Sunset Helpers

by Spirit Shift

CH26: Coalstone

As the two continued to walk, the girl leading could simply not stop bragging about her never having to step foot in the library, about how she’s too smart to need it, and how she can just pay her classmates to do it if she felt like practising her “delegation” skills.

Meanwhile, behind her, Sunset’s annoyance grew to the point where she had to voluntarily remind herself that this was both a child younger than her, and someone who easily held her social status, what little of it there was, in her hands.

Eventually the two came to a stop at the other side of the school building, further away from the classes in a spot she rarely came to before.

“Alright, listen up, Shimmer,” DT said, snapping her fingers. This, being a good way to press almost anyone's buttons, almost set Sunset off… Almost. “So, like, normally I’d have you do something incredibly embarrassing and hilarious…”

“I figured,” Sunset mumbled under her breath, slumping her slightly.

Ignorant of her comment, Diamond continued, “There’s actually something more important I need you to get done for me so I don't have to,” she finished, rolling her eyes.

Sunset couldn't help but cross her arms and give the younger girl a raised eyebrow. “What? You want me to go shopping for you?” she said snidely.

What she didn't expect was for Diamond Tiara to smirk at her in return. “Pfft, you WISH I'd let you shop for me. No,” she waved her off, “I have other people to take care of. What I need is someone to take care of my cousin for me.”

“Babysitting?” Sunset asked incredulously. Immediately, her thoughts turned to what a child of the Rich family would be like. Sunset imagined a loud, obnoxious child with a growing entitlement issue. A shiver ran up her spine just from the thought of it.

DT sighed dramatically. “Yeah something like that. My cousin came back from boarding school in Manehattan and is going to this school. And now my dad wants me to hang around with him and,” she raised her hands up to make air quotes while speaking slowly. “Make friends’ with him because ‘he’s an artist’ or whatever,” she finished.

“So… he’s your age?” Sunset asked, her image of the cousin in question suddenly becoming a male version of Diamond Tiara but as a haughty narcissistic artist waving around a paintbrush.

“Ugh, you ask way too many questions.” she groaned, rolling her eyes. “Here’s all you need to know about Coalstone.”

“Wait is that his-”

“He’s a weirdo who likes making creepy statues,” she continued, “he’s got NO social skills, and I can NOT be seen with him.” Turning she pointed down the hallway they had been heading a moment ago. Said hallway was dimly lit and stood at the very edge of the school.

“Listen, he's right down the hall and in that gross room no one ever goes in. Just… I dunno, do your friendship thing you’ve been failing at, alright. Tell him you like his art or whatever. Just keep him away from me.”

Sunset reeled back in slight offence as DT checked her studded phone once again. With a smirk she began walking back the way the two came. “I have things to do, so get it done already.”

Just as Sunset turned to ask more questions, Diamond put her phone to her ear and began loudly talking.

“Hey, Silvey! Yeah I just finished,” she said cheerfully. “Like I was talking to a brick wall. I’m on my way though…”

As she walked away, Sunset let out a tired sigh. Having to deal with helping out at multiple events and trying to avoid Screwball had left her schedule with unsurprisingly little time to herself. And now, what little time she would have had to hang out with Coco or lay around at home had just vanished.

With that thought passing through, another quickly followed, followed by an audible groan. “She didn’t even say how long she wanted me to do this for,” Sunset sighed.

Turning in the other direction, she slowly made her way to the end of the hallway. As she grew closer, she could faintly hear the sound of metal slamming. Were they hammers?

“Diamond did say that he makes statues,” she muttered, reaching for the handle.

Sunset paused and thought for a second and a spike of unease flew through her. How long has he been here? Did he already know about what she did, or was he like Coco? Can she even do this? Last time with Coco was by pure chance thanks to Rarity and Rainbow Dash.

Sunset glanced back down the hall she came from. It was dimly lit, long, and most of all… empty. She was alone.

Slowly, she took in a deep breath, an anxiety relief technique that Fluttershy had taught her. And at the same time, she gave the door several small knocks.

…

Nothing.

She knocked again.

Only the sounds of metal slamming, and something breaking responded to her. This close, she could tell that there was some sort of sculpting going on, she could hear the chisel scratching against rock, and the sound of the same rock hitting the ground.

Gathering even more courage, she twisted the knob and opened the door.

~~~

Whatever Sunset was imagining when she opened the door was immediately thrown away once she actually saw the inside.

Statues, sculptures, and busts of all kinds littered the room on shelves, on counters, on the floor in various places.

However, it wasn't just the amount of sculptures that surprised her, it's that they were made in the image of strange creatures Sunset had never seen before. Each of them were styled with rather hideous-looking faces, sharp, lizard-like eyes, large bat-like wings, and mouths filled with fangs. As she looked around, she realised that she really couldn't call them ugly as even from a distance she could see there was an impressive amount of detail put into it. And if there was one thing she could get behind, no matter what it was, it was detail.

Her eyes slowly scanned the room, taking in the many statues, some small, others relatively larger, some a bit more detailed and others looking half finished entirely. And in the centre of them all, directly in front of Sunset, was something else she didn't expect.

When Diamond Tiara mentioned her cousin, she imagined someone her age, dressed expensively while doing pretentious paintings.

However, standing in front of her, facing away, was the exact opposite of her imagination. It was a young man with a wild grey mohawk that wouldn't look too out of place on a certain teacher of hers. He stood about two to three inches taller than Flash and considerably more sturdy-looking in terms of build, if his surprisingly strong-looking back had anything to say for it. Accentuating his large appearance, he wore a dark grey, bordering on back, tank top with cargo pants and boots.

In front of him was the largest piece of stone she had seen in a long time. It was clearly a work in progress, only barely taking shape with each slam of the chisel against it.

Speaking of which, the boy holding the chisel continued to reach up with his hammer and slam down, seemingly unaware of the person who had stepped into his room.

Unsure of how to proceed, Sunset went with the most obvious option.

“H-Hello!” she said, raising a hand and putting her best completely not nervous smile on.

*Chink* *Chink* *Chink*

The sounds of metal slamming against itself and rock was his only greeting.

Sunset felt a new feeling well up inside of her. Once a familiar feeling, it was now one that she would usually try to suppress as it reminded her of her more… selfish tendencies. However, something told her that maybe, just maybe, she’d let it through just a bit.

Said feeling was, as any human would put it, the desire to NOT be ignored when you’re trying to get the attention of someone.

She took a step forward, fully intending on trying again to greet the new boy when something caught her eye from the side. She stopped, and stared at a few small sculptures that she hadn't noticed before. They were on a smaller scale compared to the others in the room, desk size even.

They were sculptures of a humanoid creature with hair and clothes like flames, sharp teeth and claws, wide spread wings and… the most notable of all, a tiara with a star in the middle sat upon its head. All of them were in different poses.

Sunset froze. Some of the smaller details were off, but there was no mistaking it even in their slate grey, unpainted, states. They were all of her, in her demon form.

Slowly, she reached out a hand to touch it, her thoughts racing a mile a minute. “Why did he have this? Was he there? Does he already know who she is? If not then who told him? Why did he make this?

“Um… Can I help you with something?”

A sudden voice snapped her out of her thoughts and her head snapped towards the voice. The boy finally stopped sculpting long enough to notice that he wasn't alone. Finally facing her, Sunset was able to see him holding his goggles up from his eyes. Said eyes were sharp and grey, like pools of silver.

Combined with his rather deep and somewhat dry-sounding voice, a voice that almost sounded like the individual had rocks in his throat, made him seem daily intimidating. A feature which wasn’t helped by the somewhat blank look on his face, which made him difficult to read.

Still mostly shaken from seeing her worst self sculpted out, Sunset hesitated for a second. Thankfully, the boy in front of her also had nothing else to do but wait for her answer.

Soon enough, Sunset’s critical thinking kicked back in and time slowed to a stop when it brought forth a very important question.

“What do I tell him??” she thought loudly, her mind aching from the imaginary volume.

“Do I tell him the truth?” she thought. As if responding to her dilemma, another version of herself appeared in front of her.

Second Sunset crossed her arms and raised her eyebrow. “Of course you can’t. How would you react…” he mood, like her eyebrow, fell quickly as she amended her statement. “I mean, how did YOU react when someone tried to be friends with you just because they were asked?” she said, looking down.

Main Sunset glanced off to the side. “But, this is different. I’m different,” she mumbled. “I don’t want to lie to him. Diamond Tiara may have asked me to do this but that doesn't mean I can't put in a genuine effort.

Second Sunset scoffed and shook her head. “Sure, whatever. Still though you could at least word it better. Maybe just hold back the part that it was Diamond?

Main Sunset just looked at her, and let out a tired sigh. “No, that's the same as lying if he finds out later. I think I'd rather just tell him directly.”

Second Sunset shrugged and began to vanish. “Whatever, I'm just trying to help you out here. Good luck.” she said, her voice vanishing as time began to speed back up.

“Um, Hi!” Sunset began, giving a slight wave and a shy smile. “I’m Sunset Shimmer.”

The boy glanced between Sunset and the sculpture she was standing next to and gave a terse response. “Coalstone. Are you here for some art supplies?”

“Art supplies?” she questioned, before it finally clicked. “Oh, this is the old art room, isn't it!”

Coalstone nodded, regarding her with a puzzled expression. “Yes… it was. They left some things behind that they come to get sometimes. Though, judging by your reaction, you probably didn't know that.”

Sunset reeled back, embarrassed. “Yeah, no I didn't’. I don’t come down here often,” she said, giving a nervous chuckle. “But I’ve heard some girls around school talking about the sounds coming from this side of the school,” she continued, trying to keep the conversation going.

The tall boy scoffed and looked around. “That tracks, they’re already talking about me, huh,” he finished, looking down at the floor. Sunset, for just a split second, could see the same downcast face that she herself used to see every morning.

“Oh no, that’s not what I mean!” she backtracked. “People in the school are quick to notice when things are out of the ordinary, since that happens so often to them.”

Sunset let out a short awkward chuckle. However, Coalstones stony expression didn’t waver.

“Well either way,” he replied after a tense second. “I’m just minding my own business. The sounds are from my hammer. Anything else that goes on in this school is none of my business.”

Sunset nervously rubbed the back of her head as the silence set in. Unsure where to go from here she began really wishing she’d written down some conversation topics. Usually, she’d have someone with her, either Coco’s bubbly and friendly demeanour, or Rainbow’s straightforward attitude. She could also really use Rarity’s charisma or Applejack’s reliability. Even Fluttershy’s shyness would probably help here.

But what exactly did she have in the way of helping to make friends? Sure she was smart, a bit athletic and knowledgeable. But her time as a queen bee, and then as a loner hardly left her with the best set of approachable traits or conversational skills.

Coalstone looked down at her, his gaze seemingly seeing right through her lack of confidence. “So, with that being said, why are you down here suddenly. I’ve been here a while, and you don’t seem the type to go investigating rumours.” He averted his gaze for a second, seemingly thinking. After another second, his gaze snapped back to her, meeting her eyes.

“Did someone ask you to come here?” Sunset couldn't help but pick up on the small emphasis placed on a certain word in that sentence.

Taking a nervous gulp, Sunset realised that there probably wouldn't be a better time to do this. As much a part of her wanted to do this as cautiously as possible, a stronger part of her wanted to make her friends proud by doing this the honest way, a way that would make her friends proud.

“Well,” she began, glancing around, anywhere that wasn’t his eyes. “Yeah, actually. Your cousin Diamond Tiara asked me to come welcome you to the school. And to give you a warm welcome,” she finished, cautiously. Despite her inner self winning out, she couldn't help but hide just the smallest bit of the truth, much to her internal disappointment

Coalstones expression finally changed, and much to Sunset’s chagrin, his narrowed eyes turned his expression into something worse than what it was.

“I see,” he said simply, before turning back to his sculpture and lowering his goggles. “I figured as much. Tiara wants to make sure I don't mess with the ‘popular image’ she’s built.” With a smooth and practised motion, he raised his arm and brought it back down with a very loud rock breaking.

“You can leave then. I don’t have any intention of leaving this room. Not like anyone really wants to come see the gross things that I make,” he said, mumbling his last few words. Just as Sunset was about to interject. He continued, his deep voice and metal pounding overtaking Sunset before she could even talk.

“Last thing I need is to inconvenience a random girl because my cousin thinks I need a babysitter. Sorry you had come here…” he finished.

“Wait, hold on a second!” Sunset called out. However, it was too late. Sunset could tell that he was lost in his own world again and that her words, much like the first time, couldn't reach her. After having been friends with creatives like Rarity and Coco, Sunset had developed a kind of sense that tells her when her people like them have entered a state of extreme focus. And she could tell very quickly that Coalstone was one of them.

“So… he doesn't know who I am then,” she muttered to herself. The thought that he was in fact, like Coco gave her a bit of confidence.

His last statement also gave her a bit of thought.

“He likely stays in here all the time,” she wondered aloud. “I doubt he gets that many, if any visitors throughout the day.”

She stared at his back as he worked, a bold figure surrounded by sculptures in a room at the end of the school. The world grew just a bit darker around him.

With that thought in mind, Sunset decided that she was in for the long haul. And definitely not since she wasn't sure what Diamond would do with her blackmail material if she backed down.

She took a single step forward to grab his attention once again.

Author's Note:

Coalstone OC thankfully provided by The Fan Without a Face. Feel free to check out the story he's originally from. A Heart Encased In Stone

Imagine writing and finishing a chapter ahead of time for the express purpose of putting it out before you go on a weeklong vacation... AND THEN FORGETTING TO PUBLISH IT BEFORE YOU LEAVE

As an apology you guys will get two chapters this week on this story. Next one will be up on Monday.

Comments

[The Fan Without a Face]

And low and behold he finally makes his appearance. Sunset is gonna have a bit of a handful with Coal as we'll see in chapters to come, but it should be an enjoyable little mini arc to see take place.

[HorseWordFan]

Imagine writing and finishing a chapter ahead of time for the express purpose of putting it out before you go on a weeklong vacation... AND THEN FORGETTING TO PUBLISH IT BEFORE YOU LEAVE

This went past facepalm and straight to headdesk .

[Spirit Shift]

11509808
I was so proud that it was done!!!! And then I came back to see zero engagement. Man I wonder why?????

[HorseWordFan]

11509850
When I do something like that, it's a sharp and embarrassing reminder that I'd probably forget my brain somewhere if it wasn't strapped in for the ride.

[redandready45]

I feel bad for Coal. Diamond treats him like the family embarrassment, when she’s the one who makes the family look bad.

[Spirit Shift]

11510699
To be fair, in a family of extroverted business men and women who all actively take part, an introverted self taught artist probably isn't widely supported.

Totally not speaking from experience or anything

[redandready45]

11511025
I agree with the notion that you should get a professional career before trying art.

But devaluing art completely is a horrible thing to do.

[The Fan Without a Face]

11511149

Yup art is nice but unless you're a naturaly prodigy like Mozart or Steven Spielberg, it pays to have a job to support yourself so you aren't living out of your car.