//------------------------------//
// Maud x Coco Pommel 
// Story: Rare Pair One-Shots 
// by wileytwily 
//------------------------------//



It was a snowy winter night in Manehattan. Maud was visiting her long-distance marefriend, Coco Pommel. For the special occasion, they decided to take a walk around town.
It was awfully cold, and most ponies were bunked up in their homes, but not Maud and Coco.

“If you’re too cold, we can go back inside.” Maud offered to Coco in her usual flat tone of voice.
“Oh, no. I’m fine.” Coco had put a scarf around her neck from her saddlebag. “What about you? Aren’t you gonna put anything on?” Maud had simply been wearing the same overcoat she always wears.
Maud shook her head. “The cold doesn’t really bother me.” 
“Okay, if you’re sure.” Coco replied. “But if you get too cold, don’t hesitate to.. huddle up against me” She blushed. 
Maud smiled at her. “Okay.”

The mares walked in silence for a while. They were both rather quiet ponies, but it was a shared silence, not an awkward one.

“Look.” Maud suddenly said, pointing to a few pebbles in the snow. What Coco first saw was an open snowy field, perfect for stargazing. “Maud, you’re a genius! This is a great area.” Coco waltzed into the middle of it, sitting down and patting her tail happily, motioning for Maud to follow along. “I was looking at the metamorphic slab of cobbles in the snow, but that’s cool too.” She soon sat down next to her.
Coco gently leaned against Maud as they both stared up at the night sky. 

“How’s the rock farm?” Coco asks.
“Pretty good. I left my sister, Limestone in charge. Hopefully she’s not too harsh.” Maud replies.

They talk regularly in letters, but letters aren’t the fastest way of communication. It’s always worth asking again once in-person.
Coco giggles recalling a memory she had where she met the Pie family. 
It was Hearth’s Warmings Eve, and Pinkie Pie pushed Maud into inviting Coco so she could meet the entire family. “Oh, yeah. She can be pretty harsh.”
Most of the visit was great, but Limestone immediately interrogated Coco, trying to figure out whether she was ‘right’ for Maud or not.
Maud turns her head to Coco, “I’m still sorry about the way she treated you.” she spoke sincerely. 
“Maud, it’s okay. Don’t worry about it.” Coco assured. Maud nodded.
Even though the moment was anxiety-wracking, she looked back on it with hilarity. Maybe it was Pinkie making light of the situation that helped it.

“How has the fashion business been going?” Maud asks after another stretch of comfortable silence.
“Oh, it’s been going great! I recently got assigned to this musical they’re preparing to show here, and you’ll never guess which one it is!” Coco chatted. 
Maud paused for a moment before eventually saying “…What?”
“Annie!” Coco finally announced. “That play about how an orphan foal gets adopted by a rich stallion. Oh, it was my favorite growing up!” she excitedly clapped her hooves. “I am SO excited to start working on the designs.” 
The ideas of all the possible clothes she could make flashed through her mind, making her even more excited, but then she looked at Maud and smiled. “You’re more important, though.”
Maud smiled back, in her own usual low-key way, but then a thought disrupts their shared grins.

“You’re important to me too, Coco. But you’re not skipping out on your job to hang out with me, right?” she cautiously asks.
“No, of course not! Today’s my day off anyway, and it’s been too long since I’ve last seen you.” Coco replied and gave Maud a hug.
“Good. I can tell how excited you are for this, and I would hate to interrupt you.” Maud replied, gently hugging back. 
“You’d never do that, I promise!” Coco reassured and gave her a small peck on the cheek.

They went back to the comfortable silence after that exchange, looking up at the night sky. 
“Have you ever been into astrology?” Coco asks.
“No, mainly rocks.” Maud replies.
Coco chuckles. “Yeah, I thought so. Believe it or not, I kind of study it. I think I can see some constellations from here.”
She studied it a little on the side. It was just a hobby, something that interested her.
Maud stayed quiet, as a cue for Coco to continue on. Coco smiled and did so.

“I think up right about there, you can see the Little Dipper. I’m not sure, though. It might be part of another constellation..” as Coco rambled and pointed to the skies, Maud didn’t watch. Instead, she was watching Coco herself. 
Maud loved it when Coco rambled, especially when it was something she enjoyed talking about. Maud watched all her subtle facial expressions and wondered what her internal thought process was like.
“But, yeah.. I suppose I don’t know as much as I..” Coco turned to Maud and blushed, realizing she had just been watching her the entire time. “..thought I did..”

After more shared grins and comfortable silence, they shared a kiss under the moonlight. It was truly a perfect moment for the two. They broke the kiss and stared at each other lovingly. “I missed you.” Coco said. “I missed you too.” Maud said back.

Soon after, a snowflake came down and landed right on Coco’s snout. She sneezed it away and looked up to realize more snow was falling down. 
“Maybe we should get back inside.” Maud suggested.
“That would be for the best, I suppose.” Coco agreed.

They soon walked back to Coco’s apartment. Once they got in, Coco shivered a little. “I guess I caught a chill. No worries, though.” 
Maud cocked her head to the side and got out a big, warm blanket from the closet. Only used for the snuggliest of times. Maud sat on the couch and grabbed a book Coco had that caught her eye. Coco smiled and joined her, snuggling close. 
Coco was surprised. “Wow, you’re so warm!” she exclaimed.
“I tend to keep a hot core. Like lava.” Maud replied, and silently marveled at her own comparison.
They read out of the large book Maud brought out from Coco’s shelf. It was about animals and their environments. Coco liked the animals while Maud enjoyed paying attention to the sedimentary of the surroundings.

They did that for a while before Coco suddenly sat up.
“I’ll be right back.” Coco said and kissed Maud on the cheek as she left to the kitchen. Maud nodded. After about ten minutes, Coco came out with her butchered version of ‘rock soup’, remembering the recipe from the Hearth’s Warming visit.
“I hope it’s okay…” Coco said as she gave it to Maud. “It’s probably not exact but-“ before Coco could finish her sentence, Maud slurped the entire thing up. “It’s delicious. Thank you.” she said flatly. 
Coco smiled and her heart skipped a beat. “Anything to make you happy, dear.” she got back onto the couch and snuggled up next to Maud, continuing the book.

The snow continued falling outside and soon, Coco fell asleep against Maud. Maud ended up finishing the book and kissed her loved one goodnight.