Transparent Living

by PinoyPony

Chapter 6: Small World

-Late September-

Coco stirred the batter quietly. Making sure the batter was the right consistency without making too much noise was challenging. Cooking was definitely not her talent. Sewing was. Not only could she mend a shirt or a jacket, but also make things from scratch. It was her forte. She could do it as fast as she wanted, as slowly as she wanted, or as quietly as she wanted.

Cooking was a different story, she couldn’t make anything from scratch, unless pancake or waffle mix counted. At least if Dazzle woke up, she could offer her a waffle.

This was new. Everything was new. For starters, this whole situation was new.

In his letter, Randolph had warned her to be cautious. He mentioned why in passing. Dazzle’s family dynamics were unstable at the current moment, and what she needed most was peace, quiet, and tranquility.

And peace, quiet, tranquility is what she was going to get.

The spoon slipped out of her hoof and hit the floor. She clenched her teeth and squeezed her eyes shut.

Peace and quiet… Sort of.

She bent down and picked up the spoon. As she put in the sink to wash it, she caught a glimpse of Dazzle trotting out of the hallway.

Coco faced away and felt the slow burn of guilt in her chest. She already broke two promises: She certainly wasn't quiet last night... nor did she get any beauty sleep, like she told Dazzle.

She heard the sliding of a chair. She turned to face the magenta filly who was taking a seat at the table.

Dazzle was hidden behind a bundle of fabric, only her ears and ratty mane visible from behind the pile. Coco started towards the bundle, but when she saw her hooves sticky with batter, she went back to what she was doing.

“Uhm, Dazzle, can you be a dear and move those to the living room? I’m not quite done yet.” Coco said, washing her hooves in the sink.

Dazzle yawned and hoisted the pile of fabric on her back. Coco went back to her cooking, pouring the batter carefully into the iron. She heard the screech of a chair then looked back.

Coco balked when she saw Dazzle with bags under puffy eyes. With her foreleg propped under her chin, Dazzle zoned off, staring at the table’s glassy surface. Coco looked up, checking for any sign of bedhead on her mane.

“Sorry for my ruckus last night.” Coco apologized. “I hope I didn’t wake you,”

“Not one bit,” Dazzle waved her other hoof to dismiss it. She batted at the strands of her purple and white mane dangling in front of her face.

Coco doubled back and tipped the iron slightly with the part of her hooves that weren’t sticky with batter. The steam wafted off the waffles. Coco washed her hands in the sink and gingerly peeled the waffles away from the iron. The Waffles flopped onto the plate. She put the empty plastic mixing bowl in the sink and washed her hooves. She turned off the iron and dried her hooves

She snagged the apple she sliced before, placing half the slices ton the waffle, and setting the other half aside. She turned back to the countertop and put one extra slice on the waffle. She set the in front waffle to Dazzle.

Coco let out a yawn. She set the pile of waffles in front of Dazzle. “Sorry it isn’t much of a breakfast- it’s time to make a trip to the grocery store.”

“Mmmh Hmm,” Dazzle grabbed the nearby bottle of syrup and proceeded to drown the pancakes. Her droopy eyes peering through the thin veil of her ratty mane.

Coco took a seat at the opposite side of the table. She ate the dish set before her: a little yogurt with some berries to the side. Her favorite meal, though it got boring after a while, since she ate it so much. The grocery shop had a sale on it, and she couldn’t resist. Maybe she’d strike it lucky in today’s grocery run.

Next to her bowl was a small white pill. She tossed it in her mouth and took a spoonful of yogurt to drown out the bitter, chalky taste. As Mare-y Poppins would say, ‘just a spoonful of Sugar (or Yogurt) helps the medicine go down’.

She glanced at the pile of fabric in the other room, just barely visible over the island. The nagging thought of her urgent deadline coming up resurfaced in her mind. Fall was here, and that meant the October Festival was upon her. The deadline loomed very close, and her project was not so much of taking careful measure to make sure everything is turning out correctly, but rather, trying to finish in time. Earlier, she could afford time to stress over the minutiae of the styles, but matters were pressing.

She ran out of fabric in the middle of the night. The clothing was practically saying the same thing that Randolph had suggested in the letter: take a break and make new friends. It seemed like a cheap excuse, but she couldn't continue without help.

“Hey Dazzle, do you want to go shopping with me? You could meet more of my friends!” Coco said.

“Nah. I have a headache.” Dazzle prodded her food. Her word’s seemed more like a yawn as they trailed off.

“Sorry,” Coco apologized as she slumped back in her chair.

“Sorry about what?” Dazzle asked, lifting an eyebrow.

Coco gulped. She couldn’t read Dazzle. Dazzle was masked by a groggy face: frown and hunched eyebrows, making an overall agitated expression. It was the kind of look that meant she was about to pounce over the table to tackle Coco, but Coco knew it was a rough night last night, especially with the noise.

“Uhm, keeping you up last night.” Coco concluded that was the best answer she could give.

Dazzle smiled, rather sleepily though “You’re fine, Coco. I’m just not used to the big city yet.” She yawned “I just need some time to get adjusted.”

Coco felt the tension in her hooves soften. Suddenly, her mind flashed back to last night. She knew the familiar feeling. The same tension was released- twice even in the same night. As odd as this whole situation was, this filly was doing wonders for her. Or, her presence at least. Then, she remembered what she was taught last night- ‘take charge, Coco, this filly needs you!’

“Well, I don’t want you to stay cooped up here. You probably need to stretch and have some fresh air.” Coco began, with a steady voice. “I have some friends I really want you to meet!”

Dazzle had a puzzled look on her face as if Coco just sprouted Wings and a Horn. Not quite dumbfounded, but in mild amazement. Coco hoped this meant well.

“Let’s go then.” Dazzle hopped out of her chair.

---

The walls were chocked full of fabric, each in seperate bins or spooled up. The room was colorful with the arrangement of fabric, a seamless rainbow threading from wall to wall.

Coco held a couple rolls of fabric on her back as she waited in line at the counter.

An older stallion stood, pushing a cart of fabric carefully. The tippy top of it looked as if it were to fall over.

Coco smiled as the clerk lifted her head and smiled.

“Good Morning Coco!” She said.

“Hi, Jasmine.” Coco greeted as she set the fabric on the counter. The mare dialed the keys on the cash register. Already knowing how much it was, Coco set a couple bits onto the counter.

“I see you made a new friend!” Jasmine said.

“Right you are! Allow me to introduce you- Jasmine, This is Dazzle,” Coco motioned. “Dazzle, Jasmine.”

Jasmine offered a hoof slowly.

Dazzle reached out and shook Jasmine’s hoof. “Hi.”

“Hi,” Jasmine smiled. “Long time, no see!” She pushed the register door back and jumped when she glanced at the clock on the wall.

Coco just about dropped the fabric on the floor. “Wait… you know each other?”

“Yes, I met her on- Oh! What a co-winki-dink! Right on time!” Jasmine scanned her surroundings and found the stallion, who just barely finished up the cart he had in tow. “Hey, Pecan, can you take the floor for me?”

The stallion pushing the cart nodded with a grunt and stepped towards the counter.

“Meet you in the backroom.” Jasmine instructed, hanging up her apron. “I'll explain later.

Coco shook from her daze and quickly tucked the last of the fabric in her saddlebags.

Jasmine disappeared into an alcove of the store. Coco followed her, with Dazzle tagging along to her side. At the end of the hallway was a white door. Ambient light was shining through the small window on the door's face.

Coco pondered about asking Dazzle where Jasmine and her met, but figured it would be too direct.

Jasmine held the door open. “After you.” She motioned.

Coco entered the room. Her breath was snatched away as she saw it had no windows, but were lit up by an enchanted ceiling that showed a blue sky with the occasional puffy white cloud. It looked real for a moment, but Coco was pretty sure that there was cloud cover outside. Plus, since the shop was adjacent to the park, Amber leaves would've littered the skylight.

“I'm going to get my lunch.” Jasmine said. “Have a seat anywhere.”

Jasmine disappeared down another corridor. Without any hesitation, Dazzle took a seat, the legs squealing against the stone. Coco set the saddlebags down near the foot of the table and took her seat, doing so quickly to avoid the obnoxious squeal.

Jasmine entered the room holding a lunch box in her mouth. “One Minuth.” She said, setting the lunchbox down on the table.

“Ah, that’s better.” Jasmine said. “Wanna granola bar, Coco?”

“Yes, Please.”Coco said.

Jasmine took a seat, then opened her bag. “Catch!” She shouted as she tossed a granola bar at Coco. Coco caught in between her hooves and unwrapped it.

Jasmine looked at Dazzle. “Wanna granola bar?”

“Yes.” Dazzle said, cupping her forelegs.

Jasmine tossed another granola bar over.

Coco fidgeted in her seat and cleared her throat. “So, Jasmine, you are telling me you met Dazzle on the street yesterday?”

“Yes I was about to mention before I noticed it was lunch break.” Jasmine cut in before Dazzle could answer. “Saved her from a nasty spill while crossing the street.”

“Yeah, she helped me after I came to a phoney address.” Dazzle added, rolling her eyes. “Luckily you were right across the street.”

“Funny how things tend to work out” Coco smiled.

“Indeed.” Jasmine nodded. “Anyways, what trouble have you been causing lately?”

Coco chuckled. “Not too much trouble. Things have been dull lately, but it just happened that she came in the nick of time!” She nudged Dazzle. “We had a great night yesterday. Dazzle got to meet Marigold, Montressor, and Florin.”

“And with that bunch, there is never a dull moment.” Jasmine said, pulling a canister out of the bag. “Speaking of never a dull moment, what about Yttrium? He was supposed to be at the meetup.”

“Busy, as always.” Coco sighed. “After this, I’m going to pop by and see how he is doing.”

“Good, Good. Tell him Jasmine says ‘hi’” Jasmine said before she sipped the contents of the canister. From the aroma, Coco could tell it was hot chocolate. “How's the project coming along?”

“Slowly. Luckily, yesterday gave me a boost of energy.” Coco said. “It's wierd, I came home, tried to sleep, but I went into a sewing mood.”

“Second Wind.” Jasmine said. “Maybe it's the outing with friends that recharged your batteries.”

“Just in time too.” Coco looked over to Dazzle. Maybe Dazzle was a good luck charm. “Yesterday, Dazzle saved my rump when the Florin and Marigold were getting rowdy.”

“When do they not get rowdy?” Jasmine slid the canteen across the table to Dazzle. “Looks like you need this.”

Dazzle opened it and took a sip. After she wrinkled her face, thinking about the taste, she took another.

“So, yesterday, I saw you wearing a tiara. Did you lose it?” Jasmine asked.

“Oh, I left it at Coco's apartment.” Dazzle answered in between a gulp.

“Oh.” Jasmine said. “Tis’ a shame, you look pretty with it on.”

“I do, but if I wear it too long, it hurts.” Dazzle said. “So today, I'm taking a break.”

“So, how long you staying?” Jasmine asked.

Dazzle shifted in her seat and looked down at the floor. “Well, I don’t know.”

Jasmine raised an eyebrow. “Where are your parents?”

“Back in Ponyville.” Dazzle replied.

Jasmine blanched. “What are you doing here such a long way from home?”

Dazzle stayed quiet for a long time. Coco noticed Dazzle frowned- A deeper frown that seemed more serious than the expression from this morning.

“Where’s the little filly’s room?” Dazzle hopped out of her chair.

Jasmine scowled.

Dazzle whined.

Jasmine sighed and pointed towards a white door. “Down the hall, to the left.”

Dazzle hopped out of her chair then stepped towards the door. It squeaked as she pulled it open.

“Don’t mind it, it does that.” Jasmine explained.

After the door shut, Jasmine asked. “What’s going on Coco?”

“I’m not sure if I should mention it, it’s awfully private.”Coco started. “Even I don’t know the full details.”

“What do you mean you don’t know the full details?” Jasmine said.

“Randolph sent her here. All I know is that she needs a place to stay.” Coco explained. She figured that mentioning Randolph wouldn't be too much trouble.

“Randolph?” Jasmine asked, noticeably quieter this time. “How long did he say?”

Coco tilted her head back and forth. Her eyes looking up at the ceiling. “I don’t know. Could be a week, could be a month, could be… longer.”

“Usually the old stallion is proper in giving you at least a week’s notice. Especially with something like this. Didn’t he send you a letter before-” Jasmine stopped herself. “That explains the letter Dazzle was holding.”

Coco nodded. She knew that Randolph was proper- even in letters. Though she only received letters from him years ago.

She remembered that the cursive was a hint scratchy, but she dismissed it as his arthritis kicking in.

It was rushed.

“I would write him as soon as you can.” Jasmine continued. “This is no easy task. Taking care of a filly is a tough job- Trust me, I speak from experience.” She placed a hoof over her heart. “Also, don't you have a festival to worry about? How are you going to balance this with the festival?”

Coco patted her saddlebags. “That's why I came here. Figured a little multitasking couldn't hurt.”

Jasmine frowned. “Coco, the play is in three weeks, you can't possibly balance-”

The door squeaked. Both looked at Dazzle as she came back into the room.

Silence hung in the air. Coco wondered if Dazzle heard any of that conversation. Coco smiled, hoping her guilt didn't show through.

Jasmine sighed and scooted out of her seat. “Well, I won’t keep ya. Yttrium's break is in twenty minutes, so I’d say you better get a move on.” She stuffed the canteen back in her pack. “If you don't mind, I'm going to take my daily stroll.”

Author's Note:

It's alive!

So, In order for a ranting rampage to not take up room here, I'm going to condense it into a blog post here.

Also, this next section is going to be slow, since it has mostly "Slice of Life" (When it comes time, I'll put a link here to the next section where there is going to be more action).

Comments

[PinoyPony]

9494128
I hope this doesn't come off as rude (I'm just trying to clear up any confusion). Plus, I wanted to get this reply out before too much time passed.

In the moderation stage, the story didn't have the Coco chapter yet. So, just to be careful, I left it out until Coco made her first appearance so it wouldn't fail moderation. Turns out, it would've been just fine to add a Coco tag at the beginning since the moderators are just looking for anything that breaks major regulations.

Later on, as more characters are introduced, I will add more tags. Just so you are aware.

Hope this clears up any confusion between past and present.

[Cosy Purity]

“I do, but if I wear it too long, it hurts.” Dazzle said. “So today, I'm taking a break.”

I like this line. I think it makes good characterization :)