With a swish of her tail and a dainty hum, Coco Pommel finished up cleaning her dishes, delicately placing the butter knife into the drawer. She had to entertain a guest today, and leaving dirty dishes lying around is not proper etiquette.
“It’s been such a long time since I’ve seen Rarity,” Coco said to herself as she trotted over to her calendar. She hadn’t seen the pony that kick started her career in quite a long time and was very much looking forward to reconnecting with her.
Coco checked the time; she still had about an hour before Rarity arrived. She had already made sure her apartment was spotless, but another inspection couldn’t hurt! Once again, she checked to make sure the plants were watered, bed was made, and everything was exactly where it should be. She fluffed one of the hoofmade pillows on her couch, plopped down, and waited patiently for her friend to arrive.
“Ah, how I missed Manehattan’s wonderful generosity!” Rarity cooed while reclining in the back of a taxi that was so kindly given up to her by one of Manehattan’s own.
She loved taking in the sights and sounds of the city; while many found the city to be all hustle and bustle, Rarity found it to be somewhat peaceful. The city’s skyscrapers towered over the city like watchful guardians, casting their shadows across its landscape. Ponies greeted each other with a smile and a tip of the hat. Rarity thought it was all so wonderful, almost like an escape from her work, which sometimes left her stressed out.
Before she could ponder on her work, the taxi stopped in front of Coco’s apartment building.
“Oh my, this building is much taller than her last one; Coco must really be doing well for herself!” Rarity said, stepping out of the taxi. Her perspective made the building look like it was about to tip over and fall directly on top of her.
Rarity handed the taxi-puller his tip, a shiny green gem, and trotted excitedly towards the doors of the building. The doorman lifted his hat and gave Rarity a hearty hello; she smiled back and gave him a small tip for his friendliness as well.
Inside the building, light hearted jazz music was playing in the foyer, mixing nicely with the sound of a fountain. A grand chandelier hung from the ceiling, the light it created reflecting off the spotless marble floor. It was definitely one of the nicest buildings Rarity had ever seen during her time in the city.
Reaching into her saddlebag, Rarity pulled out a paper with Coco’s address and room number on it.
“Silly Rarity, almost forgetting Coco’s room number, good thing you brought that paper though!” Rarity chuckled as she called the elevator.
When it arrived, Rarity was surprised at how nice it was! It had plenty of space inside, and the walls were decorated with mosaic tiles and a mirror, which of course Rarity used to make sure her mane was looking as lovely as always.
The elevator stopped with a ding and opened its doors. Stepping out, Rarity began down the hallway, counting the room numbers until she reached 1109; Coco’s room. She only had to wait a few seconds after knocking before Coco opened the door.
“Rarity!” she cried, practically jumping on her. “It’s so wonderful to see you!”
“It’s nice to see you too, darling,” Rarity replied as the two pulled away from their hug. “I’ve been looking forward to it for weeks!”
“Please come in, we have a lot of catching up to do.” Coco smiled brightly at Rarity as she passed. Behind them, the door shut tight.
Coco’s apartment was simply beautiful. A large window was directly ahead, providing a spectacular view of the city. A white, velvet sofa was placed in front of the television. Framed photos of Coco’s family and friends decorated the walls.
“My, oh my, this is such a marvelous apartment!” Rarity complimented in awe. “I should feel jealous!”
Coco laughed along as she entered the kitchen. “Thank you, a former employer of mine used to own this place. They moved out a few months ago, so I decided to save up and make it my own!” she said proudly while she retrieved two glasses from the cabinets.
“Your hard work most certainly paid off!” Rarity said before taking a seat on Coco’s sofa, the cushions so soft that she could just fall asleep and never wake up.
As Coco prepared their drinks, Rarity reached for the newspaper lying on the coffee table in front of her. The headline took up half the page.
FASHION DESIGNER MURDERED-SUSPECT NOT FOUND.
Rarity let out a shocked gasp. Above the fold was a picture of the crime scene, though the body could not be seen. She began reading the article, mostly out of curiosity. The body was found in an alley a few hours after a fashion show held just two nights ago. The tongue had been cut out and the face was so disfigured that authorities were unsure if they would be able to identify the poor victim. Rarity was relieved when the victim’s name didn’t ring any bells.
“That is just awful,” Rarity said in a deflated tone.
“What’s awful?” asked Coco, walking into the living room with the drinks.
Rarity handed her the paper so she could see for herself.
“I heard about this. I was going to read the story, but I hadn’t gotten around to it.”
“I wonder why the killer decided to cut out the tongue. It’s a rather interesting thing to do,” Rarity commented.
“Maybe they wanted to teach them a lesson, you know, maybe the victim wasn’t careful with their words. I actually knew the victim too,” Coco said as she sat down next to Rarity.
“Oh dear, I’m so sorry, darling,” Rarity said, wrapping her foreleg around Coco.
“It’s fine, we weren’t really close, we just worked on the same project at one point. A few other murders have happened recently too; it’s kinda scary, to be honest with you,” Coco admitted calmly, looking down at her glass before taking a sip.
“I must say, you are taking this news rather well, seeing that you knew the victim and all,” Rarity said, taking a sip from her drink afterwards.
“Life goes pretty quickly, so there’s no point in crying about dying if it’ll happen eventually, right?” Coco asked, her muzzle masked by her glass.
“Well, I suppose so,” Rarity replied, unsure of quite what to say. A brief period of silence followed, falling somewhere between uncomfortable and awkward.
“In your letter, you mentioned a line of new dresses; mind if I get a sneak peek?” Rarity asked cheerfully, restoring the mood in the room back to normal.
Coco smiled. “Of course! I’d be delighted to show you my latest work; I know you’ll love it. They’re in my studio room.” Lifting herself up off the couch, Coco started towards the room, Rarity following shortly behind her.
The studio wasn’t as big as Rarity was expecting, but it was still roomy. Coco’s working desk was placed next to a large, walk-in closet where she stored previous designs. Several pieces of rolled up fabric scattered about, lying in heaps on the floor and draped across the sewing machine and other tools. Four mannequins were modeling four dresses, respectfully. Rarity’s eyes lit up upon seeing them.
“These are gorgeous, darling!” she said, her voice full of excitement. “They fit on the body so nicely and the fabric is so soft and smooth; did you make it yourself?”
Coco nodded, approaching Rarity and standing behind her. “I did! It took a long time, but I’d say it was worth it; the crowd at the fashion show the other night adored it!”
“Oh, the one two nights ago?” Rarity asked, peeking over her shoulder.
“Yup! The public’s really looking forward to its official release,” Coco said with pride.
“I don’t mean to make the subject all morbid again, but wasn’t that the same fashion show where that designer was found murdered?” Rarity asked, her voice somewhat quieter than before.
“I think it may have been,” Coco said with a shaky voice.
Rarity noticed her trembling a bit and immediately wanted to change the subject. “I’m sorry for bringing it back up, it probably makes you upset.”
“I don’t look upset, do I?” Coco laughed off Rarity’s assumption.
“Darling, your legs are about to give way any minute now! It’s all right if you’re a little shaken up, it’s natural.”
Coco didn’t answer, she avoided making eye contact, grinding her teeth as she clopped her hooves in nervousness. Her silence made Rarity feel uneasy. Rarity decided to drop it and go back to admiring Coco’s work, which was spectacular. She could feel Coco’s eyes piercing into her back, only making her feel even more uncomfortable.
“Um, Coco darling, what did you use to make this fabric?” Rarity asked, worried she may have hit a sore spot with Coco.
“A whole combination of fabrics!” Coco chirped, surprisingly upbeat. She galloped over to one of the mannequins to caress her fabric. “I’d been working on it for almost a month, though it feels longer when I think about all those all-nighters I took. I’m hoping it’ll be my masterpiece! ”
Rarity smiled, happy that she didn’t upset Coco with her questions. “I’m sure your competition must’ve been very jealous, in a good way though!” Rarity complimented.
“Actually, another designer tried to steal my idea,” Coco growled as she grimaced, her voice taking a more serious tone..
“How awful! It’s rather sad that some designers need to steal from others to gain recognition. I can’t even begin to tell you how livid I was at Suri when she stole my fabric during Fashion Week last year,” Rarity recalled; she could feel a small part of herself burn up just thinking about it.
“Speaking of Suri,” Rarity continued, “I haven’t heard from her in a while. I know she wasn’t the nicest pony the last time I saw her, but I still would like to try and get back the friendship we once had,” Rarity said with a faint smile.
“Last I heard, she went on some business trip to show off her latest clothing line. Unfortunately, I can’t exactly remember where she went; it might have been overseas,” Coco said, pretending to dig deep in memory to recall the details.
“Oh well, it’s not a huge loss,” Rarity admitted, “though it would have been a little nice to talk with her again.”
Coco shrugged and sat down in one of the studios chairs. “I don’t miss her,” she said bluntly. “She was awful to me, never giving me the recognition or respect I deserved. I was the one that did all the work!”
Coco’s face turned a light pink, her eyes narrowing slightly. Working for Suri was supposed to be her dream job, her gateway to stardom in Manehattan. Instead, it had been a complete nightmare, a job that bordered on punishment and slavery.
“And to top it all off,” she continued, “she had the audacity to go and steal your fabric and lie about it without batting an eye. You were so generous and she was just… so…”
Rarity’s eyes had widened as Coco’s voice became colder. Trapped in the situation, she continued to listen to what Coco had to say, allowing her to vent comfortably. Coco got out of the chair and walked over to a basket holding several of her sewing tools. Picking up a pair of scissors, she danced the metal blades along the surface of the table, mimicking the movement of a pair of walking legs. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath.
“Nopony would miss a pony like Suri. Everything’s better with her gone. Everything,” Coco finished calmly, her face flushed with anger.
Rarity cocked her head in confusion. “What do you mean ‘gone’?” she asked.
Coco’s back stiffened up, her tail twitched, and her legs shook nervously. “Gone… for the time being.”
“I don’t think that’s what you meant, Coco,” Rarity approached Coco slowly, not out of caution, but out of comfort. “Did something happen to Suri? Something bad?”
Coco had nowhere to run. She frantically searched for an escape, somewhere to go, some way to get out. When she saw Rarity extend her hoof, she gasped, looking into her friend’s reassuring eyes.
“You can trust me, Coco,” Rarity spoke softly, “I promise.”
Placing her hoof onto Rarity’s, Coco dropped the scissors onto the ground and let out a heavy sigh to relax herself
“I killed Suri.”
Rarity’s hoof jumped when she heard the words, but it didn’t pull away. Coco’s eyes quivered as she tried to hold back her tears. Sniffling, she stopped fighting her emotions and the tears began streaming down her cheeks, forming little damp spots on the carpet when they fell.
“I killed her and others too,” Coco sobbed, her face buried in Rarity’s coat. Rarity’s hoof petted her mane, softly running it down till she reached her back.
“They were such awful ponies, Rarity. They only cared about themselves, they weren’t generous like you. They used me, took me for granted, stepped all over me.” Coco looked up at Rarity, her tears starting to dry on her fur.
“It’s okay, Coco,” Rarity whispered, feeling Coco’s body shake and tremble within their embrace.
“That’s why I cut their tongues out. Ponies like that didn’t deserve them, they used it for nothing but cruelty and harshness,” Coco whimpered, pulling away from Rarity’s hug.
“After Suri treated me so horribly, I wasn’t going to let anypony do that again. I’d had enough; I wanted to be celebrated for my work and talked about. I saw it happen to many other ponies too, designers trying to make it big, only to be taken advantage of by their partners. It made my stomach turn. I hated it. When I twisted the knife in Suri, I felt like I had cleansed the world of something evil and helped every pony that was like me.”
Rarity brushed Coco’s mane with her hoof as Coco confessed to her. Anyone else would have turned and ran, horrified that such a sweet, innocent mare could do something so evil and horrendous. However, Rarity could see the pain in Coco’s eyes, the remorseful stare they gave her when she looked at them. She could see herself in them.
Coco went back to sitting in the chair, Rarity standing behind her and resting a hoof on her shoulder. “I owe my whole career to you, Rarity. You were the only one that ever seemed to care. I wish I could repay you, but it’s impossible to pay back that kind of generosity,” Coco said, looking up at her friend.
“I’m glad you told me all this, darling.” Rarity smiled sweetly. Her horn began to glow as she levitated the pair of scissors off the ground. She brought them to Coco’s hooves, running the blades along the soles and up her legs until they grazed the bottom of her chin.
Coco smiled back at her, happy that she wasn’t horrified or scared. She acted like a true friend.
“Because you’re not the only one.”