//------------------------------// // Partners in Crime // Story: ADW: Partners in Crime // by Test4Echo //------------------------------// "Hey Ari, what'cha doing?" Sonata's high-pitched inquiry poked through the grumpy Siren's concentration. Sighing, she put down the Nintendo DS she was using and fixed Sonata with a stern glare. "Does it matter?" she retorted. Why couldn't Sonata just let her wind down? The Dazzlings were taking a vacation at a ski resort a lengthy drive from Canterlot. What Aria had expected to be a relaxing break had turned into a living hell when Sonata had had the bright idea to take a ride on the ski lift. While the ride had started out fine, at least for Adagio and Sonata, the nightmarish part had begun when the lift's motor shorted out, all because... someone (totally not her) had dropped a half-filled cup of hot chocolate over a railing which just so happened to be near the motor. After what felt like an eternity of hanging over the slopes at a dizzyingly high altitude, they managed to find a way down and back to the hotel. Along the way, Aria pleaded with her fellow Sirens to keep her revealed fear of heights -- and subsequent girlish screaming -- to themselves. They had teased her a bit, but they agreed to keep it a secret. Soon after returning to the hotel, Adagio left their suite -- the mirror wasn't clean enough, or something -- and went to complain to the management. Now the other two Sirens were left to their own devices. Sonata had ordered up some room service for herself, and Aria had grabbed her portable gaming console and fired it up to work the harrowing day out of her system. "Oh my gosh!" You're playing NintenDogs, aren't you?" Sonata squeaked as Aria turned her attention back to the DS in her hands. She flopped down on the bed Aria had claimed and gave her an innocent grin. "Yeah, but only because I want to know why you like it so much... i-it's not like I think they're cute or anything." Aria tried to deflect. The small blush forming on her cheeks didn't help her case. "You do think they're cute, don't you?!" Sonata pressed. When her fellow Siren grunted and looked away, she chuckled inwardly, knowing she had hit the nail right on the mark. "Didn't Adagio tell you not to eat in bed?" Aria countered, looking at the plate of food that Sonata was holding. Glancing between the platter of gooey desserts and Aria, Sonata muttered, "Maybe?" She poked her fork into a piece of hot fudge cake and took a bite. She let out a soft moan of pleasure when the sweet pastry entered her mouth. When Sonata stayed where she was, Aria grunted and gave her a quick shove off the bed. "Personal space" seemed to be a phrase that Sonata didn't understand, at least when it came to her. Deftly avoiding spilling her plate, Sonata shrugged at Aria's attitude and sat down in a nearby chair. She flicked on the TV and scrolled through the rentable movie listings. Finding nothing of interest, she went back to eating her food. The room soon settled into silence, much to Aria's thanks, but soon enough she heard a small sigh from Sonata. Looking up, she saw the blue Siren had finished her desserts, and was staring longingly at the empty plate. A few crumbs and a small layer of icing surrounded Sonata's mouth, which was in a sad frown. With a shake of her head, Aria groaned, "Don't tell me you want more?" "Yeah," Sonata sighed, continuing her reverie of more food adorning her plate. Perking up, she declared, "Time to call room service!" Before Sonata could grab the hotel phone from the nightstand, Aria placed her hand on the device. She shot Sonata a hard look. "Our bill is going to be high enough, what with you ordering food every night! Plus there was... today's event." "Aww..." Sonata whined, rubbing her one arm. The room once again went quiet, although a bit tenser now than before. Sonata slowly paced around the room, much to Aria's annoyance. "Could you not?" Aria huffed as she turned off the DS. The game she was playing was stupid anyway. One more mystery of Sonata's mind unsolved. "But I'm still hungry!" Sonata cried, throwing both her arms in the air. "Honestly Sonata, you're acting like a kid!" Aria snapped. Admittedly, the pink shirt and slightly darker pink pants that Sonata wore didn't help the girlish look. Nor the teddy bear that she refused to get rid of. "If you're so hungry, go take some of your own money and get something from the lobby. Adagio's going to flip at the bill already, no need to make her pop more blood vessels." she stated. "But I want more cake!" Sonata complained. She dropped down into another chair and crossed her arms. Growling under breath, she avoided Aria's gaze. "Fine. I'm going to grab a shower. Keep being the worst." Aria shrugged her shoulders and quickly dug through her luggage. A moment later she pulled out a music-note towel and stomped into the bathroom, slamming the door shut behind her. Seconds later, Sonata heard footsteps pass by their hotel room door. She heard them stop slightly past the doorway and a knock on a nearby door. She snuck to the door and carefully poked her head out. There was a bellboy waiting outside the door next to theirs, a large dish of some kind of chocolate cake perched on his left hand. Sonata's eyes glowed when she saw the bellboy waiting. The occupants of the next room must have stepped out. Hopefully they'd be gone for a while. When there was still no answer at the door, the bellboy procured a passkey from his pocket and unlocked it. As he entered the room, Sonata stepped out behind him and walked a short distance down the hall past the door. As the bellboy re-emerged, she started walking back, looking like she was just out for a stroll. Passing the bellboy, she stuck her foot in the slowly closing door and stopped its passage just shy of locking. Convinced that it wouldn't close any further, Sonata went back to their suite. She opened the door to the bathroom. As she entered, she exclaimed, "Aria!" Said Dazzling was just stepping into the shower. When Sonata burst into the bathroom, Aria shrieked and grabbed her towel, wrapping it around her body. She shot daggers at Sonata, a hard blush coming to her face. "You couldn't wait five minutes?!" she yelled, irate at the intrusion. "You didn't leave the door locked," Sonata replied. While it might have made sense as an excuse to her, it didn't fly with Aria. "I shouldn't have to. I thought you'd have enough common sense to not come charging in here until I'm at least in the shower!" Stepping back out of the shower, she secured the towel around herself and grabbed her clothes. No point in trying to shower now, Sonata wanted something. "The hotel delivered a cake to the person next door." Sonata said, returning Aria's scowl with a naive grin. "So?" Aria retorted, raising an inquisitive eyebrow.. "Nobody's there. I thought we could grab it and split it." Sonata continued, still grinning. It looked to Aria that her smile was even larger than when she started this line of topic. "As in steal it? Are you that desperate for food?" Aria huffed. She pinched the bridge of her nose and shook her head. "But it looks so tasty!" Sonata countered, pulling her arms close and shaking them like she did whenever she saw the Taco Tuesday poster at CHS. "No!" Aria snapped back. "Don't you want to have a piece of its soft, creamy icing; or its fresh, fluffy batter, baked to perfection; or try one of the cookies stuck on its sides; or..." Sonata kept listing the attributes of the cake, almost like it was some exotic dancer. Her blush returning slightly at the sheer sensuality of Sonata’s description, Aria cried, "Fine! Just let me get dressed." "But we need to get it now before our neighbor returns!" Sonata moaned. "Besides, I thought you'd like to go out just in your towel. Isn't that what always starts your stories in those magazines you read when we think we aren't looking?" Blushing even harder, Aria groaned, slapping a hand to her face in embarrassment, "I thought we agreed that none of us would talk about that?" Slowly lowering her hand, she sighed, "Just give me two minutes, then we can nab that cake." Exactly two minutes later, Sonata was knocking on the bathroom door. Placing her head against the door, she called, "Ari! Are you done yet? It's been two minutes!" From inside there came an irritated grunt. The door flew open, causing Sonata to fall flat on her face. As she got up, she saw Aria slip on a green turtleneck. "Can we go now?" she pleaded, tugging on Aria's arm. "Yeah. Fine. Whatever." Aria grumbled as she was practically dragged by Sonata. "What did I do to deserve her?" she mused, closing her eyes and shaking her head. Entering the hall, the two made their way to the adjacent room, its door still slightly ajar. As they were about to enter the room, they heard someone clear their throat behind them. They turned, slowly. Standing before them, hands on her hips, was none other than Principal Celestia. She was leveling them with a stern glare. "And just what do you think you're doing?" she demanded. With an awkward laugh, Sonata spoke up, "P-Principal Celestia! Fancy running into you here!" "Yeah!" Aria echoed, nervously nodding her head. "Yes. Strange, isn't it?" Celestia replied completely deadpan. Still giving them a stern look, she continued, "I hope you girls weren't getting into more trouble. Lord knows, I'd think you'd have learned your lesson after the CHS recital." A few seconds of tense silence permeated the hallway. Giving another awkward laugh, Sonata said, "I think we should be going now." She gestured for Aria to follow her. As the two returned to their room, they saw Celestia go into the room they were about to steal the cake from. Driving a fist into her open palm, Aria growled at Sonata when they entered their hotel room, "I got all dressed, just so the principal shows up? This is all your fault, Sonata. Now I'm hungry, thanks to you!" "Well, you could've come when I asked you. Then we wouldn't have run into her." Sonata pointed out, causing Aria's face to grow a deep shade of red. "I don't know what goes on in your psychotic little mind, Sonata, but I actually do have some decency!" Aria snapped. She grabbed Sonata by the shirt, but let go when Sonata just returned her physical threat with an innocent smile. Turning around and crossing her arms, Aria muttered, "And no: no more room service! I don't want to have to dig into my savings just because we kept ordering food." "Well," Sonata began. Hearing the sound of Sonata rummaging through the small closet beside the bathroom, Aria turned around to see her fellow Siren pulling out two maid uniforms. "We could try these." Sonata stated, holding up a uniform to Aria to see if it fit her. Her jaw hanging agape, Aria finally stuttered, "W-where did you get those?" Taking a closer look, she cried, "These are from the hotel?! How did you get these?" She gave Sonata a confused look. "Oh, I was just wandering around yesterday and--" "You know what? I don't want to know." Aria interrupted, holding up a hand and shaking her head. She also didn't want to know how Sonata somehow managed to sneak the uniforms past them as well. "So you'll help?" Sonata squealed, a happy grin lighting up her features. "I will since you made me hungry. This better be worth it." Aria grumped. She grabbed one of the uniforms and went into the bathroom, making sure this time to lock it. A few minutes later, she stepped out of the bathroom and threw her clothes on the nearest bed. She jumped when she heard a small "Awww" from Sonata, who was already dressed in the other uniform and was looking at her with slightly dopey eyes. "You look so cute." Sonata stated, another small grin on her face. Blushing, Aria grunted back, "Shut up." "You look just like that one girl in your magazines, what's her na--" "Sonata. I said. Shut. Up!" Aria hissed. Leveling her fellow Siren with a glare, she went on, "Let's just get this over with and hope Adagio doesn't get back until after we've changed out of these ridiculous things." With a small sigh, Sonata complied. She threw Aria a cap, a net for her hair, and pair of shoes that went with the uniform. After telling herself not to ask again, Aria put on the articles of clothing and left the room. To her surprise, in the hallway there was one of the many trolleys that the cleaning staff used in the hotel. Shooting Sonata a questioning look, Aria said, "This wasn't here before." "Yeah. Let's just say one of the maids won't be needing -- or missing -- hers for a few hours." Sonata replied nonchalantly. She pushed past Aria and grabbed hold of the handles on the trolley and moved it the short distance to Celestia's room. "Just keep your head down," Sonata whispered as she stuffed her hair into her uniform's net. She knocked on Celestia's door. "What?" Aria hissed back as they waited for an answer. "Hopefully she won't recognize us if she doesn't see our faces." Sonata explained, turning her attention to the door when Celestia asked who was outside her door. "Housecleaning!" she called, slightly lowering the pitch in her voice in the hopes of disguising it. "Now? But my room is clean enough." Celestia's voice replied through the door. "Sorry ma'am, but we were scheduled to clean the room anyway. Company mandates." Sonata answered. She crossed her fingers, hoping her lie would be convincing. There came a tired sigh from the other side of the door. A moment later it opened and Celestia said, "Very well. I suppose you're just doing your jobs." "We'll be quick, ma'am." Aria stated, lowering her head and putting a bit of husk into her voice. Stepping aside, Celestia let the two Sirens pass. As Sonata pushed the trolley in, Celestia commented, "My face is up here, you know." Fearfully gulping, Sonata reacted quickly, thinking up another excuse, "It's just policy, ma'am. Management doesn't like it when the cleaning staff interact with the guests." A few seconds passed. Beads of sweat started to form on Sonata's forehead. Finally, Celestia replied, "I guess I'll leave you two to it. Just be quick." Breathing a sigh of relief, Aria glanced at Sonata as they went into the main room of the hotel suite. Celestia strolled into the bathroom and locked the door. With the principal properly preoccupied, Aria shot her head up and started looking for the cake. Sonata grabbed Aria's arm and gestured to the trolley, holding in her free hand a duster. With a huff, Aria took the duster and some cleaning rags and started a quick clean to look busy. Meanwhile Sonata glanced around the room, soon finding their prize sitting on a small table near the window. Grabbing it, she placed it on the trolley and quickly did a cleaning of the remainder of the room. When they finished, Aria started to push the trolley out of the room. Sonata grabbed the cake and turned around quickly to call, "We're all done, ma'am." Celestia left the bathroom. "Nice try, girls. I'll take that cake back." she stated when she saw Sonata holding the pastry. Chuckling nervously, Sonata replied, "Oh, we weren't sure if this was going to be eaten. Quite a few guests don't eat what they've ordered from room service, it seems." She slowly handed the cake back to Celestia. As she took the cake, Celestia smirked. "Sure they do. Thanks for the free room cleaning, Sonata and Aria." She closed the door firmly. Glaring at Sonata, Aria snarled, mimicking Sonata's voice to an exaggerated degree, "'Keep your head down, then she won't recognize us'. Some plan, genius." "Don't worry, I have another idea!" Sonata exclaimed as she pushed the trolley to the end of the hall. She ran back, her face lit up in excitement. Aria groaned. "Please tell me there isn't more hidden stuff in our closet!" *** "I'm not too sure about this." Aria muttered. She was looking out the window of the Dazzlings' suite, beads of sweat running down her face as the snow-covered ground loomed below. Strong gusts of wind were blowing her bangs in all directions, which really didn't help to combat the dizziness that she was starting to feel. Gulping, she managed to peel her eyes from the ground and look nervously at Sonata, who was already out on the small ledge that ran along each floor of the hotel. The blue Siren gave a small wave and replied, "Come on Ari! I've already messed with her room's thermostat. We only have a small window to get that cake." "But, do I have to go out? You look like you've got it covered." Aria said to try and back out. She was not informed that the next plan would involve inching along the outside of the hotel a couple of stories above the ground. "You know they say that you can't conquer your fears if you never confront them." Sonata quipped. Turning her head in the other direction, she started shuffling towards Celestia's window. "Don't tell me you're scared, Ari! If you fall, there's always the snow. It won't hurt... much." she snickered, a flicker of a wicked sneer flying across her features as she finished her sentence. "I don't know how you convinced me to do this." Aria muttered, slowly climbing through the window and getting a foothold on the ledge. She whimpered as another gust of wind blew against her, whipping some of her loose hair in her face. Slowly opening one of her eyes, she started following Sonata. She squeaked as one of her feet stubbed a small piece of loose ice, sending it hurtling off the edge into a snow bank below. She almost lost her balance when she bumped into Sonata, who was peeking in through the window at the room inside. Grabbing Sonata's waist, Aria held on for dear life. She looked down at the ground once again. Nope. Definitely didn't help the situation. "Aww. I didn't know you cared so much, Ari." Sonata mumbled as Aria continued holding on. So far the activity in the room wasn't very interesting. The room must have been still somewhat comfortable. "I'm so going to kill you if we get through this!" Aria hissed. Squeezing her eyes shut, she tried to imagine herself back in the hotel room or anywhere other than where she was right now. "But then you'd have Dagi to deal with, too. I don't think she'd be very happy if I was dead." Sonata stated, calling Aria's empty threat. "Just tell me what's going on!" Aria all but screamed. A few tears started making their way down her face as her heart rate continued to climb. "She's not doing -- oh wait. She's coming over here. It looks like she's going to open the window." Sonata pulled back, edging along the ledge and forcing Aria to move to avoid getting pushed off. A few seconds later the window to the hotel room shot open and Celestia leaned out, a sigh escaping her lips as Aria felt a small wave of heat hit her face. Sonata must have really cranked the temperature, however she found the thermostat. Thankfully Celestia quickly ducked back into the hotel room, leaving the window open to let out some of the hot air. As the two Sirens started inching towards the now open window, they heard Celestia open the door to the room and exclaim, "Sister! How was your day?" "Tiring. I'm sorry Tia. I know you wanted to celebrate my birthday while I was at this conference, but I'm too exhausted to do anything but sleep right now." they heard the voice of Vice-Principal Luna reply. They heard a soft chuckle come from inside. "Well, if you want to be the principal of your own school some day, you'll have to get used to it." An unimpressed grunt came after that statement. Laughing, Celestia said, "Get some rest, Lulu, I have to register a complaint about our room temperature." "I saw that the thermostat for this level was set unusually high," Luna yawned. "It was right by the elevator. Don't know who'd change it, though." She chuckled, "I'm surprised you didn't think of that, yet I managed to notice it with my sleep-deprived brain." "Everyone has their off days, Lulu." Celestia replied. A set of footsteps started coming towards the window. "You were always better at observation than I was." Sonata and Aria could see the shadow of the principal on the windowsill. Although Celestia was at the window, she kept it open for a minute, the shape of her shadow indicating that she was facing Luna. "I still remember you reading all the Sherlock Holmes books when you were younger. It was so cute the way you crushed on him." "Tia! You know that we agreed to not talk about that!" Luna exclaimed. The embarrassment in her voice was quite palpable, a blush more than likely on her face. Engrossed in the conversation, Aria jumped when Celestia slammed the window shut. Still holding onto Sonata in a viselike grip, she lost her balance, causing the two of them to tumble off the ledge towards the deep snow below. Aria screamed at the top of her lungs while Sonata just giggled. With a loud "fwump!" the pair crashed into the snow bank, creating two large craters. Groggily poking her head out of the crater, Aria groaned. Beside her, Sonata popped up, an excited smile on her face. "That was fun!" she cried, starting to dig herself out of the snow pile. Her entire body was covered in snow, and she quickly started brushing the fluffy flakes off. "It's so bloody cold!" Aria shrieked. Wrapping her arms around her body, she pushed her way through the snow bank towards the main entrance. As she passed Sonata, she shot her a fierce scowl, giving a few soft shivers. "Well, at least our hotel room will be warm." Sonata pointed out as she started following Aria. She cringed as Aria looked back at her, the expression on her fellow Siren's face anything but amused. "You're paying for my medical bills if I catch pneumonia." Aria huffed as the automatic doors of the hotel slid open. The orderly lobby was somewhat busy with guests chatting or staff walking about on their assigned tasks. The two Sirens weaved their way towards the nearest elevator. Small pools of water were forming wherever Aria stepped as the layer of snow on her clothes started to melt and either drip off, or soak into her shirt and pants. As the cold liquid seeped through her clothes, Aria grumbled under her breath about Sonata's plan. She looked behind her. Sonata was still following, although her hand was under her chin in thought. "Maybe we should have Dagi help us." Sonata finally suggested as they waited for one of the elevators to arrive. Turning her head to look at Sonata, Aria gave her an annoyed look. "I'm pretty sure she wouldn't be on board. After your comments about her butt today, I think she's going to be watching her weight." "Aww. But I really want that cake!" Sonata complained. Grabbing hold of Aria's hands, she gave her the most pathetic pleading expression she could muster. "Just give me one more chance at a plan! Please?" she whined. "Fine!" Aria snapped. Leveling a finger and pointing it at Sonata, she went on, "But if this doesn't work, you're paying our hotel bill, got it?" *** "This isn't going to work." Aria huffed as Sonata explained her new plan. She was finishing tying her hair back into their normal pigtails, and had thrown on her denim jacket over a fresh shirt. "Come on, Ari! It will be really quick. I'm sure you can do it!" Sonata encouraged, giving Aria a light punch on the shoulder. Glaring at Sonata, Aria rubbed her shoulder. With a sigh, she said, "Let's just hope Principal Celestia doesn't get back during the middle of this." "It looked like she was going to be a while when I saw her leave," Sonata replied. This whole plan of hers had been concocted within five minutes of their reaching the right floor, and after they had avoided bumping into the principal, who was just leaving when they entered their room. "I still don't think that I'll be able to draw Luna out," Aria muttered as they exited the room. They walked the short distance to the two deans' room and waited outside. Bopping her head up and down and mouthing "One. Two. Three.", Sonata backed away and motioned for Aria to go ahead. She slowly slunk back until she was partly hidden from Aria's peripheral vision. Aria gulped. Hesitantly, she knocked on the hotel room door. After a few seconds of silence, she turned to look at Sonata. "She must be asleep. Time to go back!" she whispered rather loudly. Sonata just shook her head and frowned. She motioned for Aria to try again. Slumping her shoulders, Aria knocked again. From inside, there was the sound of a person rolling over in bed before heavy footsteps started coming towards the door. The door was whipped open, revealing a highly un-amused Luna. Rubbing her eyes, she looked down at Aria. After a few seconds, a light of recognition sparkled in her eyes. "You." She grunted. Her face carried a look that expressed to Aria quite clearly that if she wanted to live, she’d better have a good reason to have woken her. Gulping, Aria stuttered, "H-hi Vice-Principal Luna. Um, I was j-just walking down the hall when I saw Principal Celestia drop something near the elevator. I couldn't find it, and I thought maybe you could help me look for it? I think it might have been her room key." She gave a weak smile, a few strands of sweat running down her face. Luna looked at the Siren with a tired and annoyed expression. Finally, she sighed, "And why are you doing this? I trust there is no malicious intention behind this." "N-no ma'am. I just want to try and make amends." Aria replied, scratching behind her head awkwardly. She hoped that her story would work; the gaze that Luna was giving her was beginning to become unbearable. "Very well, but you had best not be planning anything." Luna replied. She started to follow Aria as she slowly walked in the opposite direction from Sonata's hiding place. When she saw Luna go with Aria, Sonata bolted for the open door. Sneaking inside, she beelined for the cake, which was still on the same table as before. Quickly snatching it, she rushed back out the door. She gestured as best she could to grab Aria's attention, who was nervously chatting with Luna as the two were searching the floor around the elevator. When Aria saw Sonata holding the cake, she mentally sighed. Clearing her throat, she muttered, "I guess I was mistaken. Maybe she didn't drop anything. Sorry for disturbing you." Before Luna could reply, she walked off and went down to the Dazzlings' hotel room, which Sonata had ducked into as soon as she saw that she caught Aria's attention. As she went inside, she breathed, "That was too close! I was about to run out of floorspace." "Well, we've got the cake all to ourselves!" Sonata exclaimed, holding the heavenly-looking treat up for Aria to admire. Her mouth watering, Aria spun around when the door to their room opened and Adagio stepped in. The yellow Siren's face was alight with fury and she stormed past the two without even noticing the cake in Sonata's hands. "Uh, how'd it go?" Aria asked as Adagio threw her purse on a chair and flopped down on a bed. "I can't believe it! The nerve of that manager! He said that those wolves out by the ski lift wasn’t their problem, and after my other complaints, said that if we didn't like it, then we should just go!" Adagio threw her arms up in frustration and let out an irate grunt. "We're helping pay his wages, the least he could do is be a bit more considerate." Slowly, she sat up on the bed. Giving her compatriots a confused look, she pointed to the cake and asked, "Where did you get that?" Before either could respond, there was a knock at their door. Sighing, Adagio got to her feet and answered it. Outside, Celestia was tapping her foot impatiently. When she saw Adagio, she growled, "You need to keep your friends in line, Adagio. They stole a cake that I had planned for my sister's birthday. I know they've taken it, now I'd appreciate it if you gave it back." Glancing behind her, Adagio gave Sonata and Aria another questioning look. She turned back to Celestia, a calm smile on her face. "Sorry, Principal, but I don't know what you're talking about. I was just talking with them, and they're clear as a bell." Celestia grunted and left. "There's no point to this. I'll just order another one." As Celestia stomped back to her room, Adagio called, "It was nice seeing you here, Principal." She chuckled as Celestia slammed the door. Turning back to Sonata and Aria, she said, "Well?" "W-we can explain, Adagio." Aria began, surprised by Adagio's attitude. Holding up a hand, Adagio said, "Can it! It doesn't matter. After today, we deserve a special treat, even if it was 'borrowed'." She went over to a small table near the entertainment unit and pulled open a small drawer. Pulling out three forks, she smirked. "So what are we having?" she snickered, handing a fork to Aria and Sonata. "I dunno. But I'm sure it'll be good!" Sonata answered, digging her fork into the cake. She let out a soft moan of pleasure as she took a bite of the pastry. Switching her gaze between Sonata and Adagio, Aria shrugged her shoulders, "Just let it be, Aria. At least she didn't punish us like she normally does." She gave a small shudder and began digging into the cake with her compatriots. FIN