Natural Talent
Bruce was amazed at how fast Rarity developed. Before long she was speaking complete sentences, and only the fact that not all her teeth had come in kept her speech from being perfect. She also began tending to her own grooming and bathroom needs as soon as she had available facilities and tools that she could manipulate, although she was always happy to curl up in his lap and let him brush her mane, tail, or coat. She also seemed determined to go everywhere with him, constantly asking questions about anything and everything around her.
She also grew bored quite easily, and could frequently be found trying to force the secret passage to the Batcave, despite the fact Bruce had sealed it completely. Eventually, Bruce decided he needed to find some other way to capture her attention.
That was when he introduced her to computers.
Bruce had never really liked the increase in automation of the world around him, as more and more human effort slowly was replaced by more and more machine activity. As such, with the exception of the tech in the Batcave and the home security system, the only state of the art electronics in the manor was two personal computers - one his and one that had belonged to Alfred before his passing - and the holographic television. Nothing else in the manor had changed since he first donned the cape and cowl all those years ago. The stove was still gas.
So when Rarity had pestered him with questions about the computer while he was working on matters for Wayne Enterprises, he had pulled out Alfred's old model and handed it to her, telling her to have fun with it. She had let out a coo of pleasure and immediately began exploring all the functions on it, her telekinesis - which Bruce had first seen when she went to brush her own mane by levitating the brush - easily manipulating the keyboard and touch screen.
After a time, Bruce glanced over to see what she was playing with. He had expected her to be using one of the game programs, watching online videos, or possibly having found something amusing to read, since she didn't seem to have any problems with the written word. He had intended teaching her to read a few weeks ago to last longer, but she grasped it quite quickly.
What he did not expect now was for her to be browsing the stock market, with a text document open where she was analyzing the flow of the stocks and making pretend stock purchases.
He couldn't help but chuckle in amusement at that. After watching her at work for a time, he decided to speak up. "Rarity?"
Rarity looked up at him with a wide smile. "Yeth, Father?" she asked, wrinkling her muzzle as her as yet not grown in front tooth caused her to still lisp.
Bruce smiled. "You seem to be enjoying that," he pointed out.
"Oh, yeth," she replied eagerly. "It theemth a motht amuthing game, but it won't let me play." To demonstrate, she clicked on one of the stocks, only to get an alert of not having an account.
Bruce rubbed his chin thoughtfully. He hadn't expected her to think of it as a 'game', but teaching her the value of money and the economy had to start somewhere...and a 'game' was as good a place as any. "How about I set you up an account to play with?" he suggested. "See how well you do then?"
Rarity gasped happily. "Oh Father, would you?" she pleaded, fluttering her eyelashes at him. Even at this age, she seemed to instinctively know how to present herself to be the most appealing.
Bruce held out his hand. Eagerly, Rarity handed over the unit. After a bit of typing, he handed it back to her. "See this?" he pointed. "That's your username and password, and this is your account balance, and this is your portfolio value. See what you can do with it."
Rarity squealed happily. "Thank you, Father!" she said joyfully, immediately pulling the unit against her as she began to 'play'. Shaking his head, Bruce returned to his own work.
After a time, he went to the kitchen to start to plan dinner. On getting there, however, he discovered that he was short on a few things he needed to feed them both. He went back to check on the little filly. "Rarity," he called, "I need to go get some groceries. You okay here on your own for an hour?"
"I'm fine, Father!" Rarity called back, waving. "And I'm not alone. I have Aythe." True to her word, she was laying back against Ace's barrel, the canine curled around her as she braced the mobile PC between her hooves, manipulating the controls with telekinesis. The canine in question let out a resigned snort, ruffling Rarity's mane and making her giggle and squeal in frustration.
Smiling, Bruce nodded. "Alright. I'll be back soon." With that, he headed for the store.
Before long, Bruce returned home, his arms full of groceries. A brief glance into the foyer revealed that Rarity hadn't moved the entire time he was gone, her eyes still locked on the computer as she lay back against Ace. Deciding not to disturb her yet, he went to the kitchen and began to prepare dinner.
An hour and a half later, dinner was finished, and he brought the two dishes to the table. "Rarity," he called. "Time to turn that off."
"But Father!" Rarity whined. "I'm winning!"
Bruce blinked, unsure how he should interpret that. "Rarity, it's dinner time. You can play again another day."
"Yes, Father," Rarity called back, her voice mollified. She trotted happily into the dining room, climbing up the stairs to her seat at the table. She set her computer beside her place as she focused on her food, smiling as she saw that Bruce had made Eggplant Parmesan, one of her favorites.
Bruce glanced at the comp unit. "May I?" he asked, reaching for it. Her comment about 'winning' had piqued his curiosity.
"Go ahead," Rarity replied happily as Ace took up his usual spot kneeling beside her chair. Despite his excellent training, Ace, like any dog, still loved table scraps, and he knew he had better luck getting them at table from Rarity than from Bruce.
Bruce spun the unit around and activated the screen, calling up the stock market program...and stared. Rarity had, in the course of the two hours she'd been on the market and - apparently - using some programs Alfred had left on there from his days before his employment at Wayne Manor, set up three ghost accounts attached to her primary to distribute her purchases to avoid unduly influencing the market (save when she made purchases specifically to influence the market), and the 'total portfolio value' and 'total liquid assets' indicated that she had multiplied the initial deposit he'd given her to 'play' with by a factor of seven.
Regaining his composure, he turned back to the meal, looking at Rarity carefully as they both ate. Ever since she had first called him Father, he had been thinking about what that meant for him...what it meant if she were to be his daughter. He had been concerned that the pressures that could bring - to both of them - would be excessive, and possibly more than his weakened heart or her young mind could handle. But if she had such a natural talent and innate grasp of economics and market forces...
...perhaps it was time for 'Take Your Daughter To Work Day' after all.
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Two updates so close to eacother!
I personally find this to be one of the more possibly tragic stories out of the seven presented, if not for the fact of Gotham's dark setting and the fact that poor Bruce is too old to be Rarity's father.
Nice to see that Rarity's an economic prodigy, though
5643384 She always had a talent for finding "Gems"
Excellent way of putting it, by the way
5643421 Thanks
THE DESU IS RISING!
5643384 Why!? Now you made me paranoid!
5643533 Let us just see where this goes for now, shall we?
5643384
Out of curiosity, why do you think this story has the highest potential for tragedy?
If you don't want to risk spoilers, feel free to PM.
5643547 Sniffle... Okay.
5643552 Well, I know it doesn't have the tragedy tag, per se, but as I read, I just remembered how harsh Gotham's environment is compared to what it was years ago in Batman: TAS. Combine that with any possible scuffle where Bruce would have no choice but defend Rarity himself and possibly be outmatched.
Then, depending on certain circumstances, it'll be up to Terry McGinnis to care for Rarity.
...Also, this is off-topic, but I completely forgot that he was voiced by Will Friedle.
5643565
Three points you've missed.
One: First episode of Batman Beyond - when Terry first appears - is 20 years after Bruce hangs up the cape and cowl for the last time. The first chapter of this is the day he hung it up. By the time Rarity catches up in age to her canon self - the time limit I've set for all these stories (18) - it won't even be at the start of Batman Beyond in chronology.
Two: The reason Bruce became so frail by the end of those 20 years is because he gave up completely, stopping all attempts at keeping himself fit. In this, he'll be gradually decreasing his physical exertions, staying fit while not over exerting his heart...meaning he'll be in better shape come the end of those 2 decades than he was in canon.
Three: The story is called Batmare Beyond. Who do you think that means will be donning the cape and cowl - well, cowl anyway - and doing most of the fighting?
Given the speed of Rarity's development and the skills she already has (despite interpreting some of them as games), Bruce is going to start suspecting that Rarity has been the victim of some sort of age reduction effect sometime soon (if he doesn't suspect that already).
After all, he and several heroes he knows personally have undergone periods of temporary severe age reduction on various occasions. The incident with Morgana LeFay's son, Mordred comes to mind, and I believe Circe has done something similar (but on a much smaller scale) herself.
So while he might not know what to do about it (having cut at least most of his ties with the superhero culture and the various subcultures within it), he will no doubt be expecting Rarity's previous allies and/or enemies to show up one day, and will make preparations for either event.
Which is yet another reason Bruce will end up training Rarity...
Her comment about 'winning' had peaked his curiosity
1. Piqued.
Seems like Rarity... can really keep stock.
Hmm... I wonder how the others will react to Rarity now that they have a chance to finally see her? Million dollar (albeit common) question that everyone is asking. One has to also wonder how common 'visitors' are in this current setting. Never got into the newer Batman series so not entirely sure as to who or what is in the current universe sadly.
5643578 Okay, okay, my apologies. Oversight pretty much hates me
I usually consider the Mane Six to be in their 20s myself
5644152
...
I had never thought of that.
5644792 There is a reason for him being considered "The World's Greatest Detective". And it's part of why Batman is a very difficult character to use properly. This man is a genius on par with Einstein, Hawking, ect. While he may not be making discoveries that radically change the way humanity views the world like the men named, Bruce Wayne's intelligence is something that can never be over estimated. Remember that if there is even a remote chance for him to realize something, even to predict possible actions based on known information, then Batman almost certainly knows, has made his predictions, and made backup plans for his backup plans. It's called the Batman Gambit for a reason after all. He is THAT smart. He has been known to outwit and out-think those characters who actually have "Super Intelligence" as a listed power. The only non-superpowered character I know who I could see beating him legitly in a battle of intellect is one who also has a trope named after him. (A series of them actually.)
However you have been doing a very good job so far. Your version of Bruce Wayne as been on par with what I have come to expect of "The World's Greatest Detective", and while there may be moments when you don't think of something that Bruce would, don't feel too bad. Nobody can think of everything, not even Batman. And it's VERY difficult to write for a character who is DRAMATICALLY more intelligent than you are. I'm a GM and constantly use villains who are very similar to Bruce in intellect, and even I have moments when a player points out to me "How did X not think of this already? Isn't he supposed to be 100x smarter than we are? ". So you ARE going have moments when you ask "Why did I think of this?" It's ok.
5644950
Thanks for the reassurance.
The great thing about the comment feedback system here...now that that has been brought up, I can write Bruce coming to that realization, and work it into the story...which will make certain things later on much more believable.
5644956 Well, another tool for you is that Bruce has been known to "play stupid" as it were. There have been several moments where Batman at first acts like he doesn't know X, but then later shows that not only did he know, he used this information to pull off a Gambit.
HOWEVER! Use this VERY sparingly, if at all. While Batman is indeed smart enough to pull such things off, it can also be VERY off putting for the reader. It often feels like a Deux Ex at best, and if handled poorly if feels like a complete asspull by the author.
5645224
There won't be too many situations where I pull things like that.
Hm, interesting. Considering the chapter, I assume that means Wayne Towers, not the Batcave.
Which begs the question: With this being the Batman Beyond continuity (or slightly prior to it I guess,) is Powers in charge of Wayne Enterprises? Or is this before he had fully taken over and basically pushed Bruce out?
5647948
Yes, it means Wayne Enterprises.
And Powers is still attempting to take over Wayne Enterprises to merge it with his own company. After all, it's still nearly 20 years before Terry discovered the Batcave in the show.
This kind of makes sense, but only if Rarity somehow has a little bit of knowledge of what she used to do back in Equestria. If that is the case, then how long until ALL of those memories come back, hmm?
5648671
Speaking of Terry, will we actually see him down the line? With Rarity aging so rapidly, I assume she'll take up the mantle before 20 years have passed. A younger Terry might make a good sidekick for her.
5648817
I probably won't be including Terry, no.
O a vary good story I am liking it more and more as it goes on.
5648822
Well, I suppose that's alright. The story is about Rarity and Bruce, after all. Terry will probably just live a normal life, and maybe due to Rarity donning the cape earlier he won't even lose his father. At least that's what I'd like to think.
5648901
Something like that, yes.
5657245
I can tell, judging from that late reply.
Have an unrelated video:
[youtube=rTo_42yVHUM]
Well, so far none of the ponies in these "Adopt a pony" stories seem to remember their past, save for Trixie, and for her is more like nightmares.
Could some one explain what Rarity was doing to the Stock Market? I don't pay attention to the economy.
I can just see Rarity is a business suit plus skirt combo fitting right in the corporate world... after all the female workers stop cooing over her.
Ok... the universe of DC has super-powered individuals like Beast Boy, Cyborg and even Martian Manhunter roam around the free world and interact just as normally as any everyday human would...
But HOW exactly would Wayne Enterprises, Hell, even GOTHAM CITY react to a talking white magic manipulating unicorn roaming around their streets? Keep in mind, they deal with mutated animals, demons from other dimensions and killer robots every other Tuesday. I THINK this would maybe raise a few eyebrows.
5910454 nah, its fine, sure the mutants show up every other Tuesday, but the magical stuff happens Fridays after lunch...
5643552 I know this was months ago but im pretty sure theres supposed to be a comma in this paragraph
Wait, Ace... is he...
upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/7/75/Bathound2005.jpg/200px-Bathound2005.jpg
Oh my gosh YES!
6016472 Yeah, except he is a purebred, not a German Shepherd/Great Dane mix.
So this story has been in my "Read Later" list for a while and I finally got around to starting on this story tonight, and it's pretty good so far. One thing in particular that got my attention in the third chapter:
Even if he only gave her a mere $10, she would've turned that into a cool $100 million in a matter of hours..*2 days later* And I just realized that I've confused factors and powers. Still, whatever he gave her multiplied by 7 isn't shabby.Perhaps.
DANG!
Rarity got SKILLZ! 
Combine her aparent natural talent with her good manners and cute appearance...
All hail lady Rarity, I for one welcome our adorable new overlord!
The last "Take Your Daughter To Work Day" ended in neurotoxin...
vignette4.wikia.nocookie.net/half-life/images/7/74/Neurotoxins_countdown_wheatley.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20110606134138&path-prefix=en
wayyy over the legal amount of cute
Duh. Electric ranges are crap.
6501140 meh miss my old flat top
Rarity still has all her relevant savviness.:3
6381241
She'd be better than Trump, that's for damn sure.
8517228
Yep.