Queen Rarity

by Damaged

Chapter 25

8:02 A.M.

Waking up to find myself walking around and making breakfast wasn't strange, and it hadn't been strange since saving NotABug's life. I yawned mentally and stretched out in our head.

—Good morning,— I sent.

I was beset by chirping and hugs from NotABug, the former of which were both digital and real-life. Hoping to give as good as I was getting, I squeezed her back and chirped along as well.

—Sleep well?— NotABug asked.

Flicking through the exterior cameras, then the interior ones, I caught sight of Rainbow doing push-ups in the living room; NotABug standing in the kitchen with Bitwise; Moon, Lyra, and almost the rest of our girls in the computer room playing games, and I noticed Starling leaving the bathroom looking far greener than Rainbow.

Rainbow Dash, I knew, was a morning person. Not only that, but she also didn't get hungover except from the most heavy drinking, which is why she was presently doing push-ups in the living room as if she hadn't passed out drunk on the couch.

—Yeah. I was up a little late, but I don't feel any worse for it. Sleeping-in helped.—

—You don't mind if I eat breakfast? I want to spend some time with Rainbow and the girls.—

Hugging her a little tighter and chirping my reassurance, I reached out to start checking the internet for the daily news.

—Of course not. You've been so busy all week. That's why I was letting you have some social time last night. Enjoy breakfast, I'll see what happened while I slept.—

—Oh, Coco wants to meet us.—

If I was in control of a heart right then, it might have skipped a beat. I really shouldn't associate Coco with being a problem—she was actually the opposite—but it was still a reminder of how little I knew about business every time I met her.

—Did she say what about?—

—No. Just said she'll be visiting for lunch.—

"Alright, Bitwise, you ready for work?" Rainbow Dash asked.

—Work!— Bitwise sent. —I've gotta go!—

She sounded so flustered, panicked chirps echoing around the room and chat.

—Say it out loud, dear, and calm down. Rainbow will get you there in time,— I sent.

"I'm ready!" Bitwise said.

"Great. I feel like a bit more of a run, and figured it would mean you get there on time."

Rainbow picked Bitwise up and supported our daughter with one arm while she walked back through the house to the front door. But when she walked, time bent and twisted around her.

With the sound of Bitwise's chirping disappearing into the distance, I let NotABug get back to cooking while I checked up on various chats.

The programming chat was packed full of more conversation, mostly between Stefanie and Perdition, talking about what service to use to run our bug bounty on, and how to respond to reports. Should it surprise me that they chatted like this when they could be talking out loud to each other? No, of course not.

I really needed to work out how to give people their own mobile links.

Camera footage showed Byte and Co. had been playing games for an hour. I breezed through the time they all spent together, listening to them chirp and chat aloud. They were good girls to keep Lyra included in their chatter.

I brought back up my work from the previous night and started working. It needed to be interactive and graphical, showing people what they were doing wrong and giving them the chance to revert any changes before sending. It needed to learn from such preferences, and it needed to just work for the majority of people who would use it.

Working mostly on the interface element, I left the engine itself for last. The plan, of course, was to make it modular too, which meant I had to make a common set of hooks for the interface to offer to the engine, as well as for the engine to connect to the interface.

—Hey! You're awake? Anyway, I got something for you to look at. Here,— Perdition sent.

A document file accompanied his message. Opening it, I found a most astounding thing—it looked professionally written and impeccably typed. Was this really Perdition's work? Reading through it took moments for me. It wasn't going to be cheap, but I was meeting Coco today. This was something to show her about why we needed a more substantial budget.

—This is good work, Perdition. I'll be meeting with our CEO over lunch and I'll show her this. I can't see any reason why this won't go ahead. You'll be in charge of it, of course,— I sent.

—You're not the big boss? Wait, you mentioned someone…?—

While we were chatting, I compiled my input system and put together a beta version of the client, then sent it to Perdition.

—Yes. Coco knows a lot more about business than I could ever hope to want to learn. I'll be meeting her very shortly, actually. Try this. I put together a new interface for the grammar engine. It should let you undo the swear word filter. Eventually it will be a learning system, but I haven't had time to do that yet.—

—Your daughter tried to explain to me last night how you get all this money. You know, Stefanie is so much smarter than me when it comes to actually finding and exploiting bugs, but damn that kid knows shit on a whole other level,— Perdition sent. —Oh, and this new update fuckin' rocks. Nice work.—

I reflected on that being the longest message I'd ever seen him send, and it was about meeting 'Bee. Well, it had to be 'Bee.

11:33 A.M.

It was getting close to midday, not that I was getting antsy to meet with Coco, but now that I had verifiable proof that our new hires were already producing good work, I felt much better about talking to her about my idea for a student residence under the company's name.

More complication. More family. I brought all this upon myself. Where was the happy young woman who worked late every day at Polomare fashion, lived alone, and made a little time to see her friends once a week?

That was the crux of things, wasn't it? Now I was living my life, not one dictated to me by corporate culture. Okay, sure I'm starting my own corporation, but it was far better than anything Polomare was capable of. For a start it had chirping.

—I have some things I need you to look over. Our new hires are already doing good work,— I sent to Coco, along with Perdition's report.

—You're welcome,— I sent to Perdition.

—Rarity? You're done with your work?— NotABug asked.

Wrapping NotABug up in a hug, I chirped lovingly to her.

—Yes, darling, all done with that until Perdition breaks it. If he can't ruin all my hard work, I'll start slow roll-out of it to the test client. How was your morning?— I asked.

—Reaffirming. I hadn't realized how much time I was spending on all this law study. It was nice to play some games with our girls and make a cute skirt.—

I chirped loudly in surprise.

—You made a skirt? Can I see it?— I asked.

—You can just look at the footage if you want.—

—Darling, that's not the same as watching you try it on. I want to see you wearing it. Please?—

—Alright. We have a little time before Coco is due to arrive.—

Sliding my awareness forward further, I realized NotABug was sitting on the couch with Bobbin brushing our mane. The feel of the brush slowly working through our silken hair was heavenly, and I had a great temptation to tell NotABug to cancel the dress reveal in favor of more brushing.

"Rarity wants to see the dress I made," NotABug said.

Bobbin, currently shapechanged to a human form to hold the brush, gasped in excitement.

"Does she want to see what I made?" Bobbin asked.

—You made something, dear?— I asked.

Chirping excitedly (and digitally), Bobbin dropped the brush on the couch and ran for the hallway. NotABug barely got to her hooves before Bobbin was back wearing a pretty teal blouse. The shirt was of a light fabric and a loose cut that nonetheless showed off the curves of her chest well.

—What do you think?— Bobbin asked.

—That looks wonderful, dear. I could have sworn I didn't have any teal cotton,— I said.

—We went for a drive,— NotABug said.

—We got all kinds of pretty colors, Mom. Come and see!— Bobbin said.

—Lead on, Miss Bug, and don't you dare push me in front. I want to see you wearing the skirt you made,— I sent.

NotABug chirped in excitement and walked down to my—our—sewing room.

When she'd said "all kinds of pretty colors", I hadn't expected there to be two dozen new bolts of cloth in the room. I was already chirping, but this made me go above and beyond.

—Darlings! This is wonderful!— I sent.

Full of chirps, NotABug shapechanged, but not into anything approaching my form. She became a slim, charcoal skin-toned woman with a modest chest and slight hips. Her hair wasn't the same silk we normally wore as a changeling, but rather a shock of white that was cut into a short and spiky—almost masculine cut. I found myself rather approving of the look as a whole, though it was heavily monochromatic in nature. That just meant it would go with almost anything, of course.

—Is this you?— I asked.

—Yes. I just felt this was more how I am. I know it's not like you are, but we're not exactly the same,— NotABug sent.

—It is very you, darling. I love it.—

The hugging and chirping that followed was colored with relief and support—from both sides.

—Now let me see this skirt,— I sent.

NotABug turned and looked to the sewing table, then picked up a yellow skirt that had a print of white roses climbing up one side of it. Stepping into it, NotABug pulled the skirt up to her waist.

It hung almost to her ankles and would leave her feet free to show off whatever shoes she might wear. Her midriff and top were still bare, but they were a matter for more clothes. If there was one thing being naked most of the time had taught me, it was that nakedness wasn't something to fear, it was potential for fashion.

—This is wonderful! I love it!— I sent.

Keeping my attention split among all the various tasks that seemed required of me now wasn't easy, but it did mean I got to notice things like Coco Pommel pulling up outside. My chirping turned resigned, despite my determination not to see Coco as an obstacle.

—Coco's here,— I sent.

—Oh!— NotABug sent.

A rush of green fire enveloped us, wrapping around and changing just one thing—NotABug now had a shirt on. It was still a surprise that we could make clothing with that power, but at least it was a pleasant one (so long as I didn't think about the details).

—Starling, Coco Pommel is at the door. She's trusted,— NotABug sent.

NotABug started walking down the hallway to the living room, the dress swishing around her ankles.

—"You trust a lot of people. Letting her in."— Starling sent.

I was startled by how the message contained an audio snippet and chirped curiously at NotABug.

—New thing Perdition suggested. It means anyone can communicate hands-free on ChirpNet. Starling really liked it,— NotABug sent.

—Wow. That's a really good idea. How does one trigger it?—

—For now they just have to say Chirp, but I'll probably make it customizable before it reaches full release. It's in Circle One Beta at the moment.—

"Miss Pommel, it's good to see you. Rarity's in the back seat for the moment," NotABug said.

"Oh… Oh! NotABug. Of course, sorry. I just dropped in to discuss events for the week and fill you both in on the business plan I have set up. The corporation name has been submitted and I have a preliminary approval to begin trading under the name Bug Hive. What I want to speak to you about is our income," Coco Pommel said.

—'Bee? We're going to need you for a few minutes,— I sent.

A curious chirp came back at just about the time 'Bee jumped out of the television set in the living room.

"What's up?" Bumblebee asked.

That she asked out loud surprised me. I could take a guess as to where she'd been, and the answer was her new friends: Stefanie and Perdition.

"It's about our income. I've done some statistical analysis, and I want to know how much you could theoretically provide?" Coco Pommel asked.

NotABug led the way into the kitchen. I took the initiative and used my magic to put the kettle on.

—Thank you, Rara,— NotABug sent.

—Rara?— I asked.

—I said I'd try new cute names. That one doesn't work for you?—

—Well, there's a pop singer whose nickname is Rara.—

—Oh. I'll think of something, snuggle-bug.—

Dizzy-happy chirping poured from me with complete abandon at that one.

—I like that. Put that one on the short list.—

"… a million a day without setting off any alarms, but that would mean always winning, and the other trade machines don't like it when I do that. If I keep to eight hundred thousand, letting them win two hundred thousand from me, they will leave me alone," Bumblebee said.

'Bee and Coco were mid conversation, it seemed. NotABug turned and sat us down at the table while I used my magic to get cups ready.

"That's more than I'd hoped, honestly. It's an impossibly large amount to make for a startup, but the more I looked into HFT, the more I become convinced that no one outside the companies involved knows how this actually works. Which is perfect. What we need to do, however, is buy some heavy computer hardware and a large internet connection before we step up our income. We want to appear normal in an abnormal business," Coco Pommel said.

"They're installing our first set of servers in Bent and Starling's basement," NotABug said.

"And Beta has been working hard to build the first level of our hive. We could install more down there, though you won't want to get the workers in the hive," Bumblebee said.

I was caught off-guard as I processed the information, but NotABug chirped in surprise.

—Beta? What have you been doing?— NotABug asked.

Beta's chirp back was one of surprise.

—Digging. I like digging and making holes. This hive is getting really cozy, and there's plenty of room down here,— Beta sent.

—Why didn't you tell us what you were doing, dear?— I asked.

—I didn't know I needed to. With everyone else finding things to do they enjoyed, I kept looking down and imagining what I wanted to do. So I did it,— Beta sent. —Is there something wrong?—

Uncertain and worried chirps came from our daughter, so much so that I found myself diving to reassure her.

—No!— NotABug and I sent at practically the same millisecond.

—Not at all, Beta-dear. I'd like to take a look later, if you don't mind,— I sent.

—It could be a solution to our server location problems. The law states we own all the way down, so if you ensure this hive doesn't extend past the sidewalk in any direction outside of our properties, you'll be okay. We're going to need large halls to build server racks into, and plenty of ducting to run data, power, and cooling down there,— NotABug sent.

Beta's chirping turned the corner rapidly and I could almost hear her bouncing up and down in excitement—wherever she was.

—Send me the details on how big you want it. With my resin, I can make the walls, floors, and ceiling harder than rock, but we probably don't want that until we have the cables in. Oh! I could use drills and saws to cut holes in the resin for cabling. We'll want lots of extra power down here if we're going to run servers. I'll look into everything I need to do that. Can you help me with choosing the hardware?— Beta asked.

The wall of text told me one thing—this was exactly what our daughter wanted to do. The excitement that colored her chirping was a giveaway that she'd found her talent.

—Talk to the builders. Tell them we'll pay for whatever time you need them for. Get them to handle the power and data cabling and you handle the building,— NotABug sent.

—If we build in those rack thingies, we can choose our hardware at a later date. Thank you, Beta, this solves a few of our problems,— I sent.

The happy chirping became overwhelming.

"Sorry, Miss Pommel, but we've just been told by one of our daughters that she has room to build more servers than we'll know what to do with. We'll have her talk with the builders working on another house to see about running cabling and data lines down, and something for cooling," NotABug said.

I could hear tiny hooves thundering and saw a little blur of darkness streak across the back lawn before Beta opened the back door and let out a huge chirp.

"Thanks, Moms!" Beta said.

She turned back around and galloped off again. I was barely able to recover from surprise in time to close the door behind her.

"Who was that?" Coco Pommel asked.

"That was Beta. She's taken to digging, and is working on building a complex of caves underneath us. According to national law, a home owner possesses the rights to dig as far down as they wish. I believe our daughter will sorely test that right."

Coco's mouth worked for a moment before she regained her focus.

"That's legal? Are you sure?"

"I'm sitting my bar exam next week, if everything goes well on Monday. Oh, right. Monday's when we're going to see a judge to have me made a person. Mrs. Velvet has organized that side of things. She said it's easier for now getting me made a person than having rights of non-human entities given human rights."

"B-Bar exam? Okay, that's going to make things a lot easier on the legal side. Very well, I'll have company charge cards issued so you can start a corporate account. Just make sure to forward everything to me and I'll make sure to tell 'Bee what our income needs to be.

"I understand your new hires are already working?"

"Stef and Perd are awesome! They know all the cool ways to make computers do what they want, and Pred even got me to help him write up the project report for starting a bug bounty," Bumblebee said.

"Yes, I've taken a quick look at that and did some research into such plans. As far as things go, it's a little more generous than the industry standard, but if we're trying to make a splash, that would be expected. And it will mean we'll be more likely to have reports made to us and not used against us," Coco Pommel said.

—That was more in-depth than I expected. It's nice to have someone else who likes to research things before engaging in them,— I sent.

—I'm still glad she and Mrs. Velvet are on our side,— NotABug sent.

—Indeed, darling.—

"What about the matter of Lyra Heartstrings and Vaunt's education/employment plan? Rarity has her heart set on helping Vaunt, and maybe other fashion students, while programming graduates like Lyra will be excellent talent to hire," NotABug asked.

"Ah, yes. The good news is that this will offset our taxes nicely, and nothing promotes loyalty in employees better than helping them through college. We need to be careful people don't take advantage of us with it, but otherwise I see it as a good idea. But why stop with just programming and fashion? We are a growing business, and I hope to grow far beyond our current interests. We'll need marketing, management, human resources, and accounting on top of any other product professionals we hire. Not to put too fine a point on it, NotABug, but you need more people like me."

"You have an idea for people to hire?"

Coco nodded.

"Rarity's student friends will help there. They give us an in on the faculty, since we'll have business being on their campus. I'll go and have a word to the head of the business department at Canterlot U. The biggest benefit—for any employee—would be if you can work out how to do that thing with your phone. If you can do that for anyone, we'll have people camping out on your lawn to work here."

I levitated two cups of tea (for NotABug and 'Bee) and a cup of coffee for Coco.

—"Lyra Heartstrings just pulled up,"— Starling sent.

The cameras took a moment before they caught Lyra (she was apparently parked on the other side of the road) crossing the street, but I used them to follow her all the way to the front door.

—She's welcome to come in. Tell her I'll talk in the computer room and give her a spare headset,— I sent.

"Lyra Heartstrings just arrived. Rarity's going to talk with her in the other room. You really think making that a priority would be a good idea?" NotABug asked.

"It will be a headache, of course. Medical regulations are such that we'll have to find a work-around, unless it's literally just magic. Will it be, do you think?"

I turned my attention to Lyra, who had just fitted an earpiece into her ear. She was wearing what I would describe as a loose mess of clothing. A pink hoodie and loose-fit jeans were her order of the day.

"Rarity? Can you hear me?" Lyra Heartstrings asked.

"Loud and clear, dear. Please head through to the computer room, NotABug and Miss Pommel are having a business meeting in the kitchen," I said into her earpiece.

"You're not in there—the computer room—are you?" Lyra Heartstrings asked.

"I can be anywhere there's a mic and speaker. Right now, that's wherever you are. There's also cameras all over the house. Just in here," I said.

This time I used my magic to make a glowing green arrow hover in the air pointing to the computer room.

"Thanks, but I've been here before, remember? Okay, so I wanted to offer some more help with the whole implanting phones thing. Specifically, I'm offering you a test subject. Me."

That was just about the most convenient set of events ever. I'd suspect that it was a setup, but Coco and Lyra weren't close enough to do it. Or were they?

"You have some idea how we may be able to repeat it? I've been somewhat at a loss, myself," I said.

Lyra looked around the room as if trying to find something specific. In one corner was the remnants of Bantam and Bespoke's eggs—along with a new egg and a small pile of phones—and spread out around the rest of the room was desks with actual computers on them. Byte was the only other occupant of the room, sitting at one of the computers.

"What you need to do is build up a list of what things were the same both times it's happened before, then try to recreate those—well, the ones we can recreate. What happened to Moon and your daughter is not something we will do."

It was reassuring that she'd think that. I quickly browsed the network to find one of the computers for her, but Lyra sat down at one and quickly brought up a session on the server.

"Would you mind helping fill in these? Moon told me her side of things, but no one knew what happened when you merged with NotABug."

My thoughts wandered back to that event—probably one of the more important ones in my life—and while some of it was sharp, the blue light that NotABug and I'd been making seemed to leave a lot of it fuzzy.

"It's hard to remember, but I'll start with facts. Blue magic, a rushing sensation, the… I don't know how to explain it. I think it was when I had my first feel of changeling magic," I said.

Lyra was entering all this into the document she had open.

"The blue light. Tell me more about that. Moon mentioned something like it too."

I peeked at her session and saw blue light featured in Moon Dancer's account too. Maybe she was onto something.

"The blue light was magic, but a different kind of magic. It had nothing to do with what we did in school. It was like NotABug took the magic I had in me and made it a mix of both of us, then it allowed us to both be together. Does that make sense?" I asked.

"I mean, kinda. So you're saying this is a combination of magic and technology? What am I saying, of course it is—all tech is lit up with blue lights. Okay, so the only thing for sure is a mixture of tech and magic."

Tech and magic. Magic and tech. The words shouldn't have gone together if any books I'd read that had both were concerned, but for us it was absolutely right. For me, at least, all that blue magic was now inside me.

But it wasn't.

There were moments when my magic still interacted with technology to do things. Eggy things.

"When I make an egg, I use that same magic to do so. It makes a—a conduit between me and the machine that the love and magic I've created can grow."

I turned all my attention on the lone egg still in the room. It sat there—a symbol of life itself to me.

Lyra turned in her chair to look at the corner I was focused on.

"Okay, I'm not going to do experiments on your eggs, though, but what about the shells? Has anyone handled those?"

Standing up, Lyra walked to the corner and made a show of not approaching my egg, but rather the little pile of shell pieces from Bespoke an Bantam's eggs.

"Perhaps if you tried to use that energy on me, it would mean I could take a phone? Is it something you think you could just do?"

Well, could I try it? Would it hurt either of us if I implanted magic like that into Lyra? The worst—

"I think that may be a very bad idea," I said. "What if my magic latches onto you as if you were like that phone."

"Good point. Okay! Not going to try that!"

Lyra reached out for the largest part of Bantam's egg and picked it up in her hand. She turned it over, looking at it.

"Maybe there's something to do with these pieces? Try pushing a little of your magic at them. Can you do that from the other room?" Lyra asked.

Reaching out with my magic, I focused on the point where Lyra's sea-green hands held the shell and pushed just a little.

I didn't have enough energy to make an egg, which was a good thing, but I still felt a sense of pulling at my power. That's when I realized the color my magic was making wasn't green.

Blue light flared in the computer room. Byte spun in her seat—in slow motion—and Lyra stood transfixed at the sight of the shell melting slowly into her hand.

—Darling! I think we did it! Can you come to the computer room?— I asked NotABug.

Time was ticking slow on purpose. I watched as the light and shell both seemed to slide into Lyra's forearms. NotABug moved quickly through the house to find Lyra, and I got a view of the event through both her eyes and the camera I'd been using.

NotABug let out a surprised chirp, then rushed over to pick up a phone and pass it to Lyra.

Being in the back seat, as it were, I could only watch as Lyra took hold of the phone and it too started to melt into her flesh with a nimbus of blue light. As the last vestiges of phone and shell melted into Lyra's body, I came to the realization that I'd done it—no, Lyra and I'd done it.

A rush of noise came over the WiFi, and Lyra promptly started falling down. Byte—thankfully—was close enough and caught Lyra just before she hit the floor.

"What happened?" Coco Pommel asked from the doorway behind NotABug.

"Oh, nothing much. Rarity and Lyra just worked out how to do that thing I was telling you I had no idea how to do," NotABug said.

"It seemed so obvious—" I said.

Stopping when I realized only Lyra could hear me, I swapped over to ChirpNet.

—It seemed so obvious when Lyra put the facts together. The secret is that our shells act as a catalyst to the magic, I think, but they do get used up. Catalyst might be the wrong word. It changed my magic to the blue magic,— I sent.

"Can you try on me next?"

Everyone's eyes turned to Coco—even Lyra, who looked like she was barely holding herself conscious.

"Well? There's still some shell left there. Could you try on me now?" Coco Pommel asked.

—Now we are going to have to choose who gets this and when. Do you foresee it becoming a problem?— NotABug asked.

—Honestly? Yes, darling, I see it being a large problem. Our own people first, of course. Rainbow after Coco, then Starling, then Mrs. Velvet. Stefanie and Perdition, Bent Rules, Sweetie Belle, and then any of our other friends who want it. Then we look at selling it,— I sent.

—You've thought about this before, haven't you?—

—A little. Just an idle thought, but it was enough that it got me thinking and planning. I don't think I ever do enough of that.—

—Um. Hello?— an unknown number sent.

—My name isn't set. Okay, what about now?— Lyra Heartstrings sent.

—Hello, Miss. Heartstrings. How does it feel to be the first fully human person to be integrated in this manner?— NotABug asked.

—Like I have a brain-splitting headache. Everything moves so fast, but the real world looks so slow. Is this normal?—

—You'll get used to it. Is the headache from the interface itself, or from dealing with the information?— I asked.

—Oh, definitely all this information. It's like I have an extra pile of eyeballs seeing a dozen things at once. There's this chat, the screen, and I just got a console up on the phone. Can I lie down somewhere and deal with this?—

—There is another way we could distribute this. We could let our daughters choose what happens to their own shells,— NotABug sent privately.

—While I like the idea of it, there's two things to consider. Firstly, our little ones don't exactly know a lot of people when they're just hatched, and time may be a factor in being able to do this. Secondly, we need to do what's best for all of us, and I don't just mean changelings. This is something that will change the world, darling, we need to be careful how we carry it out,— I sent back equally as private.

I pondered this and let out a mental sigh.

—Perhaps we should ask everyone?— I asked.

—Rarity and Lyra worked out how to give other humans their own digital connection, but it requires the use of changeling eggshells. How do you think we should plan this?— NotABug asked.

Her question, unlike mine, was broadcast to all our changelings—even Moon Dancer and Rainbow. The replies were mostly a lot of chirps, but they were all supportive ones.

—I trust you both to know what's best for all of us. Just two weeks ago I'd never have thought I'd say that, but I do. I think you should make the choices you think are best,— Moon Dancer sent.

The wave of chirps became more intense and even more excited and supportive. How on Earth I interpret these little blasts of emotion, I still have no clue, but I do and it works.

—What's your plan, Mom?— Byte asked.

With all the chirping dying down into a few of anticipation, I felt the weight pass to me from NotABug. Well, Rarity, you took this mantle up, time to bear it.

—Friends and family first. We're going to use Bespoke's shell to test we really have this right on Miss. Pommel. If it works, Rainbow Dash can go next. Then we move outward from there,— I sent.

—Does this mean you'll be trying to make more eggs, Mom?— Bumblebee asked.

Well that hit a metaphorical nail right on the head and revealed it to be an elephant in the room. More eggs. More conversions.

—Maybe. I don't want to rush, but I think I won't be trying to hold back anymore, either,— I sent.

—The more bugs the merrier,— NotABug sent.

We got another roar of chirps from our daughters.

—So, me next?— Rainbow Dash asked.

—You think you can handle it?— I asked.

—Pfft. Piece of cake. When do we do that?—

—We only have one egg waiting here. So tomorrow sometime.—

—Well, get on with the testing, then. I guess that will mean Coco can bug you guys even more.—

—Okay, darling, we'll get on with this then.—

—Oh, you had a bunch more stuff at the post office. I'm bringing it back with me. Should be there in about an hour.—

—Thank you.—

"I'm going to try it this time, okay?" NotABug asked.

Coco walked into the room—and past Byte who was helping Lyra out—before turning to NotABug.

"So how does this work? Do I need to do anything?" Coco Pommel asked.

—Have her hold the egg-shards, then you need to aim your magic at where her fingers touch the shell. You'll feel a little pull, then it should start. Make sure to have a mobile nearby,— I sent.

NotABug reached out to our dwindling pile of charged phones that already had an active business account sim in them, and selected one at random.

"Pick up those eggshells over there and hold them in your hands," NotABug said. "Oh, and like you saw, this might leave you a little under the weather for the rest of the day."

"It's a weekend. I have two days—well, a day and a half—to recover."

Coco picked up the pieces of shell and looked them over. I felt as NotABug started drawing her magic up, then she tipped it out and into the shell.

Apparently much better at this than I was, NotABug's magic instantly turned bright blue at the point where it touched both shell and Coco's fingers. As the shell started to pull into her hands, NotABug passed her the phone.

"This is it?" Coco Pommel asked.

NotABug stopped sending her magic and watched as shell and phone both flowed into Coco's body.

"I think it's safe to say so. Rarity, is this how it went with Lyra?"

—Yes. Exactly. Oh, and get ready to catch her. She also might have a little panic about time,— I sent.

As if on cue, Coco's eyes widened and her face registered complete shock. NotABug moved in and caught her a moment before her muscles started going limp.

"What'supwitheverythingmovingslow?" Coco Pommel asked.

"Can you understand me? Just focus on the seconds," NotABug said.

"Focusonthe—on—the—seconds. Wow."

"Come on. You'll need a lie down to get used to this. Feel free to explore your phone further. It should have ChirpNet on it, so try using the localized chat."

Picking Coco up completely, NotABug carried her out of the room and into the bedroom before we got the first hint of her on ChirpNet.

—Hello?—

I quickly appended her details and linked the account to her existing one.

—Good to see you got the hang of it so quickly,— I sent.

—When I focus on this, everything else moves slower. Is it meant to do that?— Coco Pommel asked.

—I know! It gets crazier when you're in a dark room,— Lyra Heartstrings sent.

—Miss Heartstrings? You're the college student who's going to be working for us after graduation?—

—Yeah. How could I turn down an offer like this?—

—Understandable under the circumstances. You figured this out?—

—I just compared the two instances of it happening before together, and then joined the dots with Rarity's help. I guess it's repeatable now, so that means full steam ahead for project bug.—

—Project bug?— I asked.

—Project bug!— Byte sent.

A wave of giggly chirps flooded through. In NotABug's arms, Coco twitched as if she'd been hit with a jolt of electricity.

—What was that?— Coco Pommel asked.

—That was chirping. It's how a changeling do,— Byte sent.

For some reason, Moon started chirping a string of laughter.

—I take it that mauling of the English language was a joke?— I asked.

—Yeah, Mom. Basically, it means that's what changelings mostly do, and it's right.—

—I gathered its meaning, dear. Okay, here comes Miss Pommel. We can only assume she'll have the same headache-pattern that Lyra's having. Byte, could you please take some notes so we can work out what is classed as normal symptoms and what isn't?—

A small flood of traffic poured from Byte to the server, and she sent out a few staunch chirps. NotABug was just carrying Coco into the room by then.

The lights were off and there was barely any light. Obvious was the fact that light might be a factor in Lyra's headache. As Coco slid onto the bed, she let out a slow sigh.

—Is it more or less problematic talking aloud or via ChirpNet?— NotABug asked.

—ChirpNet is best,— Lyra Heartstrings sent.

—We'll continue our meeting once you've recovered.—

I tuned out of the chat in the bedroom and turned my attention back to the greater picture. Rainbow, then Starling. Rainbow definitely seemed onboard with the idea, but Starling was another question.

—Would you like to ask Starling about this, or should I?— I asked NotABug.

Her answer was to nudge me forward. It was always a feeling like diving into the ocean of sensations that our body made. I reached out to the wall with one hand to brace myself, and it was apparent that I was in NotABug's form still.

Walking into my sewing room, I stripped off NotABug's clothes and sent her a questioning chirp.

—Would you mind if we turned back to normal now?— I asked.

—I sometimes forget that I'm transformed like that. It's like I just don't focus on the form at all. You like being all buggy, don't you?—

—If you'd asked me a month ago, if I would prefer walking around naked, I would have called you crazy, darling, but here I am. If you wouldn't mind?—

The green flare of fire as NotABug's form melted away didn't startle me, but it was a more physical and personal change. As my forelegs settled on the floor, I felt complete.

—Thank you,— I sent.

Of course I followed that up with a hug and a kiss, as was only proper under the circumstances.

—I love you, Rarity.—

—I love you too, NotABug.—

It was special to use our names, and I know I was chirping a lot as a result—I just didn't care how much I flooded her with loving chirps.

Walking to the living room with her happy trilling chirps echoing through my head, I looked over and up to Starling.

"I don't know exactly how to bring this up with any amount of subtlety, so here goes. We just discovered how to implant mobile phones in people," I said.

Starling raised one of her eyebrows significantly. She looked tenser.

"What does it involve? Was that what all the shouting was about?"

"To an extent. The upside is that it will give you instant communications with us at all times. The downside is there's downtime after it's done. Lyra and Coco are laying down with what they've assured me is the worst headaches of their lives."

"I've already got almost-instant comms. What makes this better than talking through an earpiece?"

"You'd be able to think and act faster too. That seems attached to your perception of time, and with a digital clock in your head, you can narrow that perception to moments so small you can't physically move fast enough."

As I described that, Starling looked far more interested. I could almost see the gears turning in her head, though with her shell on I couldn't see her emotions.

"One day. Okay, but not tomorrow. Tomorrow might be dangerous with this fashion show. I don't trust Suri Polomare as far as I can kick her—even if I think I could kick her a fair way," Starling said.

"Rainbow is next, but you have first priority after her. I need you to tell me when I'm doing something tactically stupid, for which I'd like to be able to talk to you faster. Oh, an added benefit would be that you could access digital cameras directly. Over a dozen eyes around the house."

Starling barked out a laugh and shook her head at me.

"Rarity, just lead with that next time, okay? Giving me the ability to gather all the intel myself and act on it is a dream come true for a soldier. How easy is this trick to do, anyway? The way you spoke about there being an order implies it's difficult?"

I walked to the couch and jumped up on it. It was nice to sit down and relax. NotABug might have been sitting down moments ago, but I'd been at least a little active.

"Easy, but it uses the shell pieces of our daughters' eggs. It's going to be limited by how many eggs we make, which means no dice on fitting everyone in the world with this."

"But you could try to make more eggs, right? It'd be good if our circle-that-keeps-growing could all be outfitted."

"Already planning for the second half of that. Stepping up egg production is—It's a delicate topic, and not one I'm sure we can push that hard. We'd need to eat more magic and have smaller devices, since it seems like big changelings take longer to hatch."

"Big changelings means bigger egg, right?"

I nodded, my brain doing the gymnastics and reaching the conclusion before she said it. We had a big egg, and let Lyra have all of it. Can't be helped now.

"So we need to test if half a larger shell works the same as a full smaller shell. Do you have any of the old shells?"

In a daze I walked into the kitchen and, despite how much I might dislike it, I used my magic to levitate out the trash piece by piece. Bobbin's shell was at the bottom. It was tiny, like all the others that came from phones.

Putting all the trash back away, I held my prize out—then realized it had a smell to it.

"That's a little ripe," Starling said.

"Yes. Quite. I'm loathe to wash it in case that contaminates it."

"It's already been damp, I'd say. Go ahead and wash it and see if you can get a bit of that smell off. How long was it in there?"

"She was born Wednesday morning, so it's had a few days of being in there. Ugh, I'm not having it out like this. Okay, time to wash it up."

I walked over to the kitchen sink and shapechanged into my normal human form, then set to work on washing the shell in clean water only. What surprised me was the snort of mirth from Starling.

When I turned around to look at her, she turned and looked the other way—which was the best hint I'd had as to what the problem was. Focusing on some clothes as quickly as I could, it took another little blast of magic to banish my nakedness.

"My goodness! I'm sorry!" I said.

"It's okay, Rarity. Just don't make a habit of it."

Starlings admonishment, or rather the way she seemed to be repressing a laugh during it, broke through my embarrassment.

"The world is changing almost as much as I am. I look around and see what we're doing and it seems a normal progression from what we've done, but with fresh eyes I'm sure it's madness. I walk around in my natural form completely naked and comfortable, yet when I make myself look human, I must dress up. That wouldn't have seemed odd a month ago."

"You're the strangest commander I've ever had, but the one I can sympathize with the most. When I left the service, I found myself looking around constantly for someone to give me orders and tell me when and where to do things. I was completely lost, and I think Dad saw that.

"He got me a job at his work in the hope that a little restoration of order would jolt me out of that funk. Turned out what I needed was a bug queen to save me from the monster who was trying to take over my brain. Everything changes, Rarity. It's up to us to make sure the changes are more for the good than bad."

"Yes. You're right. Of course you're right, but I just don't feel it sometimes. Would you mind continuing to tell me that whenever I have a problem keeping everything in perspective?" I asked.

"Gee, permission to tell my boss when she's overthinking things? How can I say no?"

I liked the humor and the promise. For someone who hasn't tested their wings yet, I sure seem to need to stay grounded.

"Do you have any plans for after this?" I asked. "Once we've dealt with SuriGo?"

"You'd fire me?"

"No. Not now, not then, not ever. You do need more than this, however."

"More than my job, you mean? More than having purpose in my life?"

"You need to live it, you, you…"

Words failed me. Was there a sufficiently good insult to use for a soldier who only knew soldiering?

"Yeah, I'm a useless bullet sponge. Is that why you want me in dresses? Get me hooked up with a guy?"

She looked like she'd fight me on this one thing, if nothing else. Her shoulders were squared like when she was wary, and her eyes tracked every little thing I was doing. Reading emotions had become somewhat of a crutch, I think. I was too used to seeing at a glance if someone was angry, happy, curious, or standoffish.

"Would you like to be? I was planning to make your dresses utilitarian, but I could make it show more of your chest, maybe a little more leg. Was there a particular guy you want—"

"You are the only person I know who could make a cocktail dress hide a 1911. Rarity, do whatever you want with the dresses, you will anyway and I kinda like feeling a little more—more human. No offense."

I scoffed at her last sentence and rolled my eyes at her.

"It will take a lot more than that to cause offense. Once we're done with this fashion show, I'll make you a whole wardrobe. You'll have evening dresses with pistol holsters, a ballgown with enough room to hide a machine gun, and some pretty blouses to hide knives in."

"I wouldn't put it past you to hide a machine gun in a dress, Rarity, but I think you mean submachine gun. Short, about yay big, spits out a lot of little bullets. My big gun is a carbine, that means it has all the guts of an assault rifle, but with a shorter barrel. A machine gun is…"

When she moved her hands far apart, almost to full extension, I coughed a little in surprise.

"And you have one of those?" I asked.

"No. But if you think I need one, I can get one."

The look in Starling's eyes told me all I needed to know about what she thought of SuriGo, and how she'd respond to a perceived threat from them. I had to admit I was rather of the same mind. SuriGo, as a singular entity, could not be tolerated.

"We only have one target. If there were more, perhaps," I said.

There was one thing that I needed to ask, but I feared the answer to. I had to ask it, however, despite how squeamish it made me.

"If," I asked, "I tell you to shoot her…?"

"I'm not going to say it'll be easy for you, but I wasn't kidding about being your weapon. If you tell me to pull the trigger, Rarity, I will. I'll stand beside you no matter what happens."

It was both relief and terror. I could ask her to kill someone for me, and she would. She might ask me about it afterwards, but in that moment between me telling her to do it, and her pulling the trigger—I could see in her eyes she wouldn't hesitate.

No pressure, Rarity.

"All I can do is promise you I won't ask it unless I know absolutely that it's needed."

The cameras out the front registered movement, but whatever it was moved beyond their field of view before they could catch more than a blur of rainbow light.

Reaching out, I put both my hands on both of Starling's as the front door burst open and Rainbow Dash ran through the house—all through the house—looking for me.

Starling was reacting to the sound of the door. Her hands tried to move, but she noticed I was holding them. The barest start of a smile began to spread over Starling's lips when Rainbow entered the kitchen and I was thoroughly distracted.

Her arm scooped behind my back and Rainbow tilted me so I lost my footing and fell into her arms completely. She leaned over me, delivered a cocky smile, and kissed me.

I had no idea how other girls kissed their female partners, but Rainbow Dash always took charge and did such bold things as to make me completely forget about men. Barely breathing, I did only what a demure flower like myself could do under the circumstances—I kissed her back.

I liked to take my time with kisses. Rainbow, too, seemed inclined to linger. Eventually, however, even the devilish temptation of spending the entire day in her arms seemed too diabolical and we both—mutually—drew apart.

"Did I surprise you?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"Of course not, though you startled Starling a little, but I saw you coming the moment you reached the front lawn. Cameras, darling."

"Pfft. You and all your high-tech stuff. There's no way I can compe—Wait, I can though, right?"

"We'll see. When you do this, you'll probably have some time to deal with a headache. Lyra and Coco are in our bedroom hiding in a quiet, dark climate."

"Huh. That bad? Well, I'm sure I'll be fine. Nothing can slow me down."

"I'll head back to cover the front door, if you two are fine in here?" Starling asked.

"Sorry to cut our little tête-à-tête short, dear. Thank you ever so much for listening," I said.

The way Starling moved was always with an efficiency and purpose that reminded me of watching nature documentaries in school. She was a big cat—she moved effortlessly and with precision even when all she did was stand up and turn toward the living room.

"There's some stuff in the car we need to bring in first. I'd hate to leave you to carry it in alone while I complain of a headache," Rainbow Dash said.

She leaned in and kissed my cheek before setting me properly on my feet.

My legs were always a little wobbly after Rainbow worked her magic on me, but right now I found myself leaning on her a little.

"Was my kiss that good?"

How did she know that's what I was thinking?

"And now you're wondering how I figured that out. You're a little transparent sometimes, Rarity."

Her thoughts on how cute I was aside, she did know me unnervingly well. I suppose it's a good thing. Was it a female-partner thing? If magazines were in any way true, women had to constantly struggle to teach their husbands the simplest facts about themselves. Rainbow didn't just know about me, she took an interest in knowing much more.

Time to deploy my newest-found piece of mental logic. Rarity, you're overthinking this.

Well, she'd see my arms coming far too easily, so I opted to use magic to grab her, tilt her in the same way she'd done to me, then leaned over Rainbow as she stared up in surprise.

"Did you see this coming?" I asked.

I kissed her again—just a quick one—before setting her back on her feet. Rainbow didn't wobble as I had, but I watched a pair of pony ears slide up the sides of her face to perch atop her head as a pair of wings popped out of her back and jutted out to each side.

This was exactly the response I loved to see. Pitching my voice low, I edged past her toward the living room, making a soft purring sound under my voice as I admired her longer hair.

She was speechless, apparently.

"Darling, are you coming?"

Rainbow shook her head, closed her mouth, and turned her body to follow me.

"Y-Yeah. And no. That's one thing I love about you, Rares—I might have you figured out completely some of the time, but then you go and do something that blows me away. It's awesome."

We walked as she talked, and made our way out to what looked like a new electric car—this one in cherry red. I walked over to it and ran my fingers over the door.

"This is yours, I take it?" I asked.

"The first. It's silly only having one car between us. I got this so I have something to run around in while you have your own, and I'll use the other one as parts to make my classic electric."

As she spoke, Rainbow practically bubbled enthusiasm. Doting on our daughters, NotABug, and myself was something I knew she loved doing, but cars—speed—was part of Rainbow Dash. This passion wasn't exactly one I shared, but I could certainly admire her while she partook of it.

"Have you decided on which classic car you'll use yet?"

I opened the back door and used my magic to levitate two large boxes out—leaving one for Rainbow.

The two boxes I had looked to have a pair of computer towers in each, and the one I left was labeled with a mobile handset manufacturer. Well, given how things were going, we'd need them all.

—More towers for more big bugs?— I asked NotABug.

A tired-sounding chirp was my initial response.

—Mmm? Yeah, maybe. I thought we could use a few more regardless. We can get the displays and other bits locally.—

I chirped in agreement. There certainly wasn't any downside to having some spare computers.

—Rainbow likes her new car.—

—Oh! I like it! We need to get her to take us for a drive!—

"NotABug wants to go for a drive, but that might be something for later. I have no doubt at all that you'll shrug off whatever effects the phone has on you much sooner than the others, which means when you take her for a drive, you can take both of us for a drive, and we can all talk together properly."

Rainbow, who was lifting her box out of the car looked back over her shoulder and smiled at me. In that one look I could see how much she anticipated such a drive and, with the slight extra tilt of one side of her mouth, other things.

Goodness. Would that count as my first ménage à trois? It seemed like a more active role than playing back NotABug's memories of encounters. For that matter, did she play mine back?

"You're blushing," Rainbow Dash said.

I was and I knew it. I could probably have used my magic to become something that didn't blush, but I honestly didn't mind letting Rainbow know I was thinking something unladylike.

"I am."

Turning, I walked back to the house with the two big boxes floating behind me. The wonderful thing was I had a camera that barely caught the edge of Rainbow's expression. Hunger and excitement played across her face, and I could tell her eyes were following something on me at around waist height. Better still.

Rainbow didn't break the sound barrier, but she did move fast enough that the cameras had trouble following her. By the time she caught up to me, I was already putting the boxes down in the computer room.

"Are you ready?" I asked.

"For what? Oh! The phone thing? But we don't have any shell to use."

"Now," I said, "I know your attention was focused on me in the kitchen. We found Bobbin's shell."

"Wait, didn't you throw it out?"

"I washed it, darling. You wait here and pick out one of the mobiles that already has a sim in it. I'll get the shell."

Leaving Rainbow to make her selection from the functionally identical phones, I shed my human guise as I walked out of the room and through to the kitchen. Levitating the shell over, I gave it a timid sniff and let out a chirp of relief.

I found myself prancing through to the computer room again, and when I arrived Starling was waiting by the doorway.

"I figured I should see what I'm getting myself into here. Not that your experimentation hasn't worked out good for me before, but…" Starling said.

"Of course, dear. So far, no one has been hurt in this process."

Rainbow was already holding her hands out for the shell, so I levitated it to her.

"Hold the phone along with the shell. This won't take long."

"I can't believe this is finally going to work! It's going to be so awesome to talk to you both at once," Rainbow Dash said.

Once she was holding the shell and a phone, I used my magic to energize the former. Bright blue light lit up the room and it was only at that moment I realized it really brought out the lighter shade in Rainbow's skin beautifully.

Slowly, or maybe just my perception was skewed, the shell began to slide into Rainbow's flesh while taking the phone with it. Unlike the others, I watched her eyes move and track over the shell and phone as they absorbed—she was watching it happen at least as slowly as I was, and possibly slower.

A flare of rainbow light seemed to halo Rainbow's body as the shell finished settling into her body. The blue light of my magic merged with her rainbow and seemed to make it glow brighter still. Closing her eyes, Rainbow Dash floated a few inches into the air before she settled back to the floor.

Well, of course it had some kind of reaction. I'd just made sure she'd be ponied up with my little teasing in the kitchen.

"This is great! Wow, it doesn't feel like time's moving slowly, but I guess I'm making the phone faster too, right? I can see the time ticking over! Wow, it's slow. Am I talking funny?"

She was talking a little faster paced than normal.

—Yes, darling, you are a little fast,— I sent to the new node ID that had popped up.

—Whoa! This is ChirpNet?— Rainbow Dash asked. —This is great! I can send with this way faster than I can type!—

Apparently, with the phone to ground her mind with a timer, Rainbow's perception was now noticeably quicker than even before. I'm positive she's going to enjoy this.

—Mom?— Bobbin asked.

—Yeah. Sup, kids? Your other mom now has her own hookup.—

The chirping became delightfully overwhelming—partly because I joined in to welcome her.

—You found another shell?— Lyra Heartstrings asked.

—Yes and no. Bobbin's shell was in the trash. I cleaned it up and figured it would be a good chance to test out how long we can wait and some of the properties of shells,— I sent.

—That was my shell?!?!— Bobbin asked.

Bobbin let loose with a rush of proud and excited chirps that had me smiling like a fool.

Registering Rainbow on our family-only channel, I let out a happy little trill of a chirp over it to get everyone's attention.

—That's our family all connected, now. Every one of you is just a thought away,— I sent.

A particularly happy chirp came from Moon, and I was reminded of how small her family had been before. She had become more and more active among our hive, I'd noticed, and it seemed to be agreeing with her.

—Hey, uh, I might need to take a rest or something. Everything seems kinda bright…— Rainbow Dash sent.

—Close your eyes and relax, darling, and let me take you to bed. You're going to have to share, but I don't think you'll have much you'll want to do,— I sent.

—Nah. I got this my own way. Excuse me, Rares.—

I expected her to want to relax and get out of the light. Instead, Rainbow slipped past first me then Starling, and was out the front door without the cameras even being able to catch more than the rainbow pattern of her wake.

—Way I figure it, I'll speed everything up and just run through this. I'll be back when the headache's gone!— Rainbow Dash sent.

—I love you, Rainbow Dash!— NotABug sent.

Rainbow didn't chirp (I don't think anyone who isn't far more changeling than Rainbow is could) but she did send a slew of chirp emoji at NotABug, and then more to me.

—I love you all. Thanks for sharing this with me!— Rainbow Dash sent.

—Likewise. I love all of you, NotABug, Rainbow, Byte, 'Bee, Bitwise, Moon, Beta, Bobbin, Bantam, and Bespoke. Every last chirpy one of you,— I sent.

—What about me? I can't chirp properly,— Rainbow Dash sent.

—We'll chirp for you!— Bobbin sent.

Predictably, this earned a rush of chirping from all of us.

—I think I might do some sewing. I know I've got all the dresses ready for tomorrow, but I want to make some friends some things,— I sent.

As I started to turn, I realized that Starling was standing in the doorway still, a bewildered expression on her face.

"She's okay? No migraine headache?" Starling asked.

"Oh, she has a headache just like the others, but getting her to admit she needs to lie down is another problem. Rainbow prefers her own methods."

"Was all that magic light part of it?"

Stepping past her, I shook my head.

"The blue light was, but the rainbow of colors was all Rainbow's doing. Sometimes I wonder if she does things like that just to show off, but then I remember that she does them even when alone."

"So that's it then? Hold this, hold that, blue lasers and bam, headache for the rest of the day?"

Starling walked back to the living room and I watched her checking the front door was locked.

—Pretty much. Once you acclimatize to it, you'll be thinking faster, communicating faster, and even moving data around devices faster. Though, that last one will probably be completely new. I wonder if I can see through Rainbow's eyes now?— I asked.

—Rainbow, darling, can you approve this little request?— I asked Rainbow Dash.

Sending a request for "camera" access, I got an approval and a data stream back a moment later. Rainbow wasn't just running, she was jumping over vehicles that moved too slow.

—Wait, what do you see when I let you use my camera? Is it inside me?—

—No. I see through your eyes.—

—This is so, awesome!—

—"You can see through other people's eyes?"— Starling asked.

—Apparently I can see through Rainbow's. The opposite should be true, of course. You could have eyes literally everywhere,— I sent.

The delay between our regular chatter and Starling's slow replies would drive me to distraction if I weren't careful. It would be a relief when everyone in our little extended family were all connected in. That's when I had an idea—why not push for more nymphs sooner?

—Rainbow, would you like to snuggle a little once you're back and showered?— I asked.

—We need to plan snuggles now?— Rainbow Dash asked.

—Well, I was thinking of trying to make an extra egg or two.—

—You know I'm not going to say no to that, right? I'm fine to snuggle, Rares, whenever you want to snuggle. Or, whenever NotABug wants to snuggle.—

—Snuggling sounds like a good idea!— NotABug sent.

—It's so awesome I can talk to both of you at the same time,— Rainbow Dash sent.

—Definitely, darlings.—

—You two send a lot of those chirp emoji. That's a lot of love hearts,— Rainbow Dash sent.

I laughed. I couldn't help it. We had been sending loving and content chirps at each other since… well, since I woke up.

—Chirping is how we do. We'll have to work out a better way to let you be able to chirp back,— NotABug sent.

—I'd like that. This headache is sticking around. I might run another lap of the city.—

It didn't surprise me that she said another, nor did it surprise me that running laps of the whole city was now her thing. Driving a car was a slow-down for Rainbow. She could outrun any car in the world, so why did she like the things so much?

The answer was easy—she just did. It was something she enjoyed doing. We were building a family with an eye toward making it a place where everyone could do what they enjoyed. If driving and building cars was Rainbow's, I wasn't going to hamper her.

In fact…

—Rainbow?— I asked.

—'Sup, Rares?—

—When you're done building your car how you want it, would you do one for me, too?—

She didn't reply immediately.

—Really? You want me to build you a car? Is this more of that going for a cruise stuff?— Rainbow Dash asked.

—Yes. Yes it is. Are you saying you wouldn't like to go out for a drive, the two of us in our own cars, and find somewhere cozy to snuggle?—

—You bet I would. Do you want to look at cars today?—

I almost said no. Exercising my brain, and mulling over recent thoughts on my sporty darling, I realized that there would be driving and snuggling involved in looking at cars. Nothing, I realized, would get Rainbow as worked up as looking at cars with NotABug and myself.

—I'm sure we could drive and snuggle. Do you know of places we can look at cars?—

—That depends. Will they be dirty places?—

—We might have to drive past some wreckers' yards, but I know one that keeps a lineup of cars out front, so we won't have to go in. They're going to be rusty, Rares, but I promise I can save them.—

—Alright, darling. You run for as long as you need to, and I might do some sewing.—

—How are the others handling it?—

—There hasn't been a peep out of them for a while. Hopefully they're sleeping it off.—

—Love you both.—

—Love you both, too.—

—And I love both of you!— NotABug sent.

I walked through to my sewing room with a soft chirping coming from my wings. In my head, NotABug was letting loose her own musical chirping.

To me, as I walked into my sewing room, life felt like it was on track. Rainbow was closer to us than ever, our own family—the one we'd made—was both growing and strengthening, and our circle of friends was doing the same. It all felt wonderful.

So why did that worry me?

Because I'm not the naive little girl who believed singing songs would take care of all the magical monsters in the world. That girl often got overwhelmed when things didn't go her way—I like to think I wasn't susceptible to that anymore. Things would never completely go my way, which meant I had to have backup plans, and when that failed too, I would hit and bite and zap things with my magic until it all came together.

Okay, so I might still feel overwhelmed, but I had more sticks to swing now.

I looked over my fabric collection. Carefully, I bit my lower lip as my eyes danced over the almost transparent one I'd used to make that first dress—the one I'd made to celebrate the beginning of my freedom.

What better way to hide a gun and knives than to leave people looking at soft flesh. It had worked with my breasts—hidden despite so much being visible.

—Starling, do you have an extra gun holster? The kind of holster for a leg. Where you'd hide your backup,— I sent.

While I waited for her reply, I logged into my coding session and examined what work had been done on my lance project.

—"I certainly do. Want me to bring it in?"— Starling asked.

—That would be great.—

I turned my focus to the additions to my lance. There were six new direct attacks and a swathe of smaller ones. There were some that worked only on specific systems, others that would work on cross-platform apps, and yet more that attacked only certain versions of operating systems.

The holy grail was one Stefanie had only just added.

—You came up with this?— I asked Stefanie.

Starling walked into the room and handed me what looked like a woven canvas green strap with a further holster around what looked like a comically small gun compared to her normal pistol.

"There's no ammo in it, the chamber's clear, and the mag's out," Starling said. "Which, in English, means it's harmless. No bullets."

I appreciated her effort to explain it to me. Carefully unwrapping the strap, I realized it was still warm with her body heat.

"If it's all the same, I'd like to know what you were saying first. I could look it all up online, but I don't think that would be as useful as you telling me. If there's a situation when I need to know these words—and they're the first ones you shout—I'll likely need to know what you mean before you repeat in English," I said.

—With what? That AI system hack? Yeah. It is so full of holes you wouldn't believe it. Seriously, don't run anything on this,— Stefanie sent.

I forwarded the message to NotABug, who chirped in concern.

—That's the AI system NotABug used to run on and that parts of Windigo might still be running on. This is big, Stefanie. Thank you,— I sent.

"Okay, from the top. If the chamber is clear, it means there's nothing in the chamber, up here. No bullet and no spent casing. The mag being out means the magazine—extra bullets. If the mag's out and the chamber's clear, there's no bullets in the gun at all," Starling said.

I was trying to keep up with the two conversations happening at the same time, and felt it was much easier when they were both real-time. At the very least I wasn't dumped with a whole conversation between one statement and the next.

—Even from the inside it looks fairly flimsy. Anyway, I could cook up more for that, or keep working on implementing more zero-days into usable weapons. You still need some payloads. Oh, and I love this grammar thing. It works so much better than anything else out there. You know they're going to copy this, right?— Stefanie sent.

—Perhaps, but by then we'll have something better. I might work on those payloads. I rather liked the idea of having a range to choose from that start with just annoying and wind up leading to system destruction. I might start with the latter,— I sent.

"I believe I have that. I still have your measurements. Sorry, just making a mental list here. How do you feel about dresses that reveal some skin?" I asked.

"Skin but not my gun? Rarity, I'm never going to be the one to ask when it comes to fashion. This—This is what I am and what I do. You can dress me in whatever you want, though I'm still looking forward to seeing how you pack body-armor into something fashionable."

As she spoke, Starling patted her jacket where I knew her main gun sat.

"It's not fair, you know. Even my friends give me some hint of what they'd like. What is the essence of Starling that I could make into a dress?"

—Cool. I'm just about out. This jet lag has been the worst. I'll leave some things running. Thank you, Rarity,— Stefanie sent.

—You're most welcome. Please, sleep well.—

"If I had my choice I'd be wearing a black suit tailored to fit a radio and at least two guns. Or be back in my fatigues with guns, grenades, and spare ammo less than arm's reach away. You're my boss, Rarity. I have to fit in with you and your family, so I need to dress how you think I should be dressing."

I put on my best smile—which probably displayed a few fangs.

"You are terrible to make dresses for. Simply horrible! I don't know how I will ever manage!"

I was reassured by Starling's rolled eyes and grin that she understood my melodrama for the humor it was. Levitating her gun up to examine it, I looked at the holster and how they fit together.

"The trick will be conceal the opening but make it easy for you to slip your hand into. The shape of it is another problem. How is this normally concealed?" I asked.

"It sits along my inner thigh. Normally I'd have to lift my skirt to get at it, so it's not like it's all that easy to draw already. It's an emergency weapon."

I made a noncommittal noise and thought about the situation. The skirt was going to be black with some skin showing through it. Eyes should be drawn away from the concealment, but it also needed to be secure.

"This is going to take some specialty work. The skirt will have something like shorts sewn into it. From the outside you won't notice them, of course. I might have to see about using actual magic to conceal the pocket where the gun will be in—I have a few favors I could ask Twilight for to cover that."

It was mostly just voicing my thoughts. I still had a few ideas on how to conceal the pocket, but the fabric was so sheer I doubted any of them would be completely effective. I floated the dress fabric over only to hear a gasp from Starling.

"That's see-through!"

I grinned to show all my fangs.

"Yes it is. You said I was in charge of fashion, and that you didn't care what you wore. You won't be actually showing anything off, but people will think you are. They will get distracted by what you're showing and not by what you're not."

Starling tilted her head to the side a little and narrowed her eyes. It was a look I'd come to associate with her thinking hard on something, which meant she was likely poking it for tactical flaws.

"The normal way security work is by being invisible. Stand beside your target but not be part of their scene. This is not going to make me invisible unless you wear something even more revealing, and even then I'm going to get eyes on me."

"Yes, but they won't see you as security. You'll be my guest who happens to be armed, not my armed guard."

"So long as I can flash my main pistol a little, I'll be happy with that, then. It’s still not going to be the same deterrent as putting me in a black suit that screams armed security."

"You are not wearing black with that hair. First thing's first, we'll need to get your hair grown out—don't think I can't see those gorgeous red roots. Then I'm going to keep you wearing custom designed dresses for a whole year."

The very idea of making her look plain—even if a suit would look fetching on someone with a large frame like hers—was positively terrible.

"You'll be quite literally dressed to kill in all senses of the word."

"This is why you get to make the fashion choices, Rarity. For one, I have no sense of fashion—Wait!"

Of course she knew I was going to cut in. I could have, still, but talking over someone was so crass.

"I'm sure I'm going to pick some of it up, regardless of my efforts not to. Let's just keep going like this. A bit of stability around friends I trust will be good," Starling said. "I really should go back and guard the door again."

She left the room without asking me to, which had to be a good sign that she was not completely lost to her military mindset. Well, at least I had another model to dress. Turning to my sewing, I brought up my programming at the same time and set about practicing multitasking.

1:03 P.M.

—One more lap and I think I've got this beat. You still want to go for a drive?— Rainbow Dash asked.

Rainbow's message surprised me into a little storm of happy chirps. The dress had been slow going, but slow was a matter of perspective these days. Slow could be hours or seconds, depending on my point of view.

—You really think another lap will do the trick?— I asked.

—Probably not, but I've run a bunch and just started a new one, so I might as well go around again. What have you been up to?—

—Admiring your grammar, making a new dress for Starling, fashioning a weapon I can use on SuriGo. The usual, darling.—

—To heck with the last lap. I need a shower anyway. On my way home,— Rainbow Dash sent. —Also, have I ever said how much I love it when you call me that? Even in school it made me shiver.—

I got even more chirpy. So much for being able to do digital cuddles with Rainbow. It didn't seem like it was possible for humans to go that far into the connection—yet, at least. Still, just being able to talk with her was wonderful.

—How long until you reach here, darling?—

Well, if she liked it, I would have to make an effort to use it more often.

—Ten seconds flat.—

—Ten seconds is a long time, now,— I sent.

Shutting down my programming instance, I turned my full attention to the dress. There was still a slightly obvious fold in the fabric where the holster left it. All my efforts to make it completely invisible had failed.

I knew what I wanted—I'd certainly seen Twilight make such hidden holes before—but my magic worked differently to hers. Well, let's just test on a scrap piece of fabric first.

"Hey," Rainbow Dash said from the doorway.

"Darling, how are you feeling?"

"Better and better. What're you doing?" Rainbow Dash said. "And, don't worry, I won't hug you while I'm all sweaty."

"I'm going to test out my magic at making this pocket invisible, but first I want to try it on something less… immediately devastating—should it catch fire or turn to plaid."

As I talked, I ran the spare piece of fabric through my machine to make a quick and dirty pocket out of it. Much as I hated making something that wasn't completely gorgeous, its beauty was in serving its purpose.

—Hold on a second,— Rainbow Dash sent.

She was gone and back so quick the movement of my mane that her leaving caused hadn't finished. She held out a baking tray to me.

"Put your may catch on fire thing into that while you work magic on it, Rares."

There was a certain genius in the simple solution that made me immediately suspect she'd set enough things on fire to learn precautions. I took the tray in my magic and set it on the floor, then set the fabric upon it.

"Thank you, darling."

The next bit was always going to be chancy. Magic was powerful, mine apparently more than most, so I had to be very careful to only use a little and focus my mind on what I wanted.

I wanted the pocket to look like it wasn't there and yet still be able to be used.

This was a fashion problem, plain and simple, and those kinds of problems were my jam. Narrowing my eyes to slits, I let magic flow into my horn, but at the same time I pinched it down to a tiny flow.

I wanted the pocket to look like it wasn't there and yet still be able to be used.

—Wait!— Rainbow Dash sent. —Maybe you should, I don't know, try looking like Twilight while doing it? Maybe that will help your magic act more like hers?—

Easing back from my precise focus, I let my horn slowly drain its magic back into my reserves.

"That is a very good idea. It might be enough to just put me in a more Twilightesque mood," I said.

I'd seen Twilight Sparkle (both of them) enough to know exactly how each looked, but I opted for our world's Twilight. Her figure and proportions were a matter of measurements I'd taken recently. She wasn't a small chest, but definitely less than what I normally put on for Rainbow's benefit. A slim waistline that saw as little exercise as it did fuel to expand—our Twilight often forgot her meals if science was happening (and for Twilight, science always happened).

Long slim legs, a familiar face, and long hair in a ponytail were the icing on my Twilight cake. Summoning up much more power than the spell itself would use, I called my fire and became Twilight Sparkle.

"Not that I'm complaining, but you might want to add clothes, Rares."

Oh drat. Well, Twilight's normal, casual attire would be a good enough look. Shoes, socks, skirt, blouse, glasses—A little more fire and I was suitably dressed as Twilight would be.

"Sorry about that. I've been having a little bit of a problem in that department mostly because I prefer to dress myself, rather than just slap an outfit on as a matter of course. It feels like cheating to dress like this."

"Hey, like I said, no complaints from me. Though, if Twilight looks exactly like you did just now, she needs to eat a bit better and get some more time out of her lab."

"Rainbow, we both know that getting Twilight out of her lab—or any lab—is not possible. Short of setting the building on fire around her, I doubt our Twilight will ever spend too much time away from her experiments. As for getting her to eat better, you know as well as I do that we've all tried, even with her father's help. Twilight is a nerd, Rainbow, plain and simple. She'll never be predisposed to going out and doing things unless someone literally twists her arm."

"She just needs a good boyfriend."

I snorted at that, and it came out distinctly like Twilight's snorts would. It was a little bit surprising at how much like her it sounded.

"That's your answer for everything, isn't it? I remember when you kept trying to hook me u—" I said.

That was odd, now I came to think of it. She was trying to get me to date, even though she loved me herself.

With barely a fraction of a second having passed, I continued.

"…up with people. You were the reason I installed the dating app in the first place!"

Rainbow's lips curled up at the edges. She stepped closer and leaned against me in that way that made me think of her as masculine—forceful.

Just the smell of her alone would have been enough to make me purr. She'd been active in a way that most people couldn't even contemplate. She smelled musky and vibrant. If I was a cat, I'd rub her all over myself.

"Rares, I wanted you to wake up from the hole you'd buried yourself in. I was happy to wait for you to play the field a little, but I wanted you at least open to any relationship. NotABug wasn't the only one who saw that you were in a bad place—I just didn't realize how bad or I would have run into your work and run off with you."

As she spoke, she wrapped her arms around my shoulders and nibbled at my ear. I went all noodly in her grip.

"You should have. If you'd been this way to me back then, I would have probably screamed for a while in my head, but you just feel so—"

"I like taking control of things. I like being physical. I love doing both with you."

I shivered a little and let out a soft sigh of pure and absolute desire. Nibbling my ear one more time, Rainbow slowly let go of me.

"But you need to do this thing so we can have a shower and go for a drive."

Her smell lingered more than the feel of her hugging me. Right. Of course. Magic. Not being completely distracted by Rainbow's strong arms.

"Yes, yes. The thing. Get the shower running and I'll be in there shortly," I said.

Locking my Twilight-centric senses on the test pocket, I struggled to pull my mind along after my intent.

—Were you just smooching with Rainbow?— NotABug asked.

—Mmmm… Maybe,— I sent.

—You know I can hear you two, right?— Rainbow Dash asked.

—I know,— NotABug sent.

—Me too,— I sent.

—Just checking,— Rainbow Dash sent.

—Ohhh. She did that thing you like. I like it too, but I like being a little physically forceful too,— NotABug sent.

—It still surprises me that you do. I guess even this close, we still have a lot of things different. I'm going to try making another egg or two,— I sent.

—For more egg shells?—

—That too, but I also don't mind the idea of more of us in this family. Growing up with Sweetie, I'd always felt like I wanted a bigger family.—

—Bigger would be better. I like all the chirping.—

—That makes two of us, darling.—

Breathing slowly, I let my magic flow, but I focused on making it be like Twilight's. Raspberry, of course, was the intended color, and I was surprised when my hands began to glow with just that shade. Turning my full attention on the pocket, I threw my will and a trickle of magic at it.

I wanted the pocket to look like it wasn't there and yet still be able to be used.

The glow of Twilight's magic enveloped the fabric and imbued into it. There wasn't any fire, nor even smoke, just a sense of something having happened.

Reaching down, I plucked up the practice pocket and realized my spell had worked. There was no line of the seam, the fabric just looked continuous. Knowing there was meant to be a pocket there, I slid my hand against where the opening should be, and sure enough I slipped my fingers inside.

It was perfect!

—Oooh. That's clever. What are you going to do with it?— NotABug asked.

—This,— I sent.

Picking up Starling's new dress, I focused my thoughts in the same way and directed my magic at the barely visible pocket on the dress.

I wanted the pocket to look like it wasn't there and yet still be able to be used.

It might be silly to say those words in my head each time I wanted it to happen, but it felt necessary. Magic, I believed, needed to have rituals and such. At least, Twilight's magic did. Changeling magic was completely different. It was chirpy!

Satisfied that I'd done enough of the ritual, I pushed some of my magic out and watched as the pocket faded from view. I reached my—well, Twilight's—hand to the fabric and ran my fingers to the seam that should be there. The tips of my fingers disappeared from view.

—A skirt with a hidden pocket?— NotABug asked.

—A skirt with a hidden holster. This is for Starling.—

—Your dress is done,— I sent to Starling.

I wouldn't get a chance to go to my bedroom and get changed—not with two people sleeping off headaches in there—so I opted to pick some pretty clothes and just shapechange into them. A summer dress in violet to match my hair with a floral pattern of white down one side could wait until after my shower—I picked a dressing gown instead. Becoming that slightly more buxom (I was sure Rainbow appreciated it) version of my old self was simple, adding the gown was likewise.

Calling up my magic, I shifted from Twilight Sparkle to the old me.

"I don't think I'll ever get used to that, Rarity, but don't let me stop you," Starling said.

"There you are, dear. I have your dress finished, there is the holster we talked about in a flap on the front. If you'll excuse me, I have a darling waiting for me."

I handed Starling the dress with my magic and walked past her. A little privacy while she changed would probably be appreciated, and besides, I wanted that shower.

Walking down and across the hall to the bathroom, I tried to tell myself that I wasn't naked and that what I "wore" was clothing, but that was the rub I realized. I wasn't wearing this lovely dressing gown—it was part of me.

As soon as I stepped into the bathroom, I noticed Rainbow naked in the shower. Closing the door behind me, I discarded the illusion of the dressing gown.

—You can drop the disguise fully if you want. You know I love you all the time,— Rainbow Dash sent.

—I could, but I like seeing your smile when you get the girlfriend of your dreams,— I said.

I'll admit that what came after was one of my favorite showers I'd ever had. Entire discussions of form and figure passed in moments, and Rainbow explained at length how much she enjoyed the few changes I made while I was with her.

My own enjoyment was no small matter either, but a polite lady does not go into the details of such things.

Stepping from the shower, I looked down my body and then up Rainbow's. Every time we were intimate, I feared it would feel strange or odd being with another woman. So far it hadn't—not even once.

"You know, I feel a little odd when I make clothing appear," I said.

Before today, I wouldn't have thought twice about Rainbow's pause as she looked at me. Now, however, I knew that that few seconds involved a lot of thought on her part.

"It's because you didn't make the clothes, or that they're kinda part of you?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"More of the second than the first. I think that's why I keep forgetting."

"To dress yourself? Yeah, I can see that. Can't say I'll ever complain, but I'll try to warn you if you slip, okay?"

I had to stretch up on tip-toes to reach her cheek from my current height, but I managed to give Rainbow a little peck. A rush of fire and I was back to my changeling self.

It was a little distressing how easy my body was to maintain. I looked at myself in the mirror and let out a sigh.

"I wish my hair had more body to it. What do you think I should do with it?" I asked.

"Maybe pin it up? You've got a lot of silky mane going on there, you could pin it into waves cascading down the back of your neck."

As she explained, Rainbow worked her hands into my mane and did her best to show what she meant. Goodness but I could have melted and let her run her hands through my mane all day.

"Your skills with hair, makeup, and clothes never ceases to amaze me, Rainbow-darling."

"If I wanted any hope of catching the eye of the coolest fashion designer in the world, I knew I'd have to get some skills. Pass me some pins."

Hairpins I had plenty of, and I used my magic to float them over to Rainbow as she needed them. I got to watch in the mirror as she primped and shaped my mane into exactly what she'd described. It looked like I had a waterfall flowing down my long neck, and the cerulean coloring only enhanced the effect.

It wasn't perfect, but it would take a skilled eye to see the little mistakes that Rainbow'd made.

—That looks amazing!— NotABug sent.

—We were just about to go for a drive. Did you want to come along?— I asked.

—You mean just spend the afternoon together as the three of us? Yes! I'd love it!—

We chirped excitedly together and exchanged a hug.

—I was thinking we'd go in my older car. We're going to be cruising a bit, and that car's built to cruise,— Rainbow Dash sent.

I remembered our times spent in that car, and despite her sometimes-wild driving in it, I'd learned to like the big metal monster.

—Sounds perfect,— I sent.

—Yup! I'll just finish up this order I'm putting in. We're getting a big server upgrade thanks to Beta's work. Miss Pommel approved the acquisitions and 'Bee has been working on building our operating capital a bit higher to cover them,— NotABug sent.

—I'll just go get something appropriate to wear,— Rainbow Dash sent.

There seemed not a thing wrong with her. Of the three who'd experienced the implants so far, she had come out of the slump quickest.

I realized we should let everyone know where we were going.

—We'll be heading out for a little drive. It might take all afternoon,— I sent.

A small tsunami of encouraging and happy chirps washed back over me. Of course, I replied with my own appreciative chirps.

We both left the bathroom, and while Rainbow walked down toward our bedroom, I headed back to the living room.

Starling was standing by the door and wearing the skirt I'd made. She looked a little uncomfortable—probably because it looked like she was wearing nothing under the skirt.

"You like?" I asked.

"It looks like I'm not wearing underwear," Starling said.

She looked down at the skirt and I watched color grow in her cheeks.

Okay, so it did look like she was flashing everyone, but she really wasn't. Was this my own blasé attitude to nudity coloring my art? Maybe a little, but it wasn't as if any sensitive parts of her were actually visible.

"But, I have no idea how you hid a gun in it. The moment it's in the holster, I can't feel it there at all. Even an intrusive pat-down wouldn't find it."

She reached to where I knew (but couldn't see) the pocket was and reached in. The effect of her withdrawing a gun that looked too large to be hidden somewhere that shouldn't have existed was great. Even Starling looked shocked to see it.

"Gotta give you credit, though, this is the best conceal I've ever seen. You know, if you made suits like this, you could sell them for a small fortune."

"I don't want to mass produce suits. I want to make things that show off my friends' to their best and still suit their needs. It's revealing, but like I said—this outfit is to make people forget that you're dangerous."

"That makes you more of a target," Starling said.

"I can dodge."

Starling rolled her eyes and pushed the gun back into its holster. As soon as her hand withdrew from the pocket, it became imperceptible again. Okay, so I may have outdone myself here. Definitely something to feel proud about, but could I do this with other things? Kevlar body armor? Carbines?

"I'll grant that—Oh, you're going out? I guess there'll be no more dress-ups, then?"

There was a note of sadness in her voice. I might not be able to see her emotions anymore, but I could certainly listen for them. Was she looking forward to more things? Drat but she was raising so many new questions for me. How many dress-ups did Starling want to play? Was this a sign that she wanted more than her military life had given her?

Well, if she wanted unique fashion that was designed around her ability to defend herself and those around her, she'd found the right employer.

"For a drive, yes. I asked Rainbow if she'd like to build me a car, and now she wants me to pick out an older car to use as the base."

"We were chatting earlier about that. I didn't know she was doing one for you, too. Got any ideas about what you want?"

"That's the thing, I haven't exactly had much experience with such things. A car was always a machine that got me from A to B without having to worry about C. Goodness, I don't even know what color I want. That will be a whole other problem."

—Okay, I'm coming now. Are you ready?— Rainbow Dash asked.

—I was just chatting with Starling. I'm ready when you are.—

—I wish our bedroom was free. I'd take you in and do your makeup.—

I could hear footsteps in the hallway, though they were much too fast for anyone but Rainbow.

—Not everyone has your physical fortitude, darling.—

I'd been using my favorite word a lot more lately, though mostly when referring to Rainbow and NotABug. It just seemed to fit nicely, and I liked the text options with ChirpNet that let me italicize it.

—Is that innuendo for something?— Rainbow Dash asked.

As usual, the cameras in the living room failed to track Rainbow properly. There was the usual persistent rainbow effect after her, but her body kept getting distorted and twisted a little. It was horridly disconcerting.

—It wasn't, but it could be,— I sent.

Goodness but we were being a little unladylike, however in the privacy of our own direct messages I could afford a little expressive tête-à-tête.

Rainbow's lips pressed to my cheek, resulting in me leaning to the side just a little.

"Let's go. I've got some things I know you'll like. First stop is an imports yard. They're not big muscle cars, but I have a suspicion you don't want that," Rainbow Dash said.

Knowing the way Rainbow lived, it was still a marvel that she managed to keep track of time like that. More so because she managed to adjust when she had pulled me into her high-speed realm. She had the door unlocked and open before I could finish blinking.

With a hand on my shoulder, Rainbow pulled me into her time. It was hard to tell anything was different, and I wouldn't have noticed at all except Starling had opened her mouth to say something and it was taking an eternity for her to even make a sound.

—Looks like we're off. Thank you for looking after everything while we're gone,— I sent to Starling.

I stepped forward with Rainbow, breaking the bonds of reality behind us and moving far too quickly for normal physics to apply to us. It was literal magic.

No sooner were we beside Rainbow's car than she pulled it into her time-thingy too. If there were a physical toll to her doing this, I couldn't see it.

Opening the door for me, she waited for me to be in before she let go of the car and was at the driver's door seven-hundredths of a second later.

"I think I'll stick to talking like this. NotABug, if you want to chat, feel free. You can hear me, right?" Rainbow Dash asked.

—I can hear whatever Rarity hears.—

"I'm fine with this too, Rainy-darling, where are we going first?"

Rainbow stared at me for a few moments.

"Rainy-darling? Really?"

—I think it's cute!—

"See?" I asked. "It's a perfectly cute nickname."

Rainbow made an admirable attempt at a defeated sigh and turned the key of her car. The response was a reminder that her vehicle used outdated technology, but I could excuse its noise when her smile broke into a wide grin.

When Rainbow smiled like that, her face turned from beautiful to spectacular. There was an innocence and wonder there that no amount of SuriGos could wipe away. For that smile I'd go to war. For that smile I was already at war.

"Okay. But only you two get to use it. If I catch anyone else uttering it, I'm totally going to grumble at you all for a week."

—These terms are agreeable, but only because then we get to tease you about grumbling.—

I giggled without restraint at NotABug's quip. She was right, though. I don't know why I'd shortened Rainbow’s name quite like that, but I do know I enjoyed the blush it brought to her cheeks.

The engine surged a little at Rainbow's urging, then she reached down to the gear stick, pressed the clutch in, found a gear, and time slowed to a crawl around us.

There was a sense of potential that lasted a fraction of a second. One moment her foot was off the gas, then she pressed down and drew her foot back from the clutch at the same time. A sense of hunger came from the engine under the hood—I could imagine the butterfly valve opening and a tiny pause as it contemplated its options before physics intervened and shoved air into it.

Time moved in fractions of milliseconds. I could feel the gearbox, driveshaft, and differential take up the slack as the engine began waking from whatever sleep it'd been in.

My research into cars was paying off, not to mention the questions I'd peppered Rainbow with about her car in particular.

There was a sound of screeching, and I knew the tires' grip on the road was the weak link in the physics of pushing the car forward. For a moment the car seemed to crouch, and then the tires gripped.

Not quite as firmly as our electric cars, but certainly exciting enough for me, the car shoved me backwards against the seat.

"Okay, first stop is an import yard. They have something in particular I want you to look at. It's gonna be self-explanatory when I tell you what the car is called."

Learning more about cars had taught me more appreciation for Rainbow's skills at both engineering and driving than I'd otherwise have ever gained.

"Oh? What's that?"

"Well, it has a bunch of numbers and whatever, but the name everyone calls it is the Fairlady Z."

The name had me hooked right from the start. I don't know what I was expecting, and Rainbow wouldn't be coaxed to give more details on the car until we saw it.

What it wasn't, unfortunately, was a car. Cars have wheels and a motor and you can sit in them and make them move. This lacked the first two and hence the ability to perform the third.

The white hunk of metal, however, was a diamond in the rough. There was brown patches here and there where some rust had bubbled the paint, it lacked any mechanical parts strictly required to make a car be a car, and it was also absolutely gorgeous. The lines of it were that classic look that old sports cars could manage. It wasn't a muscle-car, like Rainbow's, but I could see in it something that could live up to its name.

"You've been quiet," Rainbow Dash said.

We were seated in her car at the front of the yard, looking at the vehicles through a chain-mesh fence.

"It's rusting," I said. "And it has none of the parts needed to drive it."

"Well, I wouldn't have been using those anyway, and rust can be repaired. If it had been running, it would be a crime to do what I'm going to do to it. So is that what you want? The first car we look at?"

"Rainy, let's look at all the cars you want to look at too, but let's make sure the owner of this one doesn't sell it before the end of the day."

"So you want to see more?"

I leaned across and stretched my neck out—while avoiding poking holes in the roof lining of her car with my horn—and kissed Rainbow on the cheek.

"I would love to look at more with you."

And so we looked. Cars big and small were on display. Sometimes we had to get out and walk around (I shapechanged when doing that), while others we just drove past. But, as the sun began to leak onto the horizon, I still hadn't found anything I liked the look of more than the Fairlady Z.

The name of it was no small delight, either.

We drove around for a bit longer and even swapped places (with NotABug) to give her a little time physically with Rainbow. It was some time together during which we could both forget our struggle to grow into our new lives and just relax together.

Rainbow Dash and NotABug were everything I could have wanted in partners. They listened to everything I said, they were both open about everything, and I couldn't help but feel the love of each in every interaction—literally in Rainbow's case.

5:55 P.M.

I'd focused on nibbling on Rainbow all afternoon so that, by now, I was feeling that twinge of wanting to lay an egg. Make an egg. Gosh, I needed to keep that around the right way. If I went my whole life without laying an egg, I would be a happy bug because of it.

"I'll arrange someone to pick it up and get it to our house on Monday," Rainbow Dash said. "This won't be a fast project, Rares."

—I know, Rainy, but it's a first step. We are making a lot of those lately,— I sent.

NotABug, sitting up in the front seat of the car as we were pulling back into our driveway, let out a series of little chirps in satisfaction. She was in control right now, but we were sharing our time with Rainbow—and our time together.

I chirped to NotABug and digitally hugged her. Her returned hug felt good enough I could have spent all evening just basking in her love, but I had something I needed to do first.

—I need to make an egg,— I sent.

"Another?! You are the best bug at this, Rara," NotABug said.

I was about to jump in with a reply, but so far I'd been making an effort to let everyone have a chance to respond before I sent off a fresh comment via ChirpNet, so held back to let Rainbow speak.

"She's seriously dedicated, and besides, there's going to be a queue a mile long to get an integrated phone. You had a list, right?" Rainbow Dash asked.

—Yes. Starling is next, then Mrs. Velvet. Stefanie and Perdition after them, then Bent and Sweetie, along with any others in our family and friends who want one. Then we start taking bids.—

"What about Twilight Velvet's husband?" NotABug asked.

That stopped me dead in my tracks. I'd been a little blind in my planning there. Giving NotABug a bigger hug and a bunch of thankful chirps, I amended my list to include offers for everyone's significant others.

—Of course you're right. This is why we all work best as a team. I'll add spouses to the list. I don't want anyone's family to feel left out of this.—

"You two have all this so figured out it sometimes makes my head spin, you know that? And don't think I'd admit that to anyone else but either of you. I'm just a big, dumb jo—"

Rainbow Dash might be fast, and she might be jock, but NotABug could shape-shift and move fast enough to cut Rainbow's self-deprecating speech off with a kiss.

—You totally deserved that. You're not dumb in any way, Rainy. Don't think I haven't noticed you using your speed to think faster,— I sent.

—Talking like this, when kissing, is totally cheating,— Rainbow Dash sent.

—Fun, though,— NotABug sent.

After a few moments more of kissing, NotABug nudged me forward. Sharing was easy to do when you were both in the same body. Taking over, I explored her lips with renewed vigor.

—Rari? It's hard to keep up with you two, sometimes,— Rainbow Dash sent. —Fun to try, though.—

I snorted and laughed so much the kiss was ended a little before I'd have liked. Well, that would just leave me wanting more kisses. Not that I needed incentive to want to kiss Rainbow.

"When do you need to pick Bitwise up from Uma no Sushi?" I asked.

"Kit said she wanted to let her have a full night to see how things work. She's not actually working for the whole day. I'll be heading over at around seven to pick her up."

—What are we having for dinner, then?—

"There's the leftover pizza from last night, but I can cook something else if you want?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"Pizza will probably do. Are you sure it's okay to have?"

"Chill some water too, they'll be dehydrated. I bet they haven't been drinking or eating all day. Apart from that, some carbs will do them good. As for me, I don't think I could actually put weight on if I tried. I'd have to, you know, not move."

—"Is that you home?"— Starling asked.

—Yup! Rarity picked out her car!— NotABug sent.

There was an advantage in taking our time walking to the door; Starling opened it and welcomed us inside.

"Anything strange happen?" I asked.

"Your zombies woke up. Coco is in the kitchen trying to get the coffee machine to make something fancy and Lyra's in the computer room doing something with Byte."

Still in the form NotABug had used to kiss Rainbow, I walked through to the computer room.

—Thanks, Starling. You're our guardian angel,— I sent.

Byte and Lyra were dead silent, though I could feel the data pouring between them. My attention fell on the brand-new computer sitting to one side waiting for my next egg.

The bloated sensation of too much love needed but a little prod from me before my egg creation became imminent. Kneeling down beside the computer, I reached a hand out to touch it.

Blue light blossomed. This was less like the other times I made eggs in that I wasn't just letting it out, I was pushing it out.

The glut of love and magic inside me poured out and into the computer. The casing seemed to ripple and shift, black and green shell growing out from its surface to encompass the entire machine. There was a lot more magic going on here than normal, and I think it was affecting the egg.

—That's the biggest one yet,— NotABug sent.

I reached a hand out to rub the side of the softly glowing egg. When so much love can so quickly make a wonderful new life, who was I to judge the rightness of a species. Being a bug was a delight.

The pull of sensation as a new changeling reached out and connected to the WiFi boosted my spirits more. I leaned forward and kissed the egg.

"Yes. Perhaps we'll get enough shell from her to help several people at once," I said.

As I stood up, a pair of strong arms wrapped around me and dragged me backwards such that I was being hugged from behind. I tilted my head up and saw Rainbow's jaw just above me.

"A year ago, Rares, I wouldn't have believed you for a second that we'd both be mothers soon. It just didn't seem possible. But, now that we are, I wouldn't have it any other way. All our girls are amazing, and I keep pushing myself to be as awesome as I can for them, but I'm constantly afraid it won't be enough—ya know?"

I looked over to where Lyra was trying to look like she was doing anything but listen to us, and thought of her, Coco, Mrs. Velvet, Starling, and everyone else who'd thrown their lot in with my little family. If I had feathery wings like Rainbow sometimes got, I'd picture myself wrapping them around everyone like a protective mother bird.

"Yes, Rainy, I know. Goodness but I know. Not just our darling nymphs either. I feel—I have an obligation to protect everyone who's helped and everyone who has looked to me for help. I don't know if it's part of being a changeling or if it's just me, but they're all part of our family, Rainy."

Turning in her arms, I turned my head to the side and nuzzled in against her neck.

"It seems like too much, sometimes," I said. "I feel like there's too much weight and it's all getting heavier, but then you or NotABug, or one of our girls, or even one of our extended family step up and take some of the load. It's amazing that this is working, but I keep worrying that it won't."

The way my head was turned, I only saw Byte coming on the cameras. She shapechanged as she walked closer, spread her arms wide, and hugged us both.

"Mom, you'll never have to carry this alone. We're always going to be here. That's what family is all about," Byte said.

A rolling thunder of chirps washed over me from ChirpNet. All our daughters took a moment to ensure I knew they were there and meant the same thing Byte was saying—even Moon Dancer. I couldn't hope to match the volume and intensity of their chirping, but I tried anyway.

"Rarity," Lyra said, "I can't exactly speak for everyone in your periphery, but I'm fairly sure no one regrets becoming your friend or joining you in this—this journey. Life didn't exactly look grim before, but now I can see there was something missing from it. Togetherness. Heck, just spending a little time here makes the world feel brighter."

NotABug too wrapped me in a hug and chirped along with our daughters. Even if the worst happened, and everything else went to heck, I'd still have her with me—forever.

I didn't need my emotion sight to be able to see the sincerity or happiness coursing through Lyra, but it was certainly a confidence boost. I didn't feed off her, of course, but it would have been a piece of cake with the love she felt. Which reminded me of something I needed to announce.

"Before I forget, NotABug reminded me earlier that I'd made an error with my plans for shell dispersal. Once Starling, Mrs. Velvet, Stefanie, and Perdition have theirs, I will throw things open to family of friends. Lyra, do you have a special someone?" I asked.

Lyra's eyes widened for a moment and a big grin came over her. She blushed, and I saw her smile widen further.

"Sweetie Drops. I don't know if she'd want to, but I think that'd be awesome. We could always talk, no matter what."

"With this, I might be able to arrange that as soon as Monday," I said.

Despite all the joy and excitement I was feeling, I found myself yawning. When Rainbow's arms tightened a little more around me, I judged her grip (and reflexes) sufficient to shapechange into my normal self.

Rainbow, predictably, caught me in her arms.

"Come on, sleepy bug, let's get you some solid food and then you can have an early night. I heard that tomorrow was going to be a big day for you," Rainbow Dash said.

Chastising Rainbow for her behavior would have cost me time and effort I was not willing to expend. Plus, it might have meant I wouldn't get a piece of pizza. Angling my head so my horn wouldn't saw into Rainbow's shoulder, I let out a sigh.

"I'm not that sleepy. Besides, I'd like to do a little more work on my spear."

Setting me on a seat in the kitchen, Rainbow walked to the fridge and lifted out a box of assorted pizza bits.

"You're worried Suri's going to do something tomorrow?"

—We already know she's organized this event as an ambush. Extrapolating what she'll do when she finds out Rara is ready for it doesn't take much work,— NotABug sent.

"You really like Rara?" I asked.

—The question is, Rara, do you like it?—

My answer was to hug her a little tighter.

"I like almost anything you call me. As for tomorrow, yes. I'm fairly sure she'll go crazy and attack when it turns out I've turned this around to a positive. When she does, I'll stand my ground and deal with her—once and for all."

Lyra whistled appreciatively as she walked in.

"Battle plans? I heard about tomorrow being some kind of fashion showdown, but are you really going to make it more?" Lyra Heartstrings asked.

"Rarity was just saying she expects Suri to take it beyond a fashion fight. She did tend to lose her cool last time when things didn't go her way," Rainbow Dash said.

Dropping a bunch of slices on an oven tray, I put them under the broiler. It confused me at first, but I realized my poor little microwave wouldn't be up to the task of heating a dozen or so slices in ones and twos.

"Exactly. When she comes at me, I want to be ready to hurt her. I want to rip the two of them apart and free Suri—if I can—before dealing with Windigo once and for all," I said.

The smell of heating pizza brightened the room so much that it made me hungry for the joy of food everyone felt.

"And if you can't rip them apart?" Coco Pommel asked.

I lifted my head to look at her. She had her hands wrapped around a coffee cup and looked both satisfied and worried, which I'd come to realize was her resting face.

"Then I rip them apart. She killed my daughter and would kill all of us if she could. I won't let her harm my family."

The steel in my voice shocked me, but I managed to get it all out. My emotions were firing in a dozen different directions and my head rang with the realization that I would kill them if I had to.

"Well, that means we might have to cover up stuff tomorrow. Call your lawyer friend. She'll probably tell you not to do it, because I think she has to, but she might help you get away with it," Lyra Heartstrings said.

I spotted Starling approaching the kitchen on the cameras before she reached us.

"Then arrange for me to get the kill-shot," Starling said. "That's what I'm here for, after all."

"That would mean you take my fall. Starling, I don't want to use you like that. If anything happens, I'll make sure Suri starts it, but I finish it," I said.

—That's the best way to do it. There's a lot of laws that will protect you if you aren't the one who started the fight. Though, you need to be careful about using deadly force when none was already used,— NotABug sent.

—I'll give Starling time to read that,— I sent.

"Thanks, Rarity. And yeah, that lines up with what we were told when we were being discharged. There was all kinds of warnings about using deadly force when we get in a fight."

"I believe I'll try to leave the physical violence to her, anyway. Attacking her magically and digitally are my aims. Come to think of it, she'll be exposed tomorrow. Why don't we organize a few distractions for her while she is busy at the show?" I asked.

—Stefanie and Perdition would be best to have work on that. Or at least, the best to find others to do it. We probably don't want any trail leading back to us as conducting industrial espionage.—

"Right. Let's plan for the worst and hope for the be—" I said.

I yawned, arching my spine and utterly at a loss as to how to stop. The result turned out to be simple—Rainbow passed me a plate with two slices of pizza on it.

Picking up a slice, I took a dainty bite of it on the tail end of my yawn.

"If we're going to have some big showdown tomorrow, I want you and everyone else to eat a big meal now so you have the energy to do your best," Rainbow Dash said.

—I don't think I'll be awake much longer. It's been a long day, and I want to be ready for anything tomorrow,— I sent.

A small rush of delightful chirps poured to me from NotABug like a comforter that seemed intent on wrapping me up with cozy love.

—Just give me a prod if you want me to take over,— NotABug sent.

I pulled NotABug into a digital hug and squeezed her tight, while also managing the continued consumption of pizza.

At the end of the first slice, I felt the need to yawn again. Rather than give into temptation, I nudged NotABug to the fore and let myself fall back from control.

—Sorry, darlings, but I believe that will be all I'm capable of tonight. Please, don't be afraid of waking me, but do let me know what I've missed out on,— I sent to Rainbow and NotABug.

I'd barely gotten cozy within my mind than the world went dark and I was unconscious.

Author's Note:

Princess Twilight: Any thoughts on setting up an interdimensional changeling exchange, so that they can learn different ways to bug?

Friendship and research rolled up into one topic—Twilight broke into a huge smile. "I've been talking with Ocellus about her visiting them, actually. She's really excited to—and keeps making this odd sound. We're not sure how viable Rarity's children will be here, on the other hoof. More data is needed, but I'm putting the bulk of the work in Ocellus' capable hooves."

---

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
Ender Voidwalker
KFS Crimson
Sirion123
Vi Watch

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

---

Editing provided by the wonderful Lab. (I am sorry for all those commas. I am looking into stopping that!)

Comments

[Jphyper]

—It could be a solution to our server location problems. The law states we own all the way down, so if you ensure this hive doesn't extend past the sidewalk in any direction outside of our properties, you'll be okay. We're going to need large halls to build server racks into, and plenty of ducting to run data, power, and cooling down there,— NotABug sent.

There ARE legal issues with this. Depending on the jurisdiction, they could get in HUGE trouble for doing this without getting a building permit from the city first. For something of this scale, a fine like that could be almost enough to bankrupt even them. Even if it doesn't, the media would also certainly find out and tear them and their reputation apart (something SuriGo would absolutely capitalize on and provoke further). This is potentially a big problem.

---

For those who don't know, this is the Nissan Fairlady Z: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nissan_Z-car
Personally, though, I think the original Fairlady has more of a Rarity look to it: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Datsun_Sports

---

What of the other Main 7 getting a hook-up? ...Wait, never mind. Bad idea. If Pinkie Pie gets hooked up... that's a scary prospect. On her end of things, would she even notice a difference?

Also, she'd probably use her WiFi connection to log onto FimFiction and read this story. That's just cheating. In theory, she could even get Rarity's kids to help her hack Damaged's device to read the rough drafts of the next chapter, though she's not the sort of person who would actually do that sort of thing. She's not a "meanie-pants" who violates people's privacy. Personal space, certainly, but not privacy.

[Mitch H]

We had a concrete server bunker built into the side of a hillside at our old office, when we still had our stuff on physical bladecenters. It was manky, and difficult to keep cool, and was humid and grotty. Caves make for dubious server environs. It's hard to keep them dry and properly cooled. I'd think that bugstuff would double the issues. Organics can be... moist.

[Starlight Nova]

Why did you make the chapters so long?

[Damaged]

10073866 upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/bf/Our_Restored_%2771_Datsun_240Z_%28Right-Front_View%29.jpg This is the model she was looking at. The original 240Z Fairlady. Gorgeous car with a history of great performance.

10073953 These bugs are slightly different to their Equestrian counterparts, but yes, underground datacenters are only good where surface space is an issue or you need physical protection.

10073969 Each of the first-person chapters is 1 day.

[harts fire]

awesome chapter.

[Jphyper]

10073998
I figured that was the one.

[Twilight_Shimmer]

wonderful update!

[Milo Secunda]

Any day with a new chapter of Queen Rarity is a good day.

[meerkat8472]

A Fairlady Z? Wait, do you mean the 240Z or the 300ZX? Either way it's awesome!

[tsaukpaetra]

It would be interesting if Beta can design in naturally-convective airflow with a carefully engineered swamp cooler. We once saw a system that utilizes a small fire, desiccant,and a recirculating swamp cooler that would be really nifty. And with changeling resin it could basically be built right into the architecture...
The shells aren't exactly a catalyst since they're effectively used up in the process, but we can't recall the proper term...
Biggest egg yet, huh? Hmmm...
To Velvet: how did you feel about gaining the ability to read all the red tape faster?
Keep going! ;)

[prism heart]

to Sci-Twi: considering recent discoveries by Rarity, would you join in the experiment going on?

[Greenhorn]

Looks like Queen Rarity just found a way to partially evolve the human. This would surely drive both Twilight bonker.

"She just needs a good boyfriend."

Ask mad scientist Twilight: Your friend believe the reason you don't have a life outside your lab is because the lack of special someone. What is your opinion on that?

[Damaged]

10074489 240Z, the original model (scroll up for an image).

10074627 Silly, when a love-bug goes shipping, there's nothing that can stop her.

[Prismfire Productions]

10073969
Everyone has a different writing style, plus Damaged covers A FULL DAY per chapter, which lets us see how Queen Rarity lives, no different than if she was our happy chirping neighbor

[Greenhorn]

10074639
Princess Cadance would be furious knowing there is a love territory she cannot enter.

[meerkat8472]

I do not know where this image you speak of is, but I am familiar with the 240Z, great choice, should make for a goood electric conversion.

[Argentyros]

I do so enjoy it when a new chapter of this comes out, this story is just so very fun. And the long chapters make it even more lovely for me.

For myself, I kind of like the 280ZX a bit more, though it's a fair bit less vintage, and the 240Z is still a lovely car. And, well, that's to my tastes, which definitely do not tend towards Rarity's in most cases, heh.

10074733
In an earlier comment, the author linked to the image on Wikipedia of the 240Z, it's a few comments further "up" the chain.

[Dante225]

I know that they don't share universes, but am I the only one who wants to see Queen Rarity verses CelestAI?

[Prysmkitsune]

10075661
who knows, maybe there not, maybe notabug was the intial experiment of CelestAi's creator...

*bum bum buuuuummmmm dramatic reverb*

[Prysmkitsune]

so next chapter comes the climax of the fight between surigo and rarity and posibly the climax of the story...

part of me is kinda sad at that thought, reading this is the highlight of my month but i suppose you can only do so much with it eventualy your gonna run out of ideas...

[Damaged]

10077765 Make no bones about it, this story was planned from the start. There were some surprises that unfolded along the way (and no I won't tell you which), but for the most part this was a ride from A to C, with a Queen B. (The B stands for Bug!)

[Prysmkitsune]

10077782
Any plans for the next story you'll have after this one is done?

[ChaosDX1]

Was thinking about how an introvert or someone that liked being alone would enjoy these - for lack of a better word - cellphone powers. I think so long as Airplane Mode and Do Not Disturb exists to shut off the information and chatterbox friends at any time they should still be able to enjoy the other benefits without trapping themselves in a personal hell.

[Damaged]

10078512 Well, there's always Do Not Disturb mode on ChirpNet.

[Damaged]

10078148 Considering it may take a good few months to actually finish this thing off, I haven't actually looked at a replacement yet. I'm sure Canary has another idea for me to expand on.

[Hazey Logic]

—That was chirping. It's how a changeling do,— Byte sent.

True Facts about the changeling.

[Damaged]

10079005 Well spotted. With this line (and a few others from Byte in particular) I'm trying to show how internet lingo is creeping into her language because she spends so much time socially on the internet. She also likes watching silly videos.

[Shrink Laureate]

Coco: How's life in the fast lane?

[VcSaJen]

Keywords: …, mind-merge

Is it temporary? Is it addictive? Is it used on background people as establishing threat, or is it used on main characters and presented as "freedom" and "progress"?

[Damaged]

10102336 It is done on one character, the villain. It is permanent and irreversible.

[Seraphem]

So, everything is in place and next stop, the confrontation with SuriGo. She won't know what hit her!

Rarity.... if you admit that you don't understand the ramifications of the business decisions you are making on a whim, and you hired Coco specifically to fill in that role and be the one who does understand them...... how about you stop making these huge business decisions without first talking to her?

For now they just have to say Chirp, but I'll probably make it customizable before it reaches full release.

Because of course that's the default word. Again, really need to add in emote non-lings can use for chirps.

On the plus side, at least the most likely to raise suspicion and get you noticed aspect of your business, how much money you are making in the market that fast, is being done through layers of extremely technical "No one, not even the people doing this full understand it" type stuff. So long as you file your taxes right, likely no one will really make an issue. That said.... ohhhh boy are they going to need an entire team of tax experts come that time.

Yeeeeaaaaahhh, good on the enthusiasm and initiative Beta, but I'm sure there are a whole bunch of layers of red tape to get through to do this stuff, if only because there always is. On the other hand, when has that stopped this hive from doing whatever they wanted before? And okay... first one to realize they can make resin. Stil curious if Rarity and/or NotABug could turn their stored love into some kind of changeling nectar to store it for later.

And now.... okay again..... I like the idea, it all makes sense, but you really rushed through the whole finding a way to technofy people problem way too fast and easily. Lyra just shows up "Oh hey can we solve this problem now? I'll help. Oh how about this? Profit." It's just the way it got brought up out of nowhere and then solved that quickly felt, really unsatisfying. Also, Rarity, the one person who got this done to them is now lying in bed with a massive headache and sensory issues.... how about waiting to see if they actually recover from this and if there are any other issues that might crop up after more then ten minutes before going around doing this to more people? Just because it's not instantly fatal does not mean it's perfectly safe! But, well.... at least RD makes a great test case since she can speed things up enough to give you a good idea of longer term issues without waiting as long. But also, she's not a normal human so you can't rule out that her results will be the same as others. She's already used to thinking faster then normal.

Was it a female-partner thing? If magazines were in any way true, women had to constantly struggle to teach their husbands the simplest facts about themselves.

Uuuuggggggggggghhhhhhhhhhhhh......

This isn't on you story.... I'm just 12 books deep into Wheel of Time and that idea is just.... all over that damn series. It takes the whole "Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus and never can the two understand each other." concept and runs with it.

"I'm going to test out my magic at making this pocket invisible, but first I want to try it on something less… immediately devastating—should it catch fire or turn to plaid."

I was going to ask which is worse, but that's a dumb question. It turning plaid would then immediately result in it being set on fire so you get both issues with that one.

And again, can't help but see it as her change altering her mind to give her these drives to expand the Hive and mother everyone. But I like how the story handles it.

Also.... Chryssi calls hax on being able to alter you magical color!

Yes, it is imperative that you get Nightlight hooked up to your system! He can supply a vital resource that you are currently lacking a way to obtain. An endless supply of dad jokes.

So.. is the new, super big egg going to be another queen? Can they even create a new queen? If not... that could lead to issues. But also lead to issues if she can and expands the rate of the Hive's growth.

I feel—I have an obligation to protect everyone who's helped and everyone who has looked to me for help. I don't know if it's part of being a changeling or if it's just me, but they're all part of our family,

A mix of both. We have ample evidence that just being a Changeling Queen does not make one care about others in and of itself.

"Well, that means we might have to cover up stuff tomorrow. Call your lawyer friend. She'll probably tell you not to do it, because I think she has to, but she might help you get away with it,"

I mean... Lyra isn't wrong....

So now onto confronting the Big Bad and showing how massively outclassed she is. And maybe learning a good way to hide a body. I suggest just having Beta bury it soooo far down no one could think to dig it up. Or toss it through the portal. Hey! Starswirl used that thing for his trash can to chuck any random magical threat or object he didn't want to deal with, so fair's fair!