//------------------------------// // The Fabric of Reality // Story: So You Escaped From Limbo // by Maran //------------------------------// Rarity and Mistmane trotted down the streets of Canterlot. Since they finally had some free time, Rarity wanted to take her idol to her boutique. It was an excellent excuse to spend one-on-one time with Mistmane. However, the two unicorns didn't get far before they attracted fans and curious onlookers. Ponies marveled at the ancient legend brought to life. Some asked questions, while others took photos with her and asked for her autograph. A pegasus mare wanted Mistmane to hold her small foal, and an earth stallion asked her to bless his farm. Sometimes ponies would ask Rarity questions, but never just her. They seemed to view her as Mistmane's sidekick, which Rarity supposed wasn't too far from the truth. After about thirty minutes of fielding the admirers, Rarity began to feel drained instead of refreshed. However, she got her second wind when she spied the familiar rooftop in the distance. “It's not much farther, Mistmane. I see the rooftop of my boutique.” Rarity pointed. Leaning down toward Rarity's ear, the older mare whispered, “Is it the purple roof with the scrolled eaves?” “Yes,” whispered Rarity, wondering why Mistmane was being secretive. “Would you like me to teleport us there?” “Oh! Yes, please.” Rarity wished she had thought of that herself. Then, just for a moment, she wished she could do it herself. Raising her head, the older unicorn addressed the half dozen ponies following them. “It was lovely to meet you all, but Miss Rarity and I have something important to attend to.” “Aww,” chorused the followers, lowering their heads. “I'm sorry to leave you, but here's a little show before I go.” She lit her horn and shot out a series of multicolored sparks. They danced slowly and flickered like embers from a bonfire. “Ooooh,” the ponies chorused. Then came the brightest flash of all, and suddenly Rarity and Mistmane were in the boutique. “Rarity?” Sassy Saddles stepped out from behind the counter. “Well, bust my buttons, what a surprise! And you brought Mistmane with you! Satin and silk, I read about you coming back from Limbo in the newspaper, madam, but to see you with my own eyes is another matter entirely!” Rarity found herself feeling annoyed that yet another pony was monopolizing her special time with Mistmane. Then she felt annoyed with herself for feeling annoyed. Of course Sassy Saddles would want to speak with the famous Eastern sorceress. What else could she expect? Rarity cleared her throat. “Ahem, Mistmane, this is Sassy Saddles, the manager of my Canterlot boutique.” “Pleased to meet you,” said Mistmane with a nod. “The pleasure's all mine! You know, I always thought that you were a better sorcerer than Star Swirl.” Sassy was the fifth or sixth pony to say that this morning. Mistmane offered her a polite smile. “Thank you, but I don't think of it as a contest.” Then she looked around the sales floor at all of the gowns, hats, scarves, and other colorful creations. “You have a beautiful store, Rarity. Did you design all of these clothes?” Rarity's heart soared at the praise. “Thank you! Yes, I did!” Then she gasped softly. “Idea! What if I design an outfit for you?” Mistmane chuckled. “I could use a more modern look.” “Wonderful! Sassy, will you please excuse us while I take Mistmane's measurements? We'll talk business later.” “Of course, Rarity. It was a real treat meeting you, Mistmane!” Sassy walked back toward the counter, picking up a roll of cloth in her aura. Rarity ushered Mistmane into the back room and grabbed a tape measure in her magic. “You legends are very modest, aren't you?” she asked in a conversational tone. “Always wearing clothes.” “We are buttoned-up, it's true.” Mistmane's eyes followed Rarity's tape measure through the air. “So, I'll design a garment that's modest, but up-to-date. This is going to be such fun!” The younger mare scribbled down the measurements. “I'm glad you're feeling better, dear.” “Hm? What do you mean?” Rarity asked absentmindedly. Mistmane stepped closer to her. “You seemed a bit perturbed on the way here.” Rarity laid out a fresh sheet of drawing paper. “Oh. Well, I tried not to show it, but to be frank with you, I wanted to spend time with you and nopony else, to get to know the real Mistmane. And now I can!” She picked up a pencil. “Thank you for being discrete about getting us here, by the way.” “Well, I did have to use the light show as a distraction,” said Mistmane, waving her foreleg. “There's nothing discrete about teleportation, unless you happen to be Meadowbrook.” “I . . . What?” Rarity set down her pencil. “Meadowbrook can teleport only when nopony else is watching her. I have a theory that anypony can teleport under the right circumstances.” “Really?” Rarity stared at her. “But most unicorns can't even teleport! And you're telling me any pegasus or earth pony could do it?” Mistmane nodded. “The lines between tribal magic are more blurred than you might think. For example, I can use spells to make plants grow as well as an earth pony can.” Rarity raised the pencil again and tapped it against her chin. “Now that you mention it, my gem-finding spell has some commonalities with earth magic. I'm even starting to bond with Pinkie Pie's sister Maud over our affinity for precious stones.” She frowned in thought. “At least, I think I am. It's so hard to tell with her.” “Do you ever compare techniques?” asked Mistmane. “Occasionally. Most of the time I talk about which gems are the best for accents, and she talks about how the different types are formed and how common they are.” She began to sketch a figure using light, quick strokes. “Do you and the other Pillars often have in-depth discussions about magic?” Mistmane laughed. “The other Pillars include Star Swirl the Bearded and Mage Meadowbrook, and young Stygian as well. So, yes, it's a frequent topic of conversation. Don't you ever talk about magical theory with any of your other friends? Twilight, Starlight, and Sunburst are certainly passionate about it.” “You can say that again. But Sunburst isn't part of our regular circle. He lives in the Crystal Empire. As for Twilight, well . . .” Rarity stilled her pencil. “Whenever she talks to me about magic, it's usually about our Elements, not unicorn magic. But that's all right,” she added quickly. “I don't define myself as belonging to a tribe. I see myself as a pony first and a unicorn second. Besides, Twilight makes unicorn magic sound so esoteric sometimes. I've always preferred to work with what I can see and touch.” “I like that best, too.” Mistmane closed her eyes in a serene expression. “I enjoy making magic and beauty accessible to everypony.” “Ah, you do understand!” Rarity drew a dark outline of a tunic. “And the more my power and abilities improved, the more I was able to give back to the ponies around me,” continued Mistmane. “Yes.” Rarity's pencil stopped once more. “Mistmane, I . . . Well, I hope you aren't disappointed that I'm not a powerful sorceress like you or Twilight or Starlight.” “No!” Mistmane's eyes flew open and she rushed to Rarity's side, putting her hoof on her back. “Don't ever think that, dear! You have followed in my hoofsteps in all the ways that really mattered. You've brought happiness and comfort to countless others.” “And yet . . .” Rarity stared at her half-finished sketch. “What if Starlight or Sunburst hadn't been there to help Twilight open the portal? I doubt that I would have been able to step in to take their place. Even assuming I have enough magic, I don't know any spell on that level.” She let out a sigh. “I suppose being a unicorn second is not always a good thing. Not when lives are at stake, at least.” “Do you want to do more?” asked Mistmane. “Oh, I don't know. I'm too old to start magic school. That ship has sailed.” It was not a direct answer. “Perhaps nopony has ever described magic in a way that made it exciting for you,” mused Mistmane, rubbing her chin. “It might help you if I put it this way. You like working with fabric, yes?” Rarity chortled at the obvious question. “Of course! There's no better way to make a pony feel fabulous than with a flattering new ensemble.” “Now, think of reality as a fabric that you can re-fashion the way you see fit.” “There's a fabric of reality?” The younger mare tilted her head. Mistmane nodded. “The fundamental principle of magic is to change reality to better fit your vision. This is especially true of unicorn magic, because it requires conscious effort.” “That's a interesting perspective on magic, but it's easier said than done, isn't it?” Rarity tapped the pencil's eraser against the paper. “I believe a demonstration would be helpful. I'm going to cast an illusion charm on this workroom, if that's all right with you. Please remember that this is only an illusion.” Rarity clapped her hooves together. “The legends didn't do you justice! You're so polite when you cast spells. I just adore it!” Mistmane smiled. “If I may?” She raised her head and sent a stream of cool green light from her curved horn. The aura struck the ceiling and cascaded down the walls, changing them in its wake. The walls, windows, furniture, lamps, sewing machine, and everything else turned into fabric. Even Mistmane herself looked like a giant cloth doll with an embroidered face. Rarity held her hoof in front of her face and saw fine threading where hair and skin had been. She sucked in a breath. “I didn't expect you to take the metaphor so literally, Mistmane!” When she pressed her hoof against the wall, she felt both of them squish. “It's uncanny!” “I figured that if you saw reality as fabric, it would be easier for you to manage. What would you like to do first?” “I don't have the slightest idea.” Rarity craned her neck to stare at the soft pillars. “It's all so overwhelming.” “Well, why don't you start with something small?” Mistmane levitated the stool in front of Rarity and set it on the floor. “What would you like to do to this stool, Rarity? Anything you can imagine, you can create!” Rarity rubbed her chin, feeling cloth against cloth. It was a bizarre sensation. She hummed and glanced around in search of scissors and pins to work with, but she soon saw that they, too, had been turned into fabric. Narrowing her eyes in concentration, she lit her horn and shot out a beam that cut off the stool's legs. There was cotton stuffing inside. Rarity pulled it out and set the empty round cloth on top of Mistmane's head. “A hat!” Mistmane's aqua eyes widened. “How clever.” “I just wish it had a brim,” said Rarity. “Well, what's stopping you from adding one?” asked Mistmane with a grin. Rarity held up her needles in her blue glow. “Look at these! They're made of cotton! How am I supposed to sew with these?” “Maybe you could use your magic to force the thread through the cloth.” “Sewing with just magic?” Rarity chewed her lip in thought before sputtering at the texture. “Sfthew!” She did her best to clear the dry cotton from her mouth. “Well! It's unorthodox, but I'll give it a try.” After removing the hat from Mistmane's head, Rarity unraveled thread from one of the stool legs. Then she scored the other legs with her magic to form strips that she sewed onto the hat, pushing the thread in and out. She had to concentrate to hold the thread very straight and aim it through the gaps in the threads of the cloth. After working for twenty minutes straight, Rarity began to feel fatigued and lightheaded. She took a deep breath and let it out in a sigh. “There. It's not my best work, but it's a thing that I made.” “Well, don't judge your work until you see what it looks like after I lift the illusion.” Mistmane's horn shone again, and the green light poured down the room to reveal a normal work space with plaster walls and a tiled floor. The hat on Mistmane's head was smooth and made entirely out of wood. A pile of sawdust rested on the floor where the stuffing had been. Rarity gasped. “I did that?” Mistmane levitated the hat to better inspect it. “Fascinating. You changed the shape but not the substance. An unusual mistake, but not bad for a first attempt.” “But – but it was all cloth! The substance was already changed!” “On the contrary, the stool remained wooden the entire time. I merely helped you perceive it as malleable, and so it was. But perhaps it's not a perfect illustration. It doesn't convey the full scope of aspects that you can manipulate. We'll have to work on that later. It has been well over a thousand years since I've taught magic, you know,” Mistmane finished with a laugh. Rarity shook her head, trying to put her jumbled thoughts in order. “I don't understand what just happened, but one thing I do know is that I can do a lot more with magic than I realized. So thank you for showing me that, Mistmane.” The older unicorn wrapped her foreleg around the younger. “That's Sifu Mistmane to you, young Rarity.” “Sifu Mistmane,” echoed Rarity with a grin. Then she glanced down at the pile of sawdust. “I'm going to need a new stool, though.”