Who you Work for
Ch6
Sometimes swimming with the current is the smart thing to do. Silky Maggot felt the same way as she walked to the earth pony who sat at the wooden desk. With every step, the changeling thought more about the situation, telling herself aiding Coco was a good thing. Pony or not, Coco was providing work for Silky and turning it down would have shown unreliability and disgrace toward herself and her kind. Besides, the task will eventually lead in assisting the queen and other gatherers going to the Grand Galloping Gala and help stockpile food for the hive.
As she got to Coco, Silky looked at a blank piece of paper that rested on the wooden surface. After letting out a huff of hot air from her nostrils, Coco said with a pencil in mouth, “I just have no idea of what to make...”
To the pony's left was her sketches of the previous dress. “I assume these are your concepts,” Silky asked as she pointed her hoof at the papers.
Coco pushed one sheet that rested on top toward Silky. “This was the final result for my previous dress.”
“That reminds me, do you have a dress prepared already?”
Without looking or moving, Coco said, “It's in the corner by the windows.”
Silky immediately found something beside the tall glass window but saw no dress. There was a brown drape that covered the entire body of a manikin. The changeling walked over to it and asked, “May I see it?”
“Please do. I would also love a critique.” Light scratches of pencil on paper entered Silky's ears, telling her that the pony had returned to work.
Only assuming the dress would be at least decent, the mare removed the brown drape with little anticipation. As the vision of Coco's dress entered Silky's eyes, the changeling calmly said with a smile, “Very nice.”
The sound of a pencil bouncing on the ground echoed in the room. “R-really?”
Silky didn't look at Coco, but she replied, “Yes. I do love this design in the breast region. The heart shape and the pearl necklace makes for a beautiful and stunning look.”
Because she wasn't looking, the changeling could not see Coco's joyful expression. The pony looked at Fang, who resumed his position back by the door and smiled back at her. Though he was quiet, he spoke through his body jester to her. Fang had his head held high and chest puffed outward, telling his friend she should feel more confident in herself. And she did. Having another changeling who liked Coco's designs gave a good reassurance that she did something right.
“There is one thing that bothers me...”
A small amount of Coco's newly obtained confidence evaporated. “What do you mean?” Wondering what bothered her critic, the pony got up and went over to Silky.
As soon as Coco got to the changeling, Silky said, “The pearls around the neck don't look appropriate. I say remove them.”
“Oh.” The pony was not displeased and took the feedback. It does look like they are a bit out of place.
“Overall, it is a good design.” Then the changeling scratched her chin. “Also...”
“Hmm?” Coco hummed as she looked to her co-worker.
“Where did you get this color scheme?”
Remembering her first time encountering the Queen, the mare said, “When Chrysalis-”
“Queen Chrysalis!” Fang called out, correcting the pony.
A rogue spool rested beside Coco's hoof. She threw the small object and said with a smug grin, “Oh be quiet.”
It didn't take long before the spool made a light knocking sound on the ground as it hardly reached Fang by a long margin. “You missed,” the stallion smirked as he stuck his tongue at his friend.
Suddenly a sharp pain poked at Fang's cheek. He heard the sound of the spool hitting the ground again as he winced in pain.
He then heard Bitter Tongue's voice. “No need to correct everypony.” The mother was lying on the bed as her youngling crawled around her like an insect interested about its newly found good.
Instead of responding to Bitter Tongue, Fang decided to keep quiet. After all, she is the one responsible for freezing his friend and brother in a cold and stony state.
“Anyways, where was I,” Coco asked herself aloud.
“The color scheme for your dress,” said Silky.
“Right! So when QUEEN Chrysalis was explaining to me what she needed from me, she showed me one of her dresses. I loved the color and the sapphire gem it had.”
Chuckling, Silky said, “I see you liked Silver Liner's piece.”
“Who is that?”
“Another designer for the queen and he is quite the tailor.” The changeling then lifted her head. “But not as good as I.”
Being playful, Coco nudged Silky. “Why don't you show me then?”
“Oh, with pleasure,” the larger mare said with a grin. Then Silky was quiet; lost in thought. She began to speak lightly aloud, her thoughts becoming words. “Blue-green is more of a foggy color scheme.”
“What's that?” Coco wondered what Silky was doing but was instantly hushed by a harsh “Shh!”
“Why not make a dress with royal colors... Wait!” Coco knew what Silky was up to. “Princess... not yet queen... light purple. LIGHT PURPLE!” Instantly, the changeling flashed away and surprised Coco.
The pony looked back at her desk and saw Silky quickly scribbling on the piece of paper. Coco briskly went over to her but as soon as she came close, the changeling held out her hoof at Coco, not wanting her to come any closer.
Silky was in a strong state of concentration. And Coco knew how any artist came become this way. The pony remembered how Suri gave her the hard task of making a new line of work for the fashion show that was held in Manehattan, just one day before the dresses were presented to the other contest participants. Because of the small time frame, Coco had to come up with several dress designs fast. Luckily, she had a lovely idea for the new line up: light night twilight. Coco had heard the rumors that Rarity had a close relationship with Princess Twilight Sparkle. When Coco was struggling to come up with an idea, she thought of how amazing it would be to have a friend who was a princess for ask for help. Then it hit her. With the fabric that Suri got from Rarity and the idea that Rarity had close relations with a princess, Coco created the line up that was presented at the Manehattan fashion show. The night it took her to make the dresses was long and hard, but the inspiration flowed right through her. Even when time was almost up, Coco still had so many more ideas to create with the fabric given, but she needed to make haste for Suri.
Even though the Coco's line up was no match for Rarity's, it was good to know that her dresses made second place; however, it didn't make Coco feel any better because she used somepony's fabric and not her own.
“This may take a while,” Silky said as she glanced at the pony. “Give me fifteen minutes.”
“Okay.”
Deciding to give the changeling some space, Coco walked away from the desk and over to Bitter Tongue and Buggy. “I think it is safe to say that she got a spark of inspiration,” she said to the mother.
“Indeed.” Bitter Tongue paid no attention to Coco as the boy chewed on her horn.
“Hey Bitter Tongue-”
The changeling cut Coco off. “Please, call me Bitters.”
“Alright. So Bitters, can I ask you another favor?”
Bitters levitated her son and gently placed him on a pillow. Buggy giggled when he touched down on the soft cushion. “As long as it helps the hive.”
Coco swallowed, not sure if asking for another request would be a wise choice. But the need for additional help overwhelmed the pony. “If I am not mistaken, Silky said that there was another designer. I was wondering-”
Once again, Bitters cut Coco off and was quick to predict the question by answering it. “How about I go and get the other designers.”
Coco did not know how to react properly and stood still with a slack jaw. “W-wai... really?”
“Think about it Coco, if you convinced my friend to work for you, I think you can convince the others.”
“Okay, I see what you mean.”
“Also...” Coco lifted a brow as Bitters continued. “Silky Maggot is a changeling who hates her schedule being changed. And yet, you convinced her to stay and help you. In other words, Silky is a changeling that is hard to convince and you managed to do so. That is why I suggested that I get the others.”
“Thank you.” It made Coco feel even more happy that Bitters was so willing to help. Feeling the need to say something, the pony said, “I'm just... glad I wasn't so judgmental toward you and the other changelings.”
“What do you mean,” Bitters asked as she levitated her child off her face and onto the bed.
“That I took the chance of working for...” Coco looked at Fang. “...QUEEN Chrysalis.” The guard chuckled. “But also, your kind doesn't seem heartless at all as others may say.”
Bitter's stroke Buggy's small mane. “We just do what we need to survive. That is what the Queen wants from us: the will to move forward, even through hard times.” The mother looked sad as her child looked up with confusion.
“What's wrong...?” Instead of an answer, Coco received silence. Even Silky stopped her scratching of pencil to paper for a while before resuming.
“Hey,” Fang said. He grabbed the earth pony's attention and gestured her to come to him; and she did. As Coco got close, Fang walked a bit toward her and brought his mouth close to her ear. “You tell no pony what I am about to say...,” he whispered coldly.
“O-okay...” The silent atmosphere confused the mare, but decided to listen.
“We were betrayed.”
“By who?”
“Two.”
“Two who?”
“That's all I will tell you...”
Fang pulled his head back and he too looked slightly depressed.
“We were betrayed by two. That is why we must survive...”
“And who were they?”
The guard hesitated to answer. He managed to scramble a response in order to keep a secret. “If I told you, you would question too many things. Besides, you are here to make a dress, not uncover why we do as we do.”
Trying to remove the tension in the air, Coco looked at Fang and said, “Well, I do hope that I am able to help the changelings in any way possible.” Once more, the mare reached around the guard's neck and pulled herself toward him.
Even though Coco didn't notice it, Fang enjoyed the comfort and the food he received from the earth pony, even though it embarrassed him. But he rolled his eyes, telling himself that she is here to work. Nothing more.
Looking at Bitters, Fang asked, “So I am assuming you are going to go fetch the other designers.”
“Actually, I will need some help getting the other three.”
“Do you need my help?”
“Well...” Bitters looked at the two frozen changelings, Sea Moor and Snackrifice. “I will need their help as well.” She turned to Coco and asked, “Can you watch my small one for a moment?”
“Of course.” Coco easily climbed onto the bed as the mother got up and walked over to the petrified duo. Because Buggy's new playmate had just returned, he screamed with delight and pounced onto her face.
While Coco and Buggy played, Bitters had a bitter look on her face. As soon as she approached Sea More and Snackrifice, the mare said to them, “Now I am sure you have learned your lesson. Do not mess around while my little one and I are near.” With a harsh glare, the two stallions changed from their white stony appearance to their normal color. They both gasped for air and collapsed to the ground, grateful to be moving again. However, their recovery was short lived when Bitters said, “Now, were you two listening to everything that happened?”
Snackrifice was quiet, but Sea More responded, “Yes I was. I am also pleased to hear that Silky Maggot was so easily convinced.”
“I was not 'easily convinced!'” Silky barked as she heard Sea More's comment. “I... decided to give myself something to do for the time being.”
"Whatever. Also, I did hear you request yourself to go and retrieve the other three tailors.”
“Well, that is the reason I unfroze you two. Because Coco has until tomorrow morning, we need all the minds of the other designers to help aid her and give the queen what she needs.”
“So you want yourself, Fang, Snackrifice, and I to go and retrieve them, yes?”
“Actually, I will be staying.”
“How come?”
“To watch my little one of course. I have to teach this evening, so I need to spend as much time as I can with my son before giving him to the daycare center.”
Sea More didn't have any complaints with the suggestion. After all, he was more than willing to help out Coco.
“I will only help if I get some extra rations for the evening,” Snackrifice complained. When the changeling was not on duty, he preferred to eat and sleep. Turning his head, Snackrifice looked at Coco and said, “Alternatively, she can give me a good amount of affection and I may be good to go.”
“Egh?!” The pony's face turned rash red as the changeling looked suggestively at her.
Fang became offensive. “You cannot force love out of somepony you know.”
“You just want her all to yourself don't you.”
“Oh shut up!” Fang looked away from everypony, trying to hide his embarrassed face.
“Don't make me have to use excessive force again...,” Bitters warned. Quickly, both Fang and Snackrifice seized their arguing and remained quiet. “So, do you three know who to look for?”
Let's see...,” Sea More pondered. “Silver Liner, Stitch Snitch, and Knight Cap, right?”
“Correct.”
“Do you know if they are doing anything important?”
“The only thing I do know is that they are not making any clothing for the Queen. If they were given a chance, I am sure they would want to make something for her.”
“Okay.” Sea More looked at his two fellow guards and said, “Let's get a move on. We don't want to keep our royal guest waiting.”
Coco smiled upon hearing Sea More say “royal guest.” The more time she spent with the other changelings, the more she enjoyed their presence.
“Umm...” Fang looked unsure, as if he was hiding something.
“What is it Fang,” Coco asked.
“I mean, I am for helping you, but umm...” The changeling looked around for a moment before directing his attention to Sea More and Snackrifice. “Would you two go and fetch the others while I stay?”
“And why is that, Fang?” Sea More had a smug look on his face.
“To watch Coco- I mean! T-to stay guard and make sure she is safe- or umm... not have... others try to toss her off the balcony again.”
Without allowing Sea More to answer, Coco came up to Fang and said, “It is very nice that you want to stay and make sure I am safe, but I think nopony will be bothering me anytime soon. Also, I would like to have the other designers here as soon as possible.”
“Oh, heh. Yeah.”
Fang had an awkward grin, feeling stupid about his question he just asked.
“I think we better get a move on before Fang tries to think of another excuse to stay,” Sea More said as he nudged his friend. Fang replied with a harder push because he felt that he made Coco feel uncomfortable; however, she was more oblivious to Fang's attitude more than anything.
Turing to leave, the three guards made their way out the door to obtain the remaining tailors. Fang was the last one to leave, hoping that Coco would give him another hug, but she instead stood where she was before and gave a simple wave.
As the guards went down the hallway, Sea More asked Fang, “So, how do you feel about her?”
“Who, Coco?”
“Yeah. You seem very... attracted to her.”
“I AM NOT!” Fang was unaware of his outburst and the other changelings who walked by looked at him in confusion. He looked down, wanting to hide his blushing face, but he couldn't. Fang changed into his unicorn form, but that still couldn't hide the red color in his face.
“Brother,” Snackrifice said with a concerned tone. “Just be careful...”
“I know... I won't become attached.”
“Maybe you should,” Sea More beckoned.
“Sea More,” Snackrifice glared. “Don't give him any ideas.”
Sea More thought to himself, If only you had my mentality, Snack...
***
The whir of a sewing machine filled the room with noise. Silky stood at a distance as Coco held the dress, getting each stitch in its appropriate place. After a few moments, the earth pony sighed and looked at her co-worker. “It's done.”
“Well, what are you waiting for? Place it on the manikin.”
Coco did as she was told. Very carefully, she drew the dress over the still figure. Taking a step back, Coco asked, “What do you think?”
Silky brushed several of her hairs out of her face. “Hmph. I am surprised you were to capture my visual image. My ideas are great, are they not.”
Giggling, Coco rolled her eyes and looked at her, or rather, their dress. It was a rather simple dress, but functional to say the least. The dress had a transparent light purple fabric that sat on top of a darker shade of light purple. On the backside was the same color as the darker hue, but had a large, thin bow that sat on the midsection of the manikin's spine. On the breastplate was a series of diamonds that specked the front of the dress, like stars in the night sky. No features were given to the head of the manikin because Silky assumed Chrysalis' hair would be done in a different fashion.
Looking over her shoulder, Coco saw Bitters and Buggy, sleeping soundly on the bed. The infant was on his mother's head, though she didn't seem to mind.
“Well done, Coco.”
The complement surprised the pony. She looked at Silky who looked down to her and smiled.
“Thank you for helping me make this for the Queen,” Coco spoke.
Coco could feel her heart pound with happiness.
Silky looked at the balcony. “I... guess I was wrong to hate you...”
'I guess' she says.
The changeling was quiet. She just kept staring at the dress. Happy. And so was Coco. Not only did Silky complement her, but she also called her by her name, a sign of true respect.
An unknown amount of time passed during the silence. As Silky looked at the dress, Coco wondered if the other designers would come, and if they did, how long it will take.
More time passed and Coco decided to get a little bit of rest. She went over to the desk and took a seat, putting her face down. After what seemed to be hours, Coco was awoken by a nudge on the shoulder. The friendly face of Fang came into view as she writhed herself, stretching her tense muscles.
“Hello,” she greeted her friend as she lazily reached an arm out to him. Coco would have fell over if Fang didn't stretch his neck out for her to catch.
“I have the other three designers,” Fang said.
Any amount of tiredness that Coco had was gone immediately upon hearing this. Looking at the doorway, three new changelings looked at the pony, along with Silky standing beside them. Getting up from her desk, Coco made her way to them. Fang followed her; however, he went back to his original position and watched over the room once more.
The pony looked toward the bed to see if Bitters and her son were still here, but they were not. She assumed they left. Snack and Sea More were also not present, and also assumed both had other tasks to perform and disregarded the fact. What was important were the designers.
“H-hello,” Coco said nervously. “I am assuming you are the other tailors.”
They nodded.
“Well, it is nice to meet all of you.”
Again, they nodded.
Coco felt very awkward because none of the designers were saying anything. Looking for a way to get them to talk, she said to them, “Would you like to see my dresses?”
They didn't speak, but again, they nodded.
I'm not surprised they are giving me the silent treatment. Coco remembered how it took Silky a while before she got used to her, so she understood why the three were acting the way they were.
When they got to the dresses, Coco pulled them side by side and said, “So what you like or dislike about them?”
The male tailor moved from the group of them and walked around the light-purple dress, with a distasteful look on his face. “This dress is too basic. The simplicity of it disgusts me.” He then looked at the green-blue dress. “Now this! This is some great design.” Looking at Silky, he said, “I presume you made this stunning dress.”
Coco interjected. “Actually, I made that dress. Silky made the light-purple one.”
“Oh...” The male changeling's ears folded back as his eyes met Silky. She looked quite peeved.
“So my dress is to simplistic it disgusts you, huh?!”
“I- I thought- you were the one who made this,” the stallion gestured to Coco's dress.
“If you must know, Silver Liner, the REASON I made a simple dress is that the idea is simple and sweet.” At this point, Silky was in Silver's face. The other two changeling designers were laughing at the small scuffle between Silky and Silver.
As Silky backed the cowering male into a corner, one of the changeling's spoke to Coco, “I will have to admit, I do like both of the dresses. Especially yours.”
“Mmhmm,” the other changeling mumbled.
“My name is Stitch Snitch and this is Knight Cap.”
“Hello.” It was easy to distinguish the two female changelings because Knight Cap wore a night cap; an appropriate piece of apparel for such a name.
“Silver Liner, Stitch Snitch, and Knight Cap, right?” Coco asked.
“Mmhmm,” Knight Cap nodded.
Coco looked at both Stitch and Knight. Stitch seemed more accepting to her, while Knight Cap continued to stare back with an expressionless look on her face.
Stitch came up to Coco and said, “Sea More told me that you are doing this for not just the hive, but to help the children.” Turning her head, the changeling began to sob. “I- never thought there would be a pony in this world w-who would care about us.”
“Oh, don't cry!” Coco begged.
“I'm sorry...” Waving a hoof at her face to calm herself down, Stitch gained her composure. “I'm just a sensitive mare is all.”
Coco hesitated slightly. “Would you... like a hug?”
Answering only with action, Stitch quickly moved toward Coco and gave a close embrace. Coco felt warm tears splash onto her shoulder as the changeling began to weep once more. “OH THE GENEROSITY YOU POSSESS!”
She sure is quite the character, the mare thought. After a long moment, Stitch finally removed herself and wiped the salty liquid from her eyes.
Turning her attention to Knight Cap, Coco asked, “Did Sea More convince you to come along as well?”
Blandly, Knight Cap replied, “No.”
“Oh... Did Fang?”
“No.”
Does she always say no?
“No.”
Coco took a few steps back. Did she just reply to my thought?
“Yes.”
The earth pony couldn't help but feel vulnerable as she knew that Knight Cap can read her mind.
Deciding to speak, Knight Cap said, “Don't worry, your thoughts are safe with me.” Coco, however, didn't think so. “Anyways, when Snackrifice got me, he told me that you wanted my assistance. It was hard to read his mind because all he was thinking about was how hungry he was. So, I decided to come along and see what your mind had to say. And I too am convinced that you want to help the hive.” Knight Cap walked over to Coco and put her arm on the mare's shoulder and plainly said, “You are a good pony.”
“W-well thank you.” Coco smiled at the compliment. Such a nice changeling.
Knight Cap pulled her cap over her head and quietly said, “Don't compliment me...”
Before Coco could even think of something to say, Stitch said, “Knight Cap is easily flustered by complements. So refrain from saying nice things about her works.”
“Okay...” Trying not to think of something that would insult the cap-wearing changeling, the pony went over to the wooden table and sat on her given chair. Looking to her left, Coco saw Silky scolding Silver as he cowered in a corner. “Since they will be at it for a while, why don't we get started on the other dresses, yes?”
“Mmhmm,” Knight Cap responded. Stitch nodded.
Placing her arms on the table, Coco began to think. So we have a blue-green colored dress and a light-purple dress. How can we add on to this line up of dresses? What have we not used?
“Have you thought of a dress with a hat?” Abruptly, Knight Cap pushed Coco to the side and took the pencil that rested on the solid wood and began to scribble on the desk. The pony was about to ask why Knight Cap was writing on the desk when Stitch gestured Coco to follow her, away from the changeling at work. Coco followed as Stitch went outside onto the balcony.
With her back turned, Stitch said, “Knight Cap has her way of doing things.”
“I... can tell,” Coco replied as she looked through the glass, seeing the capped mare scratching at the surface of the desk. Coco also noticed Silky and Silver were literally hovering over Knight Cap as she continued to work. An unknown amount of time passed as the mare stared at the three changelings. They were talking among themselves. Smiling and laughing as Knight Cap worked, enjoying themselves. It was a nice sight.
“Enjoying yourself?” To her left, Stitch stood in Coco's peripheral. The changeling smiled as she too looked into the room.
“It's nice... to see others happy and enjoying what they love the most,” Coco replied. She saw a light reflection of herself in the window glass. Her mane was a bit of a mess, considering she hasn't had the time to make herself look presentable. But the one feature that surprised Coco was the fact that her mirrored self was smiling. And she knew why: it was the happiness of the other changelings.
“I love happiness.” Turning around, Coco saw Stitch look in the distance, staring at who knows what. Coco did the same but found herself staring downwards, looking at the jagged stones that rested far below. “Maybe there is hope.”
“Eh?” Looking away from the pointy rocks, Coco looked at the changeling who smiled brightly.
Looking back at the pony, Stitch said, “Maybe Sea More has been right. Maybe there are others who will accept us.” Beads of water began to grow in Stitch's eyes once more.
“What did Sea More do?”
The changeling's tone changed, even though her expression didn't. “Will you please keep this a secret?”
“Sure.” Coco was confused.
“Sea More was the one who suggested to the queen to have a pony make a dress.”
Something in the earth pony's mind clicked. She thought of all the times she was with Sea More. Every time he was in Coco's presence, he never gave her any mean glares, any snide remarks, and nothing rude. In fact, he was the only one of two who stood up for her when Scar threw her off the balcony. Fang was the obvious second.
Looking back into the room, she saw the guard, standing by the door. And the longer she stared at him, the more she thought about the better times the two of them had had. And she remembered that he did stand up against Suri and how good it felt when he comforted her when she was feeling sad about Queen Chrysalis' “criticism.”
In reality, both Fang and Sea More were than different from the other changelings. Looking back at Stitch, Coco asked, “Do you know why Fang and Sea More are more nice to me and others?” The pony felt like it was a reasonable question, considering Stitch told her Sea More was the one responsible for Coco taking the job in the first place.
“All I can say on that is that Sea More has influenced Fang in accepting ponies. They are extremely close to each other, so it is understandable why Fang is kind for you.”
“But how did Sea More grow to like ponies? When did this happen? Who made him like other ponies?”
Deciding to go back, Stitch began to walk inside and said, “I don't know.” She looked at Coco. “Ask them yourselves. Or better yet, ask Fang. He is a close friend to Sea More.”
Before she was inside the room, the changeling stopped and smiled at the mare. “Now come. You have some dresses to create.”
***
To Coco's surprise, she and the others finished in no time. The sun was no longer in the sky; however, twilight hung in the air. Just before the final dress was complete, Coco had Fang fetch the Queen so that she may see the final products. Coco was applying the last dress to the last bare manikin as the other designers stood behind her. With the final pull, she was done. The Queen's request has been fulfilled.
Looking back, Coco asked, “So, how do they look everypony?”
Four pair of eyes looked back at her and the five completed dresses. They smiled in agreement as their eyes looked at each individual design.
“I like mine the best,” Silver Liner smirked.
“I think it looks to complex,” Silky jabbed back. “I think the green-blue dress Coco made is much more fitting for the queen.”
“Well, I doubt your dress will be chosen because of its simplicity.”
While Silver and Silky went at it again, Knight, Stitch, and Coco laughed at their bickering and made a discussion on their own.
“I really appreciate the help you have given me,” Coco smiled.
“It is our pleasure,” Stitch replied back.
“Mmhmm,” Knight mumbled.
Sighing, Coco plopped her flank down and held her head down. “I'm so tired. I need to rest...”
Before the pony had a chance to even blink, a knock on the door rang out. It opened and the Queen entered, along with Fang following behind.
“There was no need to knock, Fang,” Chrysalis said as she strutted in.
“You never knock when you come to my estate.”
A small rock struck the guard in the head. “Your 'estate' is a hole in the wall. You have no door, you nitwit. If you are trying to learn to have manors like a pony you might as well forget it.”
“Forgive me my Queen...”
As Fang rubbed his wound, Chrysalis slowly approached the five designers.
Knight pushed Coco from behind. “Look alive. The queen approaches.”
Once the Queen came at a close distance, all but Coco bowed. Very quickly, the pony corrected herself and did the same. “My queen,” she Coco. In unison, they all looked up at Chrysalis. “We have accomplished your task.”
“I see you have asked for assistance.” It was hard to tell what the Queen was feeling as she looked at the other tailors. Her expression was an unreadable facade with no emotion. Even Knight wouldn't dare read Chrysalis' mind to understand the emotion of the leader changeling.
Despite the late response, Coco replied, “Yes, I did ask for some help. And they did a wonderful job with creating some fantastic concepts.”
Finally, Chrysalis broke her concentration from her own kind and onto the dresses. She walked over to the six dresses that were aligned with each other.
“The dress on the far left is the first dress I made. You know, the one you-”
“What about the one next to it?”
Coco stumbled over her words, trying to keep up with the Queen. “O-oh, umm... That one is Silky's. Then the one next to her's is Knight Cap's. Then Silver Liner's, then Stitch Snitch's, and lastly, my latest design.”
Chrysalis was quiet. Her eyes never moved as Coco explained who's dress was who's. Then she spoke, “Make more.”