//------------------------------//
// Chapter 23 
// Story: Queen Rarity 
// by Damaged 
//------------------------------//

4:00 A.M.

I hadn't actually set an alarm for so early—not wanting to wake NotABug—but just focused on needing to be awake early. It had worked. I disabled the alarm I'd set for 5:00 A.M. and began the regretful task of disengaging myself from Rainbow and slipping out of bed.

A few feathers tumbled down from my horn, and before I could stop myself I chirped sadly at the loss of yet another wonderful pillow. My project of making a knife-proof pillow had been put on hold, but I really should check up on my order of that knife-proof fabric.

My shower was brief and to the point. I wrapped my mane and tail in towels to let them dry slowly, grabbed my phone, purse, and keys—and walked out to our electric car without a stitch of clothing on.

It would have been unthinkable while I was human, of course, but now it was simply an acknowledgment that things were more complicated and I couldn't very well wear a dress and then shapechange on the way and ruin it.

So I used my magic to open the car, slipped inside, and shapechanged into my old self. I'd focused on a lovely red cocktail dress with matching shoes, makeup, and stockings. This left me sitting on the towel that had been wrapping my tail while my hair was hanging loose in perfect curls despite having been damp moments ago.

I turned the car on and lamented that I couldn't wirelessly control it yet. Grasping the wheel with my hands, I checked the reversing mirrors and the road and pulled out. A moment later I realized I should turn my headlights on, if only to let others know I was there.

The Hurricane International Airport was not only on the other side of the city, but it was outside the city limits too. I'd given myself an hour to get there. The drive was a little surreal, giving me time to plan outfits and code alike as my car slipped quietly through the darkened streets.

4:36 A.M.

The off-ramp of the freeway actually had traffic on it—people driving to the airport in cars as well as cargo vehicles. I followed all the right directions and it still took me nearly ten minutes to find somewhere to leave my car that wasn't a mile away from the main building.

"Next time I'll just fly here," I said.

That reminded me that I hadn't tested my buzzy buggy wings of adorable chirping at all, but that was something to do for another day. Remaining ground-bound, I walked in the front entrance of the airport.

The building was huge, squat, and tried its best to look nice on the inside, but like all such utilitarian establishments it fell short of that mark and into an uncanny valley of niceness—that is, it was a horrible place to be.

—Let me know what gate you're at when you land,— I sent to both Stefanie and Perdition.

Well, it was time to wait for them. Using the WiFi in the airport, I connected through a secure VPN back home and started working on my weapon again. Only idly monitoring what was going on around me, I held up my phone and wiggled my thumbs every few seconds to make it look like I was completely absorbed in the device and not just staring off into space.

—The sooner you get us somewhere to sleep the better. Gate 4,— Perdition sent.

Jumping to my feet, I heard the wonderful click-clack of my heels as I made my way toward the security checkpoint. Joining the line of people (how was there always a line, even at this hour?), I waited my turn to go through the metal detector.

It worried me for a moment that there might be some metallic compound in my body that would set the machine off, but with my bag and phone set aside, I walked through without a single alarm. I took my bag and walked on.

A food-court, then Gate 1, Gate 2, Gate 3, and—People everywhere. Of course, Rarity, a plane is disembarking.

—I'm here. Red dress, pale skin. You literally cannot miss me.—

I regretted not making myself taller, but it turned out such would not be needed. A face appeared above the crowd and, when it turned toward me, brightened in recognition. Moving through the crowd against its momentum, I had only two things going for me—and truth be told they weren't actually real anymore.

"Rarity?" the tall woman asked.

The woman's voice had an exotic accent. A quick check online of what aircraft would be disembarking now revealed Spain as the origin. I felt a little guilty over all the times I'd mentally criticized their grammar and punctuation—they weren't native English speakers.

Stefanie (I had to assume it was her) stood taller than Rainbow would have. She had a piercing pair of orange eyes that matched her wild hair. Her skin tone was a soft green that reminded me of deep ocean colors, and she wore the least flattering thing I could ever have imagined—a tshirt and jeans.

Beside Stefanie, a young man a touch shorter than myself held a duffel bag and looked half asleep already. He had a slightly darker blue-green skin tone and a cascade of pink hair that reached his shoulders. Stefanie had her arm around his shoulders and pulled Perdition to her hip protectively. He was similarly attired, though I noticed the cut of his jeans was the opposite of Stefanie's—wearing slim-cut women's jeans to her no-nonsense ones.

"That I am. Stefanie and Perdition?" I asked.

"Yeah. Any chance we can get to your car quickly? Perd's about done and I don't want to carry him."

"What—she said," Perdition said, his tone equally exotic and possibly a little thicker with accent.

"Well then, let's get you somewhere you can lay down for twenty hours or so."

I turned to lead the way and heard Perdition rattle something off very quickly in what sounded a little like Spanish. Stefanie replied in the same language, then cleared her throat as we approached the security line again.

"Sorry, Rarity. It's hard not to fall back to Catalan," Stefanie said.

"You didn't even tell her. Stef was still worried you'd be some —— guy wanting to sell us into slavery or something," Perdition said, though there was a word I didn't understand.

Their aura was quite something. There was a little fear in each, but it was more than overwhelmed by fatigue and the biggest emotion the pair shared—love. It was sharp and filled not just my vision but my sense of smell too. I could have feasted on it and laid a dozen eggs. A shiver ran from my shoulders to a tail that I didn't have right now.

"I just want to give you both a job," I said. "And it's perfectly fine if you want to talk together without me hearing."

I turned back around and started walking. A little searching told me that Catalan was a language spoken in the north-east of Spain and some islands around that part of the world. I debated looking for a way to translate it but figured their trust would probably be easier to earn if I didn't make a point of snooping on them.

Going back through the checkpoint was simple enough, though Perdition and Stefanie had to go through a different set of lines to have their things searched more thoroughly and then be questioned by immigration.

5:14 A.M.

Perdition was supporting Stefanie more than the other way around now. They both seemed to wobble on their way toward me.

"Car, please," Perdition said.

"This way."

Once we were outside the building I threw off all pretense of aloofness and moved to Stefanie's other shoulder and put my arm around her. She flinched at first, but when she realized I was just helping she sank against me.

"The car's a bit of a walk. One thing I needed to ask you—did you come in legally?" I asked.

"What do you take us for?" Perdition asked.

I could hear the laughter in Perdition's words and managed a little laugh to match it.

"Seriously. I need to know if I have anything to worry about with regard to—"

"We came in legally. My father's American—I have dual citizenship," Stefanie said. "If anyone asks, I'm working for you and Perd's with me, okay?"

With a nod I gestured toward my car in the waiting lot that was quickly filling up.

—Who's that?— NotABug asked.

—This is Stefanie and Perdition. They're going to help us with security, on the books. Off them, I want their help making my weapon against SuriGo.—

—Oh, neat. Still at the airport?—

—Yes, darling. You can sleep longer if you wish.—

—Hrmm… No. I think I'll make a start on my work for the day. They can really make tools to help you fight SuriGo?—

I squeezed NotABug in a cozy hug and chirped vigorously at her for a few milliseconds until she started chirping back, though her chirps still had an edge of tiredness to them.

—I'm willing to get whoever I can to help with this. I won't have us living in fear of her for the rest of our lives,— I sent.

—Good luck, then. I'll be working on my homework.—

"Qui! Nice ride. Looks new," Perdition said.

Again he used something I'd never heard before, but the context let me pin it down as an expression of excitement. Pulling the fob from my purse I tapped the unlock.

"It is new. Two days old. Hop in."

I half expected Perdition to ask a million questions about the car, but from the moment he and Stefanie settled into their seats they were asleep. Not that I minded too much. The drive home took about the same time as heading out, though there was a little more traffic given the time was crawling up on 6 A.M.

—You purchased any other houses around here?— I asked NotABug.

A surprised chirp met my question.

—Mr. Pants was in the process of negotiating to buy the whole block from each resident. It's not going to be cheap, but it will be good to have all of it. I think he is signing papers for one today. Why?—

—Perdition and Stefanie need somewhere to live.—

—Oh! Right! Well, I'll find out from Mr. Pants what house we're buying today. They can sleep in our bed today.—

"Are we almost there?" Stefanie asked.

"Just about. I'm trying to arrange for you to have a house as soon as possible, but you might have to crash in my bed today. Is that okay?"

—Letting them know, darling, thank you,— I sent.

"Yeah. Thanks for all this. I just—It's like a fairy tale."

"A fairy tale you were ready to act on. You both had passports and were ready to bug out quickly."

I may not have asked a question, but I left it up to Stefanie if she wanted to fill in the details—and how many details.

"We've been saving to get out of there for ages. Almost had enough when servers got raided and a few accounts were shut down by the policia—police. We were going to bring all our gear with us, but your plan and your money changed all that. Wiped all our junk and cooked the drives," Stefanie said. "Thanks, Rarity. So, what do you want us working on?"

"A weapon. That framework I was building needs teeth and it needs to bite hard. I want your expertise to build as many attack vectors into it as you can, and I need it to do something new."

"Alright, now you're talkin' my language. What do you need new done?"

We talked shop. I explained my needs for hardware and virtual machine attacking vectors, but she kept asking for what I wanted that was new. At last I brought her around to how my firewall worked.

"So you have the firewalls talk together and give the unusual data to an AI, it solves it down to the fastest way to block it, and then distributes that to the firewalls. How does this affect your framework?" Stefanie asked.

"Simple. I want to support a similar method to obfuscate our attacks and to send dummy attacks. I want to make a swarm of attackers that will rely on big systems to back them up and keep them firing. That's what I want."

"You want to take on Windigo directly? Why not go after them like this if it's so much trouble? Report whoever's running Windigo to the pols."

"That's the problem. Windigo isn't an it. Windigo is a who. Suri Polomare wasn't a very nice person before she and Windigo merged, but now that they're combining their assets, they're much worse."

"Are you telling me—Actually, I don't even know what you're telling me. Spell it out."

So I explained it. I started with myself working at Polomare fashion just a few weeks ago and by the time we reached what I was coming to think of as our block, I'd started to touch on my bugginess. All the time she hadn't asked a single question.

"Well?" I asked.

"Boig. That's the craziest stuff I've ever heard, but it would explain how Windigo attacks."

The first light of dawn was creeping over the houses of suburban Canterlot as I pulled the car up to the curb. I looked in the mirror to see Perdition asleep against Stefanie's side, with the latter holding an arm around him protectively.

"You don't believe me though, do you?" I asked.

"Not all of it, no. I've heard about magic—who hasn't—but it's nothing like that. And AI isn't anywhere near that level. This is all some kind of fantasy story or somethin'."

—I wonder if your phone is on?— I asked.

Of course, Stefanie's phone beeped. She looked at me suspiciously as she reached for her backpack and pulled the device out.

"You could have timed that. Scripted it all out and—"

—It's not scripted, darling. Ask me something and I can send it.—

"Three—"

—3—

"Two—"

—2—

"Fiv—"

—5—

"No way. How're you doing that?"

—Mom! I made breakfast. Do your friends want anything?— Bitwise asked.

It didn't click for me that Bitwise had sent the request on a wide channel until Stefanie's eyes started to widen.

—I believe both would have something to eat. Prepare extra, dear, and it won't go to waste,— I sent.

Bitwise sent a trill of happy chirps in reply that I answered in kind. I began reaching for the door handle when I realized Stefanie was still staring at her phone.

"That was one of my daughters."

Stefanie shook her head and put her phone back in her bag. Gently rocking Perdition, she coaxed him from the car while I walked toward the house. It occurred to me that they would probably need their own car, too. Well, they certainly had the money to buy one.

Reaching for the door handle, I barely got it unlocked and was logging into the home network when the door opened to reveal Rainbow holding a giggling nymph under each arm. She glanced out at Stefanie and Perdition, then pulled her head back in.

"Well?" I asked.

"I'll leave the suspicion to Starling. She's better at it, and knows what to do if someone needs a thump on the head. These two have been going a little loopy waiting for you."

'Bee and Beta chirped loudly and buzzed their little wings at me.

"Stefanie, Perdition, this is one of my darlings, Rainbow Dash, and these two chirpy bundles are Bumblebee and Beta, our daughters. Dears, this is Stefanie and Perdition."

As I spoke, I pointed to everyone in turn. Now I had the house's network up, I flicked through the cameras and mentally froze up at the sight in the living room. Two eggs, looking like they were formed from mobile phones, sat to one side of the couch. Neither had been there when I'd given control to NotABug the previous night.

Well, to be fair, she hadn't been using a lot of her magic what with her study, whereas I have been burning off mine keeping my form all day.

—There's two eggs in the living room,— I sent NotABug.

—I couldn't help it. You left me snuggling with Rainbow.—

—It's alright, darling, I'm not blaming you. I think maybe it's just inevitable that we will keep making eggs.—

—We can't both use up enough love in a day to keep from making at least one. Should we try asking Rainbow about this?—

NotABug's suggestion surprised me. I thought about it, and wondered if she might be onto something.

—Because she knows about exercise and diet. You really are quite clever, darling,— I sent.

We chirped together for a dozen milliseconds or more. More complicated was good, right? Of course it was. Even simple things had an underlying level of complexity that was hidden just below the surface.

—I love you,— I sent NotABug and Rainbow Dash.

—I love you both!— NotABug sent back.

I'd have to wait for Rainbow's reply.

"It's, uh, nice to meet you all. Rarity told me a bit about you. Um…" Stefanie said.

"Oh, I might as well get this over with," I said.

Relaxing my magic, I let my transformational flames wash away the disguise of humanity. My arms stretched into forelegs and I settled back down to all fours—what I now felt was more comfortable and stable than attempting two legs. Having magic made me biased, of course, since it could replace the arms I lacked.

Perdition yawned, though it wasn't a bored yawn.

"Neat trick. You can change back if you want," Perdition said.

"Nah. That's her now. Her and NotABug," Rainbow Dash said.

"You know NotABug?"

Rainbow snorted.

"Rarity, you should probably introduce them. Well, I guess I'll have to introduce them, since you won't be here to do it. Anyway, they share the same body. Kinda cool, really," Rainbow Dash said.

—Would you like to meet them in person?— I asked NotABug.

NotABug sent an assenting chirp, and we both nudged at the same time. The transition was smooth, thanks in part to practice but also due to standing on all fours—gosh but it was convenient.

I sprawled out into the digital landscape. Delving into a dozen things at once by slicing my time up small, I checked our finances, my schedule for the day, the weather report, and even scanned around the house. Starling and Bitwise were in the kitchen making breakfast, Byte was in "her" room, doing something on the computer, and Bobbin was sitting up beside Byte at the computer and shouting into the microphone.

ChirpNet was still running, of course, but I started delving into server logs and statuses while NotABug was introduced to our newest employees. There had been a few pokes at ChirpNet itself, and a lot more at various nodes. What surprised me was an email from Torproject.

The letter was brief, and full of enough praise that I would be blushing if I were in control of my physical self. They had a few requests—mostly for other node types—which were easy enough for me to satisfy. It wasn't free, of course, but it was something I was more than happy to do for such a wonderful group.

—So this really isn't you?— Stefanie asked.

—No. NotABug is definitely someone else entirely. She has a few of my quirks, but we believe that's more from her recovery of the attack by Windigo than any of our doing.—

Now this was curious. A request for chat logs from a specific user IP address, sent by the FBI. Very official paperwork.

—I hope it's not too early, but I just found this in ChirpNet's inbox. They want logs and data pertaining to this IP address,— I sent to Mrs. Velvet.

With the legal matter taken care of, I set about doing some coding. Little features that a lot of users on ChirpNet had asked for were my target of the day, and I began with the simplest—message priority.

6:33 A.M.

—She's really different. It's kinda freaky, but she definitely isn't you,— Stefanie sent.

—Hi!— Bobbin sent. —Are you a new changeling?—

—No, dear. This is Stefanie. She's come to help us make ChirpNet safer, and to help me fight SuriGo,— I sent.

—Oh! Slow-net. Got it. I'll come out and say hi properly. Byte started gaming, anyway.—

The change in Bobbin was surprising. She felt much more sure of herself, and more chatty than her older sister Beta. I watched her on the cameras as she pranced out of Byte's room and into the hallway, looking like she owned the house.

Stefanie was still typing on her phone when Bobbin reached the kitchen and jumped up to put her forelegs on the woman's thigh.

"Hi! Sorry, I didn't know you were in meatspace. I'm Bobbin."

—Is it just me, or is Bobbin really good at talking all of a sudden?— I asked NotABug.

—It's not just you. She spent all night chatting on ChirpNet. Look at this,— NotABug sent.

She also sent me a snapshot of what her eyes saw combined with what she sensed. Bobbin was one well-fed changeling. She was so bloated with energy that I almost failed to notice her nibbling very carefully at Stefanie.

—Everyone, please be careful of our new friends. With so many of us here, we don't want to hurt them with overfeeding,— I sent.

A chorus of chirps came back to me. I echoed them with a more reassuring tone to my own.

—Who are they?— Moon Dancer asked.

—Two friends I met online. They know the other side of system security, as it were. I hired them to help me fight back against SuriGo and to help fortify our other projects.—

Moon Dancer chirped softly in a rather neutral manner.

—Be careful, Rarity. It's not that I don't trust them, but if they've done questionable things before, they might do them again.—

—Dear, I'm planning on it. I'd like them to do questionable things for us. But I can see truth in your warning.—

—Are you going to try to integrate them like you did me?—

I couldn't stop myself from sending a shocked chirp.

—What? No, dear. You're family. They are friends, and I might try to use magic to implant a phone, but what you have is more than that.—

It came natural. I reached out to her over the divide of the VPN that separated us and hugged her digitally. Moon chirped in surprise at first, but then she gingerly hugged me back. I held the hug until I heard her chirp softly with evidence of happiness in her tone.

—It would be quite a change to humanity if everyone could communicate like this, but first we'd need to deal with monsters like SuriGo. For that I'm more than willing to work with Perdition and Stefanie,— I sent.

—Perdition? That's quite a name. Raze and ruin in human form doesn't inspire confidence,— Moon Dancer sent.

I giggled chirpily.

—But you have to admit, for the task we're hiring him for, it's rather apt.—

Moon mirrored my chirps with her own. I sent her the list of programming tasks I'd set myself for the morning.

—I decided to take on some user suggestions. Any thoughts on these?— I asked.

While she perused the list, I did a little more programming. It was odd how easily I'd taken to programming, until I'd started looking at it as functional fashion.

—The priority one looks promising. It would be nice to be able to send information without the equivalent of poking them in the ribs. Want me to pass these on to Lyra for her thoughts?—

—That would be wonderful, actually. Feel free to buy her lunch to elicit her opinions.—

Scoffing a laughing-chirp, Moon Dancer drew back from the hug.

—If I feed Lyra, I could get a lot more than her opinions. She worked out how much that sushi cost, you know. She freaked out when she realized how much you'd spent on her. But buying food for a post-grad is the easiest way to gain their loyalty,— Moon Dancer sent.

—I talked with a course advisor. They were actually happy to hear I'd found a profession I'd like to pursue. I mean, I was paying all my fees there, but there wasn't a lot more I could have learned without attacking a Masters or higher. I'm excited to do this, Rarity. For the first time in my life I'm actually looking forward to something that isn't a lecture.—

Enthusiasm bubbled off each of her chirps, and you can bet she was chirping a lot. It still saddened me that Equestrian changelings suppress their chirping.

—So long as you're doing what makes you happy, I'm all for it,— I sent.

While we hugged again, with a lot more happy chirping, I flicked my focus back to coding. Moon's behavior was more relaxed now, I'd noticed. She had seemed far more uncertain about being in a family before, but I guess when you live life as fast as we do now, mental adaptions happen just as quickly as everything else.

—It's nice to feel like I belong,— Moon Dancer said.

—I'll second that. When I was at Polomare, it felt like I was becoming more and more isolated from everything in my life I enjoyed, and the worst part was I didn't realize this until someone showed me how to make it better.—

Moon Dancer let out one of her trademark sarcastic chirps.

—It's a cascade, isn't it? NotABug showed you how bad you'd gotten, you showed me… Now I have to find someone to help?—

—No. You don't have to find someone. Just keep your eyes open in case you see someone who needs a helping hand. Besides, I didn't show you. You showed yourself.—

—Same difference. You let me see what was wrong.—

I didn't try to fight her reasoning further. Hugging and chirping was enough to show how much I appreciated her.

—What are we actually doing? I know it feels like a hug, but how are we even interacting?— Moon Dancer asked.

—It started as something NotABug and I would do in our head, but I guess it works anywhere. It might even be magic letting it happen. Some things are best not explored, I think.—

Moon Dancer, however, let out an irritated little chirp.

—No. I can't work like that. I'll look into it myself. A packet sniffer should help establish if it's just a data connection, and if so where it's happening.—

I was about to tell her I'd leave it in her hands when I felt NotABug's nudge. Chirping to NotABug as I felt my body settle under my control again, I heard her tired one back.

—Sorry, Moon, I have to be in control again,— I sent.

—No problems, Rarity. It's always nice to chat.—

7:15 A.M.

I managed another digital hug as I became aware of the world around my body again. Breakfast was gone, and I could see Perdition leaning against Stefanie on one side of the table, while Byte and Rainbow chatted between themselves.

Stefanie let out a yawn and tried to cover it with her hand.

"Bed time," I said.

Rolling his eyes, Perdition managed to stand up while hauling Stefanie to her feet in the process.

"I'm too tired to make jokes, sorry. Please just point the way," Perdition said.

When he stumbled trying to help Stefanie along, I stepped in—magically. It took barely a flicker of my magic to take Stefanie's other side and help him carry her down the hallway. We were halfway down the hallway before I started supporting Perdition too.

"We're going to need our own bed," Perdition said.

"Message me when you wake up. I'll arrange for you to get somewhere you can buy what you need. Do either of you have a license?" I asked.

"Stef does."

"Then use some of your money to buy a car. I'll have you a house by the end of the day, but you'll need to furnish it. Do you want more money for that?"

Perdition stumbled as we entered my bedroom. I left him to stare at me in surprise while I used my magic to lift Stefanie to the bed.

"You really mean that, dontcha? NotBug said we could get more, but you mean it?"

Using my magic to hold back the covers, I lay Stefanie on the pristine sheets and then turned to Perdition.

"I mean it. Take whatever either of you need from the closet. I'm sorry I don't have any male things—I'll have Byte pick you up the basics today. Perdition?"

"Yeah?"

"Don't make me regret this."

The warning made him smile a bit wider before a yawn escaped his mouth.

"Yeah. I sure as fuck ain't wasting this. You want us to make you 'sploits, we'll make you 'sploits. Just—"

He cut short when I picked him up in my magic and carried him over to the bed.

"Hey. This is cheatin'," Perdition said.

I left him to getting settled and closed the door behind me. Further, I set the cameras in the room to only detect movement, not actually record.

Leaving them to sleep, I walked down the hallway again and spied Rainbow sitting at the table and looking very huggable. I walked across the room—using my magic midway to her to shapechange—and wrapped my arms around her when I got close.

"Your new friend swears a lot."

"Perdition? He has some rough edges," I said. "I hope you don't mind them sleeping in there. It's just for today."

"Yeah. It's your room, anyway."

A little sullenness had seeped into Rainbow. I leaned to one side and kissed her jaw.

"Our room. When I invited you in, I didn't intend for you to leave."

"I'm just not sure about them. Moon Dancer was—She's special. She tried to save our little girl, and she's—I don't know."

I squeezed a little tighter and kissed her jaw again until she turned her head and we could kiss properly. It was easy to relax against her and let all the love between us carry things, but I felt we needed to talk more—though kissing was definitely something I'd like to continue later. I broke off the kiss a little earlier than I think either of us wanted to.

"They will only be here for the day. Mr. Pants is pushing to buy up the local properties as quickly as he can, and he apparently has one house that should be free shortly. I'm sure a bonus will get them to move out today," I said.

"And if they don't?"

I kissed her nose.

"Then we spend the night in the back seat of your car."

"Not with that horn you won't. I've seen what you do to pillows. That is high-grade leather."

She was smiling as she spoke.

"Rarity, you just need to slow down a little. I overheard what your friend said yesterday. Do you really want me to call her and tattle on you?"

"You wouldn't!" I said. "Besides, this is all gearing up to take SuriGo down. The sooner she's dealt with the sooner we can focus on bugging."

"Bug is now a verb?"

"It's whatever I wish it to be. When'd you get so particular about English?"

Standing up, Rainbow collected the dishes off the table and carried them to the sink. The way she moved was sheer poetry. Every muscle, every motion in perfect harmony and carrying the dress wonderfully.

"Since both my girlfriends teamed up and told me to?"

She tilted her hips to the side, and though my eyes were still tracing her form, I noticed her eyes in the reflection in the chrome of the toaster. She was watching me check her out. Well, she always did have quite the ego—time to feed it a little more.

I stood up and walked up behind her and leaned my body against her spine—matching my chest, belly, groin, and thighs against the outer curve of her body. Wrapping an arm around each side, I hugged myself to her strong frame.

"How do you do that?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"Do what?"

My own voice was soft, breathy, and wistful.

"Look so gorgeous that I feel like a lump of meat beside you."

"Oh, that? It takes skill and practice, but mostly it requires inspiration. Darling, I don't think this would have gone half so smoothly if you didn't have every one of the qualities I wanted in a man."

"What?!"

"Basically exactly what you said. A lump of meat, but sculpted into something beyond just that. You're firm in every way I adore, strong when I want to be held tight, and you're curvy when I want to play dress-ups. Rainbow Dash—you're my perfect man."

Snorting, Rainbow turned around without a trace of the earlier annoyance in her aura. She closed a hand on each side of my waist and lifted me into the air with ease—it was just the kind of gesture that I loved her doing.

"You give me the oddest complements, but they work because I know you mean them. I'm sorry if I was short earlier."

Able to look down my body into her eyes, I closed my thighs around Rainbow's midsection and felt only tight muscle there.

"You're short right now, but I can forgive you for both if you kiss me again," I said.

Our kiss may have gone a little longer than I intended, but I was perfectly fine devoting some extra cycles to showing Rainbow how I felt.

"Mom! Bobbin said she wants to work with you today. It's okay if I stay home?" Byte asked.

Breaking our kiss, I turned my head to look at Byte. She was in her changeling shape, and beside her stood a beautiful ebony-skinned young woman with striped white and black hair that reminded me so much of zebra that I instantly had an idea for a dress she could wear. Then I realized that was Bobbin.

"That will be fine, dears. Bobbin, sweetie, are you ready?" I asked.

Bobbin chirped excitedly—at least digitally—and rushed over for a hug. Thankfully, Rainbow set me down and we both gave her a welcome squeeze.

"You've been feeding, haven't you dear?" I asked.

"Y-Yeah! Byte showed me how to chat online, and I've been doing it a bunch! It's really nice to be friends with everyone, though there are a few people who say poopy things, but that just makes me work harder to make them happy enough I can feed."

—Byte? Please try to avoid disturbing our guests, but if they get up, try to be helpful. You're not their maid, however,— I sent to Byte.

—Yes, Mom. I'll keep an eye on the eggs, too. It's fun to meet new sisters.—

—That was the next thing I wanted to ask. Thank you, dear.—

We shared a few happy chirps and a hug. With one arm around Rainbow (and her arm around me), we walked out to the car and I let her take the driver's side again.

"Buckle up," Rainbow Dash said.

"You know," I said, "If you engage this setting, you can get a much faster response from it."

I gestured at the center console where the car's settings were. Rainbow seemed to watch as I punched in the sports mode I'd found yesterday.

"Huh? How much faster?"

Pulling back and onto the road, I could sense the curiosity in Rainbow as she set the car for forward movement.

"Put your foot down and find out, darling," I said.

She didn't just put her foot down—Rainbow Dash pressed the pedal to the floor and then squealed in excitement. The car's reaction had been almost instant. We'd gone from standing still to just above the maximum speed for our road in a scant few seconds, and by the huge grin on her face Rainbow enjoyed it.

"This is awesome! How fast was that? I'd heard these were fast, but didn't think it would be that fast!"

My phone rang, which surprised me as I hadn't dealt with a phone call on it in a while.

"Hello?" I asked, not recognizing the number.

"Detective Proud from the Canterlot City P.D., ma'am, I was wondering if I could have a word with you in person?"

My world narrowed down to a point and the call had my full attention. I spooled all the data so far into a file and set to recording the rest it as the call progressed.

"A word? Like the interrogation I received last time one of your officers wanted a word?" I asked. "Anything I have to say to you will be with my lawyer present. I've had just about enough of—"

"That's the thing. Officers Guard and Shield are—they're acting odd, ma'am. Not everyone on the force remembers what happened a few years ago, but I do. You and your friends stopped some bad stuff, and I think it's happening again."

Drat. The man couldn't have made this easy for me to dismiss, could he?

"I take it they're overly aggressive, not acting like themselves, and are prone to making rather poor decisions?" I asked. "And making frequent visits to Polomare Fashion?"

"I can't exactly tell you that's precisely what's happening. Is this something that will get worse?"

There was a measure of fear in his voice at the end. Clearly my description was on the mark and that had worried him. It worried me too.

"If they're acting that way, it means Suri Polomare has them under her thumb and there's nothing they or you can do to stop it," I said.

"But you can? They're good officers. Spotless records—until recently. No one deserves this."

Well, there goes my morning. Perhaps I could organize a meeting with him at my boutique? No, having the police there for any reason would not be a wonderful start to a successful fashion business.

"How do you factor into this, Detective? How are you going to help the two officers if I consent to giving my own help?"

"I'm an investigator from Internal Affairs."

—A detective of the CCPD (Detective Proud) from Internal Affairs has contacted me and wants to talk. He seems to think the two officers who tried to pin Suri's tantrum on me are under her sway as Starling was. I need to help them, but I don't want to incriminate myself in the process. Could I meet with him at your office?— I asked Twilight Velvet.

I also sent Mrs. Velvet the number Detective Proud was calling from.

"I've contacted my lawer and asked her to arrange a meeting with you there. If she or I think you're trying anything to sabotage myself further, this will be the end of any help I offer the police," I said.

"I understand how you've been treated would make you wary. I'll wait for your lawyer to contact me."

"She'll call you shortly."

I ended the call just to have another start, the caller was Twilight Velvet.

"Ugh. Today is definitely a day," I said to Rainbow Dash. "Another call."

"Rarity. First of all, thank you for contacting me before meeting with them. Can you forward me a recording of the call?" Twilight Velvet asked.

I did as she asked quickly enough, though data speeds on mobile weren't as wonderful as at home.

"I did talk to him, but I didn't say anything concrete. Oh drat—I hope I didn't say anything bad? He didn't seem to be leading me like the officers were last time—he sounded worried."

"You're a tough client, Rarity, but I certainly will never claim you aren't the most interesting. I'll listen, make a decision if I think they legitimately want help, and call the officer. I do assume you want to help?"

"No one deserves what Suri is doing to people. I don't care what they did."

It wasn't in me to hold a grudge. The officers could have already been suffering at SuriGo's when they tried to nail me for her mess. If they were even the tiniest bit under her power, they likely couldn't have even dreamed of accusing her.

"I'll just make it clear, Rarity, that even if you were as poor as a pauper, I'd still help you as much as I could. You're just—just a wonderful person. I'll try to ascertain if this officer's motives align with yours. It was a good idea to hold any meetings at our offices."

"You're going to charge me for it, aren't you?"

I couldn't hold back the mirth in my voice.

"Rarity, I won't charge you any extra—because your business manager has hired us on retainer. She offered to hire our firm on a permanent basis, but we have other clients who we're loyal to as well."

—What does all that mean?— I asked NotABug.

I sent her a copy of the voice data.

—It means that they do some things for us as a service under that retainer, but bigger stuff will result in bills and are subject to availability,— NotABug sent.

—Oh. Thank you.—

I sent a grateful chirp and reached out to give her a long-distance hug. The return hug and chirps did a wonderful job of reinforcing my earlier good mood and my desire to help. Helping people seemed to be what changelings were best at, after all.

"Well, let me know if it is agreeable, and what time he'd like to meet. I have a feeling he'll want to break this grip on the officers if he can—and I can—but that will take careful arranging. I don't want to be in a locked room with two trained officers who are angry and armed."

"Nor would I let you walk into that. If anything is to happen, the officers will be sedated. I'll review your call and make the decision after that. I'll call you back soon, Rarity."

"Thank you, Mrs. Velvet."

The call ended and I was reminded that I was meant to be in control of my body right now. Surprisingly, the seat had been cradling my body quite well, and the belt had kept me from falling forward.

"That was the police, and then Mrs. Velvet. The former want my help to find out why the two officers who'd first been to Polomare were acting odd, and the latter was to get Mrs. Velvet to vet them and make sure I'm not walking into a trap," I said aloud.

"Not walking into a trap is good," Rainbow Dash said.

She was just pulling up to the parking space we'd used the previous day when I noticed something fluttering under the door—a flier of some sort. Gathering up the fabric I intended to work with, I didn't hesitate to use my magic to carry it while walking to the door. Let my neighbors get used to seeing me using magic!

"What's that?" Rainbow Dash asked.

I crouched down to retrieve the object of our mutual interest. It was a flier for a fashion show coming up in a few days and it had a note paperclipped to the top of it. When I flipped up the note to read what was written on the back of it, I almost dropped my fabric.

"Rarity? What's wrong? You look like you just saw a—" Rainbow Dash said.

"It's from SuriGo. There's a fashion show on Sunday, and look at this."

I removed the note and showed Rainbow the flier itself.

"Showcasing an up-and-coming fashion house that's only just begun its rise to fame. What's this about?"

"SuriGo's organized this and her note says I'm the fashion house it's talking about."

A panic was growing within me. Sunday was too soon to be able to have a whole fashion show worth of designer outfits done by. It was simply impossible!

"That's kinda nice of her, right? I mean, she's probably planning something, but—"

"Darling, she's trying to ruin me. It's Thursday today. That's a three hour fashion show—standard fare would be an hour of meet-and-greet, an hour of runway, then an hour to gossip about how terrible the fashion was. I don't have enough outfits or any models!" I said. "This will ruin me if she invites the wrong people."

"Well, you need to make a whole bunch of outfits, right?" Rainbow Dash asked. "I'm pretty sure, of all the people I know, you're the one who can pull this off."

"It's not just—I can't very well—Surely I couldn't—"

No matter how fast I think, it seems I'm still able to say stupid things.

"Mom, you don't need models," Bobbin said. "You have us."

"And me—but you'd be better with them. I might be able to bluff people in the shop, but a fashion show would be a whole other level. What I can do is run the place for you while you work as fast as you can on making things," Rainbow Dash said.

I closed my eyes.

It was time to get things more complicated than ever. Pulling this off would be a huge victory for me. Even a mediocre event would be a success. Very well. If SuriGo wanted a fashion fight, I'd give her one.

Okay, Rarity, priorities.



Customers first—complete everything that's already ordered.
Get everything planned and made ready for the fashion show.
Work on new orders.



—Oh darling! Have I told you lately how much I love you?— I asked NotABug.

I sent along a bunch of happy chirps, though I think they may have held a little of my current anxiety.

—Not in the last second, Rarity. You know I love you right back, too?—

Happiness turned to giggly-fun chirps that flowed back and forth from both of us. I hugged NotAbug, giving her a good squeeze.

—SuriGo's trying to ruin my business by organizing a fashion show and giving me top billing. If I don't get things just right, I'll be laughed out of the industry.—

—Then show them what you have inside. You beat her digitally with your firewalls and you can beat her in the real world on the catwalk. You've totally got this.—

I squeezed NotABug a little tighter and filled our shared world with happy and loving chirps.

—You really know what to say.—

Authoritative chirping (I have no idea how I identified the emotions behind such a complex thing) threatened to drown me. The truth was I'd be happy to be drowned in digital chirps.

—I bet Rainbow told you the same thing.—

—She did. Bobbin too. When did she get so good at holding a conversation?—

—Bobbin has more active connections to ChirpNet than anybuggy else. I'm not sure how she manages it all, but she's covertly infiltrated thousands of online communities and is working among them to make them happier.—

The news surprised me only in so much as I could be surprised by anything amazing our daughters did anymore. My chirps may or may not have carried a rush of pride in them.

—She'll be a fat bug if she's not careful,— I sent.

Then I realized the term NotABug had used: anybuggy. It was cute, and I think a sign that she might have given up on her old prejudice of the word completely.

—Not if she shares the love with all the other nymphs. Think of her and Byte like farmers. Our little family wouldn't work if we don't have anybuggy like them, nor if it was only bugs like them. We all need to work together. Especially since we have two more on the way.—

The chirpiness I felt became almost overwhelming. Every nymph seemed to bring more joy and every nymph also surprised me by how amazing they were. No. I simply couldn't hold it all in. I sent out a flood of chirps to all our daughters. The surprised and happy rush of replies made me even more chirpy.

—Darlings, I have a huge favor to ask of you,— I sent. —I need your help putting on a fashion show. I'll need as many of you as can transform into an adult human as I can get.—

Byte was quickest to chirp back her support. Bobbin was quick behind her, and then Bitwise and Beta chimed in. 'Bee made an unsure chirp, but got a huge rush of supportive chirps.

Moon Dancer sent a curious chirp. Curious and unsure.

—You don't have to help if you don't think you're able to. Have you tried drinking love yet?— I asked.

—What? No. I wasn't sure if I should try. What if it turned me into… That's a silly concern, isn't it?— Moon Dancer asked.

—Not entirely. There's a lot we don't know about changelings in this world. I'd like to go back to Equestria some time and ask a lot of questions of somebuggy who knows answers.—

—"Somebuggy"?—

—Definitely somebuggy. The ponies I tried to talk to about changelings had a worrying sense of politeness with regard to a creature nearly double their size that looked like one of their ancient enemies.—

—Changelings are their enemy? How does that even work?— Beta asked.

—They must be bad ponies to be enemies of changelings,— Bitwise sent.

—No. The ponies are good, it was just there was a real bad-apple changeling named Chrysalis. She didn't even let her hive chirp!— I sent.

Alarmed chirps came from everyone except Moon.

—She built her hive too big and went around being a meanie-pants to all the ponies. Want to know the best bit?— I asked.

The chirping was inquisitive now.

—Her hive left her and started their own hive!— I sent.

—We'd never leave you, Mom!— Byte sent.

—Our hive is best hive!— Bobbin sent.

More and more supportive and proud chirps came in from all quarters, this time including Moon. It warmed me to the core of my being that there was this much unity within our little (or not so little) family.

"You back?" Rainbow Dash asked.

I checked how long our little conversation had gone and realized it was three full seconds. It was confirmed, Rainbow was very good at reading us.

"Yes, darling, just making sure the girls are onboard with the plan. Once I get the dresses ready, we can actually do this."

"There's the Rarity I know and love. Confidence is so your thing, you know that right?"

That I couldn't chirp physically didn't stop me from chirping up a storm digitally. I flooded Rainbow's phone with chirps so much I was worried it wouldn't stop message-beeping for an hour. Reaching out, I pulled her into a hug and a kiss.

As always, such embraces never lasted long enough. By mutual consent we drew back before things could get out of hand.

"Every time we kiss I feel like running around the world," Rainbow Dash said.

"You want to get away from me?"

"No. I just feel charged with too much energy. Besides, it doesn't matter where you are on the planet, running in one direction means you're going toward someone."

Her logic defied my best ability to denounce, so I didn't try.

"Hi! Welcome to Carousel Boutique. My name's Bobbin. How may I help you?"

Bobbin's voice surprised me. I peeked through her eyes to see a woman and man standing just inside the doorway. The woman wore a fairly neutral green dress that accented her orange skin nicely, particularly since it formed a triad of colors with an accenting violet clutch.

The man was more traditionally dressed with black trousers, running shoes, and a button-up shirt. It was a business look, but on his way to do business. Perhaps a before-work stop. He could have had red with purple polka-dot skin—he didn't. His skin was a soft yellow, reminding me of Fluttershy, and he sported green hair that matched his partner's dress. My estimation of the woman's style increased when I realized she'd coordinated her dress and clothes with his color palette.

—Did you speak to Bobbin about how to act here?— I asked Byte.

—Yup! She picks up this stuff really easily. When it comes to social interaction, she's much better than I am,— Byte sent.

I gave Byte a thankful chirp and a hug, and I listened to Bobbin talking.

"Numbers here purchased a dress for me yesterday, and while I love him to bits for buying me something, it's simply not my color. What could you show me that will suit my complexion?" the woman asked.

"Might I inquire as to what style and occasion you will need a dress for? Perhaps something to thank him back?" Bobbin asked.

Watching my daughter's lips curl just slightly on the last sentence really hit home how fast she'd learned to socialize. She was less than two days old and had just correctly hinted that something intimate and revealing might be a good choice. By the way Numbers and the woman looked at each other and smiled, Bobbin had come up with a perfect plan.

—Mom, can I take an order if we don't have something in her color?— Bobbin asked.

—Of course you can, dear. Earliest would be Monday afternoon. We have that show on Sunday,— I sent.

Bobbin chirped. The interaction was lightning fast and as soon as the couple asked to see what we had, Bobbin began chatting away while lifting out dress after dress.

8:39 A.M.

The time was enough of an excuse, when Bobbin gave it, that no further thought seemed given to why she was unpacking new dresses.

I left my daughter and girlfriend to the task of running my boutique while I set about completing the orders we'd already taken.

Using my magic and my hands I could measure, cut, sew, and adjust a dress in about an hour. But the trick was I could be sewing one while measuring, cutting, and adjusting three others.

After an hour I sacrificed my human form to conserve the energy that cost me—so I could focus more on my work. Time was a constant, but it slowly ticked away as I filled boxes with dresses.

12:02 P.M.

Rainbow Dash stepped around the partition and walked over to me. I set down my dresses and scissors and tilted my cheek up to her.

"Figured you could use some lunch," Rainbow Dash said.

When her lips landed on my cheek, I fed on Rainbow's love. Slurping at it, I sucked and drew such energy into me as I could never have experienced as a human. To know her love for me was this real was—every time I fed—an affirming and Earth shaking experience.

"When you do that, it makes me wish we were at home—alone," Rainbow Dash said.

Her lips were still against my cheek as she spoke, and I felt them brushing over my chitin. Turning my head, I brought our lips together and fed to satiation. It was a lot of love, but Rainbow had a lot to give.

"And when I do that?" I asked.

"I can't talk about that here," Rainbow Dash said. "Later."

I shivered at the tone she used. Without a single lewd word or phrase, Rainbow had told me exactly what she intended. As she drew back, I lifted up and kept our mouths close. In her eyes I lost myself.

"Rarity?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"Mmm?"

"Rarity, I think you might want to finish those before we get carried away."

I froze and blinked—breaking my eye contact with Rainbow. It was like having a bucket of cold water thrown on me. What exactly had happened I had no idea. All I know is that I had become so fixated on Rainbow, I'm surprised either of us were able to break out of it.

"Whatever you were doing, it wasn't bad, Rarity, but you were doing something that could be used for bad stuff. Remember what the Dazzlings were doing?"

Nodding, I was a little worried about what she'd say next.

"Kinda like that."

I slumped in place. This was exactly the kind of thing SuriGo was doing—forcing people to do things without their consent. I tried to pull back, but Rainbow moved with me and grabbed me up into a hug. Losing my footing, I was hoisted into a two-armed carry that had me sprawling across Rainbow's arms.

"Rarity, don't pull back like that. You know the best thing about dating me?"

"That you're gorgeous?" I asked.

Her smile was worth deploying such a word, even if it weren't true.

"Besides that. You know—like all of us—I can take a hit and keep swinging. I'm not normal, Rarity. Since all this started, I've actually started liking my powers again.

"If I wasn't like this, you wouldn't be able to stay with just me—either of you. Just be careful with that kind of intensity, okay?"

I nodded and leaned my head (careful of my horn) against her belly. How I'd been such a fool for so long and not taken a chance with Rainbow I don't know, but then I'd hardly had a track record of making good decisions.

"Okay, darling. I got a little carried away and wanted—I wanted a lot of things I couldn't do here, and it frustrated me."

"Yeah, I got that. I'll probably need to rush home and take a cold shower, but I got that."

I blinked in surprise. Had it really affected her that much? Not that I thought she was lying. My mind picked that moment to remind me what she'd said about it not being bad. Realization dawned.

"You didn't want me to stop?"

"Rarity, you were making me think of doing all the things we couldn't do in here. Of course I didn't want to stop, but I knew you did. So I stopped it."

"NotABug and you are the best things that ever happened to me," I said. "Without you both I don't know how I would have coped."

—Your friends are awake. They wanted some breakfast, so I made them muesli,— Bitwise sent. —I don't think they've been eating well. They looked like they needed something extra, so I got some juice too.—

—Thank you, dear. Starling is there?— I asked.

—Yup! She talked with them. She said a lot of stuff about not… Well, not doing doodoo in their nest. I think I know what she meant,— Byte sent.

That conversation wasn't a hard one to imagine. Starling was protective not just of me, but also my daughters. The words hive guard came to mind. I'd equipped her to face her darkest fear, now she felt an obligation back to me, and I know that's not how it works, nor what she truly intends, but that's how it feels.

It was time to stop asking questions and get my answers directly. Opening up the camera feeds from the server, I spotted Stefanie and Perdition sitting in the kitchen—in the same clothes they'd worn when they'd arrived, eating from bowls of oats and dried fruit in milk.

"Gonna have to amend that to We're the best thing to happen to each other, Rarity. You're not the only one this relationship has helped," Rainbow Dash said.

—What Rainbow said. Without you both, I'd not be half of who I am today. Without you, Rarity, I'd not exist at all,— NotABug sent.

"NotABug repeats the sentiment," I said. "And thank you again, Rainbow."

"Hey. I'm just doing what I can to keep this going. Don't stop making life interesting, Rarity."

The kiss she laid on my cheek was more chaste than any we'd shared all day. I appreciated both the sentiment of wanting a little something more and her attempt at keeping things from getting out of control. With a wink she stepped out to the front of the boutique.

"Bobbin, I need to go home and get some things. You're in charge out here until I get back, okay?" Rainbow Dash asked.

Finding the contact details for the phone we'd given Starling, I called her.

"Rarity?" Starling asked.

"Yes, dear. Just checking in on our guests. What are your thoughts on them?" I asked.

The sound of footsteps followed by a door closing were only a hint Starling had gone somewhere she could talk quietly and not be overheard. I could, of course, see her walking and standing beside the noisy server.

"They're not bad. Looked like they were missing a few meals. I'd half expected them to just loot the place and leave, but the vibe I get is that they're actually trying to fly straight. I take it you gave them some money to keep them content?" Starling asked.

—Rarity, those computers we'd ordered have just arrived at the PO Box,— NotABug sent.

I chirped thankfully back to her.

—Rainbow, darling, there are some things to pick up at the PO Box. Would you be able to grab them on your way home?— I asked Rainbow Dash.

Her reply wouldn't be instant, but I knew better than to think it'd be slow, either.

—Gotcha. I was kinda joking about the cold shower, but I do need something to eat and a good run,— Rainbow Dash sent.

"They have enough funds to not need to steal to live, but that doesn't mean I'm not a little worried still. Thank you, Starling."

"Had some green recruits rotate in one time in—It doesn't matter where. I think I've got this. Is there anything in particular you want them to do?"

I thought for a moment, and the answer was clear. Thankfully it wouldn't have even seemed like the slightest pause to Starling.

"They'll probably want to go car shopping, as well as getting some computer gear. Rainbow will be bringing the latter, though they will undoubtedly want to get their own preferences, but I'll handle that with them later."

—How's the house situation coming along?— I asked NotABug.

—Not good. Mr. Pants talked to the one we'd hoped to have finalized today, but they're moving out tomorrow. We can't have the house before at least midday.—

—Drat. Well, I think we could let them have our bed one more night, but I might offer to take Rainbow up on a night of sleeping in the back seat of her car.—

—Rarity! That means…—

—Yes, darling. Yes it does.—

We both chirped excitedly and with somewhat laughing tones. I hugged NotABug and returned to my conversation.

"I'll take them car shopping, but what about the girls here? Security is ultimately your call," Starling asked.

NotABug seemed to drift off to her work again, thought I sent her some loving chirps.

"If you can't convince Byte to come with you, she should be okay at home. I trust you to make a call on this, Starling. Perhaps you should get yourself a car as well? Something fast?"

"I can't afford to—Dammit, Rarity. You are going to buy me a car, aren't you?"

"Darling, if you really want, I could have it registered to the corporation so that it's a company car?"

"That'd make me feel better. I don't mind breaking your toys, Rarity, but if it's my own I might hesitate. Was that all?"

"Hmmm. I believe so. Thank you again, Starling."

"Rarity, you saved my ass so many ways now that you don't need to thank me, but it's appreciated."

Starling hung up, and I watched her walk to the door of the room and leave it. Okay, Rarity, give them a little privacy.

—This officer is legitimate, Rarity. Internal Affairs veteran with a history of impartiality. If you're keen, I'd say he's your best chance of helping those police officers. I've arranged a meeting here in an hour,— Twilight Velvet sent.

—I'll be there in forty minutes. I have a few things to take care of here first,— I sent to Twilight Velvet.

"Bobbin, dear?" I asked.

Standing up, I poked my head around the partition and realized there was a customer looking back at me. I waved.

"Hello. May I help you?" I asked.

"N-No. I'm fine thank you. Are you—"

The young woman looked around high school age and had, when I checked recent audio recordings, been talking to Bobbin about fashion. What's more she not only sounded like she had some taste, but showed it. Her skin was a soft lavender color that reminded me of a girl I'd gone to school with, but she had a shockingly bright orange cascade of hair down her back. What she'd done to balance it however, had been genius. A light-blue hoodie (something the current climate and fashion supported) was paired with a soft yellow shirt that was visible down the open front of her top. A dark skirt fit the pattern perfectly and showed off her legs.

"I'm Rarity, the dressmaker and owner. Was there something you were interested in?"

"I-I was just asking if you had any positions vacant?" she asked. "M-My name's Vaunt."

"Vaunt, what is it you'd like to do with your life? What are you doing now?"

She blinked owlishly at me. I noticed she didn't pick at her clothes, or show other bored of the conversation tells. She genuinely had just been nervous because I wasn't human. Or was it just that she was cold-canvasing for a job in fashion? Now I was actually curious.

In the peripheral of my mind I noticed Rainbow Dash pulling up at home in our car.

Vaunt bit her lip a moment, and I watched her take a deep breath.

"I want to learn all of this. I want to make things. I want to sell things. I want to make people look pretty!" Vaunt said with much vehemence, then she seemed to deflate. "I just started college and already we're getting suggestions to work at a big fashion house like—"

"You're hired," I said.

Her eyes widened and she stared at me in what I took for utter shock. Waiting for her to react in a more conversationally-forward way, I chirped digitally at Bobbin and got a swift answer from her.

—Do you know her?— I asked.

—Only answering fashion questions for the last ten minutes. Do we need more people?— Bobbin asked.

—Not particularly, but I won't have another fashionista, and particularly not one showing this amount of initiative, to work at Polomare or the like. Absolutely not.—

"I—I'm still at fashion school. What—You want to hire me now?" Vaunt asked.

Tilting my head to the side, I pondered my options. Part time and let her finish school, a promise of full time when she leaves school, or full time now? Part of me wanted to just throw bolts of cloth at her and see what she came up with, but the wiser part admitted that she needed grounding.

"Part time. You can attend fashion school still, but in your spare time you can work here. If you need help with school, you ask me. If you need time off to focus on class, you tell me," I said. "And when you graduate, you work for me full time."

"Okay!" Vaunt said.

—Rainbow, darling, I need to head out to Mrs. Velvet's work in half an hour. You'll be back in time?— I sent.

"What hours could you work?" I asked. "Would you have time, say, later today?"

Excitement turned to horror on Vaunt's face.

"I need to go back to class after lunch. Tomorrow morning I'll be free!"

"Perfect. Wear something you think will fit in with our dress style. Also bring me the number of your course coordinator. I'd like to speak to them," I said.

—Was that too much?— I asked Bobbin.

—Probably not. Why would they keep suggesting people work at Polomare?—

—Well, to be perfectly honest, most businesses other than Polomare are probably good choices for a lot of them, it's just that Polomare was designed to suck the soul out of its most creative people. Vaunt will have her chance to shine. If I think she's worth it, I'll set her up with her own boutique.—

—But you want to make a difference.—

I actually chirped in surprise at the insight Bobbin used. It took me a moment to realize I was actually chirping out loud.

"Sorry, I tend to chirp a little when I'm emotional. I'll explain exactly why tomorrow, if you're still interested?"

"Yes!" Vaunt said quickly. "I mean, of course I'm still interested. I have no idea, if you don't mind me saying, what you are, but you seem to know exactly what you're talking about, and your dresses are amazing."

Flattery. Goodness but she would get a long way with that alone, but at some point I will test her instincts. Fashion show be damned, I wouldn't let another hopeful young, independent woman fall to Polomare.

"Hey, Rarity!" Rainbow Dash called from the doorway. "You said you needed to be somewhere?"

12:33 P.M.

"Yes, darling. Thank you."

With a burst of fire and focus on what I wanted to be and what I wanted to wear, I used my magic right in front of Vaunt. When I was done—which was only a heartbeat later—she looked surprised, but not scared. More points in the girl's favor.

"You'll excuse me, Vaunt, but I have business to attend to," I said.

Walking past her, I approached Rainbow and held out my hand for the car keys.

She passed me the keys, but Rainbow also stole a kiss on my cheek that sent a spark of excitement through me. With my transformation had come an expense of magic—an expense I made up right now from Rainbow.

"W-W-What is she?" Vaunt asked.

"She's my mom. So you're going to be working here, huh?" Bobbin asked.

"She's like a force of nature. Oh no! I need to get back to school!"

I strode out of my boutique and made my way for the usual space we used. Sure enough, there was my baby. With my clicking heels sounding off on the pavement, I approached, unlocked, and climbed into the car.

It was a testament to how well I designed my body that the seat hugged me so well. I reached up and tapped the power, and the vehicle lit up inside with displays. Full-performance mode was still engaged, which made me smile. Looking over my shoulder, I pulled on my safety belt and swung the wheel. Planting my foot on the gas meant the car was thrown into a quick turn and shot down the street like a rocket was behind it.

—I'm on my way now,— I sent to Twilight Velvet.

There wasn't nearly enough focus required for driving to hold my interest—in all honesty there wasn't enough focus required for anything in the real world to hold my complete focus anymore, with the possible exception of snuggle time with Rainbow and/or NotABug.

I explored ideas for dresses. Taking the shapes and patterns in the world around me, I came up with several color patterns for floral themes that had me chirping in short order.

—The officer just arrived. I'll have him waiting within my office. Do not say anything or offer to do anything until I say so, please, Rarity?— Twilight Velvet asked.

—Of course. What are your thoughts on him?—

I turned the corner into the street Mrs. Velvet's offices were on and was pulling up out front by the time another message arrived.

—He seems too honest for his own good. Frightened, which is strange given his line of work, but maybe not given the situation. He made a point of showing he isn't carrying a gun, and I think he means to play ball.—

With a deep breath I turned off the car and climbed out. The walk up to the front of their offices was spent reviewing the phone call I'd had with the detective earlier. I could see, in hindsight, I'd said far more than I should have. In all honesty, I had to start getting better at this. I kept following social graces and propriety when I should be like stone. Or better, pretend I'm an answering machine, or my own secretary.

That could be fun. This is Miss Bug speaking. Miss Rarity will be able to fit you in later on this week. Also, CHIRP!

Olive was sitting behind the receptionist desk. Impeccably dressed and presented, he touched something on his desk and nodded to me. One hand extended, he gestured to Mrs. Velvet's door.

"Right through there, Miss Rarity," Olive said.

"Thank you, dear."

I followed the direction, leading with my senses to get a feel for the room I was about to walk into. Mrs. Velvet hadn't been lying—I barely reached the door and I could smell the fear from within. When I opened it, all my buggy senses told me PREY. I shuddered a little, closed up as much as I could, and walked inside.

The police officer wore a tired-looking suit. He had a bone—or perhaps cream—complexion with black, close-cropped hair that had a small streak of a blue so dark it was practically black. He turned as soon as I entered and I could feel him as the source of the fear, even with my defenses up.

"Miss Rarity?" Detective Proud asked.

"This is Miss Rarity. Rarity, this is Detective Proud of Canterlot Police Internal Affairs. He has shown me his badge and identified himself to my satisfaction, but I have asked him to hold his full explanation until you arrived," Twilight Velvet said.

Mrs. Velvet gave the slightest nod with a smile on her lips. I watched her hands slowly type on the whisper-silent keyboard built into her desk.

—He's scared stiff. If I didn't know better, I'd say you're his last resort,— Twilight Velvet sent.

Gosh she was clever. The moment I worked out how to implant phones for everyone, she'd be one of my first targets.

—I can taste it on him. Terror does this to someone, but whether it's his own or if SuriGo has contacted him is another matter.—

I did what I didn't want to, but sometimes a bug had to do the bad thing for the good of everyone. He certainly was mired in panic and fear, but there was no sign of outside interference.

"What is it you want me to do, Detective?" I asked.

It was like I'd pushed the fear to the side. Hope bloomed in his aura and it was an actually beautiful thing.

"You described exactly what has happened to Officers Guard and Shield. Their own friends don't know them right now, and they're getting angry with everyone on the force. Their sergeant called me in himself because he's scared of them. They're poisoning the station," Detective Proud said. "Ma'am, if you can't do anything, these two officers are going to be suspended pending a full investigation into their actions, and without anything tangible to connect their actions to Suri Polomare, I am going to have to destroy their lives."

—He's telling the truth, Rarity,— Twilight Velvet sent.

—Yes. I rather gathered that. He's going to want me to do something illegal and only slightly immoral. I'll do it, too, but I need you to make sure that there's no way he or anyone could pin it on me without taking down SuriGo and the officer here in the process.—

I was sitting silent. I realized I might look callous, so I turned my attention upon Mrs. Velvet.

"Please, Detective, we need you to say exactly what you want my client to do, in your own words," Twilight Velvet said.

"Blackmail?"

"No, Detective, but also yes. If this goes bad, and you pin this on Rarity, I want something to hit back with."

"This is illegal. I'm asking you to do something illegal to save the lives of two talented police officers. I know why you're doing this, and how bad this will be should it come out, but I'm scared that if any other officers get involved this could turn deadly. So I, Detective Proud of the CCPD, will bring them in for questioning in individual rooms—on their days off—and I'm hoping you can fix them."

I'd certainly recorded him, and I was sure Mrs. Velvet was recording him. I let out a breath.

"They'll not be armed?" I asked.

"No. I can arrange for them to go through a metal detector before questioning. Standard procedure and all that. Getting you in won't be easy. How long will it take?"

"If SuriGo's been working on them for a while? It may take all day. I'll need my friend with me."

"SuriGo?" Detective Proud asked.

"A monster attacked Suri Polomare, but as far as I can tell she and Windigo forged a quick friendship—one I plan to break up personally. Before all this, Suri was nothing but an annoying brat of a rich girl living off her father's money. Now, with Windigo merged with her, she possesses supernatural powers to twist emotions and sow strife.

"Detect—" I said and halted. "Proud, I will help you, but know that it won't be easy for me, and you're going to see a side of me that few have."

I imagined myself blank, normal—buggy—and called my magic.

Proud jumped in his seat as green fire burned away the disguise of my former self. I looked him in the eyes, and he didn't waver.

"I had an entity find me as well, though I was lucky enough to find the exact polar opposite of Windigo. I may look more of a monster than SuriGo, Proud, but I assure you she is dirty in the one place no one can clean."

—You probably should have saved that reveal,— Twilight Velvet sent.

—Saved it for when? He's going to want to do this soon.—

"When do you want me to do this?" I asked.

"I can ask them in for interviews at any time, but they aren't on the duty roster for tomorrow. Would you be able to do it?"

It would ruin me. This dratted fashion show on the weekend, combined with SuriGo's minions needing de-minioning was just too much. It was already too much, but now it was too-too much. Well, at least this time I'd had practice with removing SuriGo's tricks.

"Life has grown rather complicated and rushed of late, but I couldn't live with myself if I knew I could have helped them and didn't. Set it up, Proud," I said. "Call me when you need me."

Blast fashion. If either of those officers hurt anyone over the weekend, it won't be because I didn't act.

"I believe that's all our time today, Detective Proud. We'll see you tomorrow," Twilight Velvet said.

Standing up, Mrs. Velvet gestured to the door—giving Proud no other avenue but to leave—which he did. When the door was closed, Mrs. Velvet sat back down with a sigh.

"He said enough that this can't be a sting. There's not a lot of restrictions on undercover operations, but one key restriction is that they can't invite you to commit a crime you weren't already planning to. That said, if this smells, we leave without doing anything."

Picturing my former self again, I added a little extra to my chest so I could really fill out one of my earlier creations. Then I remembered what my daughters favored for complexion, scrubbed my initial form coloring, and went for a gray-chalk skin tone and hair that was a mix of vibrant greens and black.

The garish form felt right for an equally bright and expressive dress. I plucked one of my ideas for a designer number that had a white skirt with green stem-like patterns on one side and a blouse that continued the theme into a bouquet of red roses pooling around my chest.

A flicker of flame and my buggy body was remade—and the constant drain upon my reserves returned.

"If you're trying to make me jealous, it's working," Twilight Velvet said. "I'll need your presence on Monday. I have a preliminary meeting with a judge to resolve NotABug's application for citizenship. He's an old friend of my family's, but I respect him enough not to lean on that. All we have to do is prove to him that NotABug is a separate entity in her own right, and that you are inseparable at the same time, and it will be a cinch."

It took me a few moments—relatively speaking—to realize Mrs. Velvet had just made a joke. I ran through her wording a second time and clarified that she was trying to prove one thing and its opposite.

"Why that we are inseparable? Couldn't you just get us both to sit an aptitude exam at the same time?" I asked.

—It's a special law covering conjoined twins. If one is naturalized, the other gets naturalized automatically since they're sharing the same body. If we could get a doctor to verify that we're in the same body, it would be much easier,— NotABug sent.

—Oh! So she's coming at it sideways?—

—Yes. She wants me to be a citizen before she proves that machine-borne intelligences can count as people under the law.—

I adjusted our chat to include Mrs. Velvet's computer terminal so she could see our conversation after the fact.

—This is the most obtuse way to do it, I think, but I'm not a lawyer. That's why I trust her, and you,— I sent.

NotABug chirped appreciatively, and I echoed her back.

"The reason for all this is to use the—" Twilight Velvet said. "Oh, I see you've already had it explained. Do all your conversations happen that quickly?"

"If we're both discussing a topic we know. Sometimes there's pauses while we do research—online searches and database look-ups."

"A lot of things I was curious about are starting to make more sense. So if I asked you about your opinions on the copyright act of 1976…"

I did a quick search.

"That it was codified in Title 17 of the—" I said.

"You didn't know anything about copyright law before this, did you?"

I shook my head, not bothering to hide my smile.

"No wonder NotABug is learning so fast. Though, I expected it from her. I didn't fully understand that you had that same level of control. Can anyone learn this?"

A lamenting chirp echoed around in my own head. This was a problem I needed to work on at some point. If I could just get a few friends started, even if it bonded us as close as Moon Dancer now is—though without costing the life of my daughter in the process—it would be a big advantage.

First thing's first, however, I needed to dispose of SuriGo. Given that as a mid-goal and not an end-goal, life seemed a little brighter.

"That's something I'm going to be working on. We have successfully integrated a phone into Moon Dancer, though I am not willing to pay that price again."

Mrs. Velvet's face visibly blanched and she lowered her eyes. She was a mother, and I felt a connection with her over just that.

"I understand, Rarity. I didn't mean anything b—"

"Quite alright, darling. That's part of the reason I'd like to wrap up the situation with SuriGo, she's frightfully dangerous to anyone, but to those with our talents particularly."

"Noted. Once you have it worked out, I'd be grateful for the opportunity—with or without the full change."

Okay, Rarity, remember not to react at normal speed. Think about things here. She definitely seems more interested than others, and it's not like Mrs. Velvet doesn't know the issues involved intimately.

I raised one eyebrow at her in reply.

"Don't question it too far—I've already done that. So long as I can appear human with some degree of skill, it will be worth the effort," Twilight Velvet said.

"That's still something that's not exactly the easiest of tricks. Some of my daughters have it worked out, but it doesn't come naturally to everyone. Moon Dancer, so far, hasn't shed her human appearance once. So either she's really good at keeping a disguise up, or she isn't changing."

At least I was fairly sure she wasn't a changeling in the full sense of things.

—Moon, have you noticed any changes yet?— I asked.

A surprised, and curious, chirp came from Moon Dancer.

—Not that I've noticed. I have started to notice something about people, though. A sort of ghost of them. It's weird.—

—A ghost of them? Are there any colors to it?—

—Sometimes. Well, most of the time. It's really odd. Sometimes I notice odd smells too. Is this the emotion aura the others talk about?—

—It certainly sounds like it. You'd probably better have a good lesson from Byte on nibbling.—

—You mean feeding? What's it like?— Moon Dancer asked, letting a few chirps slip free.

—For me it's a little special. When I feed from Rainbow, I'm literally drinking her love for me. It's affirming and… Sorry. It's kinda special. You probably want to ask Byte what it's like.—

I could feel my cheeks start to blush oh-so-slowly at the realization of almost oversharing so much to Moon.

"Speaking to Moon Dancer right now. She hasn't changed at all, but we think she can see and smell emotions on people," I said.

—Sorry. I guess I need to come around tonight and talk with her,— Moon Dancer sent.

—I'm in the city right now. Did you want me to give you a lift?— I asked.

The sad little chirps Moon let slip earned her some reassuring ones in return.

—I have an afternoon class, or I totally would. I'll get an uber out there when I'm done.—

—I'll see you then.—

—Of course.—

Context switching would be the death of me. I shunted myself back to the realtime conversation.

"I'll be meeting her tonight. I'll ask Byte to test out her abilities," I said.

"Just keep in mind that if you find a way to do this repeatably, and safely, you could charge a lot of money for it."

Mrs. Velvet's suggestion was a good one, but that's why I was paying her after all. I filed the thought away for later.

"I'll certainly keep that in mind. Thank you, Mrs. Velvet."

"Please, just Twilight," Twilight Velvet said. "Oh. I see the problem. It seemed like such a good idea to pass on the family tradition of naming firstborn daughters Twilight. I forgot how confusing it was when I was small."

Mrs. Velvet's sigh of resignation wound up being a chuckle. She shrugged her shoulders.

"I best get back to my boutique. You wouldn't believe the other things SuriGo has organized," I said. "She went and spread word around town that Polomare Fashion is organizing a fashion show to celebrate an up and coming boutique. She gave me three days' notice. If I don't act fast, I'll be the laughingstock of Canterlot's fashion elite."

"So this comes down to a fashion show?"

"Darling! Everything in life is a fashion show. This will be tweaking SuriGo's nose after I take her two favorite toys away. Goodness, can you imagine it? I free the two officers from her grip and then take a wonderful array of outfits to her little show and nail it?" I asked. "She'll be chewing on the floorboards."

"Rarity, remind me never to get on your bad side," Twilight Velvet said. "You have a nasty streak."

"What I fervently hope is that SuriGo will overstep herself and do something inadvisable. It's about time to put her on the back step in this. I want her to know I can hit her in ways she can't imagine."

Mrs. Velvet took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and seemed to count to a number in her head. These were all things I needed to do more often, even if they took me milliseconds.

"Just promise me you'll talk to me before doing anything actually illegal."

She opened her eyes as she spoke, and Mrs. Velvet looked much put-upon.

"Only if I have a chance to. If someone is hurt or in trouble, I'll use my own discretion."

"That's going to be the best I get, I know, but as your lawyer I must caution you not to break the law. Good luck, Rarity."

"Thank you, Twilight Velvet."

It was the first time I'd really used her full name out loud after getting to know her. It felt right in my mind—as if I was letting her stand as something other than just my friend's mother. I turned for the door and made my way out.

"E-Excuse me, NotABug?" Olive asked.

—Darling, I believe you have someone who wishes a chat,— I sent to NotABug.

Her nudge in return was the easiest thing in the world to acquiesce to. I felt NotABug brush forward into control while I slid back.

Time to get some real work done. Not that dealing with Twilight Velvet and planning to save some police officers wasn't real work, but my weapon needed refinement. My link to home was fraught with latency that I didn't have when actually working at home, but it didn't take too much focus to work around that. Besides, it was only a few milliseconds.

The payloads of my weapon would need to be many, but most important of all was one that would kill the virtualization system that Windigo and NotABug had originally run on. From my examinations of Windigo and SuriGo running on the various pieces of hardware they'd infected, both still used that framework.

Except in Suri's head. No matter how many platforms I destroy or shut down, there will always be one copy of SuriGo I can't deal with digitally. Or could I? SuriGo was attacking Sunset in her own head, and whatever she did to people's emotional aura was technically an attack. Could I make something that would rip her out of her own head?

It was the kind of horrible thing I'd expect SuriGo to use, but could I use it? Could I avoid using it? Could I really go into this and say I'd done my best without making and using it?

—You're making some odd chirps,— NotABug sent.

—Just realizing some hard truths. Can I have a hug?—

Apparently I could. NotABug pulled the core of my being into a tight digital squeeze that turned my chirps a decidedly happier tone.

—I need to face the fact that fighting SuriGo could result in me killing her. Both of them, I mean. I've never killed anyone before,— I sent.

—I feel bad.—

I waited for NotABug to continue, giving her a return squeeze and chirps meant to inspire and encourage.

—I want her dead and gone, but I don't want to be the one who does it. Is that selfish? Is there something wrong with me?— NotABug asked.

—No!—

I didn't mean to surround her in loud chirping, but it happened regardless.

—Darling, I love you for who you are, and I respect you so much more for having these same doubts and hangups. Not wanting to harm shouldn't be a weakness, but it's not something I can afford. Apparently I'm a warrior bug, or a warrior queen, but it still hurts me to think I'm going to end a life. If she gives me any other choice…— I sent.

NotABug's embrace was easy to lose myself in for a whole second or two. I could relax and let go of my emotions and just chirp it all out.

—Thank you,— I sent.

A small flurry of happy chirps swirled around us, their origins shared.

—I love you, Rarity.—

—I love you too, NotABug.—

The words were intense and powerful, but they'd become easy to say primarily because I knew they were true.

—Olive's asking about my study. He's really interested in getting his own phone too. How many people will want this?—

—I could make a fair prediction that anyone with a modicum of knowledge of computers will want one, and when the others realize how quickly they'll be left behind, they will too.—

—If we manage this, our own family will take priority. Also, I don't want to charge any of them for it.—

NotABug's chirps took on a firm quality, and I heard my own shift to match hers. She was right, of course, and I knew exactly what she meant about family. It felt right to include everyone. Starling and her father, all our friends, even Kit and Chef Soba.

Would it speed up their thinking like Moon and myself, or was that a changeling-specific thing? Drat but the list of questions without answers only grew.

—You'll excuse me, darling, but I need to work on this code some more. Are you okay driving back to the boutique?—

—Sure. But then you'll need to work on all your dresses.—

I let out a few short, sharp chirps. My resignation was palpable.

—Alright. Will this ever end?— I asked.

—Hopefully not.—

We flooded each other with happy, loving chirps even as I descended back to the server and its open applications. I would have to ask around later for ideas as to how to attack someone's mind. For now I turned my attention to the first major targets: mobile devices.

The issue was if I wanted to target the hardware, I had to bypass the software. Mobile devices had layers upon layers of protection and control systems that should keep my code from doing anything to take over.

I began throwing myself at an emulation of a phone. The device had security flaws, I knew it would, but I had to locate them.

1:42 P.M.

A little chirp from NotABug tickled me away from my code. I quickly froze all my tests and backed out of the server to see what was happening.

Surfacing, I found her turning off the car and gathering up the keys. She held still and then I felt her nudge. NotABug's body became my body again.

I wiggled my fingers and toes, stretched my neck left and right, and chirped digitally at NotABug.

—Thank you. How did Olive react?— I asked.

—He was trying to hide his excitement, but it's not like he could from me. This will mean one big thing, you know?—

—What's that?—

—ChirpNet is going to become huge.—

She was right. If every human being on the planet wanted to make best use of this, we'd need to expand as the implanting process grows. My mouth ran dry at the ideas flooding my head. Mobile networks wouldn't be able to cope. No centralized common carrier would.

—We have a lot of work ahead of us. We'll need a bigger team,— I sent.

—Yes, but lets try not to stress Miss Pommel any more than we have already. When we work out how to do this, then we ask for more people.—

I couldn't help loosing giggling chirps.

—You're coddling her,— I sent.

—She's worth coddling. Go and make some amazing outfits, Rarity.—

—Yes, darling.—

After a digital kiss that had my thoughts buzzing, I felt her withdraw to her study. Climbing out of my car I locked it and made my way back into work. Unlike the years I'd spent at Polomare, however, this was not work—this was fashion!

"Mom's back!" Bobbin said as I walked in the front door.

I caught Bobbin as she ran toward me. She was only marginally shorter than myself, which made her calling me Mom a little odd, if anyone was inside. Squeezing her, I kissed Bobbin on the forehead.

"How were things while we were out?" I asked.

"I sold soooooo many dresses!"

My eyes flicked up from Bobbin to glance at Rainbow. The sight of her wearing a dress that suited her so well, standing casually, and looking delicious rendered me speechless for a time. I was trapped in Rainbow's eyes, and I never wanted to leave.

"Mom?" Bobbin asked.

Bobbin's voice snapped me back to the moment and out of my fixation on Rainbow. I let go of Bobbin and gave her shoulder a slight squeeze before advancing on Rainbow.

"I'm fine, dear, I was just enraptured by a stunning beauty."

Rainbow looked like each word hit her harder than the previous. Adjective after adjective made her mouth part in surprise, but by the time I got to the end of the compliment I was walking into her arms.

To be perfectly honest, Rainbow's strong arms were one of my favorite places. As she closed them around behind my back, I pressed myself firmly against her and made a happy little sigh.

"Were these for me, or were you just showing off for someone else?" Rainbow Dash asked.

She looked down at my chest, then back up to my eyes with a knowing grin. To be perfectly honest, I'd forgotten I'd put on a little extra for her.

—You're chirping a lot!— NotABug sent. —Oh!—

NotABug apparently noticed what was happening, because she started chirping a lot too. It was terribly reaffirming to be hugged by both of them. It showed me what I was fighting for in a real sense. I leaned into Rainbow's strength and set my head on her shoulder.

"You can't hear it, but NotABug is chirping up a storm. I am too," I said.

"That's why I like to snuggle you two when you're all buggy. You sound so cute when you chirp."

I felt warmth creep into my cheeks at the compliment. It was nice to hear good things about the form I'd come to think of as my own. Particularly if those good things were from Rainbow. Being accepted for my buggy self was surprisingly important to me—knowing that she loved some things about me—as a changeling—that was special.

It would have been far too easy to transform back into my changeling shape and ask her to cuddle me all afternoon. Easy and wonderful. Ultimately, though it would be pleasing (and result in much more chirping), I couldn't afford to spend the day snuggling with Rainbow.

But, a few moments in her arms were delightful.

"Tonight I want to take you for a drive, and I want to hear you chirp."

"You'll hear me chirp alright," I said. "But until then you'll have to content yourself with hearing my sewing machine."

Leaving Rainbow's arms was possibly the hardest thing I would ever do, but I couldn't stay there forever. From where my head was, I was able to lean up and kiss her cheek before letting her twirl me out into a giggly spin.

I laughed for the joy of it and spun on my heel. Looking back at Rainbow, I maintained eye contact until I had to spin my head around because of my body—from the look of surprise on Rainbow's face on my second twirl, that was much further around than a human should be able to turn their head.

But Rainbow Dash grinned at me and shrugged her shoulders.

"We'll guard the gates, Your Highness, while you take care of more important matters," Rainbow Dash said with a flourish.

A brief spot of confusion made me do a little research.

"Please, Rainbow, I'm a queen. You will address me as Your Majesty."

I barely got the words out before giggling—my mirth-filled digital chirps certainly didn't wait for me to stop talking.

"Of course, Your Majesty," Rainbow Dash said.

She bowed as opposed to curtsying, though truthfully I don't think I could imagine her actually curtsying to save her life. It still made my heart flutter as I turned back to my work.

Shapechanging back to my changeling form, I basked in the simple pleasure of feeling completely myself again.

"I love you, Rainbow Dash."

Rainbow moved faster than I could notice, which meant really fast. One moment I was about to sit down behind my desk, the next Rainbow's lips were pressed to my chitinous cheek in a kiss.

"I love you too, Rarity."

I chirped a lot and out loud. The wings on my back twitched against my carapace so much I thought I might take off. I looked into Rainbow's eyes and nodded.

"I know."

A pair of blue wings shot out from behind Rainbow and she giggled like a schoolgirl. Seeing her so happy at such a simple pun was a delight in and of itself.

"You're such a movie geek, Rainbow Dash," I said. "And a horrible romantic."

Her wings had been flicked out and raised, but now they wilted a little.

"Good horrible or bad horrible?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"Good horrible. Definitely good horrible."

"Good. If you need a snack later, let me know. Okay?"

It was a good suggestion, but I saw no reason to wait, what with her standing right beside me. Nuzzling at her aura, I took a gentle nibble—rubbing my ethereal fangs along her love.

"Rarity?" Rainbow Dash asked. "We should stop before I have to go home again."

I drew back my metaphysical self from her aura and let out a little sigh of unfulfilled desire. And that's when I remembered the deal with playing musical houses.

"Stefanie and Perdition will need a bed for the night. Do you think it would be alright to let them have ours?" I asked.

"Where are we going to sleep?"

"There's the couch, but I was thinking the back seat of your car might—"

"No. Not with your horn. The couch might be pushing it too. Isn't there something you can get for it? Maybe like those blade-proof kitchen gloves?"

Indignation flooded me. With my emotions high, I rarely took time to analyze the situation properly, but for probably the first time ever I took stock of Rainbow, her half-smile, and realized she was playing a joke on me.

It was time to put this superpower to some real use.

"Oh. I get it. You just don't want me in the back seat of your car."

Rainbow looked stricken. She blinked in utter bewilderment at me—until I reached out with my magic and booped her on the nose.

"Darling, I'm joking. We'll work something out."

What I didn't count on was Rainbow crossing her eyes to stare at where my magic had poked. I think it might have been the cutest thing she’d ever done.

"Did you just boop me on the nose?"

"Yes."

"We'll work something out."

Rainbow turned, tucking her wings down a little, and headed back into the front half of the boutique. I watched her move every inch of the way.

Turning back to my work, I began the assembly line once more. Though, it wasn't exactly an assembly line. There was no mechanical repetition breeding identical designs—every piece I made was different, and every step of the way I had to adjust my actions to match.

The afternoon ticked away milliseconds, seconds, minutes, and hours at a time. Physics was my biggest enemy. My magic could manipulate things as quickly as I could think, but moving a dress, a needle, or even thread took valuable time. That was why I wasn't just working on each dress one at a time.

Work such as this, I'd thought, would be mind-numbing. It was anything but. I saw my creations come to life one after the other as I followed my own designs to create perfect outfit after perfect outfit. What helped keep me focused and completely motivated was knowing that my daughters would be wearing them.

6:03 P.M.

"Rarity?" Rainbow Dash asked.

I'd been watching the time, but with so much focus needed every second, I hadn't really taken in what time it was. I looked up at Rainbow and smiled.

"Sorry, darling, I got a little carried away."

"How many dresses did you make?"

I carefully levitated down my works in progress and set them neatly aside. The stack of dresses—all boxed up—reached from the floor to the ceiling in two big stacks, and I'd apparently started a third.

"By my count, sixty-three and some partials. I believe I'm getting better. I made the last twenty in just an hour."

It was ridiculous, I know, but pride in my work was ever a fault of mine. The look of astonishment on Rainbow's face was food for my ego every bit as delicious as her love was fuel for my magic.

"How was Bobbin today?" I asked.

"She's better at this than I am. We have an entire wedding party booked in for next month thanks to her. Every customer who talked with her left with a big smile on their face. If I didn't know better, I'd say she knows exactly how they feel or somethin'."

The way Rainbow phrased it, she knew exactly how much sarcasm she was using.

I stretched, angling my spine down and curling my back like a cat's. As I reached out with my legs one at a time, I buzzed my wings to give them a workout too. Toward the end, I looked up to see Rainbow watching me hungrily.

"Darling, looks like that make my knees weak, you know? If I have knees, that is. I'm not precisely sure how these joints work, but they work well."

"I'm not actually sure if you have any bones in your body at all like this. Different anatomy completely, even from what ponies have. Kinda neat though."

No bones? That would explain the flexibility and the odd joints. I looked down at my foreleg and bent it. The outside of the joint seemed to have little accordion-like folds that let it bend.

A glance at the cameras at home showed me that Perdition and Stefanie were sitting in the living room with laptops. Checking the router revealed that they had a connection but were on their own logical network.

—You set up a connection for Perdition and Stefanie?— I asked NotABug.

NotABug sent back some affirming chirps along with a good flood of loving ones. I returned the latter with gusto.

—Thank you, darling.—

A touch from NotABug gave me all the hint I needed. I pushed out metaphorically and let her have control while I slipped not too far back.

Rainbow Dash's expression changed to curious—could she tell that easily who we were?

"NotABug, you've been so busy. It feels like we only get time together at night," Rainbow Dash said.

"I don't even get much time with Rarity. This should be over this time tomorrow. Then I need to sit a bar exam, which is going to be hard without ID, which is why Twilight is going to get me to see a judge and sort all this out," NotABug said.

"When's that?"

"Monday. Well, we hope. There's a lot of stuff happening. Tomorrow we're going to the police station."

Oh drat. Now there was something I forgot to mention. Rainbow Dash looked stunned.

—Sorry, darling, I forgot to mention that to her,— I sent.

"The police station? What's going on?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"You remember how Rarity had to deal with two pushy police officers? Well, turns out it was SuriGo influencing them. Rarity's going to try to help them."

"After everything they did…" Rainbow Dash said. "Rarity, I know you're probably listening, you're awesome, you know that?"

NotABug leaned closer and kissed Rainbow on the cheek—just a short peck.

Meanwhile, I was chirping far too much than was probably good for me. Of course I was going to help them—I couldn't just leave them to suffer. Once we deal with SuriGo, of course, I'll be doing the same thing for all the employees at Polomare.

That was something I wasn't looking forward to.

"She knows that. What's for dinner?" NotABug asked.

"I figured we'd take the girls and our new friends somewhere for dinner. Somewhere not sushi. I like fish, but it's a nice once a week or so thing."

"I guess. What other foods are there?"

Rainbow fluttered her wings and tucked them behind her back, then reached an arm down to NotABug's shoulder and pulled her closer to her side, almost hiding our buggy self in her dress.

"Well, that's something we're going to learn tonight. Somewhere fancy is in order. Rarity, do you think you could find something suitable?" Rainbow Dash asked.

—Well, there's that restaurant we went to with Rainbow before all the bugginess started. I could find us another, however,— I sent.

"What about the place you took us back when we wore that dress?" NotABug asked.

NotABug tilted her head and looked up into Rainbow's eyes, and we both watched a flicker of surprise and a slight blush in her cheeks. So she did remember that dress, at least.

The oddest thought hit me, and I was chirp-giggling like crazy. What if we wore it again?

—Do you think we should wear that dress again?— NotABug asked.

—Darling, great minds think alike. I was just about to suggest that. It might also be a good time to have the girls learn to use their transformations. If Bobbin can manage, the others should too.—

—Could we fit into that with bigger boobs? It seemed kinda form-fitting already. Maybe if we let out the hidden seam a little on the left panel?—

—That would definitely give you a little room, but there's not much fabric in those seams. Not much at all.—

—There's not much fabric on that whole dress Rarity. I love it. So free, and I remember how much Rainbow looked at us when we wore it. She looked terribly hungry.—

The choice of language NotABug used reminded me that she had parts of me inside her. It didn't make us the same person, of course, but I still felt a close bond with her.

—Very. I'll see what I can do. We don't want to push things too far, but a little more heft will be fine. Oh! We should ask Sweetie if she wants to come,— I asked.

—I'll ask, or you can. I just love having all our family close.—

—Me too, darling.—

Our chirps turned decidedly happy, and we wound up hugging by the time Rainbow started to reply to NotABug.

"That place was pretty awesome. Though for some reason it's hard to remember the food—there was a really pretty woman there and I just couldn't take my eyes off her," Rainbow Dash said.

Both our chirps turned a little more scandalous and excited.

"It's talk like that, Rainbow, that will earn you a lot of smooching," NotABug said.

—A lot-a lot,— I sent.

We both giggled together chirpily.

She was seducing us. It was nice to know and nicer to have it happen. Rainbow Dash, I had learned in the last few weeks, could be quite the charmer. What was more affirming was she was doing it with us in our most buggy form. Would I ever get tired of learning how crazily she loved us? Probably not.

—I'll leave you to your evening. It's been a long day, and I think I might get a little more coding done and then have a nap. Wake me for any snuggling, though,— I sent.

—I promise there'll be snuggling. Perhaps even canoodling if we're lucky. Also, I think we might want to get home quickly, I can feel the tingle of an egg wanting to be made.—

—Don't delay, then. Have our gorgeous hunk speed you home.—

NotABug chirped both digitally and out loud.

"I think I need to get home. I need to lay an egg."

I could see the moment when Rainbow Dash went from comprehension to action. Her whole body language changed and she started leaning forward more.

"Getinthecar, I'llcloseup!"

Even to our enhanced vision, Rainbow Dash became a blur. NotABug managed to get halfway to the car before Rainbow Dash swept past her—Bobbin in her arms—and unlocked the car.

Physics, for Rainbow's speed, worked differently than for NotABug and myself. When Rainbow Dash touched something, it moved faster. So, when Rainbow ran back to us and touched NotABug on the shoulder, it was like a weight was lifted from the world.

We were in an odd dream-like world where everything was going in slow motion. The car started and jumped into traffic—weaving around other cars before they could have possibly reacted. I thought my talents were amazing, but it took something like this to remind me that Rainbow Dash was a super hero.

—You are chirping so much. Is this turning you on?— NotABug asked.

My chirps turned indignant.

—No! Well, yes. Just amazed at what she can do when she pushes herself. She's like the Flash.—

—But cuter.—

—The Flash was a perfect cutie.—

—Yeah, but Rainbow's sitting beside me and has this expression on her face. Look.—

NotABug turned her head to show Rainbow, who's eyes flicked back and forth between scanning the road and looking directly at us. Each glance was filled with concern.

—Okay, darling, you win. She looks adorable.—

—All this for us!—

—For you. For you.—

Despite the fact this was for NotABug's sake, I couldn't help but chirp along with her in a very happy manner.

If a police officer had seen Rainbow's driving, it didn't show. We reached home in less than half the time I anticipated, and Rainbow moved so fast from her seat to open our door I barely tracked her. The next instant she was at the house.

I realized what was causing me to lose track of her—when she touched the car, she was easier to follow, but when she released it she became indistinct and rainbow-patterned.

Rainbow was pulling us in and out of her field. Magic, real magic, was both amazing and confusing. Give me changeling magic that I could understand.

NotABug climbed out of the car and started trotting for the house. By the time we got halfway there, Rainbow had run back to the car to close the door and help Bobbin out. She still reached the front door again before we did.

—How close is the egg?— I asked.

—Really close. Should she go into a phone?—

—Why not one of the new computers? Byte, sweetie, can you power up one of the new computers? We don't need a screen on it,— I sent to a wider audience.

An excited chirp was my first response, followed by a bunch more.

—Another egg?— Byte asked. —On it.—

—Remember that Byte came from a game console? Perhaps that has something to do with her love of gaming? Or maybe I'm overthinking things,— I sent.

—Maybe. Let's find out,— NotABug sent.

"In here!"

Byte's voice came from the computer room (a designation I had now resigned myself to).

NotABug pranced toward the room while I could feel her magic bubbling around. At least we'd kept it to just one egg today. She approached the computer, and I felt her magic swelling and growing.

Byte looked bouncy, and human. She'd clearly just been sitting at her computer, and wore a cute pink hoodie and white skirt while she watched.

"In here? What about all the phones?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"Mom wanted to use a computer this time. I wonder if our new sister will like games, then?" Byte asked.

Instead of asking anymore questions, Rainbow crouched down beside us and put a hand on NotABug's shoulders. Love pooled around us—too thick to even contemplate. I was soaking in it, and before I could do more than warn anyone, I felt my own magic bloat.

—Oh goodness,— I sent.

Byte's alarmed chirp was accompanied by her reaching into her pocket to pull out a mobile phone.

Grabbing the offered device with my magic, and giving her a flurry of grateful chirps, I started to lean into it. The magic glut inside me didn't feel dangerous—and I knew it wasn't—but I needed it out.

—You too? I thought you'd been using your magic all day?— NotABug asked.

—Darling, look around at what Rainbow's doing.—

—Oh. How can she love us this much?—

—I don't know. All I can think to do is try to love her back as much.—

—Together?—

—Love her?—

NotABug chirped with mirth.

—No. Our eggs. Should we make our little girls twins?— NotABug asked.

I chirped excitedly, and lovingly.

—On three?— I asked.

—One,— NotABug sent.

—Two,— I sent.

—Three,— we sent at the same time.

The feeling of creating life was unimaginably wonderful. We'd both done it before, but every time I got to feel a little more of the process and it became more special. The sense that a being formed out of the love Rainbow shared with me—a new life—had me chirping so much and so loudly that I was surprised anybug could get a packet through.

When the transference passed, I held in my magic an egg formed of the phone. Inside I could feel life having quickened—I heard her first packet reach through the WiFi.

—I need a charger cable,— I sent.

That's when I noticed what NotABug had done. The computer tower—the whole thing—was a big egg. The soft whir of fans came from somewhere within, and I could likewise hear the packets the growing nymph within was sending.

"When you titled yourself Bug Queen, you really weren't joking. Man, that is weird and kinda awesome," Perdition said from the doorway.

Cameras, Rarity. Watch the cameras more. I took the time to focus on him and saw that, despite his comment, he didn't look freaked out or anything.

"Rarity called herself Bug Queen?" NotABug asked.

"It was IRC chat. You pick a name and roll with it. It fits her at least. I heard the house won't be ready today. That's cool, we can take the couch."

Byte reached out with a charger and cable and I took it from her with my magic.

Searching my egg carefully, I found the jack the phone would have charged with originally and plugged the cable in. I set her down carefully beside the other egg.

—Computers make for big eggs,— I sent.

NotABug chirped enthusiastically. Once again I joined in her delight and chirped along too. Now I felt ready to spend some time alone with a code editor and my own thoughts.

—If you'll excuse me, I'm going to start on that work. Remember to wake me when the snuggling starts,— I sent.

Rather than just an affirmative chirp or message, NotABug wrapped me up with a hug and chirped until I returned the favor.

—I take it a big family agrees with you?— I asked.

—You know it does. But I still worry how many bugs we can support. The world, I mean.—

—Darling, we'll just have to help the world grow more so they can support us all.—

A wave of mental lethargy hit me, and I found myself chirping a little tiredly.

—We're kinda growing pretty quick, Rarity. The advantage we have is that there's only two of us making eggs. If we can get humanity to grow fast enough that it can outpace us, we should be fine,— NotABug sent. —And don't think I didn't notice those tired chirps. Have an early night and I'll wake you for snuggles.—

I managed a few tired chirps and another hug before sleep caught me.





Waking up in the back on Rainbow's car, feeling a nudge pushing me to the fore, I was about to ask what was going on when I remembered NotABug's promise.

"Darling," I said.

Then I didn't say another thing for quite some time.