Unchanging Truths

by Rego

Chapter 20: Life on the Catwalk

Iridescent was gone.

Applejack struggled with her tail ties as she bolted out of the bedroom. It was early, but she hoped to Harmony that the other girls were up already. There had always been a risk of the changeling slipping away. Chrys had warned her about it. There was nothing for it though if the changeling was going to sneak away in the middle of the night. It wasn’t like they could’ve taken turns keeping an eye on her as if she was some sort of prisoner. They were trying to earn her trust, not rouse her suspicions. Maybe Twilight knew some way of tracking her down before—

“Oh, please. You’re too kind!” Prim Hemline said to a gathering of hotel ponies in front of the elevator. “I simply offer my advice to the real artists I work with. I do my best to seek out the next visionaries and trendsetters, too, but it’s such a struggle to get out with my busy schedule.”

Or maybe Applejack was worrying about the wrong thing.

“Dangit Prim!” Applejack called out over the small crowd.

“Good morning! Are you alright? You look as though you just barreled out of bed.”

“That’s because I did,” she groused, finally snapping the band around the end of her bird’s nest of a tail. “What the hay do you think you’re doing?”

“I was going to help myself to a little breakfast before you got up.” The critic gave the other pony a knowing wink. “But I didn’t expect to run into so many adoring fans here in the hallway. I must be more famous than I thought.”

“Exactly why you maybe shouldn’t be messing around like this willy-nilly, Miss Hemline.”

Prim sighed wistfully and lightly kicked the elevator button to head down. “You’re right. I promised Princess Twilight I would be discreet about our early morning meeting.” The bell chimed behind her, and she motioned for Applejack to join her. “Now promise you all won’t tell a soul about this little surprise meet-and-greet. I don’t want to have to speak to the manager.”

The excitement lowered to a strained simmer as the cleaning staff shared a glance and silently agreed for the sake of their jobs. “N-no! Of course not, Miss Hemline! Thank you for the signatures!”

“My pleasure, you lovely ponies. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need a little privacy with my bodyguard.”

The group turned to Applejack, noting the farmer’s stronger build, as well as the scowl resting on her lips. They smiled as they backed away, letting the pair board in peace. AJ stomped over to the elevator and hit the ground floor button while the fashion star’s fans waved goodbye behind the closing doors.

“You know, I could get used to this. It’s a shame I couldn’t actively absorb love while I was Prim. I’d have control of the whole city by now.” The changeling cackled to herself.

“Well, ya ain’t gonna be doing a thing in Manehattan if you blow yours and Chrys’ cover.”

“Don’t worry your pretty pony head. I had those morsels practically eating out of my hoof,” Desi bragged as she shifted into her griffon form from last night. She polished her claws on her pink chest plumage and admired their sharpened sheen. “I was thinking Heidi Furbelows for this form, but it might be a little too close to a pony name.”

“If I were you, I’d be less concerned about what I go by and more with how I’m going along. You’re the spitting image of Prim as a griffon.”

The changeling hummed to herself as she checked her disguise in the elevator’s mirror. “Now that you mention it, this one does bear a striking resemblance to her. Even down to the color choice.”

“All I’m saying is that if I noticed, other folks around here are definitely going to.”

Desi poked the top of her head where her feathers turned a darker shade of pink, forming into a mane mirroring Prim Hemline’s triangular bangs. “It is rarer for a griffon to have fur on their head.” She combed her claw through her mane, flashing it into a bundle of longer feathers and drooping it over the left side of her face, slightly obscuring her eye. She then flickered her coat from muted gray to a darker shade of black. With a final splash of darker makeup across her face, Desi was looking a lot less iridescent. “There we go. This is more my style anyway.”

The door dinged, opening up to the ground floor just as she wrapped up her elevator makeover. Applejack rubbed her chin, trying to make heads or tails of the look. “I think I saw a few ponies with that downright depressed look you’re—”

“Goth,” she corrected before AJ could finish her meandering guesswork.

“R-right.” Applejack gave the griffon a gander, trying to take it all in. “So is there a reason for—”

“You wouldn’t get it.”

Applejack frowned at the familiar sentiment. “Is it because I’m ‘prey?’”

A chuckle escaped Desi’s nose as she shook her head. “No, but that works too.”

Stepping out into the lobby, Applejack noticed there weren’t very many ponies around. The folks running the hotel were still setting up breakfast, while anypony else up and at ‘em was getting an early start to their busy day. Iridescent strolled about a bit, getting a lay of the land as it were, and finally settling on a sitting area looking out towards the city streets. AJ sat down on the seat next to her, joining the changeling’s gaze.

“It’s strange,” Iridescent remarked as her eyes scanned the edges of Canter Trail Park. “Usually at this point, I’m already back at the hive, sharing what love I was able to collect after a successful mission. I’ve never reemerged from an infiltration and just… lingered.”

“How many times have you gone undercover?”

“Including Manehattan? Six.”

“Golly. Time must feel real wonky to ya. Years just skipping along like a stone, only touching the lake for a second before hopping along again.”

Desi shifted a little, trying to find a better spot with her bigger griffon body. “Only four of those enveloped me, and then it was just a few months. This is the first time it’s been this long.”

“Does it look any different to ya? Manehattan, I mean.”

“Not to me, but I didn’t bother looking. I focused on preparing what I needed to assume Prim Hemline’s role in society. If she didn’t need to know it, then neither did I.”

“That makes sense.” The farmer pointed her hoof out the window to the distance. “It’s a bit difficult to see, but that’s Saddle Row way over there. Might start noticing a few changes when we get out there later for the tryouts.”

“Probably. I don’t recall a place called Regality before.”

“It was there, but it wasn’t a skyscraper. I think they were still building it up until about a year ago or so. Got family out this way that’d know better if Rarity doesn’t.”

“She was that white unicorn with Her Majesty, right? I don’t remember seeing her in the lobby when we got back last night.”

“Rarity’s keeping an eye on Prim Hemline and trying to find a good chance for us to get some alone time with her. It’ll take some doing with how busy she is with that show of hers.”

Iridescent nodded, but kept her eyes trained on the edges of the fashionable buildings in the distance. “I’m kind of looking forward to seeing her in action. Queen Chrysalis usually assumes the identity the infiltrators built, but she’s never fully enveloped herself. This will be Prim Hemline come to life.”

“She’s been real to the rest of us, you know.”

“But to me, she’s just a complicated interwoven mess of illusions; little more than a character in a story. Fake memories, fake interests, fake hobbies, fake quirks. I wonder if she flicks her tail when she’s frustrated.”

“Probably,” Applejack said with a shrug. “Pretty sure most ponies do that though.”

“I wanted her to do it constantly, especially if she’s thinking while aggravated. Some ponies stick out the tongue when they’re working through a problem. Prim should swish her tail around like a cat.” Desi wagged her own lion tail for emphasis with a grin. “I never get to know if all of those little influences I made really stuck unless I hear it from someone else.”

“At least you seem a little more open to the whole integration idea than yesterday.”

The changeling’s tail stopped as she rested back in her seat. “I’m still thinking about it. I don’t think I’ll be able to make up my mind until I see her for myself.”

“Why not? You said it yourself that she’s just a bunch of stuff you made up. As far as I can tell, you’re just remembering pretending to be somepony you’re not for a spell.”

“There’s more to it than that. I’ll remember being a completely different creature with a completely different life!” The griffon crossed her forelegs and frowned. “I don’t know what that will even be like, or if I can even do it.”

Sensing the girl’s apprehension, Applejack leaned in a little closer to the griffon. “Chrysalis made it sound like y’all did something like it before.”

Desi shook her head. “Integration isn’t something we drones ever do. Her Majesty does it within the Mindscape.”

The familiar term made AJ’s ear flick. “Isn’t that just when y’all are dreaming?”

“Not the way I’ve heard you ponies experience dreams. To a changeling, the Mindscape is as tangible of a place as where we are now. When we sleep or meditate in the presence of the Queen, we connect with her mind, integrating ourselves with it. It is a vast, illusory realm of our communal making where we experience the all-mother’s eternal presence fully.

“Where your pony thoughts are filled with random noise and chaos, Her Majesty guides our lives both here in the truth and there in our shared untruths.” The changeling-turned-griffon sighed wistfully, looking towards the early morning sun. “Truly, I was disappointed when I found the night had passed in the blink of an eye. The palace of her mind is truly a sight to behold.“

Hearing Iridescent go on so passionately about her queen was something else. The way she described the Mindscape made Applejack a little sad that she’d never get to see it. The rest of the changelings she’d met never really talked about life under Chrys’ rule in a good way. Pharynx probably would’ve when they first met, but that notion was put to bed by a firm, queenly hoof pressing down on his windpipe. Whatever the case, Iridescent truly believed in her queen, just like AJ trusted her princesses.

Everything about changelings was just a little too different to wrap her head all the way around. It wasn’t unimaginable, but rather rubbing against all of Applejack’s sensibilities. The whole nation was built on a bunch of honest lies that everyone was in on. Truth was so powerful against them that they’d gone and spun it back around the other way, weaponizing it to unleash powerful changelings like Iridescent on the world.

It was scary enough thinking back to Chrys revealing herself at the wedding. AJ didn’t want to even think about how terrifying it’d be for one of her friends to turn out to be a powerful infiltrator. She knew she’d fall for it, too; hook, line, and sinker. Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Twilight… Applejack would die trying to remind any one of them about a false friendship that’d been ripped away in an instant.

“Something on your mind, Applejack? You’re being awfully quiet for you overly friendly Equestrians.”

“Don’t worry about me, Desi. Just still waking up is all,” she lied.

---

Regality’s Convention Center definitely lived up to its lofty name. They’d sped through the place chasing Chrys down the day before, but now that AJ had the time to take a gander at it, the place gave Twi’s castle a run for its bits. While the steel and glass outside looked impressive enough, the inside was practically made for royalty. They’d blended the marbled halls of Canterlot with the Crystal Empire’s shimmering crystal fractals while maintaining Manehattan’s golden art deco splendor, at least according to Twilight. All Applejack heard was it was fancy on top of fancier, with a dash of fanciest thrown in for good measure.

The group of friends filed in along with the rest of the spectators to watch the last day of the Fashion Week Tryouts. They let the onlookers go on ahead to see the actual show, while their group stayed back to get a better angle on where the judges would be sitting. Rarity was still nowhere to be seen, but AJ figured she was hanging around Prim Hemline somewhere. Knowing her, she’d probably offered to help in any way she could.

The rest of the convention room had been fashioned into a runway for the candidates to strut their stuff. It was a bit less flashy than the shows she’d caught before, but considering it was about the hopeful models more than anything, the streamlining made sense. Even the candidates were supposed to bring their own stuff to wear for the first round. Of course, knowing that there were multiple rounds was already making the day drag. As if sensing her dread, a pink hoof popped into her periphery.

“Popcorn?” Pinkie offered with a jiggle of the bag.

Applejack raised a curious eyebrow. “Thanks for offering, but didn’t they say you weren’t supposed to bring food in here?”

“Well that’s silly! If I wasn’t supposed to bring popcorn, then why did they have a popcorn stand outside?”

“That was a stand in the park,” Iridescent clarified sharply. “There were signs all over the place strictly forbidding food or drink in the show.”

“But how am I supposed to cheer Applejack up?”

“I ain’t in a bad way, Pinkie. Just not looking forward to being here for the next however many hours.”

“You’re telling me,” Dash added as she snatched a hoof full of popcorn for herself and poured it into her mouth. “I’ve gotten used to sitting through fashion shows, but this is like three back-to-back-to-back! Did you even see the line of models out there? We’re gonna be here all day!”

“If you don’t like it, you shouldn’t have come,” the changeling bit back. “Personally, I’m looking forward to seeing what my disguise managed to put together.”

Twilight clapped her hooves in agreement. “This must be so exhilarating for you, Iridescent!”

“Heidi,” Desi corrected firmly.

“Right, Heidi!” Twilight tittered as her claps slowly settled into rubbing them together. “Either way, it’s not every day you get to watch another you put on a landmark event like this!”

“It’s not another me. She’s a completely different species, for one.”

“That may be true, but don’t forget that she was also a character that you conceptualized and put into the world. You may be able to bury your consciousness, but you can’t escape the creative influences that guided your decision-making when you were imagining Prim Hemline. There will always be at least a little bit of you in her no matter how deeply you bury it.”

Desi smirked as she considered the thought. “When you say it like that, you come off as a know-it-all, princess.”

“O-oh.” Twilight’s ears drooped.

Realizing her mistake against a royal, the changeling quickly backpedaled. “I guess you’re not wrong. It just makes it a little weird.”

The alicorn bounced back slightly as her sadness was quickly replaced with curiosity. “What do you mean?”

“When you word it like that, it almost makes it sound like Prim is my offspring. It’s a weird thought since I envisioned her much older than me.”

“That is pretty awkward.” Twilight tapped her chin. “In fact, if we break the germinal idea framework down even further, then the concept of Prim Hemline isn’t even five yet. She’d be your middle-aged foal.”

Applejack frowned at her overthinking friend. “Twi? We’re trying to help Heidi here be a bit more comfortable with meeting the mare. I don’t think you pondering their relations is helping much.”

“I don’t know about that,” Fluttershy chimed in. “I’m always proud of my animal friends when they show me the things they do, like build a burrow or find a mate. It’s enjoyable to see the results of the effort you put into another.”

Iridescent raised an eyebrow at the notion, but eventually a small smile pulled at her beak. “I understand that. I always looked forward to seeing my progeny in-between missions.”

“Progeny?” The curious pegasus gave Desi her undivided attention. “Are you a mother?”

The changeling laughed and shook her head. “No, but the egg I offered the kingdom hatched into a beautiful nymph.”

“I’m not sure I understand, Irid—I mean Heidi.”

“Infiltrators can’t be mothers. We seek out love to provide to all the younglings under the all-mother’s care.” Seeing the horror slowly gripping Fluttershy, she tapped the kind mare on the shoulder as the lights dimmed. “Don’t worry about it. You wouldn’t understand.”

“But—”

“Shh. It’s starting.”

A few seconds went by before the stage lit up. The audience had barely caught a glimpse of a gray hoof before everypony roared with applause. Prim Hemline strode down the runway, sporting her signature pink button-down and fancy, frilly neckerchief. The critic carried herself with an austere grace that’d put even seasoned models to shame, stopping in the center of the stage without even needing to see where she was going. She lifted her head and finally opened her eyes to the roar of her adoring fans. Their queen had arrived.

“Good afternoon, everypony! Thank you for coming to the final day of our Fashion Week Tryouts!” She let the crowd cheer as the adoration washed over her.

Applejack joined in their applause while sneaking a peek at Desi. The changeling’s mask was slipping a smidgen, her beak open and drooling at the spectacle. It was plain as day to AJ that the room was full to bursting with love for the changeling’s famous disguise.

“For those of you just joining us today, these tryouts are being held to debut a new designer that I hope to share with all of you soon!” Prim paused to let another peal of cheering. “But first, we have hundreds of hopeful models that have answered our casting call, but only twenty can make the final cut. I am looking forward to seeing what each and every one of you has to show today. So, put your best hoof forward and show our brilliant panelists and me how to make it in Manehattan!”

The lights pulled towards the side of the stage, where an elevated judges table had been sectioned off. “Now please join me in welcoming the superstar ponies that will be grading your performances. First, coming all the way from Canterlot to provide her eye for the extra-ordinary, give it up for the Pony of Pop, Sapphire Shores!”

A sting of flashy music flared over the speakers as the pop idol strode towards her seat, shining a smile brighter than the sparkling white dress she was wearing. “Hey, hey every po-nay! Thank you all for such a fantastic week of fashion! I can’t wait to see what y’all bring to the stage. Today is gonna be ma-gi-cal!”

The room went absolutely nuts for the singer. Applejack wished she’d brought earplugs like she was doing when Rara rolled into town. They were gonna be ringing all the way back to Sweet Apple Acres at this rate.

“Next, we have the illustrious head costume designer from our city’s very own Bridleway Theatre. Please welcome the brilliant stallion behind the stage, Overall Concept!”

A suave stallion stepped out to much less fanfare than the mad screams from earlier. He adjusted his bowtie before taking a proper seat next to Sapphire. “Thank you again for having me for these tryouts. Like all of you, I look forward to seeing this day’s fashionable finale. Break a leg, everypony!”

“Thank you, Mister Concept,” Prim smiled as she briskly trotted towards her own seat. “Of course, you all know me by now, but I bet you’re all wondering who our wildcard panelist is today.” The audience answered with another smattering of cheers. “I thought so! It brings me great pleasure to welcome one of the most fashion-forward, up-and-coming designers in all of the fashion world, the magnificent seamstress from Ponyville, Rarity!”

“What?” Applejack and her friends gasped in unison as their friend joined the others behind the table. While there were far less cheers for her than the others, those who knew were making up for it by screaming their heads off.

“Oh my! How unexpected! Thank you, darlings!” Rarity waved before taking her seat behind the table. “It is every designer’s dream to see the clothes they make bring out the best in the ponies who wear them. It is a competition, so I know we won’t be able to choose all of you, but just know that each and every one of you out there is beautiful no matter what. That goes for you too, you absolutely lovely members of the audience!”

If they hadn’t cheered before, they definitely were now after hearing the gracious unicorn’s heartfelt words. It always made her proud to see no matter how high Rarity rose, she was the same pony in and out. AJ whistled and stomped her hooves to show her support for her equally beautiful friend.

After the audience calmed down, Prim leaned over to her microphone. “And with that, let the show begin! Please welcome our first set of competitors to the runway. In order of appearance, we have Luscious, Zesty Zeal, Spotlight, Lem n’ Lime…”

---

After an hour of watching the conga line of ponies pass by, Applejack was feeling more inclined to join Rainbow sawing logs under Twilight’s soundproof bubble. It was more entertaining than watching paint dry that one time, but only just a little. Sure, it may have been a steady stream of some of the most gorgeous mares Applejack had ever seen, but even eye-candy got old after a while. Didn’t help that most of them wouldn’t hold a candle to Ponyville’s Captain of the Guard.

While she was getting more bored out of her mind by the minute, Iridescent had been locked into full-on critic mode from the moment the first model started strutting their stuff. It was remarkably similar to the ponderous face Prim Hemline was sporting on her end. However, about halfway through the show, Prim’s mood had taken a sharp turn downward. The mare was tapping her hoof impatiently, a stern frown cemented on her face, her tail going ninety to nothing. Anypony that glanced her way knew the mare was burning wild with frustration. Even Sapphire Shores was concerning herself more with the fuming fashion critic than the talent.

After the last model did her best to walk down stage under the wrathful gaze of Prim Hemline, all eyes turned to the hostess. The music stopped as the spotlight hit her, and all was quiet. Her microphone kicked back on with a squeak of feedback, but she didn’t pay it any mind. Whatever was eating at her was outweighing even trying to put on a front.

“You okay over there, Hemline?” Sapphire asked away from her mic.

The mare didn’t answer and stood up. “That concludes round one. We will now take a twenty minute break while we decide who will be moving on.”

“Deliberate?” Overall asked in sharp concern. “But the whole reason we even have this tally sheet—”

“Twenty minutes,” she restated, leaving no room for questions. “Thank you.”

Prim turned around, taking her papers in hoof as she quickly fled to the backstage. Rarity nearly called out to her, but instead turned to her friends. She forced a smile and pointed her horn towards the doors.

“Wake up, Rainbow!” Twilight popped the bubble around the snoozing pegasus. “It’s time to go!”

“Huh-wuzzit?”

“Rarity needs our help, we’ve got to move, now!”

Dash shook the daze away and grinned as she somersaulted skyward. “Finally! Time for some action!”

“We’ll just have to see about that,” Iridescent muttered.

They pushed the dumbstruck crowd towards the doors at the back of the venue. Luckily, Rarity was already waiting for them when they made it through. She was briefly distracted by Iridescent’s bold choice of griffon goth, but the disguised changeling only flashed her talons to move them along. With the message received, the group made their way to the private areas of the convention center.

Twilight caught up to Rarity’s side. “What happened back there?”

“That’s just it, I don’t know!” Rarity admitted.

“She seemed a bit heated, to say the least,” Applejack added.

“You’re telling me, Applejack. I was starting to wonder if Chrysalis has something to do with it, but I didn’t want to risk asking her.”

“That wasn’t Her Majesty, I can promise you that,” Desi stated unequivocally as they turned the corner towards a series of private offices. “But something definitely wasn’t sitting well with Prim Hemline. Did you notice if she broke her pencil at any point?”

“Pen, but yes. She split it right in two with the side of her hoof.”

“That’s not good.”

“But how did you know?” Rarity asked. “She did it against the table. I only noticed when the ink started pooling next to me.”

“Prim should do that when she’s reached her breaking point. It goes tail flick, tail wag, and finally small property damage. We might need to be ready to dodge furniture if she’s livid.”

“You mean ya put that level of violence into her as a character quirk?” Applejack asked, starting to get a bit frustrated herself.

“No, but it’s as Twilight and Fluttershy said. She’s partly me. That’s what I do when I lose my temper,” Desi admitted with a shrug of her shoulders.

The group slowed down as they reached the final door at the end of the hallway. Around there were temporary offices belonging to the panelists, with the last, lone door in front of them belonging to Prim Hemline. If Prim was in there, Applejack couldn’t hear her through the thick door. There was no telling what was waiting for them on the other side.

“Well, let’s hope she’s not so disagreeable then,” Rarity said as she put a hoof on the door. “Now, let me do the talking first. And, umm, Twilight? Would you be a dear and catch anything Prim might hurl our way?” The mare’s smile strained along with her nerves.

The alicorn’s horn lit up and she nodded. “Ready when you are!”

“Thank you.” Taking a bracing breath, she knocked. “Miss Hemline? Are you in there? It’s Rarity.” The group waited a moment, but there was no answer. Testing the waters a bit more, she slowly opened the door. “Miss Hemline?”

It was a little dark in the room, with the only light in the room shining through the closed blinds. Applejack didn’t get a good gander at the rest of the space, considering who was right under the window on the couch. Prim had buried her face into one of the couch’s pillows, stifling bitter sobs with the plush fabric.

“Prim!” Rarity cried as she ran to her friend's side. “Darling! Are you alright?”

Hemline lifted her head, “Rarity?”

“Yes. I’m here. What’s wrong?”

“Oh, Rarity! It’s terrible! Horrid! I’m absolutely ruined!”

“Whyever for?” Rarity asked tenderly as she did her best to comfort her friend.

“I’ve lost my artistic touch!” The distraught critic stammered as she tried to find her words. “I don’t know what’s fashionable anymore!”

“What do you mean?”

“I don’t know! I don’t know! Ever since I bumped into that miserable parasite, it’s like I can’t even think straight. It’s as if I’ve lost my sense of style entirely. I’m deaf! Blind! Mute!”

Rarity laughed uncomfortably at the anti-changeling sentiments, but brushed them aside; it wasn’t entirely Prim’s fault. She cleared her throat and lowered down next to the mare. “It’s going to be okay, I promise. We all suffer from creative blocks at times.”

“No, Rarity. You don’t understand. I don’t know anything! Even the most basic fundamentals elude me!” She stood up and opened the door to a large cabinet to reveal a mirror on the inside of it. “I look myself in the mirror, and I just see clothes, nothing more. I don’t know the influences, the patterns, the materials, I don’t even know what this ruffly-looking thing is called!” she cried as she pulled at the fancy neckerchief thing. “It’s my favorite part, and I can’t remember! I’ve forgotten everything!”

Prim stumbled over to her desk and looked over the pages of models she was supposed to have tallied during the first round. Each page scattered across the top was completely blank. Her mouth moved uselessly, failing to say anything before she broke down again on the desk.

“It’s called a cravat, often confused for a scarf or an ascot,” Heidi answered as she approached Prim. The griffon fiddled around with the material, smiling as her talons felt the ruffles. “It’s my favorite part of your ensemble as well. I would’ve gone for a full cravat shirt, but keeping the frilly sleeves clean with how much deskwork you do would’ve been a nightmare without magic.”

Hemline sniffled, dabbing the end of her nose with a tissue. “I’m sorry? And you are?”

“Iridescent. The pest you bumped into the other day.”

“Pest?” the mare gasped as she shot out of her seat, pointing a hoof at the griffon. “You mean you’re that changeling! You must’ve done something to me! You and your weird magic!”

“You’d have to ask Chrysalis about that. I didn’t do anything to you.”

“Chrysalis? That terrible villain? What does she have to do with this?”

“Everything, if you can believe it. Neither of us would be here if it wasn’t for her.”

“Umm, Iridescent?” Rarity whispered with a polite laugh. “Do you really think it’s wise to say so much in front of—”

Before she could finish her thought, Desi dropped her disguise, revealing her true changeling form underneath. Prim Hemline yelped and jumped away from the desk. The changeling chuckled at her fear and trotted to the other side of the desk to sit down. Reaching into a drawer, she pulled out a pen and began tallying up points of a few select blanks.

“Wha… what do you think you’re doing?” Prim screeched from the far side of the office.

“Our job, at least as best as I can remember from round one. My memory is nothing compared to Her Majesty’s, but I still remember the standouts of the procession. Hopefully that won’t be a problem moving forward.”

Prim scoffed. “And what would you know about fashion? The only thing your kind knows is how to steal the appearances of others!”

“I know that your mystery pony must work outside of the standard fashion industry. Why else would you weigh your expert opinion equally with a singer and a costume designer? I bet the wildcards were mostly there for the spectacle.”

She soured at the accurate guess. “So, your kind are shapeshifters and mind readers.”

“You’re half right. It’s just what I would’ve done given the situation. Speaking of, I do like this scoring system. Whose idea was it?”

“Mine, if you must know.” Prim walked over to the desk and pointed to the first row on the page. “There were simply too many entrants, and we wouldn’t have time to comment on each one. I devised an itemized system to address categories for the first round to see if they covered the basics.” She sucked in her lips as she looked over each. “Of course, now I don’t even know what the difference is between poise and posture.”

“Poise refers to their composure; posture is their physical presence. Pastelinary had good posture, but was sweating and swiveling the moment she stepped into the limelight. Meanwhile, Vibrant Dancer maintained her cool, but had a little too much spin in her stride. Would you agree, Rarity?”

“Me?” Rarity looked over at the page, seeing the numbers next to the pony’s names and hummed thoughtfully. “While I’m not sure about Miss Dancer, Miss Pastelinary most assuredly wasn’t comfortable when she took center stage.”

“I see. That makes sense,” Prim agreed as she thought back to the show. “So, you know a thing or two about fashion. Do you think you could do my job better than me?”

“I don’t. Even though I liked this stuff as a hobby, the extent of my abilities can only salvage the first part of this competition. I don’t know what’s in-style right now nor what your mystery designer needs from their models. You’re the one with that experience.” Iridescent flipped through Prim’s stack of papers, double-checking her work. Satisfied with her job, she stood up from her chair and faced the fashion critic.

Prim Hemline eyed the changeling curiously before swiping the pages from the desk. “Well, I suppose I should thank you. But if this is some sort of trick…”

“You’re not wrong. This is a trick. But you should know, if you figure it out, I can’t guarantee your safety.”

“Are… are you threatening me?” Prim turned to the rest of the ponies in the room. “You heard her, right? This monster is threatening me! Are you just going to stand there and let her treat me like this?”

“It’s a bit more complicated than that, Miss Hemline,” Applejack said as she looked into the other pony’s eyes. “It ain’t a threat, but a guarantee. While I don’t much like it, I promise you that she’s telling you the truth.”

Prim’s gaze lingered on Applejack, growing more perplexed with each passing moment. “I don’t understand. Why do I believe you? I don’t even know you!”

“My name is Applejack, ma’am. It’s a pleasure to make your acquaintance. I just wish it was under better circumstances.”

The other mare blushed and looked away. “You have a little sister named Apple Bloom and a big brother named Big MacIntosh. Why do I know that?”

Prim’s worried gaze whipped around towards the office door. She trotted to the room’s coat rack and she eyed it curiously. Finally, the city pony bent down, shimmying a little to get a good angle, and shot her hooves back in a perfectly clean apple-buck. The poor rack flew against the wall and broke clean down the middle. Prim Hemline stared at the results of her work, shuddering as she backed away from the damage.

“I made sure to put a little bit of magic into that buck. It would’ve helped it if it was a tree, but I’d probably only get as far as the ‘harm’ part.” She covered her mouth and ran back to Iridescent. “I know you did something to me! If not you, then it must’ve been that despicable wretch Chrysalis!”

“Prim, please!” Rarity begged as she quickly hugged her friend. “We want to help you, but you must calm down!”

“How can I calm down in a situation like this? I feel like I’m losing my mind!”

“Yes. You’re correct,” Iridescent said matter-of-factly. “With every passing second, you run the risk of completely losing yourself. But, after seeing how much you’ve been able to do while I was away for myself, I want to help you.”

“Help me? How could you possibly help me? You’re part of the problem!”

“Am I?” Iridescent took a few steps back, stopping next to the cabinet mirror and tilted her head towards it.

“Yes! You! You…” Prim’s eyes widened as they flickered between her reflection and Iridescent. “You look like me. Me, but wrong. All wrong! Why? Why do you look like me?”

“Do you really want to keep pushing your luck, Prim?” Iridescent laughed as strut towards her creation, exactly like she’d done at the start of today’s tryouts. “To be honest, I’m okay either way how this plays out, but the more truths you uncover, the more likely it is that you completely unravel.”

“Unravel?”

“You’re a thinning bundle of thread, Prim. One little spool is keeping you together, but if you find it, it will vanish, taking you along with it.”

“It can’t be…” Prim turned to Applejack, her shattered gaze filled with terror.

Applejack took her hat off. “I’m sorry, Miss Hemline, but she’s right.”

“Then, what am I supposed to do?” Prim began pulling at her mane as he breathing quickened. “I already feel like I’m coming apart at the seams! I can’t just keep going like this, AJ!”

Applejack’s heart sank at hearing her nickname. “I know you can’t, but you’re just gonna have to trust us and Iridescent. I can’t promise it’s all gonna be okay, but we’re all here to help you.”

Prim galloped over to the farmer and wrapped her in a shaky embrace for support. The poor girl was on the verge of hyperventilating. “I’m so scared.”

AJ could feel the back of her neck getting damp from Prim’s overwhelming fear pouring out her eyes. She reached her hooves and held on tight. “It’s okay to be scared, sugarcube.”

It was quiet for a bit as the two ponies held each other close. Applejack didn’t care. She’d hold Prim for as long as she needed. It was the least she or anypony could do for someone possibly knocking on death’s door. It took a couple minutes, but after a while, Applejack felt the other mare’s shivers subside in her embrace.

Finally, Prim took a deep breath through her nose and out her mouth. She pulled back from the farmer and smiled softly. “Thank you, Applejack.” With renewed strength, she pushed away and trotted back to Iridescent, eyeing her curiously as she came face-to-face with the chitinous mirror. “You know, you carry yourself remarkably well for an insect.”

Desi grinned, flashing her vicious fangs. “Of course you think I do. It only makes sense to me.”

“I can do without the double-meanings. Just tell me how you’re going to fix this.”

“I can’t. All I can say is that you won’t like it.”

Prim frowned and turned her nose up at the changeling. “If it involves you and your kind, then you’re right.” Her pride waned under the melancholy of her unknowable situation. “However, I know it must be better than how empty I feel now. If you’ll pardon the cliché, fashion is my passion.”

“I know it is. In fact, there’s a lot more artistry where that came from.”

“How wonderfully vague. Just tell me what to do so we can get this over with.”

“Alright. First you’re going to want to take off your clothes. This is going to get magical.”

“Do I—Fine,” the mare sighed as she began undoing her buttons. As she was getting her garments undone, Desi hopped up on the desk. “And what are you planning on doing from up there?”

“Nothing. Just worry about your lovely outfit for now.”

Prim grumbled to herself as she carefully worked her way out of her coat. Once she was out of it, Rarity whisked it away and folded it pristinely on the couch for safekeeping. “There. I’m showcasing my wrinkles for all of you. What’s next?”

Iridescent looked over to Twilight. “You’re up, princess.”

“Thank you.” Twilight stepped up to Prim and started positioning her next to the desk, facing her towards the changeling. “Okay, Miss Hemline. I am going to ask you to keep your eyes closed and not say a word for a little while. You should know when it’s safe to open them, but for now, just know this spellwork is incredibly sensitive.”

Prim drew a sharp breath, but nodded. “Okay, Princess Twilight. And, if this doesn’t work, I want to thank you for trying to help me, Your Highness. It’s nice to know Rarity wasn’t embellishing the truth when she spoke so highly of you. Equestria is in capable hooves with ponies like you setting an example for the rest of us.”

Twilight blinked and blushed at the sudden compliment. “You’re welcome, Miss Hemline. B-but you don’t need to talk like you’ve already got one hoof in Elysium. Just keep my instructions in mind and you’ll be fine.”

“Thank you.” Prim took one last breath through the nose and out through the mouth before shutting her eyes. “I’m ready, Your Highness.”

“Okay. I will begin casting now,” Twilight announced. She lit her horn and turned back to Iridescent, who nodded at the ready.

Twilight picked a couple of files off the desk and hovered them over Prim Hemline’s ears, keeping the sound of her magic going while Desi charged a spell of her own. She shot a green blast right into the other mare’s forehead, spreading flames across her body and revealing Chrysalis underneath. Iridescent’s face fell in horror seeing her queen again, and AJ was inclined to do the same. Chrys was sitting much thinner than she’d been in a long while. Whatever it was taking to keep Prim Hemline in one piece must’ve been burning through more love than she was taking.

Without wasting another second, Iridescent closed her eyes and put her horn to Chrys’. As they made contact, the glow around Desi’s horn died down and she fell back on her haunches before completely tumbling over.

Twilight put the files back on the desk and backed away from the changelings. The room fell silent as everypony waited for something to happen. Dash fluttered over to the desk and waved a hoof in front of Desi’s face before doing the same to Chrys. After a whole lot more nothing happened, Rainbow turned to the group and shrugged.

“I’m trying to concentrate, you impulsive idiot,” Chrysalis growled through clenched teeth without opening an eye.

“Oops!” Rainbow laughed weakly as she backed up. “Sorry.”

“Shut up and stop flapping your wings in my ear, Rainbow!”

The pegasus planted herself firmly on the carpet and cantered out of earshot.

Another agonizing minute of silence passed before Chrysalis finally slumped over in exhaustion. She leaned down to the Desi, still splayed out over the desk and kissed her on the horn. “You have done well, Iridescent. Arise, my loyal drone.”

At her command, the changeling stirred, groaning as she pulled herself together. She stretched as if she’d woken from a long sleep, doing her best to shake herself awake. Upon opening her eyes, they flared pink with anger as she slapped her queen across the face.

“Desi!” Applejack shouted.

The changeling’s eyes flashed back to turquoise before she pulled her hoof away. She kept her grip on it, holding it back as if it would lash out again. “Sorry! Sorry! That was Prim, I think. Or me? I’m not sure.” Iridescent grunted bitterly as she leapt from the desk and began donning her outfit again. “Still, Your Majesty, couldn’t you have tried a little harder to stop Prim from hosting the tryouts again today? The only inkling of fashion you have is from that photoshoot!”

Chrysalis scrambled to her hooves, her cheeks burning green. “It was all of your jobs to know what I like! I was too busy taking care of all you ungrateful whelps for anything else!”

“You could’ve tried to control her temper!” Desi argued, at least until her eyes went down to Chrys’ thinning barrel. “Or, I guess you did try. Are you going to be alright, my Queen?”

Chrysalis rolled her eyes. “I’ll live. Just steal some adoration for me while you’re out there.”

“Gladly, if there’s any left after the mess you made. Sweet Celestia, I will need to spin up some sort of excuse to explain why Prim was livid during the first round.” As she put the final touches on her outfit, she hovered her papers from the desk before flaring into Prim Hemline. “Come along, Rarity, we have a show to finish.”

Rarity reared back and kicked her forelegs in joy, cheering all the while. “I’m right behind you Miss… uhh—”

“Prim Hemline. We’ll address that particular elephant in the room later when I… when we?” Iridescent froze and pondered the pronouns, bouncing between them trying to figure out what was going on in her head. “When thinking straight isn’t so difficult.” She bowed as she backed out of the office door. “If you will excuse us, Your Majesty.”

With that, Prim and Rarity bolted out the door, leaving the rest of the group in the office. Chrysalis waited for the clattering of hooves to fade into the distance before she stumbled over to the couch and collapsed in an exhausted heap. She didn’t get much of a reprieve before everypony was crowding around her in a big group hug.

“Hey-hey-hey!” the big bug buzzed from the sudden swarm of ponies.

“That was incredible, Chrysalis!” Twilight cheered.
“You saved the day!” Pinkie shouted.
“I’m just so glad everyone is okay,” Fluttershy said.
“I knew ya had it in ya, Chrys!” Applejack praised.
“I can’t believe I’m saying this, but that was totally awesome!” Rainbow yelled.

The former queen groaned, but didn’t shake the hugs brimming with love away. Instead she traced the blue fur back to the rainbow pegasus wrapped around her neck. “Even you?”

“Heck yeah!” Rainbow rolled off and flew into Chrys’ face. “You stepped up and saved Prim and freed Iridescent from being stuck in her head forever! That at least bumps you up to an anti-hero in my book.”

“Lucky me,” Chrysalis grumbled. Dash completely ignored it and went in for another hug. “Some sort of potato spaghetti and sour bread?”

“Oh, yeah. Pasta and potato sandwich on sourdough. It’s something my mom always makes for me when I go back to Cloudsdale. Like it?”

“It’s better than the real thing would be.”

“C’mon, Chrys. Lighten up a little,” AJ complained with an earnest smile. “Ya did good, girl! Enjoy it a little. Besides, you could use a little pick-me-up from your friends. Looks like the last couple of days really wore ya down.”

Chrys shut her eyes and let all the friendship flow into her. After a little more tender love and care, the other girls broke off, leaving AJ still showing her with some well-deserved affection.

“I’m never doing something like that again,” Chrysalis huffed as she rolled over.

“Guessing the audience’s adoration wasn’t enough?”

“I wouldn’t know. It was hard enough keeping that pony in one piece without her thoughts wandering into mine. If I tried to sneak a taste, she would’ve found me for sure.”

Applejack tilted her head. “But didn’t you go to sleep? You know, do that spell where you’re all wrapped up in Prim’s head?”

The queen glared at the ignorant peasant. “And just how was I supposed to reintegrate Prim Hemline into Iridescent if I was sealed within her? I’ve been awake for two days straight making sure she didn’t brush up against a single errant thought and dispel herself!”

“Oh. That would be pretty difficult to pull off in your sleep, wouldn’t it?”

“Yes, it would.” The changeling yawned, nearly unhinging her jaw as she relaxed. “Now, if you don’t mind, I’d like to pass out while I have a moment’s peace from this never-ending parade of insanity.”

Applejack chuckled to herself. “That’s fine by me, Chrys. Still got a couple rounds left of Prim’s show anyway.”

“Pass,” Rainbow said as she stretched her wings. “Already maxed out my boredom quota for the day.” The pegasus popped open the window and flew out the other end. “I’ll be practicing in the park if you need me for anything but this fashion stuff.”

Twilight flared her wings open. “Rainbow! You can’t just—” Before she could finish her thought, the window was already closing with a multicolored contrail speeding away. “And she’s gone.” The princess sighed and shook her head. “Oh well. Everypony else ready to head back to the tryouts?”

“Sure! Just let me finish all the food I brought first.” Pinkie pulled out a plate of fancy-looking food and hors d'oeuvres and started munching away. “Want some?”

“Oh, don’t mind if I do.” Fluttershy plucked a strawberry tart from the tray and took a little nibble.

“Where did you get all of that, Pinkie Pie?” Twilight asked cautiously.

“They had a buffet table outside the tryouts! I was feeling hungry after watching and waiting for so long, so I grabbed a little bit of everything for everyone!”

“And where exactly was this buffet table you found?” she pressed with a little more concern in her voice.

Fluttershy hummed to herself in thought before an answer dawned on her. “Oh dear. You didn’t happen to take this from that wedding reception, did you?”

Pinkie’s chewing slowed as she blinked and looked down at her particularly fancy plate. “That would explain the couple of brides chasing after me. I just thought everypony dressed up around here.”

Twilight put a hoof to her face. “Okay. First, we go and apologize to the newlyweds, then we’ll head back to watch the rest of the tryouts.”

“You girls go on ahead,” Applejack said as she sat down next to the couch. “I’m gonna keep an eye on Chrys.”

“Sounds like a plan. If you two want to head back to the hotel, I went ahead and extended our stay for one more day. Hopefully, Fleur de Lis won’t be too upset by our sudden change of plans.” Twilight tried to laugh it off, but seeing how worried that guard had been before they left, AJ wouldn’t be surprised if she was halfway to Manehattan by now.

The other three filed out of the office, leaving the odd pair to their own devices. Chrys settled in, searching for something resembling comfort on the couch. It was a loveseat only big enough for a couple ponies to sit down, so finding a good spot for her towering build to lay down was like a full grown lab trying to squeeze into their old puppy bed. She gave up and closed her eyes for a little shuteye.

“I know I already said it once, but I’m real proud of you, Chrys,” Applejack said softly. “You did good today.”

The changeling pried one eye open to look at the pony next to her before shutting it again. “Thanks. Now let me sleep.”

“Alright.” Applejack looked again at the cramped changeling folded up on her perch. “By the way, if you’d rather rest back at the hotel, you can shift into something smaller and I’ll carry ya on my back.”

The queen shook her head as best she could from her uncomfortable curl. “I just want to be me for a few minutes.”

AJ laughed knowingly and smiled. “Of course, sugarcube.”

Chrysalis shimmied a little more in a last ditch effort to get comfy. She eventually folded up just right, wedging her withers between backrest cushions, and took a deep relaxing breath to settle in for a nap. AJ watched as her dimmer barrel rose and fell with her breaths. Despite the friendly surge of love from everypony, Chrys was still looking a lot weaker than she’d been just a day ago. Whatever she had to do to keep Prim Hemline alive must’ve really taken it out of her. Applejack felt like she still had a little love she could give the girl, but she didn’t want to disturb her.

Then, without saying a word, Chrys brushed her mane up with her foreleg and let it flow off the side of the couch in front of AJ. The executive chair wheeled around from the desk in an emerald aura, parking itself next to them. Applejack couldn’t help but chuckle as she took a seat and pulled out the comb she kept squirreled away in her hat.

“Alright, ‘Your Majesty.’ I guess you earned a little royal treatment,” Applejack teased as she grabbed a bundle of silky hair and began her work.

Chrysalis said nothing, but there was nothing that the small, contented curl of her lip didn’t say already.

Author's Note:

Less about the lyrics, more about the vibes.

If you find a simple mistake in the GSP (Grammar, Spelling, or Punctuation), please let me know through a private message rather than leaving it in the comment section. Thank you for reading!

Comments

[Cheels]

I've stumbled upon treasure. I just read everything you wrote up until now and I love the characterisations and quirks weaved into each character. I'm definitely going to track this story!

[Daybreaker218]

Hopefully they’ll work out their identity crisis

[Spamotron]

I suppose having the Pinkie clone make a cameo would make things too complicated. But she could probably relate to Prim better than anyone.

[Rego]

11886810
Thanks! I hope you enjoy it as I goes along. This Chrysalis is a very difficult character for me to write, so I appreciate the characterization shout out a lot!
11886817
We'll have to wait and see...
11886972
Tru fax.

[Razzy]

Goth gryphon. <3

Jeez, she really put some effort into it.

Interesting details about your version of changelings and Chryssie.

Heheh, royal hair brusher.

[Doctor_Den]

Memories and experiences tend to shape personality.
Wouldn't it have been easier to simply transfer the memories during the changeling's absence?
It’s just that now as a result we have a character with a split personality, and not a mentally healthy member of society.

[Rego]

11887905

Goth gryphon. <3

Would you believe I had a whole conversation on a Discord server about the use of goth here? I'm always hesitant to use such anatopistic(?) terms since there wouldn't be the historical backgrounds within the MLP universe to arrive at the word gothic outside of one throw-away line in season 3 about the Crystal Empire's Neo-gothic architectural influences? Had a whole backup head canon whipped up just to land on a different term with similar vibes, but I didn't want to use it for such a small detail when a single word could convey it.
derpicdn.net/img/2018/4/7/1701747/medium.png
Curse you Goth Shy and Inky Rose for never using the term!

Jeez, she really put some effort into it.

It's hard for Chrys to get a clean W, but it's still a W.

Heheh, royal hair brusher.

static.wikia.nocookie.net/mlp/images/7/77/Chrysalis_'you_were_saying'_S2E26.png
She knew she earned it.

[Rego]

11888131

Memories and experiences tend to shape personality.
Wouldn't it have been easier to simply transfer the memories during the changeling's absence?
It’s just that now as a result we have a character with a split personality, and not a mentally healthy member of society.

BEHIND THE SCENES SPOILERY ANSWER, YOU'VE BEEN WARNED

As per the arbitrary rules of the Enveloping Identity spell framework that I made complicated to maximize conflict, the memories are tied to the illusory personality. A loophole, of course, would be just Chrys copying the memories, but that would also "kill" Prim Hemline in the eyes of the ponies in-universe. There's also another reason that I as the author specifically still need Prim. Don't worry, this AU's version of "All Bottled Up" concludes next chapter.

Or "Didn't Want Spoilers, so Didn't Read the Above Answer" Answer: Patience. We'll get there when we get there.