18- Two Sides
The Flames of the Phoenix- Two Sides
Out of all the potential things that Rarity wanted to get done and off of her personal to-do list for today, having the aunt of one of her friends come into her place with her special somepony and turn into a human was not one of them. Of course, it was not only that which actually had the unicorn stop what she was doing, but it was also the request that she received from Ember herself. Her special somepony, Amaryllis, needed clothes for it. Not just any clothes, but a set of casual clothes that she felt comfortable with.
Now usually, when it came to client requests, the client themselves had a set idea in mind. But this was different for two reasons. First, most of the clients that she has helped over the years were mostly equine in form and therefore, were all quadruped aside from Spike when she helped prepare a jacket for him during the Grand Galloping Gala. Second, most of her clients would already have an ideal design or color scheme in mind for the clothes that they requested or she would have already thought of that in her head. But given that Amaryllis did not happen to say much on the matter, Rarity would have to ask some questions to get an idea as what she was thinking about.
Of course, after Applejack ended up fainting in the middle of her boutique and Spike having a massive nosebleed that fully changed the color of one of her bathroom towels, the last thing that the seamstress wanted to happen was something that would give her a headache. Yet, when she trotted back into the lobby of the boutique, she found herself staring at her friend Rainbow Dash, backing away from Amaryllis after colliding with her chest.
“Rainbow, what are you doing?”
The pegasus was quick to turn around and see her, but slow to answer. Fortunately, the mancer that was sitting right next to Amaryllis, just sighed. “Your friend flew in too fast and crashed right into Amaryllis. Mistaking her for a pillow.”
“H-hey!! I didn’t mean to do that! Matter of fact, who is she anyways? And why does she… well…”
“Why does she what, Prism Pony?” Amaryllis giggled playfully as the pegasus looked back at her.
“W-well…” Rainbow stopped for a second, which was odd because Rarity did not recall her friend being hesitant to speak her mind. “Why do you look like what Ember is, but younger? Like one of Scootaloo’s friends younger?”
“Oh, so you say that I can’t pretend that I’m younger than I look?” Amaryllis then asked, putting a hand to the side of her face. As she moved it across, the underside of her hand glowed, changing some of the facial muscles on her face to make herself look a bit older. Not to mention that her voice changed as well. Sounding less like a girl and more like a mature woman. “Are you satisfied now?”
Rainbow let out a gulp, before nodding her head. Which, prompted Ember to speak. “I know that she sounded young before, but she’s actually much older. However, it’s also rude to ask a mare about her age. Still… It would be best for both of us if it looked like I didn’t marry somepony that was underaged-”
“Woah woah, hold on a bucking minute! You two are married!?” Rainbow asked, caught off guard by the sudden revelation. “Since when?!”
“Rainbow dear, please calm down,” Rarity herself now took a moment to speak. “I was just told about it recently too, but there isn’t a need in order to get so loud and abrupt about it. Besides, you’ll wake up Applejack,” She said, before motioning a hoof to Applejack as the earth pony was still resting on the fainting couch. But before Rainbow could ask about it, the element of generosity interrupted her and asked her something else. “How about you explain to me why you were barreling through my front door and crashing into my new client this early in the morning?”
“Well I was going to be heading out to Wonderbolt Academy for today's training, but I stopped by Sugarcube Corner first,” the pegasus explained. “While I was there, Pinkie wanted for me to ask you about something. She kind of overheard from Twilight about you maybe taking a trip to Manehattan soon and wanted to ask if she and Maud could come with you.”
That had Ember blink for a moment, surprised to hear that. “Pinkie Pie has sisters?”
“She has three from what Applejack told us, but we’ve all met Maud Pie before,” Rarity replied back, letting out a breath before looking back at Rainbow. “They’re more than welcome to come. After all, I can use some company on my trip. Let her know that we’ll be leaving at 11 o’clock tomorrow morning and that I’ll meet them at the station.”
“11 o’clock, tomorrow morning, at the station,” The pegasus replied back to confirm everything Rainbow said, before giving her a salute with her hoof. “Alright! I’ll let her know! Bye Rarity!!” Before the unicorn could speak, the pegasus dashed out the door again, loudly slamming the door behind her as Rarity only let an irritated groan.
“I really don’t like it when she does that,” As she turned around, the unicorn began to channel magic with her horn, “Now though, at least we can be able to get started. Just let me get a few things first and then we can begin.”
Using a levitation spell, Rarity placed four different items on a small table that was not far from where Ember and Amaryllis were sitting. The first was parchment. Not like the standard size parchment that you would see with the letters that Twilight writes to Princess Celestia, but canvas sized. Almost as big as an average sized painting you would find in a gallery of fine art. The second was a small pouch that, when Rarity opened it, contained a variety of different pieces of art supplies. This included pencils, a pencil sharpener, a quill and a vial of ink, though, based on the label, it seemed to be magically enhanced so that it would not bleed through parchment if there was a lot of pressure applied to a quill. The third item, a color swatch with multiple different color palettes in different styles and shades. Yet, it was the fourth item that happened to catch Amaryllis attention the most.
It was a journal. One that looked like the size of a standard book, but had a latch over it. Almost as if it was something. “Well now, is that a diary~?”
“What?” Rarity asked, only to see what Amaryllis was looking at before letting off a chuckle. “Oh, that’s not my diary dear. It may look like it, but it is actually what I call my ‘inspiration notebook’,” The unicorn then used her magic to open it up as she showed some of the pages inside. Different dress designs, rough sketches, ideas for accessories such as scarves and cardigans. Numerous unique and diverse ideas and designs on each page. “At times, I usually feel a burst of inspiration so quickly that if I don’t act upon it, I might forget what it was. So I record anything that I think of in here, just so that I can be able to refer to it later.”
“Why isn’t that useful,” She chuckled, “I’ve only met you ten minutes ago and I’m beginning to like you already.”
Ember also liked how this was going as well, but she had a much different question in mind for Rarity. One that she was kind of curious about as she looked back at the unicorn. “Apologies if I sound a bit bold, but what's all of this for?”
“Why this is the first step for how I provide for my clients. I set myself apart by listening to what the client has in mind for what they need and consult with them. Get a general idea as to what they were looking for,” she explained. “The parchment, ink and quill are for me to write down any small notes such as particular requests that the client asks for as well as other important things such as measurements and color preferences. It also serves as a canvas for any rough draft ideas that I might come up with while we are discussing it. I also keep my notebook around if I feel the need to draw inspiration from previous ideas I’ve had and apply it to this.”
Hearing that had Amaryllis ask something new as she looked back at the fashionista. “You said measurements, but where is your measuring tape?”
“Now now, there’s no need to be hasty dear,” Rarity assured her in a calm manner. “Measurements come after in step two. The first step is primarily focused on concept and what the customer wants. How they want to feel when wearing the finished product. The second step is where measurements are taken and we see what’s the range I need to work with in order to make it happen… Well, we need to work with considering that Spike will be helping me.”
“Once the bleeding stops?” The simple question from Ember was only met by a nod from Rarity as the three of them turned their heads at the sound of the bathroom door opening. Spike slowly walked out of there with a box of tissues in one claw and a tissue applied to the wall of his left nostril to try and stop the bleeding. “You okay there, Spike?”
“Y-yeah… I think I’m good now,” The dragon said, before looking back to the unicorn in the room. “Sorry about the towel, Rarity.”
“No no, I think I’m the one that should be apologizing darling. I think you already know that I have a tendency to overreact to stains, whether they’re big or small. We can worry about it later,” The unicorn told the dragon as she looked back towards Amaryllis now. “Besides, you came back at just the right time. We were going to get started with the design process.”
Spike took a moment to take in his surroundings in a bit, even going as far as to notice that Applejack was on the nearby couch Rarity would usually bring out for herself. Of course, once he noticed the items on the table that the seamstress brought out, he asked a new question. “What would you like for me to help with?”
“Well right now, I wanted to ask Amaryllis a few questions. After that, then I can have you help me with measurements and design,” the unicorn beamed as she looked at Amaryllis. Spike himself now walked over to where Ember was as Rarity insisted for her wife to move a bit closer to her. “Oh my goodness, this is going to be so exciting!”
At first, Ember was a bit excited to see how Amaryllis was getting along with that of Rarity. “Would you like for me to help out as well?” she offered. “I still remember some forms of clothing that I had back from where I was from that could be helpful. I can draw a few examples on a spare parchment piece while you and Amaryllis are discussing ideas.”
“Why sure darling,” The unicorn told her as she used some more of her magic to provide another big piece of parchment along with an extra pencil that she had with the rest of her supplies. “In fact, let Spike be with you.”
“No no, I don’t think that’s necessary-” Despite the mancer’s insistence, Rarity herself was already too focused and too engrossed in conversation with Amaryllis to even hear her. Leaving the mancer with just a pencil, a blank canvas and a baby dragon watching over her shoulder.
So, instead of saying anything else, she immediately got to sketching. Even though it had been a rather long time since she had been to earth, but before she could get to sketching clothes, she had to sketch something else first. That was body composition. She first started with several simple lines, but connected them together and added more to it to give it shape. Adding lines to determine the size of the body she was going for. Yet, she only drew the body from the waist to the neck and then repeated it a couple more times on the page before requesting a second sheet. When Ember was given the next piece of parchment, she began to draw everything on the body from the waist down to the feet.
There was only one particular reason in the mancer’s thought process as to why she was doing it this way. The idea was that with the first piece of parchment, she would draw clothes that would be worn on the top half of the body such as shirts, sweaters, jackets, sweatshirts, and more pieces of clothing. The second piece of parchment would be used for pants, shorts, blouses and other clothes that would be worn from the waist down. There wasn’t any particular shading or color applied to what she was sketching because the colors were something that Amaryllis was going to choose. Not her.
Of course, after a while, she gave her sketches to Rarity to look over. Just before letting out a sigh. “I hope she likes them. That’s all I can remember.”
“You hope who likes what?”
Ember blinked for a moment, looking around for a moment as she began to think again. “Philomena? Are you talking to me right now?”
“What other phoenix do you have a mental connection with?” When she heard the reply, Ember was a bit taken aback. In all of her life, she had never heard Philomena use sarcasm at all. “Sorry. Kind of been picking up on some of Celestia’s habits when it comes to speaking with nobles.”
“Fair enough I guess,” The mancer thought to herself. “Though, is something wrong?”
“No, I just wanted to check in and see if you were okay,” She heard the firebird reply back to her through their link. “I mean, I know that you’ve been busy, but I couldn’t just sit here and wait for you to come to Canterlot again in order to talk to you. I mean, it has already been a couple a months..”
“Well, now I feel like a jerk,” Ember told her, feeling guilty after hearing Philomena call her out on that. “I mean, I know I have been busy and everything, but that doesn’t mean I should just ignore you. So sorry about that.”
“It’s alright. Even if you’re immortal, we all make mistakes. Celestia told me that herself,” Philomena told her. “So, how have things been going? What did I miss since we last… well… talked?”
It was in this time that Ember began to take a few moments to think over everything that had happened up to this point, and in turn, explain everything to Philomena while she watched Rarity and Spike begin to work on getting Amaryllis’ measurements. For some parts, Philomena was able to understand. Yet, Ember tried to keep the details at a minimum when it came to the times that a displaced had called her over or if she summoned one. Though, as they were talking, there was one part that even Philomena was confused by.
“So let me get this straight. Your mother not only had herself end up in this world, but had her age regressed to that of a teenager… and after you meet her, she told you why your family split up and that you have a stepbrother that you did not know about before? And he’s likely in another Equestria like ours,” All Ember could really do was tell her yes since there was no such thing as the mental equivalent of nodding her head. “All of that while Anivia is still out there? Geez, talk about one thing after another.”
“Yeah, but it’s not all that bad. I mean, I finally got the chance to see somepony I care about again.”
“… Now that you mention it, I need to ask you something,” She heard the phoenix speak to her. “I was feeling some strange magical surges recently. Kind of similar to when the Canterlot Wedding was invaded by changelings, but instead of multiple sources, it's just one. And last time I felt it, it was with you,” That part made Ember’s flood freeze. Out of all the things that she thought that she would have to explain to Philomena of all creatures, explaining Amaryllis to her was not one of them. “Would you happen to do something with that?”
At first, Ember said nothing. But after a bit, she just let out a sigh. Knowing that there wasn’t a way to back out of this. “Hey Rarity, can I step outside for a moment? I need some air.”
All the seamstress did was nod her head, shortly before Ember made her way to the boutiques door and opening it up. Stepping outside and closing it behind her before speaking again. “Philomena… let me be clear with you on something. What I’m about to tell you now… do not tell to Celestia under any circumstances. Okay?”
“I wasn’t going to tell her about us catching up anyways. She just thinks I’m going on a morning flight,” the phoenix told her. “So, what is it?”
“Well, what you felt… was Amaryllis. And by what you said, she is a changeling… however, it doesn’t mean that she’s a bad one,” Ember began to tell her as she looked up at the sky above her. “Some time ago, I came across Amaryllis all alone out in the wilderness. She was abandoned by some of her kin, left out to die on her own. Yet, that was when I found her. At first, Amaryllis wasn’t particularly open minded to my generosity. But she began to open up. She began to tell me about her kind, the hive and their queen. She knew that what they did in order to survive was wrong, but she didn’t think there was another choice other than steal love from other species. To quote her directly, ‘the rules of survival out here for us are to either steal or starve’.”
“So what happened?”
“To put it simply… I showed her another way,” the mancer let out a deep breath. “Instead of letting her take it, I gave her love freely. That act changed her. No longer did Amaryllis have to steal from others and not have to worry about starving to death. However, the other changelings of the hive did not see it like that. They saw her as a defect. Something that went against the values and beliefs of their queen and disowned her because of it. She no longer needed them though, because I was there to help her. Now she and I have been together for several years, even going as far as getting married. However, part of me thinks that she hopes that some other changeling would think like she does. Think that there’s a better way then just go through anything like that.”
“If they do, then they might not take the idea of a changeling living peacefully in Equestria so kindly, you know that right?”
“I’m already painfully aware. Which is why we are taking precautions,” Ember added on. “Only a couple of ponies actually know Amaryllis’ secret and she has shown me that she could take on the form of a human. We’re at Rarity’s right now, hoping that she could be able to make some clothes for her so that she doesn’t wander around with nothing on.”
“Right. You’ve told me before that not wearing any clothes in public is taboo where you’re from,” She heard the phoenix reply back. “Though, if its clothes you want, can’t you just go through the mirror?”
Hearing that had Ember stop for a moment. She tried to get her thoughts in order, before coming up with a response to say. “The what now?”
“The mirror. You know, the one that Twilight keeps in her castle?” The phoenix asked again. “What? Did she not tell you about it?”
“Yeah, this is my first time hearing of it. What are you talking about?”
“Honestly, I don’t remember much. The only reason why I know about it is because I happened to read one of the letters that Twilight sends to Princess Celestia and her recent one talked about how she visited ‘Sunset Shimmer and her friends in the human world on the other side of the mirror’. Outside of that, I am not entirely sure. I’ve tried looking through some of the other scrolls in here to see if there was anything related to it, but there’s a mountain of them in here after that Rainbow pony dumped a chariot load of them in here as a prank.”
Ember just closed her eyes at that part, shortly before redirecting her attention not to the sky, but to Twilight’s castle in the distance. “Then I guess there’s only one way to find out.” She turned around and went back inside the boutique, informing every creature inside of where she was going to be before stepping out again and making her way over to the castle of friendship.
Throughout the course of the morning, Princess Twilight had a lot of things on her mind. Not only did she have to catch up on what happened in Ponyville while she was away, she was also hard at work trying to set up a proper schedule for the friendship lessons that she wanted to teach Starlight Glimmer. Not just on what she was going to teach, but when it would be the right time to teach those particular lessons.
None of that prepared her for when she turned around, only to have herself come face to face with the last being she expected to see this morning. “E-ember! W-what a pleasant surprise! I-i didn’t see you there-”
Ember response to her though, was not exactly what she was hoping to hear as the mancer looked back at her. The glare in her eyes making her think of the same glare Princess Celestia would give off if she was provoked. “We need to talk. Now.”
“I-is something wrong?” The princess of friendship nervously asked. Part of her now was thinking back to when she and Big Mac had that conversation with Discord several weeks ago. The same one where she was told not to tell Ember about Sylvanos. Part of her wanted to add onto what she was saying and try to clarify any misunderstandings. But before she could say anything, Ember beat her to it.
“Why is it that now of all possible times that I hear that you have a portal in your castle? Not just any portal, but one that’s a mirror?”
The train of thought that Twilight originally had was soon derailed off the tracks in her mind… and then quickly replaced by a new train shortly afterwards as she looked back at Ember. “W-who told you about the mirror?”
“Philomena did,” Ember folded her arms, looking back at the princess as Twilight’s eyes began to widen. “I was talking with her earlier and she happened to bring up a letter that you had written to Celestia recently about going to see someone named Sunset Shimmer in the human world on the other side of the mirror,” As she spoke, the tension in Ember’s voice began to increase. “Do you have any idea how pissed I am right now!? For the longest time, I thought that I was the only one here in this world, and yet-”
“It’s not your world!” Twilight’s retort came quickly as she looked back to the mancer now. “The mirror… doesn’t lead to your world.”
“Then what the hell does it lead too!? What is this ‘human world’ you’re talking about-?” Before Ember could finish, Twilight let up a hoof and quickly beat her to it.
“If you can calm down and let me explain, then I can tell you,” the alicorn told her assertively, half tempted to speak in the royal canterlot voice to speak over Ember. “The mirror is a doorway to a universe that’s parallel to ours. Both our world and that world are like two sides of the same bit. That world has its own version of everypony that you see here. Including me. However, going through is dangerous because for the longest time, there had not been any form of magic whatsoever. However, several incidents that have transpired, including one last week, have almost torn the boundaries between our world and theirs apart. Equestrian magic now seeps into the counterparts of each of my friends, including the Twilight Sparkle over there and Sunset Shimmer.”
Things… slowly began to make a bit of sense. But Ember herself still had a lot of questions. “Who is this Sunset Shimmer anyways?”
“She was once a pupil of Celestia, but deserted her when she felt that her teachings did not give her the results she wanted, she became defiant and ran. When I first met her, she tried to steal the element of magic in order to take over the world on the other side, but now… now, things are different. I was able to convince my friends over on the other side to give her a second chance. She wants to be redeemed, but is afraid of how Celestia would act when it is time for her to see Celestia again.”
“So she’s an equestrian… living in a human world? How-?”
“When somepony steps through the mirror, they turn into a human on the other side. Clothes and everything. Not like you though. In my experience, my fur color is the same color as my skin on the other side. In addition, it's not the same as if another species went over too. When Spike came over with me by accident the first time, he was turned into a puppy,” Twilight explained to her. “Of course, everything that transpired each time I went over is a bit of a long story. Yet, ordinary objects that you might have on one side of the portal, like a quill, would turn into something called a pen on the other side.”
“Ordinary objects? What makes you say that?”
“Based on previous circumstances, Sunset and I right now have a theory that objects that have magical properties don’t have to go through the change since the magic it has protects them from it. For one thing, the element of magic did not change when it went through the portal. Also, Sunset and I both keep a journal that we use to communicate with each other back and forth. It’s magically enchanted and works without any problems.”
“Okay, so here’s a question,” Ember now asked. “Why keep the portal’s existence a secret from me? I’m human. Shouldn’t I at least know that something like this exists?”
“I wanted to tell you, but I have two reasons as to why I didn’t,” the princess let out a deep breath. “First, one of the previous incidents that we call the ‘Battle of the Bands’ involved a trio of sirens that were banished from Equestria through the mirror trying to mind control every being on the other side in the efforts to get revenge. After that cryophoenix froze Spike, I didn’t want to think about what would happen if she learned of its existence. Secondly, while I know about the changes that would happen to somepony like myself or Spike, there’s no way of knowing what would happen if you went through there. When I first went there, I was cut off from my magic. I don’t know if you would still have your powers or not if you tried to cross over.”
In the moments after she said that, Twilight’s words soon began to sink in. They were possibilities that Ember did not even take into consideration until after the alicorn told her. Yet, something told her that there was more to it than just that. But she didn’t say anything to follow up on that.
Instead, she said something else that the alicorn herself did not expect to hear her say. “I… I’m sorry.”
Twilight blinked for a moment. She couldn’t even comprehend what she just heard the mancer say to her as she looked back. “U-uh… what-?”
“I’m sorry for snapping at you earlier,” The pyromancer clarified. “When I originally started talking, I didn’t even take into consideration why you would not tell me about this until after you explained everything. I don’t like it at all when someone tries to keep secrets or hide something from me, because in my mind, I see that as not being honest and trustworthy.”
“You don’t have to apologize,” Twilight shook her head. “If anything, I should be the one apologizing. If I had known that something like that was important to you, I would’ve told you sooner. However, I have a duty to keep Equestria’s citizens safe from whatever might harm them,” She let out a sigh for a moment, before looking back at her with a reaffirming gaze. “Whether it be a monster from Tartarus, an attack from that cryophoenix or another changeling invasion-”
In that moment, Ember felt a chill go down her spine. She was aware of how Twilight was not exactly a fan of changelings after what happened during the wedding between Cadance and Shining Armor, but did not think that it would be like this. It was a good reason why she decided to have Twilight be one of the last ponies out of Applejack’s friends to introduce her.
However, one thing that did seem to catch her by surprise was what Twilight said next. “Though, I must ask. What exactly were you two talking about that lead to her telling you about the mirror in the first place?”
The question had Ember redirect her attention to the princess as she let out a small sigh. “Well, I was at Rarity’s boutique earlier this morning. You see… My special somepony happened to stop by while you girls were in the Crystal Empire and she happened to know a spell that allowed her to turn into a human. Of course, the only problem was that she had no clothes,” The mancer explained. Taking her time to try and make things as simple as possible for Twilight to understand. “So we were at the boutique this morning, Philomena decided to check on me, I brought her up to speed and that was when she asked me why can’t I just go through the mirror if it was clothes I needed.”
It wasn’t entirely truthful, she had to admit… but then again, she wasn’t exactly talking to Applejack either. If anything, it was honestly the only thing she can think of to say in that moment.
Oddly enough, it happened to work. “Hunh… I guess that seems reasonable enough,” Hearing that had the mancer feel as if a huge weight had been lifted off her shoulders as she looked back at the princess. “Though, even if you did go over, it’s not guaranteed that it would stay in one piece. Remember, as of now, it only seems as if objects of magical power are the only ones that don’t change when crossing over.”
“So you’re saying that it’s all the more likely that if I bring some clothes over from the other side, they might turn into clothes that would fit on a pony and not on a human?”
“In theory, yes,” Twilight nodded her head. “Of course, that’s all what it is right now. A theory.”
By that point though, Ember felt as she needed to head back. “Well, let me know next time you head on over. I would like to come with you if that’s possible,” The mancer told her as she turned around for the door. “I gotta head back to Rarity’s. I don’t want to keep my wife waiting.”
And just like that, she was gone. Disappearing from the room in a flicker of flames. Yet… it took a moment for her parting words to register with Twilight before she could properly respond.
“Wait, DID SHE SAY WIFE!?!”
The freezing winds of the frozen north began to twist and blow violently as the late night storm raged. Snow began to fall as the vast plains that lead up to the crystal mountains were nothing but a field of white. It was not a place for anypony in order to be wandering out during a snowstorm like this late at night as the frigid cold set in.
Deep in the mountains though… there was one that was hiding. Lying in wait. Sensing what was going on out there. They had once searched throughout the world to find something she was seeking to obtain, but doing so had her attract too much attention. What she sought out was split into three, yet she only had two. One short of a complete set. One short of a complete heart.
Now though, she had a new plan. One that was simple, yet bound to work. The last one she sought was not held in a museum or a treasure hall, but instead was bound to the soul of another. A wanderer. One that saw himself as a danger to those who gave him a place to stay.
Anivia would lie in wait… and with it, let the final piece wander into her claws and rip it from their soul.
End Chapter 18
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Congratz, you got featured. 7/23/2019
9747298
Wait, seriously? Dang it, must have missed it. Oh well -_-"
9774933
Because you said he a lot at the end of that chapter
9774936
Yeah, it was meant as a she. Plus, the chapter was from years ago.
9774969
Fair enough