Adrian

I sat at the dining table as I mindlessly surfed the internet, trying to kill time as Chrysalis and I waited for Trixie to get ready.

“Every time we have to go out,” said the changeling. “Every. Fucking. Time.”

“Well, like I said, the water bill’s all hers,” I shrugged.

“True… Doesn’t make it any less annoying though, considering we still have to wait on her.”

“Uh-huh…” I said blankly as I kept browsing, until a particular article caught my attention. “Hey, Chrysalis, c’mere.”

She narrowed her eyes at me. “I swear, if it’s one of those stupid cat videos, I’ll-”

“No, it’s not that. They posted a preview for tonight’s ENTM.”

She suddenly dropped everything she was doing and rushed to my side, pulling up a chair. “Play it.”

I clicked the video and the first thing we saw was the remaining mares in the competition being visited by Prim Hemline.

“So, how are we all doing?” she asked.

“Good,” the mares answered.

“Now, I know that the competition has been pretty tough for all of you, especially last week, but there are six of you left now, and from here on, it’s only going to get tougher. The judges and I are going to be a lot harsher on you, and it’s up to you to take your talents to the next level. So, I’m going to need you all to pack your bags, ‘cause you’re going to-”

“Catch an all-new episode of Equestria’s Next Top Model! Tonight at 9PM Eastern, only on Starshine Network!”

“Aw, come on!” Chrysalis complained. “I hate when they do that!”

“That’s previews, for ya,” I said. “They always stop right before they say something good. Well, wherever they go, we’ll find out tonight. I was wondering when they’d go abroad this season.”’

Chrysalis scoffed. “Fuck this season. I’m waiting for next season. I almost wish Fleur hadn’t told us that she was coming back to the show. Now we have to wait for this season to end, then they have to film the next season, then we have to wait for it to air, which probably won’t be until the end of the year. It’s torture!”

“Seriously…”

“I’m ready!” Trixie announced as she finally walked into the living room, with Rusty following close behind.

“About time,” I muttered under my breath as I shut my laptop and put it in my backpack. “Hop in, Rusty.”

“So what is this recording session going to be like?” Trixie asked.

“Well, we have the studio for about three hours tonight, so we’re just gonna have you read a few lines and we’ll see which characters suit you best, then we’ll record some scenes if we have the time,” I explained I zipped up my bag and slung it over my back with my pet in tow.

“Well, this is an excellent opportunity to flex my acting chops,” the unicorn boasted.

Chrysalis rolled her eyes. “Pfft. You can’t flex what you don’t have.”

“And you’re any better?”

“Honey, my acting skills have destroyed kingdoms. They’re leagues better than yours.”

“Can we continue this riveting conversation after we leave?” I asked, unlocking the door and walking out.

Chrysalis

“Fuck, it’s hot,” I panted as I tied my hair up in a bun. “You could cook eggs on the sidewalk in this heat.”

“Oh, quit exaggerating, Bughorse,” Rusty said, his head poking out of Adrian’s backpack. “It’s not that hot.”

“You really think I’m exaggerating?” I asked, pointing across the street.

He looked in the direction I was pointing and saw two foals on the sidewalk with two eggs frying on the hot concrete.

“You think they’re ready yet?” one asked.

The other shook her head. “Nah, give ‘em another minute or two.”

“Okay, fine. Maybe it is a little sweltery,” the jackalope conceded. “I’m just surprised Miss Magic isn’t complaining, considering how much body heat she retains.”

“Hey!” Trixie shouted.

“Lay off, Rusty,” Adrian scolded. “The fat jokes are getting a little old.”

“Besides, she isn’t that big anyway,” I added, and out of the corner of my eye, I saw Trixie blush.

“Okay, what the hell is going on with you three?” Rusty asked.

“What?” we asked back.

“What do you mean ‘what’? The three of you have been really chummy the last couple of days, and it’s freaking me out! How are you guys suddenly friends!?”

“Ugh! Friends?” Trixie gagged. “We may be a little nicer to each other, but we’re anything but friends.”

“We just decided not to be at each other’s throats anymore,” I explained.

“It became really tiring,” Adrian added. “It was different when we were neighbors and only saw each other occasionally, but when you’re living together, that shit just gets exhausting.”

“Uh-huh,” Rusty said, skepticism still radiating from him. “Something’s going on, and I’m gonna find out what.”

I chuckled. “Some of Mr. Saddleton’s crazy must’ve rubbed off on you.”

We all had a good laugh at that, except for Rusty, who furrowed his brow in frustration, “Fuck all of you.”

We eventually made it to the studio and headed upstairs to the recording stations, where Adrian’s friends were waiting for us. Unsurprisingly, I was hit with a wave of fear as we entered the room, with a little bit of surprise mixed in.

“Uh… Adrian, I know you said that you had two actresses in mind, but I didn’t think you meant these two,” the pegasus said.

“Is there a problem?” I hissed.

The diamond dog quickly covered her friend’s mouth. “Nope, no problem. No problem at all. Nice to have you here, Queen Chrysalis.”

Adrian cleared his throat and shook his head. “Ix-nay on the een-quay,” he mumbled to her.

“Uh-I mean, Chrysalis,” she corrected.

“Hmph. Likewise,” I said with a disinterested look.

“So, no one is gonna introduce me?” Trixie asked.

Adrian groaned and rubbed his temples. “Guys, you know Trixie. Trixie, these are my friends, Cel Shade and Roxy. So, now that introductions are out of the way, let’s get started.”

“What do you mean it’s my fault? I’m not the one that released a deadly virus into the network! That was all you!”

I recited my lines as I read them on the paper, trying to sound as convincing as possible. Trixie and I had been at this for about an hour, taking turns with each female role as Adrian and his friends commented on our performances. Trixie and I couldn’t hear their comments from inside the recording booth, but I watched their lips closely as they conferred.

“That was pretty good, but I’m wondering how it’ll sound if she was more aggressive and less snarky,” Cel Shade said.

Adrian nodded in agreement, and then he held his finger on one of the many buttons on the soundboard. “Okay, Chrysalis, could you read that last line with a more aggressive, accusatory tone?” he spoke into a small microphone.

“Sure,” I answered, taking a deep breath and channeling my inner aggression. “What? What do you mean it’s my fault!? You’re the one that released a deadly virus into the network! That was all you!”

My three listeners looked at each other and smiled, collectively nodding in approval. Adrian pressed the button again and looked up at me. “That was really good. Nice work, Chrys.”

I blinked at the name he called me by. “Chrys?” I thought. “Where does he get off calling me that? Although, that compliment did feel nice… I’ll just let it slide for now, I guess.”

Adrian looked down at Rusty, who was giving him a suspicious glare. “What?” his lips said.

“Nothing,” Rusty replied with a passive aggressive look.

I heard snickering from beside me, and I looked to my left and saw Trixie having a little laugh. “What’s so funny?” I whispered threateningly.

The unicorn tapped her cheek a few times.

“Is there spit on my face?” I wondered with a raised eyebrow as I placed a hand on my cheek, and my eyes widened as I felt how warm it was. The mirth emanating from Trixie became all the more apparent at that moment once I realized the cause of it, and I tried my best to shake it off and keep my head focused on the task at hand.

I leaned into the microphone. “So, do I keep going from where I left off?”

Adrian shook his head and pressed the button once more. “Nah, you’re good, just give us a few minutes.” He turned and started conferring with his friends, and as I read their conversation, my mind began to wander a bit.

Now that I had given it some thought, I realized this was the first time I’ve ever seen Adrian at work. I mean, I knew what his job was, but unlike Trixie, I never had the opportunity to actually see him on the job. I silently watched him and his co-workers, and as they talked, I could sense the waves of excited anticipation they were giving off, even from behind the thick glass window.

“This is going great!” said Roxy. “At this rate, we’ll be done with the recording in no time!”

“I can’t wait to see the look on Mr. Render’s face when we show ‘im this bad boy!” Cel Shade grinned. “This is definitely gonna top Gem Quest!”

“Yeah, but I’m a little worried…” Adrian admitted, and as he did, I sensed a small current of insecurity and uncertainty. “Who knows how many shows Mr. Render has seen and turned down? He’s set a really high standard for us, so I can’t help but feel a little nervous.”

I blinked. I never thought of how much Adrian had riding on this, and what kind of people or ponies he’d have to impress. Even if he put all he had into this project, it was all up to one executive to decide whether he succeeded or failed.

Just like me and my audition.

It was at that point that, for the first time, I actually felt sorry for Adrian. This was more than just a hobby to him; it was a passion, something that he poured his heart and soul into, and he didn’t want the hard work that he put towards this go to waste.

But then, to my surprise, I saw him crack a smile.

“It’s the good kind of nervous, though,” he said. “Yeah, Mr. Render may hold us to a higher standard because of how highly he thinks of us, but it only makes me want to try harder to impress him.”

My eyes widened in surprise. From my experience with others, I’d expect him to want to give up. I’ve seen stronger guys crack under the pressure to perform, but Adrian was turning that nervousness into something positive, and it baffled me that he was able to do that knowing how much pressure he was under.

“What do you think they’re talking about?” Trixie asked.

“…I don’t know,” I lied.

Trixie

“Thanks again for helping me out with this pilot, guys,” Adrian said as we walked into the apartment. “You saved me a lot of trouble.”

“Eh, don’t mention it,” Chrysalis said with a dismissive wave. “It was kinda fun. I’m actually looking forward to the next session.”

“I’ll admit, I did enjoy lending my beautiful voice to the production,” I added, and then I heard a weird noise that sounded like a mix between a chuckle and a snort. I looked over at Adrian’s backpack with narrowed eyes. “What’s so funny, rat?” I asked.

“’Your beautiful voice?’ Seriously, Trixie, get over yourself!” he replied.

“Well, it was good enough to get the job done,” his owner said as he set the backpack down and the floor and unzipped it, letting the jackalope out, “and that’s all I needed.”

“Hmph. Why, thank you, Adrian. It’s nice to know that someone appreciated my efforts,” I smiled, flipping my mane nonchalantly. “So, the next session is Thursday afternoon, right?”

“Yep. We should be able to get all your lines done by the end of the week,”

“-and once that’s taken care of, the Favor Chart will be cleared.” Rusty finished.

“You know, to be honest,” Adrian shrugged, “I kinda forgot about that thing.”

“You aren’t the only one,” I commented.

Chrysalis nodded. “Yeah, we all have more important things to worry about than keeping track of favors.”

We all murmured in agreement, and then a dead silence fell over the room. I noticed Rusty shifting his gaze between Adrian, Chrysalis, and me before letting out a yawn. “Well, I dunno about you guys, but I’m beat. I think I’ll turn in for the night.”

“Yeah, sure,” Adrian said absentmindedly as his pet hopped away, his absence not helping to break the awkward tension.

“Hey…” Chrysalis suddenly spoke up. My ears perked up as I looked over towards the changeling, who was slouching on the couch, looking up at the ceiling fan as it spun. “I’m about to ask you both something, and… just promise me you won’t laugh, okay?”

Adrian and I looked at each other in concern, wondering what Chrysalis wanted to ask us. “Okay,” we agreed.

She sat up and let out a long sigh before finally looking at us. “Do you guys think that I could go further with this whole modelling thing?”

“You mean, like magazines and stuff?” I asked.

She nodded.

“I think you have a pretty good chance at that,” Adrian said bluntly. “I mean, you can practically be any mare they want, and they’d always be satisfied.”

Chrysalis shook her head. “That’s not what I meant. I know I can be whatever they want me to be. Hell, I’ve been doing that at my current job for the past year. I was talking about actually modelling as, you know… myself.”

Adrian struggled to form words after that. “Oh, well… Oh…”

“Not as easy of a question now, is it?”

At that moment, my mind went back to something Chrysalis said to me the morning after I had sex with her and Adrian:

“Just know that there are some mares out there that are more insecure about their bodies than you are about yours.”

Was this what she meant? Was she really talking about herself back then? I just couldn’t wrap my head around the idea of Chrysalis being insecure about, well, anything.

“How did this even come about, though?” I asked. “What got you thinking about your modelling career all of a sudden?”

“Remember when we ran into Fleur last weekend?”

I nodded.

“Well, she thought that I’d be great for high fashion, and she referred me to her agency, which is apparently a big deal, and I set up an appointment to meet with them this Saturday, but I’m not sure what they’ll think when they see me. I mean, Fleur did say that high fashion agencies loved unusual looks, but… I don’t know if they’d like something this unusual.”

“You don’t want them to assume the worst from you because of your looks,” Adrian surmised.

“Well, what’s there to be worried about?” I asked. “If you have experience, and you were referred to them by a famous model, then why is there any doubt?”

“I know, but... I’m not used to being in this kind of situation,” Chrysalis explained.

Adrian raised an eyebrow, unsure of what she was getting at. “Meaning?”

“Just… try to look at it from my point of view. Everything I’ve ever had was even given to me or taken by me. I’ve almost never had to ask anyone for anything, and I’ve never had to deal with rejection. It’s a really uncomfortable position for me to be in, knowing that my future depends on the decision of one pony. Having to ask you two for that favor was one thing, but I haven’t felt this nervous since…” she trailed off, not finishing the sentence.

“Since when?” I asked, letting out an annoyed grunt.

“Let’s just drop it Trixie,” Adrian sighed. “If she doesn’t want to talk about it, then she doesn’t want to t-”

“Since I asked Celestia to grant me citizenship,” she finally said, and another awkward silence fell over the room. Adrian and I both knew that Chrysalis’s past was not something that she liked to talk about, and we were taken aback by the fact that she brought it up herself.

She took a deep breath before continuing. “I just… I just hate having to leave my future up to someone else. It makes me feel like… like I’m not in control.” Her volume dropped to a barely audible whisper. “I don’t like feeling like that.”

There was yet another long pause before Adrian spoke up. “Well, Chrysalis, I can understand how you feel. Look at me, my entire livelihood depends on whether or not my boss likes my ideas, so I’m almost in the same boat.”

“You don’t seem too bothered by it, though,” she sighed. “I don’t see how you can deal with it.”

“Well, it’s true that there’s a lot of pressure when someone has that much influence on your career, but I’m never gonna find out how well I could do if I don’t try.”

“Yeah, but what happens if your boss says ‘no’? Wouldn’t that bother you at all?”

“Of course it would,” he replied. “Anyone would be bothered by it, but nothing ventured, nothing gained. At least I know that I tried.”

“Besides, think of it this way,” I added. “You gave them your name when you made the appointment, right?”

She nodded.

“Well, by now they probably already know who you are, and you still have the appointment, so you probably have a better chance than you think you do.”

She stopped to think for a second, and then she looked at us with a smile. “Heh, I guess you’re right… I guess you guys are good for more than just a quick lay.”

“AHA!”

All of a sudden, Rusty hopped out of the hallway and pointed an accusing finger at all three of us. “I knew it! I fucking KNEW IT! I knew you something went down between you three!”

“Shit…” Chrysalis muttered.

“What the fuck, Adrian?” the rodent asked. “What the actual FUCK!? You smashed Chrysalis and Trixie? What happened to your self-respect, man!?”

“You were interrupting a really heartfelt moment, Rusty,” Adrian said.

“Fuck your heartfelt moment!”

The human rubbed his temples. “Ugh, you wanna talk about this in our room?”

“Fine, but we got a lot to talk about!”

Adrian rolled his eyes and picked up his pet, taking him back to their room. “I’ll see you guys tomorrow.”

“I guess I’ll turn in, too,” I said, letting out a yawn as I followed Adrian down the hallway before heading to my room. “Jeez, that rat is something else…”

I undressed myself and pulled an oversized T-shirt out of my drawer, the garment going down to just above my knees when I put it on. Before I got into bed, I took one last glance at a large jar sitting on my nightstand. It was about halfway filled with bits and had a label reading “New Apartment: Jar #3”.

“I’m so close…” I thought. As Fleur promised, she did show up at Sunday’s show which also sold out, and thanks to her endorsement, I could expect a few more sold out shows.

So why was I not more excited about that?

This is what I’ve been working for since the fire, and this boost in sales was going to get me towards that goal faster than ever, but for some reason, that wasn’t making me feel as good as I thought it would.

“What is wrong with you Trixie?” I scolded myself. “You’ll finally be able to get out of here and have your own place again. This was the plan from the beginning. This was what you wanted!”

And yet, the thought of leaving actually made me feel… bad.

I thought about what my new apartment would be like, and how quiet it would be living by myself. In the time that I’ve been here, I’ve gotten so used to having someone to talk to. Sure, most of the conversations weren’t very pleasant, but they were conversations nonetheless. Say what you want, but you couldn’t say this place wasn’t lively.

Adrian and Chrysalis were, admittedly, growing on me, too. They definitely weren’t as bad as I thought they were, and they even started being more considerate when it came to their remarks about me. While it was a little mean of them to focus all their attention on Fleur when we went out last Saturday, they did come to see me at my show that night and supported me… Agh! What am I saying!?

There’s no way… Do I actually like living here?

Author's Note

Welp. Cat's out of the bag. Rusty knows.

As if things couldn't get any more awkward in the house. Well, at least the secret isn't boxed up anymore.

Don't look at me like that. I didn't say shit.

Let me know what you guys thought of this chapter in the comments. Keep it sketchy, folks!