But They Were Both Bottoms

Chapters

Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5

Chapter 1

Rarity tossed a blouse into her suitcase before frantically rushing across the room to her vanity. She yanked out one of its drawers and rifled through it. When she couldn’t find what she was looking for, amongst the sea of tubes, dishes, and trays, she whined in frustration and turned her attention to the next drawer over.

When this search proved to be equally fruitless, she glanced at the mirror, meeting coco’s gaze in its reflection.

“coco, dear, have you seen my lipstick?”

coco fiddled with the hem of her skirt. “Which one?”

“Saddlephora, ruby red?”

“Have you looked in your purse, yet? i remember that you brought it to the club last Saturday.”

Rarity’s eyes brightened as she rushed over to her dresser and grabbed her bag from a top it. She then dumped out its contents, and lo and behold, there was a tube of ruby red lipstick mixed in amongst the debris.

“Thank you, thank you, thank you, darling,” Rarity beamed, holding the tube tight against her chest. “I have no idea what I’d do without you.”

The tube went into a make-up bag, along with some blush, eyeliner, and all the make-up that a modern woman needed.

coco merely watched this from her seat upon the bed. she was quiet tonight, unusually so.

“So… how long are you going to be gone for?” she asked.

Rarity looked away from her packing. “I’ll be catching the red-eye tonight at ten. Then I’ll be gone all weekend, and return first thing Monday morning.”

coco’s expression darkened. “O-oh.”

Rarity frowned. “Are you alright?”

coco forced a smile. “Yeah, of course.”

“What did I tell you about lying?”

“i guess…” coco sighed, “i guess i’m a little nervous being home alone.”

Rarity stopped what she was doing and made her way over to the bed, settling down beside her girlfriend.

“Oh coco, I’m so sorry. I wish I could’ve taken you with me but this was very last minute. My presentation was only approved at the 11th hour because of a cancellation.”

“i just wish i could be there with you.”

“I know, but…”

coco sighed. “i’m still on probation at work.”

“Would you like me to stay?” Rarity asked, cradling coco’s hand in her own.

coco looked at it and squeezed back. “No, no, definitely not. This is a great opportunity for you.”

“Are you sure?” Rarity asked, concern dripping from her voice.

“Rarity, you’ve worked so hard to get this presentation off the ground.” coco shook her head. “i’d never forgive myself if you cancelled it because i’m a little nervous about staying home alone.”

Rarity slowly nodded. “Alright, but only if you’re absolutely certain. You come before anything else in my life, my pet.”

She then got back up and returned to packing.

Even though Rarity would only be in Manehatten for three days, she was packing for at least twice that duration. Everyday would have at least two, maybe even three, functional outfits. Then along with that was her make-up, accessories, toiletries, and hair products.

coco couldn’t very well blame her. After all, she was guilty of many of the same crimes when it came to packing. Plus, Rarity was going to be giving a talk on fashion, so she better look pretty dang fashionable.

“So where are you going to be staying?” coco asked.

“Well Pride in Fashion is hosted at the Holiday Inn near the airport. So, me and Sunset will be splitting a room there.”

coco cocked a brow. “Sunset’s going?”

“Yes, she said she had a spot open in her schedule and they have some very progressive panels related to poly-stuff that interested her.”

coco wondered if Twilight would feel as lonely without her girlfriend. Probably not. There were few girls as needy as good old coco pommel.

Rarity looked over. “Is there anything you wanted me to get you as a souvenir?”

coco offered a polite smile, holding her hands in her lap. “Something from Broadway would be nice.”

“Hmm,” Rarity tapped her chin. “It’s a bit of a journey to get onto the island, but…” she nodded curtly, “anything for you, dear.”

“Thank you, Mistress.”

“Of course, of course. Is there a show you prefer?”

coco’s smile turned to a grin. “Do you even need to ask?”

“Hoofilton it is,” Rarity said with a nod.

“Ughhh you’re the worst,” coco teased, sticking out her tongue.

Rarity smirked and passed coco, kissing her on the cheek. “You love me.”

coco flushed. “S-shut up.”

“But for real, I will make sure to get something that you’ll absolutely adore.” Rarity nodded to herself before changing the subject. “So, what will you be doing for your assignment while I’m away?”

“Thirty minutes of sketching or sewing a night,” coco proudly rehearsed.

“And your bedtime?”

coco beamed. “11PM.”

“And no wild parties,” Rarity warned, wagging her finger.

Coco stiffened. “W-what i wasn’t going to…”

Rarity smirked. “I’m kidding, dear.”

She then looked back to her suitcase, nodding at a job well done before zipping it shut. It was a miracle, but she had somehow managed to cram her whole trip into a single bag like some sort of wizard.

“How about we go out for dinner tonight?” Rarity asked, returning to her purse so she could shove its contents back inside.

“That would be nice.”

“How about that sushi place on third?” Rarity asked. “How does that sound?”

That place was coco’s favourite.

So, it wasn’t surprising that she beamed at the idea. “i’d like that a lot.”

Twilight watched as the apartment door closed behind Sunset Shimmer, beginning four whole days with the place to herself.

Twilight grinned from ear to ear and quickly unclipped her bra, swiftly ripping it out through the sleeve of her T-shirt.

Four days of no bra!

Next, she unbuttoned her jeans and hopped towards the couch, shaking them off with each successive bounce. By the time she was next to her pile of folded clothes, her pants were on the floor and she was left in just her panties. Though this didn’t last long as she grabbed a pair of sweatpants and pulled them on.

Four days of sweatpants!

“Sal, please play electronica.”

The home entertainment system, Sal 9000, bleeped and the sweet sound of synthetic music thundered in through her sound system.

Four days of playing music at full blast!

A fist thundered against the wall and Twilight winced.

“Sal, please lower volume to thirty percent.”

Ok, scratch that last one. Four days of playing music at 30% blast! That is nearly as good.

Twilight then skipped towards the fridge and opened it, fishing out a can of Rockstar and cracking it open to take a nice long caffeinated sip. Which of course ended in a potent burp.

Now what the heck was she going to work on?

Programing? Nah, she could do that when Sunset was around.

Painting miniature? Hmm, maybe but she wasn’t quite feeling like doing that at the moment.

Oh! How about robotics? Potentially, but she was still waiting for some parts to come in.

You have four days to do whatever you want and you’re going to waste them on your own indecisiveness?

Suddenly, Twilight’s phone buzzed on the coffee table, drawing her attention away from her own frantic thoughts.

She quickly rushed over and scooped it up.

It was a text from coco. “Hey, how are you doing?”

“Pretty good, Sunset just left,” Twilight typed back.

“Yeah, Miss Rarity left about half an hour ago.”

“I’m sure they’re going to have tons of fun in Manehatten.” She frowned and shook her head. “Anyways, what can I do for you coco?”

“i…”

Twilight waited patiently as this single character lingered, unsupported, for a good minute or so.

Then coco continued. “i was wondering if maybe it’d be possible for me to come over for a little bit tonight.”

“Oh yeah, totally! Have you asked Rarity if it’s ok?”

“I asked before she left and Miss Rarity said i could if it was ok with you!”

“Then yeah, stop by whenever. I’ll have the apartment ready.”

“Alright, see you soon!”

With that coco logged off. At which point Twilight scanned the apartment, looking to her recently removed bra and jeans.

Oh, how she had been looking forward to a long weekend without them.

“Son of a bitch,” she grumbled under her breath.

coco looked up at the apartment door, her fingers nervously drumming against the side of the hefty purse hanging from her shoulder.

She had been here a dozen times before, but never alone. No, usually she had Rarity here to take charge, make the introductions, and set the mood for the evening.

Then just do what Miss Rarity would do…

coco cautiously lifted a hand and rapped it against the door.

Knock. Knock. Knock.

Then she waited.

she heard lumbered steps on the other side as a figure nosily stumbled towards her. she tensed and her grip on the bag tightened. There was no way those steps belonged to Twilight Sparkle. They sound far heavier and much more masculine than what she was used to.

Oh gods, oh gods, oh gods!

Metal ground against metal as a lock was noisily turned and then a chain tingled as the secondary one was removed.

The door then opened to reveal a rather large man in an even larger tracksuit. He looked down upon coco, frowned, and cocked a brow.

“What do you want, tovarish?” he asked in a heavy eastern accent.

A bead of sweat formed on coco’s brow. “i… i think… i think might have the wrong address. This isn’t Twilight Sparkle’s place… is it?”

The frown instantly turned to a smile. “Oh! You know, Twilight!”

coco grinned nervously. “Y-yeah.”

“She is a very nice girl. She helped me fix my DVD player when it was on the fritz.”

“That sounds like her.”

“Her and her ‘roommate’…” He made very exaggerated air quotes. “Are very nice. Always pay their rent on time, never complain, and never bother me with repairs. Though… they do get a bit noisy at times.” He chuckled and shook his head. “But who isn’t when they’re in their twenties, right?”

coco chuckled along with him. “Yeah, right.”

He poked his head into the hallway and pointed further down. “They live in unit 351, this is unit 315.”

“Thank you so much, Mister…?”

“Mister Cossack, though that was my father. You may call me Earthen.”

Earthen Cossack, that was the most hardcore name coco had heard in awhile. Felt like something pulled right out of Trotstoy.

“Well thank you so much Mister… Earthen! Thank you very much, Earthen.”

“No problem, Miss…”

“coco. coco pommel.”

“Thank you, coco. And if you ever need place to stay, let Sunset know. I will make sure to get you the best apartment I have.”

coco bowed. “You are far too kind.”

With that she beat a hasty retreat, hearing the door close in her wake.

she quickly walked down the apartment’s dirty hall, finally reaching her destination, unit 351.

she knocked upon this door far more confidently than before.

“It’s unlocked,” a familiar voice called.

coco let out a breath, she hadn’t realized she’d been holding, and stepped into the flat.

The first thing that hit her was the sound of sizzling, followed immediately by the inviting scent of teriyaki and other stir fry ingredients.

Her gaze shifted towards the apartment’s little kitchen nook. Inside was Twilight who was currently hovering over a skillet and stirring its contents.

“Hey coco,” Twilight said as she looked over and offered a warm smile.

coco carefully placed her bag upon the entryway table. “Hey Twilight.”

“I hope you don’t mind but I kind of lost track of time. So, it’s going to be a pretty late dinner.”

coco shook her head. “No, no, it’s perfectly fine. i actually already ate.”

“Oh?” Twilight frowned. “What did you have?”

“Sushi from that little restaurant on third.”

“Oh wow! I love that place.”

coco grinned. “me too.”

“They make the best Fillydelphia rolls in the city,” Twilight said before shaking her head “Where are my manners. Can I get you anything to drink?”

“Some water would be nice.”

Twilight nodded and adjusted the stove before sliding over to the cupboards and grabbing a glass.

“So, is there something you wanted to talk about?” Twilight asked as she filled it with water.

“Oh no, not really.”

Twilight cocked a brow and walked over, holding out coco’s drink. “Come on coco, spill the beans.”

“W-what beans?” coco asked, accepting Twilight’s offer and taking a cautious sip.

“Rarity has made you a terrible liar.”

coco sighed. “i guess i’m feeling a little bit lonely tonight.”

“Because Rarity went on her trip?”

“Yeah, it’s my first time being alone since we’ve been a couple. The apartment feels kind of… empty.”

“That’s totally understandable, humans are social creatures. It’s an evolutionary need to want to have company.”

“Evolutionary?” coco asked, looking at her glass.

Twilight nodded and return to the skillet. “Cheetahs have speed, cows developed complex stomach systems, and moose are walking tanks. However, humans evolved to use communication and community as our means of survival. We thrive as a collective. You get me?”

Not really.

“Yeah totally.”

Twilight returned to stirring her meal, though her gaze shifted from coco towards the bag on her chair.

“You packed quite a bit,” she commented.

coco’s cheeks warmed. “i was… going to drop off some designs at the studio tomorrow but then i realized i could probably do it on my way back home tonight.”

Twilight cocked a brow. She obviously wasn’t buying it.

coco winced. “Ok, ok, i was wondering if i could possibly stay the night with you?”

Twilight stepped towards coco and threw her arms around her in a tight hug. “Of course, you’re welcome to stay as long as you want.”

coco returned the hug and closed her eyes. “Thank you so much, Twilight.”

Twilight broke away and smirked. “After all, we’ve fucked before. So, it’s not like having you over for the night is anymore boundary breaking than that.”

coco’s cheek burned bright red. “Y-yeah, right?”

“Do you want to share a bed?”

“That’d be nice,” coco said, allowing herself a small smile.

Twilight grinned. “Oh, this is going to be so much fun. I haven’t had a sleepover in… well since High School.”

There was a poofing sound and coco looked over Twilight’s shoulder, her eyes bulging in alarm. The skillet was now belching red hot flames and a toxic black smoke which rapidly spilled out into the apartment.

“Uh, Twilight…”

“What?”

The fire alarm went off.

Twilight expression dropped and she glanced over her shoulder before looking back and pursing her lips.

“Oh.”

coco yawned, stretching her arms above her head. “i think it’s about time that i got ready for bed.”

Twilight looked over at the clock, noticing that it was only a few minutes past ten.

“Do you have work in the morning or something?” she asked.

“Oh no, i don’t have to show up at the studio until around four.”

“Then why are you going to bed so early? We could just stay up and chill or play some video games or something.”

“It’s actually getting pretty close to my bedtime,” coco admitted, biting her lip.

“Bedtime?” Twilight cocked a brow. “Aren’t you a little old for a bedtime?”

coco’s cheeks warmed. “Well… i mean… Miss Rarity wants me to be in bed by eleven.”

“She gave you a bedtime?”

coco blinked and looked absolutely dumbfounded. “Doesn’t Sunset do the same for you?”

“No?”

“Oh… sorry! I thought you two had signed a contract and stuff.”

“Yeah, but like that stuff only applies when we’re in scene.”

“OH! I’m so sorry, I thought you two were doing a twenty-four/seven type of arrangement.”

Twilight shook her head. “Nah, we just do this for fun…” She flushed. “And because it’s extremely hot.”

A silence settled between them.

“So…” Twilight continued. “Why did Rarity give you a bedtime?”

coco toyed with the draw string of her collar. “I used to not be very good at taking care of myself. i would uh… stay up all night working on projects and sleep really late into the afternoon. So, after me and Rarity started getting serious, we made it our first goal to try and fix my sleep schedule.”

Twilight frowned. She didn’t like to think about it but that kind of sounded like something she was dealing with. If Sunset didn’t drag her to bed it wasn’t uncommon for her to work long into the night on her homework, or doing her readings, or playing video games.

She chuckled nervously. “And it works?”

“i never wake up later than nine in the morning anymore.”

When’s the last time you’ve been up that early?

“Huh…” Twilight murmured.

coco got up. “Anyways, i’m going to go take a quick shower before getting ready for bed.”

Twilight blew air into her cheek. She wasn’t tired but something coco said made her think. Maybe she should try setting a bedtime for herself. After all, having a proper sleep schedule for a nine-to-five would only make her more employable after school was finished.

And if she couldn’t manage to adhere to a bedtime herself?

Well, then maybe she’d just have to talk to Sunset about helping her out.

She realized that coco had said something, that had gone right over her head. So, she quickly shook her head and snapped back to the moment.

“Did you say something?” she asked.

“i said, do you need to use the washroom before i shower?”

“Oh… uh… no.” Twilight motioned towards her. “I think I’ll join you after this show.”

coco flushed. “In the shower?”

Twilight blushed and waved her hands. “No, no, no. I meant… I meant in bed.”

“Ohhhhh…” coco looked to side, fidgeting slightly. “i mean… you’re welcome to join me in the shower.” her cheeks warmed and she coyly rubbed her arm. “If you want…”

Twilight blinked and flicked her gaze between the TV and the beautiful girl standing in front of her. The choice was a no brainer as she quickly snatched up her remote and turned off the TV.

It was a re-run anyways.

Author's Note

I always knew that I wanted to do more with this series than just write extremely hot porn. I hope y'all enjoy this little deviation in the series' direction.

Discord/Ko-Fi/Patreon/Twitter

Chapter 2

Twilight was not a morning person.

She usually fought the day kicking and screaming, refusing to budge until the back-up, to her back-up alarms, was blaring. Something which Sunset just absolutely loved.

However, today was different. Today her eyes fluttered open and for once she didn’t despise the sunlight which edged into her room.

She blinked, clearing the sleep from her vision.

The spot next to her was empty. coco must’ve already been up.

Twilight found herself missing the company. It was rare that she ever got to be the big spoon. It was honestly a pretty refreshing change of pace.

She sat up slowly, looking over at her alarm clock.

Eight in the morning, a whole two hours before her first alarm was set to go off.

She reached over and flicked it off before climbing out of bed.

Have you ever felt this refreshed?

Honestly, she couldn’t recall a time she’d felt this good about waking up.

Maybe coco was actually onto something here.

Twilight shook her head. She was a grown woman and she didn’t need a bedtime.

Still she couldn’t deny the results. Maybe a self-imposed and rigid… sleep schedule could be beneficial. It was definitely something to consider.

Slowly, she became more and more awake. That’s when she heard a very familiar sizzle below her and Sunset’s ‘bedroom’. She sniffed the air, testing it, pleased to be greeted by the delicious smell of pancakes.

“coco?” Twilight called.

“I’m down here,” she called back.

Twilight walked over to the edge of the ‘room’, looking out upon her apartment. Light flooded in through its east facing windows. It was unusually pretty, as everything just seemed to magically twinkle in the sunrise.

How the heck have I not noticed this before?

She looked over the edge and right down at coco.

coco was dressed in her bedtime attire, a pair of cute panties and a plain white T-shirt. Not really the peak of fashion, but hey, what Rarity didn’t see, wouldn’t hurt anyone.

“What are you cooking?” Twilight asked, drumming her fingers against the banister.

coco looked up and smiled. “i’m uh… making blueberry pancakes. i hope you don’t mind.”

“Oh noooo…” Twilight rolled her eyes. “A beautiful girl is making me breakfast. Whatever will I do?” She yawned and stretched her arms above her head, popping an especially stiff joint in her shoulder. “Though, I didn’t know we even had pancake mix.”

“You do. i found it in the back of your cupboard…” coco cleared her throat. “Next to a rather interesting assortment of herbs.”

Twilight chuckled nervously. “Yeah… that’s uh… it’s a friend’s… it’s Rainbow’s!”

coco smirked “Mhm, and i’m a cop.”

Twilight pushed away from the railing and walked down the stairs, into the main living quarters of her and Sunset’s studio.

“Do you cook breakfast often?” she asked.

coco nodded. “Miss Rarity has me do it three times a week.”

“As part of…”

“Of my contract?” coco asked, flipping a pancake.

“Yeah.”

“Three breakfasts and three dinners a week,” coco stated, motioning with her spatula. “Then she does a couple herself and the rest is just easy boxed meals.”

“Huh.”

Twilight went over to the fridge and grabbed a carton of almond milk.

“So, what’s your plans for today?” she asked.

“Well, make breakfast, get dressed, get a few personal things done, and then head to work at around three-ish?”

“Are they putting on a production tonight?”

coco nodded. “It’s going to be our first show we’ve done where they’re actually planning to use some of my designs.”

Twilight grinned. “Congrats, coco.”

coco flushed. “It’s only a couple of characters, nothing major.”

“Still that’s pretty impressive. It’s nice to see that you’re actually getting somewhere with your diploma. I know the industry isn’t easy to break into.”

coco nodded slowly. “You and Sunset should come see it sometime?”

“Is it still that really gay musical?”

“Yes, but we made it gayer. The new director is enby and they added a whole bunch of new stuff to it. It’s practically a brand-new show.”

“We’ll have to see it sometime, then,” Twilight said as she poured herself a glass of milk and took a sip. “How much are tickets?”

“Do you honestly think i’d charge a friend?” coco asked, smiling.

Twilight snorted. “And do you honestly think me and Sunset aren’t going to financially support ours?”

coco pursed her lips and nodded. “Fair.”

she flipped the pancakes out of the pan, adding them to a small stack on a plate next to the stove. Once the tower was topped off, she turned off the element and put the frying pan in the sink.

“How about you?” coco asked. “You have any big plans for today?”

“Well I have a coding project due Monday that I should probably get finished with. Beside that…” Twilight shrugged. “Probably play some video games, see if the girls are up to anything.”

coco grabbed two plates from the cupboard and split the pancakes between them.

“How many years do you have left?” coco asked.

“Hopefully, I’ll be done by the end of this one.”

“You must be excited?”

Twilight shrugged. “To be completely honest, I’m actually a little terrified. The job market isn’t what it used to be.”

coco offered a plate to Twilight who graciously accepted it. Her eyes brightening at the sight of coco’s hard work.

Holy shit, these pancakes were utterly perfect. Like a real-world version of something a restaurant would use for an advertisement campaign.

“How did you get these so perfect?” Twilight asked, snatching up the maple syrup and drizzling it over top.

coco bowed her head humbly. “Lots of practice. Lots and lots of practice.”

Sunset would probably love pancakes like these.

Twilight could imagine it now. Her waking up to the smell. The smile on her face when she was presented with them. It was a pretty appealing fantasy.

Then Twilight’s mind immediately dived into the gutter as she imagined Sunset grabbing her by the collar and force her fingers down her…

She flushed.

Not the time and place, Twilight.

She cleared her throat as she noticed coco staring at her redden complexion, and took a seat at the apartment’s enamel-topped island. “When will you be back in tonight?”

coco hummed. “I don’t know, the show usually ends around eight, so… maybe around eight-thirty, nine-ish. That is, if you want me to stay another night?”

Twilight beamed. “Of course, it was nice having you over. You’re not the only one who gets kind of lonely on their own.”

“Did you have something in mind?”

“I was wondering if you wanted to watch a movie tonight?”

coco bit her lip. “I don’t know. I think that’d be kind of cutting it pretty close to eleven.”

“It’s a Friday.”

“A bedtime is a bedtime.”

“Maybe you could ask for an extension?”

coco nervously rubbed her arm. “i guess i could try… but no promises.”

Twilight nodded and turned her attention towards the pancakes, letting the matter drop for now.

The pencil glided along the artbook’s paper, drawing a slender line upon the page. This connected with several other lines to create the frame of an individual. Upon this frame rested the outline of a new design, a costume for a period piece set nearly two thousand years ago.

The figure was nothing more than a figment of a person, but it was a figment clad in mighty armour with a proud helmet adorned with horse hair resting upon its mannequin-like head.

“What are you working on?” Twilight asked.

coco looked across the table at Twilight, who was busy typing away at her own project.

“Umm, creating a costume for a play that I really want to work on,” she said. “How about you?”

Twilight hummed. “Trying to get this thing to run. I’m having absolutely no luck and can’t figure out what the fuck is going on.” She growled and got up. “I need to take a break.”

coco watched as Twilight moved towards the fridge. she then returned her attention to her own work, switching pencils to begin shading. The previously colourless armour now took on the grey of a well-polished steel.

The design wasn’t half bad, if coco said so herself.

“How about you?” Twilight asked. “You’ve been at that for like half-an-hour now.”

coco shook her head. “it’s only been twenty-eight minutes. I’ll take a break in two more.”

“Thirty minutes exactly?”

“It’s how long Miss Rarity wants me to work on my assignments for.”

“Assignments?” Twilight asked, cocking a brow.

“Everyday she wants me to perform certain tasks,” coco said with rehearsed ease, “And while she’s gone, she’s instructed me to work on my designs for at least half an hour a day.”

“Huh? Is that a twenty-four/seven kind of deal?”

“It can be.” coco nodded. “Miss Rarity thought it would give me some focus and help instill some productive habits.”

“And?”

coco looked up. “It worked wonders. Most of the time i don’t even notice the half-an-hour go by. Now, it’s not uncommon for Miss Rarity to have to pull me away from something because i’ve been at it for two or three hours straight.”

she looked back at her design and switched over to a red pencil crayon, using it to colour in the helmet’s horse hair. This warrior was getting more and more fearsome with each passing second. she even added a few splotches of blood to really solidify his intimidation.

When she looked back up, she noticed that Twilight was still looking in the fridge. Though she now seemed kind of lost, aimless even.

“Are you alright?” coco asked.

Twilight tensed and pulled back with a can of diet Coke. “Yeah, yeah, sorry i was just thinking is all.”

“About what?”

“How often I loss focus while working on a project… like…” She gestured to her computer. “I’ve been working on this, on and off, for about two weeks now. I just… always bail on it when it gets too frustrating. I don’t know, I used to be so motivated with this stuff but I guess I kind of lack that passion now.”

“Have you tried talking to Sunset about it?”

Twilight nodded. “She thinks I’m just getting burnt out on academia.”

“And?”

“I don’t think that’s the case.” Twilight shook her head. “I love learning, I just don’t love learning this anymore.”

“I think it’s surprisingly common to regret your degree,” coco said.

“But to regret it four years in?” Twilight sighed. “I can’t bail on it now.” She nervously drummed her fingers against the can. “Maybe what I need is some help with keeping myself focused.” She cracked a nervous smile. “It seems to be working wonders with you?”

“You’ve been bringing up twenty-four/seven stuff a lot since i got here.”

Twilight nodded. “I guess you’re just proof of how well it can work.”

coco chuckled. “It’s not all sunshine and rainbows, Twi.”

“Oh yeah?”

“i literally have to do all the dishes, all the time. You have no idea how many we go through in a single day.”

Twilight frowned. “Huh.”

“And don’t even get me started on what i have to do when Rarity is feeling dramatic.”

“I can imagine that’d be a bit of an ordeal.”

coco stuck out her tongue. “You’d be surprised by how many late night ice cream runs i’ve had to do since me and Rarity started dating.”

Suddenly, coco’s phones rumbled, vibrating against Twilight’s dinner table.

coco reached for it and noticed that it was a text from Miss Rarity.

Yes, coco’s phone did in fact say ‘Miss Rarity’, and yes, her texts also had a very special ring tone. One which made coco sit up a little straighter and caused her pulse to quicken. This was a noise which preceded both a lot of rewards and punishments.

Thankfully this was one of the former.

You may.

That’s all Miss Rarity’s text said. Though it was in a reply to a request from coco to extend her bedtime for movie night.

Twilight looked up from her laptop. “Who is it?”

“Miss Rarity.”

Twilight beamed. “And?”

“She says that i can stay up a couple hours later for movie night.”

“Nice! I know just the thing to watch.”

“Oh, what is it?”

“It’s… a surprise.” Twilight smiled. “Something to look forward to after you get off work.”

coco grinned. “i can’t wait.”

Twilight absent-mindedly toyed with her hair as she chatted on the phone with Sunset, curling it around her forefinger. This was a habit she’d had since she started developing a crush on her and not even dating the girl seemed to make it stop.

“So, how’s Manehatten?” she asked.

“Absolutely amazing,” Sunset responded.

“What have you and Rarity been up to so far?”

“Well we did a bit of sightseeing, walked Central Park, got some pizza, and did a little bit of shopping on fifth avenue.” Twilight could practically hear the shrug. “You know standard tourist stuff.”

Twilight snorted. “Rarity only did a little bit of shopping?”

Sunset chuckled. “I managed to help her show a little self-control.”

“She stole my credit card!” Rarity shouted loud enough for Twilight to hear, causing her to snicker.

“I returned it!” Sunset shouted back.

“Only after we got back to our room!”

Twilight shook her head. “How’s the convention?”

“Really great,” Sunset said. “Went to a couple of panels, prowled the booths, you know standard convention stuff.”

“When is Rarity’s?”

“Tomorrow, sometime in afternoon.” Sunset sighed. “I’d tell you when but I think I lost my con booklet.”

Rarity laughed. “Again?”

“You’ll have to livestream it for us or something,” Twilight said.

“I’ll see what I can do,” Sunset replied.

“So…” Twilight pursed her lips. “Did you meet any cute girls?”

“None cuter than you.”

The line was cheesy.

It still made Twilight blush. “S-shut up.”

Sunset chuckled. “Works every time.”

“But for real…”

There was a moment of silence. Then Sunset cleared her throat. “I may have seen a couple of girls that made me really glad to be gay.”

Twilight grinned. “Thinking about doing any con hook ups?”

“Phh, nah. None of them even seem that interested in me, to be completely honest.”

Twilight heard Rarity bark a single note of laughter. “You’re such a liar. You practically had to beat them off with a stick.”

“It’s not my fault! It’s like they can sense I’m a top or something.”

Rarity laughed loudly. “Like that’s really so hard, Miss Plaid and Biceps.”

“Shut up!”

“So, are you going to have some con sex, or what?” Twilight asked.

“Well me and Rarity are sharing a room.”

“And a bed!” Rarity added.

“But we prefer to call it bible studies. You know, keep it on the downlow.”

Rarity snorted loud enough to be heard. “We’re very passionately going over those verses! Isn’t that right, Sunset?”

Twilight could hear Sunset chuckle and mutter something under her breath.

“Well keep me posted on your… studies,” Twilight said.

“Will do, hun. Love you.”

“Love you too, babe.”

With that the line went dead.

Twilight shook her head and returned her attention to the dinner she’d been working on. It wasn’t much, considering that she didn’t really cook all that often. However, she tried her best to be a courtesy host for coco.

Tonight’s dinner was just some simple cold cuts, bread, and cheeses. All of which were picked up from a local artesian deli.

I bet coco cooks some really nice meals for Rarity. Why don’t you do the same for Sunset?

She shook her head. coco was right, she really did have twenty-four/seven stuck on her mind.

The appeal of it was all very understandable. However, Twilight really didn’t need that kind of lifestyle.

…

Did she?

Let’s take a tally of your life. You don’t have a job, you sleep until noon, and you’re stuck in an academic rut…

Yeah maybe you do need a bit of an attitude adjustment.

Twilight chuckled and rolled her eyes.

You need an academic advisor not a twenty-four/seven domme. Let’s be honest here.

Then she promptly frowned.

Of course…

Her mind couldn’t help but turn to sex. And as those thought came to the forefront of her attention, her cheeks brighten.

The idea of Sunset just approaching her, the smolder in her eyes as she took control and put Twilight so seamlessly in her place. Being turned into a mindless little…

There was a knock at the apartment door, saving Twilight from her own overactive imagination.

“It’s locked!” Twilight squawked, then quickly realized what she said. “I MEANT UNLOCKED! IT’S UNLOCKED!”

There was a pause at the door as this information took a moment to compute, then the knob slowly turned.

coco lumbered into the apartment, looking absolutely dead upon her feet. she discarded her jacket upon the coatrack, with little regard, and her purse was merely dropped on the floor.

Twilight winced. “Long day?”

coco nodded. “Uh huh…”

“Do you need a drink?”

“Water… water would be nice.”

Twilight quickly moved to the cupboard. “Are you sure you don’t want like a beer or something?” She noticed coco stick out her tongue in disgust. “Or wine? We have plenty of wine.”

“I can’t drink wine…” coco said.

“Because you’re twenty-four/seven?”

coco waved her hand and snorted. “No, because i’m trans. Alcohol and HRT don’t go well together.”

Twilight mentally facepalmed. She probably should’ve known that.

“Water it is then,” she said.

As Twilight poured the glass, she held her gaze on coco. “Want to talk about it?”

coco walked into the living room and slumped against Twilight’s sofa, sinking into it. she groaned in frustration and massaged her forehead between her forefinger and thumb.

“It’s just… some people can be such fricking idiots at time.”

Ouch. Stronger words had never been spoken.

Twilight stifled her laughter as she made her way over, bearing a glass of water.

“What happened?”

“Alright so, one of the costumes which was vital to a third act song, mysteriously went missing at the beginning of the show. So, in a frenzy they had me quickly throw together something to replace it. Now, the original took me twenty hours to design, craft, and sew. I had three to finish its replacement. Three measly hours before that dress had to be on stage.” She shook her head and growled. “It was a frickin’ disaster. It looked absolutely terrible.”

“What happened to the original?” Twilight asked.

coco laughed. It was a bitter sounding hackle. “The lead actress borrowed it for her date and forgot to bring it back.”

“Is she going to get in trouble?” Twilight asked, taking a seat next to coco.

“Probably not,” coco grumbled. “Because the director and her are having sex. She probably borrowed it for their date.”

Twilight offered coco the glass of water. she gladly accepted it, taking a gentle sip.

coco shook her head. “i’m sorry… you shouldn’t have to listen to me vent.”

Twilight carefully draped an arm over coco’s shoulder. “Shhhh… don’t talk like that. I’m your friend, coco. If I’m not here to listen to you vent then what good am I?”

coco smiled and leaned against Twilight. “Thanks, Twi.”

“Hey, any time.” She motioned to the kitchen. “Are you hungry?”

coco nodded slowly. “Starving. i didn’t have time to eat at work.”

“Alright, well I bought us a whole bunch of cold cuts and stuff. I hope that’s okay?”

coco smiled. “It sounds perfect.”

“Open the pod bay doors, HAL,” the woman on screen said.

coco shuffled in her seat, gently readjusting against Twilight. The two of them were snuggling on the couch.

Twilight was acting as the bigger spoon, allowing coco to nestle against her. One of Twilight’s arms was draped over coco’s abdomen, squeezing her gently. The other was underneath coco, allowing her to place a pillow against her shoulder, which coco rested her head upon.

As coco looked up at her, she noticed that Twilight was utterly engrossed by the film. Her eyes were wide, her jaw slightly slackened, and her gaze unbroken and locked on the TV.

Meanwhile, coco found the film rather hit and miss. The acting was solid but the story was confusing to a mind which didn’t dabble too often in sci-fi. coco hadn’t even heard the term ‘hard science fiction’ until Twilight had mentioned it while describing this film.

Still, coco was nothing but a people pleaser, so she caved at Twilight request and here they were.

“Why isn’t the robot letting her back in?” coco asked.

Twilight blinked, her gaze flicking to coco. “Uh, the robot has another mission on file which is conflicting with it’s publicly known objectives. So, to protect this secret mission it needs to do away with the humans who threaten it.”

“Isn’t there like laws of robotics or something? I remember watching a robot movie about that.”

“Well HAL isn’t a robot,” Twilight explained. “Plus, that was Iron Soul and not Ganymede Rising.”

“HAL’s not a robot?”

Twilight shook her head. “He’s an artificial intelligence.”

“Oh, of course…”

coco had no idea what the difference was but Twilight’s matter-of-factly tone had made it sound as obvious as night and day. So, coco accepted that as an answer.

“It’ll all get explained by the end, I promise,” Twilight said.

coco nodded and reached for the bucket of popcorn nestled against her stomach. she picked up a kernel and tossed it into her mouth.

A second later, Twilight’s arm moved across her body before she delved into the bucket herself, grabbing a few pieces to eat.

This was nice. coco was glad that Rarity allowed her to stay up past her bedtime. This movie was exactly what she needed after the hellday that her job had put her through.

Of course, at the thought of that, she felt a knot of frustration tighten within her gut, as her blood began to rapidly cool.

Twilight’s arm settled back into place and she squeezed coco again. This instantly warmed her back up to what was deemed normal for mammals and made the worst of her frustrations bubble away with a gentle little cooing.

“Everything alright?” Twilight asked.

coco flushed. “Huh, what makes you think something’s wrong?”

“You got really tense there for a second.”

coco sighed. “Just still thinking about today.”

Twilight reached over and gently ran her fingers through coco’s hair, softly caressing it. “I’m so sorry, hun.”

“Did you just…” coco looked over. “Did you just call me hun?”

Twilight flushed. “Well, yes…I uh…um…” She cleared her throat. “I’m sorry, I won’t do it again.”

“No, no, no, i liked it. It was very cute.”

coco leaned over and gave Twilight a little peck on the nose, etching out an adorable little squeak from her.

“You know, Rarity warned me about something,” coco said, grinning playfully

“What’s that?” Twilight asked, glancing down at her new found hun.

“She said that you were a bit of a dork.”

Twilight frowned and stuck out her tongue. “Jerk.”

coco snickered softly and turned her attention back to the film.

“You know something’s been bugging me,” she said.

“What’s that?”

coco tilted her chin towards the screen. “Is the captain gal, played by Spitfire?”

“It’s her mom actually.”

“Huh.”

“Yeah she was apparently kind of a big deal back in the 70s and 80s.” Twilight munched on a kernel of popcorn. “Though, things apparently kind of went downhill after she turned down a role in Star Wars.”

“Apple doesn’t fall far from the tree,” coco commented.

Twilight cocked a brow. “Spitfire acts?”

“She’s testing the waters. i heard she got the role as Daring Doo in the upcoming movie.”

“No way.”

“That’s what my connection in the costume department said.”

coco glanced up and noticed that Twilight’s eyes were practically twinkling.

“Are you a fan of Daring Doo?” she asked.

“It’s probably my favourite fiction series in the entire world.”

“Huh… i didn’t take you for much of a fiction reader.”

“Oh, I’m not, but Daring Doo is my one exception. It uh… it holds a pretty special place in my heart.”

“Oh?”

Twilight nodded. “Back when I was a kid, I was really close with my brother. I didn’t have many friends.” She rolled her eyes. “Shocker, right?” She then sighed. “Anyways, one summer he decides to try and enroll with the royal cadets, which meant that I’d be losing my only friend for probably a good long while. However, before he left, he bought me the first Daring Doo book as a going away present.”

coco couldn’t help but grin at the story. “Oh my gods, that’s so sweet.”

Twilight chuckled. “Yeah he’s… he’s kind of a big softy.”

“i wish i had… well i wish i had siblings.”

“Only child?”

coco nodded. “Mom said she didn’t want to go through labour again. Something about me being nine-pounds, all of it in my head.”

Twilight whistled. “I can understand her position on that.”

“Yeah no, i couldn’t imagine going through that.” coco shook her head and looked back to the TV. “i’m so sorry, i’m distracting you from the movie.”

Twilight chuckled and kissed her on the neck. Her lips were soft and warm, gently caressing her skin. A warm breath soon rolled across, sending a pleasant shiver up coco’s spine.

“It’s fine,” Twilight said. “I’ve seen it a hundred times before.”

“Why did you pick it then?” coco asked.

“Because it’s… it’s one of my favourite films and I wanted to share it with you.”

“Oh,” coco cooed, garnering another kiss from Twilight.

Twilight smiled. “When I was a kid, I watched it with my dad. So, you know, mixed in with some really good memories.”

“Aw, that’s so sweet.”

When coco looked over, she noticed that Twilight was nervously biting her lip.

“Do you like it?” Twilight asked.

“It’s very…” coco clicked her tongue against the roof of her mouth, searching for the right wording. “It’s interesting but i’m… having a bit of trouble understanding some of the science-y things.”

“Yeah, Ganymede Rising was a very technical writer and the director was known to be a perfectionist with a fetish for realism.”

coco nodded.

“Don’t worry,” Twilight said. “It all gets cleared up in the final act.”

coco didn’t even make it to the final act.

she had tried her very best, but her body was not used to staying up this late. So slowly, but surely, she lost her battle with her heavy eyelids as they eventually snapped shut and she was overcome by sleep.

By the time Twilight noticed, it was too late.

If she wanted to get off this couch, she was going to need to wake coco.

She looked from coco, to the bedroom plateau, and then back at coco again.

It just wasn’t in her heart to disturb such a restful sleeper. Especially one who looked so adorable, her expression peaceful and chest rising and falling in shallow puffs.

So, Twilight turned off the TV and asked her robot to shut off the lights. And once she closed her eyes, she was out within a matter of minutes.

Author's Note

If i accidentally capitalize coco's anything make sure to let me know. English is hard and its even harder to unlearn it. :P

Been told that i should probably mention that trans woman can drink and coco is both a) a little misinformed (trans woman can have little a drink) and b) she is cautious.

Discord/Ko-Fi/Patreon/Twitter

Chapter 3

coco came crashing back to the world, jerking awake in a cold sweat. The muffled panic of a yelp was bottled up in her throat, threatening to tear loose. she was shaking, terror stricken, tremors coursing throughout her.

her tear-stained eyes shot open as she was greeted by nothing but the poorly lit interior of an apartment that wasn’t her own. This only strengthened her anxieties, feeding into the fears nestled in the back of her mind. The ones which threatened to consume her whole. A rational voice would’ve calmed her but at this moment she had fallen to feral instincts, wanting nothing more than to lash out and survive.

However, she felt arms around her. Arms which held her close to a warm and familiar body.

This calmed her, just enough, that her mind was able to exert itself, reminding her where she was. This was Twilight’s apartment. They were sleeping on her sofa and Twilight was the one holding her.

coco was safe, Twilight was a friend.

she felt the raw fear begin to drain away, as warmth slowly returned to her shivering form.

Gods, she hated nightmares.

coco closed her eyes again but knew this was futile. There was no going back to bed after a nightmare like that. A nightmare that was more real than any had the right to be.

she held out for a good couple of minutes before she growled in frustration, finally admitting to herself that sleep was next to impossible.

“Stupid anxiety,” she mumbled to herself.

With the hope of sleep now fleeting, coco began to carefully ease herself out of Twilight’s grip. she carefully grabbed her wrist and began to gently move her arm to the side. Thankfully, coco’s touch was delicate and Twilight didn’t even shuffle or murmur as her appendage was moved.

As soon as that was out of the way, coco ever so carefully rolled off the sofa and landed softly upon the floor, hardly making any noise.

Now, what was she going to do to kill time until morning? Sunset and Twilight’s flat was an open studio. This meant that any light would likely illuminate the whole space and risk waking the girl sleeping on the couch.

Think creatively, coco.

her gaze fell upon the curtains that covered the apartment’s generous windows. The white light of a full moon lapped at their base.

Bingo.

coco carefully tiptoed over to the dining room table and grabbed her notebook and pencils. If nothing else, she could get a little bit of work done.

she then crept towards the window and peeled the drapes aside, inspecting what was behind them. Thankfully, there was a sizable ledge along the windowsill, with just enough space for coco to wedge herself into.

her roost wasn’t the most comfortable place she’d ever rested, but it felt snug and secure. Plus, the moonlight was a nice addition. There weren’t any neighbouring buildings that were as tall as Sunset’s apartment block, so she had a fairly unrestricted view of the night sky.

Something Twilight apparently took advantage of, because coco noticed she had a telescope upon her balcony.

her attention flicked back to her notebook.

What to doodle, what to doodle?

Maybe something for Twilight? A gift to thank her for being such a great host?

Nightmare Night was pretty close, and costume design was literally coco’s job. So, she was pretty sure she could throw together something pretty awesome for her friend.

So, that’s what she got started on.

her idea was to create a costume based on last night’s movie. After all, Twilight had mentioned that it was one of her favourites.

she made some pretty good initial progress, sketching out a frame with ease. However, things began to slow as she got to the substance of the design. her heart was in this project, but her mind was somewhere else.

It was back with her nightmare, caught up in it like a fly within a spider’s web of bad memories and terrible times.

coco sighed and shook her head.

she hadn’t even thought about bringing her dream journal, so she flipped to the next page in her notebook. That would have to do for now.

It’d been a while since she’d written one of these. she thought that being with Rarity had put her nightmare days behind her.

First things first.

Why do you think you’re having these nightmares?

Stress from work, paired with homesickness and missing Rarity.

Gods that sounded kind of pathetic. It’d been what, three days since Rarity left? And coco was already acting like an abandoned puppy.

Still, she let the answer remain. After all, it was the truth.

Who/What was the antagonist?

Suri…

There was the sound of movement coming from the living room, followed immediately by a tired grumble. “coco? Are you there?”

coco quickly closed her book and peeled back the curtain. “i’m sorry. Did i wake you up?”

“No, no, I was…” Twilight sat up and stretched, causing multiple joints to pop. “Nnnnn. I was just about to use the washroom.”

coco nodded and watched Twilight get up and walk across her apartment.

Once the bathroom door closed, she went back to her book.

Suri…

What was there to write about that hadn’t already occupied a hundred entries before?

coco scribbled out the name and tried again.

i was back with Suri.

A painful but effective start.

Across the apartment a toilet flushed, and a moment later, Twilight lumbered back into the room.

“So, why are you up?” she asked.

coco shook her head. “Bad dream.”

Twilight quickly walked over and pulled back the drapes. When coco looked up, she saw just how concerned Twilight seemed.

A pang of guilt hit coco at having caused that expression.

“Do you want to talk about it?” Twilight asked.

coco slowly closed her book. “Sure.”

Twilight gestured to the ledge. “Mind if I…”

coco slid over and patted the spot beside her.

Twilight then sat down and gently draped an arm over coco’s shoulder, using it to hold her close. “So… uh… what happened in it?”

“I was back with Suri…” coco said.

“Suri?” Twilight asked, tilting her head to the side.

coco nearly laughed. she forgot that some people had not heard of her infamous ex.

“She was my, uh… my girlfriend before i met Rarity.”

Twilight squeezed her a little bit tighter. It wasn’t quite the same as if Rarity did it, but it was a perfectly acceptable substitution.

“I see,” Twilight said. “Was she…?”

Abusive.

The words didn’t need to be said aloud.

“Yes,” coco sniffled.

she could feel tears in her eyes, one of them drawing a hot streak across her complexion.

All these years later and Suri was still making her cry. she felt stupid for letting that happen. Suri shouldn’t have been worth that reaction. Suri shouldn’t still hold that much power over her.

Suri was dirt. She was swine.

coco gritted her teeth and closed her eyes. A second tear drew a darkened streak across her cheek. However, these two were enough to open the floodgates. Now there was nothing to stem the flow of tears.

Twilight embraced her a little tighter, gently kissing her on the cheek.

“Everything’s going to be ok, hun,” Twilight whispered. “I won’t ever let her hurt you again.”

coco trusted those words, and with them, she was able to slowly claw back control of herself. her sobs slowly weakened, transitioning into a series of shaky, hiccupping breaths. It took a few moments, but once she felt back in control of her emotions, she opened her eyes and dabbed at them with the palm of her hand.

“I’m so sorry that happened to you, coco,” Twilight said.

“I-it’s not your fault.”

Twilight kissed her again, softly peppering her face with a bunch of soft little kisses. Her grip never waned as she held coco close.

coco felt… secure in her grip, safe. It was comforting to have her there.

A few more minutes passed with nothing said between them. coco merely stared out the window as Twilight continued to gently caress and kiss her.

“Do you want to see something cool?” Twilight finally asked.

coco nodded slowly. “Sure, what is it?”

Twilight pulled away as she stood up. “Come on, it’s out on the balcony.”

coco’s gaze quickly flicked to the telescope as she followed after Twilight.

Together the two of them went outside.

It was a little chilly this morning, as the last vestiges of summer seemed on the horizon. However, coco didn’t mind the chill in the air, nor the dampness of the morning dew in the first crisp breath she took.

As predicted, Twilight walked over to the telescope. “What do you know about stargazing?”

coco chuckled softly. “What do you know about dressmaking?”

Twilight smiled and let out a single note of amusement. “Fair enough. I’ve always had a bit of a thing for it. I’d try and get out every couple of days to check out some of the regular things. Even if the city isn’t super great for it.”

“What’s wrong with the city?” coco asked.

Twilight gestured towards the downtown core, which was a bright beacon of neon and various lights. “Light pollution.” When coco didn’t respond, Twilight went on. “Pretty much the glow from the city makes it really hard to see some of the dimmer stars, even if you have a telescope. But that’s not going to be a problem for what we have planned tonight.”

“And what are we doing?”

“You’re in for a treat,” Twilight said. “Jupiter is at its brightest this time of year.”

coco could only imagine that was good, judging by Twilight’s excitable reaction.

Twilight leaned into her telescope and began to carefully move it a fraction of an inch at a time. When she landed upon the spot she wanted, her smile widened and she began to fiddle with some dials, turning them half a degree every once in a while.

She stuck out her tongue in concentration and coco wouldn’t so much as dare disturb her.

Finally, Twilight let out a pleased little note of contentment. “And there we go.”

She drew back and gestured for coco to come over.

coco stepped closer and bent over the telescope, pressing her eye against the eyepiece.

her breath was instantly taken away.

What she saw was an orb constructed from various bands of vibrant orange. The bright material swirled together upon the planet’s surface to create a beautiful mosaic. Amongst the southern half of this masterpiece was a bright red dot which looked like an angry, yet gorgeous blemish.

coco knew of that dot, as even she’d heard of the Great Red Spot of Jupiter before. However, to see it in person was something else entirely.

she noticed two specks of black hovering over the surface, making her brow furrow as she attempted to focus her gaze upon them.

“What are those?” coco asked absentmindedly, mostly talking to herself.

“What is what?” Twilight responded.

“There’s two black dots,” coco said. “Is there something wrong with your telescope?” She froze, feeling her blood instantly chill. “D-did i break it?”

Twilight chuckled. “No, no, you didn’t break it. Those are probably just Ganymede and Europa, if I had to take a guess.”

“What are those?”

“Moons of Jupiter,” Twilight said, setting a hand on coco’s shoulder.

“Huh.”

coco brightened as she realized something. “Wait a second. Jupiter was in that movie we watched last night, wasn’t it?”

Twilight nodded. “That’s where Discovery One was heading.”

“It’s so beautiful.”

“I thought you might like it.”

coco watched Jupiter for a few more moments, however it failed to alter at all during her investigation. So, she drew back and looked up at Twilight.

“That was amazing,” she said.

Twilight grinned. “Glad you liked it.”

“Is… is there anything else we can check out?”

Twilight turned her gaze towards the night sky, studying it. “Hmmm.”

coco frowned. “There isn’t, is there?”

Twilight chuckled and shook her head. “No, no, no, there’s plenty. I’m just trying to think of what the best thing to show off is.” She snapped her fingers. “I got it! How about we check out Mars next?”

Twilight cracked open the tab on her energy drink, taking a nice long pull from it. It might’ve been a placebo effect but the second the overwhelmingly sweet drink touched her tongue, she felt revitalized.

It turned out that spending the night watching the sky wasn’t exactly the best thing someone could do for their sleep schedule. She’d pay for it tonight, but for now she was going to rely upon a potent mixture of coffee and Rockstar to get her through the day.

With her mind now cleared and buzzing with caffeine, she turned her attention back to the task at hand, trying to figure out a way to get through to Rarity’s panel.

Let’s see, let’s see. Was the panel being livestreamed?

She searched the event’s website and discovered that it was not being livestreamed, though all panels would be recorded and uploaded to Youtube in six month’s time.

Twilight grinned.

This was a way in.

In the background, bacon sizzled, filling the apartment with the rich scent of breakfast. It made her mouth water.

Twilight momentarily looked away from her screen and towards coco, who was busy in the kitchen.

“How are you feeling?” Twilight asked.

coco looked over and offered a tired smile. “Exhausted.”

Twilight chuckled. “Well, you were up pretty late past your bedtime last night.”

“i-” coco paused as her lips parted in a long, drawn-out yawn. “i know.”

she gestured towards Twilight with her spatula. “Have you found out how to watch Miss Rarity’s panel yet?”

Twilight grinned as she opened Tor. “Yeah, but it’s going to take a bit of finagling.”

“What do you mean?”

There was a glare reflected off of Twilight’s glasses as she adjusted them. “I’m going to hack the camera in the conference room and broadcast it for us.”

“That sounds… illegal.”

“It’s only illegal if you get caught.”

“That sounds very un-Twilight of you,” coco muttered.

Twilight chuckled. “My doppelganger is Little Miss Law Abiding Citizen. I’m less lawful good, and more neutral good.”

coco cocked a brow before turning away and shaking her head. “Wouldn’t it just be easier if we got Sunset to record it on her phone while we’re in a call or something?”

“Yeah, but this will be way better quality.”

Twilight took another sip of caffeine to shore up her fingers before she got to work. First things first, she used a backchannel VPN to get the hotel’s IP address, then she used that in conjunction with a trojan to attempt a breakthrough…

The screen flashed red as Twilight jerked back.

“Mother of god…”

That wasn’t a firewall, it was a fire-fortress.

coco looked over, looking more than a little concerned. “Why is your screen flashing red?”

Twilight chuckled nervously. “Uh, nothing, got this absolutely one hundred percent under control.”

Another sip of Rockstar preceded a rapid series of commands. Her trojan attempted to venture in and deposit her packets but every time it was isolated and wiped out by the defensive programming.

Why the hell did this conference have such a good firewall.

As the obviousness of it hit, Twilight slapped her forehead.

You idiot, this is a queer conference. It’s crawling with trans coders. This wasn’t the juniors, Sparkle.

Twilight gritted her teeth as she abandoned the subtle approach. Her stealthy trojan was replaced by a jackhammer as she attempted to brute force the Berlin Wall of code that was denying her.

However, by the time any meaningful damage was done, the program would quickly repair itself, shoring up its defences. All the while her computer was clocking in at a CPU usage in the high-90s, making her keyboard hot and GPU even hotter.

She couldn’t keep this up for long.

coco walked over and peered over Twilight’s shoulder. “That doesn’t look good.”

Twilight rapidly nodded as she realized that this was a trap. The conference’s defensive programs were now outflanking her and pushing into her own computer. These bots were vicious, tearing through her own firewall like it was papier-mâché

This was bad. This was bad. This was bad.

She attempted, what Rainbow Dash would call in her baseball terms, a Hail Mary.

Her CPU, GPU, RAM, and even her sound card, were pushed to their max as she attempted to pile through.

Her arrow of code zoomed through cyberspace and impacted the firewall with the digital equivalent of a small thermonuclear bomb. However, as the virtual dust settled, it was revealed that it had merely bounced off, like a stone against a steel shield.

Twilight’s screen then darkened, as a single line of text was displayed.

“0w0, what is this? A hacker?”

Then her computer shut off.

Twilight blinked once, twice, then closed her eyes.

“Sooooo…” coco began, placing her hand on Twilight’s shoulder. “Should i call Sunset and ask her to record it on her phone?”

Twilight nodded slowly. “Yeah, that’d probably be the best option.”

coco nodded and rushed back to the kitchen. “I’ll do that right after breakfast.”

coco cuddled up to Twilight, resting her tired head against her shoulder.

Together, the two of them watched TV, as she had hooked it up to watch Sunset’s livestream

It was a bit rough to watch, as Twilight had predicted. The quality was poor, the sound a little choppy, and Sunset had this annoying habit of jostling her phone every couple of seconds. But still, it was a perfectly functional stream.

Currently, the stage within the conference hall was empty. However, the panel seemed to attract quite a bit of an audience. If coco had to guess, she’d say that somewhere between fifty and eighty people were in that room.

Many of them trans, most of them were woman, and all were queer. This meant that it was a good crowd.

The murmur of the room died down as Miss Rarity took the stage. And by the gods, she had dressed for the occasion.

She stood before the room wearing one of the flagship pieces of her soon to be revealed fall lineup. The bottom half was a pair of skinny jeans which she had designed using inspirations from Gait. Then her upper body was adorned in a white tight-fitted blouse, coloured with tie-dyed streaks of pink and blue, dressing her up in what was effectively a very fashionable trans flag.

Along with her outfit, she had also gone the full nine yards in terms of jewellery, accessories, and make-up. Her skin glowed, her necklace sparkled, her earrings twinkled, and her hair didn’t have so much as a single strand out of place. It must’ve taken her hours to get it all right, but in the end, there wasn’t a single flaw upon Miss Rarity’s body. Not one.

The room seemed to agree, as they were left absolutely speechless. Twilight and coco joined them in their silence, both of their jaws nearly upon the floor in awe.

Miss Rarity smirked at the room as she walked back and forth across the stage, treating it like it was her own personal catwalk.

Once she finished flaunting her design, she made her way over to the podium and stood behind it.

“You may now pick your jaws up off the floor,” she said, offering a coy smile.

The room chuckled and Miss Rarity went on. “My name is Rarity, and I am a fashion designer from Canterlot who recently graduated from the University of Canterlot’s school of business. I currently own a small boutique within the city and specialize in designing women’s clothing.”

An image came up on the screen behind Rarity, showing off the familiar sight of a little hole-in-the-wall shop located in a trendy neighbourhood.

“Now, if my shirt didn’t make it painfully obvious, I am a trans woman and have been on HRT since I was sixteen. I am also very bisexual and extremely polyamorous. In fact, one of my partners, Sunset Shimmer…”

She gestured to Sunset, causing her to wave the phone, sending coco and Twilight through a bout of vertigo.

“…is here with us today. I also believe that my darling girlfriend, and fellow designer, coco pommel is watching at home along with my close friend and metamour, Twilight Sparkle.”

Twilight chuckled. “That’s us.”

coco nodded.

“Yeah they are,” Sunset said. “Twilight actually tried to hack the convention to see this.”

Twilight flushed and covered her face with coco’s hair. “Nooooooo.”

“Wait, your metamour tried that?!” someone from behind Sunset shouted.

Sunset turned to face a rather peeved looking woman behind a bank of computers. She had cream coloured skin, pink hair, and a pair of glasses which made her golden glare all the more intense.

Sunset chuckled nervously. “Yeah, heh… heh…”

The phone rapidly turned back to the stage.

Rarity cleared her throat. “Anyways, for this panel I would just like to talk about my experience with trans health care, why I got into fashion, my journey as a trans woman in the fashion industry, how I attempt to design my fashion to be trans-inclusive, and if time allows, maybe do a Q and A where I can give some tips and tricks to people who are perhaps struggling a little bit to get their look perfected.”

Twilight groaned from behind coco’s hair. “They’re all going to think I’m a dork.”

coco gently nuzzled Twilight’s cheek. “Oh Twilight…” she coyly smirked. “At least it’ll save them the google search?”

“Et tu, pommel?”

Twilight came out of the bathroom, waltzing across the apartment in her finest ensemble.

Tonight’s design was a classy little burgundy cocktail dress. The thin cotton of the hem fluttered around her knees with each purposeful stride she took.

She rested one hand upon her hip as the other motioned back and forth with each step.

A beautiful silver necklace hung from around her neck with a fiery pearl of glass in the middle. A design of orange, red, and yellow formed within the bead, giving off the impression of a fiery sun.

To those with no previous knowledge of her or Sunset, it looked like a beautiful piece of costume jewelry. To those with a bit more knowledge, they’d know it as Sunset’s cutie mark, a beautiful tribute to the woman Twilight promised herself to. Finally, there were her closest friends, those who really knew what this was.

It was a collar. A really beautiful and stealthy collar, but one nonetheless. This was a symbol of commitment, loyalty, ownership, power, love, and all manner of lesser concepts rolled into a single piece of coloured glass that was scarcely larger than a thumbprint. Most importantly, however, it was a mark of Sunset Shimmer which was affixed to Twilight’s body.

Wasn’t symbolism just the best!

Beyond her dress and collar, Twilight also wore a pair of short heels which matched the rich colour of her dress nicely. Her strides in them were a bit wobbly but she didn’t seem in any danger of keeling over.

She had come a long way since her klutzy days in grade twelve, that was for sure.

Meanwhile, her usual ponytail had been abandoned, replaced by a tight little bun held in place by a jeweled hairband. The various midnight blue gemstones sparkled, even in the apartment’s less than stellar lighting.

As Twilight stepped into the centre of the room, a thunderous applause greeted her. This was all the more impressive, considering that coco was the only other person present.

“You look awesome, Twi,” she said.

Twilight warmed at the comment, grinning nervously. “you really think so?”

coco nodded. “That dress, those heels, the little bit of colour from your collar. It all blends together really nicely. i’m sure even Miss Rarity would be jealous.”

“Is there anything extra you think I could add to make it look even better?”

“Well, what are you wearing it for?” coco asked, tilting her head to the side, sizing her up from a different angle.

Twilight rocked back and forth. “I’m hoping to surprise Sunset for our anniversary.”

“Anniversary for just you two, or all three of you?”

“Just the two of us. It’s going to be our… gosh… fourth year together in November?”

coco beamed. “That’s so awesome.” she then steeled her expression. “Well if that’s the case, we should focus on accenting your attire with gifts she’s gotten for you over the years. You’re already off to a great start with your collar but… do you have any rings or bracelets?”

Twilight nodded. “She bought me a really cute bracelet on our first date. It’s this cheap little plastic thing that’s coloured like the bi-flag. I know it sounds kind of silly but I used to wear that thing pretty much every day.”

coco smirked. “Nothing that gives you a good memory is cheap.”

“Did Rarity say that?”

coco shook her head. “i stole that one from a character in my play.”

“So, you think I should wear it?”

“Totally, she’ll notice it in a heartbeat and be really touched.”

“Anything else?”

“Well, you can always do quite a bit of accessorizing with a handbag. Tell me, do you own any…”

“I don’t own any purses,” Twilight interrupted.

coco balked. “Not even one?”

Twilight nervously rubbed her arm. “I kinda just shove everything into my computer satchel and haul that around with me.”

“Well then, we need to buy you a purse. Tell me, what’s your opinion on cashmere?”

Twilight frowned. “It sounds expensive.”

“Hmmm… fair enough.” coco suddenly beamed, snapping her fingers. “Though i’m sure we can find something for you.”

Twilight chuckled nervously. “How about we save that for some other time? It’s like eight at night and our anniversary isn’t until November anyways.”

coco’s smile downturned ever so slightly. “Fair enough.”

Twilight stepped over to the couch and plopped down beside her guest, draping an arm over her shoulder.

“So, that was really awesome seeing Rarity do that panel,” she said.

coco nodded eagerly “She was incredible. i don’t think i’ve ever seen her so in the zone before. It was like that was her natural environment or something.”

Twilight smirked. “Talking about herself or fashion?”

coco chuckled. “Both, i guess?”

“It was interesting.” Twilight looked down at her own outfit and hummed to herself. “Think I took her advice to heart?”

coco nodded. “Cute hairstyle, a simple dress which is fitted to your body type, a matching pair of shoes with a reasonable heel length, and jewelry which accents the dress nicely? Yeah, i think Rarity would give you a passing grade.”

Twilight’s gaze narrowed. “Only a passing grade?”

“Okay fine, i’m sure you’re in the B+ range.”

coco now bore a shit-eating grin.

“I am so ratting you out to Rarity,” Twilight teased.

coco stuck out her tongue. “What? i’m not breaking any rules!”

“Oh?” Twilight adopted her own mischievous grin. “And do you think she’d be impressed with your attitude as a house guest?”

“You love it!”

Twilight was silent for a moment, pouting out her lower lip.

“Fair enough,” she grumbled.

coco smiled softly and leaned against Twilight, resting her head upon her shoulder. she then reached over, placing a hand on top of Twilight’s own and giving it a little squeeze.

Twilight froze, looking at coco’s hand. She pondered its presence for only a moment before smiling softly and carefully lacing her fingers between coco’s own.

The two of them remained silent for a few moments, gently holding onto one another.

“I was thinking…” Twilight said, finally breaking the silence.

“About what?”

“you and I… We’ve never actually been on a date before, have we?”

coco nodded. “And?”

“I mean… we’ve slept together and we’ve… done a lot more than sleep together.”

Twilight could feel coco warm at the comment.

“And…” Twilight paused for a moment. “And I think that maybe it’s about time that we had, like, an actual date? Like nothing serious. Maybe just get some lunch or something?”

coco nodded. “i’d like that a lot. Maybe we could go to the Exchange, grab a quick bite, and then do some shopping afterwards.”

“When would you like to do that?”

“Maybe we could do it tomorrow?” coco asked, squeezing Twilight’s hand. “i mean, unless you’re busy.”

Twilight chuckled. “Well… I have been dealing with someone crashing at my place.”

“she sounds absolutely dreadful,” coco teased, sticking out her tongue.

“I wouldn’t go that far.”

“Oh?”

Twilight smirked. “Yeah, she has some redeeming qualities.”

coco grinned. “Like what?”

“she cooks, she makes for some good conversations, helps me accessorize, and…”

coco kissed her on the cheek. “And?”

Twilight grinned from ear to ear before whispering into coco’s ear. “she eats me out like a fucking champ.”

coco quickly shot back, covering her burning face. “Oh my gods! You’re as bad as Sunset!”

Author's Note

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Chapter 4

The Exchange was Canterlot’s premier shopping district, filled with a mixture of trendy boutiques, niche restaurants, shops that had been there for generations, and anything that could not survive an existence in the desolate suburbs.

It was a place that Twilight vaguely knew of, though she had only ever visited one store within its confines. This was Rarity’s boutique, which her and coco passed as they ventured the brightly coloured and lively streets.

There was a sign in the door, stating that the shop would be closed until Tuesday, with an apology to prospective shoppers and appointments that needed to be rescheduled.

The Exchange was also a neighbourhood that Twilight could tell was only a couple years away from losing its indie stature, as she noticed that pretty much every single one of the old buildings was in a state of renovation, with plenty of adverts talking about exciting new condos and trendy office spaces.

Still, coco seemed to really be enjoying herself, holding Twilight’s hand and leading the way with a sense of familiarity. This was coco’s dominion and she would prove to be a faithful guide.

“So, what type of food are you feeling?” she asked, glancing over her shoulder at Twilight.

Twilight shrugged, looking around at the various shops that promised her all sorts of culinary, fashion, and artistic experiences that she could’ve only dream of. “What’s around here?”

coco hummed. “Well you have the Grazing Pastures, which is a vegan place that a few of my cast members said is really good.”

Twilight took note of the name, figuring that the place might be nice for her and Sunset’s next date night, at the very least.

“There’s also Fo-Kue-Up which is a Vietnamese place that specializes in making really spicy dishes,” coco said.

“How spicy are we talking?” Twilight asked, grinning to herself.

She might’ve had a thing for spicy food.

“Well me and Blossomforth went once and pretty much everything on the menu had at least three chili peppers next to it.”

“And did you like it?” Twilight asked.

coco nervously rubbed her arm. “i uh… i was glad that Blossomforth liked it?”

Twilight frowned and came to a stop. “coco what type of food do you want to eat?”

“i uh…” coco grinned sheepishly. “i don’t really know? i don’t usually make these kinds of decisions.”

“Well… what type of food do you like?” Twilight asked, gently squeezing coco’s hand.

coco shook her head slowly. “Usually whatever Miss Rarity picks?”

“And if Miss Rarity isn’t around?”

“i… don’t know.” coco’s frown deepened, looking very much like a lost puppy. “i’ve never been in a situation like this before. She’s never been away for this long.”

Twilight nodded.

Think Sparkle, think. If you were a sub…

Well… you are a sub.

If I was a sub at this moment, what would be the best course of action for my Dom to take?

An idea clicked and Twilight smiled.

“coco,” she said, using her other hand to lightly touch the girl’s cheek. “Look at me.”

coco turned towards her, looking her right in the eye. The poor dear did look a little overwhelmed.

I should probably just pick a place to eat, it’d be easier.

Except, easy wasn’t always the right course of action to take when dealing with something like this.

“Miss Rarity isn’t here,” Twilight calmly stated.

coco flushed, trying to look away. “i-i know…”

Twilight used her hand to force coco’s gaze back to her own. She briefly looked around, ensuring that no one else in the immediate area was watching them. Bystanders could make what she was about to do difficult.

“That means,” Twilight continued. “That it’s my job to take care of you today. Do you understand?”

coco’s cheeks warmed. “Pardon?”

“For today, I’m going to be your Miss Rarity.” Twilight smirked. “A Miss Twilight if you would.”

coco bit her lip and once again tried to look away, something which Twilight gently corrected for.

“Well i mean only if you’re comfortable with the idea,” coco whispered.

Twilight smirked. “I am. But as Miss Twilight, you know what I’m going to do?”

She slid her hand away from coco’s cheek and instead traced it down to her day collar, gently touching that little symbol of ownership.

“What?” coco asked.

“I’m going to order you to pick a place to eat. And I will be most disappointed if you pick a place that you won’t enjoy fully.”

coco was silent for a moment, obviously mulling over the request. “Well… how do you feel about Greek food?”

“How do you feel about Greek food?” Twilight replied, her coy smile never faltering.

“i think…” coco began, once again needing to be corrected so her gaze didn’t fall away. “i think i could go for some right about now.”

Twilight nodded and motioned passed her. “Then lead the way.”

The restaurant they approached was a fusion of the neighbourhoods’ personalities. It was both trendy and also an anchor of the neighbourhood, having been there since the early 2000s.

It was called Gay Gyros and had two flags in the windows, one belonging to the gay community and the other to a Hellenic Republic across the ocean.

coco led the way inside and was instantly greeted by the wonderful spell of Mediterranean cuisine with all its spices, herbs, and frying meats.

The shop was laid out with a counter at the back with two very flamboyant individuals working behind it, dressed in bright clothes and looking like the textbook definition of a bear and twink. Behind them were various spits with rotating meat upon them.

“Have you ever had Greek Food before?” coco asked.

Twilight nodded, offering a warm smile. “Yeah, I love it.”

coco let out an internal sigh of relief.

she didn’t want to admit it, but even after Twilight’s explicit orders, she had still tried to pick a place that Twilight would enjoy. And well, Greek food felt safe. It had vegetarian and omnivore options, tasted good, and was affordable. What more could a soon to be graduate and young professional want?

They approached the counter, hand-in-hand, gaining the attention of the two men behind it.

The bear grinned from ear to ear. “Oh, it does my heart good seeing a pair of young gays in love.”

Twilight’s cheeks warmed and coco suppressed a giggle.

The twink rolled his eyes and offered a polite smile. “Ignore him, he speaks before he thinks. What can I get for you two?”

coco paled, realizing what Twilight’s decision meant.

she would have to order for herself, something she had not done since… high school? Maybe even earlier.

she swallowed a lump in her throat as Twilight spoke. “I’ll have a beef gyro, with hot sauce, tzatziki, french fries, and feta, with a side of pasta salad and a diet coke please.”

Twilight then glanced at coco and waited.

coco swallowed the lump in her throat, trying to figure out what she wanted. There were just so many options and she had no idea which of them was best for her.

For a long moment, there was dead silence, which just made things worse, until finally a solution presented itself.

“i’ll have the same,” she said, barely louder than a whisper.

The bear grinned. “First date jitters?”

“Something like that,” Twilight said, offering a sheepish grin.

“Well if you’re already holding hands then I’m sure everything is going to go great,” the twink joked before nodding to the seating area. “Just take a seat and we’ll bring it out to you.”

Twilight nodded and squeezed coco’s hand, leading her over to a spot near the window. As they sat down, Twilight looked across the table at her.

“Is everything alright?” she asked. “you kind of just froze up back there.”

“Sorry about that, i just… it’s been a while since i actually had to order food for myself.” coco chuckled nervously and rubbed at her arm. “i’m a bit of a disaster if you couldn’t tell.”

Twilight frowned. “Does Rarity always order for you?”

coco nodded. “Honestly, she knows what i like better than myself.”

This only seemed to make Twilight’s frown grow increasingly dire. “Does she let you make any decisions for yourself? No offense but this kind of sounds a little uh… controlling to me.” She winced. “Sorry, sorry, I shouldn’t have… I… let’s just forget I said anything, okay?”

“It’s not really Rarity’s fault,” coco explained, glancing at the counter where the two cooks worked on assembling their meals. The bear offered a warm smile and a small wave, which she returned before looking back at Twilight. “It’s kind of a holdover from my previous relationship. i…” she sighed. “Suri didn’t really let me make a whole lot of decisions. And well, Rarity is kind of still picking up the pieces from that whole disaster.” Her expression tightened. “If you think this is bad, you should’ve seen what i was like two years ago.”

Twilight bit her lip. “I see.” She sighed softly and reached across the table, lightly squeezing coco’s hand. “I’m probably the worst at first date discussions, aren’t I?”

coco snickered and squeezed back. “It’s fine. i’m not particularly great at them either.”

“So…” Twilight pursed her lips, trying to find something safer to discuss. “Where are we off to after this?”

“You’re going to make me choose?” coco teased. “i thought we just established that i’m terrible at making choices.”

“Oh, we did. But when it comes down to it, I have absolutely no idea where to go purse shopping in this neighbourhood.” Twilight shrugged. “I respect that you’re a sub but you’re still the subject matter expert I’m afraid.”

“Oh, are my ears burning?” the bear asked, as he approached with a plate in each hand. “I’m surprised I haven’t seen either of you around in the scene before.”

Twilight’s face burned bright red and coco could feel that same hue colour her own complexion.

“Well… I… uh…” Twilight stammered, her eyes wide like a deer in the headlights.

The twink snorted from behind the counter. “Is that really a polite question to be asking customers, Cataphract?”

“You never let me have any fun,” Cataphract grumbled, rolling his eyes with extra exaggeration as he motioned towards his husband. “Can you believe this guy.”

The twink smirked. “I’m just trying to keep your ass out of a lawsuit, honey.”

“Fine, fine.” He waved his hand and took a step back. “You two enjoy your meal now.”

Both coco and Twilight were stunned silent, staring at one another in utter disbelief at the exchange that had just taken place.

Like, had that really just happened?

They stayed like for but a moment until Twilight broke the silence by cracking open her diet coke and taking a nice hefty sip.

“So…” she began, drawing in a breath, “purse stores?”

coco blinked, snapping back to the moment and its immediate pressing concerns. “Well, there aren’t any stores that just sell purses in this neighbourhood. Though there are a few accessory shops that Miss Rarity would recommend. Of those, i think that Sandalwood Cove is my favourite. Beyond that…” she hummed, taping her chin. “I know that Ruby gets some pretty affordable stock in. Plus, if we’re feeling a little rebellious, we can…” she bit her lip. “We can try out some local thrift stores. Miss Rarity frowns upon going to them, but in a neighbourhood this trendy, you can actually find some pretty good stuff.”

Twilight nodded. “Well, I’ll follow your advice, babe.”

Babe.

No one had ever called coco ‘babe’ before.

She actually kind of liked it.

“Is everything okay?” Twilight asked.

coco nodded quickly, realizing she’d zoned out again. “Yeah, yeah, sorry, just lost my train of thought for a second.”

Twilight smirked and started to unwrap her gyro. “Was ‘babe’ a bit too much?”

“No, no, no,” coco waved her hands. “i liked it a lot.”

“Well babe,” Twilight said, really emphasizing the babe as she pointed at coco with her wrap. “We can’t go shopping if you’re not going to touch your food.”

coco blinked until she remembered that she also had a plate in front of her.

“How is it?” she asked.

Twilight took a bite and moaned, chewing through it quickly. “Why don’t you find out?”

coco nodded and did just that.

It turned out…

Greek food was a really good idea.

Twilight immediately found herself liking the look of Sandalwood Cove. The façade was painted a vibrant ocean blue with a sign hanging over the glass door bearing the boutique’s name. It was made of sandalwood, which shouldn’t have been surprising, and bore various tropical creatures and foliage carved into the design.

The mannequins in the window were dressed in bathing suits with all manner of jewelry sprinkled over them. There was enough sparkling metal on their persons to make even a pirate jealous.

She stepped inside, with coco in her wake, and breathed in through her nose. Even though they were in the heart of Canterlot, the store still smelled like the beach as if the owner had imported the very scent from abroad.

“This is amazing,” Twilight said, looking around at everything the store had to offer.

coco nodded. “It does have a very nice atmosphere, doesn’t it?”

The place had a lot to look at, while still managing not to be overly cluttered. Most of the space was made up of display cases with jewelry inside, though a few racks, bearing scarves, purses, and other accessories, were also present.

Twilight felt herself drawn to one of the display cases, looking in upon a vast collection of rings and bracelets. What caught her eye was an ebony ring with some Cambrian fossil as its centrepiece.

“Can I help you find anything?” an oddly familiar voice chirped.

Twilight looked up and immediately jerked back. “Sugarcoat?”

Any softness in that voice was suddenly absent as the other woman forced a smile. “Sparkle?”

“What are you doing here?” Twilight blurted out

Sugarcoat blinked, looking absolutely dumbfounded. “I… work here?” She then noticed the person standing in Twilight’s shadow. “Oh hey, coco, I didn’t know you and Twilight knew each other.”

coco grinned. “And i didn’t know you and Twilight knew each other either.”

“Yeah,” Twilight said, feeling some clarity return. “Yeah, me and her used to go to Crystal Prep together.” She then beamed. “Speaking of which, how were things after I left?”

Sugarcoat shrugged. “I have no idea. I was forced to drop out about a month after you left.”

Twilight’s eyes widened. “What?”

Sugarcoat leaned over one of the display cases, resting her elbow against the edge and then placing her chin into the palm of her hand. “Turns out that my dad’s investment firm was running a Ponzi Scheme and he got busted by the feds. He’s now locked up in Tartarus.” She snorted. “Dude was an asshole but he was an asshole with money.”

“I’m really sorry to hear that,” Twilight said.

Sugarcoat waved her off. “Don’t even worry about it. Getting out of that hellhole of a school was probably the best thing to ever happen to my mental health.” She offered a tight smile. “I’m now at Canterlot University and working here to make end’s meet. Also, no pressure,” she added, flashing a predatory grin, “but I’m paid in commissions.”

coco grinned nervously, glancing at the display case and then at Twilight. “Do you see any rings that you like?”

Twilight nodded, pressing her finger against the glass and leaving behind a fingerprint. This earned her a sharp glare from Sugarcoat. Though thankfully, Twilight was oblivious to it.

“This one looks really nice,” she said. “I kind of like the fossil. It gives it this kind of…” she taped her finger against the glass, searching for the right wording, “organic vibe?”

Sugarcoat smirked, pulling out the ring. “You know what fossil this is?”

Twilight snorted. “A trilobite. You can find those things pretty much anywhere.”

“So, what are you up to these days?” Sugarcoat asked. “We haven’t talked in… well ever… but we survived that hellhole of a prep school together, so clearly we must have something to bond over.”

She handed Twilight the ring, who then slipped it onto her finger.

Twilight really liked how it looked on her, finding that the ebony material worked well with her purplish flesh. That is, until she glanced at the little price tag dangling from it. It was pricey enough to make her cringe and second guess herself but not so pricy that she wasn’t willing to splurge. After all, she rarely spent money on herself.

Twilight nodded. “Well… I finished up high school at Canterlot High, made a bunch of awesome friends, most of them turned into girlfriends…”

“Oh shit, are you poly?” Sugarcoat asked. “Never would’ve pegged you as that kind of girl.”

Twilight nodded. “When you have so many close friends, it only makes senses that you start dating them all at once. It can get a bit hectic at times but I feel like I’m better for it.”

“So are you and coco…”

coco grinned, grabbing Twilight’s arm and leaning over to look at the ring. “This is our first date actually.” She then looked up at Twilight and smiled warmly. “This looks really good on you.”

“Doesn’t it?” Twilight asked, mesmerized by the design.

“So, what are you in university for?” Sugarcoat asked.

“Computer programming,” Twilight said, carefully taking the ring off and handing it to Sugarcoat. “I think I’ll take this one.”

Sugarcoat nodded and made her way over to the small cashier station set up at the rear of the shop. She began to very carefully wrap the ring in a thin paper and then place it in the fanciest cardboard box Twilight had ever seen.

“Computer programming?” she asked, looking up at Twilight and bearing a coy smirk. “Dang didn’t go into the sciences or medicine? Are you selling out on us?”

Twilight chuckled. “I mean kind of? I don’t know… the six-figure salary with a bachelors felt like a pretty good deal in my opinion.” She shrugged. “No reason I can’t go back after I’ve saved up for a couple years, right?”

She did not mention how she was feeling pretty listless, now that she was four years into her program. After all, it was a non-issue, just a few jitters before graduating in the spring.

All of this would remedy itself, if given time. She was sure of it.

…

Right?

“Are you looking for anything else?” Sugarcoat asked.

coco leaned forwards, still clinging to Twilight’s arm. “We actually came here looking for a purse. Twilight needs one?”

“Like a new one?” Sugarcoat asked.

“No, like one… period.” coco sheepishly grinned. “She’s never owned one before.”

“She’s never owned a purse!” Sugarcoat gasped. “Twilight, how are you this smart but this dysfunctional.”

Twilight’s cheeks warmed. “I don’t know! I just… I just shoved everything I needed into my computer bag. It’s like a purse but more functional and I get to put stickers and pins all over it and stuff.”

“Well do you haul around a computer bag during your dates?” Sugarcoat asked, as if that was the most absurd thing imaginable.

Twilight bit her lip. “No comment.”

“How many girlfriends do you have?” Sugarcoat asked, deadpanning.

coco snickered. “Seven.”

Sugarcoat shook her head in utter disbelief. “You have seven girlfriends and you’ve been bringing a computer bag on dates? You’re lucky that you’re hot and smart because that shit would not fly otherwise.”

This did not help tame the heat in Twilight’s complexion in the slightest. “Err… pardon?”

Sugarcoat blinked. “What?”

“Did you just call me hot?” Twilight asked.

“Oh yeah,” Sugarcoat replied. “Pretty much everyone at Crystal Prep had a massive crush on you back when we were all there. I mean, at least in our immediate friend group anyways. Did you not know?”

Twilight was silent, hoping that not answering would stop the heat in her face from spreading.

“Well I don’t blame you,” Sugarcoat went on. “We were all pretty shitty high schoolers who were really bad at handling the whole healthily displaying our emotions thing. Especially at that school.” She huffed and then clapped her hands together. “Anyways let’s find you a purse.”

“And earn you a commission?” Twilight added, grinning.

“Damn straight!” Sugarcoat laughed. “I’m affording the flavoured ramen tonight.”

They left Sandlewood Cove a couple hundred dollar poorer but at the very least coco had ensured that Twilight finally owned a purse.

It was bulky, designed to shove everything a girl would need inside of it, including a small personal computer if Twilight finally decided to do away with her computer bag. It was made of vegan leather, which Twilight claimed was important due to the possible objections of her two vegetarian girlfriends.

Though beyond anything it was the presence of the purse that was the most important part of it. Already, Twilight seemed far more confident with it at her side, stepping forth as if she owned the world.

So where should we go now?” Twilight asked, squeezing coco’s hand.

coco shrugged. “Well is there anything else you wanted to do? i know we talked about going to a thrift store.”

Twilight bit her lip. “Well, maybe we could try and find something inexpensive to do? My wallet weeps after that last store.”

coco snickered. “i wouldn’t doubt it, you dropped quite a bit of money, babe.”

She paused for a moment, appraising how that word felt in her mouth.

It was different.

coco was so used to using terms of respect in regards to her partners that to say something so casual almost felt naughty.

Though if it was, Twilight obviously didn’t care as she leaned in and gave coco a little kiss on the cheek.

“Are there any parks around here?” she asked. “I wouldn’t mind just chilling outside for a little while.”

coco nodded. “Well, we are about half a mile away from the waterfront. There’s also Royal Park near the Capitol Building.”

“I wouldn’t mind going to the waterfront,” Twilight said. “I get to see enough stuffy old architecture when I go to school.” She paused for a moment. “I actually can’t remember. Did you go to the University of Canterlot?”

coco shook her head, tugging on Twilight’s hand to get her moving again as she led the way. “Nah, I went to a trade’s school. The same one that Rarity went to.”

“Is that how you two met?”

coco nodded. “We shared a few classes and started talking, until…” she bit her lip, looking away and hoping Twilight couldn’t sense her tension. “It’s not important, we talked and got to know each other better.”

Thankfully, Twilight either didn’t notice coco’s hesitation, or if she did, had enough mind not to comment on it. Instead, she looked around.

“Is all of downtown Canterlot this gentrified?” she asked.

“No shortage of people wanting to move back into the city,” coco said. “Though if you think this is bad, you should visit Seaddle or Manehattan.”

“I actually used to go to Seaddle for an anime convention,” Twilight commented. “Nice city. Has like a billion used bookstore.”

coco smirked. “Must’ve been paradise for you.”

“A little too rainy for my liking.”

coco was about to comment but she felt Twilight come to a stop. she looked at her and then followed her gaze to a small store nestled between two others.

It was a comic book store with a pair of flags in its windows. One was a vibrant rainbow and the other a banner with pastel pink, pastel blue, and white.

“Huh, i’ve never noticed this place before,” coco said, looking up at Twilight. “Are you a fan of comic books?”

Twilight smirked. “I did just admit that I used to go to anime conventions.”

“Fair enough.” coco squeezed Twilight’s hand and stepped towards it. “Want to check it out?”

Twilight nodded. “Yeah, I wouldn’t mind picking up the newest issue of Daring Doo and Power Ponies. Plus, this place looks way cooler than my last comic book store.”

“What was wrong with your last place?” coco asked.

“Too many dude bros, not enough queer women.”

coco snickered. “That does sound like a problem, yes.”

They stepped inside, into a pretty peaceful environment. coco had never been to a comic book store before and assumed that they were all dark and dreary but this place was well lit by the abundant street facing windows.

The front of the store was dominated by shelves, each filled with hundreds of comic books, magazines, anime books, and hardcovers that looked like thicker versions of comic books. At the rear, were more shelves, each full of gizmos, statues, and other nerdy things that coco knew little about. There were also tables back there, where two girls were playing some kind of card game that coco knew nothing about.

Twilight walked over to a shelf and coco decided to follow, lest she get lost in her sheer ignorance of things.

It was honestly all a little overwhelming.

Was this how Twilight felt when they were back at Sandalwood’s?

coco followed Twilight’s lead and started to leaf through various volumes for some hero called Captain Moose. He seemed like a pretty interesting character with his proud red uniform that bore a vibrant maple leaf. Whoever designed him must’ve had a lot of fun.

“What would you recommend?” coco asked. “To someone who doesn’t really read comic books.”

“Well what type of stuff do you like?” Twilight returned. “Comedy? Drama? Action? Sex?”

coco’s face burned. “These have sex in them?”

“Some of them,” Twilight said, smirking. “Turns out that those kids who read them back in the eighties grew up and started to get pretty horny.” She snorted. “Though most of their stuff is super boring male gaze material. Unless you go for the indie scene, of course. Speaking of…”

She moved to the side and coco followed as they approached a shelf at the very end.

coco could only imagine that this was the indie stuff that Twilight mentioned as the volumes seemed more muted and down to earth and focused less on titans and warriors.

“Hell yeah,” Twilight said. “They still have a few copies left.”

She pulled out a hardcove and handed it to coco.

There was a moose on the cover, only the moose seemed pretty human-like, standing on two legs and wearing clothes. This human-moose looked very feminine, though still had antlers which coco assumed only male moose had.

Then it hit coco.

“Is this about a trans character?” she asked.

Twilight nodded. “The artist did a webcomic chronicling her experiences transitioning. It won a bunch of online indie awards and she managed to land herself a publishing deal to get a physical edition.”

coco nodded and leafed through the pages, enjoying what she saw. It seemed, at a glance, that the comics were mostly light-hearted and bright with only the occasional serious arc, marked by colder hues and greyer colours.

“i think I’ll get this one,” coco said, flipping it over to look at the price.

she bit her lip, noting that it was a little on the expensive side. But still, she could stomach the cost if it meant supporting a queer artist.

“I wonder if they have Moonstone,” Twilight said.

coco looked up from the book. “What’s that?”

“A comic about two women in a Master/sub relationship. Also, really good, though a lot of stores are hesitant to carry it due to the subject matter. I had to order my copy online.”

coco’s cheeks warmed. “That does sound like something i’d enjoy reading.”

“Then I’ll let you borrow my copy, it doesn’t look like this place has it.” She shook her head and offered coco a warm smile. “you look a little lost, hun.”

“Just a smidge overwhelmed is all,” coco murmured, holding the book tight to her chest. “i don’t know what most of this stuff is.”

Twilight chuckled. “Now you know how I felt back at Sandalwood’s.”

They once again stepped towards the shelves full of comic books, Twilight flicking through them with surprising efficiency. It was almost like watching Miss Rarity work her way through the clearance section at a clothing store, as Twilight hummed and hawed, adding a few volumes into her free hand.

“What are they playing over there?” coco asked, her focus once again on the two woman and their card game.

Twilight looked up and followed her gaze. “Oh! That would be Magic.”

This meant almost nothing to coco.

Though thankfully Twilight sensed this. “It’s a card game where the cards represent monsters, spells, and mana. The goal is to have your deck of cards be better than your opponent’s.”

coco nodded. “i’m assuming the decks are not all the same?”

Twilight shook her head. “You buy booster packs which contain random cards. Some cards are rarer and stronger than others. It’s a lot of fun though it can become a massive money sink.” She sheepishly grinned. “I uh… I once dropped four hundred bucks on a deck.”

coco’s eyes widened. “That’s a lot of money!”

“You think that’s bad?” Twilight asked. “There are some cards that are worth that much on their own.” She sighed. “It was a lot of fun back when I used to play.”

“Why did you stop?” coco asked.

Twilight frowned. “Well I started hanging out with the girls a lot more and none of them were really interested in that type of stuff.” She shrugged, forcing a smile. “It’s no big deal really. If anything, it just saved me a whole lot of money.”

“Do you still have your decks?”

Twilight nodded. “Oh yeah, I’d never throw those bad boys away.” She turned towards the counter. “Why do you ask?”

“Oh no reason,” coco said, her gaze drifting to a shelf which had a Magic: The Gathering starter kit on it. “You just made it sound like a lot of fun is all.”

Twilight hadn’t been to the waterfront since high school and had forgotten how nice it looked. It was a long park which straddled the brownish river that cut through the city with abundant greenage and paths littered all along it.

On such a nice day, the place was full of all sorts of people.

Twilight glanced at coco and leaned over to kiss her on the cheek. “I had a lot of fun today.”

coco smiled. “me too.”

“We should totally do this again sometime,” Twilight said, leading them towards a massive tree with abundant shade that was kind of secluded from the public at large.

She sat under it, making sure to put her new purse in her lap and not upon the brownish soil.

coco looked at the spot and shed the thin coat she wore over her attire, using this to protect her skirt from stains as she sat down.

“Being poly is weird,” Twilight said, not even really thinking about it.

coco nodded. “It is.”

“I just don’t understand how everyone else can be wired toward monogamy.” Twilight motioned with her hand. “Like how was I supposed to choose between so many awesome women in my life?”

“You could’ve drawn straws,” coco offered, resting her head against Twilight.

Twilight instinctively lifted her arm, draping it over coco’s shoulder and holding her close.

“That could’ve worked,” Twilight agreed. “Though I don’t think my old mindset would’ve done well letting randomness decide. No, I probably would’ve overanalyzed everything until I drafted some huge report listing all of their pros and cons.” She giggled nervously. “Wouldn’t that be messed up if that actually happened?”

coco snickered. “Twilight, did you do that?”

“M-maybe.”

“You’re such a dork.”

“Is that a pro or a con?” Twilight asked, gently brushing her thumb against coco’s bare shoulder.

coco pursed her lips, mulling it over.

“A pro,” she finally admitted, nodding to herself. “Definitely a pro.”

They sat there in silence, watching the water flow by.

Twilight continued to hold coco close, absentmindedly stroking her with such tenderness.

“Hey Twilight?” coco asked.

Twilight looked over. “Hmmm?”

“You’re my Miss Rarity for the day, right?”

coco’s smile took on a coy and dangerous edge.

What was the girl up to?

Twilight cocked a brow. “Uh… yes? Why do you ask?”

“Does that mean…” And just like that, coco adopted a positively shit-eating grin, “you’re going to ruin me when we get back to your apartment? Just like Miss Rarity would do?"

Author's Note

Many thanks to my Patrons for allowing me to finish this project for this month's Patreon goal.

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Chapter 5

coco awoke, feeling at peace. This was the first time she felt content, waking up during Rarity’s absence. For sure, she was not at her apartment but she knew this place well, knew that it was safe, and so was the naked body holding her tight.

This was Twilight and they were at her apartment, both a person and location that coco had learned to trust.

It had been one hell of a staycation together and it was a shame that things had to come to an end so quickly.

Today, Rarity and Sunset would be returning, flying in sometime in the early afternoon.

coco was excited to see them, no doubt. she was happy to see her Mistress again, her Owner, the woman who took care of her better than anybody else.

But still…

she touched Twilight’s hand, gently tracing a finger along her soft knuckles.

But still, she was going to miss spending time with Twilight.

coco was going to miss waking up next to her every morning and getting to experience things she never would’ve had the opportunity to do without her around.

she glanced at the clock, seeing that it was a little past eight in the morning. A little past her own wake-up time, though at least an hour or two before Twilight would be joining her amongst the world of conscious beings.

At the very least, she could get some coffee ready, be useful, like Miss Rarity had taught her.

coco very carefully lifted Twilight’s arm, doing so at a snail’s pace and pausing whenever she felt the other woman stir. When she finally managed to create a gap in Twilight’s arms, she wiggled out of her embrace and slid away from the sheets.

The coolness of the apartment felt nice against her naked flesh, though she remedied her nudity quickly enough as she picked up her discarded nightgown and pulled it on.

With great care, she walked down the stairs of the ‘bedroom’ and into the apartment proper, trying her best not to make any noise. Once on the ground floor, she slipped into the kitchen nook and started to set up the coffee maker, loading it with ground beans and water.

As she pressed the button, she sighed in relief, feeling like she was doing something at least a little bit productive with her time.

While the coffee brewed, coco grabbed one of Twilight’s mugs. This one bore an image of some kind of molecule and the name of a scientific institution she’d never heard of before.

As the coffee brewed, her mind churned, trying its best to separate everything she felt into some sort of coherent narrative that she could hopefully tackle.

coco had been with plenty of Miss Rarity’s girlfriends before, though those were always strictly sexual encounters. Sure, they were all friends to coco, but were they people she actually felt affection for, people she thought a relationship with, was even a possibility?

she shook her head.

There was a short list of people like that in coco’s life, with only Miss Rarity and Suri ever occupying that position. And Suri barely even counted with the amount of baggage that monster left behind for coco to unpack and fix through years of recovery.

But coco couldn’t deny that she was feeling a lot of those things for Twilight, she was feeling a lot of that affection, respect, and love. Though with Twilight, things were different, as in her current and previous relationships, she had always occupied a submissive role. But Twilight… well it felt inappropriate to think of Twilight as a Dom, even if the girl proved to be dangerously adept at filling that roll, if her performance last night was to be believed.

coco sighed and glanced at the coffee, noticing that the pot was now full. she grabbed it and filled her mug halfway before moving over to the fridge and topping it with milk.

The best course of action would probably be to talk to Miss Rarity about it. Miss Rarity knew people better than anybody else. Plus, her Mistress was already dating Twilight, so she might know the best way to approach this topic of conversation.

coco’s ears perked up as she heard movement from the ‘bedroom’. she glanced towards it and noticed Twilight sitting up, holding the sheets close, in order to hide her nakedness.

“coco?” she whispered, fumbling around for her glasses. “Are you up?”

coco nodded, then realized that Twilight likely could not see her.

“Yeah i’m awake,” she said, taking a sip of her morning brew.

“What time is it,” Twilight murmured, finally finding her glasses and pulling them on. She then snorted in disbelief. “Are you seriously up at eight in the morning?”

coco shrugged. “That is when most people usually get up, hun. Especially on a Monday” She then smirked. “You’ll learn all about that. Trust me.”

Twilight thumped back down, onto the bed. “I refuse to learn this lesson. I’ll get hired by a company which will happily work around my night owl schedule.”

“But if you’re working nights, then when will we have time for all our play parties and stuff?” coco asked, instinctively grabbing a second mug. This one had a kitten on it. “Do you want some coffee?”

“Yes please,” Twilight grumbled before groaning under her breath. “Rarity and Sunset come back today, don’t they?”

coco nodded before once again adjusting due to Twilight being out of sight.

“Yes,” she said. “Their flight should be landing at around two in the afternoon.”

“Does that mean you have to go home?” Twilight asked, sounding quite downcast.

coco frowned. “i mean, i’d imagine that Miss Rarity would like to see me again. Plus, i’m sure that Sunset would like to spend some quality time with you.”

“I know, I know, it’s just…” Twilight sighed, “I really enjoyed the time we got to spend together, coco.”

“i did too,” coco said, filling the second mug with black coffee.

The first thing any useful sub learned was how their dominant usually drank their morning coffee. Suri took hers black, Rarity had it with one cream and half a sugar, and Twilight also took it black.

Though that was literally the only thing Suri and her had in common.

“Did you have fun last night?” coco asked, climbing back up the stairs.

Twilight snorted. “Not going to lie, it actually felt really nice being in a position of authority for once.” As coco crested the final step, she saw Twilight smirking. “you took it like a champ, babe.”

coco grinned. “No offense, but Miss Rarity knows how to dish it out a lot rougher than you.”

“Believe me,” Twilight snorted, “I’m well-aware of that.”

She sat up and held out a hand, accepting the coffee from coco and immediately taking a sip.

“That’s the good stuff,” Twilight murmured, blinking away some of the sleep in her eyes before focusing on coco. “So…”

“So…”

“Should we like… have a talk or something?” Twilight asked, focusing her attention on the mug and not coco.

So, they were going to do this now, were they? coco couldn’t very well put it off after a request like that.

coco nodded. “i think that sounds like a pretty good idea.”

she sat down upon the bed, placing her mug on the nightstand.

“i…” coco and Twilight began at the exact same time, causing them both to glance at each other and giggle.

“you first,” Twilight said.

coco shook her head. “You should go first. After all, i’m the sub in this relationship.”

Twilight frowned. “Yeah, well! I dommed last night, so I’m ordering you to go first.”

“Fine, fine.” coco snickered, shaking her head. “i… i really like you a lot Twilight and i’ve enjoyed the time we’ve spent together. And while i’ve never been poly in a romantic context, i wouldn’t mind... maybe trying to make this work once Miss Rarity is back?”

Twilight nodded, taking another sip of her coffee. “This weekend has been pretty great, hasn’t it?” She frowned. “you do know that i am dating quite a few women already, right?”

coco smirked. “Yes, i have attended the orgies before.”

This earned a tight smile from Twilight

“I do like you a lot coco,” she said. “Like a lot a lot. But you also need to realize that I will be sharing my time between school, my hobbies, you, and seven different women.” She then frowned again. “I just… I want you to know that going into this and I don’t want you to feel neglected or anything.”

coco shook her head. “i won’t. i completely understand how these kinds of relationships can be. After all, I’m already sharing Miss Rarity with you guys.”

“Fair enough,” Twilight said. “So, do you… do you want to uh…”

“Give this a shot?” coco offered.

Twilight nodded. “Yeah.”

“i’d love to, Twilight.” coco gently leaned over and touched her cheek. “How about you? Do you want to give this a shot?”

Twilight was silent for a moment before leaning towards coco and kissing her.

This proved to be an effective response.

The rest of the day passed with plenty of cuddles and the duo just chilling around the apartment until lunch. At which point, the two girls hopped on a bus and made the slow journey towards Canterlot airport.

Once there, they waited in the arrival terminal, watching as the flight from Manehattan grew closer and closer.

coco and Twilight stood close to each other. Their hands were locked together as they made idle small talk, discussing Twilight’s research and coco’s upcoming productions. As they talked, they frequently glanced up at the arrival board, eagerly waiting.

Until finally, the board flashed green, confirming that it had landed and was now being emptied.

Eventually people began to step through the gate and descend the stairs towards the luggage conveyor belts.

The two girls squeezed one another’s hands tightly as they tried to catch a glimpse of their respective girlfriend.

They weren’t left waiting for long as the duo appeared from the gate.

Sunset looked haggard, absolutely exhausted and beaten with heavy bags under her bloodshot eyes. She slumped down the steps, taking them slowly, one after another.

Rarity, for her part, looked far more composed. She had a latte in one hand and wore sunglasses and a wide brimmed hat.

coco winced and hissed through her teeth, waving her free hand. “Oh, Miss Rarity is so hungover.”

“How do you know that?” Twilight asked, also waving. “She looks perfectly fine to me.”

“Why else would she be wearing sunglasses indoors?” coco asked.

“That’s… a really good point.”

Sunset and Rarity finally came closer, noticing their girlfriend’s waiting for them. They returned their waves and then promptly paused as they noticed that Twilight and coco were holding hands. This resulted in them exchanging a few hushed words as they approached, sharing in a devilish smile.

“How was Manehatten?” Twilight beamed as they finally came within earshot.

She drew away from coco and hugged Sunset tightly.

“Not so loud, darling,” Rarity murmured, embracing coco, who practically leapt at her. “Please use your indoor voice, if you would.”

Twilight cocked a brow. “But I…”

“Don’t mind her,” Sunset said. “She’s just had a bit too much to drink last night.”

“I had exactly the right amount of alcohol, thank you very much,” Rarity slurred. “I wasn’t the one vomiting after all.”

Sunset winced. “Yeah that wasn’t my proudest moment.”

“What happened?” Twilight asked.

Rarity and Sunset exchanged a look.

“Room party,” they chimed in unison.

coco snickered and planted a kiss on Rarity’s nose. “So was the conference fun, Miss Rarity?”

Rarity nodded, offering a warm smile. “Yes, met plenty of interesting connections and went to tons of very fascinating panels.” She smirked. “Even ended up at a few private after dark events, though a lady will not speak about such things in an airport.”

Sunset brushed a hand across Twilight’s cheek. “How about you two? Seems like you had an interesting weekend.”

“Yes, it does,” Rarity chimed in, tilting her chin towards Twilight. “They’re holding hands and everything.”

coco grinned. “We might’ve gone on a date.”

Rarity offered a tight smile. “Oh, and you’ll have to tell us all about that on the way home.” She lightly touched coco’s hand. “It is so nice to see my darling little plaything finally getting out of her shell.”

Sunset nodded and glanced at the purse hanging from Twilight’s shoulder. “And where did that come from?”

“The date,” Twilight said, making sure to show it off. “We went to the Exchange and did some shopping and stuff.” She grinned. “It’s made from vegan leather.”

This earned an approving nod from Sunset.

Rarity smirked. “My, my, my coco, did you finally convince Twilight to do away with her computer bag.”

“Yes, i did,” coco beamed.

“Then someone is getting rewarded once we get back to our apartment,” Rarity said.

“Oh, come on!” Twilight exclaimed. “It wasn’t that bad.” She looked at Sunset. “Right?”

Sunset looked away and drew in a breath. “I am way too hungover to even approach this conversation, babe, but…” She smiled. “I think the purse looks really good on you.”

Rarity moved towards the conveyor belt as luggage began to roll out.

“So, are you two MyStable official?” she asked.

coco rolled her eyes. “We would be if that site allowed for poly people to exist.”

“Yes. it is a shame that our digital society hasn’t caught up to the real thing, yet.” Rarity sighed. “So, pressing question...”

“What’s that?” Twilight asked.

“How exactly do two bottoms make this work?”

coco’s cheeks burned bright red. “i bottomed so hard that Twilight was forced to top.” she snickered. “She’s actually pretty good at it.”

Sunset cocked a brow. “Is that so?”

coco nodded.

“You’ll have to show me this topping thing sometime,” Sunset whispered in Twilight’s ear, causing her cheeks to redden.

Rarity snorted. “Now darling, don’t ask for the impossible. No one can top you.”

“That’s not true,” Sunset said. “Applejack can.”

“Okay, my apologies,” Rarity went on. “No mortal being could ever hope to top you.”

As the conversation was taken over by Rarity and Sunset, who moved towards the belt, coco and Twilight lagged behind. They exchanged a look, snickering to one another.

“i had a lot of fun this weekend,” coco said.

Twilight smiled and kissed her on the cheek. “Me too.”

“Want to maybe hang out again next weekend?” coco asked, biting her lip. “Or if you’re too busy we…”

“I’d love to,” Twilight said, brushing her hand against coco’s own.

coco grinned, looking down as their hands joined together. “i’d love to, too.”

Author's Note

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