The Id and her Ego

Coco Pommel was dead. Sweetie Belle knew it was true and it resonated in her bowels as she shoved her face into the snow-white coat of her sister. The day was damp and dreary. Outside the window, ponies bustled back and forth, cutting each other off, and staring at the ground as their weary hooves pushed them on. Sweetie's clouded eyes drifted hazily up to the soft regal face of her elegant sister. Rarity's soft white coat was covered by a sweeping black gown that was inlaid with perfectly cut diamonds. Rarity's face was somber and her closed eyes were cast down on the hardwood floor of Coco's apartment. Her purple mane framed her beautiful face in curls and swirls of shimmering diamond clips. Had the day been sunny, Rarity would've sparkled effortlessly. But today, the clouds blotted out any chance of light.

Sweetie Belle wore a shorter black gown, much like her sister's but without the diamonds. Her mane fell sloppily down her white shoulder and was matted down with the tears that streamed out of her misty green eyes. Coco had been like an aunt to Sweetie Belle. When she had graduated from High School in Ponyville, she and her friends had taken their own roads. Apple Bloom stayed on the farm, Scootaloo went to Cloudsdale, Sweetie Belle had gone to Manehattan. Her sister had arranged for her to live with Coco and work on Bridleway costumes until Sweetie got the leading part for the Bridleway play "The Little Merpony." Through all of her struggles, Coco had been there. Coco became Sweetie's role model, a shining star, the ever-present voice in the back of her head, pressing her to do the right thing. Coco had become her best friend.

The Cutie Mark Crusaders stood an awkward distance from Sweetie Belle and her tornado of emotions. Their eyes cast at the summery colored coffin surrounded by roses and ponies. Applejack stood on Rarity's other side and stood stock-still as a metal pole letting Rarity lean her broken form onto hers. Ponies were making speeches. Rarity and Sweetie both spoke. It was all just a blur of sadness. Anything else got sucked into the void of blackness that surrounded Coco's coffin. Before she could register anything, ponies were leaving. The living room in Coco's apartment was small, but the large clean windows opened it up to the currently stormy colored sky. Everything was covered in bright cloth and fuzzy pillows but it wasn't the same without the warmth of Coco's little eyes or her sweet and chipper smile. With the sudden emptiness of it, Sweetie Belle felt small and vulnerable. She wanted so much to lean her little head on Coco's buttery shoulder.

Four strong stallions were there suddenly and then, Coco was gone. The summery colors of her coffin evaporated with her smile. Sweetie Belle's heart ached for something to hold onto and she looked for her sister. All she found was that her sister was as broken as she was. Rarity sat with Applejack and her diamond-studded dress lay around her perfectly snow white body in ruffles and wrinkles. Her makeup streamed down her cheeks making her look like a ghost. Babs Seed was there suddenly and she took her sister's hoof leading Applejack and Rarity out the door onto the streets and into the cold. Sweetie Belle was left alone. She knew where she was supposed to go so she moved her hooves to the door. Her sister was going home, and so were her old friends. Now, she had no choice but to stay in Manehattan. She had to become who she was meant to be.