//------------------------------//
// Chapter 3: Going out 
// Story: Change to the Familiar 
// by Rhino 
//------------------------------//

Back in the bedroom, the newly-named filly kicks her hooves in the air as she looks up at the stallion that has taken her in. He cradles her against his chest as he paces back and forth, trying to formulate a plan of action. Her ears perk up and swivel towards him whenever he speaks, occasionally followed by one of her coos, chirps, or other noises.

"The main things are supplies and information." He nods to himself as he turns during his pacing. "I believe I've seen a foal store in town, so we'll stop there... What about information? I somehow doubt there's a book on raising baby changelings out." Rhino pauses, leaning down and giving Dream a nuzzle, the newborn giving a happy squeal as she squirms and reciprocates. "All I really know is that changelings feed on love and need it to survive, and that you have exoskeletons instead of ones like ponies." 

Another pause as he tries to envision the mass of muscles, organs, and bodily goo that would be under a changeling's chitin. His face grimaces. "Blegh, let's not think about that again." A look down reveals Dream wearing much the same expression of discomfort, changing as his does to confusion and then amusement. He chuckles, "Quite the little mimic, aren't you?" Her tail simply swishes happily.

"Alright, I can see you trying to distract me with cute antics. Just let me focus a little longer." His thoughts go back to the current issues. "Okay, information... I think when changelings were first integrated they had pamphlets with a few basic tidbits of information..." his eyes widen, "which they said were facts from a book they were releasing a month later! Yes, that'll be perfect! We'll just head down to the library and-" His happiness is cut off by its usual foe, his logic. "Oh dear... Princess Twilight runs Golden Oaks in town." 

Remembering the tales of the purple mare's run-ins with changelings at the royal wedding a few years ago, the stallion quickly shakes his head as a small bit of dread creeps into his psyche. "No, no no no, not an option... There's no telling how she'd react to you and me. I mean I don't expect her to do anything too rash but... there's always the possibility. A Princess with a grudge is definitely not something I ever want to deal with..." As more thoughts occur, he hugs Dream tighter to himself, the newborn whining quietly as she frowns and huddles against him. "She could take you away... I don't have a birth certificate or anything for you..." Looking at the tiny form he holds, the shimmering sapphire eyes that look back cause protective emotions to surface.

"No... I wouldn't let that happen." His tone has that sense of finality to it as he nods once. "The library isn't an option, so... the small bookstore, yes, that will do." Even with this decided, fear still points out a few things. "But how would ponies in general react to you?" Steady pacing serves to keep the mental ball rolling. "Tolerance varies from pony to pony, but one fanatic may easily cause problems. Perhaps that is a worse case scenario, but still..." Flashes of possibilities assault Rhino's mind as he groans, massaging his temple with a bit of magic even as he tries to keep his mind on the things he needs for Dream. "I... what would I even say if questions were asked? How could I defend you being mine?"

His pacing slows down until he comes to a complete stop, the carpet fibers clearly showing the repetitive path taken. "Maybe... Maybe it would be best if they didn't know I had you... for now." He nods, mostly to himself, but as she paws at him with tiny holed hooves, he does it for her as well. He leans down and nuzzles her once more as he thinks aloud. "I think secrecy could be excused for now... I like to think I have enough to worry about when just focusing on you." He smiles at the newborn, who simply tilts her head and chirps questioningly.

He plants a small kiss on her head, the tiny changeling growing happy once more as he does so. She reaches up, making an insistent cooing as she grabs onto his muzzle and holds him tightly. 

Chuckling, and making her wriggle from his breath as he does so, he comments. "I guess there's no way you're staying behind. Not that I'd want you to anyway." Blowing a small raspberry on her stomach and freeing himself during the responding giggles, he continues. "Now... the question is how to carry you and keep you out of sight..." He looks around his room as he goes through his mental inventory of the household. "Come on, I’m a smart pony and I run an enchantment shop, surely I can think of something..."

***

Stepping out his door, Rhino gives a last pulse of magic to his newest and likely crudest creation. Hanging around his neck and across his chest, two pillowcases tied at the end serve as a makeshift sling for the tiny form within them. Dream wriggles around in her temporary carrier, adjusting herself until she is on her back and against the wall her father's chest is beyond. Of course, nopony besides the stallion himself can see this. 

It took a bit of work, cloth being a relatively terrible magic conductor, unlike commonly used metals and gems, but the enchanter eventually granted the carrier basic light bending properties. While he does have to provide the power himself at regular intervals, the green male is satisfied that any attempts to look at the carrier will be thoroughly unsuccessful. Granted, this only applies to the pillowcases so the newborn can be seen if they get the right angle, as well as the illusion only being visual, meaning ponies could still feel the sling, but in desperation one must make some sacrifices. 

"Okay, just act casual..." he reminds himself as he sets off. Rhino gets about a block before his mind starts wandering to the bundle below him, having to force himself to keep going and not look down at her.

Questions bounce around his head, each trying to garner all his attention as his focus goes more internal. What does he need to get at the store? How does he know if he got everything? What will he do if he forgets something and she really needs it? What if somepony sees her? How long should he keep her hidden? What happens when she starts school? What happens before then? Will he need to teach her how to use magic and fly? Do changelings even do those things the same as ponies? Who does he take her to if she gets hurt? How will ponies react when they see her? Should she have a mother figure? Is he a good father figure? Who could he ever trust to babysit? Will he need a bigger house? Does the shop earn enough to support her? What does a new dad do in the first few days of having a foal? Is there something he doesn’t know about? What all does one do with a new foal? A new foal, he has a foal. A newborn who only has him and depends on him. What if he messes up?

A sharp upset cry shocks him out of his mental stupor. Looking down, Rhino sees Dream reared up, her hooves on his chest and an upset expression on her face. Instinctively, the stallion focuses on her, leaning down and making shushing noises as he nuzzles her. As the fog in his mind clears, he finds himself relaxing and in turn, she does the same, soon cooing happily again as he silently laughs. As she calms and settles, Rhino looks up, thankful to whatever he should be thankful towards that nopony else seems to be around in the immediate area of the small alley he’s ended up in as he walked. As a bonus, a glance forward even reveals the store they had been seeking, a picture of a pacifier on its hanging sign.

“Well, I guess we made it," he comments aloud, walking towards the door. A few worries start to surface once more, but most of them focus on being seen heading towards this particular store. However, this time they are now combated by other things, pointing out that if he worries too much, he’ll only look more suspicious.

Standing tall, the stallion takes a deep breath, casting one last look at Dream. The newborn rests on her back in the improvised camouflage sling, sucking on a hoof and looking up at him. He smiles down at her, relaxing just a little bit before forcing an air of casualness as he slips inside the shop.

When the door opens, the powder blue unicorn at the counter perks up, her attention grabbed away from a book she had been reading. Noticing the customer, she smiles and nods in greeting. "Hello there, sir! How may I help you today?"

Looking around the store at all the shelves on the wall and rows of supplies, it takes Rhino a moment to find his voice. "Hello, ma'am, I was wondering if you had... formula and a few other things."

She nods. "We have formula, certainly. What 'other things' are you looking for?"

"Umm, well..." he switches between looking at her and around at everything, "I guess diapers, blankets, a carrier..." He trails off as he realizes just how much he could potentially get.

Noticing his apparent confusion, she blinks before adopting a comforting, albeit slightly awkward, smile. "...I take it you're a new father?"

As much as he had been trying to avoid the general populace knowing that fact, it takes a bit of hoof scuffing on the floor for him to nod with eyes averted. "Yes, I'm trying to think of everything I would need, but there's so much... I don't want to miss anything."

"Well, no need to be so shy about it," she comments with a small giggle, coming out from behind the counter. "First things first... what do you know of, right now, that you should get? Anything you and your wife discussed?"

Ignoring the small mental twinge from the word 'wife', Rhino smiles sheepishly. "I'm afraid I'm mostly going off instinct at the moment ma'am. I just know formula and blankets are what there has been a need for so far and I was hoping to get ahead of the game before we really need something."

"I understand. Well, aside from those... you'd need diapers and wipes, some bottles for the formula, toys to keep them entertained and pacifiers to keep them quiet... you mentioned carriers already, and you could also get a crib or bassinet for when the little one gets older." She tilts her head. "Are they a boy or a girl, if I may ask?"

He tries to remember everything as he responds, a reflexively content smile coming to his face. "She's a girl, ma'am... my little filly."

"Aww..." the store owner coos. "Have you two decided on a name yet?"

Deciding a little more information can't hurt, he continues. "I named her Dream Jewel." Under the guise of averting his eyes to the floor, he sneaks a peek at said little one, whose tail wags at him as he feels his heart warm.

The mare smiles. "An adorable name for a likely adorable filly." Realizing something, she giggles sheepishly. "Speaking of names... I'm Lullaby. Sorry for not introducing myself earlier."

He chuckles, holding out his hoof. "It seems I made the same mistake. I'm Rhino."

Lullaby takes his hoof and shakes it. "A pleasure to meet you, Mr. Rhino."

"And you, Miss Lullaby." He smiles at her genuinely.

"It's Mrs.," she corrects him with a hint of amusement.

"Mrs., then." He nods as he shuffles his hooves a bit, feeling the tiny form on his chest shifting and pressing against him.

"So, shall we get to business?" she asks. "I imagine we both know you're going to need a fair amount of supplies, even if you won't need to pick up everything today."

Looking at his empty saddlebags, he shrugs. "I'm willing to get as much as I can. I want to be prepared for everything she needs."

"Well, I'll do what I can to help." She trots back over to the counter. "Now... should we go over the list again?"

In short order, the stallion is shown every single item in the store and seriously considered most of them. It might have been slightly selfish to turn down the crib, but he just can't see himself letting her go even at night. In the end as he waves goodbye to the friendly mare, his bags are stuffed full of formula, blankets of many varieties, wipes, diapers, pacifiers, bottles, toys, and finally carriers both of sling and harness variety. Inwardly he hopes he won’t have to spend as much at the bookstore.

***

The two arrive back home with no further incident. Luckily for the new dad, after his little one was given one of her new pacifiers, the events of the morning caught up to her and she snoozed away the rest of the trip. The bookstore itself was a relatively simple matter, Rhino grabbing a baby book popular for first time parents along with the single published work on changelings. To his immense relief, the pony working the counter didn't even bat an eye at the combination.

Closing the door behind him, he sighs as he relaxes. Checking once more that his little one is asleep, he smiles as he starts unpacking everything from his bags. Laying a blanket over some of the floor, Rhino arranges a few things around it as an area for her to be when they are in the living room. Having unpacked everything, he sets the baby book to the side, floating the other book and formula powder in his levitation. Finally, he gently brings Dream out of her improvised carrier, tossing the thing to one side as he sets her on the blanket.

Leaning down, he kisses her forehead. "I'll be right back, just gonna go put this away." Silently, he goes into the kitchen and starts to put things away, cracking open the book to read as he does so.

"Waaaaaaaaaaaaaah!"

Not even two pages into the book, a piercing cry rips through the air, the stallion flinching mightily as the formula clatters to the counter. Panic lends him speed as he darts through the doorway.

Dream sits in the middle of her blanket, head cranes upward as her little lungs wail for all their worth. A few tears squeeze out of their corners of her closed eyes.

Rhino quickly scoops her up, cradling her against his chest as he nuzzles her. "It's okay. I'm right here. Please don't cry..."

With her eyes still shut, the little one snuffles, burying her head in his fur while the familiar wetness of her gumming him returns. On baited breath, he waits as she holds completely still, clinging to him tightly. After a solid minute of quiet breathing, she lets out a content coo, looking up at him with barely a sign that she had been crying.

Rhino sighs in relief. "What was that about? You had me really worried, Dream." He leans down, nuzzling her once more. 

To answer him, she finally stops squeezing quite so much so she can nuzzle him back, giving a few gum-lined nips to his muzzle. 

He sighs again, though this one is in exasperation. "I'm not even close to figuring you out, am I?"

She only stares at his moving mouth, babbling back at him as her tail swishes happily.

He looks to the book on the table, remembering the other he had left in the kitchen. "I don't suppose you're going back to sleep yet so I can read up on you, are you?"

She chirps, flipping over onto her back and letting out happy squeals as she flails her legs.

"Of course you aren't..."