A Christmas Dazzling
"Why do I have to be in here?" Aria thought to herself. She sighed and looked at the line of children waiting patiently to see "Santa." Tugging lightly at the itchy elf costume she was wearing, she shooed another kid to the fat guy Canterlot Shopping Center employed.
Why this realm had the strange tradition of waiting for some mythical deliverer of presents to squeeze through a chimney was beyond her. Just like the other one with the giant rabbit that leaves behind chocolate eggs... and every other holiday, really.
As another kid climbed on the actor's lap, Aria wished that she managed to get a job at one of the stores in CSC instead. It must be less boring than standing around, being overly cheery to kids who would in a few years cringe at the thought of sitting on "Santa's" lap.
It was a few days before Christmas, and the Dazzlings had regained acceptance at CHS in the past few months. While Sonata was a full-time student there, Adagio and Aria decided to try and find employment instead: it wasn't like they had magical powers to get anything they wanted anymore.
Adagio had managed to find work rather quickly (Aria wasn't sure if it was actually due to any skill she had, or for other reasons), but Aria only managed to get the job as an elf recently.
Ever since, it had been a living hell, having to put up a farce and be nice while she was at it. It didn't help that she barely had any time to think, let alone think about getting a gift for the two other Sirens.
"All right squirt, you're next." she muttered, waving another kid to move forward. Wearily, she looked up through the glass ceiling of CSC.
A few wisps of snow blew across its surface, and she guessed that it was more than likely snowing. Looking back down, she groaned as the kid that she just sent to the guy's lap started screaming its head off.
"Someone please deal with it. Pleasepleasepleaseplease..." she mentally wished. To her relief, a co-worker elf grabbed the crying child and took it to its mother.
A few moments slipped by, and every so often Aria would usher along another kid to "Santa." Suddenly she was startled by hearing her name called.
"Aria!" an excited, high-pitched voice cried.
She was tackled from behind by a familiar figure. Pushing the figure off of her, Aria scrambled to her feet. "Sonata!" she hissed, "You know not to hug me in public."
"Sorry!" the blue Siren giggled, "I was just excited to see you. It's been sooo boring with you working every evening."
Aria rolled her eyes. "Sure it was." She appreciated Sonata's enthusiasm -- not that she'd admit it -- but she swore that she slowly turning more and more into that one Rainboom, Pinkie Pie, or whatever.
As she walked back to where she was supposed to be, she asked, "What are you doing here?"
"Just getting a bit of shopping done. What? Is that illegal when you're here?" Aria heard another familiar voice say.
Not even bothering to turn around, she sighed, "No, Adagio, but I thought that grocery day was tomorrow?"
Money was rather tight in the Dazzling household, so everything was structured to make sure that it would go to what was needed.
Silently, Aria motioned for a pair of kids to move along, getting them that much closer to their veritable wishing well. Turning back around to look at her fellow Sirens, she said, "Look, thanks for stopping by, but I'm busy."
"Yeah, yeah," Adagio huffed. She motioned for Sonata to follow her as she started heading down the nearest escalator. "Just don't work too late; they're calling for a good dumping of snow."
"Yeah, my shift's gonna be done soon." Aria didn't need to be reminded about that.
Soon enough, things settled back into the relative rhythm of an "elf." Wait a couple of minutes; usher the next brat forward; rinse repeat. She was just thankful that she wasn't the one next to "Santa," having to hear some of the absolutely ludicrous gifts these kids wanted.
From the rare time she actually talked with one of them, she knew from her co-workers of some the tall tales. Scuba gear, their own fire department, a magical, living, talking horse; the list went on and on.
She smirked as she remembered that last one. Wouldn't that kid want to know where she came from.
Eventually, a haggard-looking mother of three, her youngest on her shoulders and happily tugging on her hair, brought her children into the wait line. Aria caught out of the corner of her eye one of the kids picking his nose then wiping the guilty finger on the kid in front of him.
"Great," Aria thought, slumping her shoulders a bit at the act. "One of those kids."
As the line continued to move, the kid decided to wander off when his mother's attention was distracted by the one on her shoulders.
Suddenly Aria felt a giant tug on her single ponytail (couldn't wear her normal pigtails with an elf cap) from behind. Whipping around, she growled when she saw it was the nose-picker from earlier.
Grabbing him by the arm, she marched back towards his mother. With a huff, she let go of the kid and pushed him back to his mother. A low snarl in her voice, she told the mother, "You really need to watch where your kids are going. This punk thought my hair was something his germ-laden hands could use."
Surprised, the mother scoffed, "My son would never do that! Shouldn't you be keeping the line in order?"
About to dismiss the family, she halted when the kid went straight back to nose-picking: right in front of his mother. Swiveling back around, she said, "Seriously?! He's right in front of you! Can you not let him know not to do that in public?"
A few heads turned to look at the commotion that was started.
With a glare, the mother retorted, "He's a kid, and more importantly my son and it's his finger. I don't have to do anything you say." She turned her head and ignored mildly angered Siren.
The evening of children -- annoying, screaming, crying, or just normal -- had taken its toll on Aria's temper. Without thinking, she cried, "Well I know exactly where he can put it the next time he uses it: up your ass!"
The entire level that Aria was on suddenly fell silent. Almost instantly, Aria realized what she said. "Crap." A few beads of sweat formed on her face.
Parents and children in her vicinity backed away from her.
Turning around, she saw a few of her co-workers looking at her, agape. Her heart sunk when she saw her manager coming down the hall.
No words were needed to be said, but he said them anyway. "Aria. Office. Now."
Gulping and taking off her hat, she reluctantly followed.
***
Inside the small office, her manager sat behind his desk and motioned for her to do the same. Hesitantly, she complied. As she sat, she placed her elf hat on the desk.
A few more beads of sweat had formed and slowly slid down her face as her manager just stared silently at her.
Finally, he broke the silence, "Aria. I know you need this job, but I also know this isn't the first time parents and children have gotten on your nerves.”
Slowly, Aria nodded her head.
"Listen, I'm not unsympathetic, and you're lucky that no-one else has looked for this kind of work. You've got one more chance. Take a short break; I'll cover for you while you clear your head." He stood up and gestured for Aria to leave.
Thankful but also slightly nervous, Aria got up and grabbed her hat before shakily opening the door.
Outside, she heaved a long sigh and headed down a nearby escalator to the ground floor.
***
"...up your ass!" came the distinctive sound of Aria's voice over the bustle of moving people in CSC. Adagio winced as she heard the tail-end of her compatriot's outburst.
Sonata didn't seem to notice: she was looking intently at the wares of nearby stores. Occasionally, she would "Ooo" at something that caught her interest and try and convince Adagio to get it.
As they continued walking, Adagio looked over her shoulder in the direction of where Aria was working. The three of them might have relinquished their modus operandi (out of mix of necessity and practicality), but Aria still had quite the temper if bothered.
Sighing, she grabbed a small piece of paper from the sole shopping bag hanging on her arm. Unbeknownst to Aria, she and Sonata were not out for the weekly supply of food, but rather a shopping trip for a gift or two. The paper was merely a list of gift ideas for the purple Siren.
"Hey Dagi, do you think Aria might like this?" Sonata chuckled, holding up a very frilly, very girly dress.
Adagio rolled her eyes. "Come on, Sonata. Let's head over to the electronics section. You know how much Aria likes her video games."
"Can we stop at the food court on the way there?" Sonata asked as Adagio yanked her towards the West side of the mall.
"Ugh, we can eat later. I swear, Sonata, it's like you're a vacuum cleaner some days." Adagio didn't even look back when Sonata protested.
"Am not! Oh hey--" The pair walked by a janitor cleaning up a spilled food tray. "--is that a chicken wrap?"
The janitor looked up at them in surprise.
Groaning, Adagio muttered, "You just proved my point."
Soon enough, Adagio and Sonata arrived at the electronics store section of CSC. Small stands were set up in the corridor for showcasing the latest smartphone, or some such.
Scratching her chin, Adagio finally found the store she was looking for. Dragging Sonata with her lest the blue Siren get suckered into buying something they not need, Adagio entered the video game store and told Sonata to stay put.
Adagio searched the shelves. Aria's one true pride was her pastime of video games, and she was anticipating the new yearly releases. Finding the right section, she scanned the different titles.
To her, they all seemed the same, but apparently they weren't. Once again looking at her gift list, she grabbed a box of Falling Out 4, or whatever it was called.
She heard a whimper from the direction she left Sonata. When she returned, she saw her fellow Siren hiding her gaze from a trailer for the same game that she just picked up. She watched the trailer for a few seconds, and grimaced at some of the violence on screen, but frankly, it wasn't as bad as some the things she saw in the oceans of Equestria.
Looking back at Sonata, Adagio saw her looking at one of the shelves. The blue Siren turned to hold a game case up and say, "We should get this for Ari, it looks fun!"
Adagio inspected the cover. A fat plumber was cheerfully grabbing a blank-eyed star, while some spiked turtle-thing was scowling in the background. Somehow it looked happy, too.
"Uh, not today," Adagio replied, to Sonata's disappointment.
After paying for the game -- pretty much blew the "Aria Christmas present" fund -- the two Sirens left the store and continued walking. Before getting much farther, they were surprised to hear a voice call out in their direction.
"Hey, Adagio!"
The yellow Siren turned around to see a familiar fiery-haired teen wearing a leather jacket come running in their direction. Behind her, a couple of other girls were walking in their direction as well.
"Well, well, well, hello Sunset." Adagio playfully cooed. She always found it humorous to tease the girl.
Grunting at Adagio's greeting, Sunset Shimmer asked, looking between the two Sirens, "What are you doing here? Haven't seen each other in a while."
"Aw, miss me already?" Adagio teased. She laughed when Sunset rolled her eyes, in slight embarrassment. "We're out getting something for Aria for Christmas," She eyed Sonata as her fellow Siren greeted Pinkie Pie, who had just caught up with Sunset. "What are you doing? I expected you would have been organized enough to get your shopping done in time."
"Oh, you know, taking care of another school disaster can have some long-term effects." Sunset sighed. A hint of an idea came into her eyes. "You know you can always try and enroll again..."
"Mmm... then who'd take care of the girls?" Adagio replied. Out of the corner of her eye, she caught sight of Sonata and Pinkie goofing around with one of the Christmas trees set up in the halls.
"As much as I'd like to keep chatting," she continued, looking down at her watch, "I have to make sure that I get Aria's present wrapped, and Sonata kept in line."
"Merry Christmas." Sunset called as Adagio grabbed Sonata.
"Oh yes, maybe dinner at your place?" Adagio replied, making a "call me" gesture and snickering as the teasing implications hit Sunset. Looking at her watch again, she decided that it wouldn't be much longer until Aria was finished her shift. "Might as well wait until she's done..." she thought, reining Sonata in from running into the food court as they passed by.
***
Aria wandered the floors of CSC. Slowly she was beginning to calm down from her mixture of anger and anxiety. Hopefully she still had her job by the end of this.
As she dawdled past a few stores, her mind drifted back over the past couple of days. Whenever she actually saw her fellow Sirens, she had at best given them the cold shoulder, at worst argued, usually over something trivial.
This morning she had snapped at Sonata because she spilt some milk on the kitchen table. Sighing, she looked through one of the nearby store entrances. Suddenly an idea came into her head.
Digging through the pockets of her elf outfit, she found her wallet. After checking she actually had some money, she walked with renewed purpose towards a nearby clothing store.
A little hesitantly, she entered the store. Looking again at her still held wallet, she investigated the store. She cringed a bit at some of the prices of pants, shirts, dresses, etc. and finally checked out the small baubles at the till area.
To her surprise and mild excitement, there was a small treble clef hairpiece on display: almost identical to Adagio's pant clip-ons. Unfortunately there wasn't a similar piece for Sonata.
She rang the bell at the till and soon enough a clerk manned the register. Without saying a word, the clerk took the single item and gave Aria a slightly miffed look.
Handing it back to Aria, the clerk muttered unenthusiastically, like having said it so many times it had no meaning whatsoever anymore, "Happy holidays."
"Huh? Oh, yeah." Aria muttered, looking at the hairpiece. Pocketing it, she made her way through CSC, searching for a store that might have something that could be an acceptable gift for Sonata.
Her wanderings brought her to a bookstore. Deciding that there were no other stores of interest nearby, Aria entered the store. Mindlessly, she looked amongst the shelves of books, magazines, and comics.
A magazine on a rack caught her interest. Smirking, she picked it up and looked through it. Closing it and reading the cover (101 Ways to Make Your Food Taste Like Mexico) she decided it would be perfect for the taco-loving Siren, if nothing more than for a joke.
As she went up to pay for the book, the clerk excitedly asked, "Would you liked that gift-wrapped? Only an extra dollar?"
"Uh, no." Aria answered, just wanting to get everything over with.
"Or you could get the companion pita recipe book..." The clerk continued, ducking under the till counter.
"No. I just want the book." Aria grunted.
"Or you could get the--"
"NO! I just--" Aria took a deep breath. "--I just want the book."
Appearing slightly perplexed, the clerk scanned the book and bagged it. She handed it to Aria still wearing her expression. "Happy holidays!" she called as Aria left.
"Yeah, yeah." Aria sighed, rolling her eyes and heading back towards the meet Santa area.
Walking past the line of kids and parents, she left the bag by her employee locker. Straightening out her uniform, she went back to her post. However, when she got back she saw the line breaking up and her co-workers getting ready to leave for the night.
She looked down at her watch. The last half-hour of her shift passed quickly for her not to notice. Turning on her heel, she went back to grab her bag and winter coat.
She made her way through the throng of people and headed toward the exit of the shopping mall. With a sigh of relief, she exited into the cold night's air. A few snowflakes were falling and Christmas lights were visible on the horizon.
As she started to walk to the bus stop, she halted when she heard Sonata call her name.
She spun around to see her fellow Siren rush up to her, followed by Adagio. Their leader was wearing a soft smile as Sonata gave Aria another hug.
"Watcha got in the bag?" Sonata asked, pointing curiously to the item in Aria's grasp.
"Oh. I can't tell you." she mumbled, a slight blush growing on her face.
"Aw, did Aria finally grow a heart? Would that be our Christmas presents?" Adagio guessed. She grew a satisfied smile as Aria looked away.
Changing the subject, Aria asked, "What are you doing here? If you were getting food you'd be taking longer than this."
"Well, normally I wouldn't tell you, but since I can assume you've had a horrible evening--" Adagio knew she hit the nail on the coffin when Aria blushed again. "--we were actually out here to gift shop for you."
"Yeah, sorry that I've been so cranky lately, guys." Aria stated. She dug around in the bag and pulled out her two presents. "Since we've all guessed what we were out here for, why don't we just exchange stuff now?"
Chuckling, Adagio said, "Why not?" She grabbed the video game from the small plastic bag and handed it to Aria as the purple Siren gave her gifts to her compatriots.
Sonata's eyes lit up as Aria gave her the recipe book.
As Adagio and Aria swapped presents, Adagio exclaimed, "That's a beautiful hairpiece." Whispering under her breath, "Just like the Siren who'll wear it."
Catching what Adagio whispered, Aria just snickered and looked at the gift Sonata and Adagio got her. Clearing her throat, she said, "Thanks guys. I guess being stuck here for good can't be all bad."
"Hey, how 'bout we go home and watch a movie?!" Sonata cried, breaking the moment.
"Sure, there's little else to do." Adagio concurred.
The trio made their way towards their slightly rust-bitten car.
Sonata looked at Aria. "Merry Christmas, Ari."
Adagio hummed in agreement.
Sighing, Aria replied, "Yeah, Merry Christmas, guys."
A soft snowfall began to fall as the Dazzlings' car made its way out of the CSC parking lot and into the yuletide night.
FIN