Coco Flakes (And We Don't Mean the Cereal)
Coco Pommel would have knocked first. By Fleur’s fuchsia frills, she would have. She owed Rarity everything, especially the level head that the good goddess gave her (as well as a bowl cut that somehow left one lock of hair out of phase every which way for an hour!)
But necessity came first. Her heart twisted and turned as rapidly as the carvings on the Rarity 4-U’s main office door she was in front of. Her brain was ping-ponging between the thoughts of the dangerous creepy crawly surely eating through her body now. And sweat threatened to ruin the raspberry-red lipstick and necklace she’d picked for this very special day.
Thankfully, that last issue was battered away by the violent swing of the door as she finally made her way into the room.
Cocking an eyebrow at Coco, stocked in all her finery and with barely a speck of sleep’s soot in her eye, was Rarity. “Yes, Coco?” she asked as if the pony before her didn’t look like she’d just been in the Running of the Leaves. “I hope the customers haven’t given your stand-in too much trouble.”
“No, not much, Rarity, but-”
“Then please, still your beating heart!” Suddenly, Rarity’s grin - touched up with just the slightest bit of mischief and curiosity - cut across her face. Coco’s heart refused to comply with her request, though. “It’s your day off, and you’ve got an important appointment to see! Let the joy guide you.”
“Rarity!” And suddenly, Coco couldn’t stop the knob on her volume from snapping off, nor her hoof from tapping into her side. “I can’t get my mane right, the dress tore, I’m certain whatever did it’s now burrowing in my lungs, and-”
“Calm down, Coco. Unless you wish to have this couch to nap on, I hardly think this is an issue.”
“I-it’s not, Rarity!”
A flash of purple horn-light later, and Coco was too busy blinking away stars to continue spilling to the starlet before her. “Coco, I have checked for what is surely the seventieth time-”
“Fourth-”
“-and there is no bug infecting you.” Of course Rarity’s smile drops at this. Coco knew that her Element-bearing employer’s pet peeves was rudeness, and here she was delivering just that. Shame almost swelled her ears enough to deafen her to Rarity’s next words. “Unless you count the butterflies, my dear.”
Coco blinked dumbly. “Butterflies?”
“In the stomach, Coco.”
Speaking of, Coco’s jaw was now dropping so hard that it could touch it. “N-not funny!” It was, though, considering the blush now dusting her cheeks. “There’s c-clearly something trying to get inside my body!”
“Yes, and he has rhinestone glasses and is a floor below us. Yet you’re trying to sleep with me?“
Coco hadn’t known that she had crossed the room during her pacing until the gasp she gave off made Rarity’s snout crinkle in the cutest way. Her eyes, however, remained as elegant as ever for Coco; indigo and inquisitive as Coco stumbled backwards in embarrassment. “I-I-I didn’t--”
“Again, Coco. Calm. Down.” And suddenly, Rarity’s hooves were upon Coco as she trailed over the tear in her friend’s dress. Just at the crook of Coco’s hip, Rarity finally found the end of it, and a spool of thread was in her upturned hoof within seconds. “Now, tell me about Trenderhoof while I help you with this, dear.”
Finally, Coco had something that made her stop in her tracks. “A-are you sure? I’m not supposed to meet him until ten minutes, you said--”
“--that entrances must be as dramatic as they are deliberate.” Rarity said. “But I’m sure you know this.”
Coco’s confused eyebrow-raise showed otherwise.
A brief sigh made her twitch in her held pose as the twinkle from a flying needle briefly caught Coco’s eyes. “From Fleet in the Streets, Coco.” Rarity tutted, the magicked suddenly threaded before her half-lidded eyes. “You simply must read those fantastic tales I send your way sometime this year, my friend.”
Coco resolved to do so after her heart stopped its thunderous tempo in her ears.
Thirty-third of Neverary it is then, her inner pony drawled.
“Alas, it is Trenderhoof who is our topic of discussion, Coco.” The ruffle of fabric as Rarity pinched it between her hooves to stitch together again was soft and soothing to Coco. Suddenly, that wonderful pony in the snazzy suede coat - and Trenderhoof, can’t forget him - were all that occupied Coco’s mind. “Now, do tell me what you think of him.”
Coco waited until Rarity’s hooves left - and the thrum of her magicked tool began - before speaking. “Wait, I didn’t tell you of him before?”
“Alas, I thought you would not stop.” A hearty chuckle afterwards chased away the shame hugging Coco’s frame, even tighter than the crimson dress could aspire to. “No worries, Coco. I could never tire of anypony that would treat you as you deserve to be treated.”
Especially considerin--
And that thought of Suri’s machinations was silenced by Coco’s hoof, the clack as it drove into the tiled floor making the horseshoe upon it vibrate through her leg. It wasn’t… completely unpleasant. “Well, Trenderhoof’s always attentive. When we first met, he’d actually remembered how much I like lilacs, and got a really sweet-smelling one to set in my collar. Said it was from this orchard in Baltimare, right from the Laurel Inn. I really hope I can--”
Rarity’s raised hoof stopped Coco again. “Much as his botanical brilliance warms my heart, dear -- I actually meant that I wished to know what you think of the Trenderhoof you’ve dated.”
“H-huh?”
Rarity’s smile returned at full mast. “Why, everypony always has another face they show when the spotlight is off them. It is often the one they show to those they love.”
Coco gulped. Love?
“Yes, love.” And suddenly Coco wondered if ESP, instead of generosity, was Rarity’s true Element. “Trenderhoof’s clearly somepony you first knew through his profession. His travels. His writings.” Rarity’s curious eyebrow cocked up again, and when Coco didn’t respond, she simply clicked her tongue. “Which I definitely think you have laboriously leafed through. That was from A Thread in Twine, Coco; it was the latest bestseller, and I worked so hard to get you a hardcover.”
Coco couldn’t help but laugh at Rarity’s mockingly wounded pout. Goodness, she always seemed to know what it took to chase away her -- well, butterflies, as it were. “Sorry, Rarity.”
“Think nothing of it. Now, how did the Trenderhoof you dated make you feel?”
A rose-colored lip was chewed thoughtfully, taking up several more seconds. Between both mares, the dancing needle closed up several more centimeters of rent satin. “Well, Rarity… Trenderhoof’s not always that precise. When he swept out his coat to lay over a puddle, a car sent the coat -- and the puddle -- into his face. And when we ordered that creamy cheddar soup at Maredison Square Garden, well…”
Rarity’s pursed lips almost seemed to shine with the need to know.
“... he shook so much pepper into it that we were both sneezing all through the meal.”
Rarity’s white hoof clasped around her face, but the laughter around it still bled through. For once, Coco didn’t feel uneasy by it. In fact, she ended up joining in the second Rarity doubled over.
The second she stopped shaking enough to continue knitting Coco’s dress, Rarity finally managed to speak. “D-dear, my goodness! And I was fussing you so much over your nose.”
“N-no, Rarity-” Coco chortled. “Rudolph Pommel was an amazing name! I-I should think of keeping it for Hearth’s Warming!” Then her chest -- and mind -- finally settled down enough for her to consider a possible reason why Rarity was inquiring on that subject. “W-wait! That wasn’t bad on Trenderhoof! He managed to laugh at it too! You know, beyond all the sneezing.”
Rarity faked wiping a tear away. “Oh no, dear. I just could not imagine that was how your date went!”
“Yeah…” Then Coco’s smile softened a bit. “But it was really nice. Knowing that Trenderhoof could laugh at himself… like everything wasn’t meant to be taken so seriously… it was great. A breath of fresh air.”
“I would hope so.” Rarity’s eyes swing back to her hoofiwork, making Coco crane her leg back to get at the last few inches of the tear. “And I’m proud you could see it through, dear.”
Coco nodded. “I hope I can do so again.” Her own eyes swung back to the lone lock of hair, peeking from her bowl cut like an intruding worm. “But I’m always so scared I’ll screw up. Lose it. Lose him.”
“You have nothing to fear on that front.” Rarity’s free hoof massaged Coco’s bare shoulder, the knots -- and doubt -- fading from Coco’s nerves. “I’m certain that Trenderhoof will love all of you that he sees. And to tell the truth?“ The knitting stopped. “That stray lock is amazing. It makes the curves of your mane stand out gorgeously.” A sly smirk crossed her maw. “Among other curves.”
Coco's cheeks lit up, but this time she giggled. “Here’s hoping.” Her brow then crinkled as the unicorn to her side refused to move. “Aren’t you going to finish?”
“Oh, so eager! But I’ve already finished fixing your dress.”
Coco’s eyes shot back to the dress hugging her body. The slit that had once been there was closed again, the crosses barely visible against the cashmere skirt. “Oh, good.” she breathed. “I hope I wasn’t imposing myself on you.”
“I look forward to more such impositions, dear.” Rarity trotted over to the door, her spool and needle settling on a marble-topped dresser near it. “Are those butterflies all settled now?”
“I think they are.” Coco said. “And I really think this dress was a great choice.”
“When you picked it, or when you made it?”
Coco’s grin turned up cattily, making Rarity gasp. “When Trenderhoof was the first thing I thought of as I finished it.” She then made her way to the door. “Another thing I love that he gave me. Inspiration.”
“Huh, and here I was thinking that fear would keep you from that fine stallion!” Rarity chuckled.
“Rarity... I’m scared of failure, not fashion.”
Rarity's eyes lit up with mirth. “And you’ve got your own phrases, too! Perhaps you should be the center focus of a book!”
Coco almost stopped in her trip down to her special somepony at that. A second passed, and then...
"Maybe I should."
As Coco left, Rarity's voice followed the beaming mare out of the door of her sparkling office. “Here’s hoping that book's a wedding plaaaaanner!”