The Epsilon Pegasus

by Sparky Brony


Chapter 14. Leavetakings

Hands pressed against the large pane of transparent crystal, Steven looks out, up, and around, taking in the breathtaking view outside. “You said it’s over six hours to the top?”

Lightning Storm chuckles at her boyfriend’s amazement and smiles, gesturing with her snout. “Yes, sweetie. Look at the screen.”

He looks at the display. “Wow, forty-five thousand feet.”

“Yes.”

She turns and walks over to the massive windows, gazing outside into the distance. Steven walks up next to her, dropping a hand onto her withers with a gentle smile. “Thank you for having me come with you, love.”

She smiles up at him and leans her cheek onto his arm. “Glad to have you here.”

They stand and watch for a long time as the sky gradually gets darker. Soon, a small ding announces their deceleration, and they watch the globe around them as the elevator takes its time stopping.

“This thing is enormous!” Steven says as they step out of the passenger compartment and into the main cargo compartment of the sky hook. The big loading doors line up and finally open.

“Ever since they finished building it, they’ve been expanding the top. It’s several levels, and a lot of research is going all around us. The controls for the debris collection system are up here, too.”

He furrows his brow. “Debris collection?”

She nods and says, “All around the earth, in various orbits, is debris… everything from lost gloves, to bolts, to entire sections of satellites.” She huffs, scrunching up her face. “It was getting to be a danger, and during the initial construction of the elevator station, they decided to clear all that stuff up. There were a few collisions, and a bolt traveling at orbital speed can be catastrophic. So now, there are mini satellite drones with their own thruster systems that circle around and gather up the debris. If it’s ferrous, a magnet works just fine, and some of the drones have graspers to grab onto large objects, or even net-style systems to pick up the small debris. It’s not perfect, but most of the large junk has been grabbed and recycled aboard the station.”

Steven looks at his gushing companion dryly. “You know a lot about this, don’t you?”

She nods, blushing slightly. “Before I came to work on the new engine development, I was part of the team deploying the first minisats. It was funny, a cloud of four-pound-each minisats worked together to bring back a discarded stage of a launch craft. We couldn’t fit it in the bay, so ponies and humans had to go EVA and actually dismantle the rocket for recycling.”

He nods distractedly, seemingly captivated by the deck plating under his feet as he bounces on the balls of his feet. “Uh huh… that’s cool. But how are we walking around?” He looks at her, cocking his head.

Lightning Storm facehoofs as she taps the deck with one of her back hooves. “Oh come on, you know about gravity generation. We’ve done it in the lab.”

He nods, but looks unconvinced. “But it’s energy intensive.”

She nods back at him. “The current reactors on the ships don’t have enough generating capacity; but remember, we are connected to the ground. That means we have power from sea level.”

He stops for a moment, taken aback. “That’s twenty-two thousand miles.”

She looks back at him. “And some change. That’s the magic of diamond nanothreads with graphene conductors, and it’s been stepped up to a really high voltage.” She points around at the high voltage labels that are plastered on several exposed conduits. “We step it down up here. The graphene is superconducting, so we don’t have voltage loss up the elevator, but this allows a lot more current to be available up here without the conductors being too big.”

Steven quirks his eyebrow. “Fascinating.”

She rolls her eyes, nods, then trots towards a hatch in the massive cargo area, with Steven following her. They go up a couple of staircases, then finally make it into a large lounge with expansive windows that give a gorgeous view of the ship.

“And here we are… be back in a few days. You can stay up here if you want, and we can ride down together!”

She rears up and gives him a kiss, then extends her wings and flutters toward the air lock connecting the station to the ship.

Lightning Dust’s home, New Beginnings

I haven’t seen Dust for a while. The sun has just gone down, though being early September, the sun goes down fairly early. I poke my nose in her office, but all is quiet. I had eaten supper with the herd a little while ago, then watched a movie with Feather, Mischief, Rinoa, Rydia, and Zed. Now I’m wondering around Dust’s expansive house… where the heck is that mare?

I trot upstairs, just to find that knocking on her bedroom door produces nothing. Even though the lights are off, I know that the eternal night owl Lightning Dust would never be asleep this early. I turn and pass the other bedrooms on the second level, trying to resist the urge to start knocking with my head instead of my hoof. I don’t know where to go, but finally end up wandering down to Dust’s library. It turns out that consummate athlete and business mare Lightning Dust is also a voracious reader and has thousands of books—everything from dusty manuals dealing with her time as an electrician to fiction books by authors who I’ve never heard of. She told me once that her online library is even bigger, and she gave me a password to read anything I want without a problem.

Trotting up to the door, I push my way into the library head first, the stop dead as I hear the sounds of everypony inside. Lifting my gaze and blinking through the dim light, I see that Dust is there, along with Sunset Shimmer, Moon Shadow, and Irony Shieldbreaker.

Blinking hard at the bright light at the door, Dust takes a moment to focus her eyes before slurring, “Hiya, Loopy.”

I smile at her wanly. “Hi, Dust.” I say quietly.

Dust beckons wildly at me, sloshing a small amount of whatever she’s drinking out of the tankard that she is holding—through the large handle—with her hoof. Quickly realizing what she’s done, she starts, pulling the tankard close to her chest before calling, “Come join us.” awkwardly loudly. “We are celebrating!”

I look at all the ponies, noticing that there’s not a sober face among them, then I smile a little and step the rest of the way in, letting the door close behind me.

Sunset Shimmer seems to be concentrating, her horn shine flickering slowly to life as she stares daggers at a bright blue bottle of some liquor. The bottle shakily lifts up and is poured into a cup, then the cup floats over to me, spilling only a little bit. Sunset smirks at Dust. “Told you I wasn’t that drunk!” she says.

I take a sip, and it’s like lightning on my tongue. I reflexively swallow, then start to cough.

Dust laughs uproariously at my scrunched up face. “It’s pretty strong, Loopy. It’s my favorite spirit. It’s inspired by that Star Trek show. It’s called Romulan Ale.”

I look at the light blue liquid and take another sip. “It’s strong.” is what I’m able to croak out.

All the other ponies laugh.

“Am I interrupting anything?” comes a voice.

I turn towards the door and look, then freeze. What do I do now? Two of the most famous ponies in the world are standing there. Dust struggles to her hooves and unsteadily walks towards the two before slumping into an awkwardly abrupt hug with the pink pony. “Cadence! Velvet! Come to see me off?”

Twilight Velvet steps forward, her horn lighting. “We were in town. Cadence is here from Equestria, but I told her you were going through the portal soon, so she wanted to say hi.”

Dust nuzzles the pink alicorn shamelessly. “We’ve met a few times.”

Cadence nuzzles back, then looks at Dust, finally picking her up and hugging her tightly, “You’ve helped me through some tough times Lightning Dust. You’ve long since lived up to your oath as a Wonderbolt. Thank you.”

Velvet nuzzles Dust as well. “Doesn’t look like you’re in any shape to fly right now, but how is it having your wings back?”

Dust huffs. “I’m a better flier than anypony, even with as much as I’ve drank… drunk… had to drink.” She spreads her wings and zips into the air, crashing her head onto the ceiling, then crashing to the ground and landing heavily on her hooves, then her face. Velvet’s horn lights, but Dust waves her away, mumbling into the floor, “’m okay. I’ve crashed worse than that before.” She rubs her head a few times, flipping over and looking up at the hole in the drywall of the ceiling. “Not a smart move, Dust.” she murmurs.

Twilight Velvet looks at the hole with a frown and an eye roll before her horn glow intensifies and the hole is repaired. She glances back down at Dust telling her, “Know your limits, Dust.”

“Oh you spoil sport. I’m going home! I’m happy!” is the reply she gets.

“I know.” She smiles and looks at Sunset Shimmer benevolently. “Have you spoken with Princess Celestia since the five score mess?”
Sunset cringes a bit, then shakes her head.

Velvet steps forward and nuzzles the golden unicorn. “You have accomplished so much here. You’re going with your herd… you need to visit her. She’ll be so happy to see you after all these years.”

Sunset hugs herself as her eyes moisten. “I said some really nasty things the last time I saw her. I don’t know…” She looks away.
Only to have magic force her to face Velvet. “Sunset Shimmer, I’ve taught you. Princess Celestia taught you. You were her protégé. You were forgiven before you left the room. Please, Sunset, just talk to her. I guarantee you that she’ll welcome you with open hooves.”
Sunset looks thoughtful as Velvet turns back to Dust with a wan smile. “I’m sorry we couldn’t stay very long. We have a summit to head to in DC, but I wanted to see you before you went home.”

Dust smiles and ambles over to Velvet again reaching out to hug her. “You’ll visit me in Equestria?”

Velvet smiles. “I certainly will. The biggest house in town, right?”

Dust smiles and nods. “I’ve got a big family! I try to take care of them.”

“I know you do. I’ll have Blaze come by, maybe he can fly with you…” she pulls back, looking at Dust, “When you are sober.”

“Deal.”

I stand there gobsmacked, watching them leave. Finally, I turn to Dust. “You’re friends with them?”

The skies above Montana

It’s a day for beautiful, clear skies as I’m heading southwest from New Beginnings. The sun is bright in the air, and even the clouds seem cheerful, somehow. Of course, the peace never seems to last very long in this particular part of the sky.

Winds suddenly buffet me, forcing me to flap hard to correct my flight. “C’mon, slowpoke!” I hear a second later, the sound following behind Lightning Dust, who has just buzzed me well above the speed of sound.

“Dust!” I scream as I turn to follow her. Damn, that mare is faster than I ever would have imagined. I see her giggle happily as she doubles her speed and blasts away, nearly knocking me from the air again with her mach cone.

My Ponypod comes to life over my earpiece, with the digitized voice telling me that Lightning Dust is calling. I answer the incoming call with, “Dust, what the hell?”

Her voice rings in my ears, “You said you wanted to fly with me one last time before I left, and you aren’t using your full potential.”

I narrow my eyes and find her light contrail… there she is. I streak forward, creating a silver blue trail as I accelerate. This is fun.
“Fun, isn’t it!” she howls as she suddenly turns one eighty and blasts past me in the opposite direction.

“You read my mind,” I growl as I turn to follow her. She’s not bobbing and weaving for once, and instead has settled on a straight course, though she’s flying a lot faster than what I normally feel comfortable at. I feel my magic and push it into my wings, bringing my limbs closer to my body as I pour my effort into speed.

“Yes! You are a conduit for your magic, Loopy! I’m slow enough right now that you can catch up if you try hard enough!”

I growl through my teeth as I accelerate further. Soon I’m getting close to her, leaving me huffing and puffing as I finally pull alongside the extreme speedster pegasus.

“How… can… you… keep… this… up?” I puff.

She looks at me, a big grin on her face. She isn’t even winded. “I’ve been unable to fly for over twenty years, Loopy! I’ve been dying to do this.”

I smile back wryly, unable to resist the shot. “Literally.”

She scowls at me a moment, then blows a raspberry into her microphone. “Yeah, but Discord brought me back.” She does an aileron roll, and I match her with a barrel roll around her as she rotates in the air.

“Yes! Very good, Loopy.” She says, then dives towards the ground with me hot on her trail. She pulls up hard and flares her wings. I follow suit and we both land, hard, rings of dust spreading from our impact points.

She taps her phone a couple of times with her hoof, closing off the connection, then smiles at me. “Enjoy your flight?”

I look around, suddenly realizing where she’s lead me. “The portal complex…” I’m able to pant.

Dust steps up and nuzzles me as I catch my breath. “Always be aware of your surroundings, Loopy. You need to know where you are, no matter how fast you fly. No matter how many times you change direction. You are a pegasus, which means you have built in navigation. You need to use it.”

I find myself blushing. “Sorry, Dust.”

She rubs against me as she walks through the courtyard. “Pay attention, Loopy. You’re already able to do what 99% of pegasi can’t.” She waggles her hips as she walks. “With time and practice, you can be one of the best.”

I find myself watching her, she looks back at me. “You’re blushing, Loopy.”

I feel the heat in my face as she gets close to the door and start to contradict her with, “I’m just flushed…” when a loud bang interrupts my excuse. A second bang comes as I turn around, “What the…?”

Two pegasi are standing there in uniforms. I look at them a moment, then it dawns on me… the 520th. “Lightning Dust, Loop de Loop.” One of them calls as the mare steps forward. She looks like she has a pure white coat with a periwinkle blue mane and tail. She sounds young.

Dust stops mid-step and looks at the mare. “Can I help you?”

She steps closer, folding her wings to her sides. “I’m Captain Star Flash of the 520th Pegasus squadron.”

Dust cocks her head to the side, unimpressed. “Yes?”

I sigh. “I think we were violating flight laws, Dust.” At least my breathing has slowed down to a dignified rate.

Dust looks at me, blinking, then chuckles and shakes her mane. “Damn, I forgot! Haven’t been in the air in too damned long.”

Star Flash looks at Dust. “I remember hearing about the spirit fire a few weeks ago. Colonel White Lightning told me. Congratulations on gaining your flight back.” She looks back at her wings and ruffles them, obviously suppressing a shudder. “But you can’t gain your flight back, then go ahead and break the law. You went through a federal no fly zone. And you two were certainly exceeding speed laws—you were just over mach two, and nopony could keep up with you. That’s why we had to catch up with you after you landed.” She stomps a hoof. “And to top it off, you didn’t file a flight plan, and you were certainly flying above ten thousand feet.”

Dust holds out a hoof. “I’m sorry. Calm down, young filly.”

I look at Dust, she’s got a sarcastic grin on her face.

“Don’t call me a filly.” Star Flash snarls, “I’m twenty-two and a Captain in the United States Air Force.”

Dust smirks at her. “Child, I’ve got quite a few years on you. I was enjoying my last little bit of time on Earth before I move back to Equestria.” She sighs. “And you have to ruin it.”

I find myself crouching down. I’m not that much older than this mare.

Star Flash shakes her head, sighing in resignation. “I’m going to have to write you a ticket, Lightning Dust.”

Dust frowns, “Can I pay it here?”

Star Flash shakes her head, sits down, and starts tapping at the screen of her leg-mounted Ponypod, then lifts her hoof up to aim the device and take a picture of Lightning Dust with it, before finishing up with her ticket. “You’ll be able to pay electronically.”

“But I’m going to Equestria. Like, right now.” Dust gestures in the direction of the portal.

Star Flash smirks back at Dust. “Well then, I guess you’ll have to take care of it when you get there. There are full communications between the worlds now.”

Dust jerks in surprise. “I’ll admit I haven’t been paying attention to such things, but really?”

Star Flash nods, continuing her work on her tablet. “Yeah, it’s been about a year, as far as I know, but they’ve got it all worked out.” She taps a couple more times. “And… done. If you’ll verbally state your name and understanding of the ticket for the video record…” She holds up her hoof, aiming her Ponypod at Dust again.

Dust sighs and says, “Yes, I understand. My name is Lightning Dust.” A code shows up on the Ponypod screen, which Star Flash holds out. “If you’ll scan the code with your phone, you’ll have a copy of the ticket.”

Dust does so, looking at her own phone screen. The process is repeated for me, and I quietly take my ticket, groaning inwardly as to how much of a sum it adds up to. Dust comes over and whispers in my ear, “Your salary as my new CEO will certainly allow for paying that. Don’t stress about it.”

The two pegasi bid us good day and streak off into the sky. Dust watches them for a minute, then turns, smiling. “Ahh, perfect timing!” she crows as she prances towards the two chariots landing nearby. I smile as Dust’s family piles out of them and Irony immediately shifts and picks up the brilliant turquoise pegasus.

Irony sniffs loudly, her eyes misting over as she squeezes Dust. “Love, I can’t believe it… home. At last.”

Dust wraps her wings around the big pony and says, “Yes, I know you’ve ached to get back there. A couple of visits were never enough.”

Irony puts Dust down and turns to all the rest of her family, gesturing toward the portal. “Well. Are we ready to go?”

A chorus of agreement is her reply, and everyone heads towards the big stainless steel and glass doors. I follow the herd sedately, just taking it all in.

It’s impossible to grow up in post-pony America without learning about the portal complex in school. Once Princess Twilight learned how to open the portal at will and stabilize it, the area has changed dramatically. The building itself is huge, a good ten stories in height, and is of modern steel and glass construction. Throughout the structure, I can see crystalline structures built by Crystal Dynamix, which serve both as tribute to the Crystal Empire and as magical support structures for stabilizing the portal. It’s not just functional, either. The Princess has a royal apartment here, for when she’s hosting Princesses Celestia, Luna, Cadance, or Twilight Sparkle, though she spends much of her time in Washington, DC.

The entire complex covers nearly a hundred acres, all the way to the Mississippi river on the east, though a proper town has sprung up around it. A whole economic renaissance has happened in this area because of the gateway to Equestria, transforming what was once a quiet area into a commercial and political nexus. Hotels, shopping, and fine dining have moved into the area thanks to the influx of cash from research and commerce. Of course, any center of commerce would be incomplete without an industrial center, which has taken the south side of the town along the river. New warehouses have been built with access to the highway and the Mississippi to support the trade going through the portal on a regular basis.

I follow Dust’s herd into the entry foyer of the complex. Dust takes a pen and signs a few documents while I sit there, marveling at the polished marble floors and cleverly hidden lighting all over the place. Dust smiles at her herd and they troop off. Show our IDs to get through a security checkpoint, and shortly we’re walking down a long hallway toward a set of stainless steel doors. As we walk, the door opens and a butter yellow unicorn trots out, a big smile on her face. I turn to watch her leave as Dust pauses at the doors, a hoof on the metal.

“This is it. Does anypony have second thoughts?” She looks back at her herd.

Helen steps forward, getting to one knee and hugging Dust. “Love, we have talked about it. Remember, we aren’t leaving this world behind. We can come back any time we want.”

Dust chuckles, pressing into her wife’s embrace. “Yeah, but I’m going to stay a pony, I really don’t want to be human ever again.”
Helen smiles back, glancing at the others around.

Hannah comes forward. “Gonna miss you. Dad.” she says as she hugs Dust, her eyes bright with tears. Dust sniffles a bit as her daughter lets her go. Mischief comes forward, hugging her mom as well. After a long time, Mischief breaks away and rushes out the door. I don’t think she wants anyone to see the tears falling from her face right now. Finally, Fidget comes forward, hugging her mom as well. I look at all the ponies hugging and crying together.

I start to move away, then. “Loopy.” Dust calls me quietly. My tail tucks under my rear as I slowly step forward. She smiles at me, saying, “Take care of my company.” She wraps her wings around me, bringing me into a hug. “Take care of the ponies, as best as you can.”

I find myself starting to cry. “But I don’t know what to do?” I’m able to moan.

She chuckles softly, squeezing me tighter. “Neither did I. To start with. Have trust and faith. You now have the resources, you have some friends… you’ll find more. You can do it.” She pulls back and cups my face with her wings, bringing me close, “I know you can, Loopy.”
I look down, only to have her wing force my face up. I’m looking directly into her golden eyes. “Loopy, you have a lot of potential in you. Sometimes it takes a lot to bring out that potential, but I know it’s there inside you.”

A throat being cleared breaks the spell, and a unicorn mare steps up, a smile on her face. “I’m Piña Colada. I’ll be operating the portal for you today.”

Dust smiles at the unicorn. “We are ready to go.” She looks around at her family. “More than ready.”

Piña Colada smiles warmly. “Understood.” Her horn lights, and the golden medallion that has been installed above the portal itself glows. In moments, that glow slowly envelopes the entire statue. The blank face of the marble glows briefly and I can feel the air currents in the room change.

Dust looks back at me and smiles. “Skype me or something from time to time, ‘k?” She winks.

I nod and she pushes through the portal, slowly followed by the rest of the herd.

Before I have a chance to think too much about it, the ripples in the surface of the marble settle, then stop. Piña Colada’s horn lights again and the gateway snaps shut abruptly, leaving the air feeling strangely still and heavy.

I sit down hard on the floor. They’re gone.

***

Around the portal room, business continues as usual for several minutes, with ponies checking the magical equipment and tidying up. I sit there in the unnatural stillness until Piña Colada steps over to me, a gentle smile on her face. She bows her head slightly and I nod, so she moves forward and gently nuzzles me before asking, “So, you’re friends with Lightning Dust?”

I nod, taking a deep breath and standing up onto my hooves.

She chuckles and gestures back toward the door. “Have you been through the complex before?”

I shake my head no.

She smiles, then winks at me. “Then you’ll have to have a tour. Please follow me.”

I smile back thinly. “Thanks.”

I nod and she heads out the double doors. In a matter of a few minutes, she scans through another set of doors that I hadn’t noticed before, her magic holding them open as we walk into what looks like an ordinary office corridor. She talks as she walks with me, “All in all, we employ a little over a hundred full time staff. Some are from Equestria, some are from Earth.” I rotate my head around, looking at all the people and ponies working. “International relations is a full time job around here.”

“What do they do?” I ask.

She shrugs. “Various jobs; dealing with currency fluctuations, managing data, diplomatic paperwork… it’s all very exciting.” She turns a corner and I follow her towards another set of doors. Quickly we get scanned through, and Piña Colada looks back at me. “You a tech geek?”

I shake my head. “Not really, but I do like computers.”

I look around; what stands before me is a massive server room. Racks of machines are lined up in neat rows. Cables snake up into cable trays all along the ceiling. Everything seems to be color coded. Yellow cables come out of the top into the cable trays, along with green and blue sets.

“The power for the system comes up from the floor; all the data is on top. Now take a look at this.” At the far end of the room is a large device, and a thick cable comes out of it and goes a short distance into a mirror.

“Hannah Shaw has been wonderful for us.” Piña Colada explains.

I frown. “Hannah, as in Dust’s daughter?”

She nods. “She found a Starswirl Cache, and from the information that was there, she was able to construct a portal mirror, just like the main one you saw. But this one stays open all the time.”

“Amazing.”

“That mirror right there connects to another mirror in Equestria, and that cable is a bundle of fiber optic links. This is the Internet backbone that connects Earth to Equestria. Cipher could explain it far better than I could; she’s the one who spearheaded the data center design. As the infrastructure is built back home, ponies and people will be able to communicate online as easily as anyone else on Earth.”

I nod at Piña Colada. “Where has it been built in Equestria?”

“Ponyville and Canterlot to start with, though lines have been laid to Manehattan and Baltimare. The rest of Equestria should have service within a decade.” She smiles. “And the deer in the Everfree are reluctantly joining in as well, along with the Yaks and the Griffons. Communication is getting easier by the day.”

“Amazing.” I murmur as she brings me slowly towards the exit.

***

The man gets up at the sound of the knock. He wipes the sweat off of his hands onto his dress pants as he walks to the door. The opening hotel room door reveals a tall, blond-haired woman, dressed in an expensive evening gown. Her smile is beautiful as she flashes it for him.

“Hi,” he stammers nervously.

After a long moment, her eyes flick past him into the room, then her gaze rests back on his eyes. “Are you going to invite me in?” she asks in a melodious voice.

He flinches and backs away, gesturing into the room. She steps past him, and he closes the door as he watches her rear sway as she walks. “Beautiful,” he murmurs. He follows her into the room proper.

She stops partway into the room looks around. “So, as we discussed, three thousand.”

He reaches over and picks up a stack of bills, which she puts into her purse. Setting the purse down on the dresser, she turns to him and purrs, “Now that that unpleasantness is over with, we can focus on your pleasure.”

He sits down on the bed. “Not that I’m complaining, but I thought I was asking for a…” He’s stopped by a finger to his lips.

“Yes, you asked for a pony, and I will deliver. But it’s so much easier to walk around town without being noticed, looking like this. Do you have a preference on the pony?”

His eyes go wide. “I’ve got a choice?”

She smiles seductively. “Oh, certainly you have a choice.” Violet fire envelopes her form, and a white alicorn is standing there with a flowing mane and royal regalia. The flame envelopes her again and a dark blue alicorn is standing there with a crescent moon cutie mark. Her voice matches her new, lunar form. “I can be anypony you wish.”

Her horn lights with violet light and his clothes disappear. He reflexively covers himself in surprise.

She giggles. “Any preference?”

He stammers a few times, managing to get out, “I kinda like the Wonderbolts from the show.”

She smiles and once again the violet fire envelopes her form. Instantly, in her place is a golden pegasus, her wings spread wide, with a wing made of flames on her flank. “So, you like ‘em feisty?”

He nods.

She moves forward to accept a kiss from him. The kiss deepens, and soon they are locked in each others’ embrace.

A little while later, he’s holding her in his arms, fighting the sleep trying to overtake him. “So…” He says quietly.

She looks at him. “What?”

He looks away from her, quietly asking, “You can change forms… are you a unicorn?”

She smiles demurely and shakes her head, pressed against his skin.

He furrows his brow, rolling over to look into her eyes. “Huh?”

“I’m not a traditional pony, nor am I an alicorn.”

He looks confused, then it dawns on him. “A changeling?”

She smiles. “The best.”

He hugs her tighter for a moment, then she wiggles a bit. He lets go and allows her to get off the bed and stand up. The same violet fire washes across her features, leaving the human female shape she had when she arrived. “Thank you.”

“Wait,” he calls out, stretching out a hand. She stops in the middle of picking up her purse.

“What?”

“What do you really look like?”

She cocks her head to the side, her expression souring slightly. Very rarely is she asked this question. She’s fed pretty well off of his lust for her, and though it’s funny to her, his physical lust has been sated quite well. She’s very good at that, but his mind still burns with desire. She considers for a long moment, then responds, “Well, I don’t usually show off to clients, but…” Once again, the violet flames wash over her form, leaving her true form. She has black carapace, and violet bug wings, along with violet coloring on her back. She has a purple streak around her waist, and her feathery mane and tail are a deep purple. Pink eyes compliment her face along with an extra long horn, for a changeling.

He breathes a long gasp.

She looks down. “I know, I’m a bug.”

“You are beautiful.” The earnestness of his words gets her to pause.

She stares at him for a long time, then she changes form again, and her slim hand reaches out to grab her purse as she rolls her eyes. “Sure. Thanks anyway.”

She ignores his protests as she primly walks out of the hotel room, trying to control the tears that are trying to form. She gets into the elevator, and as the doors close, she lets out a small sob. “Nobody really wants me for what I am, they only want what I can do.” She opens her purse and looks at the stack of cash… bills would get paid. Her phone rings. “This is your fantasy.” She says into the device as she answers. She listens for a moment. “I’ll be glad to see you. My website has the costs; have you seen them?” She pauses to listen, then replies, “I’ll be there in half an hour.”