Maybe if Coco Pommel woke up to the sound of birds singing, she would have been in better spirits.
However, for those who lived in Manehatten apartments, the default soundtrack that assaulted hit everypony's ears was that of the alternating low rumbling and high-pitched creaking of taxi carriages, the quiet mumbling and rustling of ponies following their deeply rooted routines such as picking up the newspaper and throwing it at the brash cyclist and that never-ending honking sound coming from the sixty-something next door who had no idea that most people don't keep a goose on their balcony.

Coco stared up at the ceiling, pretending to admire the bland white nothingness as she couldn't will herself to go back to sleep- not with that din that bird was generating. As a consequence she was left alone with her thoughts, most of them involving a cat and an accident.

She idly shifted her gaze to the rest of her room. Everything that had a preset cloth covering on it had been replaced with her own creations,as it helped make the otherwise unfeeling place a little more like the friendly house she imagined Rarity's country friend Applejack to have. The little couch, the blue beanbag in the corner, the square rug, the single bed she was lying on- they all had the mark of Pommel on them, which was mostly tuned in to her own colour scheme. Even the shelves of the bookcase and the vanity table's surface had something lining them.

She shut her eyes, squeezing them hard, them opened them again as if trying to convince the place to change itself.
It remained stubbornly the same.

Coco groaned and cast about blindly for the homesewn quilt, and spotted it lying on a curled heap on the floor, probably after being kicked off in the middle of the night. She grabbed the cord of the window blinds to heave herself up, tugging them open in the process, slid off the bed and started to tuck in the corners of the sheets and replace the quilt. She was belatedly aware of her hair sticking up into a cowlick.
It reminded her of the state it had been in when she had the cold at that most inconvenient time.

After some unhurried brushing and fiddling with the red tie of her sailor-collar, she meandered into the living room. Unlike her own space it hadn't been personalized, and thus was simply a ring of couches with beige tasseled cushions surrounding a similar fluffy carpet and a glass coffee table. She stared at the thick phone book on top of the table for a moment, trying to remember what day it was and get her brain working. As Sassy Saddles hadn't made her daily and very punctual call (at exactly eight- it was 8:08 at the moment) she guessed it was a Saturday.

"That means breakfast at that cafe of which name I not remember," she mumbled to the wall.

She checked her reflection once more, scuffled around for her saddlebags, and then fished for her apartment keys, backing out of the door and into the white halls peppered with the occasional cigarette burn. Coco had to jerk the keys in the lock a multitude of ways until she heard a submissive click, then hitched up her bags and set off down the bare wooden stairs.

When she opened the revolving door across the lobby Pommel was greeted by a fresh roar of noise as a cab clattered past and someone else called out for a another. She descended the stone steps out onto the sidewalk and started on her way off up the street, with everyone as usual ignoring everyone else, but with a slight change ever since the Theater incident- they would smile back if offered one.

She watched the blocks of buildings apathetically as she trotted past. Tall and with not much variant in their shape, size or colour with lots of windows, then the small group of markets with empty crates in front and chalkboard signs, then that big office house for that overseas company for wine. Finally she stopped at a small group of white painted patio chairs which accompanied round tables with forest-green tablecloths topped with a thin plastic vase each, containing some water and a little rose.
She carefully slid into a chair, and in a second somepony had zipped up to her side carrying a thin notepad and pencil with her magic and donning a small apron.
She squinted at her pad with a bit of a disgruntled expression, then at Coco and her face broke out into a small smile.

"Miss Pommel!" She trilled, flicking her choppy rich purple mane over her other shoulder and peering at her.
"Banana Fluff," Coco greeted in turn. She'd long given up trying to assert that they could call her by her first name as she'd been frequenting this shop every Saturday for two years.

Without another word, Banana Fluff snapped back to her notepad and started to scratch on it so fast that it appeared as if any writing would be illegible. "Okay, so a cold mocha latte with cream and cinnamon shavings and chocolate chips and a double chocolate glazed doughnut!" she rushed, and then promptly disappeared. There was a resulting clang and a light tingle as she slammed the green door of the cafe shut behind her.

Coco Pommel lay her head on the edge of the table, not willing to think about what she was supposed to do the rest of the day other than study her unhappy face anxiously in the mirror, read the magazines she'd read a kajillion times or wonder about what Rarity and her friends were doing back there in Ponyville. And how it felt as if she had failed them because of that whole shop incident, what with her getting a cold right when they really needed her and all.
It's just eat, sleep, make dresses and the like. She closed her eyes, feeling a wave of misery wash over her. Am I making an impact or anything? Does whatever I do actually matter (if I ignore the butterfly effect thing)? It all seems just routine- even these thoughts are just routine these days.
I wish I was her instead...
Coco gave herself a small smile, thinking of that charity theater.

"If you're sleeping, can I eat your doughnut?" Banana Fluff said in her ear.
Coco rolled her head so that her chin was on the table. The tray with her coffee and her pastry lay in front of her, emitting thin threads of steam, framed by the streetlights and buildings in the background.

"Whatever," she grunted.

"Somepony's feeling off." Banana mumbled. Coco listened to the background noise for a moment, then sighed, raised her head and took a long sip, precariously tipping the paper cup backwards with her chin. She then realized that Banana hadn't left but instead had drawn up a chair and leaned forward with her hooves cupping her face. "What you need, sister, is a good. Long. Break."

Coco licked up some cinnamon floating on top of the creamy coffee. "Mhm."

"I'm serious! Look at you-" Banana gestured to her hunched posture and deadpan expression. "-so horribly dull looking and all that. You're usually all soft and bright and now you look like some forty- something stallion in a midlife crisis."

"Midlife crisis."

"You know it's going to be the first of September tomorrow?"

Coco looked at her, her eyebrows furrowing. "And that means...?"

"You get a week or two off, remember? I've known you for three years, come on! You should go and visURK!"

Coco had leapt up from her seat, which sent it toppling backwards, and thrown her forelegs around Banana Fluff's neck in what to some people may be described as a affectionate chokehold. "Oh my Faust! Oh my Faust! Oh my Faust! I'd forgotten!"
She started to shake her back and forth. "Thankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyou!"

"Ribs-!"

"Oh!" Coco quickly released her.

Banana stumbled back a little and tried to catch her breath. Then she examined her friend.

Before, she was the very picture of dejection- hanging head, hunched posture, lowered eyelids, small frown, limp tail, ears plastered to her head. Now she had this huge grin on her face, her ears were stretched to breaking point, her tail was all flouncy and her eyes were so wide that they looked as if they going to pop out.

She tilted her head. "If I don't charge you, will you give me that doughnut?"

"Anything!" Coco landed a quick kiss on her cheek, pushed her chair back up and then turned tail, running at a breakneck speed with her saddlebags flapping against her back, dodging all the bewildered passersby."Merciii!"

Banana blinked, then started to polish off her pastry. "I prefer blondes."
____________________________________________________________

Coco Pommel yelped as the train gave an especially cruel jerk, nearly landing someone's luggage on her lap.
She shifted uncomfortably on the green cracked leather seats and gave a glance at the glass windows which wrapped around the dark carriage. The only thing she could see were long rolling hills and hints of trees under the faint moonlight.

It had felt impossible at the time that all of a sudden with a couple of words her hugest problem had been blown away. She thought that the only place where that sort of thing happened were storybooks or something like that which contained fairy godmothers, not Manehatten.
Now it was Sunday night (train delays), and she was feeling a little of her old anxiousness. What if going to Ponyville somehow didn't magically solve all her problems or what if she got kidnapped or what if she wasn't welcomed? Coco was definitely not a pony who took risks, and now that she had finally leapt without looking forward it felt as if she might be carrying herself to her doom. Or something maybe a little less ominous.

I'm doing this to repay a debt... I shouldn't have traveled alone though. She glanced briefly at all of the shadow-cloaked ponies jostling with the rhythm of the train who were either mumbling to one another, watching out the window absently or just asleep, and wondered if she also looked all dark like that. The thought made her uneasy and she shifted her gaze to the floor and hugged the suitcase on her lap. At least there isn't that filly crying from earlier.

Some mare with a creamy green coat and a two-tone frizzy magenta mane kept accidentally jabbing her elbow into Coco's side as the carriage rocked back and forth like a ship at sea but she was really too polite to do anything but wince.

"Why a' ya goin ter Pahnyvill?"

Apparently the stress of the atmosphere had compelled the elbow- jabber to blurt out the question- and now that it had come out she wanted an answer.

She leaned closer. " Ah sayed why?"

Coco blinked. "Oh! I wanted to go see a friend...Or six..."

"Frehnds, frehnds," she muttered, turning her head away and pretending to look outside the window. " Ah don' no' th' deal wi' these 'ere frehnds."

She tapped her flank, showing off a cutie mark of two red apple slices under a browned round thing and grinned down at Coco (she was her age, but Pommel was a petite pony). "I's fahm'ly tha' matters th' most. Aye, they'd stick wi' a pony thro' an' thro'."

Coco offered her a warm smile, which the mare gladly returned. She must have been of the Apple blood to talk of her family so proudly and readily. Her cutie mark was also probably a useful pointer.
There was a short spell of silence, where both mares looked through the opposite windows, and then the Apple mare turned back to Pommel.

"Ya sayed ya were goin' ter visit six of ya frehnds, eh?"

Coco nodded rapidly.

"Are they bah any chance be th' Main Six?"

"Whodee?" Coco said feebly.

"Main Six! Twili', Rar'ty, our own Applejack, Rai'bow Dash, Pinkeh Pie, Fluttershy, th' like?"

Coco perked up at the sound of those names. This lady must know them somehow, and it sort of meant that she wasn't completely alone. "Oh yes! Especially Rarity- I mean I want to visit them all equally, I-I don't draw any favourites, but see, Rarity is my boss- I mean she offered me a job, I guess it makes her my..." Coco trailed off sheepishly. "Um. Nevermind... What's your name, please?"

The mare did not look fazed in the slightest. If anything, she started speaking to her more gently, like the scared and unsure foreigner she actually was. "Ah'd be Apple Dumpling, small fry. How 'bout ya?"

"Coco Pommel." She beamed up at her.

Apple Dumpling's eyes widened. " Law! Not th' famuss dressmaker?"

"I wouldn't know about famous..."

She placed a hoof on her forehead. " Ya are too modes', Coco! And such a sweet little fritter as well," Dumpling commenced to giving her a friendly rub on the head, messing her hair up. "Uhps." She quickly patted it down again, which wasn't really a hard job considering how smooth it was.
Coco felt pretty happy and didn't mind that much- she really liked friendly and outgoing ponies and it was a relief for her to feel looked after as she traveled out of home all alone. "Can you tell me why you are going out into the country, please?" She hoped she hadn't sounded too prying or anything, as she had heard of ponies shutting down if somepony said the wrong thing.

Fortunately, Apple Dumpling seemed to be eager to answer. " Ah'd be goin' to visit tha' there Applejack- just like ya, fritter!"
Coco didn't even really know what a fritter was.

"Mebbe we'd be seein' each otha, Coco!" She punctuated her sentence with a yawn and leaned back, crossing her legs. " Aah, th' fun we cou'd 'ave.."

Coco tilted her head to one head, staring off into the distance and tried to imagine what fun would be like for an Apple - probably with a lot of rough-housing and eating contests and apples- and wondered if she'd mind getting all mussed up if she was having fun. It didn't seem likely.
She turned to say something to Dumpling but then there was a weight on her side- the mare had fallen asleep on her shoulder. She shifted a little, trying to distract herself by imagining redecorating the carriage, but Dumpling's homeliness reminded her of own home - that little cafe and Banana Fluff and that dress she had wanted to finish and what she would do when she got back to work...

Coco Pommel shut her eyes in pain. Homesickness was always a greater problem for her than other ponies- but one that she only remembered at the worst possible times. She glanced at the sleeping Dumpling then at the similarly engaged passengers on the train, feeling this weird mix of adventure, loneliness and nostalgia that made her feel as if she was in some sort of quiet little movie all her own. She didn't why it was hitting her all of a sudden.

Who are you?

I am Coco Pommel. I work at the Bridleway, as a dressmaker. I quit being Suri Polomare's assistant and I'm proud of it.
I'm heading out to this unknown land because of my friends but right now I feel so alone...

Coco carefully unclasped her grey plastic suitcase and rummaged through it with her tongue sticking out a little as she bent it open and peeped inside. She quietly withdrew a thin sketchbook with a fluffy blue cover and cracked it open , flicking over the smudged pages with pony marionettes in various poses and (in her own opinion, of course) tastefully drawn dresses. She lifted it to her face and inhaled the scent of old paper, candle wax and heather; the familiar, comforting scent made her feel more at peace.
She happened to glance down at a sketch of a stallion with a half-drawn suit and remembered faintly Rarity saying to her in her shop Rarity For You as she peered over her shoulder that the particular drawing looked like Fancy Pants with the build and all.

A little more thinking down that lane and she felt herself wondering what it would like if she had a husband.
The thought was rather ridiculous and made her smile. There was no pony she'd ever heard of being like the one she would picture and maybe at some other time it might have bothered her.

For now she tipped her head back on the seat and closed her eyes, listening to lullaby of the creaking carriage and the metal train wheels working on the tracks.
________________________________

A young magpie was balancing uncertainly on one of the branches of an oak as sunlight filtered through the curling crown of leaves above his head, cocking a jewel-bright eye down at the ground which was beginning to receive a few more dead leaves as autumn waxed on. He fidgeted a little, testing the wing that he had broken smashing into the ground earlier, and began to casually sift his beak through his inky feathers. He was more than a little vain and liked how they gleamed when in this angle.

He darted his head when he heard some padding, crackling sounds coming from ten feet down below and flattened his feathers when he discerned the yellow of that one particular pony he remembered being friendly with.
He alighted jauntily on the ground in front of her, purposefully shifting his wings so that they would become more noticeable and was pleased when she paused and then carefully bent her head to the side to examine his left, taking it for admiration.

"Coal!" Fluttershy affectionately touched his head with her snout. "It's so wonderful to see you again!"
The magpie puffed out it's chest and gave a loud twitter.

"Oh? Somebody's been feeling a little better lately now, haven't they?" She offered the bird a smile.

He then nervously peered over her shoulder. She seemed to sense what he was thinking and flicked her mane a little. "There's nothing to be afraid of, he isn't here at the moment- I understand why you get all jittery around him, I guess some animals are like that..." Fluttershy glanced away, her eyebrows creasing into a frown. "Predators and all... but he wouldn't eat you, ever, you know ..."
She looked at him with those big pleading eyes.

The magpie disliked how he had made her become unhappy of a sudden (geez, mares) and was honestly confused as to why was so emotional about that creature anyways. She didn't start crying to the mice whenever the cat showed it's face...
He decided his charm wasn't going to be able to take much of an effect on her and flitted up a branch, offered what was meant to be a reassuring caw before taking to the wing.

Coal soared a little over the thatched roof houses, the market with only a few ponies stirring at this hour, and then some stretches of road. He suddenly dipped when he spotted something especially shiny with somepony that he had never set eyes on before - she was a cream mare with short blue hair and she had something he really wanted in there that would go very well with his feathers.
He glanced behind a little guiltily, making sure he was far enough from Fluttershy's cottage before carefully alighting on a swingpost of a clean little inn she had been exiting and started to examine the clip and how he could take it with minimal damage to himself.

Coco Pommel could feel her red and purple maneclip hanging loosely, but was too absently worried over what kind of chores she could do for Rarity- no, each of them- to try and make up for that Saddle Row thing. Maybe she could also find what made all these Ponyville ponies to interesting- everyone in Manehatten mostly kept to themselves and you wouldn't remember their faces later, but these were almost aggressive in their insisting for you to get to know them better. She hadn't really minded the aloofness of the Manehattans, and so was quite a bit overwhelmed by this.

And then all of a sudden she could feel her head being jerked back as something gave a heave at her pin as if she had got it caught in a hairbrush and then threw it across the room without untangling it first. "Yah!" she squealed.
There was a struggle as she attempted to whip her head around in a blind panic, and then as quickly as it came the yanking ceased and a dazed black and white little bird landed on the dust in front of her with a bump (thankfully with no clip in it's beak). It scuttled to it's feet in a most undignified way and hurriedly took flight, calling out insults angrily all the while (even though it was all really it's own fault).

"Hoi there, stranger! You reaaally shouldn't learn magpie anytime soon, cause if I were you I wouldn't want to know what he was calling you."

Pommel froze as a startlingly pink mare with equally dazzling blue eyes appeared half a foot from her muzzle with a perfectly serious expression on her face. It then morphed into an impossibly large grin. "I'm Pinkie Pie- and hey! I know you! You're that little person from Manehatten!"

Coco blinked, wondering what it was with ponies and calling her 'little'.

"You know, the one who was self-rescued from Polomint or something and was taught an important and valuable lifesaving friendship lesson in the process and gave Rarity some rainbow string- and then you had a real bad flu when you were wanted as a salespony at Rarity for You and couldn't help but feel guilty about it and decided to visit Ponyville and help out with whatever you can and learn about friendship too as an added bonus!"

"I.. I am Coco Pommel... and how did you..?" She belatedly attempted to introduce herself. Coco had no idea how Pinkie could say all that in one breath.

"Oh, just a hunch."

"D-d'accord..?" She said weakly.

"Discord, you mean?You'd be one of the precious few who ask for Discord. I dunno why any more ponies ask for Discord because he can rain chocolate milk from the sky, and whoever can do that is pretty okie-dokie-lokie in my opinion."
From what she said, Coco guessed that Discord must be some unicorn who messed with weather magic or a mad scientist (or normal scientist, if that would offend him). She wished Pinkie would slow down a little what with her helter-skelter way of speaking and all, but hesitated to ask for fear of hurting her feelings in some way. Perhaps she was simply on a sugar high (she certainly did have the distinct scent of bubblegum and cupcakes)?

"Okay, c-can you please direct me to Miss Rarity? I've been wanting to- I mean, you already know..."
Pinkie tilted her head, closed an eye and stuck her tongue out a bit. " You're just like Fluttershy. I like you!"
She turned turned and started to spring along the road- and actually bounce, as if she was really wearing springs. "Oh, of course you want to talk to Rarity! You're both super-amazing fashion- designers! This way!"

_________________________________________________________________________________

Coco patiently walked through Pinkie Pie's constant talk. Whatever she thought of, she said it- describing the houses, who lived in them, when she last saw them, when they last bought something from her, when she last bought something from herself, and all that sort of thing. Her enthusiasm was actually rather infectious- after a while Pommel found herself smiling and watching her as she hopped along and commenting on some of her rather interesting phrases (which seemed to both surprise and please the mare).

She kept mentioning that Discord pony, though.
" I bet he'd also like you lots! Well, he doesn't like anyone better than Fluttershy, but you're like Fluttershy, I guess..." she said.

At the moment, Coco couldn't really find it in herself to care much about Discord. She was too busy looking at all the peculiar shaped buildings.
While Manehatten seemed all tall and packed in, these places were rarely more than a couple of stories high, with some distance between them and were all mostly stone with dry hay roofs. She didn't see a single apartment building anywhere once- or really anything that barely resembled one. There was grass growing in odd places and trees here and there too, and Coco noticed that the birds of choice appeared to be little songbirds and not crows and pigeons like home.

While it was rather neat and rustic, Coco thought that Manehatten had it's own charm too. The difference between the two were as if Ponyville was a willow and Manehatten a strong, firm wintry oak tree.

Coco accidentally bumped into Pinkie as she came to an abrupt halt in front of what looked like the house from Hansel and Gretel's cheerful cousin. She raised an eyebrow at the gingerbread walls and sprinkles and faux gumdrops lining the roof, feeling as if she would gain a kilogram from simply looking at it.

Pinkie Pie suddenly whipped around, and Coco started from the serious expression on her face which was very different from the goofy one she seemed to wear as default. She leaned forward until their muzzles were not a foot apart. "You are coming to your 'Welcome to Ponyville' party at six, riiight?" she asked, narrowing her brilliant blue eyes.

Coco blinked, looking alarmed at this sudden change, and then bobbed her head quickly.

"Okie, dokie, lokie!" She suddenly reverted back to her grinning self, and without another word walked forwards and pushed open the little door, making a bell jingle while Coco watched her uneasily.
It took for a considerable amount of Coco's willpower not to think of that cafe.
"Oh, my stars! Coco, darling, is it really you?"

A mare with an immaculate white coat and rich purple mane curled into large ringlets came walking delicately outside the sweetshop, wearing her red cat's-eye glasses with the rhinestones inlaid in them. Coco Pommel could immediately sense that she would look good if her pinned her hair up into a bun with a blue maneclip, preferably in the shape of...
She shook her head and blinked rapidly, trying to remember what she was going to say. The very reason she had come to Ponyville was standing in front of her.

"Rarity!" she cried, and trotted forwards to meet her. Rarity suddenly paused and studied her hair with an eyebrow raised, and Coco said sheepishly,"Bird problems."

"Don't worry dear, I've seen this kind of thing before..." Rarity turned her head and started to riffle through her thick white saddlebags with her cutie mark emblazoned on them. "Happening a lot lately, what with the newest addition Fluttershy took in- lots of manes tangled everywhere, especially if they something shiny in it..."

She withdrew a lavender hairbrush and started to work quickly on her mane . "Emergency hairbrush- at least it had good fashion sense, anyhow..."
She gave a wink at Coco, who carefully smiled back, trying to find a way to tell her what she was here to do.

Rarity replaced her hairbrush and started along the path. "Come, walk with me, dear- do tell me, what brings you here to this rustic little village of ours?"
Coco recognized the word 'rustic'- she had met that stallion Fancy Pants more than once (she couldn't help it, as he was family) and he certainly did use it almost without fail when mentioning Ponyville. "I came here to help... to make up for the Rarity For You incident."

Rarity gave her a pointed look. " I thought we already established that you'd been completely forgiven for that? It's not as if anypony can control whether they get down with the flu or not."

Coco inwardly winced when she remembered how she had sneezed in Rarity's face more than once. "I know, but it was a really big thing you asked me to help you with, and I still feel bad for all those pains you and your friends had to go through, and besides, I needed a break anyways..." She trailed off, thinking of how sour she was on that Saturday morning.

"If it's friendship you'd really need some pointers about, I can certainly say I'd be more than happy to help- oh dear," she added when they came to a stop in front of what Coco guessed was the Carousel Boutique, which reminded her of a sort of white Faberge egg from whatever she could see of it. There was were groups of ponies hanging around the Boutique, whispering excitedly or attempting to impatiently peer in through the shutters.

The two mares stood watching them bemusedly at this bad timing- one squinting with her head on one side and the other wearing a deadpan expression.

"Rush hour..." Rarity looked at Coco with a frown. While she regretted that she wouldn't be seeing more of her, Coco didn't want to add to what she owed her, and could tell that she needed to be working and not having some annoying city mare hanging around her head for a good part of the day. She gave her a reassuring smile. "It's alright- I can just go and visit somepony else for now. I have lots of time."

Rarity returned her smile, if a little guiltily. "I don't know- I wouldn't want to be a bad host, dear, what with this being your first time in Ponyville and all..."

"No really, you shouldn't worry yourself..."

"If you say so- you should go visit Fluttershy then, I would guess you would both suit each other very well, seeing how you two so alike and all.." She stood there looking a little unsure, then started off down to her shop. " But I simply do insist that you drop by!" she called over her shoulder.
Coco didn't know if she should tell her about Pinkie's...invitation, but she had already disappeared into the throng. A moment later the windows were flooded with light, the blinds pulled up and the door swung open, already welcoming the customers.

Coco watched it unhappily for a moment, then turned around and started down the lane that seemed to lead into the wilderness , guessing that Fluttershy probably lived somewhere like that. She wasn't really bothering about where she was going, figuring that some way or another she would find it. Keeping her eyes on the road, she could already feel that sort of gloom descend upon like a fog.
Coco had come to this place to try and find the thing that made everyone else so carefree, yet it was if the whole trip was a lost cause- she appeared to just be walking around, bumping into ponies and making them feel as if they had to entertain her.

Maybe I shouldn't go to Fluttershy's after all... she seems like a really shy pony, and I wouldn't want to go and make her uncomfortable.
She had come into the market area, with ponies manning the colourful striped stalls heaped with trinkets and vegetables while others milled about, occasionally pausing to check something or turn it over. Two ponies were arguing quietly about the price of a a cabbage-like plant while another couple weren't taking the same pains about their volume.

Coco suddenly yelped as she suddenly smacked into somepony who had been trotting rather fast, sending them reeling backwards. Her face felt as if she had hit it with a hammer but she still managed to croak out quickly, "Sacr- I mean, I'm sorry! I wasn't looking where I was going!" She quickly bent and down to push up the groaning pegasus she had unwittingly knocked down, who seemed to get her bearings as she was helped to her hooves.

"I-I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to-" She peered at her face. " Coco Pommel?"

Pommel raised her eyebrows. "Fluttershy?"

She broke out into a tentative smile, brushing her straight cotton-candy pink mane out of her eyes (rather fruitlessly, as it just drifted back again). "It's so nice to see you again..." She trailed off.

Coco realized she was waiting for to pick up the conversation. "It's really great to see you too," she replied.
There was a small, awkward pause and then Coco finally burst out, "Can I talk to you about something?"

Fluttershy tilted her head on one side. "You can come with me to my cottage, if you'd like," she glanced down at the floor,"I was just heading there anyways...To feed my animals, you know?" She gestured to her bulging saddlebags, and Coco could glimpse some green under the flaps.

Yes, of course. That's what I'm good at. Bumping into ponies and making them take me to their houses. Coco exhaled an then looked back at her as they started to walk off together. "That certainly looks heavy."

"It's okay, I've gotten used to it," Fluttershy said. " It's easy to bear because I know it's for my animal friends who really do need it."
Coco blinked. "Is there a difference between caring for an animal and caring for a pony?"

Fluttershy looked off to the side. "Well, when you're caring for an animal, it's a more motherly sort of feeling," she explained eagerly now that they were on her favourite topic. "And when you make a friend in a pony, usually it's more..."
She ducked her head, trying to search for the word.
"Platonic?" Coco offered.
"I-I never really understood what that meant..."

Pommel winced. "Honestly, neither do I... Lets see-" She tried to bring up a clear picture of her dictionary in her head. "Um... it's what you feel for Applejack," she said, picking out a random name.

"Oh, I see. So 'platonic' means 'friendly bond'?"

"I guess? That's how I've heard it being put."
A pause.

"So, yes, with a pony, it's more.. platonic, but there are lots of cases when someone talks to their cat as if it's their friend- I mean it is, but.."

"I understand," Coco said encouragingly.

" Alright... and there are times when someone feels all protective with a pony first and... well, like a mother bear and her cubs, I guess..."

She trailed off again, watching the ground determinedly and looking as if she trying to fight off the beginnings of a smile. Coco squinted at her- was she blushing? She mistook it for embarrassment and quickly changed topic to spare her the discomfort. "You're certainly carrying a lot of vegetables, though. How many animal friends do you have?"

Fluttershy latched onto the question. "Oh, lots! You see, there's..."
Coco was careful to make it obvious that she was listening to her. There was just this something about Fluttershy that made Coco feel strangely warm and careful with her, as if she was easy to break. Maybe it was her shyness? Was this how other ponies felt about herself?

"- and just because they're bear and bunny doesn't mean they can't get along, because I saw- oh! We're here!"

Coco blinked and straightened up. "Huh?"
She proudly gestured to a little house that Coco had at first mistaken for a rather strangely shaped tree. It wasn't strictly symmetrical, had windows framed with dark wood and a couple of large birdhouses sticking out of the nearby trees and the house itself. Coco could see the edge of the Everfree Forest beginning a ways away.
She beamed. "It's really -" she just stopped herself from saying 'rustic' there, "-homely! I really did think it was an actual tree at first."

Fluttershy tentatively returned her smile. "Would you like to come in?"

"Of course, if you wouldn't mind."
Fluttershy walked over to the red door and carefully pushed it open.
Coco followed her inside, turning her head to all sides, trying to take in everything at once. There was a square red rug on the wooden floor, some bookcases and paintings, a flight of stairs, a fireplace, green couches hugging the wall, and what looked like a dog basket on the floor tucked into a corner along with some flowers.

"Tea?" Fluttershy had retired into one of the doorways and came over bearing a tray, which Coco quickly hurried to relieve her of. She set it down on a nearby table and mostly out of politeness picked up a cup and carefully settled down. She noticed with some relief that Fluttershy seemed less shy now than before.
There was a quiet moment as they both sat, sipping their green tea. Coco blew on hers a little to cool it down, feeling a little bit of that peace she had been hunting come to her and closed her eyes.

"You wanted to talk about something?" Fluttershy asked gently.
Coco opened her eyes and frowned down into the depths of her teacup, holding it with both hooves.

"Of course, you don't have to right now if you're not ready, or don't feel like it..." She hid behind her mane for a second, then brushed it away and smiled at Coco. "I can't promise that I have a definite answer if it's a problem, but I certainly at least listen."

Coco took a deep breath, and started to explain how she had been dwelling on existential crises lately, questioning whether she was good enough or not and whether whatever she did was actually important to anypony. She told Fluttershy how she had been acting rather dull and anxious that she owed Rarity, since she couldn't help when needed most at the Rarity For You shop- despite everypony telling her that she was forgiven and all that. She concluded it with her visiting Ponyville to try and fix things and exactly how successful she was at it.
"It's only barely your first day here, at least. There's a lot of time for things to get better." Fluttershy offered.

"But I'm already missing Manehatten... The ponies, the places..." Coco's gaze flicked up to her once, then back to the window.

Fluttershy had listened careful to everything Coco Pommel told her, and between intervals had made a little quote or so. Now she also stared at the wall, idly swirling the dregs of her tea with her eyebrows creased in thought. Every now and then she made as if to say something, then looked away wearing an expression of hesitance.

At the word 'missing' she turned back to look at Coco, and watched her take a sip. She sighed quietly, making Coco look at her, who tilted her head a little but didn't say anything.
Finally, Fluttershy said slowly, "Have you heard of..."
Her confidence wavered for a moment, but then tucked her chin into her chest and tried again. " Do you know Discord?"

Coco became alert at the mention of that Discord pony again, remembering how Pinkie Pie had spoke of him. She had mentioned that he could rain milk from the skies and was a friend of Fluttershy's, making Coco draw up a mental image of a goofy- looking unicorn stallion with a talent for weather magic or silly things. He must be especially caring or something for Fluttershy to bring him up like this.

Or it could just be that she holds him in great respect, she thought, studying Fluttershy who was obstinately watching the ground. She glanced up at Pommel.
"Well, I've heard of him today from Pinkie," Coco said. " But I've never seen him or anything."

"Wh-What did you hear from her?"

"That he can make chocolate milk rain from the sky and he's your friend, nothing else."

Fluttershy took a deep breath and then let it out. "Well... H-He's a...special case."

Coco dropped an ear in puzzlement. "Special?"

"How do I even start...?" Fluttershy paused again. "He visits here every Tuesday..."

"So he visits you often, is that what you're trying to say?"

"Yes.. I was just maybe thinking that you could get along with him well. M-Maybe, I wouldn't necessarily be right, he can be a little-" she glanced guiltily at the floor,"-unpredictable sometimes, but it really does feel as if you and him could both be... nice friends.. or something. He can also help you with your problems, I-I think.
"It's just.. He did something rather was rather hurtful, and Princes Celestia temporarily took away his magic - until he regretted it she said- and I haven't seen him since..."

Coco was listening to this with interest. This was the second pony that day who thought that she should meet this Discord, but Coco couldn't really discern why he was so special or what made him so important. She didn't want to question Fluttershy on her views about him, though, as she seemed to be somewhat fond of him (or more probably she was reading way too much into things). It was also rather intriguing that Celestia herself had taken away his magic. She probably didn't mean Celestia directly.

It was quiet in the little house for some moments as the two mares avoided each other's eye, and then Coco happened to glance out of the window into the darkening sky. She suddenly set her cup down and got up. "What's wrong?" Fluttershy asked, pricking her ears.
"Hmm? Oh, it's nearly six... There's a party I was told to come to by Pinkie at six o' clock. Do you want me to wash those cups for you?"

"No, no, I can manage!" Fluttershy slid off the couch and beamed at Pommel. "It was really great to talk to you, though!"
Coco gave her a genuine smile back. "I loved it too- are you sure...?"

" It's alright," Fluttershy said. "You should get going now, though- I don't think it's good to be late for a Pinkie Pie party."
"I would really hate to disappoint her," Coco said with a frown, moving towards the door and thinking of her optimistic face."It sounded as if she was really expecting me."

Fluttershy arched an eyebrow." Really? Most ponies are almost afraid of not going."

"Afraid?"

"Oh, just a silly Pinkie thing. Hope to see you again-it really was lovely- goodbye!"

"Good- oof!" Coco tripped over something furry which started to chatter at her. "- sorry squirrel- goodbye!"
She didn't stop waving for a long way down the path, and once Fluttershy was gone she glanced at the Everfree forest, as if she had detected some kind of movement in there. She dismissed it though, as there was a wind blowing through the leaves making it look as if there was always something moving.
She didn't like how loud her hooves were on the stones, though, and only relaxed when she started to re-enter the town. She looked back, giving a little shiver that make her fur stand up for a brief moment- it felt as if there were eyes watching her go.

"But who would want to go stalking me?" The thought made her feel better and she rolled her eyes. "I'm just an inconsequential little Manehattan dressmaker."

She drooped her head.

"Nothing else, really."

______________________

Coco Pommel was rather glad nobody seemed to notice that this entire occasion was all planned just because she showed her face in Ponyville.
She thought that it was a tiny bit overdone as she gazed as the ceiling, which was hung with a large glittering disco ball that captivated many a young filly's interest. There were streamers strung up from the oddest places, three long white tables topped with a lot of baked goods and bowls of punch, and balloons floating everywhere and bumping into some ponies regardless of whether they were taped to the wall or not (the balloons, not the ponies). The normal dining tables were all covered with white tablecloths and the entire room was bathed in magenta light.

And that was all ignoring the multitude of ponies filling the room. All kinds of unicorns and earth ponies and pegasi were milling about, either talking, eating or dancing- it felt as if Pinkie Pie had called the entirety of Ponyville to that one bakery.
Coco herself stood in a corner of the room, leaning on the edge of one of the tables and admiring the way the lighting was reflecting off one particular pony's colour scheme and the way his scarf wrapped around his neck.
If he just tied it a little tighter and higher, it would make him look all the more-"So, are you having fun?"

Pinkie Pie had bounced up to her with a spot of purple (it looked purple with all that pink light) cake icing on the side of her mouth. She angled her head and surveyed Coco, then squinted at her face and Pommel smiled at her reassuringly.
"It's really nice of you to host a party just because I came to Ponyville," she said.

"Well, are you suuure you're completely happy? 'Cause your face looks all normal like to me," Pinkie asked, leaning in a bit.
"Not everypony absolutely beams when they're happy," Coco said. "Some ponies just smile a tiny bit or just smile with their eyes."

"Like big sister Maud?"

"Like your sister Maud, I guess." Coco didn't have any idea who Maud was.

"That's all completely fantastic, then," Pinkie said, hopping up and down on the spot. "Y'know, just as long you're having fun! Nopony can stop the fun at a Pinkie party." She dropped her voice to a scary imitation. "There is no escape..."
Coco made a little laugh. "Oh, dear... It looks like I've been caught."

This made Pinkie Pie grin brighter (if it was physically possible- but a lot of things are physically possible with Pinkie). "Hey, you know what? I think Rarity is in here somewhere, and I know you like Rarity which makes sense as you're both amazing dressmakers and I think I've said that and lookie there! Found her!"

Coco started as Pinkie zipped off and pushed forward a harassed-looking Rarity. She had taken off her glasses and there were a few hairs sticking out at odd directions to her mane and she was muttering, "Dance? More like step on my hooves and turn them into..."
She blinked to find Coco Pommel right in front of her and rearranged her features to something more pleasant, bouncing up her mane. "Coco Pommel! I was rather hopeful that I would be seeing you again..."
She reached up a hoof to adjust her glasses, only to realize that they were not there. "I take that you managed to visit Fluttershy?"

"Oh yes..." Coco perked up at the memory. "It was really nice talking to her..." She suddenly realized that she could ask Rarity who Discord was and why he was so 'special'.

"Knew it," Rarity murmured. "You two are certainly common in a multitude of ways- both quiet, reserved..."

"Rarity?"
Rarity had watching a balloon drift across the room and turned to find Coco standing a little more diffidently than before, with her legs bunched up close together, and was avoiding her gaze. "Yes, my dear?"

Coco glanced up at her. "You know.. everypony keeps mentioning this person..."

Rarity turned to face her fully. "Hmm?"

"Well, both Fluttershy and Pinkie said something about a Discord."

Rarity lost the vacant little smile on her face. Before she could say anything, however, Pinkie Pie, who had apparently overheard, pushed herself between the two and looked rapidly from Pommel to Rarity. "Oh, so you wanna know about Discord, eh?"
She stood next to Coco and threw a foreleg around her. "I happen to be the fourth best source of valuable information on our little pal here," she said, adjusting a pair of sunglasses she had apparently conjured on her muzzle. "The others happen to be Celestia, Luna and Fluttershy - not necessarily in that order."

She pushed her glasses down her muzzle. "Well, you see once upon a slightly long time- it was a thousand years ago- some stuff happened and there was a naughty little long draconequus-"

"Uh?" said Coco weakly.

"It's short for dragon horse, I think- not that Discord looks like a dragon horse, not really. Anyways so he did some bad things, turned Equestria upside down, made the roads into soap and the houses cardboard and made Fluttershy- no, wait, she wasn't born- made everypony's life miserable because he didn't share his chocolate milk."
Coco raised her eyebrows, mirroring Rarity.

"And so the Princesses turned him to stone using the Elements. Why they only turned him into stone and didn't banish him forever - the 'k' word- is a bunch of mumbo that would take until tomorrow to understand.
" And us and yadda yadda and then Celestia wanted us to reform Discord and it was really amazingly hard for about one day until Fluttershy did her Fluttershy stuff and we all lived happily ever after, the end. Until the Grand Galloping Gala where he didn't another thing with a giant ever hungry slab of lime jello to prove-"

She sudden broke off into a fit of giggles. Coco was too busy trying to understand what she was telling her to say anything, while Rarity looked disapproving.
Pinkie suddenly erupted, " To prove he wasn't jealous! Ooho!Ahahaha!"

Coco looked at Rarity, who's expression reassembled somepony's grandmother who was told that they didn't like her cooking- extremely disapproving. "No, she doesn't mean it like that!"

Coco suddenly understood what Rarity meant and turned all pink in the face.
Pinkie took one look at her and went off again. "Oh, you're so innocent! Just like Fluttershy! Oooh, be careful, not too much like Fluttershy or else she'll have com-"

Rarity hurriedly stuffed a particularly large muffin into her open mouth with her blue magic, effectively shutting her up. "In short, dear, as Celestia puts it, Discord is 'the spirit of chaos and disharmony who once ruled over Equestria in a state of unrest and unhappiness, until she and Princess Luna used the Elements of Harmony to imprison him in stone'."

Coco's mouth fell open.
This entire time Fluttershy (with whom the Lord of Chaos was good friends with!) and Pinkie Pie were saying that she might make be able to make friends with that particular Discord.
Not some goofy unicorn stallion who had temporarily lost his magic.
The one Discord.
That very one who was a thousand years old and who she studied about in History when she was filly. The one had turned Ponyville into a mess when he escaped. The one who was let free and gotten reformed. By Fluttershy.
That same creature that had temporarily sold his soul to a devil (in a manner of speaking) for a hand in the throne.
She was supposed to be compatible with that Discord.

"Oh," she squeaked.

Rarity was watching her , looking concerned. Pinkie Pie was cheerfully chewing through the blueberry muffin with her cheeks stuffed to ridiculous proportions, and attempted to comment, " Mmfby ymph shmdh bhn lhss dhrct ffrst"

"Coco?" Rarity asked, leaning forwards a little. "Are you alright? Would you like me to take you home?"

Coco stared over her shoulder, not hearing a word she said. The loud music and the natter of ponies in the background had faded away and all she could hear was her own heartbeat in her ears.
Then she realized that she if she kept holding her breath like that she would faint, and started breathing again which seemed to bring her to her senses. This was all simply guesswork ( even Fluttershy had been careful to inform her of it) and that Discord wasn't anywhere she was likely to bump into him anytime soon.

Besides, she thought, it's way better having the Lord of Chaos on your side than not. Maybe it's actually an upgrade, you know, being his friend... I really should put the past behind us like everypony else has- well, at least try...
I've always tried my hardest not to offend anypony, and he's also a.. sapient creature, so it practically the same, right? I'm sure he's probably wanting for friends too- no, wait, he's got the Six- still, it's not as bad as I thought.

"Coco Pommel!"
She blinked, focusing on Rarity's concerned face. Even Pinkie was watching her a little apprehensively with her face in a frown (it didn't suit her), having swallowed the muffin.

"I'm alright," Coco said.
Both Rarity and Pinkie visibly relaxed. To her surprise, it was Pinkie who suggested, " How about you go out for a breather?"

Rarity stared at her. "What? It's a ton to take in at once, you know." Pinkie shrugged.

"If you say so. See you two later..." Coco took a deep breath and let it out shakily, then carefully threaded her way through the thorng of ponies. The gaudy pink light and the throbbing electric music and all the noise and sparkly bits in the Corner was starting to pile on top of herself.
She was never really a party pony anyways.

Coco pushed upon the wooden door, closing her eyes to let the cool night breeze wash over her, and with relief felt the noise fade away as the door swung shut. It was surprisingly quiet outside considering the volume indoors. The houses looked all sleepy in the light of the half- moon and Coco was awestruck by the stars in the night sky- there were just so many of them- having never seen it properly in Manehatten, with the light and all.

She started down the quiet little street, listening to the grass rustle, the crickets chirp, the occasional sound from inside some pony's house, feeling that thing she had felt in Fluttershy's house- cozy.
She breathed in the crisp wind.

Coco Pommel found herself carefully walking along the edges of the Everfree. It had always seemed rather bold for the residents of Ponyville to live right in the middle of a forest- in Equestria forests were rarely calm- and it explained why so many unusual things happened here.

"Like Discord," she murmured.
She felt as if she wanted to meet him now. Well, not exactly now, but at least in the daylight. He just seemed like a really interesting person, and Coco wasn't as afraid of him as she realized that he had successfully befriended the Mane Six - most noteworthy being Fluttershy- and was supposed to be reformed and accepted by everyone now.

My grandmother always told me to be careful for what I wished for, as they might become true. She watched into the depths of the forest. Coco remembered that as a foal she and her brother used to tie up the trees around the park like presents, so they could pretend that it was a gift for the animals living in them. She carefully withdrew a spool of rainbow thread from her saddlebags, and after glancing around she began to carefully loop it around the tree, smiling dreamily all the while.

After she tied a little knot and was about to cut the thread with her teeth, all of a sudden she felt a sharp yank on her skull and stumbled back, landing in the dust and gasping in surprise and fright. Her heart rate spiked sharply and she scrabbled to her feet - suddenly realizing that her mane was flowing freely over her face now.
Surely enough, there was that magpie perched over her head, making shrill triumphant sounds in his throat, not daring to open his beak for it contained her precious red ruffle maneclip.
That little..! She lunged at it. "No! Give me that back!"

The magpie took to it's wings and Coco set off at a determined gallop after it, guessing that it was heading for it's nest - she didn't really know much about magpies as of late. She deftly leapt over large snarls of brambles ( brambles? how did they...) as it got darker and darker the more she ran and her hooves were silent on the grass floor underfoot. She dodged tree trunks which wasn't easy considering that she was trying to keep that bird in her vision.
The sight of that creature with her clip in it's mouth made her run faster.

After a while it felt as if it would never stop flying, but Coco was starting to tire. Her hooves were feeling wet(?) and bruised and her mane was probably in one of the worst case scenarios but she was too afraid of losing the magpie to stop.

Mercifully the bird's wingbeats seemed to become very laboured and it flittered to a stop in a clearing on what looked like a large collection of big chips of shale covering a cave, sinking down in defeat. Coco refused to let herself stop despite the feeling that her muscles were stretched on a torture rack and she hopped over the rocks, trying to find the ones that looked the least likely to fall.

At last she came to halt, panting very heavily and with her legs trembling in front of the bird. She didn't understand why it had stopped until she saw the way it carried it's wing, and when it saw her draw closer the magpie looked at her in worse fear and finally dropped her clip. It hopped backwards with a hoarse sort of cry, then suddenly took to the wing with a titanic effort and landed in a tree at the edge of a clearing.

Coco suddenly froze, terror stopping the shaking in her hooves. She was smack in the middle of Everfree forest. At night. When most predators were awake and ready for blood. Like timberwolves. She squeaked and swallowed the sudden constricting lump in her throat. It felt so impossible that only half an hour before she was fussing about some stupid old Discord.
Another revelation made her pause and look at the magpie.

It was obviously exhausted to the utter limit, and could barely move when Coco had approached it. But it had suddenly found the power to fly off...
There was a snapping sound as if some colt had flicked a rubber band especially hard. She looked down at her feet.
For the love of Faust...

There wasn't even time to consider turning as the roof of the cave gave in so silently that it was eerie. Coco let out a cry as she collapsed into the depths along with the roof, bits of rocks raining all over her. The darkness of the inside swallowed up the glinting stars and the night sky and then Coco felt all the air puff out of her as she landed on the floor.
There was an incredibly loud thump right next to her. Coco squeaked and threw herself away as a large, solid portion of the cave roof had caved in like a door on it's hinges so that she was rather trapped like a mouse in a cage.

Instinct took over and she pulled herself to the side of the cave, her mind absolutely blank. Everything had happened in such a tiny amount of time and she could barely begin to think of the consequences.
She focused on getting her heart to stop buzzing like a woodpecker and worked on smoothing her mane, taking deep breaths and not trying to think of anything for the time being. Her ribs hurt, her stomach hurt like someone who did a belly-flop onto water from a long way up, her hooves felt as if she had a considerable amount of paper cuts all over them, her legs couldn't take a crawl, and she was just so dizzy and the room wouldn't stop moving from side to side...
But no, her ordeal still wasn't over yet.

A pair of red eyes slowly opened in the darkness, and Pommel stared at them, feeling all her previous attempts at calming herself all go to pieces.

"Well, well, well. We are in a fix now, my little pony..."

Author's Notes:

I am sure I'm correct in saying that there is precious few fanfiction concerning any game in the Patapon series, and that this is the only one with Coco Pommel in it.
(Hooray for me, I get a cookie ....)
There's precious few who've actually played Patapon too. Or heard of it even.
I think it pretty much counts as a 'retro' game by this point.
_
Banana Fluff is a background pony that appears watching the Sisterhooves celebration.
Apple Dumpling is a background pony who first appears in the big Apple family reunion and then to help raise the barn.