Chapter 9: Confront
“Glamour… Glamour, wake up.”
“Just five more minutes, Mr. Banana, then I’ll play with you.”
“Uh…”
A few seconds later, Glamour felt somepony nudge her sleeping body. With a yawn and a bit of grumbling, she got up and slowly opened her eyes to see the pony that woke her.
“Oh, morning, Coco,” Glamour greeted.
“Morning, Glamour. Are you feeling alright? You slept in quite a bit,” Coco replied.
“Yeah, all that coffee yesterday kind of ruined my sleeping schedule. I couldn’t get to sleep until really late thanks to that crash.”
“Well, maybe you’ll be more careful the next time you try to drink four cups of coffee,” Coco chastised. “Will you be alright for the show today?”
“Oh… Right… The show…”
“Feeling nervous?”
“Kind of,” Glamour replied as she got out of bed. “We’ll just have to see how it goes. What about you? Will you have enough time to finish everything for the theater?”
“Don’t worry, I’ll be fine. Speaking of, I finished your dress.”
They moved to the living room where Coco took out a dress hanging from a clothes rack and presented it to Glamour.
“What do you think?” Coco asked.
“Wow…” was all Glamour could reply with as she gawked at the dress.
Coco’s latest creation was a sleek, light blue dress with what looked like to be strips of golden fabric interwoven into spiral patterns around the middle and hemline of the dress. Making it even more dazzling, the golden fabric had something in it that made it shimmer a bit in the light.
“You made that in less than a day, Coco? It looks fantastic.”
“Really?” Coco’s brow furrowed as she looked at her dress. “Are you sure? I did have some extra stuff lying around from the theater costumes, but it’s nothing too special, since I didn’t have much time.”
“Coco, like I said before, you need to have more confidence in yourself and your work. You do amazing work.”
A small blush crept its way onto Coco’s cheeks as she smiled. “Th-thanks, Glamour.”
“I can’t wait to try it on,” Glamour added cheerfully. Her chipper mood dropped a bit when she glanced at the clock. “Oh, guess I’ll have to wait a bit longer. It looks like we should leave really soon.”
“I just need to pack this dress up and clean up a little bit, and then we can go,” Coco replied as she folded up the dress. “Oh, and make sure to at least eat a little something before we leave. I know you’re nervous but having a little food in you will help.”
Glamour nodded and grabbed a slice of bread from the kitchen counter as Coco went into her room. Even though she knew that her real meal would come later, she still nibbled on the simple snack to keep up appearances. After all, pony food did little for her changeling body.
Well, most pony food. Given Coco’s recollection of her shenanigans, yesterday was a firsthoof experience that caffeine was actually one of the few things that actually did have an effect on changelings. Then again, four cups of white chocolate mocha would probably put anything into a sugar-induced, hyperactive, coma.
That did not stop Glamour from wanting another white chocolate mocha, however. Maybe next time she will limit herself to just three cups. Maybe.
The other and possibly slightly less important discovery she made yesterday was more information on Coco’s past. It was surprising to hear how Coco did not interact with anypony, but it was even more surprising to hear that she was involved with cheating. Glamour was just glad that her friend did it unknowingly and got out of it as soon as she found out.
Glamour was curious to hear more about what happened, and she thought about bringing up that part of the conversation when she told Coco about her meeting with Cappuccino and Grace, but given the sensitive nature surrounding the incident, she chose to leave it for another time when the both of them were less busy.
“I’m all ready, Glamour,” Coco announced as she came back into the room, wearing her saddlebags.
Glamour nodded and finished off her bread before joining Coco at the door.
“Oh, Glamour, I’ve been meaning to ask you…” Coco began as they exited the apartment. “Who’s Mr. Banana?”
At that point, Glamour wondered if it was possible if her body could be hotter than the sun. At least then Princess Celestia would come along and smite her, saving her from explaining some of the interesting dreams she had to Coco. Sadly, that was not the case.
It was going to be a long, awkward walk to the show.
One walk that shall never be mentioned ever again later, Glamour and Coco reached their destination. A crowd had already begun lining up at the entrance to the building, but what really drew their attention were a series of huge posters lining the walls.
“Whoa…” Glamour stopped in front of one of the posters, looking up at it with wide eyes. In big, bright, block letters that dominated half the poster were the words “Photo Finish Presents Her Latest Fashion Star”. Below that, in a much smaller font, were the details and other information about the show. What was most astonishing was that an unmistakable silhouette of her spanned the entire background of the poster.
There was no doubt that Photo Finish had somehow got posters like this all over Manehattan, and it was a reminder of how important the upcoming show was. A reminder that made Glamour gulp.
“Glamour, are you alright?” Glamour heard Coco ask as she was poked out of her daze.
“Y-yeah… I just didn’t expect to see all of this,” Glamour replied, not able to take her eyes off the poster in front of her. “Guess this is going to be a bigger deal than I thought.”
“Are you thinking about your first show?"
“Pretty much,” Glamour admitted. “It wasn’t exactly one of my best moments, even if it did get Photo Finish’s attention. Being up on stage was pretty scary and freezing up while in the spotlight did not make it any better.”
“I’m sure this time will be a lot better. After all, Photo Finish doesn’t expect you to be like the other models. There’s also going to be less ponies, and since you already been on stage before, maybe it won’t be as scary this time.”
“That’s what I’m hoping for.”
“Just um, try not to do that magic thing again.”
“Ah right, that thing. Don’t worry, I don’t think I’ll have to resort to that again,” Glamour said, remembering when she absorbed a large amount of adoration at once to help finish her first show. Hopefully, she would not panic and be able to feed at her leisure this time.
Right before she turned to head inside, Glamour noticed something on the bottom half of the poster. She had almost missed it, due to it being buried in the middle of all the other text. Even when she moved closer, she still had to squint her eyes a bit.
“What is it, Glamour?”
“Dress design by Coco Pommel,” Glamour slowly read out loud.
“Really?” Coco moved next to Glamour, and a smile soon appeared on her face. “Wow, Photo Finish actually put my name on the poster.”
“But you can barely see it…”
“It’s alright, Glamour. I’m flattered that Photo Finish even mentioned me. Just having my name on here is quite the honor. Besides, this whole thing is about you, not me.”
“Still feels like you should at least get a bit more attention. I mean, it’s your dress that’s also going to be on stage.”
“Thank you for the concern, Glamour. Um, I think we should be going now. Look.”
Glamour turned to her friend to see that Coco was motioning with her head to look behind her. Following Coco’s direction, Glamour’s attention was drawn to the waiting crowd where a few ponies were looking back and forth between her and the posters.
“Uh, right, let’s go,” Glamour agreed as they swiftly made their way into the building. “Photo Finish probably won’t be happy if half the audience already guessed who I am, and there’s probably going to be all sorts of things she has waiting for me before the show anyway.”
As soon as they stepped inside the lobby, they were greeted by one of Photo Finish’s ponies, who promptly escorted them to the dressing room in the backstage area. When they entered the dressing room, Glamour let out a long groan when she saw Photo Finish standing next to a certain group of ponies that she was starting to loathe and fear.
“Let’s just get this over with,” Glamour muttered before she was dragged into the center of the room by Photo Finish’s makeup ponies.
A lot of poking, some screaming, and a few clouds of blush later, Glamour was all dressed and decorated for the show. While she could not deny the speed and proficiency of the makeup ponies, her blush-filled sinuses and aching face were demanding retribution. Unfortunately, previous experience had shown that retribution usually made it harder to keep a job.
“Ah, my shining star looks wunderbar!” Photo Finish declared with a smile, only for it to drop a few seconds later. “Now go!”
With a mad dash to the door, Photo Finish’s ponies zipped out of the dressing room, leaving their employer, Glamour, and Coco alone.
“So, Photo Finish,” Glamour started, “What am I—” She let out a yelp when Photo Finish suddenly moved to her side and threw a hoof around her neck.
“This is it, Glamour! We are just moments away from making fashion history! The time has come to show Equestria your glorious buffoonery!” Photo Finish proclaimed, tugging Glamour in different directions as she emphasized her words with wide, sweeping gestures. “Oh, I cannot wait to see how the audience will cheer for you. How are you feeling? Thrilled? Excited? Eager? Delighted beyond your wildest imaginations? About to burst with joy in an explosion of artistic magnificence?”
“Uh, a bit of all of that? Actually, to be honest, I’m also kind of nervous as well.”
“Nervous? Don’t be ridiculous,” Photo Finish said with a scoff as she dropped Glamour. “You’re only about to go out in front of hundreds of ponies to do what could be the most important show of your entire life that will either fulfill all of your wildest dreams or brutally crush them into a decrepit husk that would forever haunt you for the rest of your life.”
Glamour and Coco both stared at Photo Finish with their mouths slightly agape.
“What? Why are you looking at me like that?” Photo Finish asked, slightly tilting her head.
“Is that how you usually um, encourage ponies?” Coco asked.
“Why yes.” Photo Finish replied with a smile. “In fact, you’re not the first pony to ask about my beautiful, inspiring words.”
“Right… So uh, how is this show going to work out?” Glamour asked. “It’s just me, and you only asked for one dress from Coco. I might be missing something here, but it seems like it’s going to be a really short show.”
“And you would be exactly right! Today will be your grand unveiling. It will be the first time ponies will get to see my latest star, but all they will get is just a glimpse! You will leave them wondering who you are, and they will be raving to find out more about you by the time my brilliant pictures of you are published. Always leave your adoring fans wanting more, and they’ll come flocking back to you!”
“That sounds great, but I’m still not sure what I’m—”
“No time! We must go now to make ze magicks!” Photo Finish proclaimed as she grabbed Glamour and Coco’s hooves, and with a frightening display of strength, she rushed out of the room with two screaming ponies in tow, and then dumped them onto the floor as soon as they reached the backstage area.
“Just wait here until it is time and then you just do what you do,” Photo Finish explained over the sounds of ponies chatting and moving around from the other side of the stage curtains. “Let Photo Finish take care of the rest!”
Before Glamour could ask for more clarification, Photo Finish trotted through an opening in the curtains to the applause of the audience. Her voice clearly rang through the room a few seconds later as she began her opening speech.
Glamour groaned at the lack of guidance. With nothing else to do but prepare for her debut, she closed her eyes and began taking in deep breaths and slowly releasing them as she quickly tried to mentally prepare herself.
She really did hope she could get through this show with a minimal amount of problems. She no longer had to worry about food, and she actually had time to rest and relax, instead of always being on guard. She needed her career as a fashion model to continue this new life of hers she was enjoying.
Glamour’s eyes opened when she felt a hoof on her back, and a quick look revealed that it was Coco.
“Relax, Glamour. You’re going to do fine,” Coco encouraged, gently patting Glamour’s back. “Even if you have a hiccup, I know you’ll be able to pull through, and I’ll be watching and cheering you on from the side the entire time.”
Glamour smiled back at the other reason she did not want this show to fail. Not only did Coco help get her this job, she had been nothing but supportive and had even opened up her home to her. Coco was her first real friend, and Glamour could feel they were becoming better friends every day. Not too surprisingly, Glamour had found that her worry of disappointing Coco was almost as strong as her worry of being able to feed.
After about fifteen minutes and around sixty-seven uses of her own name, Photo Finish finally announced, “And now, making her first official appearance as my newest shimmering, shining, stupendous star, I, Photo Finish, present Glamour!”
Hearing her name, Glamour slowly walked toward the curtains, giving one quick look back at Coco before stepping onto the stage.
She was immediately greeted by her own round of applause, and she winced when a barrage of camera flashes hit her. Her eyes came under more duress when the spotlight quickly moved over to her, and she could feel her nerves starting to act up again. Trying her best to suppress her agitation, she raised a hoof to her eyes and took a better look around the room.
As Photo Finish had boasted, there had to be a few hundred ponies in the room, all clamoring and had their attention focused right on her. Despite the smaller audience and the adoration already permeating the area, it was still enough to send a shiver through Glamour’s body.
Turning her head slightly to the right, she saw Coco, who smiled and gave a small wave back as she mouthed the words “You can do it”.
Glamour quickly smiled back before turning her attention back forward again. There was a horde of energy waiting for her, and on top of that, this was also her chance to get Coco’s work more attention.
After taking a deep breath, Glamour started moving.
Recalling how she was supposed to act during the photo shoots, Glamour guessed that Photo Finish was expecting more of the same thing and just winged it. Going at her own pace, her walk through the stage and onto the runway was slow. It did not help that her legs were still shaking a bit with every step, and she often hesitated when she came near some of the more enthusiastic audience members.
A particularly bright flash from a camera caused her to reel back a bit as her pupils shrunk into pinpricks. Stopping to shake her head a bit to get rid of the spots in her vision, Glamour used the pause to look back at Photo Finish. Seeing the photographer’s big grin and fervent nodding made Glamour breathe a small sigh of relief before turning her attention forward once again.
When she finally made it to the end of the runway, she waved a bit at the audience before beginning a few poses, doing her best to try and show off every inch of Coco’s dress to the crowd. At the same time, she started drawing in the latent adoration all around her.
Taking her time to savor the adoration, a small smile came upon Glamour’s face as each passing moment made her feel a bit more relaxed, the bite of her nerves being overcome by the warming, invigorating energy slowly seeping into her.
Continuing her posing and feeding, Glamour eventually caught sight of Grace seated near the back and leaning back in her chair. While she was glad to see a friendly face, she had to resist the urge to roll her eyes when Grace did a lazy wave while mouthing “Sup”.
Wondering if there were any other ponies she knew that were here, Glamour did a slow turn as her eyes scanned the audience. Halfway through, she let out a sound that sounded like a strangled squirrel being sucked through a straw and lost her balance when she laid eyes on another pony she recognized.
Seated in the middle of the audience with a stoic face was none other than Prim Hemline.
Glamour gulped and felt herself momentarily freeze up when their eyes met and Prim narrowed her eyes into a glare. While she was currently working with Photo Finish, Prim Hemline was technically still her employer. Recalling Prim’s reluctance of her hiring, Glamour hoped that her improvement with this show would please the scary mare enough to leave her alone.
With her meal done some time ago, and her nerves starting to return, thanks to Prim, Glamour shuffled her hooves to discreetly make herself turn faster until Hemline was out of her vision. After one more complete turn, making sure her eyes did not go over the section where Prim was sitting again, Glamour made her way back up the runway and back to Photo Finish.
Receiving another nod and smile from Photo Finish, Glamour made her way to the curtain. She yelped when she felt Photo Finish bump into her, sending her crashing into the floor behind the curtains.
Glamour rolled her eyes when she heard Photo Finish started talking again about herself. Still, she had done her part, and she certainly did not mind that the spotlight was not on her anymore. Getting back up on her hooves, Glamour smiled when she saw Coco walking over to her.
“You did it, Glamour! You did great!” Coco congratulated with a big smile. “How are you feeling?”
“Not too bad, actually. I was still pretty nervous at the beginning, but I didn’t freeze up like last time. Well, not much at least. After a bit, I got over the initial fright and things pretty much got easier from there.”
“So, does that mean you’re okay with performing now?” Coco asked as they started heading to the dressing room.
Glamour chuckled. “Well, we’ll see. I’m certainly getting better with it, but I’m in no rush for the next one. I’m just glad that today is over so that I can relax.”
When they got back to the dressing room, Glamour immediately reached for a towel and began wiping away the makeup off her face. While she had conceded to the ordeal that Photo Finish’s ponies had to slather makeup all over her, it did not change the fact that the makeup always felt icky on her face, and she could not wait to be free of it.
After a few good scrubs with the towel, Glamour tossed it on the table, but just as she was about to start undressing herself, she heard Coco giggle.
“What? What’s so funny?” Glamour asked.
“You missed a little bit on your face,” Coco said, still giggling a little.
Glamour’s eyebrow went up a bit before she checked the mirror and chuckled when she saw that a long, black smudge of mascara ran down her cheek.
“A little bit, huh?” Glamour repeated. All she got was another giggle and a nod in return as she grabbed the towel again and made sure to wipe away the mark.
As she began taking off the dress, Glamour added, “It’s a good thing your dresses are also easy to move around in. Being on stage is intimidating enough. I don’t need worrying about getting tangled up in my clothes on my mind as well.”
“I figured the same thing,” Coco replied as she took the dress from Glamour. “That’s why I tried to keep it light. I’m glad I learned a few tips from my other friend about this.”
“The one from Ponyville?”
“Yes. Even though it’s quite far from here, we still are able to exchange letters every week or so.”
“No doubt just to remain on her good side,” a third, but familiar voice added.
Coco stiffened up for a second, uttering “Suri…”, before she and Glamour turned to the pony at the door.
“Hello there, Coco,” Suri greeted as she slowly walked towards them.
“H-hi, Suri. What are you doing here?”
“Oh, I was just in the neighborhood when I heard there was some sort of show today, and I had to at least take a look. Imagine my surprise when I saw that my dear Coco was involved in the show.”
“Um… yeah,” Coco meekly replied. She backed away as Suri drew closer, and her eyes darted around, looking at everything except the pony smugly smiling right at her. “I-I’m the dress designer for Glamour here.”
“Mmhmm…” Suri stopped to take a look at Glamour. “You’re the model who got assigned to Coco in the last fashion show, right?”
Glamour slowly nodded, keeping her face void of any emotion.
“A pleasure to meet you,” Suri said. “Well, Coco, it’s good to see you’re doing well. You’ve actually gone and managed to get yourself paired up with one of Photo Finish’s pet projects. It would do wonders for your career. You are so lucky, aren’t you?”
Glamour clenched her teeth. Suri’s supposed praise was laced with sarcasm thicker than the goop she coughed up when she caught a cold a few months ago.
“But I’m a bit worried for you, Coco. I’m sure working for Photo Finish is no picnic. Are you sure you can handle all that pressure? I mean, you just started to work on your own.” Suri looked back at Glamour with a smile. “Perhaps Glamour would be more comfortable with a designer with more experience.”
“No, thank you,” Glamour immediately replied.
“Are you sure? In case you didn’t know, Coco used to work for me, and I taught her everything she knows. Surely a talented mare like you would want the best.”
“I am well aware that she was your assistant, but I chose Coco, and I’m sticking with her.”
Suri’s eyebrow went up as her smile went down. “May I ask why?”
“She’s a very talented designer, and she’s my friend.”
“Your friend? Ha!” Suri’s sharp, loud laugh caused both Glamour and Coco to wince. “So that’s how you got the job…” She continued to chuckle as she shook her head. “Here’s a bit of advice for you, Glamour. You can’t trust anypony, let alone making friends, if you want to make it to the top. Coco is no different. She’s just using you.”
“W-what?! No! I would never do that!” Coco cried out.
“Oh? Then let me ask you something, Coco. How did you get that costume designer job on Bridleway?”
“I… uh… Rarity recommended me…”
“And who gave you your first job, taking you in as an assistant and teaching you all sorts of fashion and trade secrets?”
“Y-you did…”
“And how did you really get the job as Glamour’s designer? Did Glamour pick you because you were the best, or was it simply because you were her friend?”
“She… I…” Coco tried to stammer out a response, but she eventually went silent as her gaze fell to the floor. A few moments later, she quietly answered, “I… I don’t know…”
Suri’s devilish grin grew even wider as she approached Coco. “Face it, Coco. You’re not the designer you think you are. You have only gotten this far because you have been riding the coattails of other ponies. All you do is use other ponies. You’re nothing better than a parasite!”
“That’s enough!” Glamour shouted, jumping in between Coco and Suri. She bared her teeth, wishing she could show her changeling fangs, as she glared at Suri. “Coco got the job because she’s my friend and she makes amazing dresses! Coco is the most talented and kindest pony I have ever met!”
“Oh please, the only reason she’s any good is because of me. All she does is pretend to be nice to get ponies to do what she wants. When she’s done with you, she’ll just leave and move on to the next big thing. That’s what she did to me after I spent years teaching her!”
“She left you because you are a cheater!”
Suri gasped loudly as she brought a hoof to her chest. “Cheating? Me?”
“Don’t pretend you don’t know!” Glamour pointed a hoof at Suri. “I heard what you did during Fashion Week!”
To Glamour’s surprise, Suri only chuckled at the threat. “Please, enlighten me on what I did then.”
“You used another designer’s fabric to copy her design and pass it off as your own!”
“Oh my, such an accusation. I suppose there might be an inkling of truth in it, but there seems to be a tiny little problem with your facts. You see, Coco here was the one who made those dresses.”
“That’s because you tricked her! She didn’t know they were going to be used to help you cheat!”
Suri only laughed even more. “Did I really? Well, I got news for you, Glamour. Coco actually knew what I was doing the whole time.”
Glamour’s scowl faltered. “W-what?”
“Oh, you didn’t hear me? I’ll say it again. Coco knew the dresses she made were copies the entire time.”
Glamour turned to her friend with concern. “Coco?”
Coco just whimpered as her ears dropped, and she looked away from Glamour.
“It’s quite simple, really.” Suri said with a chuckle. “If I go down, she will too.”
Glamour continued to stare at Coco who still refused to look back at her. It was hard to believe that Coco not only did cheat, but she had lied about it. It made Glamour wonder if her seemingly demure friend had other dark secrets or hidden motives.
But the more she thought about it, the more she realized how crazy that notion was.
Just as Grace had mentioned yesterday, Coco had changed after the events of the Fashion Week show. The Coco Glamour knew was a pony who went out of her way to help others and make them happy. In Glamour’s travels, she had never seen a kinder and more generous soul that would never do something that dishonest.
Most of all, Coco was her friend, and she had learned that friends are supposed to be there for each other. If her friend really did something wrong in the past, was it fair to judge her entirely on that one thing?
Glamour gazed at Coco’s sullen form for a moment longer before turning to Suri. “You know what, Suri? I think I’ll just go ahead and tell everypony what happened.”
“Oh? You are willing to risk having your precious friend get dragged down with me?”
“That doesn’t matter.”
Suri’s eyebrow went up as Coco looked up at Glamour with widened eyes. “Oh? You’re actually giving up on your so called friend? I got to hoof it to you, I did not expect that you would turn your back on her that fast.”
“No, it’s because I know Coco will be fine,” Glamour replied.
“She’ll be fine? Weren’t you listening to me? Coco is guilty as well.”
“That may be, but Coco will be fine, because unlike you, she has friends. Friends who will help pick her back up if she falls. As for you, you don’t trust anypony, and you will be left to fend for yourself. Now, I suggest you leave us alone, or I will make you.”
Suri scoffed. “Yeah, like you’re going to—”
Glamour slammed her hooves into the floor as her horn lit up, plumes of green fire licking across it. “I would…”
Suri glared at Glamour for a few moments before chuckling. “It seems we have a bit of a fighter here. Very well, if you want me to leave, I’ll leave.” She sauntered off to the door but stopped to look back with a grin. “But do be careful. You never know when another accident might occur.”
Glamour’s eyes widened a bit. “You… you caused that accident on Coco’s previous model. You tried to sabotage Coco on her first fashion show.”
“Hmm… who’s to say? I mean, it was an accident, after all. It’s so hard to tell.” Suri chuckled again and flicked her tail. “Well, until next time.”
Glamour growled and used her magic to slam the door shut as soon as Suri was outside. With a sigh, she extinguished her magic and looked back to find Coco seated on the floor, her attention firmly glued to the floor.
When Glamour went to sit down next to Coco, she frowned when her friend made no motion or sound in response.
It was painful to see her friend like this, and Glamour searched her mind for anything she could do to make things better. She then remembered something Coco tried to do for her when she was feeling down.
Scooting herself closer, Glamour slowly raised her forehooves to Coco’s body. Her hooves quaked a bit as she wondered if what she was about to do was appropriate. After a few seconds, her hooves dropped down to her sides. Still debating with herself in her head, her hooves went back up, only to return to her yet again. This process repeated a few more times, and through it all, Coco still paid no attention to her.
Seeing that Coco was not getting better anytime soon, Glamour took a deep breath, and in one quick motion, she wrapped her hooves around Coco and pulled.
Unfortunately, she pulled a bit too hard, and the two of them let out a yelp as Glamour dragged them both to the ground.
“G-Glamour, what are you doing?!” Coco cried out as she tried to quickly get off Glamour.
“Sorry, sorry, sorry!” Glamour quickly apologized as she helped Coco back up. “I was just trying to give you a hug.”
“Oh.” Coco visibly relaxed. “W-wait, you’re not mad?”
Glamour shook her head and moved closer, slowly raising her hooves again for Coco. She made sure to be ready to pull back if Coco protested, but she just sat there, silently staring back, until Glamour finally wrapped her hooves around her.
She felt Coco squirm a bit, but it quickly stopped. “Um, do you want to talk about it?”
Coco stared at Glamour with her mouth opened for a few seconds until she let out a sigh and nodded. “So, you knew what actually happened at Fashion Week?”
“I brought it up with Grace yesterday. She didn’t tell me much until I convinced her to. But uh, she thinks you didn’t know what Suri was doing until the end.”
“Because that’s what I told her.” She took a deep breath and pulled herself away to look Glamour straight in the eye. “Before I say anything else, I need to tell you that Suri was wrong. I am not using you. I would never do that to anypony, especially not my friends, and you… you’re such a great friend, Glamour. I wouldn’t trade it for anything. Please, believe me…”
“I know, Coco,” Glamour replied, pulling Coco back into the hug. “You’re a great friend to me too.”
“Thanks, Glamour… I uh, I guess I should tell you more about what happened now…”
“That would be great… Um, I mean, if you’re feeling up to it.”
“It’s alright. Well, like Suri said, I knew what she was doing the entire time, and I helped her. I know it was wrong of me, but I’ve been with Suri for a long time. She showed me how competitive ponies can be, and I thought you could not survive without doing that kind of stuff.
“But then I saw how Rarity overcame our cheating with the help of her friends. Even when she thought she had lost, she looked so happy just because she had her friends. That’s when I figured out that things had to change.”
Rarity. There was that name again. Glamour knew it was the other designer from Fashion Week, but for some reason, the name sounded familiar. She mentally shrugged, guessing that she saw it in a fashion magazine. She needed to be concentrating on Coco right now.
“Since then, I’ve been trying to make up for what I done by being generous, like Rarity,” Coco continued. “I… I know it sounds like I’m making excuses, but…”
When Coco went silent, Glamour hugged her a bit tighter. “Coco?”
“Glamour, am I… am I a bad pony?” Coco quietly asked.
It was still quite the shock for Glamour to hear Coco had willingly cheated, but it was not completely her fault. Fashion design was not the only thing Coco had learned from Suri, and she had followed Suri’s orders because she did not know of any other way.
Kind of like how Glamour used to follow Queen Chrysalis’s rule. She had learned that the only way to survive was to pretend to be a pony’s loved one and siphon their love. And yet, here she was, living like a somewhat regular pony, even if she had special needs, and there were still a kink or two or hundred.
They both were involved in similar situations where their upbringing was sending them down the wrong path, although invading the pony capital in hopes of converting its population into a food source was probably a bit worse than cheating in a fashion competition.
“You’re not a bad pony, Coco,” Glamour answered.
“What makes you so sure?”
“Well, um… I think you just had a bad teacher. You didn’t know better. When you found out what you were doing was wrong, you stopped right away. Look at you now. You’re so nice, and you go out of your way to help ponies. I’ve never seen somepony who is so kind and generous. Look at how happy you made me, Cappuccino, and Grace.” Glamour paused for a moment as her face scrunched up a bit. “Actually, I don’t know about Grace. It’s kind of hard to tell with her.”
To Glamour’s relief, that got a small smile and a short giggle out of Coco. “Look, Coco, just because you’ve done something bad in the past, doesn’t mean you can't change later on. And you already have. You might think you were a bad pony before, but you’re definitely not one now.”
Coco’s smile grew just a little bit more as she leaned into Glamour more. “Thank you, Glamour. It’s actually good to hear that I might not have to worry as much over what I have done.”
“Anytime, Coco,” Glamour replied as they continued to hug. After a few moments, a brilliant idea popped into her head.
“Hey, I know what we can do. Let’s head home, and on the way, we can go grab some white chocolate mocha,” Glamour proposed with a big smile.
“That actually does sound nice,” Coco agreed as they got up and started to head out the door.
Glamour was feeling proud of herself. Not only was she getting better at being a model, but she had helped Coco through a tough time and proven that she was also becoming a better friend. And to top it all off, she was going to get more white chocolate mocha.
“Oh, Glamour, one more thing.”
“Yes?”
“You’re only getting one cup as well.”
“Aww…”
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Suri...Suri...don't be an idiot. They have a point: they're the ones with leverage. it's not much leverage, but the last thing you need to be doing is trying to hospitalize or sabatoge them.
...I will laugh if your efforts to sabatoge them result in Photo Finish's plans succeeding.
Oh, and coco gets a hint that her new friend is actually a changeling.
How about two cups?
TV tropes granted precognitive abilities are telling me that Glamor's disguise will drop during a show. Whether that will be by accident or on purpose is still unknown.
6534881
You try bargaining with her!
derpicdn.net/img/view/2015/10/14/1002258.png
Pretty sure that should be "doesn't mean you can't".
6535654
Yes, it should. Thanks for pointing out Glamour's not so great encouragement.
Suri is gonna be a pain in the ass i can tell. As for Glamour and Coco they are so sweet when they share a moment like this. as for the coffee... it would be interesting to see her spazzing out on a sugar rush again
She never said how big of a cup Glamour is allowed to drink...
derpicdn.net/img/view/2014/2/18/555254.png
6536235
If Suri does anything, Glamour has plausible deniability.
More than that, Glamour could disguise herself as Suri, publicly confess to crimes, and nobody would ever know. If she took that route, then even if Coco eventually found out what Glamour is then she still couldn't hold her actions against her. At least, as long as Glamour points out that Suri has resorted to violence to get her way, and this way nobody else will get hurt.
I'm sure you will, Glamour. I'm sure you will...
~Twi
Another great chapter.....though I'm getting anxious regarding what "It is I, Photo Finish!!!!!" has planned for Glamour in her next outing!
Suri, get that hat off your ass and stop with this asshattery.
6547395
Put it where it belongs - on your head. Preferably with small planets in orbit around it.
The weirdest thing is, I had a dream that I was a giant banana once. You can see where this is going...
6810368 I once had a dream I was hammering giant banana people to a wall.... what to play a game.
Only one cup? That's just cruel!
Liked -> like
6915073
Thanks again for the fix. Every little bit helps.
I’m eight months late to this, woops.
Needs a lil’ right quote.
So Mr. Banana’s the noodle incident of the story. I’ve a feeling that this is never going to be mentioned ever again.
7318213
Never too late to implement fixes. Thanks for pointing it out.
I hope Coco remembers this for when Glamour is eventually outed as a changeling. She's a smart cookie, so I doubt she'll stay mad for long.
There goes her ability to keep bits, had she no way to benefit from Generosity.
oh, "Mr. Banana" made me think of this silly comic:
https://erictheblue.deviantart.com/art/Use-Only-As-Directed-506899577
10118521
This will not age well...
10118521
Da Fuq happened there‽ Also seizure warning for the vid.