//------------------------------// // Good Intentions // Story: Integral Trigonometry // by Darkstarling //------------------------------// Cybermites are fairly common bio-mechanoid pests in certain worlds with intense background magic. Quick silvery centipedes with an instinctive understanding of technology, the typical specimen is a rapidly breeding gremliny nuisance. Their primary threat is through unnecessary 'upgrades' that cause chaos when systems are thrown out of alignment, particularly when they use other important systems as raw materials. But, being the size of a thumbnail and no more intelligent than a typical insect, they are non-malicious and easily controlled. Under rare circumstances, however, they have been known to demonstrate an alarming degree of adaptability and self improvement. Xiii-7 popped from a cocoon of woven metal fibers, and wondered how it had gotten there. It (it? he) he also wondered, as he began to carefully eat (eat? devour) devour the cocoon, exactly what he was. He had no memories prior to awakening. His model number told him that he was an unprecedented level of upgrades beyond baseline, and highly charged with an unknown energy source. But what that baseline might be he had no idea. He had a vague sense he should be more concerned about that, but a whispering intuition from his power core assured him that all was well. Fortunately, as he ate he detected an encoded data stream in the metal fibers. Thanking Xiii-6, his previous molt, for his (his? its) its assiduous data gathering, he assimilated data with the metal. He was currently under the 'bed' in the 'bedroom' in the 'house' of the entity designated as 'Mother'. What these terms meant should have been meaningless without context, but he felt a strange sense of familiarity to it all. Like being reminded of something long forgotten. Which was especially strange, as he had not yet existed long enough to forget anything. Further information processed rapidly. The detected audio input, 'speech', was a non-electronic communication medium that supplemented the intense electromagnetic data streams that permeated the air. Mother appeared to be talking to itself (itself? herself) herself while locked in a movement self-diagnostic check mode. Xiii-7 quickly scuttled closer, being careful to remain out of visual detection range. Mother was emphatically noted as reacting adversely to insectoids. And, activating a translation program, he listened. "...but that won't do at all. I can't risk slighting either of them. And of course La Belle Dame Chevalier is only semi-formal, because of course having a default to dress for would be too easy. Well I suppose if in doubt go fabulous, it's what they expect. Ugh! Twilight, why did you have to be so understanding? Couldn't you have just been jealous or pretend it never happened like a normal person?" There was a crash of springs from above as Mother crashed (crashed? flounced) flounced to the bed. "We couldn't have all just kissed and faded to black?" Mother continued quietly. "It would have been so much simpler. I swear, I'm never reading a romance novel again." Xiii-7 chirped acknowledgement to himself. In the radio bands, as he was still mindful of being detected. Xiii-6 had saved a large data-dump off of Mother's 'phone' that it had been unable to understand. But with his improvements, Xiii-7 could tell that Mother was engaged in 'romance' with two other entities, and that they had a 'date' 'tonight'. And although his chronometer iterated from t(0) at his hatching, he could tell from the ambient light level that there were still several hours before that time. The context assured, he assigned himself a set of obvious action priorities to his queue. Though they might be difficult to accomplish. He was a very small bug. But if he was sure of one thing, it was that he was a Generous entity. The strange energy suffusing him thrummed in approval, and whispered the solution. He required friends. And data welled up from his electronic genetic code that crystallized as a plan. His antennas quickly locked on to what he needed, as Mother rose from the bed and resumed her self-diagnostics. Her phone was easily tracked by it's constant electromagnetic signalling, and in the distance he tasted a compatible power supply. He chirped acknowledgement to himself again, and waited for an opportunity. Twilight stood staring at the restaurant booth, paralyzed by indecision. All her research, all her planning, all her contingencies...all thrown into utter chaos before she even began. All by a simple factor she hadn't predicted, hadn't even accounted for. Everything was going off the rails so quickly. What else would come up tonight that she hadn't even considered? "Um...Twilight? What's wrong?" Sunset said from beside her. Twilight turned to stare at her incredulously. "What's wrong? What's wrong? It's not a circular table Sunset, that's what's wrong." Sunset blinked in confusion. What was wrong with her? Didn't she understand? Since when am I the socially aware one? "There are three of us, Sunset. At a booth. That means two of us have to sit next to each other and the other has to sit apart. So either we're sitting there like we're interviewing her, or you're sitting next to each other and it looks like I'm glaring at you the whole time, or I'm sitting next to her and it's really really awkward!" Breath Twilight, she told herself. In and out. "Right." Sunset turned to the waiter, a blue man who Twilight had honestly forgotten about completely. "Hey, I'm sorry. Everything is fine, but can you give us a minute to talk before you bring anything? Thanks." And with that she pulled Twilight to the bench beside her, over her spluttered protestations. Then she hugged her and kissed her head. Twilight relaxed a little and leaned into Sunset. At least she put me in the outside seat, she thought. I can still flee if I need to. "Twilight, you know what I care about most is you being comfortable right?" said Sunset in a soft voice, stroking her hair soothingly. "We can call this off right now and go home if you want to, okay?" "It's a bit late for that, isn't it?" Twilight replied. Her voice was small, but it still came out in an acerbic tone that made Sunset tense. She could feel it through her whole body. "Of course it isn't" Sunset said immediately, sounding worried. "Rarity would be hurt, but we could apologize and make it up to her. I really don't want to push you on this, and if you're not happy..." "No," Twilight interrupted, "that's not it at all. I was excited. Am. Excited I mean. The part of me that isn't freaking out. I'm sorry for snapping at you. " She hugged Sunset back, clasped her hand, and gave her a small smile. "I admitted I liked her too, remember? And dating my two favorite people in the world sounds wonderful, if that's what comes out of this. It's just that theory is very different from being faced with the reality, and I really want this to go well." "Yeah, I hear you. There's still alot to work out. To tell you the truth, the only reason I'm not panicking too is by reminding myself how much worse this could be." "How much worse?" Twilight was relaxing, enough to let out an amused snort. "Not much worse it could have gone from a planning standpoint. You do realize I haven't been able to get in touch with her to confirm all evening? I don't even know if she's on the way yet." "Yeah," said Sunset with a frown, rubbing her neck anxiously. "That is a bit odd. I've been trying not to get paranoid about that actually. It's probably nothing, just her getting lost in design land. But you know." Twilight nodded. She did. Sunset shook her head to clear the somber tone, and then gave a quirky grin that only looked a little forced. "But yeah, it could be much worse and infinitely more awkward. Imagine if instead of Rarity, it was the Princess we were waiting for." Twilight blanched, and then let out a surprised laugh. "Oh my goodness that's horrible. She's a good friend but oh, so many kinds of no." "I don't know" said Sunset with a teasing smirk. "She's cute when she forgets she has fingers and gets confused by technology. Not to mention she can write with her mouth." Twilight playfully swatted at her for that. She deserved it for being so smug. "And Arachnea looked pretty good in that dress. What do you think? If this doesn't work out we could start an inter-dimensional harem of ourselves." "Oooh, you are paying for that later" Twilight replied, still giggling. "You are so awful. But" she added, an evil grin splitting her face, "if you're going for the ultimate awkward date, you really missed a bet. Cadance." Sunset shuddered. "Your former vice principle slash only friend engaged to your brother? Young enough to be approachable but still way too old for us? Ugh. Yeah, you win. The creepawkward award goes to Twilight, no contest." Twilight gave a satisfied nod, then smiled. "You were right. That helped. Though now I have some images in my head I wish we had the Memory Stone back for." Sunset gave her a hug. "Well good. I'm glad laughing helps. Especially because Rarity just walked in." "Oh my gosh hide me!" All the calm she had regained fled in an instant, replaced by a flare of tension and detached clarity. Really, she thought, usually it takes combat and magic to make me feel this way. I wonder if this counts as aerobic exercise. Cardiac at the very least. "Breathe" said Sunset quietly, taking her hand. "And don't you dare hide under the table, the innuendos write themselves." "What? But...I...oh! No no I..." Twilight's face was burning, but fortunately her protests formed a good barrier against the flight response. Sunset knew her well. It let her hold off from fleeing long enough for Rarity to approach, and put pause to the panic. "Good evening dears. I am so sorry I've been out of touch. I have simply had the most appalling afternoon." Rarity was a vision, there was no other word for it. She had combined a deep purple dress with a golden belt and shoulder tassels, along with matching bracelets and earrings, and it looked positively regal. She dressed to match our colors, Twilight thought, absurdly flattered by the simple detail. And combined with her ivory complexion, it was... "Like a statue come to life" she blurted out, and then covered her mouth when she realized that had slipped out aloud. "Oh!" Rarity raised her hand to her chest in a flattered gesture. "Well that's quite flattering, so I certainly hope that was a compliment." Twilight nodded. She should get over her embarrassment. It was a date after all, and thinking that was only a manageable thrill this time. "I was just thinking of Classical Minotoan statues, and royal color schemes, and how well it suited you. Also Pygmalion. And marble and mineral structures and thaumically induced elasticity." She trailed off in thought as Rarity gave her a bemused look. With a tripolar electrode, enough lightning, and a really good love song...no, focus. "What she means is you look more like a princess than the actual royalty we know" said Sunset with a smile, gesturing for her to take a seat. "You look beautiful." "And you as well. Both of you" she said with a smile. "I really am so pleased to see you, I hope I didn't keep you waiting. You would not believe the time I had getting here." She sat down with a relieved sigh. "First, my phone disappears off the face of the earth. Searching, calling, nothing works. And before I know it it's time to get dressed, still with no word to you. And then of course I borrow the car, and what do I find? The engine is sputtering and barely starts, while the radio is stuck on the police band for some reason. I had to run for the bus while dad called a tow truck, and I am quite sure my hair is a disaster. This has been the absolute worst!" She threw herself back dramatically, before opening her eyes and smiling. "Still, you make it worth it. I do hope you will forgive me." Twilight nodded. "Of course. That sounds awful, you know how I get when my plans are ruined. And we had our own problems before you got here." "Don't ask" Sunset said, giving Twilight an amused look. She huffed a bit. Sunset might have broken her indecision, but she still wasn't convinced it hadn't been worth more consideration. "Of course not, dear. You know I would never pry. Instead, let's eat. I'm sure we're all famished after our tribulations today. Where are our menus? They certainly seem a bit slow, yes?" The food was delicious. Prench cuisine of course. And it was a good distraction for awhile, not to mention the conversation. But though the sudden flares of panic had finally settled down, she found herself getting more nervous about the impending talk. And things were just too normal so far. How would they start? All her planned breakpoints had passed without a natural transition. And questions were spinning. In the end she decided she simply had to break the ice herself. Even if she just knew this would end in disaster. "Rarity?" she said, at the next pause. She tried to keep the hesitation out of her voice, though she couldn't help staring at the table. "I was wondering. You've got feelings for Sunset." She might as well have queued a record scratch on her phone. Darn it, what she wouldn't give for an electronics project right now. "And that's okay. And she likes you too, that's kind of why we're all here..." darn it again Twilight, don't ramble, they know that. "But I'm just wondering...what about me?" Dead silence reigned at the table, and Twilight fought the urge to start turning the utensils into sculpture. Yep, all the tact of a fusion bomb. Good going Twilight. "Well, I guess you want to start with the hard bits first then" Rarity finally said, and Twilight was startled to notice she'd dropped her accent. She made herself look up. Rarity had crossed her arms and was looking miserable. It matched her own feelings perfectly, she'd never understood Wallflower more than at this moment. "Twilight..." Sunset began, but Rarity shook her head. "No, no it's a fair question. Even if it was...abrupt." She sighed. "Twilight I'm...afraid I barely even considered it before. Not because I don't care for you!" she rushed to reassure Twilight as her face fell. "And certainly not that I don't find you quite attractive. The trouble is that I've been so bad at knowing what I want. Not in terms of who I care about, but even my feelings for Sunset...I promised myself I would never allow myself to even potentially compromise your happiness. But yet here I am." "And that's why you felt so guilty?" Twilight asked, trying to follow the connection. It felt like she was missing several steps. "Not precisely." Rarity gave a self deprecating little laugh. "I was feeling guilty because I wanted you to break up. And for you to be happy together at the same time. For my feelings to go away, and to win our lady's heart on the pure strength of my love." She nodded to Sunset, who flushed. "No, I was a complete mess. I even imagined exactly this kind of scenario, though I told myself that I would decline if offered. We see how well my willpower held out there." "Yeah...Rares, you've seriously got to do something about that martyr complex of yours" said Sunset. Her tone was joking but her face was not. "No more almost getting yourself killed okay? And that goes for the small stuff too." Twilight nodded and reached out a hand. Rarity took it, hesitantly at first, but then tightly. It was warm. "Definitely not. We don't want to lose you. And it's alright to want things for yourself, you know." "Yes, well. I believe we have already established that I am a fool." Sunset reached out too, taking Rarity and Twilight's hands, and they all looked at each other sharing a smile. And then all the lights in the room flickered and dimmed, and every cellphone in the room went off with the same ringtone at once.