Ever since the talent show the foals put on, Sophia had been personally overseeing Scootaloo’s training in preparation for a procedure that she planned to perform on her. The filly had a lot of pegasus magic trapped within her and her underdeveloped wings were bottlenecking the output.

Though what she didn’t tell the filly was that she was considering her and their friends for a little side project later on. Apple Bloom was a sneaky filly such that only those who had honed their stealth detection skills, such as herself, Nova and Tosh, would be able to track her. Sweetie Belle was a machine that could have any number of modules installed on her to increase her utility. Diamond Tiara had leadership ability. If she could master her talents she could lead her own squad if she had any desire to be part of the military. Silver Spoon was a smart filly with an analytical mind. Turning her into an analyst would improve any squad’s efficiency. As for Spike, Sophia could tell that he was smarter than the rest of his kind but his draconic heritage would mean that he would be very strong later on.

A week after Scootaloo’s training began, Spike came to Sophia in a panic. “Sophia! You gotta help!” he huffed as he struggled to regain his breath. It seemed like the dragon needed to exercise better. “It’s Rarity! She’s been foalnapped by diamond dogs!”

“Diamond dogs? What are they? And please explain what happened.” Sophia asked.

“Tall, brutish dogs that live underground. Rarity invited me on a gem hunt for her latest batch of starship metal when we were suddenly attacked by them. I tried to protect Rarity but they were too strong. They’ve taken her to their underground lair.”

Sophia nodded, “Alright, I’ll go fetch Nova and Tosh and begin a rescue operation. You get Twilight and her friends and meet us there.”

As Sophia began to hop off, Spike asked her to wait. “Wait, don’t I need to tell you where the place is first?”

“No need, I already plucked it from your mind.” As Sophia ran off, Spike stood there confused by that statement. However, he didn’t have time to think about that and went to rally the others.

As it turned out, the rescue was not really necessary. By the time Sophia and her guards reached the lair, with Sophia tunneling into it, they found that the dogs had been temporarily enslaved to dig for gems for the inventor mare.

Apparently, she had crafted a weapon using a flashlight and a gemstone. She had apparently overcharged the flashlight so that the gemstone fired a beam that melted through rock and a guard dog’s shoulder armor. The dog’s shoulder was singed but he would be fine.

Sophia facepawed in disbelief. “Did she seriously just Macgyver a laser weapon? If this doesn’t convince Ingram, I will drag him out of that workshop myself,” she thought.

Twilight and the others arrived soon after and were left dumbfounded by what they saw. Rarity spotted her friends and headed over to greet them. “Girls! I’m glad to see you made it. These diamond dogs were about to finish loading up a large crate of gems and I will need your help carrying this to Ponyville.”

“Uhh, Rarity, what is that you’re holding in your aura?” Twilight asked.

“This? This is something I whipped up using a flashlight I made before and a few gems. Apparently it can imitate a unicorn’s magical beams.”

“More than that, Rarity,” Sophia interrupted. “You seem to have built a makeshift laser weapon. Not bad for a first attempt.”

“Thank you, Sophia,” Rarity beamed. “I already have a few ideas on how to improve the design and with this latest batch of gems, I will have plenty of resources to do so.”

With the crate being a heavy load, Applejack alone couldn’t haul the large crate so Twilight and Starlight had to supply their magic to ease the farm mare’s burden. Rainbow also helped Applejack to carry the crate. Once they had enough assistance, the mares left the caverns while Pinkie somehow managed to find a weak point in a rock wall and hit it to cause a large opening leading outside to form so they could get the crate out. Nopony questioned it. Nova and Tosh provided escort for the mares.

Meanwhile, Sophia decided to find a use for the diamond dogs. Since they lived underground she figured that they were good diggers. “Alright, pups, I need to speak with you all.”

A short dog walked up to her and growled at her while other dogs in the cavern laughed at her. “Hah! Little rabbit think she boss of us?” the short dog mocked. “Dangerous pony gone. We make you slave.”

Rolling her eyes, Sophia stomped the floor hard enough that the caverns trembled, knocking the dogs on their rears. “Do I have your attention now? Perhaps another demonstration of my dominance is in order?” The dogs stared at her with wide eyes and remained silent. “Very good. Now, I need answers. What does your pack want with the gems?”

“We trade for food,” one of the taller dogs, Rover, answered. “Gems valuable. Other packs hunt animals. We get food for gems.”

“How about this, if I give you a few large carcasses for the gems the ponies took, would you be willing to trade gems to the white pony for food from now on?”

The dogs huddled together and whispered among themselves. It was a pointless act when it came to Sophia but the things they said and what went on in their heads weren’t important. Apparently the dogs shared a single brain cell between them.

Rover turned toward her and asked, “How big we talkin’?”

Sophia raised a paw and a rift opened in the air between the two parties. From the rift came the bodies of a cragadile and a bugbear. The combined weight of which equaled the gems the ponies left with.

“Will this feed your pack for a while?” Sophia asked.

Rover moved carefully toward the two creatures and poked at them. After a few more moments of poking, prodding and punching, they realized the creatures were dead. “These could feed our pack for a month.”

“Try to avoid letting the meat rot,” Sophia warned. “I will provide you with food for each exchange we make for your gems.”

“Deal!”

With that, Sophia had struck a deal with a pack of miners. Though she decided to seek more packs like this one in the days to come. A source of resources would serve the ponies well in the coming war.

Twilight and her friends were asked by Applejack to accompany her to a newly settled town called Appleloosa which was in the desert region of southern Equestria. She wanted to deliver an apple tree to her cousin Braeburn for their orchard.

Sophia questioned whether or not an apple tree could thrive in a desert since the climate was not fit for trees. But then again, the town was mostly composed of earth ponies so perhaps their magic could keep the trees healthy. She was no expert on magic.

Starlight didn’t accompany her friends this time because somepony needed to stay behind and keep the town library open. Ponies did visit the library every now and then. Of course, she still kept up with her training after hours.

Sophia contemplated what she was going to do that day when a train pulled up into the station. Her memorization of the train schedule told her that the train had come from Manehattan.

Only one pony disembarked from the train, which was normal since only Ponyville residents or ponies seeking change would come to this town.

The lone earth pony was light amberish gray with a mane and tail of cyan and opal. She wore a folded lavender and white collar with a light red bow tie. A flower of different shades of red adorned her mane. Her cutie mark was a stylish purple sun hat with a long red feather.

The mare was carrying a traveling suitcase which meant that she was taking time away from Manehattan. She also didn’t appear to be waiting for anypony so she was probably on her own.

Having nothing better to do, Sophia decided to play tour guide. She hopped in front of the mare who gave a surprised look before she decided to stroke the bunny’s head. “Oh, hello there. You’re an unusual color. I wonder if the creatures of this region are different here.”

“I can assure you that my fur is unusual for any species of rabbit in this world,” Sophia replied. The mare shrieked and backed away, dropping her suitcase. “Only my brother and I are of this color.”

“Y-you can talk?!”

“Yes, yes, get it out of your system,” Sophia rolled her eyes. “When you’ve regained your wits, you mind telling me why you came to a town most of Equestria avoids like a plague?”

The mare took a few moments to recover. She wasn’t sure about voicing her frustrations to the first creature she saw, but in her eyes she saw somecreature wanting to understand. “W-well, I wanted to get away from Manehattan. Living as a fashionista under my mentor’s watch has been stressing me out. I’ve been wanting to get away from her for some time and open my own clothing store but my mentor kept all of the profits for herself even though she had been selling my designs. She only pays me enough for me to feed myself.” She sighed. “Sorry for venting on you. My name is Coco Pommel.”

“I see, it sounds like she’s been exploiting you for her own gain. I’m Sophia, by the way. Anyway, why Ponyville of all places?”

“I figured a small town where ponies were friendly would be a good change of pace and I could relax here.”

“But you wish you could get away from your mentor, move somewhere else and start over?” Coco nodded. “So why not move here?”

“I only just got here. I’d like to see for myself if this town is worth moving to. Though, even if I wanted to, I can't afford it.”

“What if you had an investor?” Sophia offered.

“Who would invest in me?” Coco asked.

“My brother has ties to countless markets and invests in many things.” Coco looked skeptically at Sophia. “Don’t judge a book by its cover, Coco. If you want to be free from your mentor’s iron hoof, this could be your chance. The only question is: Are you willing to take that risk?”

Coco had to think it over for a time. It seemed ridiculous that a woodland critter would be the one to offer her an out from Suri Polomare’s tyranny. Though looking into the rabbit’s eyes showed the mare that Sophia was more than she seemed. Her eyes reflected a deep wisdom that she could only imagine would be reflected in Princess Celestia’s eyes. Though if this didn’t work out then Suri wouldn’t allow her to leave her side ever again.

Finally, Coco rallied what courage she had and held out a hoof to strike the deal. Sophia met her hoof with a paw and the two shook on it.

Following that, Sophia showed Coco around town where she was greeted by many friendly ponies. The fresh air and friendly atmosphere allowed her the clarity of thought to come up with a new fashion line. In fact, she felt more inspired than ever before which made her realize that life in Manehattan and life under Suri had stifled her creativity. Be it fashionista’s intuition or some other sense, she had a feeling that she needed to be here and that she would find what she was truly looking for in this town.

Once Sophia was certain she had convinced her enough to give the town a chance, she led Coco to the Town Hall where they met with Mayor Mare. Sophia asked about any places where Coco could move in and start a fashion business. The mayor pointed out a new house that was constructed recently but the buyer dropped out, leaving the house without an owner. “There was once a carousel themed building that could have fit your needs as well but Miss Rarity bought it and turned it into her workshop.”

Coco looked at Sophia who gave her a reassuring nod. Coco nodded back before looking back at the mayor. “I’ll take it!”

Sophia paid for the initial deposit before leading Coco to the manor of the Rich family where Sophia sensed her brother’s presence. Sigmund met the two outside where Sophia briefed him on the situation.

“Exploitation? If there was evidence of this we could make a court case out of it but I suspect that finding anything that could convict your mentor would be difficult,” Sigmund offered. “If you mean to open a business here and get away from her I will support it but I can’t do everything for free. If I’m to believe that you’re worth the investment, Coco, I need to see if your work is saleable. I will provide you the funds for clothing supplies. If you could turn a profit from it, you’ll get your investment.”

Coco gave a determined nod, “I’ll do it!”

Once she agreed, Sigmund provided Coco with enough bits to buy the materials she needed. The mare took a trip to Canterlot to buy the materials and brought them to the house she claimed. She was surprised to find her equipment there and while she was wondering how that happened, she decided not to question it as she really needed her tools to get her dresses made within a reasonable timeframe.

It was a task that took her all night, but she was able to create a few dresses that she was satisfied with.

Not long after she finished making the dresses and cleaning up the store, Coco heard a knock at the door. Answering it, she finds an aquamarine unicorn mare standing before her. “Can I help you?” Coco asked.

“I heard that I might be able to find a nice dress to show off to my friends here. Is this the place?”

“Well, I just finished a few of them last night. I didn’t have time to make more though.”

“That’s alright, let me take a look.” The mare, Lyra, was shown inside where she moved to the ponnequins displaying her work. She looked at all of them until her eyes rested on a stunning yellow and white sundress that matched her eyes. She spent several minutes inspecting the dress from every angle. “This dress looks amazing! That blue rabbit guy was right!”

“Blue rabbit guy?” Coco asked. Although she could only imagine that it was Sigmund who had told her about her work. “Oh, him! I had no idea he was helping me with that too. I owe him so much for this!”

“Well, if it’s the same to you, he also told me that this much should cover the dress.” She then produced a small bag of bits for Coco. The fashionista was surprised by the amount given to her. Not only was it more than Suri ever gave her but it covered the material cost of the dress and then some. Coco didn’t have any boxes to wrap the dress in since she was still working with the bare minimum at this time. Knowing this. Lyra had the dress folded in her magic and placed on her back. “I’ve gotta tell Starlight and the others about this place,” Lyra declared as she left the shop.

Coco spent the next few minutes in shock as she realized that things were going so well for her so far. The next few hours gave her more of the same as Starlight and her friends visiting from Canterlot entered the shop and looked at the dresses.

Sadly, Coco didn’t make enough dresses for everypony so Starlight ended up going without a dress while Moondancer, Minuette, Lemon Hearts and Twinkleshine left the store satisfied with their purchases.

By the time night came, Coco was visited by Sigmund wearing a tiny backpack with a roll of paper in it. He asked to see the bits she had made and the fashionista showed him the bits. The rabbit gave a satisfied nod, “You did well today, Coco.”

“But, I didn’t do anything. The customers came in as directed by you and bought the dresses at the price you recommended.” Coco refuted.

“Ah, but your sales pitch wasn’t the test, Miss Coco. Customer satisfaction was your true test. I didn’t tell those mares to act satisfied by your work. After they left with your dresses, I surveyed their satisfaction with their purchase and they gave glowing reviews. I wanted to see your work as a fashionista and I can tell you that you passed my test with flying colors and have earned the investment bits you will need to get your store into proper shape.”

“But…but I don’t have much experience selling my clothing. Suri usually does that.”

“The ins and outs of running a business can be taught, my dear. I can’t teach you how to design dresses. That’s on you. I can teach you how to run a store and I can teach you how to make your store flourish. Your big break will come with the upcoming Grand Galloping Gala.”

“The Grand Galloping Gala!?” Coco exclaimed. “But I…I don’t know if my designs are that good.”

Sigmund chuckled, “There’s no need to worry, Miss Coco. I believe you have what it takes to go far in the fashion world. Without Suri to shackle you, you will finally be free to be who you want to be.”

Coco took a deep breath and rallied her determination as she nodded to him, “I won’t let you down, sir!”

Sigmund nodded back as he pulled the paper from his backpack and gave it to Coco. “I will be sending you the investment bits tomorrow. That paper contains a list of the supplies you will need to renovate this place into a proper store. The remainder will be used to buy materials for your next designs. How you go about this will be up to you. The bits you made today will go to your basic living expenses and any remainder of that can go into savings.”

Suddenly, tears started welling up in Coco’s eyes as the day’s events finally became too much for her. “How can I ever repay you for your generosity?”

Sigmund gave a gentle smile, “Your success in this venture will determine my return on investment. Never forget who helped you get started and only give me as much as you are comfortable with giving.”

Sigmund was suddenly swept up in a hug by the earth mare. He learned quickly how strong earth ponies tend to be, especially when they were emotional and unlike his sister, he didn’t have the physical endurance to withstand a bone-crushing hug. “Need…air…”

Coco quickly let him go and apologized for that. The two then bid each other farewell as Sigmund left the store to handle other business.

Author's Note

Someone has to make the dresses for the Grand Galloping Gala and if it's not going to be Rarity...