As soon as Coco Pommel got off the train at Ponyville Station, she made a mad dash for Carousel Boutique. When she got a message stating that Rarity needed to see her face-to-face, she immediately assumed the worst. Especially since it concerned her boutique in Manehattan. Did she do something wrong? What if sales weren’t up to her expectations? What if customers have been leaving bad reviews? What if there was a scandal involving the clothes she was selling? She would hate to be fired, especially after everything Rarity had done for her. To just throw it all away, what would she do with herself?
 
She sprinted to the store in her heels, turning heads as she ran past. When she arrived, she immediately knocked on the door. As she waited, she leaned forward, gasping for air and wiping the sweat from her forehead. She had to calm herself. Even if she wasn’t in trouble, it wouldn’t look good if she was giving her report disheveled. She straightened out her dress and made sure her hair was in place before the door opened.
 
“Ah! Coco! So glad you could make it, darling!” Rarity said with more excitement than Coco was expecting. When she found herself in Rarity’s embrace, Coco felt calmer, she didn’t seem angry at her, at least. But her heart rate jumped up when she felt Rarity’s lips on her cheek.
 
Coco froze up, face quickly turning red. “R-Rarity, d-did you just kiss me?”
 
“Oh! Terribly sorry! The locals did that all the time in Prance when I was there, so I picked it up as a habit,” she explained.
 
“Oh, i-it’s nice to see you too…” she said, voice trailing off. Her finger rubbing the kissed cheek. She was a bit relieved that Rarity wasn’t suddenly advancing on her out of nowhere.
 
Although it’s not like Coco didn’t want it to be a romantic gesture. Ever since meeting her, she had always taken a liking to Rarity. She was kind, she was considerate, she was creative...all things that Suri Polomare wasn’t. She had dreamed of working with her every day, spending all her time making her happy, to see that radiant smile of hers. But it was wrong to fall in love with your boss, she told herself, so she had tried to keep those feelings and fantasies to herself.
 
Truth be told, not even Rarity knew why she had just done that. It wasn’t a conscious decision, why did she go out of her way to kiss her on the cheek? The comment about Prance wasn’t true in the slightest, just quick thinking to try to explain her actions.
 
“Come in, please! I believe that we have much to discuss,” Rarity said, stepping to the side of the doorway.
 
Coco walked inside, seeing that Rarity had set up a table by the window, complete with a tea set. Rarity pulled out a seat for her. As Coco took her seat, Rarity did the same, pouring a cup of tea for each of them.
 
“So, darling, tell me about Manehattan, business is doing well, I assume?” she asked, leaning her elbow onto the table with intrigue, squinting a bit with the sunlight hitting her eyes.
 
“Oh, it’s doing well,” Coco replied, taking a sip from her tea. “We make sure that our customers leave satisfied.”
 
Coco found it difficult to look Rarity in the eyes. Not because she was intimidated by her, but every time she tried to lock eyes, she always felt her heart rate jump up. The way she sat there, chin daintily resting on her hands she sipped from her tea, looking back at her with what seemed to be heavy-lidded eyes.
 
“That’s good to hear! I’ve heard that the new designs that I sent over to you are popular there.”
 
“Oh, they are! Your summer informal dresses started getting really popular with the single mares.”
 
Rarity raised an eyebrow. “Oh? And how do you know that those mares were single? Or are you just speaking for yourself?” she said with a smirk.
 
Coco’s face quickly became a flushed red. “Huh? W-well, I...it’s not like that! T-they just talked all the time about i-impressing-”
 
Rarity quickly put a finger to Coco’s lips. “Coco, sweetie, relax! I was just teasing you. I won’t press into your personal life unless you wish to discuss it, ok?”
 
“Ehehe...Alright…” she laughed sheepishly, rubbing the back of her neck. She was clearly reading too much into things. She had to be professional about this.
 
“So, how are the rest of the staff? No complaints, I hope.”
 
“Mmhm. They’re just as happy as the customers that we get.”
 
“Wonderful, I’m so glad things are going well for you over there!” Rarity smiled, taking another sip from her teacup.
 
Coco traced her finger around the rim of her cup. “Um, if all you wanted from me was a store report, why did you call me all the way over from Manehattan?”
 
“Well, we don’t have to talk shop the entire time. We haven’t seen each other in so long, I thought it would be nice to be more personal and relax as friends.”
 
Friends...yes, that’s all it could be. Coco would just have to accept that. She looked down at her tea, watching the little waves that every slight movement made.
 
Rarity blinked in confusion, tapping the table a few times to grab her attention. “Is something wrong, Coco? Your eyes have been wandering all over the place, like there’s something else on your mind.”
 
Coco perked up, “Huh? No, it’s nothing, really. I’m fine!” She forced out a grin.
 
Rarity raised an eyebrow. “Darling, you’re not a very good liar. You’ve looked out of sorts ever since I saw you this morning. If there’s anything you’d like to get to get off your chest, I promise I’ll keep it between us.”
 
“I’m fine, really. It’s just...I didn’t get a lot of sleep last night, and these shoes have been killing my feet.” What she said was partially the truth. She did only get four hours of sleep, the train ride over to Ponyville wasn’t as relaxing as it she thought it would be, and her high heels were first worn yesterday, and still needed more time to fit in.. It’s just not the reason her eyes and mind have been wandering.
 
Rarity nodded understandingly. “I see. Well, as a friend, I shall do what I can to assist!” She said with a slightly more accentuated accent.
 
“Y-You really don’t have to do all that.” Coco laughed nervously.
 
“Please, I insist.” Rarity stood up from the table, leading Coco towards her fainting couch. “First things first, off with these shoes!” Rarity declared, popping off Coco’s heels.
 
Coco’s toes immediately began to spread out, letting the cool air rush between. She had to admit, being out of her heels was such a relief on her arches and heels.
 
Rarity sat down aside Coco, her feet on her lap. Holding her left foot in her hands, she held Coco’s heel in one hand, pressing her thumb into her arch with the other.
 
Coco let out a small sigh of relief. Rarity’s touch was firm, yet gentle. Just one thumb making circles around her arch sent a shiver down her spine.
 
Rarity spent a good amount of time practicing her massage techniques. All that time going to the spa had inspired her to learn the skill herself. It would be a nice way to treat her friends for their hard work should the spa be too busy. She grabbed both of Coco’s feet, circling her arches with her thumbs.
 
Rarity’s hands were so skilled, Coco was practically melting in her grasp. Her mind started to wander again, starting to get filled with more inappropriate fantasies of her and Rarity. She began to imagine herself at Rarity’s bare feet, rubbing her face against her pristine soles. She imagined placing her big toe in her mouth, suckling on it as she listened to Rarity’s moans. Before the scene got too far, she snapped back to reality, embarrassed to have another fantasy, in front of Rarity, no less.
 
Rarity, unaware of Coco’s imagination, continued her massage, moving her thumbs up, pressing into the balls of her feet, moving her thumbs back and forth.
 
Coco began to cover her face, not only to cover her blushing cheeks, but also her ticklish grin. She let out a sound that could easily be interpreted as either a squeal of delight or grunt of discomfort.
 
Rarity paused, perplexed by Coco’s behavior. “Are you alright, Coco? Am I not doing the massage correctly?”
 
“I...no, it feels great, but…”
 
Rarity tilts her head, raising an eyebrow. “...But?”
 
“I just don’t want to trouble you...going out of your way just for this.”
 
“Well, in that case…” Rarity suddenly lifts her leg up, dangling her high heel from her big toe. “Why don’t you return the favor?”
 
Coco felt her heart skip a beat. Was she hallucinating? Was Rarity really offering her feet to her? “I...um...a-are you sure?”
 
Rarity nodded. “Yes, if it makes you feel better. We’ll both give each other foot massages. That way, no one is taking advantage of the other’s kindness.”
 
Coco nodded, slipping the high heel off Rarity’s toe as she held her foot in front of her. She wasn’t as skilled in foot massages as Rarity was, but she wanted to do her best. She started by pressing her thumbs against the heel.
 
Rarity continued her massage, her toes occasionally twitching in Coco’s grasp. She began lightly squeezing her toes, her thumb making more small circles right underneath the toe, before moving onto the next one.
 
Coco started to get lost in thought once more, her eyes transfixed the the foot she was rubbing. While she was pressing her thumb up and down the arch, in her mind, her tongue was gliding up and down the sole, savoring the taste she slowed her pace, going from heel to toe and back down.
 
Before she knew it, Coco had leaned forward, pressing her lips against Rarity’s big toe.
 
Rarity stopped, stunned at Coco’s boldness. She looked up at Coco, holding her toes between her thumb and index finger.
 
It took a moment for her action to fully register, but Coco Pommel gasped, dropping Rarity’s foot to cover her face in embarrassment.
 
Rarity couldn’t help but blush as well. Up until recently, she hadn’t thought of her female friends as anything more than best friends or close companions. That is, until Coco Pommel came along. Ever since the opening of her Manehattan branch, she had the occasional dream involving Miss Pommel, often having the reserved girl in her embrace. At first she passed it off as showing concern for Coco, and being so elated that her business was growing, but her dreams started to become more frequent and more intimate, eventually leaving her waking up in the morning flustered, or worse. It was certainly odd. Not once in her life had she had sexual fantasies directly involving another woman. What about Coco Pommel was so enticing to her? What did she see in her that she desired?
 
She wanted to find out the reason, but how would one go about it? She couldn’t just walk up to Coco and tell her that she’s been having wet dreams about her. What was the right way to approach the issue? Was there even a right way approach?
 
For months, Rarity had been left confused. She had thought that inviting Coco over would help quell her emotions, and a light, friendly conversation would put her back in check.
 
Or perhaps it was a way for her to confront her own feelings.
 
In a bizarre twist, the business conversation had lead up to Coco kissing her toe, and in a more bizarre twist, she found herself kissing Coco’s toe in return.
 
Coco was already set on apologizing profusely, until she felt Rarity’s lips on her foot. She froze mid-apology, more confused than ever before.