Breathe
Rarity sighed forlornly, staring out at the audience. Standing there at the fashion show, along with the other mares. Rarity paused. A long beam of light shot out from the side, separating the crowd from the stage. It radiated a certain glow, almost like a rainbow. A shocking revelation shone in Rarity's eyes and she darted for the spinning doors, ignoring the pleas and shouts of the hostess.
Fleeing through the doors merely took a second. Remiss with all the time she had wasted, ignoring the pleas of her friends. She shouted for a taxi boldly, her voice hoarse from the strain and pain of her strife.
A stallion stopped by the sidewalk.
“Oh my...” Rarity began holding out her pouch.
The stallion shook his head. “No, madam. This one is on me. Without you and your friends fixing my wheel, I’d still be stuck in the middle of the city, and behind on my fares. I owe you something, and you look… like you could use a friend.”
Rarity exhaled deeply, her ears drooping to the sides of her face, as she stared into the puddle of raindrops on the sidewalk. Her friends… they had all been so generous with her, and yet she had failed them. She leapt into the taxi while she fought the tears back.
“Drive to the theater, swiftly now!”
She slumped in her seat as the cart rattled forward. The wind whirling past her and the thought clumped in her throat. What if she was too late?
The cart finally pulled to a stop. Rarity jumped off the cart to land on the sidewalk in one swift motion. She dashed forward, gasping with each breath. Her gut clenched up as she ran but she couldn’t slow down. This might be her last chance to make up for her shortcomings.
Rarity entered the theater where her friends were there waiting. Frantically, she began scouring the room for them. Forcing a smile, she took a deep breath with an audible gasp.
“Girls! I’m so sorry for everything. I was terrible, and I... took advantage of you. I… would understand if you didn’t want to be friends again. I just wanted to try to make it up to you somehow.”
“Oh, Rarity. It’s okay,” began Fluttershy, holding out her hoof to take Rarity’s in with hers. “Are you okay?”
“No, I’m not okay! I’m a horrible mare. I can’t believe I acted as bad as Suri Polimare. I promise it’ll never happen again.”
“Rarity, we knew you weren’t yourself. Just relax,” Applejack said with a sideways glance. Concern was visibly spreading across her cheeks, along with an ever so subtle shade of pink.
All of them gathered around one another, and embraced in a warm soothing hug.
“Um, excuse me,” began a soft feminine voice entering the theater.
“Oh, why hello there. Aren’t you with Suri?” asked Rarity.
"Well, um... I was..." began the mare, "But I quit." She soon explained how Suri cheated in order to get Rarity to forfeit, and how seeing the bond between Rarity and her friends made Coco realize that she couldn't stand by and let Suri get away with it. The next thing she knew was Rarity was offering Coco a job at the theater.
Coco Pommel sat calmly in her seat, working on yet another costume for another upcoming play. Even as she was sitting there, she couldn’t help but think of Rarity. Sighing heavily, she thought to herself how foolish she had been. She’d simply assumed the worst of the ponies of Manehattan. Being kind had never gotten her anywhere in her career, and she had almost let that ruin any chance she had had for success in the world of fashion.
Her lips curled in a small smile as she stood up from her seat. She turned off her sewing machine, picking up the gown in her hooves. Coco hung it onto the rack of finished costumes as her ears perked as she heard a voice calling for her.
“Coco, darling, could you please come here?” her boss asked politely from the other room.
She was always surprised whenever she heard a kind voice or a gentle tone. Coco couldn’t get Suri out of her mind, even now. The memories of the things she had done to please Suri, and how she had sacrificed her own happiness in the process, were a poison in her mind.
Coco went to the front of the theater where a yellow furred unicorn stood. Her big red curly mane framed her way in just the right way, falling just down the sides of her cheeks to highlight her bright baby blues.
“Ah, Coco. Tell me: how are you fairing?” asked Scarlet curiously. She tilted her head, raising an eyebrow. She paused briefly, studying Coco’s composure, listening closely to the rapid rise and fall of her heartbeat as she stood beside her. “You know if you ever need a break, you can simply speak up.”
“Oh no, I’m fine,” began Coco, waving a forehoof dismissively in her direction. The beads of sweat dripped down her cheeks. Coco had lost all track of time on how long she had been absorbed into the dress she had been working on.
“Listen, Coco. I’ve been doing this for years. I can see it clear as day. You’re exhausted,” began Scarlet, taking a step closer and putting her hoof on her shoulder.
“There is no shame in taking a break every now and then for the sake of your health.”
“I really don’t mind working like this,” Coco bit her bottom lip, as she struggled to form words. How could she even begin to understand?
The weight, the pressure, the intensity. For so long, she had been ignorant to what Suri was doing to ponies. She had accepted it, so casually like it was normal.
But no, she was anything but normal. Suri Polomare, even thinking of her now, made her whole body tremble and shake. She shook her head, and took an immediate step back, catching her breath at the back of her throat.
“I’m worried about you, Coco. I heard from Rarity about what had happened,” Scarlet continued. She took a step back, allowing Coco to have a little breathing room. “I won’t pressure you into taking a break, but just know I’m always here if you want to talk about it.”
“Thank you. I really do appreciate the thought. I’m fine.” Coco trembled, her body still shaking. She felt hot to the touch and took a moment to simply breathe. She took a long deep breath, reminding herself she wasn’t Suri.
She had learned so much from Rarity. There was so much she had wanted to say to her. Everything. Words weren’t enough; she had to show Rarity that she had changed and she wouldn’t let any pony take advantage of her again.
Generosity.
Coco turned around and headed back to her work area. The space itself was rather small, the paneling under her made of pure wooden boards. She glanced at her table where her faithful sewing machine was. Looking to the right, she took count of the rack of costumes. She had finished five already, but she still had a lot of work to do.
It didn’t bother her, the work. She truly enjoyed when she got to sit down in her chair and turn on her machine, that little light illuminating as she turned the foot up to begin sewing. She glanced over to the fabrics already pinned and arranged, ready for her to put it all together. Creating magic with her hooves.
She took a deep breath as she looked at her machine, a gift from Scarlet. Her very own sewing machine, something that was all hers. Something that nopony else could take away from her. But it was more than that to her. It felt so simple, like the answer had always been right there in front of her, but she had ignored all the signs. She had forgotten why she became a tailor in the first place.
She pressed her frog onto the foot of her machine and began to seamlessly thread her piece together. Thread by thread, piece by piece. Coco pressed faster onto the pedal, keeping her front hooves onto the dress itself, to align it just right against the seamline, as the machine pressed into the fabric.
Every press of the foot gave her new meaning. Something to work towards. The simple flow of the dress as it ruffled up in the back of the machine, falling down over the table the more and further she pressed.
She felt relieved, to be here sewing these costumes together. To truly make her own mark on society. Manehattan wasn’t a city of friendly ponies. Most here were rude and insensitive, but that didn’t mean she had to follow their hoof steps. She wanted to make a name for herself, to show she could adapt to the culture and to the needs and desires of her customers.
She pressed forward with the costume, keeping the pressure firmly on the foot of the machine, letting the machine do most of the work, simply guiding the fabric through to the other side.
Coco finished the costume and put it onto the rack with the others. Feeling satisfied with her work thus far, she wiped her hoof against her forehead and sighed deeply. She then turned off her machine and put her hoof-made cover over it. It was very easy for dust to collect in the small parts of a sewing machine, so she always made sure to cover it when she wasn’t using it.
She looked at the five costumes she had finished, smiling to herself. She heard Scarlet calling for her again and she got up to meet with her once more. As she walked to the other room, she rolled her eyes, knowing that she might insist on her resting, even if she was already planning on doing so shortly.
“Coco, darling,” began Scarlet once Coco had entered the room, “I would quite appreciate it if you joined me for lunch in the town. You have been working so hard, and I simply can’t let you exhaust yourself.”
Coco walked over and reached both her front forelegs out, wrapping them around Scarlet’s neck and hugging her tightly. She giggled and buried her neck into her boss’s left shoulder. “Thank you, Scarlet. I would love to join you.”
Scarlet held the door for Coco, allowing her to enter the cafe first. Coco felt a blush rising up on her cheeks. Even after all this time, she wasn’t accustomed to being treated with respect and value. Taking her seat, she leaned back against the soft velvet plush cushions, sighing.
Scarlet sat down on the opposite side from her, and immediately cued with a hoof for the waitress to hand them menus. Without even asking her lunch partner, she requested grape wine for them both.
Coco’s lip rose up against the corners of her cheeks, grinning. She shook her head, before rolling her eyes. Scarlet always had this way of just walking into any place she chose, and displaying this certain degree of confidence, professionalism, and kindness. Coco shifted her hooves to wrap around the wine glass lifting it to her lips, and taking a gentle sip.
“What would you like to eat, Coco? Perhaps a salad, or maybe a cucumber sandwich?” asked Scarlet politely, never taking her eyes off the menu. Scarlet’s shoulders slumped as she nestled herself more into the cushions of the seat, allowing herself this bit of reprieve.
“A cucumber sandwich sounds lovely. I think I would like that.” Coco said, nodding her head. Looking across the table at Scarlet made her remember how they had met. How intimidating it had been.
“Alright, we’ll take a plate full of cucumber sandwiches please,” Scarlet said to the waitress, before turning her gaze back at Coco. Allowing a moment of silence to pass, she coughed into her hoof as she spoke.
“Now, as I’m sure you know, Coco. I value the work you are doing for me. But, I am concerned at how absorbed you get into it,” Scarlet began, her tone lowering as she leaned forward. “Sometimes you seem to forget to take breaks for simple things like this.”
Coco tilted her head to the left, a blush covering her cheeks, as her knees jerked. She knew she was right. Sighing heavily, she nodded.
“I know, it’s just… working helps,” Coco explained. Her hooves trembled around the empty wine glass, even though it was empty, she clutching it tightly.
“As I said before, if you ever want to talk about it, I’m always willing to listen,” Scarlet chimed, reaching out her hoof across the table and gently placing it on top of Coco’s. Scarlet never faltered in that confident sitting position. Her back arched, her chest leaning slightly over the table. She waited, giving Coco time to think.
Coco tilted her chin down, admiring the tablecloth as she ran a hoof through her mane. She didn’t even know where to start. Besides, nothing she could say would change it. Healing took time and she knew she was far from done healing from the wounds Suri had embedded into her.
“I know I can and if I need too I will,” Coco whimpered as she bit her bottom lip before continuing, forcing herself to look right into Scarlet’s eyes. She refused to let her inner fears claim her, she was so much more than a pushover.
Scarlet didn’t push her, and released her hoof, settling back into her seat, just as their food arrived. She heard Coco’s stomach let out a thunderous roar and she burst out in a fit of laughter. “See, even your stomach knows you’ve been working too much.”
Coco giggled, rolling her eyes. “Yeah, I guess I have been working a lot lately. I might have forgotten a thing or two.”
“Shall we whet our appetites now, Coco?” Scarlet asked. She sat there calmly, upright and forward. Her back was barely touching the bench.
Coco could easily see how she was giving her one last chance to speak up. To talk with her, but she shook her head, lifting a sandwich with her magic, shifting it into her forehooves and beginning to dive into her lunch.
Scarlet took a sandwich, and began to eat as well. The two of them sat in silence, as they munched onto the delightful flavors presented before them. Scarlet wiped her lips with her checkered napkin, and extended a spare one towards Coco.
Coco accepted it, and wiped her mouth as well. She sighed as she rubbed her belly, leaning back into the bench. “Ah, that was delicious. I must say, I never do this of this cafe.”
Scarlet nodded. At first neither of them engaged any words, allowing their food to settle in their bellies.
Coco took a sip of her wine once it was refilled by the waitress before speaking up. She couldn’t help admiring Scarlet. Scarlet was so different from Suri, kind, caring and compassionate. It was truly inspiring to her. She bit her bottom lip at first, struggling to phrase her words. She shook her head, no. Step by step, she could endure.
“You know, Scarlet, you can be rather charming at times. The reward for me is seeing how happy our customers are, when they get to see the costumes being worn by the actors.”
Scarlet simply nodded in response, and shook her head, looking right at her. “You know, I was surprised when Rarity told me about you. I wasn’t sure what to think, but I must say, you work hard in all that you do. I really do value the amount of details you’ve managed to put into these costumes.”
“Oh, thank you. I only hope that someday I can open my own boutique. I know I’m a long way from that, but I’m glad I got to start here. Working with you has been quite the blessing.”
“I imagine it would be so. I’m truly sorry for what she put you through. It just sounds awful.”
“You know, in a strange way... I’m grateful to Suri.”
“What?” asked Scarlet, raising an eyebrow at her, but listening.
“She showed me exactly what I don’t want to be. I don’t want to be a manipulative and controlling pony that thinks she can get everything handed to her, just because of who she is. She took advantage of me and Rarity and she took from others. I never want to be like that. I want to sew dresses, and show my talent, but not at the expense of making others suffer. I want them to see me for who I am.”
“That actually makes a lot of sense” began Scarlet, pausing briefly as she saw the waiter putting down their food in front of them. “You have a lot of talent, Coco. But I didn’t hire you just because of Rarity. I hired you because I saw the untapped potential you have. I know you’re going to go far, someday soon.”
Coco simply nodded, and smiled back at her. She took a moment to reflect. She felt this strange sensation washing over her. Her trembling had ceased, and she felt this overwhelming sense of calm. Thread by thread. Step by step.
Coco knew it would be a long and difficult road to make her name in the heart of Manhattan, but as long as she remembered to be generous, she knew she could accomplish anything. She owed it all to Rarity, for showing her that ponies could be kind and now it was her turn.
It was her time to shine in the limelight.