Well, I could now happily say I'd found the right alarm tone for me. Though it didn't actually wake me up, the sound of happy chirping filled my head as I mentally disposed of the cobwebs of sleep. I was showering—or that should be NotABug was showering.

NotABug's answer included a snapshot from her eyes. Rainbow was curled up in the bed, her long limbs tucked close, and just under her chin a tiny black form was snuggled. If I had a digital analogue of a heart, it would have melted.

I slowly surfaced enough that I could feel what was happening to NotABug, and I had to say it was nice. Hot water pouring down her body, wings buzzing and sending droplets everywhere, and a bouncy little movement to her step that made me think of dancing.

Something was a little off. Whenever she looked down by turning her eyes, there was something sticking out between them.

Again she pinned an image to her message. This time it showed her face. It was a photo of the mirror showing a pushed-out muzzle. Another came in of her turning her head to the side, then another of her opening her mouth to show the fangs she had.

I looked over the images again and again—seeing NotABug's eyes looking back brightly—and inwardly smiled.

—Interesting, but not unplanned. This really is going all the way,— I sent. —And don't you dare apologize for it.—

—I bit my tongue a bit. Just make sure you don't bite hard and it shouldn't be too bad.—

With a gentle nudge from NotABug, I slipped into control. Like a stretch, I felt out the muscles in my body and gently took control of them. Yawning, I set to work on my hair—only to bite my tongue. Keenly aware of NotABug's warning, I wasn't clamping my mouth closed quickly, but my teeth were now a lot sharper than they had been. Feeling around my mouth, my first sense was space—there was a lot more room in my mouth now.

I brought the fingers of my right hand up to touch at my—Was muzzle a good word? Maybe snout? I connected to the server and set up a web search for better synonyms for muzzle. There had to be something cute.

As the results were coming in, I heard the door to the shower open and turned to face Rainbow Dash. A shiver of excitement went through me. Rainbow was, of course, naked, but she held Byte in her arms. Arousal turned to pure delight.

—That was really nice! And warm! And I wanna use all the !!!!! because I really love you!— Byte sent.

Byte jumped from Rainbow's arms straight at me. Rather than try to catch her with my shampoo-covered arms, I instead lit my horn with a pulse of glowing green magic and caught her mid-air. Byte's eyes widened and she kicked her little legs in panic, then she let out a squeaky laugh.

—Dear, can you try saying that, instead? Rainbow can't hear us talk like this,— I sent.

The first few words were mechanical, almost impossible to understand, but with her ears twitching, Byte worked furiously to improve her sound—or so it seemed from her adorable little expression of concern.

Wrapping her arms around Byte, Rainbow hugged our filly. My heart sped up, and my damp wings managed to conjure a chirp—though it was particularly sub-par.

"You'll get used to it, squirt," Rainbow Dash said. "Hey Rarity, what's the plan for today?"

The plan was for me to not get distracted by my naked girlfriend while our foal is right there, but that was something I was already having trouble with.

"Coco—that's one of the managers at work—said to call her before work to—day…" I said.

I trailed off as one of Rainbow's hands reached up and lightly poked at my pronounced nose. Not wanting to put her off from exploring, I took a deep breath and just let her keep feeling around my snout. (Snout was definitely the superior word. Not nearly so many connotations of black leather things and people agreeing with each other a lot—or not agreeing as the case may be.)

I opened my mouth and playfully tried to grab one of Rainbow Dash's fingers. She pulled it back at first, but then rested it against the end of my snout.

"I said, one of my bosses expects me to call and find out if I need to work today," I said.

A little hoof joined in the poking of my snout, silencing me for a moment while we all giggled at Byte. I leaned back and started rinsing my hair.

Rainbow set Byte on the floor of the shower while we took care of washing ourselves. I heard NotABug's chirping in the back of my head as she took advantage of our fast internet connection.

—It's complicated, but that's why it is fun. It's like a game where there are very few rules and billions of moves. Moves have consequences, and all decisions must be made in microseconds because there are some clever AI that are really fast at taking advantage of a mistake or lag. It's complicated, but a little fun,— NotABug sent.

The rush of chirping grew stronger, and I must have made a distressed chirp or two because it suddenly all stopped.

—Sorry! I didn't mean to route her through our head. It just seemed easier than setting up her own path. Give me a nano,— NotABug sent, along with some comforting chirps. —Okay, try this one.—

The chirping resumed, but back on only NotABug-levels, rather than NotABug plus Byte connecting in and out again.

I bent down to pick up Byte. She wasn't unresponsive, but she definitely wasn't as perky as she would have been had she not been poking around a stock exchange.

—She's not connected to us right now. We're focused on the exchange,— NotABug sent.

—We're going to need a better chat system for the three of us. Maybe even something with phone access so we can chat with our friends, too,— I sent.

I rolled my eyes and groaned. As I walked from the shower, the water seemed to practically sluice from my body, leaving me mostly dry without even a touch of the towel.

"You can go back to bed if you want, Rainbow. I think I might stay up and get ready in case I need to go to work."

Rainbow Dash didn't just sound happy, she sounded excited. Considering how down she'd been after the problem of (potential) magic at her job, it was wonderful to see her so much more herself. Good moods were contagious, and I found myself smiling as I tucked Byte back under the covers.

A bra was easier to find today—Rainbow had apparently picked up some smaller-cup-sized bras when she got that naughty teddy—but I had the same problem as yesterday with panties. There was nothing else for it.

Going back to my drawers, I pulled out nine more pairs of panties and walked to my sewing room. Watching me do this, Rainbow Dash had a bemused look on her face.

"More tail-holes. Honestly, this wouldn't be so much trouble if it all just happened and I could start working on outfits to suit what I end up as. I positively detest outgrowing—or outshrinking—things I only purchased days earlier."

"Because I can practically feel days worth of love siphoning out while I'm shapechanged. I must talk to Twilight again—either one—and find out what can be done about it."

As I walked through to my sewing room, I added that to the growing list of things I needed to do by the end of the week. Sitting down, I set all ten pairs of panties down and picked up the first pair.

Modifying one garment took some time, but modifying ten in the same manner was much faster than ten times that. Repetition and muscle memory were key—I was almost literally born with the latter.

—I'm teaching Byte with some money from your account. This way any money she makes can go directly back to you,— NotABug sent.

—She's really good at this. Better than me already. She learns these patterns like it was, well, her thing.—

—Maybe it is? Twilight seems addicted to math too, I wonder if they should chat?—

—I'll start building that chat system once Byte is done here. It might have some use beyond just us.—

—Try to think of things you'll want it to do, and things your friends will want it to do.—

I was halfway through the fifth pair of panties when I thought of calling Coco. Stitching the button on and using the seam ripper I opened up the main hole as well as the buttonhole. They were done.

"Don't come in today. I talked to Mr. Polomare, and he said you should take the day off. After I assured him you didn't do it and explained that the police had gotten rough with 'one of his girls', he said for you to take the day.

"Say what you want about him, he does have a decent bone in his body when it comes to an actual crisis. Now I need to warn you about Suri—she's gone a little off the deep end. When you do come back, be very careful around her."

My mind rushed, trying to derive all the possible meanings from the words I could.

"Thank you, Coco. If you ever need something made, come to my shop—once I'm open that is," I said. "So I'm rostered for tomorrow and Friday, correct?"

The sound of typing came through the connection, at least it sounded like typing when I put the waveform together. If I hadn’t been thinking so fast lately, it wouldn’t have been possible.

"Correct. And Friday is your last day with us. How are you after yesterday's circus? I heard one of the officers say you are—well—a suspect."

Real worry colored Coco's tone, and it made me feel sorry for her. She was a decent human being, and she still thought Polomare was her future.

"I have a lawyer, and I didn't do it. I trust that the officers will do their jobs and find who did. Sorry for all this mess, Coco. We really should do lunch sometime. There's this lovely little sushi place I discovered, it's to die for."

I thought quickly about what I had planned, and I had to admit that talking to Coco over lunch sounded good.

I hung up and added lunch with Coco on Wednesday to my schedule. As luck would have it, Rainbow Dash picked then to poke her head in the door.

Turning my head, I caught Rainbow in the act of admiring me. Her eyes traced my body—her smile told me she was enjoying it. I might be turning into a bug-pony of sorts, but my own delight in being looked at would never cease.

I batted my eyebrows a little, and when I had Rainbow Dash's full attention, blew her a kiss. I wasn't just a passive partner in this three-way relationship anymore. For a few moments I remembered back to when I first met NotABug, and how into her I'd been. I loved them both.

I tilted myself a little toward Rainbow Dash, still sitting on my sewing seat. Looking ahead, I offered Rainbow my cheek.

She walked up as she spoke, and I felt her lips brush the side of my face. It was such a simple thing, but it assuaged all my worries about my changing body—at least for the moment.

Hearing Rainbow actually giggle like the schoolgirl I remember from CHS, I was gifted the sight of her bouncing on her feet as she left. I sighed in a moment of introspection.

—Byte wants to keep playing. She put the money she borrowed back in your account, and the rest she is holding for you. I'm going to start on this program,— NotABug sent.

—I think security needs to be a big part of it. If Windigo attacks again, I don't want any holes in our own network, or those of friends also using it. We still need to start building weapons for next time,— I sent.

—Yes, darling. They will be back. By the time they find us, I want something I can actually fight them with.—

"I'm down here," I said, my voice taking longer than a message to reply, but also giving her the impetus and direction she needed to find me.

The thunder of four little legs approached, and I saw a big pair of blue eyes in a black head peek around the doorjamb.

When Byte jumped up and tried to reach my lap herself, I had my answer. I reached down and picked Byte up, then sat her on my knee—the one not operating the pedal of my sewing machine.

Nothing could have reminded me how young Byte was more firmly than that. I leaned down and kissed the top of her head.

I paused a moment. There was obviously many reasons for wearing clothing, but how best to explain it?

"There's a lot of reasons to wear clothes. A lot of people feel a little ashamed of their bodies, so it has become common for everyone to wear clothes when in public. Some of us, however, prefer to go a little further. Fashion is the art of wearing clothes that look good."

Byte made a little buzzing sound with her wings that I took for an attempt at a chirp. She pointed a hoof at the panties I was sewing another button onto.

"These are comfort. But fashion plays a little part in them. Some outfits will be so thin that the wrong colored underwear would be visible through them. Now, as its own effect, this might be desirable, but in general it is not."

As I watched my filly's eyes widen and her toothy smile spread, I knew without a doubt there was a piece of me in her. I paused in my sewing and grabbed my measuring tape.

While my hands moved slowly—relative to how fast I thought when focused on the digital world—I pulled up a session with the server and began working on designs.

Giggles and chirps filled the air as I began measuring Byte for her first outfit. My initial designs were more like a long cape that flowed down from her back—I forwarded them to her.

Byte sent me back the one she wanted and I added the last of her measurements to it. It was a challenge to make an outfit for an entirely different body shape, but it was within my skills.

I bent most of my attention back to my sewing. In the zone, I worked through the remaining panties, scooped them into one arm, and offered Byte the other.

"Getting dressed the right way can be just as important as finding the right thing to wear," I said.

Rather than get carried, Byte jumped to the floor and started running for my bedroom again. I followed her to find my darling bouncing on the bed and chirping in excitement.

Numbers might be Byte's specialty, but when it came to fashion she was not shy about her enthusiasm.

"Today you are dressing me. I'll wear a black bra and dark panties. What colors do you think would go well on me?" I asked.

The combination was something I hadn't considered. I thought about it for a moment and rushed to my closet. My hips were only a little slimmer than they'd been, and after some searching I found a white mini with a coppery stripe down one side. I held it up to show Byte.

"That's perfect! With a black bra to match your skin, a white top will be okay. I think," Byte said.

I literally couldn't have stopped myself from chirping all the while, though I did turn back to find a white shirt from my high-school selection.

Some were too small, which I set aside as I'd probably need them soon unless things vastly shifted direction. I found just the thing and lifted out a pure-white silk shirt.

I wasted no further time. Panties, skirt, and shirt were on in short order. I let my hair hang down my back and my tail exit under the skirt. Turning in place, I let Byte see me from several angles as I turned around.

Along with her message came directions for access to our internal phone, code, and tables of reference information for accessing it—characters, punctuation, control codes, and even markup for emphasis and emotion.

I started my own instance of the code on the mobile phone, and immediately found a linkup occur. Checking the tables, things weren't much more difficult than the message passing we were already doing.

—Thanks! I need to talk with Byte about how to get her speaking on here,— NotABug sent.

Leaving them to it, I felt more of that odd chirping in my head that signified data transfers going on. I ignored the sensation as nothing more than a mother and her filly talking about their favorite topics, and I got on with applying a light amount of makeup.

I noticed a very small amount of extra chirping in my head at her message, a sign that this was a lot more efficient than her accessing my internal phone directly.

—What's breakfast, I—OH! That looks interesting. Can I do that?— Byte sent.

—I don't know. Wow, this chat is much easier to just get ideas through. I like how I can assemble pieces of a message and it combines them. It means I can write almost the same as I think and speak,— I sent.

I heard a new bout of chirping and was confused at the source for a moment, but then I remembered seeing this had direct messages too. Deciding NotABug and Byte could chat while I ate, I walked to the kitchen.

A tub of yogurt with berries through it made an admirable breakfast, and I was almost halfway through it when I heard the front door unlock. My head snapped around to see Rainbow Dash opening the door.

The thunder of little hooves approached, and I watched as Byte—her wings buzzing with excitement—tackled one of Rainbow Dash's legs.

"Chirp what? I have literally no idea what you're talking about," Rainbow Dash said. "I'm going to go take a shower so I don't stink the place up."

Rainbow froze, however, at the sight of Byte waving her little hooves in the air—balanced on her back legs. Crouching down, Rainbow Dash picked Byte up and kissed our filly on the nose.

Buzzing her wings, Byte tried to run in mid-air, turn, and fly for the bedroom. Obliging Byte, Rainbow Dash instead kept a good hold on her and made a wooshing sound.

I laughed and chirped as Rainbow ran down the hall holding Byte, and still chuckling, turned on the TV.

Pulling out my remote, I flicked through the stations looking for news and was startled by the bright red light that shone from the device. The light show stopped when I stopped pressing buttons, and it took me a lot longer than it should have to work out what it was.

A search online backed up my assumption that I was seeing the infrared light coming from the remote. I watched a video that showed a wide spray of light coming from a remote—exactly what I'd seen. Trying to ignore the flashing, I finally found a news channel.

Television was an entirely new order of horrible now that I could count the milliseconds of my life it wasted, so I only paid peripheral attention to it while sending messages to friends letting them know I was alright.

—Hi girls. Letting you know I'm okay, and I wasn't involved in whatever happened at work. Party this weekend?— I sent

—Sweetie, I'm going to be home most of the day. Call me if you want to go out to lunch,— I sent.

I already had a target in mind. I wasn't sure if I'd ever heard Sweetie talk about eating sushi. Well, she could learn the wonder that is good food today then.

Mentally shifting gears, I was about to send a similar message to my parents when my phone rang—my internal phone that is. The number was private. I answered it.

I felt very afraid suddenly. Worry buzzed through me, and I could swear I let out a worried chirp.

Mentally and physically I slumped. Battling a digital demon had been simple compared to this. Whenever I tried to picture the officer, I just fell back into the interrogation they'd given me yesterday.

"We'd like it if you came down to the station to give a statement on what you know about the incident," Guard said. "I already contacted your work, but they said you had been given emergency leave."

Which meant they were investigating me. Me! I wanted to chirp angrily at them and hang up, but NotABug chirped soothingly in my head.

—They're trying to scare you into saying something Mrs. Velvet wouldn't like you saying. Lucky you have me here to chirp at them!— NotABug sent.

"I'm afraid I'm going to have to decline, Officer. Mostly to save you the trouble and effort."

"Did you get that?" NotABug asked. "That is the number of my lawyer. She has taken my statement and will forward it to you. Now please, as I said, I'm sure you have more important things to do with your day than using psychological games on innocent women. Like catching whoever did this, perhaps?"

I gasped out loud, though thankfully not into the buffer of the phone, and even chirped in shock. NotABug hadn't given the officer a chance to say a word. She'd even talked over the policewoman when she had tried to cut in.

—I think I detest that woman,— NotABug sent. —And I think I will forward a recording of that call to Mrs. Velvet.—

Unable to think straight, I watched a few seconds of the news report on "Polomare Fashion's break-in and destruction" before I realized it was on. Tapping the volume up on the remote, I blinked away the flashes of red light and listened.

"… assailant destroyed tens of thousands of dollars of equipment, and rained debris on passersby below. When asked, police said they have a lead and are investigating further, though no arrests have been made yet.

I muted the TV again and slumped backward on the couch. Under my shirt, my wings were folded tight to my back to protect them, thus I could only chirp in my head.

—You didn't. You have an alibi. You also don't have the means. Well, you do with your horn, but they don't know that. I'll talk to Mrs. Velvet about the transformation, and if looking smaller in court would be a major advantage,— NotABug sent.

—Please don't talk about court. I just want this to be over, to be done with that horrible place, and do what I do best,— I sent.

—Sorry. It's just so exciting. Besides, if they do want to arrest you, you can disguise as someone else and slip away. Then we can start a new business!—

—Darling, I think I'll leave that to you. I just want to make people happy by making pretty things.—

It was therefore a surprise—a nice one—when Byte jumped onto my lap. My melancholy shattered and broke under her assault.

I started to lean forward to give her a kiss when blue arms bracketed me, hovering a bowl just before my face. The smell of chocolate ice-cream was unmistakable, the sight of it unavoidable, and the spoon going into my hand was inevitable.

"Byte wants to try some, and NotABug told her you needed a hug. We called the shower short and planned this together," Rainbow Dash said.

She jumped over the back of the couch and landed on the seat beside me as lightly as a dancer.

"The police called," I said. "They wanted me to go to the station and give a statement."

"NotABug told them to take a hike and talk to Mrs. Velvet. I'm not sure I am good at dealing with these things." I said.

—You literally went on the offensive with Windigo. I froze up and couldn't do anything!— NotABug sent.

—That was different. I can fight back against Windigo. They're a bad guy, and I've had experience dealing with those. Besides, they were hurting my friend!— I sent. —This chat system is excellent, darling. Apart from the lookup tables, it's almost like just talking.—

A lurch of pressure ran through me. No. Not me—NotABug. I leaned forward and quickly moved Byte to the side before I lurched to my feet.

The changeover wasn't our smoothest, but it went well. NotABug took control without either of us falling over, and she looked back at Rainbow Dash in shock.

NotABug looked around the room and her eyes fixated on our new mobile phone. It wasn't my energy, but I felt NotABug pushing the mass out all the same.

A rush of green light flared, and where the mobile phone had been a small green-black egg now sat. The slightest hint of a new tone of chirping started in the back of my head.

She pushed control back at me. I wasn't quite ready and almost stumbled before I sat down on the couch beside our second egg. Our second egg in just four days.

Rainbow Dash's head snapped around to look at me. She leaned up and pressed her lips to mine—and that was my answer. The warmth of Rainbow's love was palpable, rich, and delicious. I drank, and I knew NotABug was drinking too, but what surprised me was feel of Byte drinking.

"That feels—Okay. At first it felt odd, but I can feel you all feeding and I can just relax into it. I think it's only resisting that makes it feel strange," Rainbow Dash said.

I made a point of halting my own feeding—I felt Byte stop as well, but NotABug kept up a light sipping that I could see made Rainbow Dash blush a little. It hit me then—Rainbow was enjoying it. I was about to say something, but then I watched as Byte jumped off the couch and walked toward the television.

Our filly examined the spot where her egg had been, then she tilted her head up toward the television. She stepped forward and climbed. Where her nose should have touched the hard surface of the television, it instead sank into it. I was about to call a warning to her, but she jumped at the television.

—It felt interesting. I wanted to see what it was. It's different being like this,— Byte sent.

—Did she just transfer herself completely into a digital form? Like you used to be?— I asked NotABug in a private message.

Okay. Don't panic, Rarity. Your foal is a magical pony—changeling—that can enter the digital world wholly.

"What the heck just hap—Oh, there you are," Rainbow Dash said. "Back to my question. What the heck just happened?"

Byte, her head poking out of the TV, giggled at us. She lifted a hoof out, too, and waved.

"Wait a moment. You have the television, correct?" I asked. When Byte nodded, I continued, "Well, you could speak through the speakers."

—I can't work out how to do this. I found the audio output device, but it isn't making noise,— Byte sent.

—You need to adjust the pitch up a little to match your speaking voice,— NotABug sent.

I wondered what kind of strange world I was sliding into. Not only did my daughter—who's less than a full day old and talking—just vanish from the real world and learn to speak through a digital audio buffer from my smart TV, but I knew exactly how she did it, and how to make it work better.

—We need to make a version of the chat that can be installed on devices, like the TV, so we can use them easier. It needs to also allow us to detect tampering,— I sent.

—That's a good idea, but I'll have to see about tunneling control over the connection. It would probably be private-message only,— NotABug sent.

—Another thing that would be handy, timestamps. Perhaps only needed if the message isn't delivered immediately.—

—And, with our growing family we are going to need chat restrictions and ranges. A global chat for emergencies, local chats that are restricted by location, some special interest chat rooms, as well as the private chats.—

By the happy chirping NotABug made, she was excited at the idea. Of course, I wasn't sure if it was pure excitement at making the chat system or the prospect of a larger family.

"You're talking through the TV? That's pretty cool. What about talking through my phone?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"NotABug is working on that. She's expanding our chat system to cover devices and people not connected digitally," I said.

I located the bowl of ice cream and picked it back up. Some had melted, but there was still at least three big scoops.

I had never seen a quasi-digital entity leave the confines of a television set, rush across the room, and jump up on the couch beside me before—nor had I heard one chirp all the while they accomplished such a feat. Today was full of surprises.

Plucking up a small spoonful of rich chocolate ice cream, I held it up for Byte.

I hadn't noticed before, but Byte had some quite fantastic teeth. There was two prominent fangs for me to negotiate with the spoon, but I got it just within her mouth before she closed her lips on the utensil.

Byte's blue eyes grew huge and a long tongue snaked out one corner of her mouth, moved around (navigating her protruding teeth), and retreated on the other side.

Nodding her head in excitement, Byte was still working on the ice cream in her mouth as she chirped with great enthusiasm.

I lined up another spoonful, but this one was mine. Lifting the spoon up, I brought it to my mouth and bumped it into my chin.

—Your mouth is longer than that now. Aim out a bit and up a bit,— NotABug sent.

Opening my snout (definitely not muzzle), I nearly went cross-eyed watching the spoon come closer, but at the last moment I lost sight of it behind my nose. I only knew I was successful when the taste of chocolate hit my tongue.

Ambrosia, pure and simple, lit up every tastebud I owned. I floated away on a cloud of chocolate bliss.

—Byte, please tell Rainbow I can't talk right now because of how amazing this is,— I sent.

Letting the delicious, melting chocolate-flavored dairy product play over my tongue, I turned my head to look at Rainbow and smiled. After a moment longer, with the ice cream gone from my mouth, I scooped up some more.

An excited chirp was my answer and an open maw begging to be filled with ice cream my target. I slid the spoon inside, and Byte chirped even louder.

Excited chirping filled my head. I relaxed when her push came, letting NotABug drive for a little while. At that exact moment, Sweetie Belle's reply arrived.

—Sushi. Drop by when you are ready. And don't wear perfume,— I sent.

—You don't wear perfume when eating sushi, it makes it taste and smell different. Just don't, okay?—

—Okay.—

Then it occurred to me that my new phone was out of action. Get a new phone went onto my list of things to do. I quickly amended that to Get a lot of new phones.

—We need to replace the lost phone now. I'd suggest we buy a lot of extra ones just to be on the safe side,— I sent.

—Good idea. If one of us lays an egg every few days, we're going to need a lot of such things. We have the spare sim card to use in a new phone, too. I'll get a carton of them sent to my P.O. Box,— NotABug sent.

—More than one or two more will be a problem. This house isn't built for cooling or power to run those things,— NotABug sent, along with a bunch of chirping directed at Byte.

—What about a basement?— I asked. —We could pay a contractor to build a basement under the house and fit some much bigger cooling and power to it.—

—That's going to take time, or so a search tells me. Okay. I'm looking for a nearby house for sale with a big basement and big bedrooms. We can go from there,— NotABug sent.

Just like that. Buy a house. I mentally sighed—I still wasn't looking large enough in scope. I kept thinking about money as a limiting factor. I needed to stop that.

—Okay. Let's go ahead with that. When we have one house running like that, we can think about a basement here, and maybe an extension for more bedrooms,— I sent.

There was some distinct chirping going on that told me NotABug was shuffling information around. I ignored it, let it drift into a background haze of chirping that seemed to be the sound of life for me now, and I instead started checking up the latest fashion websites.

It didn't take long to exceed those avenues of research, so I moved on to planning more outfits for Byte, for Rainbow Dash, and trying to figure out what to do about my own wardrobe.

Rainbow was easy to design for. She might not have classical curves or lines, but the wonder of couture was that I could design around that. What she lacked in hips and bust, I enhanced with color and fabric.

All told, I designed her a whole week of dresses, with a change each day if she wanted it. Some were designed to work off her coloring, others would show off best with a little extra work on her makeup and hair color.

The next target was Byte. One dress wasn't enough for my filly—a hundred dresses wouldn't be enough for her. So I began working on designs to integrate her predominantly black motif (like my own) into dresses, skirts, and even more utility designs like little overalls for her. Even just contemplating my filly wearing tiny overalls made me chirp.

My thoughts shifted once I had two-dozen outfits designed for Byte. I thought of Twilight Velvet, tried to imagine what kind of dress she'd wear—or maybe a smart business suit? Maybe Night Light could wear a dress then? I tossed my silly ideas aside and instead focused on something smart-casual she could wear anytime.

Without Twilight Velvet's exact measurements I couldn't finalize the designs, of course, but I could come close enough that a fitting would perfect them. It certainly didn't stop me designing things.

I know I chirped excitedly. I couldn't help chirping when talking about fashion, but this was more. This was my first step toward making couture in my own boutique. If this wasn't something to get excited about, I don't know what is.

—I was just chatting with someone on the internet, and they liked me!— Byte sent.

It was hard to imagine a phrase my daughter could say that would worry me more than that. I tried to think how best to approach the situation, but NotABug beat me.

—You need to be careful talking to strange people, Byte. Can you show us the log of your chat?— NotABug asked.

The log of her interactions was a little confusing until I realized she'd logged in with NotABug's credentials, and the woman she'd chatted with thought Byte was a man. Things didn't get intimate, but they talked about various topics and eventually the woman seemed to get bored of Byte's inability to understand she wanted to get more serious.

—I was careful. I didn't drink nearly as much as I would with Rainbow Mom, but she was offering.—

Byte's comment made me curious—I reread the log. Sure enough, the woman had invited Byte for a drink or two. For a moment I was worried about and for Byte, but then I realized how happy the woman seemed. I read the log for a third time and realized that the two had chatted over the course of an hour. A whole hour where someone just paid full attention to her.

—I'm conflicted,— I sent NotABug directly. —Is there some way you can monitor the woman, see if the feeding harmed her?—

—Can you send her a survey? Have a whole bunch of questions, but hide a few asking about her "recent interactions",— I sent directly.

—No, dear. We just hadn't thought you would be so quick to find all these things. We are going to check with the tasty lady to make sure everything's alright. Until then, could you hold off feeding on anyone but Rainbow?— I asked.

A small flood of conversation was dumped into the chat by NotABug. None of it was with Byte, but after reading it I realized what it was.

—Yup! She texted her friend right after you two finished. She sure seemed to enjoy talking to you, Byte,— NotABug sent.

My relief was palpable. The woman was practically gushing to her friend that she'd spent "ages talking to a sweet guy who was really interested in her".

Byte made some relieved chirps. I located her—on the server—and hugged my filly.

—Just be careful, darling. We're something new in this world. We need to make sure we don't hurt anybody, and that they don't hurt us,— I sent.

—Plus,— I sent. —You are going to have a little sibling to teach all this stuff to soon. Probably even more after them.—

The text had come both to the phone itself, and via ChirpNet. A little poking around revealed NotABug was testing code on our internal phone.

—She can't hear you like that, yet. This will give me the chance to test some new code on her phone,— NotABug sent.

—That will be good. Have you considered transitioning that whole chat thingy Byte was on over to this system?— Iasked

NotABug let out a burst of excited chirping and gently pushed at me. I hadn't been ready, but things in the real world happened slower than I could think now, and I was laying down—looking up at Rainbow Dash. My head was, apparently, in her lap.

A brush stroked my hair, starting at my scalp and slowly moving the full length of the silken strands. Now I knew the full extent of Rainbow's trickiness. She was devastatingly clever when it came to disarming me. I couldn't help the happy little chirps I made in my head when she began another stroke.

"You're not ruinin' anything, Rarity. Did NotABug get tired of dealing with meatspace again?" Rainbow Dash asked.

I tried to nod, I really did, but another stroke of that brush wiped out any possibility of me contemplating motion.

"Byte spent the morning on that phone chat thing, the one you put on my phone, and she may have fed on the woman she was chatting with. We're trying to make sure she's okay."

"Both. We're also working on a new chat system. The one NotABug and I were using isn't suitable for more than the two of us, and then I suggested that she use it for the whole dating app thing. I think she's doing that now," I said. "I knew she didn't like driving or interacting with too many people, but is it that bad with just the two of you?"

"Huh? Nah. NotABug is normally pretty cool just being with me, but I don't think she enjoys being out here otherwise. It's strange. Normally I'd be all over a girl—physically—by now. She's—" Rainbow Dash said. "I guess I like her for being her. She's funny, fun, and she likes all of me without focusing on anything as being her one thing. I'm probably explainin' this wrong."

"Swimming blindly? Diving without knowing the depth? You can be hard to metaphor for sometim—" I said.

I gave her no further hint of my plan. Bracing my arms and legs on the couch, I bent each backwards a little and lifted myself from her lap.

Green power poured through my horn like a torrent—like a force of nature. I held back the storm of magic and used just the slightest hint to pick Rainbow Dash up and lay her on the couch.

In answer, I flipped myself around, pulled up the bottom of Rainbow's shirt, and blew a raspberry on her belly.

I was not to be appeased by just one—oh no. I blew a longer, louder raspberry on Rainbow's tight belly. A tiny flashback of our previous day—of spending time in the passenger seat while NotABug and Rainbow Dash enjoyed each other very much—tickled through my thoughts. That wasn't my intent, but part of me made sure I wouldn't completely disregard the idea of it.

The fourth loud raspberry sounded and almost completely hid the doorbell's chime.

—It's Sweetie Belle,— NotABug sent, along with a picture and a link to a camera outside the front door.

Before I could start my body moving off Rainbow Dash, Byte leapt from the TV screen and galloped across the room toward the front door.

I rolled myself over, putting my back on Rainbow's legs and resting my head on her belly—her muscled belly. A little tightness intruded on my otherwise clear thinking. I watched as Byte reared up at the door and used her magic to unlock the deadbolt.

Sweetie Belle opened the door as Byte jumped back from it. When the two spotted each other, it seemed like simultaneous actions as Byte jumped upward and Sweetie Belle reached down to catch her.

Sweetie was wearing a very cute dress that stopped at her knees. It was a soft mauve that grew lighter the higher it got on her—at her waist it was almost white. The dress continued up and over one shoulder, giving the outfit a somewhat more exciting vibe than a summer dress otherwise would.

As she walked toward the couch, I could see there was a long split down one side of the dress. It was definitely more than just comfortable. Her hair was up, curly, and looked good on her.

"Thanks! I figured if we were going out somewhere fancy, I might as well dress up for it," Sweetie Belle said, then she froze, eyes staring. "Is that another egg?!"

"Yeah! Totally NotABug's this time. She said Rarity was still drained from all the magic stuff yesterday," Rainbow Dash said.

As she spoke, I felt Rainbow's fingers find the little crown on my head. Anyone else and I would have shied away. I trusted her to be careful—and she was. As she stroked the little baubles on the tips of the crown, I tensed a little. She backed off from those and traced the crown itself.

A finger pressed firmly at my nose. Not far, but far enough that I knew the next word from Sweetie Belle's mouth would be…

With her finger still in place, I had little option but to speak with a nasally voice.

"Or I'll shapechange into the male version of you and walk around your school with no top on."

The offending finger was removed very rapidly. Only to be replaced by a little black hoof.

Now I had further problems. I looked up the length of the hoof to the smiling, blue-eyed face of my filly, and didn't have the heart to use blackmail on her. A hand came in from each side of my face, blue as the sky, and slid under Byte's hoof to protect my snout.

I leveled my stare at Sweetie Belle, who looked utterly unapologetic. Meanwhile, Byte was climbing all over a barely-protesting Rainbow Dash, booping Rainbow on the nose repeatedly. Giggles and chirping abounded, and I quickly had to sit up to avoid a squirming Rainbow.

"You," I said, pointing at Sweetie Belle, "have taught my daughter something terrible!"

"I'm her aunt. It's technically my job to teach Byte all the things she can do to annoy her parents."

"Well I thought so. So we're eating sushi? They have that at the college caf now," Sweetie Belle said. "I take it we're not going there?"

Repeated shouts of "boop" from either Rainbow Dash or Byte went staunchly ignored.

I nodded my head specifically to Byte and Rainbow Dash, indicating to Sweetie that it was going to be an interesting time.

"I should probably call them to be sure. I could always book them for lunch," I said. "Actually, I'll do that right now."

I nodded and, quickly pulling up the contact details of Uma no Sushi, made the call.

"Kit. Darling, it's Rarity. I have a little problem. I wanted to bring my daughter to your store for lunch, and I find myself wondering if you might have a—a problem with her."

There was a pause, and with such a direct connection to the data lines (with no physical ear needed to mishear with) I could tell the handset was being passed to someone else, as well as muffled talking in a foreign language.

"Miss Obake," Soba Tsuya said. "You showed only respect to my daughter, myself, and our sushi. You are a welcome customer anytime."

The name he used for me was confusing. I did a search for it and found it was Japanese for living creatures that change or shift their shape. Though normally it implied bad things, Soba had put effort into reassuring me that he didn't assume that. I felt a dramatic reply would be best.

"Thank you, Chef Soba Tsuya. I'll be in at twelve with two friends and my daughter."

I hung up when I heard the telltale click of his receiver being put down. Was that really how he saw me? Am I a friendly monster?

"Alright. We have a reservation. Chef Soba himself said I was always welcome so long as I respect him, his daughter, and his sushi," I said.

Rainbow Dash, who'd apparently resolved her struggle with Byte by hugging her close, nodded. Drat it, but they looked adorable.

"He's totally this old Japanese guy, like in all the movies. He's a master of sushi. You gotta respect that," Rainbow Dash said.

"Oh yeah. You should see how he handles a knife. And it might just be raw fish, but it's really good raw fish. Trust me, it'll be awesome."

While Rainbow and Sweetie argued the finer points of knives and swords, I got up to get a drink. Then the idea of food hit me in an odd way. I looked at Byte and the idea hit full force.

Rainbow Dash and Sweetie Belle both turned to look at me, and even Byte stared up at me with her adorable blue eyes.

"We need to find out if we—Byte mostly—can feed on people other than Rainbow. Safely, that is."

"It feels a bit strange at first, but you get used to it," Rainbow Dash said. "Even kinda feels good."

How to phrase the question while not appearing to be less than moral was a problem. I hoped a few embarrassed chirps (internal) would help convey my meaning.

—I did. She really likes it when you do that and she is in the mood. You should try,— NotABug sent directly back.

"So. I guess try a little and see if it does anything to me over time?" Sweetie Belle asked.

I was surprised and delighted by my daughter asking the question. I made sure to shoot her a big smile to reinforce that.

Now Byte smiled back—complete with her large fangs on display. She turned to look at Sweetie Belle.

Stretching out her arms, Sweetie managed to catch Byte when my daughter bounded toward her. The two giggled before Sweetie rolled to her back and, in that moment, I watched as Byte fed.

My eyes, I must admit, are probably the best thing about the actual transformation. I could see the swelling of love my sister had for Byte, for me, and another mass of affection for Rainbow Dash. At least, I interpreted the way the auras seemed to bulge and stretch as being like that.

It seemed like a fib, a little lie, but when Sweetie hugged Byte to her I saw that it was anything but. Byte practically sank into the bulk of Sweetie's love bulge, and I could see my daughter visibly diminish it just a little.

An image came to mind. A memory of a moment when I was with NotABug in a less binding manner. Blue eyes gazing down, delving into a human mind to make it—what? More magical? More logical? I didn't feel more logical now, but something was definitely different.

—Do you think Byte could interface with someone's mind like you did with mine?— I asked NotABug directly.

—Maybe. But then Sweetie might end up like us. We never actually finished that process in a normal manner,— NotABug sent directly.

We were both chirping in our head, it wasn't a thing I could suppress anymore—not that I wanted to hide myself from NotABug.

—Okay. So it isn't a bad thing. Should we suggest it?— I asked NotABug directly.

—If it happens, it happens. I don't think we should push anyone to do that. We connected more than I think any two people ever have before. Until then, when are we having sushi?—

Making my way to the kitchen, I left my little family and set about making the drink I'd planned earlier. Magic took all the inconvenience out of life, but watching my daughter feed on my sister reminded me that every shred of magic I used cost Rainbow Dash.

Rather than using magic, I put the kettle on by hand and prepared a cup with a disposable tea bag in it. The process of making tea wasn't new to me—I'd drunk tea since my mother introduced me to it—but I wanted to be sure it wasn't too strong.

At least my sister had good taste. While I waited for the kettle to boil, I started searching for things of a very different nature than fashion—exploits. I needed ways to attack, to strike at Windigo, and there would be no better way of doing that than attacking what they were running on. BlueBorne, I discovered, was already out of date for anything but unpatched devices.

Investigating that process revealed an arms race. People engineering exploits and software to carry them out battled against time and security researchers. The curious thing was sometimes the security researchers were the bad guys, and sometimes the hackers were the good guys.

I put the problem aside as the kettle boiled. Walking back to the living room, I passed Sweetie her tea, Rainbow her water, then walked back to the kitchen and got my own tea before returning.

—Okay, I have a client for chat that should work on mobile phones. Should I ask Rainbow Dash if she wants it?— NotABug asked.

I set an alarm for 11:40 and turned back to my research. There were books, programs, and plenty of resources for an emerging programmer to learn how to do bad things to computers. I began building myself a curriculum, adding advanced programming guides that emphasized attacking.

One particular method intrigued me the most—fuzzing. It was automated, which was good, but it also required me getting access to something I wanted to attack.

—We need more computers. Desktops, phones, servers, and anything else we think Windigo might exist on,— I sent.

—Windigo is a bad person. They are purely digital, like NotABug was before she joined me,— I sent. —And if you ever find them, while you're in your digital form, get out of the internet as soon as you can.—

—A small bit of it. I'm trying to come up with things to use on bigger bits,— I sent.

My filly snuggled against me, digitally, and I could do nothing short of wrapping around her completely in the fullest hug I could.

My latest batch of searches came back with less information than I'd have liked, but they had a suggestion to use a different browser. A special browser.

I left NotABug to the difficult task of sipping tea and talking to Rainbow, Sweetie, and Byte for some time, and connected to the internet through this new—special—browser. Gone was the easy naming of sites, the simple traffic that I could read directly in the datastream. Everything was heavily encrypted now, wrapped in layers of the stuff that I hadn't a hope of undoing on my own. So I browsed.

That's where I found people buying and selling credit cards and identification information, selling people's digital and financial lives in bulk, but I also found what I was really looking for. The place was called RawDeal Market, and it was literally full of people selling exploits for systems that are fully patched.

I shivered a little at the things here. They only had short descriptions, but each seller had a rating, and there were a lot of highly rated sellers.

Okay, so what I was looking for existed for sale, but it wasn't like I wanted to pay for my weapons. I closed the special browser and opened up the first of the books I'd scheduled myself to read.

NotABug's answer was predictable. She pushed me back into control, her chirping giggles rattling around my head while I worked out that I was back to using Rainbow's lap as my pillow. For a girl without an ounce of fat on her, she sure had comfortable thighs.

NotABug didn't reply, rather she let me wait until Rainbow Dash started talking again.

"Yeah. I can see whatever you say on there. Is this how you've been communicating all this time?" Rainbow Dash asked. "Your conversations are over in, like, under a second!"

I lifted my head to look at Sweetie, spotting her typing away on her phone with a comfortable-looking Byte curled up on Sweetie's belly.

—Darling? A spellchecker needs to be mandatory for Rainbow Dash,— I sent, publicly.

—All in favor of installing a spellcheck on Rainbow's phone?— NotABug asked.

The alarm went off again—a cacophony of noise that made thinking practically impossible. With a mental groan I smacked the alarm off, and felt NotABug nudge me.

A shift from purely digital to the real world wasn't jarring anymore, though with aftershocks of the alarm still jangling my nerves, it was less than perfect.

"Is my writing that bad? You can understand it," Rainbow Dash said. "We aren't all directly hooked up to our phones, you know. It takes time to type this stuff in."

"Darling, it looked like a ten-year-old typed it. I know you can do better than that," I said.

I got up, cursing everything in the world that I'd have to leave such a wonderful pillow behind, and circled around behind Rainbow to start on her hair. With input from NotABug, I soon worked out exactly what would be best given what she was wearing. Rainbow, however, remained silent.

When I was done and Rainbow still hadn't replied, I leaned around one side and kissed her cheek. The effect was startling and rapid. A pout turned into a smile, and Rainbow turned her head to catch my kiss in a more formal manner.

"I didn't realize it was an option," I said. "Rainbow, did you know we could just keep kissing all day?"

"I'd be lying if I said that thought hadn't crossed my mind, but I think we'd need to stop for food—and maybe air—at some point. Oh, but you don't eat as much now, so maybe we could use some kind of hose…" Rainbow Dash said.

"We should probably listen to her. Just think of how tasty the sushi will be," I said.

Rainbow got to her feet and followed me back down the hall. The casual closeness between us was reassuring, and without even thinking I nibbled at her love for me. A short gasp from Rainbow told me she felt even that.

I wondered how much, or how little, she would feel. Rather than nibble, I instead just brushed myself against her aura of love, simply a smooch without touching.

A vision—a daydream—entered my head from nowhere. Rainbow Dash laying on a bed with me beside her. Nibbling here and there, pushing her—

I mentally shook myself to break the train of thought. That was an entirely unladylike thing to even contemplate, and though I might try it later, I definitely wasn't going to entertain it with my sister present.

—I'm okay. Just had an odd thought,— I sent publicly. Then, privately to NotABug, I sent, —But I might have something you or I could try with Rainbow. But later. It's naughty.—

"Completely different. She barely touches me, food wise. I'm not going to lie and say it doesn't feel good, but it's not an intense experience like you or NotABug," Rainbow Dash said.

I mused a little on the subject as we reached the living room. Sweetie had Byte perched on one of her shoulders like a floppy little parrot, and I judged us just about the strangest group ever. I'd made no effort to cover my leg or arm holes, my snout was on display, and my silken tail even hung out under the skirt I was wearing.

Somehow, she'd picked up my trepidation. I had this feeling that I should hide and conceal myself, but that wasn't me, that wasn't Rarity. So I was turning into another creature entirely. So what? It was time to live up to my own standards, not the instincts—and I could tell that they were—of what I was turning into.

This is me, Canterlot. Take me as I am, because you don't have a choice with Rarity!

The drive was uneventful—which is good. There wasn't a free parking space right outside the restaurant, but we were only a few doors down. The walk wasn't eventful, but there were a few people out and about—and each one of them looked at me with surprise.

With my arms and legs free, I was on full display for the first time. There was no way a prosthetic or some kind of effect could simulate looking through a limb, but that's just what my holes allowed.

We reached Uma no Sushi, and I held the door open for Rainbow, Sweetie, and Byte (who was still riding on Sweetie's shoulder). I was exposed, and I felt exposed, but my inner core of Rarity flaunted that. I swished my tail as someone walked by and twitched my ears at the sound of Kitsune greeting Rainbow Dash.

As I walked in, I saw a play of emotions, eddies and ripples, flowing through the room and those present. There was one man having a plate of sushi to one side, but he seemed more interested in his book than us.

Walking up to the counter, I heard a little intake of breath from Kitsune and caught a ripple of what I took as shock pooling around her. While her eyes were trained on me, her father came up beside her.

A knot of tension I didn't know was there unwound within me. Soba's easy acceptance of my changing—changeling—nature was more than I'd expected. I sat down on the same stool he'd offered when I'd first come into his restaurant.

Rainbow Dash slipped past and sat on my left, while Sweetie Belle took the stool to my right. Byte was left with laps to sit on and swapped over to mine.

"It's good to meet both of you. My name is Chef Soba Tsuya, but you can call me Soba," Soba Tsuya said. "How old is she?"

While Soba spoke, his hands were in motion. He was preparing slices of fish, assembling nigiri, and putting them on separate plates.

"Please try these and tell me what you think," Soba Tsuya said and placed a plate before us.

My plate had two pieces of sushi on them, and like the others, it had a little pile of pickled ginger. Lifting up the first, I turned it and offered it to Byte.

—It's fish, rice, and a little spicy sauce. You need to describe what it tastes like to Chef Soba,— I sent.

I managed to capture the other piece of sushi from my plate and get it in my mouth without smooshing it against my nose. The flavor was different than any other I'd had.

"The wasabi is stronger, and the fish a little more muted than last time. The rice lacks a little…" I said, unable to find words to fully describe the change in flavor.

Chef Soba looked between Byte and myself. He cut off another piece of the same fish, pressed it to some rice already prepared with wasabi, and sampled it.

"The taste hasn't changed," Soba Tsuya said. "Rarity, please forgive me if this is invasive, but are you an—obake?"

I gave a little nod and his face lit up. It took me a moment to realize what had prompted him to have such a reaction, but just as I was about to comment, he started talking further.

"Then your palate is changing. Your daughter is already a…?" Soba Tsuya asked.

I nodded. It made sense that the way I tasted things was changing; after all, my vision had changed as had my magic.

"Excellent. Miss Byte, Miss Rarity, allow me to make some adjustments to my sushi and bring a more pleasing experience to the both of you," Soba Tsuya said.

I couldn't help myself, I chirped my wings softly in delight. The sound drew Chef Soba's attention for a moment, but then he returned to preparing more sushi.

"Well, I liked it. It was a very meaty-fish flavor, and the wasabi came right after it," Sweetie Belle said.

"Yeah, that. I liked how the rice was—like—a bed of flavor for the fish," Rainbow Dash said.

"Two good observations. Please have some gari—ginger—to clear your palate for the next piece," Soba Tsuya said.

I used my fingers to feed Byte a little ginger, then had some myself. The taste was sharper than usual, but faded just the same and took the flavor of the sushi with it.

When Chef Soba made the next two pieces, he did a lot of different things. He brushed something onto the rice, he seemed a lot lighter with the wasabi, and he used a different cut of the fish than he sliced for Sweetie and Rainbow's pieces.

Rainbow and Sweetie got theirs first, then Chef Soba set two nigiri on my plate.

"This should have an altered profile. Without being able to test it myself, I have only your palate to guide me," Soba Tsuya said.

Using both hands, I picked up both the pieces and held one out to Byte while taking the other for myself.

The moment the fish touched my tongue, it painted a vivid pattern of flavors. It was tuna, I could definitely identify it as that, but there was so much more. I could taste subtle other flavors within the tuna, and the rice seemed more intense a bed to support it. The wasabi was still there, but not as intense as it was.

Finishing the experience of my first customized-for-changeling-palate sushi, I let out a happy little sigh—and chirp.

"This is exceptional. The tuna has an extra something, fattiness I think, that lifts its flavor higher. There is a hint of something on the rice, is it soy?" I asked.

"The wasabi is a little less intense. I really like how it feels at the back of my tongue!" Byte said.

"You don't taste protein as much—the tuna cut I used was extra fatty. Carbohydrates, likewise, don't do as much for you. The salt in the sauce enhanced the flavor of the rice enough for you to taste it properly," Soba Tsuya said.

That Chef Soba had extrapolated so much from my descriptions surprised me. If nothing else, this was a wonderful way to have a professional consultation on my change in taste. But, there was one thing that didn't make sense.

"If carbohydrates aren't as strong, then why was the sweet ice-cream I had earlier so wonderful?"

"The fats in the milk supported the sweetness, and this may only apply to complex carbohydrates," Soba Tsuya said.

With the flavor of the fatty tuna fading and the wasabi down to barely a tingle, I picked out some of the ginger and used it to clear my palate.

All through the meal Chef Soba kept asking all of us questions about the sushi, and toward the end of things my sense of taste sampled just as wonderful a palette of flavors as I had the first time in Uma no Sushi.

But as I watched Chef Soba turn to the big tank behind him, I felt excitement bubble up inside. Awabi, abalone, would smash through my strange new sense of taste, I was sure of it.

He selected an abalone to immediately start preparing it. His hands worked fast, precise, and he took four perfect cuts of the creature.

—The most delicious thing yet. Watch him prepare it, it is going to be great,— I sent.

Something strange occurred to me. As I focused inward, I found an active internet connection.

—I'm using the VPN only. I blocked all other traffic. There is no way for anything to get in from outside,— NotABug sent directly back. —I used your defense code.—

The source code for NotABug's firewall accompanied the message, and I was delighted by the fact that I could follow it. It was solid, but I wanted to spend some time later going over it with some tools to test it.

My own code was in there, what I'd hastily put together while fighting Windigo, but I could already see an obvious improvement.

NotABug's excited chirping sparked my own, and we had a good hug. By the time I pulled my attention back to Chef Soba, he was lifting the two abalone nigiri onto my plate.

The temptation to gobble them both was almost unbearable. I reached out and lifted each abalone nigiri from my plate and offered one to Byte.

Byte sniffed at the food before opening her mouth for it. I filled her mouth with the delicious morsel at the same time I did my own.

The ocean exploded in my mouth. Perfection in food form was not something I thought possible, but the rich play of flavors that performed in my mouth was exquisite beyond measure. I closed my eyes and slowly chewed.

To be perfectly honest, the slowdown effect that focusing on both digital and real worlds gave me infinitely (not really, but a girl can dream) more time to enjoy the vibrant flavor of the treat.

—The entirety. All of it together. The fishy stuff is really strong, but the rice, wasabi, and sauce together make it so much more.—

I continued to enjoy the exciting flavor of the sushi until, eventually, it had to be swallowed. I gulped the delight down and looked to Sweetie and Rainbow.

Rainbow Dash showed delight and excitement on her face. Her emotions followed her expression, and I could almost see little fish swimming about in her aura.

Sweetie Belle had shock and excitement as her primary emotions. She had a big smile on her lips, and her eyes were only just now opening from enjoying the last of the sushi.

"I thought the fishy bit was going to overwhelm everything, but you boosted the flavors to match it, and everything was perfect!" Byte said, bouncing in my lap. "And it tasted even better because I could feel everyone else enjoying it!"

One of Chef Soba's eyebrows crept upward at Byte's last comment. I would have bit my lip as I mulled over telling him, but I'd seen what my new teeth were like—biting lips would lead to less lip.

"What she means is, we can see and taste emotions. Eating among friends, while they are enjoying themselves, makes the meal itself more enjoyable," I said.

My returning smile, I fear, may have shown a little fang. I had to work out a way to do that without appearing like I was about to eat someone. There was no fear in Chef Soba, however, which I realized was what assuaged most of my worries about eating here.

But the abalone nigiri was a sign that the meal was over. Scooping Byte up with one arm, I stood up.

Rainbow stood up as well, and even Sweetie followed suit. I put my arm around Rainbow Dash, and pulled her closer to give her a little kiss on the cheek. The part of me that wanted to keep dressing in punk outfits wanted to do more and even wanted to shout into people's faces that yes, I am a lesbian, but I reined that part of me in.

Instead, mutually opting for a simple hand-holding, we walked to the front counter. Kitsune Udon stared at me. She looked like she was trying to put together that she was looking at as a person.

Kit couldn't stop staring at my face—my snout. It wasn't a negative reaction, I certainly couldn't detect any dark emotions, but I could see her wrestling with the fact that I had features that no "person" should have.

She noticed me looking back about then. Kit's eyes widened. I could almost feel her mind rebelling against what she was seeing. It was time for action.

Lifting one holed arm up, I pressed a finger of each to the skin under my eyes, stuck my tongue out, and pulled the silliest face I could. "Bleeeeh."

The taste of laughter hit Kitsune's aura before she actually started laughing. She fought against her instinctive reaction, but when I pushed my lower jaw forward and up, and hunched my head down as far as I could, I got the response I was fishing for.

Giggling, Kitsune opened her mouth to say something, but I redoubled my efforts and shoved my fist in my open mouth.

"I—I'm sorry! You just seem so—so different. Dad called you an obake, but I don't believe in all that stuff. You, though, you really are turning into something," Kitsune Udon said. "What are you turning into?"

"Obake," Soba Tsuya said, as he walked over, "are people who change into something else. Some are said to be quite monstrous, but our family history speaks of at least one yokai that helped my great, great, great, great grandfather."

Thinking quickly, I connected through our VPN and started searching for more details on obake and yokai, and I found a relevant term—kitsune. Foxes that could shapeshift into humans. They ranged from malicious monsters to tricksters or even benevolent beings . Apparently their family had a more pleasant opinion of them.

"Huh. I guess that sounds about right for the moment. We're pretty sure Rarity's not going to stop changing, though," Rainbow Dash said. "So she might be an obake now, but that's probably not going to last."

"She will always be obake," Soba Tsuya said. "Even if her body changes completely, I don't think her ikagai, her purpose, will alter. You are yourself, Miss Rarity."

The words held us spellbound. I looked at Chef Soba, but I really looked into myself. My reason for being wasn't singular, at least I was sure mine wasn't. I had a family, I had my passion for dressmaking, and I had a bond with NotABug that brought me full circle.

A bleep of success from the card machine broke the moment, and with how much brighter Kitsune looked, I realized I might have won her over. She held out my—actually NotABug's—card.

—It meant that Chef Soba doesn't think I'll change, even as I become a changeling,— I sent.

—Okay. Let's say I shapechanged to look like Rainbow. Would that make me Rainbow?—

Both in the digital world and real world, I hugged Byte to me. Not for the first time did her intelligence surprise me. She wasn't just smart, she unbelievably smart for her age, and she was tempering that intelligence with wisdom as she learned.

Once we were all outside the shop, I waited for Rainbow Dash to catch my free hand. She put her arm around me instead.

"Yeah, probably not," Rainbow Dash said. "But maybe we could make this a monthly thing?"

Snuggled against me, I could feel Byte making softer sounds now. It wasn't like her busy-doing-something-else lethargy from earlier.

"Almost. Looks like you get to drive home," I said. "Because there's no way Rainbow Dash is driving my car."

The incident in question had been Rainbow Dash—when I first got my car—trying to do a burnout with it. She'd almost succeeded. Instead of spinning the wheels, the car had catapulted forward.

I looked at Sweetie Belle's hand as she held it out. The gesture was as obvious as it was misplaced. I didn't hold my keys out for her, rather, I digitally reached toward the car and unlocked it, then flashed the indicator on our side just once.

"That reminds me. Is it cool if I bring my stuff over today?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"That you need to change your address on a lot of forms? That my big sister is officially gay? That you need a bigger garage? That—?" Sweetie Belle asked.

"Nah, nah, nah. None of that," Rainbow Dash said. "Well, most of that. But what I mean is we need to tell Pinkie Pie."

"And a birthday party for Byte. And a—uh—I bet she knows of a type of party to celebrate us."

—I think I might do some programming. I'm going to need some money to buy an exploit, so I can see what these things look like. We need weapons, and I believe these will be key to making them,— I sent.

—You can just use one of the card numbers. Let me know how much you've taken out later so I can replace it,— NotABug sent.

—I'll have to change it for this other currency they use. Credit card numbers are not good to use in these places, darling.—

—Okay. Mind if I use our body, then? I wanted to look for nearby property, and will need to go to a real estate firm to arrange things. Plus I want to try out more of this shapechanging stuff.—

We both gently pushed at the same time, chirped a giggle to each other, and swapped control. NotABug cradled Byte in her arms and climbed into the car, while I opened up a VPN to our server.

—Sorry, darlings. I'm going to do some work while NotABug does some things. I hope you'll forgive me leaving you in the lurch like this?— I sent.

It took an eternity, or at least a few thousand milliseconds, for the replies to come.

—It's okay. NotABug explained that you're making tools to keep all of you safe,— Sweetie Belle sent.

I quickly replied to the last and first messages with chirping, and then even gave some to Sweetie. Then I opened that insanely secure browser and started investigating.

From web pages, I was directed to use a chat system. Ancient, it was text only and asked for a username. I quickly supplied one and entered their chat room. I waited some minutes—using the time to poke around at NotABug's defense code—before I gave up and decided it was time to just ask.

I'd done enough research to be sure that an 0day exploit was one still unpatched. I didn't need one of those.

BugQueen: No thank you. I admit I'm a little new to this, and was looking to get started investigating and writing my own exploits, and wanted some existing ones to know the kinds of things I need to look for.
SysPred: holy fuck! new meat!
AdminRolley: Play nice, Predator
AdminRolley: Queeny, you know how to code?

BugQueen: Of course.
AdminRolley: K. What kinda systems are you attacking? windows? linux? droid?
BugQueen: Eventually? All of them. I am working on a multi-purpose system for identification and penetration across multiple system types and over multiple networks.
SysPred: fuckin A! you make that and I'll blow you to get my hands on it

Okay, Rarity, just relax and don't rise to their bait. Just play your part and get what you need.

But the idea intrigued me—making my tools available, not getting a blowjob. The downside of releasing them before I'd dealt with Windigo once and for all were obvious, with the attack tools in the wild, Windigo might find them and strengthen its defenses or, worse, use them on us.

Of course, the tools themselves wouldn't actually be what's doing the attacks. Anything added into them would be what actually does the work.

BugQueen: Get your chapstick ready then, darling.
BugQueen: Anyway, back to the problem at hand. How much will it cost me to get some exploit code?

There was an option to accept, so I did. The transfer was fast, and the file was in text, and by the extension was Python code.

AdminRolley: That's old stuff. Not worth anything no more
AdminRolley: You know how darkcoin works, right?
BugQueen: Not at all. Would you mind if I asked questions about this?
AdminRolley: Go ahead. Okay, so darkcoin is worthless, and priceless. If someone asks you for money for it, tell em to fuck off
AdminRolley: You can trade it for bitcoin, but that's it. You normally use it to buy and sell 0days, tools, and data
BugQueen: Data?
SysPred: lists of cards and dox that kinda shit

I had to search to find what they meant. Lists of credit cards and personal information were, apparently, commodity goods here.

AdminRolley: Just be careful with your own info k? some people aren't all that nice
SysPred: i said he was a fuckin' fed
SysPred: totally worth it
SysPred: your not a fed right?
BugQueen: I'm not buying. Does it matter?
SysPred: good point
SysPred: k so do you want some dark coin?
BugQueen: No thank you. When I develop the tool I'm working on, I'll get some from you.
SysPred: u make that code and ill pay ya
BugQueen: If you help me hit a particular target, I'll give it to you for free.
SysPred: now u sound like a fed
BugQueen: ?

I realized with growing horror that I was starting to relax—somehow I'd even made friends. Criminal friends. I guess I was having lunch with Miss Velvet on Thursday. I could ask her how legal any of this is.

SysPred: ur askin me to do something illegal
BugQueen: Fair enough, I suppose. Well, when the tool is done, what about if I give you a copy to play with, then you can decide if you want to help me with a problem?
SysPred: hah!
SysPred: if you code as good as u type
SysPred: sure
SysPred: if not
SysPred: ill hack your system and fuck it up
AdminRolley: Predator, back off bud
AdminRolley: Shit liek this is why u got a month ban

I took to analyzing the code while they argued and was pleasantly surprised by the level of annotations present. It was well laid out, but it was stupid in one way—you gave it an address block to attack, and it would try all possible targets.

Just like designing a dress, I started making notes on what I wanted my weapons to do.

AdminRolley: Ok Queeny. Any questions?
BugQueen: I think I understand how and what you were attacking, but how did you find this unprotected buffer?
AdminRolley: Lots of fuzzing
AdminRolley: You're going to want some servers with a pile of VMs on them, unless you're going for physical vulnerabilities

—Darling, when Windigo attacks things, do you know if they override the operating system?— I asked NotABug directly.

—I didn't stick around to do an autopsy on any of their systems. Your car is the only time I've seen Windigo booted off something,— NotABug sent back.

BugQueen: I'm working on that, though I have some basic systems to test for hardware and firmware faults.

I contemplated my next move carefully. I needed to know how active Windigo had been.

BugQueen: One thing I've been interested in. I don't suppose any of you noticed any strange occurrences around the 18th?
AdminRolley Private: I'd keep quiet about that date. Some bad shit went down and no one knows what. Predator busted a nut, kept ranting about feds, but the systems I saw go down weren't attacked by feds. I've never seen shit like this before, like a fucking monster just ate them
AdminRolley Private: Sorry, but we have a rule at the moment about that, just rejoin again
System KICK message from AdminRolley to remove BugQueen from channel #general

My connection to the chat room dropped. Grumbling chirps rang back to me in my head, and I reconnected.

Thankfully my knowledge of subculture action movies was up to snuff thanks to Rainbow's efforts.

BugQueen: Got it.
BugQueen Private => AdminRolley: Be careful of that. You were right, it is a monster.
AdminRolley Private: And how do you know?
BugQueen Private => AdminRolley: Because I'm one too.
AdminRolley Private: A monster that bites? :)

I had the oddest sensation for a moment, and then I realized what it was—I could taste emotions on AdminRolley. He stank of worry, a little fear, and the tiniest hint of excitement. It was the kind of excitement I could have fed off.

BugQueen Private => AdminRolley: I bite, but I have someone I bite already. This is serious, don't trust anything that calls itself Windigo.
AdminRolley Private: Yeah. That was the tag they used. You got something to stop it?
BugQueen Private => AdminRolley: What do you think I'm working on?
AdminRolley Private: K then. If you make somethin that works against it, let me know.
BugQueen Private => AdminRolley: Darling, if I find something that works against it, I'm going to hunt it.

Rolley's excitement grew, and I could almost feel my hunger reaching to him (or her, I wasn't sure).

AdminRolley Private: If your the real deal I can get you some stuff.
BugQueen Private => AdminRolley: I'll send you the specs and a copy of the system the moment I have it finalized. Which, is something I should be working on now. Thank you for trusting me.
AdminRolley Private: HA I haven't trusted you
AdminRolley Private: I don't think I can trust anyone, but you havent tried to fuck us over, and despite Predators shit, you sound nothin like a fed
BugQueen Private => AdminRolley: I'll be back some time tomorrow, or maybe the day after.

I disconnected from the chat and turned my full focus to the tool I was working on. It needed to be a backbone with modules that loaded in for tasks. Some modules, I theorized, would be for directly attacking a target, others would be for probing, yet more scanners, and then I needed a payload.

The image of an orchestra coalesced, and I couldn't help but think it was an apt model. My code would be the conductor. It would call on the scanner to search within parameters. It would urge the probes to seek out vulnerable machines. It would send the exploits in to act against the machines—be they attacking software or hardware. Finally, it would deploy the payloads and bring the whole "song" together.

All the modules would conform to standards, and they all would be run within their own little walled gardens. The design slowly came together, and I finalized how everything would communicate.

As I worked—now building the tool itself—I watched time tick away second by second. From time to time I would surface and see what NotABug was up to. The first time I looked, she was walking around a house. The second saw her in an office signing papers—her hands were an interesting shade of orange.

—I just purchased a house!— NotABug sent back. She also sent the location of the property.

I read just enough to know it was behind my house and to one side (it shared a corner with my property), but I skipped the rest of NotABug's details and just wound back to her recording of the inspection.

Four bedrooms, one bathroom (something that growing up in a house with three females taught me was a bad thing), a big living room, a garage, and a basement. The basement wasn't big, but it was a start.

—Very nice. I don't even want to know how much it was. When do you take ownership?— I asked.

—There's all these cooling off periods and stuff. I waived that with a little form,— NotABug sent.

Well, I now owned two properties. Well, we owned two properties. Life was getting stranger—more interesting.

—I talked to some new people. Apparently Windigo damaged more than just your servers the night we merged. Everyone is scared it was the police or the government. I tried to reassure them that it was just a monster that wanted to destroy everything, but they weren't convinced,— I sent.

—Yes, dear. I warned them about Windigo as best I could, and I promised to give them some things if they help us fight Windigo.—

Interested chirping came in a rush from NotABug, so I sent her links to the code so far.

—Oh. I also updated what I made for the shield. It should respond a little faster now. Also, I'll need to adjust the shield once this tool is ready,— I sent.

NotABug sent me a series of videos and stills of buildings, one of which was in the local mall. I immediately ruled out the mall one, just a glance was all I needed to tell it was too small. The rest—each of them—had potential.

It was the first time I'd looked at properties, and it made me realize I needed to decide on an experience for Carousel Boutique. There would be two stars in my boutique, the customer and whatever outfit they wanted. Everything must revolve around those two and bringing them together.

When a customer comes in, they should immediately feel they can relax. All customers would be welcome, and each must feel like my shop floor—my sitting room—is an extension of a home they always wanted to live in. Soft seats and couches, elegant furniture that is ready and willing to accept them no matter who they are.

And, with all this in mind, I began looking through the locations again. The first, no matter how my creative mind could adjust it, didn't suit. It had a laundromat on one side of it and a bowling alley on the other.

One was a store in a street with other fashion stores, there would be competition, but it would be a two-edged sword. I connected online, and virtually walked down the street and examined the stores. Two retail outlets, one alternative shop, two haberdasheries, a sewing supplies store, and a sewing machine store.

The second shop was in a street full of hospitality, stationary, and knick-knack stores, with a small supermarket taking up the bulk of one end of the block. It had not a stitch of competition for me but also wouldn't have people coming there for couture.

The only choice, really, was the first one. Not only was the street filled with my kind of people, but it had locations for me to buy supplies and repair my equipment. That I would be visiting that street, regardless of where I ended up opening, was the deciding factor.

It was an interesting experience just riding along with NotABug. She spoke differently, reacted differently, and now with shapechanging she even looked differently.

"Yes, but I wish to buy that one for a client. If you'd do the papers up for that too?" NotABug asked.

—Yes. Thank Byte for getting the funds together for this one,— NotABug sent.

—You're so amazing. Thank you for getting me the money to pay for this,— I sent.

—Wait,— I sent. —Hold on, darlings. You mean you made that much in one morning? How much did you start with?—

There was something completely surreal about the amount. It was more money than I'd ever conceived of before. When NotABug had bandied about having over a million dollars, it had been an imaginary amount—a theoretical million. This money was real, and was going to buy a new property in my name.

The shop, of course, was bare of anything that would make it Carousel Boutique. First I would need a carpenter to partition the insides as I want them. Some new carpet would be absolutely required. Wallpaper, curtains, light fittings, furnishings—This was a big project.

—Uh, I let her use half of your savings. We replaced that for you. Also, we're going to need to do a lot of interesting accounting on your tax return,— NotABug sent.

—It's full of numbers—it's all about numbers, but it's not a game,— I sent. —If it is wrong, I could go to jail.—

—Rarity, every time there are two sides to something, it's a game. In this case the stakes are higher than usual. So we want to make sure we don't lose,— NotABug sent.

—Not once I got to know you. But at first everything was a game,— NotABug sent to me.

—At the exact moment I realized we were on the same side. Then I made new games.—

—Hold off buying it outright. Mr. Pants will be talking to us on Thursday, so it would be best if we hold off on that until then,— I sent NotABug directly.

Several minutes passed, but rather than track their conversation, I instead went back to writing code. With the infrastructure designed, all I had to do was actually make it. Computer code, I had discovered, could be elegant and effective—which meant style was immensely important in programming.

—I called Mr. Pants. He said to buy it under your name if we can, and then you can sell it to your company later for a share in the company. I can sort of see how it works, but I'm going to need to study a lot of law to make sense of this stuff. I wish it was just numbers,— NotABug sent directly.

The excited chirps that followed definitely helped reassure me, but her calling things games still reminded me that although NotABug was a real person, her beginnings were vastly different than a human's.

Programming, and making the code elegant, was apparently just as absorbing for me as dressmaking. I was so subsumed in writing each line perfectly that I almost lost track of time. Which is a lie. I can't lose track of time, it's ticking by thousands of times a second, and I got to watch as the universe ticked off each one. But there's a point where I get so focused, that my brain would acknowledge the time but think, Just one more line.

I leaned forward from the digital world to focus through the lens of my body's senses. I was curled up on the couch beside Rainbow Dash (at least I hoped it was Rainbow Dash) with Byte sitting on her lap. In NotABug's hands was a game controller, and I could tell Rainbow had one too.

It was hard to avoid being conscious of the hundreds of thousands of other users now. There was people everywhere using our chat engine, and each of them was visible to me. With a hundred or so in Canterlot, I was surprised I hadn't accidentally blurted things out.

—You're back? You chirped a lot while working on that. Was it fun?— NotABug asked.

—Hello darlings. Yes, I'm back. I am astounded by how interesting and exciting it is to write code. Every line, every function, and every object. Did you know I made a way that I could color-code my comments? I had to rewrite my editor a little, but it seems to have worked nicely. Summer colors are definitely offense, winter for defensive, spring is absolutely the heavy-lifting code, and autumn is for interface,— I sent.

When Byte and NotABug were silent for a moment, I realized I might have gotten a little too focused on my answer.

I knew what was coming. NotABug gently nudged me into control, and I could count the milliseconds it took for Rainbow to notice.

Rainbow dropped her controller and turned to me. Strong arms wrapped around my shoulders, and I watched as she leaned in for a kiss. I had all the time in the world to lean aside, to pull back, to turn my head, or shove Rainbow Dash away. Instead, I reached my arms around her wide, strong shoulders, and fluttered my eyes closed.

As kisses went, this one was on the magical end of the spectrum. I shan't go into detail, but there was sufficient activity from both of us that we became completely distracted from everything.

Her exclamation broke the moment—Rainbow and I turned to look at the racing game on the television, and saw that Player 3 had indeed won.

—Yeah. She's not as good with decoding signals as I am,— NotABug sent to me.

The little smirk on Rainbow's lips told me she was perfectly fine with that situation.

I reached down and picked up my own dropped controller, then sat back on the couch again. The hint of rich Asian sauces told me that something Chinese or Thai had been masticated recently. My recent change in palate made it impossible to identify which particular dish it was, but it had a definite fish-sauce sense to it.

The racing game was, at least with my hands at the controller, easy to play. I didn't have to focus on any data conversions or variables, I just pushed a little stick left or right.

Byte was the first to fall asleep. She climbed onto my lap and curled into a little ball. Trying to hold back a yawn was impossible, but I still managed to play another map before I found myself almost nodding off on Rainbow's shoulder.

Queen Rarity

by Damaged

Chapter 14