As Ye Sew So Shall ye Rip

A Coco Pommel in the Vogonverse Tale

Rocky Mountain Life

Twenty minutes passed as Coco checked the details of the costumes. The fact that the dance number was extremely engaging was making her check, and double check, the stitching. It seemed as if everything would hold and she breathed out a relaxed sigh. This was it. Tonight she packed, tomorrow she would get on the train, despite Miles’ protests and suggestion that he could drive and get her, and then she’d head toward Colorado.

“Co?” a soft voice called out.

Coco stood up, sighed, and looked toward the direction of the voice calling for her. She could see her, the deep red and silver fur of her friend as she walked carefully over. Cheri almost looked like she had been told there was no more holidays coming ever again. She moved slowly toward Coco, her designer jeans and top looking wrinkled, uncared for, and certainly very much unlike Cheri’s normal self.

“Cheri, what’s wrong?” Coco asked.

“Mr. Richards… He didn’t like my acrobatics display, and he said that they’re getting ready to change the main stage show… Coco he’s talking about cutting my hours! It’s the worst possible thing ever!” Cheri whined.

Coco looked at her, tried very hard not to roll her eyes, and slowly stood up, “Cheri, they made the announcements over two months ago about changing the shows and showtimes up. Most of the other girls have found an extra job to go to already.”

“But… Coco, forget about getting my normal level of, well everything, I’m going to lose my apartment! I don’t have another job go to!” Cheri cried.

She felt bad for Cheri, honestly she did, but at the same time Cheri had been warned, like everypony else, that this was going to happen. It wasn’t like the casino had just dropped this on them from out of the blue. She knew it wasn’t on purpose, but it did seem that Cheri seemed to come around about the same time she was thinking about Miles. Her thoughts about one of her best friends’ problem slowly drifted away as she thought about Miles himself.

She thought about all that Miles did, and slowly her mind thought about the short stage show that the boxing event had. She didn’t know for sure if every event had it, but if it did then Cheri could do that. Sure, it’d most likely need to be just when the events happened here in Las Vegas, but at least it would help out some.

“Cheri, I have an idea, but it means working with the WBA. I’ll have to find out some more about it before I can honestly say one way or the other, but if you’d be interested then I’ll see what I can do,” Coco replied.

“Co, really? Would it be walking around next to naked carrying that tacky sign?” she asked.

Again it was nearly impossible not to roll her eyes at Cheri’s response, “I don’t know, but I’d almost think that getting this close to not having a job you might not have too many choices to choose from.”

Cheri nodded after a moment, “I know, but… Co, I don’t want to look too trashy. I mean those costumes we were are a little revealing, but I don’t want the crowd to think that I’m just a pair of breasts in a bikini.”

She can honestly say that she tried to keep from laughing. She really did, but it was futile. The laughter escaped from her, bubbling up from her stomach, escaping through her mouth, and she fought hard to make it stop. After a few moments she looked at a visibly upset Cheri.

“Cheri, sweetie, I know that you’re not just a pair of teates walking around, but sweetie, you do often present yourself a little, well….” Coco began to say.

“Dumber than I really am… I know, but it makes dealing with people easier,” Cheri replied.

Coco groaned, mildly dissatisfied with her friends response.

“Listen Cheri,” she pronounced, “this is best option right now. If I had to choose between being homeless and looking like a whorse so I could pay rent, I would pick the whorse job. At least I wouldn’t have to act like a whorse. It’s really your fault for wasting time and not looking for additional work. I know the Ritz was looking for a hostess; they pay for that was pretty good but you’d be standing at a podium all day, looking pretentious. I don’t think that job is available now…”

“But-” Cheir tried to protest, only for Coco to raise a hand to silence.

“‘Butt’s are made for sitting,’” the seamstress qipped, “at least that’s what Miles says. And while I wish I had better news for you, you’re kinda outta luck.”

“Motherfucker,” Cheri whispers, “well, I guess it can’t be helped. You will look into it, right?”

Coco nods, adding, “I’ll be in Colorado over the weekend. Miles invited me over to his place in the Rocky’s. If all goes well, I can ask him if he knows anypony that can help. He might not, but there might be somebody he has regular contact with that could help out.”

Cheri’s demeanor changed slightly as she heard that. Coco noticed how she looked as if somepony had said a horrific curse word, and then almost as soon as her demeanor became so sour it changed again. This was a look she’d seen a few times, mainly when Cheri was dealing with payroll. It was a false smile, centered around a fake ‘good for you’ expression. This spoke far louder than her previously sour expression.

“It’s wonderful that you’re going to be getting away… And I’m actually glad that you’re willing to talk to him for me. Still, Co, are you sure that you really want to leave? I was thinking that maybe the two of us could do something. I’m sure that he’d be glad to give you the contact information about the job over the net.”

Coco tried, and managed somehow, to keep from sighing. Cheri was a good friend, but she was getting a little possessive. Rarity had been right about letting her know where boundaries where, but it seemed like her friend was still trying desperately to work her way into a relationship with her. The problem with that was that she just wasn’t into mares like that. Sure, things had been different in Equestria. There was far less stallions around, and a mare did things to help get through her eustris, but those things were done with a close friend, and both friends understood that this was just to ‘beat the heat’.

She liked Rarity, quite a bit, but there was no way she wanted to start up a relationship with the fashionista, and while she liked Cheri, and Cheri had certainly became a great friend, they hadn’t really reached that level of intimacy in their friendship. The truth was that she just didn’t want to go there. Had she experienced a bad heat already? Of course, and she did ask Cheri to help her find something to take her mind off of it.

That something had been a virtual trip to Bad Dragon. Once there she had bought the tools she needed to keep from losing herself to her heat. She was able to work, take an extended lunch and handle herself, and then get back to work. Her, heat aides were still in her penthouse, safely tucked away in her closet, ready for being used when needed again. She wasn’t like some of the girls here…

There was stories about some of the girls being girth queens. The idea of squeezing something far too large, made of plastic, or something else, up there just didn’t sit well with her. No, she was happy to have what she considered a slightly smaller than average one, with the suction cup attached to her wall, and her backed up against it. She quickly pushed the thought from her mind. The last thing she needed was to get a little excited when Cheri was trying to be so controlling.

“Cheri, I like Miles, I really like him, and I believe that I want him to be my special somepony. I want to visit him, and I have more than enough vacation time to use. You’re my friend, one of my best friends, and I do care for you,” Coco said.

“I get it,” Cheri said sounding dejected, “I do. I just wish that you’d give me half a chance. Coco, I could make you happy.”

This time Coco couldn’t stop the aggravated sigh that escaped her lips. She’d been patient, she’d been understanding, and she had tried her hardest to be the friend that Cheri needed. The feeling up of her cutie marks had been a major sign that Cheri wanted more, but Coco was willing to look past it, keep the friendship, and hope that Cheri would realize that she actually liked stallions.

“Co?” Cheri asked.

She knew that Cheri had to see the scowl she was wearing on her face, the look of somepony who was finally getting a little too fed up with somepony acting like they were the only pony any filly, or stallion, could ever want. Celestia knows that Suri was just as bad. Maybe that’s why it was rubbing her the wrong way, but she was determined to put a stop to it right now.

“Cheri, we’re never going to be anything other than friends. I like stallions. I like the idea of being rutted until I can’t move by a stallion. I like Miles, I like the way he smells, the way he tastes when we kissed, I love how gentle he is, and I love that he respects me enough to give me space enough to make up my own mind!” she seethed, and she slowly forced herself to calm down, “I’m sorry, but I’m not a filly fooler. I never really was. I know that you’ve got so many hopes and dreams for us, but they aren’t want I want for myself.”

She watched as Cheri’s expression changed again. She felt so guilty, so horrible as she watched her friend feel heart break. She didn’t want to do this. She didn’t want to be the reason why Cheri went through heart ache, but she couldn’t let her keep thinking that eventually they were going to become something more than they were.

“O...Okay Co. I g guess that I’ll see you when I see you,” Cheri said before she turned around and practically ran the other way.

She looked at costumes. There was absolutely no way that she focus on this. She knew that what she said hurt Cheri, but at the same time she had to believe that it was going to hurt less than if she let her hold on to the hope that they could be together. She had faith that Rarity was right. Letting her down easy had to be the best way of doing this.

She grabbed a tablet, turned it on, and logged into it.

“Miss Coco?” a familiar voice asked.

“Julia, would you call Cheri for me?”

She looked at the screen, watching her digital assistant holding a digital representation of an old Queen Anne phone.

“I’m sorry Miss Coco, but unfortunately it appears that she is not answering. However, her digital assistant is willing to take a message. Would you like to leave one?”

“Yes, yes I would. Cheri, I’m sorry I really am, and please know that you are always going to be special to me. I still want to be your friend, and I will always be there for you. I know that you’re going to find some very lucky mare who is going to be very happy to be with you and make you very happy,” she said.

A moment later, a busty, anthropomorphic minx character appeared on Coco’s screen. The figure was Cheri’s personal digital assistant, Dolly. With a buoyant blonde mane, and a sleek, milky coat, the digital minx just oozed sultriness. The dazzling azure eyes of the figure met with Coco’s; it then proceeded to speak.

“Why hello there, Sugah,” Dolly cooed, “long time, no see!”

“Same to you, Dolly,” Coco replied with a small smile on her face, “what have you been up to?”

“Oh, ya know,” Dolly answered, “been here, there, everywhere. Tryin’ to keep up with Little Cheri’s suitors is like catchin’ greased lightnin’.”

“I can imagine,” Coco smirked, “so she’s been keeping you busy?”

“Sure as shootin’,” Dolly said, “between you an’ me, Ah think she’s tryin’ to avoid some of these here fellas’ An’ judgin’ by the message ya just left, I’d understand why.”

Coco nodded, then asked, “How long have you known?”

“Oh, forevah, Sugah,” Dolly replied, “tarnation, that silly filly has been gaga over girls since she first activated me! Did you know Ah was her first real relationship since the Anthromorph Law was passed?”

Coco’s look of surprise was unfeigned, “No! You’re kidding!”

“Ah wish Ah was, Sugah,” Dolly quipped, “heck, even then, I knew she swung the bat for the same team. Subtle cues in her voice an’ all. Plus, she treated me like I was some holographic eye candy, not that Ah minded much.”

“That is so surreal,” Coco responded, “I never really knew.”

“Mmhmm,” Dolly hummed, then added, “trust me, that one has been chasin’ skirts a long while now. She’d give Cotton Eye Joe a run fer his money.”

“Well, you’ll be sure that Cheri gets my message, right?”

“Does a hog love slop?” Dolly asked, “Don’t worry, Sugah, if’n Ah hafta drone it in her sleep and blare it while she’s home, Ah’ll see ta it she gets it.”

“Thanks, Dolly!” Coco says with a bright smile.

“Don’t mention it, Sugah!” Dolly says with a wink, then, “I hope all goes well with that stud o’ yers. He’s a looker, that one, and make no mistake. If’n weddin’ bells are in th’ future, don’t hesitate in invitin’ meh, would ya?”

Coco couldn’t help but laugh. Dolly’s down home persona coupled with very vast wit and sharp humor always made the mare smile. In her own way, Dolly was a lot like Julia, but with a Mild West twist.

“Oh, you know I wouldn’t forget you, Dolly. You or Cheri!”

“Much obliged, Sugah,” Dolly said, then after a brief pause, “Ah oughtta letta go. Cheri done showed up and she’s already half a quart into some Death by Chocolate and half that Cherry Schnapps is gone…”

With a swish of her digital tail and a blink, Dolly was gone. Julia had returned, beaming, and whisking a bowl of something unidentifiable.

“Will that be all, Miss?” Julia asked.

“Yes, Julia, thank you,” Coco answered.

Coco breathed out in relief. She had been concerned that her words to Cheri could have lead her to do something foolish, but seeing that she was home, and that Dolly could watch over her, she felt better. She knew that Dolly’s failsafe programming, like Julia’s, would cause her to call emergency services if they were needed. She put the now darkened tablet down, gave the costumes one more once over, and then she grabbed her purse.

Miles had already paid for her ticket. He’d said that if he couldn’t come and personally get her, then the least he could do was pay for her way there. She knew that her train would be leaving before too long, and honestly she was ready for it. Her walk out of the casino, down the strip, and to the station was fairly uneventful. The same types of people roamed around the area. The tourists that came to Las Vegas looking to get rich, the ones that actually came for the shows and entertainment, and of course the ponies, or rather the beings, that lived here rushing to their jobs, heading home, or out to get a bite to eat.

She neared the station and walked inside. Miles had said that it was paid for, and that she could get the copy at either an automated kiosk, or she could use a living ticket vendor that worked for the train company. She walked toward a kiosk, and when she stood in front of it an animated figure appeared. It was dressed in engineer clothes from an older age, looking much like the engineers from back in Equestria, and there was a large smile on its face.

“Welcome to Amtrak Las Vegas! I’m Eugine the Engineer! How may I help you today?” the simpler Digital Assistant asked.

“I have a ticket waiting for me, Coco Pommel,” she replied.

“Very good, please place your thumb in the red indention and I shall retrieve it for you,” he replied.

She did as he said and within a moment there was a small ding and a ticket printed out.

“There we go, Right as rain! Thank you for using Amtrak!”

She grinned at the digital assistant, headed toward the platform where her train should be coming, and waited. It rolled up, a sleek, shiny, and breathtakingly beautiful machine. Most of the trains that came through were the normal nearby town kinds. Trains that were a holdover from older days. Converted to run off of solar power, but still large and bulky.

This train looked as if it had been designed based off of a bullet. It gleamed with its shiny metallic side, the way it was shaped like a cylinder, and the low sloping noses on both ends of it seemed to indicate that this train was indeed built for speed. She stepped inside and was escorted to a private riding room.

“Here you go miss,” the conductor said, “The cross country train will be departing in a few minutes. As I understand it your destination is Denver, Colorado right?”

Coco nodded. He looked at a schedule and smiled warmly.

“Very good, then your wait time isn’t going to be too bad. Roughly it will be about seven hours. We might shave some time off if the tracks are mostly clear. The meal trolley will be coming through shortly, and please, get what you like, the meals have all been paid for.”

She grinned and nodded. He gave her another warm smile, and she watched as he walked back toward the open door. In minutes the train began to move, and she felt the first surge forward before it became incredibly calm. She leaned back, enjoying the cushioned seat, looking around the posh sitting around her. The seats seemed to be a combination of memory foam with a tightly knitted cotton covering. The walls were different from the futuristic outside of the train. Instead they were covered with dark stained wood and brass. The evidence of anything that seemed to be futuristic was the large black flat screen monitor that hung on the opposite wall.

After a moment it turned on, and she was once again greeted with another Digital Assistant. This one a top hat wearing individual. Like the engineer he was friendly enough, more than happy to lend a hand, and of course asking if she would like to watch anything on Amtrak’s database. The offers of the recent boxing match in Las Vegas, the Ballet in Neigh, no New York, and lastly the large collection of movies at their disposal. She politely thanked him, and indicated that while she wasn’t really wanting to watch anything she would like to take a chance to read.

At that point he brought up the entire list of books in the Amtrak library, including something called Fifty Shades of Grey. She could have swore that the book was actually called Fifty Shades of Hay, but perhaps that was just the version written in Equestria. She decided against it, and instead she found herself looking the novelization of Rocky. Reading the summary she decided to give it a try.

The hours passed she read the book, as torturous as it was for her. At times, she considered having the digital assistant close it. The descriptions were terrible. A boxer had been a leg breaker for a local loan shark, and from there it described the kinds of conditions that he lived in, and when she was ready close it she found hope. He was interested in a young woman. Seeing something in her that she didn’t even see in herself. Wanting to prove himself, and to give her a life better than what they had he tried to move on to just boxing. That was when what looked like a gift was dropped in his lap. She read through the book, and there was a line, a small bit of dialogue, that actually seemed in tune with what the Earth Ponies believed.

“Let me tell you something you already know. The world ain't all sunshine and rainbows. It's a very mean and nasty place and I don't care how tough you are it will beat you to your knees and keep you there permanently if you let it. You, me, or nobody is gonna hit as hard as life. But it ain't about how hard ya hit. It's about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward. How much you can take and keep moving forward. That's how winning is done!” she read the words.

Those words, about taking what was being dished out, and still moving forward, that was hopeful. It was part of what she saw in Miles. He was determined, and to be quite honest it was something she found attractive about him. He was a human stallion, but his heart, how he had shown it so far, was that of an Earth Pony. She heard the door, and saw the trolley there with a Gryphon hen behind it.

“Miss, we’re less than two hours away from our destination, but since you were so absorbed in your book earlier I didn’t want to bother you. However, would you like your evening meal? We’ve got a few choices available. Fried asparagus, oat burgers, catfish, peach fritters, peach pie, and lastly cheese pizza.”

Feeling her stomach rumble Coco looked over the list and settled for an oat burger and the fried asparagus.

“Excellent choices Miss. I’ve heard the oat burgers are quite good. Apparently our chef has learned how to cook them just the way most people seem to like them.”

Once she had her meal Coco began eating. The gryphon hen wasn’t wrong, the oat burger was indeed fantastic. She hadn’t had such a good one since leaving Equestria, but then again she didn’t need to eat too much of them. She was a firm believer that an Earth Pony should have some extra mass on them, but she did like having a slightly more lithe body. Slowly she felt the train slowing. It wasn’t overly obvious, but she could feel the light tug on her every so often indicating that they were preparing to stop.

Finally, the train did stop, and she could see the station. The door opened, on its own, and she gathered up her belongings. Stepping out of the train the first thing she noticed was Miles. He was standing there, wearing a light jacket, blue jeans, a pair of work boots, and before she could really even think about it she rushed toward him, wrapping her arms around him, and kissed him. She felt his large arms around her, the crushing, and wonderful, hug he was giving, and she returned it.

She realized how much she had missed him, and in realizing that she began to realize how much he actually meant to her. He was her special somepony. She giggled at the thought. She had a special somepony, and he had one too.

“Happy to see you, too,” Miles joked, “if I had known I was going to get tackled, I would have brought my shoulder pads.”

“Oh, right, sorry,” Coco said, bemused. She let go of him with a bright blush across her muzzle.

“It’s okay,” Miles admitted, “you don’t hit nearly as hard as Smith Yearedly. That guy could wreck a Mack Truck with that right hook of his.”

“Oh, please, no,” Coco exclaimed, “no more boxing!”

Confused, Miles asked, “Why not?”

“Oh, it’s just,” Coco said, “today, I’m getting all this new information to process and I just read ‘Rocky’ and I don’t think I can handle any more sports analogies!”

Miles shook his head, smiling, and said, “Don’t worry, you won’t be hearing me talk shop. This weekend is about you and I and the beauty of the Rocky Mountains. Are these your bags?”

Miles stepped around the seamstress to gather her suitcases. The bags she had were heavy by her standards, but Miles picked them up with relative ease. And I thought Applejack’s brother was strong! Coco though as she followed him. They walked toward the short term parking lot and she could see his Ram truck sitting there. Her special somepony carefully arranged her luggage into the bed of his truck. After securing the cargo, Miles held out his hand to Coco and bustled her into the cabin. Like the last time she had rode in it the truck smelled like him. It reflected his personality, and she let a small smile cross her lips as she let the feeling, smell, and comfort of the truck waft over her.

He then climbed in beside her. She looked toward him, and could see him turning the key and waiting for it to indicate that it was ready to start. When it did he turned the ignition on over and soon the truck was rumbling to life. They pulled out and she looked toward the mountains he spoke of. They were certainly proud, beautiful peaks. A layer of white already covered the tops of them, and she could understand what he meant. The town they drove through was a different type of charm than that of Las Vegas.

“We’re going to my place here in Denver,” Miles explained, “I’d take to the cabin, but the place isn’t insulated and it’s colder than Satan’s heart in the mountains now. Besides, my place has a charm on it’s own I think you’ll like.”

“I look forward to it,” Coco said, “from the way you described it, it sounds delightful.”

“I think so,” Miles replied, “I’ve been restoring the thing since I made World Heavyweight Champion. My agent keeps telling me I should live it up, but that’s not how I was raised. Other fighters can roll in Bentleys and Mercedes-Benz’s, but I’ll take a good old truck and a two story house anyday.”

Driving through Denver was certainly a different experience in and of itself. It felt like somepony had simply stepped back in time, and were seeing things as they existed quite some time ago. There was the occasional modern building, but mostly it appeared that most of the buildings were in fact beautiful in their older charm. That’s when she noticed the house they were pulling into. It wasn’t overly large, but certain big enough for a family. The yellowish white walls of it looked beautiful, and she could see how it had been cared for. Inside of the house was different. She could feel the hardwood floor, see the time spent on each inch of it, and she even noticed how the home looked inviting.

Walking in the large monitor in the room sprang to life, spewing out current events, local weather, and the President’s stance on the purists demanding to be separated from the union into their own country. That was something she was more than happy to forget about. Even in Las Vegas they had to deal with the self proclaimed Purists who claimed that all non human life was an abomination. Luckily it was few and far between that it happened. Mainly because the casino owners didn’t tolerate the purists creating a volatile environment.

Miles quickly shut the monitor off and gave a sheepish grin.

“Sorry about that. It’s set to come on when there’s movement in the room. I keep forgetting to change the setting.”

She smiled and shook her head.

“It’s fine. So, what do you say to giving me the grand tour?”

He nodded, and holding out his hand he began to show her around the house.

Author's Note

(Wow! So another chapter down. Both of us wanted to take this moment to thank everybrony for reading. It’s been a blast to write this story, and we’re not done yet. There’s still several more chapters to go.)