//------------------------------// // 17. Wedding Sunny // Story: Magical Girl Sunny // by Jetto //------------------------------// Several beads of sweat slid down Sunny's forehead, as she concentrated all of her willpower into a single, simple, yet deceptively hard spell. Like riding on a motorcycle, as Sunset Unicorn Shimmer compared it to her own experiences from this world. Wiping the sweat from her forehead, Sunny took a deep breath and doubled her efforts, not wanting to disappoint her doppelganger teacher even further. Running out of Sunset's favorite raisin cookies (yes, we know, shocking) when she was explicitly invited in the dorms was one thing, but failing to impress her with her progress? That would've been way too much! Eventually, her magical aura around her head and the lone apple at her desk intensified, and then, after a loud ‘pop’ sound, the apple went all ‘poof’ and became an orange! Seeing her spell worked, Sunny raised her fist in glory. “YES! NAILED IT!” Sunset clapped her hands, genuinely excited over her student’s quick progress. “Great job, Sunny! I knew you could perform the ‘Apples to Oranges’ spell!” Sunny took a few deep breaths, then smiled at her teacher. “I couldn’t have done it without your help!” “Nah, it was all you, I only cheered you on,” she chuckled, scratching the back of her head “just don’t tell Applejack.” Sunny tilted her head slightly. “Why? Why shouldn’t I talk about it with Appleja-... oh.” Her eyes widened at the realization. A short silence fell in the room, until the two couldn’t keep the snorting in control and started laughing out loud. Sunset nodded, once the two stopped laughing “I don’t think I can teach you anything else.” “Don’t say that!” Sunny put a hand gently on Sunset’s knee. “There is still something you can teach me!" She closed her face to hers. "Something only you can.” “Oh? And what is that?” “I want you to teach me... how to love!” Then, without a warning, she grabbed her head and lunged at her face with eyes closed, locking her lips with hers in a forceful, but still gentle and passionate kiss. Sunset’s eyes shot wide open, her body paralyzed for the entire duration, even after Sunny removed herself from her, pulling away to give the other time to process what just happened. Sunset opened and closed her mouth a few times... then smiled seductively at her doppelganger and the two went at each other with equal amounts of passion and lust, tangling their arms around each other’s hair, as their lips met up with much more intensity and greed. And a lot of tongue. The door opened and Coco entered the room. “I’m back, is Sunset still he-WHAT THE !@#$!!!” She screamed, as she backed herself into a wall, dropping all the bags of groceries on the floor. Both Sunset Shimmers stopped kissing and turned at the other girl and smiled. “Hi Coco!” They synchronised perfectly. She couldn’t find enough air in her lungs, throat or anywhere else to shout any of the numerous questions she had, the least important being ‘why on my bed, of all places?’! The two didn’t react at her outburst, still embracing each other, looking carefully and patiently at her. There was a string of saliva hanging from both of their mouths for a while. After a moment of silence, the two looked at each other, nodded, and turned back to Coco. “Wanna join us?” How come she didn’t get a heart attack and died on the spot was anyone’s guess (she found out later). She managed to tilt her head and twitch her eyebrow. “There’s enough of us for both of you!” Coco’s brain took a minute to gather her thoughts. On one hand, there were two Sunset Shimmers making out on her bed and asking her to join them for a threesome. On the other hand... two Sunset Shimmers were making out and asking her to join them... on her bed! She opened her mouth to attempt to question the situation a bit, when she got a sudden realization. “W-what do you mean both of us?” The window suddenly opened and a pink girl climbed inside, landing on her face (making a squeaky noise), but she quickly got up and pulled out two cans of whipped cream from her hair. “Okay, I’m ready!” Pinkie Pie happily announced, shooting two streams of cream into the air. The fact that she didn’t see any of it reach the ceiling only cemented her theory. “It’s a dream, isn’t it?” “YYYEEEEEP!” All three answered in unison. Fluttersigh. She massaged the temple of her nose, having no idea why her sigh sounded like she was Fluttershy for a moment. Sweet Celestia, I have issues! Cocough. She looked at the hot Sunny on Sunset action mid-pause, waiting for her reply, then at Pinkie Pie, who grabbed two more cans of cream with her hair turned into tentacles, then back at the two Shimmers, now dressed in matching tutus, then again towards Pinkie Pie who just pulled out an entire chocolate bar out of her hair and started chomping on it, back to Shimmers in camo military uniforms, complete with face paint and rifles on their backs. I don’t even anymore... She hummed, took one short glance at Pinkie, ignoring the other two differently colored Pinkie clones (Tealy Pie and Olive Pie, respectively) and quickly went back to the twins, wondering what else her imagination will show her. Her blush and smile intensified at a Playboy Sunset and Catgirl Sunny. Without taking her eyes off the two or even blinking, she swallowed and opened a few buttons of her shirt while slowly walking forward. “Might as well make the most out of it...“ Sunsets released each other from one side to make room for Coco. And Pinkie Pie too, I guess. "This is going to be fuBEEPBEEPBEEP-" BEEPBEEPBEEPBEE-SMACK! Despite the best efforts of her unconsciously active left arm, the beeping did not cease. She lazily repeated the maneuver, slamming her hand on the night table a few more times, missing more often than hitting the noisy alarm clock... Oh wait, I don't have an alarm clock! ...cellphone, but the contraption got louder with each second. Fed up with her fruitless efforts, she grabbed the device and threw it right at the wall, the crack it made upon contact being its last known words. Slowly recovering from her drowsiness, she blinked a few times, yawned and looked at the remnants of her phone. Well, carp... She sigh-yawned, looking over the the other bed. It was neatly prepared and empty, Sunny probably still on her morning jog. Coco contemplated going back to bed, but decided against it now that the snooze button on her phone was... disabled. She got up and went through her usual morning routine, ending up in a presentable state, as expected of a Crystal Prep student. As she finished tying her bowtie, she looked at her never before used wristwatch that her mother gave her on her last birthday. She didn't need it before since her phone had a clock. Thanks mom, I guess. Her friend being nowhere to be found, she decided to go to the cafeteria by herself. She's probably held back by some petty criminal. She shrugged, casually glancing at the wardrobe where they held all the battle dresses. She resisted the urge to check inside to see if any of them were missing, but ultimately decided against it. She can take care of herself, no use worrying. What if something happened? She was only a single bite into her morning toast at an empty table when the thought appeared in her head. The probability of anything bad happening to Magical Girl Sunny was close to non-existent unless there's a third Sunset Shimmer, but that would be overkill, but she couldn't help but worry either way, fighting the urge to ask someone to borrow their phone just to make a short call before realizing she didn't have Sunny's number written anywhere except her phone's memory card and her laptop. Both of which had remained in her room. All the worries were washed away when she heard a voice from behind. "You didn't answer my text?" Relieved and smiling, Coco turned to her friend. "Sorry, my phone kinda died so I could-woah!" Standing next to her was Sunset 'Sunny' Shimmer, the roommate, friend and superhero she knew and loved, perfectly filling out her usual school uniform as she always used to. Except this time something was different. "So, what kind of 'woah' was that? The 'woah, you look so hot I can't even', or the 'woah, what did you do to yourself'? I can't tell." She wasn't sure what her opinion was. She associated Sunset Shimmer (both of them) with wavy, fiery looking shoulder length hair that danced with any wind and would sometimes cover part of her face, giving her the excuse to throw it back with a quick hand gesture. That was no longer the case: her hair was combed back with a generous amount of hair gel, leaving only a little streak in the front. Coco opened and closed her mouth a few times, tilting her head while trying to put her finger on it. Sunny's shoulders slumped down. "Just say it. You hate it." "N-no, it's not that I hate it!" Cocough. "I mean, I like you-... y-your previous style better, but I don't hate this one, and, uhm, it looks good on you, though honestly you'd look good in anything so it's not saying much..." she shook the blush out of her face. "So, why?" Sunny shrugged. "Just felt like it. I passed by a hair salon and decided to give some new style a shot. I sent you a few photos to ask for advice, but you never answered (now I know why), so I went with the first one. But I guess it's a bust." "N-no, it's just that," with her mouth scrunched, Coco hummed "I don't know, you remind me of someone else. I just can't quite put my finger on it." "I know, right? When I first saw this, it felt oddly familiar. Like I saw this in some movie, or somewhere, though I couldn't tell-" "NO!" The two almost jumped when they heard a scream. Turning to its source, they gasped loudly. "NO! THE HELL YOU ARE!" The voice belonged to none other but Indigo Zap, Crystal Prep's most athletic student, also a permanent member of the Shadowbolts, the group of most prestigious students in the most prestigious school in the state, known for her high volume, extreme enthusiasm, overbearing willpower and a distinct hairstyle. "Oooooh!" THAT'S where I saw it! Coco's and Sunny's minds and expressions synchronized. With a tray held in one hand (it had a balanced breakfast with a glass of orange juice that never spilled a drop!), she walked toward Sunny. "You know the rules! One of us has to change and I was here first!" Sunny blinked at Indigo, whose finger pointed at her hairstyle, then turned to Coco. "You're right, I shouldn't fix what wasn't broken." "There's always next time." "I guess." "HEY!" Indigo yelled. "STOP IGNORING ME!" "I'm not ignoring you, zip!" "IT'S ZAP! INDIGO ZAP!" "I know," Sunny rolled her eyes, then turned on her heels and started walking away "now if you'll excuse me, I need to wash this thing off my hair before it becomes permanent." She blinked. "That's how hair gel works, right? Anyway, Sunny out!" Once she was out of the cafeteria, Coco turned back to Indigo Zap, whose teeth were still showing and eyebrows were twitching "Why that little-" SMACK! "OW!" "STOP BEING SO FRICKIN' LOUD!" Sour Sweet yelled at her, right after dope slapping the back of her head. The other Shadowbolts shook their heads at Indigo's antics. Sunny Flare gave the recently gathered crowd an intimidating, icy gaze that dispersed them in a matter of seconds. "Hey, it's not like I had a choice!" Indigo pouted, massaging the back of her head while STILL maintaining a perfect balance and not spilling a single drop of her juice. "She was trying to steal my hairstyle!" Sunny Flare and Sour Sweet rolled their eyes, putting their trays on the table and taking a seat. "For the last time, nobody is trying to steal your hairstyle!" Sour Sweet growled. "At best she was subconsciously inspired by you." Sugarcoat said, sitting across the two. Indigo put her tray and sat across Sunny Flare. "Either way, we gotta protect what's ours! Or more of us could lose our names and stuff!" Sunny Flare snorted. "She didn't steal my name!" "Uh-huh, sure she didn't," Indigo deadpanned, crossing her arms "I mean, if I yell 'hey Sunny' across the hallway, people will immediately think of you, instead of a transfer student that looks exactly like the lead Rainboom and bears a suspicious resemblance to a superheroine that just happens to have the same name. Seriously, who is she fooling?" Sunny Flare raised a finger and opened her mouth, but no words came out. "She has a point!" Sour Sweet shrugged, chomping on her sandwich, then turning to Sunny Flare. "So, do we give you a nickname?" She earned an annoyed glare. "How about Flary?" "How about you shush your mouth!" "I like it," Sugarcoat said "rolls off the tongue." Indigo nodded. "She needs to be stopped, or she'll steal all of our schticks! Name, haircut, split personality..." "Oh, Indigo, darling," Sour Sweet laughed, then frowned, eyebrow twitching "watch your words!" "...not to mention that she's already treating us like air." The group blinked, then looked to their left. At the edge of their table sat Lemon Zest, busy with buttering her toasts, sipping morning coffee and checking out social media on her smartphone, perfectly blending in the crowds, while wearing a set of large headphones playing loud music. Noticing she's being watched, she waved happily (they waved back) and then continued surfing on MyStable. "I can't help but question why we even hang out with her." Sunny Flare lamented. Sour Sweet shrugged, smiling. "Eh, she's harmless enough," the smile soured immediately after "when she's not playing those sounds of hellish misery she calls 'music' at full volume!" She growled. She noticed Lemon Zest looking at her, tilting her head, to which Sour smiled and gave her thumbs up, which she returned, before retreating back to her own world. Indigo coughed. "So, back to Sunny," she rolled her eyes when Sunny Flare perked up "not you." "Going by your logic," Sugarcoat said, fixing her glasses "if she's actually trying to upstage all of us, consciously or not, and has succeeded in three out of four attempts, that only leaves me as the only one she did not try to imitate. Although I'm not sure which part of me stands out the most that she could copy, other than my three pigtails... why are you looking at me like that?" The other three turned their gazes, whistling the awkwardness away. "Aaanyway..." Indigo coughed again "...we need to teach her where her place is! We're the Shadowbolts, we don't take crap from some new transfer students, magical powers or not!" She was met with four nodding heads (Lemon Zest was just bopping her head, but it looked like she agreed anyway). Meanwhile, just between Indigo Zap and Sugarcoat, sat a short, teal haired girl, who was there all this time, unsuccessfully trying to finish her breakfast, making no progress out of sheer fear. I shouldn't be here... Coco swallowed quietly, somehow managing to stand out even less than Lemon Zest, but for how long? Maybe if I quietly walk away, they won't notice? Carefully, without making any sounds, she raised herself from her seat, when a hand touched her left shoulder. "MEEP!" "Sit, Pommel!" Indigo's arm brought her back to her seat. "We need to talk." She could only nod nervously, eyes concentrated on her tray, as sweat poured all over her body. Sweet Equestrian Celestia, I thought those days were behind me! "I've been meaning to talk to you for a while, but, you know, the timing was always bad and... argh, I'm making excuses!" I laughed when Sunny said we should buy me a tracker! Her gaze lowered at her hands tightly clinging to her skirt. Maybe she'll swoop in and rescue me, like she did before? "Whenever I tried to approach you, Sunny, not you, was guarding you like a watchdog," No, it'll take her a while to wash all that hair gel! She swallowed, her options limited to just one that might work or backfire, either way it will be spectacular! I can't keep counting on her to save me every single time! I need to stand up for myself and fight off bullies on my own! "...what I'm trying to say, is that I'm sorry!" I mean, it's not like she'll lock me in the toilet, knowing who Sunny is and what she's capa- "Wait, what did you say?" Finally turning, she noticed Indigo's face visibly sweating and shaking, as she looked forward and kept talking. "I was an awful human being, I regret everything and I'm here to apologize, no more excuses. Y-you don't have to forgive me or anything, I just want you to know. That's all." Coco blinked. "Oh," she scratched her head and looked at the other girls, whose reactions were, from left to right, head bobbing obliviousness, facepalming embarrassment, the 'I don't even' head shaking and Sugarcoat. "I, uh, I accept your apology, I guess?" A moment passed. "What am I forgiving you for?" Indigo sighed deeply. "Nothing in particular, really, just, in general for being a complete bitch to you all this time," she turned slightly "I didn't realize what you've been going through until Sunset Shimmer 2.0 turned Suri down a peg." Coco hummed. "Well, I didn't exactly fought back or anything, so..." she shook her head "It's fine, really! It's not like you, any of you, did anything wrong." "Well, we didn't do anything right, either! We should've stepped up long ago!" She looked at other girls, who looked away, slightly ashamed. Except Lemon Zest, obviously. "She's right," Sugarcoat was the first one to join in "I thought telling Suri directly how big of a bitch I thought she was was enough to make her think about changing her behavior, but that was the extent of my involvement and I convinced everybody, including myself, that it was enough." She looked Coco dead deep in the eyes. "I'm sorry for not trying harder and I promise that I won't turn my back to you or anyone else being bullied again." As soon as she managed to get her eyes off of Sugarcoat's deadpan, yet somehow touching declaration, she looked away and scratched her head. "Uhm, thank you, I don't know what to sa-" "Oh, fine, sheesh!" Sour Sweet slammed her hands on the table as she stood up. "I'm sorry for being a complete bitch to you whenever we talked, like, two or three times. There, happy?" Before Coco shook off her initial shock, Lemon Zest took off her headphones, no doubt attracted by the sudden table slam. "What'd I miss?" Sugarcoat explained. "We're taking turns apologizing to Coco Pommel for not quite bullying her, but not stopping anything that happened to her from other sources, most notably Suri's enslaving tendencies. Currently, it was Sour Sweet's turn to apologize for, and I quote, 'being a complete bitch'." Lemon Zest blinked, then nodded. "Ah, gotcha. To be fair, she's only a bitch half the time." "NOBODY ASKED YOU!" "She's a real sweetheart the other time, though. She just doesn't like when people say she's soft." Sour Sweet groaned but managed to stop herself from exploding, took a deep breath, put a fist to her chest and slowly pulled it away, exhaling and turning 'sweet' in the process. "Thank you for your insightful input, Lemon Zest. You can go back to your world now." Lemon Zest looked at the others, then shrugged. "Kay." She put on the headphones and was not heard from again. Sunny Flare sighed. "I guess I should give you my apologies as well, though I'll save us the theatrics. Yes, I do feel for you, and yes, I should've been better than that. I can assure you I'm a different person now." Coco blinked. She expected the day to go in a whole different way. Not that she was opposed to the Shadowbolts being friendly to her, for a change. I mean, they weren't really hostile before. Too much. "I..." She scratched her head "...I'm not sure what to say. I-I appreciate it, I guess?" Sour's eyebrow twitched. "You guess?" Coco gulped. "I-I mean, I definitely appreciate it!" She said, and Sour Sweet'ened. "It's just that, I wasn't expecting... well, anything." She went silent for a moment, before mustering the courage to add. "For a moment I thought you were going to, uhm..." Sunny Flare raised an eyebrow. "Bully you? Yeah, no thank you. We don't need to display our superiority by harassing those who can't fight back." She paused, turning her eyes away. "Not anymore." "And even if," Sour Sweet said "we wouldn't choose you specifically. Not knowing what your girlfriend is capable of!" Coco spat her juice and cocoughed painfully. Why do you always do this? Brain asked. Why do you always start drinking something just before someone asks you weird stuff? How is it that you didn't figure this out by now?! Do you have a death wish? Do you enjoy pain? Are you a masochist? ...no wait, that would explain why you like Su- "I-it's not like that!" Her hands started frantically waving in front of her. "We-we're n-not... I'm not... she's not my... my... we're not!" Four sets of eyes blinked at the same time, give or take a millisecond. "Uh-huh." Sunny Flare nodded, her attention more on her mostly 'juiced' tray of food that so happened to be right in front of Coco. After some initial reluctance, she pushed the the tray away from her towards Lemon Zest, who snatched a piece of toast and ate it without looking (ew). She withheld a gag reaction and instead focused on Coco. "Sure you're not." "I-I mean it! We're not a couple!" Sunny Flare looked at her other friends, all of them perfectly synchronized in the 'nope, not buying it' expression. "You're trying to tell us that you and Sunset Shimmer are not dating?" Coco nodded. They waited a few seconds (Lemon Zest ate a second toast... ew), before Sour Sweet hummed. "Huh. Could've fooled us!" Pause. "In fact, it did fool us, what with you being together all the time." "And living together." Sunny Flare added. "Not to mention that you two flirt all the time even in public," Sugarcoat said, making Coco blush furiously "yes, people did notice it and nobody said anything until now to not seem like a homophobic bigot. Also, sheer curiosity and silly bets aside, we don't care who you or Sunny, not yo-actually you too, not that I'm implying anything, has a romantic interest in, as long as it's mutual and you're not making a public drama out of it." She paused. "Most people think you two are adorable." Coco's blush deepened, until she realized something. "Wait, what silly bets?" Indigo, Sour Sweet and Sunny Flare looked slightly away, whistling innocently. Sugarcoat, unable to do so as well, fixed her glasses and announced. "I said too much and I refuse to elaborate any further." Indigo explained instead. "I tried to bet ten bucks that you two are totally dating but nobody wanted to take it." Coco blinked. She looked at the other Shadowbolts, then down at her food tray. "I'm... sorry?" Indigo waved her hand. "Meh, saved me ten bucks. I should've learned not to judge people by their looks! I mean, who am I to assume who you're interested in!" She lamented, while Coco swallowed, feeling increasingly smaller. "Or that you're even into girls, that wasn't too considerate of me, I'm sorry I... I..." she tried to look the even tinier than she realized girl into her eyes, except at this point her nose was almost at the table level, eyes dead set on the purple of the tabletop, sweat pouring off her like crazy. Indigo blinked a few times, looked at the shrugging Sunny (the other one) and Sour Sweet, then back at Coco. "You actually like like her?" There was a tiny meeping in response. "And you never told her?" More meeping. Indigo scratched her head. "Heh." Coco shrugged. There was a long, silent pause, despite the overall noise coming from all around the cafeteria. Sugarcoat was the first to speak. "Why didn't you confess to her yet?" Now it was the other three Shadowbolts that spat their drink and had a coughing fit. Lemon Zest looked from beyond her world phone and rolled her eyes, deciding that this conversation was below her, whatever it was about. Coco sighed. "I wish it was that simple..." "It is," Sugarcoat quickly answered "just tell her that you love her and that you want to be girlfriends and if she feels the same..." "B-but what if she doesn't?" Coco suddenly stood up, attracting some passerby student's attention. Sunny Flare gave them another 'move along' stare, while Coco continued. "What if she's not into girls, or worse, she is but I'm not her type and... and... and how am I supposed to live knowing that she-" "Sit, Pommel!" Indigo once again brought Coco back to her seat. Another meep ensued. "Did she express any interest in anyone else?" Sunny Flare asked. Coco thought for a moment, then shook her head. After the latest slumber party and the week of magical studies she's been having, Sunny, not Flare, never mentioned Pinkie Pie's name as anything other than a good friend. "Well, there you go! You have no other choice but to ask directly." "B-but, what if..." "She will." Sour Sweet said. "I wouldn't be surprised if she's feeling the exact same thing and all this teasing is just her being too, uh, what's the word?" "Tsundere?" Sugarcoat suggested. "Yeah, sure. For all we know, she can't spill it either because she's too afraid of being rejected too!" Everyone at the table nodded. Even Lemon Zest, though she wasn't aware what for (but they were sure she agreed anyway). Coco opened her mouth, but immediately closed it. I never thought about it that way, but what if they're right? Indigo groaned loudly. "Ugh, ten bucks says Coco and other Sunny will be a lovey-dovey couple by tomorrow morning. Anyone in?" She waited a moment, but nobody said anything. She looked Coco in the eyes, eyebrow raised. "See what I mean?" "Oh." She looked down, then back at Indigo. "B-but tomorrow, that's a little too early..." "More like too late!" Sour said. "You're lucky she still single!" "I hate to admit it," Sunny Flare said, her head supported on one arm, eyes looking away and her tone completely not sounding jealous "but she's really attractive. I wouldn't be surprised if they avoided her only because she reminded them of the other Sunset Shimmer. It's only a matter of time before someone asks her out." Coco's eyes widened. "S-someone else?" "Yep. And if someone does and she says yes, then you'd be forever stuck in... the friendzone!" Friendzone... friendzone... friendzone... "Hey, Coc's!" They heard Sunny's voice, that one's, and saw her tightly holding an arm of some guy in Crystal Prep uniform, though they couldn't describe his face as anything other than a blur. Sunny leaned her head over his shoulder. "This guy just asked me out!" The 'guy' waved his hand at them. "Kinda cute, huh? Nobody asked me out before and since my other crush will remain unrequited forever, I decided to give it a shot and hey, wouldn't you know it, I'm in love! We're getting married in, like, ten minutes!" Coco blinked and suddenly Sunset Shimmer wore a wedding dress, with her superhero mask over it, for whatever reason. It looked like one of the discarded dresses she designed for her, but deemed it too impractical. I mean, a magical girl in a wedding dress? This will never sell! She was about to scream, when a hand passed by her eyes. "Hello, anyone home?" Indigo Zap asked, getting Coco's full attention for a moment. Sunny and her fiance were gone. Oh god, it's getting worse! I'm day dreaming! "You're right!" Coco loudly announced, slamming her hands on the table. "All I've been doing this week was finding excuses not to, but no more! I swear I will tell her... I will tell Sunny... not you... how I feel!" Indigo raised her fist. "Yeah, that's the spirit!" "...right after I finish her latest dress!" SLAM! Sour Sweet raised her head from the table, eyebrow twitching. "Oi, what was that about finding excuses?" "It's not an excuse, I mean it!" Assertive Coco Pommel proudly announced. "I will finish it before midnight and I will give it to her... along with my heart!" A few seconds passed. Sour Sweet facepalmed. Sunny Flare and Indigo Zap snorted, as Coco's face covered in a deep crimson blush. "C-could you forget I said that last part?" "Oh, sure." "If you say so." "No problem." "I will try to erase it from my memories, but I can make no promises." Coco sighed, but kept her spirits up... for about five seconds, before sitting down, leaning forward. "I'm scared..." Sugarcoat put a hand on Coco's shoulder. "You have no reason to be afraid, as it's quite clear that Sunny, not yo-" "I GET IT!" "...most definitely has mutual feelings for you. And in an astronomically low chance that she doesn't, I have a spare bed in my room and you're welcome to live there for as long as you deem it too awkward to occupy the same space as your unrequited love." She blinked, as several wide open pairs of eyes glared at her. She shrugged. "What? I'm just trying to be nice." Coco managed a weak laugh. "Well, I doubt it'll come to this... I hope, but thanks anyway." She took a deep breath and stood up. "Alright, I'm motivated now! I should start working on the dress right away!" "Yeah, you go girl!" Indigo cheered her on, as Coco nodded to everyone and hastily, but without running, left the cafeteria. A relative silence fell over the table, as the group went back to their respective breakfasts. Indigo Zap graciously shared a sandwich with Sunny Flare, since her original tray was contaminated and entirely devoured by Lemon Zest by this point (again, ew). Sour Sweet had a sudden realization. "Wait, today's a school day!" Before anyone could question that statement, Coco walked back and sat down on her original seat, blushing slightly. "I... I will start working right after classes end." Three girls snorted. Sugarcoat nodded. Sunny scratched her head, watching her roommate nervously fiddle her fingers as she stood right next to a human sized object covered with a tarp. She knew what to expect underneath it, but seeing as just this morning the dress was nowhere near even started, she was allowed to have some reservations about Coco's productivity. She seemed a lot more confident than she did the past few days, which was good. And the first dress of Magical Girl Sunny was made in, like, two hours from scratch, so she knew it was humanly possible for Coco. And no, she scanned her for traces of any magical powers (she learned that trick recently from Sunset and Pri-Twi), but nothing out of the ordinary was present. "So, is this the moment when you reveal to have been an evil mastermind all along and you just finished your doomsday device?" She asked slyly, earning only a slightly tilted head with a scrunched mouth. She shrugged. "What? You know I wouldn't pass an opportunity to say something snarky!" "Nah. Quite frankly, I expected something more creative." "Sorry to disappoint. Okay, out with it!" Coco's smile grew thricefold, as she revealed her grand surprise with a single grandiose move. "TA-DAA!" Sunset 'Magical Girl Sunny' Shimmer saw a lot of great designs since she started living with Coco and nothing she'd seen so far has been anything below her standards, but today marked the first time she felt speechless. For more than thirty seconds! "W-wooow..." The mannequin standing in the middle of the room was dressed in orange. Color, not fruit. The torso was a simple, sleeveless orange vest, with a white-orange'ish part in the middle, shoulder pads reminiscent of tiny white wings, an exposed neck area just above her breast line (no cleavage opening), with a two-toned orange ribbon at her chest. Below was a short skirt of the primary color covered by slightly longer, see through frills. What caught her attention especially were the dark orange short track pants underneath, ending at roughly the same level as the skirt, removing the danger of upskirt shots (Coco was rather sensitive about them). Then there were the long, white boots, reaching up slightly above knee level, with ribbons at the end. Her hands were covered by a pair of white detached sleeves from slightly past the elbows, before ending with orange cuffs at the wrist level. While she was sure Coco had a lot of ideas for head accessories, seeing as the mannequin had no hair the only thing on the head was a domino mask, similar to the ones she was usually wearing. It wasn't the most elaborate dress she had ever seen. It wasn't full of details, there were barely any accessories and it wasn't especially creative all things considered. It was better than what she ever wanted: cute, practical, easy to fix, modify or recreate in case of emergency. It's as if Coco's overblown creativity and Sunny's attention to practicality (capes aside) met in the middle and settled on a perfect compromise. Also, there was something else about it, but she couldn't put her finger on it. "Well? How is it?" Coco asked happily. She could tell what the answer would be to a word. Sunny opened her mouth a few times, but it took her a lot longer to finally vocalize her opinion. "It's... perfect! Ten out of ten! Hundred and one percent approval rating!" Coco tilted her head and raised an eyebrow. Sunny coughed and rephrased herself. "Hundred and twenty percent, even!" She said, making Coco smile even brighter. She approached her new costume and looked at it from different angles, paying the most attention toward the vest and skirt. "I don't remember this from your notebook." "I-it's a fresh idea," Coco stuttered, blushing furiously, as her heart was beating harder and faster "spur of the moment, I guess?" Sunny nodded without turning back, still concentrated on the fabric. She touched it a few times. "There's something familiar about it..." Coco gasped, unable to believe her ears. She noticed! "U-uhm, i-it's be-because... it's the same one..." Sunny turned to Coco and looked at her quizzically. "Same one?" Coco nodded, blushing so much she was starting to have second guesses. She closed her eyes, remembering the support of the Shadowbolts from this morning. Somehow, it made her next words go by easier, without stutter. "It's the same fabric from when we first met. As in, the exact same roll you... picked up that day..." Sunny blinked. Her eyes went back to the dress. "Huh. Neat!" With Sunny's eyes away from her, she allowed herself a few long breaths in order to not faint. She could just end here and continue her daily life as she used to, but a promise was a promise. Not to the Shadowbolts, but to herself. She swallowed her pride, gathered all the courage she could find and approached Sunny. "Sunny, there's... there's one more thing..." A tall, ripped barbarian in loincloth, wielding a giant, double sided axe stood firmly his ground at the beach right next to the stormy sea. Before him, just shy away from his range was his opponent, a thin, short but well endowed blonde girl in a full body suit, firmly holding her twin rapiers in defensive position. Despite huge size differences, they were considered equals, their duel lasting much longer than any of them was prepared for, until both were at death's door, a single well placed strike enough to end it all. Neither dared to make the first move, only moving back and forth, ready to counter with their fastest, weakest move at any time, as it would've been enough. Other than their beating hearts, the only sounds around were the waves of the nearby ocean, a timer approaching the end of a battle and a hard rock tune, intensifying their struggle. KNOCK! KNOCK! Sugarcoat turned towards her door, wondering who it could be at this time of the day. Half a second later she regretted that decision, as a quick crouching stab at the barbarian's leg was all it took to end the match. KO! You lose! Rematch? Y/N She blinked at her laptop monitor, then looked back at the door. "Drat." She put the controller on the desk and went towards the door. "This better be important." Behind the door waited Coco Pommel. She nervously looked at her, still in her school uniform despite it already being early evening. She was clinging to a handbag and avoiding Sugarcoat's gaze. Her hair was slightly disheveled and she was shaking. "H-hi, I just... I mean..." Coco said slowly, stuttering her words "I-I know we don't really, uhm, hang out or any-anything, b-but you to-told me, t-tha-that, I... I cou-could..." Sugarcoat blinked. "I-I'm so-sorry, I shoul-shouldn't inte-interru-interrupt you, I will ju-just, g-go aw-away..." Sugarcoat opened her arms. "Come here." Finally allowed to drop the charade, Coco's eyes started tearing up, before she launched herself at Sugarcoat, crying herself into her breasts, as the other girl gently embraced her in a hug.