Coco stepped out of Carousel Boutique, and once more marveled at the town around her.
In the evening, Ponyville was little different from the afternoon. There were slightly fewer ponies, and a few places of business were closed. However, a fair amount of bustle still remained in the center of town, and other stores remained open, lights shining in the night.
Coco looked at the open shops, and realized that she should have asked Rarity just where it was possible to grab a suitable meal. She briefly considered going back inside, but Rarity was still in the middle of cleaning up her shop. Coco didn't want to interrupt her, especially given how trashed the boutique had been just hours earlier.
Besides, now that Rarity's crisis had been handled, it was a good time as any to explore while she looked for food.
The gingerbread house she saw earlier that day caught Coco's eye, still lit and still appetizing. Its menu likely wouldn't be very nutritious, but perhaps it would be a good place to get dessert—plus its staff would likely know the location of a proper eatery.
Coco wiped her brow as she changed direction. Even after a nap and a refreshing shower, she still felt a little tuckered. Doing damage control was tiring, but she'd certainly learned some valuable things about herself and Rarity in the process. While she would always be willing, affairs such as today's were ones she hoped she wouldn't have to undergo too often.
On the way to the gingerbread house, Coco passed a large, hollowed-out tree, and she stopped to look up at it. By the lights and furnishings she could see through the windows, someone clearly lived inside. This was interesting in itself; Manehattan homes were pony-built and rigidly structured. Using a tree as a home was… so charmingly refreshing. Like something out of a storybook. Once they were both better rested, Coco really would have to ask Rarity to take her sight-seeing.
Just as she was about to resume her quest for food, the tree's front door opened and Princess Twilight stuck her head out.
"Coco? Is that you? Hang on a sec," Twilight said, running forward to meet her.
"Oh! Hi, Twilight," Coco said.
"Hi! How are you?" Twilight said, stopping in front of her. "And how's Rarity? This is the first time I've seen either of you outside since earlier today." Twilight prodded the ground nervously with her hoof. "Were you able to get through to her?"
Coco nodded. "I was. It turned out she was having..." Coco paused, looking for the right words. "...business troubles. I guess she just needed to talk to somepony who knew where she was coming from. She learned some hard truths about the fashion world this week, and I've seen what happened to Rarity happen to other ponies. She told me to tell you she'll be back open soon enough. But she needs to decompress first."
"I understand," Twilight said, relief crossing her face. "Thanks so much for your help. I’ll be sure to pass it along to Applejack too."
"Seeing Rarity back to herself is thanks enough," Coco said, smiling.
"Yes, but we still really appreciate it. In fact, I have someone to introduce you to who probably appreciated it more than anyone else." Twilight turned in the direction of the tree house. "Spike, could you meet me out here, please?"
"Spike?" Coco asked.
In a blink, a small purple dragon exited the house and ran up to them. The first thing he did when he saw Twilight was give her a mock-challenging stare.
"Twilight, you're not going to postpone this by—" Then he saw Coco, and did a double-take. "Whoa. She showed up!"
"Yep!" Twilight said with a big smile. "And she brought Rarity around, just like you thought she would!"
Spike shrugged, and put a claw behind his head. "Ehhh. It was more like an educated guess, really."
Coco pointed to Spike. "Wait. You were the one who wrote the letter?"
Spike's face tinted a darker purple. "Yeah, but I didn't know where to send it, and the postal service would've been too slow. I've got a direct line to Princess Celestia, though, so I attached an extra note explaining things, and sent everything to her! Looks like she was able to track you down." Spike's embarrassment melted away, and he puffed himself up. "Not that I didn't think she would. She and I go way back. Like, me being born way back."
"Of course." Twilight giggled. "Anyway, I'm sure you two have things to talk about, so I'll leave you alone. Spike, are the ingredients ready?"
"Yep! They're all inside!" he said, proudly. "Cheese, sauce, lettuce, tomatoes, beans..."
Twilight's grin went toothy. "Aaand...?"
"And enough chips to feed an army!"
"Ooooor...?"
Spike rolled his eyes. "Or a princess."
Twilight outright squealed, wings ruffling excitedly. "Perfect! Just you wait: I'm going to make a mountain of nachos that'll knock your socks off!"
Spike snorted. "That's what I'm afraid of."
Twilight manifested a pair of goggles and slid them over her eyes. "You doubt me now, but give me half an hour and you'll be calling me Twilight Sparkle, Princess of Dinner! Tonight, Spike, we feast!" Cackling, she ran inside of the house.
Spike and Coco watched her leave. "So, I think I've got about ten minutes before I have a fire to put out." He extended a claw. "Hi. I'm Spike."
Coco shook his claw. "Coco Pommel. And you're the dragon that was with Rarity and the others in Manehattan." She gasped. "She talks about you all the time in her letters! You've been saving her flank long before I showed up."
Spike suddenly looked more sheepish than normal. "I guess? We go back and forth. I owe her a whole lot, too."
"But that's just it," Coco said. "You two are already such good friends. What made you call me?"
Spike looked around, found a less populated patch of Ponyville, and walked towards it. Coco followed.
"So you know what's pretty great?" he said. "Being able to hang around a princess and a bunch of her friends who save the world all the time. I mean, sure, I carry bags, but I also get to see a whole lot of things, travel a whole lot of places, and eat a whole bunch of different foods and jewels. All for free. Meanwhile I've got diplomatic immunity, I'm a celebrity in the Crystal Empire, I've got Princess Celestia on speed dial—" He stopped. "Do me a favor? Let me know when it sounds like I'm bragging?"
Coco giggled, not having the heart to roll her eyes. "Not just yet. But what does all this have to do with me?"
"Oh, right, sorry. See, my point is, even with all the perks? I still have six awesome ponies who care and look out for me. From where I'm standing, I've got it pretty sweet.
"But if I want to keep all that sweetness, then I've got to do my part. And my part is keeping an eye on those six ponies. Because as powerful as they are? As awesome as they are? They're not perfect, and they can't do everything."
Spike sat on the grass, with Coco following suit.
"And if there's one thing I've learned after all these years, it's that for all the bad guys and disasters they've faced down, those mares are their own worst enemies. It's like, they can handle anyone and anything, except for their own hangups. Which always make them go nuts. It'd be funny if it weren't so scary to watch, you know?"
"After today?" Coco nodded. "Do I ever."
"Yeah, I figured." Spike turned to Coco, and took a deep breath. "Since you made it here, and did what you did, I wanna tell it to you straight. Being Rarity's friend takes a lot of patience. If things don't go just right, she'll just... stop. She'll treat herself badly, and tell off everyone around her. There's almost no reaching her when she gets like that, and it's those times when you wonder if knowing her at all is even worth it."
Spike paused, and looked up into the star-filled night.
"Then she learns what she needs to learn, somehow, from somewhere. And she comes out of it. And you see her smile, and she showers you with gifts. Just out of nowhere."
Coco looked upwards as well. The sky may as well have been the world's biggest jewelry box, its gems sparkling out of the darkness.
"Like a new lease on life," she said.
"Or hope to hold on to," Spike said, shrugging. "It's... it's just what she does. That's why she'll always be special to me. 'Cause even when she's going crazy..."
"... you know your friend's still inside, somewhere," Coco finished for him. "And that friend is priceless."
Spike smiled and exhaled. "You do get it."
Coco blushed. "I've been there before."
"I was counting on that."
Spike bobbed his feet back and forth, watching them for a bit. "Could... you do me a favor then?" he said, finally. "I have no problem with being there for her, but since your lives are so similar, there's a whole lot you can do for her that I can't. So... could you be there for her too?" Spike blushed. "I've already got one world hero to look after, and she's a clawful."
Coco smiled back. "I would even if you hadn't asked." She looked to Carousel Boutique in the distance, and sighed. "It's always the creative types, isn't it?"
Spike looked to the tree house. "I think it happens to anyone with a big brain that never shuts off. The difference is, mine's a thinker. Yours is a dreamer."
A large boom sounded from the direction of the tree house, causing Coco to jump to her hooves. "What was that?"
"Dinner, I'm guessing," Spike said, with a sigh. "Twilight would actually be a pretty good cook if she didn't love to turn everything into a magic experiment." He got to his feet. "Time for me to get back, before another explosion goes off."
Coco gasped, stomping a hoof. "Oh my gosh, dinner! Spike, do you know any places to grab a meal in this town?"
"Cloverleaf Cafe's open for another hour!" He pointed to a lit building that Coco could see was covered in shrubbery. "Oh, and you can probably get some dessert from Sugarcube Corner, too. It's the big gingerbread house."
"Hah! Called it," Coco said, in triumph. "Thanks, Spike. So, you work on yours, and I'll work on mine?"
"Sounds like a plan to me," Spike agreed. "At least until we think of a better one. Oh, and, uh, by the way? We never had this conversation."
"What conversation?" Coco asked.
The two shared a mutual grin before jogging off in separate directions.