A Personal Touch
The Canterlot upper-crust held parties with such frequency that anypony – even one with as good a memory as Rarity – could be forgiven for not recalling what the occasion was. It was as close to acceptable as a societal faux pas could be.
What was never acceptable was forgetting the name and face of a client.
Which was why Rarity was panicking.
“And she did such an excellent job in suggesting that we add sapphires to the hemline to accentuate my cutie mark!” the older mare said, continuing to rave about Rarity’s skill to her friend standing next to her.
Rarity smiled as expected, while racking her brain to try and recall when she had suggested such a thing.
Am I losing my mind? Did I hit my head sometime and forget it? She would have written the mare off as merely being confused, but Rarity could see the faint outline of the triple diamond mark set just below the neckline on the dress – a veritable guarantee it had come from one of her stores.
“Well, Clover, you’ve certainly sold this old mare,” her friend replied. “Rarity, is it?”
“Yes, ma’am,” Rarity replied quickly.
“You have a shop here in Canterlot?”
Rarity slipped into salespony mode. “Of course, madam. Canterlot Carousel, right off Celestia Way, in the fashion district. My capable assistant Sassy Saddles manages things for me there.”
“I don’t want an assistant. I want your personal touch, just like Clover Leaf here.”
Rarity’s smile was mostly due to relief at finally knowing her alleged client’s name, but she milked it for all it was worth. “Well then, I’ll be in Canterlot for the next two days. Stop by the Carousel and I’ll be delighted to help you, Faded Flower.”
With that situation defused, Rarity excused herself to continue milling about the party, though she enjoyed it less than she would have otherwise. Clover Leaf’s odd insistence that Rarity had made the dress continued to bother her for the rest of the night.
“Sassy…has a mare named Clover Leaf come in for a dress recently?”
Rarity had gone to the shop first thing the next morning, eager to figure out exactly what was going on.
“Clover Leaf?” Sassy frowned, taking a sip of her morning cocoa. “The name doesn’t ring a bell, but let me check the customer list.”
While she did that, Rarity assisted the first customer of the day, a mare with questionable taste in hats.
“I cannot believe somepony could be that attached to lace,” Rarity muttered after the mare had wandered out of the shop, new hat in tow. “I wanted to burn that hat before I was even finished making it.”
“You can lead a pony to the candy store, but you can’t make them take the lollipop,” Sassy replied with her usual cheer. “Anyway, I did a check of all of our sales for the past six weeks, and I can’t find anything for a Clover Leaf.”
Rarity frowned. “That dress is one of ours, I’m certain of it. But she insists that I made it for her.”
“Perhaps she was lying?”
“No, no, I don’t think so. Confused, possibly, but she wasn’t lying.” Rarity tapped her hoof on the counter, deep in thought. “Maybe she bought it some time ago?”
Sassy levitated a quill and parchment from the nearby desk. “Describe the dress for me.”
“Current season, silver colored satin with a white minky section around the neckline. Sapphires sewn into the hemline, hoof stitch.”
Sassy had started to sketch the dress, but stopped before getting far. “That sounds like a Coco piece, doesn’t it? She’s quite fond of satin, and that would be more in line with Manehattan fashion trends than Canterlot. A Canterlot dress would have used silk, not satin.”
Rarity facehoofed. “Of course! How could I have missed that?”
“Nopony’s perfect,” Sassy reminded her.
“No, but I seem to be having a lame-brain week,” Rarity muttered. “Still, it’s odd to think that she mistook Coco for me. We don’t exactly look alike.”
“An easier misunderstanding than her mistaking me for you. You’re both much shor…” Sassy paused as Rarity raised an eyebrow. “… more petite!” she finished.
The eyebrow remained raised, until it was replaced with a wry smile. “Just giving you a hard time. Although my sister was recently kind enough to point out that I’m not looking quite so petite these days…”
Before Sassy could reassure her boss that she still looked fine, Rarity stood back up. “The express train to Manehattan leaves soon, doesn’t it?”
Sassy eyed the clock. “It should, though you’ll have to hurry if you want to make it.”
“Then I’m off on the next stop of this mystery.”
While her home would always be in Ponyville, Rarity loved Manehattan. Loved the glitz, the glamour, the fast pace.
In small doses, of course. Truth be told, she was extremely grateful to have Coco to run Rarity For You, as the humble mare required the least amount of oversight of any of her employees. That meant trips to Manehattan could retain the feel of being a treat, rather than routine drudgery.
She took a cab to the boutique, taking in the sights with her usual mix of wonder and pleasure. On a whim, she told the driver to stop near the alley that led to the back entrance for the store. She didn’t want to disturb Coco with her presence if there were customers in the front.
"Taxi! Taxi!" A mare came running up to the cab, bags in tow. Upon seeing Rarity, her jaw dropped in surprise. "How did you..."
"Yes?" Rarity tilted her head. "How did I what?"
The other mare shook her head. "Well, it's just that I just saw you in a shop. You made me this lovely dress." She held up one of the bags before frowning. "At least I thought you did."
Muttering, she got into the cab. "Perhaps I need to lie down. Garden Court, driver, and pronto."
Rarity watch the cab leave with a particular degree of puzzlement. "Did Coco change her mane or something? How are all these ponies confusing her for me?"
She quickly made her way down the alley, passing through the door into the back office. The voices speaking on the salesfloor immediately put her at ease. Finally, something felt normal again.
“And this dress – can you make it with a blue fabric rather than silver?”
“Oh, of course, darling. That won’t be any trouble at all.”
Darling? Rarity thought. That’s not like her.
She slowly tip-hooved toward the archway separating the two parts of the store, trying to spot the earth pony. Nopony could have blamed her for the sharp intake of breath as her eyes took in the scene.
An exact doppleganger of Rarity was eagerly working with a client, levitating a tape measure around one leg while showcasing several swatches of blue fabric at the same time.
"The second one there, I think."
“Excellent choice, madam. And rest assured; when we’re done here, you’re going to look both chic and magnifique!”
Rarity felt the world begin to spin. The last thing she heard before passing out was “That mare in the doorway looks just like you!”
“Rarity. Oh, Rarity, please wake up!”
Rarity felt light slaps on her cheek.
“Nngh…go away Opalescence," Rarity mumbled. "It’s too early to feed you.”
“Rarity!”
Rarity came to full alertness with a start, sitting up sharply. She was in the back room of Rarity For You, with Coco next to her, looking deeply concerned.
“Coco! You’re safe!” Rarity quickly embraced the other mare. “Coco, I saw the most horrible thing! We need to contact the Royal Guard immediately!”
“Rarity, there’s no need to panic.”
“But Coco! There’s a Changeling in Manehattan – a Changeling impersonating me!”
Coco fixed her boss with a steady look. Then, she pulled away, took a few steps back, and burst into green fire.
Rarity screamed, hooves scrabbling on the floor to get away…until she stopped, mind struggling to accept what she was seeing.
Coco was gone. In her place was a mirror image of Rarity.
“I, uh..I can explain,” the other Rarity said, though the voice was Coco’s.
“Explain!?” Rarity got to her hooves. “You can start by explaining what you’ve done with poor, sweet, innocent Coco Pommel!” She seized a bolt of fabric in her magic and began swinging it at the other Rarity. “Back! Get back! Tell me where she is, you monster!”
“Rarity!” The other mare turned back into Coco. “It’s me! There is no other Coco. She’s…she’s not real.”
‘Coco’ flopped down to her haunches, looking miserable. “I’ve always been a Changeling, Rarity. I’ve always been lying to you.”
Rarity kept the fabric mid air, but her face was one of confusion, not anger. “Always? But how?”
“Not all the Changelings lived under Chrysalis,” Coco began to explain. “There’s a few of us in most of the large cities, from what I understand. It’s easier for us to blend in among the bustle than in a place like Ponyville or Appleoosa.”
Rarity said nothing.
“I came here many years ago, looking to get away from the hive. I just…I just wanted to be somewhere that I could just be me.” She sniffed. “In the Hive, everything you do is focused on the glory of Chrysalis. There’s no room to be yourself, or to do what you want. I hated that, and wanted something different.”
“And you wanted to be a fashion designer?” Rarity’s tone indicated she found that unlikely.
“Well, of course. I was always creative, even for a Changeling, and I've got a good eye for colors. Rather than misuse those talents to impersonate ponies, I wanted to be creative in a way that helped them instead.”
She shrunk down a little more. “And, well, it also gave me a way to feed that didn’t feel so wrong. When somepony talks about how much they love a dress, or love the way they look, that’s something I can survive on.” Tears welled up in her eyes. “Then I don’t have to steal love from anypony. I hate living like that. It makes me feel so…so dirty.”
She looked so sad, so pathetic, that the hard shell around Rarity’s heart started to soften. “You just wanted to make other ponies happy.”
“More than anything,” Coco replied, sniffing. She reached for a tissue, blowing her nose. “At first, it was just to survive, but as time went on I realized that I wanted to make ponies smile. Whether that’s making them feel beautiful, or making them happy through the plays that Charity used to put on. It all gives me a reason to wake up every morning.”
Slowly, gently, Rarity placed the fabric back on the shelf. Then, just as slowly, she carefully walked up to Coco and embraced her in a hug.
“I’m sorry for reacting the way I did,” she said. “It just…well, you know my history.”
Coco nodded. “I wanted to tell you, but I knew how much you hated Changelings, and after you were kidnapped it felt like there would never be a good time to come out with it.”
Rarity stepped back, eyes softer, but still concerned. “That does leave the question of why you were pretending to be me…”
Coco scoffed. “You know how some of the clients can be. Expecting special treatment, or demanding to see the manager. The first time I changed into you, it was just to calm an angry client down. But over time, I started using the disguise more and more. It helps me feel more confident.” She rubbed one foreleg with a hoof. “Coco is my natural personality, but she...I have trouble interacting with certain kinds of ponies, that I don't have when I'm pretending to be somepony else."
I guess that's good enough for me. Rarity knew they weren’t done with this discussion, but she also knew that Coco was still Coco. “All right. I won’t say that I’m entirely okay with it…but I understand. Just try not to do it too often, please?”
Coco looked up in surprise. “You mean I’m not fired?”
Rarity had to smile. “Coco, you just told me that your passion is much the same as my own when it comes to wanting to help other ponies feel better. Changeling or not, I’m not going to fire somecreature – somepony – with a heart like that.”
Coco rushed up to grab Rarity in another hug. “Oh, thank you, thank you!”
They held the embrace for several moments.
“Actually…there is something you can help me with,” Rarity said.
“Anything!” Coco said, stepping back.
“Can you change back into me again?”
Coco looked puzzled, but complied.
“Now, your model is based on your visual of me from prior meetings, right?”
“Yes.”
Rarity sighed. “Would you see if anything needs updating? Sweetie Belle insists I’ve put on weight, but I’m sure she’s just trying to get to me…”
“I can not believe my flank has gotten so large,” Rarity muttered, as she walked up the way to Canterlot Carousel. “And what a way to find out!”
She pushed open the door, stepping into the boutique with none of her usual flair. “I shall have to go on a diet straight away. Perhaps Sassy -“
She cut off upon seeing the two ponies up on the mirror stage. Faded Flower, the mare from the party, was being fitted for a dress…by an exact duplicate of Rarity.
The other Rarity stared at her, eyes wide.
“Oh, bust my buttons,” she said, Sassy’s voice carrying clearly across the boutique.
Rarity felt her jaw open, close, open, and close again. Then, without comment, she proceeded into the back room, closing the door behind her without a word.
The other Rarity sighed, a most un-Rarity like expression appearing on her face. “I don’t suppose this is covered under the Rules of Rarity…”
Author's Note
There have been several stories where Rarity is a secret Changeling, but I wanted to flip the script a little and have Coco be one instead, with Rarity blissfully unaware of the fact.
Then as I was finishing, I decided it would add to the comedy if Sassy were also a runaway Changeling, just trying to blend in like Coco.
Sorry, Rarity. I'm sure you'll stop side-eyeing everypony else eventually.
