//------------------------------// // Chapter 15: Creating Memories // Story: A Change In Fashion // by Kevinltk //------------------------------// Glamour yawned and groaned as she was unceremoniously booted out of the sweet embrace of sleep. Turning onto her stomach, she let the world know her displeasure with a symphony of moans and groans, a morning ritual that was becoming more and more common. Feeling the kinks in her body, there was no doubt that she had slept in late, and she wondered what was so worth it to stay up and ruin her sleeping schedule. Smacking her lips, she attempted to open her eyes, but they slowly shut right back up, lulling her back to sleep. Then her eyes shot wide open when her memories finally started working again and slapped her awake with a dose of reality. As of last night, she and Coco were officially marefriends. Glamour took an immediate liking to Coco when they first met, but she never expected that their friendship would grow so rapidly that she would eventually accept trying to be in a relationship with a pony. Despite not knowing if she actually did love Coco, she had to admit that the whole idea of it was very appealing. Except for the fact that she was still a lying changeling. Last night, Coco had divulged the truth of her and Suri’s past. It would have been fitting if Glamour had done the same about her past, but she backed down. She was not ready to take the risk of losing her best friend and everything she worked for. Also, after the story of a pony taking advantage of somepony’s love, it did not feel appropriate to reveal that she belonged to a species that had a history of doing the same thing. Glamour was having a hard time figuring out what to do. The thought of getting even closer to Coco made her smile, while the thought of her secret identity made her frown. The two conflicting emotions warred on her face until her mouth made some twisted shape that would likely cause other ponies to wonder what sort of brain damage she had. With no idea what to do, Glamour got out of bed and headed to Coco’s room. At the very least, she needed to check how Coco was doing after everything that happened and maybe ask what marefriends were supposed to do. She approached Coco’s door and raised her hoof to knock, but she paused when she heard something on the other side. Coco was humming. It was not the tune that caught her attention, but the way Coco was humming. Disregarding the off-key notes, whatever Coco was humming was upbeat and carefree. She sounded happy. Is she happy because of me? Glamour wondered before she finally knocked on the door. “Coco, could I come in and talk to you for a second?” The humming stopped and Coco’s voice replied, “Oh, uh, don’t come in, please. I’ll be out in a few minutes, Glamour.” Glamour was a bit surprised to have been denied entrance, but she supposed that Coco was working on something. She shrugged her shoulders and headed for the kitchen. A quick glance at the living room clock showed her that it was in the middle of the morning, only a little later than she would normally get up. Knowing the likelihood that Coco had favored her work over her needs again, Glamour started brewing up some coffee and then washed the dishes and mess she had left over from last night. She had to pause midway to finish preparing the coffee, but it was not long after that before she finished the chores, just as Coco came out from her room. “Morning, Glamour,” Coco greeted with a big smile. Glamour felt herself twitching as she felt Coco’s love wash over her. Before last night, Coco’s love was like a steady stream, but now that she had opened up her feelings and heart, the dam was broken, flooding Glamour in a wave of warmth and energy. “Morning, Coco,” Glamour greeted back. She had to take a moment to compose herself until her body acclimated to the torrent of love before she could fill a cup with the finished coffee and set it out for Coco. “I heard you humming earlier.” “Oh, I sometimes do that when I’m working and I’m in a very good mood,” Coco replied, grabbing the cup and taking a sip. “As soon as I got up, I had to draw out a new sketch.” Glamour’s brow furrowed. “You’re still sketching? I thought you already had something in mind, since we went to the fabric store. I don’t mean to pressure you, but the contest is getting pretty close.” “Well, I did have something in mind yesterday, but when I woke up, I had a great idea that I had to create. I was finishing up the sketch when you knocked on the door.” “Well, if you’re that confident in it, then it must be really good. Do I get to see the sketch?” Coco’s smile faded a bit. “Um, well, if you don’t mind, I would like to keep it under wraps. I want to surprise you when it’s all done.” “That’s fine with me. It’ll just be all the more dazzling when I do get to see it.” “Oh, I’m sure you’ll love it,” Coco said with a renewed smile. Glamour poured herself a cup of coffee. She added two spoonfuls of sugar to her drink, and then a few more for good measure. “So, we’re actually marefriends, right?” she asked while she stirred her sugar with coffee. “That’s what we said last night.” A worried look flashed across Coco’s face. “You… You’re not having second thoughts, are you?” Glamour quickly shook her head. “No, no, no, it’s just that, remember that I said I don’t know much about love? Well, what does that mean for us? Does this change anything?” “Um… To be honest, I’m not sure either.” Coco brought a hoof to her chin as she took a moment to think. “Other than feeling happy that we made it official, I don’t feel that much different. Maybe we just keep on doing what we’re doing?” Glamour tilted her head. “You mean act like we’re friends?” “Pretty much, except that we’re doing it as marefriends. Although, if we want, we could be more open with how close we are and do other things that friends don’t normally do, like um… kissing,” Coco said with a blush. Glamour blushed a bit as well. “Uh, yeah. Kissing is good. Kissing is really good. I wouldn’t mind trying that out more.” Coco giggled. “Me too. Oh! I know what we should do. We should go on a date.” “Are you sure you have the time for that? We should not waste too much time since you haven’t actually started making the contest dress itself. I don’t want you stressing yourself out.” “I’ll be fine, Glamour. The stuff we bought from the store can also be used on my new idea, and I’m confident that I can finish it well before the Fall Fashion Fantasia starts.” “Alright then, if you’re sure. So, what happens on a date?” “We uh, go out… And do… stuff?” Coco replied with a shrug. “That’s pretty much it. We decide on something and do it together.” Glamour scratched her head in confusion. “But isn’t that kind of what we already do?” “Well yes, but um…” “We’re doing it as marefriends,” Glamour guessed. Coco nodded. “That’s the idea, I think. Sorry, Glamour, I don’t know too much about this either. Love is kind of hard to explain.” “Tell me about it. I guess that just means we have to discover how being marefriends works together then.” Coco smiled. “That sounds like a wonderful idea. So, what shall we do on our date?” “Hmm… Well, don’t dates usually involve a meal together?” “It’s not required, but I believe most dates do.” “How about…” Glamour frowned. “Oh wait, we can’t have lunch. We just had breakfast.” “Then we can do something else before that, like um…” Silence befell them as they fell into another gap devoid of ideas. Despite having lived in Manehattan for some time now, Glamour still was pretty unfamiliar with the attractions of the burgeoning city. It did not help that she hardly went outside unless it was with Coco. She really needed to get out more. A few discarded ideas later, Glamour suggested, “If we don’t know what to do, then how about we just go out and walk? It would be better than sitting here all day, and maybe we’ll find something to do along the way.” Coco clapped her hooves. “That’s a wonderful idea, Glamour. We don’t have to do anything extravagant for our first da—er, real date. It doesn’t matter what we do, as long as we do it together.” With a plan finally set, the two of them finished their coffee and prepared to leave. Glamour went back to her room and grabbed the sling pouch she acquired from the bank. The pouch contained a healthy amount of bits that she had withdrawn for their trip to the fabric store yesterday, but Coco refused to let her pay. That just meant that she had a ready supply of bits on hoof for today’s date. They emerged ready from their rooms at the same time, and with a smile and a nod to each other, they left the apartment. Once they set hoof on the streets of Manehattan, and after picking a random direction, they began their date and walked. After traversing a few blocks, amidst the smiles and small talk passed between them, Glamour began to notice she was getting into an increasingly familiar situation. A quick look around confirmed her suspicions, and she saw various ponies on the streets were stopping to stare at her. “How does it feel to have so many fans?” Coco asked after Glamour returned a wave to a group of young mares, who shrieked in delight at the attention. “It’s nice to see so many ponies are happy to see me. I can practically feel their adoration. And yet, at the same time, it still feels kind of odd to me,” Glamour confessed. “Before Manehattan, I pretty much kept to myself and blended in with the crowd. I’m not as nervous now, but I’m still getting used to all the attention.” “Well, you certainly could do without certain kinds of attention, such as the rudeness of some stallions,” Coco replied with a shudder. Glamour smirked. “Oh, I’m not worried about them at all. I got a pony to deal with them.” “Really? Who?” “Why the fearsome Coco, of course.” “Glamour…” Coco whined as her red face looked away. “You know that I’m not like that. I don’t know if I can repeat that again.” “So, you’re not going to protect me from the big, scary stallions next time?” “Well… uh… I-I wouldn’t say that…” “Relax, Coco, I’m teasing,” Glamour said with a snicker. “I know very well what kind of pony you are. I’m glad you broke out of your shell, even if it was only for a bit, for me. It shows how great of a friend, er, marefriend you are.” Coco smiled. “Well, like I said before, I feel braver when I’m around you. As embarrassing as it was to lose my head for a bit, I’m glad it ended up helping you.” They crossed another street, weaving through the throng of ponies, and walked down the block until Glamour saw something interesting. She stopped in front of a small store, its display window showing off cameras of various shapes and sizes. Looking at all the equipment made a question creep up in her mind. “Hey, Coco, how come we never took a photo together?” Glamour asked, still staring at the display cameras. “Oh, um… I-I guess it never came to my mind.” Glamour turned her head to Coco. “But you did take a bunch of photos with Suri.” “Well, that’s because…” Coco trailed off for a second before her eyes widened, and she made a loud gasp. “Oh, Glamour! I didn’t mean to upset you. I assure you it’s not because I don’t value our time together. It’s just that I haven’t felt the urge to take any more photos after what happened with Suri.” “Don’t worry, Coco. I understand. But what about now? We could take pictures of us together and make better memories for you.” “Pictures of us?” Coco was silent for a moment, but a smile slowly emerged on her face. “That actually does sound nice. I would love to take some pictures with you. I’ll have to find my old camera… somewhere…” Coco’s smile disappeared. “Actually, it’s been so long since I used it. I wonder if it still works.” “How about I buy a camera then?” Glamour suggested as she waved a hoof towards the store they were in front of. “In case we don’t find yours, we’ll have one ready.” “Are you sure? We could try to find and use mine first.” Glamour shrugged and opened the door. “Either way, we can burn some time in here, and a little look around wouldn’t hurt. Besides, I think a camera of my own would probably be useful.” The two of them entered the building to find a quaint store with a simple layout. The walls to the side were filled with shelves holding multitudes of cameras. A few ponies were browsing through the shelves as well as a couple of tables set up in the middle of the room displaying camera tools and accessories such as carrying cases, film, and tripods. To the opposite side of the entrance was a counter with a lanky earth pony stallion standing behind a cash register, and next to him was a door leading to the back room. The stallion perked up when he noticed Glamour and Coco come in, and he put on a smile as he trotted toward them. “Welcome to Snap Shot’s Camera Store, can I help you find something from our selection of fine cameras?” “Hello there, are you Snap Shot?” Glamour asked as she looked over the stallion. He was wearing what looked like to be an uncomfortable business suit, and even with her limited fashion sense, she could see that the outfit was tacky and a bit too formal for a store like this. “Um, no, that would be the owner and my boss. I’m Shutter Bug. I’m a salespony he hired.” Shutter Bug cocked his head. “Say, you look familiar. Have we met before?” Glamour took a moment to think before shaking her head. “No, I don’t think so.” She felt somepony tap on her shoulder, and she turned to the side to find a mare smiling at her. “Excuse me, but aren’t you the fashion model, Glamour?” the mare asked. “Yes, I am.” The smile on the mare’s face grew wider. “Oh, I knew it! I must say I absolutely adore your work! So avant garde.” Glamour smiled back, even though she was not sure what avant garde meant. “Thank you. It’s always nice to see how others adore the stuff I do.” “You… You’re that new, famous model?” Shutter Bug muttered, his eyes slowly growing wider and wider. Before his eyes could grow into disturbingly dangerous levels, he quickly bowed, his head almost touching the floor. “It’s such an honor to meet a star like you! Please, let me know if there’s anything I can do to make your visit here a pleasant experience!” Glamour stepped back a bit, a nervous smile on her face. She glanced at Coco, who was looking back at her with her brows furrowed in confusion, before turning her attention back to the prostate stallion in front of her. “Um, first of all, please get up. You really don’t have to go to such extremes for me. I’m just here to look at some cameras and maybe buy one.” “Oh uh, right, sorry,” Shutter Bug said as he quickly stood up and dusted off his front. “So, anything particular you are looking for? I’ll do my best to help you find what you need and answer any questions you have.” “Well, I never really used a camera before, so I think I need something easy to use. And I’m pretty much going to use it to take pictures of my friends and me doing stuff together.” Shutter Bug nodded and led them to a particular shelf. “Alright then, I think this section should have something along those lines. We got all sorts of models and varieties. For example…” He took a camera off the shelf. “This one has a nice light weight to it, but what makes it useful is its big aperture. Oh, and this one.” Shutter Bug pointed at a another camera. “It has a really fast shutter speed, a really important feature to look for in a camera. There’s also other things you must consider such as the lenses, white balance, the viewfinder, and…” Glamour leaned towards Coco slightly, and out of the corner of her mouth, she asked in a whisper, “Do you understand what he is talking about?” “Not really,” Coco quietly replied. “I picked my old one based on how easy it was to carry around.” Glamour nodded and tried to listen to Shutter Bug’s detailed explanation, but all the technical jargon was going over her head. Eventually, she held up a hoof, stopping the stallion’s complex rant. “I’m sorry for cutting you off, but would it be alright if we just look for ourselves?” Shutter Bug nodded and put back several of the cameras he was demonstrating. “Sure, go right ahead.” Glamour browsed through the cameras with Coco, and Shutter Bug followed right behind them. Thankfully, none of the other ponies in the store bothered them, and Glamour was able to do her shopping in peace. Every camera she saw was roughly the same rectangular shape with grips on the side. Another thing she noticed was that every single camera could easily be held in a pony’s hooves, bringing up something to her mind. “You know, now that I think about it, none of these cameras look like the one Photo Finish uses. It’s so big and heavy. Why doesn’t she use a camera like any of these?” Glamour asked, waving a hoof across the shelves. “It seems like it would make her job a lot easier.” “Actually, I think I read something about that in an article about her some time ago,” Coco replied. “It’s an old folding camera, but while it is kind of outdated, she refuses to use anything else because it was one of the first cameras she owned, and she swears it brings her good luck.” “Judging by how famous she is, there’s probably some merit to it,” Glamour said as she resumed her search. Other than the slight changes in appearances, she was having trouble distinguishing the difference between each camera. While she had no doubt that any of the cameras she looked at would suffice, nothing really stood out for her, so she concentrated on the one feature she knew what to look for. One thing that irked her about cameras were the large flash attachments. She knew they were needed to get enough light to take a picture, but they were all so bulky. Some of them were big lightbulbs surrounded by what looked like to be a plastic bowl, while others had lights that were stuck to the top of the camera. Many of the cameras were doubled in size, thanks to the flash components, and Glamour hoped to find a camera with small parts. Reaching the end of the shelf, Glamour found a camera without any attachments at all. Pointing at the camera, she asked. “Why does this one have none of those flash thingies on it?” “Oh, I see you found our latest model,” Shutter Bug replied as he took the camera into his hooves. “Thanks to a breakthrough in magic and technology, this particular camera has its light source built inside it. See?” Glamour blinked and shook her head a little when Shutter Bug took a picture of her with a tiny burst of light. “It might cost slightly more than most cameras, but you can’t argue with the portability and ease of use this camera offers.” “What does this dial do?” Coco asked from behind Shutter Bug, pointing to something on the back of the camera. “This lets you adjust the flash. Sometimes you want more light, and sometimes you need less light to take your pictures. With a simple turn of the knob…” Shutter Bug flicked something on the camera. “You can control it just like that. Now, I turned off the flash and—” Glamour yelped and quickly reared back as the camera emitted another light, except this one was much brighter and made it feel like her eyes were burning. She flipped over backwards and fell to the floor with a thud. “Glamour!” Coco immediately cried out. As spots flooded her vision, she felt two sets of hooves grab onto her forehooves and pull her back up. Glamour let out a faint groan as she rubbed her eyes. “What happened?” “I’m so sorry!” Glamour heard Shutter Bug apologize. “I thought I turned down the flash settings, but I actually did the opposite. That flash was at the maximum level, and… and… and… Oh, please don’t tell me I blinded a huge star!” Glamour continued to rub and blink her eyes, and eventually, the burning feeling started to ebb as her vision slowly returned. She eventually was able to see the concerned faces of Coco and Shutter Bug, along with the few other ponies in the store. “I’ll be fine. My eyes are slowly getting better.” That seemed to appease the other ponies in the store, and they soon went back to their own shopping, but Coco and Shutter Bug still carried worried looks. “Are you sure you’re okay?” Coco asked. “Yeah, thanks for the concern.” Glamour forced out a chuckle. “You would think that after all my time in front of cameras, I would be used to this sort of thing.” “I’m so glad you’re alright,” Shutter Bug said. He then bowed deeply. “I am so, so, so sorry about my mistake. I know I have no right to ask this of you, but I beg you, please don’t tell my boss! I just started working here a few days ago, and I really need this job! I’ll do anything you ask!” “Well, how about you let me see that camera?” Shutter Bug’s head snapped back up. “You… uh sure. Here you go.” Glamour took the camera in her hooves and began testing it out. She played with the buttons and dials, paying extra attention to the dial that controlled the flash that almost blinded her. The camera was designed to be pretty intuitive, and it only took a few moments to figure out all the controls and take a few practice shots. Despite the accident, she was liking this camera more and more. Not only were the controls simple, but the lack of the extra flash attachments made it light and easy to hold. In fact, it was small enough to fit inside her sling pouch, making it all the more convenient to carry around. “I think I’m going to buy this camera,” Glamour announced. “You will?” Shutter Bug’s eyes widened, and his jaw hung open for a few seconds before he shook his head and let a smile cross his face. “Th-that’s great! I’ll ring you up right now and set you up with a new one.” Shutter Bug took back the display camera and put it back on the shelf. He led Glamour to the cash register and then went into the back room. After a few moments, he came back out with a new camera and placed it on the counter in front of Glamour. “There you go. It even comes with a fresh roll of film, so you’re ready to start taking pictures right away.” “I can’t wait.” Glamour opened up her pouch and began counting out the necessary bits to pay for her new camera. The purchase ended up using almost all the bits in her pouch, but that left plenty of room to fit her camera inside. “Thank you for your purchase, and thank you for being so understanding over my blunder,” Shutter Bug said after they finished the transaction. “I wish I could at least give you a discount or something in return but uh, well, me being a new worker and all…” “Well, there’s one thing you could do for me,” Glamour replied. “Of course, anything.” Glamour gave back the camera to Shutter Bug and stood next to Coco. “Could you take a picture of my friend and I?” “Now?” Coco asked. “Oh, uh, sure. That sounds great.” “I’ll be glad to,” Shutter Bug replied. Glamour and Coco moved themselves closer together so that their sides were touching, and Glamour wrapped a forehoof around Coco’s back. Bringing the camera up to his eyes, Shutter Bug said, “Alright, looks good. Now, say ch—Oh!” He quickly lowered the camera and looked down at it as he chuckled nervously. “Sorry, I had to check the flash settings. Don’t want to make the same mistake twice.” After fiddling with the controls, he raised it back up. “Okay, now it’s good. Say cheese!” With a small burst of light, Glamour’s first photo with Coco was taken. “Well, feel free to come see me anytime when you need to develop your pictures,” Shutter Bug said as he gave back the camera to Glamour. “Snap Shot has some crazy hours, and I work a lot of them. If you drop by, there’s a good chance you’ll find me again, and I’ll make sure to give you top priority.” “I’ll keep that in mind. Thanks!” Glamour and Coco bade Shutter Bug goodbye and exited the store. Glamour took a moment to see if her new toy would fit in her sling pouch, and to her delight, it did. The two of them walked around some more, but nothing else caught their interest. Eventually, they decided it was time for lunch and made their way to Coco’s favorite cafe. When they arrived, they saw the same pink unicorn waitress from before cleaning the tables. She turned her head in their direction, and she quickly stood up straight with a huge smile. Trotting toward them, she greeted, “Miss Glamour, I’m so excited to see you again! Do you remember me? I served you and your friends the last time you were here. Oh, and thank you so much again for your autograph! It made my friends totally jealous!” Glamour chuckled sheepishly and backed up a step away from the perky pony. “Uh, you’re welcome?” “Will you be eating here again? That would be so great if you are because I would get to serve you again.” “Um, yeah, we are.” “Great!” the pink unicorn led them to a table in the outdoor area, practically skipping the entire way, and placed two menus on the table. “I need to pop inside for a minute, but I’ll be right back to take your orders. And thank you for coming!” Glamour and Coco sat down at the table and looked through the menus. With how familiar they were with the cafe’s selection, it took only a quick glance before they set their menus down to talk to each other. “Seems like everywhere I go, somepony gets all worked up over me,” Glamour said. “Does it bother you?” Coco asked. “If I was by myself, then no, not really. It’s when I’m with you that it sometimes annoys me. Everypony only notices me, as if you’re invisible. Your great dresses go up on stage with me. Not only that, but we’re supposed to be on a date, and yet I’ve been spending half the time with fans fussing over me.” “I admit that it would be nice if there weren’t so many ponies interrupting us, but I guess that’s one of the quirks of dating a fashion model.” Coco offered a small smile. “I’m not one for lots of attention anyway, so I don’t mind if ponies focus more on you. Besides that, I like watching you treat your fans so nicely. Not every pony is as gracious once they become famous, but you’re doing wonderfully.” Glamour chuckled. “Well, what can I say? It’s almost like I’m living off their adoration.” The sound of rapid hoofsteps signaled the return of the waitress rushing back to them. “Alright, I’m back!” the waitress announced with a big smile. “Now, what can I get you two?” “I’ll take the watercress sandwich,” Coco replied. “And I’ll have the lemon meringue pie,” said Glamour. “Gee, you sure like your sweets, Miss Glamour,” the waitress pointed out. “I’m pretty sure you ordered a dessert the last time you were here too. Um, not that there’s anything wrong with that.” “I just like sweet stuff,” Glamour said with a shrug. “Alright then, I’ll put in your orders, but um… before I go…” the waitress smiled sheepishly, and she looked down at one of her forehooves which was digging into the ground. “If it’s alright with you, could I maybe get another autograph from you? Some of my friends are unsure if you really gave me the last one. If you write a little message, I’m sure they’ll believe me. I mean, if I’m not bothering you.” Glamour nodded. “Sure, I don’t see why not.” “Oh, thank you so much!” The waitress passed over a pen and a piece of paper ripped from her notepad like last time. “I really appreciate this!” “So this is to…” “Oh, I’m Pink Lemonade,” the waitress said with a giggle. “I guess with all the excitement, I forgot to introduce myself last time.” “To Pink Lemonade… One of my favorite waitresses… From Glamour…” With one final stroke, Glamour finished the autograph and hoofed it back to Pink Lemonade. “Eeeee! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!” Pink Lemonade cried out with a huge smile as she hopped up and down. “You’re the greatest, Glamour! I’ll never forget this! Oh, I need to get your orders in! Thank you again!” With amusement, Glamour and Coco watched Pink Lemonade skitter off, her squeals of delight still audible from within the cafe’s kitchen. “Another satisfied pony,” Coco said with a giggle. “You really know how to treat your fans.” “It’s just a little bit of generosity. If I can give a little bit to make somepony’s day special, then it’s worth it.” Glamour smiled. “It’s something you told me on our first outing together.” “You remember that?” “You’re not the only pony being influenced in this relationship.” “Oh, Glamour.” Coco blushed a little. “I’m glad you take the things I say to heart.” “Hello there, lovebirds! How are you two doing?” a familiar voice from the side called at them. Glamour and Coco turned their heads to see Grace standing at the entrance to the cafe’s interior. “Out on a date?” Grace teased as she started to trot over to them. “Hi, Grace,” Glamour greeted back before she leaned over to Coco. In a whisper, she asked, “Does she know about us?” “How could she? We just agreed on it last night.” Coco paused for a second and then a smirk crossed her face. “I think we can have a little fun with this. Follow my lead.” Glamour’s eyebrow went up a bit, but she nodded soon after. “What? What are you two whispering about?” Grace asked when she sat down at their table. “Nothing too naughty, I hope.” “Only something we plan to do a bit later,” Coco replied. “It’s good to see you, Grace. I didn’t know you had a day off today.” “I don’t, but I did get through a bunch of paperwork faster than I thought, so I’m taking an extended lunch break.” “Prim Hemline lets you do that?” Glamour asked. “What she doesn’t know won’t hurt her,” Grace replied with a smirk. “That said, I can’t stick around too long. The pasta I had here last time was great, so I’m just grabbing some to take back to the office. What are you two up to today?” “We’re on a date,” Coco responded right away as she moved her seat closer to Glamour. “A real date.” Grace was taken aback a bit, but she quickly recovered with a chuckle. “Okay, okay, I get it. You want me to lighten up on the jokes. I know you two said you were just friends.” “Are we?” Coco smiled and quickly turned to Glamour and kissed her right on the lips. Glamour’s eyes widened for a second, but she caught on and wrapped her hooves around Coco to deepen their kiss. She might still be wary of their relationship, but Coco’s love-filled kisses were certainly a big perk. They locked their lips for several seconds before slowly backing away from each other. Turning to look at Grace, Glamour had to restrain herself from laughing out loud at Grace’s shocked face. The secretary’s jaw had almost hit the table, and one of her eyes was twitching. “Whoa…” Grace uttered a few seconds later. “You two… You just… Whoa…” “A-anyway, Glamour and I were out for a walk,” Coco said. She was trying to act nonchalant, but the big grin on her face told Glamour she was barely a step away from breaking down into laughter. “We stopped by one or two places before—” “You two kissed!” Grace cried out loud, shooting out of her seat to point a hoof at them. That tipped them over, and Glamour and Coco burst into laughter. Grace blinked a few times before she settled back down with a small, amused chuckle. “Oh, ha ha. I get it now. I gotta admit, that was a good one, Coco. Never knew that you would go that far to pull one over me, but I guess I deserve it after all the teasing I give you.” “Actually, Grace, I was serious,” said Coco. “Glamour and I really are on a date. We decided to try being marefriends last night.” Grace blinked several more times She pointed a hoof at Coco. “So you…” The hoof went to Glamour. “And you are together?” “Yes.” “Seriously?” “Right.” “And you’re not just pulling my leg again?” “That would be correct.” “As in an actual relationship with love and all that jazz?” “It certainly is.” “Whoa…” Grace stared at the two of them, and as time passed, Glamour started to get a bit nervous and wondered if Grace actually did not approve of their relationship. “Wait, so this means I got all sorts of material to use on you guys!” Grace suddenly proclaimed with a proud grin on her face. Glamour and Coco groaned and chuckled at the same time. Grace chuckled as well. “But in all seriousness, congrats to you two. The both of you do some crazy things, so I guess that’s why you two fit so well together. I wish you two the best.” Pink Lemonade came back to their table with a tray in her magic and a bag held in her mouth. “Here’s your takeout order, ma’am,” she said after giving the bag to Grace. “And here’s the lunches for my favorite model and her friend,” she continued, placing their plates on the table. “Well, I’m heading out now,” Grace said as she got up. “I have to get back before Prim Hemline finds out.” “Oh, wait a second, Grace. Hey, Pink Lemonade, could you do us a favor?” Glamour asked as she also got up. “Anything for you, Miss Glamour!” Glamour took her new camera out of the pouch and gave it to Pink Lemonade. “Could you take a picture of all three of us?” “Sure thing! Ooh, nice camera,” Pink Lemonade replied as she took the camera and inspected it. “Seriously?” Grace let out a mock sigh and sat down on the same side as Glamour and Coco. “If I must for my adoring fans.” Pink Lemonade trotted a few steps back and after taking a few seconds to aim, she pressed on the button on top of the camera, and a picture with Glamour and two of her friends was taken. After Pink Lemonade gave back the camera and started heading back inside, she said, “Feel free to call me again if you need something!” “It was nice seeing you two again.” Grace got back up from her seat and grabbed her to-go lunch. “And kudos on the whole relationship. I’ll see you two later.” Glamour and Coco said their goodbyes to their mutual friend as she left, but Grace paused a few steps later to look back at them with a smirk and wagged her eyebrows. “Oh, and don’t do anything I wouldn’t do, unless you’re in the bedroom, of course.” Glamour shot back a deadpan look, and Coco squeaked as her face grew red. Grace resumed walking, her cackles ringing loud and clear. “Maybe we shouldn’t have told her,” Glamour muttered. “We’re never going to hear the end of it from her now.” Coco giggled. “She means well, and at least, we got a little payback.” “I’m a bit surprised you actually decided to prank her.” “What can I say? You’re rubbing off on me as well. Now, let’s eat.” The happy couple dug into their meal. Glamour let out a hum of delight when she ate a mouthful of her pie. With her new life in Manehattan, she was able to sample all sorts of desserts, and the best part was that she did not have to worry as much about her diet like other models. Now that she proved she can make white chocolate mocha without anything blowing up, she wondered if she could eventually learn how to make all sorts of desserts. There were so many things she would love to try, along with any favorites that her marefriend had. Glamour stopped eating, her fork stuck in her mouth. As much as she wanted to keep on dreaming of sweets, thinking about her marefriend brought the unpleasant secret of her identity back to the forefront of her mind. Each time she thought about confessing, she would find some reason to put it off, usually involving her being a coward. She knew that the longer she waited, the more likely it was for things to get out control when her identity was revealed. But at the same time, it was possible that time would not make a difference, and she would have a better chance at trying to keep the secret for the rest of her life. If only there was a way for Glamour to check Coco’s feelings on changelings. “What’s the matter, Glamour? Do you not like your food?” Coco asked. “Oh, I do. I was just thinking um…” Glamour bit her lip, or at least, she tried to. She forgot the fork was still in her mouth and winced as she bit the metal instead. With a “Bleh,” she pulled the fork out and set it on the plate. Clearing her throat, she said, “I never really told you about where I came from, did I?” “No, you haven’t. All you’ve told me about your past is that you’ve been traveling for a while, and it’s been quite a difficult journey for you.” “Would you uh… Would you like to hear a bit about where I used to live?” Coco’s fork clattered onto her plate. “R-really? I would love to hear some things about your past… Um, if it’s not too much trouble for you. I know you are kind of reluctant to talk about it.” “We are marefriends now, and after you told me so much yesterday, I thought it would make things a bit more fair if I told you about my past.” Coco sighed. “Glamour, I appreciate the gesture, and I do really want to know more about you but…” Coco caressed one of Glamour’s forehooves resting on the table with her own. “I don’t want you to just do it to make things fair. You should do it when you’re ready and because you want to.” “I do want to, Coco. But uh, I can’t promise you that I’ll be able to tell you everything.” Or that everything may be completely true. “That’s alright, and thank you for opening up to me,” Coco said with a reassuring smile. Glamour nodded. “Right so uh, where do I start… Have you ever heard of a placed called Gallopville?” “I think I heard of the name before, but otherwise, no.” “It’s a moderately-sized town in the south, close to the border of the Badlands.” Coco’s eyes widened. “The Badlands?! But I hear there’s all sorts of wild and dangerous creatures living in there. Why would ponies live so close to that place?” “The Badlands might be a pretty dangerous place, but all sorts of rare metals and herbs can be found there. Many ponies in Gallopville make their living harvesting the area.” “I see… I guess that is a good reason then. I’m guessing that since you are talking about Gallopville, you are from there.” Glamour nodded again. “I used to live there before I started traveling.” “Was it really dangerous living so close to the Badlands?” “A bit. Every now and then, something nasty would wander into town. It’s not as bad as it sounds though. A lot of ponies there are tough, and a few members of the Royal Guard are stationed there to help repel the wildlife. So besides the occasional scare, life in Gallopville was pretty safe.” “That explains why you are so brave and tough yourself, Glamour. You make it sound like it’s no big deal, but I still can’t imagine living so close to a dangerous place.” Glamour shrugged. “You get used to it.” “I guess so… If you don’t mind me asking, what did you do there?” “Oh I um… I never stayed in one job for too long, and I changed quite a bit. Still, life in Gallopville was pretty much the same every day. That is, until the Royal Wedding.” “Why would the Royal Wedding change…” Coco blinked. “Change…” She gasped and covered her mouth with her hooves. “The changelings!” Glamour barely held back a cringe. That was not a response she was hoping for. “I heard that one of the main changeling colonies is located in the Badlands,” said Coco. “Is that why you left Gallopville?” “S-sort of. You are right about the changeling colony though. The Royal Guards confirmed that there’s a colony somewhere in the Badlands, so Gallopville had to change.” Coco was pretty much on the edge of her seat at that point. “What happened to Gallopville?” “A few days after the changelings were expelled out of Canterlot, a battalion of the Royal Guard arrived in town. Because of Gallopville’s proximity to the Badlands and the changeling colony, the guards were there to not only protect the town, but to use it as a watchpost against changelings.” “That’s good. I would be really scared knowing that there could be a changeling attack ay any moment,” Coco said, not noticing Glamour’s breath hitching. “I bet a lot of ponies were relieved to know that there were so many Royal Guards nearby.” “That was true for most ponies, but a few, like me, didn’t really like it. Sure, they were protecting the town, but the Royal Guard did have to implement a few rules. Nopony was allowed to leave the town alone, being out too late would likely result in being questioned, and other things like that. I can understand the precautions, but it made life a bit more difficult and annoying.” “I can see why that might seem problematic, but I would say it’s more than worth it to be safe from those nasty changelings.” Glamour drew a short, sharp breath. “N-nasty? You don’t really like changelings, do you?” Coco frowned. “Well, they did try to invade Canterlot. A lot of ponies got hurt because of that.” “R-right…” Glamour bit her lip. “A-Anyway, between the strict rules and the danger of the Badlands, I decided to leave.” “So you’ve been traveling around since then?” Glamour nodded. “Pretty much. I would stop by many places, but I never stayed too long. For one reason or another, I would end up having to resume my travels.” “What kind of stuff did you do during your travels?” Glamour fell silent for a couple of moments as her mind worked. Eventually, she let out a heavy sigh. “Um, actually, Coco, if you don’t mind, I think I would like to stop talking about things back then for now.” Coco blinked. “Oh, uh, right. That’s fine. Thank you for sharing with me all the other stuff. I never would’ve guessed you came from such a uh, rough place.” Glamour nodded silently. In a way, she did not lie to Coco about her past. She just merely bent the truth and did not tell the whole story. Gallopville was a popular feeding ground for the changeling colony long before the Royal Wedding. Glamour made many trips to the town, harvesting love to bring back to the colony. She and the other changelings had to be careful to make sure that the ponies in town would not know they even existed. It was nothing special, but it allowed them to live without any disturbances. But that all fell apart after the Royal Wedding. When the small army of Royal Guards moved into town, harvesting love had become incredibly difficult. More than once, Glamour found herself exposed and barely managed to escape the Royal Guard. Eventually, Gallopville was considered too dangerous to gather love from, and that was when Glamour and the other changelings who were dissatisfied with Queen Chrysalis’s rule set off on their own. Glamour sighed again. She had hoped Coco’s responses to changelings would have been milder, but each mention of her species was met swiftly by fear and revulsion. Maybe she needed to try a more direct approach. “Glamour, are you alright? Did your talk bring up some bad memories?” Coco asked. “I-I’m fine. I was just thinking. Um, since we’re talking about changelings, could I ask you a question about them?” Coco cocked her head. “Okay, but I don’t really know much about them. I only heard about them in the news and in your story just now.” “I just want an opinion about something. Um…” Glamour’s hooves tapped nervously on the table. “Do… Do you think all changelings are bad?” Coco folded her forehooves across her chest and closed her eyes to think. After a few moments, she opened her eyes again. “I’m not sure. I never really thought about something like that. What brought about a question like that?” Glamour’s eyes widened a bit. “Oh, I uh… Um…” Her eyes darted around as she tried to come up with a good answer. With nothing coming to mind, she took a deep breath and waved her hoof to beckon Coco to come closer. They both leaned in close to each other, and with a gulp, Glamour whispered, “I… I… I met a changeling during my travels.” Coco gasped. “Oh my goodness, what happened?” “We uh, talked.” “You… talked…” One of Coco’s eyebrows went up. “That’s it?” “What were you expecting?” Coco chuckled sheepishly. “Um, I might’ve thought you were attacked or something like that.” Glamour groaned. “No, she didn’t attack me. We just happened to stumble upon each other, and somehow, we started talking to each other. She was traveling around like me, and she was actually quite nice.” “What did you two talk about?” Coco asked. “She told me about how changelings needed to feed on the love of ponies. Food is not exactly easy to come about in the Badlands. Is it wrong of them for just wanting to survive?” “I suppose not… Not really… But why did they have to invade Canterlot?” “Well, they didn’t have to, but it would’ve ensured a lot of food for the changelings.” “I see…” Coco had to take another few moments to think again. She shook her head, and said, “Still, while I can understand that they need food, they did end up hurting a lot of innocent ponies.” “Oh…” Glamour sagged into her seat a bit. “Um, but what if it wasn’t completely their fault? Their queen was the one who planned the invasion. Could you really blame all of them for following orders?” “I… I don’t know, Glamour. Why are you asking all these questions anyway? Are you and that changeling friends?” Glamour quickly shook her head. “N-no, I just talked with her for a bit, but I guess you can say I see changelings in a different light because of that.” “Well… um… how do you know that she was telling the truth?” Glamour blinked. “What?” “Well, from what I heard, changelings use disguises and lies to get what they want. How do you know that the changeling you met was not trying to fool you?” “I, uh…” Glamour was left speechless. “I’m sorry for doubting you, Glamour. It’s admirable you’re trying to be nice to changelings, but I don’t know if you can trust a changeling you just met. They meddle with love, and I know very well what happens when somepony’s love is manipulated. You have to be extra careful whenever anything deals with the heart.” Glamour’s heart sank. She had her answer. “R-right, you’re right. I’ll try to be more careful.” Coco gave Glamour a quick hug. “Are you going to be alright? I can tell that I didn’t give you the answer you wanted.” “It’s alright. I heard what I needed to hear. Thanks for putting up with the weird questions. Let’s just finish our meal.” Glamour picked up her fork and started eating her dessert again. Despite the sudden loss of appetite, she needed to keep busy to avoid looking at the worried look Coco was no doubt giving her. “Glamour… I…” “You have nothing to be sorry for. Don’t worry about me.” After their lunch, they walked around a little bit more before deciding to head home. Coco was still worried about her, but eventually, Glamour was able to convince Coco she really was going to be fine. She was going to be fine… As long as she kept her real self a secret.