25. Atelier Sunny
Sunny groaned slightly from the pain.
Contrary to what most action movies tell you, not every badass hero makes a fuss while having her wounds treated with hydrogen peroxide infused cotton wool. Though in her case it was less from sheer toughness, but due to apathy. Magical Girl Sunny hadn't said a single words since she was dragged all the way to the school infirmary by the five Shadowbolts and stripped down to her bra and red spats before having her wounds treated. They were thankfully shallow, and the treatment was just Sugarcoat cleaning off the blood while Lemon Zest examined the dress, in particular the three bloody cuts across the back.
Lemon Zest shook her head, holding up the outstretched dress "I don't think anyone could fix this one!"
Sunny Flare rolled her eyes and turned to Sunset. "You can keep my blazer." She said to the magical girl, referring to her uniform blazer lying on the chair next to them. Sunset just shrugged.
The room went silent, save for an occasional groan from the patient. Despite locking the infirmary from the inside, Indigo couldn't help but lean near the door with her arms crossed and listen carefully in case someone came looking for them. Sour Sweet kept herself busy by checking the room for anything useful, but other than medical supplies she found only a few off-brand candy bars and an energy drink, carefully hidden in the nurse’s private stash. She placed them next to Sunset.
"It's not much, but you need all the energy you can get." Sour Sweet said as she sat by Sunset's side. Noticing that she was being ignored, her eyebrow twitched and her tone became more hostile. "Or, you know, you could just collapse from exhaustion after we risked our lives finding and treating you. And I still didn't hear a single thank you."
"Sour, don't push her," Sunny Flare chided, "she had it worse than any of us."
"And that's why she needs to eat, even if it's just empty calories. I swear if she doesn't do it herself, I will force feed her!"
"She's sitting right next to you."
"I barely noticed! She hasn’t said a single word since we found her!" She placed her head right in front of the magical girl. Their eyes met for a second, before Sunset turned away.
"Say something, dammit! I get that you've been through shit and you want this to end, but it's not over yet! Sombra is still out there, students are still in danger and Coco's been through too much already! You both have!" Now it was Sunset's time to look Sour in her tearing eyes, which she quickly averted.
Sour continued. "As much as I want to punch his teeth out, we can't even get close, let alone fight. I know, I tried. You're the only one who stands a chance!" She took a breath and turned back to her. "So kindly walk it off already!"
Sunny blinked. She opened her mouth, but ultimately closed it and looked away again. Sour Sweet sighed, but relented and sat further away, leaving the magical girl alone. The other Shadowbolts didn't say anything either. Sugarcoat only asked Sunny to raise her arms as she bandaged her upper body.
After a moment, they heard a single bang on the wall. They jumped spooked, until they realized it was just Indigo Zap hitting the wall out of frustration.
"Damnit, if only I didn't have that duel, of all the days!" She said and hit the wall again. "If she wasn't beaten up and exhausted after our fight, everything would've been solved by now!"
Sunny Flare walked to Indigo and put a hand on her shoulder. "You only tried to help."
Indigo's eyebrow furrowed. "I know, but still..."
"For all we know, Sombra was waiting for a moment like that. None of this is–"
"That doesn't change anything!"
"Maybe," Sunny Flare sighed deeply, then smiled "but there's no use dwelling on it. All we can do is look forward and fight back, like we always do!"
Only Sugarcoat noticed Sunset twitch. And she was pretty sure it wasn't from the pain.
"Yeah, you're right!" Indigo nodded and smacked her fists. "We're the Shadowbolts, damnit! If that kid thinks he can treat us like we're nothing then he's in for a surprise!"
Sugarcoat saw that Sunset's breathing got harder and deeper.
"So, do we have a plan, Miss President?" Sour Sweet turned to the other Sunny, who was also a student council president. A fact that a lot of people seemed to forget a little too often.
Sunny Flare put a finger on her chin. "Not yet, no. First off, we could use a little more information..."
That's when Sunset Shimmer finally stood up.
Everyone's eyes went toward their heroine, so much different than they were used to. Her clothes were destroyed and weren't coming back, no matter how much Lemon Zest tinkered with them. She was left half naked, with only a white bra and bandages on her top and red spats that she was always wearing under her one piece skirt, covering barely half of her thighs. She ditched the gloves after they got severely damaged by either fire or hitting. The long, white boots were the only thing still relatively intact. She didn't have her mask anymore and she didn't feel a need for it, now that everyone was in on the secret.
But more important than her clothes, gone was the wide-eyed optimism, strong posture or the contagious smile. There were no witty comments left and they didn't remember when was the last time she said her lame catchphrase.
"Oh, finally rejoining the battle?" Indigo said with a smile, walking towards her.
Sunset wasn't smiling. "I... I know what I have to do."
"Yeah! And we all have your back!" She put a hand on her shoulder. Sunset didn't react and avoided eye contact. Indigo kept smiling, despite everything. "Right?"
The atmosphere got tenser, as they waited for Magical Girl Sunny to say something.
"Sombra is... after me." She said. "All of this would've never happened if I wasn't in the school." She paused, then continued talking quietly. "The school would never be attacked, neither would be the police and Captain Shining Armor, and Coco..."
The Shadowbolts looked at each other with concerned looks.
Lemon Zest swallowed. "I don't like where this is going!"
Sunny Flare approached Sunset. "It's not your fault that there's an insane kid with superpowers..."
"I KNOW!" Sunset shouted, withholding the tears. "It doesn't matter! Everything went to crap because of me! And I... and I tried to fix it, but I... I just can't! Whenever I think I can do it, he just proves that he's always five steps ahead of me! And if I try to deviate from HIS plans, I risk someone else taking the bullet and I just... I can't take this kind of responsibility!" She lowered her head. "And I was a fool for ever thinking I could!"
A moment of silence passed by. Some of the girls thought about offering some consoling a hug or two maybe, but they doubted it would've made anything better.
"So what are you going to do?" Indigo asked. "You're going to leave everyone? You're just going to leave Coco?"
Sunset sighed heavily. "The hostages are all... mostly from rich families. A few millions dollars for the safety of their children is a small price to pay. And those who can't pay, Sombra has no use for them. He'll release them when they stop being useful. Probably. Coco's mother is just a secretary, he won't be getting any money from her. She's in there only because of me. There is no point in keeping her... once I stop being the problem."
Indigo's eyebrow twitched. "Oi, what are you planning?"
The magical girl looked away as she announced. "I'm sorry..." she started tearing up again. "...I-I never gave you a chance, but now I realize that... even after I kept pushing you away, all you wanted was to help me. I never appreciated that, until now, so... thank you. For all it's worth."
Indigo looked at her equally confused friends. "You're starting to creep me out!"
After another moment of silence, where it seemed like Sunset had gathered enough courage to say something, it was Sugarcoat who asked the hardest question.
"Why do you talk like you’ve accepted your death?"
Everyone's blood froze in their veins. Their stares were all wide and concentrated on Sunset Shimmer. Much to their chagrin, she didn't deny it.
"It's... the only way."
A moment of silence passed.
"I-I can bargain with Sombra. Trade Coco and others for my-"
SMACK!
She wasn't allowed to finish the sentence, when Indigo Zap punched her right into her face, sending her into the wall and knocking over a framed picture.
"Indigo, what the hell?" Sour Sweet lashed out, but was swiftly ignored.
"No!" Indigo yelled. "Over my dead body! What the hell are you even thinking? That you can fix this whole problem by committing suicide!"
As Sunset slowly got up and calmly wiped blood from her mouth, Sour Sweet approached Indigo.
"And what the hell are you trying to achieve by beating her up?"
"That's the only language she understands! I got her to sober up by punching her once before, so if that's what it takes, then I'll do it again and as many times as I have to!"
"Indigo, calm down!"
"I'M PERFECTLY CALM! She's the one who gave up and wants to kill herself!"
Sour Sweet groaned and wanted to continue, but she was pushed aside by someone behind her and before anyone could react...
SMACK!
...Indigo was punched straight into the wall with a loud thud, shattering an empty glass vase off the table.
"YOU THINK I WANT THIS!?" Sunset shouted as Sunny Flare quickly grabbed her from behind and stopped her from going further. "I tried, okay? I pushed myself harder and further than ever before and it still wasn't even close! I-I can't do this! It was easy to make mistakes when all I risked was my own skin, but I... I can't afford it anymore!"
Indigo also wiped some blood and stood up, but couldn't step forward when Sour Sweet and Sugarcoat grabbed her by her hands, together barely keeping the strongest girl/student person in Crystal Prep in check.
"And that's why you accepted defeat? How can you be so selfish to think everyone will just accept it? Do you think Coco will be happy with this?"
"Of course not! Because she would do the same to me! But I won't let her, because... I won't let her..."
The conversation went on for some time, but at this point it was mostly pointless shouting and repetition of the same points, so Lemon Zest didn't even bother entering the conversation. She had nothing new to add and nobody seemed to notice her at this point, as she sat in the corner, with Magical Girl Sunny's dress laid on her knees, bloodstained side up. She hoped looking at the dress and all its features would somehow inspire her with some ideas, but it just reminded her of how high the stakes were. The orange, now partially red, fabric reminded her of better days and of a friend who made it. A friend that she was on the verge of either losing or trading for another.
And then she looked closer at the collar...
"Well, that escalated quickly!" Sombra said to himself. He couldn't see how the situation looked inside the Infirmary because they had disabled the camera. Sunny seemed apathetic herself, but the other five weren't happy with voyeurism. He was slightly disappointed, but even he had his limits. He broke her spirit, but he didn't have to humiliate her that much.
"Well now I feel stupid. I thought she would blow through those six buffoons with ease," he leaned deeper into the chair "all those surprise levels and plot twists will now go to waste! Some lousy level designer I turned out to be."
He waited and listened to the ensuing argument for a moment, before sighing.
"I should be happy I won, but this isn't fun! Miss Pommel, maybe you can tell her something? Last I checked she listens to you, so..." he turned to his hostage and immediately stopped. She wasn't the prettiest sight at the moment.
She was nervous, scared and shy before, but now that the situation had escalated to this point, she just stopped moving altogether. She froze on her chair, hands tightly gripping her skirt and head down so low that he couldn't see her eyes anymore.
"Or not." He turned back to the black out monitor. "Whenever you're ready."
Lemon Zest looked at the set of dark orange buttons around the collar much closer. Her eyes widened as she noticed something she did not expect.
"Girls!" She said to the others, but...
"Coco would never let you just give up like that!" Indigo Zap lashed out, her advancement only stopped by the combined forces of Sour Sweet and Sugarcoat.
"Don't try to stop me! I made my decision already!" Sunny lashed back, with Sunny Flare keeping her mostly in check for now.
"Girls!"
"That's a !@#$^& stupid decision and you know it!"
"Then what am I supposed to do? Fight until I'm dead, so he can laugh his ass off even more?"
"Girls!"
"I don't know, but I wouldn't give up until I found her!"
"I don't even know where she is! You think I would've given up if I..."
"GIRLS!
SHUT
THE
F@#K
UUUUUP!"
The last word resonated through the room, as well as their own ears and souls. All five girls immediately stopped when they noticed the even redder face of Lemon Zest. The usually calmest Shadowbolt gave the entire group a massive glare, to the point that most of them had no desire to respond. Sour Sweet opened her mouth but was shushed before saying a single word. Same thing happened to Sunny Flare when she tried to communicate.
As soon as she was certain that nobody would utter a single word she gestured them to come closer. A few eyebrows were raised, shoulders shrugged and eventually Indigo and Sunset were released, begrudgingly nodding a ceasefire. The five moved in close to Lemon Zest, who pointed her other hand at the dress on her knees. At first they raised an eyebrow in confusion, but soon enough they noticed it.
"Tha-" Indigo tried first.
"SHHH!"
"Is-" Sugarcoat tried second.
"SHHH!"
Six sets of eyes were concentrated on what looked like a black button that Lemon pulled out from the dress' collar. At first it seemed to be just an out of place button, slightly bigger and of a different color than the usual orange buttons that were there, but the closer they looked it started to resemble a single, tiny microphone. Their eyes widened and they barely withheld themselves from gasping loudly.
Sunny Flare grabbed a stack of stick'em notes and pen from the desk, quickly wrote something on it and placed it on the dress for everyone to see.
BUG?
Lemon looked at the other girls and nodded. Sunny Flare took a deep breath and raised her finger up for everyone to see and waited. Moments later she started pacing around the room, moving her lips as if whispering to herself, circling around the room frantically, finger up at all times. Sunset Shimmer looked at her slightly confused, then noticed that one by one, all the Shadowbolts were starting to relax and carefully observed their school president.
A minute of pacing around later, Sunny Flare finally stopped and turned to Sunset Shimmer. The two exchanged glances for a moment, though Sunset's eyes wandered away, slightly embarrassed and confused over the attention.
After one short breath, Sunny Flare finally started talking.
"Okay, so what now?" She started, while also waving her hand around in a circular motion, in a 'roll with it' way. "You'll just take off the earrings and present yourself to him, powerless and helpless, begging for mercy?"
As expected, everyone's eyebrows were raised, most of all Sunset's, as unlike her friends, she failed to read the motives of the other Sunny. "Wha-"
Indigo quickly interrupted her. "But without them she's just a regular person! And nobody else can use their powers!"
Sugarcoat fixed her glasses and took over. "And if you explain that to Sombra as part of your bargaining, he will want them all for himself. And then he will be even more powerful than before."
"You think he could unlock its powers?" Lemon Zest joined in, sounding as concerned as she could muster, all the while holding a note with a 'PLAY ALONG' hastily scribbled over it. "Nobody else managed it before!"
Sour shrugged, but played along as well. "After everything we saw him do? I wouldn't be surprised if he knew some kind of universal magical password,” she smiled and continued in a Sweeter tone "not that it will make any difference once we're all dead!"
Sunset blinked. She looked at all five Shadowbolts, smiling and nodding at her. Everyone in this room knew that her powers didn't come from earrings or any other item, because all of them had been there when she got them. Whatever Sunny Flare had in mind, if it were to fail then the consequences would be even more severe, not just to her, but to everyone else. It was in their best, mutual interests, to stop this farce before it got too far. It was the right thing to do.
"I... I..." she breathed heavily, building up the courage to ruin the con they were hastily trying to pull of.
"We'll keep them safe for you," Sunny Flare continued, her eyes glaring at Sunset Shimmer "if you won't fight anymore, then let us at least protect them. Maybe someday, someone else will be able to use their powers."
Sunset's breathing got even heavier. The five Shadowbolts looked at her expectedly, each drilling her with their eyes and waiting patiently, seemingly trusting her to make the right decision. That was the feeling she got from all of them. And she appreciated it, a lot more than she ever imagined. She was grateful for their support, but that only made the decision to involve them even worse. Now she cared about them even more and couldn't bring herself to harm them in any way\{
She opened her mouth and was about to make her final decision...
Sombra hummed, fiddling with the necklace even more.
"I knew there was something peculiar about those earrings," he giggled to himself "this is starting to get interesting all over again."
Coco meanwhile kept sitting as she was, intent on not drawing his attention to herself.
There must be something... anything... even if it's a little bit, if only I could help...
She looked around. The fire extinguisher looked tempting, but just as futile as before. Nothing could be used against Sombra, not by her. The best idea she had was splashing him with hot water, but her teacup was both almost empty and lukewarm at best.
Wait a second... She looked at her cup for a moment, until her eyes widened. I got it!
"I-I want to talk to her!"
Sombra jumped and almost fell of his chair, turning toward the tiny girl as she looked at him pleadingly.
"I want to... to say something to... to Sunny!" She said, forcing every ounce of courage she had into that sentence.
Sombra blinked. A smile crept onto his mouth, which then turned into a laugh.
"Haha, for a moment I thought you were going to hit me with a chair or something, yeesh!" He waved his hand, as a small shadow appendage came out of his shoulder and grabbed the microphone he was using. "I promised you, I guess."
Coco breathed heavily, as a shadow tentacle moved the microphone toward her. But just before she grabbed it, Sombra stopped it mid-air.
"If you say something about where we are, or anything else you shouldn't... well, I don't need to remind you what will happen!"
Coco swallowed and nodded. Satisfied, Sombra moved the microphone into her hands. She took a few deep breaths and firmly pressed the button.
Here goes nothing!
The PA speakers went on just before Sunset was about to say something. But this time, it wasn't Sombra's voice coming from it.
"Hello Sunny, can you hear me? It's me, uhm, Coco."
Shadowbolts looked up at the speaker, each of them shocked to suddenly hear Coco's voice, though nobody was more than Sunset Shimmer.
"W-well, I just wanted to say that I'm okay and, and, I'm not hurt or anything, so you don't have to worry about me... I, uh, I'm... I'm sorry," while they couldn't see it, they heard the sniffing and trembling in her voice "I asked you for... for too much and I," more sniffing sounds "I hope you ca-can fo-forgive me!"
The distortion from the speakers wasn't gone, which meant the PA system was still active, but there was a pause in Coco's talking. The Shadowbolts all looked at Sunset. Just when they thought she was all out of tears, they found out that she wasn't. But despite the unflattering stream running from her eyes, she didn't seem sad to hear her voice, for what had to be first time in days.
"You dummy..." Sunset said "It's not like you did anything wrong... if anyone should apologize, it's me!"
She stopped and her head lowered even further. Indigo was about to approach her and offer some consolement, but Sunny Flare stopped her and shook her head.
On her end, Coco also wasn't able to stop her tears from coming. She wanted to talk to her all this time and even though this wasn't how she wanted it, she was happy to have this much. She wanted to respond and comfort her, but she struggled to stop herself from talking back.
If I talk to her directly, Sombra will figure out they found out about the bug and about the earrings. Whatever they are trying to do, I can't let their plan go to waste!
She wiped her tears with her sleeve.
Please understand it, Sunny!
"I-I know this is hard, but I want to let you know, that even without your earrings, or without your powers, you are still my hero, a-and my best friend. And nothing will ever change that!"
While Sunset was busy crying, the shadowbolts widened their eyes and looked at each other.
"The time we were together... creating your clothes, eating together in cafeteria, gossiping while drinking the Yellow Gold Tea after school, sharing little secrets... t-those were the best times of my life and I-I would do anything to get it back!"
Out of all the listening girls, it was Sunny Flare who raised her eyebrow in confusion, until a realization made her smile slyly.
"S-so, if I can have any last request, I... I want you t-to..."
She stopped to inhale, then...
"DON'T GIVE UP! I know you can achieve anything, so please, don't stop fighting! Don't let this arrogant bastard think he can mess with Magical Girl Sunny and win!"
And then the PA system was turned off.
Coco breathed heavily after the last sentence, still high on adrenaline. Like last time, it quickly wore off. Sweat came from her forehead as she looked at the bemused look on her captor’s face.
"I-I-I me-mean, I, uh..."
Sombra just rolled his eyes. "None taken."
The PA system was turned off after that. Sunset stood in place for a while longer, breathing heavily, until she turned to the shadowbolts.
"So, what now?" Sugarcoat asked. "Are you giving up like you planned, or did Coco's speech change your mind?"
Sunset swallowed. Her throat was dry as a desert, no doubt because she cried out all the fluids just now.
"I... I won't let him get away with this!" She said through her teeth. "If he wants those earrings, he will have to rip them from my dead body! But not before I SMACK his face. With. My. FIST!"
A lot of cheering ensued.
"Oh yeah, she's back, baby!"
"Figured this would happen."
"Go Sunny! Not yo- actually, both of you!"
She was still hurt. Her back was burning, less so after a surprisingly good treatment from Sugarcoat, but she still felt it. She was also getting a little dizzy, dehydrated and probably with severe blood loss, but she felt a new surge of energy passing through her veins.
I almost gave everything up... thank you, Coco. Thank you for reminding me why I'm alive again!
"Hey, I've been meaning to ask before," Sunny Flare said "but I didn't want to sound rude. That dress, as pretty as it is, it's kinda starting to smell of blood, sweat, tears and burns. Like, really bad."
She was met with a few disapproving stares, most of all from Sunset Shimmer. She wasn't the least bothered, as she carefully grabbed the 'bug' that was left on the desk and dress from Lemon Zest and went towards the window.
"What? You're not going to wear it anymore and it can't be fixed, so can we at least not smell it? I'm kinda sensitive to bad odors."
She opened the window, rolled the bug into the dress and was about to toss it out of the window, but awaited the approval. Every shadowbolt understood the point of getting rid of a bug in a way that wouldn't look suspicious. A bug that prevented them from talking honestly between each other. Sunset sighed deeply, but eventually relented.
"You're right, there's no use holding it."
Sunny Flare nodded back. "Once Coco's back, she'll happily make you an even better one." And then she threw it outside.
Sunset waved at the destroyed cloth. Goodbye, old friend!
They quickly lost it from her view, as it got engulfed in the darkness created by the lack of sunlight, courtesy of the dome of darkness outside.
Sombra sighed deeply. "Well darn, that's annoying. Oh well," he shrugged "I got my money's worth from it."
"For the record," Sunny Flare said after she closed the window "it wasn't smelly, I just wanted to start talking normally again."
"We all understood that part, we're not stupid." Sugarcoat said. "I thought we were going to keep up with the con, all the while communicating between each other with notes and gestures."
"I thought about it but there's too much that could go wrong. One of us would eventually slip up or any random thing could come up. At least we're in full control like this."
Lemon Zest raised her hand. "Hey, I can't be the only one wondering why that thing was on your dress, right?"
"Hell if I know!" Sunset said and crossed her arms as she sat on the desk. "That was a new dress, it was either on me or in the room. And until today I only wore it like, three times total!"
"Three times, huh?" Sunny Flare asked. "So, assuming he didn't break into the dorms, because he didn't know where you lived until he heard you talk, he had to do it at one of those outings. Can you remember them?"
Sunset sighed and thought about those moments. "Well, the first one was the very next day... well, after..."
"After Coco left your room and moved to mine," Sugarcoat quickly said "we all know what happened, we don't have time to waste on getting embarrassed or mulling over past events, so just get on with it."
Sunset swallowed. "R-right. Uhm, nothing really major happened there. Guys with machine guns robbing a bank..."
"The usual." Sour Sweet rolled her eyes so hard she was surprised she didn't injure her eye sockets.
"It went well, other than me acting like a jerk to police and bad guys," she sighed "not my best day ever. But nobody got close to me! Not even my allies."
Sunny Flare nodded. "And the other two?"
"The second was, uhm, the same day we accidentally met in the mall," she sighed, but continued before Sugarcoat activated the snark "it was a hostage situation, but it went pretty well and... and..." her eyes widened "that son of a..."
Everyone raised their eyebrows, but nobody was fast enough to ask a question before Sunset exploded with an answer.
"HE WAS THERE!"
Lemon blinked. "Who was where?"
"SOMBRA! He was there, as a hostage!" She gasped. "Ugh, I knew he looked familiar when I saw him today! How could I not recognize him!"
"Stress and maybe he manipulated his image a little today..."
"He hugged me!"
"...excuse me?"
"Sombra! He hugged me after I 'saved' him! He put his hands over my neck and... and...
"That's how he planted it." Sugarcoat said. "That's creepy as hell."
"That's that mystery solved." Sunny Flare said, then coughed. "Assuming the tracker was on the dress this whole time, that would explain how he knew so much about you. Hmm." She hummed, then asked. "Did you talk about Rainbooms? Or the Unicorn Sunset?"
Sunset browsed through her recent memories, to every other conversation she had in the costume, or in a room where it was. Her mind went to several phone talks with the various Rainbooms, most notably Sunset and Diane.
"I did talk to them, but it was mostly about Coco and recent stuff, I don't think I talked about magic at all. And I don't really call Sunset by name, because, well, you know!" She tapped her forehead for some more memories, until she realized something horrible. "Oh. Crap!"
"What is it this time?" Indigo groaned.
"I did mention it, just today! I talked about it with Captain Shining Armor! About everything, the powers, Rainbooms, other Sunset, and oh god I told him everything!"
"When was that exactly?" Lemon Zest asked.
"A-after I panicked and teleported away from the school, I called Captain Shining Armor..."
"Away from the school? So, like, outside the giant dome of darkness?"
"Y-yeah, why...?"
Lemon waved her hand. "This bloody thing blocks all the signals from outside and those bugs are powered by a technology similar to wi-fi. If my (brand new and powerful like a top shelf PC) smartphone can't get a signal from outside, then neither will the tracker. It only works inside the bubble, and even if not, the maximum range is only roughly 300 or so meters, give or take."
Sunny looked at the others, but nobody had problems with that revelation. "And you know all that, because...?"
"Because my family runs Secur A.T., a company that makes security related hardware and software, including cameras, communication devices and bugs. I know all about our inventions and gadgets because, unlike some rich people from this school, I had to work for my allowance, so they had me tinker with some stuff, maintenance, quality control and stuff. They always did said I take the technological genius from my daddy and looks from my mommy, tehe." She raised an eyebrow. "I thought you knew. I mean, you didn't even bat an eye when I disabled the camera using only a pair of nail clippers," she scratched her head while smiling sheepishly "or you didn't notice it because you had something else on your mind, I guess?"
Sunset's eye twitched for a moment and she was going to open her mouth and ask something, but Sour Sweet was faster.
"Of all the things that you learned today, is THIS the one thing you want to question?"
Sunset paused, then shook her head.
"If there's anything I'd like to know," Lemon Zest said "is how they managed to get their hands on it. That's a prototype, it’s not supposed to be sold until at least next month!"
"My best guess," Indigo said "the Black Market. Because apparently there is one in Canterlot."
"Huh. Yeah, that would explain it. I need to warn my dad about it later."
Suddenly Sunny Flare coughed loudly. "Anyway, now that we're certain that the Rainbooms are not targeted by Sombra, we can focus on the situation at hand."
Sour Sweet turned to Sunset Shimmer and smiled. "Despite her aristocratic roots and princessy behavior..."
"I act princessy?"
"...that wasn't a royal we," she soured and continued "we're doing this together, whether you like it or not!"
"B-but..."
Sour stink eye intensified. "As. A Group! Of SIX!"
Sunset swallowed, but nodded weakly. The compliance cheered Sour to the point of mild Sweetness.
"No," Sunny Flare said "not a group of six. Seven!"
Everyone raised their eyebrows. Lemon Zest started counting them repeatedly, in case she had made a grade school level mistake.
"I don't follow," Indigo flatly admitted "I don't think we'll benefit from Suri's or Upper Crust's help."
Sunny Flare smiled slyly and giggled before announcing.
"You're forgetting Coco."
She was met with even more confused blank stares and head tilting worthy of a kirin.
"Coco's not here," Sugarcoat said "rescuing her is supposed to be part of the plan."
"Oh, it is! But just because she's a hostage and we're nowhere near getting her back, that doesn't mean she's not contributing!"
She was met with even more silence and a quiet 'what?' from Sugarcoat. Sunny Flare palmed her face and groaned.
"What, am I the only one who was paying attention?" Pause. "Come on! We all heard what Coco said, right? Don't tell me you didn't hear her mentioning the earrings, now did you? We all know that your powers don't come from them, but Sombra doesn't! So if he was even a tiny little bit skeptic about this, then what Coco said as part of her 'heartfelt speech' pretty much confirmed it to him!"
There was some surprised gasping and she wasn't even done.
"But that's not all! We also now know 100% that they are together, in the same room and were listening to us all along. That's why Coco played along with our little narrative, even if she didn't understand the whole plan."
"Coco..." Sunset whispered to herself. A welcome, warm feelings started filling her lungs. She spent all this time worrying about her safety and panicking over every little decision that it never occurred to her that she would still do anything to try to help. Just not in the same way anyone else did.
"Cool, but," Sour Sweet added in it's sour entirety "it's pretty obvious that he keeps her close. That doesn't tell us anything we couldn't already figure out."
Once again it was Sunny Flare who disagreed, as she waggled her finger at them.
"Tsk, tsk, tsk, except I already know exactly where they are! Because Coco just told me!"
As expected the reactions were unanimously shocked. Even Sugarcoat tilted her head in surprise.
"How did she tell you?"
"Last I checked she was talking to 'Sunset' and only to her!"
"Please don't make us revive the old 'not you' joke again."
Sunny Flare sighed deeply and shook her head. I swear, some of them cheated on the admittance exam. She thought, then perked up and started explaining.
"Not this time, ladies. Sunset," she approached the magical girl "what Coco said was true, right? You had after school tea, just between the two of you?"
"Uh, yeah, but..."
"Who was buying the tea?"
Sunset blinked (everyone else too). "I don't get it."
"Did you get it from some rich person as a gift or did you maybe steal it?"
Sunset's eyebrow twitched. "What kind of question is that? I didn't steal anything! We bought everything with our allowance!"
Sunny Flare nodded. "Splendid! I have no more doubts now!"
Sunset Shimmer blinked, then looked at the other Shadowbolts, hoping this was some inside knowledge thing. Unfortunately for her, the others were just as confused and only offered shrugs and raised eyebrows.
"I highly doubt that what you drank all these times was a Yellow Gold Tea... or was it?"
"I don't think I remember buying that brand, but..."
"Of course you don't. They don't exactly sell one of the most exquisite and expensive teas in convenience stores! You see, Yellow Gold Tea isn't something you just 'get'- you need some deep, worldwide connections to get your hands on even a tiny bag of it. Also, it costs roughly 3000 dollars for a kilo." Pause. "That's around 2,2 pounds, fyi."
Multiple eyes went wide at the revelation.
"Oh, kay, so that's roughly 1363 bucks per pound," Indigo laughed sheepishly "does it also cure acne? Cause who the hell pays this much money for TEA?"
"No, but it is sprayed with edible gold, which adds a very unique flavor to it."
Indigo blinked. "Edible gold?" She asked. Sunny Flare nodded. "Aristocrats."
Lemon Zest mused. "I think I read about it on the internet once."
Sunset raised an eyebrow. "And how does this gets us closer to Coco and Sombra?"
"Because shortly before you transferred to Crystal Prep, our own Dean Cadance got married to your friend, Shining Armor. It was a small reception and while none of the Crystal Prep students were invited (Rainbooms were, not that I'm bitter about it), we still organized a 'secret fundraiser' from the entire school. Every single student threw in a few dollars for a wedding gift to our favorite teacher and dean."
"Oh yeah, I remember that!" Lemon Zest said. "We bought her a-"
"Hey! No spoilers!" Sunny Flare lashed at Lemon, who immediately blocked her mouth and silently apologized. "Ehem, the school council (mostly me) decided to buy her an exquisite tea set, one of the best money can buy. We heard her lamenting over losing her previous one and after making sure none of the other guests had a similar idea (we asked Twilight), we bought one of the best ones we could find, along with a sizeable selection of teas of different types."
"Woah, hold up," Indigo protested "I never heard about buying golden tea as a gift! We only got, like, a thousand dollars at best for the entire thing!"
Sunny Flare nodded. "You're right, we didn't. I added this one from my private collection and snuck it into the package without anyone's consent," she looked away, slightly blushing "I wanted to show Dean Cadance my gratitude personally, but I didn't want anyone to find out I smuggled a bag of literal liquid gold, so I hid it from everyone... sorry?"
There was little to no reaction, few shrugs at most. She coughed and continued.
"Until just now, only four people knew about this. Myself, Dean Cadance, her husband, and the person who packed it!"
It took a second, two or five at worst, but one by one all the shadowbolts started figuring out the answer. Sunset was the only one still in the dark, but even she was slowly starting to see where this was going. She remained silent, not wanting to jinx what was going to be a revelation she was waiting for.
"And the people responsible for packing the gift were the members of the Fashion Club! One of them did all the job with packing and I had her swear on her life that she would never, ever tell anyone about our little secret. Guess which of the only two members it was."
That was all Sunset needed to hear to finally figure it out. Her eyes went wider than ever before and she started shivering. Except this time for a much more positive reason.
Sour Sweet's eyebrow twitched as she asked. "So wait a second, are you trying to tell us that Coco managed to sneak a message she sent to Sunny, actually you for once, where she managed to tell us where they are, all of it in plain sight of a maniacal psycho with magical powers that threatened her and everybody for the past hour or so, while playing along a con we still haven't even figured out yet?"
Sunny Flare hummed, then shrugged. "Yeah, that sounds about right. There was no other reason for her to use Yellow Gold Tea or 'little secrets' in an otherwise regular speech, other than to connect it to me, the only person who knew the significance of it."
Sour Sweet blinked, then smiled. "Seems legit to me!"
"Like I said before," Sunny Flare smiled as she said "just because she's away from us, doesn't mean she's not doing what she can to help. She's not just fighting in the only way she can... she's also fighting in a way that only she can!"
"Hell yeah!" Indigo smacked her fists. "I knew she had a badass side to her!"
"Just don't punch her." Sugarcoat said.
"Ugh, I don't punch people!" Pause "Today doesn't count!"
"You threatened me like, less than two weeks ago." Lemon Zest said.
"You knew the risks of taking MY slice!"
"It was getting cold, so..."
"I like my pizza cold, okay?"
Lemon Zest and Sugarcoat looked first at each other, then together at Indigo. "Freak."
The conversation went on a little longer, but Sour Sweet tuned out about halfway in. She wanted to ask Sunset about their near future plan, but the magical girl had already left her previous spot. She found her near the bed where she was once treated, her hands were full of chocolate bars, unwrapped and in the process of being ungracefully devoured.
"Someone regained her appetite." She said, bringing everyone's attention at Sunset Shimmer in the middle of her meal.
Sunset swallowed and replied. "I don't know if it'll help me recover my magic, but calories are calories and I'm about to burn a lot of them!" She took a sip of the energy drink... and immediately spat it out. "Eugh, what the hell is that thing? Sugarfree? Are you serious?"
Sugarcoat passed her a cup of tap water from the sink that had been there all along. They watched as Sunset downed the rest of her energy drink, grimaced as if she had just eaten an entire rotten lemon, then grabbed the cup and drank all the water in a single gulp. Then she burped.
"Excuse me!" She said, blushing.
One eye roll later, Indigo looked at their new de facto leader, Sunny Flare. "So, do you happen to have a plan ready?"
Sunny Flare coughed. "As a matter of fact, I do have a few things that are worth considering."
"Like that whole thing with the earrings?"
Sunny Flare hummed and started explaining while circling around the room again.
"You see, we've heard everything that Sombra was saying over the PA system and he did mention the earrings in passing once."
Sunset reached back in her mind to the conversation on the stage and she remembered him complimenting them once. It never seemed like an important detail.
"We know that Equestrian magic can be transferred here in objects; Princess Twilight's crown; the Sirens’ necklaces; Sci-Twi's magic detector. Assuming that earrings that happen to look like Sunset's Cute Mark..."
"Cutie Mark."
"Whatever... are among them is only natural. And it's not unreasonable to assume that there might be even more out there."
Lemon Zest gasped. "Wait, are you trying to tell us..."
"Sombra has one of those objects too?" Sugarcoat finished.
Sunny Flare hummed. "If Coco played along with us, maybe she already figured it out on her own, hence why she mentioned them."
"Or he outright told her," Lemon Zest suggested "I know I wouldn't resist the urge to gloat about my awesome magical artifact in front of a helpless hostage if I was on his place... what? Wouldn’t you?"
Sunset put a finger to her chin. "So if we could find that object and take it away from him..."
"IF," Sour Sweet interrupted her "he has one to begin with."
Lemon Zest rolled her eyes. "There's the moment killer... again."
Sunny Flare rolled her eyes at Sour Sweet, but eventually sighed. "She has a point, all those theories are sound, but we need more actual, reliable information. And I think I know who to ask..."
After Sunny and the Shadowbolts got rid of the bug and the dress, everything went back to the way it was before, except Coco's spirit was somewhat lifted after she was sure that Sunny wouldn't give up no matter what and she had someone to help now. Sure, she was still trapped with Sombra, but that was only temporary. He seemed to ignore her for the most part, but she wasn't fooled- he was more than ready to repel any signs of rebellion and could squash her like a bug if he felt like it. And even if he was distracted enough to be attacked, she wasn't going to risk it. Not now that her friends were starting to fight back.
But even though she was glad to help in what little ways she could, she was still observing Sombra very carefully, looking for any opening she could use. As little as even figuring out what that golden medallion that he was holding onto was. She couldn't help but feel that it was very important.
"Just ask already, Miss Pommel."
Coco jumped and barely stopped herself from meeping. Sombra was now looking at her, while holding said medallion in plain view.
"You've been staring at it for a while" his head tilted as he smiled slyly "we have time. How about we kill it with a little chat? At worst I won't say a thing, you know..."
Coco looked between his eyes and the medallion. I guess there's no hiding it anymore. She swallowed and took a breath...
Bustle Fuss was no stranger to pain. He was used to getting beaten up by cops, other gangsters and, as of recently, even magical girls. But he was also no stranger to dealing pain and was one of the first ones to volunteer to fight Magical Girl Sunny one on one in Sombra's convoluted, but strangely gratifying, plan. A broken nose, a few broken bones and a mild concussion was the worst that she could do to him and that was not a steep price to pay for a chance to get even with her. Fighting her while she was at the height of her powers? Dumb. Fighting her when she was blackmailed into not using them? That was a once in a lifetime offer to be the one who kicked the ass of the first, and possibly last, superhero that ever existed. It was the single most efficient way to earn street cred, even if he lost in the end.
Even though he was the first one to fall and didn't land a single hit (and was given no chance to try), he had no regrets.
Yet.
"Wakey, wakey!"
SLAP!
He woke up with a massive head- and cheek-ache. His nose was sore, broken and covered with his own dried up blood and he wasn't sure if his bucktooth was going to fall off or not. As his blurred vision got better, he saw the four silhouettes before him, most likely young females. He couldn't move where he was sitting, as he saw that his arms and legs were cuffed before him.
"Good, you're awake," the freckled girl said kindly, before turning more hostile "we have a few questions for you."
He smirked. "I ain't telling you crap!"
She blinked and looked to her sides at the other girls: a blue haired girl in gym pants and a tank top; a short purple haired one in a uniform lacking the blazer, as well as the one he remembered well- Magical Girl Sunny. Without the mask and dress, replaced with a CP blazer, but he wouldn't mistake her for anyone.
He continued. "You think you're safe here? Once they find us, you're all going down with her..."
"We found the bug."
"...and you'll wish you nev-...wait, what?" His eyes widened in panic.
"And did you know that Crystal Prep has a lot of unusual rooms, including a small recording studio? Fun fact: Countess Coloratura, before she was the Countess, recorded her very first single in this room! Do you know what it was called?" Her smiled magnified. "'Soundproof'. Everyone thinks it was 'Spectacle'. That was her second, but the first one she recorded as the Countess, hence the confusion. Ironic, I know."
Bustle Fuss swallowed. He looked around the area more carefully. The room they were in was tiny, barely few feet square, walls covered with some kind of foam and behind the girls he saw a big window and a single door. Tiny beads of sweat started pouring from his body as he tried to keep his composure. Sombra assured him that Magical Girl Sunny wouldn't dare to interrogate them and she'd be stopped before she got a single word out of them, but Sunny wasn't the one speaking.
Sour Sweet suddenly stomped on his chest, rested an elbow on her knee and closed her face to his. She had a sadistic glare unfit for the sweet voice she was using.
"You can scream all you want, but nobody else will hear it. And when you're done, we will ask you some questions," the foot got a little heavier and the voice more sour "and hope to god we like the answers!"
Bustle Fuss swallowed again as the regrets started settling in.
Yellow Gold Tea is real, look it up.
She was met with even more confused blank stares and head tilting worthy of a kirin.
I'm sorry, I couldn't help myself. 
I have been holding back that part about "not you" for what feels like years! It feels so good to get it off my chest. Especially after some commenters were starting to get tired of it. Sorry for that, I hope the pay-off was worth it.
Also, my opinions of Atelier Sophie (and other Atelier game series) are in the blog post, as per usual.
https://www.fimfiction.net/blog/841645/comments-on-atelier-series-mostly-sophie
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I can't help but feel that may not have been the best choice of words right now.
Oh?
Eh, he'd probably have done this anyway to catch your attention.
You are going to get an Armor Piercing Slap. Or Punch.
Called it!
Beware the Fury of a patient man. Or girl in this case.
So it would appear.
He failed that Insight check MISERABLY.
Better than nothing.
True enough.
So how DID it get there?
He was there.
Clever bastard.
Oh, that is bad.
Ah, so you should be fine then.
Hidden Depths, thy name is Lemon Zest.
What can she do?
Shit.
That's a thing?
Yes. Nerves of STEEL.
Agreed.
She's right though.
Mistakes were made.
So a Ladybug gambit? Should work, provided Sombra's magic is coming from his dodad and isn't the pony sombra's magic that just got to this guy after Pony blew up.
Still think they really need to get Pony Sunset in on this, Shining tried but we haven't heard anything from that front in a while. Though the Shadowbolts do represent a version of the elements themselves, if a bit darker version of them. They might be able to pull out the rainbow given the opportunity and need.
And here I thought Ouran High was just a parody of the rich and decadent lifestyle... Nope! It's spot on. God darn rich people.
Regrets, we all have them soon or later.
9396266
Eh the magic of pony Sombra is stil in his horn... why else show that scene were the crystal horn survived?
Bustle wins a Darwin Award! Who gets the next one?
I was already imagining Sombra with the voice of Bryce Papenbrock because he reminds me of Nagito Komaeda from Danganronpa but now with the earrings it's just getting ironic. (Why doesn't Sombra get his powers from a ring?)
Also, Sour Sweet "Element of Sadism"
Good job Coco, talk about thinking quickly under pressure.
That tea sounds disgusting. If you've got so much money to burn, get something cool like kopi luwak (which I've tried, albeit probably adulterated with plain arabica beans). Eh, it was okay. (And yes, I know about ethical animal treatment concerns. The package swore the critters were free-range in a large enclosed estate and treated like pets)
I'd really like to try... BAT COFFEE at some point.
images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/61D3gAO7zQL._SX425_.jpg
So uh... I just want to know... are we supposed to have figured out what Sunny Flare knows about where Coco&Sombra are? Because as far as I can understand, the only actual message Coco hid in her speech was "hey Sunny Flare I think you're listening to this too", and nothing about an actual location.
9405043
The implication should be that they are in Deans office. They didnt know that before. Guess I shouldve made it a bit clearer.
9405057
Ah, that would make sense. I was thinking maybe fashion club room or something, lol. It's kind of obvious in retrospect, as the person that whole secret connects to is Cadance, but I don't think I would've figured it out on my own
What we need here is a rolled up news 🗞️ paper