Finding the Home Ec workshop took a little bit of time - Twilight was no help for obvious reasons and everyone they talked to assumed Coco already knew. It took finally encountering Sugarcoat and using the word 'magic' to get proper (if sarcastic) directions.
The Home Economics department for Crystal Prep was as well-funded as the rest of it, though the relatively low prestige meant that it only covered a pair of rooms. One was the test kitchen - the other was the momentarily more important workshop. Packed with sewing machines, fabric cutters, a loom and enough mannequins to populate a baseball team, it was the finest that the school could purchase for its students.
Right now, it was the sole domain of Coco Pommel. She was in the zone - a dozen mannequins were draped with half-completed works as she whipped her shears through another bolt of cloth. It was all coming together: the colors, the textures, all of it forming into a single cohesive whole that complimented and elevated it beyond mere clothing and into Art.
Which is why she didn't notice the intruder in her sanctum until Twilight Sparkle loudly cleared her throat. The unexpected sound caused Coco's cutting to skew wildly to the side, in turn eliciting a frustrated yelp from the designer. She spun around, eyes glittering with fury - which immediately dissipated when she saw the embarrassed purple girl standing there.
"Sorry," Twilight squeaked.
A quick plastic smile rose to Coco's lips. "Oh, it's okay! You just surprised me. You're Twilight Sparkle, aren't you?"
Nodding, Twilight eased out of the doorway and into the workshop proper. "Uh huh. And you're Coco Pommel. I don't think we ever really met while I was here at Crystal Prep, but I was kind of bad about people back then."
Coco didn't respond. She simply... smiled and gave the slightest of nods.
Shifting her weight from foot to foot, Twilight smiled back with growing unease. "So, uh, you're... designing? Clothes and stuff? I design stuff too! I--I mean not clothes. More tech-y things like computers and, um..." Those smiling, gentle blue eyes continued to patiently bore into Twilight. "Well, I guess those things aren't really a lot like dresses but designing is, um, they're..." And she lost what little track she had.
After Twilight's flow of words mostly dribbled off, Coco finally spoke with the soft tone of addressing a rambling child. "Can I help you with something?"
"Er, yes! Help! Yes!" Twilight latched onto the word eagerly. "I-- wait. Coco, were you at the Friendship Games?"
The designer tensed up - just a hair. "I wasn't there, but I've heard a lot of stories."
Twilight beamed. "Oh good, then I don't have to explain nearly as much. You already know about the magic and the other world. Coco Pommel?" She stepped aside, opening the door back up. "Meet Coco Pommel."
The two Cocos looked at each other. The resemblance was predictably uncanny - aside from their outfits, the two were nearly twins. Rather than in the physical, the differences were in their expressions: the Equestrian's was hesitant and concerned; the human's was a mixture of surprise and a brief flash of fear.
"Hi," offered the Equestrian. "May I come in? I think we might have a few things to talk about."
Glancing between her counterpart and the mass of semi-complete clothes, the human Coco looked for an escape. "Sorry, but I'm a little busy right now with the--"
"The Art of the Dress competition," finished the Equestrian. "Somepony mentioned it when they mistook me for you." Coco took a step further in, letting the door close behind her. "I think that might be why I'm here."
"Why you think you're here?"
The response to the human's question was a shrug. "I was told to come here by a magic table."
For just a moment the student looked at the pair of shears still in her hand, considering defensive options in the face of madness. But she thought better of it. "I'm sorry, I'm not sure how I can help you. But I really should finish this sash." With that she turned away, unrolling the bolt of fabric further to re-cut her next piece.
But Coco wasn't so easily dissuaded. She closed the gap, coming up beside her human self.
The Crystal Prep student glowered briefly. "Tape measure, please?" She held out her hand, impatiently waiting for her double to at least be a little useful.
A moment's hesitation - and then Coco handed it to Coco. The one measured out her next cut on the fabric while the other continued to pry. "It's not about you helping me. It's about me helping you. A lot of similar things happen between the worlds, and I think that I was sent here to help you do what I did a few years ago."
"To help me win this competition?"
Coco set her hand on her native self's arm. "No. To break free from Suri."
And then the human Coco laughed. Not the quiet, cheery one Twilight had heard so far from the Equestrian - one sharp as a needle. Before either could react, Coco segued into her proper response. "You can be happy, then. I've already taken care of that problem." She smiled, turning away from the fabric to the pair of visitors. "Not only has she pulled out of the competition, but she graciously turned over her part of the workshop to me."
Twilight inched into the conversation again. "How?"
A half-shrug was her response. "I've known Suri was cheating and she let her guard down recently. A little bit of video evidence goes a long way."
The other Coco sputtered. "You blackmailed Suri?!"
"If I didn't," came the counter, "She would have ruined me as soon as I tried anything. I wouldn't have had a chance, so I needed to move first." The native Coco turned back to her cutting. "It's everyone for themselves, after all."
Swaying on her feet, the Equestrian Coco stumbled backwards. "I... I'm too late." She spun on her heel to Twilight. "We got here too late."
Of course, the local Coco was all the more confused by that reaction. "Isn't that how you got rid of her?"
"No!" Coco swung back to her native self. "Rarity showed me that Suri was wrong and I quit! I learned a better way. You just... you let her win!"
"No?" Finally the shears were set down as Coco looked to Coco quizzically. "I'm pretty sure I won." She looked around the workshop - her workshop - and the pointed lack of Polomare in it. "Really sure."
With a petulant stomp of her not-hoof, the pony Coco once more imposed herself on her double. "But you didn't learn the lesson! Without Rarity--"
The human tilted her head slightly to the side. "Who's Rarity?"
"No no no no no..." Coco turned back to Twilight, hands clutching her head. "What do I do?"
Before Twilight could answer, the human Coco stepped in, grabbing the pony by the shoulder and twisting her back around. "What's going on here? You aren't making any sense. How else was I supposed to get rid of Suri?"
Gently, Twilight interposed herself between the two Cocos. With a hand held up to each, she tried to stop the conversation before it got even more out of control. "I think maybe we've done all we can here right now. We'll let you get back to work, alright?"
Desperation flashed through the Equestrian Coco's eyes - then her shoulders slumped. "You're right, Twilight. I'll... we'll talk to you later, Coco. I'm sure you're busy."
"I am," confirmed the human. "Try coming back after the competition. We can compare notes on that tacky fool, Suri!" Beaming, she patted her double on the shoulder - and gave a very unsubtle push towards the door.
The point taken, both Coco and Twilight retreated from the room.
Outside the workshop, Coco slumped against the wall and buried her face in her hands. "This is a disaster."
Twilight knelt in front of her, setting a comforting hand on the Equestrian's shoulder. "It isn't the best start, but I don't think we've lost yet."
Coco raised her plaintive eyes to Twilight's smile. "But... I'm-- she's evil now!"
"From what the Princess told me," Twilight noted, "The map never calls anyone to an impossible task. Which means if we were called, there's still hope."
The designer took a deep, shuddering breath. "Right. I'm sure you're right. I have to have faith in the Map and the Princesses."
Putting her back to the wall, Twilight shifted to sit beside her partner in harmony. "Maybe we should do a little research. Tell me again - when you had your experience in Equestria, what made you change your mind?"
Coco closed her eyes, thinking back to those fateful two days in Manehatten. "Rarity competed against Suri in Fashion Week - one of the big contests. Suri stole Rarity's designs, forcing her and her friends to redo everything in one night. She won, but Suri lied to her in the hope that she wouldn't claim the prize and Suri would get it instead. But instead of being sad she lost, Rarity, well, she didn't care. Her friends mattered more to her than a trophy. Seeing how they treated each other showed me Suri was wrong about how it was everypony for themselves."
Nodding along slowly, Twilight considered the story. "Well, we've got a competition. Maybe this is about what happened to you, and we just have to help Rarity win?"
"Well..." Coco tried not to smile too much at the suggestion. "I do want to meet Rarity on this side of the mirror. And I don't mind helping her. So why not!" Clambering to her still unfamiliar feet, Coco rose to the challenge. "Let's go see Rarity and help her win!"
"I'm afraid not, darlings."
"What."
Rarity gave Twilight an apologetic shrug. "I'm not taking part in the Art of the Dress competition, so you can't help me. I do appreciate the offer, of course, but you can hardly assist me to win a contest I'm not entered in." She twirled back to her drawing table, sending a paper-ruffling gust off her skirt. "Though I am working on a piece for a potential client!"
For a moment, the mission fell by the wayside for Coco as the sketch in front of Rarity sparkled temptingly. But only for a moment. "Um, I'd love to help Rarity, but we should probably save the other me from being evil first."
Rarity sighed in her normal way - which is to say with an amount of drama normally reserved for entire stage companies. "I suppose you are correct, although I'm not certain how. I sympathize, of course, having two friends who've gone evil before and my own brush with temptation. But I simply cannot enter." Turning about again - and again disturbing her own sketches with a gust of skirt - Rarity motioned towards a shelf along the wall of her workroom and one of the trophies there in particular. "I won the competition last year, and as such I am forbidden by the rules from entering a second time. They're quite insistent that it's to showcase new talent, and I'm afraid that this trophy - this damnable trophy!" She gasped with a half-sob. "This trophy brands me forever more as yesterday's news!"
Twilight applauded politely.
Rarity gave a small curtsy. "Thank you, darling. Drama aside, the facts remain." Momentary despair soured the other pair's expressions before the designer made her counter-offer. "Why don't you simply enter, Coco? Under an assumed name, of course. You sound to be quite talented in your own right."
It was a crucial lifeline and Coco grabbed on as tight as she could. "I... I could! I made an entire line for Suri in a single night once - completing just one dress shouldn't be too hard. And..." Her breath and words quickened with excitement. "And then I could beat myself and get her back on track! Plus with your help, Rarity--"
And immediately a pale white hand came up to stop Coco. "Which is something I cannot do, darling. I can allow you use of my work space and materials, but if the judges so much as sniff my aid in your piece? Why, you'd be disqualified in a heartbeat."
Coco's face fell - but only for a moment before she resteeled herself. "I understand." She turned to Twilight, eyes alight with determination. "I'll need your help, Twilight. But we can do this. We have to do this." A sliver of doubt crept in, and Coco wavered. "Right?"
And Twilight was there to boost her up again with a firm nod. "Right."