Moonstone - Chapter 17
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Sidney stared at her husband.  "Not only are you still female... you've changed.  Which means you used the Moon to change.  Are you stuck like this?"

Donna shrugged.  "Not exactly stuck.  I can change back into Duncan with the Moonstone."  She patted the closed box where it stood on her dresser.

"I thought it was out of charge.  Did you get a break in the clouds?"

Donna shook her head.  "I sort of forced a Moon-trance.  It seems to have charged the Moonstone some, too."

"How fortunate."  Sidney's voice dripped with sarcasm.

"It's not that big a change.  It just means I can take shifts when the Moon is weak."

"And that you're stuck female for half the month, instead of male, like you're supposed to be."

"Yes.  But now that I have this new outfit," Donna posed a bit to show off the bra and panties the Moon had crafted for her, "I can change to Duncan or upgraded Donna whenever I want."

"Upgraded?  That's what you're going with?"

"It was that or Donna three.  Or exhibitionist Donna."

"Exhibitionist?  What have you done?"

Donna ducked her head.  "A little mental tweak.  I did it once before by accident, and it made it so much easier to dance, and not care what they're thinking about me.  It made it... fun.  I need that, or this isn't going to work."

Sidney just sighed.  "At least you still sound like you.  Just... be careful, OK?  Messing with your body is bad enough, but messing with your mind..."

"No more changes.  Promise."

"OK.  Get into bed, you look like you're freezing."

The next day, the kids didn't react much to Auntie Donna's changes.  Courtney said that she was "so bootiful".  Sidney fussed a bit about her getting appropriate role models.

The big reaction was at the Blue Vixen.  The other girls didn't say anything to her directly, but there was a lot of muttering going on behind her back.

Kate approached Donna from behind, calling out, "Are they ignoring you again?  I thought they'd gotten over...  Whoa!"  Kate looked her friend over from head to toe.  "You look...  Wow.  What did you do?"

Donna looked up at Kate helplessly.  She knew what was about to happen but tried anyway.  "I used..."  Magic, she thought.  I used magic.  I just can't say that, because you have never seen it before.  "I'm sorry.  I can't tell you."

Kate looked hurt.  "I thought we were friends."

Donna whimpered softly.  "We are.  Believe me, I wish I could explain it to you."

"Why can't you?"

Donna closed her eyes.  "There are things in this world that cannot be explained until you have seen them."

Rowan put a hand on Donna's shoulder, making her yelp softly in surprise.  "As good a summary as any.  I need to borrow your friend for a minute, Kate."

Rowan guided Donna to the smaller of the two private dressing rooms.  Once inside, she gestured for Donna to turn around slowly.  Her inspection was quite as thorough as any Pauline had done.

"Beyond the obvious boost to your bust, your waist has narrowed by a couple inches, your lips are fuller, your skin is clearer, and I'm pretty sure you're not wearing contacts to change your eye colour.  Or hair extensions.  But the most remarkable of all, you're actually a few inches shorter than two days ago.  Some of that could be explained by surgery - surgery I'm fairly sure you can't afford.  Not that you'd be able to heal up in two days anyway.  But the height...  There's only one thing that can explain it.  Magic."

Donna finally met Rowan's eyes.  "You know?  I can... tell you?"

"Yes."

"Yes, it was magic.  I thought it would help me do a little better at dancing, and once I got started I figured, in for a penny..."

"In for a pound,"  Rowan completed.  "You changed more than your body.  I can see it in how you move.  You'll do quite well.  But that's not the important question, the one making all the girls - even Kate - buzz with curiosity."

Donna frowned.  "So what is the question?"

"Will you share?"

Donna's eyes widened, and one hand covered her Moon-mark reflexively.  "They'd... want to change?  Growing bigger isn't hard, but the rest..."

"There isn't a girl here who isn't saving up for a breast job.  Well, maybe not Ana.  She's after something else, I'm not sure what."

"All of them?"  Donna mused.  "I... there isn't enough charge."

"Charge?"

"The last two full Moon nights have been overcast.  There's barely any charge, and I'm going to need a fair bit of it at Christmas."

Rowan grinned.  "I wondered if it was the Moonstone again.  Excellent.  When's the next full Moon?"

"The 30th.  The night before New Year's Eve."

"New Year's is usually clear and cold.  Most years, anyway.  If it was like that, you'd have charge to spare?"

Donna nodded.  "Easily, yes."

"So you'll do it?"

"Of course!  For Kate, if nothing else.  I hated not being able to tell her."

"Excellent.  I'll talk to the girls.  It'll take Pauline a while to make enough bras, too."

Donna chuckled.  "Ah.  So that's how she'll profit off this.  Sneaky."

"So... how much do you want to charge?"

Donna just stood there, gape-mouthed.  "I...  I...  Damn.  I can't.  Magic doesn't work that way."

Rowan shook her head knowingly.  "Well.  I'll figure something out.  Stay here for a bit while I go soothe some ruffled feathers."

When Donna emerged, it was to a very different group of dancers.  While they were still chattering among themselves excitedly, they weren't casting evil glances in Donna's direction any more.  A few of them even approached her to talk, though nobody said anything about her changes.

Then it was time for Donna to dance.  She almost skipped up the steps to the stage, giddy with excitement.  Prowling onto the stage she felt the gaze of the crowd upon her.  For the first time in six weeks it felt good.  It made her feel powerful, and she put every ounce of that into her dancing.  This was how it was supposed to be.

The tips were a lot better than before, too.  Donna had to scramble to keep up with them, which was new for her.

Rowan met Donna as she left the stage, and pulled her aside for another talk.  "Two of the girls have agreed to try your services at the end of the month."

"Really?  Cool.  To be honest, I wasn't sure...  Um, they are aware it's a temporary change, right?  It will start to fade once the Moon is less than half full."

"So about a week?  I didn't know that."

Donna ducked her head.  "Sorry, I should have mentioned that earlier.  You seemed to know about the Moonstone."

"The previous owner made some permanent changes, but only to herself.  She wasn't willing to share, and the girls got resentful."

"No kidding."

"Still," Rowan mused, "Can you make the changes last longer?"

Donna put her hand to her chest, as if reassuring herself that they were still their newly enlarged size.  She also noticed that she was still naked, and started putting her top back on.  "Uh...  I'm not sure that's a good idea."

"Oh?  You'd like to keep a captive market?"

Donna blushed. "No!  Not like that.  Just the only other option is kind of permanent."

"Permanent as in stuck forever?"

"No!  Not that kind of permanent.  The same process can reverse the change.  All you need is some of your old clothes."

"I see.  How would you put your old bra on, though?  It won't fit any more."

Donna shrugged.  "Just hold it in place until it fits."

"Interesting.  I need to talk to the girls again, but for now I think your friend Kate would like some of your time."

As Rowan glided off in her ever-elegant fashion, Kate practically bounced up to Donna.  "So you're going to do it?"

"What?"

Kate poked a finger at Donna's breasts.  "Share the bounty."

Donna laughed.  "I take it you're one of the guinea pigs.  I mean test subjects.  Volunteers."

Kate laughed.  "It seems to have done wonders for you."

"You have no idea.  It won't be quite the same, though... this will only increase your bust."

Kate shrugged.  "The rest of me is perfect anyway."

"And it will sort of fade away after a week."

Kate pouted.  "Foo.  Still... if it's only going to be for a week, maybe I should aim bigger than I'd planned.  I could be even bigger than you!"

Donna grinned.  "Go for it."

"I wonder how big I could go and still dance...  Hm.  And you still can't tell me how?"

Donna shook her head.  "Not until you've seen it."

Kate wasn't the only one who found the idea of a 'test drive' interesting.  Rowan later approached Donna with an order for a dozen bras from Pauline.

"A dozen?"  Donna asked, puzzled.  "There aren't even that many dancers here."

"The girls are going to need a few sets each.  Heather likes to have lots of outfits to change into, almost half of them are hers."

Donna re-read the list, noting that there were only four distinct sizes.  "So you found two more who were willing."

"Well, only one, really.  Liana's only getting the one bra because she's planning to change right back.  She just wants to see how she'd look."

"Fair enough.  So why am I taking the order to Pauline again?"

"With an order this big, she'll be willing to give you a bonus or two.  You need more than one outfit yourself."

Donna touched her moon-patterned bra.  "But I like these."

"Variety is good too.  Don't tell her what you want, let her have fun with it."

Donna tilted her head quizzically.  "Really?"

Rowan nodded, smiling mysteriously.

When Donna went home that night, she had in her hands twice as much money as she'd ever made on her best nights.  And it wasn't even a Saturday.  

Sidney didn't share her enthusiasm, she just wanted her husband back.  Donna was still excited from the evening, and couldn't sleep quite yet.  Remembering the list of bras she had to take to Pauline, she looked over her own collection.

One moon-patterned bra.  That was all that fit.  There were Pauline's oversized pink bras - they were about the right cup size, though the band was a bit small.  Maybe she could adjust them?  But they were so... pink.  Last, she picked up the pretty brown bra that fit Donna-two.  Holding it up to her chest, Donna sighed softly.  Not even close.  She wished it was bigger.

Donna blinked.  She'd felt a trickle of power leaving her, and now... the brown bra seemed like it would fit after all.  She tried it on, and bounced up and down a few times.  "Yes!  It worked..."

"Wha?" muttered Sidney.

"Sorry, I'll be quiet.  Go back to sleep."

Excited by the potential, Donna fished out a t-shirt and some old shorts.  She willed them to change to a cobalt blue set of bra and panties, and felt a more noticeable surge of power.  Both transformed into exactly what she'd visualized, and fit her perfectly.

Donna looked down at the Moon-mark on her chest.  Before it had been glimmering softly, but now it was dark and grey.  She pulled out another set of clothes to change, but knew before she tried that there was nothing left.

The next day she told Pauline all about her bra-changing exploits.  Sidney didn't care, so Donna had to tell someone.  Pauline was amused by it.  "Just keep them to yourself, hm?  No poaching my customers."

Donna laughed.  "Of course.  It's not like I could sell bras that will change back to shirts in a week, anyway."

Pauline chuckled.  "What if they turned back into something worse?"

Donna shook her head.  "That'd be evil.  Well, unless I just gave them away.  Then it could be funny."

"Imagine opening your panty drawer to find a snake curled up cozily atop them..."  Pauline laughed.

"Turn a living thing into clothing...  Hm.  What would it be like for the snake?"  Donna wondered.

"Pretty dull, save for the screaming at the end," Pauline deadpanned.  "You have a list for me?"

Donna handed over Rowan's order sheet, and Pauline whistled softly.  "This is quite a bit of work.  Wonderful."

Donna smiled.  "I'm glad.  Um, while you're thinking about that, Rowan suggested you might be willing to do a few more as a bonus?"

Pauline nodded.  "That seems only fair.  You've already made yourself some new bras..."

Donna sighed.  "Yes, but they'll only be good for a week."

"Ah yes.  So you'll need at least a couple new ones.  What style?"

"Rowan said to tell you to surprise me."

Pauline grinned broadly.  "Excellent!  I'll have some fun."

Donna shook her head in mock despair.  "What have I gotten myself into?"

Pauline pushed her toward the door.  "You'll see in a week.  I'll take them to the club."

Back at the Blue Vixen, Donna threw herself into the dancing with a will.  She no longer felt self-conscious about it, and instead of learning just to be competent, she now wanted to push her new body as far as it could go.  She studied the other dancers carefully, watching what worked and what didn't, adapting anything she could for her own use.  That week's feature dancer was very good, and Donna learned a lot from her.  In particular, she learned more about how to make her big chest work for her.

Every step was small, but Donna could tell that she was getting a little better every day.  She spent what time she could during the day studying videos of other dancers - when the kids weren't looking.  She read everything she could find, and called on Pauline from time to time for her advice as well.

Pauline showed up at the club as promised, bearing two wrapped parcels.  Rowan greeted her with a hug, and introduced her to the dancers that were there.  Most of them were already familiar with her work, of course.

Pauline insisted that Donna model the two new outfits for everyone to see.  The first was a brilliant blue, covered in sequins that made it look like waves crashing against the boulders of Donna's chest.  The second made Donna's eyes go wide.  The base fabric was red and scaly-looking, reminding her of the outfit that had caused Sidney's naga transformation.  It was highlighted with a tracery of brilliant red crystals, outlining flames.  "I love it!  They're gorgeous."

Donna hugged Pauline tight, then got shooed toward the stage by Rowan, completely out of the usual order.  She danced her way onto the stage, and had even more fun than normal.  It appeared the crowd loved the new outfit, too.  Not that the top stayed on all that long...

Donna was still grinning when she got home.  Her tips were up again, finally into a range that could plausibly support the family.  Then she checked her email, and found out she had an interview the coming Monday, for the college instructor's position.

Donna spent the weekend frantically trying to prepare for the interview - she was expected to give a brief sample lecture as part of it.  Alternating with that was sheer terror.  She'd been able to move the interview to Monday morning when the Moon would be up, but it was two days before the new Moon.  She knew from earlier tests that that close to the new Moon she would fully revert in four or five hours... so she had to change *just* before the interview, and hope for the best.

Monday morning, Donna nervously stepped into the Electronics Department building with a briefcase full of notes in one hand, and a backpack full of Duncan's clothes in the other.  Nestled in the bottom of the pack was the Moonstone in its box.  Nobody was looking as she ducked into the men's restroom and locked herself into a stall.  About ten minutes later, Duncan emerged, checked the uncomfortable shirt and tie in the mirror, then headed up to the Dean's office.

The interview started well enough, with Duncan fielding general questions from a mixed bag of instructors as well as the Dean.  As time passed she could feel the pressure building in the bandages around her chest.  She hoped this wouldn't take too much longer.  She asked few questions, and kept her answers brief.

The problems began with the presentation.  Duncan knew the material on the slides well enough, after all, she'd written them.  But when they started asking more detailed questions about them, she totally blanked on the answers.  This stuff had been second nature to her for decades, why wouldn't it come to her now?  After the presentation ended, more technical questions flew her way, and she stuttered through her best guesses as to the answers.

She was glad to flee, and it was almost a relief when her breasts tore through her bandages on the drive home.  Parked in the driveway, Donna gave up the pretense of being Duncan, and cried in her car until she felt she could face the world again.  As Donna the dancer.

On the day of the new Moon, Donna got the answer she'd expected.  There were other qualified candidates that had done better, but if one of them turned down a position, she was next on the list.  She was a little surprised she'd done even that well.

Donna lost herself in the dance for the next week.  It was the only thing that distracted her enough that she wouldn't poke at the empty spots in her mind.  Whenever she was alone, all she could do was explore the boundaries of what was gone, the mental equivalent of poking at a missing tooth with one's tongue.  It got especially bad in the quiet hours of the morning as she was trying to sleep.  All her electronics knowledge, most of the physics, quantum theory, every programming language except (ugh) Basic... gone.  Untouchable.  She could remember knowing it, being fluent in it... but not the information itself.  Studying her old texts was worse - the words were obviously English, but she simply couldn't focus on the meaning of the technical phrases for long enough to put it all together.

All wounds heal, and after most of a week Donna accepted what had happened.  Her growing knowledge of dance had somehow displaced the other.  So she danced, and danced, and danced.  She was at the club every minute it was open, and the tips were substantial.  No stinting this Christmas!

"Christmas is almost here," Sidney reminded Donna one day.  "Tomorrow is Christmas Eve.  There is no way we can avoid your family any longer.  What are you going to do?"

Donna curled up very small in her robe.  "Do I have to?"

"Yes."

"The quarter moon is tomorrow.  If I change back then, there won't be any back-sliding."

"Fine," Sidney sighed.  "But at moonrise tomorrow, I want my husband back."

That night, Donna told Rowan she'd be gone for the next week, and back for the full Moon.  Rowan reminded her that Pauline would be bringing the bras on the 29th, and asked her to come in briefly that night to check them out.

The next day, Donna got up just before noon.  She could feel the power of the newly-risen Moon tugging at her.  As she'd promised, her first action was to dress in Duncan's uncomfortable clothes.  She stood before the Moonstone's box for a while, hand on the lever that controlled the slats.  Who was she?  Did she really want to be Duncan again?

She heard her kids playing in the living room, laughing at each other.  The lever clicked, and the Moonstone's glow surrounded her, shaping her back into a familiar, yet somehow utterly foreign form.

Duncan strode out to meet his family.  Courtney dashed up and yelled, "DADDY'S HOME!".  Victor smiled happily, and crawled up to his father.  Duncan smiled, and hugged them both.

At first, Duncan faked things as best she could, playing the role she remembered.  But as the busy day wore on, he started to feel comfortable in the old routines again.  Helping prepare lunch for the kids, keeping them amused... really, it wasn't that much different.  Going to his parents' house for the traditional Christmas Eve dinner there (Christmas Day would be at his own house) made everything fit right back into place.

It was one in the morning.  Duncan was still on club time, and couldn't sleep.  He was still trying to adapt to not having a huge counterweight on his chest, and having trouble getting comfortable.  Once he finally found a comfortable position, his mind started to drift... right to those damned gaps in his memory.  Except this time... this time it was all there.  He could remember what caused the band-gap in a semiconductor, and why data structures were useful.  His happy yelp woke Sidney, so he kissed her back to sleep.

Then he got out of bed, and spent the next five hours writing fun but useless programs on his computer.  It was the best Christmas present ever.