Sunset charged down the halls, not caring for the angry stares she sometimes pulled from either another student spending their free period chatting at a locker with a friend, or trying to get to someplace quiet to study. The poor girl’s hair was becoming more and more unkempt and frazzled as she searched for wherever that crash had come from. She almost started to give up hope when she spotted a specific, young, white-skinned girl with two-toned hair, resting against the corner of the hall, sipping on a juice box.
“Sweetie Belle!” The fiery-haired girl rushed over immediately, stopping just next to her. “Sweetie I need your help! Do you know wh-” Sweetie Belle held up a hand, never moving her eyes from where they looked. When Sunset sputtered and blinked in confusion at her rather rude interruption, the abnormally calm young girl used the same had she stopped Sunset with, to point down the hallway.
The former unicorn had to do a double take, as her jaw fell for yet another time that day.
Two Rarities stood down the hallway, Circling and glaring at each other with a fire Sunset remembered seeing in the eyes of the Royal Guard during combat training sessions she might have snuck out to watch when younger. However, it was much less entertaining than watching the sweaty stallions fighting.
One Rarity was the one most certainly the one from this world, though her outfit had seen better days. Sections of her skirt were torn, her blouse was missing a few buttons, and Sunset swore she saw her hair clip on the ground behind them.
Sunset had a few questions for herself, and maybe Rarity, after seeing the Equestrian counterpart of her friend.
The Other Rarity was dressed in a very elegant, and very form-fitting white silk Chinese dress, decorated with a plethora of blue diamonds and a green dragon, and a simple light blue border along the edges. High heels adorned her legs, looking like they should have for all intents and purposes made it impossible for her to walk, yet instead made her grace stand out all the more. Her hair, for the most part, was tied back with a set of chopsticks also decorated with blue diamonds, except for her signature bangs, and she had matching charms around each wrist that caught the light every now and again.
What ruined the appearance was the tears and scuffs that marred the dress, as well as half of one chopstick having been broken off and laying on the ground next to the first’s hair clip. Both Rarities also sported a split lip, as well as some still forming bruising on their faces and arms, along with long matching scratches that came in sets of four.
Hesitantly, Sunset leaned over to the smallest audience member of the two, as they continued to circle each other like caged tigers. “Sweetie, what is going on?” Sunset paled after a quick glance between the two fashionistas.
Sweetie took a second to pull the straw from her mouth, before leaning towards Sunset. “Well, first the other Rarity showed up when I was about to ask my sister for some help with my homework when we got home. Then they started talking about how my friends and I were guilty for the Anon-a-miss mess, agreeing that Rarity didn’t exactly handle her part of the mess very well with how they were treating you.” The younger girl winced at the thought. “I’m still really sorry about that.”
Sunset blinked in confusion for a moment before raising an eyebrow at the two tigers still circling each other. “If that’s the case, why are they fighting?”
The younger white girl took a sip of her juice before continuing. “I was about to get to that. After they finished talking about that, my sister started commenting on her counterparts dress and I chimed in on how pretty it is, which her counterpart agreed was pretty in a way that also was one of those backhanded compliments she tends to say on accident.”
The orange girl winced at the thought, picturing how it devolved into the situation at hand. “And let me guess... Rarity can’t take what she dishes out?”
Sweetie nodded. “And it devolved into a catfight.” Another sip drew the last of the juice out of her box, and the younger girl threw it away in a nearby bin. “To be fair though, the karate lessons Rarity thinks I haven’t noticed her taking seem to be sticking with her.”
Sunset looked back at the other two, with yet another question for her fancy friend, before slowly attempting to get a little bit closer. “Um, Rarity?”
The two paused, looking straight at Sunset simultaneously. “Yes, Darling?”
The fiery-haired girl stopped and shook her head a bit. “Okay, that was freaky.” She walked between the two and looked at each one. “Look, I’ve already had to deal with Rainbow and Applejack getting beat up by their counterparts.” At the Equestrian Rarity gasping slightly, Sunset raised a hand. “Not yours, mine. Your version of them are probably getting lectured by Twilight, and she was begging me to keep you all from killing yourselves and to get you back into the portal.”
The Equestrian Rarity nodded politely, “Certainly darling,” only for her to go back into her combat stance and look straight at her counterpart, “just give me a moment to finish up our little, dispute.”
Rarity took a matching stance, a glint in her eyes. “What’s the matter? Having trouble keeping up with me in those drabs?”
A laugh escaped the Equestrian Rarity’s lips that made a shiver to crawl up Sunset’s spine when she realized where she was still standing. “Oh darling, you have so far to go before you catch up with me.”
Sunset barely had enough time to dodge out of the way before the fight ensued once more, insults and claws flying amidst a storm of purple and white. She rested against the wall, panting, before looking towards Sweetie Belle. “You made that comment about their dress on purpose, didn’t you?”
“Uh huh.” Sitting against the wall still, Sweetie pulled out another juice box and stuck a straw in it. “This is getting good.”
Sunset just groaned and let her head hit against the lockers. “Why?”
The young trickster smirked as a few strands of her sister’s hair flew by. “This is payback for the twelve dresses she forced me to model for her.”
The fiery-haired girl deadpanned. “You mean the same ones you modeled for her as punishment for Anon-a-Miss?”
“No, I deserved those, and there were only about six dresses that day.” Sweetie got a dark glint in her eyes. “This is for the twelve separate fittings that happened at the end of the break, against my will, because Fluttershy couldn’t come over.”
Sunset was suddenly feeling very afraid of the smaller girl, and at the same time glad that it was Applebloom who masterminded that entire incident. Sweetie Belle might live up to her name most of the time, but it was clear she knew how to manipulate someone almost as well as Sunset did. “W-Well... Could you please convince Rarity’s double to uh... Go home?”
Sweetie sighed a bit and got up off the wall. “Fine...”
Sighing, the orange girl picked herself up off the floor. “Thank you Sweetie.” Sunset started down the halls, looking this way and that for any sign for her last two friends. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Sweetie masterfully breaking up the fight and the fancier Rarity darting down the halls towards the front desk. She could have sworn she heard something about orders piling up. A thought nagged at her though, as she kept looking around.
Fluttershy helps as a dress model for Rarity? I thought she spent most of her time at the animal shelter?... Dang it, now I want to see Fluttershy in a fancy dress, and I don’t know why!