling Sonata and Aria into a tight hug. “Triplets, in fact. Fraternal.”

“Wonderful!” Celestia said. She jotted down a few notes, then said, “I love seeing sisters getting along so well—heaven knows it’s far too uncommon these days. I think you three will be a perfect fit for the CHS community. Now, let’s get started with some of the paperwork, shall we?” She pulled a few papers and a clipboard out of her desk. “That reminds me: I couldn’t help but notice that your parents aren’t with you. Where are they?”

Aria crossed her arms and waited for Adagio to answer—but nothing came. Adagio’s mouth hung for what seemed like lifetimes, and not a word left her lips. Aria narrowed her eyes; had Adagio really not thought of an answer for this? They had been prepping for two months. Did she really never come up with a backstory for their parents?

Aria gripped the armrests of her chair as the burning came back.

Just as Celestia’s smile started to wane, Sonata leaned forward and chirped, “We’re orphans!” Her constant grin wilted into a quivering frown, in a perfect imitation of a pathetic human. “Our parents died in a car crash when we were only five. We had to raise ourselves. It was so lonely.”

“My Goddess, I’m so sorry!” Celestia said. “Did Child Services never help you?”

Sonata shook her head. “Not at all. The system failed us, left us to toil alone in an uncaring world.”

Celestia threw a hand to her heart. “That’s awful.”

“It’s okay.” A single tear rolled down Sonata’s eye and fell to her skirt. “But we don’t like to talk about it.”

Aria had to hold back a snicker. As annoyingly naïve as Sonata could be, no one could say that she couldn’t make herself useful every once in a while. Sonata had always been the manipulative one—ever since they were hatchlings. She tricked people with her innocence, deceived them with her ditzy voice and good looks. After all, this was a girl who held a premium membership at the Teddy Bear Hospital downtown; who would ever find her suspicious?

“That’s perfectly fine—let’s not dwell in the past. Let’s look to the future.” Celestia handed her papers and clipboard over to Adagio. “I promise you: once you enroll in CHS, you’ll never have to feel like you’re alone ever again.”

“That’s good to hear,” Adagio said. She glanced down at the sheet, and for the first time since they had arrived, frowned. “Um, excuse me. What is an ‘SSN?’”

“That would be your Social Security Number.”

“Our what?”

Celestia’s smile wilted a bit. “Your Social Security Number. You are citizens of this country, right? You should have a number.”

All three of the Dazzlings shook their heads in unison.

“Oh. Um…” Celestia leaned forward and took back her clipboard. “Well, this is a bit awkward. I’m sorry to say, but if you aren’t legal citizens, you can’t enroll in a public school. We can’t take you in.” She paused. “Have... have you never gone to school before?”

Aria leapt across the desk and punched Celestia in the throat.

Celestia went down like lead, falling out of her chair and hitting the ground stomach-first with a thud. She gasped for breath as Aria jumped on top of her and turned her over, but just as she began to squeak out another word, Aria punched her again, stealing the wind from her throat.

“Aria!” Adagio screamed, pulling her ‘sister’ off of Celestia. “Just what in Tartarus do you think you’re doing?”

“What are you doing?” Aria said, pushing her away. “Sing, before she gets up!”

Aria belted out a sudden high note, and Sonata jumped in a second later. Adagio shot the two of them a glare, but joined the chorus. Their amulets radiated with energy as green smoke rose from Celestia’s cowering form. The principal soon stilled, and her fear surrounded the Dazzlings, filling their stomachs. Celestia gazed up at the trio with glazed-over eyes.

“So we’ve hypnotized her,” Adagio said, crossing her arms. “Now what?”

Aria leaned down and picked Celestia up by her collar. “You’re gonna let us enroll in this stupid school, or you’re gonna say goodbye to your throat.” Celestia struggled to get out anything more than a croak.

Sonata stepped forward. “Ari, you’re hurting her!”

“So what?” Aria giggled. “Hell, this was our mission, right? Kill Celestia?”

“The pony Celestia. Not this fat slob of a woman,” Adagio said. She rolled her eyes. “This will never work. You’re just going to get us arrested—”

“Yes,” Celestia choked out, doing her best to nod with a quickly swelling neck. “I’ll forge the paperwork. I’ll do it right now.”

Aria smirked and lifted herself off of Celestia, allowing the woman to take a full breath for the first time in over a minute. She slapped Adagio’s shoulder. “Never gonna work, huh?”

Adagio growled and pushed Aria away. “You were lucky—that’s it. I’m the one who gives the orders here. Try that again, and our plan is ruined.” She walked to the door, with Sonata following close after.

Aria watched them go, heat rippling through her cheeks. Lucky? Lucky? There was no luck involved with punching someone in the throat. It was all power, all supremacy. Aria knew that punching their enemies in the throat was the only way to end the constant hunger gnawing at her bones. There was nothing more powerful in this world than a fist—there was nothing more powerful than her fist.

As Adagio turned to open the door, Aria caught the briefest glimpse of her delicate, fleshy throat. She could only imagine what it would be like to feel the crack of Adagio’s trachea against her knuckles, to watch her fall to the floor, crying.

‘Do it.’

Everything went blurry. Aria caught herself on the desk as spots flew through her vision. For a moment, all she heard was her hard breathing, and all she could feel was the burning in her hands.

She wrung them together and tried to force the thoughts away, but they wouldn’t leave. No, she thought, shaking her head. I won’t punch Adagio. I can’t. This isn’t one of those stupid dreams…

Dreams. The images of Adagio left Aria’s mind.

Aria turned around and walked back to Celestia, who had just finished filling out the documents. Aria snatched the papers off the desk, then pushed the still-hypnotized Celestia out of her chair. Celestia crashed to the floor and tried to back away, but Aria grabbed her.

“Say my name,” Aria whispered.

Celestia gulped. “Ar… Ari…”

“Say my name!”

“Aria Blaze!”

Aria nodded and patted Celestia on the head. “Good. Now go home and don’t come back.”

She slammed Celestia’s head against the wall and walked away, massaging her knuckles.

THE

“That’s the science lab. Computer lab is in there.”

Aria did her best to drone out… what was her name again? Sunset Shimmer? What a stupid name. Aria hated the sun. It was one of the few things that could cause her pain but couldn’t punch in the throat. She wrung her hands and walked a little faster.

“Are you okay?” Sonata whispered, glancing down at Aria’s calloused fingers.

Aria nearly stumbled when she looked at Sonata’s bruised throat. Sonata still sounded like her throat was coated with sand, and she winced whenever she swallowed. For the briefest of moments, Aria was tempted to tell Sonata about the burning and about the anger. Sonata had helped with these sorts of things before; maybe she could help now.

Aria took a deep breath and opened her mouth to respond, but froze up. Nausea gripped her stomach. Looking into Sonata’s soft eyes, Aria felt a thick haze coating her brain, scrambling her thoughts.

Sonata moved a step closer. “Ari?”

“Shut up,” Aria spat, clenching her fists.

“Oh.” Sonata looked down. “Okay.”

Aria cursed under her breath, doing what she could to expend the burning in her knuckles. Maybe this tour guide will bore me to sleep, she thought, turning her attention back to Sunset Shimmer. She wore a ratty leather jacket and a gaudy purple shirt—she didn’t even deserve to have a real name.

“We’re having a big musical showcase this weekend!” Sunburn Shooter exclaimed, pointing at a poster of a guitar on the wall. “The whole school is pretty much rallying around it.”

‘This is your chance,’ whispered the strange voice in Aria’s head.

Her hunger came rushing back so quickly that Aria’s knees nearly buckled. It took a mountain of energy just to muster up a grin. She bit down hard on her tongue. What is wrong with this stupid body? Am I sick or something?

“A musical showcase?” Adagio repeated, faking a gasp.

“I’m sure since you’re new, Principal Celestia would let you sign up if you’re interested,” Sunrise Stepper said. She frowned and tapped her chin. “Er, Vice Principal Luna, actually. I think I heard that Celestia went home early today…”

Aria forced back the hunger. They were so close to achieving their goals; she wasn’t going to let some imaginary voice take this away from her. She glanced at her unpolished nails—the most unassuming, ‘casual teenager’ pose she could think of—and said, “We have been known to sing from time to time.”

“Hello?” Sonata said, rolling her eyes. She pushed her way into the conversation and continued, “We sing, like, all the time. It’s how we get people to do what we want!”

‘IDIOT!’ yelled the voice.

Aria pulled back her fist to punch Sonata, but before she could swing Sonata jumped back, crashing into a locker. “What?” she asked, pressing herself into the steel. “What did I say?”

“What you meant to say,” Adagio began, trying and failing to maintain her grin, “was that being in a musical showcase sounds like a great way to meet other students!”

“Oh, yeah,” Sonata said, managing to nod and force a smile. “What she said I meant to say. That’s what I meant. To say.”

Aria screamed and punched a locker, right next to Sonata’s head. It dented under her fist.

Sun Spot gasped and took a step forward, but Adagio cut her off, stepping in front of Sonata and saying, “You'll have to excuse them. They're idiots.” In response, Aria scowled, while Sonata managed a smile.

Silence overtook the group. As Aria massaged her hands, she watched Sonata cower and felt the slightest pang of… something ring through her chest. Was it hunger? Regret? She dismissed the thought—it was idiotic. There was no way that she felt bad for Sonata. If Aria hadn’t threatened her when she did, their entire plan would have been ruined. That girl deserved every bit of pain she got.

She tuned back into reality just in time to hear Sunbeam Snorkle laugh and say, “Those are pretty!” before leaning in to touch Adagio’s amulet.

Aria pushed Adagio out of the way and punched Sunlamp in the throat. She barely registered Adagio screaming her name as Sunset crashed to the ground, a pile of skinny limbs and fiery hair. Aria jumped on top of her. “What makes you think you can touch us?”

Sunbeam’s words were lost in a coughing fit as she tried to comprehend what had just happened.

Adagio grabbed Aria by the hair and threw her against a locker. “Aria, calm down!”

“Let go of me!” Aria said, trying to wriggle free, both of her eyes locked on Sunset’s throat. “She nearly broke your amulet! She nearly ruined our plan!”

“She didn’t do anything! The only one ruining our plan here is you!” Adagio tightened her grip on Aria’s shoulders until Aria squeaked out in pain. “I’m the leader here. You’re my pawn. When I tell you not to attack people, you listen.”

Adagio’s words were like bullets, bouncing off the walls of Aria’s brain. 'No!' the voice screamed. Her breaths came out in growls, spittle flying from her lips. ‘Let go of me let go of me let go LET GO.’ Her eyes drifted from Sunset’s throat to Adagio’s and the strange voice roared over her own thoughts. ‘Punch her punch punch punch’ no STOP ‘YES PUNCH’ no no NO.

Aria’s brain felt like it had cracked in half. Her thoughts screamed over one another—a riot of sound, scraping along her skull. It was as if an intruder had climbed into her head. She clenched her teeth, her eyes, and her fists.

When a few moments had passed, silent but for Aria’s heavy panting, Adagio loosened her grip. Aria held back the torrent of curses pooling in her throat and banged her fist against a locker. The thoughts were fading, but slowly.

Sunset had scrambled away at some point during Aria’s frenzy. Aria felt a burning heat in her knuckles—no one ever ran away from her. She wanted to beat that girl until she couldn't stand.

“What’s wrong with you today?” Adagio asked, glowering.

“Are you still upset because I woke you up?” Sonata managed to say. Her voice was barely a gasp.

“No,” Aria said. “I’m fine. Just hungry.”

“Yes, well…” Adagio murmured, pursing her lips. She sauntered away. “Keep acting out like this, and you can expect to stay hungry.”

Tension flared through Aria’s arms. Her gaze fell on Adagio’s neck again—Stop! She forced her eyes down. She wasn’t going to do it, no matter what some weird thoughts told her. It was just a fever. She was sick, and her brain was freaking out on her. Nothing to panic about.

And besides, It was like Adagio said: she was the leader. Adagio came up with all the plans. Adagio made sure they had somewhere to live. Adagio was the oldest. Adagio was the wisest. She had the best voice. They had all been raised and trained together, but the Elders had chosen Adagio for a reason. Without her, everything would fall apart.

…Right?

‘She’s no leader,’ said the voice. ‘You’re better than her in every way.’

Aria shook the doubt away and forced her hands to go limp. She followed after Adagio. It took a few yards for her to realize that Sonata was walking next to her.

“Aria,” Sonata said. “Talk to me.”

Aria sped up, leaving Sonata behind. It’s just a fever, she thought. I don’t need help from an idiot like her.

ARIA

As she looked through the glass doors into the CHS cafeteria, Aria’s starving soul roared with the ferocity of three grown manticores. So many students, blissfully unaware that they were about to be feasted on. Even as she stood there, her limbs heavy with hunger, she tasted them. The sweet flavor washed across her tongue.

“This is it, girls,” Adagio said, pumping a fist. “The moment we’ve been waiting for!”

“Lunch?” Sonata cried.

Adagio groaned. “The chance to get our true Equestrian magic back.”

“Oh.” Sonata nodded. “Right.”

Was this really it? Surely whatever student that possessed the Equestrian magic would be in this cafeteria. Conquer them, and their old magic would return. And after that... a meal unlike any other. The hunger would finally leave.

Adagio hadn’t yet told them what the plan was—she always liked to save it until the last second, probably for the same reason she loved posing so much: drama. Sirens were nothing if not performers.

In the years since they had been banished, the Dazzlings had made dozens of attempts at conquering the human race, but they all boiled down to one simple plan: turn the humans against each other—usually through jealousy or fear—and feast upon the negative energy until their Equestrian magic returned. And yet, no matter how many times they tried it, it never worked; their original magic never came back. They always stayed hungry, and always stayed powerless.

In their entire time as a team, Adagio had never come up with a plan that worked.

The thought sent a gnawing pain to the depths of Aria’s soul. But as she gazed at her soon-to-be meal, any doubts that she had faded away. This was the biggest opportunity they’d had in years; surely Adagio knew what she was doing.

Adagio turned to the double doors and cast a snide glance inside. “Our voices are just strong enough to make them want something so badly they’ll fight to get it.”

What.

“So we’re just gonna do what we always do?” Aria said, quite a bit louder than she had intended. “Stir up some trouble and feed on the negative energy? Some plan, Adagio!”

Adagio shot Aria a glare. “Oh, don’t you talk to me about plans, Little Miss Sociopath. I could rant about kittens for five minutes, and it would still make more sense than your throat-punching fetish!”

Aria tightened her fists. “Excuse me?”

“You heard what I said. We’ll be lucky if that Sunset Shimmer human hasn’t told everyone about the freaky new girl who spends her time punching people. We can only hope that you haven’t ruined us.”

‘Punch her.’

“At least my fists got us somewhere!” Aria screamed back, her voice booming through the hallways. “If it wasn’t for them, we never would have even enrolled! We’d still be sitting at home, whining about how hungry we are!”

‘Do it do it PUNCH.’

Adagio crossed her arms. “The only one I ever hear whining is you; even Sonata isn’t that much of a crybaby.”

‘PUNCH THROAT DO IT PUNCH’

Growling, Aria forced herself to turn away and walk down the hall, rubbing her tingling hands together again. She mumbled curses under her breath, wiggled her toes, fluttered her eyelids—anything to make her brain stop feeling like it was going to melt.

“And besides,” Adagio said, pointing at the cafeteria, “this won’t be the same as the times before! There is Equestrian magic here. Their negative energy will give us the power we need to make this entire world do our bidding!”

Her assurances just made Aria’s heart beat faster. The electricity flowing through her veins had melded with her hunger, and it was all ripping a hole in her chest. She hated it. She wanted it gone. She needed it to be gone.

She wanted to hurt someone.

“But we can get lunch after though, right?” Sonata asked. She pointed to a nearby poster and added, “It’s Taco Tuesday!”

Aria spun around, eyes falling onto Sonata’s bruised throat. 'Yes.’ She walked toward Sonata. She had only punched Sonata once, and already she had memorized the shape of her windpipe. Aria wondered how many hits it would take to crush her trachea for good. Probably not many.

While Sonata was looking away, she pulled back her fist and readied the swing—

She caught Adagio in the corner of her eye and froze. At once, every sense roared. Her knuckles itched, screamed. ‘DO IT.’ Compared to Sonata, this was nothing. This lightning cutting through her muscles was worse than anything she had ever felt. ‘PUNCH HER PUNCH HER NOW.’ She knew she could do it. Adagio was right there; her throat was wide open.

Aria locked her arms at her sides. She wasn’t going to punch their leader.

…But what kind of leader was she, really? Her plans never worked. They still could go weeks, even months without a proper meal. Aria went to bed hungry nearly every night, lulled to sleep by the raw pleading of her soul. And no matter how many times Aria proved herself, Adagio still insulted her, still treated her like she was no better than Sonata.

She was better than Sonata. A carton of spoiled milk was better than Sonata.

Adagio thought she was invulnerable. She thought that she was perfect. But it wasn’t true. It never had been.

Aria wasn’t going to punch Adagio, no—but she wasn’t going to let Adagio lead them to ruin, either.

“Just follow my lead!” Adagio yipped, giving Sonata a little shove.

With the steadiest voice she could manage, Aria built up a smile and said, “Or we could follow my lead.”

Adagio leapt forward and grabbed Aria’s jacket, yanking her off of her feet. “My lead,” she seethed through gritted teeth.

Aria punched Adagio in the throat.

Adagio recoiled from the impact, staggering backwards and crashing hard into a locker before spilling to the floor. On her knees, she shuddered with the force of her coughing, to the point that they resembled dry heaves more than any sort of attempt to breathe. Her arms trembled from the effort of holding herself up. Her face had gone a clammy white.

Aria gasped and took a step back. A dull ache ran down the length of her arm; that last punch may have been the hardest she had ever thrown. Looking at the way Adagio was crumpled against the lockers and the dark diamond-shaped mark on her own fist, she realized: if it hadn’t been for Adagio’s amulet getting in the way, Aria probably would have snapped her windpipe in half.

Sonata didn’t say a word. She just stared, eyes flitting between the two.

Aria’s thoughts spun like a top, bouncing from one side of her brain to the other. Wringing her hands, Aria gulped and opened her mouth to try and apologize.

Yet she couldn’t make the words come out. As she watched Adagio struggle to stand, only to fall back to the floor, Aria felt a sudden giddiness fill her chest. She had to hold back the giggles rising up her throat. It was only when she realized that Adagio wasn’t getting up anytime soon that she stopped resisting the urge.

If only the Elders could see this.

Aria took a step toward Adagio and grinned as the older siren flinched away from the sound. She balled up her fists, laughing louder and louder as Adagio tried to crawl away, only to bump into the lockers. Aria slammed her fist into the metal just beside Adagio’s throat, earning her a strangled yelp in response.

Adagio coughed and looked up at Aria. “What’s wrong with—”

“I’m the leader now,” Aria said. “From now on, you’re gonna do everything I say.”

Adagio narrowed her eyes. “You can’t just—”

Aria punched the locker again, making Adagio jump. She nodded. “Yeah. I think I can.”

As Adagio leaned against the locker and tried to catch her breath, Aria flipped her hair and walked away. Out of the corner of her eye, she caught Sonata looking her way, grimacing. Aria shot her a deathly glare. “What are you staring at, idiot?”

Sonata looked away. She scurried over to where Adagio lay and helped her back up to her feet.

Aria turned her attention back to the cafeteria. She was the leader of the Dazzlings now, which meant that she needed a plan. And considering that it was already past noon, the school day would be over soon, so they needed to act quickly. She furrowed her brows, trying to think of something that might inspire enough fear, anger, and hatred to finally satiate her hunger.

An idea popped off in her head, sending a grin crawling across her lips. None of these pathetic humans had ever seen real magic, right? She’d been to “magic shows” before and had seen their awed reactions to the simplest parlor tricks.

What if the Dazzlings showed them what real magic was? They’d teleport around, cast a few levitation spells. Do it once, and the entire school shuts down in panic. Do it twice, the city. Do it enough times, and entire countries start breaking down, unable to deal with such a rejection of their reality. They would create enough chaos to destroy society, and then they would feast upon the panicked ashes.

…Of course, that would require the Dazzlings to still have their powers, which they didn’t. So that plan was out.

Hrm. This leader thing was harder than it looked.

Aria considered just running in and punching a thousand people in the throat—but she stopped herself. Throat punching required finesse. It required tact. It wasn’t something you could just do to an entire school in a single sitting.

She needed something that was small but had potential to grow. Something that could work in stages, maybe…

Her eyes widened. That’s it!

She looked over her shoulder at Adagio and Sonata, who were huddled together, whispering to one another. “Hey!” she barked, startling them both into silence. “Stop gawking and follow me.”

As they took their places by her side, Aria laid her palms on the glass door and licked her lips. “Dinner time.” She took a deep breath and walked into the cafeteria.

“Ah, ah-ah, ah-ahh… Ah, ah-ah, ah-ahh…”

Their soft, amulet-enhanced voices floated through the cafeteria like smoke, wrapping around the ears of everyone in the room. Flares of pleasure ran through Aria’s body as every student turned to watch them.

“We heard you want to get together… we heard you want to rock this school. We thought of something that is better—something that changes all the rules.”

The lyrics flowed from Aria’s lips as easily as air. Aside from enhancing her voice, the amulet that hung from her neck altered her thoughts, telling her just what words to sing in order to get the best result. It was beautiful.

She strode through the café, swiping a finger along the chins of every student she passed. All eyes fell upon her swaying hips, which moved perfectly in time with their voices. Adagio had always been the “sexy” one—but Aria knew that she was twice the woman Adagio ever was.

The three met in the center of the cafeteria and raised their arms high into the air, giving everyone a good look at their shining red gems.

“Why pretend we’re all the same, when some of us shine brighter?”

She twirled away from the group, grinning as she heard Adagio’s and Sonata’s voices underscore hers. Sonata was always a follower; she didn’t care about who was giving her orders, as long as they were being given. But Adagio? Aria was delighted to see her taking her new role in stride.

“Here’s a chance to find your flame! Are you a loser or a fighter?”

She wrapped her long arms around the chest of a particularly scrawny boy, whose eyes lit up at her touch. She knew that he would do anything for a girl like her—he would do anything and everything she asked. Something as simple as giving up his happiness to feed her was child’s play. Just as she felt him leaning into her, she spun away to another table and looked two girls wearing tracksuits right in the eyes.

“Me and you, you and me… why don’t we see who is better? We don’t have to be one and the same thing! What’s so wrong with a little competition?”

The glare the two girls shared at that last word—Aria could have drank the anger from their eyes. Aria walked back to the front of the cafeteria, ready to let everyone know why they were there. The three Dazzlings gazed out upon their enraptured crowd and asked:

“Are you afraid of failing the audition?”

A low murmur rose from the students. Aria sauntered up to a young girl with a star barrette and wrapped a palm around her chin. The girl didn’t even react as Aria pulled her close, very nearly pressing their faces together.

“You’re a star, and you should know it.”

She saw the lights flicker in the girl’s eyes. They had caught her.

She walked to a nearby table, stretched out her arms, and waited for her lackeys to come pick her up. Sonata was there in a second, but Adagio took a few moments to react. Nevertheless, they managed to get her up onto the table just in time for her to sing,

“Yeah, you rise above the rest! It doesn’t matter who you hurt if you’re just proving you’re the best!”

Her words shot through the room like an earthquake. She watched as every smile disappeared, replaced by distrustful frowns. Not distrustful of them, of course—distrustful of one another. Aria saw whatever small bit of unity this school had built up dissolve, right in front of her eyes. The sight nearly brought a tear to her eye.

It was time for the grand finale. All three of them shot their fists high into the air.

“Let’s have a battle! You want to win it! Let’s have a battle—battle of the bands!”

Adagio sneered. “That was my plan!”

“Uh-huh,” Aria said, disinterested. “I’m sure.”

The Dazzlings danced through the room, soaking up the malice, the jealousy. They jumped from group to group, pumping their fists, shaking their bodies, doing everything to rile up the crowd. At this point, Aria wasn’t singing; she was roaring, screaming their call to arms for the world to hear.

She couldn’t help but falter, however, as she looked across the room and saw Adagio just standing there, not singing. She looked shell-shocked, as if her favorite puppy had just been hit by a car. Aria stopped moving and waited for Adagio to notice her—when she did, Aria pounded her fists together. Adagio gulped and started singing again.

“I can beat you!” she heard someone shout.

“I so want this!” came another voice.

Yes.

As the conflict grew stronger, grew more potent, the lightest wisps of shimmering green smoke rose from the ground and wafted through the air. A cloud passed her and she took a deep breath, letting the fog flow through her. She moaned as the smoke coated her senses. It was richer than the darkest chocolate, sweeter than the ripest fruit.

“Me and you, you and me… why don’t we see who is better? We don’t have to be one and the same thing! What’s so wrong with a little competition?”

“I’m going out and winning the audition!” the entire crowd answered.

Aria laughed. Arguments were starting. Fights were breaking out. In less than a minute, the Dazzlings—the Blazingshad turned the cafeteria into a warzone. It was beautiful.

A new type of power ran through Aria’s veins; it was one that she had never felt before. Her skin was made of electricity. Her thoughts were clearer than they had ever been. And, of course, her fists buzzed with energy. She could fight an entire army and take every soldier down without even a scratch.

Is this what Adagio felt whenever they sang? She must have. Adagio had been holding out on them, feeding them her scraps. She’d never deserved to be leader.

Aria, though? Being leader was her destiny. She was born to do this, no matter what any decrepit old siren told her.

“Let’s have a battle, battle, battle! Battle of the bands!”

It was over. Finally, she would be rid of this hunger.

As the arguments grew louder and more intense, Aria walked to the front of the cafeteria, where Adagio and Sonata were waiting for her. Sonata clapped her hands. “That was really good, Ari! Especially considering it was your first time!”

Aria should have been annoyed, but the negative energy flowing all around her was just too good. She smiled and nodded before turning her attention to Adagio, who was staring off into space. “What’s up with you?”

“What…?” Adagio murmured after a moment. Without the amulet’s magic, her voice was like scrap metal.

“Did you enjoy singing backup?” Aria asked, smirking.

Adagio clenched her teeth and looked down. “No.”

“Good.” Aria took a step toward the door. “Let’s get out of—”

“Hey! Stop right there!”

Aria turned back around, only to find two girls running up to them. The one in front was tall and muscular and wore a large cowboy hat, as if she were in a musical or something. The second was their tour guide from before… Sunny Bunny?

The cowgirl walked straight up to Aria, close enough that Aria smelled her apple-scented breath. “You’ve got a lot of nerve,” she said, “waltzing on in here like you’re just a couple of innocent new kids. Sunset Shimmer here told me what you did to her, how you punched her right in the throat!”

Aria blinked. “And?”

“And I want you to know that you can’t fool me with all this fancy singing and sexy dancing.” The cowgirl grabbed Sun Stone, whose entire face had gone pink, and pulled her forward. “You seriously hurt my friend, and I expect you to apologize right now!”

Aria punched the cowgirl in the throat.

The cowgirl tilted her head a bit, taking the brunt of Aria’s fist on her chin. Even so, she stumbled backwards, only to trip over a soda can and fall flat on her rear. Sunbutt Flitter gasped and took a step back.

Too late; Aria punched Sunshine in the throat. She didn’t even try to stay standing and crumpled to the ground right next to the cowgirl.

Aria chuckled and walked out, cracking her knuckles as she went and ignoring the farmgirl’s embarrassed shouts. Adagio and Sonata shared a silent glance before following.

BLAZE:

Aria couldn’t remember the last time she had heard so many people arguing in such a tight space. It was like being personally escorted to an all-you-can-eat buffet. The only difference she could think of was that human buffets generally didn’t feature teenage girls making each other cry, nor teenage boys threatening to kill one another with drumsticks.

Every Battle of the Bands entrant had gathered into the CHS gymnasium for the Kickoff Party, but instead of excited cheering and music, the din of nearly a thousand students arguing, taunting, and jeering one another filled the air. In the center of them all stood the Blazings, gazing at the carnage with wide eyes.

Aria took a deep breath and filled her lungs with the electric fog that hung in the air. “This is so easy!” she said. “I swear, it’s like these stupid humans want to be conquered.”

Adagio laughed. “It really is amazing how pitiful they are.”

Aria glared at her. “Did I say you could talk?”

“No,” Adagio said, narrowing her eyes. “But I don’t need your permission to—”

Aria punched her in the throat.

Adagio keeled over, falling to her side and gripping her throat. She couldn’t even cough.

“What did you do that for?” Sonata asked, cringing away.

“Don’t talk back to me,” Aria snapped, sending Sonata reeling. Aria kept her scowl up for a moment longer before turning back around and chuckling. “I can’t wait for the Battle of the Bands to start.”

“There isn’t going to be a Battle of the Bands!”

Aria’s fists started aching before she even saw where the voice had come from. A few yards away stood six girls, one of whom she recognized as the cowgirl from before. When Aria looked at her, she seemed to shrink.

“We’re going to make sure of that!” the purple one in front said. She turned to the blue one next to her and whispered something. The six of them held hands and raised their arms high into the air.

“Friendship is magic!” the purple one shouted.

Her voice faded quickly, and silence wrapped around the gymnasium. Everyone stared as the six girls held their pose.

While the purple girl’s eyes were still closed, Aria walked up and punched her in the throat.

She let out a strangled cry and fell, dragging her friends to the ground with her. A unified giggle rose from the gawking crowd as they collapsed into a tangle of limbs and hair and skirts. Aria took in a sharp breath as a cloud of fear rose from the group. The taste sent all her neurons into a frenzy—she hadn’t tasted negative energy this sweet since being banished from Equestria.

Her eyes went wide.

“Don’t touch them!” Sunyarn Splinter yelled, running up to Aria and trying to tackle her.

Aria didn’t move an inch. She punched Sundown in the throat again, sending her sprawling into the pile. As the laughter around them grew, Aria stood over the writhing mass and said, “No, you don’t touch me, idiot!”

Aria kept glaring until Sunset nodded and covered her face. Aria walked back to her group, where Sonata offered her a weak smile, and Adagio just stared. A few moments later, Sundown and her friends climbed to their feet and scurried out of the room, faces redder than the apples on the cowgirl’s boots. The crowd’s laughter scored their every step.

Aria watched them go and furrowed her brows. Why hadn’t the Siren’s Song captured them yet? And that taste... When she had fed off of them, she had tasted a sort of tart, burning energy that she only remembered from one other place: Equestria.

Those humans tasted like magic. They tasted like ponies. That left only one explanation.

“They’re the Equestrians,” Aria said.

“Thank you, Captain Obvious,” muttered Adagio. She flinched away when Aria spun around, fist cocked back. Grumbling, Aria turned back around and massaged her fists.

Those humans were the magic the Blazings had felt two months ago. Aria had gotten so caught up in overthrowing Adagio that she had almost forgotten what brought them to CHS in the first place.

As the negative energy swirled around them, Aria touched her amulet and licked her lips. Human fear could never compare to the mind-numbing deliciousness of pony magic. And besides, conquering the Earth so easily would have been boring. Now the Blazings had a real enemy—a real target.

After all, it wasn’t like any of the humans posed a threat to them. What could a teenager do to the all-powerful Aria Blaze? Throw their cellphone at her? No—humans were weak, pathetic creatures. They didn’t have a single scrap of magical power in their putrid little bodies.

“I can feel the magic burning within me!” a human yelled.

Aria’s eyebrows perked up. In unison, all three sirens spun their heads toward the source of the noise: on the other side of the gym stood three slender girls, each dressed in short purple robes. Aria recognized the one speaking—white hair, blue skin, star barette. Aria had touched her chin during their song in the cafeteria.

“This Battle of the Bands is ours to win,” the blue human said, grabbing her partners. “Surely every musician must bow once they face the sheer awe-inspiring musical talent of the Great and Powerful Trixie!”

Her two partners—one pink-haired, and the other blond—shared a deadpan glance, then cleared their throats.

Trixie blinked a few times. “Oh, right. The sheer awe-inspiring musical talent of the Great and Powerful Trixie... and the Illusions!”

The ‘Illusions’ both shared another glance, but then just shrugged.

“With your songwriting skills,” Trixie said, “and my knowledge of the mystical arts, there’s no way we can be stopped!”

Over Aria’s shoulder, Adagio whispered, “Did you hear that?”

“That girl is magic?” Sonata asked. “But how? Is she a siren, like us?”

“Impossible,” said Adagio, scowling. “If she were a siren, we’d already know her. And besides: she’s far too ugly. Look how greasy her skin is!”

“I dunno,” Sonata said, squinting to see Trixie better. “Her skin just kinda looks like yours before you put makeup on—ow!” she yipped when Adagio kicked her in the shin.

“She’s not a siren. Otherwise she wouldn’t have fallen for our song.” Aria rubbed her chin. “Maybe she’s another Equestrian? Or maybe—”

Still ranting, Trixie tried to strike a wide pose, one fist in the air—only to slip in a puddle of fruit punch on the floor and crash to the floor. She landed stomach first, her wizard hat flying off and her legs splaying out. Everyone watched in silence as a brown rabbit shot out of her hat and ran out of the gymnasium, followed a few seconds later by a flock of doves flying out from under Trixie’s skirt.

It took a few moments for the sound of doves cooing to fade. Once it did, Trixie picked herself up and smoothed out her skirt. “Trixie meant to do that,” she announced to the crowd, cheeks burning red.

While the humans all laughed and taunted their classmate, Aria just snorted. Rabbits? Doves? This Trixie was no Equestrian—she was a magician. The kind of magician one saw on television, making a fortune off entertaining idiots and children.

“Oh my gosh, a magician!” Sonata said, clasping her hands together. “I love magicians!”

“Of course you do,” Aria said. She groaned and shook her head. Humans had to be the lowest lifeforms in existence, followed close after by Sonata.

“You know,” Adagio said, covering her throat with her chin, “even if she has no magic, that Trixie girl might not be totally useless.”

“What do you mean?” Aria asked.

“I mean that a human deluded enough to believe in stage magic might just be the perfect accomplice.” Adagio smiled. “Surely the Equestrians are already working on a spell to destroy us, or banish us to some other awful dimension. And worst of all, they know our faces now; just getting near them could be dangerous.”

“So we use Trixie as what?” Aria asked. “Some sort of mole?”

“I was thinking more of a trojan horse,” Adagio said. “The Equestrians will just look at her like any other human. So we convince Trixie to do our bidding, and tada: we can get one over on the Equestrians and they’ll never see it coming.”

Aria furrowed her brows, mulling over Adagio’s idea. Maybe she had a point—if their magic could control an allegedly “smart” human like Principal Celestia, then surely it could control a dumb kid like Trixie. And Aria definitely didn’t want to be banished again before even getting a chance to take over this world...

“Come on,” Aria said, following after Trixie and the Illusions as they left the room. “We’re grabbing ourselves some new bandmates.”

“Coolio!” Sonata said. She sidled up to Adagio and rested her head on the former leader’s shoulder. “Great idea, Dagi.”

Adagio turned up her nose. “You’re welcome.”

‘Teach her humility.’

Aria punched Adagio in the throat. She stumbled away and doubled over a nearby garbage barrel, nearly falling in.

“Let’s go.” Aria wiped the sweat from her knuckles and walked on. It took a minute for Sonata and Adagio to join her, the latter silent, with her head hanging low.

The Blazings tracked Trixie’s band out of the gymnasium and through the halls of CHS. Aria gritted her teeth at their awful teenage giggling, their incessant chatter about schoolwork and what song they would perform for the Battle of the Bands. Whatever it ended up being, Aria was sure it would be awful. No singer could compare to her. She wanted to punch the songs out of their skinny throats.

She took a long breath. You can punch her after the Equestrians are dead.

Trixie and her partners slipped into the girl’s bathroom, and the Blazings followed close after. Aria found Trixie and her pink-haired bandmate chatting at a sink while the blond opened a stall door—at least, until Aria slammed it shut and pushed her away.

“Hey!” the blond said, massaging her shoulder. “There are other stalls, y’know.”

Sonata grabbed Trixie and the pink-haired girl and threw them against the wall, while Aria took care of the blond.

“What’s the meaning of this?” Trixie asked, shooting the Blazings a wretched glare. “Do you new girls think you can just assault me?” She caught her bandmates’ frowns. “Assault us?”

“You’re smarter than you look.” Aria leaned in and pinned Trixie to the wall. “Now listen up: I’m here to make you an offer. Accept it, or I’ll make you wish you never got out of bed today.”

“Excuse me?” Trixie ground her teeth. “You dare threaten the Great and Powerful Trixie?”

“Great and Powerful?” Aria repeated, a crazed smile spreading over her face. She let out a bellowing laugh. “More like Idiotic and—”

“Do you want to win the Battle of the Bands and beat the Rainbooms?” Sonata asked, laying a hand on Aria’s shoulder and pushing her way into the conversation. She returned Aria’s astonished gaze with a smile and whispered, “I got this, Ari.”

“Don’t touch me,” Aria said, shoving Sonata off. She stepped back.

Sonata refocused her attention on Trixie. “Well? Do you?”

“Of course,” Trixie said, puffing out her chest. Her partners nodded.

“What if we told you the Rainbooms are cheating?”

The three humans shared a glance. Trixie pursed her lips. “We’re listening.”

“The Rainbooms are using magic to make themselves sound super-good,” Sonata said. “Dark magic. The kind that only really bad guys use.”

At that, the Illusions groaned and covered their faces—but Trixie giggled. She clasped two hands over her mouth, but couldn’t cover the wild grin spreading over her face. Both her friends plugged their ears just in time for Trixie to let out an ear-splitting squeal.

“I knew it! I knew it!” Trixie said, jumping from foot-to-foot. She jabbed a finger into both her friends’ chests. “I told you the Rainbooms were using dark magic! No lawful wizard can shoot rainbow laser blasts, or turn into a half-horse daemon!”

The pink-haired human scoffed. “This isn’t one of your weird role playing games, Trixie.”

“It may as well be!” Trixie said. “You saw the sort of creature that freak Sunset turned into! If she’s not chaotic evil, Trixie will eat her hat.”

“So you’ll work with us to stop them?” Aria asked.

Trixie and the Illusions whispered a few words to each other—but soon nodded. “What do you want us to do?” Trixie asked.

The Blazings all grinned. “Not sure yet,” said Aria. She crossed her arms and beamed. “Short answer: whatever to ask you to do. Kill them, even.”

The teenagers all paled. Trixie stepped back. “What?”

“Probably not killing!” Sonata said, waving her hands. “Maybe kidnapping?”

The blond girl gulped. “But isn’t that, y’know... illegal?”

“Yes,” Aria said.

“I don’t wanna go to jail,” said the pink-haired one. “I dunno about this...”

Behind the group, the bathroom door opened and in walked two new girls: one with creamy skin and candy-colored hair, and the other one the color of peppermint. They gave the Blazings and Illusions a sideways glance.

Aria sprinted over and punched them both in the throat.

As they fell to the floor, coughing their brains out, Aria walked back and pushed Trixie and her friends into the wall. “You do what we say,” Aria seethed, “or you end up like them. Understand?”

The Illusions just whimpered.

Aria held them there for a few seconds more before backing away. The teenagers huddled together.

“How can we help?” Trixie asked, putting on a shaking smile.

“Just compete,” Aria said. “Wait for further instructions. Don’t tell anyone about our alliance.”

The Illusions nodded and ran away, nearly tripping over the still-recovering bodies of the two girls Aria had punched.

“Oh my goddess,” Aria said, cracking her knuckles. “You can’t even imagine how hyped I am to eat their souls and make them my slaves.”

Sonata giggled and nodded. Adagio just massaged her swollen throat.

THROAT

“And Bare Knuckles dodges left, dodges right! He’s not letting a single punch land! He’s backing up, backing—oh, but Haymaker’s backed him into a corner. He’s trying to defend himself, but wham! Haymaker’s got him! Haymaker’s beating him with all he’s got!”

Sonata cringed as the sound of leather smacking against flesh echoed from their television, filling the apartment. Aria just moved closer to the TV, scooting forward until she was hanging off the edge of the couch. Ever since that night in the cafe, Aria had gained an appreciation for boxing. She couldn’t help but get a bit angry whenever the fighters didn’t go straight for the throat—apparently it was illegal or something—but it was still two sweaty men beating each other into submission, and she loved every second of it.

She grinned as Haymaker pummeled his opponent into the ropes, smashing his nose apart, sending flecks of blood flying into the air—

The bell rang, and the referee jumped in to separate the two boxers. Aria snorted and slumped into the couch cushions.

It was just after sundown. The apartment was completely dark, save for the flickering of the TV screen. Sonata and Aria sat next to each other, with Sonata scrunched up against an armrest and Aria spread out across two cushions. They had been sitting like this for a few hours now.

As soon as they had walked through the door, Adagio had run to her room and locked herself in. She hadn’t emerged since.

Aria stretched out her legs, taking up another couch cushion and squishing Sonata against the armrest. Her soul ached; the negative energy she had eaten in the cafeteria had tasted delicious, but hadn't been nearly enough to fill her up. She ignored the hunger pangs and focused her attention on the fight.

“Uhm, Ari?” Sonata said, twiddling her fingers. “Can we—?”

“No.”

“But I—”

“Shut up.”

“I bought you something!”

Aria paused before muttering, “What is it?”

Sonata clapped her hands together and let out a scratchy squeal. She sprinted out of the living room, only to return a few seconds later holding a pink plastic shopping bag with a heart on it. She rested it at the foot of the couch before sitting down next to Aria and giving her a calm smile.

“Ari,” she cooed, resting a hand on Aria’s knee. “I think we need to talk.”

“Why are you touching me?”

“I know that things have been getting really crazy over the past few weeks. I mean, there’s been magic rainbows, and we’re in a new school, and you’re the leader of the group now…” Sonata threw up her hands defensively. “Which is totally cool, by the way! Like, Adagio was a great leader, but I’m sure you’ll be just as good!”

Aria grabbed Sonata’s collar. “Don’t compare me to her! I’m a better leader than Adagio ever was!”

“Okay, but—”

“Say it.”

“Huh?”

“Say it!” Aria screamed, shaking Sonata by the collar. She raised her fist high. “Say that I’m a better leader than Adagio!”

“You’re a better leader than Adagio!” Sonata cried, throwing her hands to her throat.

Aria held her grip for a few seconds longer before letting go and shoving Sonata, nearly sending her off the couch.

Sonata adjusted her shirt and tried to smile again. “Uh, anyway… I was just gonna say that with all that’s going on, it’s totally alright to be stressed, and stuff like that.”

“Stressed?” Aria repeated with a chuckle.

“Yeah! ’Cuz, like, you’ve been a little testy lately—”

“I’m not ‘testy!’” Aria yelled. “I’m hungry. How long has it been since we had a full meal? Five, six months? And even when we did, you know that Adagio was hogging the best energy for herself like a pig. Adagio is an idiot—if it wasn’t for me taking charge when I did, we’d be starving right now. Is that what you want?”

“No! I want to take over the world as much as you!” Sonata took a quick glance at the hallway leading to Adagio's bedroom before murmuring, “And I’m not saying you’re wrong, Ari. All I’m saying is that you’ve been acting a bit meaner than usual, and I don’t think I like it.”

“Mean? We’re sirens, Sonata.” Aria clenched her fists. “It’s either be mean or be dead.”

“Yeah, but—”

Aria punched Sonata in the throat. Her anger overtook any pleasure she found in the punch.

Sonata fell off the couch, bumping her head on the coffee table as she went. As she groaned and gurgled on the floor, Aria jumped to her feet and shouted, “And we’d catch even more prey if it wasn’t for you talking back to me every single day, interrupting me when I'm trying to make plans—you're worthless!”

“I’m sorry!” Sonata choked out, covering her throat with both arms. “Stop, please!”

‘DON’T STOP DON’T STOP DON’T STOP’

Aria reached down and pulled Sonata’s hands away from her face, giving her a clear shot at Sonata’s thin little throat. She could end it right now. She could steal Sonata’s voice, make it so she could never whine again. Sure, the Blazings might lose a singer, but who cared? With Sonata’s windpipe crushed and Adagio’s confidence shot, no one would ever question Aria. She would have all the power.

‘DO IT DO IT’

Sonata heaved, sobbed. Aria raised her fist high and took aim.

‘PUNCH’

She brought her knuckles down to Sonata’s throat.

Her fist froze just an inch above Sonata’s skin. Looking into Sonata’s wide, watery eyes, Aria flinched. The pinprick pupils cut through Aria’s skin like a spear, digging through her chest and piercing her heart. She felt a sharp stinging in the base of her stomach—it was enough to force a retreat, sending her back to the couch.

The thoughts still raged, but the headache wasn’t nearly as painful as the look in Sonata’s eyes.

Aria collapsed into a cushion and watched Sonata, who was hiccupping and gasping and trying to rub away the tears rolling down her cheeks. Aria tried to swallow, but a stone had lodged itself in her throat.

"Get up," Aria said. "And stop crying. You look like an idiot." She wrung her hands and managed to say, “What’s in the bag?”

Sonata stared at Aria for a moment with bleary eyes before rising to her feet, balancing herself on wobbling knees. She grabbed the shopping bag and handed it over. “I got you a present,” she croaked, sniffling. “I thought it might calm—I thought you might like it.”

Aria reached into the bag, only stopping when her fingers brushed against something soft and fuzzy. She wrapped her hand around the first firm part she found and lifted it out—it was a big brown teddy bear, wearing a shirt that read ‘I Love You!’

“What is this…?” Aria turned it over in her hands.

“He’s your present,” Sonata said, managing a weak smile. “When we got out of school, I went down to the Teddy Bear Hospital and adopted him, just for you. His name is Mister Softpaws, and he loves hugs.”

Aria held the bear far from her chest and returned its beady black gaze with a hesitant glance, as if expecting it to come alive and bite out her eyes. And yet nothing happened. The bear just sat there, smiling, with its soft fur—so, so soft. Its short brown hairs were silk and velvet’s lovechild, caressing her hands like feathers. And so warm; Aria felt like she could bury herself in its arms and survive a nuclear winter.

Her mouth hung open. "Why?”

“What do you mean, silly?” Sonata dared to touch Aria’s arms, bending them so Aria would press the bear against her chest. “Because you’re my friend, and I hate it when you get all depressed like this.”

Aria gripped the bear, digging her jagged nails into its fabric flesh. A whirlwind of emotions whipped through her chest. She wanted to hurt something, to ruin something, to put out the fires building in her arms—

And yet, whenever she glanced up at Sonata’s bright smile, lodged between two tear-stained cheeks, everything seemed to… stop? For just a second, the tightness in her chest vanished, replaced by some sort of airiness, some sort of lightness. There was no energy in her veins. There was no itching in her knuckles.

It took a few seconds, but Aria returned Sonata’s smile. “Thanks,” she murmured. “This… this is nice.”

“Yes!” Sonata cheered. She grabbed Aria and pulled her into a tight hug, which Aria didn’t resist. “Oh, I’m so happy that you like him! I really hope that he makes you feel better. It’s no fun taking over the world when you’re so gloomy!”

Warmth ran through Aria’s chest. She nodded and leaned into the hug, even as it brought her closer to Sonata’s beaten throat. The two stayed in that position for nearly a minute before Sonata pulled away and stood up.

“I’m gonna let you two get acquainted,” she said, winking. She skipped out of the room, doing her best to hum a tune. Aria waited until her voice had faded away before turning back to the bear.

It was a nice present, wasn’t it? Certainly better than any gift Adagio had ever gotten for her. Adagio would only ever buy joke presents—things that were meant to mock, or to point out some sort of flaw. Like the diet plan she had bought for Sonata, or the hair salon gift card she had gotten Aria. Like she’s one to talk.

But this? This was thoughtful. Innocent. Sonata wasn’t trying to hurt her.

…At least, Aria didn’t think so.

What had Sonata said? She bought the bear so Aria would ‘calm…?’ Calm what? Calm down? What did that mean? Aria was always calm. She was calmer than any of them—that’s what made her the leader. Just because she punched people in the throat didn’t mean that she was upset. It meant that she was smart.

What, did Sonata think Aria had gone crazy or something? That she couldn’t handle being leader without some stupid stuffed animal to keep her company? Was Sonata trying to mock her?

‘She’s no better than Adagio. They’re all trying to mock you.’

The warmth in Aria’s chest turned to sludge. If Sonata wasn’t trying to insult her, what was she doing? Trying to win Aria’s favor? She had always been the manipulative one, using her innocence to trick humans—and now she had tried to trick Aria, as if Aria were but a filthy human!

Did she really think that these worthless presents would keep her safe? They wouldn’t. Sonata could make Aria the most powerful woman in the world, and she’d still get her throat punched in.

Aria wriggled her hands around as the itch jumped across her knuckles. It was too strong to get rid of with any sort of hand wringing.

Aria punched Mr. Softpaws in the throat.

Her fist was enough to rip Softpaws’ head clean off, sending a flurry of stuffing across the couch. His soft, silky head rolled along the floorboards and under a bookshelf.

Breaths shallow, Aria stared down at the mangled teddy bear and could have sworn she saw Sonata’s tired eyes looking back at her from the sea of loose stuffing. Her own eyes stung—she closed them tight and threw the carcass across the room before jumping off the couch and running to the bathroom.

She slammed the door behind her and nearly collapsed onto the sink. She stared into the mirror and cringed. She saw something in her eyes—a something dark. Something alien.

‘You’re overreacting,’ said the strange voice. ‘It’s late. You’re tired. Calm down and go to sleep.’

Aria took a long breath, then listened to the voice and headed to bed.

But sleep never came. No matter how hard she clenched her eyes shut, no matter how many times she beat her head into the mattress, Aria couldn't get the memory of Equestria out of her mind. Even wrapped up in bundles of blankets, Aria felt the freezing ocean water around her, heard the echo of countless songs floating from the lips of countless sirens. She saw a vision of herself, huddling at the bottom of a dank grotto, trying her damnedest not to cry, don't cry, crying is for weaklings and if Adagio finds out she'll never let you live it down—

Sonata's bright blue scales glinted in Aria's eyes. Algae clung to her fins, just as it always did.

And the wound in the pit of Aria's stomach just festered.

PUNCHER

The next day, Aria and her followers patrolled Canterlot High, stomachs growling.

“Hey, kid!” Aria said, slamming her palms down on a cafeteria table. She put on her most jovial smile. “Whatcha got there?”

Flash Sentry jumped at the voice. Looking around, he quickly discovered that his bandmates had fled. He darted a glance at the other two Blazings, who stood only a few feet away, and held his guitar a bit closer to his chest. “What are you talking about? I don’t have anything.”

“Really? Because that looks like a guitar.” Aria sat down next to Flash, close enough that she could blow a breath across his bare neck. “And a nice one, too. Mind if I take a look?”

“Why?” Flash asked. He scooted a few inches away, only for Aria to follow him. “What are you gonna do with it?”

“Nothing, nothing!” Aria said. “I just wanna see it! I’m a curious musician!”

“I… I don’t know.” Flash looked down at the instrument, running his fingers along the taut strings. “My granddad got it for me. It’s, like, my favorite thing in the world.”

“You don’t know?” Aria said. Behind her back, she clenched a fist. “Well, why don’t you think a little harder—“

“It’s okay!” Sonata said, walking up to the two. She placed a gentle hand on Flash’s shoulder and smiled. “Aria’s not gonna do anything bad. She’s, like, the most careful person I know! You can totally trust your most prized possessions with her.”

Aria smirked as she watched Flash nod and glance back down at his guitar. He sighed. “Well, I guess it might be okay. But, like, be careful with it!” He handed it to Aria.

“Thank you so much!” Aria said, grabbing the guitar. “I promise I’ll give it right back.”

With that, she smashed the guitar against a wall; Flash screamed and Sonata giggled as chips of wood and plastic flew through the air. Aria slammed the guitar against the wall again and kept slamming it until the neck snapped off and the body cracked into two jagged chunks.

“What are you doing?!” Flash yelped. He leapt at Aria. “Leave the guitar alone, you—”

Aria punched him in the throat, and he crashed to the ground. She laughed as he grabbed his wrecked guitar and limped away.

The fear and sadness rushed into Aria’s veins like an adrenaline shot. Pleasure raced through her. She held onto the feeling for as long as possible, then let out a deep, shuddering breath. She had been spending most of the morning like this, taking out random students for a rush of negativity. Boys had the best throats; crunchy and hard. Girls’ throats felt like puff pastries in comparison.

“Well, that’s another band that’ll have to drop out,” Aria said, kicking away a hunk of wood. “What does that make now? Twenty drop-outs? Twenty-five?"

“Thirty.” Sonata sat down. “We’re totally gonna win!”

“Well, duh,” Aria said. She put her hands on her hips and smiled down at Sonata. “I gotta say, it’s nice having at least one loyal follower.” She jabbed a finger over her shoulder. “It’s too bad we have to carry that piece of trash.”

Leaning against the wall a few feet away, Adagio opened her eyes and glowered at Aria. Dark bags hung under her eyes, and her once-curly hair ran in wild streaks, jutting out in all directions. She took in a breath, as if she were going to shout something back—but let it out in a sharp hiss.

“What was that?” Aria said to her. “Got something to say?”

“Sure,” spat Adagio. “Aren’t we supposed to be feeding off the negative energy this Battle of the Bands creates? If you keep attacking people, there won’t be any students left to compete.”

Aria prepared a comeback, but Sonata cut her off.

“She hasn't punched everyone,” said Sonata. “There are still, like, loads left. We don’t have to worry.”

“That’s absolutely right,” Aria said. As Adagio rolled her eyes, Aria smiled and turned back to Sonata. “Y’know, for a while, I was starting to think that you liked the humans.”

“No way!” Sonata said. “You’re our leader now, so I’m with you all the way. And I told you: I wanna take over the world as much as you.”

“That’s good to hear,” Aria said. She turned and walked away.

“But I still…” Sonata paused and looked to the floor. “I still don’t like all the throat punching. There’s a difference between breaking someone’s guitar and breaking someone’s, like, body.”

Aria stopped midstep. Balling up a fist, she spun around and marched up to Sonata—

But stopped when Sonata flinched away, crumpling into her seat and covering her face. Aria kept her fist raised high, but she felt the heaviness weighing down on her joints—the same pain she had felt last night, digging into her gut.

Aria swallowed a curse and turned back around, crossing her arms. “Yeah, well… I don’t like it when you breathe.”

Adagio snorted. “Clever.”

Aria punched her in the throat. “Don’t talk back to me!” she screamed as Adagio collapsed.

“Guys, stop!” Sonata said, stepping between them. She pressed a hand into Aria’s chest and pushed her away. “We shouldn’t be fighting like this!”

“Don’t touch me!” Aria snapped. She slapped away Sonata’s hand and rushed off, brushing off her shirt. No one had the right to touch her. No one was good enough. She pulled her jacket on a little tighter and walked away. “Come on. If you two keep whining, we’ll be late for our next round.”

The three left the cafeteria behind and headed for the gymnasium. Aria swaggered in front, naturally, with Sonata following close behind. Adagio, however, just drudged along, eyes glued to the floor. Normally Aria would threaten her in an attempt to make her walk faster, but there was something about Adagio’s lethargy that just made Aria feel so excited. To think, Adagio Dazzle, self-proclaimed Greatest Siren in History, chosen by the Elders themselves, brought to heel like a common mutt.

Her hands tingled with anticipation as they turned the corner into the hallway leading to the auditorium. The negative energy was calling to her, ready to be eaten. They were nearing the end of their journey, and she couldn’t be happier.

That happiness disappeared in an instant when she realized that Sundown Stammer was blocking the auditorium doors.

Sunny leaned against the far wall, enveloped in darkness. She kept a steady glare leveled at Aria as she walked forward. Her throat was still swollen. “You’re never gonna get away with this.”

Aria punched her in the throat.

While Sunroof writhed in pain on the floor, Aria’s vision pulsed with anger. Everything was a blur as she gazed down at the heaving mass that lay before her. Sunset tried to lean on a locker, tried to stand, but Aria kicked her legs out from under her, and she collapsed.

“When will you learn to stop getting in my way?” Aria asked, grabbing a fistful of Sunset’s hair. She yanked her up and exposed her throat. She wound up another punch. “Am I gonna have to kill you?”

“No!” Sonata shouted, grabbing Aria’s arm.

Aria dropped Sunset, spun around, and swung at Sonata’s throat, but a single look into Sonata’s narrowed, burning eyes sent that icicle through Aria’s chest once again. Her hands burned, but her stomach felt like it was filled with ice.

“Don’t touch me,” Aria spat. Her chest heaved.

“Leave her alone,” Sonata said. “She hasn’t done anything to us!”

‘Hurt her.’

“She tried to talk to me!”

“So? Are you just gonna start punching anyone who talks to you?” Sonata asked. “Because that’s totally stupid!”

‘PUNCH HER KILL HER’

Aria pushed Sonata away and threw her hands to her head, tugging at her hairline. Her brain was splitting apart, and her knuckles were on fire. It was all Aria could do to hobble over to the gymnasium doors.

She leaned on the doorway for support. “Are you coming?” she shouted back, panting.

Adagio scurried over to meet her, but Sonata stayed for a moment. She tried to keep glaring at Aria, but soon enough her hard glance broke, and she sighed.

“I’m sorry,” Sonata muttered to Sunfish. “I promise, Aria’s not usually such a barnacle.”

Sunset was crying.

Sonata hurried to catch up with her fellow Blazings. The door locked behind them, leaving Sunday to weep on the floor, alone.

As they walked, Aria kept her gaze pointed straight ahead, not daring to look at either of her partners. And yet she couldn’t erase Sonata’s face from her mind—for when Sonata grabbed her, and Aria looked into her eyes, she saw something she had never seen in Sonata before: rage.

But it didn’t matter. There was no threat. Sonata was worthless, even more pathetic than the humans. She was weak, and when the time came, Aria would break her too.

Oh-whoa-oh, oh-whoa-oh,
Now that you're under our spell...

From the stage, Aria stared straight forward, right into the eyes of Principal Celestia. As their song ended and applause filled the auditorium, Celestia looked away and pulled up her collar to cover her throat. Snickering, Aria led her followers off the stage and into the sea of hypnotized teenagers.

"We were so great!" Sonata said, pumping a fist. "I think that might be the best song we've ever done. And we don't even have all our magic yet!"

"Same," said Aria. She shot a glance back at Adagio. "Even with someone dragging us down."

Adagio kept her eyes on her feet.

Aria stopped and gazed across the auditorium, studying what few bands were left. Throughout the day, Aria had systematically eliminated band after band, breaking either their instruments or their throats—usually both. By the time semi-finals rolled around, only four bands were left: the Blazings, the Rainbooms, Trixie and the Illusions, and some techno group called "The Snapshots," led by a weird girl with white hair and sunglasses who wouldn't stop taking pictures of everything in sight. In other words, the Blazings were the only ones left with any real musical talent.

Trixie's band had been awful, predictably. Not only was their song boring and repetitive, but halfway through, Trixie tripped over again and let another dove fly from her skirt. They might have been able to recover... if the dove hadn't gone and pooped right on Luna's head. The Rainbooms hadn't even finished their performance; they had gotten barely a verse in before Sandy Stinger tackled the colorful one right off the stage.

"I swear," said Aria, "we don't even need to force Celestia and Luna to push us into the finals. No one can compete with us."

And no matter which band got joined the Blazings in the finals, Aria won. Were the Rainbooms to make finals, Aria would just order Trixie to neutralize them. And if Trixie made it through, the Rainbooms would have no way of stopping Aria before she reached full power. Aria had concocted the perfect plan—without Adagio's help.

"I haven't had this much fun in, like, centuries!" Sonata said. "Hey, Ari, once this is over and all the humans are our slaves, can we have another singing contest? Just, like, for funzies?"

"Shush!" Aria hissed, pushing Sonata away. "They're announcing the finalists!"

All of CHS crowded formed a circle around the table at the center of the auditorium, where Celestia and Luna stood, holding clipboards filled with papers. The sisters skimmed through their notes and shared a few hushed words—Aria caught Celestia's gaze for just long enough to bare her teeth—then Luna grabbed a microphone and smiled at the crowd.

"Boys and girls, aspiring musicians and accomplished songwriters!" Luna said. "We thank you for your patience. It was not easy, but Principal Celestia and I believe we have finally come to a decision on the two bands moving forward to the final round, tonight at Barnyard Bargains Stadium! Now, the first band that will be going onto the finals is—"

Celestia grabbed the microphone out of her hands and yipped, "The Blazings! The Blazings will be moving on because they are a fantastic band and deserve all the love and support we can give them. Isn't that right, students?"

The crowd gave a hesitant and bewildered murmur of agreement. Aria nodded.

Luna shot Celestia a furrow-browed glance, but took the microphone back all the same. "Moving on... this next pick took a large amount of thought and consideration. All three bands left in the running put on wonderful performances, but only one can go on to compete in the finals of Canterlot High School's first ever Battle of—"

"Get on with it!" Aria yelled.

Luna scowled. "As you wish."

Aria rubbed her hands together and glanced at her potential opponents. Rainbooms, Illusions... get ready to become my slaves.

"The band that will be joining the Blazings in tonight's finals," Luna said, "is The Snapshots!"

Aria's smile died.

Everyone in the crowd groaned—except for the weird white-haired girl and her two friends, who giggled and shared a highfive. "Wunderbar!" the white-haired one said. "Our magicks have been recognized!"

Behind Aria, Adagio stifled a giggle. "Aw," she said, "looks like your little plan didn't work out!"

Sonata smiled. "They were really good."

The white-haired girl whipped out her camera and tripod, and set them up to take a photo of her and her bandmates. "Smile!" she said. "Show the camera your most graceful pose!"

A few second later, the camera went off with a great flash—but all it captured was the image of Aria punching the white-haired girl in the throat.

"Aria Blaze!" Luna cried. "What do you think you're—"

Aria sprinted over and punched Luna in the throat. As she collapsed, Aria grabbed Celestia and threw her onto the judging table.

"Please, no!" Celestia said, covering her throat. "Have mercy!"

"The Snapshots are disqualified!" Aria said.

"But—"

Aria punched the space next to Celestia's head so hard her fist went through the table. "The Snapshots are disqualified!"

"Alright, alright! Just don't hurt me!" Celestia said. Aria kept her pinned down for a few seconds more, but then let her go. Celestia fell to her knees and crawled across the floor to her clipboard and microphone. Curled up into a shaking ball, Celestia stammered, "The Snapshots are disqualified. As such, the next highest-scoring band will proceed to the finals: the Rainbooms."

Everyone in the crowd groaned even harder.

"What?" Octavia said, sneering. "This is outrageous!"

Flash Sentry nodded. "Yeah, they were terrible!"

"The Rainbooms' dark magic strikes again," Trixie said.

The Rainbooms cringed away from the ocean of insults, huddling together against a wall.

Aria panted, sweat gluing her bangs to her face. The alien voice raged in her head. Rubbing her fists, she walked off, back to where Sonata and Adagio stood.

She passed by the Rainbooms on the way. "Aria!" Applejack called, raising her voice to speak over the booing. She stepped forward and tipped her hat. "Thanks for the help. I think."

Aria punched Applejack in the throat.

The rest of the Rainbooms gasped and ran to pick her up, but backed off when Aria grabbed Sunset Shimmer, punched her in the throat again, and screamed at the rest, "I will eat your souls, Equestrians!" She tossed Sunset's limp body onto Applejack's and stormed off.

Rarity stomped a foot. "I am not a horse!"

Aria snatched Sonata and Adagio's collars and dragged them out of the noisy auditorium, into the hallway.

"Thank goddess that's over," Aria said. Her entire body burned, as if she were a computer left running too long.

Adagio scowled. "Are you pretending to be an idiot, or are you really just this stupid?"

"Excuse me?" Aria said.

"Why did you let the Rainbooms get into the finals?" Adagio asked. "You just gave them another chance to launch a counterspell!"

"Haven't you been listening?" Aria asked. She jerked a thumb back toward the auditorium. "This is why we have Trixie. The Rainbooms will never make it to the finals—Trixie will take them out before they go on, and then Trixie's band will take their place."

"So why didn't you just tell Celestia to put Trixie in the finals? What's the point of putting the Rainbooms in, only to take them out?"

Aria blinked.

'punch her'

"What if Trixie fails, hm?" Adagio stepped forward, forcing Aria to take a step back. "What then? It's seven-on-three; we can't take them out ourselves. What if the Rainbooms get a chance to perform, and they destroy us?"

'KILL HER'

Sonata tried to step between the two. "Girls, c'mon, stop fighting."

Aria wanted to scream, wanted to point out that using Trixie had been Adagio's idea in the first place, but the only comeback she could think of was, "Shut up!" She slammed her shaking hands into Adagio'a chest.

Adagio didn't budge. "You're so obsessed with your little power fantasy that you're messing everything up! We're going to die here, alone and starving, all because you can't control your wretched hands!"

she's right 'KILL' oh goddess she's right she's right 'PUNCH PUNCH KILL'

Breathing hard, Aria threw a punch, but it sailed straight past Adagio's throat and into open air. Before she could try again, Adagio shot forward and shoved her to the ground. The back of Aria's head smacked against the hard linoleum floor, shattering all her thoughts into pieces.

"You're an idiot," Adagio said, kicking a stunned Aria in the side. "You're a failure! You'll never compare to me, and you know it!"

Sonata grabbed Adagio's arm. "Dagi! Stop!"

'get up GRAB her get up'

"You really thought you could replace me?" Adagio said. She stomped on Aria's outstretched hand, and Aria let out a horrid howl. "Thought you could break my confidence, make me humble? You're not even worthy to pick the algae from my scales. I am Adagio Dazzle, Queen of the Sirens, Mistress of the Melody! And what are you? 'Aria Blaze, Queen of Punching Throats?'"

'grab her stop her do it'

Aria could barely hear Adagio's insults over the shrieking in her head. She hadn't felt pain, sadness, humiliation like this since the voice arrived, all those months ago. Her ribs and hand burning, she climbed onto her knees—only for Adagio to kick her in the side again. Aria crumpled against the lockers.

"Stop," Aria gasped, spit rolling off her lips.

"Why? Are you going to cry?" Adagio bent over and leaned into Aria, close enough that their noses touched. "You're never going to touch me again, Blaze. Once we win, you're going to become my slave, just like the humans."

'NO'

With a primal roar, Aria threw her head forward, cracking her forehead against Adagio's nose.

Adagio shrieked and reeled back, holding her face. She had barely let out a curse before Aria leapt up, tackled her to the ground, and drove a fist hard into Adagio's nose. Aria heard an unnatural crack, felt a vibration travel up her arm.

Sonata screamed.

Aria's heart pumped, her brain pulsed. She threw punch after punch, attacking Adagio from every direction. Adagio kept her throat covered with an arm, but that didn't stop Aria from aiming for it again and again and again, over and over until the yellow skin on Adagio's arm became a burning red. Adagio yelled and whimpered, but Aria didn't stop. She would never stop. Not until Adagio learned her place, not until Adagio suffered, not until she died and rotted—

What are you doing?

The first truly clear thought Aria had heard in days. It was enough to freeze her in place, giving Adagio time to scramble away, blood dripping from her lip and nose. She curled up against the wall, staring with pinpricked pupils.

Aria watched her former ally bleed with glazed-over eyes. She felt like she was watching the scene through a window—like her body was an empty shell, like it belonged to someone else. Her mind stayed quiet. Aria had forgotten how nice it felt not to have screaming in her head every minute of every day.

Then she saw Sonata. The screaming came back.

Sonata hurried over to where Adagio lay. She tore off her scrunchie and pressed it to Adagio's mangled nose, trying fruitlessly to stem the flow of blood.

Aria's mouth felt like a minefield; it took all her effort just to muster up, "I'm—"

"Get out!" Sonata said through gritted teeth. "You—just go away!"

Her words tasted like poison. Aria gulped down her nausea and stood up on trembling legs. With her aching hand pressed to her bruised ribs, she turned around and hobbled away.

'No one talks to you like that. Go back there and hurt her, too.'

But Aria kept walking. She kept walking, letting the voice in her head fester and grow until what brief quiet she had found faded away completely.

Her fists itched. Hunger gnawed at her stomach.

She needed to find Trixie and tell her what to do. She needed to win, no matter how many friends she lost.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

If there was one thing that Aria hated more than anything right now, it was breathing.

Breathing was useless. It was idiotic. Why did it exist? Time spent breathing could be used in so many other ways. Like punching. Or punching. Or punching. Or not breathing.

It was the night of the finals, and Aria was pacing around backstage, doing what she could to distract herself from the tightness in her lungs. Every breath came with a typhoon of nausea, rolling through her stomach and destroying everything in its path. She ground her teeth, flexed her arms, massaged her still-aching hand—every second not spent moving felt like a prison sentence.

She had arrived at the arena a while ago. Seconds. Minutes. Hours? Hours. Six hours. Sonata and Adagio had only shown up one hour ago. Adagio had an ugly bandage covering her even uglier nose. They didn't say anything when they arrived; they just stared at Aria, walking together and whispering together. That was fine—Aria didn't want to talk. She wanted to eat and eat and punch and make slaves. No time for talking.

Aria hated everything. And yet she loved everything? She had no idea. All she knew was that her knuckles itched, they were mere minutes away from reaching their goal, her stomach cried out for sustenance, the voice in her head kept yelling, and everything was so loud.

She spun around and shouted across the room, “Shut up!”

Sonata flinched, very nearly falling off her stool. “I didn’t say anything!”

Aria paused for a moment before stomping her foot and shooting back, “Just shut up!” She paced again. The alien voice in her head wouldn’t stop talking, wouldn’t stop muttering to her.

It was almost over. Right? Yes. Yes. In just a few minutes, the world would be theirs, and her stomach would shut up, just like Sonata needed to shut up. Sonata. Aria hated Sonata more than anything. Her and Adagio.

“Where’s Adagio?” Aria asked, tugging at one of her ponytails. She turned to Sonata. “Where’d she go?”

“I don’t know,” Sonata said, standing up and smoothing out her skirt. “I haven’t seen her since Trixie went on.”

Trixie. Aria cringed as she realized that Trixie’s voice was still floating through the air, booming out of every speaker in the arena. It tore at Aria’s eardrums like a rusted icepick. Trixie was begging Aria to believe that she had tricks up her sleeves—but why should she care? It didn’t matter how many tricks Trixie had; to Aria, she was nothing more than another tasty morsel. No wonder she had been so easy to manipulate.

“Ari?”

“What?” Aria snapped, whipping her head around and nearly knocking into Sonata. “What do you want?”

Sonata frowned and said, “I was just gonna ask if my hair was alright. Ugh, you’re acting so stupid lately…”

“What did you just say to me?” Aria asked, returning Sonata’s frown with a glare. “I’m not stupid!”

“I didn’t say you were!” Sonata yelled back. “But you're acting like a total shipwreck! I mean, that’s why I gave you Mister Softpaws, y’know? You just need to calm down—”

“How am I supposed to be calm when you keep talking?” With both hands, Aria shoved Sonata, sending her spilling to the floor. “You never shut up, and it’s driving me crazy!”

Aria turned away—and yet, as soon as Sonata hit the ground, she was back up again to give Aria a shove of her own. Sonata slammed both of her palms into Aria’s back, sending her stumbling a few feet. “Why did you have to push me?” Sonata cried. “Why do you keep being so mean?”

“Mean?” Aria repeated after a moment. The anger in Sonata’s voice made her fists shiver. “We’re sirens, you idiot! What, do you expect me to be some goody two-shoes like you?”

Sonata swallowed. “I’m not a goody two-shoes…”

“Oh, yes you are!” Aria jabbed a finger toward the curtain. “You care more about these stupid humans than you do about getting our magic back!”

“I care about you, Ari!” Sonata’s eyes shone as she walked forward, forcing Aria back. “I care about you, but you’ve been so weird and awful lately, and I hate it!”

‘Punch her’

Staring at Sonata’s quivering chin, Aria felt the nausea swimming through her veins. She gritted her teeth. “Be quiet.”

‘Do it do it do it’ no

“I know that you’ve always been good at punching, and it was okay back when it was just people that wanted to hurt us, or when we were gonna die, but now it’s everyone! It’s me and Adagio and people we don’t even know and—”

‘PUNCH HER HURT HER’ STOP ‘HURT HER’

“Shut up!” Aria yelled, pulling her hair. “Shut up, or I’ll—”

“Or you’ll what? Punch me in the throat?” Sonata asked. She took a moment to rub her damp eyes before lifting her chin high and leaning forward, completely exposing her neck. “Fine. Do it. I don’t even care anymore.”

‘DO IT DO IT’ NO ‘PUNCH THROAT HURT’ STOP ‘NOW PUNCH THROAT DO IT NOW’ NO STOP

A shouting match had broken out in her brain between the alien voice and her normal thoughts. Every piece of her itched. She wanted to take her chance, to rip Sonata’s throat apart, to make her suffer. So why wasn’t she? Why wasn’t Sonata writhing on the floor, sobbing, heaving, her trachea crushed into a hundred pieces? Why was Sonata still standing, still breathing, still staring at her with those awful, tear-soaked eyes?

Aria raised her shaking fist into the air. Her chest heaved with every quicksand breath. Sonata’s throat was right there. This was her chance. Sonata was asking for it—she deserved it. She pulled her arm back and took aim.

But before she could swing, her thoughts were overtaken by the roar of the crowd. Sonata jumped and turned away to face the curtain. Aria kept her fist held up, and with every second that passed, the tension grew stronger. She was going to punch Sonata. She was. She was.

Trixie and her two keyboard players sauntered off the stage and into the backstage area, their noses turned up. The keyboardists passed without a word, but Trixie stopped walking for a moment to smirk at Aria and say, “Try to top—”

Aria punched Trixie in the throat.

Trixie fell to her knees, clutching her throat and coughing.

“Get out!” Aria screamed, voice cracking. She grabbed Trixie by the hair and pulled her to her feet, only to throw her to the side, where her bandmates just barely caught her. The three of them ran away.

Sonata sniffled. “Trixie wasn’t even doing anything to us. She helped us.”

“Shut up!” Aria yipped again. “Stop talking back to me, or you’ll end up just like her.”

Sonata sniffled and trudged away, wiping her face.

Aria watched her as she walked. She had thrown all of her energy into that last punch, and yet her fingers still tingled with restlessness. Aria wrung her hands and began to pace again—until she caught sight of Adagio, limping into view.

Adagio seemed to shudder with every step, as if she were a building on the verge of collapse. Dark bags underscored her eyes, and a thick white piece of gauze covered her nose. When she looked up and saw Aria glaring at her, she flinched away and quickened her pace, stumbling over to where Sonata stood.

“Where were you?” Aria asked, walking up to the two.

“Nowhere,” Adagio muttered, shuffling closer to Sonata. “I was just in the bathroom—”

Aria punched her in the throat.

Adagio fell easily, crumbling onto the dirty floor and burying her head in her arms.

Aria grabbed her shoulders and forced their eyes to meet. “We’re about to go on, and you almost missed it! You’re going to ruin everything, and we’re going to starve to death, and it’s going to be all your fault!”

“I… I didn’t—” Adagio’s words dissolved into mere coughing as the tears started rolling down. “I’m not—”

Aria threw her away, letting her fall flat onto the floor. “You’re useless. I can’t believe the Elders ever thought you could lead us.”

“Stop it, Aria!” Sonata said, leaning down to help Adagio. “She didn’t do anything!”

Aria took a step back, grimacing at the queasiness running around in her stomach. She rubbed away the stinging in her eyes and barked, “Just get up. We’re going on stage.” She stormed off before Sonata could say another word.

She walked up to a gap in the curtain. Aria stood just out of sight of the crowd, cracking her knuckles and staring through the gap.

Shimmering green smoke flooded the stage. Aria took a deep breath and moaned. The smoke smelled of anger. It smelled of sadness. It smelled of hatred.

Convincing Trixie to trap the Rainbooms in the basement had been easy enough. The Rainbooms were tearing themselves apart down there, giving birth to a veritable tsunami of negative energy. Aria would be surprised if the stupid pony-girls hadn’t already started slaughtering each other.

That girl with the rainbow-colored hair… she looked like she could throw a good punch.

She was so wrapped up in savoring the energy that when Sonata and Adagio finally took their places at her side, she didn’t feel a single pang of anger, or of frustration. Once they were finished, and Aria had become the single most powerful being on the planet, she could rid herself of the two of them. She could finally destroy them, toss them in the trash like the garbage they were.

“Girls,” Aria murmured as Vice-Principal Luna introduced them, coughing every few moments. She grabbed them both by the shoulders and grinned. “It’s time to end it.”

Adagio looked down at her feet. Sonata just sighed.

The three of them walked out onto the stage, and the crowd erupted. Hundreds and hundreds of adoring fans, all ready to give up their lives for the Blazings. It was beautiful.

Heavy bass boomed from every speaker, trailing through the wooden stage and into Aria’s bones. At once, the gem hanging from her neck took on a piercing glow, casting a sharp red glare onto the smoke that surrounded them. Every eye in the crowd was drawn to her like a magnet.

The three of them sang—no words at first. Just a single clear note, rising higher and higher as they walked to the edge of the stage. Aria raised her arms into the air, as if she were leading a chant. A prayer. She was their beautiful Queen, their immortal Goddess. She was the greatest siren ever to live.

“Welcome to the show… we’re here to let you know…”

With every small movement Aria made, the crowd moved with her, swaying to the melody. The Siren’s Song had taken them long ago; the Blazings were just tying up loose ends. Aria could only imagine what it would be like when all these innocent children were slaves, scrounging for food, begging Aria not to snap their throats in half.

“Our time is now… Your time is running out.”

Aria suppressed a giggle; her amulet had a sense of humor! Mocking these pathetic little humans straight to their faces—and all they could do was smile and clap their hands. Monkeys, the lot of them.

Delicious hatred flowed through her veins. Goosebumps popped along her arms. This energy, this power—it felt like electric feathers traipsing along her brain, sending shocks coursing down her body. Gazing out into the crowd, she clenched her fists. The glow from her gem let out a stronger pulse for just a moment, and she could have sworn she saw stars.

“Feel the wave of sound as it crashes down! You can’t turn away! We’ll make you wanna stay!”

Frantic spittle flew with every panting breath. She screamed, belted out the words as if they were burning coals on her tongue. A crushing pressure trampled her chest, thudding through her stomach and through her limbs.

A flash of light, and her entire body bucked backwards. Crimson swirls wrapped around her bare skin, darting from sweat bead to sweat bead, up her legs and up her chest until it reached her slack jaw. Everything was on fire. Everything was on fire and the energy was eating her alive and she loved it.

She didn’t know what she was singing anymore. All she knew was that she was rising into the air, and feeling things that she hadn’t felt in twenty years. This was the power of hatred, the power of jealousy, the power of pure, unfiltered rage—this was magic, piercing through her chest and out her back.

Two tiny, fleshy nubs popped from her scalp: ears. A long, silken trail of purple-green hair shot from the back of her head.

And jutting out from her spine: her fins. Oh, Goddesses above, her fins. Just moving them sent jolts of pleasure soaring through her tingling flesh. Even Sonata and Adagio were grinning, gazing down at the worthless teenagers that stood before them.

Aria blinked, and they were all dead. They were all scattered across the grass, their throats ripped open by her fists. She blinked again and they were alive, staring up at them with gaping maws, drool splattering onto their clothes. They were luscious fruits, rich wines, juicy meats. They were food.

And so Aria fed. She let their negative energy flood her bones. Her fins twitched. The dull ache in her stomach that had followed her for two decades, clawing at her brain like a flea-ridden hound was leaving. For the first time since she had been thrown into that filthy alleyway, since the magic had been ripped from her soul, since she had been left to fend for herself with those two idiots to drag her down—for the first time in twenty years, the hunger was fading.

Power pooled in her knuckles. The scent of sweat coated the air, washing her tongue in its bitter musk. Fists itching, she focused her glare on a boy in the front row; he looked ripe. She would drink his screams, bite through his moans. He was the first—

The negative energy flickered.

She heard drumming.

“Oh-oh, oh-whoa-oh! I’ve got the music in me!”

Aria bit her lip hard enough to draw blood. Her stomach roared. Every limb tensed as she threw her gaze around, searching for whatever it was that had interrupted her meal. She would kill it, slaughter it, punch it until it choked and suffocated on its own collapsed throat.

“Look!” Sonata cried, pointing at the hill behind the stadium.

Aria followed her finger. The Rainbooms stood tall on top of the hill behind the stadium, all armed with their instruments. They didn’t show a single sign of fear as they played away, strumming their guitars, hitting their drums, and singing some drivel about friendship and “souls.”

How did they escape the basement? Aria had hypnotized all the stadium workers into skipping work for the next week; no one was supposed to find the Rainbooms. They were supposed to die down there, alone, sobbing for help as they slowly starved to death. Trixie must have let them out as revenge. Because she was jealous. Because she knew that she would never be anything more than a mangy dog, good for nothing but taking orders. Aria would put her down personally.

The Rainbooms had never been under their spell, but this… this was different. The Rainbooms weren’t just resisting the spell; they were fighting it. The music only seemed to grow louder every second Aria stared—she felt the power draining from her veins, wasted. With every word that Twilight sang, Aria felt hunger and weakness slithering through her.

‘No.’

Everything went dark. Aria tried to gasp, but she couldn’t even breathe. She heard the music faintly, like a light thrum. She couldn’t move. All that she felt were her fists, buzzing with a burning energy. All that existed were her fists. All that existed was punching.

She had never felt so much pain. She had never felt so great.

For the first time in years, Aria had power. She had left weakness behind. It didn’t matter how dark it was, or how much pain she felt. This would not stand. The Rainbooms wouldn’t stand. Aria would crush their throats. Aria would—

“Oh my gosh, Twilight!”

Aria blinked, and the world came hurtling back. She was standing above Twilight Sparkle’s writhing body, one clenched fist raised high into the air. The Rainbooms surrounded her, all watching with slack jaws. Just as Aria let her fist fall to her side, Twilight took a rasping breath, only to choke on the air.

Aria stumbled backwards, cursing loudly. She whipped her head around, trying desperately to understand what had just happened. Music still boomed from the stadium. Lights still flashed from every direction, burning into her eyes like hot iron pokers. Everything hurt, everything ached, and she had no idea what was going on.

She looked back to the stage. Sonata and Adagio were still there, singing along to the music, but their eyes were trained on the hill where Aria stood. They were a few verses farther into the song from when Aria had first noticed the Rainbooms.

What’s going on? Aria gazed down at her bruised, trembling, itching hands. What’s wrong with me…?

All thoughts disappeared as she felt a sturdy pair of palms crash into her back, sending her tumbling to the grass. Growling, she jumped back up to her feet and spun around.

The girl with the rainbow-colored hair had both fists raised high, in her best approximation of the world’s scrawniest boxer. “First you punch Sunset, then Applejack, then Twilight! You seriously think I’m gonna let you hurt my friends again and get away with it?” she shouted, tightening her fists. “No way! I’m gonna kick your—”

Aria punched her in the throat.

The colorful girl fell to the ground, wheezing and sputtering, and the other Rainbooms cringed as one.

An icy calm descended upon Aria. Her heart still raced. Her head still pounded, thoughts still screamed. But her fists tingled with pleasure, and whenever she looked at Rainbow, still spitting up into the grass, she couldn’t help but smile. Giggling breathily, she cracked her knuckles.

‘Nothing. Nothing’s wrong with you.’

She flicked a glance upwards. “Who’s next?”

The remaining Rainbooms stayed frozen. Fear hung in the air as they looked to one another, shaking.

Aria took a step.

At once, the cowgirl threw her bass to the ground, clenched her eyes shut, and sprinted forward. She screamed and raised her fists high into the air, aiming straight for Aria’s head.

Aria took a single step to the side and punched her in the throat.

It was a direct hit this time, and the cowgirl went down hard, hitting her head on a solid clump of dirt. Her breaths sounded like sheet metal being scraped against pavement.

“You’re such a meanie!” the pink one yelled, shooting out of her seat.

Aria ran forward and punched her in the throat before she had a chance to leave her drumset. She toppled over backwards, landing in a puddle of mud.

The quiet one gasped and dropped her tambourine. “Oh goodness—”

Aria smashed the tambourine under her foot and punched the quiet one in the throat. She fell without a sound.

Aria panted. Shivers ran down her sweat-soaked skin. Aria slowly spun around, looking for her next target. When she found her, standing just a few yards away, she licked her lips.

Sunset Shimmer glared at Aria. She gripped a microphone with both hands, squeezing until her knuckles had gone white. She took a long swallow. “I’m not afraid of you.”

Aria laughed. “Really?” She walked forward.

Sunset flinched away—but soon took a breath and matched Aria’s steps. “Really,” she said, holding up the microphone. Her still-scratchy voice croaked from Vinyl’s speakers as she said, “No one is scared of you, siren. We’re not scared of you, we’re not scared of your friends, and we’re not scared of your stupid fists! You’re nothing more than a bully!”

“A bully?” Aria repeated, spitting out the word as if it were dirt. She jerked her head back at the crowd, all of whom were watching the confrontation for themselves. “I’ve enslaved an entire school! I’m one punch away from ruling this stupid planet! I’m not a bully, I’m an empress! A queen! A—”

“I don’t care how many people you control. You’re still just a bully.” Sunset’s eyes suddenly turned calm, turned warm. Her glare softened into a pitiful gaze. “And trust me, Aria: I know how that feels. I was a bully once, too.”

“You don’t know anything!” Aria shouted. Her fists burned. “You’re an idiot!”

“You don’t have to do this,” Sunset rasped, putting down the microphone. They were close enough now that she could reach forward and touch Aria’s shoulder. “You can still walk away. You’re stronger than all of this, Aria, I know you are. All you have to do is—”

Aria punched Sunset in the throat.

Sunset crumpled into the dirt, trying and failing to scream. She could barely breathe as Aria kicked her in the stomach and pinned her shoulders to the ground.

“Never, ever touch me,” Aria hissed. As Sunset started to cry, Aria punched her in the throat one last time before throwing her back down and standing up.

Aria dusted herself off and cast a pointed look over at Vinyl Scratch, who immediately sped away, not even bothering to put away her speakers. Aria smiled and turned her attention back to the small purple girl a few feet away.

Twilight was finally starting to stir again, although she still heaved for breath. Groaning, she tried to lift herself up off the ground—but only shrieked as Aria stepped on her leg. Her whining shouts shot into the air, and flooded Aria’s tongue with a juicy flavor. Twilight’s pathetic pony fear was delicious. Aria saw herself spending weeks chaining Twilight to a wall and sucking her dry, draining every drop of negative energy she held.

But doing that meant keeping this nuisance of a mare alive, and Aria couldn’t have that.

Aria shoved a hand over Twilight’s mouth, grinning as the skinny girl spasmed under her, batting at Aria with limp arms. She dragged a tingling finger over Twilight’s bruised throat, tracing the deep marks her knuckles made just a few minutes ago. One strong punch from this angle and Twilight would choke to death on her own trachea.

Aria had never killed anyone before; she had never been so excited.

Twilight’s hot tears ran down Aria’s fingers. She gazed up at Aria with pleading, twitching eyes.

“See ya,” Aria sang, training her eyes on Twilight’s throat. She stretched out her fingers one last time and raised her fist into the air.

She felt two strong arms hook around her own and lift her into the air, off of Twilight. Scowling, she spun around to face her attacker.

Sonata punched Aria in the throat.

Aria flew back, grunting as she slammed into the ground. Mud splattered across her dress. She glared up at Sonata and tried to scream out a curse—but all that came was a cough. Aria’s eyes went wide as she covered her mouth. It felt like somepony had torched her throat, burning the skin to cinders.

And all the while, Sonata just stood there. She clutched her hands to her chest. Her entire face trembled.

“Wha—” Aria choked out, wincing. She bared her teeth. “What’s wrong with you?”

“You…” Sonata gulped. “You’re my best friend.”

“You’re an idiot.” Aria climbed to her feet. “You want us to starve? We’re about to win, and you’re messing it up!”

A gasping sob escaped Sonata’s throat and she shot both hands to her mouth. “No,” she said, shaking her head. She dropped both arms to her sides and clenched her fists. “I want to take over the world. I do. All I’ve ever wanted is to stop being hungry and get our real bodies back. But none of it’s worth anything if it means losing you.”

“I’m not going to let you ruin this for us,” Aria growled. She pounded her fists together and walked forward.

Sonata’s face had gone pale, but she still gritted her teeth and held her fists up high. “I’m sorry,” was all she said.

Aria jumped at her, aiming straight for the throat. Sonata blocked the hit with her arms and stepped to the side. Aria spun around and threw another punch, but Sonata ducked out of the way and slipped around to Aria’s back. Sonata wrapped her arms around Aria’s stomach and tried to wrestle her to the ground, but Aria cracked an elbow against her nose.

Sonata shrieked, and Aria broke out of her grasp, scrambling away on all fours. As Sonata wiped away the blood now trickling across her lips, Aria tried to catch her breath.

For the first time, Aria noticed Sonata’s toned arms, her long legs. She was lithe, and yet tough. Gangly, and yet solid. When it came down to it, Aria may have been stronger, but Sonata was quicker, more agile. She was—

Sonata ran forward and leapt on Aria, bringing her to the ground. The two rolled down the hill, flailing at one another, wincing as rocks and broken twigs scraped at their skin. Aria yipped when Sonata raked her nails over her eyes. Sonata gasped when Aria bit down on her shoulder. They tumbled down, down, down, until they reached the bottom of the hill and crashed against the stadium wall. Aria’s head smacked against the hard stone, and everything exploded to white.

Aria’s ears rang. Her vision fuzzed. She slapped a palm against her face and tried to shake the fog away, but Sonata was right back on her feet, tackling Aria and ramming her into the wall. Aria bounced off and fell to the dirt, her mouth flooding with mud. She retched up a clump of dirt. Her already-aching throat burned.

Sonata fell to her knees and panted. Sweat and blood dripped from her chin, staining the grass below. Whimpering, she touched a finger to Aria’s bruised cheek.

Aria grabbed her arm. Sonata tried to pull away, but Aria leapt onto her, pressing her into the dirt. Aria snatched a handful of Sonata’s hair and smashed her head against the ground—once, twice, three times—until Sonata was just screaming at her to stop, to let her go, that she was sorry and that she just wanted her friend back.

But Aria wasn’t Sonata’s friend. Aria had never been her friend. Why would Aria ever be friends with trash like Sonata? Why would she ever be friends with anybody on this planet? In this universe? She was better than every single one of them—then, now, and forever.

‘KILL HER.’

Aria’s tongue lolled out of her mouth as she tightened her grip on Sonata’s hair and lifted her itching hand into the air. Her eyes locked on Sonata’s throat. There were goosebumps as she clenched her fist.

They locked eyes, and it felt as if a cold, iron spike had driven through Aria chest, tearing open a hole in her lungs.

It took only a second’s hesitation for Sonata to jerk herself up and push Aria over onto her back. Sonata jumped onto Aria’s stomach and let out a wailing sob before punching Aria in the throat again.

The impact felt like knives scraping themselves along the inside of Aria’s windpipe. Her arms jolted upwards and she tried to push Sonata off, but she only spasmed as Sonata punched her in the throat again.

“I’m sorry!” Sonata said through hitched breaths. She punched Aria in the throat. “I’m sorry I’m sorry I’m sorry!”

Aria couldn’t move—she could barely open her eyes. A rock had lodged itself in her collapsing throat, and no air could get through. Crumpled into the mud, Aria was choking to death on her own windpipe. She tried to bat Sonata away one last time, but only managed to lift her arms a few inches before going limp.

The power in her hands, the burning in her knuckles—it was all gone. All she felt was pain, coursing through every cell in her body. She was cold. She was hungry.

The screaming, alien thoughts were gone.

She didn’t want to be here; she didn’t want any of this.

Black splotches swirled through Aria’s vision, and her eyes stung as they welled up with tears. Sonata had stopped punching, only to collapse over Aria’s limp body, bawling into her chest. Sonata beat both bruised hands into the dirt and screamed until even her amulet shone with energy.

All Aria wanted to do was reach out to her, to tell her that everything would be okay, just like Sonata always did when they were hatchlings.

But the last wisps of air had left Aria’s lips and drifted away. She heaved, winced her trachea crumbled. Her body went slack.

“Here to sing our song out loud,” a chorus rasped from up the hill. Instruments started a moment later. “Get you dancing with the crowd!”

As the world faded away, a rainbow exploded behind Sonata’s head and draped her in shadow. The last thing Aria saw were Sonata’s shining pink eyes before light erased the world around them.

“As the music of our friendship…”

Aria’s blood was flame. She tried to scream, but still couldn’t breathe.

“Survives! Survives! Survives!”

She felt something break away from her. The universe turned to white—and then, nothing.

Epilogue: The Passion of the Throat Puncher

“Are… are you okay?”

Aria flicked a glance upwards, just in time to see Sonata swim into the cave. Her bright blue scales glinted in Aria's eyes. Algae clung to her fins, just as it always did.

“I’m fine,” Aria sputtered, scowling. “Go away, idiot.”

Sonata drew closer. “Are you upset because of what Adagio said?”

Aria narrowed her eyes. “No.”

“Because, like, it’s totally okay to be mad.” Sonata frowned. “Adagio was being a total shipwreck. Who cares about getting chosen for some dumb job?”

“I do!” Aria said, swiping a hoof at Sonata’s head. “I was supposed to be the one the Elders chose! I was supposed to be the one who would kill Celestia and rule Equestria! Not her!”

“Is that true?” Sonata asked. Her eyes went wide. “Is Adagio really gonna do all that?”

“Didn’t you listen to the song her amulet brought her?” Aria snorted. “She was destined for greatness since day one.”

Sonata was silent. She sidled up to Aria and tried to wrap a leg around her, only for Aria to mutter a curse and move away. As Aria swam towards the mouth of the cave, Sonata pursed her lips.

“I think you’re pretty great,” Sonata called.

Aria stopped. She let Sonata’s words swirl around the cave a few times before leering over her shoulder and saying, “No, I’m not. I’m not great, and neither are you. We’re just bottom-feeders, and that’s all we ever will be.” She turned away and gritted her teeth. “The Elders don’t care about us.”

“Yeah, but who cares about the Elders?” Sonata asked with a giggle. She sped to catch up with Aria and finally managed to lay a leg over her shoulders. “Only the stuffy sirens who never stop reading their scrolls. I think you’re great, and that’s all that matters.”

“Oh, yeah?” Aria asked. “How? How are either of us great?”

“Well, I dunno about me, but you’re amazing!” Sonata backed up and mocked flexing. “You’re super-strong, right? And whenever you sing, your amulet always makes you look really cute and pretty. And you’re great at singing, too!”

Aria’s mouth hung—but shifted into a frown. “Adagio is better.”

“Maybe she is,” Sonata said, taking Aria’s hooves in her own, “but that doesn’t mean that you aren’t great, either. There’s room for more than one great siren, y’know?”

“Not here,” Aria muttered. “Not where we live. The Elders say there can only be one.”

“The Elders are old and dumb.” Sonata raised a brow and grinned. “And we’re not staying here forever, right? Maybe once we kill Celestia, we can change all those stupid rules. Together.”

Aria stared down at Sonata’s hooves. Despite the freezing ocean water that surrounded them, Sonata’s hooves were warm. For the quickest of moments, Aria felt as if she were swimming over a volcanic vent. It wasalmost nice.

Aria blinked a few times. A tiny smile flickered over her face as she bowed her head and murmured, “I guess, yeah. Thanks.”

“C’mon,” Sonata said, trailing a hoof along Aria’s leg. “Staccato just caught a whole bunch of sailors to feed on. I think one of them’s a unicorn!”

Aria grinned. Unicorns always had the tastiest emotions.

She opened her mouth to agree, but no words came. She couldn’t breathe. She scratched at her gills, but no water could get through. Her throat felt like it was collapsing. Eyes bulging, she looked to Sonata for help, but she was already out of the cave. Sonata was yards away, leagues away. Aria swam forwards, but the cave stretched out for miles, and Sonata just kept moving farther away.

A fierce tremor ran through the walls of the cave, and sharp pieces of rubble rained from the ceiling. Rocks scraped against her fins, drawing blood. She fell to the floor of the cavern, with boulders pinning her legs down. She jerked her body around, trying to get free, trying to save her life, but she was trapped, and she still couldn’t breathe, and a rock crushed her throat—

Aria screamed and snapped her eyes open. The bright lights above her burned. She tried to move, tried to run away, but she was bound in place by something thick and soft. She struggled to look down, but every twitch of her head sent needles stabbing into her brain. Every breath stung, and yet she couldn’t stop heaving. She had never been so happy just to use her lungs.

She jumped as something cold and damp slid across her forehead. Her eyes were still adjusting to the light, but from where she lay, she could just make out something… no, someone, sitting near her. It was a girl—at least, Aria thought so. The girl’s hair looked like it was made of bacon, and her face was familiar somehow. When Aria turned her head, the girl flinched away.

“Who are you?” Aria asked. She barely had the energy to open her mouth. “Where am I?”

The girl took a moment before saying, “It’s me, Aria. Sunset Shimmer? You’re in my apartment.”

“Sunset…?” Aria repeated, letting the name simmer on her lips. It bounced around her brain a few times, echoing through her mind… before it hit her. Her eyes widened. “Sunset Shimmer.”

“Yeah!” Sunset said, smiling. “Exactly. Listen, I’ll explain everything in a second, but first, how are you feel—”

“I hate you,” Aria said.

Sunset froze, jaw hanging. Her smile disappeared, and she nodded.

Aria bared her teeth and tried to think of something to say—something that would hurt this human that she so hated—but nothing came to mind. She tried to search herself for the anger that had always guided her, and found nothing. When she said she hated Sunset, she wasn’t even sure she meant it. There was no anger, no rage in her words.

When Aria looked up at Sunset, this unfamiliar girl in that unfamiliar apartment, all she felt was confused, and… scared. Aria hadn’t felt scared in years.

She hated it.

Aria’s deep breaths grew shallow and loud. She tried to struggle, but the blankets that covered her had become rock. This wasn’t right. She wasn’t supposed to be here. She was supposed to be ruling the world, feeding on every pathetic human that lived on this pathetic world.

“Aria, calm down,” Sunset said, touching her shoulder.

“Don’t touch—!” Aria yipped, but she couldn’t manage to finish the sentence. She snapped her head around, eyes wild, while Sunset grabbed at her shoulder—

“Ari?”

Aria froze at the familiar voice. She raised her head just in time to see Sonata creeping into the room. All she wore was a baggy Wondercolts t-shirt and sweatpants to match. Sonata kept her gaze locked with Aria’s as she walked up to Sunset and whispered something in her ear before taking a seat beside Aria. Sunset offered them both a smile before leaving.

Aria took a hard swallow. Her throat ached—she saw visions of Sonata punching her throat and beating her to death.

To death.

How was she still…?

“Are you feeling okay?” Sonata asked. “You’ve been out for a long time.”

“You tried to kill me,” Aria spat.

“Well, you did try to kill me first,” Sonata joked. Aria stayed silent. Sonata sighed and said, “I had no choice, Ari. You were going absolutely nuts! If I hadn’t stopped you when I did, I don’t know what might’ve happened.”

“We would have won.”

“Ari…”

“We would have conquered this stupid place,” Aria said. “We would have our magic back. We wouldn’t be starving.”

Sonata just watched her.

Aria waited for an answer, but when nothing came, she tightened her glare—mostly because she knew that was what she was supposed to do. Aria knew she should have been angry. She should have wanted to kill Sonata, to punch her right in the throat. But she didn’t feel anything. She lost her breath again. She closed her eyes and dug down deep, trying to tap into the hunger that always fueled her.

But there was nothing.

She wasn’t hungry. She clenched her fists, but there was no burning, no itch. No voice in her head. She felt like a mannequin, like an empty shell.

Sonata leaned forward and wrapped her in a hug. Aria tensed up at the feel of Sonata’s hands on her back—but as Sonata’s warm breaths traipsed down her neck, everything seemed to slow. She leaned into the hug and took a shuddering breath. No anger. No resistance. Just… this. Just a hug from someone who cared about her.

Aria looked up, and Adagio stared at her from the doorway.

Aria barely had time to gasp before Adagio stomped into the room and pushed Sonata out of the way. Adagio grabbed Aria and threw her back onto the pillow. She pushed Aria into the mattress and leaned in close, crushing Aria’s ribs. Aria had a clear view of the snarl stretched across Adagio’s face. She gripped Aria’s shoulders and dug her nails into Aria’s thin shirt, nearly piercing the skin.

Sonata was yelling something, but Aria couldn’t hear it over her own loud breaths and the blood roaring through her ears. She knew how strong Adagio was, how little Adagio cared about her. Adagio could kill her at any moment—and Aria deserved it. Aria remembered all she had done to Adagio. She closed her eyes, ready for what was to come.

And yet, just as her arms were going numb, Adagio growled and let her go. Adagio walked away from the bed, grumbling curses under her breath. She dragged a hand through her knotted hair. Her forehead was slick with sweat.

Aria tried to sit up; her arms could barely support her. “What are you—”

“Shut up,” Adagio spat, crossing her arms. “I don’t want to hear anything from you.”

“It’s okay,” Sonata said, sitting back down next to the bed. “Aria’s okay now. Right?”

Aria blinked and looked down at her hands. Her once finely-manicured nails were now jagged. Her fingers hung like dead branches. “I think so.”

“What happened to you?” Sonata asked. “We got into Canterlot High, and all of a sudden you started acting like a completely different person! Were you sick or something?”

“I don’t know,” Aria said. “After we saw the Equestrian magic for the first time, back at that café, something just came over me. After that night, I kept getting angrier and angrier at the littlest things. I heard voices in my head. All I wanted to do was hurt people. At least, until…” She paused, lips hanging. She looked at Sonata. “What happened? The last thing I remember seeing was some sort of light.”

“The Elements of Harmony,” Adagio said, pulling up a chair. She still glowered, but her face was the least bit softer than before. “Powerful arcane energy, taken straight from Celestia’s playbook. The Rainbooms ripped the magic from our bodies and wiped out what little power we had left.”

Sonata touched a hand to her throat. “But they, like, healed us, too. When we got hit, our throats were totally repaired. If we hadn’t gotten blasted when we did, you… well, you might’ve died.”

“If I had to take a guess,” Adagio said, “the Elements must have killed whatever it was that was possessing you, too.” She simpered. “Lucky.”

“Possessing me?” Aria asked. “What, like a ghost?”

“Maybe.” Adagio rolled her eyes. “Apparently that first bit of Equestrian magic we saw was Sunset’s own evil magic being banished. Maybe whatever it was that possessed her didn’t die, but found someone new to control. Dark magic is strange like that.”

“I felt like a puppet.” Aria shuddered. “Like some demon was living in my head, telling me what to do. And I... I just listened. Like a stupid hatchling.”

“You hurt a lot of people,” said Sonata solemnly. “Including us. Even if it wasn’t you in control. The Rainbooms are still gonna want an apology.”

Aria gazed down at her fists and shivered—but then frowned. “You said the Rainbooms took our magic?” she asked, looking between them. “Then why was Sunset Shimmer watching over me?” She turned to Sonata. “Why are you wearing their clothes?”

Adagio darted a glance at Sonata. “You haven’t told her?”

“I was waiting for the right moment!” Sonata stammered, throwing up her hands. “She just woke up, and—”

“What’s going on?” Aria demanded.

Adagio took a long breath and looked down. “After you passed out, the Equestrians all volunteered to take care of you. But the first time we tried to leave, they stopped us, and—and they made us promise to reform ourselves. To try and do some good.” She groaned. “Like some awful reality show...”

Aria looked between the two of them. “You’re not actually going through with it, are you?”

Sonata nodded. Adagio stayed silent.

“But they’re humans!” Aria said. “We’re sirens! We feast on humans! They’re nothing compared to us!”

“In case you hadn’t realized, we don’t have our magic anymore,” Adagio said, narrowing her eyes. “That means no feeding.”

Aria’s eyes widened. “But that means… Are we gonna—”

“We’re not going to starve!” Sonata interrupted, grabbing Aria’s hand. She offered her a smile. “It’s true, the magic took away our powers. But haven’t you noticed? That stupid hunger that was always there—it’s gone! Completely gone!”

Aria placed a hand against her stomach. It was true—for the first time in twenty years, there was no hunger, no longing in her soul for a good meal. The realization sent chills dancing down her back. Her lip quivered as she raised her head to meet Sonata’s gaze.

“We thought our Amulets were what kept us alive, but all they did was force us to be hungry. The Elders used them to control us,” Sonata said. “I always told you the Elders were old and dumb.”

“We eat human food now, we've got no power, and now that the Equestrians are keeping tabs on us, pulling off any sort of 'evil scheme' is going to be rather difficult.” Adagio tapped her chin. “We could kill them in their sleep, I suppose. I think Sunset keeps some rat poison around—“

“Dagi.”

“Oh, let me fantasize. I'm a good-guy-in-training, you know.” Adagio clicked her tongue. “It pains me to say it, really. But we're basically humans now. We—Aria?”

Aria felt the tears spilling down her cheeks. As Sonata hugged her again, she had no idea what to feel. That eternal hunger had disappeared—a lightness danced in her chest. She wasn’t a siren anymore—a knife had cleaved through her stomach. She wanted to dance and sing. She wanted to vomit and throw herself into a ditch.

But through it all, the tears kept falling, and she kept staring at her trembling hands.

“What am I supposed to do now?” Aria asked.

“What do you mean?” Sonata asked, pulling away.

“All I’m good at is hurting people.” Aria clenched her teeth. “Hurting people and taking orders. That's it.”

Sonata frowned. “That’s not true—”

“Yes, it is!” Aria shouted. She jabbed a finger at Adagio, who flinched away. “Adagio was the leader! The Elders picked her! And you, you’re the manipulative one. You can get anyone to do anything you want! But me?” Aria pounded a fist into the blankets. “I’m useless. I’m always just in the background. I’m only good when you needed me to threaten someone, or to help stir up trouble. Now that I can’t do that, what am I good for?”

“Are you crazy?” Sonata said. “You’re good for a lot of things! Ever since we were hatchlings, you’ve always been the strongest. You’re always super-smart. And, out of any siren I’ve ever met, you’re totally the most independent. You could do anything you set your mind to!”

“By the by,” Adagio added, “I might be a leader, but now that we’re not out to conquer the world, I have no one to lead. And as for Sonata, well… ‘good guys’ don’t really manipulate others. At least, not in any of the movies Sunset owns.”

Aria shot her an annoyed glance. “You're joking, right?”

Adagio shrugged. “You've been unconscious for a while. And in my opinion, red wine and steak tastes just as good as any pony anger.” She sighed. “We’re all going to have to learn how to adjust. I don’t like it either, trust me. But it is what it is.”

“We’ll just have to find new things to do with our lives and make us happy!” Sonata chirped. “Like, maybe we can buy you a gym membership, or something like that. Y’know, if you still wanna punch stuff.” She grinned. “I never realized how cool cooking was until Sunset showed me!”

Aria was silent. Before the throat punching, all she knew was following orders. That was all she had known since she was born, and it was how she thought she would die—until today.

“You’re not a hatchling anymore,” Adagio whispered. She waited until Aria was looking at her to cast the lightest smile and murmur, “You don’t have to care about what anyone thinks. Not Sonata, not me, and not any of the Elders. You do what you want to do.”

For the first time in what felt like centuries, Aria gazed straight into Adagio’s eyes. And in those eyes, for the first time since they had met, Aria saw something else: love.

Aria’s heart raced, and she jerked her head away. Her mind was exploding. What were these two asking? How could they tell her to leave thousands of years behind and just start over? Even without the Elders, all Aria had ever done was hurt people. How could she just leave that?

But it was as she sat there that visions flashed through her mind. Visions of Adagio slumped against a locker, struggling to breathe. Sonata writhing on the ground, about to pass out. The two of them huddled together, flinching whenever Aria raised her hand even an inch.

She had spent two full days doing nothing but hurting her friends.

She never wanted to hurt anyone ever again.

Aria nodded. A smile crawled over her lips as she glanced up at them. “You’re right.” She nodded. “Thanks.” Sonata locked her in another hug.

“When you two are done,” Adagio said, standing up, “you should try getting out of bed. Now that we can’t feed on humans, you need to start getting used to eating their food.” She walked to the door. “Come on, Sonata.”

Sonata simpered. “I sure hope Sunset didn't hear that...”

Adagio froze up. With a sigh, she said, “Right. Force of habit,” and walked out.

Aria offered Sonata a raised brow. Sonata giggled. “The Pony Princess made Dagi promise to stop giving orders. Whenever she pushes anyone around, Sunset puts another lock on the wine cabinet.”

Aria rolled her eyes—just in time for her stomach to growl. She had no idea how long she’d been unconscious, but all she knew was that she could probably eat a pony whole at this point and still be starving. “I guess I could try something...”

“Heck yeah!” Sonata cheered, thrusting a fist into the air. “I’m making tacos tonight!” She danced over to the door, only to stop short.

“Oh, I almost forgot,” Sonata said. She ran over to the closet at the side of the room and fished out a giant shopping bag, overflowing with wrapping paper. Aria could only stare as Sonata laid it on her lap and tousled her hair, before bouncing out of the room.

Aria rubbed her damp eyes and reached into the bag.

Her fingers touched something soft and fuzzy.

She grabbed hold and pulled Mister Softpaws out of the bag. His head had been reattached, fastened on by thick white stitches. His fur seemed even softer than before, gentle as a cloud against her skin. A small card hung from his ear, emblazoned with the logo of the Canterlot Teddy Bear Hospital. Aria flipped it open and read:

To Aria Blaze: ex-Throat Puncher!

Love,
Sonata

Aria took a moment to stare at the card, letting the words sink in. Then, with a grin planted on her face, she buried her face into Mister Softpaws’s stomach and closed her eyes.

She could get used to this.

A week earlier, while the Battle of the Bands raged in downtown Canterlot and Aria Blaze punched in the throats of every member of the Rainbooms, a group of students from Crystal Prep all stood at the peak of a large hill on the outskirts of town. Chilly autumn air ran through the trees, along the grass, and up Twilight Sparkle's legs. She smoothed out her uniform, adjusted her glasses, and hurried over to the front of where her classmates stood.

“Okay, everyone!” Dean Cadance called while Professor Blue Moon, Crystal Prep's Astronomy teacher, fiddled with a telescope next to her. “The meteor shower is about to begin. Keep your eye on the sky, because these meteors will be shooting by faster than you—yes, Twilight?”

Twilight dropped her hand and asked, “Will we get a chance to use the telescope?”

“Yes, you'll all get a turn,” Blue Moon said. “As soon as I set up this tripod...”

“Take a seat wherever you'd like, students.” Dean Cadance looked up to the stars. “And enjoy!”

The crowd let out a dull murmur of acknowledgment and scattered, most going off to chat or play with their phones. Twilight, however, stayed right where she was, a big grin on her face, waiting for her chance to—

Something hard slammed into Twilight's back, sending her flying forward and crashing to the ground. Groaning, she looked up—and grimaced.

“Oops,” Indigo Zap said while the rest of her gang snickered. “Sorry, Twily. Didn't see you there. I really gotta watch where I'm going.”

"Yeah," Twilight said, looking away. “Maybe... maybe you should.”

The girls all let out a unified, “Oooooooooh.”

“She really got you there, Zappa,” Lemon Zest said.

Sour Sweet smiled. “Oh, don't worry Twilight. It was only an accident!” She scowled. “Just like your birth.”

“What are you even wearing?” Indigo asked as Twilight rose to her feet. She pointed at the clamshell case hanging from Twilight's neck. “Some kind of freaky necklace?”

“It's the prototype for my Arcane Energy Conduit,” Twilight said, pressing it to her chest. “It searches for and collects nearby magical energy. It's only a prototype, but—“

“Magic?” Sunny Flare repeated, incredulous. The entire group laughed.

“Only the criminally insane believe in magic,” Sugarcoat said.

“Magic is real!” Twilight said. “And I have the evidence! I just need to capture some.”

“I totally believe in you, Twilight!” said Sour Sweet. Her face twisted into a devilish smirk. “Maybe you can capture a life while you're at it.”

“Girls!” Dean Cadance called, glaring from just a few yards off. “Is something the matter?”

The Shadowbolts all jumped. “Everything's fine!” Indigo said. When Dean Cadance finally turned away, Indigo scowled and pushed Twilight again. “Good work, loser. You almost got us in trouble.”

Twilight blinked. “What? I didn't—“

But her tormentors left before she could muster up another word in her own defense. Sighing, Twilight dusted off her skirt and readjusted her tie, then walked over to the free telescope. She pointed it high into the sky, checking out the moon, a nearby planet—a meteor shot by! And another! They looked like tiny silver marbles flying through the darkness. In this moment, it was just her, the telescope, and all of creation sprawling out before her. Despite her aching back, despite the humiliation still hiding behind her quivering chin, for the first time that night, Twilight felt at peace.

“Whoa, look at that!”

“What's going on downtown?!”

“Did the stadium just explode or something?”

Twilight frowned and looked up—only to gasp and shield her eyes.

Miles away in downtown Canterlot, a light brighter than any Twilight had ever seen rose into the sky, illuminating the city as if it were daytime. Around her, the students of Crystal Prep all marveled at the sight, while Dean Cadance tried fruitlessly to corral them together. But just as the first students snapped out of their stupor and whipped out their phones to take a video, the light faded into a singular rainbow, shooting from the sky directly at the ground.

The earth shook beneath them. As screams and yelps filled the air, Twilight adjusted the telescope lens and swung the instrument around to point straight at Barnyard Bargains Stadium. She kneeled down and peered into the eyepiece.

She looked just in time to see a rippling, almost transparent wave of energy racing right toward her.

It felt like a brick smacking her right in the chest. Twilight tumbled backwards, all the breath leaving her body. She barely noticed her Arcane Energy Conduit start flashing.

“Ugh,” Twilight said. She rubbed her neck and stood up. “What happened?”

“Yo, get out of the way!” Indigo shouted, running past Twilight and shoving her to the ground once more. Indigo looked into the telescope and asked, “What did you see? Is it a terrorist attack or something? A nuke?”

Twilight lay sprawled across the dirt, trembling. But she felt no fear, no humiliation—only rage. “You pushed me again,” she said, sitting up.

Indigo scoffed, not turning around. “Yeah, so?”

Everything around Twilight seemed to go silent as she stood up, walked over to Indigo, and tapped her on the shoulder.

Indigo groaned and glanced at Twilight. “What do you want, nerd? An apolo—eep!”

Twilight grabbed Indigo by the collar and pulled her close. With a shaking breath, Twilight whispered, “Don't touch me.”

Twilight punched Indigo in the throat.