Chapter 29: Acceptance
Bit by bit, Glamour awoke from her slumber, and her eyes opened. A lazy smile formed on her face when she was met with a most welcome sight.
Coco was right in front of her, still sleeping. Just like they had fallen asleep, they were face to face, entwined in each other’s hooves. Coco had a small smile of her own, and Glamour was sure she heard her name escaping Coco’s lips at least once.
A quick glance at a clock told her that they had completely slept past the morning, and it was now the middle of the afternoon. Considering everything that happened, a bit of extra rest was well-deserved, and Glamour was glad that they were able to have a restful and blissful sleep.
She was also happy to note that many of her injuries had been reduced to dull aches and minor bouts of soreness. Even her injured foreleg felt better, and she raised her bandaged hoof to inspect it.
Her smile was wiped clean off her face, and her eyes bugged out when she did not see her pony hoof. Instead, she saw her black, changeling hoof. Feeling a twinge of dread in her chest, she threw the blanket off herself and confirmed that her disguise was completely gone.
With how exhausted she and Coco were and the ensuing conversation they shared when they got home, Glamour had been too tired to sense or remember her waning magic supply. The last of her magic must have run out overnight, and without it, she was stuck in her changeling form.
Even though Coco had accepted the fact that she was a changeling, Glamour was not sure that having her friend wake up to the sight of one would make for a good morning. Especially since the last time Coco saw her true self was back at the Crystal Empire, and Glamour clearly remembered all the anger and sorrow that had erupted. She did not want to go through any of that again.
Glamour had to find a way to replenish her magic. She could sense love emanating from Coco’s sleeping body. It would be easy to take some of it, and Coco would never know. A simple solution to her problem.
But it was not so simple to Glamour. Honor and loyalty to Coco forbade her from just taking love without permission, not after she had snuck so much of it before Coco knew who she really was. It was one of the reasons that got her into this mess.
She also had to continue being mindful of Coco’s health. For purely scientific reasons, Glamour subtly lifted the blankets to inspect Coco’s flanks. She was disappointed to find no cutie mark. Even though she had a good night’s sleep, Coco was still weakened, and Glamour would have to be careful with her.
Glamour was grateful that at least Coco was still asleep. She was not sure what she was going to do, but getting out of Coco’s bed without being seen was a good start. Maybe she could go hide in her room afterwards, and when Coco was awake and feeling better, they could find a way for her to get some sorely-needed energy.
Glamour held her breath as she began carefully extracting herself from Coco’s hooves. She first gently nudged Coco’s forehoof that was resting on top of her right side. Once Coco’s forehoof fell to the tiny empty space between them, Glamour started moving backwards. Since Coco’s other forehoof had slipped under her neck and hooked around her back, Glamour had to move slowly to make sure she did not wake Coco, and her strained, sore muscles ached every time she had to lift her body up so that she would not drag herself over Coco’s hoof.
After what seemed like forever, Glamour had made it to the edge of the bed without waking Coco. Just as she was about to get off the bed, Glamour squeaked when Coco’s hooves suddenly shot forward, wrapped around her, and pulled her back, effectively resetting her progress.
“Glamour…” Coco quietly mumbled in a drowsy voice, her eyes still closed shut.
Glamour would have screamed in frustration if she was not also enjoying the affection. Unfortunately, she could not linger in the embrace, and she really needed to get out of bed before Coco awakened.
Again, Glamour gingerly slid herself out of Coco’s grasp and began moving back to the edge of the bed. She made it to the halfway point when her ears perked at the sounds of rustling sheets.
“Glamour…” Coco murmured again, except this time, to Glamour’s horror, her eyes were starting to open.
With no time to think, Glamour went for the first thing that came to mind that would hide her changeling form from Coco’s eyes. She dove under the blankets.
“W-what? What’s going on?” Glamour heard Coco ask as she scrambled to make sure she was completely hidden in her blanket fortress. “Glamour, what are you doing?”
“It’s, um, nothing for you to worry about. Just go back to sleep, Coco. Nothing wrong here, yep,” Glamour replied with a sheepish grin, even though Coco could not see it. She held on to the tiny hope that Coco would leave things be, but instead, she could feel the bed’s motions of Coco moving closer to her.
“Glamour, why are you hiding under the blankets?”
“Er, no reason, just a bit cold. Brrr!” Glamour shook her body to make it look like she was shivering, but in reality, she overdid it, and to Coco, it looked like she was having a seizure.
“Glamour, I know that something is wrong. Come on, you can tell me,” Coco urged.
“I-it’s nothing, really. I, uh, I have a cold, yeah that’s it. So you probably should not come too close or else you might get sick.” When Coco did not respond, Glamour wondered if her excuse had worked. Her nervousness started to abate, only to spike back up when she felt a tug on the blanket.
“No, don’t!” Glamour cried out, quickly pulling the blanket back down and securing it with her hooves.
“Glamour, please!” Coco begged. “I just want to help you. I promise that whatever it is, we will be able to work through it together. I… I know that our relationship is a bit strained, but I want to make things better again. I can’t do that unless you let me help you. Please, tell me what’s wrong.”
Glamour heard the distress and pleading in Coco’s voice. She had hoped that she would have refrained from making Coco panic and worry, but in her haste and desperation, she was doing just that and making a mess of things.
With a sigh, Glamour apologized, “Sorry, Coco. It’s just that I didn’t know how you were going to react if you saw me now. You see, um, I don’t really look like what you’re used to.”
It took a few seconds before Coco replied, “You… You don’t look like a pony now?”
Glamour slowly shook her head, but then remembered that Coco probably could not see it. “I’m not. Under these blankets is a changeling.”
“I-is something wrong with you?” Coco asked, fear creeping up into her voice. “I-I mean, I assume there’s something wrong, given the situation. It’s nothing too bad, right? Please tell me you’re going to be alright.”
“I’m fine, Coco. It’s just that after everything that happened yesterday, my magic ran out while we were asleep. I’m stuck as a changeling until I find a way to get back some magic.”
“Wait, but I thought changelings eat love.”
“Um, yeah, that’s correct.”
“Th-then how could you be out of magic? We spent so much time together. We even slept together.” Coco gasped. “Did… Did I not love you enough?”
“No, Coco, you certainly were loving me enough. It really does make me happy that I can sense your love again. Even now, I can feel so much of it pouring out of you. I just haven’t been taking any of it.”
“You… You don’t want my love?” There was a slight pause before Coco continued in a glum tone. “I see how it is. My love isn’t good for you anymore. It’s tainted because of what I put you through.”
“No, no, no, that’s not it, Coco! It’s just that… Look, I don’t want to scare you, but sometimes ponies can feel sick when a changeling takes their love, but it’s nothing too serious. Headaches, dizziness, fatigue, that kind of stuff. But that’s for a normal, healthy pony. You were weakened by Tirek. I don’t know what taking your love in your current state would do to you, and I am certainly not going to risk doing anything that might hurt you, even if it means letting my magic run out.”
“S-so you’re starving yourself for my sake?”
Glamour bit her lip. “Well, I wouldn’t necessarily call it starving, although, I would be lying if I said I wasn’t at least a little bit hungry.”
Coco did not say anything after that, and Glamour was left wondering what was the cause of the silence. She had expected Coco would be pressing her for more information or showing more concern. Just as she was about to open her mouth to speak, Coco beat her to the punch.
“Oh Glamour…” Coco mumbled, which was followed by a sniffle.
Glamour kept her mouth shut and listened. She heard several more soft sniffles, and her eyes widened when she was sure she had heard a restrained sob. “Coco, are… are you crying?”
“N-no…” Coco sniffled again. “Yes…”
“It’s because of me, isn’t it?”
“Yes…”
Glamour sighed. “Look, Coco, I’m sorry for worrying you, but—”
“Don’t apologize, Glamour. I should be the one apologizing to you. All you ever think about is my well-being. You take care of me, you protect me, and even now when you’re starving, you are afraid that you might hurt me. You always place me first above your own needs, and I was a fool to forget that. I’ve been a terrible friend to you. It’s only a drop in the bucket, but I need to fix things between you and me, and my first act will be giving you my love.”
“Coco, I’m grateful that you want to help, but I already told you of the potential risk. I’m just not comfortable in taking your love right now.”
“Then how about a trade? Would that make you feel better?”
Glamour could not help but frown. “A trade? Coco, your love is invaluable to me. You shouldn’t have to risk your health bargaining with me.”
“Just hear me out. In return for you taking my love, you are going to do something for me first.”
“And what’s that?”
“I am going to remove the blanket you are hiding under, and you are going to let me.”
“Um, what?”
“I am going to remove the blanket you are hiding under, and you are going to let me,” Coco repeated. “So that I can see the real you.”
“B-but—”
“Glamour, this is something I really want, no, need to do. I promise that you won’t regret it. This is going to help the both of us.”
Glamour could hear the conviction in Coco’s tone and knew that she would not be able to sway the mare from this matter. Taking a deep breath, she uttered a quiet “Okay” and sat up on her haunches. When she felt the blanket being pulled off her, she dropped her gaze down to the bed.
Light briefly filled Glamour’s vision when she was pulled out of her hiding, but even when her eyes had adjusted, she kept her head down. That is, until Coco’s hoof gently pushed up on her chin. Glamour kept still as her gaze met the watery eyes of the most important pony in her life.
“So, this is the real you, huh?” Coco quietly said with a small but comforting smile. Her hoof slowly moved to caress Glamour’s face. “It’s like I’m seeing you for the first time.”
“But you did see me like this when I was being kept in the castle at the Crystal Empire.”
“But that was when I let my emotions get the better of me. Fear and anger clouded my eyes. What I saw back then and what I see right now are two very different things.”
Glamour’s ears perked up with interest. “What did you see back then?”
Coco’s hoof dropped down to the bed, along with her gaze. “A changeling that lied to me.”
“Oh, r-right…” Glamour’s ears fell back against her head. “Well, it’s pretty much true. I kept my real self a secret from you for so long, and that was wrong of me.”
“Yes, that was wrong, but it’s not like you had much of a choice. Looking back, there were little hints that you were not as you seemed, but the biggest ones were the times you tried to talk to me about changelings. I imagine telling you how afraid I was of changelings did not make it easy for you to come forth with the truth.”
Glamour nodded slowly. “It’s not like your fears were unfounded though. I really did want to tell you every time we talked about changelings, but I would always give up because I was afraid of what would happen to our relationship. It was a mistake that I allowed to build up until it blew up in our faces. I was not strong enough to tell you myself and let things fall apart between us.”
“You made one mistake. It was a big mistake, but it was still only one.” Coco sighed, bowing her head so that Glamour could not see her face. “I… I’ve been very stupid. I latched onto that one mistake and forgot all the great times we shared and the things you did for me before that. I convinced myself that all of your kindness and generosity were just a hoax. I was afraid that you were the same as Golden Thread or even worse. Even when we rekindled our friendship, my doubts and fears lingered. But I was wrong, you’ve been nothing but sincere with your feelings to me. Glamour, do you know what I saw when I looked at you just now?”
“N-no, what?”
“A changeling that is very dear to me. A changeling that loves me with all her heart.” Coco raised her head, revealing tears streaming down her cheeks. “A changeling that I hurt terribly and did not deserve the pain I caused her.”
Glamour’s jaw hung open in shock. “W-what? No, Coco. It’s alright.”
“No, it’s not!” Coco replied loudly. “I put you through so much, and yet you stayed by my side. You even risked your life for me! I’ve been a terrible and selfish pony that made you needlessly suffer because of some stupid fears!”
Glamour took a deep breath. “They were not stupid fears, Coco. During the Canterlot invasion, I got to witness the scared faces of so many innocent ponies, and even though I was just following orders, I deeply regret that I was a part of it. When I started to travel by myself, I saw that the invasion had left fear in the hearts of every pony. Changelings did not exactly leave a good first impression. It’s understandable why you were afraid of me, even more so given the similarities to what Golden Thread and I did.”
Coco shook her head. “But you’re not Golden Thread. You’re not like him at all. You’re not some scary invader. You might have lied about who you were, but your love and actions were genuine. If I…” Coco paused to sniffle and wipe her eyes. “If I had been more understanding with you back at the Crystal Empire, I wouldn’t have been so scared. Princess Twilight would not have had to give us that necklace, and maybe then, we could have gotten away from Tirek, and I wouldn’t have almost lost you.”
Coco reached over and gripped Glamour’s forehooves in her own. “Glamour, I’m not afraid of you. I love you. I… I might not deserve your love, but you certainly deserve mine. Please, take my love, Glamour. I know you’re concerned about my health, but I am concerned about yours. You can’t keep starving yourself for me. I don’t know what I would do without you. Do it for the both of us.”
Glamour’s brows furrowed with concern. “Are you sure about this?”
A soft smile crossed Coco’s face. “If I get sick, then I get sick, but I know that you, the wonderful changeling that you are, will fuss and care for me even if I insist that I am fine. I know it isn’t much, but this is one way for me to show that I accept who you are. I trust you, and I want you to do this.”
“O-okay then, if you’re really sure about this…” Glamour gulped. She still had qualms over feeding from Coco, but they had no idea when the whole Tirek situation would be resolved. She might be doing okay now, but she could go without food for only so long before her health started deteriorating. If Coco was willing to go through with this, it was better that they did this now, rather than waiting for a miracle.
“I’m just going to take a little, just to stay on the safe side, alright?” Glamour informed.
Coco nodded, still smiling.
Glamour took a deep breath, but right before she started taking in Coco’s love, she felt Coco pull on her hooves and reel her into a hug. Glamour smiled and returned the gesture. “Thank you for doing this for me, Coco,” she whispered.
“Thank you for being there for me,” Coco replied.
Glamour’s horn emitted a soft, green glow as she began taking in Coco’s love. Maybe it was simply her being hungry. Maybe it was because she had missed Coco’s love. Maybe it was because Coco’s love for her had grown. Whatever the reason was, Coco’s love felt purer and more exhilarating than ever before, and Glamour relished in it. It was the sweetest thing she had ever tasted, and her whole body was suffused with a pleasant warmth. She could feel her strength and energy returning, and even the soreness from some of her injuries faded away.
But just like she said, as soon as she got enough energy to last her a day or two, Glamour stopped her meal and pulled back from the hug. She immediately scanned Coco’s whole body, looking for any changes. “How are you feeling?”
“I’m fine,” Coco said with a nod. “I didn’t feel a thing.”
“Are you sure? Nothing hurts? You don’t feel weak or tired, er, I mean even weaker or more tired?”
Coco giggled. “See? You’re fussing over me. Really, Glamour, you can get quite overprotective of me. I’m alright. The important question is are you alright?”
Glamour chuckled sheepishly. “Guess I did kind of worry a bit too much. And to answer your question, I do feel a lot better, thanks to you.” She shifted back into her pony form. “See? I can use magic again.”
Coco stared at Glamour for a few seconds and then said, “You don’t have to do that, Glamour.”
“Do what?”
Coco closed her eyes. “No matter what you wear, no matter what you look like, you will always be beautiful to me, and I will always love you.”
Glamour’s eyes slightly widened, her memories quickly recalling when she heard those words. “That’s… that’s what you said to me before I walked on stage for the Fall Fashion Fantasia.”
“It was supposed to be a promise.” Coco sighed, only opening her eyes halfway to look down with guilt. “A promise that I’ve done a horrible job in keeping. I was scared of you when I should not have been. Even when we went back to being friends, I kept my guard up. But I’m not like that anymore.
“I know that you cannot show your true self to other ponies, but when it’s just you and me in our home, you don’t have to hide behind a disguise. I want the real Glamour. Other ponies might be afraid of you, but I promise you that I won’t be. How could I be afraid of somepony who I love so much?”
Glamour bit her lip and slowly nodded. She shed her disguise, revealing her true self to Coco. With a nervous grin and averting her gaze slightly to the side, she asked, “S-so, what do you think?”
Coco smiled and placed her hooves on Glamour’s cheeks. She turned Glamour’s head to look directly at her and leaned forward. “You’re beautiful.”
Glamour’s eyes widened when Coco pressed her lips against hers, but it only last a moment before she closed them to let herself enjoy the affection.
She had kissed many ponies before, as well as kissing Coco plenty of times, but this moment was special, and it would forever remain as one of the most treasured moments of her life. This was her first kiss as a changeling. She had found a pony that loved her as a changeling.
Glamour could only describe what she was feeling as complete and utter bliss. Many of her happiest memories were made with Coco, but this moment easily outshone them all. Even though she did not feed on Coco’s love, this moment was perfect for her, and she could feel her whole body tingle as though magic filled the air.
Eventually, Glamour realized that it was not the euphoria from their kiss that was tugging on her senses and that there really was magic in the air. She opened her eyes and noticed a flashing light. She would have gasped if her mouth was not seized by Coco’s.
Glamour wrenched herself away from their kiss and pointed at Coco’s flanks. “Coco, your cutie mark! It’s back!”
“It is?” Coco opened her eyes, revealing that they were now restored to their vibrant cyan, and turned her head. “Oh my goodness, it is!”
“Are you feeling better as well?” Glamour asked.
“Now that you mention it, I don’t feel tired or weak anymore,” Coco replied while she moved her legs and inspected herself. “I thought it was just because I felt so good kissing you, but I guess I’m cured now. But how?”
“Well, it happened while we kissed, so maybe…” Glamour smiled. “Maybe it was our love. I mean, love is very potent, so, uh, kissing you was what probably healed you.”
“Um, Glamour, no offense, but I think you’re wrong.” Coco pointed to the window.
Glamour turned her head, and her eyes bulged when she saw a giant rainbow ring in the sky as it swept across Manehattan.
“I guess Princess Twilight and her friends defeated Tirek,” Coco remarked.
Glamour huffed, folded her hooves across her chest, and pouted. “Yeah, I guess they did,” she said in a sarcastic tone.
Coco stared at her with a raised eyebrow. “Is something wrong?”
“Is it too much to ask that I helped you recover with the power of love instead of a giant friendship rainbow?” Glamour asked with annoyance. She then blinked several times, going over what she just uttered.
“Confound you ponies and your weird friendship magic,” Glamour muttered with a deadpan face.
Coco hugged Glamour again as she giggled. Her infectious joy quickly got Glamour to smile, and their laughter soon filled the room. Everything was now fixed. Tirek was gone, and everypony he drained were now healed. And of course, more importantly, their relationship was fixed.
When they calmed down, Coco leaned her head on Glamour’s shoulder as they both let out a contented sigh. “Glamour, I know it’s pretty much a formality at this point, but just to make it official, would you be my marefriend again?” Coco asked.
Glamour replied by kissing Coco between her ears. “I would be more than happy to.”
Glamour had finally found the love she was looking for. It was not love that she would feed on, but love that she would cherish in her heart and return in kind. There was no more running, no more hiding, and no more lying. She had reached the end of her travels and found a home with a wonderful pony.
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Please don't tell me that this is over
I love this story too much for it to be over...
And there was much rejoicing!
Gah, the all that d'awwww. *clutches chest*
Great chapter, so happy to see them reconcile entirely.
there is only one way for the story to properly end, Glamor takes the stage
And I don't mean the pony
dawww!
This chapter was absolutely perfect.
...I hope that it's not the end however
Nice. ..
I don't know what else you have planned, but I would like to see a conversation between Octavia, Applejack and Glamour now that things with Coco have been solved.
So...is this story over? Like, an epilogue and that's it? Sure feels like it...
Very sweet.
7107846
Yaaaaaaay! *Kermit flailings*
Best. Day. Ever!
Yay! Now make sweet, sweet love!
Beautiful chapter!
Epilogue is next, right? I need 30 chapters!
Real fun. Now Discord has to apoligize.
Oh my god! The season five finale time travel event which will raised some questions. I shouldn't post this, but anyone except the author wants to guess how that will turn out. Reason to leave the author because spoilers of that question. Maybe it won't matter and ignore the top statement.
Nice chapter enjoyed and my heart just met my dead relatives on that moment before coming back cringing by the adorableness.
Aw the feels, so many feels
excellent chapter. 
D'awww!
*claps with a big smile on my face*You my good Author, have done a wonderful job. I commend you the highest respect.
Any chance of writing a sequel?
7109172
When the main story does come to an end, I do have plans for at least one more bonus chapter.
I feel all warm and fuzzy! A fuzzy wolf!
Was wondering when the rainbow would come into play. Great chapter and looking forward to the rest
Wow... That was quite the emotional ride.
Happy tears have been streaking down my cheeks, especially in the last two chapters.
Thank you for this
You know, ever since I first saw coco in the show, I've always liked her so much. I have been looking for fan made stuff of her a lot, mostly art. I didn't really understand why, but for some reason what I found never quite resonated with me in the way I was looking for.
Until I found this story.
I guess it wasn't so much her design I loved, though it was its uniqueness that caught my eye too. I think it was the personality that I imagined behind her. A this story is the first time that I really found what I was looking for. Again, thank you for this, Kevinltk!
Awwwwwwwwwww~ That was a wonderful chapter! <3
Awwww....what a great ending!! <3
Eeeeeee!~ This chapter is positively lovely! Kevin, you've done it again!
I can even! I can just even everything!
7111402 But wait, there is more!
Good on Coco was actually acknowledging how much she screwed up. Only took her marefriend almost dying for her to finally realize...
Yeah it's not like Suri is out looking for dirt on you at all no ma'am
somehow this fan-comic came to mind:
https://tritebristle.deviantart.com/art/Heartstrings-ch4-p1-Personal-space-366871296