Chapters Coco Pommel was was drinking a bottle of vodka. She had brought it only a while ago, but she was going to drink it. She was in her small apartment and it was quiet. It was just her and the bottle. She giggled slightly, feeling tipsy. She could handle her liquor, but the pain was strong. She wanted to get drunk so she could forget. But, it was hard. Even when she was drunk, she remembered. She remembered the little things. She remembered every insult that she used on her. It hurts. Coco thought, drinking more quickly now. She whimpered, putting down the bottle. She couldn't finish the bottle, her fear stopped her. She knew that she was slowly hurting her organs with the drinking. She put the cap back on the bottle and she walked it to the refrigerator to save it for later. "What is wrong with me?" Coco asked herself while falling onto her couch. Her bed was still ruined by Suri Polomare's assault of her one week ago. She had quit one week ago and Suri wanted to punish the mare for quitting. Coco wished that she was stronger, so then that wouldn't have happened.
She cursed her weakness. She wished that she recognized the signs earlier, but she was naive. She wished that she was more educated in the horrors of employers abusing their employees. She had sunk back into her very timid personality-the one before Suri Polomare had found her. She was scared of being touched and very sharp objects. She would never use drugs, but she had seen Suri smoked. She was surprised that Suri smoked. She never expected that Suri would be the type to smoke. However, Suri wasn't pleased that she found out about her little habit. That was the first time that Suri had hit her. It wasn't hard, but it still hurt. Suri's hoof had its print on Coco's face. However, Suri had claimed that it was an accident, but Coco wasn't stupid, she knew that Suri had hit her to 'tell' her to not tell anypony about it. At the first hit, Suri didn't apologize, but she did when she got drunk. Suri was only sorry when she was drunk.
Coco hated it. The abuse, the fake caring, everything! Everything was so twister until another mare showed her real care. The mare was Rarity, a mare who come to Manehatten to compete against other mares. She was kind, the embodiment of generosity. Coco had never met anypony like that before she knew it, she became friends with the beautiful mare. She became friends with her employer's enemy. Suri punished her for befriending Rarity. She remembered the abuse so much that she swears it is a part of her daily life.
Suri had slapped her and then that one slap became a daily beating that ruled Coco’s life.
“I need to get out of here,” she cried softly as she thought about Suri’s cruelty. The mare didn't even care about her feelings. She just wanted to hurt Coco for her own personal amusement. Coco never met anypony like that before, so when Suri took her in, she thought that she was going to be protected, not harmed. She was gonna do it. She was gonna quit tomorrow. She had made her mind up, even through the drunken haze, but pessimism hit her like a train as she began to doubt herself, and fear Suri.
‘What if she beats me, or worse,’ she thought.
‘What if I don’t do it, and I wuss out,’ she shuddered at the negative thoughts, and took another swig as she began to feel as if she was wading through the ocean.
She was drunk, but she still felt like she could cry for years on end. She just felt sick on top of her depression, and ashamed. Ashamed of being so weak and so pathetic, but that was her, Coco realized. She was just a weak little mare. “I need help,” she whispered softly.
But, who would be so willing to help a broken mare that is damaged?
~~~~~~~~
The client’s eyes sparkled in wonder at the dress and she suddenly wondered about the price. “H-How much is the dress?” She asked Rarity nervously. Rarity smiled at the nervous yellow covered mare.
“It’ll be at least 100 bits,” Rarity answered, making the mare’s bright grey eyes almost bulge out if their sockets.
“Oh wow, if I went to another dress shop, they would have made me pay at least 350 bits for a dress,” the mare tells Rarity, who silently growled. They take advantage of her! She thought in anger.
“If I was you, I wouldn't go to their anymore. Why pay more when you can pay less?” Rarity gently asks the mare. The mare smiled at Rarity’s question.
“I love your honesty, Miss,” the mare tells Rarity. Rarity smiled at the gentle mare who is very sweet and innocent.
“Thank you, my dear, now, let's get your dress prepared, now shall we?” Rarity asked the very happy mare, who was happy that she finally founded a dress to fit the dinner party next week.
“Thank you! Because of you, I finally found a dress,” the mare was happy, so Rarity was happy.
Coco was trying to ease her body after Suri’s attack on her. She wanted to sleep, but she couldn't stay here in Manehatten. She could get killed. She was wanting to cry, but Suri would find out and hurt her worse. “Why me?” She whimpered. She wasn't able to sleep easily ever since she quit working for Suri.
For some strange reason, her heart was saying for her to go to Ponyville. She then understood why. Rarity was there in Ponyville. Rarity could help her, she realized. Rarity wouldn't hurt or judge her.
She packed a bag and she grabbed a few bits from her table as she ran out of the door to leave the house. She ran in the deep rain. She shuddered from the cold rain. She released a whine when she forgot to check the weather. Luna dang it! She thought. She ran towards the train station. “What's your location, sweetie?” The older mare asked Coco.
“Ponyville,” Coco breathed out, hiding her bruises from the outside world. The mare eyed her, wanting to ask what she was hiding, but she decided not to ask.
“You're just in time, miss. That'll be 300 bits,” She told Coco. Coco looked at her money and she flinched. That’s all the money I have. Coco thought in horror. She gave the mare the money and she received the ticket. I'm broke. Coco thought sadly.
“Thank you,” Coco tells the older mare. The mare nodded at Coco.
“All aboard for Ponyville!” Coco heard her train being called as she grabbed her ticket and her bag. When she walked to the train, she saw a glimpse of Suri and she whimpered. No. She doesn't know. She… Coco stopped processing her thoughts.
Coco wordlessly walked on the train and into an empty seat. She relaxed her body and she fell into another nightmare sleep, this nightmare worse than all of the others she had. She whimpered in her sleep and she was alone in her seat. There was no one to comfort her.
When she woken up from her sleep, Coco saw Ponyville in distance and she sighed in relief. She then remembered that she was broke with no food and no way to pay for rent. She sighed sadly and she left the train and the train station.
As she walked around Ponyville, she saw how friendly the other ponies were to each other. I wish Manehatten was like this. Everypony tries to hurt each other. She thought. When she passed by Sugarcube Corner, she saw one of Rarity’s friends. When the pink mare saw her, she decided to see what was wrong. “Coco Pommel, is that you? Rarity told me about you,” Coco had heard the mare, but she had fainted due to strong fear and her careless attempt of healing her wounds. “Coco. COCO!” The mare had shouted in worry for the younger mare.
~~~~~~~
When Coco had awakened again, she saw the same pony from before. “Are you alright? You’ve fainted,” she tells Coco. Coco’s stomach rumbled and the young mare looked around, ashamed.
“My bruises are bandaged,” Coco commented. The mare nodded her head and she bit her lip.
“Um, Miss Pommel, I'm Starlight Glimmer and I want to ask you something,” Starlight tells Coco.
“Call me Coco, please. What do you want to ask me?” Coco asked.
“Did somepony inflict these on you?” She asked as she watched Coco’s reaction turn to horror.
“They are self-inflicted from an accident,” Coco quickly answers, unknowingly adding a spiteful tone to her voice. Starlight noticed and she quickly dropped the issue. She didn't want to freak out the poor mare with her questions. When Starlight left her alone and Coco laid back in the bed, with her face from view. She cried herself to sleep.
~~~~~~~
Rarity was just closing her shop when Starlight ran up to her. “What's the rush, Starlight?” Rarity asked the once evil mare.
“Coco. Pommel. Hospital. Bruises,” Starlight tells Rarity. Rarity was shocked that Starlight was talking fast, but she did understood. Coco was in the hospital and she had bruises.
“Were the bruises caused by anypony?” Rarity asked. She had a gut sucking feeling that she knew who hurt Coco.
“She said that she hurt herself,” Starlight answered. Rarity growled to herself and she sighed at Coco trying to protect that mare. She's a great liar, but I know somepony did this to her. Starlight thought. She didn't know why Coco would lie through her teeth.
“Hmm. She lied,” Rarity says, not really surprised. Starlight was shocked by Rarity’s not surprised answer.
“Why are you not surprised by this?” Starlight asked Rarity.
“I know Coco's former boss. She was a vile mare. She always verbally hurt Coco around me,” Rarity answered Starlight. Starlight was shocked about that.
“What? Why would she do that?” Starlight was genuinely concerned.
“To make me angry,” Rarity answered Starlight’s question. Starlight gasped at this.
“Why would she do that to make you angry?” Starlight asked.
“Because I care for her,” Rarity’s short answer gave Starlight a slight pause as she tried to figure out why Rarity sounded like she wanted to kill the mare that hurt Coco. Does she like her? Starlight thought.
“Forgive me for asking this, but do you like Coco Pommel?” Starlight asked Rarity, who didn’t even give a start at her question.
“In what way?” Rarity asked.
“Romantically”, Starlight answered without stuttering. Rarity was expecting Starlight to stutter, but she didn’t, which surprised Rarity.
“I can’t explain it”, Rarity answered in total honesty. Starlight stayed silent in understanding. Rarity didn’t anymore on the subject.
~~~Coco didn’t tell, but she still knew that it was me. Suri wasn’t shocked. She didn’t think that Rarity was dumb, but she wasn’t thinking that Rarity would guess her correctly and quickly, at that. “Coco, I will relish in hurting you beyond compare.” Suri tells herself. She wanted her submissive assistant back so she could abuse her. Suri knew that Coco was weaker than her and that was why she abuses her. Coco wouldn’t fight back. That was what made her the perfect outlet.
Coco Pommel had fell asleep to nightmares that she hoped that would just stay away and leave her alone. They didn't. They stayed with her like it was a plague and she hated every minute of her nightmare. “Go away,” she whimpered, hugging herself. Her whimpers only brought comfort to the nightmares as they knew that they could never go away. They were going to torture her forever.
Coco hated it. She felt weak and she knew that she was weak. “I want somepony to save me. Anypony,” Coco pleaded with the darkness that surrounded her. When she opened her eyes up to her room, there was nopony around to save her. She was a damsel and she was in distress. She could rescue herself, but the nightmares would taunt her until she broke again.
As she tried to sleep again, thoughts of Suri invaded and Coco screamed in pure fright. “N-No. NO!” She screamed out. She could remember the touches, the coos, the fake smiling and the pain.
She didn't want to remember, but they were going to make her remember. They wanted her to fear them and Suri. They wanted to cause her pain. She whimpered, running a small hoof cover her foreleg.
She wanted somepony to just comfort her and to protect her from her inner demons and them. Why do you want somepony to save you? The inner demons would ask her. She never answered back, but they knew the answer. But, they are horrible.
The nightmares knew her fears and they preyed on that helplessness. They enjoy causing her misery, pain, fear and grief. They love every minute of it. The nightmares worked even in the daytime when poor little Coco Pommel can't get one word out to anypony.
Coco was tired, but she couldn't sleep. Sleeping would give them control and she didn't want that, not right now anyway. She swallowed down a scream when she saw a familiar shadow outside her window. She knew who it was. She didn't want to stop her, she was too tired. “Coco, where are you?” She would whisper every night.She knew that Coco was too tired to help amuse her.
She started to unlock the door and she trailed around the house, looking for her prey. When she found her, the evil mare smiled. “Coco, my dear assistant,” she whispered, making Coco scream again as she attacked her again that night.
Before dawn came, Suri had left Coco’s house. She loves hurting the poor foal. Nopony knows that she does it because she threatens Coco not to tell anypony. She told her that she would kill her if Coco ever tells on her.