A Change In Fashion

by Kevinltk

Chapter 13: Falling

“I was thinking of maybe doing this one with several different layers, each one a different color.”

“Mhm.”

“Or how about this one? I used ribbons to help accentuate some of the patterns.”

“Mhm.”

“And this is an interesting piece where I could try experimenting with some special gems.”

“Mhm.”

“Ohh, it’s so hard to decide. There’s so many things I could do, but I don’t have the time. I have to make sure this dress for the Fall Fashion Fantasia will be something you and everypony else will love.”

Glamour’s head jerked up and quickly looked left and right. “Huh? Love?! What?”

Coco looked up from her dress sketches to Glamour, her mouth curled into a small frown. “Glamour, were you even paying attention?”

“Um…” Glamour’s ears drooped. “N-not really.”

Coco sighed. “Glamour, I asked you here because I really would like your opinion on what I should make, but this is the third time you zoned out since we started looking at my sketches. Is there something wrong? You’ve been awfully distracted these past few days.”

I could kind of say the same about you, Glamour thought before saying, “I have a lot on my mind.”

“About what, if I may ask?”

“Just… Just thinking about the future.”

Coco’s frown grew. “Is it about the contest?”

“It’s… one of the things… To be honest, I’m more worried about you.”

Coco sighed again and looked back at her sketches. “Thanks for the concern, Glamour, but I’ll be fine. I admit I’m still nervous, but I’m not going to disappoint either of us. I just have to figure out something fantastic for you to wear.”

“I’m sure whatever you make will be great.”

“But I don’t want something that’s just great. We’re going up against some very talented designers, and you’re not going to impress many ponies if you come in last because of me. You deserve to be up on stage with only the best.” Coco grumbled as she quickly shuffled through her sketches. “This dress has to be perfect for you.”

Glamour reached out with a forehoof and wrapped it around the back of Coco’s neck in a quick, one-legged hug. “Please, don’t stress yourself out on this. I really do appreciate how much time and effort you are putting in on this, but I don’t want to see you get sick or hurt because of it. I’m sorry that I can’t help much with your work. Let’s face it, my job might involve wearing a lot of clothes, but I’m pretty lousy when it comes to making them.”

Coco looked up with a small smile. “But you are a big help, Glamour. Even if you can’t help me with my sketches or sewing, you give me the motivation and inspiration I need. I don’t think I’ve ever felt so passionate in creating something before you came along.”

“Well, I guess whatever little I could do, I’m glad I could help.” Glamour smiled as Coco went back to her drawings. She watched Coco quickly draw out shapes and lines, many of them eventually forming into beautiful patterns and designs. She had to hold back a giggle when she noticed Coco’s tongue stick out of her mouth as she concentrated on her work.

While Glamour did find it interesting to watch Coco’s drawings, with nothing much else for her to do beside standing around and listen to the quiet scratching of a pencil, her mind was starting to drift off. “Hey, Coco, we’ve kind of been at this all morning. Since you’re busy sketching again, is it alright if I go take a break in my room?”

Coco’s pencil froze as her attention shifted. “Oh, um, a-alright. I guess it is kind of boring just watching me sketch. Sorry for making you stand there and taking up your time.” She let out a sigh and went back to her sketches.

“Well… um… call me if you need anything,” Glamour replied, walking straight out of Coco’s room and into her own. With a sigh, she closed the door behind her and locked it. She then went to her bed, pulled out her bag from under the pillow, and fished out the compact mirror. Opening up the mirror, she stared at her reflection as she was left alone with her thoughts.

Over the past few days, Glamour had been struggling to figure out what she should do with Coco. The sparks of Coco’s love had ignited into a fire and had been constantly burning ever since their lunch with Grace. She had noticed Coco would stare at her, and like this morning’s sketch session, she seemed to be trying to spend more time with her as well.

As a changeling, she should be relishing the fact that she now had a constant source of love nearby to feed her.

But that felt wrong.

A ring of green fire enveloped Glamour’s body, and she was now looking at her changeling form in the mirror.

Glamour refused to feed from Coco, or at least, she tried to. She had given in to temptation a few times and sampled Coco’s love. It was like sitting in the hearth of a fireplace. The fire of Coco’s love was small, but the cozy, inviting aura was more than enough to fill Glamour’s body with a pleasant warmth. She could not imagine what it would be like once Coco’s love fully blossomed, and a part of her was hoping that event would never happen.

Things had already been complicated enough when she decided to stay in the apartment, but now she had to think of the possible implications of a pony loving a changeling. A part of her was telling her to get out before things got worse, but another part of her was urging her to stay and see what happens.

A normal changeling would likely do whatever it took to cultivate Coco’s love to achieve an optimal output of energy. But Glamour did not want to see Coco as just a food source, so that left only two other options.

The first option would be to somehow put a stop to Coco’s love, but every idea and scenario she came up with would likely hurt Coco, and the thought of breaking her friend’s heart and straining their friendship scared Glamour.

And then there was the other option. Glamour was still learning things about being friends with a pony, but going off Grace’s words, they shared a bond that was stronger than many other ponies. Was it possible that their friendship was slowly treading into the territory of love?

Could she fall in love with Coco?

Should she fall in love with Coco?

A knock on the door interrupted her musing.

“Glamour, are you free now?” Coco asked from the other side.

Glamour glanced at a picture of her pony form on the wall and morphed back into her disguise. “Yes, do you need something?”

“I think I got an idea on what to do for the contest, but I need to buy more fabric at the store. Do you want to come?”

“Sure, I’ll be out in a few minutes.”

“Alright, I’ll be ready to go by then,” Coco replied before the sounds of her hoofsteps went back into her room.

Glamour took a deep breath before stowing away her belongings back under her pillow.

She did not know what she was going to do. All she could do was wait and see what happens.

“So, this is where you always pick up your fabric and stuff?” Glamour asked as she and Coco walked into the fabric store. She had to crane her head back a bit to see how the store took advantage of the narrow, two-story high building to cram as many items as they could into tall, metal shelves.

“Yes, it is,” Coco replied. “I forgot this is your first time here. Since this place is so close to the theater, I would just pick up whatever I needed on the way home.”

“That would explain why you always seem to come home with more stuff than when you left.”

Coco giggled and nodded as she went to a pile of shopping baskets, only to watch the top basket float to Glamour’s side. “Oh, you don’t have to do that, Glamour. I can carry it myself,” Coco said, reaching out with her hoof.

The basket floated out of Coco’s reach as Glamour shook her head. “I insist. I don’t have the eye to help you pick out the materials you need, so I might as well do something useful. You concentrate on getting what you need.”

Coco stared at Glamour for a moment before giving back a smile. “Alright, thank you.”

They commenced shopping, and Glamour did a bit of browsing while Coco started selecting the things she needed. All sorts of items lined the shelves such as spools of thread, bolts of fabric, sewing machines, and a plethora of other clothing goods. With all sorts of creative materials lying around, it was no wonder that Coco liked to come here.

As they continued shopping, Glamour would watch Coco pause in front of anything she found interesting, carefully scrutinizing them and gently running her hoof through the material. Despite her intense concentration, a smile remained on Coco’s face. Glamour wondered if Coco was actually having fun shopping, or if it was because she was here to accompany her. Whatever the reason, she did know that it was also putting a smile on her face.

Anytime Coco found what she want, she would add it to the growing basket of supplies in Glamour’s magic. Eventually, Glamour had to go grab a second and even a third basket to hold Coco’s shopping spree. Luckily, most of the materials were pretty light, and Glamour was able to extend her magic’s field to all three baskets. It took some concentration, but it did not put a big strain on her.

When Coco stopped for the umpteenth time to inspect something, Glamour turned her attention to the shelves next to her to pass the time. She saw a bolt of red fabric, noting the label saying that it was crimson-red. Her eyes went to look at the red fabric on the left, which was actually ruby-red. Looking to the right, she saw scarlet-red. She stared at the three shades of red trying to see a difference in them, but failing. After a while, she gave up and grumbled.

According to Coco, a good designer had a trained eye and could see subtle shade changes with ease. Glamour figured she was not going to be a designer any time soon.

Taking her gaze off the shelves, Glamour was surprised to find that Coco was nowhere in sight. As she looked back and forth along the aisle for her friend, she heard a shuffling sound from above and looked up. Her eyes shot wide open.

Coco had actually climbed up a few shelves and was standing on her hind legs. She was reaching out with a forehoof for a bolt of black fabric on a high up shelf.

“Coco, get down from there! You could fall and get hurt! I can get whatever you need for you,” Glamour urged.

“It’s fine, Glamour. You’re carrying a lot of things, and I’ve done this before.” Coco grunted quietly as she stretched her body more. “Almost got it…” She slowly climbed up another shelf.

That was when one of Coco’s hind legs slipped, and she let out a yelp as she lost her grip and fell backwards through the air.

“Coco!” Before the shopping baskets she released reached the ground, Glamour was under Coco’s falling body. She hastily got on her hind legs, and her forehooves stretched out toward her friend.

Glamour grunted as Coco collided into her, sending them both crashing to the ground. A loud hiss of pain escaped her when her back hit the floor, knocking the air out of her and causing stars to flash into her vision.

Groaning in pain, she remained lying on the floor. Her eyes had clenched shut as a reaction to her body’s agony, but she reopened them slowly when she felt squirming on top of her, followed by a gasp.

Glamour’s eyes flew wide open when she saw Coco’s eyes were right in front of hers. As the ebbing pain slowly gave back her senses, she realized that their noses were also practically touching.

Neither of them moved or made another sound as they gazed into each other’s eyes. Glamour could feel her heart beating faster. Whether it was from the fall or their compromising position, she did not know. Eventually, Glamour noticed Coco’s cheeks were getting a bit rosy, and judging by the heat in her face, her cheeks were doing the same as well.

“C-Coco, are you alright?” were the first words to finally come to Glamour’s mind.

“Y-yeah, I’m fine.”

The sound of a pony clearing their throat made them both look to the end of the aisle. A unicorn stallion wearing a name tag with the store’s logo stood there, watching them with one raised eyebrow. “Um, what’s going on here?”

“S-sorry, I fell, and my friend tried to catch me,” Coco explained.

The store employee slowly blinked, staring at them with a blank face.

“Um…” Coco glanced around and then pointed to where their baskets were. “Could you take all of that to the front? The mess here is my fault, and I’ll clean it up before I pay for my things.”

The stallion smiled and nodded, probably pacified by not having to do the extra work along with a promise of a sale. His horn lit up, wrapping Coco’s materials in his magic, and trotted away with the goods in tow.

They both let out a sigh of relief.

“Well, that was a bit awkward,” said Glamour. “We should probably get up now, so uh, could you get off me first, Coco?”

“Um, I can’t.”

“W-what? Why not? Is something wrong? A-are you hurt? Do you need help? Do we need to call a doctor or an ambulance?”

“No, no, no, I’m fine, Glamour. I can’t get up because um, you’re kind of holding me down.”

Glamour blinked and raised her head up a bit to see that her forehooves were wrapped tightly around Coco’s back as though her life depended on it. “O-oh, sorry,” she replied, letting Coco go.

Coco promptly got back up and then extended a hoof to Glamour’s prone form. Glamour gratefully took Coco’s hoof in her own. but as she was pulled up, she let out another hiss and cringed as a sharp pain ran through her back.

Coco gasped, covering her mouth with a hoof. “O-oh my goodness, are you alright?”

“I think so,” Glamour said with a small grimace. She slowly moved a forehoof to her back and winced when she rubbed the sore spot. “Okay, maybe my back isn’t so alright.”

Coco’s head hung down. “I’m so sorry, Glamour. If I wasn’t so careless, you wouldn’t have had to save me. It’s all my fault you got hurt.”

Glamour grunted as she shifted her body around, trying to see the extent of her injury. “It’s alright. I don’t think it’s anything serious, maybe a small sprain.”

Getting no response from her friend, Glamour glanced at Coco, seeing that she was silently staring at the floor. Ignoring the little spikes of pain her back was causing, Glamour moved closer and used a forehoof to raise Coco’s chin to make their eyes meet. Giving Coco a smile, she said, “Hey, don’t worry about it. It was an accident. I’m just glad I was able to catch you. You’re not hurt, right?”

Coco shook her head. “Only because of you.”

“Good, because I would rather see myself get hurt before letting you.”

Coco stared at Glamour for a few seconds, her mouth opening and closing a few times. She soon settled on smiling and leaned in, carefully moving her hooves around Glamour’s neck in a hug. “Thank you, Glamour.”

Glamour shivered slightly in the embrace as a wave of Coco’s love hit her. She felt it run through her body, rejuvenating her. By the time they ended their hug, a lot of her back pain had been soothed away.

Coco began cleaning up the mess she made, and despite her protests, Glamour joined in too. The accident had ended up knocking down a slew of items from the shelves and onto the floor. While they were putting everything back, Coco saw that a few of her previously picked supplies had been mixed into the mess. As she separated her materials from the mess, she muttered, “I don’t see it here, so I guess the employee must’ve…” She paused when she looked up.

Glamour followed Coco’s gaze and saw that the black fabric that started this whole mess was still laying on the top shelf.

Coco sighed. “All that trouble for nothing.”

Glamour held out her hoof and lit up her horn. The fabric was wrapped in her magic and rolled off the shelf, but instead of landing in her hoof, it unraveled in the air and some of the cloth draped over her head as the rest of it clattered to the floor. “That… that went better in my head…”

Coco chuckled and uncovered Glamour, rolling the fabric back into the bolt. “Guess I can’t do much without you, huh?”

Glamour smirked. “Oh, you can do plenty of things, such as making beautiful dresses or being a good friend, but reaching high places… Not so much.”

They both laughed, and Coco placed the coveted fabric into their pile as they finished cleaning. “Alright, let’s go now. We need to get you home and rest.”

“Are you sure you got everything you needed?”

“Just about. There are a few more things, but they’re not as essential, and I could always come back for them.”

Glamour shook her head. “Let’s finish shopping. No need to waste time making a second trip later on.

“But I don’t want to risk you aggravating your injury.”

“Like I said, it’s nothing serious, and I’m feeling better.” Glamour used her hoof to rub at the sore spot again. She barely held back a flinch when a stinging pain coursed through her back. Coco’s love had dulled the pain, but not completely. Straining a smile, she said, “See? All better.”

“Well… alright then, but…” Coco picked up their things. “You are not carrying anything, even with your magic, until you’re all better. I don’t want you to get hurt again.”

Glamour insisted that she was fine, but Coco would not budge until she relented. It only took them a few more moments of shopping before Coco got everything she needed and went to the front counter to pay. With several bags in tow, they exited the store and headed home.

Along the way, Coco started explaining some of the ideas she had in mind, and Glamour turned her head to give Coco her full attention. It did not take long for Glamour to notice the excitement and eagerness in her friend’s voice, most likely due to the fresh batch of supplies they were carrying. It was good to see that despite her worries, Coco was still excited to be able to participate in the upcoming competition.

After they walked about two blocks, Glamour looked ahead and froze, her smile fading when she saw a certain pony come around the corner in front of them.

“Glamour? What is… Oh…” Coco also stopped when she saw the pony walking toward them. “H-hi, Suri.”

“Coco…” Suri curtly replied as she slowly approached them. Unlike before, when she usually had a smug smile, Glamour saw that the antagonizing designer had a scowl on her face. She glared at Coco, and her gaze went over the bags they were holding. “I see that you’re preparing for something. It wouldn’t happen to be for a certain competition, would it?”

Coco gulped and nodded. “It’s for the Fall Fashion Fantasia.”

Suri huffed. “So it is true, you’re actually entering it. What a joke…”

Glamour gritted her teeth and stepped forward. “Now listen here, Suri, I…” She blinked and stopped when a hoof barred her way. “Coco?”

“It’s alright, Glamour,” Coco said, keeping her eyes on Suri. “I need to do this.”

“Are you sure you’ll be okay?”

“No… But I knew something like this was going to happen sooner or later. Please, let me handle this.”

Glamour frowned, her eyes flicking between Coco and Suri. Eventually, she stepped back, but kept herself ready to spring into action at a moment’s notice.

One of Suri’s eyebrows went up shortly before she chuckled. “Finally getting tired of hiding behind others? Is our little Coco actually starting to grow a spine?”

“Look, Suri, I know you aren’t happy that I’m entering the Fall Fashion Fantasia, but—”

“Happy? Why wouldn’t I be happy?” Suri stomped her hoof on the ground. “It’s not like my former assistant, a pony I taught, is trying to show me up in one of the biggest fashion contests in Manehattan.”

“It’s not like that, Suri. Photo Finish wants Glamour to be in the competition for more publicity. I’m only doing this for Glamour.”

“Spare me the excuses!” Suri spat out. “You’re just like everypony else. You’re just aiming to knock me down on your pitiful attempt of making it big. It wasn’t enough when you practically gave away my first place trophy from Fashion Week, but now, you want to steal the Fall Fashion Fantasia trophy from me as well.”

“I’m not trying to steal anything. It’s… it’s just unfortunate circumstances making us face off against each other. Also, the Fashion Week trophy belonged to Rarity. She beat you fair and square, even after we cheated. Suri, you have to understand that what you were doing was wrong. You’ve been playing dirty for a long time. Please, you have to stop it. You’re better than that.”

“And why should I listen to you? You could barely thread a needle before you started working for me. Under my watch, you actually became a decent designer, and what do you do for me in return?” Suri thrusted a hoof directly at Coco. “You go behind my back to help the enemy and then left me!”

“I… I had to leave, Suri. You never listened to me because you were only seeing me as an assistant. I couldn’t stand idly by while you continued to cheat. It did hurt me to quit, but I… I thought that if I could show you I could stand on my own hooves, you would listen to me. Maybe I could convince you to change your ways, and then we could go back to being friends and—”

“I don’t need friends!” Suri roared. “Friends just get in the way.”

Coco took a steadying breath. “I know you think that way, Suri, but it’s not true. I made a few friends, and I’m much happier because of that.”

“Oh please, you are so naive. Don’t you get it? Ponies always think of themselves first, and they only become friends to use each other. Let’s take your so-called model friend over there as an example. You might be working with her now, but once she gets more famous and sees the work of real designers, she won’t need you anymore. She’s just stringing you along, using you, until a better deal comes up. Eventually, she’ll end up leaving you and forgetting all about you.”

“No!” Coco immediately yelled out, causing both Suri and Glamour to reel back in surprise. “Glamour isn’t like that! She’s a great friend! She helps take care of me and encourages me and makes me smile! Even after I mess things up, she stays and is always there for me! She would never leave me or lie to me!”

Glamour coughed, trying to suppress the lump in her throat.

Suri blinked a couple of times before a wide sneer appeared on her face. “Oh, I see what’s going on here. This is rich. Little Coco is actually falling in love.”

The pupils in Coco’s eyes shrunk into pinpricks. “W-what?”

“I know the signs well enough. You know, I almost pity you. We both know how ruthless ponies can be, but apparently, that lesson didn’t stick. Just you wait, you’ll have nothing but a broken heart. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I got things to do if I’m going to crush you at the competition.”

Coco stepped forward and held out her hoof. “N-no, wait, Suri. Please, I just want things to go back to the way they were. We were friends until—”

Suri swatted away Coco’s hoof, eliciting a yelp from Coco. “Get it through your thick skull! I don’t need friends! We were never friends and are never going to be friends! You were just a worker I hired. Nothing more. I’m surprised I actually kept you around for so long and look at what that brought me. Serves me right for actually trusting you. I hate you.”

“S-Suri…” Coco sank to her hind legs as Suri brushed past her.

Glamour quickly rushed over to Coco, exchanging glares with Suri as they passed each other, and knelt down in front of Coco. It tugged at her heart to find that her friend was sniffling and wiping away at her eyes with her hoof. “Coco, are you alright?”

All Glamour got in response was more sniffling, and she could tell Coco was doing her best to not cry. She brought Coco into a hug, and said, “It’s alright, Coco. You can cry if you want.”

“N-no,” Coco replied. “I-I’m fine. I… I just need a little time.”

Glamour sighed and looked back, seeing that Suri was walking to the fabric store. She stared at Suri, the gears in her head turning, until she decided there was something she had to do. “I’ll be back in a moment. You just wait here, Coco.”

By the time Coco looked up, Glamour had already began running back to the store, and her horn flared up right as Suri pulled open the door.

The door slammed shut in front of Suri, and she growled as she turned to Glamour. “I have no interest in talking to you.”

“Well too bad, because I need to talk to you, and you are going to answer some questions for me,” Glamour demanded. “Why do you hate Coco so much?”

Suri snorted. “Seriously? Are you dense? You already know what happened between us. She betrayed me. Simple as that. There’s nothing more to say.”

“She wasn’t trying to hurt you. She left you because you were cheating. It’s not exactly something many ponies would like to be associated with.”

“Oh please, don’t you go preaching that drivel to me as well. Coco and I got a dose of reality years ago. The world is a cutthroat place, and you have to do whatever it takes to win. It’s the only way to survive. It’s not my problem if she forgot.”

Glamour tilted her head. “What did happen years ago?”

“What? Coco didn’t tell you already?”

“All I know is that you took her in as an assistant.”

Suri rolled her eyes. “Of course she didn’t tell you. I bet she’s too busy feeding you all sorts of slander about me to actually tell you the truth.”

Glamour’s eyes narrowed. “For your information, I don’t think Coco has actually said a bad thing about you. Even after all the grief you give her, she still seems to respect you and still wants to be friends with you.”

“Why do you even want to know?”

“Because it would help me understand you and Coco better. If it helps me to get you two to stop fighting, I want to know. Coco’s always been a bit vague whenever we talked about you, and now I know it’s because she’s hiding something about you.”

“At least she knows how to keep her mouth shut then,” Suri muttered. “Look, I don’t have time for this. If you want to play detective, go ask Coco yourself. Tell her I sent you. Maybe you’ll learn a little something and see things in a different light. Now, if we’re done here, I need to prepare to win the Fall Fashion Fantasia.”

Glamour slowly nodded and backed away, letting Suri open the door.

“Oh, and I suggest you two drop out of the contest,” Suri warned. “It will spare you a lot of time and tears. I will win, and nothing is going to stop me.”

“We are not dropping out,” Glamour replied.

Suri scoffed. “Your loss then,” she said before entering the store and slamming the door shut behind her.

Glamour sighed and shook her head. She was going to have to keep a close watch on Suri. Walking back to Coco, she saw that her friend was now standing again and had a worried frown on her face.

“W-what did you do with Suri?” Coco asked when Glamour got close.

“Don’t worry, I didn’t do anything to her. We just had a little talk about the contest. We’re going to have to be careful with her.”

“That’s all you talked about?”

“Well…” Glamour was about to ask about the thing Suri suggested, but she instead grabbed all of their bags in her magic. “I’ll tell you about it when we get home. I think we both are a bit rattled after what happened.”

She only walked a few steps when she heard, “Glamour?” She turned back around to see Coco was gazing at the ground.

“Um…” Coco remained silent while scuffing the ground with her hoof. Eventually, she shook her head. “Never mind, we can talk about it later. Let’s go home.”

Glamour nodded, and the two of them slowly walked back to the apartment. While the sun was starting to set, signifying the end of the day, the night was about to begin.

Comments

[Seether00]

Glamour could always tell Coco the truth. The longer she waits, the worse it will be.

[Perteks]

Seriously how Glamour didn't treaten Suri yet its strange

[xoid]

Is that a hint that Suri isn’t as one‐dimensional as she appears?
Time to tag this alt. universe?

[vren55]

This... is going to get complicated. But I love it.

[Guard Crimson Blaze]

Will there ever be a time when Suri will learn her lesson? And is this centered around Coco and Glamour's life? Or will the mane six appear sometime in the future?

[Kevinltk]

6699056
The fic is focused on Glamour and Coco. As for the other questions, sorry no spoilers, except I will tell you that more characters will be coming up in future chapters.

[kakkaohjus]

6699056 I think Suri will only learn when she weeps in the ruins of her career.

[Icarus_Con_Queso]

6700289 I disagree, she strikes me as more the type that will blame others for her failure until the day she dies. If she fails it's only because someone else was more cutthroat than her, or cheated better. Her outlook insures that only her successes are ever her own doing. Then again this is still MLP so, maaayyyybe.

[Razzy]

Love TKO~

[SWEETOLEBOB18]

Things had already been complicated enough when she decided to stay in the apartment, but now she had to think of the possible implications of a pony loving a changeling. A part of her was telling her to get out before things got worse, but another part of her was urging her to stay and see what happens.

Not a perfect match because Coco isn’t married, but IMO it captures part of what she feels