Adrian

“Well, hello to you, too, Adrian,” Trixie quipped with a hand on her hip. “Is that how you greet all your guests?”

“No, just the unwanted ones,” I retorted. “With that being said, I reiterate: What. The fuck. Do you want?”

“Well, thanks to Trixie, we don’t have a place to live anymore,” Chrysalis explained.

“And?”

The changeling looked to the side and let out a quiet groan. With a slow deep breath, she looked back at me and said…

“We need a place to stay.”

I then noticed that Chrysalis had a backpack on her back, while Trixie had one as well in addition to a small trunk.

“Aaaaaand what does that have to do with me?” I asked. “In case you two haven’t noticed, we’re in Manehattan. There are more vacancies in his city that I can count on both hands.”

“You think I don’t know that!?” Chrysalis snapped.

“You’re not making a very good case for yourself. Just sayin’.”

She rolled her eyes at me. “None of the other buildings will let me move in. If I had my way, I would’ve been out of here a long time ago.”

“Boo-fucking-hoo,” I scoffed, and then I looked at Trixie, “and what’s your excuse, Pyromaniac?”

“I have to pay for all the damages, and the money that I’ll have after all that won’t be enough to afford rent for a new apartment,” she explained.

“So, since we have no other options… we came to you,” Chrysalis finished.

“And why in the hell would I help you?” I asked.

“Because you’ll feel good about helping two mares in need?” Trixie suggested.

Even Chrysalis rolled her eyes at that. “Look, Adrian. If you let us live here with you, we’ll split all the bills evenly, which means less expenses for you.”

“I can afford my expenses just fine, sweetheart.”

“True, but think about the extra money you’d have in your pocket.”

I was going to respond to that, but then I thought about it for a second. “Excuse me for a moment.” I shut the door and looked at Rusty, who was looking back at me with an iffy expression.

“What do you think?” I asked.

The jackalope scoffed. “What do I think? No. No. Hell no. Nein! Infinite amounts of no! Fifty Shades of NO!”

“Okay, okay. I get it, I’m just trying to weigh my options.”

“Consider your… DUDE! Are you fucking serious!? This is a no-brainer. Let ‘em fend for themselves! We’re finally rid of them, and they don’t have a pot to piss in! You said it yourself: you don’t need any help paying the bills.”

“Yeah, but I could definitely use the extra money in my pocket. I could finally get me one of those Cintiq drawing tablets.”

Rusty gave me an incredulous look. “I swear to Celestia, I almost threw this remote at your face. A drawing tablet? You’re willing to live with those two over a fucking drawing tablet!?”

“Well, when you put it that way, it does sound kinda stupid…” I admitted, “but those two have one thing over us.”

“And that is?”

I lowered my voice in case they were eavesdropping “If I don’t let them stay here, they might tell the landlord that I’m keeping you here, and then we won’t have a place to stay. Knowing those two, especially Chrysalis, they wouldn’t think twice about doing it.”

Rusty tried to come up with something to say to that, but couldn’t find a good rebuttal. “…Shit,” he grunted.

“So, I guess it’s decided, then?”

“Well, it’s probably the lesser of the two evils, so… yeah.”

“Okay, then…” I sighed. “Looks like we’re gonna have some roommates.”

“Please don’t remind me. Just go.”

Trixie

“What’s taking so long?” I asked, more to myself than to Chrysalis.

“He’s probably talking it over with that little mutant rodent of his,” she muttered.

“For what? He’s a pet! What say does he have in it? He isn’t even supposed to be living here!”

“Will you shut up, Trixie!?” Chrysalis snapped with a hushed yell, baring her fangs at me. “If the landlord hears you, he’ll kick Adrian out, and then we won’t have any leverage, let alone a place to crash!”

“Okay, okay! Jeez! Just put those fangs away!” I shrieked, breathing heavily.

“Feh, Great and Powerful, my ass,” she mumbled.

“Brute,” I retorted.

“Listen, you little shit! If it wasn’t for you, we wouldn’t even be in this mess! What dumb breed of bitch would practice a fire spell in an apartment filled with flammable furniture!?”

“I wasn’t thinking about it at the time!”

“Do you ever think about anything!?”

“Piss off, hooker!”

“Bite me, twat!”

Just then, the door opened, and Adrian looked at us silently for a moment. After taking a deep breath, he motioned for us to come inside. Chrysalis and I looked at each other in disbelief for a second before walking in.

“Have a seat on the couch,” he told us, watching as we sat down while he opted to stand with Rusty standing on the coffee table beside him. “I’ve decided that I’m gonna let you guys stay here and split the bills, but there’s something that needs to be established, first.”

“Like what?” I asked.

“Ground rules, ladies. Ground rules,” Rusty answered.

Before I could object, Chrysalis covered my mouth with her hand. “We’re listening.”

Adrian and Rusty looked at each other and nodded. “Rule number one,” Adrian began. “This one is about the fridge. We all have to share the space, so don’t buy a ton of food and not leave space for the rest of us… Trixie.”

“Me?” I asked. “Why’d that comment have to be directed at me.”

“Oh, I dunno. Maybe it has something to do with the fact that you have the eating habits of an unsupervised six-year-old?”

I heard snickers coming from both Rusty and Chrysalis, as if that little comment was actually funny.

“Rule number two, also concerning the fridge. Only eat food that you bought. Nobody’s paying for anyone else’s meals up in here.”

Chrysalis and I nodded in mutual agreement.

“Rule number three: if a door is closed, then knock. Point blank, period. Rule number four: there are a total of two bathrooms in here, one of which is a private master bathroom that is connected to my room only, meaning that you two will have to share the other bathroom. You can work out the specifics about that amongst yourselves.”

I gave Chrysalis a side-eye. I needed my beauty showers, and I wasn’t going to have her messing that up. I’ll have to talk bathroom rules with her later tonight.

“Rule number five: clean up after yourself. Everyone’s responsible for their own shit in here. If you eat in the living room, you pick up the crumbs. If you spill a drink, you mop it up. If you’ve got dirty dishes, you wash ‘em. If you fill the trash bag, you take it out.”

“We get it,” I groaned.

“Shut up, Trixie,” everyone said.

“What number was I on?” Adrian asked.

“You just said rule number five, so you’re on six,” Rusty answered.

“Right. Rule number six: I have my own washer and dryer, so I don’t have to go to the first floor laundry room. You’re welcome to use it, but take your clothes out when they’re done. I don’t want to have to see wet bras in the washer or dry panties in the dryer. Rule number seven: the TV. If someone’s got a show to watch at a certain time, they gotta let the others know ahead of time, and don’t hog the thing for the entire day.”

Chrysalis and I nodded again.

“Rule number eight: NO ONE is to go into ANYONE else’s rooms or touches ANYONE else’s stuff for ANY reason whatsoever!”

That’s something we could all agree on, but… “Do Chrysalis and I get separate rooms?”

“I’ll get to that later. Rule number nine: Chrysalis,” Adrian continued, causing the changeling to raise an eyebrow. “No bringing any of your ‘guests’ over.”

“So where am I supposed to take them?” she asked.

“They can take you back to their place. Hell, you can take ‘em into a dirty back-alley for all I care, just don’t bring ‘em here.”

The ex-queen scoffed. “Fine.”

“Rule number ten: Trixie,” Adrian said, looking right at me. “No practicing your magic tricks in here. Go somewhere else to do it.”

“Wha? Like where?” I objected. “How am I supposed to practice in-between rehearsals?”

“I don’t give a hot shit as long as you don’t do it here.”

I grunted. “Fine.”

“Did I miss anything, Rusty?” Adrian asked.

His pet thought about it for a moment, but then shook his head. “Nah. I think that’s everything.”

“Okay, then. You two, follow me. I have to show you where everything is.”

He motioned for Chrysalis and me to get up, and he showed us around his place, highlighting the kitchen, our bathroom, the washing machine and dryer, the towel closet, and the guest bedroom; which reminded me of my concerns about the sleeping arrangements.

“There’s one last room in here,” Adrian explained as he led us to said room. When he opened the door, Chrysalis and I were surprised to see that the room was completely empty.

“The guy that lived here before me used this as a workout room, and I didn’t really have much use for it since I already had one guest bedroom and my room is big enough to double as a home studio, so one of you can sleep in here.”

Well, that settled the issue of whether or not I’d get my own room, but I didn’t want this room! With all the payments I have to make, I have to be really picky with my purchases from now on, and I don’t want to have to buy a bed! Not to mention a dresser and a nightstand! Plus I need to buy food, too! Chrysalis will probably want the guest room, too. She can afford to furnish this empty room, can’t she? How am I gonna convince her to take this room, though?

“I’ll take this room,” she said suddenly. “I don’t have much stuff, so I’ll just go out and get an air mattress tonight and hold off on a real bed and other stuff until this weekend.”

“Alright, then,” said Adrian. “We’re all settled in. Just follow the rules, and we’ll all do just fine.”

A relieved sigh escaped me as I walked to my new bedroom, tossing my backpack down onto the bed and setting my trunk aside. After everything that had happened today, I really needed some sleep. The last thing I wanted was to get wrinkles or break out from too much stress. After taking a quick shower, I changed into my sleeping clothes and got into bed.

“This… is gonna take some getting used to,” I thought as I drifted off. “Well, at least the bed’s comfortable.”

Chrysalis

I sat on the floor of my empty room as I emptied my backpack. I wanted to sleep in the guest room, but I felt the desire radiating off of Trixie for that room, and I’d had enough bullshit to deal with for one day. Besides, I couldn’t cause much trouble around here. As much as I hated Adrian and Rusty, staying here was my only option, so if having somewhere to sleep meant following their rules, I had to abide, regardless of how much I didn’t want to.

I sighed as I continued to take everything out of my backpack. With the help of a handy spell, I was able to carry more stuff that would normally fit in a bag this size. I was able to save the essential stuff from my old apartment: a few sets of clothes, my wallet, my laptop, my phone, my chargers, and a small box that I had kept in a hidden drawer in my room. Come to think of it… I never checked to see if the item I held inside the box had suffered any damage.

I held the box close to me, my hand slowly moving towards the top to open it. My heart started beating faster, as it always did whenever I opened the box, because what lied inside would always remind me of a time that I, to this day, kept trying to forget. When I finally opened the box, I delicately picked up the item and lifted it out. Mixed feelings of warmth and fear welled within me as I looked at it.

It was the only thing that I had managed to keep from my past life, and I still don’t know whether my keeping it was a good thing or a bad thing. It reminded me of my former glory, yet it also reminded me of my exile.

Still, I wasn’t going to let those ingrates take this from me, no matter how hard they tried. I could still hear their voices, even after all this time.

“What have you done for us besides fail?”

“We’re tired of you doing nothing for us!”

“What kind of queen lets her subjects starve!?”

The nerve. The absolute nerve of those little…

I shook my head violently, shaking out those thoughts. “Forget them, Chrysalis. It’s been two years. They’ve moved on, and you need to do the same. You’re better off without them, anyway. You don’t have to look out for anyone but yourself. Watching over those peons is the new ruler’s problem, now, whoever they may be.”

I put my item back into the box before tossing it into my bottomless backpack. I then picked up my wallet and prepared to leave the apartment to buy myself an air mattress and some quick snacks to hold me over until I get the chance to actually go grocery shopping. When I passed by the living room, I saw Rusty sitting on the couch, watching TV.

“Adrian left to get copies of the house key made for you and Trixie,” he told me. “He’ll be back before you, so just knock and one of us will let you in.”

I nodded as I opened the front door and walked outside, but just before I shut it, I heard the little creature say the words “Later, Bughorse.”

Ugh… Maybe I should eat the little fucker.

Author's Note

Damn! That was quick! I know the last chapter was posted two days ago, but I was really feeling motivated after reading all the comments and was able to write this all yesterday and send it to my editor.

Yes, I have an editor, now. I foolishly neglected to acknowledge him in the previous author's note, so let's give a big thank you to Davidism.

So, Trixie and Chrysalis have moved in, but where do we go from here? It certainly won't be an easy adjustment. It'll be about a week or so before the next chapter comes out since I'm gonna be travelling this weekend, but I hope you guys can wait 'til then.

Keep it sketchy, folks!