//------------------------------// // WHAT'S GOOD // Story: IGOR // by mellon collie //------------------------------// "but at some point, you come to your senses" Coco Pommel took a bite out of her sugary cinnamon bun, the sickly-sweet icing dancing on her tongue as she ate. She sipped on a glass of water afterwards to try and wash out the overpowering taste. Whenever she came to Ponyville she always forgot just how sweet everything tasted, especially at Sugarcube Corner. It was like everything was coated in sunshine and lollipops. She glanced up to Rarity as she opened her mouth to speak, hoping to save the lulled conversation. What she was greeted with made her shut her mouth, though it didn't surprise her. Rarity was doing exactly what she had been doing since she had got her drink; mixing the honey in her tea with a levitated spoon, spinning it around and around. She'd been doing this for the past five minutes, with her eyes firmly set on the cup in front of her. Her gaze was a million miles away, though, unfocused and unblinking. By now, Coco guessed, there was no more honey left in the tea. It had probably all been dissolved minutes ago. "Um, Rarity?" The rhythmic clinking of the spoon hitting the sides of the cup stopped. "Yes?" Rarity asked simply, her stare still set downwards. "Do you want to talk about how the store in Manehattan is doing?" "Sure, darling." Rarity's voice was absent, her mind somewhere else entirely. "Well, business has been going well. We have a steady amount of regulars now, and dresses fly off the shelves pretty quickly. I feel like this next season is gonna be really big for us. We could make a really big splash in the industry, I think." The only response she got was the resumed clinking of the spoon hitting the cup and the chatter of the patrons around her. "Did you... get any of that?" An inhalation, followed by a shakier exhalation. "Rarity!" Rarity's head popped up, and cyan eyes met blue ones for the first time in their conversation. "Are you alright? You seem a little... distracted." "Yes, I'm fine. Just, ah, thinking, as one is to do." "If I were to guess, and I don't mean to imply anything, is it about Fluttershy?" Rarity frowned. "I just," she began, but she trailed off before she could finish the thought. A pause prefaced her next attempt. "Things aren't at their, ahem, strongest right now. But we've been through worse. Our relationship will only come out stronger than before." A sigh left Coco's lips. "I feel like I've heard you say that every time we've talked recently. At what point is it, how do I say this nicely, too much?" "What do you mean?" "This has been going on for awhile. You have to give at some point, right? I know I wouldn't be able to keep going in a relationship like that." She took a sip of her water. Her eyes widened in alarm when she realized what she had just said. "No offense, of course. You're a stronger pony than I am, and—" "It's alright. I know what you're trying to say. But Fluttershy and I have been through so much together. We're not like other couples. We can get past arguments." "But when they happen so often, it makes you think, y'know?" Coco let the rhetorical question hang in the air as she took a bite out of her cinnamon bun. "Look. I'm your friend, Rarity. I only want what's best for you. And..." She tried to speak, but the words wouldn't come out. A lump had formed in her throat, making it impossible to do anything but sit there and think until she was able to speak again. The look on Rarity's face whenever she gushed about the good times was so warm. The twinkle in her eyes shone brightly, gleaming like it was filled with bright stars. Her smile couldn't be replaced when she mentioned a date, or something the two had done together, or just her in general. It was the happiest Coco had ever seen her. Nobody could fake that kind of admiration. But when things were bad, they were bad. Her entire body language would become downcast. Her shoulders would slump, her hooves would drag when she walked, her mane would even sometimes become unkempt. That was a telltale sign that things were not going good. She would speak less the more that things were weighing on her. A tired air hung around her, accentuated by her dull eyes, the spark in them extinguished by whatever exchanges had been made the night previous. The latter happened more often than the former. Coco had had to comfort Rarity during a visit after a particularly nasty fight many times. It seemed like every visit devolved into that. More about the relationship than the dresses, the reason why she traveled here. Maybe now was the time to take a stand. "I don't think that you and Fluttershy are good for each other." Each word was a consecutive gut punch to Rarity. Phantom pain coursed through her as her brain was swarmed with thoughts she never wanted to have. Her head throbbed as her mind began to run on overdrive, a million different visions and memories playing all at once to create a ruined film, its strip deteriorating rapidly. Her heart pounded in her chest like a woodpecker drilling into a decaying tree, a swift rhythm that caused her torso to tighten. She pursed her lips as each heartbeat caused a pulsating feeling in her torso, every one more painful than the last. "What?" "I mean," Coco began, "based on the things you've told me-" Rarity suddenly got to her hooves, her forelegs hitting into the underside of the table as she stood. She bit her lip to suppress a pained whimper. "I'm so sorry, Coco, but I have to return some-" She shook the cobwebs out of her head and tried again. "I mean, I have a very important order to work on that completely slipped my mind." "But what about—" Rarity turned abruptly, knocking into the table again. Her cup spilled, sending tiny beads of green tea flying through the air. Some drops landed on her coat, the hot liquid seeping into her skin. She ignored the burning sensation it brought her. "I truly am sorry, but I really have to go now. Do tell the others that I'm proud of their hard work, alright?" Coco nodded, the frown on her face hidden behind her glass of water. "Have a good day, Coco." She galloped out of Sugarcube Corner before she could get a proper response. Her hooves blurred as they hit the ground. Her breaths came out erratic and uneven. She wanted to be anywhere but there, in the shop, listening to somebody who didn't know a thing about her relationship try to tell her what to do in it. She didn't need any advice. Everything was fine. It had begun raining at some point between Rarity entering and leaving Sugarcube Corner. The sky had faded from a lively yellow to a dismal grey in a matter of minutes, mist hanging in the air as the rain pitter-pattered against the ground. The raindrops came down somewhere between a drizzle and a downpour, enough to make the ground wet but not enough to make a pony shiver from the cold. Rarity shivered regardless. She entered the boutique — when had she gotten there? — and immediately made her way to the material shelf, her magic already holding a mess of fabrics in its telekinetic grasp. She had to do something to get her mind off this, off whatever feeling she was experiencing at the moment. What it was, she couldn't name. Her magic weaved together the outline of a dress out of nothing but silk rolls, her mind pouring out a vision on the spot as she focused all of her attention on creating. The pattern was.. something was off about it. Rarity frowned, tossing the dress aside. She grabbed another set of rolls and began anew, the previous attempt forgotten as her expert craft was put to use. This one looked even worse. She couldn't place her hoof on why, but she could tell that it wasn't right. The third attempt wasn't any better, nor was the fourth. After the fifth she became upset, her teeth biting down hard onto her bottom lip as she binned another dress. Her hoof came against the floor, her anger having built up to a point that she felt she needed to release it. But doing that wouldn't do any good. She could destroy the entire boutique if she wanted, but she didn't. It would solve nothing. What she needed was to be with Fluttershy. One of them had said the wrong thing, something that hit too close to home. It always came to this, no matter what. It was a thought that hadn't been intended to be verbalized, spoken a decibel too loudly. As soon as the words were uttered, the rock fell further down the mountain, crushing the poor soul who was vainly trying to push it up. Fluttershy let out a whimper. "I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to yell at you," Rarity cooed, trying desperately to salvage the situation. "bad that's …That's. job a as most —m you need I when me comforting —c see shouldn't you but, unpredictable —un bit a be can I know I —I" Rarity shook her head slightly. "I..." "...stupid so sound I, gosh ...and there be to you on rely —re always could I wish I And. this like are things when —wh, hard It's" Rarity remained silent. "...and …and me help actually will Who. it mean truly and okay —o be will everything me tell to able be to someone —some need I. me for there be really to someone need I —I" Rarity placed her hooves on top of Fluttershy's and tried her hardest to smile. She wasn't sure how convincing it was. "I'm sorry. I love you, Fluttershy. I swear that I will be better. For you. For us." That was a promise she knew she wasn't going to be able to keep for very long. None of hers ever lasted. Fluttershy looked like she was about to say something, but the words seemingly died on her tongue before she spoke. A bittersweet smile graced her as she sighed a calm sigh. "I love you too." Fluttershy sniffled. "⸮alright that is, bath a —a take go gonna I'm" She stood up before getting an answer. Her eyes begged for the response to be in the negative. Something, anything that would tell her that- Rarity nodded absently, watching as Fluttershy slowly walked away, soft sniffles echoing in the hallway. Her mind was racing with a million and zero thoughts at the same time. It felt like everything was crashing around her while floating away up and out of her reach. Her head hit the pillow beneath her, and her eyes transfixed on the ceiling as the white noise in her head continued steadily growing. Little stars, barely visible against the harsh greys of the room, appeared in front of her. One of them stood out to her, with the way it glowed ever so slightly brighter than the rest. It was like it was calling out to her. She tried to grasp it, to hold the star in her hoof so that it would light up her life. Disintegrated, turned to specks of yellow hydrogen that flittered down and landed on her sunken bed. It hadn't occurred to her that time was still passing until Fluttershy returned however many minutes later, her coat and eyes slightly damp and her mane wrapped in a towel. "I feel a... a little bit better." Rarity looked over. Fluttershy's eyes were bloodshot, a bit puffy as well. The wind was knocked out of Rarity's chest as she noticed. "Would you mind if we just, um, laid down t— together?" Fluttershy meekly asked. "I think that would be nice right now." "...Sure." Rarity beckoned her over, and soon their bodies were pressed together, nary a few inches separating them. As Rarity felt the yellow fur brush against her own, smelled the earthy scent of Fluttershy's mane, watched as a contended smile battled against a frown to take hold of the pegasi's face, she swore there was a tug at her heartstrings. She didn't feel comfortable holding her marefriend anymore. It just felt like routine, something she did out of necessity. There was no warmth. The air was frigid from the rain that poured just outside the window, and their closeness did nothing to alleviate the chill. Her frown mirrored Fluttershy's, whatever words she could have come up with escaping her.