“No, no, no, listen to me!” yelled Adagio. She tried to grab at Aria, who dodged out of the way and kept on walking. She ignored Adagio, popping her earbuds into her ear. “We need to talk about this! Get back here, right now!”
“Bite me,” grunted Aria. She swung her backpack over her shoulders and stuffed her hands in her pocket. “Whatever you have to say, I don’t wanna hear it.”
“I don’t care what you want, we need to talk! Now get back here and help me calm down Sonata!”
Aria kept on walking, turning her music up as much as possible in an attempt to drown out Adagio’s shouts. She was mostly successful, managing to reduce Adagio’s voice to a low, unintelligible roar. She left her worn-down, decrepit, fusty little shack of a house behind, wanting to forget about it as soon as possible. She could imagine Adagio behind her, pointlessly shouting for her to come back before giving up and slamming the door shut.
But Aria didn’t care. She just wanted to run, get away from home as quick as she could. With hard rock threatening to puncture her eardrums, she set off into the cool breeze of the night. As she walked, she thought about going back for her jacket, but decided against it. Though her deep purple tank top offered very little protection from the elements (failing to even cover her whole midriff), she’d rather be cold than go back and face her problems.
Aria grunted tiredly, checking the time on her phone. 9:44 PM. She was running a bit late, but that didn’t matter much. The ThrowDown was normally empty by 8, and Aria typically showed up at around 8:30. Today, though, she had been postponed by arguing with Adagio.
Aria didn’t know what Adagio’s problem was. Always yelling threats and barking orders. Did she think that you could solve problems just by yelling about them loudly enough. Didn’t she understand by now just how poorly Aria responded to being shouted at? How much she hated being made to feel stupid?
It was 9:57 PM when Aria finally arrived at her destination; ThrowDown Boxing Gym was a small, dingy little place tucked away in a dark corner of Canterlot City. Upon seeing the building, Aria actually felt the start of a smile come on. She knew it wouldn’t last long, and in fact vanished into thin air before she even made it to the back door. Still, the comfort, no matter how fleeting, was a testament to how much Aria needed this excursion.
The back door was locked, but Aria knew where the spare was kept. There was a particular rock to the right of the door, under which was a key. Aria grabbed it and let herself into the gym. There was an odor to the single room, a smell of stale sweat. Some people found it unpleasant, but not Aria. She smelled more than just perspiration. She smelled effort, determination, and struggle. It reminded her of herself. She knew the place well enough to be able to find the light switch in the dark, which she flipped on to flood the gym in a dim, yellowish light.
Along the left wall were bench presses, dumbbells, and other weightlifting equipment. To the right, three punching bags of varying weights and densities. In the middle of the floor was a boxing ring, the ropes a trio of red, white, and blue. Aria sighed, tossing her backpack onto the ground and zipping it open.
Aria grabbed her wraps from her bag, and, after her wrists were protected from harm, made her way to her favorite bag. She cracked her knuckles, then hit the bag with a fierce jab.
The sensation of her knuckles against the bag’s leather was harsh, but soothing. She could feel the force from her punch reverberate through her arm. It stung just a bit, but nowhere near enough to stop Aria’s assault. She delivered jab after jab, hook after hook, shaking the bag more with every hit. She hopped back and forth, taking a short reprieve from her attack.
Why her? Aria couldn't understand why this all had happened to her. Why did the gods decide to stick her with two people she hated with all of her being? Why fill her heart, her soul, with anger like this?
Aria didn't want to be like this. She wished she could just leave that part of herself behind, among others. She hated it. She hated most things, people especially. All they did was judge her, mock her, scorn her. Nobody understood. Nobody but her two reluctant companions.
Aria let off a barrage of strikes, each hit punctuated with an angry grunt. She swung and swung at her bag, part of her wishing that it could swing back.
“Someone's angry.”
Aria stopped her bag, clenching her jaw as she heard footsteps approach her. This wasn’t supposed to happen. This was supposed to be her quiet space, a place for her to escape the struggles of life and get her stress out by punching something. She didn’t have to turn around to identify the voice of her uninvited guest.
“What do you want, Shimmer?” asked Aria. She brought her fists up and continued punching the bag. “Can’t you see I’m busy?”
Aria had a lot of hate for a lot of people, but she hated few more than Sunset Shimmer. Just hearing her voice made Aria see red, and it was understandable why. Sunset had been the one who defeated The Dazzlings, destroying their pendants and ruining their lives.
“Saw the light on,” said Sunset, stopping just to Aria’s right. She was dressed like Aria; shorts and a tank top. Her hair was tied up in a ponytail, and she held a bottle of water in her hand. “What are you doing here?”
“Turning my life around. Leaving my life of evil behind me,” said Aria, voice dripping with sarcasm. “I promise to recycle, do my community service, help little old ladies cross the street.” Aria snorted, giving the bag a particularly strong hook. “That what you wanted to hear?”
“Heh. I was right,” said Sunset. “You are angry. Wanna talk about it?”
“Yeah, we can go back to your place, it’ll be fun. We’ll paint our nails, and try on clothes, and talk about cute boys.”
“If you want. Something tells me that’s not really your style, though.” Sunset strolled around Aria, looking her up and down. “You’ve got good form. Nice core strength.”
“Right. Thanks for that, Holyfield.” Aria really just wanted to be left alone, and this was normally the way to go about it. Normally, when Aria dialed up her sarcasm, it drove people away. That’s why it was her favorite self-defense tool. But, for some reason, Sunset Shimmer refused to respond correctly. Sunset found something funny about the whole situation, and that just rubbed Aria wrong.
“How long have you been coming here?” asked Sunset.
“Longer than you’ve been alive, kid.”
“Weird. Never seen you here before. I guess I normally leave before you show up. I was running late today, didn’t pack up to leave until a few minutes ago.”
“Interesting. Don’t care.”
“You know what our problem is?” asked Sunset.
“Please don’t answer that question,” said Aria. “I’d hate to have to break your jaw.”
“Your problem is that you don’t talk to anybody. If you shared your problems with somebody, they stop being just your problems. Y’know what I mean?”
Aria delivered a stiff straight to the bag, then grabbed her backpack. She slung it over her shoulders and went about unwrapping her hand.
“Stay,” said Sunset. “I’m on my way out, anyway. Don’t leave on account of me. Just wanted to give you something to think about.”
“I’m thinking about knocking you out,” snapped Aria. Sunset chuckled, but headed for the door anyway.
“See you around, Aria. Take it easy.”
And, with that, she was gone. Aria stared at the door, waiting for Sunset to come back and finish ruining her evening, but she never came. Somehow, that annoyed Aria even more than Sunset’s arrival. Why even show up if she was going to leave? She just wasted both of their time.
Aria tried to forget about it, focusing all of her energy on the punching bag before her.
Aria popped the battery out of the back of her phone, slipping them both into her backpack. She really didn’t want to talk to Adagio right now. Not as if she ever wanted to, but she especially couldn’t stand to be around her now. Ever since Aria had walked away from Adagio a week prior, she had been unbearable. Every second of every day, Adagio seemed determined to make Aria’s life hell. Plus, the last confrontation the two had ended poorly, even by their standards.
She let herself into ThrowDown, annoyed to see that the lights were still on. That could only mean one thing, and Aria wasn’t very fond of it. It was expected by this point, but that didn’t stop Aria from being angry about it.
“Hey, Aria,” said Sunset, draping her jump rope over the back of her neck. Ever since Sunset had discovered that Aria attended this gym, she made it her business to be there at about the same time. Aria couldn’t do anything about it, save for finding another gym, and that was out of the question. ThrowDown was her gym, and she refused to relinquish it to anybody, least of all Sunset Shimmer.
“Hm.” That was as close to a greeting as Aria normally gave to Sunset.
“Rough day?”
“Every day is a rough day for me,” said Aria. She went about her routine, dropping her backpack and wrapping her hands before working the punching bag.
“Wanna talk?” asked Sunset.
“Do you charge by the hour, doc?” snorted Aria. “Keep your nose out of my business, or I’ll break it for you.”
“Yikes. You’re more huffy than usual today,” noted Sunset. She slipped over to Aria, trying to get a read on her face. “Jesus, what happened to you?” Aria let out a huff, turning slightly away. Her lip was busted, and her eye was black, beginning to swell. “No, seriously. What the hell happened?”
“My bad attitude finally got me in trouble,” said Aria. “About time, too. I was starting to think that you guys were bluffing.”
“Who?” asked Sunset. Aria raised an eyebrow, confused. “Who did this to you?”
“Why do you care?”
“Cause you’re my friend and—”
“When did that happen?” Aria grabbed her bag, stopping its swinging. “Last I checked, we hated each other.”
“I don’t hate you.”
“Well, I do. So maybe you should back off before you get hurt.” She resumed beating her punching bag. “Next time you make me say it, you’re gonna have a black eye that makes mine look like mascara.”
Sunset opened her mouth to speak, but closed it immediately. She walked to the front, presumably to gather her things to leave. Aria shook her head, devoting all of her attention to her bag. Before she could get into a good flow, something cold and hard hit her in the back of the head. She turned, irritated, to face Sunset.
“I thought you were leaving,” snarled Aria. Sunset crossed her arms over her chest, leaning against the wall.
“Put that against your eye,” ordered Sunset. Aria looked down, then grabbed the bag of frozen peas that Sunset had thrown at her. “And tell me what happened.”
“It’s none of your business,” said Aria. “Besides, it’s my own fault.”
“How so?”
“I said something I shouldn’t have, and the other guy made me pay for it. Leave it.” Sunset crossed the room, grabbing Aria’s wrist. She tugged out of her grasp and firmly pressed the bag against Aria’s black eye.
“So it was a guy? Your boyfriend?” asked Sunset. “Do we need to call the police? Domestic violence is no joke, do you need—”
“Adagio. It was Adagio.” Aria snatched the bag from Sunset, pressing the improvised cold compress against her own face. “Look, if I tell you what happened, will you drop it?”
“Can’t hurt your chances.”
“Fine, I need to take a breather anyway.” Aria trudged over to the ring, taking a seat on the steps. Sunset followed her, standing in wait of an explanation.
“Okay, so Adagio hit you. Why?” asked Sunset.
“Like I said, it’s my own fault. I said something I shouldn’t have,” said Aria. “We were arguing, nothing new there, and it got heated. I shot out the usuals, called her a big-headed, conceited bitch. She called me a worthless deadbeat. Sonata begged us not to fight, I told her to shut up. Normally, by the time I’m ready to head here, Adagio burns herself out. Tonight, she had more in her. She said that I was the reason we lost. And I told her that we’d all be better off if Sonata left her behind in Equestria.”
“Huh?” Sunset was confused, which didn’t surprise Aria. She hadn’t planned on telling this story today, so she didn’t have it prepared.
“In Equestria, Sonata and I met first. When we found out the Sirens were gone, we kinda had to stick together,” explained Aria. “We wandered the ocean, looking for a third. Siren music only works in trios, so we needed one more. We found Adagio drifting around someplace. She had tweaked her fin and it looked like she wouldn’t make it. So I said to leave her. Sonata grabbed her, nursed her back to health, and made her leader.”
“Yikes. That was kinda harsh of you to say,” said Sunset.
“Only kinda?” Aria snorted. “But that wasn’t all. I told her that Sonata regretted it, too. I told her that we would’ve made it if I was in charge. That everything bad that ever happened to us was her fault.”
“What happened next?”
“She punched me, asshole, what do you think?” Aria removed her ice pack and poked her eye, wincing in pain. “Look, not that I didn’t enjoy reliving my sucky night, but I’m tired. Get the pillow and blanket out of my bag, would ya?”
“What? You don’t plan on sleeping here, do you?” asked Sunset.
“Can’t exactly go home.” Sunset didn’t even have to think about it. Her mind was made up almost immediately.
“You walk here?” she asked.
“Yeah, why?”
“Grab your bag. You can stay with me tonight.”
“Yeah, no, I—”
“You must’ve misunderstood, sweetheart, so let me reiterate,” said Sunset firmly. “I’m not letting you sleep on the floor of a dirty, smelly gym. So get your stuff and let’s head to my place.”
“I… Fine. Whatever.” Aria stood up, still not entirely sure why she was going along with this. “How far?”
“Ten minutes if you’re slow,” said Sunset.
“I’m not.”
“Good. Let’s go.”
Aria couldn’t explain what happened the night before. There she was with the reason for her suffering and, instead of attacking her or running for the hills, she ended up sleeping over at her house. It was extremely out of character for her. This whole past week had been strange, and therefore annoying, to Aria. the only thing she could count on was the gym.
When she got there, she went straight to the bag without bothering to wrap her hands. She knew that her wrists were in danger of being damaged, but she didn’t much care. She just wanted to punch the world in the face, but she’d settle for the punching bag. She didn’t process that she had to turn the lights on herself, because she really didn’t care whether Sunset was there or not. The less she thought about it, the better.
To her annoyance, the door swung open and she was being yelled at before Sunset even properly stepped into the gym.
“What the hell was that?” asked Sunset. “Where’d you go?”
“Out,” said Aria simply.
“I was worried.”
“You shouldn’t have been.”
“Aria, seriously. I just wanna help you,” said Sunset. Aria clenched her fist, then hit the bag so hard it almost flew off of its hook.
“You wanna help? Fine! Go back in time, to the Battle of the Bands, and lose! Go back to when you made friends with those morons from home and stop yourself!” snapped Aria. Sunset’s mouth gaped slightly, unsure of how to respond. “Oh? What’s that? You can’t? Oh, well how surprising! Here I was thinking that you were the problem solver around these parts, that you can just snap your fingers and turn a shit situation gold! But you can’t, can you? You can’t help me! So why the hell do you keep trying?!” Aria took in a deep breath, calming herself just enough to stop herself from shouting. “You wanna know what I think? I think that you don’t really care about helping me.”
“Of course I do, I—”
“Shut up! No, you don’t care! You don’t! This is all a joke to you, isn’t it? I think that you just want it off your conscious,” said Aria. “You know that this is all your fault, and it eats you up inside! So you gotta help me, so you can finally sleep at night, and you can forget all about—”
“Get in the ring,” said Sunset.
“W-what?”
“You heard me. Get your gloves, get in the ring, and fight me,” said Sunset. “Get some of that aggression out. You’re right, you know. About this being my fault. So, make me pay for it.”
“I’m not gonna fight you.”
“Why not? Don’t think you can win?” asked Sunset.
“I might hurt you,” said Aria, finding her anger strangely diminishing.
“You think I go to a boxing gym just for fun?” asked Sunset. “I can hold my own. Now get in the ring.”
Sunset walked over to her gym bag, pulling out a pair of orange boxing gloves. She slipped them on, securing them to her hands. She hopped up and down in place, then headed to the ring. She slid under the middle rope, then found her corner.
“Seriously, come on,” said Sunset, bouncing in anticipation. “Get it all out!”
Aria looked down at her hand, the knuckles on her right becoming noticeably bruised. She’d have to pull her punches a bit, which was probably for the best. She was confident that she could easily knock out Sunset in normal circumstances. Maybe this was the equalizer she needed. Within a minute, Aria had her purple gloves on and was rolling into the ring.
“Let’s go,” said Aria, feeling a rhythm take her. Sunset held out her hands and, after they touched gloves, they backed up and raised their fists.
Sunset got the upper hand first, working the body. Aria socked Sunset in the side of the head, knocking her back a bit.
“Why are you doing this?” asked Aria.
“You hate me? Wanna punch me?” Sunset leaned back to avoid a swing. “Then do it. Maybe it'll get you talking.”
“Doubt it.”
They continued, neither gaining much ground. On occasion, one would graze the other, but no substantial hits were landed. Aria was more confused than ever. Why was Sunset really doing this? What was her motive? She couldn't really care about Aria and her problems, could she?
“Why were you and Adagio arguing?” asked Sunset. “Before she jawed you.”
“Why do you care?” countered Aria.
“Because you're my friend, even if you don't consider me yours. I help my friends, no matter what.”
Aria fell silent, blocking a body shot and retaliating with a hook. There wasn't much point in keeping quiet, she reasoned. Sunset was a persistent girl. She wasn’t about to let this go.
“We rent a little shack on the east side of the city. It's not much, but it's ours,” grunted Aria. The fight had slowed, but she kept her guard up. “Last week, we got our 30-days.”
“Damn. They're kicking you out? For what?”
“Apparently, Adagio fell behind on rent. Moron. She told us that she could handle it, not to worry. I don't get how she's making it my fault.”
“You pay rent?”
“She never asked me to. I never needed to. Up until you and your stupid friends came along, we never needed money,” grumbled Aria. She caught Sunset with a surprise hook. “So thanks for that.”
“We did what we had to. You guys were dangerous,” said Sunset, reeling from the hit. She shook her head, resuming the match. “What, you wanted me to just let you tear my friends apart? Take over my world? Enslave my people?”
“This is not your world, and these stupid monkeys we look like are not your people. You're an outsider, Shimmer.” A jab stunned Sunset, followed by a right cross. “You think you can save a school and then join their ranks? Be one of them? You're wrong.”
“I lied,” said Sunset. She danced in place, trying to get her rhythm back. “The reason I'm trying to help you. Not just because you're my friend. I'm trying to help because you remind me of myself.”
“We might be from the same place, but we are far from the same.” Aria swung, harshly catching Sunset in the ribs. “You're a shell of your former self. All that power you had, all the drive and determination, it vanished into thin air!” Sunset let out a wince of pain, leaning back to avoid a flurry of strikes. “I don't just hate you because of what you did to me. I hate you because of what you did to yourself. You could've bad anything you wanted. We could've been allies. But you threw it all away, for nothing. You make me sick to my stomach.”
“It wouldn't have worked, and you know it. We were too volatile. We'd end up killing each other before either of us achieved our goals,” said Sunset.
“Maybe that wouldn't have been so bad.”
Sunset leaned forward, catching Aria with a surprise straight. Aria backpedaled, while Sunset went on the offensive. Aria couldn’t barely block all of Sunset’s quick, savage strikes.
“You and I are more similar than you think. We both come from the same place. Both tried the whole evil thing, with less than stellar results.” Aria tried to swing, an attempt that was punished with a bodyshot. “We were both inches away from everything we ever wanted, just to have it snatched away. And it sucks, man, it freaking blows. But I wouldn't change it for the world.”
“Then you're an idiot,” grunted Aria. She could barely keep up with Sunset. Where did that sudden burst of energy come from? This sudden ferocity?
“Maybe. But I'm willing to bet that you'll change your mind on that. Maybe not today, or tomorrow, but soon.”
“You don't know me. You've been brainwashed by that magic of friendship bullshit for so long that—” Sunset caught her in the side of the head, dizzying her and threatening to send her to the mat.
“Stop treating me like one of the girls, because I'm not. Not yet. Like I said, you're just like me.”
“No! You don't hunger, day in and day out, for something you can never have,” growled Aria. “You'll never understand the want, the temptation to sing. Did you know that it hurts? Not being able to sing, I mean. It hurts so damn much, and there's nothing I can do about it.”
“You're lying. See, I'm not stupid. After you guys showed up, I had Princess Twilight send me everything she had on Sirens,” said Sunset. “You guys can learn to sing again. It'll be weaker, and with less reward, but it can be done. Wanna know what I think?”
“No.”
“I think that you don't want to sing anymore. That you feel bad, and you want to change, but you don't know how. And I totally sympathize with that. I still haven't changed completely yet.”
Aria wanted to knock Sunset flat on her ass, anything to shut her up. Who did she think she was? Aria didn't like to be spoken to like that by anyone, let alone by the person who ruined her life. Sunset was just full of herself, convinced she knew the solution to a problem she couldn't possibly understand. She couldn't wait to lay her out and prove her wrong.
“Don't pretend like you get me. You haven't lost what I have. You have friends, respect, acceptance. Hell, you even have magic!” Aria grunted in pain as another thudding punch connected with her ribs. “Me, I don't even have a house anymore. So stop acting like you'd ever understand my want. My need for power.”
“I go to school, Monday through Friday, sometimes Saturday for band practice and maybe even Sunday for a football game,” said Sunset. “And every time I go to school, I pass the statue. The statue that would send me back home, right in Princess Twilight’s castle. I could walk right through, steal her spell books in her sleep, and rise to power all over again. I could kill her, or at least lock her up, and take Equestria for my own. And I don't.”
“We already knew you were better than me, Shimmer. You're a good guy, I'm not. We are not the same.”
“I don't do it, but there's not a day that goes past where I don't think about it. It'd be so satisfying. She embarrassed me, after all. Made me look like a child. Took away my only chance to have what I really wanted from life,” said Sunset through gritted teeth. “She's my friend, sure, but I think a part of me still hates her. A part of me still wants to hurt her. And that part is getting bigger, not smaller.”
Aria froze. What Sunset said… It couldn't possibly be true. Sunset had reformed, totally gone over to the good guys. But, based on what she was saying, she still had her foot in the door. Could there really still be a spark of bad in Princess Twilight’s perfect rehab project?
Sunset took advantage of Aria’s preoccupation, stepping forward and socking her in the jaw. Aria stumbled back, tripping over her own legs and hitting the mat with an unceremonious thud.
“You and I are just alike, Aria, no ways around it,” huffed Sunset. “And I'm not better than you, not by a long shot. The main difference between you and me is that I decided to be happy rather than miserable. You have eight people waiting to be your friend, which is two more than I had. Let us help you. Or, you know, be miserable for the rest of your life. I can’t really stop you.” Sunset rolled her neck, popping the joints, before sliding out of the ring and pulling off her gloves. Aria watched her grab her water bottle and take a sip.
“W-what?” Aria stood up slowly, taking off her gloves and leaving them on the mat. “That’s it?”
“Yup. I said my point, you listened, and I kicked your ass,” said Sunset. “So, I figure I might as well head home. If you need some place to stay tonight, you remember where I live.”
Sunset went about the gym, gathering her things to head home. Aria just stood there, massaging her jaw in confusion. She had planned on silently beating Sunset down, proving her point that Sunset was nothing like her. That they were opposites, and that Sunset should leave Aria alone forever. Instead, Aria had earned herself a beating and some good advice. Not that she’d ever take it. She was just surprised to hear it.
“See you around, Aria,” said Sunset, slinging her gym bag over her shoulder. “Remember, whether you want it or not, I’m here to help if you need it. Whether you need a place to sleep or these… punch therapy sessions. I’m your friend, and you can ask me for help.”
“I still hate you,” said Aria. Sunset shrugged, then turned for the door. She grabbed the knob and was about to step out when Aria stopped her. “Wait.”
“Hm?”
“Same time tomorrow?” Sunset grinned.
“Definitely.”
Three Months Later
Aria grabbed her towel, laying it over her face as she lay in the middle of the boxing ring, sweat clinging to her skin. She hadn’t had a workout like that in quite a few weeks. This was quite possibly the most intense Punch Therapy session so far. Though she was tired, she was happy to have an outlet for all the stress and uncertainty in her life.
“You ready to go?” called Sunset. “We need to grab some groceries before we head home, alright?”
“Yeah, just give me a sec,” panted Aria. “That workout killed me.”
“Same.” Sunset grabbed her bag and rolled into the ring, stopping just next to Aria. “While you’re recovering, do you mind answering some questions? Princess Twilight wants to know how you’ve progressed.”
“Sure, whatever.”
Sunset pulled her journal out of her bag, flipping through it to find her questions.
“Alright, so, when I first reached out to you, how would you describe your average emotional state?”
“The hell? Who wrote these questions?” asked Aria.
“Twilight. Just play along, okay?” said Sunset.
“Alright, alright. I guess, before we made this boxing thing regular, I was angry more than anything.”
“And now?”
“Still angry. But other stuff more often.”
“What sort of stuff?” asked Sunset, a sly grin on her face. Aria rolled her eyes.
“Bite me. You know what I mean. I mean, I still need to get over the problems me and Adagio are having,” said Aria. “And I still don’t have a ton of friends. Some days, I feel just as bad as I used to. Most other days, though… I almost feel like a normal person.”
“Mh-hm. Are you feeling any desires to revert to your old ways?” asked Sunset, scribbling Aria’s responses into the journal.
“Sometimes. I think it’s partly because I miss singing,” admitted Aria. “It’s all I knew. Can’t just leave it behind. But not like I’m planning world domination or anything.”
“And, ever since becoming friends with Sunset Shimmer, that’s me, how do you feel on a day-to-day basis?”
Aria stared up at the lights, feeling a strangeness that had been building inside of her these last three months. It had taken refuge in her chest, sending warmth and energy through her being. Aria was still confused as to why Sunset had chosen to be friends with her, or why she agreed to befriends with Sunset, but she realized that it didn’t much matter. What mattered was the fact that she had a friend.
“Never better.”
