Mutual Interests

by Spirit Shift


CH6: Just a little bit more...


Rarity nervously paced back and forth, her frequent steps were beginning to make permanent marks across the normally immaculate floor of her boutique. As of now she had been pacing non-stop for the last few days. Coco stood nearby equally as nervous, perhaps even more so.

“Where is she?” Rarity muttered for what had to be the 20th time that day. It had been almost two weeks since anyone last saw Sunset Shimmer. At first, Rarity was calm and collected, simply saying that Sunset had already made plans for the day and couldn't show up. However, after the first week Rarity began to think that Sunset had abandoned the project completely. Coco tried to convince her otherwise, and urged her to continue to work on the dress that was very near completion.

But on the eighth day, Rarity began to break down, climbing further up the ladders of paranoia. She considered going out and looking for her, but she had no clue where to even begin. She didn't know where she lived, the library was empty, and no one from school or around town had seen her. Despite Coco’s claims that she was fine, Rarity couldn't help but think that something bad had happened to her.

“She could've been kidnapped… or… or robbed. Oh good gracious, she could’ve been jumped by some school hooligans with a grudge for all we know!” she panicked.

“R-Rarity, please, calm down,” Coco soothed trying to keep her together.

Rarity stopped in her pacing and looked positively horrified. “Oh dear, what if it’s all three at once! It’s been enough time right? We can send out a missing person alert to the police can’t we?"

Coco tried once more. "I’m… I’m fairly sure that Sunset can take care of herself; we should just wait for her to come back on her own.” Poor Coco Pommel had continuously offered tidbits of reassurance just like that for the past weeks even though it tore her apart to see her friend sick with worry like she was. Every time she thought about telling Rarity the truth, her thoughts led back to the trust that Sunset had placed in her, the trust that she really didn't want to lose.

“That’s it!” Rarity announced, “I am calling the police and ordering a search party!”

Coco’s eyes shrank and she began to panic herself, “Oh no, If the police get involved they’ll definitely find out about Sunset’s living situation!” she thought.

Coco took a step closer. “Rarity, hold on a second,” she pleaded.

Rarity pulled her hand up from the phone she was reaching for and looked over in confusion. “Yes, darling, what is it?”

Coco stopped to question the morality of the situation. “Should I stop her? But then she’ll ask questions. I don’t want to lie to her.”

Rarity took a step closer. “Coco, are you alright? You look distressed.”

Coco began fidgeting horribly, completely unable to even look at Rarity’s face. “I just… um… I mean… you… Sunset... she...” Coco honestly didn't know what to say, and that made her fidget only worse. “If I break my promise I’ll lose Sunset's trust-”

“FOREEEEEEEVEEEERRR!”

It took Coco a long second before she realized that last thought, not only wasn't her's, but wasn't even a thought. Turning around, she noticed the head of a girl with pink poofy hair looking through the boutique's front window, glaring right at her.

“Pinkie Pie? What are you doing here?”

The strange girl apparently named Pinkie Pie merely put two fingers up to her eyes then pointed both of them directly at Coco Pommel before slowly moving out of sight. Both Rarity and Coco looked back at one another in complete confusion.

After a few seconds, the front door opened to reveal none other than Sunset Shimmer, who curiously looked to the side where Pinkie once stood. “Alright… that was weird.” she muttered. The moment Sunset finished her sentence, she found herself face to face with Rarity who looked both very relieved, and very angry. Sunset actually flinched back slightly at her gaze.

Just as Rarity opened her mouth, both of them heard a small thump. Turning around they saw that Coco’s knees had buckled and she fell to the ground, tears falling from her eyes.

“I-I’m so gl-sniff-glad you’re alright,” she cried in relief, trying wiping away her tears.

Angry lectures forgotten, Rarity ran to Coco’s side, leaning down to hug her tightly. “Coco? Darling what’s wro-oh my goodness, how could I have been so insensitive? You must have been just as worried as I was.  I’ll make you some calming tea.” Rarity walked toward the kitchen, but turned her head back and faced Sunset briefly glancing over at the sobbing girl. ‘Do something!’ her eyes said.

Sunset nervously looked away. “So… what’s wrong?”

Coco looked up at her like she was crazy. “You just up and disappeared! I was worried about you.”

Sunset began to feel more than a little guilty. “Well, I did say that I would leave at sunrise.”

“I know… But no one knew where you went. Rarity was worried, and I promised that I wouldn't tell her about you… I just didn't know what to do when she decided to call the police to look for you.”

“She did what!?” Sunset yelled. She began to internally panic. The school was one thing, the police were another altogether.

“No, it’s okay, that’s when you came in.” Coco wiped away the last of her tears and looked right up at Sunset’s eyes. “I really am glad that you’re alright though.”

Now Sunset really felt awkward. “I never made you promise ya'know,” she muttered, averting her eyes away from the girls pure stare.

In an instant, Coco got off the ground and into Sunset’s face, her eyes wide and pleading. “Where did you even go? Where are you living now?”

Try as she might Sunset simply could not look her in the eye. “Nowhere important. I found a place.”

“But where is it?” she urged, moving closer.

Sunset turned and walked away. “I said don’t worry about it.” She stopped when she realized that Coco was tearing up again due to the increase in sniffling sounds behind her. Sighing, Sunset walked over to Rarity’s desk, took a piece of paper and a pen, and wrote something down.

Sunset handed the paper to her. Looking it over, Coco realized that it was a set of numbers. “What’s this?”

“It’s my cell number. Personally, I don’t think it’s a big deal, but my phone is always on if you have to be absolutely sure that I’m not dead or anything.”

Coco looked back down at the paper. “You’re really not going to tell me where you live now?” Sunset shook her head and Coco gave her a concerned look. "Is it really that bad?” she asked innocently.

Sunset leveled a small glare at the girl. “What? No! I have standards. I’m not living in a dump just so you know.”

Coco moved closer, her concerned eyes burning their way past Sunset's defenses. “So why won’t you tell anyone.”

Sunset mumbled. She found herself blushing slightly, causing Coco to tilt her head in confusion. Finally, Sunset mumbled, “I… I don’t want you all to make a big deal of it, alright. It’d just cause more trouble in the long run.”

Coco moved around to look at Sunset's eyes directly. “But that’s just because we all worry about you. Rarity was absolutely scared.”

Sunset scoffed. “Yeah, well she was probably the only one.”

“I was worried too you know,” Coco mumbled.

“Anyway, thanks for not ratting me out. At least now you really won’t know where I am.”

Coco let out a light sigh of relief. “Please don’t make me do that again, I really don’t know what would've happened if she had gone to the police.”

“Anything’s better than getting them involved,” Sunset mumbled. “But, seriously… thanks.”

Coco offered a large smile in return, causing Sunset to blush. Turning away, she decided to go over to her usual table.

Eventually, Rarity came back with three cups of tea. After a short argument about Sunset's previous whereabouts, Sunset handed over her cell number and had to Pinkie promise not to disappear like that again.

Rarity took the number and stashed it was in her desk drawer. “Well I suppose that'll do, for now at least.” Sunset rolled her eyes. Rarity’s face instantly inverted to one of excitement. “ But aside from that, have you seen your new dress yet!?”

Slightly unnerved by the sudden mood swing Sunset hesitated. “N-no… is it done yet?”

“Darling, we haven't been doing nothing for the past two weeks," Rarity scoffed. "Of course it’s finished. It has to be. The first rehearsal is tomorrow after all.”

Sunset's eyes nearly bulged out of her head in shock. “It’s tomorrow?!”

Rarity crossed her arms and turned away. “Well, you would know if you bothered to show up to the planning session we had yesterday.”

Coco looked slightly confused, all she remembered was Rarity running around trying to gather people to form a search party yesterday.

“Fine, fine,” Sunset groaned. Looking around, she asked, “Where’s the dress?”

Rarity made her way over to the curtain at the edge of the room. “Right over here. Prepare to be… astounded!” she flourished, eccentrically pulling down the sheet covering Sunset’s new dress.

The girl's jaw hit the ground. In front of her sat the most beautiful thing that she’d ever seen. While she stood gaping, Coco and Rarity gently guided her over to the dress itself. “Well, try it on,” Coco urged.

After getting some assistance in putting the dress on, Sunset finally took a look at herself in the mirror. On her body was an absolutely gorgeous piece of clothing. It was a one piece strapless dress that completely embodied the word sunset. Starting from just below her knees, the dress radiated a beautiful orange-red color, but as it traveled up her thighs and over her midsection the color transcended to a dark blueish hue, signifying the setting sun under the budding night sky. The entire thing literally sparkled like the living stars in the night sky; enhancing the look entirely.

Sunset was speechless as she looked over herself. Finally after a few seconds of gawking she managed to stutter something comprehensive out. “Th-this is amazing…”

Rarity’s self satisfied face poked its way into the mirror. “You should thank Coco. The color transition was her idea, and the special fabric that she brought with her is what allows the dress to shine like this.”

Coco peaked her small body into the mirror, blushing slightly at the praise. “I-it’s nothing really," she murmured, smiling nonetheless. "I just wanted to help.”

Rarity looked over to her two companions and smiled proudly. After taking one last took at the dress she decided to bring everyone's attention back to a more important matter. “Now, the dress isn't entirely complete, there are still some accessories to be added. But we can worry about that later. Right now, I need to get you up to date,” she said, walking away.

Sunset began posing. Anyone looking directly at her would easily see her ego quickly was rising when she saw how she looked. “Up to date on what?” she asked, distracted.

Rarity came back with a few papers. “On the proceedings. There are probably going to be a total of at least 100 contestants for this fashion show. Therefore, there will be four rehearsals set over the next four days in order to ensure that everyone knows what to do. There, we will practice how the show will progress, what poses you will make, and how to act.”

“Uhuh. Yeah, alright,” said Sunset still posing and not paying attention.

Coco looked from Rarity’s irritated gaze to Sunset's confidant posing. “Sunset… you should really pay attention.”

Sunset went from confidant to full blown arrogance. “Yea, but it won’t matter, with these looks I’m definitely gonna win.”

Rarity forced Sunset to face her. “Sunset, remember, winning isn't the point, the point is to make a better impression on the city.”

She nodded but continued to admire herself in the mirror. “I know. I know. You have to admit it though… I look good.”

Rarity sighed, but in truth she couldn't deny it.  “I suppose so.” Taking a step back, she began to take in the full image, and couldn't help but pat herself on her back a little for the design. “My… looking at it now, I must admit that the dress came out far better than I initially intended. And it suits you incredibly well.”

Sunset beamed. “I know, right? When you said you’d make a dress that's just for me, you weren't kidding!”

“Well, the initial design was a bit longer, and focused more on matching your hair than anything; but now I can see that it was slightly shortsighted.”

Sunset nodded. “Is that the first one you showed me, because I liked that one too.”

Coco sighed and shook her head. Now not one but two egos were inflated. They’ll never get anything else done today at this rate. Coco decided to embrace the madness and  join in on the conversation. “I can’t wait to see what kind of dresses the others have.”

Rarity instantly jumped on the subject. “Oh I agree completely. I mean, they can’t be as well made as ours but it will still be exhilarating to see what the other contestants have.”

Coco put on a thoughtful expression. "I never thought about this but do you think it was a good idea to use a custom made fabric for Sunset's dress?"

Rarity glanced back at Sunset. "I didn't see any rules against it. Also I'm sure that the other designers also used a special fabric. There's only so much originality that you can pull off with cotton or polyester."

“Umm, yea… right,” Sunset agreed. Not really understanding the topic anymore, she simply went back to admiring herself in the mirror.

“Do you think we’ll get to meet other designers?” Coco asked excitedly.

“Of course, all the designers will meet backstage and prep their clients before the show.”

Coco began to look nervous. “Wait, will I even be allowed back there? I’m just a last minute assistant after all.”

“You most certainly will!” declared Rarity. “You’re as much responsible for Sunset’s final design as I am. Why if they didn't allow you to join-”

Coco proceeded to cut Rarity off before she could go on a rant. “I-it’s alright Rarity, it’s fine if they don’t let me in, it was your original design after all.”

Rarity still shook her head fervently, her hair bobbing back and forth along with it. “Nevertheless, it just wouldn't be right if I took all the credit.”

Sunset rolled her eyes at the two girls behind her unintentionally entered into some kind of modesty contest, once again choosing a topic that she had no knowledge in. Even gazing at her jaw droppingly stunning self in the mirror didn't help ease the growing knot in her stomach.