07. Cutie Sunny
When first conducting her investigation, Coco Pommel had a huge guilty conscience. She was investigating her only friend who was guilty of being caring, kind, supportive, heroic and occasionally teasing, as well as hiding a few things from her.
"Why don't you have a MyStable account?"
"I never really needed it back in the day. I don't feel like interacting with my previous classmates. I don't feel like going back there."
That was all it took. No more prodding, no more digging. She respected her privacy. She trusted her. She believed her and had no reason to doubt anything.
That was a few hours ago.
She arrived at CHS around the Lunch Period with a small notebook containing a list of people of interest from the MyStable's profile. Some people that she felt strongly about meeting, as well as a few she wanted to avoid. Such as the Rainbooms, five girls that appeared on most of 'other Sunset's' profile. Then, there was Twilight Sparkle. It took Coco a while to realize that she was originally from Crystal Prep (in fact they had taken some classes together back in the day). There was a huge risk of being discovered and recognized, and that would only attract problems. Obviously, a random girl asking questions about a certain student would raise suspicion, so she had to adopt some sort of narrative to fool anyone who raised an eyebrow at her stalkerish behavior. Her version was very convincing and quite simple: she had a crush on Sunset Shimmer.
If she had been a male or said anything else to the curious students of CHS, they would've chased her out, or called the police. Instead, they sympathized with a young, impressionable little girl (for once she was grateful to be this short and underdeveloped!) and cheered her on, claiming they'd keep her secret. Pretending to be a student who had a girl crush was incredibly easy due to, well...
Yes, conscience, I have a crush on Sunset Shimmer! I've had it since the day we met! There, you happy? I'm not denying it anymore!
First, she met Snips and Snails, two young boys who claimed to be her bff's and had a few pictures to back it up. She didn't get any information from them other than the fact that even though Sunset Shimmer used to be a complete bitch back in the day, at least she was hanging out with them then. Though from their stories it seemed more like she took advantage of them more often than not. She decided to look for better sources, but they found her right around the corner.
Three middle school girls took her as a new student and instantly showered her with attention and wanted to include her into the CMC (whatever that was), as well as recruit her to the CHS's branch of the Magical Girl Sunny Fan Club! The gray one with violet highlights cheerfully said that her sister was Sunny's best friend, before she was brutally shushed by the other two, who excused themselves and bolted away. She consulted her notes to confirm that this little girl was indeed the sister of one of the Rainbooms, and so was the red haired one. She had no idea who the third was, though.
***
Since it was a lunch period, most of the students were hanging out in the cafeteria. That's where she did most of her sleuthing.
"Sunset Shimmer? Yeah, she's cool now."
"Way better than she used to be. By a longshot!"
"I mean, I don't know any other girl who makes jackets look so amazing!"
"And her singing voice is sooo good!"
"She sounds like Twilight, or is it just me?"
"Ohmygosh, now that you mention it..."
"She helped me with my homework a week ago!"
"Pfft, she's not so Great and Powerful. Trixie is way mo--"
"Does she even have parents?"
The neon haired girl with headphones shrugged.
"Like, she never saw 'Panther Queen'. How do you grow up NOT seeing it at least once?"
"She fell for the 'pull the finger' gag. It was hilarious!"
"Between you and me, I saw her chewing some hay when nobody was looking... at least, I hope it was hay."
"She has... ze magics!"
Coco sighed deeply, taking a break to analyze her notes. While not all the students were to be trusted, most of what she learned checked out with what she had found on the internet. A lot of the information dated back to at least a few years back, meaning that they were either the greatest liars on the planet, or everyone here was mind controlled into being her slave. And if the latter was true, they were in deeper trouble than they first realized. But the most likely scenario was...
It's all true!
It was crumbling. All of her life began crumbling down upon itself the more she learned and confirmed. She realized something was amiss here and she was dearly hoping she was in the middle of a weird dream, where everything made sense in a way that didn't make her last few weeks a complete lie. Everything was fine just this morning. The world was in order, she had a best superhero friend and a life she never even dreamed of. Now all she had was... a good question: what did she have?
There was one more person on the list. She saved this one for last and for a good reason.
***
"Yeah, we used to date. That was an eternity ago!"
Flash Sentry snorted, casually answering while strumming his guitar.
"To be honest, we weren't exactly a... well, a thing. She was new in school and had to make a big impact, so how else to do it, than by dating the most popular guy in the school? not that I'm bragging, I don't want to make a big deal out of it," He flashed a sheepish smile, clearly embarrassed by his own words, then continued while avoiding her stare. "We got on a few dates, some movies, I bought her a bunch of clothes (that new dress was a gift from me, I'm happy she's finally wearing it), but we never... you know, did anything couple like," he blushed slightly "I mean, we kissed, but that's about as far as it went, so, yeah..." he pursed his lips and tried to play a few chords in his guitar, but quickly pulled it away and looked at Coco. The girl didn't say a single word and while she was facing Flash Sentry, her eyes and mind were focused in a completely different direction.
He coughed. "But hey, we talked about this later and we buried the hatchet. We're cool now. And in case you're wondering, I don't think we're ever getting back. Together," he scratched his head, especially after her eyes slowly looked at him, though her expression didn't change.
He coughed again. "In fact, I don't think she likes guys like me. Or any guys for that manner, if you get what I mean," he chuckled, though his face soured as the joke didn't help to cheer her mood in the slightest. "...I mean, she never outright said she was into girls, but I wouldn't put it past her and... I'm not helping, am I?"
Coco's face remained unchanged. After a short moment of silence, Flash Sentry gently placed his hand on her shoulder, smiling lightly.
"W-what I mean is, well, you have our support here at CHS. We'll be rooting for you!"
Coco nodded and forced a grateful smile Stupid Flash Sentry! Stop being so nice, I'm trying to hate you!
As the school bell announced the end of the lunch period, Coco's investigation concluded and she found herself on a lone bench outside the school with a handful of notes, all leading her to the conclusions she wasn't ready for. If everything was an elaborate prank or an over complicated plan to confuse and manipulate her into orchestrating Magical Girl Sunny's demise through some plot that requires half a season to explain, then it was working and the world was doomed. I wish...
That left only two plausible explanations, but each had a dangerous caveat.
Explanation number one: there are two Sunset Shimmers, both are real and somehow living in the same reality, unaware of each other's existence until recently. Which made absolutely no sense. The students at CHS were clearly hiding something important, but she couldn't outright ask them such specific questions. "Excuse me, is Sunset Shimmer, the one in your school, hiding some kind of secret about her existence?" That was out of question.
Explanation number two was the scariest one: since she knew so much about CHS Sunset and so little about CP Sunset despite living under the same roof, that would mean that CHS Sunset was the real one, while CP Sunset... her Sunset Shimmer, was the fake! Coco wanted to think it wasn’t true, but how was she going to explain it otherwise? Sunset... her Sunset, avoided talking about her past, claiming it was a 'sad episode of her life, not worth talking about'. She had several magical powers, who is to say she hadn’t been manipulating her all this time with some mind tricks? Or some very convincing psychological tricks? What if she used her in her own plans? Whatever they were.
She shook her head violently. No, stop overthinking it! She slapped herself on the cheeks a few times. There has to be an explanation. A very flimsy one. With many holes. The one that requires many liberties. But there is one out there... there has to be...
She let out a tired sigh while leaning over the bench, inadvertently looking at the cloudless skies and at the brilliant hot sun for just a few seconds, before her eyes started hurting and she had to rub the tears away.
Just like back then...
***
It was a cloudless, bright sunny day. The weather was perfect: warm, but not too hot to be exhausted after walking a few blocks. A perfect day for a picnic, a swim at the pool or anything else that involved an outdoor activity.
Coco Pommel at that time was vice-president of Crystal Prep's Fashion Club by virtue of being the only other active member. As the lower one, she was tasked with every possible manual labor: pickup and delivery, cleaning, and everything that didn't require a tiny hint of artistic abilities. Suri Polomere, the President of the Club and the eldest active member had her carry around rolls of fabric, while she busied herself with checking on the plans for the club activities on her phone. If she wasn't busy checking out MyStable or other social network apps, that is. She was 'graciously' helping her by carrying a small plastic bag of accessories, which weighed close to nothing.
What was the difference between carrying fifteen pounds of fabric and fifteen pounds of rocks? Most people couldn't tell that they weight exactly the same from just looking. That was her life right now: doing the heavy lifting as the lowest seat of the club, while Suri was busy with the actual design, sewing and showcasing her work to the public. In all fairness, being taken advantage of in the fashion industry was a common thing, so getting used to it now had to be good for her future... right?
"MEE--!"
She only managed half a squeak before tripping over herself and falling face first into the pavement, thankfully the fabric slowed the fall enough that she didn't hurt her face on the ground. Said fabric was dropped and rolled away in many directions, like a red carpet, except there were no celebrities around and there were a lot more colors. Suri turned over to her fallen underling and scowled.
"Ugh, look what you did!" She walked towards the nearest fabric to pick it up. "You can't even do a simple thing without screwing it up! And you wonder why I don't let you near the sewing machines."
"I'm fine, thank you..." Coco mumbled under her nose, but if Suri heard anything, she was ignored.
"Don't just sit there, they won't pick themselves up! I swear, if any of them are dirty or damaged..."
Suri said a few more unflattering things, so Coco tuned them out as she rushed to grab as much as possible. She crawled towards the half rolled out bright orange piece that stopped at someone's feet. The orange girl leaned down and grabbed the object. As Coco looked up to her, a magnificent ray of the sun blinded her for a moment. With her sight still hazy, she only noticed two hands: one holding the piece of fabric she was previously chasing, the other extended towards her.
"You okay down there?" The gentle, angelic voice from above asked. With her eyes still flashing before her, she tried to blink it away while extending her own hand, before Suri's voice reached them.
'Y-you're..." Suri confusedly struggled for words, pointing one finger at the new girl. Coco retracted her hand and rubbed her eyes, then looked at the girl above her.
"Sup, I just transferred here," the tall, fiery-haired girl in the Crystal Prep's uniform waved her hand at Suri. The same helping hand that Coco lost the chance of taking. "I'm Su--"
"Sunset Shimmer, I know," Suri interrupted her "I'm Suri Polomere, we met before."
Sunset Shimmer raised an eyebrow and put a finger to her chin, then after a few seconds of humming she shrugged her hands. "Nope, doesn't ring a bell. Sorry. No offense though, if I don't remember it's probably not something I wish to continue, so let's start fresh. How does that sound?"
Suri blinked. "O-okay, I guess..."
Once Coco managed to stand up on her own, Sunset Shimmer turned to her with a smile. "And you are?"
"Uh-uhm, I'm Co-Coco Pommel!" She squeaked incoherently.
"Nice to meet you, Cococo Pommel. That's a mouthful."
"J-just Coco!" She blushed, turning her gaze away from the totally hot new girl. "Only two Co's."
Sunset giggled. "I'll remember that," she passed by the shy girl and handed the piece of fabric to Suri "I'll be seeing you two later. See ya!" Then she left the two confused girls alone and disappeared behind the corner. Coco looked in her direction for a while longer, before a roll of fabric was shoved into her hands.
"This needs to be in the club room five minutes ago! Come on, chop chop!" She accentuated it by pushing Coco towards the school. It took her a lot of effort not to trip on her way again, especially when most of her attention was on the orange fabric in her hands.
***
One hour and twenty five minutes. Eighty five minutes spent on cleaning the shelves, separating the different fabrics by color and manufacturer, including somehow fitting the newly acquired ones among them without making too much clutter. That's almost one and a half hour wasted on maintenance and cleaning someone else's mess. Had it been her own garbage, she would've been fine with it, but considering how much actual sewing and designing she'd been doing these last few weeks, she didn't feel like this was her mess to begin with.
"Good," Suri nodded without taking her eyes off her half-made dress "now since you're bored, get a broom and sweep the floors, would you?"
Coco's eyebrow twitched. "Umm, I was thinking I could, umm, work on my new dress for the show... I-I mean, the contest is in less than a month and..."
Suri stopped for a moment to look at Coco with a deadpan expression. She blinked, so did Coco, then she shrugged. "Sure, you can do that," Coco's eyes widened and her mouth opened, then Suri continued "just tell one of the new members to clean for you."
Coco's good mood lasted for about half a second, as she frowned. "T-there are no new members..."
"Exactly," she turned back to her dress "so go and recruit some, or start sweeping the floors. As if I didn't have enough to worry about."
With a heavy sigh and zero ability to protest, Coco slumped her shoulders and went towards the closet and started doing what she was told. Doing what she was here for. Doing what Suri told her to do.
A few minutes later they heard the knocks on the door. "Sup, am I interrupting?" Sunset Shimmer waved at the two as she entered and looked around at the plethora of mannequins with various dresses on them. "Is it always this quiet?"
Suri jumped up from her seat and greeted the newcomer with a smile. "It was a bit more crowded back in the day. Sadly, most of the members graduated and we're the only ones left. Anyway, Sunset Shimmer, darling, can I help you?"
Sunset nodded at Suri, but her attention quickly went towards the dresses. "I was thinking of joining."
Both club members raised their eyebrows. "Splendid!" Suri clapped her hands. "I'll get the club application form..."
"Woah, hold the phone there, Sally!"
"Suri."
"Whatever. I said I was thinking, not that I am," she turned towards the club president "so, what exactly do you do here? Please don't tell me this is one of those 'get together, eat cake and talk nonsense' kind of club."
"Oh, heavens forbid," Suri giggled and waved her hand "we're not just interested in fashion: we create it! All of those," she waved her hand at all the dresses spread around the room "were created by yours truly from scratch! Now, I'll admit, these aren't my greatest works, but I had to make them on short notice. Crystal Prep has a lot of clubs that require custom uniforms and costumes, all of which have been supplied by the Fashion Club since its inception. Of course, with the shortage of members I have to cut corners here and there to keep up with the deadlines, but I manage."
Sunset nodded and hummed. Her eyes went for Coco with the broom, who squeaked cutely and turned away. "Just you and nobody else?" She asked, raising her eyebrow.
Suri rolled her eyes and groaned. "Well, okay, credit where it's due, Coco helped a bit. So," her frown turned upside down, as she put a hand over the shoulder of one of the mannequins "what do you think? Do you like them?"
Sunset hummed loudly, walking from one dress to the other, observing them carefully, looking at a few from different angles, before shrugging. "I guess they're fine."
Suri blinked. "Just fine?"
"Yeah, fine. Five out of ten, six maybe. Don't get me wrong, they're impressive for a high schooler and kudos if you had little time to make them, but... eh, that's not quite what I was looking for."
Suri’s eyebrow twitched. "Oh? And what were you looking for?"
Sunset hummed, looking around them for a little longer. "I'm not sure. Truth be told, I don't know squat about fashion, what's in or what goes with what. I just know when I see what I like. And... oh..." she stopped, as something caught her eye. She walked to the back end of the classroom, past two mannequins, to discover one more dress. Her eyes widened and she let out a long whistle as she approached the hidden one. "Well hello beautiful!"
Suri followed Sunset, but scowled once she noticed where her attention went. "Oh, that..."
"That's what I meant! I can't even express it in words, it's just," she hummed, walking around it, appreciating her find "I dunno what to say, but that's what I was talking about! I know a good thing when I see it. Eight out of ten, if only because blue is not my color." She turned back to Suri, smiling brightly. "Why would you hide something so pretty? Put it in a display case and you'll get a bunch of new members in no time!"
Suri stood in place in silence, her arms crossed and looking away. Coco stood in the distance, tightly holding the broom, almost as if trying to say something, when she noticed Suri's vicious glare, which stopped whatever she was going to do. Suri finally sighed and explained.
"I didn't make that one," she said, her head turned away.
"Oh. Then who...?" She asked and her eyes slowly went towards the only other person inside, when Suri suddenly spoke.
"The designer of that dress already graduated," she said, avoiding eye contact "she just, uh, forgot to take it. I would've just mailed it to her, but we didn't keep in touch, so... you know, I'm just holding it here, in case she ever comes back."
Sunset Shimmer looked at Suri for a moment, then at the dress, then at Coco Pommel shyly hiding behind the broom. Finally she shrugged. "Oh well. That's a shame, I would've loved to meet someone with such talent." She said with a smirk at the visibly irritated Suri. The purple girl coughed after a while.
"So, you're saying you don't know anything about fashion, am I correct?"
"Yeah, pretty much. Never held a needle in my life."
"Oh. Well, that's a shame," Suri turned around and walked to her unfinished dress "I would've loved to accept you in the club, but..."
"Yeah, I see you don't have the time to babysit a newbie," Sunset shrugged and started walking in the direction of the door "and I don't feel like joining a club where all I do is clean and carry stuff around."
"Then it seems like we reached a mutual understanding. A shame, really."
"Nah, it's for the best," she opened the door and turned to both girls one last time "I'll be seeing you in classes. See ya!" The door closed behind her, leaving both girls alone in the room once again. Suri sighed deeply, the scowl not disappearing from her face.
"Calling my work average, the nerve... Coco, bring me more threads!" A few seconds passed with no response. Suri looked around the room. "Coco?" All she found was a lone broom by the window.
***
"Sunset Shimmer, wait!"
Sunset stopped walking down the school hallway and turned to the girl chasing her. "Oh hey, Coco with only two Co's. See, I remembered!" She smiled brightly at the petite girl, currently catching her breath after running on the hallway.
After taking a few breaths, Coco looked Sunset in the eyes. "Did you mean what you said back in the clubroom?"
Sunset nodded. "Yup. I don't know a thing about fashion. Not very girly of me, I know..."
"N-no, I mean the dress!" She swallowed, before continuing. "Did you really mean what you said about that last dress?"
Sunset raised an eyebrow and nodded again, crossing her arms. "Yep, all of it. What about it?"
Coco went silent for a moment, as her head went down, what little of her face was visible was covered with a deep blush. "I-it's just... th-that w-was..."
"You made that dress."
"I m-made..." she stopped, her head slowly raising to face the smug smile of Sunset Shimmer. "H-how did you--"
Sunset cut her off with a laugh. "I knew it! I knew there was something I liked about you the moment I first saw you!" She leaned toward the girl, who at this point couldn't blush any more, and looked her in the eyes. "And it wasn't just a pretty face!" Correction- there was another shade of red a human face was able to achieve. "Not that your face isn't cute, it's plenty but..." she coughed and stepped back, giving Coco plenty of space and air to cool off. "Anywho, great job! Any girl would be happy wearing it. I know I would be." She ended with a smile. The temperature in the hallway was rising to a near critical levels, as Coco couldn't quite decide what to say, or what expression her face should take.
"T-t-tha-thank you!" She bowed down and Sunset Shimmer giggled at her expense. "I-it means a lot to me!"
"You're welcome. So, Coco," Sunset put both arms behind her head, as her eyes wandered over the ceiling "tell me, is your... 'friend' always so... always such a, how do I put it lightly... a bitch?"
Coco gasped, her arms flailing in front of her. "N-no, it's not that she's... Suri has been under a lot of stress recently and she's, uhm... stressed..."
Sunset nodded. "Okay. I was worried that she was completely evil for a moment," she laughed lightly, scratching her head "I mean, why would she lie about something you clearly put a lot of effort and heart into? It's not like she's jealous of your talent and she's doing what she can do to break your spirit, right?" There was no answer, so she continued. "I bet she's a really nice girl on a good day. Am I right or what?" More silence. "Well, I'm looking forward to meeting that version of Sally."
"...Suri."
"I know. But still, Coco," her smile disappeared "I'm not the one to talk about friendship, but you need to stand up for yourself. Don't let her take advantage of you."
Coco was silent.
"Who knows, maybe she's not noticing that she's hurting you? Maybe try talking to her? If she doesn't take it too well, then who who needs a friend like that? Am I right?"
Coco didn't answer. The sheer thought of opposing Suri in any way filled her stomach with heavy, sharp edged stones. She's not wrong. But still... She was pulled away from her thoughts by a finger touching her chin.
"Hey, chin up!" She raised her head up just enough to establish eye-contact. "I'm sure things will work out in the end," she then turned and started walking away with her hands behind her head. "Good talking to you Coco! We gotta hang out sometime!"
And for the third time that day, Sunset Shimmer was gone from her sight. Coco took a deep breath and slowly went back to the club room, her mind deep in thoughts.
***
Coco's regrets continued to build up until dinner in the cafeteria. Say what you want about Crystal Prep’s rigorous classes, uptight attitude and elitist behavior, but when it came to the food, it was second to none. Even something as simple as curry rice was one of the greatest pleasures she has ever had a chance to taste. She gladly accepted a bowl full of one of her favorite reasons to be in this school and sat at her designated table. If she was allowed to say one good thing about Suri, then at least she had the decency to reserve a spot for her at the 'Shadowbolts Table'- where only elite students were allowed to sit. Not by school regulation, more as a school's tradition. Officially Suri was a Shadowbolt, what with being chosen to represent Crystal Prep in various events, but everyone knew who the big shots were here and she wasn’t one of them.
She loved to act like one, though. "She thinks she's such a hot stuff, too good for MY fashion club! Can you believe that?"
"She is acting a bit strange," Sunny Flare rested her head on her hand, more absorbed in her nails than food "you'd think she'd recognize us after everything that happened."
"I know, right!" Indigo Zap nodded, waving her (unused so far) spoon around for emphasis. "I mean we're not exactly besties, but she could at least say something!"
The conversation continued on, but Coco tuned it all out in favor of some things that were on her mind right now. Like telling Suri how she felt. What Sunset Shimmer told her still resonated inside her head, but she had doubts. What if she got mad? What if she threw her out of their room? Sure, she could tell the teachers and principal, but who were they going to believe? An ace student, part of THE Shadowbolts, the president of the Fashion Club, or her -- a tiny mouselike doormat that could barely speak in her mind, let alone out loud? Suri was crafty, she would find a way to make her life a living nightmare, even worse than now.
She shook her head and concentrated on the good part of today. The part that wasn't the kindest girl she ever met, that is. The spicy smell of curry had tempted her for long enough, so she dug a spoon into it and slowly lifted it towards her mouth, savoring every second of the moment.
"Shoot, I left my phone at the club room," Suri frowned "Coco, go grab it for me."
The spoon stopped before reaching its destination. Coco's mouth slowly closed. Her eye twitched.
"Come on, get on to it already! I don't have all day!"
Coco's breathing slowed down, her gaze stuck on the spoonful of delicious, hot rice. Shaking, hot rice. Why was it shaking? Why was SHE shaking?
"Coco, are you even listening to me--"
"No."
Suri's mouth remained wide open for a little longer, before she slowly turned at her 'assistant' with one eyebrow raised. "What did you just say?"
Heart was beating faster than ever before. She could feel the cold sweat already gathering on her entire body. "I-I... I just..."
Suri waited a moment, but once it was confirmed that Coco would remain motionless, she rubbed her temples and continued. "I'll pretend I didn't hear anything. Ehem, Coco, be a dear and go to the club room and bring me my phone, would you kindly?" She asked with a kind, soothing voice. The one she used when she tried her best not to yell in public places. The tone she heard a few times over. The tone that always worked the magic of putting her right in her place.
She swallowed her own saliva with difficulty, then used every ounce of her inner strength to say the next sentence. "N-no! I'm no-not go-going... I-I'm eating di-dinner... go... get... it... your...self..."
She lowered her head and wished her limbs would move like they usually do, so she could run away, get in the nearest bus and hopefully never come back. But they didn't. Her mouth gathered all the courage her soul produced for her small, frail body, there was nothing else to rely on. Only her eyes managed to catch a small glimpse at the table. Sure enough, even despite her volume she was heard and everyone's reactions confirmed that for her. Indigo Zap, Sour Sweet and Sunny Flare went wide eyed and jaw dropped, stopping whatever they were doing at the moment. She couldn't tell what Sugarcoat was thinking since her face was as neutral as ever, but her hands remained motionless. Even Lemon Zest, who up until this point was content with eating her dinner while listening to loud music, had taken off her headphones and started paying attention to them.
She didn't see Suri's face. She couldn't turn her head that far, neither was she in any hurry to find out.
"Oh... okay, I see," Suri answered in what seemed like a calm tone, but Coco knew her too much to be relaxed by it "I get it, no, it's all fine. No harm done. No, that's okay. It's all fine. Everything's fine."
SLAM!
Coco closed her eyes and squirmed before Suri's hand, which sent a massive wave of echoes in her ears as she slammed right next to her food tray.
"What the hell is with this tone, huh? Didn't I make myself clear the first two times? Do I have to keep reminding you where your place is?"
"Suri, cut it out!" Sunny Flare stood up from her seat. "Can't you see she's scar--?" She didn't get a chance to finish the sentence, when Suri suddenly turned to her and yelled.
"STAY OUT OF THIS!" She turned back from a confused (and also a little scared) Sunny Flare back to Coco and leaned toward her. "This is between the two of us. You know how this works, right? I tell you what needs to be done and together, we get things done. I'm not telling you to do something bad, am I? I'm just asking you for a little favor, it's the least you could do after everything I did for you. So," she reached out to her pocket and put a single key in front of Coco's tray "go to the club room, get my phone and we'll forget anything happened. How does this sound?"
Her little world shrunk to a tiny, confined box with places only for herself, Suri and a tiny key in front of her. Everything could be fixed very easily by just picking it and doing what she was told. Life would go back to how it was, no harm done, no hard feelings left. The one bridge back to the 'normal life' was still standing and it was up to her to cross it. With her heart beating faster, breath hastened and cold sweat on her arms, she made her choice. She raised her hand and slowly went towards the key. She grabbed it. It was for the best.
"I-I'm so--... so--... so--" she took a break to swallow what little saliva was left in her mouth "I-I'm so--"
Then she slammed the key next to Suri's hand.
"I'm so sick of being your slave!" She finally turned to her and their eyes met, although a thick layer of tears obstructed the way. "All you do is order me around, constantly, in classes, club room, outside, in the dorms, all the friggin’ time and make a hissy fit whenever I do something for myself, like maybe make a dress better than all the crap you call fashion, you self-obsessed talentless hack that can't get new members because she thinks she's the biggest, greatest designer this side of Canterlot and she's too good to accept 'plebs' in her club and everyone tolerates you because nobody got close enough to see your real, bitchy side behind those sweet smiles! I said it twice already and if you're either deaf or too stupid to understand me, I'll spell it out for you the way you'll understand:
GO!
GET!
YOUR!
F*****G!
PHONE!
YOURSELF! I'm busy eating dinner!"
Coco took a deep breath and turned away back to her own plate. Her heart was still beating fast and the sweat was still making her feel uncomfortable, but something felt different. It was... satisfying. Exhilarating! Cathartic! It wasn't until a few seconds later, she realized something else.
I'm gonna die...
Another quick peek at Suri revealed what that she wasn't quite far from the truth. She was standing still, not moving, except for one eye twitching nervously. If Coco was lucky, she would stay like this forever. She didn't.
"Y-you, how DARE you!" She grit her teeth at her and raised her open hand up in the air. "YOU LITTLE PIECE OF--"
Coco closed her eyes and braced for impact. She heard a few noises -- a couple of chairs falling on the ground across her, some screams and grunts, then... nothing. As ready as she was, the impact never got to her. She slowly opened one eye, then another and found out why. Two Shadowbolts, Indigo and Sunny Flare in particular, were standing, looking at Suri with shock. Or rather, looking at someone past her.
"W-what the--!" Suri growled at someone else. And not just anyone.
The fiery haired transfer student was standing right behind Suri, her right hand firmly holding Suri's left hand, which the latter futilely tried to shake off. "Let me go, dammit! Ugh, what the hell are you doing!?"
Sunset Shimmer blinked, a tiny smirk betraying some of her thoughts. "Why obviously, it's exactly what it looks like I am doing," she started, looking directly into Suri's eyes "I am casually grabbing your hand and holding it tightly, for absolutely no reason," the smirk disappeared "it only looks like I stopped you from hitting someone. But it's not like such a good girl like yourself would ever do something as awful. Especially not when there are so many people around," she glanced at the still shocked Shadowbolts, making sure that Suri also cast a glance or two at them. As Coco's breath stabilized, now it was Suri's time to inhale and exhale rapidly, her hair becoming steadily more disheveled.
"You wouldn't do something like that to your good friend," Sunset leaned closer to Suri's face "now would you, Sally?"
Suri's mouth opened and closed a few times over, as her eyes went between Sunset and the Shadowbolts, until she groaned loudly and finally yanked her hand away, grabbed the key and stormed away, with rapid, loud steps. All eyes at the table went after her until she disappeared.
"What a drama queen, I mean, really," Sunset Shimmer snorted, then turned at Coco, who looked at her with awe "Coco, you got some time? Can I steal you for a while? Thanks!" She grabbed her by the hand and pulled her away from the table. As she tried not to trip, the Shadowbolts looked at the whole spectacle, rarely blinking.
"Well," Sugarcoat interrupted the silence, digging her spoon into her bowl of curry rice "that is certainly not something you see very often. I think I speak for all of us when I say that Suri had it coming and it was very entertaining to watch."
Her four friends slowly turned to her and looked at her with confusion, as she resumed her meal.
***
Fresh air. It was a nice thing to have after... 'that event'. She wasn't expecting to be taken by Sunset Shimmer to the dormitory roof (or anywhere else for that matter), but it did wonders to help her cool off. And it made her feel like she was in some anime, where rooftops with flower beds are common meeting places.
"So, did it hurt?" Sunset suddenly asked, leaning over to Coco, who jumped away and looked around nervously.
"Uhm, w-what?"
"Did it hurt when you grew that giant bone in you back? Get it? Backbone? Anyone? That had to take a lot of guts!"
"Oh... that..." she paused, still replaying her little speech from just a minute ago. She still didn't believe it. "...I, I actually did it... I... I stood up to Suri!"
"And you didn't even leave your chair!"
"I yelled at Suri!" The smile on her face grew. "I yelled at Suri! Ohmygosh, I yelled. At Suri!" She grabbed her chest with both of her hands. "M-my heart can't stop pounding!" She exclaimed, smiling and gasping irregularly.
"That would be the adrenaline, it'll wear off."
"I-m... I'm free! I don't have to listen to her anymore!" Her smile quickly faltered. "She's going to kill me!" Her eyes went wide, her legs shaking so much she had to lean over the wall to not fall over. "She will destroy me!"
"Aaaaand it's wearing off!"
"What do I do? What do I do?" Her breathing went wild once again. "I must run away! I must run away!"
"Chill girl," Sunset put her hand on Coco's shoulder "you'll be fine! Sure, she's barking out loud, but if you keep standing up to her she'll get bored and stop. I doubt Sally here has enough will to concentrate all her life on you. I mean, it's not like you two are..." she paused, when a thought sneaked inside her head. "...roommates? Right?" Coco didn't answer her, unless the muffled 'meep' while slowly collapsing into a fetal position was an answer. "Oh. Ooooooh. Well, that's a... yikes."
If there was even a tiny hint of hope in Coco, it went out at that very moment. She buried her face in her knees and tried to find a way. Any way. From begging for forgiveness, to transferring to another school, running away, or... or...
"Say," Sunset Shimmer crouched by the broken shell of a fashion designer "you wanna come live with me?" She casually asked. There was no answer, but a few seconds later Coco raised her gaze to look at her with her eyes red from tears. Sunset tried to play it cool, but a tiny frown appeared on her face before she went back to her previous warm smile. "I have a spare bed in my new room, with no name written on it. Might as well be yours." Coco didn't answer, but she opened and closed her mouth a few times. Realizing how sudden that proposition was, Sunset coughed and continued. "I'll admit it, I feel kinda...no, I feel bad because all this mess is mostly because of me. If I hadn’t pushed you into saying something, well..."
No, you're wrong! I wanted to say it for a long time, but I never had any... never had any... courage.
"...so it's my way of saying, well, sorry. If it's any consolation, Sally will never be welcome in my, no, our room. And if she ever tries to do something to you ever again," her face turned deadpan "I'll break her legs. Without witnesses or proof."
Coco blinked. "I'm not sure if you're serious or joking."
Sunset shrugged. "I have my ways with people. So," she stood up and extended her hand "what do you say?"
Coco remained motionless for a longer while. "Why?"
"Why not? We could both use a friend and we're already getting along pretty well, after what? Twenty total minutes of interaction? And it'll only get better!"
There were many questions she wanted to ask. A lot of red flags. Many warning signs. So much mystery. And yet, she couldn't help but feel the warmth coming from the girl she barely knew. She couldn't take her eyes off of her smile. From the one who leaned over her with her hand extended toward her. For the second time today. That was more than anyone has ever offered her.
She wiped her tears with her sleeve and finally accepted Sunset's hand. The fiery haired girl smile even brighter and lifted her back on her feet.
"So, that's a yes?"
Coco nodded. "No Suri allowed?"
"She'll never bother you again."
"Then my answer is yes."
The two nodded to each other and stood in silence for a moment, reminding Coco that she hadn’t even touched her dinner. Her stomach was already grumpy about that and she didn't blame it in the slightest. Maybe if I ask the cafeteria staff nice enough, they'll give me some seconds?
"Okay, now that that's settled," Sunset Shimmer interrupted the silence, scratching the back of her head "I have a little confession to make,"
Coco's eyes went wide. Uh-oh!
"I didn't invite you out of sheer kindness of my heart. I have some... ulterior motives..."
There is a catch! I knew it! There always is!
"I mean, don't get me wrong, everything I said up until now is still true, but there's more to it,"
I had a feeling it couldn't be this good. It was too perfect. She was too perfect!
"For one, I never intended to join the fashion club, with or without Sally. I was just looking for a... well, a costume. Or someone who could make me one. And the one that caught my eyes, was..."
Coco raised an eyebrow. Costume? What does she...
Sunset sighed and stepped away, rubbing her temples. "There's no easy way to put it," she scanned the surrounding area, locking onto a small flower garden on the rooftop. She grabbed a few pebbles lying nearby. "Miss Pommel, I would like you to keep a secret."
Coco blinked and tilted her head with confusion, her gaze locked into Sunset Shimmer's wide open palm with several small rocks on it. Her eyes went wider and wider, as the rocks started dancing in mid-air.
***
Back to the present, Coco sat on the bench all alone with her thoughts, analyzing everything she had found out, as well as everything she... they had experienced in the past.
She was too perfect. I knew it. I was too blinded to look for any answers, even if they were so close. One internet search, that was all it took, and yet I...
Tears started pouring without her noticing, not until they dropped on her palms, that tightly grabbed her skirt. Her hands were shaking.
"This is my room too! Besides, then I wouldn't be able to see those cute reactions of yours. And what kind of life would that be?"
Was this all a lie?
"Coc's. It's your new nickname, kinda cute, huh?"
“Nothing doesn’t make you cry. Tell me or I’ll do it again. And I, uh, really don't want to. Hurt your feelings.”
Was I being used all this time?
“Whose opinion do you trust more? Some purple bitch that can’t run a fashion club without your help, or the most magical superhero ever that can’t run around fighting crime without your help?”
"Miss Pommel, I admire your dressmaking skills, intelligence, pop-culture references out of nowhere (who knew you were such a nerd?) and cute embarrassed reactions, yes, like this one, but...."
Am I just a tool to her?
"Oh darn, what if she knows where I live? What if she knows who you are and uses you to get to me! That's a classic mid season plot, and my story has only just begun! I'm not ready to lose my only frie--"
"Do you feel sick? Should I take you to the nurse office?"
"Family issues, no need to elaborate. Unless, you know... you want to talk about it?"
"NO!"
SLAP!
She suddenly slapped her face with both hands. Her cheeks started burning, which was good because it helped her focus, so she did it again, just for good measure.
Maybe she is using me. Maybe she is a fake. Maybe she has some evil plan or something. But...
She stood up and wiped the tears away, before looking at the sun again.
It is real to me! I'm not going to just throw all this time we had together away! Not until I hear her side of the story! She pulled out her phone and turned it back on. Her first impulse was to call Sunset and try to meet up with her somewhere, but instead a few voice messages awaited her. Her eyes went wide as she listened to both of them, especially the second one.
"...If, by any chance, you get this before I leave, I could use some... I dunno, encouragement? And if it's too late, then... well... wish me luck. Sun'ya."
Coco swallowed, then quickly looked around the area. That warehouse's address... it's not that far away from here! She hid her phone and rushed towards her new destination.
***
Magical Girl Sunny found herself right in front of a rundown, abandoned warehouse. Looking around, only rats were found roaming around the place. She took a deep breath and entered through the large open gate.
"Here goes nothing..."
This chapter took forever to make. Hope it's up to snuff.
Stupid Flash Sentry! Stop being so nice, I'm trying to hate you!
Inner thoughts of every Flash hater ever.
I don't know if I made it clear enough (probably not nearly as much) and I hate to explain myself in the comments of my own chapter that I just wrote, but I hope everyone caught the fact that Shadowbolts (in particular Indigo Zap and Sunny Flare) were about to intervene in the 'slap' scene before Sunny appeared. In another world, where Magical Girl Sunny doesn't exist, I can see those five taking Coco under their protection and making her a member of their clique. Which sounds like a pretty cool story, IMO.
First let's talk about the author: Go Nagai is a legend in the manga industry, singlehandedly codifying the classic giant robo genre with Mazinger Z and Getter Robot, as well as anti-heroic tragedy with Devilman, and of course Cutie Honey- a prototype of what would later become a magical girl genre- 13 years before Sailor Moon! The amount of work this guy had made in his lifetime is INSANE, just look at his wiki page. Even if most of those are one-shots, that's still a heckton of material!
Cutie Honey had so, so, SO many versions it's not even funny anymore. The story remains (usually) the same (or similar) - Honey is an android (cyborg? robot? I think they change it once in a while) who fights the evil organization Panther Claw, while trying to live a normal life in a very sexist world. No, really. If you think I'm skimping on details, it's mostly because the story is so barebones, badly written and forgettable it's a wonder this didn't go into obscurity. And there's a good reason for that.
I firmly believe a good story isn't worth anything with bad characters, but if a bad story has great characters, at least you're getting SOMETHING to work with and that's exactly what happened here. Cutie Honey, the character, has become an icon, a symbol of japanese superheroines that can be both titilating, fanservicy and objectified AND be an absolute badasses at the same time. Imagine living in 1973, where a girl was either girly, or manly with no middleground to be found anywhere and all the female characters are either love interests or token female crew members (I'm looking at you, every combining robot show and most early sentai!). Enter Cutie Honey who kicks ass and looks amazing while doing it.
So, do I recommend you check it out? HELL NO!... but also yes. Remember when I talked about all those different versions of the show? There is one that I can personally vouch for.
Re: Cutie Honey was made by FRIGGIN Gainax, directed by Hideaki FRAGGIN Anno, the creator of Evangelion- do I have your attention yet? This version is close to original, but made with care and attention that Cutie Honey (the character) deserves- the story has a lot of awesome moments, the supporting characters are almost as interesting as the lead, the humor is very Gainax'y and the animation made me feel as if the crew of Gurren Lagann was about to break fabrics of reality and join the fray- and that's a huge compliment from me.
Also, it's short and sweet- it's 3 episodes, each 45 minutes long, so you have no reason not to check it out. As long as you stay clear from previous versions, they don't deserve your attention.
I won't lie- I took a lot of cues from this OVA and transferred them to Magical GIrl Sunny.
I think it's about time Cutie Honey had a new series. Unlike some other shows that are remade without there being a need for them, this one could use a new facelift. I know I would watch it.
Next time, I wil stretch the definition of a magical girl genre even further.
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The best human world translation I've heard is Canterlot Mercenary Club.
The mantra of many a Flash hater, perhaps?
EDIT: You beat me to it!!
Not keen on Suri's two-dimensional bitch presentation, because she comes off as more a plot device to make Coco sympathetic than a person, and jerk-being-jerk-to-poor-mistreated-soul is pretty high up on the list of fanfiction stereotypes, not helped by Sunny's role in those scenes. Even the other Shadowbolts get a modicum of decency, but at least this isn't the focus of the whole story.
Granted,
this made me laugh.
My only prior exposure to Cutie Honey was a summary of the live action version, in which this happens. (the look on her face toward the end is priceless)
It stuck with me because as ridiculously over-the-top as that opening is, Black Claw backs it up by, apparently, being stronger than pretty much anyone else in the story, as powerful as he is showy. He earns and validates his absurd confidence during the fight, where on most other villains, it would probably just look kinda stupid, if that makes sense.
It's the kind of thing I could see Trixie doing if she were ever a real villain.
7871724 I would've loved to show more of Suri, but the chapter is long enough as it is and all of it has been presented from Coco's point of view, so take everything in it with a grain of salt. In her mind, Suri is evil and Sunny is her personal superhero (on top of being an actual one). Also, she didn't pay attention to most of the conversations or reactions of the Shadowbolts, which is why I kept them to a minimum.
7871728
Eh, fair enough, I guess. I know it isn't realistic to think each and every character would get the same amount of depth as the focal ones, but given the existence of Sunset Shimmer and everything (I think?) she represents, it still irks me to see antagonists with no trace of humanity whatsoever.
Yes, even in the main franchise itself. What were we supposed to learn from Nightmare Moon, dammit?!
7871737 I thought you knew me better than that
Suri story hint: the clues are already in place. You just need to notice them.
What?! A magical girl show from the 70's?! This I gotta see...
7871748
I did catch mentions that the club was dying and that Suri had been stressed lately (more-so, if she was the last one left), but that doesn't quite humanize her as much as it gives her more reason to be surly. Cinch had plenty of reason to do what she did in FG, but she still comes across as pretty flat by the end.
Still, as with most regular bad guys, it at least lets us fill in the blanks ourselves.
7871757
Be sure to check out Shin Cutie Honey. It's the best that the franchise has to offer.
It also has the most fanservice, but unlike 99% of other Ecchi anime, it's actually sexy due to the awesome heroine.
After finding out that apparently Kill La Kill counts as magical girl-anime nothing will surprise me.
this is still awesome
Poor Scootaloo, forever the other one.
Heh.
Hahaha! Well...
Damn, Coco, way to let it all out!
No kidding.
My random new guess, alien from yet another mirror dimension.
One thing I never got was why the villain would stand around and wait for the entire transformation sequence to complete. Did anyone ever think just to attack?
Same thing with Voltron. It takes a while to put all those lions together. What are you waiting for?
7872210 Some shows try to explain it. My two favorite are:
-Space Sheriff Gavan (and others too)- the transformation actually takes a fraction of a second, it's just slowed down for the crowd and the narrator always says that.
-Pretty Cure (the original)- they are covered in a giant beam of light that is impenetrable. Few villains tried to breach it, but they were repelled and the girls inside were safe.
That said, not every show has that explanation.
This was so cute.
I like how you used that trope with Coco, Sury and Sunny, Bravo!
My personal favorite is Canterlot Motley Crew.
Thanks for the chapter.
I am dying here, can't wait for the next one. 
But only when singing!
Although I do like Rebecca Soichet's singing voice a lot more as Sunset than as Twilight. Although high notes on Sunset's parts are REALLY hard to tell from Twilight's when they're both in a song.
And here I was excited to see the cliffhanger's resolution
Tease
7872082 Transformations, Electra complex, magical familiar, fixation on fashion. Yeah, it's magical girl, fighting subgenre. And Kill la Kill is such a massive Go Nagai love-letter it almost isn't funny.
Take that, Sally. How is that even a name in free-palette world?
7874813
Normal names in MLP are either used on non-ponies (like Gryphons) or pets... going by that logic, calling someone by a real name is either calling them a barbarian (gryphons aren't exactly known for kindness and we haven't seen a single one in EQG universe to deny that) or downgrading them to a status of a non-human, same way how someone in RL would insult a fellow human by calling them Mittens or Lucky.
...Sunset Shimmer is a bigger jerk than I planned
Is it just me, or does it seem like Cutie Coco would have been a more appropriate name for this chapter?
Honestly, I use MLP as proof of this, or more accurately the world building version of it. The ugly truth is that Faust basically did everything wrong when it comes to world building with the entire world cobbled together in a completely nonsensical way that forces everything to be its own assumption and thus a point of strain on the audience's willing suspension of disbelief, but the strength of the characters held it all together and turned it into something special that a fandom could be built on. Or at least it did until Faust left and the idiots ruined all the characters.
7871728 Well, the good news is that the Shadowbolts intentions came across loud and clear and I actually thought they stopped the slap at fist. The result is that now I'm looking forward to seeing their next interaction with the cast to see how things go, so you definitely hit the nail on the head there.
The bad news is that despite getting far more page time, Suri failed to come off as more than a plot device. Yes you have given her some basic motives, but to be perfectly blunt her problems feel like the kind of lazy self-inflicted issues used to prop up a stereotype by someone who doesn't want to write a real character.
I have a theory about were Sunny came from, it involves mirrors and a real life mlp comic. But I have one.
The live action Cutie Honey movie wasn't great but they were smart enough not to take it seriously. You should watch it if you like Cutie Honey.
You know, this is gonna go horrible...
Was that a jab at K-On?
Sugarcoat. And yes, it was.
... Nora?
Nora would be proud.
7872263
And... Of course... Ressha Sentai Toq'ger...
Henshin incoming....! Henshin incoming....! Please remain behind the white line....! Please remain behind the white line....!
I guess it's harder for non bronies/pegasisters.