>This was it.
>The timing was perfect.
>With both of her sister's undoubtedly asleep at this hour neither would be able to interrupt your plans.
>With the evidence you now had of your target's shameful activities you could finally get access to what you'd been after for so long.
>It was all there on your phone.
>Photographed in crystal clear high definition.
>This would be a fateful night between Anonymous and Aria Aria Blaze.
>You walked quietly down the hallway and stood in front of your unsuspecting victim's bedroom door and began dialing her number.
>You knew she'd still be up.
>One thing you two had in common was that you were both night owls to the core.
>You heard her disgruntled voice come over on the other side of the line.
>"Ugh. What is it Anon?"
>Pretending to be tired. Typical.
"Come out to the hall. I have something you need to see."
>A distinctive groan came over as you heard tiny footsteps patter across the floor from behind the door.
>The sound of the lock clicking open was follwed by computer monitor's dim glow shining through the sliver of the opened doorway.
>You could just barely see a single mulberry eye staring back at you with a look of irritation.
>"What?"
>You didn't say a word.
>You simply opened up your phone's photo application to the particular image you'd been holding onto and held it up to the door.
>A photo of one Miss Aria Blaze holding up a pink origami bunny.
>As Aria's eye shifted focus from you to the screen the realization and horror took place on her visage.
>She practically fell back before regaining her composure and then flinging the door open.
>Her face was livid.
>"Where did you get this!?
>You gave a grin.
"Took it yesterday when you left your door ajar. I'm guessing your headphones are what stopped you from hearing me walking by.
>The purple skinned Dazzling gritted her teeth furiously at this as you stroked your chin.
"You know listening to those things on high volume all the time can damage your hearing right?"
>"Shut up and give me that phone Anon."
You ignored the request.
"I wonder what Adagio and Sonata would think of your adorable little activities? Want me to send them a copy?
>Aria's eyes shot wide open at this.
"Or maybe I could just post it to the Dazzlings fan page?"
>At this her fear quickly gave way to a fresh wave of dark fury.
>"You wouldn't dare."
>Aria held up her fist towards your face in a menacing manner and growled.
>"You better not tell them Anon! I swear I'll-"
>You put your palms up in a gesture of surrender.
"Relax Aria! I'm just kidding. I promise."
>You gave her a small smile as she slowly lowered her fist, her face still etched with suspicion.
>Her gaze narrowed sharply as she placed her arms akimbo.
>"Then what? You gonna blackmail me or something?"
>You tilted your head, still smiling.
"That's such an ugly word. I prefer to think of it as... Enhanced negotiation."
>Aria stomped her foot on the ground.
>For a girl trying to keep a secret she was being considerably louder was probably advisable.
>She seemed to realize this as well and lowered her voice to whisper.
>"Well what do you want then? Just spit it out!"
"I want you to teach me."
>Aria balked.
>"You're joking again. Right?"
"Well if you'd rather not-"
>You turned to leave as Aria grabbed your arm and yanked you back towards her
>"All right damn it! Get in here."
>She flipped on the light switch as you walked into the bedroom, making sure to close the door behind you and lock it.
>The place was a mess.
>Clothes littered the floor along with scattered bits of paper and video game cartridges.
>"Just take a seat over there and give me a minute."
>You walked over to the table on the far side of the room and sat down in the chair, carefully avoiding stepping on anything that might be fragile.
>Some dirty dishes and empty food packages were scattered across the surface of the four legged garbage tray.
>Aria brought over her gaming chair from the computer desk along with two pieces of square paper.
>Noticing the refuse on the table she took one arm and swept it unceremoniously onto the floor.
>Nice.
"I'm guessing the maid is on vacation?"
>"Just be quiet and follow my lead."
>She plopped herseld down onto the chair and handed you one of the papers. >Immediately she began folding corners as you tried to keep up.
"How'd you get into this anyway?"
>Aria didn't look up but just kept at the folding.
>"Why do you care?"
"Well it seems like a delicate sort of hobby and-"
>"And I'm just a grumpy purple slob, right Anon?"
>Her eyes shot back at you with alarming speed.
>That could have came out better.
>And you could sense an unmistakable tinge of hurt you hadn't expected.
>You gave an awkward laugh.
>While you enjoyed teasing Aria you'd never gone as far as calling her something like that.
"What? No, I just thought..."
>She waved her hand in the air with a bitter sarcasm.
>"Thought I was Adagio's bitch and Sonata's babysitter? Can't have her highness breaking any nails or letting the airhead get lost. If anything goes wrong just get Aria to fix it, she's always pissed anyway right?"
>Aria rolled her eyes as she shifted her attention back to her ongoing creation.
>Albeit with an angrier intensity.
>An awkward silence fell over the room as Aria lowered her head so you couldn't see her eyes.
>She stated folding while you watched and searched for the right words to say.
>But you only really needed one.
"Sorry."
>Aria scoffed.
>And you heard something that sounded a lot like a sniffle.
"Really."
>She raised her head and looked to the side.
>She was hiding her eyes.
>Eyes that looked slightly redder than you recalled them being a few minutes ago.
>"Says the asshole blackmailing me."
>She had you there.
>You took out your phone and opened the photos app to the cause of this encounter.
>You placed it on the table and slid it over to the girl across from you.
"Here. Go ahead and delete it. It's not saved anywhere else, you can check for yourself."
>Aria looked down at the device for a few seconds before pushing it back towards you.
>"Take out your own trash I've got enough of my own.",
>You took the phone back and held it up.
>Your kept your thumb hovering over the delete option for the photo of Aria's secret.
"Just tell me why you chose this. Why origami?"
>She paused her ministrations for a moment to look at her hands more closely.
>"I mean, if we're going to be in this horrible place without magic then I better get used to handling these things better."
>The siren let out a deep sigh.
>"Adagio writes all our songs on paper so she can practice with her hands too. Any pages of her notebook she threw out I'd collect and use as material."
>Aria continued folding as you followed suit.
>"Plus the fact is we've been low on funds most of the time and this doesn't cost anything extra."
>You highly doubted those were the only reasons for such a uniquely meticulous hobby.
"You're telling me you, a siren from Equestria, learned the art of origami simply because it was cheap and you wanted more dexterity? I mean you already do repairs on your tour bus and that takes manual skill. Where did you even learn about this stuff? Why does it even interest you?"
>Aria let out a loud groan.
>"Alright! If you'll shut up I'll tell you!"
>She took a deep breath and closed her eyes.
>"After the Battle of the Bands you could say we were pretty desperate. I remember us spending some time in the mall scoping out an electronics shop and plotting to steal some audio equipment for vocal processing."
>Yeah that sounded about right.
"Go on."
>"Well one day we passed by this Japanese restaurant. Some two-bit sushi place. And who do I see inside? None other than Sunset Shimmer herself."
>The last two words sounded like they were painful for Aria to utter. Like the very syllables stung her lips.
>But the look she had on her face was much worse.
"Did she see you?"
>"No. She had her back turned to us. But from where I was standing I could see she was doing something with her hands. I saw her place a piece of cloth shaped like a bird down on a table. And then I watched her fold another one."
>Aria balled her hands into fists.
"So what happened next?"
>"Nothing. We kept walking and made sure not to pass the food court again during a Saturday afternoon. But I never forgot what I saw her do. I thought if she could do it then so could I. I knew Adagio wouldn't approve of me adopting any inferior human culture and Sonata would just blather about it to Adagio. So I practiced in secret whenever I could. At first I was terrible but eventually I got better."
>She let out a bitter laugh.
>"And I guess now I'm giving lessons."
>You finished listening as you pressed down on the delete symbol on your phone's screen.
>She noticed your movements and gave a small nod.
>"Pretty stupid huh? All this over something so petty."
>You shook your head slowly.
"No."
>You looked down at the two folded papers before you.
"You've proved you can be as good as she is. Probably better. Even with the odds stacked against you."
>Aria cracked a small smile.
>"I guess it helps me relax. Something I can control. Something that doesn't bark orders at me or ask the same stupid questions over and over and without bothering to remember the answer."
>You listened to this admission and gave it some consideration as you clumsily copied Aria's motions on your own piece of paper.
>It was looking much less graceful than that of your teacher's.
>Your 'sensei' had noticed as well, a tiny smirk forming over her lips.
"Hey, it's my first time."
>Aria's grin got wider as she lightly placed her right hand on your left.
>It was surprisingly softer than you would have expected.
>"No need to be nervous Mister Anonymous."
>Now it was your turn to roll your eyes.
"Thanks."
>"Mmhmm."
>She pulled her hand back and resumed the lesson.
>Still, you couldn't ignore the jolt of electricity the contact had sent through you.
>Another stretch of silence passed over the room, broken only by the quiet and sounds of crisp paper being folded.
>Aria spoke up first.
>"So let me ask you a question. Why this?"
>You weren't sure how to take that.
"What do you mean?"
>"I mean why blackmail me for some lame origami lessons? Why not ask for money or a game or something?"
>You took a few seconds before you gave an answer.
"I suppose I was tired of you hiding away and ignoring everyone else in the house."
>Aria frowned at hearing this.
>Clearly not what she wanted to hear.
>"I haven't been ignoring you I've just been... Busy."
"You barely ever leave your room anymore Aria. Your sisters are getting worried."
>It occurred to you that one of them had been left out of the discussion.
"Speaking of which, if Adagio writes and you fold, what about Sonata?"
>"Pfft. The only thing she knows how to handle well come in tortilla shells."
>You gave a small chuckle.
"Come on, you can give her more credit than that."
>She folded her arms and gave you a deadpan stare.
>"I'll give her credit when she stops leaving crumbs in the back of the van."
>You gave a sly grin.
"Don't you mean 'bus'?"
>Aria raised one eyebrow and let her eyes bore into your own.
>"Dude, I'm not an idiot. I know it's a piece of junk."
>She looked back at the uncompleted origami piece on the table and flipped it over while folding another crease.
>"But I can make it work."
>The girl definitely was skilled with her hands.
>And apparently more resourceful than you had realized too.
>You were learning a lot from the purple grump tonight it seemed.
>"There. Done."
>With one last fold the crane was finished.
>Aria placed the polygonal bird on the center of the table, examining it from afar.
>You coped her last move and placed your less impressive piece besides hers.
>The two stood next to each other.
>Yours was slightly lopsided and leaning on it's partner.
>In a similar fashion, the two of you looked over your work, unsure of what to do now.
>Aria had a look on her face that was hard to read.
>Like she was deep in thought.
>You decided to break the silence.
"So, if you don't mind me asking how long do you keep them around once they're finished?"
>"Not long. I've kept this a secret from my sisters. I don't need Adagio teasing me for it or Sonata nagging me to fold her paper tacos all day."
"So you just tear them apart and throw them away once you're done?"
>You looked at the two cranes on the table again.
"That's a shame."
>Aria's expression turned into one of malevolent glee.
>"Nope even better."
She looked right at you with an evil smile as she pulled a rusty looking zippo lighter from her pocket.
>"I burn 'em."
>Of course.
"Well with a name like Blaze I suppose I guess I shouldn't be surprised."
>Aria flashed her eyebrows up and down at you as she ignited the lighter and moved towards the table and the two defenceless cranes.
>You grabbed her by the arm to stop the impending fire hazard.
"Whoa, not in the house Aria!"
>The purple girl wheeled around, waving the flame in the air as she started cracking up.
>"Bahahaha!"
>You let out a relieved sigh.
>Yeah, hilarious.
>"I was joking Anon. Man, you're so gullible."
>She snapped the lighter shut and headed for the door.
>"Come on, let's get a snack. All this talk is making me hungry."
"Sounds like a plan."
>You followed a few steps behind her, pausing at the door and taking a last look back at the two birds sitting on the table.
>Then you hit the light switch and they were left alone.
>Together in the darkness.