//------------------------------// // Parity Error (RariTwi Modern Humanized Hacker/Sex Worker AU) // Story: Parma Quentaron Sintë Undómëo // by Undome Tinwe //------------------------------// "Well hello, my dear!" Twilight Sparkle looked startled at the greeting, turning from the row of mailboxes to stare wide-eyed at her. "Oh, hello, Rarity," she said politely, looking anywhere but at her eyes, and Rarity tried to hide a smirk at her blush. "Are you here to pick up your mail too?" "I am." As much fun as it was to tease her neighbour over her obvious crush, Rarity wasn't one to play with the heart of someone so innocent. It was poor form, really. So instead, she acted like Twilight wasn't playing the part of a teenager with a crush to a T and walked over to her own mailbox. "I do hope I get something less mundane than bills today." She fished her keys out of her purse and opened the lock. "Drat," she said with a sigh as she saw nothing within, before turning her attention back to Twilight. "And you, dear? Anything interesting?" "Just a package I ordered a few days ago," Twilight mumbled, clutching a cardboard box to her chest. "More books?" Rarity asked with a teasing smile. "You know, I always imagined a librarian would have more than enough of those at her place of work to need to buy more on such a regular basis." The blush on Twilight's cheek deepened. She really was quite adorable, Rarity had to admit. "I just really like books." She started walking up the stairs, and as they'd done several times before, Rarity followed after her. "So I see. Anything interesting this time?" As they always did, Twilight Sparkle's eyes lit up at that. "Oh! The library received a new book on the life of Princess Platinum! It's written by a scholar from Hayvard who's been studying the new records they unearthed from that excavation in Old Canterlot!" It was always a delight to hear the bookworm speak so passionately about a book she liked, and this time, Rarity had her own points to add. "Ah, Princess Platinum. And I suppose that this scholar also wishes to paint a thin veneer of decency over the history of one of our beloved Founders?" "Actually, Script Keeper is one of the advocates of telling the full truth about the Founders," Twilight said, "which means that she provided the evidence for some of Platinum's more... controversial years. When she was just a commoner." "You mean when she was a commoner and a whore," Rarity said, then smirked at how uncomfortable Twilight looked at the word. "I— yes," she finally admitted as they rounded another corner and reached the third floor. of the apartment complex. Then, with a slightly stronger tone of voice, she said, "actually, I'm glad they're doing it. We shouldn't hide away the truth just because some people might be ashamed of it." "And are you one of those people?" Despite her light, teasing tone, Rarity felt herself tense slightly at the question and hated herself for doing so. She shouldn't have cared what Twilight thought. Fortunately, Twilight quickly shook her head. "No, no! Of course not!" she quickly said, then peered up at Rarity curiously. "You aren't either, right?" Something in her tone bothered Rarity, like she already knew what her answer would be even if they'd never discussed this topic before. Still, she ignored the feeling and replied, "I think it's a very respectable profession, even if others might not feel the same, and it makes me very happy to know that Platinum understood the plight of the common people before going on to found our nation." "That's a good way to put it, I guess." They were almost at the fifth floor now. Twilight seemed more relaxed now around her as she asked, "And what about you? How has that commission for that client been going? The one from Upper Canterlot?" "Oh, it's a trial, but what is art if not a struggle to produce greatness?" After so many years of lying, Rarity barely even felt a pang of guilt as she spun her tale. "I fear he was quite demanding, but I think I've found a way to fulfill all of his needs without compromising my vision." "That's good," Twilight said, oblivious to the truth. "I imagine it's hard having to design clothes for clients who aren't well-versed in your craft." "Such is art," Rarity replied with a dramatic huff. They reached the fifth floor, and she walked over towards the door to her apartment. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I must continue my work. Have a nice afternoon, darling." "You too, Rarity." Twilight stood outside her own door awkwardly for a few seconds, her previous nervousness returning in full force. Her blush, too, had returned, and when she finally spoke, it was barely above a whisper. "Rarity?" she asked, and the woman in question felt a slight worry build up in her gut. "Yes, Twilight?" "I— never mind, good night." With that, she turned around and fumbled with the lock of the door, nearly dropping her keys before finally getting it open and rushing inside, the door slamming behind her. Rarity let out a breath of relief. She knew what Twilight had wanted to ask, of course. Her poor girl's crush couldn't be any more obvious, but as much as Rarity enjoyed their time together, she simply couldn't be someone so... nervous. She liked confidence in a woman, and as attractive as Twilight was when she was a stammering mess, she wanted a partner she could dance with in a battle of wits and heart, not run circles around. Besides, her heart was already set on someone else. Entering her own modest apartment and closing the door behind her, she quickly scanned the room to make sure nothing was out of place. One could never be too careful in Rarity's line of work. Once she had satisfied her paranoia, she made her way over to her computer room. She sat down and powered on her machine. A few keystrokes revealed a login screen, and a few more keystrokes revealed the secret partition on her hard drive which she had programmed to self-destruct if the wrong person tried to access it. She entered in the appropriate credentials, and her computer began to reboot into a custom operating system that only a handful of people in the world even knew existed. It was a necessity in her true line of work, the one that her dressmaking business was a cover for. Not that she wasn't an incredibly talented artist in that regard, but she had long ago learned that there were better ways to pay the bills than to compromise her artistic integrity. Compromising one's virtue was much more fun, anyways. Her fingers flew across the keyboard as she fired up a shell and quickly entered a few commands, running diagnostics on the website she hosted on the Darknet. As usual, there had been a few attempts to breach the security — whether by law enforcement or so-called white-hat hackers, she couldn't be sure — but nothing had gotten past her defences. After all, Rarity had hired the best to construct them. She pulled up an encrypted chat client and began looking through any messages she had received. A few clients had put in requests that she would have to deal with, and one of the girls was calling in sick tonight, which would be a minor issue. Luckily, her client wasn't the picky sort, and in short order, she had contacted someone else she had on staff and arranged for her to meet him instead. She'd have to offer Jet Set a discount, but it would preserve their working relationship. A quick message to Coco wishing her all the best in her recovery and a promise to Sassy that she would be paid full price and that matter was settled. A new pop-up alerted her to the fact that one of her repeat customers was back. Fleur was specifically requesting a night with Rarity, and Rarity immediately replied with her standard rates and a list of available times. The heiress was always good for a good time, and even more importantly, treated her and her staff with respect and paid on time with generous tips, so Rarity made sure to give her top priority. A few more minor issues came up, but they were all business as usual, and Rarity found herself growing quite bored after an hour of making arrangements and sorting out schedules. Running an escort service was surprisingly mundane, most days. Luckily, there was always someone she could count on to spice things up. She opened up another chat client and saw her head of security already online. This client had no logs saved for everyone's safety, so she couldn't look to see if she'd tried to send a message to her before. Still, as the second one online, it was customary for her to initiate the conversation. PlatinumBeauty: hello, darling. Did you miss me? She waited a few seconds before the reply came. Hex: You know I always do, my radiant diamond. Platinum giggled as she typed again. PlatinumBeauty: ah, but a lady likes to hear that she's wanted. Hex: In that case, it felt like I was standing next to a black hole while you were gone. PlatinumBeauty: oh, because all the light in the world seemed to fade without me? Hex: That, and time felt like it had slowed to a standstill. You know, because time dilates around a black hole. Rarity suppressed a sigh. As romantic as Hex could be, the mysterious hacker could also be a bit of a pedant and ruin all the fun. It was also a challenge to rack her brain and determine a thoughtful response to her banter. PlatinumBeauty: well, I'm here now, to act as your frame of reference. Hopefully she'd used the term right. If not, then it would be a few minutes before Hex finished her lecture. Hex: I'd love to be inside you, my precious gem. There wasn't really any point in letting out an offended gasp when there was no one around to hear it, but Rarity believed in authenticity in one's performance. PlatinumBeauty: just for that, I'm going to ask that we move on to business rather than grace you with my dazzling wit. Hex: Alright, fine. I know you'll come around eventually anyways. I see you've checked the logs already — nothing stands out but I'm worried about a new zero-day attack I've been hearing some talk about. PlatinumBeauty: the one that SpeedCoder69's been bragging about having access to? Hex: Yes. I had dismissed the claim, but SmileSmileSmile has been talking about an exploit in the database software, and you know she doesn't lie about this. PlatinumBeauty: so what can we do? Hex: I think it might be best to move to... The conversation lasted another half-hour, and by the end of it, she had worked out some preliminary safeguards with Hex. It would be a headache to implement, but she wasn't about to put any of her girls at risk of being exposed by someone with an agenda to push. And with Hex working with her, they'd be done in much less time than when Rarity had been doing this alone. Hex: Okay, I'll code up a prototype to send over to you by tomorrow for review. PlatinumBeauty: wonderful! You know, sometimes I feel like I'm not paying you enough for all you've done for us. Hex: Being in your presence is payment enough, That, and the amount you normally wire to me every month. Rarity felt another pang of longing as she continued to type. Hex really was quite the charmer, and it was a shame they couldn't ever meet. Still, it was fun to let her imagination play. PlatinumBeauty: well, if you ever find out who I really am, then I'll be happy to offer you a night with me on the house. My treat, and my pleasure as well. Hex: Careful, I might actually take you up on that offer. PlatinumBeauty: i'll be sure to wear my finest silks for you. You'll never be able to get satisfaction from anyone else ever again. Hex: Heh, you really are just like the real Platinum, huh? You should see what Script Keeper says about what she did with the emperor before she married him. Rarity froze. It had to be a coincidence. PlatinumBeauty: Oh, I've heard of that book. I wonder if my local library has it? Hex: It does. And now her heart was beating so hard Rarity thought it would explode out of her chest. PlatinumBeauty: And how, pray tell, do you know this? Silence on the other end. It couldn't be. There was no way that... Rarity stood up and opened the door of her apartment, only to see Twilight tripping in her haste to get out of her apartment. "Is everything alright, dear?" she asked, suspicion clouding her voice. "You seem quite troubled. It's almost like someone put a hex on you." She wanted to laugh, but the stricken expression on Twilight's face scrambled all of her thoughts. "I, uhh..." It was funny, really. Twilight was such a terrible liar, and yet Rarity had been completely blind to her greatest secret, simply because it had never occurred to her that Twilight Sparkle could possibly have been the mysterious hacker she was crushing on. "How long have you known?" Rarity demanded. Yes, that was a safe question, one that wouldn't immediately open up a massive can of worms. Just a small one. "Six months ago," Twilight admitted. "After I hacked into the bank where you keep your earnings." "I see." Rarity shook her head. "So you knew the whole time that I knew—" "That I had a crush on you?" Twilight blushed. "Yeah." "I don't understand," Rarity said. "Hex was confident, debonair, charming. You know well enough what I thought of Twilight Sparkle." "It's... easier when I'm online." And that was the Twilight she knew, refusing to look her in the eyes. "I feel like I can be an equal to you then. In person, I'm just.." she gestured to herself. "Plain old Twilight who talks too much about stuff no one cares about. And you're..." she pointed at Rarity. "You're Rarity, who's so beautiful and charming that half the Canterlot Elite want you and are willing to pay ludicrous sums of money for you. Why would you want me?" Rarity sighed. "Twilight, I happen to find our talks delightful, and you know well enough that inner beauty means much more than outer beauty to me. I never really had the chance to see the true Twilight Sparkle because you were always too nervous around me, but I did get to know Hex, and I think she's delightful." "I... I don't know if I can be Hex for you in the real world," Twilight said, bowing her head in shame. That wouldn't do at all. "Well, I do," Rarity said, reaching out to cup Twilight's chin and raise her head. "Once you see that I'm just as much Rarity as I am Platinum, you'll understand that you're the only one who truly sees all of me." She smirked. "That is, if you're willing to date a whore." Twilight rolled her eyes. "You know I don't care about that." "Then you're already a far better person than most of the Canterlot Elite who desire me so much, though that's hardly a high bar to clear," Rarity replied. She lowered her voice down to a sultry whisper "And besides, I don't offer a free night to just anyone, hmm?" Twilight blushed even redder as Rarity smouldered at her, before taking a deep breath. "You don't, but I'm aware that you use other retention strategies such as providing discounts to first-time customers and a loyalty program with other perks." Of course she would enter Lecture Mode while trying to regain her footing with her. Rarity laughed. "I suppose you're right, my dear. So, do you think you have what it takes to date such a savvy businesswoman?" Twilight smiled, and for the first time, Rarity saw a little bit of the magic that had charmed her return to her demeanour. "My precious diamond, I would love nothing more than to bring into the light what we started in the dark."