Radio Baltimare

I held the door to a small pub open for Coco. "Ladies first." I joked, waiting for Coco to pass. She lowered her head, growing a bit pink before heading past me and into the bar. I snickered as the beige mare strolled past. "You blush like you're thinking something dirty."

Coco spun around, walking backwards through the bar. "No, I'm just...colts don't usually open doors for me, and when they do I blush...." She carefully swung herself around a passing griffon. "Am I still?"

I smiled, waving my hand across my face. "No, now come on, what you want?" I escorted the short mare over to the counter, helping her up onto a stool. "I'll buy, so what would ya like?" I asked as nicely as I could. "Gotta let a guy buy a pretty girl a drink, rig--"

"Scotch, double, no ice." She stated rapidly, ducking her head down afterwards. "...Or something sweet if you feel weird about it." She mumbled her last words, looking down at her hooves dangling off the stool. "Someponies get weird when I tell them what I drink."

I coughed softly, "No, I get it. Just wasn't expecting something so heavy." I looked around the pub, spotting a clover sitting above the bar. I noticed the pony managing the place was wearing a bright green beret. "Oh geez...taking the Irish a little too far, but it gives me an idea." I flagged down the bartender, the bustling pub happily noisy. "Oi, Guinness?" I yelled, watching the green hatted colt barge past a few others and over to me.

The surly stud leaned against the counter. "No, ain't got it. Got our own, straight from Fetlock." His voice was painfully celtic, his stocky body and gangly hair truly selling it. "For the both of you?"

I shook my head. "Uh, you got like.... Baileys?"

The stallion cocked an eyebrow. "Ya want the liqueur or the beer?"

I tapped my fingers on the oak counter. "Both? Beer for me, liqueur's for the mare." I nudged Coco, causing her to gasp and nearly fall off her seat. "...Jesus Coco."

"Sorry!" She yelped, fixing herself back onto the seat. "Sorry."

The stallion rolled his eyes. "You can afford this, right?"

I grabbed my wallet, "Give me an estima-- oh," I found a few hundred bit coins in my pocket, just hanging free. "I keep thinking these are quarters. Yeah, I got it." I turned to Coco as the Ire pony walked off. "Sorry, it's a nice middle ground between getting fucked up and good flavor. Not that I drink it much...."

Coco smiled at me, kicking her back legs softly. "It's fine. A double would have been a bit much anyways." She looked down at the bar, refusing to make eye contact. "So, am I supposed to be moving out here? I kinda just got told I'm working here, and dropped to figure things out on my own."

I shrugged. "I have no idea. Marigold is terrible about that kind of stuff. But hey, if you wanted to move out here there's room under my house!" I looked around the pub, it was strangely skewed towards griffons and  humans. "I mean, the guy who was living in the apartment under me was about to move out. It's not glamorous, but the landlord is nice and generally doesn't mind if I go all home improvement on the place."

Coco took a deep breath. "I don't know. I could commute." She placed her forelegs on the bar, leaning against her hooves. "I guess it would get me farther from Suri, farther from all those...." She turned her head sharply, laying on her cheek and staring at me. "My bosses were terrible. Are, terrible."

I let out a long sigh as a pint glass found its way into my hands. "Marigold isn't actually that bad. She's rude and obnoxious sure, but she treats us alright pay wise. Just a little, arbitrary?" I asked myself, unsure of the wording. "I think that's the right word. Either way she's just a little rude, not actually that terrible." I pulled my glass in front of me, gripping it with both hands. "If she could get my fucking name right...I'd be fine...." I growled into my beer, dipping my nose into it before pouring it back. It tasted strong, the flavor burning my tongue ever so slightly. "Whoa...that's, this doesn't taste like beer." I held up the glass, looking into the dark brew. "Taste good, but damn."

Coco tapped her hooves together. "Fetlock breweries are kinda famous, if you're a drinker I mean." She rubbed her hooves together, nervously looking up at me from under her brow. "So...she's not bad?"

I scratched my ear. "No, just rude. But you said you were a dressmaker?"

Coco took a sigh of relief. "I did. I still am. To be perfectly honest I don't know why I'm here, I don't even like the radio that much."

I scoffed. "It's work. I was just running drinks and plugging in cords before now. Anyways, I know a few fabric shops, and I picked up an old sewing machine someone was going to throw away, I was going to take the parts out and build something, but if you want it, it's yours."

Coco smiled at me, a warm, toothy smile. "Thanks, I'd lo-- ah!" She jumped out of her skin as a heavy glass met the counter in front of her. "Oh...that was a bit rude."

I watched the large stallion plod off after unceremoniously dumping her drink before her. "A little. I get the feeling it's expected in here." I looked around the obvious worker's pub. "So, you're from Manehattan?"

Coco was half stuck into her glass. "Hmm? Oh, no actually. I was from Ponyville before Manehattan. I just moved their because I thought it would be easier to work." She downed her drink, locking up for a few moments before shivering violently. "Oh- mm, that's new...."

I looked around the bar, three pint glasses and two new shorter ones were strewn about. "...Have I been-" I looked down at my own glass, finding it empty. "-this whole time...."

Coco was slowly downing another drink. "Warm," she cooed, body shaking as she set the drink down. "Did I tell you about Suri? Suri was...is, whatever, a bitch."

I cocked my head. "Whatever a bitch?"

Coco steadied herself on the counter. "She was just, worst pony, worst everything. She was crap on a bolt of fabric- no! Crap in a bolt of fabric, then rolled up so it smeared everywhere!"

The bartender walked by, dropping off another drink for Coco. I started to reach for it. "I think you--"

Coco's hooves beat me to it. "I just wanted to sew! I wanted to make pretty clothes, dresses, shirts, pants! I wanted to make ponies pretty! And she just, she just dumped all over me!" She slammed her drink, nearly tossing the glass to the floor. "All over my face, my work, everything, just, Pfffff! Everywhere!"

I made a big X with my arms, sliding a few coins to the edge of the table. "No more," I whispered, already starting to feel a bit black and soggy. "So...dressing, you like humans?"

Coco turned to me, her nose bright red. "I...love...humans. They are so good at clothes, they can actually do buttons!" She lifted her hooves, leaning against the counter to keep from falling over. "All these things can do is poke and push, no grab!"

I looked down at my hands. "You could change you know. They have potions or spells and--"

"No!" Coco shouted, shaking her head hard, her ears slapping against my shoulder as she leaned towards me. "No...I don't want those chest things." She wrapped a hoof around my arm, "Too big, I don't like them!"

I felt myself start to get excited, "Yeah...more of an ass man myself." I dug my finger against my collar. "Anyways, we should probably get home. I wasn't paying attention and I think we kinda lost track of time."

Coco stayed latched onto my arm. "Not yet." She turned, locking herself around my arm. "You're so warm...."

I shook my head, sliding off the stool. "Coco-"

"What?"

"Coco-"

"What!?"

"Coco...you're drunk." I stated, clutching my head as the dizziness overtook me. "Oh god...so am I." I held onto Coco, the two of us balancing on each other like a tent. "Do you remember how we got here?"

Coco was laughing loudly, "That tasted so good. I love you, person human. E, e something." She buried her face against my shoulder, "Is it safe to nap, I just...a little nap."

I watched the crowd snicker and laugh at us. "Uh, maybe?" I looked to the bar. "Hey, you know any cab com--"

"Hey Taylor!" A sharp, perky voice sounded off. "You missed our date."

"Aw shit...."

$()$

My alarm slowly went off, the loud buzz giving me a huge headache. "Oh god, turn it off." I slapped my hand around, eventually hitting the snooze. I laid there, face down on my bed, feeling like a cracked egg on the sidewalk. "I didn't drink enough to feel this bad." I tried to push up, something hard causing my heart to jump. "Uh!?" I yanked the covers up, finding Coco curled up against my ribs. "Oh...huh, I'm...." I leaned against my right arm, looking at Coco sitting under my left. "I'm alright with this."

"Mmm, so am I." A soft, but still painfully happy voice shattered my hope. "So...took your name," Marigold pressed her chubby self against my back, hooves wrapping around my waist and landing on my groin. "Are you still Ethan?"

"Oooooh my god noooooooo--"