//------------------------------// // Song Five: Rock, Rock, Rock the Boat // Story: If You Have a Little Hope... // by Quillamore //------------------------------// As the tour bus trucked on to yet another location, Coco couldn’t help but think about how something like this would have been impossible just five years ago.  The city they were going to--their final stop, in fact--was barely a city at all, no more than a village, at that. It was the sort of place that, under any other circumstances, Bridleway ponies would never bother to visit.  However, over recent years, this place had grown not in size, but in influence, as the area Equestria’s greatest heroes chose to defend above all else. Ponyville was hardly the usual final stop on tours like this, as past productions had tended to save the best city for last.  But maybe that was part of the reason why Silver Phoenix had chosen to do so, Coco thought to herself. Like many other ponies in Equestria, her troupe owed the Element Bearers a great debt for what they had done.  Her, perhaps, most of all. When Mosely had forced her into a relationship, Rarity had been the first pony to know, and the first who understood.  In her desperation, Coco had tried writing to Rarity several times, asking her and Princess Twilight to intervene on her behalf, but back then, she had been too scared to send a single letter.  Her roommate, Bambi, had been the one to find them and the one who sent all of them Rarity’s way. Still, even if Coco had never really intended to trouble Rarity with her problems, she had to admit that she’d gained a valuable ally that day, and the tides had turned against Mosely ever since. A wave of relief came over her as she saw the Castle of Friendship towering in the distance.  Even though Coco had never needed to consult Princess Twilight during her trials, or even really knew her for that matter, the sight was still a comfort to behold.  She never quite realized it until now, but Ponyville had become a second home, almost, to her. Babs was already chattering about all the things she would do with the Crusaders, and Coco just stared at her daughter with a smile on her face.  From what she could tell, Wild Orange’s sudden appearance would be the last time she’d have to worry about the filly for awhile. Ever since the two had left Applewood, Babs had been in an extra determined mood, and she’d already planned out how she would show off her new aromatherapy kit. Meanwhile, Scene Stealer had just climbed aboard the top deck, megaphone in tow.  Every once in awhile, when they approached a new city, he would read off some random facts to pump up the crowd, but since the crowd seemed very visibly un-pumped, he opted for a more direct approach.  In fact, Coco barely got a chance to get another word in with Babs before Scene spoke in his loudest possible tone. “Alright, everypony!  A lot of you know the drill by now, but for all the new talent in the crowd, here’s your chance to listen up and listen good.  At Silver Phoenix, we like to hit the last city, and we like to hit it hard. Throughout the years, we’ve given show-stopping final performances from Applewood to Appaloosa, and now--” “No, you haven’t,” Suri muttered from the back of the bus.  “Silver Phoenix just started three months ago.” Just about everypony on the bus turned their heads towards her, some in shock and some in annoyance.  Scene and Suri always seemed to butt heads on-set, but nopony thought the latter would be idiotic enough to bring it up just before a performance.  That, plus the fact that she mentioned the “unmentionable times before Wright Notes,” as Scene always put it, would be enough to make almost the entire crew hate her for a few more days. “Maybe so, but this is one Stealer-Orange tradition we’re not leaving behind,” Scene replied, barely hiding his anger at having to mention his troupe’s original name.  “The only one.” He then clopped his front hooves together in exaggerated excitement, turning his attention towards the other side of the bus--and away from Suri. “Now, a lot of you might be wondering, ‘Why would we have such an extravagant show in a town like Ponyville.’  Personally, I’m wondering if I’ll be free for a date with my new marefriend once we get back to Manehattan, but you do you, I guess.” For the slightest of moments, he winked at Coco, and for once, she winked back.  She hadn’t really had much of a chance to get to know Scene when the theatre wasn’t at stake, so her heart was pumping at the opportunity, even if it was just one of his usual quips. Even if absolutely nopony on the bus bothered to ask the question Scene insisted everypony would be asking. “Seriously, nopony’s wondering that?  I had a whole speech prepared and everything.” “I’m guessing it’s about how much we owe to Ponyville,” replied Suri.  “How Rarity helped us find Coco, and get rid of Mosely, and get the Oranges off our scent, and get rid of Mosely in court, and now I’m sure she’s going to help us do some other amazing thing.  I’d tell the whole story, but I’m pretty sure it’s too big to fit in a book, mmkay?” After that, she just slumped in her seat and sighed, as if her months of jealous rage towards Rarity had never left her mind.  Thankfully, nopony really paid attention to her outburst, and it was quickly forgotten once Scene began his actual speech, summing up the same things Suri had said in far kinder words. Then again, Scene didn’t have to tell Coco twice when it came to reminding her of Rarity’s generosity.  While she wanted to spend a good amount of time at Sweet Apple Acres and let Babs catch up with Apple Bloom, Coco knew she’d stop at Carousel Boutique at least once during the trip.  Since the situation in Manehattan was under control, Rarity hadn’t had to visit in awhile, and Coco hadn’t even seen her since the trial. The more she thought about it, the more she realized she had her own catching up to do. But in that simple moment, she barely realized how much Rarity would end up changing the trajectory of her trip...and how she would bring all her dormant drama rushing back. **** Ponies often joked about Rarity’s dramatic streak, to the point where even Manehattanites gossiped about her taste for vanilla oat swirl ice cream.  Coco, like a good friend, ignored these remarks whenever they came, figuring they were exaggerated at best. The minute she stepped into Carousel Boutique, though, she discovered otherwise.  Flyers had been strewn about left and right, and by the time Coco made it through to the store’s main showroom, she could tell that Rarity had gotten herself into a particularly large predicament.  Under any normal circumstances, the white unicorn had never been the sort of pony to leave such a mess. “I don’t see a problem,” Babs said when Coco asked about it.  “Apple Bloom’s told me stories about Sweetie Belle tearing the whole store up tryin’ to find her Crusader cape.  I figure it’s just one of those deals.” That much was reassuring for a little while, but after a few minutes of searching, neither of them could find Sweetie Belle, or anypony, for that matter.  It almost looked like the whole store had been robbed and ransacked, and judging from the quizzical look on Babs’ face, Coco knew that was exactly where her mind had gone.  Long before Coco had adopted her, Babs had joined Rarity and Applejack on a quest to clear a town magician’s name, and the filly had been hooked on mysteries ever since. Coco wasn’t quite sure if she’d jump that far to a conclusion, but the shop was so strangely deserted, she didn’t know what else it could be. “I don’t think we should be here,” Babs whispered, her voice contorting into a nervous sing-songy tone.  “Let’s just go to Sweet Apple Acres and let the cops handle it.” “You’re right about that.  I don’t know if I’ve ever seen this place look this creepy.  It’s like a haunted house in here.” As she said this, her face turned to the shadows that seemed to cloak the entire store in darkness, even as Celestia’s sun shone in the sky.  Coco could even see a few cobwebs, something that the normal meticulous Rarity would never allow. And then, finally, she saw the pleading look on her filly’s face and realized she’d just made a terrible mistake. “And no, I’m still not letting you go to one next Nightmare Night.  You’ve been scared out of your mind too many times this year, and the Manehattan haunted houses are too scary for foals, anyway.” Babs’ face quickly turned in disappointment, but before long, the filly found a passage of light just beyond the showroom.  Without really thinking it through, she ran through the hallway and towards the one sign of civilization the building had. With an annoyed, but still somewhat amused sigh, Coco followed, and before long, the two found themselves in a workroom only slightly larger than a storage closet.  Sure enough, Rarity was sitting in the small room’s only desk, mulling over an ornate dress that she’d probably been slaving over for hours, if not days. In fact, it took her a few seconds to even notice her guests, and until then, Coco and Babs just stared across the room, waiting for her to respond.  The second she realized they were there, though, she jumped straight out of her chair like a rocket in midair. “Oh, I should have known you’d be visiting soon,” Rarity said, struggling to compose herself.  “My grandest apologies for the mess. You see, I have a new store opening in Manehattan, but there have been quite a few delays in the process.  I was just about to head over there, so I’ll probably end up heading there the same time as you two.” Taking her hooves off the ensemble she’d been sewing, Rarity reached towards a cup of tea on the other side of the table as she said this.  She’d already taken a tentative sip, and she was about to take another before Coco interrupted her train of thought. “Your store’s coming to Manehattan?” “Saddle Row, darling!” Almost as if on cue, Coco found herself squealing along with Rarity.  She’d always pretended not to pay attention to the big Manehattan fashion scene, but deep down, she had to admit that even she’d daydreamed of having a Saddle Row shop as a child.  Every aspiring fashion designer did, and even though she was perfectly satisfied with where she was as a costumer on Bridleway, she couldn’t help but be proud of her friend. “No way!” she screamed, as if she was a hip Manehattan teen getting the latest gossip.  To be honest, it freaked her out just a little to know that her voice could go that high in her 20s.  “How did you even find a place there?  I mean, not that you’re not famous enough, or that you don’t have the money, or--” With a quiet sigh, she muttered, “Sorry.  I kinda sorta messed that up.” Even in her nervousness, Coco’s “kinda sorta” habit was still in full play.  Scene had been the first to notice her tendency towards that phrase, and throughout their relationship, it’d become a sort of inside joke amongst the two of them.  As she thought this, Coco made an internal note to talk to Scene about that date idea he’d had before and hoped against hope that both of their schedules would work out. “It’s fine.  I know what you meant.  Even for somepony as fashionable as me, getting into Saddle Row is quite the feat.  So, it all started when--” Just as Rarity was about to go into her long tale, Babs interrupted, blowing her mane out of her eyes as she did so.  Usually, Babs’ mane-blows didn’t mean anything, but Coco had been around her long enough to know that this particular type was a nervous tic the filly had. “Um, so I’m not really followin’.  Is getting into Saddle Row a big deal?  Honestly, I don’t even know where that is.” Rarity simply waved her hoof around in the air, as if to dismiss Babs’ worries. “Hush, darling.  Fillies such as yourself can’t be expected to know such things.  Manehattan’s far too large. Anyway, I do hate to toot my own horn--” Coco’s mind didn’t usually wander, but now she found herself wondering how unicorns interpreted that expression. “--but Saddle Row is, quite possibly, Equestria’s premier fashion destination.  Admittedly, the place I found had been sitting vacant and filthy for quite some time, and the landlord is an absolute loan shark, but I think we’ve all been through worse in Manehattan, haven’t we?” Just a few months ago, hearing words like that come out of anypony’s mouth would’ve been enough to offend Coco.  But, then again, Rarity had always been just a little bit different to her. They’d gotten along so well in their short time of knowing each other that Coco felt like she’d never take it as anything but a joke.  After all, there was no way in Equestria Rarity could hurt her, let alone mean to do so. Sure enough, just as Coco thought that, just as she let out her last big belly laugh, Rarity chose that moment to prove her wrong.  Even in the coming days, Coco would still think her friend had never meant to tell her such a thing, but it stung her nevertheless. Because Rarity was about to suggest the one thing Coco could do to repay her for everything--something Coco wasn’t sure she could bring herself to do. “Actually, that brings me to something I’d like to ask you, Coco dear.  Has everything been going well with the play?” “Of course,” Coco replied, not knowing what would come afterwards.  In return, Rarity let out a huge sigh, as if she’d been holding Equestria itself on her shoulders. “I believe you, but I want you to know that you can always tell me if it isn’t.  I certainly wouldn’t want a repeat of last time. I’ve actually been thinking about that for awhile and...I just feel like I wasn’t able to handle the situation right back then.  When you first told me about Mosely, I gave you a shoulder to cry on and didn’t do much else. So when I say what I’m about to say now, I want you to remember that. This is all because I wasn’t the best friend to you before, and I want to make up for it.” Coco was about to raise her voice in opposition, and a million responses flooded her brain.  You were there for me before anypony else.  You couldn’t have done anything more. You didn’t even have to do that.  Yet, her mouth froze in place, like a cockatrice was staring right into her.  The more she tried to move, or say anything else, the more she swore she could feel the stone spell moving up her face. “I still have a salespony position available at my shop, and you can sell some of your things there, too,” Rarity began.  “The minute I realized that, I knew it had to be fate. I was the one to get you involved in the whole Bridleway mess, after all, when it just as easily could have been me getting heckled by Mosely.  Or who knows, maybe he never would have figured it out, and never would have targeted your family.” Already, Coco could feel the stone spell lifting with every one of Rarity’s words, spurring her into action.  She knew these sorts of feelings all too well, whether they came from herself or from others, and this time, she had a chance to stop them before they got out of hoof. “I’m tired of hearing that,” she finally whispered.  “Sometimes, between me and Babs and everypony else, it feels like that’s the only thing I ever hear.  I know you feel bad, but there’s no point in imagining it any other way. It happened, it’s over, and we’re here for each other, together.  There’s nothing you or anypony else could have done about it.” “That doesn’t stop me from having a guilty conscience,” replied Rarity.  “And that doesn’t stop me from wondering if it could happen again.” She turned to the other side of the room and briefly examined a newspaper, where another Bridleway troupe was featured on the front page.  It was a troupe Coco hadn’t seen or heard about for years, and it took a few moments for the name to pop back in her head--Swan Snow. They’d made a good living adapting ballets into musicals with dance numbers every bit as detailed as their source materials, but they’d disappeared into obscurity ages ago.  Nopony really talked about them anymore, or why they’d vanished into midair. For a few brief moments, Coco allowed herself to believe that they were making a comeback, like Stealer-Orange had when it reformed into Silver Phoenix.  But then she saw the date on the newspaper, and all those thoughts dissipated as Swan Snow itself had. It was a paper from seven years ago, and the headline read--SWAN SNOW DIRECTOR PLEADS GUILTY TO ABUSE CHARGES. “I did some research after the trial,” Rarity continued, “and your case is hardly rare.  Not to say that Mosely’s any better for it, but...I’m worried about you, Coco. I forced you into something you weren’t ready for, and now--” “Silver Phoenix won’t end up like them,” Coco said with an intensity that surprised even herself.  “And you didn’t force me into anything. I chose for myself. I...thought you knew that. I thought you knew both things, but clearly you don’t.” Every bit of Coco’s body was telling her that she shouldn’t go against her friend, but before she knew it, she felt Babs trying to restrain her, either to keep her from tears or from something worse. “Can’t there be another way through this?” Babs muttered.  “Just ‘cause it happened before doesn’t mean it’ll happen again.  You shouldn’t let your friendship get ruined over it.” More than the Swan Snow revelation, more than anything else, those were the words that hit Coco more than anything else.  Other than Babs, Rarity had been the one constant in her life, and here she was, just letting it slip away over a simple disagreement.  Letting her best friend slip away, the very thing the Element Bearers always warned about. And what for? Some ponies that she wasn’t even sure she trusted? No, she corrected herself again.  She may not trust Suri, and she may not have known some of the ponies on the set enough to trust them, either.  But she trusted Scene, and she knew that he would do everything in his power to keep Silver Phoenix out of Bridleway scandals for good. But what if that meant Rarity didn’t? She was about to ask, but mercifully enough, Babs asked for her.  The question was simple enough--if you don’t trust Bridleway, and Coco’s coltfriend works on Bridleway, what does that really mean?  Through Rarity’s whole denial, Coco wondered if she really believed it herself, but she shook those thoughts aside like morning dew. Rarity and Scene had been through enough together that she had to trust him by now.  It was the principle she’d grown to hate, the spectacle that too often led ponies down the wrong path. And even if Rarity did hate the one place Coco called home, she wasn’t about to let her friendship slip by for it.  So, in that moment, she said the words that she’d never say for any other friend. “I’ll think about your offer.  And if that’s what makes both of us happy, then I’ll do it.  I’ll quit Bridleway.” Coco swore, she’d never seen Babs’ mouth open so wide as it did when she’d said that.  Once they got to Sweet Apple Acres, Applejack did the same thing, too, as if it ran in the family.  But all through the trip to Ponyville, and the trip back, all she could think about was something she’d heard Princess Twilight say once in the newspapers. “Friendship isn’t always easy, but there’s no doubt, it’s worth fighting for.” For Rarity, it was all worth it.  Even if it meant Coco might have to give up one of the deepest parts of herself. For her, she would do it time and time again, as long as it would take.