Reborn in a Dating Sim: Life as a Mob is hard in an Equestria Girl’s Dating Game!

Reborn in a Dating Sim:

Life as a Mob is hard in an Equestria Girl’s Dating Game!

Chapter Interlude

Gold Bit took a moment to look toward Tarnished Tiara. His eldest daughter, who was only about a year older than Copper, seemed to be giving him the kind of look that usually was reserved for those who believed they were better than the one they were looking at. He wanted to chastise her, but doing so would result in an epic tongue lashing form Delicate Emerald. That was something he didn’t want to deal with. Delicate had changed so much since they married. Not that she wasn’t always a little entitled.

No, she had always had that entitled nature to her, but at least when they were younger she was more caring. There was a softness to her, a sort of gentle nature that outshined all of the other traits. She cared for him, for their children, but about a year before the birth of Tarnished Tiara she began to get distant. She grew cold, her responses became that of someone determined to talk down to him, and finally it became obvious that the woman he had come to love wasn’t there anymore.

She’d been replaced by a vile woman that seemed so full of venom and anger. Nothing was good enough, and anything he did was almost always wrong. Even when he managed to do everything perfect she didn’t have any praise or a kind word. It was a backhanded complement at best. The fact that she allowed Copper the chance to make his fortune was perhaps the closest she had come to showing any kind of caring nature. Even then he believed that it was more for the chance to watch him falter.

“That son of yours’ is likely dead,” she said, her voice cutting through him like a knife, “I would imagine that he died in some labyrinth. A dim-witted worthless boy that chose to abandon his family for a chance at riches. He would have been far better off taking the marriage to Jewel Oasis. At least then he would have provided a nice dowry for us. But now, he worthlessly threw his life away.”

“We don’t know if he’s dead,” the words escaped Gold Bit’s mouth before he could stop it. But then again there was only so much a father could take when it came to things being said about his son. He breathed out, “Delicate, there’s a good chance he’s still alive.”

She rolled her eyes, “Then he abandoned his family, took your private air ship, and left us behind. He’s worthless, much like the rest of you. Only Tarnished, and perhaps Silver are worth anything. Even then I don’t have much hope for Silver. She’s so plain compared to her sister. Maybe she will be able to marry a low ranking noble. At least then she could bring some honor.”

He wanted to chew her out, to tell her that he knew Copper. That his son wouldn’t abandon them. He wanted to explain how her view was wrong, but then he didn’t want Silver Bell, Bronze Spade, Gray Cloud, or Deep Meadow to get into any trouble for his words. His sons, and youngest daughter, didn’t deserve any animosity from Delicate.

“Mother is right,” Tarnished said, her voice haughty, “Copper Plum is worthless. He barely pulled his weight while he was here. What makes you think that he had it in him to do anything more than be eye candy for some low ranking noble woman?”

He looked at her, and he felt his anger building. Still he bit his tongue. He couldn’t allow her to bait him. He couldn’t because he wouldn’t let her get her siblings into trouble, “Copper did more than his share,” he replied, holding his ground, “He also studied at night, every single night, and he worked all day. I had never seen anyone so driven and determined as he was.”

“Determined,” Delicate said, her voice dripping with sarcasm, “Perhaps, but determined to do what exactly? Provide for us? No, determined to prove that he could throw his life away, and that was it! He was worthless, and I say was because either he’s dead or he will be!”

It was all he could do from shooting a biting response back. She deserved it, he knew that she did. She deserved to be told off in the most explicit way possible, but he couldn’t bring his other children into it. They didn’t deserve it, and he wouldn’t do that to them. He held his tongue, wanting desperate to unleash it, but knowing that doing so would only cause those he loved more misery.

“Madam,” a voice said, one that caught his attention, the young Centar that they had hired as a servant approached. The suit of clothes he wore looked ill fitting, and he knew that it was likely because Delicate enjoyed looking at his more human looking part, “I bring news, there is a ship heading here. A large one, far larger than the estate air ship. It should be here in minutes.”

She stood, “Well, I must go and greet whoever this visitor is. I shall recall the idiot son we have, and perhaps they will enjoy a good laugh with me.”

Gold closed his eyes, clinched his fists, and kept from saying a word. He could feel his finger nails digging into his skin, and he could feel the very drops of blood forming around them. He’d need to have Silver Bell perform some healing magic on him later. He hated it, but she had shown some proficiency at it. He wanted to send her to the Academy as well. It would be a chance for her to learn more on healing, and perhaps become more than some low ranking noble.

“Come Gold!” Delicate shouted, “I wish for you to witness what it is to see me charm a higher noble than myself!”

He stepped outside, and there was indeed a huge airship. One that looked far more impressive than any he’d seen in ages. He knew that her words were going to come, but then he heard her suck in a breath, a moment later she said something he would remember forever, “No, it can’t be. It can’t be!”

He looked up, and there leaning on the rail of the ship, was his son Copper. As he looked up at his son with surprise, Tarnished Tiara looked up at her brother in barely constrained jealously and anger. He’d done it. Somehow he’d done it, and in addition he’d brought back an air ship that made the one her mother had look pitiful. The only benefit to it was the possibility that her mother might be able to force him to give it to her. But then again it was doubtful. He’d proven himself, and that meant that there was no doubt that he was going to be raised in level.

“It’s not fair,” she whimpered as she looked at him, “How can it be fair? He’s worthless, I mean how could he manage to get an air ship like that?”

“Because, your brother isn’t worthless,” Gold Bit said after a moment, “He’s always worked hard for everything, and this is the fruit of that hard work. I couldn’t be more proud than I am right now.”

She glared at him. Part of her wanted her mother to demand that he go ahead and join the army. At least then they would be given a stipend until he was killed in battle. At that point they would award them a large settlement for his life. It would be a pittance compared to what he could provide over his lifetime, but it would be better than having him acting smug. He didn’t deserve to be smug. He was worthless like that boy.

“I hate him,” she said, her voice firm, “I hate that he’s able to do this. I hate that it wasn’t me, and I hate that he’s gotten some power. I hope that he chokes on it. I hope that all of his efforts are wasted, and that he ends up alone and frail. That’s what he deserves!”

She turned on her heels and stomped back toward her home. She didn’t want to look at him. She didn’t want anything to do with him. He was nothing more than some lucky blob of flesh. She hated that somehow he’d gotten lucky. If she had her way, he would be nothing more than a footnote in her soon to be fabulous life. Instead he was going to have his own life, and he was going to end up being something far grander than he was meant to be.

She stomped away, determined to take her frustration out in the only way she had the ability to. It meant digging into the toys her mother didn’t know about, but at least it would be worth it. She could pretend that it was someone grand, wonderful, and rich that had come to claim her. Of course they would be mistaken. She would be the one claiming them. She would hold their hearts, and in return she would hold their entire fortune.

She took a moment to look back, and she saw the attractive servant that her brother had. A rabbit girl, lovely, demiure, and pale. She hated her. She hated how beautiful she was, and she hoped that the stupid rabbit got violated on a daily basis by her idiot brother. That would be more than she deserved. She turned her head back toward her house and angrily stomped toward it. Determined to not even admit that her brother existed, and determined to sooth her own concerns with some nice play.

That was what she wanted. It was everything she wanted. As she stomped off in a determined huff to ease her bruised ego her youngest sister Silver Bell stood looking at the ship in a different respect. Silver Bell looked at the ship, and at her brother in complete admiration. Copper Plum was far better than others said about him. He was lovely, a good and decent person, and he deserved all of the respect and goodness that he found. The ship was nice, but it was just something that showed how amazing her brother was.

“Daddy,” she said, as she stood next to her father, “Big brother did it, didn’t he?”

There was a feeling of her father grasping her hand, “He did,” her father replied, “He really did it. Come on, let’s go and welcome him.”

She walked with him to where the air ship was lowering. Soon it slowly landed, and when it did she watched as the long gang-plank slowly slid down. She noticed that it wasn’t simply a smooth plank, like the one on her mother’s ship, but instead it was designed to have steps. That would make it so much easier to climb aboard the ship. She smiled as her brother descended the plank, and behind him was a beautiful rabbit girl.

“Big Brother!” she shouted as she ran forward and hugged him, “I’m glad you’re home!”

She felt him return the hug, and she wanted to melt into the hug. He deserved so much love. He deserved far more than their mother gave him. She wasn’t blind to how her mother acted around him. She treated him like he was barely worth the effort. In a way, she was glad that he was able to prove her wrong. This was a huge piece of evidence of just how wrong she had been. This was showing just how amazing he was, and she had a feeling it was only the start. “How’s it going short stack?” he asked his voice the gentle timber she loved, “Were you good for Dad?”

“Uh huh,” she replied as she held him, “I missed you though. So, where did you get the ship? It’s amazing! And who’s the pretty bunny girl with you?”

The bunny girl stepped forward, “I am Artemis,” she replied, her voice sweet and gentle, “You must be Silver Bell. My Captain has informed me of you. I admit, he was correct. You are adorable.”

She felt her face flush a little, “Thanks, you’re really pretty Artemis. I think that your ears are the prettiest part. They’re such a cute shade of blue.”

Artemis seemed to study her for a moment, “Thank you,” she replied, her voice sounded grateful, “Would you like to touch them?”

Silver Bell watched as she knelt down, and gently leaned her head forward. The little girl stretched her hand out, and she felt the softest feeling in the world. It wasn’t like a normal rabbit’s ear. It was silky, smooth, and delicate. There was something else there as well. It felt powerful, almost like she could feel the very lifeforce of Artemis circulating through them. It was something she had never knew she needed, or wanted, to experience. Slowly, Artemis pulled her head back, and she gave the little girl a smile, “What do you think?”

With the enthusiasm only seen in children Silver Bell hugged her tightly, “It was amazing!” she exclaimed, her voice sounding truly excited, “Thank you!”

As she gushed over the wonderful experience of feeling Artemis’ ear the Avatar took in everything around her. She had to admit that this was an experience she hadn’t expected, and honestly she rather liked it. The work on building the ship had been minor, and yet it had brought so much happiness. Additionally, it appeared that her Captain’s younger sister was completely enthralled with her.

There was also the fact that her form converter was working. While she somewhat resembled a rabbit person from the outside, the form converter completed the action. Her twin power gauges that were on top of her head were concealed in such a way they looked and felt like normal rabbit ears. The one thing she hadn’t counted on was how the converter would make her feel. It seemed to push what she was experiencing ot the forefront. More to the point it was awakening things inside of her.

She had admitted to her captain before that if she were biologic she would likely be attracted. That theory was correct. She was attracted. It was something she understood that she wasn’t meant to feel. She was not meant to feel attracted to humans like this. Her existence was that of a war machine. She was meant to fight battles, win wars, and forge a great power that could never be copied or defeated.

Instead she felt odd emotions that weren’t normally present for her. Copper was someone she had already come to respect. He was exactly what a commanding officer should be. He was creative, quick thinking, and able to quickly adapt. HIs ability to read situations was bordering on being nearly paranormal, and it had led her to believe what he had been spouting occasionally. That somehow, he had come from a place where this world existed as a game. It was perhaps one of the few answers that made any real kind of sense.

Still, if that were true then why would he even care for those that were here? What purpose would it serve to care for them, to hold them in regard. The answer was likely hidden behind the cool exterior he had. It was something he most likely wouldn’t simply speak of, and she wasn’t going to push for it. Although, it did leave her in the place where they were. She was his servant, his ship, and his crew. Still, being in this form seemed to have awaken a new desire.

She wondered, would it be possible to be more than merely a tool to him? Could she be more than a tool? Even with the converter working she was not biological. There was no doubt that she could possibly engage in some forms of intimacy, but there were other forms she would not be able to do. Her avatars were designed to work off of a biological fuel. There were two entry points for it. One through the mouth, and the other was through the opposite end. That port was meant to be used when her avatars were completely depleted of power.

The entrance itself was soft, cushioned, and contained no sharp edges. From her knowledge it had something of a gentle massaging and sucking feature. It was simply part of her design. Yet, she wasn’t sure that it could be used for anything remotely close to being intimate. As she watched the others, and she engaged with them, her mind linked with the rest of her. The small droids aboard the ship began to move throughout itself, finding the left behind technology. Perhaps it would be possible to create a new avatar. One she could experience things in.

Silently she began the process of creating a new avatar, and making one that would be able to feel these feelings all of the time. It made her question something for a moment though. If she were able to do what she wanted, and she was able to engage in intimacy with her Captain, would it be proper to do so aboard herself? She smiled softly, the question awakened another part of her that was unexplored. The ideas of doing things, to her Captain, while inside of herself.

As she considered it there was another wonderful thought that occurred to her. Her Captain, Copper, would likely be dominant. Did that mean she was more subservient by nature? Around others she didn’t feel so. She felt confident that around anyone else, including his family, she would be independent and confident. It was around him. Around her Captain, that she felt subservient. It wasn’t just the fact he’d claimed her, but rather it was because she had grown to trust and enjoy his company.

“Artemis?” came her Captain’s voice, “Everything okay?”

She nodded, “It is,” she admitted after a moment, “Captain, do you wish to gift your father the cores you collected for him?”

There was a moment, “Well, I wanted it to be a little more of a surprise, but yes I want to do so.”

She smiled, knowing that even though she was subservient she still was able to rebel slightly. It wasn’t much, and it wasn’t a violation, but rather it was just to ensure that things weren't stale. She smiled at the others, and she walked forward, “I will get them for you, perhaps you would like to explain to your family the grand adventure we’ve been on.”

“Wait,” came the voice of whom she expected was his mother, “If you are my son’s servant, then that means you are mine as well. Fetch me a seat, demi.”

She looked at her, “No,” she stated, her voice firm, “I am the servant of Copper Plum. He is my Captain, and he may command me. I will go into battle for him, and I will face atrocities far greater than any currently living could imagine. I will follow his command for the rest of time itself. You however, are nothing to me.”

The look on her face was very rewarding.