Equestria: A Flux Tale

by Star Sage

Sparkles and Sunsets

Of course, jewelry in the traditional sense was a misnomer. Jewelry implied that the gems were mounted on metal settings to be worn, around the neck, through piercings, on the head, or a few others places. Jewelry rarely, at least on your world, implied that the jewels had somehow been crushed or embedded in strands of yarn, scattered inside them to create a look like yarn that had been spun from jewels. That yarn had then been spun or made into various shapes, from things to be worn like a hat, or a saddle, or to less fashion oriented and more things around the house. You see stuffed animals, cozies made for tea sets, and a few other odds and ends, showing off that the maker didn't sew, but rather, crocheted instead, probably because the jewels were easier to work with as yarn than thread.

"It's beautiful," you say, admiring some of the pieces. The yarn had been done in various colors in some pieces, from stripes in a bridle, to separate colors for eyes on a plush figure.

"Yes, she does impressive work, doesn't she?" asked Octavia, looking at a few of the saddles. They were lovely, and for a moment you try to picture Octavia in one, and then blush and force the thought away as both improper, impossible, and overall just not going to happen.

"So you know the talented mare who makes this?" asks Applejack, admiring a cowboy hat like her own done in five different colors of yarn, with golden flecked gems on the outside brim, red ones on the inside brim, and then strips of rainbow along the rest.

"Of course. Frazzle did most of the more spectacular set pieces my Ensemble and I use in our shows. A nice glittering jacket for the pianist, a lovely bow tie for myself, and everypony else done up in a thousand different shimmering colors. It's quite a sight, or so I'm told," explained Octavia, and Vinyl, for her part, nodded, the look on her face telling you she was remembering said shows, and causing you to get jealous, wanting to see it for yourself, as the way Octavia said it, and the sight of the items, made the mental picture seem all the more lovely.

"So, we gonna gawk at the stuff in the windows? Or go inside and look around?" asked Big Macintosh, getting some rather nasty stares from the mares, and making him smile nervously. Of course, since his suggestion was reasonable, the five of you go inside, Octavia holding the door for you so you can flit in, and look around. The products inside the store are in even more variety than the ones in the window. Heck, some are even using regular yarn instead of the jewel encrusted stuff, and it looked rather sturdy too. One item in particular catches your eye as you float past it, namely an almost exact replica of Twilight's Smart Pants doll, down to the button eyes and hair. This one, however, almost looked brand new, without any sign of wear or tear.

"Fraz! You here?" calls out Vinyl, as she looks around the store, after staring at the Smart Pants doll for a while, you join her, and float above all the racks, looking all about you, and spotting only the ponies you'd come in with in the store, which appears to be something akin to an old mom and pop thrift shop, with various shelves full of the items, as well as a few mannequins wearing the saddles, hats, and other articles of clothing for the ponies. It was as you float over one of the displays that you hear some grunting from a door in the back, and fly over to it.

"Hey! I think there's somepony back here!" you shout, knocking on the door with your tiny fists. You don't even try to open the door yourself, knowing that your size renders such a thing impossible, and float away as Big Macintosh comes over and does the opening himself, pulling at the knob with his hoof. You are the first one inside though, shooting into the back room when the door is open only a crack, ready for anything. What you find behind the door gives you a moment of pause though followed by bouts of laughter as the others join you, Big Macintosh and Vinyl joining you in laughing, with Octavia and Applejack give you three rather venomous looks as they walk over to Frazzle.

"Yeah, laugh it up, when I get down from here, Vinyl!" threatens the unicorn pony, who had somehow gotten herself tied up to the ceiling, hanging by various threads of yarn, which bounce a little as she moves, shaking one of her for hooves at the three of you. Frazzle's fur is a light blue, interesting as most of the Canterlot ponies you'd seen had darker colors akin to Twilight's, which was offset by a purple tail. Not as deep purple as DawnChaser's but a softer shade. She did have some nice, dark blue eyes though, you noticed as you floated closer, and then upward, looking for the knots in the yarn, and tugging at them.

Over the next several minutes, you and the others work at the tangled mess that was holding Frazzle tightly, trying to undo the knots in the yarn without breaking it, as you figured this stuff was at least somewhat valuable, considering it was probably quite difficult to get gems to thread into the yarn like that. It takes a few minutes, but after that, Frazzle, and a rat you hadn't noticed, come crashing down to the floor, only to be buried as the yarn follows, forcing you to help her untangle herself again, though a bit easier this time as she's not tugging on the yarn anymore.

"How'd you end up hangin down from the ceilin like that?" asked Applejack as the last bit came free, and Frazzle stepped out from the bundle of yarn, her rat taking her, presumably, accustomed position riding on her head.

"Well, Frazzle tends to end up forgetting herself when she's in the middle of a project, and then strange things happen," explained Octavia, while Frazzle smiled embarrassedly and nodded.

"That's me. Though today it was because Persephone decided to be a naughty little rat and climb into the rafters with my best crocheting needle. When I went up after her, we kind of knocked over some yarn bales I forgot I'd been keeping up there, and, well, time makes fools of us all," she said with another smirk, as she used her magic to start cleaning up, curling the yarn into balls, and then storing it in an overturned bucket you hadn't noticed before, before finally she levitated it easily up to the rafters again, putting it just out of sight. You would have mentioned to her that only seemed like a good way to make history repeat itself, but decided against it as she smiled at you and the others.

"So, who'd you bring in today, Octavia? Are these new members of the Ensemble that I need to make things for? Let's see, two ponies, a mare and a stallion, ruby lines would probably be best to match their coats, with some emerald yarn thrown in" she said, beginning to mumble to herself as she looked Applejack and Big Macintosh up and down. She barely seemed to see you, though the rat on the top of her head looked at you. You shrugged, used to being ignored back home, and so not going to find it too odd here. What you did find odd was that the rat nodded, and then tapped on her rides head, getting Frazzle to look up to her.

"Hmm, what is it, Persephone? Huh?" she said, and then the rat pointed towards you, drawing her eyes towards where you hovered.

"Oh, and one pet! That's so cute," she says to you, and you are about to respond that you're no pet, but then think better of it when Octavia steps forward.

"He's no pet, and they're not members of my Ensemble, Frazzle. Allow me to introduce you to Applejack and Big Macintosh of the Ponyville Apples, and a human, who comes from another world," she explains, pointing to you each in turn, the three of you nodding your head towards her.

"And my friends, this is Frazzle Dazzle, Equestria's best yarn maker, and crocheter," said Octavia to the rest of you, giving the unicorn her full name. Now having names, of course, to put to faces, she looks at you all a little more closely, then gasps as she seems to recognize Big Macintosh.

"You were one of those stallions at the bar last night!" she exclaimed, and you remember the bar fight you'd been told about. It had sounded like a brawl no one could forget, considering size changing ponies...then of course you realize that the size changing pony in question had probably taken center stage from a spectator's point of view.

"Eeyup," says Big Macintosh to the statement.

"Oh? Were you involved in that tussle?" asked Octavia.

"Me? No, they still won't let me back into any bar in the city after me whole 'cover the castle in yarn' idea I had last time I knocked back a few too many mugs, but it made all the papers," said Ms. Frazzle, and she began to look around again, pulling from stuff from between shelves, some of which were design papers for new items, some were various fliers, and a few newspapers.

"Aha! There it is!" she said at last, and pulled a paper towards you, so the five of you could read it. Not that it took much effort, as the headline was something about Monster Pony Destroys Bar, with a picture of the giant DawnChaser kicking guards with hooves as big as they were, while Big Macintosh is knocking heads together the more normal way just in front of him.

"Oh, that's a good kick you're given that guard Big Mac. Right to the kisser, pow!" said Vinyl, kicking out with her back legs just like Big Macintosh in the picture.

"Eeyup. He had a glass jaw anyway," said the stallion, pointing with his hoof at the one he's kicking in the picture.

"Heh yeah, the guards all do for the most part. It's not like the Princesses really need guarding, after all. Though that captain guy who leads them. He did this thing one time, while in the pegasus armor, and he did whoosh, and then swoosh, and then BOOM!!!" Frazzle explained, her forehooves moving in loops and things in front of her, before slamming into the floor, and then springing out wide in an explosion gesture.

"Heh, that he did, but then he did that whole, Fwoom!, and then push, and then KAPOW!!!" added Vinyl, obviously on the same wavelength, her magic adding a flash to her show.

"Exactly...now you gotta let me make some stuff for you! I don't get many big, strong stallions here who are willing to stand up to those blowhards, so I have to make something special for the pony that does," she said, pointing to Big Macintosh, who blushes a bit.

"Eenope, I don't need nuthin' like the stuff you got here. I got mah own fashion sense," he explains, knocking a hoof against his the yoke he wore around his neck.

"Oh but you just gotta! I know what I can do, I can make you some stuff to go along with that," she said, and quickly a sketch pad and pencil came flying in front of her, floating thanks to her magic, as she quickly starts to jot down an idea. Before you can really get any clue what she's drawing, it's done, and she turns it to show a sketch of Big Macintosh wearing a saddle, a cowboy hat, and his yoke done up with a few bits as well.

"Oh nelly, but that would make you look cute. Ya'll might even get a marefriend if'n you go out dressed in that getup," chides Applejack, poking her brother in the ribs, the stallion huffing at her, before staring at the design, obviously considering it.

"Well...if it's free, I suppose it would be rude to refuse," he said, and Frazzle giggles as she suddenly covers Big Macintosh with yarn and gems, the stallion lost in the mound, which still glowed with Frazzle's magic as she crafted something out of it.

"So, how long should this take?" you ask, looking at the moving pile of fabric.

"Oh, just an hour or so, I suppose we could go see a few more sights, if you're interested," offered Octavia.

"Well, I don't think that's a good idea. At least not fer me. I should stay here and be there to lau...er, support my brother's new look when it's finished," said Applejack, smirking as you heard muffled protests from Big Macintosh beneath the yarn, Frazzle laying on her Dazzle, and getting closer with her crochet needles, which start to clack as she makes something for the stallion.

"You want me to go, and miss out on a show like this? Shame on you Octy. You know I never miss live performances," Vinyl added, giggling as Big Macintosh's head suddenly popped out of the pile, his face one of desperation as he tried to climb out, only to be dragged back down inside as yarn slithered over him, making you think this was some kind of sick tentacle henti thing. Still, you can't help but smirk a little yourself, and wish to stay. Then you turn and find Octavia staring at you. She has quite the gaze, even when she's just looking at you, and you're torn for a moment between staying here to watch the show, and the aftermath, and going with her, alone, to check out the rest of Canterlot, a prospect that's not in any way displeasing.

"Who am I to refuse the escort request of a lady?" you say in what you hope is a refined voice, or at least, your best imitation of one. Said voice solicits another smile from Octavia, this one reaching her eyes, and a gagging sound from Vinyl, who shuts up the instant that smile turns to a withering gaze, and focuses on her. Even wearing her glasses, you can tell Vinyl looks worried, but then smirks as she tuns back towards Big Macintosh as he tries valiantly to fight of Frazzle Dazzle and her yarn.

"Shall we depart?" asks Octavia, and you nod, the pair of you heading through the shop, and towards the door. You get one good last look at everything as you pass, reveling again in the shiny examples of the artist's skill. Frazzle really is quite good at what she does, and you can just imagine the stuff she's making for Big Macintosh right now. It probably won't be quite as comfortable as your own outfit, provided by Rarity, but it will still look darn good.

Going towards the door, you try to push it open for Octavia, to be the gentleman, but of course, given you stature, it's quite the sight to see your tiny form pushing against the heavy wooden block, your face straining against it, before you fall back, breathing hard. Octavia hides a grin and a chuckle behind her hoof, and then opens the door herself, allowing the pair of you to exit the shop with a single glance back towards the room where the others are, and then you find yourself once more walking the streets of Canterlot, the center of this world's politics, and the home of the goddesses who controlled it.

Once outside, you notice a bit of a difference in how the ponies around you looked at you. Before, every time you'd been out among them, you'd been part of a larger group, mostly obvious outsiders, but some celebrities mixed in. Now though, you were alone, without those names or faces to back you up, and so the looks that you garnered were entirely different. Instead of respect, or at least, a grudging admittance that you belonged, you saw a few ponies eying you like you would someone who'd brought their dog into a shopping mall or the like. Tolerated, but not really accepted behavior. Oddly, you weren't bothered by this attitude. You thought you should be, after all, you had every right to be here, didn't you? But as you looked around, you found your eyes drawn back to only one pony's face, and she was smiling, looking around, and pointing out landmarks and things. You wondered, idly, if she even noticed the looks others were giving her, as you floated along beside her.

Your tour of Canterlot, now much more private, proved slightly more informative, if a little less humorous, as there was no Vinyl or Pinkie Pie along to provide jokes about the various locations. Octavia, however, proved to be quite knowledgeable about her hometown, showing you a few shops that were her favorite besides Frazzle's, including the music shoppe where she bought her cello and various other supplies. You even got to go inside and look at a few, smiling as she listed off the instruments, and telling you stories and anecdotes about her ensemble, the guys in it sounding like loads of fun.

"So, when's your next concert anyway?" you ask, curious to hear her play with a group, considering how lovely her music had been on its own back during the impromptu show in Ponyville. She goes silent for a moment, and you turn, seeing a rather wistful smile grace her lips, before she chuckles and responds.

"Not soon. Vinyl kind of made headlines with her last prank, burning down the studio like she did. Celestia felt it best that we leave town for a few weeks, to let everything die down. That was about a month ago, my Ensemble should have already done one show without me, and likely has another planned soon," she said sadly, though trying to hide it behind a smile. Quickly changing the subject, you ask her about an instrument you spot, and resolve, within yourself, to do something to help her. After all, she was really nice to you, and you'd only made her already complicated life more so in return to this point. It wouldn't do not to give something back.

After the music shoppe, you two wandered away from the shopping district, and more towards the edge of town. Overhead, the sun was slowly making its way from noon, to late afternoon, with the sky turning lovely shades, just as the pair of you got to a great hill that, according to Octavia, was called Lookout Mountain. You could tell where it got its name pretty easily, considering standing atop it, you could just lookout, and see almost all of Equestria. In the valley below, was Ponyville, a small smudge due to the distance, but visible as it cut a hole in the near solid carpet of forest, and farther in the distance, you saw what could only be skyscrapers, Manehatten, according to Octavia, almost a full day's train ride from Canterlot, both due to distance, and the track not behind able to run straight thanks to the mountains.

"A beautiful world," was all you said, as it was all you could think of. It was so different than the one you came from. That world, while it had its charms, and was by no means horrible, no matter what anyone told you, was also loud, dirty, and lacking in colors. This world...everything was bright, the sky, the trees, the people/ponies. Here there was conflict and danger aplenty, but none of it seemed to phase the inhabitants, who were kind and nice to each other, for the most part. The air was clean, fresh, and while you wouldn't say it smelled nicer, it did smell purer than the air back home.

"I'm sure your world is lovely too," Octavia told you, and you nod, the two of you just standing, or floating in your case, there for a while, before starting back down from Lookout Mountain towards the city of Canterlot behind you.

Comments

[Hereward]

Surely the magical reservoir would run low with all that self-levitation. And, at that size, who'd begrudge the protagonist the occassional ride?

[Star Sage]

1258934

Heh, well...a ride is coming, certainly. And his reservoir is fine right now. Mind, that might not stay true.

[Tadpole]

The human haves a crush on Octavia :P

[Star Sage]

1259636

Unintentionally I assure you. It felt right though. Mind, it's an emotional attraction, rather than physical, but Ponies are the masters of feelings, so they're aware of it. Who knows what's going to come of this little subplot though(I know, but you don't, and no, nothing physical is going to happen. You want that, go read my other stories)

[Tadpole]

1259751

No, I'm fine with non-physical love. :l

Could you give a hint of the next chapter?

[Star Sage]

1260332

Jason would be pleased with it.