Locking the flat door behind her, Sonata slipped back into the shop to find Spicy reading a catalog at the counter. "Okay, all sorted."

"You seem to be pretty friendly. Any gossip?" Spicy despised slow days, and with things slowly going ahead with his warehouse, he was a little bored.

Sonata slipped in behind the counter too and looked at the page Spicy had been lost in. "We don't have enough dildos?"

"Nope. Never enough dildos." Spicy flicked the page over and looked at rubber wear next. "Do you think Rainbow would like some rubber shorts?"

Snorting, Sonata shook her head. "Spicy, she worships the ground you walk on in the bedroom. If you got her a frilly dress, a corset, and a fancy hat she'd wear them for you."

"What's she going to do with a corset now? Though, the dress might be cute. Maybe I could get Rarity to design something for me at last if I offer to get Rainbow wearing a dress?"

"I think getting Rarity to help with that would be particularly easy. What do you think of Limestone?" Sonata picked up another catalog and started flicking through it.

Spicy set down his own reading material and rolled his hand side to side a little. "On one hand she seems rough around the edges and a bit of a ball-breaker, but she is working for some mysterious government agency that appears to be helping. At least, they got Adagio and Aria locked up somewhere they don't seem capable of getting out of."

"I can appreciate that. She seems—I guess it just feels like she's a bit lonely. I bet in the Army she was with people her own social class all the time. Now she can't go back there, she's stuck trying to make friends. I don't know what it says about either of us that we seem to get along."

Turning his head away from the equine-modeled toys in the catalog, Spicy raised an eyebrow at Sonata. "I thought this was all business?"

"That ship has sailed. She's genuinely nice, Spicy. I mean, she's rough around the edges, but she's really trying to understand this stuff. When we first talked, I was just a vicious dog that hadn't bitten her yet. Now… I just wish I could trust that everyone would think the same thing if they knew what I was." Looking at the catalog Spicy held, Sonata actually blushed. "Those look familiar."

"There are companies that make more exotic toys. I figure with all the people turning into part ponies, some special tastes of home might help them adjust." Tapping the horse dildos, Spicy wiggled his hips a little. "Maybe we should arrange a meeting with her boss?"

"Hrmm." Sonata tapped her chin and nodded. "That would be a good idea, I think. Sort of a getting to know what friendly assets you might want to know about thing. Limestone's going to grab some beers and come around later. Would you like to join us?"

Giving Sonata a droll look, Spicy pulled out a highlighter and went to town marking things in the catalog. "Come on, she just wants a night to relax with her best bud."

Sticking out her tongue, Sonata pulled out her mobile and sent a text to Limestone.

Are you cool if I invite some other friends over? I'll make them bring beer too.

She had to wait a little for a reply.

Sure.

"There. Settled. Pick up something to drink and come over after closing. Hey, get a few of that one." Sonata pointed at a "sea monster" toy.

"Remind you of home?" Spicy asked.

"No, just looks fun." Try as she might, Sonata couldn't keep a straight face. "Okay, yes. It's almost the same shape as a siren male's dick."

Limestone had dumped her boots in favor of some running shoes. She'd also left the suit and her gun at home in favor of some surplus camouflage pants and another muscle top. With a box of beer under one arm, she walked up the steps again and reached out to knock on Sonata's door.

Instead of Sonata, Limestone was face-to-face with one of her sister's friends. "Hey. Uh, Rarity, isn't it?"

"My reputation precedes me. I am, indeed, Rarity. You must be Limestone. I believe we met briefly at that awful business a few months back. Do come in." Stepping back from the door and feeling a little intimidated by Limestone's size and muscles (though the muscles made Rarity's legs wobble just a little), she welcomed their visitor.

Closest to the door in the open loft apartment, Sonata was in the process of cooking the meat for her taco platter. "Hey there. I got an ice-box to put those in. Spicy brought some too. Take a seat."

Smelling Sonata's cooking, Limestone was briefly distracted from the only male present and the pony sitting at his side. When she did spot them, it didn't take too much to put together that this was Sonata's friend. "He's your boss, isn't he?"

"He's my friend when we're not at work, and he's still a friendly boss when I am." Sonata shrugged her shoulders and worked the meat around in the pan.

The description sounded absolutely alien to Limestone. In the Army he bosses had been sergeants and officers, who were all impossibly to be friends with because of their rank. Even her new boss, Raven, was not exactly her friend. "Thanks for this."

"Huh?" Turning her attention from the stove, Sonata looked up at Limestone with unrestrained curiosity.

"This. All of this. Explaining stuff. Not treating me like I'm a freak."

"Oh no, you are a freak, you're just a freak like all us freaks. It's our differences that make us strong, silly." Scooping up a piece of the cooked, seasoned meat onto a spoon, she held it up to Limestone. "Tell me if this is too spicy."

Taking the spoon and trying the contents, Limestone almost coughed. Her eyes watered a little and she winced at the heat—but underneath that fire the meat was perfectly seasoned and tasted great. Chewing carefully, she swallowed the sample and nodded. "It's really hot, but tastes good."

"Perfect. The salsa will let that down and the guac will too. I appreciate it." Turning back to the bench, Sonata went back to work.

"You can't test that yourself?" Limestone asked.

"I would, but I can never judge heat well. Capsaicin barely affects me at its hottest, let alone just using it at cooking levels. Oh, right, I didn't mention that in the book. Don't bother using teargas on Aria or Adagio."

"Right. Noted. Is that because you're sirens?"

Nodding, Sonata twitched and flicked her wings. "Though here I'm some kind of hybrid, back in Equestria I'd be a full siren, which means not a mammal. These"—she reached out to where her ingredients were and picked up a scotch bonnet, then bit the fruit from the stem and started chewing—"are like candy corn. I could eat them all day. Um, don't try doing this." Her words came out muffled, what with having the hot pepper in her mouth.

"Got it. You don't mind if I have a beer?" Opening the box she'd brought with her, Limestone set one aside as she started to load them in with the ice.

"Only if you get me one too." Sonata cheated, of course, and grabbed up the can Limestone had set aside. "The other two had this raging hate-boner for alcohol. You know what I think?"

Setting another can aside, Limestone looked up at Sonata expectantly.

"I think they're just prissy bitch lightweights."

Limestone took a moment to stare at Sonata as she cracked the can open and took a long swig, before letting out a laugh. "Damn it, I wasted months being a broody bitch when I should have called you up to have a beer."

"Excuse me, I hope you don't mind me stealing a kiss from my girlfriend before she tastes too much of that stuff?" Rarity imposed herself beside Sonata, reaching out and tilted her jaw, and kissed Sonata the moment her lips weren't pressed to the can. As kisses went, Rarity was surprised by Sonata's wide eyes that looked slightly panicked.

It took nearly three seconds for the heat of the chili to reach Rarity's tongue, but in that time it coated her lips well, ensuring she'd have a good dose of it. Her eyes widened a moment before tears started to well in them. She let go of Sonata and reached out for something, anything to drink.

Realizing what had happened mostly by the way Rarity's cool-white face was turning orange, Limestone cracked open her beer and passed it to her.

For all her protest about the taste of beer, Rarity suckled from the open can until it was dry. The burning heat in her mouth had abated, but she felt as if she'd been hit in the face by a truck. "Whatonearthwasthat?!"

Pulling Rarity into a hug, Sonata was a little shocked at how quickly she'd drained the beer. "My fault, I've been munching on chili while talking to Limestone. You moved so quick and I was trying to warn you but—" Drawing herself up and giving Rarity her best puppy eyes, Sonata lifted her hand up and covered her lips with it.

"Drat but you make it hard to stay mad." Leaning forward, Rarity pressed her lips to the back of Sonata's hand and kissed her through the safety barrier. "And I guess now I get to learn what it's like to be intoxicated."

"Yeah. Sorry about that. Figured you'd want to deal with the fire in your mouth first. If you don't drink anything else, that'll probably be out of your system in an hour or two." Limestone crouched down and grabbed a second beer for herself.

"I guess I'll have to be more careful around my little fish when she's cooking." The truth was Rarity had never tasted beer before. She'd been a good girl for her father and hadn't touched a drop of it. Now she'd downed a full can and was starting to get a taste for it past the burning heat it had washed from her mouth. "It's really not as bad as I thought it would be—the beer, I mean. It's earthy, but the bubbles lifted the taste—"

Limestone shook her head with a half smile. "If you want another one, feel free. You helped save my ass back with that little concert you put on, you're adult enough to drink by my standards."

"Maybe drink it a bit slower this time?" Sonata asked.

Biting her lip for just a moment, Rarity curtseyed and picked on another can. It felt, physically at least, just like any other can of soft drink, but there was a sense of weight to the can that Rarity couldn't immediately blame on the fact she'd just drunk a can of beer in only a few seconds. "I believe I will. How will I be able to tell when I'm—ahem—inebriated?"

"Well, the first thing you'll probably notice is"—Limestone cracked open her can and took a swig from it—"you won't be able to say words like inebriated. The second is the face-tingles."

The woman before Rarity bore very little resemblance to when they'd met with Shining Armor. She broke the seal on her can and sipped it. It definitely wasn't as bad as she'd been led to believe. "Well, now you'll have me saying inebriated over and over to test."

"I'll have this food ready soon. If you want to head over and relax, I'll bring it over to you when it's done." Sonata was trying to push Rarity off with Limestone in the fervent hope that a relaxed relationship could grow, while getting Rarity to introduce her to the others. It also meant she could finish cooking without fear of interruption.

Author's Note

Penny: Do you also work as General Inkwell's secretary too?

"Of course not. Paws are terrible for typing."

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.

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