Queen Rarity

by Damaged

Chapter 21

6:47 A.M.

I woke to the sound of more chirping. With two worlds of information flowing into me, I had very few moments to actually banish sleep and come fully awake. The chirping, it seemed, was 'Bee and Bitwise snuggled between Rainbow and myself.

Dipping my snout down, I nuzzled each of my girls and pushed them a little closer to Rainbow. The room lit up with the slow strobe of magic pouring along my horn. Carefully, I extracted myself from the bed and snuggled the covers up around Rainbow and our girls.

Using my magic, I opened my bedroom door and slipped outside. It felt amazingly natural to walk on all fours and use my magic to manipulate things. I thought back to using my hands for everything, and realized how much of a restriction it was only having two limbs to work.

I opened my eyes—fully—and saw everything around the house, inside the house, and even got status reports on all the new servers that I'd brought online. Byte and Moon Dancer were passed out in what I still thought of as my hat room, the former curled up on the latter's lap in her changeling form.

Tuesday. I hated to have to do it, but I knew Moon would be upset if I didn't wake her.

"Moon Dancer?" I asked.

Byte lifted her head before Moon and looked up at me. Yawning, she poked out her little tongue and chirped curiously.

"Moon has school today. I need to wake her up," I said.

"Oh."

Byte sat up in Moon Dancer's lap and stretched up as tall as she could get with her little form.

"I need heals!" Byte said.

Moon snorted awake.

"I got you cover… Oh?"

"Good morning Moon," I said. "Sleep well?"

"Why are you in my dorm? What's going on?" Moon Dancer asked. "Where am I?"

Though she sounded confused, Moon's arms closed around Byte and hugged her. Moon Dancer looked down to Byte, up to the pair of computers on the desks before her, then she looked around at me.

"I fell asleep at the keyboard?"

"Don't worry, I said sorry to everyone. They were really nice and didn't want to wake you, so everyone whispered goodnight," Byte said.

Moon stretched in her seat, and I heard several tired chirps over ChirpNet. She hugged Byte one more time and then set her down on her own chair.

"It's almost seven. I have a class at ten."

"Main bathroom's free. I'll go make some breakfast. There's another dress for you in my sewing room," I said.

I started walking out of the room before Moon managed to stop stretching and yawning long enough to climb out of her chair.

"I don't suppose you made some underwear?" Moon Dancer asked.

Already walking down the hall, I decided to reply via ChirpNet rather than risk waking the rest of the house.

—If you're quiet, slip into my bedroom and borrow some of mine. I don't particularly have a use for it anymore, and there's a range of sizes. Just mind the snoozing bugs on the bed,— I sent.

—Thanks, Rarity.—

Feeling accomplished already, I chirped happily—both digitally and out loud—as I reached the kitchen. I wanted to do something special and quickly ran through a few recipes online before I found something.

Rainbow had gotten some seed-filled bread, and there was a carton of eggs in the fridge. I found a pat of butter, and got some salt and pepper out.

Byte walked into the kitchen, starting as her adorable little nymph self and then shapechanging to her human form before sitting at the table.

"We didn't keep you awake last night, did we? Only, that game was really good, and everyone loved playing with me. It was really fun!" Byte said.

I cut the centers out of two slices of bread and tossed them into the skillet I'd set on the stove. Some butter joined them and started making a happy sizzling sound.

"You were fine, darling. Are you hungry?"

"Yup!"

An excited, digital chirp accompanied her exclamation.

"Well, your breakfast shouldn't be long."

I cracked an egg into each of the slices of bread and gave both a dusting with salt and pepper. Feeling rather chirpy myself, I didn't hold back on the happy sounds as I worked. I slid Byte's breakfast onto a plate and floated it over to her along with some cutlery.

"There you go, dear. Let me know if you want some more."

—Mom? Where'd you say that dress was?— Moon Dancer asked.

I didn't want to make a deal of her calling me Mom, so rather than reply in any way that would make her uncomfortable, I just used my magic—guided by the cameras in each room—to float the dress out of my sewing room and to the door of the bathroom (neither of which had cameras).

—It's at the door. Just reach out and you can grab it,— I sent.

—Thanks!—

I slid the next two pieces of toast onto a plate just as Moon Dancer walked out. She looked wonderful wearing the dress, but she was blushing a shade of red that surprised me.

"What's the matter?" I asked.

"Well, you said I could borrow some of your—And I've never worn any like—These are really comfortable."

Cursing the fact that I wasn't recording the cameras constantly in my vigilance against Suri and Windigo, I instead turned to look at Moon with an eyebrow raised.

The moment I focused on her I could see what she'd done. The red of one of my teddies was barely visible at the deep neck of the dress she wore. I couldn't help a smile.

"They are, aren't they? I was a little surprised by how well they move and feel. You're welcome to keep that one if it fits you."

Moon stopped, blushing, and let out a sigh.

"I never used to focus on clothing this much. Is this another changeling thing?" Moon Dancer asked.

Oh dear. Was it? I had so many more questions for Ocellus now that I might never be able to ask her. Well, I had to own up to this.

"Maybe? I'm not sure. My own proclivities for clothing are well known, and I have noticed they leaked into NotABug a little when she wound up with me. Byte and 'Bee have both shown excitement for clothing and an aptitude for fashion."

"So it's contagious? I'm going to wind up spending half my money on pretty dresses and complaining when I have to wear something a second time?"

The sarcasm in Moon's voice had to have been applied with a bucket—or maybe a hose. She had her own personality that, while a little abrasive, was still worthy of a smile.

"Fair is fair," I said. "Learning computer programming wasn't something I'd ever planned to do either, but when it became something I needed, I grasped the ideal firmly and walked that path."

"Are you saying I should give in and let fashion into my life?"

"Darling, is that something you need to ask me?"

I batted my eyelashes, though the effect might have been lost with my changeling form. For a moment I considered shapechanging just to give the right effect, but then decided I had enough to do today to spend magic and love on.

"You're not going to let this go, are you?" Moon Dancer asked.

"I will if you do. We have a unique situation. We are making enough money that none of us need to do what we don't enjoy."

Moon looked at me with surprise. Lifting up her toast, she took a careful bite of it. Only when she was done chewing and swallowing did she continue.

"You're really including me in that?"

"Of course. You are family. From the moment I wake up I reach out to those around me. I feel the warmth of Rainbow in my bed, I hear the soft chirping of data connections in my head, and I see you all on the cameras. We're all connected—we're all family."

More quiet. I was content to let her work out her own questions.

"So, uh…" Moon Dancer said. "What does that mean for us?"

"What do you want to do with your life, Moon Dancer?"

"If I knew that, my course advisor would be so much happier," Moon Dancer said, then sighed. "A week ago I would have made more jokes and tried to deflect your question because I didn't know. Bitwise, Byte, and Bumblebee are—I've never had siblings before. Seeing them happy makes me happy."

"It makes me happy too, but seeing you happy is just as important."

Watching a normal person think, I could count seconds and minutes off as their mind put together the facts and juggled them. With someone like Moon and myself, however, I had to work at a different scale. If she paused in thought for a second, she spent many minutes of a regular person thinking about the topic.

Moon Dancer sat in silence for four and a half minutes.

"I want to share what I know. I've spent so much of my life learning, but first I need to finish that. This—gift—will help me do that much faster. I will apply to test out on the subjects I need to graduate, then I think I'll open a school for changelings," Moon Dancer said.

Byte, having been sitting quietly while we talked (and savaging her egg in the nest), excitedly chirped.

"I'm having trouble dealing with people in the real world, which is why I'm trying to make myself stay like this more. Also, I want to go around with Mum and meet people."

"I'll be running a few errands today, again. I hope that tomorrow we can open the boutique."

A rush of excited chirping hit me before Byte did. She wrapped arms around my neck and hugged me for all she was worth. Far from immune to my daughter's affection, I reached a foreleg around her and held her close.

—Good morning,— NotABug sent.

—Hugs time,— I sent.

Giving NotABug a nudge, I pushed her to the fore and let her have a cuddle with our daughter. With the aid of the cameras in the kitchen, I was able to continue making breakfast.

I noticed movement in the hallway and piped the feed directly to NotABug.

"What's with all the chirping?" Rainbow Dash asked.

Delivering what should have been my own breakfast to another plate, I floated it over to the table near Rainbow while she, NotABug, and Byte hugged.

"It's a chirpy day, Mom. Try the toast, it's really yum," Byte said.

The stampede of little hooves down the hallway wasn't a surprise, but it was certainly welcome.

—Tag,— NotABug sent.

I was back in control and aware of the snuggle I was in with two more nymphs buzzing their wings in excitement. Surrendering Byte and Rainbow, I used my magic to pick up 'Bee and Bitwise and lifted them into a one-legged hug.

"How's my darlings?" I asked.

More buzzing and chirping wings were all the answer I needed. Once I was done squeezing them and nuzzling their cheeks, I floated them over to the table and their own seats.

Rainbow didn't hesitate in the slightest. She cut the toast on her plate into four squares and offered it to our youngest two.

"Here you guys go. Hope you're hungry!" Rainbow Dash said.

It only took a glance at Moon to see her smiling from ear to ear. The sight was such a change from her serious face that it warmed me just to see. The table devolved into chatting and eating, and I kept serving up slices of toast with eggs in them until, finally, it was my turn to sit down and eat.

I lifted the toast to my lips and just as my teeth closed down on the delight, I saw someone walking up to our front door.

—Doorbell,— I sent to Rainbow Dash.

Her hand slipping down to her running shorts, Rainbow produced her phone from them. Standing up with a sigh, she winked at me.

"I'll get it."

I focused on my toast. The carbohydrates of the bread weren't doing much for me, but the butter and the egg were both sources of delight. I managed to finish the piece of toast before I heard Rainbow walking back into the living room.

"It's for you. Not sure what their deal is, but they said—"

Starling, wearing a pretty floral dress and a white shirt, interrupted Rainbow Dash with each stomp of what had to be boots she was wearing. Her other defensive accoutrements were a shoulder holster and a rather sizable (or so I thought) pistol.

"I got it," Starling said.

Two cameras had a good view of the front door, and I watched through them as Starling stepped up to the entrance. Turning on the audio feed, I kept eating my breakfast. Starling kept half of herself hidden behind the door.

"I'm Rarity," Starling said. "What do you want?"

"You don't match the description I have of—"

The woman at the door froze, and I would have too. Starling had changed from relaxed, to standing straight with her hands slightly out from the sides of her body—she'd also pushed the door open just a little more to reveal the gun in her holster.

"I'm going to have to ask your reason for wanting to see Miss Rarity."

Starling, I realized, was all business now. Her tone was commanding, giving barely any leeway for the other woman to do anything but reply as Starling wanted.

"I-I'm here to serve papers. I'm with Heart and Trust—a law firm. Look, I was told I needed to give her this, but if you're going to threaten me, I'll—"

"I'm not threatening you. I'll give those to Miss Rarity," Starling said.

Now on alert, I ensured the cameras were recording and sent a message to Miss Velvet.

—Someone is here trying to serve me papers. What do I do?—

Already taking the papers, Starling stepped back and closed the door. The sound of the security bolt sliding home was a good spot to leave the recording, so I forwarded it to Twilight Velvet.

Waving one hand toward the front door, Starling set the papers on the table.

"You saw all that? You said you had a link to the cameras and—" Starling said.

"I saw it," I said. "I'm contacting Miss Velvet now."

I lifted the papers up and flicked through them quickly. To anyone else, it would have been nothing but perhaps counting the papers, but as they flicked past I took pictures and transposed them. NotABug was faster than me at the task, and probably understood the language better. She chirped worriedly.

—She's trying to block you from opening your boutique. This is part of your employment contract with Polomare Fashion,— NotABug sent.

I wondered how long it would take Miss Velvet to reply, and the answer was too long. I nervously ate my second piece of toast with everyone watching me before I felt a notification coming in.

—I expected this. She's trying to stall your business. It won't stick, but I won't be able to see a judge to get you safe against it before the afternoon. You can't open today,— Twilight Velvet sent.

A sigh of relief left my lips. I hadn't bothered instantly replying, more content to let myself relax a little.

—I planned to open tomorrow. Are you sure you can get this blocked?— I asked.

"Miss Velvet says she can deal with this," I said.

Rainbow Dash was the first to move, which wasn't surprising. She had her arms around me—wrapping me in the aura of her love—before Byte had even finished turning. I didn't even manage another shaking word before Byte, 'Bee, Bitwise, and Moon were gathered around me as well.

—This is nothing. Possibly a smoke-screen or a test to see if you still have someone representing you. With your permission, I'll see about starting proceedings against Polomare Fashion for harassment. It won't go anywhere, but it will show them I mean business.—

Wrapped in love and hugs, I sent back an affirmative. I hadn't even realized how much I'd been planning and preparing. At the time, I’d thought the talk with Princess Luna had been the start of dealing with this, but with my family snuggled around me I realized it was something I'd already been arming myself for.

"We're going for a run. It will clear everyone's head and put us in a better shape to face the day," Rainbow Dash said.

I couldn't help myself. Taking a deep pull of Rainbow's love, I let it suffuse and strengthen me. Her eyes widened as I did it, but when she blushed and kissed me, I knew she wasn't unappreciative of the intimate feeding.

"Are you all going?" Starling asked.

Both Byte and Moon glanced down the hallway to the room their computers were in.

"Yes," I said. "We all are. It will be good to get out of the house together."

"Awesome choice. What are you going to wear?" Rainbow Dash asked.

I couldn't help a giggle at her choice of words. If there was one thing I could rely upon Rainbow to do it was cheer me up. A good meal of love, toast, and eggs, some hugs and a little smooch, and she'd already made up for the horrid news.

"You think it scandalous that I go like this?" I asked.

Out of the corner of my eye I watched Byte flicker a few times with fire, each change replacing her outfit with something more sporty. When she was done, she had a pair of short-shorts in emerald green, a light shirt in black, and the outline of a matching green sports bra under the shirt.

"Will we have WiFi?" Bumblebee asked.

The real, hard-hitting questions were always asked by my daughters. Preparing was simpler than expected—the only one of us that needed to grab anything was Starling, who snagged a tracksuit jacket to cover her otherwise obvious weapon.

Byte, Moon, and Rainbow took off first, running side by side. I could tell Moon Dancer wasn't actually interested in running, but she seemed determined to take part in family activities. Bumblebee, Bitwise, and myself came after them in our natural forms, while Starling brought up the rear.

With the pace Rainbow set, none of us were exactly up to talking out loud, and ChirpNet was reasonably quiet too except for the occasional chirp of encouragement Moon seemed to make to 'Bee and Bitwise.

We circled around to the other side of the block, and while trotting along behind Rainbow, I was surprised when she slowed and came to a stop.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

"Nothin'. Just figured we could take a look at our other house."

Rainbow had reminded me that our little world was growing in a quite physical sense. I turned to look at Starling.

"Your father moved in here, right?" I asked.

"He's moving in today. Mrs. Velvet had one of her people arrange that. Thank you for that. It's good to know he's nearby," Starling said.

"I think, by now, you've realized how much importance we place on family. Your father helped me protect mine, and now you're doing so in a more direct manner. That's not to say I don't expect to get my money's worth out of employing him," I said.

—When will we get builders working on the new house to install hardware?— I asked.

—Soon. I just need to get Mr. Pants to arrange for us to buy the rest of the houses on this block,— NotABug sent.

—We're buying all of it, then?—

—Absolutely. Then we can have it rezoned to residential/commercial, and there'll be nothing to stop us doing whatever we want.—

—But until then, just basements, right?—

—Just basements. This is Suri's doing, isn't it?—

The change in conversation didn't surprise me. I gave NotABug a digital hug and a small flood of reassuring chirps.

—Yes. Without a doubt. Definitely not Windigo's style. This firewall I've made will stop Windigo, but it's going to stop a lot more than just her. Whoever we give or sell this to will be immune to our own prodding.—

—Good. I don't want that power.—

I chirped at NotABug in reassurance.

—No one should have the power to do that kind of thing. I know some people who'll be a little upset if we made everything secure, but I'm sure they'll get over it.—

That NotABug was so pacifistic flew in the face of every one of those terrible Terminator movies, though Windigo sure would have given their antagonist a run for its money. I wanted to hug NotABug, chirp at her, and tell her everything will be alright. The first two were easy—I was already doing them.

—And once we shut down Windigo from being able to do anything, we just have Suri to deal with,— I sent.

"That's good. He likes to feel useful, and he'd hate to think you were paying him as some kind of charity," Starling said.

Being reminded about the real world meant I had to backtrack to work out what conversation I'd been involved with before NotABug had my full attention. Right. Starling's father.

"It's just like I said—Family," I said.

"Enough talk. Let's get our heartbeats back up and head home. Apparently I'm going car shopping," Rainbow Dash said.

—Car shopping?— I asked.

—I told her it'd be nice to have a car we could drive without being in it. She might have taken that to mean she would be doing the shopping. With a phone and earpiece I can help her pick something that will work,— NotABug sent.

The pace Rainbow set was much faster than what had gotten us to the halfway point. Bitwise and 'Bee began to stumble, so I plucked them up with my magic and settled them on my back. My hooves thundered on the pavement in what a quick search told me was a canter.

We were just rounding the last corner onto our street when the firewall at home started asking for help over the special ChirpNet system I'd hooked it into. From one step of my canter to the next I analyzed the log of what was attacking and could see it was Windigo.

Before I could issue a suggestion to filter the attack, the AI I'd built the previous day sent a little stream of data that the router quickly implemented.

With a set of actions to take, the router was blocking Windigo's attacks as well as I could hope. It began chirping softly over ChirpNet, sending its update to other firewalls to implement.

—You're chirping a lot,— NotABug sent. —What happened?—

—Windigo attacked our network. The firewall needed help, and got it. Now Windigo is having trouble.—

—Oh no! That's terrible! Windigo's in trouble? What a shame…— NotABug sent. —Did that work? I've been trying sarcasm.—

—Darling, that worked wonderfully. As Windigo adapts and attacks, our networks adapt and stop it. I was about to help, but everything was under control.—

—I was so lucky I found you, Rarity.—

—And I was lucky you found me. Could you imagine what another year in that place would have done to me? And I wouldn't have had the courage to let Rainbow into my heart.—

We chirped happily together as we finished the run off and wound up back home again. I used my magic to unlock the door and set Bitwise and 'Bee down as I walked in.

Running her hand down my back, Rainbow's fingers passed over the base of my right wing before continuing down to my thigh.

"You haven't even worked up a sweat. Wait, can you sweat?" Rainbow Dash asked.

Arching my back like a cat as I walked past, I got to the hallway before looking back at Rainbow.

"I don't care if I don't. I'm Still having a shower."

I barely got to the shower before Rainbow slipped up behind me—pulling her shirt off. The shower was refreshing and reaffirming. I offered NotABug some time, but she said the previous night had fed her appetites plenty.

Leaving Rainbow to dress herself, I walked to the mirror and examined myself.

"What do you think?" I asked.

"Well, I think if I'm going shopping for your new car, and Moon is going to classes, then someone has to stay home and mind the girls."

It hadn't occurred to me at all. All morning with the girls would be interesting. I needed to cover.

"Well of course, but I still want to look—"

"You already look beautiful, Rarity. Why don't you make a dress you can wear like this?"

Rainbow's voice got closer and closer until I felt her lips on my cheek. In the mirror, I watched excitement dance in her eyes—given what we'd just been up to, it didn't surprise me.

But Rainbow was right. I hadn't made any outfits for myself as myself. My memory brought up the dresses the pony Rarity had in her boutique.

"See, I know that look. That's the look you get when you think about dresses," Rainbow Dash said. "It's an awesome look."

"Flattery, Rainbow, will get you all sorts of places. Giving me ideas will help your case as well."

I turned my head just enough to kiss her back. When we finally broke apart, I'd almost forgotten about making a dress for myself.

"How do you think I should go? Casual, sporty, or something actually fancy?" Rainbow Dash asked.

She paused a moment and let out a sigh.

"Of course. Fancy," Rainbow Dash said. "I don't know why I even bother asking. I've worn more dresses in the last month than I have in the rest of my life."

"I'm not that bad. I just love it when you look good," I said.

Rainbow, who was bending down and had already pulled a white skirt out of the closet, looked back at me past her rump. I shivered at the expression of hunger on her face. It wasn't hunger for what we'd just done in the shower or any other act. She looked at me as if I were everything she wanted.

"I think we both like having our egos stroked."

I had to agree. We were both vain creatures, but I wouldn't have it any other way. I watched her get dressed—one garment at a time—and took another kiss as my due before she left wordlessly. Turning my attention back to the mirror, I tried to imagine what I'd look like in a dress.

Aware of Rainbow and the others walking around the house on the cameras, I watched Rainbow and Moon leave together—Rainbow wearing the Bluetooth earpiece. It didn't take a lot of searching to find what phone she'd left with, and I routed through it to get access to the little speaker she'd put in her ear.

"I love you, darling."

It took an outside camera to see Rainbow's smile widen as she climbed into her car.

"I love you too!" NotABug said through the same data buffer.

"I love both of you—Sorry, Moon, I was talking to Rarity and NotABug. What'd you say?" Rainbow Dash asked.

—I'll leave her in your care,— I sent.

NotABug chirped back to me as I withdrew my own monitoring code from the earpiece.

—Uh, sorry if I was butting in,— Moon Dancer sent.

—Quite alright, dear. I just wanted to say goodbye for the morning. Now, where's my eldest?— I asked.

Byte's surprised chirp, coming from the room where her computer was, didn't surprise me in the least. I could see her already playing some game or the other.

—I'm just having a snack. Staying human for so long yesterday left me a bit hungry!— Byte sent.

—Why didn't you nibble on Rainbow?— I asked.

—MOM!— Bumblebee sent. —THE EGG IS HATCHING!!—

It wasn't often I would forgive one of my daughters for grammar, or in this case all-caps, but I was willing to make an exception. My hooves thundered as I ran down the hall. Byte jumped out of what was apparently now the gaming room just before me, and I used my magic to lift her up and carry her with me.

I reached the living room just in time to see a little head push free of the egg, look up at me and chirp her wings. Setting Byte down carefully, I walked up and sat beside the egg.

"Hello," I said. "Welcome to the world."

The moment I spoke I felt her sipping at me. Just a little, our newest nymph tried her best to climb out of the remains of her egg, but her limbs weren't quite as ready to do what she wanted yet.

Byte beat me to the chase. Still shapechanged to look human, she reached into the egg with slender hands and scooped the newest addition to our family up.

"Hey there. I'm your big sister, Byte."

"Byte!" the little nymph said, then chirped.

A flow of energy from Byte to our newest addition revealed my eldest wasn't quite as drained as she let on. Of course not, Rarity, she wanted to play more games with her friends online.

—I think it's your turn to name her, darling,— I sent to NotABug.

NotABug reached out digitally to our daughter, and I felt a tiny moment before she came online. ChirpNet already had her details.

—Hi!— Beta sent.

—Hi.—

—Hello!—

—You're adorable!—

The replies came back thick and fast, and the chirping that accompanied them was reinforced by my own.

—I am! Is that my name, Beta?— Beta asked. —I like it! Why is everything moving so slowly?—

—Well, there's two worlds, Beta, and we live in both of them,— Byte sent. —There's this one (it moves really fast), and there's the outside one. It moves about a thousand times slower. But there's something really amazing about them.—

A flood of excited and curious chirps came from Beta.

—This world is actually built inside the slow one. They're the same world!— Byte sent.

—But how does this one move so fast if that one moves so slow?— Beta asked.

—Because the machines that run this world can count really small, and use that to cut the time up to do a lot of things really quickly. We do that too!—

I settled beside Byte while they talked about the nature of the world. Byte, experiencing it from a similar viewpoint to Beta, explained it much better than I ever hoped to.

It was time enough that I tried something again. I reached one hoof out and gently stroked Beta's head-crest, while delving a little deeper into the digital world.

—Hi! Who are you?— Beta asked.

—Me?— I asked.

—Yes. You look familiar, and you chirp really nicely.—

—That's one of our moms. She's really nice, and is really amazing in both worlds,— Byte sent.

As I started extending myself into my programming environment, I tried to keep up with the real world and our conversation.

—Wow! Were you little like me?—

A thought struck me, and I wondered how ethical it would be to build a virus that would identify and eradicate all my own baby photos. That was probably more Stefanie's thing, to be honest. Speaking of ethical, was giving tools to her the pinnacle of virtue? Probably not, but when testing a weapon you give it to soldiers.

—Once, but I looked very different. It wasn't until one of your other moms met me that I became buggier,— I sent.

—What are you doing? I can see you accessing something, but I can't see all the way in.—

—I'm working on a program. Come and have a look.—

Opening a door to my own virtual machine for Beta to access, I ensured my work was correctly saved and backed up lest a mistake be made.

—This is sooo pretty! What is it?—

That the first thing Beta noticed was the colors surprised and excited me—a nymph after my own heart. If only I didn't have to explain my sword to her.

—This is a tool used to deal with bad people who want to hurt us,— I sent. —You see, when NotABug (one of your other mommies) came to be, there was another with her. Windigo is not nice, and wants to get rid of us. This is for telling Windigo we don't want to be gotten rid of in their own language.—

It was gross simplification, while still explaining the reasons behind my actions. I was proud that I could condense it down so well.

—You can't just tell them to stop?—

—We've tried that, but they're horridly persistent.—

—Oh. Well, we need to stop them. I like being here. How do I understand this?—

And that's when I realized I had a daughter who not just had an appreciation for fashion, but wanted to learn programming. If I weren't already chirping up a storm, I'd have flooded ChirpNet completely with happy bug sounds.

Keeping my attention flicking back and forth between the real world and the digital one wasn't as easy as anyone who claims they can multitask seems to think. Beta eventually climbed over to lay against me while Byte went off to play her games (like the others, I could see her feeding as a game too now) while I taught Beta about both fashion and programming.

11:22 A.M.

A bugpile had formed while I'd been teaching Beta. Bitwise had curled up with us too, and Byte had come out to snuggle for a bit. 'Bee, however, had sent me a single message that she was going to help Twilight.

Beta picked up the ideas of programming very quickly, and most of my lesson was spent teaching her advanced concepts I'd picked up—but it wasn't enough. We'd both gone looking for more things to write and learn, and I'd found great joy in spending most of the morning discovering quirky languages and methods for solving problems.

—Hey! I got us a new car. NotABug says it has everything you need to drive it. Just heading home now,— Rainbow Dash sent.

—Who's that?— Beta asked.

—That's Rainbow, she's your third mom,— I sent. —She only lives in the real world, but she's really fast when she wants to be,— I sent.

—Then how did she send that message? She doesn't sound very chirpy.—

—Kid, if I could chirp, I'd be chirping all the time,— Rainbow Dash sent.

Beta let loose with a rush of concerned chirps. I stopped my stroking of her crest to hug her a little tighter.

—You can't chirp?—

—Nah, but I've got a bunch of awesome bugs who do enough to make it up.—

Pausing in her chirping for a few moments, Beta nuzzled into my neck.

—Bugs like me?—

—Yup. Bugs like you.—

A veritable flood of happy chirping poured from Beta. She freed up her back from my grip so she could buzz her little wings until they chirped in real life too.

—See? Just like that,— Rainbow Dash sent. —I'll be home real soon. Keep it up!—

I split my attention further. Snuggling a very chirpy nymph and teaching said nymph how to code were joined by watching the exterior cameras closer.

11:43 A.M.

My diligence paid off. Rainbow Dash pulled up in her car while Starling arrived in an unfamiliar one. I picked Beta up with my magic, stood up, and set her down on my back. Byte and Bitwise lifted their heads to watch us.

"Come on, let's go out and see what they got," I said.

—Why are you talking the slow way?— Beta asked.

Walking to the door, I deliberately left Beta waiting for my answer. For all I loved my daughters, they needed this lesson taught to them.

"Because, even in this house, not everyone can use digital communications quickly. Rainbow has to use her phone to see them. Besides, it's good practice."

—But you said— "But you said Rainbow can use it really fast," Beta said.

"Yes, but there's also Starling and, sometimes, my sister."

Beta let out a surprised chirp from her position on my back.

"You have a sister too?!"

Beta's world sounded rocked to its foundations. I turned my head to look back at her and kissed her nose.

"And I have parents too. You could even—Here she comes."

I'd cut short as Rainbow, moving faster than the cameras could pick up, reached the door and threw it open. She wasn't so fast that I couldn't see her move, but her speed was amazing to behold. Before my heart could beat twice, Rainbow'd picked me up (including Beta on my back) and carried us to the couch.

By the time Starling had reached the front door, Rainbow had Beta chirping and giggling with kisses and hugs. The amount of love Rainbow put off was enough to feed a whole swarm of changelings—probably literally.

"Rainbow said you had a new girl," Starling said. "You're really knocking them out. How—err—I'm going to stop asking questions before I ask one that you don't want to answer. The car's parked behind Rainbow's."

I nuzzled Byte and Bitwise to make sure they weren't missing out on snuggles, but I needn't have worried, Rainbow scooped all three together for a snuggle.

"Wait. What're you doing, Starling?" I asked.

"Figured I'd make lunch and give you two some more time with—"

"No, darling. Today is a special day. We'll dine out I believe," I said.

Rainbow snorted at my pronouncement.

"This is because you couldn't have sushi in Equestria, isn't it?" Rainbow Dash asked.

I huffed a little and kissed Byte on the nose when she crawled over to me.

"How did you know?" I asked.

"You talk in your sleep sometimes. Anyway, I could totally go for some sushi, but with this many of us you should probably call ahead."

There were all kinds of benefits to having a girlfriend who was firmly grounded in the real world, though the hit to my ego of being shown up always came as a bit of a blow. I bobbed my head and started that call.

"Moshi moshi. Uma no Sushi. My name is Kitsune. How may I help you?"

"Kit, darling, Rarity here," I said through my phone's buffer.

"Rarity! I'm so glad I don't have to keep talking like that. Dad—He wants to play up the Japanese culture side. What can I help you with?"

It was like talking to a completely different woman than the last time I'd been there. There was none of the worry she'd shown.

"Well, I was wondering if we might be able to come have some lunch, but I'll be bringing the whole—"

I realized I was missing two. Well, we could easily fix that.

—'Bee, Moon, would you like to come out and have some sushi for lunch?— I asked.

'Bee's excited chirp didn't need any translation or further words, but Moon made a distinctly confused chirp.

—Uh, I was already talking with Lyra about having lunch with my friends. How close is this place, and could we afford it on a student budget?— Moon Dancer asked.

—I doubt it. You have your card, remember?—

—But Lyra won't like to let me pay.—

Inspiration struck like a thunderbolt. I turned my full focus to the conversation with Kit.

"… Family. Sorry dear, dealing with our children. Anyway, I have some friends who want to join us, but one of them is… frugal. Could you put all her charges on my bill and tell her that we had a two-for-one coupon?" I asked.

I sent a transcript of the conversation to Moon Dancer, who replied with a supportive chirp.

"We could do that. As long as someone pays, I don't think it should be a problem so long as I talk to Father first. How many will you have with you?"

The math was quick to do.

—Just yourself and Lyra, was it?— I asked.

—Yeah.—

"Nine. That's not too many, is it? It includes four of my little ones."

There was a moment of Kit speaking away from the phone in another language. I stored that particular recording to deal with another time and waited for her to get back to me.

"Five adults and four children is fine. Father is excited to make sushi for you again."

The information was more than just a compliment, it was flattering.

"That's quite the compliment. When should we arrive?"

"It's a quiet day, but any time after twelve will be okay."

I was about to reply, but I heard Kit draw in breath to say something further.

"I'm sorry about last time. It's hard to accept that you're just—" Kitsune Udon said. "You're a person, and I'm sorry if I ever made you feel like you weren't."

"Kit, dear, it's not every day you have a monster walk into your restaurant and ask for lunch. I completely understand, and I'm glad you can see past the outside."

"Thank you. I'll see you soo—Father wants me to say goodbye properly. Hold on," Kitsune Udon said. "Ahem. Shitsurei shimasu. Goodbye!"

I filed those words away as well moments before the call ended. It was all kinds of cute that she did all this for her father, but from a business standpoint I could see it being a good idea. Chef Soba used the mystique of Japan to best effect.

—Everyone get ready, we're going out for sushi for lunch,— I sent.

—What's sushi? What's lunch?— Beta asked.

Before I could answer, Byte sent her all kinds of information that amounted more toward how to search for answers than just giving them to her on a plate. I greatly approved.

"Starling, have you eaten sushi before?" I asked.

"Uh, that's raw fish, right?" Starling asked. "Which I guess is answer enough. Isn't that stuff like super exp—Oh, right, fairy godmother. Sure, I'll try any grub at least once."

Rainbow Dash was on her back on the couch, being sat on by four nymphs now. She tried to sit up and failed.

"Didn't you say last time that this was going to be a rare thing? Not that sushi isn't super healthy, but I distinctly remember you saying to Sweetie that—" Rainbow Dash said.

I had no qualms about cutting short this little argument.

"Darling, we're having sushi. Moon will be coming too and is bringing a friend," I said.

Rainbow climbed to her feet—displacing our daughters—and leaned in to kiss my cheek in a most satisfactory manner.

"Just being your voice of reason. Now that's dealt with, I'm going to get changed so we can go have some sushi," Rainbow Dash said.

"Getting changed for lunch? Rainbow Dash! Where's the tomboy from high-school who I had to fight to get to wear a dress once in a while?"

"And the fashion queen of Canterlot High goes for morning runs and spends most of the day writing computer programs. What's your point?"

Rainbow stretched, arching her back in a way that showed off her body beautifully. She was slim, but every curve Rainbow possessed was muscled in a way that made my—and NotABug's, apparently—libido sit up and take notice.

"My point, Rainbow, is that I love that you have more care for your look now. You have a wonderful body—you should show it off in its best light."

"What're you wearing?"

The question only made sense if I were going to go to the bar as human, but then my mind rebelled at the simple conclusion. I could shapechange a dress, surely?

Memory of the outfits the pony version of myself had scattered around her boutique came to mind. I sorted through them mentally, one by one, until I found something that was a mix of flowing but chic.

The colors, of course, I could change to match what Rainbow was wearing, but because I wanted to give her a challenge, I selected a range of winter colors to match my mane and tail. I built the image of it in my head, simply layering it over the top of me, and used my magic to push the shape into being.

Changeling fire was, I had to admit, wonderful stuff. It seemed to be the literal expression of our magic and was more a mirror of creative flair than a force of destruction and entropy. I tilted my head to look up at Rainbow and winked at her.

"I'll be right back!" Rainbow Dash said.

A rainbow of light caught in her wake as Rainbow Dash ran to our bedroom. I was distracted by another flicker of changeling fire, however.

Byte, in her human guise, wore a similar-seasoned dress to mine but hers picked out darker shades rather than the lighter winter colors I'd gone for. Her outfit hung off her shoulders and clung to her body to show off curves that I knew were invented entirely by her.

"You look wonderful, dear. But you might want to change back when we get there. I'm not sure if being shapechanged affects how we taste things," I said.

A worried chirp came from Byte via ChirpNet.

"I didn't think of that! What should I do?"

"Dear, we're going to the perfect place to test it out. Chef Soba will not mind you shapechanging to test your palate."

A whole host of reassuring chirps (some of them my own) flooded along to Byte until she was chirping happily with her sisters.

"How's this?" Rainbow Dash asked.

I hadn't been watching the cameras inside the house, but now I tapped into all the ones in the living room to examine Rainbow from every angle. The dress was gorgeous and bright in summer shades. She'd chosen opposites rather than try to tone herself down to match my winter, and it worked for her.

Walking over to Rainbow, I reared up on my hind legs so I was high enough to kiss her properly.

—Can I help?— NotABug asked.

I pressed my lips to Rainbow's, got the kiss off to a good start, and nudged NotABug forward. We swapped back and forth every few seconds throughout the duration of the kiss until Rainbow pulled back giggling.

"I'm not a timeshare. You can kiss me one at a time, you know?"

"Yes—" I said.

Push.

"… But this is fun," NotABug said.

Push.

"And we both—" I said.

Push

"… Like to kiss you," NotABug said.

The wide grin Rainbow wore told me she wasn't upset with either of us in the slightest. She leaned forward again and gave us (I like to think it was us at this particular point) a kiss on the nose.

"I like kissing both of you, too. Why don't you all head out and get in the van. Have you gotten Moon and her friend moving yet?"

—Moon, are you ready to leave, dear?— I asked.

—Just need to know where we're going,— Moon Dancer sent back.

It was simple to send her the address and leave everything up to her, but I also sent the simple navigation system I'd made as well.

—Got it. We'll be there soon. You wouldn't believe how excited Lyra got when I told her we were going out for sushi.—

—Clearly she has taste. We'll see you there soon.—

—She has a little taste, but mostly she's hungry.—

"Moon and her friend are on their way. We should do the same," I said.

The minivan was our only choice, and despite my hopes Rainbow got behind the wheel. She was surprisingly sedate in her driving. I contented myself with a little stint of coding and watching Moon's signal get closer.

When I realized Moon had already reached Uma no Sushi before us, I let out a little whine. We were still a block away.

"What's up?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"Darling, they beat us there!"

"Don't care. Everyone in this van is more important to me than driving fast. Besides, what am I going to do in a minivan?"

The last word carried so much distaste that I realized something about Rainbow Dash—she hated driving this thing. A look at her revealed what I'd been blind to.

"You don't like this car," I said.

"Not one bit. It handles like a drunken pig and has the get-up-and-go of a dead cockroach. Anything would be better to drive than this—even your electric."

My heart (at least I thought I had one) sped up at the revelation. I leaned across the gap in the front seats and nuzzled against Rainbow's shoulder.

"But you're driving it for us."

"Yup. I'm driving this horrible thing for you."

As she pulled the horrible thing up to the curb, I nuzzled her shoulder again before using my magic to open the door beside me.

When Rainbow Dash circled around from her side and met back up with us, she had a huge grin on her face and was blushing up a storm. Well, she deserved it. I hadn't been noticing what effects family life was having on her.

"Are we all ready?" I asked.

A round of chirps and a nod from Rainbow were my answer, but it was the chirps from Moon that drew my attention.

Moon Dancer and Lyra Heartstrings (I remembered her well from high school) were waiting by the front door. Moon had a goofy-happy smile on her face when Bitwise raced over to her, but Lyra was staring in shock. Right, a normal. I walked over to join them.

"Hi, Lyra, it's been a while since high school," I said.

"Moon, when you said we were having sushi for lunch with a bunch of nerdy ponies, I thought you were joking! This is awesome!" Lyra Heartstrings said. "You look—you all look—amazing! Hey, Rainbow! What—? Hold on, high school? Who are you?"

Lyra seemed the most excitable of excitable. When Moon picked Bitwise up for a hug, Lyra couldn't seem to take her eyes off my daughter's hooves. I cleared my throat.

"We didn't have too much to do with each other. I'm Rarity," I said.

"Rarity? As in, queen of fashion Rarity? Oh man, you were the biggest thing! All the girls wanted to—"

Lyra cut herself short as a blush reached her cheeks. She looked aside to Rainbow and her eyes widened a little.

"Rarity, in high school you were—" Rainbow Dash said. "You were a bit of a catch. Guys'd do anything for you because they thought they had a chance, but there was a few of us girls who'd have done just about as much."

I turned and looked up at Rainbow to see a blush in her cheeks, but she had a big cheesy grin too. Dawning realization hit me. I had been completely blind in high school to everything but boys and fashion.

"Well," I said, "That's all settled now. I'm hungry."

"The sign at the door says it's reserved for a private party," Moon Dancer said. "Is that us?"

Kitsune Udon opened the door and poked her head outside. She looked immaculate in a stunning blue kimono that had to have cost a small fortune.

"Please, come inside. Father is cooking just for you today."

I led the way inside while Kit held the door open. She seemed much less fazed by my appearance today, even if I looked (again) different to how I had.

Standing behind his counter, Chef Soba looked very excited to see us. I knew it was more than just meeting people who appreciated his food—with a range of palates to please, he had a challenge ahead of him.

"Irasshaimase!" Soba Tsuya said. "Miss Rarity, every time I see you, you look more fantastical."

His honesty was appreciated, as was his twisting of language to avoid giving offense. I made my way up to the counter and took a moment to climb up on the seat and sit with my tail and dress draped behind me.

Rainbow Dash was quick to lift 'Bee up to her own seat while she held Beta in her lap. Byte slipped onto a seat beside Moon (who'd been carrying Bitwise with her) and pulled 'Bee to her own lap. Lyra settled on her own chair and stared around the room with open excitement. Starling stood behind us until I waved her to take a seat.

"I appear to be gaining somewhat of a horde of offspring, Chef Soba. Our latest is Beta here. This big girl is Byte, on her lap is 'Bee, and Moon Dancer down there has Bitwise. Moon invited her friend along too, Miss Lyra Heartstrings. Our newest friend here is Starling," I said.

As I spoke each name, I indicated whom I was speaking of. Each name earned a slight bow from Chef Soba.

"And, yes, I have changed once more, however this appears to be the sum of my adjustments. Byte has learned the trick of shapechanging, and is becoming quite clever at it. But enough of us, how is the sushi today?" I asked.

No question could have brought more happiness to the chef's face. Chef Soba smiled as he looked along the row of us and then turned to Kit.

"Chef Kitsune, please join me in presenting sushi to our friends and customers," Soba Tsuya said.

Kit looked shocked to the point of amazement. She stared at her father for nearly three seconds before squealing and running for the back room. The squealing was quieter for a moment, then stopped as she ran back out wearing a similar uniform to her father. All the while, Chef Soba had a restrained smile that spoke volumes for his pride in his daughter, given his normally subdued expressions.

Of course, I could see deeper. Chef Soba was boiling with pride and confidence, but also an iron discipline that wrapped about his emotional aura like armor. Kit had a measure of the discipline, the iron, and the confidence, but she was boiling over with excitement.

—No nibbling from either of them. Kit smells delicious, I know, but we don't want to distract them from their work,— I sent.

—Yes Mom!—

—Okay.—

… And a flood of chirps came back.

—Besides, Lyra's here. She's nice, and she's having a really good time already. I can nibble on her, right?— Byte asked.

—Ask her first, and you might want to use it to teach your sisters how to nibble. Be very careful, dear.—

—Yes, Mom.—

"Miss Lyra, this might sound odd—" Byte said.

"Just call me Lyra. Miss Lyra is what I want to be called someday, but not yet, ya know?" Lyra Heartstrings asked.

—She's confusing!— Byte sent.

—Just call her Lyra, Byte. What she means is one day she wants to be important enough that everyone will call her Miss Lyra, but she doesn't want to feel that old yet,— Moon Dancer sent.

—Oh!—

"Uh, well Lyra, I don't know how much Moon told you about us, but we feed off positive emotions—all forms of love are best. I wanted to know if I could teach my little sisters how to carefully feed with you?" Byte asked.

Lyra just stared at Byte for a few seconds. My daughter was making worried little chirps right up until a big grin grew on Lyra's face.

"Does it hurt? How do you know when I have love? Can you see it? Is it a smell? What's it feel like when you feed? Do you have to bite me? Do you have to kiss—?" Lyra Heartstrings asked.

"I think I can answer some of these," Rainbow Dash said.

I was distracted by Chef Soba turning toward me. Shifting my attention, I nonetheless recorded everything my ears picked up in case it might be useful later.

"Miss Rarity, should we assume your palate has shifted further? We can start with something familiar to see how it tastes, if you please?" Soba Tsuya asked.

Not giving Chef Soba and his sushi my full attention would be a crime. Leaving Rainbow and our daughters to to talk, I nodded to him.

"I could have shapechanged to look more human, but I wanted to ensure your sushi tasted right for me. My daughter, Byte, wanted to test how different our tastes can be when we do shapechange."

With a glance to Byte, I turned back to see Chef Soba smiling.

"It is refreshing to have customers as curious and focused on testing their palates as I am. We will begin with a fatty tuna nigiri," Soba Tsuya said.

His hands moved like literal magic. Chef Soba curled his fingers into a container of rice and formed it perfectly, sliced a piece of tuna, put a touch of wasabi on the rice, and assembled the nigiri in his hand with expert motions. A swift brush of a special soy sauce was added before he set it on a small tray of wood and passed it over to me.

"One thing that interests me, Miss Rarity, is how you hold things?"

Using my magic was simple, it was natural. I let power play along my horn and plucked up a little bit of the ginger from the side of the block of wood and placed it in my mouth to demonstrate.

"Interesting. Please, touch my hand with this. I must know if it heats the sushi or cools it," Soba Tsuya said.

Carefully, I extended my magic again and just touched the palm of his outstretched hand.

"Ah! Neither warm nor cold. Perfect. You may eat my sushi this way."

"Thank you, Chef Soba," I said.

I carefully grasped the sushi with my magic and lifted it, then turned it just right so that the fish caught my tongue first. The moment it was inside my mouth, flavor exploded and forced all my attention to my sense of taste and smell.

My eyes fluttered closed and the chirping in the back of my head softened as I let the tuna melt onto my tongue. With the taste was almost perfectly like last time, it was the fatty fish essence that rushed across my tongue and brought with it the hint of soy.

When the tuna gave way to rice and the strong taste of the wasabi, I wanted to curl my fingers and toes up at how amazing it was—if I still had fingers and toes they would certainly be curled, but I don't, so I contented myself with a happy chirp and a delighted sigh.

Slowly, as the flavor of the rice and wasabi compelled me to swallow the delicacy at last, I opened my eyes and let my delight free rein across my face.

"A good result?" Soba Tsuya asked.

"If it were only half as good as it actually was, it would be spectacular. I do believe I have a tiny hint more protein flavor, though the sugars are still quite dominant for what little there is."

While he listened, Chef Soba's hands moved rapidly. He assembled four more pieces just the same as I'd just had and passed them out among my children. When he was done passing the last of them to Rainbow to feed to 'Bee, he returned to me.

At the other end of the bar, Kit was making pieces of nigiri for Lyra, Moon, and Starling—though Starling seemed the most reluctant at first, after her first piece she began to show much more interest in the food.

"And how have the swarm enjoyed their feast?" Soba Tsuya asked of my daughters.

Beta surprised all of us by being first to respond, and out loud.

"It's really yummy! I like the burning bit at the end, too!" Beta said.

Looking at her sister, Bitwise turned to face Chef Soba and gave a loud chirp from her wings.

"I'll take that as high praise," Soba Tsuya said.

"Sometimes," I said, "Chirping's the only response I can get from them."

—Would you like to try some of this, darling?— I asked NotABug.

Deep, thrumming chirps were my immediate reply. There was a sense of NotABug being intensely focused on something, and she pulled herself from it.

—I've been taking Mrs. Velvet's advice. Having her to rely on is good, but I want to understand how the law works.—

I couldn't have been more surprised if I'd tried.

—You're studying law?—

—Yeah. It's intense, though. Mrs. Velvet is helping me focus down on what I'd need to pass the bar exam. She's also willing to go on record as my mentor for it. I talked to Mr. Pants, and as far as he could discover what I'm doing to make money isn't illegal. The origin of the first funds I used (stole) is a problem. I've refunded the money and then some. Mr. Pants said that it couldn't be traced, but I felt better for returning it.—

I sent a bunch of encouraging chirps and hugs NotABug's way. This wasn't the first time she'd acknowledged doing bad things, but this is something she'd done to fix her mistakes.

—Are you sure you don't want to try some sushi?— I asked.

—No. You have fun. I can taste it, anyway. At least, I will later. Making recordings of everything is handy!—

I was surprised at that. I remembered the recordings of what she and Rainbow had gotten up to, but it hadn't occurred to me at the time to ask where they were being saved.

—Where are those recordings stored?—

NotABug filled my head with giggly chirps.

—In our brain. The first time I got stuck in this one "server", I thought it terrible, but it has some great flexibility.—

I wrapped NotABug in a digital cuddle and squeezed her while chirping.

—I'll have to take a look at how you set that up later. We might want to share that with Moon Dancer as well.—

—Good idea! I'll let you get back to the real world.—

—I love you, NotABug.—

A particularly large flood of chirps washed around my head.

—I love you too, Rarity.—

"Salmon roe would be a good choice next. It will check your protein palate in particular. Please, have some ginger while I make this," Soba Tsuya said.

I did as instructed, picking up some pickled ginger to clear my palate while Chef Soba began working with a larger piece of rice and worked the pink roe into it, along with a little wasabi, and then wrapped it all up in nori.

The resultant long roll was sliced up and a piece set on each of three of our plates. He immediately began working on a second one.

Picking up the roll, I carefully dipped one end of it in the provided soy sauce, then lifted it to my mouth and closed my fangs around it. The taste of the nori was light—it was crispy—and the rice joined it for mild taste. Then the roe provided its intense salmon flavor and was augmented by the wasabi and the soy.

Chef Soba watched me, waiting patiently for my opinion. Using my tongue to best effect, I searched around for the last wisps of flavor before swallowing the roll.

"The roe is as intense as ever. The wasabi—You used more than usual?" I asked.

"I did. Was it too much for your palate? This is how much the more—applied palates in Japan would prefer."

"No. No, that was wonderful. The extra sharpness of the wasabi was a perfect counterpoint to the softness of the rice. The soy seemed to come in late, however. It hit my tongue with the roe, not the rice."

"I may have a way to fix that. Your palate is complex, and it will never be sated except by a properly trained sushi chef. We will move to some shellfish."

Chef Soba worked his magic again. I watched him collect a handful of beautifully colored shrimp and begin working on them. It was back to nigiri, which I knew he'd gotten as perfect as could be for a changeling's tastes. While he worked, I had some more ginger to clear myself in preparation.

I tuned in for a moment to ChirpNet, only to find my daughters only using it for chirps (yes, a lot of them), but they reserved their descriptions of the sushi for verbal communication. Kit seemed to be taking everything in stride. She listened to all the nymphs chatter about the last piece Chef Soba had made, and she paid particular attention to Lyra, Moon, and Starling (the latter of whom had apparently only just started talking about how things tasted.

Byte's conversation was the oddest—to an observer anyway. She was explaining to Bitwise how to feed on Lyra without either letting Lyra feel it or otherwise affecting her in any way.

The rush of conversations were pulling me away from Chef Soba, however. I turned back to him just in time for him to set a shrimp nigiri before me. The back of the crustacean glistened with the special sauce he sometimes used.

"You noticed. Of course you'd notice. This has a weak sake glaze on the shrimp. Please try it and tell me what you think," Soba Tsuya said.

There was the feeling of other eyes upon me. I didn't look, but I could tell from my hearing that Kit had paused in her work. Was the sauce something she'd made?

With my attention back on the sushi, I lifted it carefully, inverted it and set it upon my tongue. The glaze had a little bite to it courtesy of the alcoholic sake, and it formed a curious base for the shrimp to rest upon. The taste of the rice cascaded around the shrimp and sake, leaving my mouth drenched in its starchy stickiness. Only when I deemed the flavors well mixed already did I chew, and found the spice of the wasabi finally break out and warm my mouth.

I savored the flavors, let them all run their course, and then swallowed.

"That was wonderful. The glaze was an interesting sting to introduce the shrimp's flavor. The rice was wonderful as always, but it wasn't until I chewed that I found the wasabi. An orchestra of flavor delightfully conducted."

Chef Soba nodded with much gravity.

"Then alcohol is not unpalatable. More nigiri?" Soba Tsuya asked.

Given my propensity for it, I nodded eagerly. I then remembered one of the reasons for coming today. I plucked up a piece of ginger while putting together my question.

"Do you cater?" I asked.

"I do not."

When Chef Soba spoke, his eyes flicked aside to Kit. He cleared his throat and set a slice of salmon into his palm.

"Kitsune has suggested it as a way we could make more money, but I am hesitant. If you had an event coming up, however, I may consider it."

I watched him expertly prepare the sushi and place it on my wooden plate. I lifted it up with my magic.

"I'm opening a new fashion boutique, and the idea of offering my clientele some sushi had occurred to me. Perhaps you could lend me Kit for a day?"

Placing the sushi in my mouth, inverted of course, I abandoned myself to the tasting of it. Rich, fatty meat tickled at my sense of taste and smell, and I couldn't stop a little flurry of chirps from escaping as the rice and wasabi joined the attack.

"It would not be perfect sushi. Without perfect conditions even a master could not make sushi precisely. Kitsune is no master—but she's getting close. She would need some room and equipment, but I think we could arrange something."

There was a distinct note of pride in Chef Soba's voice when he spoke of his daughter. He was deftly making another—identical—piece of nigiri then he passed it to Byte.

We both watched as Byte carefully took the sushi in her fingers, turned it, and ate it. A cute rush of chirps left her as she savored the treat, and she closed her eyes when I judged the wasabi would have met her palate. She chewed and swallowed at last and let out a happy sigh.

"The salmon is really moist and fatty. The flavor of it was really intense toward the beginning, but tapered off as the wasabi and rice came through. The wasabi tastes just as it did when I was here before, but the rice is a little less full," Byte said.

"Did you notice the same with the rice, Miss Rarity?" Soba Tsuya asked.

I shook my head.

"The rice was the same as last time."

"This could be one of two things, still. She's growing up rather rapidly, or so you said. Tastes change as people age. There is only one way to know for sure," Soba Tsuya said. "Miss Byte, could you please shapechange back to normal?"

Chef Soba paused as he felt his way around what was probably an unfamiliar word.

Byte passed Beta to Rainbow, then with no further warning she called her magic fire and with a flash, was her changeling self. She buzzed her wings once or twice and then sat up on the chair to look at Chef Soba.

"Oh, I need to have the ginger first," Byte said.

"I would not normally make the same piece for the same person twice like this, but we must establish if your taste is simply maturing or changing when you change," Soba Tsuya said.

Working with practiced precision, Chef Soba made another piece of nigiri with the salmon and presented it to Byte.

This time, Byte had to use her magic to pick the food up. She lifted it carefully, took an eager sniff, and ate the sushi.

Chef Soba and I waited while Byte carefully ate the sushi, and when she was finished she gave an excited chirp.

"It was the same. The rice was exactly the same as it was when I transformed."

"Transformed?" I asked.

"I was talking with some people about shapechanging and they used that word a lot. I looked it up, they mean the same thing—kinda. Anyway, the sushi is really nice, but it was the same as when I was shapechanged."

Giving no more than a nod, Chef Soba began working on more rolls. The meal only continued to exceed all my expectations and finished with another piece of abalone nigiri. Finally, content in fish-filled buggy-bliss, I had to talk to Kit about her services.

Kitsune replaced Chef Soba (should I call her Chef Kit?) and she had a little bit of a blush about her. She turned all her attention to me.

"Father said you want some catering done?" Kitsune Udon asked.

"I do! But I'm not sure if your father understood. I want catering done for at least one day a week, as well as something special for our opening day—tomorrow."

As I spoke, I watched Kit's expression change to shock, determination, then shock again. She stared at me at the end with utter surprise being the prevalent emotion in her aura.

"I don't know if I can do—I mean, that's a lot of stuff to organize by tomorrow—What kind of budget do you have for tomorrow, and what would be the usual budget?"

"For tomorrow? Let's say no more than five thousand. Regular—?"

—Darling? How much should we pay for sushi on a regular basis at the boutique?— I asked NotABug.

—Uh, I don't know. We normally eat a hundred dollars or so, and if you're busy you might have a few guests. A thousand?— NotABug sent.

—That sounds like a good idea. A thousand then. Thank you, darling, I love you.—

A hurricane of happy chirps swamped me along with a single message.

—I love you too, Rarity.—

"For the first day I think a budget of five thousand should be plenty. I want to quite literally invite people in to try your sushi and talk about fashion. I want to build buzz," I said.

"Mom, that was terrible," Byte said.

"What?"

In answer, Byte buzzed her wings almost enough to lift her off her chair. Drat, I'd accidentally used such a terrible pun. What could I do? Why, bluster on through.

"Buzz is vitally important to bugs of our caliber. As for the regular weeks, I believe a thousand dollars would be the average, although if things become busy—or there's a special occasion—I'd like to revise that," I said.

Kit had a pen and paper out and was writing things down. She looked over her notes and gave a little nod.

"We definitely can have supplies enough for tomorrow to do this. For something that regular, it'd be best if we installed something in your boutique for preparing. As a catering event, and because of how sushi is classed in this state, the city doesn't require the preparation area to have a full kitchen license. If it's going to be regular, however, you'll need that license."

I relayed the information to NotABug, who sent me a curious chirp in reply.

"Then I'll get a license. I'd already planned to serve wine and cider, so that would have required a license as well. Do you need me to pay in advance?" I asked.

Her eyes widening, Kit looked excited enough that I almost thought she might chirp despite her lack of wings.

"W-When you're ready, if you'd like to pay everything and the first—"

"Darling, I'll pay for a month in advance, if that will help on your end. As for the meals today, I'm quite sure I'm ready to pay, but is everyone done?" I asked.

Kit nodded excitedly.

—Okay, everyone, let's get ready to head home. Moon, do you have classes this afternoon?— I asked.

A bunch of excited chirping came from all our nymphs, and Byte even shapechanged (or transformed, I guess) back to her human self.

—I have a study period, but I kinda already did the work for it. Would it be cool if Lyra came over and chatted while Byte and I play games?— Moon Dancer asked.

—You don't have to ask. My house is your house, Moon.—

A few embarrassed chirps gave way to more firm and appreciative ones.

—Thanks, but I still like to check. I don't know if, like, you have something planned or… I don't know. We'll probably be talking shop for a bit, but she'll probably bring her laptop and play with us.—

—I need to run a few errands to make sure the boutique is ready for tomorrow, but then I might come home and turn out a few more dresses and have an early night. It's going to be a big day for me tomorrow.—

—Lots of bugging?—

I chirped with laughter at her phrasing.

—Yes. Lots of bugging. Lots of networking too, though not only the kind with a computer. Oh! That reminds me, I need internet access at the premises. I'll have to arrange that as well. I best get on that today.—

I put together a to-do list quickly, adding Internet, Flowers, Inspect boutique, and POS. There was plenty of room for more things, of course, but I had to get those done for my launch. Oh! Take dresses to shop got itself added quick-smart.

Dropping off my chair, I landed on all fours and walked over to the register that Kit had scrambled to when she saw me move. The poor dear's hands were shaking as she typed on the machine and showed me where to insert my card. The price was just short of ten thousand dollars.

When the machine beeped to let me know I could enter a tip, I rounded things up neatly. Kit stared at me as I entered my pin number and the machine gave its own little happy "chirp" to acknowledge the transaction.

"You shouldn't tip that much, Miss Rarity. That—We haven't earned that," Kitsune Udon said.

"Nonsense, dear, you are worth every last cent. I expect you'll be arranging things for tomorrow at lunchtime? Perhaps even a little earlier, and don't forget to bring business cards."

Kit hurriedly pulled out her notepad and started writing more things down.

Removing my credit card from the machine, I turned to see Moon Dancer lined up to pay next.

"Don't forget, you have that voucher for buy one get one," I said.

Behind me, I heard Kit make a sound of agreement.

"I still can't believe all of this. When did this happen, Rarity? You look amazing, and your daughters are all the most adorable things I've ever seen!" Lyra Heartstrings said.

That Lyra was still so enthusiastic about us was proof enough she hadn't been harmed by whatever feeding Byte and the others had done, though I wondered if there was some level of euphoric addiction to being fed on?

I felt a little sick at the thought. The implications that had on my relationship with Rainbow were not the best. But I had to check with Rainbow.

—Rainbow, I don't know how better to ask this, but do you think our feeding could be, well, addictive?— I asked Rainbow and only Rainbow.

It still surprised me how fast Rainbow could reply to my messages. She had her phone in her hands and I could hear her fingers thudding against the screen rapidly.

—Pretty sure I'd notice that. It's true I've fallen for you both pretty hard, but your love is something I've needed for a while. If, and it's a HUGE if, your feeding is addictive, then it isn't noticeably so. I mean, come on, Rarity, I've had it on for you since high school. Do you actually think I'd have let ANYONE I didn't want to snuggle with dress me how you did?—

I almost choked out a sob at her vehemence. Maybe our feeding did, or maybe it didn't. Lyra might just like cute little bugs.

—You always know the right things to say to keep me sane, you know that?— I asked Rainbow.

—Yeah. Why else would you keep such a dumb jock like me around? You're stuck with me, Rarity. You'd have to run really fast to leave me behind.—

I didn't run, but I moved faster than a normal human could track and shapechanged as I did. Wrapping my arms around Rainbow Dash tightly, I pulled her into a hug.

"Rarity?" Rainbow Dash asked. "Dress."

Horror gripped me. I'd shapechanged so quickly and instinctively that I'd forgotten something most vital. Another rush of fire and I hoped my blush wasn't too intense.

Now Rainbow returned the hug with more focus and a chuckle that mortified me.

"I don't think anyone really saw. My back was to them."

"That doesn't matter, darling, I was naked in public!" I said.

The worst part about it was the public part was all that bothered me. At home and as a changeling, I didn't have any such hangups about nudity. Was that part of the changes? I'm going to go with a definitely.

I realized I'd snubbed Lyra entirely by accident and drew back from Rainbow to address her.

"Sorry about that. I get a little emotional about everything sometimes. This all started a few weeks ago. My life's been positively buzzing ever since," I said.

"Hey, no sweat. We all have our little freakouts from time to—" Lyra Heartstrings said.

"Freakouts? Lyra, what you have is a problem. She's been addicted to everything pony related since high school. She has posters everywhere, and you don't want to know about what I caught her looking at in freshman year," Moon Dancer said.

"Wait," Rainbow Dash said. "Posters? Where'd you get posters of ponies?"

Lyra looked completely nonplussed about her situation.

"You know how the college has an art department? Well, it turns out some artists will do anything for a hint of money and to show off their skill," Lyra Heartstrings said.

Rainbow let loose a short chuckle and struck one of her awesome poses.

"I can pretty much guarantee that they're nowhere near as awesome as being a pony is," Rainbow Dash said.

On cue, Rainbow ponied up and her wings flicked out behind her with a little fwoomp sound. She turned a little, sure of her look, and struck another pose.

"What?! No! You haven't been there, have you?" Lyra Heartstrings asked.

"Sure have."

"No, effing, way! How'd you do it? I've been to the old statue at the school hundreds of times, but it never works for me!"

"Turns out," Rainbow Dash said, "You just need to know the right people."

When Rainbow looked askance at me, all of Lyra's attention bore down upon my person. I let out a little sigh for what I knew was coming.

"First!" I said. "I'll ask Princess Twilight if it's okay that you visit. Second, it happens after you graduate. Third—Well, I can't actually think of a third thing."

"After I graduate? But I—" Lyra Heartstrings said. "I'm an adult now and should know better. You're right, but I really want to go."

Deciding that a quick check was in order, I began several searches first for Lyra's name, then the nicknames I got from the first search, and finally found her blog and social network account. Locating her ChirpNet ID was easy from there, she linked it on her social media all the time.

A recent post she'd made stated she graduated in just a few months—I'd have to ask Princess Twilight before then.

"I'll ask her when I get a chance, until then… Would you like a job?" I asked.

Lyra looked at me, then to Moon and finally to Rainbow before looking back at me.

"Uh, like an after-school job? I don't get it. What do you want me to do?"

"Not an after-school job. I mean once you graduate. I'll have to speak to Coco, but I think having another programmer onboard will help with ChirpNet. For all our testing and work, we aren't exactly the best at perceiving normal app usage."

"Y-You?!" Lyra Heartstrings asked. "You made ChirpNet?! Wait. You learned to code?"

NotABug's giggly little chirps were a welcome diversion in the digital realm.

—Taking a break?— I asked.

—Yeah. You want to mess with your friend?—

—Darling, of course I do.—

Lyra's phone beeped and—seemingly automatically—she reached into her handbag to pull it out. I'd never seen someone's eyes go as wide in complete and utter surprise before, which was saying something given that I'd seen Pinkie Pie at a cake-eating contest.

—What'd you send her?— I asked.

—I just answered her questions from my admin account. Did you know her well? She's a friend of Moon's? I sent Coco a message about it.—

—Thank you. Lyra was… Well, she wasn't one of the fashion crowd at high school, so I didn't really spend much time talking with her, but what I remember was that she always seemed focused in the classes we shared.—

—She seems to be doing well in college, if her blog is anything to go by. It will be good to have a human-only perspective on the interface. I have nothing against hiring her. Maybe she'd be willing to do consulting until her schooling is done?—

It really did seem like the perfect solution. With an affirmative chirp to NotABug, and a snuggle too, I turned my full attention back to the real world.

"Yes and no to making ChirpNet. There's a lot to explain if you say yes. I can say I was the one who wrote the TOR integration and hardened its exterior defenses," I said. "Also, I did learn to code."

The last I said with a big smile, taking satisfaction in the fact I hadn't just learned to code, I'd learned how to do it well.

"But, like, no one knows who runs that? And how'd you send me a message like that? I didn't even see you touch a phone or anything!"

All I had to do was lift one eyebrow. Lyra stared at me as if I were a stage magician who had literally just broken all pretense and started doing actual magic.

"What sort of pay are we talking about?" Lyra Heartstrings asked.

Well, I had my fish, but NotABug was right that Coco was the one who needed to run the company. I sent Lyra Coco's details on ChirpNet.

"You can talk to Coco about that. In the meantime I think we should maybe let Chef Soba and Kit clean up."

I gestured to the door, which was when Starling moved forward and outside. Sometimes it was hard to remind myself that she was trained in combat and deadly given what she was carrying. Deadly and in need of some extra protection.

Without giving anything away we piled into the various vehicles and headed home. I still had some things to do at the new boutique, but I wanted to make sure everyone was settled at home first. While Rainbow drove (sedately), I applied to have an internet connection hooked up at the boutique and fielded questions from Coco about Lyra.

The rest of the drive was mostly relaxed. We shared descriptions of what we'd eaten and what we enjoyed the most, and all through it I reached out a hand and rested it on Rainbow's thigh. When she looked at me for a split second with a questioning expression, I just smiled back and left my hand there.

From home I slipped away again with Starling to install the card equipment. It was just as easy as Fleur had told me, and before I knew it we were back home. I called to arrange fresh flowers and would take those with me tomorrow morning.

Tomorrow morning.

I couldn't help but squeal a little inside. Everything was coming together and I would have my own boutique. Feeling giddy, I walked inside and added my happy chirps to everyone else's. Rainbow was sitting on the couch playing some kind of game against Beta and Bitwise. I could head Byte and Moon chirping and talking from the hallway, and even 'Bee made further-away chirps—a lot further away.

I sent an inquisitive chirp 'Bee's way and got a flurry of excited ones back.

—Twilight said I could come over and help her. I asked Rainbow if I could!—

Sending some reassuring chirps, I shed my shapechanged form and relaxed onto all fours again. When it had become more comfortable to be in my changeling form than walking around as human I'm not actually sure, but if there was something all this has taught me, (if the fashion industry hadn't already) it was you have to move on and roll with things.

—You're a good girl for asking first. I like to know where all my favorite nymphs are,— I sent.

Some alarmed chirps came from Bitwise and Beta until Byte's giggly ones overflowed them.

—Mom means all of us. We're all her favorite nymphs,— Byte sent.

I confirmed her explanation with a flood of chirps to bury all my girls in. The thought of adding some more explicit tracking systems to ChirpNet was tempting, but the security of such—and with the ones I want to protect most having ChirpNet enabled by default—meant I could quickly quash the idea.

Walking across the living room, I climbed up on the couch beside Rainbow and nuzzled first her, then the unhatched egg sitting beside me.

The feeling of almost-fullness was palpable. If I had just a sip of Rainbow, I'd be making another egg.

"Starling? Would you like me to try building you that barrier?" I asked.

On the cameras I watched her start and then turn toward me. There was a look of apprehension on her face, but something that surprised me: loyalty.

"Sure. What'll I need for it?" Starling asked.

"Could you come over here and sit down with your back against the foot of the couch?"

Starling was at least considerate of Rainbow, Beta, and Bitwise—she waited for them to pause their game before walking across and looking at me.

"You know, it still surprises me that all the movies were wrong," Starling said.

She turned and—with her back to me—sat down on the floor and leaned back against the couch so she was right before me. Vulnerable.

"What?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"Well, it turns out the pretty human was the evil monster, and the alien queen was the good guy all along."

I couldn't hold back a giggle at that. Her words might have stung if she looked at me while saying them, or if I didn't know her better, but with her back to me she was trusting me a lot. Maybe the gag was her coping with that.

"Well, she saved the day at least once. That definitely makes Rarity a good guy. Besides, I wouldn't hang around her if she was all evil and stuff," Rainbow Dash said.

"Yes you would. You totally would," I said.

Rainbow just snorted and returned her focus to the game.

I focused my full attention on Starling. Her aura was much recovered from what Suri had done to it, but I was sure that was more a case of her spending time around us. I don't know why I felt that my presence was soothing, given the changeling queen in Equestria was apparently quite evil, but I liked to think I was different.

Carefully, using only enough magic as would make a silk swatch tremble only slightly, I reached toward Starling. There was something familiar about her aura to me, and given the time I'd spent saving her I wasn't surprised.

"Would telling you I have no idea what I'm doing reassure you or cause you to worry?" I asked.

"Reassure. Definitely reassure. It's nice to know I'm not the only idiot in the room. So what's the plan?" Starling asked.

"Well, right now your aura is open. It's a big cloud of cotton candy, and anything thrown toward it will stick and become enmeshed in it. Suri wrapped it in something rather horrid, and that was slowly squeezing and burrowing deeper. I was thinking of wrapping it up in magic so that only one person would ever be able to touch you emotionally. At least using magic."

"So more like tank armor than body armor. A full cover rather than leaving some room to breathe. Sounds neat. Is this where you say you don't know how to do it?"

"Well, there's a lot of intuition involved," I said. "And a little guesswork. A-Are you sure you're okay with this?"

"Rarity, you put your life in my hands, I'll put my—whatever the heck this is in yours. Don't stammer when you're talking to the troops, it might make them worried you really don't know what you're doing. And don't tell me you don't know what you're doing. This is officer one-oh-one right here."

"Then apparently I'll make a poor officer."

Starling barked a laugh that seemed to relax her more—or so my sight of her aura told me.

"Nah. You're the best kind of officer. One that doesn't sell you out without you knowing it's a bad deal. Just do what you need to."

Hope, bright red and pulsing in time with the life of Starling's being, was her most dominant emotion. I drew threads of it carefully and started to weave with them. That wouldn't be enough, but it would be a framework to build on.

The best armor, I theorized, was that made of changeling essence. Changeling essence fed on emotion, so I could make Starling armor that she could feed. I began to spin out my magic, imbuing it with what it meant to be a changeling. Burning fire, constantly changing, hungry, and resilient.

When my essence-charged magic touched the weave of hope it sank into it and fed. A little changeling energy resulted in a dark shell growing wherever the weave had been, so I set to work weaving her hope out until it wrapped her completely. I finished the last of the weave just as the last bit of changeling essence built a hard carapace over it. Starling was protected against the likes of Suri—I hoped—but she was also protected against me.

"What are you doing? When're you going to do this?" Starling asked.

"Darling, as if it would ever take me long to fit someone for a dress. Didn't you feel a slight draining?"

Starling looked down at herself, then turned to look at me.

"I figured you were just poking around. So what did you do?"

Looking at Starling, I couldn't see her haze of emotions anymore. I reached out to touch the hard shell that wrapped around just under the surface and tried to bite it. I couldn't help but laugh despite the rebuffing of my attack.

"You are wrapped in a shell of changeling essence. It is as hard and resilient as any chitin, and it will very slowly feed on your most prominent emotion," I said.

"Which is?" Starling asked.

She kept looking at herself as if she could see what I'd done.

"Hope. You were practically boiling it up from every pore. There was so much I wove a lattice of it around your aura, then spread some of my magic and essence onto it. It formed exactly how I wanted it to. I could probably break through it, but not easily and it would give you time to, ahem, get off a few shots."

Starling let out a deep sigh, turned, and wrapped both arms around me. Not being able to sense her emotions directly, I opted to take her at face value and return the hug. She let out a small sob, which only urged me to hug her tighter.

"It's so—so scary. I never thought I'd be that scared again, but when I knew there was something that could get in my head and there was nothing I could do—with gun or blade—It terrified me. I've been keeping it bottled up—Thank you, Rarity. Thank you so much."

Not since before my transformation had I beheld emotions without actually feeling them instinctively. Though I couldn't see, feel, smell, or taste her emotions, I could empathize with her nonetheless.

Words failed me for just about the first time in my life. I held Starling and wished I could say all the clever things she needed to hear to feel better, but all I could do was be a rock for her to cling to.

"There are others that need this too. Mrs. Velvet, your friends, Rainbow Dash," Starling said.

"Huh?" Rainbow Dash asked. "I need what-now?"

"My nifty new shield that stops Suri from kicking my butt."

"Call me crazy, but doesn't that also stop you from feeding from me?" Rainbow Dash asked, looking at me.

"It would. It may still be an optio—" I said.

"Nope. Not going to do that. I can outrun anything she'd do to me, and besides, I like you feeding from me."

I couldn't keep from chirping my emotions to the wind. Hearing Rainbow's vehement support of our odd relationship warmed in a way that defied any amount of alienness my form may impart.

Slowly letting go of Starling, I looked at her with a rueful apology as plain as I could show it.

"Sorry, but I really have to hug my darling after hearing that," I said.

Starling stood up, her legs flexing to propel her into a standing position with no use of her arms. Slipping between the TV and those playing, she headed for the kitchen.

"Fine by me, boss."

Flicking my tail like a cat, I looked at Rainbow and planned my attack. Chirping in joy, I pounced at her and we fell in a giggling and chirping heap with Bitwise and Beta jumping on us too. It was good to relax a little more. I needed more of that, though I doubted Suri and Windigo would give us too much time before trying something else.

Stretching out over Rainbow's lap—when she sat back up—I turned my attention to programming. The AI-backed firewall system was a new foundation of tools to build from, and it urged me to work on my weapon again.

With Rainbow taking the time to rub one of my ears while she played the game with our nymphs, I prepared for war.

—I know you're not online, but if you could contact me when you are next,— I sent to Stefanie.

—I'm here, just keeping on the down-low. What's up?—

What I was about to do was probably illegal, the most illegal thing I'd done yet, but I needed to do it.

—You're getting regular attacks from Windigo, right?—

—Yeah. It seems to like testing my firewall. Thanks for that, btw. Why?—

I packaged up the tool I'd made and sent it to Stefanie.

—Next time, I want you to swing back. Hit it hard and make it bleed,— I sent.

There was something about the hacker I liked. She wasn't family, but she was a friend, and friends trust friends.

—What is this?—

I waited for her to continue since she was likely trying to divine the code's use.

—Holy crap! Queeny! This stuff is nasty! Did you make this?— Stefanie asked. —Duh, of course you made it. This has support on… Far out this is cool. You only want me to use it on Windigo, right?—

—Please. I know it'll get out eventually, but I'd like to use it on that, ahem, bastard first.—

Surprised at the language I'd used, I shifted in place on Rainbow's lap to get more comfortable.

—You and I could make a fortune selling this, but I think I get what you want to do. Is Windigo that big a threat?—

Aware of how good her typing had become, I wondered if NotABug had integrated a better autocomplete in the latest app version.

—It is. If it thinks that destroying the world is the fastest way of removing me from it, it would work toward that end in a heartbeat.—

It took a significantly longer time for Stefanie to reply. I started to worry that I'd spooked her.

—You make it sound like a paperclipper,— Stefanie said.

Before I could answer her, I had to look up what she was referring to. Artificial intelligences focused so intently on a single task they would, without a care, sacrifice everything toward that one goal. I quickly scanned a few videos on the topic and couldn't believe how close to the mark her guess was.

—Would you believe me if I told you it was exactly that?— I asked.

The more I explored the topic the more I realized that was exactly what Windigo was. It was chilling that, to many, this was one of the doomsday scenarios that had been thought up. And, humanity was facing it without even realizing.

Everyone needed my tools. If we didn't stamp out monsters like Windigo and Suri, fast and hard, things would become much worse than simply having overpowered attack tools in the wild.

—Your not joking, are you?— Stefanie asked.

—No. I'm not. If you know of anyone else being attacked by Windigo, feel free to go on the offensive for them as well. It must not be allowed to grow.—

—Are you an AI too?—

—No, but I have had a little work done.—

—Why do I think you're only half telling the truth there?—

—Would you believe me if I said I could directly access computers with magic, and could think as fast as one?—

It was actually fun to spar with her, though she took an abominably long time to reply. Of course that afforded me time to appreciate Rainbow's stroking of my ears.

—See, I'd almost believe that, except if someone had figured it out, they'd be making millions off it. Billions even. Okay, if you can do that, how do I do it?—

A sad little chirp left me without me realizing it. My daughter, now part of Moon Dancer, was too high a price to pay.

—I've managed to do it with one other person, and it cost my daughter her life.—

—Shit. Sorry.—

—It only happened because of Windigo, and the process that made another like me was more luck than anything else. If I figure it out, Stefanie, I will share it with you.—

—You have a way, Queeny, of making things too real. I'm sorry about your kid. I'll do what I can, when I can. I just want to ask one thing. How did you make that emoji?—

It took me a moment to scroll back through the chat to realize what she meant. I chirped again, and another of them appeared on the client log.

—That's something only my darling and my children can do. If you find someone doing that, and talking as quickly as me, trust them.—

—Your a strange one, Queeny. Keep up with the killer code and I'll be your paladin.—

Her status, that had been set from Offline to Do Not Disturb for the duration of our chat, returned to Offline once more.

I chirped my wings and tilted my head so that Rainbow's next ear rub became a rub of my jaw instead. When she looked down at me, I smiled.

"Just organizing some friends to fight back at Suri and Windigo," I said.

Rainbow, her hands moving faster than what any normal human should be able to, released the controller to stroke my jaw again and was back to playing.

"This friend isn't one of our usual friends, is it?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"No, darling, not one of the girls. She's—She's definitely something. Stefanie's her name, and I have no clue where she lives, but she enjoys messing with computers, and enjoys working with me to test things against Windigo."

"Don't get her in trouble."

"Rainbow, what makes you think I'm getting her in trouble?"

I lay my head back down on her lap and turned to watch the television. The game they were playing was at about three times its normal speed, and neither Rainbow nor our daughters were having trouble keeping up.

Rainbow Dash barked a laugh.

"Other way around, then?"

The conversation was just about petered out, and there was something I wanted to try—a thing with Rainbow I wanted to do to get a little more into her interests.

"Why don't we go for a cruise?"

"On a ship?"

"Darling, your car. It can drive slow, correct?"

"Well, yeah, but it's meant to drive—"

Arching my back up, I kissed under Rainbow's chin, which seemed to stop her in her verbal tracks. Another kiss seemed to get her moving again.

"It can drive slow," Rainbow Dash said.

—Moon, dear, can you keep an eye on things? We're going for a little drive,— I sent to Moon Dancer.

—Yeah, sure.—

Rainbow carried me out to her car, but had to put me down at the passenger door while she fumbled in her pocket for her keys.

It took but a thought and a little push of magic to become myself—my old self—though I put in a few changes I knew Rainbow enjoyed. She might be attracted to me regardless of my form, but I knew she enjoyed some things in particular.

I needed an outfit too, of course, and opted for something more suitable for a leisurely drive than walking the catwalk. A pale-blue shirt with a scoop-neck, purple skirt, something underneath specifically for Rainbow, and some low-heeled shoes completed my look.

When Rainbow opened the door and turned to me, I saw her eyes widen as she noticed my fuller than usual bust.

"R-Rarity? Are you—Are you comfortable like that?"

"Darling, you have a girlfriend who can shapechange. Are you sure you really want to question the advantages of this?"

"Good point. Jump in."

I didn't jump, but I did slip in and slide my legs into the front seat of her car. The seats were nothing like the ones in my car—I was hugged by the seat and made to sit directly in the middle of it. It was cozy though.

Normally, I'd be grabbing hold of things for dear life and screwing my eyes closed. Instead I was looking around the neat interior of her car and paying attention to the detail that'd gone into its making.

"You built all this?" I asked.

"Yeah. All mine. You should have seen her when I found her. Rust everywhere and nothing looked salvageable, but I brought her back."

Rainbow Dash sounded not exactly proud, but accomplished. She reached a hand up and stroked the cherry-red dash with one hand. Her aura was growing, almost like it would encompass the car itself. In her own way, the car was beautiful to Rainbow.

It didn't take much checking to find pictures of cars similar to Rainbow's, and almost all of them featured the hood open and miles of gleaming metal. It wasn't a huge leap to make that Rainbow would have put as much work in there as she did the interior.

"Can I see the engine?" I asked.

She looked like I'd just asked something insane.

"It does have an engine?" I asked.

"Y-Yeah! Hold on."

Reaching under the dash, Rainbow pulled on something that caused a click to sound under the hood. We both climbed out, and once Rainbow removed what looked like extremely sensible retention pins out of the hood, she lifted it up.

The red theme continued around the surprisingly spartan engine bay. Some quick searches told me what all the parts were and how much work had gone into making it look this "clean".

Ignoring my normal distaste for such things, I tried to simply absorb the aesthetic and appreciate the work Rainbow had put into her car.

"It's beautiful," I said.

"What?!"

I looked sideways at Rainbow.

"I believe I'm qualified to state what is and isn't beautiful. This," I said, "Is beautiful in its simplicity."

"What brought all this on? Really?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"I realized I'd been neglecting things you want to do. Is there something you'd rather do more than going for a drive?"

"Right now? I could think of one or two, but they involve driving somewhere first, then…"

Rainbow's eyebrows waggled.

"Then get in and drive, but drive slowly. Let me enjoy it before I enjoy you," I said.

Walking back around to the passenger side, I let Rainbow take care of the hood while I climbed back in and fastened my seat belt. When Rainbow settled beside me, I reached a hand over and rested it on her thigh.

Rainbow looked across at me with a surprised expression before she put her key in the ignition and started the car. Neither of us spoke as she drove. She kept to a sedate speed—for which I was thankful—and drove us to the edge of town where we watched the sun set, and she showed me how much effort she'd spent on getting the back seat just perfect.

—Your turn, darling,— I sent to NotABug.

A surprised chirp was my immediate answer, followed by a gentle nudge.

—You didn't have to. I was letting you have a moment together,— NotABug sent.

—I know, and I appreciate it, but I love you too much to neglect you from this relationship.—

I hugged NotABug while she chirped to me—of course I chirped back to her. Rainbow hugged both of us, or so it felt, but I absolutely shan't talk about any more of that.

Maintaining a human form for most of the evening drained my reserves nicely, and I realized I'd managed to go the whole day without making an egg. While Rainbow and NotABug snuggled the evening away on the couch, I slipped back to do some searching.

I had some research to look into, and it was something I'd rather not trouble NotABug with until I was done with it all. Armed with a group of search terms, I started researching artificial general intelligence.

10:42 P.M.

Time never surprised me anymore. I could spend what felt like a week studying a topic and only a few hours would go by. A "week" bought me a superficial knowledge and realization that no one had knowingly made anything like NotABug. If someone had created an AGI like she had been, it would be front-page news.

No. It wouldn't just be front-page news, it would be international front-page news. Whoever had done this—because I was sure NotABug couldn't have been an accident—had to have known what they were doing.

—You came from Canterlot University?— I asked NotABug.

A surprised chirp was followed by a small ocean of curious ones.

—The way you were created can't have been an accident. The kind of system that would encourage what you were to grow doesn't just pull itself together. Someone put in a lot of work, and then didn't introduce themselves to you. I want to know who it was. They might help Mrs. Velvet with her case,— I sent.

—Oh! That makes sense I guess. I don't even know how I'd talk to someone who made me. I'd probably have to say thanks, and then I really want to know why they didn't say hi to me. I hope it wasn't one of the people who called me a bug.—

She'd come a long way from vehemently not wanting the word associated with her. I hugged her and chirped softly in support.

—You're the best bug. Also, even if someone created the situation that made you, you made yourself,— I sent. —I've been doing some research into this, and some people (some really smart people) think that we all start off relatively equal, and it's our environment and actions that shape us. If that's true, then you are your own bug, darling, as am I and everyone else.—

Then something occurred to me and I reached out to the cameras to work out what was happening. Scanning through the feeds quickly, I discovered exactly why NotABug was so quiet.

—I didn't realize you were asleep. Sorry,— I sent.

—Being woken up by chirping and snuggles is something I enjoy, not something to be sorry for. You should be sleeping too.—

And, in moments, I was.

Author's Note:

Moon Dancer: Are you enjoying your new family? I hope you're having fun.

"Sometimes it's really confusing. It's just not normal to feel like this about people you knew from high school, but it feels right." Moon Dancer let out a long breath. "I never had sisters or brothers, but Byte, 'Bee, and Bitwise are better than I could have ever hoped for. We get in arguments sometimes, usually over who gets to play healer, but I wouldn't trade this for anything."

---

So I do this "Ask X" thing. X can be any pony within the story. You can ask them anything and they will definitely, hopefully reply. Keep the questions appropriate to the age-rating of the stories, and they will answer the best question in the author notes of the next chapter. The more votes a comment has the more likely I will get it to the right pony to answer. Try to keep it to one question per post! They will pick one question per chapter.

Support me on Patreon or fuel my writing on Ko-Fi!

Join me on Discord. Warning, said chat may contain NSFW material and should be considered adult in nature.

Awesome ponies who are already helping to keep me in keyboards and rum:
A.P.O.N.I.
Canary in the Coal Mine
Daremo
Dio-Drogynous
KFS Crimson
Nils
Sirion123

And special thanks to the following, for careful eyes and friendly words:
Lab

---

Editing provided by the battiest Lab. (Huge thanks again. Your efforts makes me look competent! )

Comments

[prism heart]

Kitsune: What are your thoughts on Rarity's offer?

[Greenhorn]

Ask Princess Twilight: What are your thought one of your friend's counterpart is starting her own hive in human world?

[A.P.O.N.I.]

[JMP]

They spent $10,000 on lunch? Holy hell. Things are going along really nicely, but I'm just...waiting for the other shoe to drop, really. I don't want it to, but I'm very worried about Windigo and Suri. Rarity's made tremendous progress in both defense and a little offense, but if she can learn, so can Windigo. Just hoping that Rarity spreading her network like this can outpace it.

Alright, since I'm all caught up, and I'm curious, I'm going to try to ask Windigo a question: What would you do if you won and successfully killed NotABug?

[tsaukpaetra]

A nice family outing.
Information moves fast. Hopefully the researchers haven't all gotten canned for ruining the campus infrastructure...
Lyra is cute, maybe will be a pro advocate for our lings in the public eye? Soon enough the circle of people in the know will widen, and exponentially.
Ever so legally they're assimilating the neighborhood. Wonder what the current occupants will say about the overload of cute headed their way?
To Stephanie: what are you going to do about "Queeny"?
Keep going! ;)

[Damaged]

9692782 It was lunch plus catering at her boutique. It's a business expense!

[JMP]

9692813
Right, right. Forgot about all the actual business expenses. Rarity's boutique is going to be the best business in town. Freaking sushi catering. That's an awesome idea.

[Prismfire Productions]

9692782
10k is cheap, company I work for does a catering event once a year for the whole plant and that coats over 50k...

On another note, there is an old saying "defense wins championships"

[JMP]

9692819
I shall keep the business side of that in mind. Now, Rarity's defense has been fantastic, but I doubt Windigo is just going to give up one day. It's just going to keep getting increasingly vicious and dangerous. That's what the offense is for. I do agree that defense was the place to start, though.

[Twilight_Shimmer]

Chef Soba, has your family interacted with friendly Youkai in the past? And if so what were they like?

[Venerable Ro]

"Chef Kitsune, please join me in presenting sushi to our friends and customers," Soba Tsuya said.

It's the little asides that are the most important.

Chef Kitsune, my sincere congratulations. You've made your father immensely proud.

[Damaged]

9693185 Indeed. It was a big moment for both of them—Soba for being confident in his daughter's abilities, and Kitsune for receiving such an honor from a sushi master (let alone her father, she knows that when he's working, Soba is the former first and foremost).

[Admiral Q Ponyform]

I am surprised Suri could pull off the die. She has no legal standing since Rairty did the two weeks. A lawyer would know that.

[Prysmkitsune]

My eyes fluttered closed and the chirping in the back of my head softened as I let the tuna melt onto my tongue. With the taste was almost perfectly like last time, it was the fatty fish essence that rushed across my tongue and brought with it the hint of soy.

You really make me wish there was a good sushi place around here

[Prysmkitsune]

Yet another lovely addition to this story keep it up my friend!

[law abiding pony]

I’m still reading the chapter, but I wanted to ask this before I forgot. There are a lot of bug chirps out there so what do you believe the Ling chirping sounds like?

[Damaged]

9694070 This is what I consider an angry chirping sound would be like (though this isn't actually stridulation, it's vocalization) although it'd probably be a little deeper (especially Rarity's).

[law abiding pony]

Human Lyra is fascinated by hooves... I am not surprised in the least. Don’t think I didn’t notice the unhatched egg line. But I don’t remember it being made. Was it NotaBug while Rarity was distracted? Along that line, when Rarabug gets her mansion up and running, will she cut loose on egg production?

I take it Moon is not going to be buggified. A pity, as I thought she’d get at least a bit more than an internal phone and new family mindset. Full on sushi catering every week is something the one percenters do, darling, we all know who would have loved getting a crown more in pony land.

Poor Sterling having to look tactical in a floral dress. She’ll try to rebel on that at some point ya know.

Great chapter as always, keep it up!

[Ebonyknight1000]

Thank you for your hard work and creativity in your stories

[Morphy]

9692788

I for one welcome our new chirpy overlords!
Eh... pretty sure Rarity's hive would want nothing to do with the limelight, except for the Boutique, and be for more interested in equality and friendship.

As an aside for a funny scene, Lyra meeting Lyra; recursive fangirling!

[tsaukpaetra]

9694985
This actually reminds us of a different question regarding their abilities: can each drone act as an Internet terminus for other drones? Like how they can enter and exit digital space through Internet-connected devices, and each drone is technically an Internet-connected device... But that would feel kinda weird, right?
Being able to transport an entire hive to a physical location at need could be useful, though the bandwidth requirements might be steep...

[Airy Words]

I have a question for the author.

How many metric tons of high-quality sushi 🍣 did you have to eat while doing research for this chapter?

[Damaged]

9697786 Heh. I had to eat some, for research sake, but I couldn't eat much because of the attached rice being carbtastic.

One "research session" made my blood sugar jump into the high 10s (mmol/L) for a few hours. The things I do for art...

[Lug13]

Ask Rarity/NotABug: With your recent efforts to obtain citizenship/legal status for NaB and your children, you will no doubt be coming to the attention of several curious government agencies. Inevitably, men with matching black suits, driving matching black windowless vans, and bearing matching, official looking government ID badges will show up at your house saying phrases like "for your own protection" and "secure research facility" and will make requests that sound a lot like demands. My question is, what is your plan for when the government shows up and wants to take you or your family away somewhere, not taking no for an answer?

[Midknight Defender]

*goes to click "Next Chapter" button*

...what?! NOOO!

*huff* Now I have to find something else to read while I wait for more.

[Damaged]

9700630 I'm working on more!

[JazzyWaffles]

"I was talking with some people about shapechanging and they used that word a lot. I looked it up, they mean the same thing—kinda. Anyway, the sushi is really nice, but it was the same as when I was shapechanged ."

Now I'm worried our cute little bug has stumbled into a den of TF fetishists

[Pseudonymous]

Rainbow expressing distaste for electric vehicles?
Weird, since EVs have full torque at 0RPM and typically make conventional engines seem sluggish.

[Damaged]

9710324 It's more that she has a love with the ICE aesthetic. There're problems with anti-EV haters in the US parking in charging stations with their utes and stuff. Absolute idiocy, to be honest.

Rainbow might have been ambivalent to it at first, but she's a speed freak at heart.

[MattTOB]

"If I knew that, my course advisor would be so much happier ," Moon Dancer said, then sighed. "A week ago I would have made more jokes and tried to deflect your question because I didn't know. Bitwise, Byte, and Bumblebee are—I've never had siblings before. Seeing them happy makes me happy."

*Looks at season 5's "Amending Fences", where we explicitly see Moon Dancer's sister.* Eh, I'll let it slide; this story is so good that I think it deserves that.

[MattTOB]

"I may have a way to fix that. Your palate is complex, and it will never be sated except by a properly trained sushi chef. We will move to some shellfish."

I wonder what Chrysalis would think of sushi.

[Seraphem]

Now is a good time to buy stock in traditional Sushi places. As the Hive grows and spreads, they will become in very high demand. Sate our new adorably buggy overlords with Sushi and hugs!

Moony and Byte being gaming buddies is so cute. "I need heals!"

I found a pat of butter

Okay so, the first time I read that line, for some reason, I processed it as "I found peanut butter" and just kind of, froze for a sec in "What is she adding peanut butter to for a breakfast?"

Moony,no the sudden care about fashion isn't a "Part technoling" thing, it's a "Spent more then a few hours in proximity to Rarity" thing.

Of course Suri tried to pull a legal screw over on Rarity, and of course she stands no chance to get that shit passed Velvet. Again, Surigo is mostly a threat not out of actual competence, but out of being so unstablly psychotic and blindingly stupid that you can never tell what she might pull.

Well, I guess just buying the entire town around where you are is easier on you then moving, even if it would have to be easier to just get a big, open plot of land in one go somewhere outside town and build there.

Rarity just wants to be the worlds Fairy Bugmother and it is so sweet and wholesome!

Though I do have to question the size. Just how big is Rarity in her normal form? Going by general averages for pony height, and how tall Chryssi was, unless Rarity is just a lot smaller then her she should be about average human height, maybe lighter due to a thinner build, but her head should be about average height for a human.

Okay, for driving the mini-van for her family, RD needs to get like, a really classic old muscle car of her very own to enjoy when it's not full family trip time.

And of course Lyra's gotta be Lyra. Pony and EQG Lyra swapping places would be so damn fun to see happen.

I don't think these two need to worry about how expensive that kimono was, Rarity will have paid for an entire wardrobe of them and then some by the time this story is done.

Chef Soba is so loving having a whole new species to learn to prepare sushi for and to have to think how to adjust things for. I love it!

So now NotABug is going into being a Lawyer? We are going to end with Professor Doctor NotABug Esquire at this point. As much as I love her suceeding the shear amount that goes on that we just get small flashes of makes it feel kind of hard to really connect to what's going on with her anymore. I get Rarity is the focus and only had so much time and has a lot of things to do. But I kind of miss her and NotABug interacting more and feeling more connected. Anymore they just pop in say hi to each other on body trade off and not much else half the time.

Also again..... the shear speed that things are moving is so hard to buy. They found a crew that could completly remodel an entire store to be exactly what you want ti to be, without any in person talks or any discussion about this, in a single day? The construction permits alone would take a few days just to process, not to mention business licenses. You don't even have PoS terminals set up!? Why are you rushing this so much? Hell, even just on the business end, take the time to get things right, and advertise the grand opening, drum up interest, get some hype going so you make a bigger impact when you do open. Things are going so fast it's again, really hard to beleive it can work that way at all.

See also... again... ChirpNet is less then a week old, how is it so massively popular and how can you get phrases like "She links to her ChirpNet ID all the time"?

Okay, Starling at this point "The monstrous looking one was good and the pretty looking human was evil." is just as often going to be the case as the non-subversion of that idea. I mean, have you never watch Disney's Hunchback of Notre Dame for one?

Ohhh a Paperclip scenario! I understood that reference. An AI created that due to how it's programmed, cares ONLY about making paperclips, and so will destroy all else on the planet creating ways to make more paperclips faster.

Once again, why restrict Chirp emoticons to only the buggos? It's ChirpNet, give chirps to all!

And it took one of them long enough to point out the advantages of having a shapeshifter for a lover. Have fun!

[Damaged]

11390076 ChirpNet was built, remember, on an existing app. It had a userbase already and built on that. Admittedly it was mostly a dating app, but they can be pretty dang popular if they actually do half of what they claim on the tin.

Paperclips!

[Seraphem]

11390342
That just raises more questions. If they just over wrote an existing app, wouldn't the ones running that app be kind of upset about that? Not to mention people who thought they'd had a dating app that was suddenly just Discord.

[Damaged]

11392826 The dating app was mostly just a chat system with a recommend engine on top of it, that's why it tended to do well enough to survive in an oversaturated market. The company was purchased, the owner cashed out with a happy payday, and thus ChirpNet was built up as a big upgrade to the chat engine with online (and chirpy) consultants who would help clients find love.