//------------------------------// // Fabric and Glass // Story: The Mask of Despair and the Face of Hope // by Wings of Black Glass //------------------------------// “Come on; we need to go see Rarity.” I trotted off, pausing only to make sure Sable was right behind me. He looked at me quizzically but followed. I led him through some of the less used streets, hoping to avoid the crowds, and over to Carousel Boutique. We were lucky enough that there wasn’t anypony coming out as I opened the door. Sable looked around at the various outfits on display curiously. “Rarity? Are you here?” Moments later a voice emanated from the back room, where Rarity did most of her work. “Twilight? Do you need something?” I led Sable back to find Rarity was in the process of assembling a green dress for some client. Rarity looked over the mannequin when we walked in. “Hello, Stardust.” He gave her that now very familiar bow, where he dips his head while closing his eyes, that he uses as his primary greeting. It was one of the things that hasn’t changed since before the accident. “It’s good to see you up and about.” “I think this may be the first time I have actually been in here.” He looked around again, taking in all the little details. “That wouldn’t surprise me. I never saw you in here before. Please, have a look around and tell me if anything catches your eye.” He nodded slightly and wandered off to explore the boutique. Now Rarity turned to question me. “I take it he is feeling better?” “For the most part.” I lowered my voice a bit while Sable drifted out of earshot. “I was showing him around town, and well…” I pointed to my own mark, Rarity nodded in understanding. “The other ponies were beginning to stare, and it was making him uncomfortable.” “I take it then that you would like me to make him something new to hide that fact?” “If you would?” Rarity stepped closer, giving me a mildly concerned glare. “You haven’t talked to him about it yet?” “No, not yet. He’s still adjusting, and I don’t want to overload him with something this big just yet.” I looked over as Sable; he was inspecting one of Rarity’s sewing machines, using a spell to look inside the casing at the interior workings. “So you expect him to start wearing something new, just because you say so? Without explanation?” I had no response. I hadn’t thought that far ahead. “I’m happy to make new outfits for him, but you might first want to find out if he wants them in the first place.” She looks back to the dress she was working on. “And you might want to do that soon; it won’t get any easier over time.” I turned slowly, only a little reluctantly, towards Sable. He was on the far side of the room now, holding up several scraps of brightly colored cloth over each other. “So, Sable.” He tilted his head slightly towards me, not looking away from whatever he was doing with the scraps. “What are you up to?” I delayed the oncoming awkward conversation. “This reminds me of something. I was sitting beside somepony, light blue, while they… she was working a loom. I think I was very young. She was showing me how it worked.” “That’s great, you remember!” I perked up instantly. “That was your mother; she was a weaver.” “Oh, she must have been the one working on that lovely quilt you used to have in your house.” Rarity set her work aside for the moment and came over to join our conversation. “Do you know why she never finished it?” I cringed, I was still hoping to avoid the topic of his family’s fate. Sable looked away from the cloth scraps towards the white Unicorn. “No. Not at all.” He shook his head slowly. Secretly I was pleased, and a little ashamed of that fact, that I wouldn’t have to have that conversation just yet. “Do you remember anything else?” Sable set the cloth down and walked along the table, inspecting the sewing tools as he went. “Nothing in specific. Yet… feelings. Disappointment mostly. Anger, and the sound of tearing fabric? Why?” “I am afraid we don’t have the answer to that.” He looked away from Rarity, and I saw something simmering in his expression, somewhere between confusion and disappointment. I couldn’t tell if it was directed towards us, or himself. He fell silent again, and I spoke before things got awkward. “So, I brought you here because I thought you might like to get a new coat. Yours was destroyed in the accident.” “Ah. That would explain it.” He nodded, confirming something inwardly. “Explain what?” “Why I’ve felt so uncomfortable.” He searched for a word; I was starting to read his expressions more clearly. “Vulnerable, exposed maybe?” I offered. He looked over his shoulder at me and nodded. “I can help with that! Step this way, and we’ll see what I’ve got that goes with your colors.” Sable allowed Rarity to lead him back into the main room. Rarity positions him in front of her mirrors and over the next hour or so showed him the various outfits she had available, coats and otherwise. Fashion was not my specialty, so I remained out of the way. I watched Sable carefully throughout the process. He seemed mildly distressed, twitchy even, whenever Rarity adjusted a piece of fabric he was wearing. He must not like being touched; I had assumed his previous withdrawals were due to the topic of conversation at the time. I would have to remember not to be physical with him. Pinkie Pie would undoubtedly need reminding. “I appreciate the enthusiasm you are putting into this.” Sable interjected as Rarity draped more fabric over his side. “But I think I would prefer something a bit simpler.” Rarity paused, a measuring tape stretched from Sable’s neck to his ankle. “Really? You’re sure?” She looked up at him, clearly disappointed. “Yes. I just need something to keep me comfortable; I do not require high fashion in my day to day life.” “There is value to simplicity.” I agreed with him, I preferred the less ornate ones even when I wore one of Rarity’s dresses. “Oh well.” She was clearly disappointed. “I suppose if you want I can duplicate the coat you used to have.” Rarity finished taking his measurements and put her notepad aside after scribbling on it. “Can I at least add a blue trim to bring out the color of your eyes and that streak in your mane?” Sable looked at his reflection, presumably imagining Rarity’s suggestion. He frowned, and just before I could offer an opinion he suddenly materialized an illusion of a coat much like the one he used to wear onto the mirror’s surface. The image flickered, replaced with one that matches the description Rarity gave him. He looked from one mirror to the next, judging his appearance from the differing angles. The suggested coat is very much like his original, but the hem and each pocket was lined with a strip of blue that matched his eyes. “It does look better than your plain black one if you don’t mind my opinion.” I offered. “Very well.” He nodded. “I consent.” “Wonderful!” Rarity headed back into the other room, the fabric she had draped over Sable following her. “Unfortunately, It will take a while to get your coat done, I have another order ahead of yours I really must finish first.” “I understand.” Sable stepped away from the mirrors, stretching tensed muscles from the prolonged period of standing still. “She is certainly enthusiastic about clothes.” “Everypony has something that satisfies them completely.” He lifted his head, looking at me from the corner of his eyes again. He was clearly considering my words carefully, and how they related to him. Whatever conclusion he came to, if he came to one at all, he did not share. “We should head back and let Rarity work.” At the very least he got a few memories back, it was a start. I blinked, and realized that if those little scraps of cloth brought back memories, then perhaps there was more I could do for him. “Wait here a moment, please.” I hurried into the back room, and Sable stayed behind with a bemused expression. “Rarity, can I borrow you for a minute longer?” “Oh? For what?” Quietly, I told Rarity my plan. My white Unicorn friend seemed hesitant. “Alright, but just for a few minutes, and I’m not going anywhere with them.” “Thank you, if this works it will be worth the effort.” Rarity nodded and braced herself. I went back in my mind, remembering the details of a spell I hadn't used in a long time and began to cast. A translucent blue ribbon appeared in the air and wrapped itself around Rarity, like a cocoon. When the shell was whole, a glowing orb of light emitted from my horn and touched the ribbon, pulsing brightly and making a low boom as the spell completed. As I caught my breath, I noted Sable entering the room, curious about the sound. “Well Sable, does this remind you of anything?” Rarity flourished her mane as the shimmering ribbon vanished. She floated gently, held aloft by two large butterfly wings made of gossamer and morning dew. Sable stared at them; I could see the reflection of the wings in his eyes, and perhaps something else as well. Ambition? “I see.” Sable laughed, a whole and healthy laugh. I heard him do that only once before. He looked from Rarity and her wings to me and smiled. He backed away from us, giving himself room, and closed his eyes to focus better. I watched him intently as he began to cast his spell. I had never seen him actually cast this, and wanted to see how he managed it. His neon blue magic formed an aura around him… The spell created black reflective panels around him, instead of a blue ribbon. Each pane folded up and around his body, lifting him from the floor and enveloping him entirely until they formed a twelve-sided diamond around him, floating in mid-air. The air filled with an electric charge; tiny sparks jumped off the diamond in the neon blue color of Sable’s magic. Cracks formed on the shell, and I worried he miscast the spell, but then the glass shattered into a million little stars. I had to blink against the afterimage as the tiny points of light coalesced on Sable’s shoulders and formed themselves into the shape of a pair of wings. A moment later and the light faded back to natural levels, Sable’s glass wings flapped twice, and he held them wide, landing softly where he had been hovering. I had been impressed when he first told me he had changed the wing spell, but I had no idea what went into it. His variant only barely resembled the original, it was almost an entirely new spell. Only at the most basic conceptual levels did it resembles the first one. I might even have been able to help him refine it further… “There we go.” He panted hard; the spell drained most of his stamina. “That’s better.” He had to stand with his legs spread wide to avoid falling over. “Bravo! Bravo!” Rarity applauded, then landed and kept herself firmly on the floor. “Sable, you did it!” I couldn’t help myself and rushed to give him a hug. “Ow, ow! Ribs, watch the ribs!” I let him go, mildly embarrassed. Other than straining his injury, he didn’t seem to have minded the sudden hug. He nodded deeply to each of us. “Thank you.” He flapped his glass wings again, and I saw the tiny pinpricks of light on the underside of each panel flicker with the motion. “Both of you.” “So he could recover his lost past. That’s reassuring.” “It turned out to be more complex than that. But yes, he was quite happy to have his wings back.” “I’m still a little confused why he even bothers with the wings. Does he want to be an Alicorn?” “Well, it is sort of a dream for everypony, isn’t it?” “I think it’s because it makes him feel… special somehow. In a good way, unlike his blank flank.” “Yeah, I can understand that.”