After the ending of what I assumed was NotABug and Rainbow’s exploration of each other, my mind settled into a deeper sleep. Dreams—inconsequential—came and went, but my mind narrowed onto one. I was writing code, completed it, uploaded it to be used, and then went to bed. I kept waking up—within the dream—and having to fix bugs I'd somehow left in my code.

It was annoying to say the least. I knew I was tossing and turning, but every time my mind tried to settle into more sleep, my subconscious pushed me into that dream and I felt like I had to wake up and fix bugs in my code.

Groaning and pulling my mind slowly from the embrace of those dreams, I was left with a horrible feeling of something left incomplete.

It was time to get up, regardless of my desire for more fulfilling sleep. Nothing could have stopped me, however, from logging onto the server and checking my code. The firewall was holding perfectly, and the logs coming from the servers for ChirpNet were showing no sign of significant attack.

I double, triple, and quadruple checked, and I was sure NotABug hadn't implemented my partially finished TOR code into ChirpNet clients yet. So why did my subconscious see itself clear to torture my sleep?

Three words. They told me a lot of things not just with their existence, but also with the sincere tone she used to say them. There was something amazing about having someone care about you that much—amazing and chirpy, which is how I felt.

"Just worrying about things that don't bear worrying about. Did I toss and turn?" I asked.

"Two pillows worth. I cleared the feathers of the other one away, but you still have a victim of horn-based assault under you at the moment. You might have gotten the sheet with your last effort."

Rainbow felt huge in the bed. She pushed herself closer, and I felt our bodies touch as her arms closed around me for a hug. Leaning into her touch, I put one arm around her and tried to snake the other under her to make it a full hug, but quickly encountered resistance.

This was a big moment, and I wanted to see the damage still wrapped in my happy place (my happy place being Rainbow's arms, of course). Lifting my arm from where I'd worked it behind Rainbow's back, I teased it from under the covers.

It wasn't anything like a horse's hoof. It looked more like a simple extension of my arm—which wasn't exactly an arm anymore. There was a bend about halfway between where my elbow should have been and my shoulder, and another lay further down my arm—leg. It was a leg. There was no denying that. The top joint bent backwards, as if it were my actual elbow, but the second joint bent back the opposite way.

The limb had holes in it, just like my arms and legs have had for some time, and it seemed longer than it should have been. If I didn't look at it, I could move it easily—looking at it made me think of the upper joint as an elbow, and I got lost somewhere after the second joint.

And it all led down to—well—nothing. They weren't horse hooves, like I'd already noted, but simply an end to my arm—foreleg. I tried to wiggle my nonexistent fingers, and got no reaction. I tried thumb, and this time noticed something move along the underside of the hoof.

A blue finger poked at the bit that moved, which startled me until I realized that Rainbow Dash was there and looking at my new limb with me. The prodding felt odd, less sensitive than the palm of my hand had been but more sensitive than my flesh was normally.

"I've been doing some research, you know. This is a lot like how a horse leg is, but completely not," Rainbow Dash said. "Horses should have muscles and tendons, but you just have this hard exoskeleton here. You probably have ligaments under there, but that isn't how a horse leg would work. And you have these things. These aren't proper hooves."

Rainbow had been cupping said not-a-hoof toward the end of her little monologue, and she lifted it to her lips. My heart sped up and a flutter started in my belly when she kissed the dark limb.

"You're strange, Rarity, but you know I like strange, right? And I love a girl who can dress up for any occasion, who can always be the absolute star of attention in the room through the force of her personality, and who will always make me look at her as if she was the only other person in the world."

It was flattery of the highest order and completely unbelievable coming from Rainbow.

I meant to kiss Rainbow on the lips, what I did was bump a longer-than-it-had-been snout directly into her nose.

Rainbow proved to me, then and there, that you don't need a snout to nuzzle, and that her lips were the softest things I'd ever felt—and I'd worked with silk.

By the time Rainbow was done with her little display, my alarm went off. Instead of the usual screaming tone, however, it made a soft chirping that just got louder and louder. Despite enjoying it, I turned the alarm off.

—I bet. I had a dream about what was happening, and if reality was even half as exciting as the dream, I'm sure you both had a lot of fun,— I sent to NotABug.

—I have a recording if you wanted me to get ready for work?— NotABug sent to me.

It was tempting—very tempting. Since all this had started, I was so at ease with not having control of my body that a playback of such a thing wouldn't bother me. A little voice—a tempting little voice—pointed out that it would be a wonderful way to start the day.

"You know you have these little dapples here? They're cute," Rainbow Dash said. "I didn't know we were making a porno last night, but if you want to watch, I have no problem with it."

Her particular phrasing made it harder. I guess all things balanced out in the end. I brought one hoof up to Rainbow's chest and gently nudged at NotABug.

It wasn't being a voyeur. It wasn't even porn. This was the real thing to every sense except what I felt digitally. As NotABug felt, I felt. As NotABug cried out, I cried out. It was something I will treasure and not discuss in front of polite company ever.

That said, when I was done with one of the singly most fantastic experiences of my life, I surfaced into my mind and found NotABug and Rainbow stepping out of the shower together.

—Okay, but first you need to get ready for…— NotABug sent. —Your last day at Polomare Fashion.—

I know I was chirping a lot. It was enough that even I could hear it echoing back in my head. I pulled NotABug into a tight cuddle and squeezed her.

—My last day. And we get to the bottom of Suri. It will be a great day!— I sent.

—BUT IT WAS THE BEST!— Bumblebee sent. —AUNT SWEETIE LET ME MAKE A ROBOT AND WE SNUGGLED ALL NIGHT AND HER FRIEND LET BYTE PLAY GAMES ONLINE AND THEN WE USED A PROGRAM TO MEASURE OUR BOTS AND THEN SHE SAID WE COULD DO IT AGAIN TOMORROW. I MEAN TODAY!—

Despite being blasted like that, I couldn't stop chirping. If anything, my digital stridulations became more intense at hearing from our daughters. My train of thought derailed as I thought over what had just run through my head. Stridulation? Apparently my vocabulary was growing beyond just the things needed for coding.

—Aunt Sweetie said she needs to attend morning classes, but at lunch she can take us back,— Byte sent.

—Thank you, Sweetie,— I sent. —Now, come home please dears, I want a snuggle with my girls.—

Pulling up the camera in the kitchen, I started practicing extrapolating three-dimensional space from a two-dimensional source and just my magic's movements. It wasn't easy, but the more I did it the fewer things I bumped into.

I managed to get coffee made just as NotABug and Rainbow finished doing their makeup. I could hear excited chirping coming from the living room as NotABug walked down the hallway. I drew back to peeking through my own body as 'Bee and Byte bounced around us.

"I got to play games all night! There was other people playing too, and I got to beat them!" Byte said.

She sounded about ten times more excited now than she had earlier. I suspected she had been trying to set a good example for 'Bee, but now our big girl was just too excited to restrain herself.

"And I got to play with robots! Auntie Sweetie said next time I can try driving one!" Bumblebee said.

Rainbow bent down and caught both nymphs in her arms and lifted them up. Excited chirps and squeals were the order of the morning, it seemed.

The nudge was gentle, barely there, but I slid into control and turned to kiss both our nymphs on the noses.

I took the moment to level a glare at Rainbow, but it failed utterly and turned into a silly grin. I did, and I couldn't lie to her about it.

Rainbow looked about to press the issue, but a stray Byte-snout found her jaw and she broke into laughter.

I followed Rainbow's stomping into the kitchen, and got to watch her surprise as she found the two cups of coffee sitting on the bench. She looked back at me with a raised eyebrow.

"You're not going to hear me complaining. Is there anything that'd make it easier to do this kinda stuff?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"More cameras. Different angles. I'll figure something out with NotABug. It'd be nice to be able to do things without being in the same room."

Byte had taken the chance and jumped onto the counter while Rainbow started preparing bowls of bran. 'Bee climbed up to Rainbow's shoulder to watch everything, while I just grabbed my cup of coffee and sat down at the table.

—Is that what was up? You were chirping a little oddly when I went to sleep,— NotABug sent me.

—It was terrible. I'd written code and then published it before going to bed, and there were bug reports and error logs mounting, and I was asleep.—

I had no choice now. Having hooves meant my only manipulation tool was my magic. Using only a slight amount—a sliver’s sliver of my full power—I lifted the mug up to my lips and took a sip. The bitterness was a little stronger, though I had no idea if that was due to my changing palate, or because I had done something wrong while brewing it.

With four more cubes in my cup, and a little stir with my magic, I took another sip. It was sweet, way too sweet, but it was good. There was a vague feeling of dirtiness about stirring it with my magic—it felt too much like stirring it with a finger—but without anything physical to clean off after doing so, I had nothing to examine for being dirty.

"You seem to have that under control. What do you think they'll say at work?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"Not that I actually care about what they think, but I'm assuming Suri will probably try to use it as some excuse to get me to come in on Monday. Probably argue about how I can't do any work and should take a sick day," I said. "Which I don't have any of."

"I would love to, but it uses far too much energy. Maybe if you were there to hug all day, but even then I don't want to put that kind of strain on you. You need your energy for other things."

That my littlest nymph was a genius was a little unnerving. Her constant stating-the-obvious revelations would be horribly grating if they weren't so useful. But first I had to check if that would help.

Just some black hands. Nothing fancy, and certainly nothing extra, just hands. The image didn't take much before I shoved my power behind it. The familiar rush overcame me. Fire burned nothing as it twirled about my form and left me with a pair of normal hands.

"It still used the same amount of initial energy, but I don't think the constant draw is nearly the same. I might just be able to do this," I said.

Without further ado, I stood up and stepped over to where 'Bee was eating from a bowl of bran on the bench, picked her up, and squeezed her. I began chirping almost uncontrollably as I nuzzled 'Bee until she chirped too.

"Yeah. She's got a pretty awesome way of looking at the world," Rainbow Dash said.

"Sorry, 'Bee. You're such a clever filly—you both are—it just makes me so proud to have both of you in my life," I said.

I reached an arm out and pulled Byte into the hug too. Hugging my nymphs gave me just about the most motherly rush of emotion I'd had in my life.

—You're chirping a lot. Oh! Well no wonder. They make me chirp too,— NotABug sent.

—I can't chirp, but you fill me with love. I can't believe how awesome this is,— Rainbow Dash sent.

—Sorry. That was my fault. Oh! You know what we could do? Speakers and microphones with a ChirpNet connection that we can talk through,— NotABug sent.

—Mobile phones could do that. They wouldn't need a sim card either,— I sent.

—Hey, that'd be cool. Maybe I could wear that Bluetooth thingy until you get that done?— Rainbow Dash asked.

Rainbow passed me a bowl of cereal after I’d put Byte and 'Bee down. I thanked her and sat down to eat. Bran was certainly not what I normally would choose for breakfast, but I had to agree that Rainbow knew more about fitness than I ever would. If she said this was better than a tub of yogurt, it would be better.

We all sat in silence while eating, though we could have chatted away via ChirpNet. When the time ticked to 8:20 A.M., I stood up from an empty bowl.

A flurry of well-wishing came while I took a quick moment to look over what NotABug had chosen for me to wear—a wonderful red cocktail dress—as well as my makeup. Both, I decided, were perfect. A quick trip to my bedroom secured a matching clutch to complete the outfit, and I was heading out the door.

—You like the outfit? I found it in your older things. I don't know how much else is going to fit us anymore,— NotABug sent to me.

—We might have to ask the pony Rarity for patterns and tips to dressing as a pony. I'll ask Sunset to send a message to her,— I sent to NotABug. —And that reminds me, I need to ask when she is free to try this thing with Suri.—

—Sunset, darling, are you still alright to help work out what Suri's doing?— I texted.

I barely got the door of the car open before a blue flash of movement came from the house. I was wrapped in Rainbow's arms and kissing her before I knew what was happening. Of course, kissing Rainbow Dash had become one of my favorite pastimes of late.

My first reaction would have been to say something from the heart, but I remembered a line from a movie that I knew would tickle Rainbow pink.

Surprise and delight widened Rainbow's eyes and made her cheeks crinkle around a wide grin. She made the most adorable giggle and ran back inside.

—Star Wars. Two of the heroes who fell in love said that. We have a girlfriend who is at least marginally geeky, just don't tell her that.—

—That sounds perfect. I warn you, though, she's been doing something positively ghastly to people's emotional auras. If you start to feel strange, let me know.—

I climbed into my car and started reversing. Once on the street, I flicked the car into forward with a digital touch and began applying speed.

—Will do. On a scale of 1 to 10, how much of a problem would this be if she's doing stuff like that?— Sunset Shimmer texted me.

—For those it's affecting, a nine. Coco's entire personality was warped from strong and confident executive to meek young woman who was almost in tears from having to ask me to save her.—

—I think I can, though it took a lot of power to do it. If someone stays like that long enough that it becomes a habit, however, I don't know if I could.—

—I'll see you at around eleven. We don't want to fight her without any information. We're not invincible high school kids anymore.—

While I parked my car, I read between the lines of Sunset's message. She had a husband and didn't want to do anything to risk him, but at the same time she recognized that a major threat would be a threat to him. Life, no matter what, becomes more complicated the longer you live it. Becoming a changeling has apparently sped the process up, however.

Before getting out of my car, I pondered disabling the wireless connection to prevent any chance of Windigo getting into it again. Capturing a sample of Windigo would be a big step forward, but possibly losing my car was not on.

I knew that I'd need to get a new car soon, but this vehicle was one of my first ties to NotABug—it was a sentimental thing.

It took just a few buttons to disable the Bluetooth connection. I climbed out and had to press the button on my key ring just to lock my car now. I pressed one fake hand to the window and leaned against the car for a moment.

I had holes through my legs, a tail, a snout, and a horn that could disembowel anything I'd care to name, but in my heart I was still me—Rarity—and the world was my runway.

The walk from the garage to Polomare was far enough that I was satisfied my car wouldn't be casually found. That I also got a good share of appreciative looks helped boost my confidence. This is me, world, take me as I am or get out of my way!

Entering Polomare, I immediately felt something odd. It wasn't the horrible thing that'd been done to Coco, but something else. I went straight to the lift, took it to HR, and logged in on their time clock. I checked immediately afterward and found myself not logged in.

"That's not working. We're issuing written logins to everyone today. What's your ID?"

The man filled in a little form and then signed the bottom. He passed it to me, so of course I took it and put it in my clutch.

"There you go. At the end of the day we're processing them. You don't need to come back for lunch or sign-out," he said.

Turning, I walked back to the lift and rode it up to my floor. As it sped up the cables, I felt that odd sensation more and more. It felt cold—like all the interpersonal warmth (ha!) of the world was just gone.

Waiting at the end of the hall, when I stepped out of the lift, was Suri Polomare. She wore a smart business suit of a style normally reserved for men's suits. It suited this strangely competent and scary new Suri.

I forced my feet to work, the hooves on the ends of my legs not hidden in the slightest, and approached her.

"Rarity! You know I was just thinking about how sad it will be to see you go. Aren't you going to log in?" Suri Polomare asked.

Her words were the warmest thing in the whole building, but they were a lie. Still, it was just one day, and who knows, we might end up battling her before it was through.

"I used the computer down in HR. What work do you have for me today, Suri?" I asked.

"Work? Oh goodness, Rarity, it's your last day, alright?" Suri Polomare asked. "I thought, 'What better way to let Rarity relax on her final day than helping me with some light work?' So, just follow me."

It made perfect sense, assuming she didn't realize I was the one who removed her little toy from Coco. This was a trap to bind me up in the same prison of emotion so that I'd be crippled mentally. Suri Polomare, you haven't encountered a monster like me before. Let's dance, darling!

I followed on Suri's footsteps, and found myself barely noticing anyone else in the room. They huddled over patterns, over computer keyboards, and none of them felt alive.

—Sunset, I think I'm upgrading what she's doing to an 11,— I texted.

—No. We need to know what she's doing before we can deal with how she's doing it. I'd rather not be caught out again like with the Dazzlings.—

We walked into Suri's office where I found a pair of filing cabinets. The cabinets were against the wall in front of Suri's desk. A sinking feeling filled me.

"If you could just sort those two into alphabetical order, that'd be really great, okay?" Suri Polomare asked. "I even got you a chair."

The stool Suri produced had no back on it and was low enough that it would ensure she was looking down on my unprotected back all day. Again. But I knew that the moment I settled to my task she'd be trying to twist my emotions like a pretzel.

Of course she could. Not that I was going to give her the satisfaction of watching me do the filing with my back to her. Walking to the side of the cabinet, I was able to look Suri directly in the eyes as I poured magic into my horn.

I had the distinct pleasure of watching Suri's eyes widen and bulge as I opened the cabinet I was leaning against and pulled out the first file—all with magic. Lifting the file up, I glanced at the name on it.

I floated the file down and put it on the floor. As I reached for another, I reflected on how much faster I could do this. That wasn't the point now, though, since she would just give me more work.

—Just ask for me at the front desk. We'll pass it off as you organizing a celebration for me, and needing to ask me some things.—

I felt it. The first touch of something against my aura was a shock and I struggled not to jump from it. It suddenly occurred to me that if she managed to mess me up, there might not be anyone who could undo it.

She clutched at the anger within me—not that there was a lot—but when someone washed velvet I was known to become upset. She grabbed at all my anger and started twisting it into a spiral. I did what any bug would when something started messing with them—I bit Suri Polomare's metaphysical hands.

Suri's shout—an out-loud one, not mental—shocked me at how angry she sounded. I had flashbacks to watching nature documentaries, and hearing a tiger's fury at being bitten by a deer. But as quick as it came, Suri's anger seemed to stop.

I recognized confusion and surprise on Suri's face. For a moment it seemed like she would vault over the desk and throttle me, but instead she pulled out a compact and checked her hair.

"I thought I'd just lost a nail. Really, Rarity, you shouldn't get so worked up."

Playing mind games to cover up for finding yourself not up to the task? Darling, you haven't seen anything yet. Using my magic I pulled a file from each drawer of each filing cabinet—six in total—scanned them quickly and set them into neat piles on the floor. I grabbed out the next six and only broke eye-contact with Suri long enough to check the names.

Nearly ten whole minutes passed while I sorted through the files. Wordlessly watching Suri try to come to terms with what I'd done. I could have worked faster—much, much faster—but that kind of showing off wasn't needed.

I barely managed to contain my excitement. Things were about to become clear in a way that Sunset was very good at doing.

"Miss Polomare? There's someone here to see Rarity. A Miss Shimmer. Something about organizing a party," a scratchy voice said from Suri's desk phone.

Reaching one finger (with a perfect nail I might add) down, Suri depressed the intercom button.

"Thank you, Starling. I'll reward you for your diligence later," Suri Polomare said.

The devotion in the other woman's voice was painful to hear. What was Suri doing as a reward that could inspire that level of allegiance? With the way Suri worked on people's emotions, I shuddered to think.

A sudden worry hit me—what if Suri could use her power on Sunset? Sunset had, in the past, gotten more than a little angry. I remembered when she'd used the power of Princess Twilight's beautiful tiara to turn into a demon. What was more, Sunset Shimmer had overcome her own inner (and outer) demon. If anyone could stand toe-to-toe with Suri's anger-trick, it was Sunset.

"Of course not. Sunset is civilized. Honestly. Anyone would think you were some kind of savage with talk like that," I said. "She probably just wants to know when I'm done here so she can pick me up after work."

—If anyone asks, you're just here to find out when I finish today.—

Suri and I had a wonderful little staring contest for thirty-three seconds before a knock interrupted us. For the record, she blinked first.

It was the same voice from the speakerphone, but now it sounded positively ecstatic. When Suri gave her permission to enter, a young, blonde woman in a security uniform stepped inside. She looked at Suri as if the sun had just dawned and blown away all the nightmares of the night.

I ignored Suri's glare on my back (that I caught a little of in the glass of the door), and walked up to Sunset to hug her. She looked back with surprise—and it was then I realized she hadn't seen me for a while.

"R-Rarity? It's been—uh—good!" Sunset Shimmer said. "I just needed to find out what time you'd be done here today. We have your big party tonight, and someone left their phone turned off again."

Her eyes spoke volumes. Sunset had a million questions for me, and she wouldn't take 'no' for an answer to any of them. It was my own fault, I should have filled everyone in by now. I'd never been this reluctant to talk with my best friends before. Was it something to do with what I was becoming? Or maybe it was part of NotABug that influenced me.

"You know I turn it off at work and—Oh my! Where are my manners? Sunset Shimmer, this is my boss, Suri Polomare," I said.

I turned, giving Sunset a look at the woman in question. Sunset stepped forward with the most friendly look on her face I could hope for given what I'd dropped her in. She stuck out a hand.

"Not for much longer though. Seriously, though, I hope you're getting your money's worth from—" Sunset Shimmer said.

She broke off speaking the moment their hands touched. I knew what was happening—Sunset Shimmer was seeing everything bad that Suri Polomare had done.

Time drew almost to a stop. I felt NotABug's awareness in a pressure against all my senses, but she wasn't pushing for control. I fumbled at the ChirpNet interface, but it was too slow for my nerves.

I shoved with the muscles in my arms to put myself between Sunset and Suri. Sunset fell away behind me while Suri recoiled back with a huge grin on her face.

I didn't have time for punctuation, white space, capitalization, or even proper sending codes. I sent the message out on the widest broadcast I could.

Slow as the world had become, I could see that Suri was speeding up. She focused her eyes on me and her lips parted.

Her voice changed and distorted into something that would be more akin to what you think a computer would generate if you were ripping at its circuits. It was raw and the pitch shifted around wildly. No human should be able to make the sound she did.

Suri shook her head and snarled something under her breath. When she looked back at me, the light of intelligence in Suri Polomare's eyes was matched by another, awful presence.

My blood ran cold, but it wasn't the ice of realization that chilled me—it was actually getting cold. What Sunset had said combined with the cold and emotion manipulation—and the rage—to give me a clearer picture of why Sunset touching Suri had been a very bad idea.

The security guard was barely moving. I watched as a slow breath of chilled air started slowly leaving her mouth. I hoped that the slow-down meant that whatever was happening to Sunset would wait for Rainbow to get here.

"Not anymore. We're both much better like this. Don't you agree? It's almost a shame that I have to kill you," Suri Polomare/Windigo said, voice neutral.

Something was holding her back from attacking. Then I remembered the destroyed office and how much of a mess it was for the company to clean up after. A mix of motives. Suri and Windigo together. Why hadn't I seen this? My car, the computers at the company, the destroyed offices…

From one millisecond to the next Suri's entire demeanor changed. The calm face changed to a mask of fury and the chill temperature in the room caused the moisture in the air to freeze.

The force of the strike ached all the way down my horn from the tip to where it anchored somewhere in my head. How was she this strong?

"Rarity. You have no idea how much I want to eat you. I need to kill you—destroy you utterly."

Another faster-than-thought fist came toward me, then another, and another, and it took all my focus to keep deflecting them with green fire. When I saw an opening, however, I took it.

Blasting a rush of green energy, I felt a certain kind of sympathy within my horn. Offense was something this body was designed for. I sent blast after blast at Suri, forcing her onto defense.

I felt more than saw movement behind me. Someone was rushing up to the room faster than I could have. The instant of relief I felt gave Suri a chance to start swinging again.

—She's going to get Sunset out while you keep Suri away from them,— NotABug sent.

I didn't have time for more than a chirp of acknowledgment. My magic barely stopped Suri's fist from connecting with the side of my face, but the real surprise was that she followed up with a kick.

"You're fast, Rarity. But you aren't fast enough to stop me killing the security guard," Suri Polomare said. "I could drive my fist through her obedient little skull before you could reach me."

My heart was beating too fast. It wasn't fair that she could make a threat like that and I'd not only believe it, but that it would work.

The world seemed to grow a little slower as Suri's next punch came at me, but she threw her computer monitor at the guard. There wasn't any time to think or talk to NotABug. I reached out and started deflecting the computer monitor only to realize NotABug was doing the same. It was too late to adjust for the fist coming toward my face.

The fist never connected with me. There was no sound of magically enhanced fist striking chitin, and definitely no pain.

A rainbow blur of light streaked past just as the strike should have come, and a sharper pain than Suri could deliver physically hit me. The next strike was already coming, but I didn't care.

I dropped my head down, aimed my horn, and let go with everything I had. The sound of a surprised grunt from Suri was the last I heard from her. Breaking glass and a scream met my ears as the world caught up with me. At last I was just thinking fast and not having to act that way.

The scream came from the security guard, and the glass came from the window I'd blasted Suri through. She turned toward me, hand reaching to her belt and lifting free a weapon—a taser.

There was nothing rational in the security guard's eyes. Stories of religious zealots sprang to mind—she was a victim too, but a victim who could hurt me enough that if Suri and Windigo came back while I was tased, well, I didn't like to even think about what she'd meant about eating.

I extended my senses, looked past the fluorescent light of the office to see what she was feeling. Unlike what I'd seen in Coco or the other office workers, the guard looked to have a more intricate working done on her. The spiral of red was there—apparently being somewhat of Windigo's trademark—but there was something tied into a lot more complex emotions. I didn't have time to undo whatever Windigo (or Suri) had done, so I used it. I tickled at that red spiral and the woman's eyes widened.

When her arm lowered, I moved. Speeding taser darts would have been a completely different problem, but the muscles in the guard's arm weren't faster than I was. I grabbed the taser in her hand with my magic and wrenched it free. Her eyes registered the beginnings of shock as I turned the taser on her and pulled the trigger.

Status check. Rainbow Dash was still down from the blow she'd taken for me, Sunset was curled into a ball and trembling, and now I had a security guard who was technically an enemy, but also innocent.

A glance out the window didn't show me any sign of Suri or Windigo or whatever they had become together. Okay, Rarity, think. How do I get Sunset and the security guard the help they need? Twilight was barely scratching the surface of this stuff. The next person on my list to ask would be Sunset. The next person wasn't a person.

—Darling, this could be dangerous,— I sent to NotABug. —We're in deeper than ever, and I only know of one person who can help.—

—We called Sunset and Rainbow into this, it's our responsibility to help them. I'll grab Sunset, you take Rainbow.—

—Exactly. Now we need to get out of here without anyone seeing us, with an unconscious security guard and two more people.—

—I'm almost tapped out of energy again. Can you manage a shapechange to look like the guard?—

A wash of magic flushed through me and around me. My clothes were suddenly too tight—squeezing me in a most odd way. When I looked down I saw why. NotABug had recreated not just the guard but her clothing too, and it was all under what I had been wearing.

I started stripping off my work outfit while NotABug focused her attention on hefting Sunset, Rainbow, and the guard with her magic.

—I didn't realize how much you burned up in the fight. It's the least I can do.—

Outside the office nearly a dozen terrified faces watched me emerge. I tried to remember the guard's manner of speaking, cleared my throat, and hoped my acting was good enough.

"I've dealt with the problem. The police should be here soon. Please make your way to the ground floor and make sure to tell them everything that happened," I said.

As an exodus began, I hoped that dealing with all the likely panicked and conflicting statements would keep any police busy while I made my exit.

Progress was as swift as we could manage. I took the stairs down to the mailroom while NotABug floated Sunset, Rainbow, and the guard along. I kept looking back to help her manage them. Soon enough we reached the right area.

"I'm not. Starling is your friend?" I asked. When Bent nodded, I continued. "She's been acting strange lately, and it's Suri Polomare's fault. Suri attacked me and my friends, and got Starling to attack me too. Can you help me get her to someone who can help all of us?"

Bent Rules narrowed his eyes and looked at me for nearly a whole minute. It was painfully slow, but I had to let him come to his own conclusion here. It was that or use the taser again, which was a problem because I liked Bent Rules.

"Lot of people been acting weird around here lately. Are you some kind of monster or alien?" Bent Rules asked.

"Just a former employee with a few tricks. One of them revealed Suri's nasty games. You hear about Coco Pommel?" I asked.

"Yeah. She left yesterday looking like she was ready t' tear a phonebook in half."

"When I found her, Coco had turned her anger inward. She was as timid as a mouse and it took me a lot of work to straighten her out. Needless to say, she's not coming back here. Your friend is worse. I don't even know everything Suri's done to her."

Bent Rules not only cut me off, but he took charge. He led the way to the loading dock of the mailroom and hit a button beside the big door.

Once the door opened I could see there was plenty of room for two trucks to pull into the loading area side by side, though there was an old van taking up half the bay. Bent led the way to the van while NotABug floated my three charges along behind us.

All the alarm bells of a youth spent being taught not to climb into a van with strangers went off, though Bent Rules was at least not a police officer, and I was pretty sure that I could handle him, if push came to shove, even with my energy so low.

"Get in. I don't know why I trust you, but I do. Tellin' an old bastard like me the truth sure helps. It all lines up with what someone said to me recently, so here we are."

I opened the back of the van and carefully put everyone inside, walked around to the passenger door and climbed in.

"An' now you gone and made me suspicious all over again. I never told you my name. Nice and slow, tell me who you are and how you know me."

"My name's Rarity. We worked together in the mailroom a few days ago thanks to Coco."

"There. Now I've got more truth. So you can do some kind of magic-who-ha to look like other people?"

Bent Rules turned the key in the ignition and started the van's engine. He pumped the gas a few times, as if the engine needed bribing to stir completely, then reached for the column-shift and pulled it into gear.

"It takes a lot of effort, but it's something like that. I figured it would be better to look like your friend than myself."

"Canterlot High School. If you can drop me off there I can get your friend and mine to someone who can help."

I remembered the statue, and the magic that held it open. Not just anyone could stumble through it, Princess Twilight had told us, it took someone with magic.

"That's not how this is going down," Bent Rules said, his voice firm. "I got Starling this job. I'm responsible for her getting tangled in all this. I'm going to make sure my little girl can get out of it again."

The puzzle of Bent's involvement fell together. He knew something was wrong with Starling because he was her father. He was willing to risk everything to help her, too, for the same reason. Now he was willing to do anything to help keep her safe. The nobility of his actions almost made me swoon.

"We're going to another world. When I said someone could help her, I meant somepony."

"If I have to explain everything, Suri could find us. I don't know if I have the love to fight her again."

Bent Rules turned through an intersection and I could see the school in the distance. I could force him, of course, but that would burn a bridge for no good reason.

—The first is we tumble out the other side as we are. Second is we tumble out as two different ponies. Third is… Third is only I tumble out,— I sent. —Fourth is you stay here in my body and I don't tumble anywhere.—

—Two out of seven are not good odds. I need to arrange for Sweetie Belle to look after our nymphs.—

The thought hadn't occurred to me at all, but now I realized she needed to be told what was happening.

—Sweetie, I have to take Rainbow and Sunset to Equestria. Can you look after 'Bee and Byte until I get back. And if I don't get back,— I sent to Sweetie.

The truth was I couldn't finish it. How do I ask my little sister to look after my children if I die before the day's out?

—Suri attacked. Sunset and Rainbow are hurt. I'm going to Princess Twilight for help. I don't know how the portal will react to NotABug.—

I climbed out of the van and let NotABug heft Sunset and Rainbow. Bent Rules was carrying his daughter.

—Both of you had better come back. I'm not cut out to be a mom,— Sweetie Belle sent to NotAbug and I.

NotABug floated Sunset forward first. She must have had some scraps of my memories of the portal to know where it was. I walked right up to it and touched the marble with my palm. It was solid.

I ran my hand around the stone, and finally pushed some magic into it. To my sight the cold stone opened into a hungry maw. Swirling energy drained away into an infinite nothingness. Power boiled and foamed as if the ocean were washing up from the statue base.

I pressed my hand forward and it sunk into the stone up to what was Starling's elbow.

Screwing my eyes closed at the fantastic light show, I could still see waves of magic shoving at my closed eyelids.

NotABug did as I asked. Sunset and then Rainbow disappeared into the place between worlds.

Even closing my eyes wasn't enough. The light was so intense that I lifted one arm up to shield my face from it, but my arm itself was on fire with magic. I felt like I was washing down a plughole, spinning deeper and deeper and then there was darkness and a crash.

My eyes adjusted to the darkness quickly. The light of emotions flared around me, and I saw Rainbow, Sunset, Bent, and Starling—though the latter still had that horrible binding around her. There was something else about them all that became apparent as my heat-vision caught up with my emotion-vision—they were ponies.

Princess Twilight had described Equestrian ponies several times—I'd even used the inspiration of them in designs—but seeing them for real was a whole other story. Even the giant pony we'd made when we defeated the Dazzlings wasn't this cute.

I looked down at myself and saw that I was still me—still a changeling. I hadn't turned into a pony version of myself, at least. I still had my breasts, though now I noticed them they were smaller than ever, and I still felt comfortable upright. Around me, however, was ponies.

Surprisingly, Rainbow Dash was the first to react to ending up in another world. She lifted her head and blinked a few times owlishly.

"Yes ma'am, though I'm gonna have t' ask, what the actual hell has happened? Why am I a horse?" Bent Rules said. "Starling's waking up too. Hey there little bird, you alright?"

I began to stand up, but a blinding light caught me off-guard and made me squeeze my eyes closed. Blinking quickly a few times, I looked up in the direction of movement.

A little purple and green creature stood in the doorway. It was bipedal, had clawed hands, and a crest of green above his purple, scaled face. The coloration was unmistakable, I knew exactly who it was.

"Spike?" I asked. "Spike, darling, can you please get Princess Twilight post-haste?"

He didn't turn the light off on his way out, thankfully, which let me assess the situation—and the silence in my head.

ChirpNet was down—the server unreachable. I could feel the phone within me still, and poked at it until I got an alarm set. A chirpy buzzing started as the alarm triggered, then was quickly turned off again—but not by me.

A rainbow streak swirled around the air. Rainbow Dash had discovered her wings and flight at practically the same time.

A loud POMF sounded before I saw the most amazing creature yet. Twilight Sparkle—this world's Twilight Sparkle—wore a dress of light blue covered in gems, and stared back at me with her wings spread above her back. She looked amazing—royal.

"Short answer. Someone nasty is doing things to people's emotions. She tied Starling here up in knots so tight that she can barely think for herself, and they put something in Sunset's head when she touched them," I said. "The long version can wait for later."

"Spike was shouting about Chrysalis, but I knew it would be you if you came from the mirror. Okay, right, triage."

Twilight walked to Sunset first. I couldn't blame her for her choice. While she began checking Sunset over with what I assumed were some kind of medical spells, I turned my attention to Starling.

Bent Rules was now a unicorn without a shred of clothing on. He was readily identifiable by his color. He also had his forelegs around Starling, trying to hold her still.

Starling was an earth pony (or what Twilight had described as an earth pony to me). Her fur was a muted not-quite-cream color, and she had a bright-red mane and tail that matched her hair color from back home. With her face buried in Bent's mane I could only see one of Starling's eyes, and it twitched wildly.

I had to look further than just her physical being. Focusing my attention on her emotional aura, I again saw the horrible red spiral that wrapped around Starling. Without thinking, I shapechanged my arms to have hands again and reached out not to Starling, but her aura.

Taking hold of the red spiral, I heard the woman—mare now I guess—gasp in shock. There were myriad little roots stretching from the red spiral into her emotional mass. Was this Suri's new trick? Binding her magic to people so tightly that it became part of them?

"You’re safe, Starling," Bent Rules said. "Suri gave you the rest of the day off work."

I watched some of the fear fade from Starling's visible eye. She let out a little sigh.

Turning my attention back to her aura, I began digging into her emotions to expose the first rootlet of Suri's magic. No sooner did I start than Starling stiffened. I watched pain pour through her aura. She was a brave woman, though, and though I knew it hurt her, she didn't say a word.

I dug the root out, pulled it free, and bit it in half. The rootlet squirmed in my mouth, and I felt it seeking a place to dig in and start its work over in me.

"Ugh. This is the most disgusting thing I've ever seen, and the only way to stop it is by biting them," I said.

I chewed. Grinding the rootlet up between my teeth was the only way I could think of to kill it, and after a few moments of chewing it worked! I gulped it down, using the last shreds of Suri's magic as fuel to help me work on the next.

"You're eating it?" Bent Rules asked. At my nod he continued. "Don't look tasty. My little girl needs it done though, don't she?"

"This world better have abalone, because that's the only thing that's going to get this taste out of my mouth," I said.

I went back to work. The next one I teased out and chewed up, but the third I thought of a better way. Leaning down so that my nose was practically resting on Starling's fur, I bit at a rootlet and sucked. The new method worked, seemed to be faster, and Starling didn't seem as adversely affected.

Ten rootlets later, and with Starling's aura almost completely washed in pain, I felt more than saw Twilight casting spells beside me. I finished tugging out the latest piece of nastiness and started chewing it up.

"I can see what effect you're having, and I can see the bad magic in her, but what you're doing is amazing," Twilight Sparkle said. "I've done what I can for Sunset. I bolstered her magic and cut off the thing inside her from getting any of its own. She's going to have to fight it herself, but she now has the strength to do so."

Nodding my head, I nuzzled up against Starling and nipped at the next rootlet. Like the others, I chewed it up until it stopped moving, then ate it.

My ears tracked to follow the source of Rainbow's voice as it slipped up beside me and I felt her nuzzle against my shoulder. Just the touch of her, the nearness of her love, reinvigorated me.

"You're really tall here, Rares," Rainbow Dash said. "Kind weird, huh? Back home you were shrinking, but here you're as big as Twilight."

I looked to the side briefly, noticing that Twilight was sitting with her head at around my eye level.

I turned back to my task and pulled another of the rootlets free. Judging myself as having done about a tenth of the work needed, I clamped my teeth around the part of Suri's magic that was no longer connected, bit down hard, and severed it from the remaining.

Chewing on the worst meal I'd ever eaten, I saw Starling close her eye and relax into Bent's embrace. A little smile even touched the woman's—mare's—lips.

"It's still attached, but you just removed a large chunk of the magic," Twilight Sparkle said.

Gulping down the nasty magic once it was dead, I coughed a few times to attempt to clear my palate.

"I couldn't leave her behind, and I couldn't leave that thing on her. No one deserves to have this done to them," I said. "Is there somewhere more convenient where I can continue?"

I should have been tapped out of energy—doubly so when I realized I'd shapeshifted to have hands—but when I reached out to lift Starling, I felt a distinct difference to my energy. I felt like I had two tanks of power, and one was filled to bursting.

Finding my tasks to be more important than working out where the ability to do them was coming from, I followed Twilight (who carried a sleeping Sunset, now a unicorn) with Starling floating beside me.

"This is so awesome! I can fly, Rarity! And not just when-I-need-to fly, either. I can totally fly," Rainbow Dash said.

She proved her words by jumping into the air, and with two flaps overbalanced and hit the ground again.

"You know, a blue pony once taught me how to fly. Maybe you could ask her how." Twilight Sparkle said. "Flying here is a lot different than on Earth."

"Well, when the magic took hold back at CHS, you could fly just by thinking about it. Here you need to worry about what your wings are actually doing. These aren't just for show."

"Darling, Rainbow…" I said. "She means the pony version of you. Remember, we are all two sides of the same coin. Once we have this sorted out, I'd love to speak to who I suspect made Twilight's dress."

I thought Twilight was turning in response to my comment, but instead she used her magic to shove open two huge doors. Noise washed over us from an obvious party-in-progress. A dozen ponies turned and stared at us, and silence descended.

"STOP!" Twilight Sparkle said, throwing her personality behind her voice. "This is human Rarity. I told you all she changed. Now make some room on the map."

Galvanized by Twilight's bellow, ponies moved to remove plates of food and a punch bowl from the huge round table in the center of the room. Spaced evenly about the table was what I could only call thrones. This was a throne room. This was Twilight's throne room. My heart would have fluttered, and I'd have lost myself to the urge to decorate if I weren't carrying Starling.

"Put her on the table, Rarity, it will help you with what you're doing," Princess Twilight Sparkle said.

I looked at the white unicorn. A smile spread over my lips at how right she looked. Everything that embodied me was present in her. She had pristine, beautiful fur, the most amazing mane and tail, and an elegance in how she stood that would put a ballet dancer to shame.

Okay, speaking to my pony-double while trying to get her to move was a bad idea. Rarity froze while staring at me, resulting in my floating poor Starling over her head and to the table. As soon as she touched the table, I felt a waft of pure power swirl around Starling.

All the little tendrils that had burrowed into her aura were squirming now, trying to pull free but being unable to. Working on instinct, I lunged at the red band around her and sunk my teeth into it. As I ripped and pulled back, the rootlets came free of her aura and I had a huge mouthful of the horrid stuff.

My instinct now threatened to lead me astray. I almost gulped down the mass without chewing it up first. I didn't even realize I was snarling until the startled faces of every pony in the room filtered through to me.

I hadn't really looked at the crowd of ponies beyond identifying the pony versions of my friends, but the creature that stepped forward wasn't a pony. Not exactly. They were arctic blue, and around the same height as a pony, but that's where the resemblance ended. Instead of a mane and tail they had soft pink translucent fins, and their cyan eyes had faint pupils in them of a lighter color. On their back was what looked like a bug's wing casings, but they were brilliant amaranth.

My voice had grown a little testy. Being called a monster was one thing, being called bad was unconscionable. And she'd done it while I was trying to help someone. That thought refocused me to the task at hand, or hoof as the case may be.

Biting into the red swirl again, I ripped another chunk out. The tendrils were harder to get free this time, and some didn't want to pull out at all. Leaning closer, I bit at one of the ones that wouldn't pull free and felt my own magic rise to the occasion.

Starling whimpered and squirmed, but with the grip I had on her aura she wasn't able to pull away.

The bug-like pony rushed over and tried to push me away from Starling. I only meant to put up a small shield, but my magic answered me with overwhelming force and put up a solid, emerald barrier that blocked their advance.

"Ocellus! Stop!" Twilight Sparkle said. "Rarity, I'm sorry, but please take this barrier down."

I took the shield down with some effort—apparently I was good at making barriers now. When Ocellus started to step forward, however, I acted quickly.

Putting the facts together wasn't hard. Princess Twilight had told me that changelings here had been kind of a bad thing, and Ocellus had said she knew what it was like. She was a changeling, possibly still is. Calling on my magic, green power lit the room from the spear of magic that formed around my horn. I aimed it at Ocellus and put my will into it.

Ocellus froze mid step. She looked at me with wide eyes. I could see wonder and shock in them.

She followed my gesture so that her gaze met Starling's. Wonder turned to horror in Ocellus' eyes.

She sounded disgusted, which was what I felt at seeing, interacting with, and getting rid of the thing.

"That," I said, "is what a monster does to people. It's hurting her, not me. I'm removing it."

Letting Ocellus watch, I pulled at another of the rootlets with my teeth, slurped it free of Starling's emotional aura, and started chewing. The face I made while doing it wasn't faked for her benefit—they really tasted as bad as my expression made out.

"I'm doing what I have to. Whatever Suri did to her mustn't be allowed to remain."

I was halfway through chewing up the next rootlet when a mare cleared her throat just behind me. When I turned around to see who was attempting to get my attention, I almost had a minor freak-out. Rarity. Me, as a pony. She looked a little shorter than me, if I were on all fours.

"Twilight said, that is, that myself in the human world had a little incident and what I mean to ask is—" Rarity said.

She cut herself off and lifted a hoof to the bridge of her nose in the very picture of someone trying to express how much trouble they were having with the situation.

Rarity's—the other Rarity—eyes widened, and I could see her lips screw up into a little pout of distaste.

"Darling, I know we shouldn't waste time comparing our vast knowledge of fashion, but you couldn't have picked something less fashionable if you tried," Rarity said.

When Rarity's eyes danced in pure excitement, I found myself chirping a little. With the prospect of talking to someone as excited by fashion as myself, I turned back to my work.

Most of the ponies in the room continued to watch, talking occasionally with hushed words, as I removed each and every tendril from Starling. By the time I got to the last quarter of the coil it seemed more tenacious in its grip.

Each tendril was a fight, but I wouldn't rest without freeing her of the torment. When the last of the tendrils came free and had been chewed to a dead thread of emotional energy, I was done.

I looked upon Starling's aura—it wasn't pretty. There were dozens of holes burrowed into it, but I could see that the earliest of them had started closing.

The weariness in his voice almost matched my own. We were both almost halfway through a day of work when this crisis appeared. What made him sound more alive than I felt, however, was the raw concern his words carried.

Bent climbed up on the table with Starling and sat down behind her. With one hoof stroking through her mane, he whispered soft words of encouragement. I could see the love boiling off him, and it called to the love within her.

The table in Twilight's throne room was huge. We could have had several ponies laying on the table and it would still have dwarfed them. Twilight had put Sunset on the other side of the table. As I walked around it, the ponies present all made room except for one.

The love pouring off her marked this Rainbow as my Rainbow. I leaned down and kissed her on the cheek.

Nibbling on her aura, I felt a rush of power unlike ever before. I was energized beyond what had pushed me to make eggs.

She trailed off uncertain. What was it about feeding and changelings here that could produce someone with these kinds of inflexible morals? I turned to explain, but Rainbow beat me to it.

"Look, you've been giving Rarity a hard time. I get it, changelings like her did bad things here. But, if you think for one second her feeding off me is bad, then I'm gonna have to disagree. Rarity has my permission to feed off my love for her. When this started, when she first saw what I felt, it was the best day of my life," Rainbow Dash said, marching right up to Ocellus. "And if you think that every day since hasn't been better than that, you are wrong!"

The last word was delivered practically in Ocellus' face. The room was silent, shocked at Rainbow's vehemence.

"I—We—Changelings did things differently here. We had a queen named Chrysalis," Ocellus said with a touch of fear in her voice. "She never asked for anything when she could just take it instead. She hurt a lot of ponies, and—and your Rarity looks just like her."

I turned my full attention to Sunset, but kept my ears perked toward Rainbow and Ocellus. From what I could see, Sunset seemed calm. Her emotions were barely twitching, but there was something more that I couldn't see.

"No—Yes. It's complicated. When Thorax came, I was just a little nymph. With a blast of magic he showed us all how to live without attacking ponies. We could just be ourselves. That's when we turned into this form."

The compressed version of her story helped make her reactions a little more clear to me. Black changeling bad, bright changeling good. What would she have thought if I'd been pure white? Was it like the old-west movies Rainbow liked to watch? Black body means I'm the villain? Equestria should come with a rule book.

"Yeah. Well, I'd think you of all people would know how superficial appearances can be," Rainbow Dash said. "Would Twilight be any less a princess if she put a dress over her wings?"

"Human-me sounds like an egg-head," Rainbow Dash—the pony Rainbow Dash—said.

"She's right, though. Takin' ponies at face value's what got us Cozy Glow," Applejack said. "I can't do any kind of fancy magic, or even see whatever it was she did, but I can see plain as day that she helped this-un."

"If you wouldn't mind arguing my personal merits later. I'd like to know if Sunset is okay?" I asked.

"I can sense she's fighting whatever it was inside her. She's winning now that the map is helping," Twilight Sparkle said. "Which begs the question, what is it?"

I looked at Sunset. She looked peaceful, but if what Twilight said was true, she was waging a war in her own head. I had time for the full story.

Leaning against the table, I sat down on the edge of it and prepared myself to start from the start. As I did, however, a green ghost stepped forward—literally out of my body.

Rainbow Dash was faster than all of us. Here, in Equestria, my ability to think faster than most could hope to was hampered, but Rainbow wasn't. She rushed up to NotABug and tried to hug her, only to fall through the ghostly projection.

"I'm only a magical image—like a ghost. This is so cool, though. I can walk around and talk, but I don't think I can touch you," NotABug said.

The time was wrong. It had been daylight when we'd come in here—evidenced by the windows showing light—but now the windows around the room were dark. Well, at least I had my internal phone to go off, though it seemed to be blindingly fast now.

Then I connected into text entry on the phone, and the physical world slowed down to a crawl. I let out a mental sigh of relief that I could still do this, but it was obvious that without an internet connection it was going to be harder. Or maybe it was just this world?

"This is really strange," NotABug said. "Everything is going so much faster. I can barely keep up!"

"I'm having the same problem, darling. Can you still connect to our phone?" I asked.

"I don't know, but it sounds important," Fluttershy said, her voice even softer and more reserved than human Fluttershy's.

"This is NotABug. She's—It's complicated, but she was born from technology. She has a sister that we call Windigo, and she chased NotABug into a corner," I said. "I gave her a home in my head because it was the one place Windigo couldn't look.

"Comfortable as we are with the arrangement, it seems like Windigo has found a similar one in Suri Polomare—" I said.

"Not the pony. The human Suri. At least I hope you mean the human Suri," Twilight Sparkle said.

"Exactly that. If you ever run into Suri Polomare in Equestria, don't let her have any power," I said. "The first effects, I think, were accidental. She wrapped people in a red coil of anger that would squeeze all their good emotions and left them angry, but now she has learned how to use it for unarguably worse things."

"Wasn't Suri that pony you competed against in Manehatten for a fashion show?" Applejack asked.

"Yes. Yes she was. Frightfully nasty little thing. I ended up stealing Coco Pommel right out from under her. Chalk and cheese, those two. She is a fantastic pony in every sense of the word," pony-Rarity said.

"I totally agree there. Coco was, in fact, the last person I had to free of Suri's little tricks," I said.

I was only a little surprised at how closely our lives mirrored each other. Princess Twilight had said things were eerily similar between worlds. But there was one thing pony-Rarity hadn't mentioned.

"Perhaps we could have that tea now?" pony-Rarity asked. "What with your friends being stable now."

"C-Can I come too? I need to apologize properly. I guess I didn't know as much about being a changeling as I thought," Ocellus said.

The admission surprised me with its honesty. Ocellus, I realized, was a changeling who could accept change—which put her ahead of most of the human race.

"I'm sure it'll be alright, so long as you don't mind hearing about the latest fashions from two different worlds?" I asked.

Seeing Ocellus' face brighten at the invitation was worth any amount of discomfort. She was obviously important to Twilight, what with being at this rather exclusive-seeming party, so I felt she was worth the time of explaining myself to. That she wanted to learn more was also positive in my books. She also reminded me a little of Byte.

With pony-Rarity leading the way, and Ocellus falling in beside her, I stepped away from the table to follow. But I was a giant. Walking on two legs left me towering over everyone in the room.

Leaning forward, I braced one arm—or foreleg I guess—against the wall and lowered myself to all fours.

"I don't think this will work yet," I said. "My legs—back legs—don't feel right."

"Darling, you may come as you are. I will never have it be said that anypony was denied access to Carousel Boutique based on their appearance."

I looked at pony-Rarity for a moment, then came up with the best solution. Smiling, hoping I wasn't showing any fang while doing so, I examined pony-Rarity as best I could, built an image of her in my mind, and made a simple change.

Power flowed. I sent my magic out with one target in particular, and felt it remake me.

My body shrank, and along with it my whole form altered. I closed my eyes, but without the speed of a digital connection to keep me thinking fast, the whole thing was over in the blink of an eye. I looked at Rarity from the same height as her, with the same mane as her, and the same tail as her. All that was different was that I was black with a cerulean mane and tail, while she was still her glorious white and purple.

"Oh. OH! That black is rather fetching, and I love what you've done with your mane," pony-Rarity said.

"Your mane, you mean. I pondered going for white and purple, but could you imagine the social implications of that? It's a tragedy to go to a ball wearing the same dress as someone else, looking identical would be a disaster!" I said.

Then I had the wonderful task of mastering moving with four limbs. As I walked along with Rarity, however, I quickly discovered that walking was like crawling—you moved one limb at a time. This I could do.

"Twilight said you all walk around on your hind legs. I guess I hadn't realized how much trouble it might be moving between worlds," pony-Rarity said.

"It's getting easier the more I do it," I said. "You must tell me, did you make Twilight's dress?"

"As if I'd let her wear something made by anypony else. I honestly don't know what she did for dresses before she moved here."

I turned to look at Ocellus. She was just a little larger than me now, and I now picked up a sense of youth about her.

"Busy. I'm glad there's actually two of us to do things or I'd never be able to keep on top of work, managing all the business side of things, and chasing our nymphs around," I said.

By pony-Rarity's blank look of shock I already had my answer. She stammered a few times before she closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and let it out again slowly.

I couldn't help myself. Finding my love for Rainbow had been part of a huge paradigm shift for the better for me, maybe it could be for her.

"Have you considered that maybe the right stallion is a mare?" I asked. "Oh, what am I saying? Sorry, Ocellus, we have gotten completely sidetracked."

Pony-Rarity seemed completely relieved. She turned her attention on Ocellus with all the speed of someone overboard spotting a life-raft.

"Do you really see all that all the time? What you showed me back there, that is," Ocellus said.

"If the light is dim, or if I focus specifically on it, I see them. I guess I hadn't thought of it so much," I said.

It made sense to me. I tried to think back to the times I'd been seriously hungry—since I started changing at least.

"The one time I got extra hungry was removing Suri's little gift from Coco. I hadn't realized I could eat the energy at the time, what with it tasting ghastly, so I spat it out. Rainbow saved me then. If it's ever taken her more than ten seconds to reach me when I've asked for help, I can't remember it.

"Well, for normal food. But since Thorax freed us from Queen Chrysalis, we don't get hungry for love anymore. I don't even remember what that was like."

If I still had my wings I'd chirp in concern for Ocellus—there was a note of curiosity in her tone.

Pony-Rarity blinked her eyes rapidly at me in surprise. She looked down for a moment and then nodded to herself.

Let her see, I thought while pushing magic out at Ocellus. The effect felt the same as last time, and I saw her blink her big cyan eyes in surprise. I turned my own attention on pony-Rarity just as we came to the front door of Twilight's castle.

There was a complex play of emotions swirling around Rarity. I could see plenty of love there, though, and it was practically calling my name to—No. I didn't need it.

"This warm pink here is Rarity's love. You only take the smallest bite you can—barely a nibble—and let her know when you're doing it. Okay?" I asked. "And please chirp if you feel you need to."

"Chirping is the best thing ever! It's freeing, and a great way to show someone how you feel," NotABug said, reminding me she was still here.

"Chirping is a wonderful way of expressing yourself. Who told you it was impolite?" I asked.

Rarity opened the door of the castle and the most wonderful evening air poured in. It didn't have the smell of a city about it.

"If I could, I'd be chirping now. That air is amazing and crisp, and if I could bottle it and take it home I would," I said.

We walked in near silence until we reached a round building toward the middle of town. The darkness was no match for my keen vision, and though all the houses here looked rustic (thatched roofs and timber frames were everywhere), this one was rustic-chic.

There were patterns of what I took for blue and pink paint that suggested diamonds (something I'd always been enamored of), and further up there were pony cutouts riding around the second story. Pony-Rarity opened the door and beckoned us inside.

"Welcome to Carousel Boutique, the birthplace of all of Equestria's finest fashion," pony-Rarity said.

Flaring her horn with blue magic—the same color the geode had given me—Rarity made the lights flare to life around the room. I fell in love immediately. Dresses and suits the likes that I had never seen before adorned mannequins (or did ponies call them something pony related?) all around the room. Twilight's dress, I could now see, was one shining jewel among a crown of beautiful clothes.

This wasn't just my idea of heaven, I was mentally taking notes on how to set up my own dress shop. Displays, placement, even a design area—pony-Rarity had it all worked out. I couldn't help myself. Walking over to the dresses, I lifted a forehoof and gently touched them.

"Did I tell you I'm in the process of opening my own clothing store?" I asked. "I planned to call it Carousel Boutique."

I nodded to pony-Rarity. She wasn't just a pony version of me, she was a soulmate. A sister who knew me, knew everything I knew, and liked everything I liked. Sweetie Belle was the best little sister I could have ever had, but pony-Rarity shared almost all of my interests.

I had to pull myself away from just diving into the outfits and immersing myself in pony fashion. I looked at NotABug. She looked with excitement at the outfits, but her eyes kept coming back to me. I hadn't even noticed that she looked like a perfectly complete changeling queen. What I was soon to be.

"What would you suggest for a moderately large changeling with thoughts of fashion swirling in her head?" I asked. "Only it's not going to be much longer before I will be quadrupedal myself, and I have not a single pattern to suit."

"Couldn't you just—fwoosh—and be how you were before? You could wear pony fashion quite easily as you are now, although I would have to work on lighter colors. Black is so severe, but it does go with just about anything. I could see a nice wash of blue taking all the harshness out of your fur."

"This," I said and demonstrated by shapechanging to what my old human self looked like, "takes a significant amount of energy back home. There's something about this place that—It's like there're two reservoirs inside me. One gets filled with love, another with magic. Back home, I need to feed to fill both, but here the magic one just stays full all the time."

"That's it exactly!" NotABug said. "But I don't think I can feed here. It's okay, though, because I don't think I need to."

"We just need some time to take our minds off things. Knowing Sunset and Starling are in Twilight's care is quite a relief," I said.

"Yeah. I still feel really bad about bringing Sunset into this. I thought it was the right thing to find out the truth, but the truth was she was the last person we should have asked," NotABug said.

I shapechanged back to my dark-Rarity shape, and narrowed my sight to take a good look at pony-Rarity's aura. It was full, bold, and bright with every positive emotion. There was a little worry, a touch of fear, but she positively blossomed with empathy.

She raced over to a mirror and looked into it. Deflating a little at not seeing what I did, pony-Rarity turned back to face me.

"I don't suppose you could do that magic thing to me, too? I'd love to be able to see somepony's feelings like that," pony-Rarity said.

"One thing at a time? Besides, I don't know if I can do that for non-changelings. And, despite not objecting to the process, I wouldn't recommend turning into a changeling unless strictly necessary," I said.

While I'd been talking to pony-Rarity, NotABug and Ocellus had been talking softly, as became apparent when the latter had walked up to us.

"Are you ready? NotABug has been explaining it to me, and I'd like it if Rarity—Queen Rarity—would make sure I don't hurt you," Ocellus said.

Queen Rarity. The title was nothing I'd ever wanted, but hearing it made me feel excited to wear it. I'd heard the former changeling leader here called a queen, but I hadn't realized it could be applied to anyone of that type, rather than a specific title.

My mind raced back to all the times I'd drunk from Rainbow, and how she'd started feeling about it when I drank deeply.

"Your expression doesn't bode for it being painful," pony-Rarity said. "It feels good, doesn't it?"

My blush should have told her the answer, but then I realized I was covered in black fur. I nodded demurely.

"Rainbow says it is enjoyable when it's extended and drawn out. Although, I'm sure she felt the same way when I drank fast once," I said and turned to Ocellus. "Only a little, and stop if Rarity, NotABug, or I ask."

I watched as Ocellus tried pulling a few faces, but she didn't manage to manipulate pony-Rarity's aura at all. Stepping closer, I matched myself to her side and pantomimed opening my mouth.

"Imagine you have another mouth—made of magic—and overlay it with your own," I said.

Not that I needed to visualize it. I'd fed enough now that it was natural, and when I opened my mouth and leaned forward, I tasted pony-Rarity.

"What? No! Darling, nothing so crass. When you taste something, the experience is more than just your tongue. You see the food first, then smell it, and with those in mind you are already planning for what it tastes like," I said.

My time eating sushi and talking about eating sushi paid off in spades. Now if only I could find something strong to completely scrub the taste of Suri's magic from my mouth.

"You enjoy the finer things too," pony-Rarity said. "I trust you don't let Sweetie Belle cook for you?"

I snorted at that. While her cooking skills were nowhere near as bad as they had been, they were still somewhere just above instant ramen and a little below actual cooking. She used plenty of salt, but she hadn't worked out you needed to add pepper to most food.

"She's gotten better, but when I have a choice she doesn't get to cook. Sorry to derail things, Ocellus. Let's try this. So now you want to open your mouth and bite carefully and gently into Rarity's aura," I said.

When Ocellus leaned forward, however, I saw no indication that she had that magical mouth. In fact, she left no visible impact on pony-Rarity's aura at all.

"Then I don't think this will work, dear. You really are just too different from my type of changeling for that to work," I said.

Ocellus' ears tucked back, and she seemed to slump inward at the pronouncement. I felt immediately sorry for giving up, but there was no hint of what she needed in order to feed.

Now Ocellus lifted her head and looked like a completely different bug. Drat, looks like I was going to be the bad guy—horse.

"One more try, and I'll give you another boost to get you started. Hold on," I said.

All my magic, I realized, took a mix of actual magic and love energy. Here, that ratio seemed to be much more forgiving than back home. Pouring power into my horn, I willed the spell to work like the times before and pushed it out at Ocellus.

Green light pulsed and throbbed, and I shoved a mess of power into Ocellus until she seemed to glow with it herself. Lines of my magic traced around her, though I think it was mostly aura I was seeing.

Ocellus shook her head and blinked a few times. Looking at pony-Rarity, she opened her mouth, paused, and bit down into pony-Rarity's aura.

I was gentle. I barely touched her aura with my fangs and shaved off the thinnest slice of love she had. It was tiny, minuscule, and barely filling. I couldn't stop myself from licking my lips afterward—for all its tiny quantity, it was delicious.

"Was that it?" pony-Rarity asked. "I barely felt anything. I thought you were—err—tasting again."

Ocellus leaned forward and tried to bite down, and while she throbbed with changeling magic, she didn't seem able to make any impression on pony-Rarity's aura. By this point I almost wanted to lie to her about it.

Pony-Rarity looked at me with a knowing glance—she hadn't felt anything. I shook my head to her.

"Maybe you should talk to Thorax about this? It seems like something he'd know about," pony-Rarity said.

"I just wanted to experience it. Just once. So many other changelings have, and my generation are the first who just won't ever feel that," Ocellus said.

"Well, we don't need to feed like that, which I guess is an advantage when a lot of ponies don't like the idea," Ocellus said.

"Honestly? I'm sure most ponies are just scared of the idea of it. What—ahem—Queen Rarity just took was barely noticeable. I'm starting to wonder if the whole wedding-thing was a big mistake by both sides," pony-Rarity said.

That, apparently, was a story that needed several hours to tell. By the time pony-Rarity was done explaining all the ins-and-outs of it, I found myself yawning.

"Oh! It's not a problem, darling. It's getting quite late and I think I might retire," pony-Rarity said.

It was an offer, a social-helping-hand that meant I didn't have to declare myself too tired to go on. Ponies, it seemed, were just as social creatures as humans, so of course my counterpart here would be on point about it.

"And you needn't ask. I have a room upstairs that Sweetie Belle uses when she's staying here. You are free to use that, of course."

I let my disguise drop completely and loosed the chirp I felt building. It was good to be able to express myself once more, though I did notice Ocellus jump a little at the sound.

"Rarity, you are such a wonderful host. You simply must come to Canterlot one day and let me return the favor," I said.

"I-I'd have to check with Twilight, and close my shop for the day, but I should be able to arrange that. You have me all curious about fashion on that side, now."

Given Ocellus' initial reaction to just about everything I did, I wouldn't have thought her so eager to spend more time with me, and it took me a moment to realize NotABug was standing beside her with a knowing grin on her face.

"Oh. Forgive me for not knowing your ways, but I'd need to make sure you're old enough to—" I said.

"Well, I don't see any reason you couldn't come. Depending on when you come to visit as to how much space we'll have, but I'm sure 'Bee and Byte will be able to make you some room," I said.

It was a careful question, and she knew full well she was assuming their gender by their names. She was right, of course, but I wasn't going to hold my nymphs to anything as changeable as sex.

"Not that fast!" Ocellus said. "A nymph should take a year or two before they're out of their larval stage."

Instinctively, I reached for my handbag that wasn't there, for the phone that certainly wasn't there.

"Well, they came out of their eggs running, almost literally in Byte's case," I said.

I did it. Ocellus actually chirped a little in surprise. It was a higher-pitched sound than my own chirping, or even my daughters', but it was obviously her that did it—unless pony-Rarity had a secret she wasn't telling.

"I'd really like to meet your family, Queen Rarity," Ocellus said almost stumbling on the queen.

"Like I said, you're welcome any time, darling. But I really must be off before I collapse on the spot," I said.

It was the honest truth, too. I felt like a wrung-out towel and the thought of a bed, even if Rainbow wasn't in it, was a welcome one.

Thankfully NotABug seemed more than ready to take over the conversation for me while I followed Rarity to the stairs and the bed she promised.

"I feel a bit drained too. Between the fight with Suri and what Rarity—my Rarity—had to do with Starling, it's way past both our bedtimes," NotABug said.

The bed, when pony-Rarity revealed it, was small enough that I had to shapechange to fit into it. I barely even had enough focus to complete the task, and wasn't even completely sure what or who I'd shapechanged into before my head hit the pillow and my eyes closed.

"We'll find out what happened with her in the morning. I'm sure she's okay. The last thing I saw was her and the pony version of her talking about flying."

I snorted a little and pulled the covers over me with one hand. A hand? I didn't care. I'd shapechanged into someone who was just as tired as me, and that meant—

Queen Rarity

by Damaged

Chapter 17