• Published 8th Feb 2012
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Equestria: A Flux Tale - Star Sage



A Tiny Human lands in Equestria. Why? What? Who? Questions to be answered, and a quest to be found.

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Dressing Right

“Oh, come on, you gotta let me try one of those things!” says Rainbow Dash to Rex as your group exit’s the ballroom. Luna remained behind to help with the decoration, and to help fix the small hole you’d made, but along with your guards, you’d gained three new companions in the Professor, the dog, and Pyromancer.

“Dog magic, no good for ponies,” answers the big dog gruffly as he readjusts his grip on the case full of those cloth strips. You’d had to give back the one you’d tried out before, though you’d been as reluctant as Rainbow Dash is pushy about getting one. Those things were just awesome, and you’d really wished that they’d let you keep it, especially given your lack of physical power. Still, it was Rex’s magic, and you’d learned to respect the taciturn canine in the time you’d known him.

“It worked for him, didn’t it?” she said, pointing a hoof at you.

“Not pony, no magic to interfere,” declared the dog, and she just looks at him, before huffing, and crossing her legs in front of her, much to the amusement of her squad mates.

“Don’t be like that Dashie. You know it probably wouldn’t work for a Bolt anyway. We’re supposed to be fast and agile, and those things would just slow you down,” Spitfire pointed out to her, and Dash seemed to think about this for a moment, before nodding reluctantly.

“Yeah, but I really want to see the look on a certain cowgirl’s face when I beat her at applebucking,”says the pegasus, and you laugh at your mental image of her kicking a tree into the stratosphere.

“Might make for an interesting experiment, but Rex is right. Dog runes are notoriously unstable when used by or on ponies. I remember the first time he tried to give one of those things to me. I went flying with a single step,” said the Professor, making a face, and then motioning upwards, getting a laugh out of his apprentices.

Pyro then walked up beside him and mumbled something at the purple unicorn. Having gotten used to the way he talked, you caught a word or two, but the one that stood out was visit, and DawnChaser seemed to consider whatever Pyro had asked, before nodding.

“Go ahead. I’m sure she can use the help. This Ball was put together rather quickly,” answered the Professor. Pyro giggling to himself, rather psychotically, then shot off down the hall, leaving a few embers in his wake as he vanished around a turn.

“You sure it’s a good idea to let the fire bug loose in the castle?” asked Spitfire staring after him, and the Professor waves his hoof in a dismissive gesture.

“We’re in the very center of the Princesses’ power. Besides, he asked to go visit with her and offer some help. After all, the Grand Galloping Gala normally takes over a month of preparation. This new ball is being thrown together at a day’s notice,” he pointed out, and after considering it for a moment, the Wonderbolt leader shrugged.

The group then just wanders. There’s no real direction to it, and you seem to be the leader most of the time, picking a random direction at every intersection. Luckily, with Rex added to the party, and now carrying that large case on his back, you were no longer the slowest in the group, and so the pace was a bit more manageable, allowing you to take your time, and keep from getting winded. After what felt like an hour of random wandering, you are stopped by a familiar shout, and all of you turn to find Rarity, decked out in her gown, waving her hoof at you.

“Finally, Darling, do you have any idea how long I’ve been looking for you?” she asks as she stops in front of you, her breathing coming in gentle gasps, allowing her to speak normally, despite having been running, probably for a while.

Her stopping also allowed you to look at her dress, which was up to her usual standard, giving her a diamond look, with white coloring everywhere save some blue in the shape of her cutie mark, and some black shoes to offset the white. Oddly, she wore a small tiara that seemed to have been really made from diamond string, which reminded you of something, but you weren’t sure what.

“I’d guess about thirty-five to forty-five minutes, give or take five,” said DawnChaser as he looked her over, and she just nodded, before walking up to you.

“It’s just, I need you to come with me, quickly now!” she shouted, starting off like it was some kind of emergency, and your group, after a look passed between, you, follow as fast as you can. Again you were fortunate that the unicorn fashionista couldn’t move as quickly in her dress, and so you were able to keep pace with her, as she took a seemingly wild course through the castle, before finally stopping with a skid in front of a double door.

“Here, Darling, we have to hurry before it’s too late!” she cried, waving you forward, and you slid into the room just behind her, only to behold a sparkling treasure horde. Everywhere the light shone, it was reflected at odd angles, and in all the hues and colors that he world had. Everything you looked at seemed to have been covered with jewels.

“Finally, what took you so long, Rar?” asked Vinyl as she helped to push you into the room, and then have you stand on one of those rotating platforms dress makers used to help with designs, so they could spin the dummy without touching the dress itself.

“I had to look all over the castle for him, Vinyl. I’m just glad I found him in time,” said the white pony, as she spun you around.

“I know, right? This is gonna be cutting it really close,” came a third voice, and suddenly you found yourself covered in fabrics as three different colors of magic levitated them over you. Beyond the padding, you could make out the muffled sounds of laughter that had to be the Professor, Dash, Soarin, and likely the Captain as well, making you fight and punch at the stuff, only to have it wrap around your arm and keep you spinning until whoever was doing it finally called a halt, sending you flying, right into Rex’s arms.

“Ponies crazy,” he noted, as the big dog gently set you back down on your feet, and you just nodded up at him.

“Concur. Now, what’s going on here? Rarity, you made it sound like there was some kind of emergency,” you told her.

“Oh, but Darling, there was. Frazzle, the poor dear, hadn’t gotten a look at your armor, and if she’s going to make the accessories for the ball, she has to see them. We only have another hour or so to prepare after all,” said Rarity, in explanation, as you look over to spot the familiar pony, who worked with jewel thread to create a variety of designs. Looking around the room, you recognized some of her handiwork on the dresses and suits that were clearly Rarity’s designs, with little extras added by the crocheting pony.

“Right, now stand still, this should only take a second,” said Frazzle Dazzle, as she dove at you with a dozen or more balls of yarn that all came unraveled and wove about you. Had FiM been a hentai or the like, you would have been really worried about where this was going, but trying to stand as still as possible, you let the fashion pony do her work, and about five minutes later, the yarn all comes off, and you find your suit has a few new bits and bobs.

“Oh, Frazzle, that looks positively delightful,” says Rarity, looking you up and down, using her magic to tug on a few bits of yarn, getting them straighter on your armor. Looking towards where your escort stood, you can see that the Wonderbolts seem just as impressed as Rarity, and even the Captain and the Professor nod appreciatively.

Not wanting to miss out on this, you rush over towards a mirror to get a good look at yourself, and find that the Prism Stone, which was silver for the body suit, and white for the armor itself, was now covered by various patterns of many colors. Your breastplate now had a covering of orange at the edges, with a dark violet making up the center of it, the design in the center outlined in blue for your sword, the Atma Weapon, as well as the elements done with light variants of their colors, orange, purple, blue, yellow, white, and red.

The vambraces now had sleeves leading up to them, the color of each sleeve different, though it somehow worked, with black obsidian on one side, and white diamonds on the other, both casting off rainbows of colors when you held your arms the right way. On the vambraces themselves you noticed the cutie marks of the two rulers, a dark blue moon on the arm that was covered in white, and a golden sun on the arm covered in black, showing that both were in balance with each other.

The leggings meanwhile were simple, and just featured some kind of purple gems all the way down till they reached your armored greaves, whereupon they cut off in an orange line, making them look much like your breastplate, creating a seemingly random look, yet one that complimented itself, as you stood and flexed a bit in front of the mirror.

“So, how do you like it? I needed you to come here so I could get all the measurements just right,” said Frazzle Dazzle as she walked up to your side and looked into the mirror with you.

“It looks fantastic,” you say, still admiring yourself in the mirror, even spinning a bit so you could see the back.

“Thanks. Rarity was right, designing for bipeds is a bit different, but it was a lot of fun. I had to spend all night last night just thinking of what colors to use. Do you think they work?” she asked, running her hoof over your leggings to pull at a bit that had become bunched as you moved.

“Like I said, fantastic,” you repeat, and are rewarded with a bright smile.

“Good, now then, we’ve got to finish getting ready. Ms. Spitfire, Dashie, if you’ll come over here, I’ve got some nice dresses all done for you,” said Rarity, only for Spitfire to wave her off.

“I’m afraid we’re on guard duty for this one, so we’re going to have to decline,” she said, and Vinyl stepped up beside Rarity.

“Aw, get over yourself Spitcup. We know you’re supposed to be guarding tall, colorful, and weak here,” she said, pointing at you. “But he’s in the palace tonight, with probably no plans to leave, right?”

“None at all,” you agreed without hesitation.

“See, so he’s safe. That means you can unwind a bit, and enjoy a good party. They don’t throw these things just any time, right?” she asks, and Spitfire seems like she’s about to object, before turning instead to the Captain.

“Your best ponies are on duty tonight, right?” she asked, and the stallion nodded.

“The best, the worst, and everything in between. I’ve tried to layer them and weave them together to prevent any one part of our security from lacking. For tonight, at least, I think it’s safe to enjoy a party,” he told them, and you thought you could see Spitfire droop a bit, before smiling towards Rarity.

“Okay, let’s go,” she said, and Rarity clapped her forehooves together while laughing, she then pulled Dash and Spitfire through a door that Vinyl slammed shut behind her as she joined them.

“Excellent, and now for the other stallionfolk to get their stuff on,” said Frazzle, and she used her magic to drag out several dummies, which had some suits for Soarin, the Captain, the Professor, and even Rex, interestingly enough.

“Um, I’m not so sure about this,” said the Professor, but the Captain just let out a laugh, and used his magic to push the unicorn closer to his dummy. With a flash, the suit was now on him. It looked good on him too. No jewels on his suit, probably because they’d have clashed with the material used which already shimmered a bit, like one of those old Vegas show suits done with glitter. It was purple in color, much like his coat, and had gold lining on the sides, with a cape that was orange as his mane.

“Hmm, a bit tight on the flanks. Have you been getting into the pastries again?” asked the Captain with a chuckle, and DawnChaser looked at him sternly, before closing his eyes, and then glowing for a moment. When that moment passed, the Professor was a bit shorter, and the suit fit perfectly now.

“No, I’ve just been working out. Now, let’s see how you look, Captain,” he said in a playful voice, and this time the Captain was the one to flash. When it was over, he was wearing something that resembled the silver body suit beneath your armor, but in a gold color, and with a cape made of emeralds down the back, making him look like a shooting star, with a green glowing tail.

“Not bad. Fetching in fact. We might just find you a mare yet, though I think that face is a bit of a turn off,” said DawnChaser with a smirk, and the two then proceeded to slap at each other, before Soarin dove between them.

“Me next, do me next!” he shouted, and they stared at him for a moment, before using their magic in tandem to place the suit over his uniform. This one had a blue sky motif, with the main suit being blue, while little fluffy white clouds made of diamonds seemed to flow around it, probably a trick of magic, and a next one too.

“Awesome,” he said looking at himself in a mirror and posing, before everypony in the room turned to where Rex was sniffing at his own suit.

“No wear pony fru fru stuff,” he said, crossing his arms, closing his eyes, and then turning away from the suit. Frazzle’s expression drooped a bit at this, and you wondered if she might like the old dog, then banished the image that came to mind with that thought, as you walked over to him.

“Don’t think of it as pony fru fru, think of it as a uniform, you’re wearing for an infiltration mission. The goal is to pass yourself off as someone who’s supposed to be at one of these fancy pony parties,” you tell him, and that gets him to reopen one eye and look at you. He seems to be considering this for a moment, before turning around and grabbing the suit off the dummy, putting it on almost as fast as unicorn magic would have done.

“How look?” he asks, and you gaze at him up and down. His suit consists of a top hat, made of black obsidian, to offset his dark brown coat, and a vest that had stripes on it of alternating red and black, giving him a very slim look, compared to his normal one.

“You look like a dashing rogue, who swoops in, grabs the hostage from the bad guys, and then swoops out after getting a kiss,” you tell him, remembering the types of books he usually read. It had been a shock to find that the dog was an avid reader of fiction, which was one of the reasons he’d agreed to move in with the Professor. And you weren’t lying, after all. The vest and hat gave him a bit of flare, but on his ripped body it seemed like one of those disguises the hero wore in the old black and white movies to fool the bad guy so he could get close.

“Thank you, Frazzle,” says the dog, turning to where she was standing, and giving her a bow, which she tried to return, only to trip forward, and then somehow get tangled up in some yarn that had been lying at her hooves, getting a laugh from four shapes emerging from the door behind her. They were obviously the girls, who’d gone back, but even to a human eye, they were positively gorgeous now.

Vinyl wore something that appeared to be silver at first glance, but when she turned, it threw off rainbows in the light, giving her a weird, shifting pattern that you could swear looked just like a CD back home. She still wore her glasses, which were now framed by a hood of sorts, with her mane combed into it, making her look rather small, but also sharp.

Spitfire looked like a real fire ball now, decked out in rubies, topazes, and various other red and orange gems that gave her a visual that made her appear to really be on fire. This impression was only enhanced as she flapped her wings and took off, the dress flowing behind her like the tail of a comet, fluttering in the wind.

Rainbow Dash, interestingly enough, was wearing her old Gala outfit, but where it had been fabric before, her cape was now woven of the gem stone yarn that Frazzle favored. It changed the look of the outfit that, as Dash posed, threw off a rainbow of colors, making her look positively radiant as she strutted in front of the stallions.

“Wow, you look like real mares now,” says Soarin, looking at his squad mates, who stare at each other, and then turn dagger sharp gazes on the stallion.

“As opposed to what, Soarin?” asked Spitfire, with a bit of venom in her voice. Soarin, sensing his mistaken, began to babble a bit, until DawnChaser walked up and slapped him on the back.

“Oh come now, Mares, you both know Soarin sees you not as ponies, mare or otherwise, but as his squad mates. Like you’re part of him. It’s only natural that when you wear such…stunning dresses, he’d mention that you look not unlike the beautiful sculptures of old, whose beauty rivals that of the Princesses,” said DawnChaser, winking at you out of one eye. Not that either of the subjects of his charm bought that, they just looked at each other again, and shrugged.

“Fine, fine, now, don’t we need to start down?” asked Spitfire, and Rarity’s face, as she turned to a nearby clock, almost looked panicky, as she rushed towards the door.

“Oh Darlings, she’s right. Rainbow, human, hurry now, we have to get down to the ballroom,” she shouted over her shoulder, and you looked towards Dash, who then smirked at you, and shot off after the marshmallow mare, leaving a streak of light behind her.

“Heh, she’s never gonna let me forget that she’s faster than me now, is she?” you asked, and Spitfire chuckled while shaking her head.

“I very much doubt it. Though she’s right. The Heroes are the ones they’re throwing this shindig for, so we’d better get you to the ballroom, pronto,” said the Wonderbolt, Soarin and she following Dash as blurs of red and blue respectively.

“-sigh- I really need to get a tread mill,” you say to yourself, and then start after them, running down the corridor as fast as you can. This isn’t really all that fast, especially when compared to the ponies, as Vinyl, DawnChaser, and the Captain all pass you in seconds, though the latter two are gasping hard, it was obvious they would still hold out longer than you.

“Oh, yeah, go ahead and leave the bipeds be-hiiined!” your jib turns into a shout as you feel yourself getting picked up. Rex, with one arm, grabbed you, and set you on his shoulder, before hunching over and starting to run, quickly overtaking the unicorns, and passing them, giving you a moment to look back to see Frazzle waving at you from the door, before your course turned a corner, and she was out of sight.

The rush through the corridors actually takes a minute, and you wonder just how much you’ll need to work out to get the stamina to really make it through the palace, or just up to your old apartment. Thinking about that makes your mind wander to sleeping arrangements, as you’re pretty sure you shouldn’t sleep in the Princess’ beds again. Luckily, such thoughts are cut off as Rex lightly drops you, allowing you to land on your feet just as you reach the doors to the ballroom.

“Thanks, Rex,” you tell him, and the dog nods, before walking off with the Captain, and a Vinyl that looks to be turning gray as she gasps for breath. The Professor, meanwhile, seems chipper as ever, and is trying to get data from his canine apprentice about how much you weight, and various other things, before the trio vanish around the corner.

“That was nice of Mr. Rex. Now, let me just, straighten a few wrinkles,” says Rarity, and you feel her tugged at the jeweled fabric that now covers your armor, before declaring you presentable, and opening the door.

Instantly, you kind of wish she hadn’t done that, as you were now starting at ponies, dogs, griffons, and others, all kind of gathered around at tables, chatting. Well, they had been chatting, as the door opens, and admits you, as a similar door opens on the opposite side and admits the group of Luna, Applejack, and Fluttershy, both groups moving to meet a third that was Celestia, Twilight, and Pinkie Pie, all of you now standing at the top of the stairs, so everyone in the ballroom could stare at you.

Obviously, the other girls had picked up their outfits earlier, with each of them looking a lot like their Gala dresses, but with more jeweled yarn used in their construction, allowing each of the mares to shine in the light, as they met, the Princess apparently not needing the dresses, as they stood in their normal attire, smiling warmly at you all as you came together, and stood there.

“Ponies, friends, and allies, we are gathered here this evening, to celebrate the defeat of a great evil, and to pay tribute to those brave souls who fought long and hard to rid Equestria, and the world, of Discord’s Chaos,” said Celestia, stepping forward, and you could hear many voices rising in agreement with her words, and a few chimes as some of the more high class visitors, rapped their glasses lightly with silverware.

“It is Our greatest Honor to present to you, the Element Wielders, and the Human Warrior, and welcome them one and all, to the first annual Harmony Ball,” said the Sun Goddess, and then did the oddest thing you could think of. She bowed towards you. Not only her, but Luna, and everyone, pony, and all, bowed towards you and the Element Wielders, who had gaping expressions, obviously not having expected it either, as the festivities began.

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