“Now, would you please turn around for us, darling?”
Glamour let out a barely audible sigh and did what she was told, slowly rotating herself in a clockwise direction. She had done this same thing today so many times, she had lost count.
Some time after she was granted her freedom by Princess Twilight as well as resuming a loving relationship with Coco, Rarity contacted them. Now that everything had settled down, she had wanted to see if Coco was still interested in the fashion show collaboration they discussed during their first visit to Ponyville.
Unsurprisingly, Coco was more than happy to leap at such such a grand opportunity, and Glamour dutifully followed her marefriend back to Ponyville. She even found herself actively helping Coco and Rarity pick out what designs they could showcase. And by that, it meant standing on the raised platform in Rarity’s home, Carousel Boutique, and modeling their clothes.
“This dress is amazing, Rarity,” Coco praised. “I love the gem arrangement you put into it. The rubies and sapphires really brings out the violet in the fabric and the yellow in Glamour’s coat.”
“Thank you, Coco,” Rarity replied, giving her a delighted smile. “I’ve had a lot of practice incorporating gems into my designs, and I do adore using them. There really is no other kind of material that can match their brilliance. Have you been able to try your hoof with gems?”
Coco shook her head. “Not really. Back in Manehattan, gems aren’t exactly the cheapest things to acquire.”
“Would you like me to send you some?”
Coco gasped as her eyes widened. “Oh my goodness, Rarity, that’s really generous of you, but you don’t have to do that!”
“Nonsense, there is an abundance of gems in the area surrounding Ponyville, and between my gem locator spell and Spike’s help, I always have plenty of them. Sending you some gems every now and then would be no trouble, and I think it will be a wonderful experience for you to work with them. It would be my pleasure.”
“W-well, if you are sure. Thank you, Rarity. I’m really looking forward to it.”
“Uh, guys, am I still supposed to be turning around?” Glamour asked. While she did like the frilly, violet dress she was wearing, the rubies and sapphires embedded into it made it a bit heavy.
“Oh, I’m sorry, darling!” Rarity apologized. “Coco and I got sidetracked with our conversation. Yes, we are done with that one. You can get out of that dress and form now.”
Glamour nodded, and she took off the dress she was modeling. Once she was free, green flames quickly washed over as her coat changed from yellow back to her usual gray.
“I must say, changelings are very useful in the art of fashion,” Rarity remarked while she delicately put away the dress in her magic. “The ability to change your coat makes it so much easier to pick out colors.”
“Yes, I do so enjoy being a living ponyquin,” Glamour dryly said with a wry grin. “Especially when there’s been so many dresses in the past few hours.”
“Oh, don’t be so dramatic, darling. You’re just exaggerating.”
Glamour glanced at the large stack of clothes and then at the clock on the wall to confirm that she was not exaggerating.
“We have been working all afternoon,” Coco pointed out. “I think we can afford at least one break.”
“I suppose a short respite would not hurt, even if we are having so much fun,” Rarity conceded.
Glamour shot Coco a smile filled with gratitude before she trotted off the stage to seat herself on a nearby red fainting couch that she had witnessed Rarity dramatically flopping onto several times.
“So have you talked to Octavia about providing music for the show?” Coco asked.
Rarity nodded with an eager grin. “I did, and she had agreed to do it. We still have to set up a time and location for our show, but that should not be hard to do. Everything is falling into place.” She glanced at Glamour who was still lounging on the couch. “Now, if only we could finish with picking out our dress selections…”
Glamour’s eyes widened, hearing the implications in Rarity’s tone. As much as she would like to continue helping Coco and Rarity, there was a limit to how much she could stand around and look pretty in an afternoon. Her legs were getting stiff from standing and walking in a slow circle for hours on end, and there was only so much dress wearing she could take in one day.
“Do we really have to pick everything out now?” Glamour asked with a nervous laugh. “I think I had enough for today, and it’s not like one more day or so will be a big deal, right?”
“Oh, but this is for the sake of fashion, darling, and fashion waits for nopony!” Rarity stuck out her quivering bottom lip to look at Glamour with big, shimmering eyes. “You must push on, darling! You must!"
Ignoring Coco quietly giggling behind Rarity, Glamour snuck a glance at the door. “Well, I, uh, really would like to help out, but I've kind of got something to do.”
“Oh? And what would that be?” Rarity asked with a raised eyebrow.
“Something.”
“Something…” Rarity repeated, her eyebrow rising higher.
“Yeah, something…” Glamour’s eyes shifted left and right before she let out a huge gasp. With one hoof brought to the side of her head and the other pointing behind Rarity, she yelled, “Oh my gosh! What’s that?!”
Rarity quickly turned around. “Wha? What’s—”
“SorryI’llseeyoulaterBye!” Glamour shouted, suddenly leaping off the couch and sprinting out the door.
She galloped down the street, ignoring Rarity’s quickly fading shouts and her tired hooves. She had hung around Rarity enough to know that she had a slight obsession with fashion that some might consider unhealthy, and Glamour half-expected the dressmaking unicorn to be coming after her.
When the boutique was completely out of sight and there was no sign of an angry unicorn coming at her with a net, Glamour finally slowed down to a trot. She hoped that Coco would keep Rarity busy until she eventually had to go back, but in the meantime, Glamour was going to take the chance to walk around for a while and stretch her legs.
A quick look revealed that she was close to the entrance of the market square. She knew from previous visits that ponies all over Ponyville, especially the farmers, would come here to set up stalls and sell their wares. While her bits were back at the boutique, some window shopping would not hurt, and it was a welcome change from standing around Rarity’s shop.
Glamour entered the square and began lazily walking around to browse the various shops. There were quite a few ponies milling about and purchasing stuff from the various vendors, and the air was filled with sellers hawking their wares, but the crowds and noise paled in comparison to bustling Manehattan.
Eventually, Glamour came upon a wagon that doubled as a stall and was selling apples, but her attention was drawn to the familiar pony working it. With her orange coat and the Stetson hat that never seemed to leave her head, Applejack was easy to identify.
Glamour hesitated, wondering if she should at least go say hello to Applejack. The last time she saw the apple farmer was back at the Crystal Empire. After she was exposed as a changeling, most of the Elements became wary of her, which was understandable due to everything that happened, but they still interacted with her. Applejack, however, was different.
Applejack pretty much ostracized Glamour, treating her as though she was not there. The few times Glamour happened to meet Applejack’s gaze, she received a baleful glare that would have given Prim a run for her money.
Still, that was back before the Elements knew that she really was a peaceful changeling. After Princess Twilight let her go free, Glamour had been able to interact with most of the other Elements in one way or another, and they all seemed to accept her as a changeling. The only Element that she had not had the chance to talk with was, again, Applejack.
Glamour knew that she was likely going to come face to face with Applejack sooner or later, so she decided that she might as well speak to her now. She assumed that Applejack would also be accepting, now that the whole mess she made had blown over, and there was certainly no harm in just saying hello.
She waited to the side for a few moments so that Applejack could finish up with some customers, and as soon as the apple farmer was free, Glamour walked on over to the wagon. Just as she was about to grab Applejack’s attention, the orange pony turned away from her to fiddle with something in the back of the wagon.
“Er, hi, Applejack,” Glamour greeted.
“Howdy! Ah’ll be right with you in just a moment,” Applejack replied. After a second, she turned back around with a fresh basket of apples in her hooves and a big smile on her face. “Sorry about that. Now what can Ah do for…” She paused when she looked at Glamour, and after blinking a few times, her smile shifted into a frown as her eyes narrowed. “you…”
Caught off-guard by the sudden mood change, all Glamour could stammer out was, “W-what?”
“What do you want?” Applejack asked with disdain clear in her voice. She plopped down the basket of apples on the wagon with a heavy thud, her eyes never leaving Glamour.
“I-I just wanted to say hi.”
“And hi right back at you,” came Applejack’s non-heartfelt reply. “Are we done here?”
“Well… Um… I did want to find out how you felt about me, you know, since Princess Twilight says I’m not a threat and all that.”
“Yeah, Ah know what Twilight said,” Applejack replied, her frown still present.
“O-oh…” Glamour’s ears drooped. “I just thought that since we were pretty friendly before I messed up everything and your friends seemed to be fine with me now, I could maybe try and be friends with you so that we—”
“Stop,” Applejack uttered, halting Glamour’s babbling. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. “Look, Ah’m just goin’ to give it to you straight. Ah respect Twilight’s decision, but that doesn’t mean Ah’m goin’ to pretend Ah like you. Ah just don’t feel comfortable around you. Now, that doesn’t mean Ah’m goin’ to come after you or any of that sort of stuff. Ah'd rather just have nothin’ to do with you.” She opened up her eyes to look directly into Glamour’s. “Just leave me be, and Ah promise that Ah won’t give you any trouble. Got it?”
“But I, uh…” Glamour sighed and solemnly nodded her head. “Got it…” she replied quietly and laced with disappointment. She turned away and began walking. “I-it was nice seeing you, Applejack.”
Applejack slowly shook her head and looked away. “Can’t really say the same to you. Bye.”
Glamour gloomily trotted away, sparing a glance back at Applejack, only to find that the apple farmer had already turned her attention to a new customer.
Glamour knew that there would be bumps as she integrated into pony society. Not everypony would accept a changeling. It still hurt to find out that Applejack was not happy with her being a changeling though, especially since the apple farmer was pretty much a friend before the whole fiasco at the Crystal Empire.
No longer feeling the urge to walk around anymore and be by herself, Glamour started trudging her way back to Carousel Boutique where Coco was waiting for her.
Soon after she exited the market square, Glamour heard a familiar voice call out from behind, “Excuse me, Glamour.”
Glamour turned around, and her eyes bulged to see a gray pony that she knew quite well. “Uh, h-hi, Octavia,” she greeted. She noted Octavia’s neutral face, but since the gray pony was also Applejack’s marefriend, she was more concerned about making sure the earth pony’s hooves were not going for her face. “Is, um, is there something you need?”
“I was wondering if you would like to join me for a cup of coffee and a little chat?” Octavia waved her hoof at a nearby cafe.
“Er, what for, if you don’t mind me asking?”
“I saw what happened between you and Applejack. While I am not going to apologize for her actions, I do think you at least deserve an explanation for her behavior.”
Glamour blinked a few times. “Oh, well, um…” She was tempted to just say no, but curiosity was quickly overwhelming her desire to run away screaming. Taking a deep breath, she gave an uneasy smile and said, “That sounds great.”
Octavia nodded and headed straight for the cafe without another word.
Glamour bit her lip, watching Octavia trot away. After a few seconds, she followed her into the cafe.
Inside, Octavia directed Glamour to a table in the corner where they could have a little bit of privacy for their talk while she ordered their drinks.
While Glamour waited for Octavia at their table, she wondered if this meeting was a good idea. She never told Octavia that they had sort of met during the invasion, and even though it ended with her being knocked out by the earth pony, Glamour still felt guilty about the whole situation. That and she did not want another hoof to the face.
But Glamour also wanted to smooth things over with Applejack if it was possible. Not for just her sake, but for Coco and Rarity as well, and she hoped that Octavia would be able to provide some information so that she could fix things.
It was also nice that there were ponies around in the cafe that would act as witnesses in case Octavia was planning to talk with her hooves instead.
Glamour looked up when Octavia came back to the table and set one tall mug in front of her.
“I heard that you liked white chocolate mocha so that’s what I got for you,” Octavia remarked, sitting down on the chair opposite to Glamour with her own drink.
“Thank you, Octavia,” Glamour replied with a polite nod and a small smile. She promptly grabbed the drink in her hooves and took a sip, letting out a satisfied hum when the familiar sweetness hit her taste buds.
“So, how are things with you and Coco?” Octavia asked after taking a sip of her own drink.
“Things have been great. We’re not too busy with our work at the moment, so we have plenty of time to enjoy our time together, including coming here. It’s kind of hard to describe why, but the one thing I am sure of is that I’m happy with her.” Glamour paused for a moment. “You, uh, you know the whole story about what happened between Coco and I, right?”
“Twilight talked about it with me and the others during one of our get-togethers. It’s good to hear that everything has worked out.”
Glamour merely nodded back, not sure what else to say. An awkward silence descended between them, the sounds of the other ponies in the cafe just background noise, as they nursed their drinks.
“I suppose I should get to the point of this little meeting, huh?” Octavia asked.
“Um, yeah, that would be nice,” Glamour replied with a sheepish grin. “You said you were going to explain why Applejack was a bit, um, not friendly to me.”
Octavia sighed. “I love Applejack very much, and I know very well one of her flaws is that she can be stubborn. Yes, it’s true that she dislikes you, but don’t take it too personally. She, um…” She paused to look around before leaning forward to continue in a quieter voice. “She doesn’t like all changelings.”
“Oh… Uh, okay…” Glamour let out a deep sigh. “I guess I should have seen that coming. A lot of ponies share the same sentiment after the Royal Wedding. The whole invasion thing pretty much made us into scary monsters.”
“Actually, her reasons go a bit deeper than just simply seeing changelings as invaders. You see, Applejack does not do well in hospitals.”
“You mean she had to go to the hospital because of all the changelings she had to fight?” Glamour asked, recalling that Applejack and the other Elements were captured before she and all the other changelings were blown out of Canterlot.
“No, I mean she has a really hard time seeing her friends and family in the hospital. Applejack cherishes the ponies she loves very much, and she can’t bear to see them get hurt or sick. Do you remember us telling our story when we first met?”
Glamour had to take a few moments to dig through her thoughts, but her eyes widened when she realized what Octavia was getting at. “You were knocked out when you tried to find Applejack and ended up in the hospital.”
Octavia nodded. “We weren’t marefriends yet, but our love for each other was definitely there, even if we didn’t know it yet. We glazed over that part of the story when we told it to you before, but for Applejack, seeing me in the hospital was really tough for her.”
“So Applejack doesn’t like changelings because you got hurt by them?”
Octavia nodded again. “Because of what happened to me, she thinks all changelings are dangerous. She even argued with Twilight when she started working with changelings, claiming that all changelings can’t be trusted. Thankfully, Applejack saw that she was getting out of hoof and apologized. She’s calmed down about it since then, but she still is very wary of changelings, as you already have seen.”
“Yeah… Still, I get it now. She loves you very much and just wants to protect you. I know I would do the same for Coco. Love can make you do some crazy things.”
Octavia chuckled. “Oh, I know that very well. I certainly did some outrageous things for her. My best moment has got to be when I thought I could somehow rescue her after she was captured during the invasion. Looking back, trying to sneak through a changeling-filled Canterlot was a very stupid idea, even if I was able to take down a few of them. Um, no offense.”
“N-none taken,” Glamour said with a sheepish grin. “I have no doubt that you are able to do that. No doubt, whatsoever."
Octavia stared at Glamour with a raised eyebrow for a few seconds. “Glamour, I’ve been meaning to ask you something ever since I found out who you really are.”
“Go right ahead,” Glamour replied, glad for the change in subject. “You took the time to help me out, so I would be glad to answer any question you have.”
“Why do you always seem so nervous around me?”
Glamour froze. “W-what do you mean?”
“I could tell you were nervous being around Applejack and the others, given who they are, but I do not understand why you would also be so tense around me. You said you were a fan of mine back when we first met, but I doubt that’s the reason. It feels like you’re afraid of me.”
“Oh… Uh…”
“Well?” Octavia uttered, her eyebrow rising higher with suspicion.
“Um… You see…” Glamour took a deep breath. “Alright, I did really meet you before, but not because of your music. It was brief, but you definitely made it memorable for me. During the invasion, there was a spike of love detected in one of the apartment buildings, and I, along with two others, were sent to investigate it. While I was lagging behind to search through some rooms, my companions continued on to the next floor. Soon afterwards, I heard some loud thumps from upstairs, and I rushed up. The last thing I saw before I was knocked out was a pony rushing toward me.” Glamour gave Octavia a flat look. “Guess who that pony was?”
Octavia brought a hoof to cover her mouth, but Glamour could hear the sounds of a stifled laugh, and she rolled her eyes.
“Oh my, that was you?” Octavia said with amusement. “So that’s why you’re always on edge around me.”
“Yeah, I got a nice close-up of your hoof when you ran into me,” Glamour dryly remarked. She moved her jaw around, recalling the memory. “You pack a mean punch.”
“A lifetime of cello playing is quite the workout,” Octavia said with a smirk. “Not to mention the time I put in to help Applejack with the apple-bucking. Be thankful that you were not your companions. I think they received a lot worse than you.”
“I’ll take your word for it,” Glamour grumbled.
Octavia chuckled. “In all seriousness though, I do hope you understand that I only did what I had to do back then.”
Glamour sighed. “Yeah, I don’t blame you. I probably would have tried to capture you myself if I had the chance back then. But I've changed a lot since then, er, both figuratively and literally. You don’t have to be afraid of me.”
“It’s a bit hard to be afraid of somepony you have knocked out before,” Octavia quipped with a grin.
Glamour rolled her eyes again and huffed. “I guess I can’t argue with that.”
Octavia chuckled again. “Sorry, it’s just a bit of a shock that we actually met before, even if I didn’t know about it. You really are quite nice, and I hope we don’t have to do something like that ever again.” She stretched out her hoof, stopping halfway across the table. With a smile, she asked, “No hard feelings?”
Glamour glanced down at the hoof for a moment before smiling back and giving Octavia a hoofbump. “No hard feelings.”
Octavia nodded in approval. “I am glad that you allowed me to talk to you, even after what happened in the past.”
Glamour paused for a moment to take another sip of her mocha. After setting down her mug, she asked, “Just curious, what made you decide to tell me about Applejack?”
“A big reason is because you and Coco are pretty close to Rarity, and I’m hoping that this talk will clear up any animosity so that nopony’s friendships become strained. The other reason is, well, I thought about how you were before and after knowing who you really were, and you seemed like a nice pony, er, changeling. It’s why I thought you deserved to at least know why Applejack is like that.”
“Well, I feel a bit better that it isn’t completely my fault that she doesn’t like me. Still, I would like to be friends with Applejack again, or at the very least, try and fix things up with her. Is there anything I can do to maybe change her mind?” Glamour asked hopefully.
“Well…” Octavia paused for a few moments, tapping her hoof on her chin in thought, before she shook her head. “I don’t think so. Like I said, she can be stubborn, but I’m sure she’ll lighten up eventually, especially if Twilight keeps on working with changelings like you. For now, I think it’s best you just leave her to the ponies that are closer to her.”
Glamour sighed. “If you say so. I suppose that it is the safest option.” She gave Octavia a small smile. “Thank you for taking the time to talk with me. It means a lot that you chose to help me, even though you know what I really am.”
Octavia smiled back. “It was my pleasure, and I quite enjoyed our talk, especially when I found out about our first meeting together.” She picked up her mug and finished off the rest of her drink. “Now, I must be going soon, so is there anything else you would like to ask me before I go?”
“Actually, yes, there is one thing. I know you’re not afraid of me, so after talking with me, do you consider us…” Glamour took a breath. “Um, friends?”
Octavia blinked several times. “Friends? Well… Um…”
Glamour was disappointed when Octavia went silent. She had wished for a quick confirmation, but she still held on to the hope that Octavia would say yes at the end.
Octavia finally sighed and gave an apologetic frown. “I’m sorry, Glamour, but I don’t think we’re that close.”
“Oh…” Glamour sunk into her seat a bit.
“It’s just that you kind of avoided me when you were afraid of me, so we didn’t really spend much time together before I found out who you were, and now that I do know, it feels a bit odd to suddenly be friends after finding out our first meeting was not so pleasant.” Octavia rubbed the back of her neck and glanced away. “Sorry, Glamour.”
“No, it’s alright. I understand,” Glamour replied, keeping her gaze on the table.
“But that doesn’t mean we can't try to be friends.”
Glamour’s ears immediately perked up, and she looked back up at Octavia. “Really?”
Octavia smiled. “I did want to talk to you, so that does mean I have at least some interest in getting to know you. And since I’ll be helping with the music for Coco and Rarity’s show, I’m definitely going to be working with you, and I think that’s the perfect opportunity for us to spend some time with each other and become friends.”
“That sounds great,” Glamour said with a broad grin.
“Then I look forward to the next time I see you,” Octavia said as she got up. “It was a pleasure talking to you, Glamour.”
“Same to you, Octavia,” Glamour replied, remaining seated at the table and bidding Octavia goodbye with a wave and a smile as the earth pony left the cafe.
Despite the tiff she had with Applejack, Glamour felt good. Coco and Rarity’s show was well on its way, and with that, it brought an opportunity to make a new friend, Best of all, she still had at least half a mug of white chocolate mocha left.