1055 AD, November 8th

“See?”

Coco Pommel flinched instinctively as something was dropped down in front of her. When she regained her composure, she saw that it was a piece of clothing – a sweater, to be exact.

“And you said I couldn’t get it done!” Suri scoffed as she strutted around the apartment, head held high as Coco hesitantly picked up the sweater and spread it out in front of her. “Shows what you know, mmkay?”

“W-well, I never said that you couldn’t…”

Coco’s – ultimately futile – attempts to defend herself were forgotten as she took in the clothing. The stitching was immaculate, the pattern lovely, and the material it was made from… simply sublime!

“Y-you made this?”

“Who else?” Suri rolled her eyes, her ego inflating from Coco’s remark. “The walls? The potted plants?”

‘I’m just shocked you actually got off your flank for once and did something.’

Of course Coco didn’t say that; she remained quiet as Suri pranced back to her and snatched the sweater away before rubbing it against her cheek, humming in content.

“Hmm… and what was that you said yesterday? Something about how I couldn’t design something to save my life?”

Coco turned in her swivel seat, away from the sowing machine, and mumbled, “A-actually, I was just saying how you couldn’t make a sweater without using-”

“So little faith,” Suri zipped back to pat her beleaguered assistant on the head in a very demeaning manner. “This is why I let you do all my work, mmkay? You really need the experience if you want to go far in this city.”

Coco sighed despondently and reflexively agreed. “Y-yes, Miss Polomare…”

“Oh, you’re so cute when you say that…”

The familiar tone in Suri’s voice sent unpleasant shivers down Coco’s neck. Knowing what was coming next, she willed herself to remain still as Suri leaned over to nuzzle her neck.

Coco would have called it ‘affectionately’, if the gesture wasn’t purely to feed Suri’s sense of power over the younger mare.

“Keep up the sewing and I might just have a surprise in store for you later tonight, mmkay?” Suri lightly trilled and nipped at Coco’s ear – ignoring the wince of pain it wrought – before walking off to flop down unceremoniously on the couch. “Now, let’s see what’s happening on I shouldn’t be alive…”

Coco sighed as she turned back to her work, rubbing at her ear.

‘Can’t stand up for yourself again, huh?’

‘I can’t. Suri’s right; in this city, it’s every pony for themselves. If I have to do all this work to keep her happy and keep my job, then that’s what I’ll do.’

‘She asks more of you than just making all of her products…’

‘… If it lets me keep my job.’

It wasn’t a good life she had going… but it was better than most.

“Oh, before I forget…” Suri announced from the couch, gaze fixated on the television. “There’s some dark fabric underneath that desk; I want you to start work on some new banners for the Empress and have them completed around the time I usually have you turn in my work.”

Looking under the desk to confirm there was a box of dark fabric, Coco then turned around, confused. “Did… Nightmare Moon call you, or…?”

“Coco, don’t be naïve. One does not get ahead in life by waiting on the sidelines for somepony to notice you; you have to assert yourself, mmkay?”

‘Wow, actual sound advice. The blood must have rushed to her head.’

Suri chuckled mockingly. “Honestly, how would you have ever made a name for yourself in Manehatten without me?”

‘Probably by working hard and designing my own products; kind of like what I’m doing right now, except there’d be nopony taking all the credit.’

Sighing, Coco replied, “O-okay. Where’s the design I’m supposed to use?”

“Oh, on your desk somewhere…” Suri helpfully gestured vaguely in Coco’s direction, still refusing to look at her. “Yellow sheet of paper… I think. Could be pink.”

Coco eventually found the paper practically hidden beneath the mountain of fabric she was expected to stitch into something worthy of Suri’s approval by next week.

She balked at the complexity of the banner design, both horrified and impressed.

‘There’s no way I can do that and have the other stuff done by next week! I need more time. Maybe… well, the banners would matter to her more, so maybe I can convince her to give an extension?’

Already, Coco found herself biting down on her right forehoof, a bad habit she did when she started stressing out. It had manifested at childhood, lessened when she reached her teens, and came back full-force when she started working for Suri.

What a coincidence…

Coco gave another sigh and wondered if she should have just taken that offer to be a stripper when she first arrived at the Manehatten train station.

Vzzzzz

“Hm… wha…?”

For the fourth time that month, Coco found herself waking up with her cheek pressed against her desk and a puddle of drool forming beneath it.

Fortunately, it didn’t stain any fabric this time.

“Ungh…”

Blinking the sleep from her eyes, Coco pushed herself into a sitting position and glanced at the clock on the wall, squinting against the light provided from the desk lamp.

’2:27 am, huh? Usually I can get an extra hour before I wake up. Oh well…’

Stifling a yawn, Coco sluggishly got out of her chair and trotted her way towards the kitchen, relying purely on muscle memory to not trip over the furniture and risk rousing her employer.

‘Guess she didn’t feel like showing me that surprise…’

She wasn’t too broken up over it.

Suri snored.

Vzzzzz

Coco flicked one ear in irritation, trying to rid herself of whatever insect was buzzing around her head.

‘Please let it still be there, please let it still be there, please let it…’

She opened the fridge and squinted against the light.

‘Yes!’

Coco reached in to grab the last bottle of banana milkshake and twisted the cap off to down it hungrily.

For a moment there, she feared that her ‘benevolent employer’ had already-

BANG

“Ack!”

Banana milkshake spluttered from between Coco’s lips as the entire apartment room shook hard enough to put small cracks in the ceiling. A triangular piece of plaster fell and bopped her on the head.

“Ouch…”

She rubbed the dust and crumbled plaster from her mane and looked up, wondering what could have possibly done that. The room above them housed a rather… ‘energetic’ couple, but it was never that noticeable.

Besides, they usually did it around eleven.

Actually…

‘Are they… arguing?’

Though she wasn’t one to eavesdrop, Coco couldn’t help but strain her ears as she heard what sounded like the couple shouting. The ceiling was thick and muffled most of the noise, but it definitely sounded… panicked? Perhaps even-

“What in Equestria did you do, Coco?!”

Startled terribly by the shout, Coco leapt about a foot into the air and spun to face a very tired and very upset Suri. She had her pink and lavender night gown on with a sleeping mask resting on her forehead.

“I… I…” Heart going a mile a minute, Coco shakily pointed up and said, “There was something… something made that loud noise, so I was-”

“Argh, those damn sex addicts!” Suri growled through clenched teeth and went back into her room. “Keeping us up in the middle of the…”

BANG

Coco yelped in fright as another tremor made the cracks in the ceiling grow and this time… yes, she definitely heard the couple; yelling and screaming now.

‘Are they being attacked?’

“S-Suri…” Coco whined as the other mare came back in, a broom in her hoof. Her fear of her employer prevented her from taking a more assertive approach. “Maybe we should call the police?”

Suri ignored her.

“Hey!” She shouted and thrust the broom’s handle against the ceiling, apparently uncaring that she was inflicting even more damage. “Some of us have things to do! Screw each other some other night, mmkay?!”

…

The sounds came to a sudden halt.

Coco felt the tension leave her body in a long sigh as Suri beamed triumphantly and turned to go back to bed.

“Nothing to it.”

CRASH

A rain of debris fell as the ceiling caved in with a cacophony of splintering wood, crumbling plaster, and breaking furniture.

Coco looked at it long enough to catch something dropping through before she was screaming and bunkering down, hooves over her head, only just barely hearing her employer give her own shriek.

The floor trembled beneath her as the weight of the debris struck; her shaking legs were unable to support her, and she tripped heavily.

“Oof!”

She stayed there, hoping to Mother Faust that the ceiling wouldn’t cave in on her next, until the sounds of destruction trickled to a soft crunch of plaster hitting floor.

When she realized she was still alive and unhurt, Coco slowly uncovered her eyes…

… and immediately wished she hadn’t.

A giant, bipedal figure clad in grey armor rose from a crouch; dust hovered in a large cloud around its form and debris fell from broad shoulder plates. The helmet was dome-shaped with sharp spikes sprouting from the sides and reaching up, each as long as her foreleg.

There were no gaps to tell what sort of creature was in the armor and that was almost as frightening as the black smoke that bled from a large hole in its cuirass.

Actually, no – the large mace dangling from its right hand was the most frightening thing; a metal rod as long as Coco’s body with a sphere of metal as big as her head at the end, covered in cruelly-curved spikes.

The creature rose to its full height – helmet spikes almost peeking through the hole it just made – and gave a blood-curdling growl that Coco felt in her bones.

“Oh… oh shit!”

Out of her peripheral vision, Coco saw Suri drop the broom and back up, terror plainly written across her face. The creature paid no heed as she moved towards the door.

‘No no no – don’t leave me! Please don’t leave-’

Coco’s pleading eyes went unnoticed as her employer turned, wrenched the door open – terrified earth pony strength making short work of the many locks – and fled out into the hallway.

Abandoning her…

Coco choked as tears started rolling down her cheeks. She stared up at the creature that approached her.

The arm that didn’t grip the mace lashed out, back-handing the couch into the wall with titanic force. The crushing noise it made on impact stirred something in Coco; it was as if she had simply been observing her body, but now she was back in, and-

-the thing was swinging its mace right at her!

Coco shrieked and dived between its legs.

CRUNCH

She didn’t need to look back to know that the mace had gone straight through the floor – no doubt startling whoever was below her – and scrambled back to her hooves to rush out the door.

‘Run run run run run!’

She tripped as she entered the hotel’s corridors, banging into the wall, and it was only by inches did the creature miss, its blow shattering the wall into smithereens.

‘Oh Faust, it’s fast!’

The creature let out a thunderous roar that wouldn’t be out of place emerging from a dragon’s maw and Coco felt it give chase, shaking the entire floor with every footfall.

Several doors opened as she fled, but closed just as quickly once the ponies inside caught sight of the chase. Coco paid them no mind; her attention was focused on the elevator that Suri was desperately trying to close.

The rational part of her protested that the flimsy elevator doors would not stop this thing.

The rest of her shouted, “Suri, wait! Please!”

Suri continued pressed the button to close the doors, muttering something under her breath in panicked gasps.

Coco put on a burst of speed, muscles straining as she pushed herself to the limit, desperate to make those last few metres.

CRUNCH

The breeze from the creature’s horizontal swipe brushed Coco’s mane as she slipped in through the closing doors and slammed into the back wall.

She turned in time to see the armored behemoth wrench its weapon from a massive hole in the wall and give another bone-shaking bellow before the doors closed tight with a cheery ding.

“Huah… huah…”

Sweat matted Coco’s fur down as she slowly turned to look at her employer, who was still bashing at the buttons, her face a twisted grimace of fear.

‘She abandoned me… Would… would I have done the same? I…’

Creeaak

Both mares looked up.

WHUMP

Metal buckled and the elevator shook as the creature dropped down on top of the elevator, now seeming more like a cold tomb.

Suri shrieked and Coco squeezed herself in a corner as grey gauntlets peeled away a slab of metal like it was a can of sardines. The creature’s blank helmet appeared, somehow managing to give off a paralyzing sense of unadulterated fury, and it roared down at them, smoke billowing from its chest like a geyser.

It raised its mace, pausing to let it hang in the air, and then allowed it to swing downwards.

The spiked sphere missed the two mares by a hair and slammed into one of the elevator’s wall, punching a large hole.

Enraged, the creature ripped its weapon free and stood to begin violently stamping down, seeking to completely remove the roof that obstructed it from fitting entirely-

-the elevator’s cables snapped.

Coco drew in a breath and screamed as the descent left her suspended in mid-air. Sparks blinded her and screaming metal deafened her as she hung there for one second, two seconds, three-

CLANG

Stars filled Coco’s vision as she came to a jarring stop, the back of her head colliding with the floor.

The creature face-planted, fortunately missing the mares and instead landing between them.

“Shit shit shit!”

Suri ignored the streak of blood running down her face and into her eyes. She chanted the same curse over and over as she rose to pry the elevator doors apart, tumbling forwards into the lobby, startling the staff and customers that rushed to see the commotion.

Coco fought against the waves of nauseating pain that battered her head and climbed over the dazed monster’s back.

“Run!” She shrieked once she was out. “Run, there’s a monster in-”

A roar drowned out her words and the screams of the ponies that followed.

Coco looked over her shoulder and saw the monster crash through the elevator and jump several metres into the air, both hands clutching its mace as it descended…

… and smashed its weapon down.

There was a moment of silence – as if all sound in the area had been drawn inwards – before a literal shockwave of compressed air swept out from the creature and picked up Coco, along with anypony unfortunate enough to be close by.

She bounced across the hotel’s tiled floor, chunks of marble ricocheting off her body, leaving bruises and deep cuts. Perhaps one of her eardrums had been ruptured because only her left ear was picking up the rushing wind, panicked screaming, and cries of agony that left her own lips.

‘Is this how I die? I don’t want…’

Coco came to a stop as her momentum was spent and she curled into the foetal position, shaking too hard to stand and weeping too hard to draw in a breath.

“Oh Faust… I can’t feel my legs…”

“What’s happening?!”

“Somepony help! I can’t see anything!”

“Mommy! Mommy, get up!”

Coco parted her eyes – one felt like it was swelling shut – and saw the creature stand from a crater in the floor and stalk forwards.
A stallion was blindly crawling in its direction, blood dripping from his face.

“Wh-where am I? Endo? Endo, honey? Where are y-”

SPLAT

Coco let out several inarticulate noises of horror before her stomach could not hold out any longer and she threw up what little she had that day, the sickly fluid staining her coat.

Wrenching the mace from the pile of crushed tissue and bone – brain matter dripped liberally from the sphere and one of the spikes had impaled the stallion’s tongue – the creature took several more steps forwards.

A middle-aged mare with a broken leg wailed and tried to get away, screaming, “No, help! Don’t let it-”

Blood spurted from her lips as the monster stomped down on her back, breaking her spine with a sound like snapping celery.

Not done, the creature bent down, grabbed the mare’s hind leg, lifted her, and threw her back down on the floor.

The sounds of dozens of bones breaking and flesh splitting would haunt Coco…

“Mommy!”

Coco’s attention was drawn to the hotel’s front doors, dismayed and horrified to see a small pegasus filly – she couldn’t be older than six – shaking a prone mare.

The extent of the mare’s injuries were too severe to leave room for hope…

Seeing the filly’s tear-stricken face, hearing her trembling pleas struck Coco harder than the shockwave.

She started crawling towards the foal, sobbing from the pain of her injuries.

‘I’m going to die…’

‘I have to get to her.’

‘But I’m going to die…’

‘I don’t care; I have to get to her!’

Oh Faust, she wanted to wake from this horrible dream.

Halfway towards the filly, Coco spotted her employer rise from beneath two bodies and limp over to the doors.

“Suri!” Coco cried out. The other mare turned to her, eyes holding nothing but blind terror. “S-save her! The filly! You have to… save her!”

Suri looked to the bawling filly and back.

She shook her head. “N-no…”

“Suri!”

“No, I can’t…” Suri kept shaking her head as she opened the door and limped out. “I can’t…”

“SURI!”

Her employer ran.

As the last chance of her and the foal’s survival fled, Coco’s mind went blank for a few moments… but her body continued dragging itself along.

The creature growled and started walking.

‘We’re going to die… We’re going to die…’

The filly kept shaking her deceased mother, kept crying out for her, and she didn’t stop until Coco arrived and pulled her in close. The filly buried her face into Coco’s chest and cried fat tears, too distraught to pay any mind to the monster that cast a shadow over the duo.

‘We’re going to die…’

Coco hugged the filly tenderly and whispered, “Shh, shh – just keep your eyes closed…”

‘We’re going to die…’

Coco looked up, lips quivering as the creature reared its weapon back, no mercy to be found…

‘We’re going to die…’

It swung down.

‘We’re going to-’

WHAP

The mace came to a stop.

“…”

Coco blinked and saw a blue, furry hand gripping the monster’s wrist. It was just as large, but there was no armor covering it, allowing her to see bulging muscles flex in unison…

Flexing in unison to forcibly drag the monster’s arm up, away from her and the filly.

‘What’s…?’

A tower of muscle and fur stood alongside the armored creature, just as tall and just the teeniest bit wider.

“No.”

The creature drew itself up and unleashed a powerful roar-

-another hand – identical to the first but curled into a fist – cut the monster off unceremoniously and sent it flying back a dozen yards to impact a wall, leaving a sizeable imprint.

“And no means no.”

Coco looked up in awe at the minotaur that stood over them.

She had only seen minotaurs in books and on television, but surely this one was a prime specimen of his species? His arms, legs, chest, and neck rippled with strength; he could probably knock her out with a simple flick.

Yet when he looked down at her, she didn’t feel in the least bit afraid of him.

“You’re a tough mare,” He said in a booming baritone and a smile crossed his face. “Think you can keep it up for a little bit longer?”

Coco nodded dumbly. “Uh-huh…”

He gave an approving nod before turning to face the creature, features furrowing into an expression of determination. His legs clopped noisily against the floor as he strolled forwards.

The monster had recovered from the brutal punch – though it now sported a dent in its helmet – and growled menacingly, metal plates trembling as smoke swirled about its form.

The minotaur inflated his lungs and smacked his fist into his palm.

“COME AND GET SOME!”

Anything else would have fled at the challenge; the creature answered with an echoing roar and sprinted forwards.

Coco inhaled sharply as the minotaur met his opponent’s charge head-on and was pushed back a few feet. Quickly regaining his footing, the minotaur yelled harshly and slammed his head into the creature’s helmet, stunning it long enough for him to bring one massive arm back, hold it for that little extra bit of spring, and deliver a powerful uppercut.

When his fist collided, the monster was launched into the air, high enough to almost hit the lobby’s ceiling. He followed up by spearing the monster as it came back down with his horns and was rewarded by a bellow that sounded more like pain than anger; black smoke shot out from the creature’s back where the horns had punctured the armor.

Swinging his head downwards, the minotaur slammed his foe into the floor and raised his right leg.

“HERE COMES THE PAIN!”

Psssshhh

Coco gasped as the creature disconnected from the waist up and the stomp went through a sea of churning smoke, cracking the tiled floor.

“Watch out!”

The creature’s upper half floated on a tendril of smoke, swerving with surprising agility, and zipped around behind the minotaur to swing its mace down.

“Hup!”

Once again, the minotaur grabbed the creature’s wrist and held it back, but this time, it countered by socking him across the face. He stumbled back from the force and tripped over the prone lower half of his opponent.

Coco whimpered in distress as the two battled for the upper hand on the floor, wanting to help but knowing she was in no shape to do so. Plus, the filly needed whatever protection Coco could provide.

‘Please win, please win!’

Smoke rolled over the minotaur’s chest and face as he struggled, making his eyes water and preventing any fresh air from entering his lungs. Both opponents had their arms locked together; the monster unable to swing its mace and the minotaur unable to land a hit.

“…”

The minotaur suddenly released his grip, allowing the creature to swing and dig the mace into his shoulder but also allowing him to grip the hole in its chest.

Pain and rage filled his face as he let out a battle cry and used a surge of titanic strength to sit up and grab at the hole in the armor with both meaty hands.

Then he started pulling.

The creature realized his plan and left the mace in its opponent’s shoulder to try and push itself away. Clawed gauntlets lashed out, but the minotaur remained strong, and within moments, the creature’s cuirass started bending and tearing. Great puffs of smoke left the widening hole with as much frequency as the deafening roars.

“Make me bleed…” The minotaur grunted through clenched teeth as the armor’s edges started cutting into his fingers. “I make you SCREAM!”

There was a hideous screech of protesting metal and the minotaur fell back as his opponent recoiled with a roar of defiance, arms disconnecting at the shoulders as it futilely tried to stuff the escaping smoke back into its armor.

Coco hugged the filly in her forelegs tightly. ‘Did…? Is it…?’

Despite its efforts, the smoke dissipated in the air, and the creature made one last desperate grab at nothing before falling flat on its face with a pathetic groan, the armor unclasping and breaking apart to reveal… nothing.

“…” Coco wetted her lips – tasting blood – and asked, “Is it over?”

“Yeah…”

The minotaur gave a tired grin and plodded over after ripping the mace from his shoulder with nary a grunt. He discarded it like the trash it was and came over, holding his injured side.

“I think it is…”

Coco broke into a crooked smile and laughed, slightly hysterical. “Th-thank you… I’m Coco…”

“Iron Will’s the name and training ponies is my game!”

Coco would have laughed at the thumbs-up and the winning smile he flashed, but she was too busy passing out into the sweet embrace of unconsciousness.

“… so of course, nobody told me that Manehatten doesn’t need any lessons in being assertive. I was set to go home after one more night, so I thought I’d check into that hotel. Gotta say – I’m glad I came by.”

“Me too…”

Coco was still in a vulnerable state after the authorities arrived and she was given proper treatment. Fortunately, the filly hadn’t been harmed in any way, and lay curled up against Coco’s side, emotionally exhausted.

There were only so many tears you could shed at a time…

As she sat on the sidewalk, blanket draped over her shoulders and filly safely cocooned within the warm embrace, Coco wondered…
Well, she wondered a lot of things, but the thought that came up the most was… why?

Why did ponies have to die in such a violent manner? Why did a filly have to lose a mother? Why did Coco have to suffer such a nightmarish event?

‘I can still see that stallion’s head pop like… No! Don’t you dare think about it!’

“Wish it was a bit earlier though…” Iron Will said, scratching at the stained bandages covering his shoulder.

Coco wished that too, but there was no way she was going to say that; Iron Will risked his life to stop that creature, and she wouldn’t demean his accomplishment by focusing on what could have been.

“It would have been a lot worse if you didn’t arrive when you did,” Coco said. “It would have killed everypony and gone out into the city. I… I don’t think it would have…”

Coco trailed off as she spotted somepony come into view from behind an ambulance carriage, where two paramedics were wheeling a gurney and its grim contents into the back.

‘Suri…’

“Iron Will, could you watch out for her for a second?”

“Hm? The filly? Why, what... are…?”

Without another word, Coco wrapped the blanket around the small filly and hoofed her over to Iron Will. He took and held her in his massive arms awkwardly as Coco stood, ignoring how terribly her body ached, and made her way across the street.

A red haze tinted her vision as Coco moved closer to the other mare and she could feel her heart thumping frantically, not from terror this time…

Suri saw her approach and – perhaps for the first time since they met – looked very uneasy.

“C-Coco, you’re alright!” When there was no reply, Suri hesitantly took a few steps back, now looking afraid. “L-look – I… There was no way I could have done anything, mmkay? A lot of things happened and-”

Coco knocked her to the street with one solid punch.

“You are nothing but a selfish, glory-hogging bitch! I quit!”

Suri stared up at her, eyes wide in shock and pain, and her lips moved to form words, but Coco was already gone, moving back to Iron Will and the filly.

“Well, you sure don’t need of any of my seminars,” Iron Will observed with a tone of approval. “But, uh, what exactly was that about?”

“Just something that needed to be said,” Coco replied, taking back the filly and sitting back down, her hoof stinging from the strike. “I’m only sorry it took me so long to do it.”

Iron Will hummed in thought, but didn’t push any further. “So what are you going to do now that you quit your job?”

“I don’t know,” Coco admitted. She had struck and yelled at Suri on impulse – though she didn’t regret it one bit – so her main means of income had been neatly severed. “I… I’ll have to find another job, but until that, I want to make sure this one will be alright,” She looked down at the sleeping filly sadly. “Faust, please let her have family…”

Iron Will hummed again and when she looked at him, she saw that he was glowering intensely at the hotel. He appeared to be thinking hard about something, so she didn’t say anything, and instead returned to watching the sleeping filly.

‘Why did this have to happen?’

Author's Notes:

Note 1: Armor of the Wisp Knight - it is composed of an unknown alloy that appeared to have once been silver or grey in colour, but was tarnished by extreme heat and ravaged by countless battles. The metal is heavy and incredibly tough, and boasts unusually high resistance to electricity.

The armor's ability to disconnect specific sections is not only an advantage, but cruelly creates an illusion of freedom to the creature inhabiting it; forever shall it remain bonded to a suit of armor it despises but needs in order to survive.

Perhaps this protective gear is not protective gear at all, but an elaborate and theatrical means of torment?

Note 2: Many are quick to label the minotaur race as savage brutes because of their gladiatorial coliseums and love of fighting, but this could not be further from the truth. Minotaurs are social creatures and physical confrontation is an excellent means of establishing and strengthening bonds between friends, families, and lovers. Indeed, minotaurs do not seek to lethally harm - unless given sufficient reason - and gladiator matches end without bloodshed.

Minotaurs are fascinated by magic as they themselves are incapable of using it.