With Strings Attached
“So…” Spike bent down and raked a claw through the dirt, revealing a chunk of tiger’s eye just under the soil. He picked it up and dropped it into a bucket at his side. “Why are we doing the same thing that got you captured before?”
Rarity levitated a collection of gemstones into the bucket before patting Spike on the shoulder. He instantly blushed and his vision clouded over.
“Oh, Spikey,” she said. “I think those brutish mutts learned their lesson last time. Besides, I simply have to get some proper jewels for my next project. Between fixing up Sweetie’s costumes, designing Sapphire Shore’s wardrobe, and regular business, I’ve cleaned myself out.”
“Aren’t there—” Spike froze when he saw something move out of the corner of his eye. He quickly spun around and was met with a grasshopper leaping across the gem field. He looked back at Rarity and sighed. “Aren’t there safer places to get jewels from?”
“Well, of course there are the mass sellers,” Rarity replied before hefting her shoulders and frowning. “But they get the cuts all wrong! Can you imagine putting an octogonal cut ruby next to a pentagram cut in a sequence? It would be a crime against fashion!”
Rarity pressed a hoof to her forehead and threw herself backward but stopped just short of losing her balance. Spike was staring at her, his mouth agape and his scales pale. She chuckled a little and waved a hoof back and forth.
“Oh, Spike, I was just being a little melodramatic. Now if you were to put a triangular cut next to it, I might have been serious.”
“I k-know, Rarity.” Spike raised up a claw and pointed behind her. “But I think that is serious!”
“Whatever are yo—” Rarity turned around, and her eyes widened.
A glowing sphere about the size of a pony was barreling towards the field at a blurring speed. As it rushed down, Rarity and Spike were able to make out that it was wreathed in flames that trailed for yards behind it. Rarity sucked in her breath and chucked Spike onto her back. She went into a full gallop as the object came crashing down. Dirt went flying all around them and Rarity gasped as she felt her hooves lift off the ground. The impact’s shockwave slammed into her, knocking the air out of her. Then, the world went dark.
~~~
“Rarity! Rarity!”
Rarity felt Spike’s claws pushing on her chest and she opened her eyes. Shaking her head, she turned over and raised her head up to look around. Dirt and gems were scattered all over the place in chaotic piles. Directly in front of her, mounds of soil were heaped up around a smoking crater that had caved in most of the field. Rarity shuddered at the sight. Worried, Spike moved a claw up to her shoulder.
“Rarity? Are you okay? Did something hit you?”
“My jewels!” Rarity wailed, tears coming to her face. She gasped and looked down at her dirtied legs. “My coat! Ruined! All ruined!”
She collapsed and sobbed into the ground, smacking the dirt like a foal throwing a tantrum. Spike raised a claw and opened his mouth to say something but simply sighed instead. Hefting his shoulders, he backed away, deciding to let Rarity’s melodrama play out. He turned his head up and looked toward where the crater had formed and furrowed his brow. He stared at the smoke rising from it and turned his head up to the sky. Suddenly, a smile came to his face.
That must have been one of those meteorite things Twilight told me about, he thought as he climbed up the newly formed mounds. Perfect for her birthday! He stopped and raised a claw to his face. “Wait, Twilight said they’re made of rock too.” He resumed climbing and looked down when he reached the mound’s crest . “Maybe it has some tasty space gems in i—”
Spike’s eyes widened and he twisted his head around to look back down. “Rarity! You gotta come see this!”
At the base of the mound, Rarity was still bawling her eyes out and didn’t take notice of Spike’s call. With another sigh, he slid down and walked over to her before poking her with a claw.
“Rarity,” he said. “I think I found something even better than gems!”
With a sniffle she turned her head up and looked at him with reddened eyes. “W-what?”
“Look.” Spike clasped one of her legs and pulled her up towards the mound. “Once you see it, you’ll understand.”
Not wanting to be dragged the entire way, Rarity stood up and followed along with Spike. As they climbed the mound, she wiped her face and saw that her leg was now damp with a small amount of mud. She shuddered and offered a silent thanks that nopony else was around to see her.
When she and Spike reached the top of the mound, they both looked down into the crater. Rarity scanned the smoke and obliterated dirt and was about to ask why Spike had dragged her up here when something glimmered amidst the destruction. Rarity locked onto a crimson glow that shined through the smoke. Lighting up her horn, she parted the haze and gasped.
Resting in the middle of the crater was a blood-red sphere about the size of a young filly. Small fires smoked around it, but the sphere itself only glowed like a dim miniature sun. Rarity galloped down to the object to get a better view of it. Up close, she could see that it was comprised of thousands upon thousands of tiny strings, all tightly wound into a ball. She lifted a hoof off the ground, but held it in the air for a brief moment before taking a deep breath and gently pressing it against the object. Goosebumps rose up on her leg as her hoof brushed over it.
“My stars. It’s fabric!”
“I thought so.” Spike jumped down into the crater and over to Rarity. He looked up at the fabric, which was slightly taller than him and then at Rarity. “Bet you could make all sorts of neat space clothes with it.”
“Oh, I do believe I could.” Rarity lit up her horn and a glow surrounded the fabric, picking it up off the ground. She let out a small huff as she levitated it to her side. “Let’s get this back to my shop. After that, why don’t you head back home to get cleaned up, Spike?”
“You sure you won’t need help with that?” Spike asked as they climbed out of the crater.
“Not this time.” Cresting over the mound, Rarity floated the fabric a little closer to Spike. “It may sound a bit selfish, but I feel this fabric is something I simply must work with on my own. In fact, given its uniqueness, I dare say its existence must be kept under lock and key until it is ready to be properly revealed. Spike you must promise to tell nopony about this.”
“Even Twilight?” Spike asked. “I’m sure she’d love to study this.”
Rarity bent down and looked Spike right in the eye. “Especially Twilight. She’s liable to publish a whole paper on this. First impressions are important and this fabric must first surface in the realm of fashion, not science!”
“Okay…” Spike glanced to the side. “Well, you are the fashion pony around here, so I guess that makes sense.”
~~~
Rarity stepped out of her bathroom and back into her bedroom. Her coat was pure like white snow after her bath and her mane glistened with a deep luster. With a bit of steam still pooling off her body, she trotted over to her work desk where the giant ball of fabric rested. Inside, it glowed even more, like a warm fire in the depths of winter. Taking her seat, Rarity reached out and touched it once more.
“Oh, you are just going to be perfect.” She looked down at the paper next to the fabric. “I just hope you take well to a bit of dying.”
She scanned over the paper and the numerous sketches it held. Skirts and blouses of various designs littered the page, each drawing containing various amounts of jewels. Notes were scribbled next to all the clothing ideas: remarks on stitching, variance in cloth pieces, and multiple other details key to fashion design. Amidst the artisan jumble, at the top of the page, stood a collection of bold numbers next to the word “Twilight.”
“Yes,” Rarity mused, running a hoof over the fabric as she stared over at the design plans. “Twilight will not be getting some unfinished sham this year! Now that I think about it, gems aren’t really the best fit for her anyway. Some simple patterns will work much better!”
She smiled at the fabric while telekinetically grasping for her scissors. “Now, let’s give you a few test dyes before we really get sta—”
Rarity paused and turned to where she kept her scissors. Floating in her magic were a pair, but these ones were the same crimson color as the fabric. Narrowing her eyes, she floated the unfamiliar scissors to her face and scrutinized them for a moment before setting them down and looking back at the fabric.
“I sincerely hope you’re not some trick Discord is playing on me.” Taking a deep breath, Rarity opened up the foreign scissors while pulling out a thread of the fabric. She gulped and snipped off a piece and stretched it out in front of her eyes. “Hmm, if I mix in some lavender, that might give me the color I wa— Oh my!”
Before her eyes, the thread morphed in color until it was a deep purple hue. Rarity gaped at the fabric before pulling the thread close to her eyes.
“Perfect,” she gasped. Her attention went back to the fabric ball, which was still crimson. “This will cut production time in half! Oh, fabric, where have you been all my life?”
~~~
Sweetie Belle opened the door and stepped into Carousel Boutique. She looked around and saw that nopony was on the first floor, just the mannequins. Setting her backpack down, she went over to the stairs.
“Rarity?” she called out. “Are you home?”
When no response came from the second floor, Sweetie started climbing the stairs.
“Rarity? Are you here?”
Reaching the second floor, the faint sound of the sewing machine hard at work entered Sweetie’s ears. Curious, she walked down the hallway towards Rarity’s room, the sound growing louder the closer she got. She twisted the door’s knob and peered inside.
“Rarity?”
Rarity was hunched over her work desk, hooves pressed down over something. Quietly closing the door, Sweetie trotted over to the desk. Even when Sweetie peered over the table and flashed her a wide smile, Rarity still didn’t take her eyes off her work.
“Wow, Rarity!” Sweetie beamed. “This is so pretty!”
“Gah!” Rarity bolted up from the dress and nearly fell off her chair. Pressing a hoof against her thumping chest, she took a few breaths and calmed herself. “Sweetie, what in Equestria are you doing?”
“Uh,” Sweetie looked toward the ceiling. “Coming here like I always do on Tuesdays?”
“Oh… right.” Rarity rubbed a darkened eye. “I guess I got a little caught up in making my latest design.”
“It looks great!”Sweetie smiled at her sister and then admired the clothes. Both the skirt and the blouse were a vivid purple hue that drank up the light like a sponge. The skirt flowed over the table, engulfing it in a lavender sea, but it was short enough that on a pony it would’ve shown just the right amount of leg. Tiny bits of red were interwoven here and there, giving off the illusion that it sparkled with a crimson light.
The blouse held a similar glow, especially in the two triangular patterns sewn into the fabric’s shoulders. Each one contained three triangles placed within each other, the outermost being ocean blue, the second gold, and the third purple like the rest of the outfit. Aside from the patterns, the blouse also had a frill that ran around the collar and down the center to its base.
“Why, thank you, Sweetie.” Rarity opened her mouth and let out a yawn. “I had to do a few redesigns, but I think it worked out in the end.” A pair of scissors, covered in a flickering aura, floated in between Rarity and Sweetie. “I couldn’t have done it without this little thing.”
At her words, the scissors expanded outwards and grew in size until they were as long as a pony’s leg.
“Whoa,” Sweetie said as the scissors shrank back down to regular size.
“Whoa indeed.”
Suddenly, Rarity’s magic completely faded from the scissors and they shot straight towards the dress. Rarity gasped and reached out to catch them. They flew down and nicked her leg, drawing a small amount of blood. Eyes widening, Rarity retracted her cut leg while pushing the scissors aside before she used her uninjured hoof to check for stains. When she couldn’t find any blemishes, she sighed and backed away.
Sweetie stared at the tiny cut that was staining Rarity’s coat. “We should get a bandage on that.”
“Yes,” Rarity sighed and turned away from the table. “Perhaps I’ll take a nap after I clean up.”
“How long have you been working on this anyway?” Sweetie asked as the two of them trotted over to the door.
“Oh, well,” Rarity bit her lip. “It’s Tuesday, and Spike and I were out on Sunday afternoon.”
Sweetie stumbled a little before righting herself. “You’ve been up for three days?”
“I had to!” Rarity cried out before taking a breath and smoothing out some of her unkempt mane. “I’m used to doing pure formal wear, but this piece is a bit more on the night life side, so it’s slightly edgier than what I’m used to making, but nothing wrong with a more mature piece every now and then.”
“Mature?” Sweetie scrunched up her face. “You mean like those clothes we saw at the one store in Canterlot tha—”
“Sweetie!” Rarity shrieked. “We promised we would never speak of that. Those things were hideous abominations against fashion!” Rarity’s face paled and she shuddered. “Spandex stockings, it’s like a nightmare. And don’t you even dare bring up where they were putting all those belts. To think that such designs exist is repulsive! Repugnate! Re…”
~~~
Rarity returned a few minutes later with a fresh bandage over her cut. Sweetie was elsewhere, having mentioned something about drawing up plans for some Crusader activity. Rarity silently prayed it wouldn’t involve tree sap again. Yawning, she closed the door to her room and turned around. Her brow furrowed when she saw that the blouse was draped over the back of her chair with the skirt attached to it by the straps used to keep the clothes in one piece during travel. With the way it was angled, it was almost as if the clothes were staring at her.
“You’re being quite peculiar,” Rarity mused, stepping over to the clothing. She smiled a little and ran a hoof over it. “Well, I suppose that’s expected for such a wondrous piece of clothing. Smooth as silk but durable against anything, save for those scissors you came with. Twilight is simply going to love you.”
She glanced back to make sure the door was shut and her smile turned into a sly grin. She reached out and took the clothes off of the chair. Marching over to her full body mirror, she started undoing the buttons on the blouse.
“What she doesn’t need to know is that you’re also one-size-fits-all.” Rarity slipped the blouse through her forelegs and began sliding the skirt up her hind ones. “It really is a shame there’s not enough fabric to make another full piece for myself, so this test run will be our little secret. I can still make a scarf at least.”
With the skirt secured, Rarity turned her attention to the blouse’s buttons and quickly fastened them. Lifting her eyes up, she looked at her reflection. She frowned a little at the messy state of her mane, but focused her sight down, bringing a smile back to her face. The clothes flowed in all the right places, with the blouse’s sleeves lightly ruffling against her legs and the skirt freely waving as it settled down. At the same time, the fabric was also tight in the proper areas, displaying the curves of Rarity’s flank as well as the elegant bend of her back.
“Marvelous,” Rarity purred, drinking in the sight. She reached up to unbutton the blouse once again. “Twilight will simply lo—”
“More,” a scratchy voice called out.
Rarity stilled her leg and blinked. Her head twisted around, but spotted nopony else in the room or any movement.
“Hello?” she called out.
When nothing responded, she was about to ask again when she yelped from having a bit of her fur torn off. She glanced down at her bandaged hoof and gaped at part of the blouse’s sleeve covering the exposed cut and dabbing at the trickle of blood coming from it.
“What in Equestria?”
One of the blouse’s triangle patterns shifted around and glared up at her, the stitching glowing with a malevolent light.
“More!” the clothing demanded. “Give me more! I need more! This blood is too fabulous not to drink!”
“I should’ve known!” Rarity screeched and clawed at the blouse while it and the skirt grew tight around her. “You’re just some evil trick Discord is playing on me! Now, release me or I’ll give you the worst redesign this side of the bargain bin!”
“No!” the clothes screamed back, its glow growing brighter. “Not after tasting something so refined!”
The clothes flashed and Rarity could only watch as they morphed around her. The sleeves shot down and transformed into thick latex-like stockings with boots on the end. They attached back to the main body of the clothes with lucid straps that pressed against Rarity’s white coat and also connected the blouse to the skirt, making it appear as if Rarity was constricted by the garment. At the same time, both the skirt and blouse shrank down, revealing a copious amount of Rarity’s stomach and flanks. She gasped when she felt the fabric rushing over her hindquarters and tightening around them. To her abject horror, she realized it was the same feeling one would get from wearing scandalous undergarments.
Breathing hard, Rarity stared at the ground, her eyes bugging out of her head as sweat pooled around her face. She touched her face, feeling the thickness of the boot that now covered her hoof. Listening to her heartbeat skyrocketing, she glanced up into the mirror even though her mind screamed not to.
What looked back was a lascivious mare with a wild violet mane that flared up like fire with crimson tips. She was covered head to hoof in the latex-like material that wrapped around her body and accentuated her curves to the maximum. Her rump shot out of the skirt, which was now little more than a small ring of cloth, and pressed against tight constraints that only served to highlight it further. Her legs were displayed in a similar manner, the shimmering purple garments with their laced up stockings diving far into the realm of sensuality. Likewise, the main torso of the piece was only a sliver of its original design but was now much more bold in showing off Rarity’s sleek chest.
Rarity’s lips trembled and tears came to her eyes as she stared into the mirror. The blouse’s eyes still remained but were now triple in size so that they completely covered her shoulders and even slightly stuck out to her sides like mutated lapels.
“Lovely,” said the clothing.
Rarity screamed at the top of her lungs before falling backwards. The last thing she saw before she hit the ground was the lewd caricature she and her design had turned into.
~~~
Something nudged at Rarity’s side and she opened her eyes to see that Sweetie was staring down at her with a worried expression. Shambling to her hooves, she ran a leg through her mane, which was still unkempt but at least not the wild monstrosity from before. Recalling the image she’d seen made her heart race momentarily but she took some deep breaths and calmed herself.
“I heard you scream,” Sweetie said, her voice quivering with every word. “You were on the ground when I got here.”
“Oh…” Rarity curled some of her mane around her hoof. “I must’ve been more tired than I thought.” She paused and shuddered. “I had the most awful nightmare.”
Sweetie raised an eyebrow. “Is that why you screamed?”
“Most likely.” Rarity stared over at her work table. The clothes were still draped over the chair, but now looked a little wrinkled. “I’ve never dreamt of anything so dreadful. All that work with such a splendid fabric turned into a perverted parody of a costume!”
Sweetie glanced at the clothes and then back at Rarity. A tiny smile came to her face. “Maybe you could ask Princess Luna t—”
“Never!” Rarity shrieked, color draining from her face as she bent down to Sweetie’s eye level. “Could you imagine if a princess… no… anypony saw me like that? I-I’d be the laughingstock of all Equestria! I’m only glad it was just a nightmare and nothing more. Imagine how traumatized you could have been seeing me like that?”
“Like a...” Sweetie glanced to the side to avoid Rarity’s paranoid glare. “... what exactly?”
Rarity took a deep breath and raised her head back up. “Imagine the most hideous of clowns locked in a deep maroon straightjacket that shows off far too much of their skin.”
“Uh… ” Sweetie tapped her chin. “How can we show off too much skin if we don’t wear clothes that much anyway?”
Rarity let out a forced chuckle and started guiding Sweetie back over to the door. “Oh, you sound just like Applejack. Now, how about we put that nightmare business behind us and have some nice relaxing tea and cookies until mother and father come to pick you up? I can nap after that.”
“Sure!” Sweetie then stopped walking and pointed back at Rarity’s chair. “Are you gonna clean that up first though?”
“Clean up what?” Rarity looked back and saw that a small puddle of water was forming under the clothes, two tiny trickles of water running down the blouse. “What in Equestria? Sweetie, hold on just a minute.”
She rushed over to her table and levitated some towels to her side. As she stooped down to clean the floor, a whimper entered her ears.
“Was it really that horrible?” something rasped.
Rarity froze and slowly lifted her head up to see the blouse looking right at her, water gushing out of its triangular patterns. With the way the skirt hung, it looked like it was in the midst of wailing.
“I know it was a little sudden, but being worn felt too good!” it said, the straps connecting the skirt to the blouse swaying back and forth like a giant mouth. “I’ll ask next time! Just please wear me again!”
One of Rarity’s eyes twitched. She twisted her head at a sharp angle towards Sweetie, who shivered under her gaze.
“Sweetie?” she asked, her voice cracking. “It appears that Twilight’s gift has gained sentience and is now talking to me. Can you be a dear and ensure I’m not completely losing my mind?”
Sweetie smiled. “Oh, you made that for Twilight? She’s going to lo—”
“We can worry about that later!” Rarity shrieked. “Sweetie, my clothes are talking to me! So I am either still asleep and may transform into a ghoul at any moment or I am having a complete mental breakdown!”
“We weren’t a ghoul,” the clothes sniffled.
“I don’t know what else to call it!” Rarity spun around and pressed her face up to the fabric. “I would never design something to ever become such an indecent mockery! Clothing is meant to be sophisticated, not a … a vulgar exhibitionist show!”
“Oi!” The clothes’ eyes sharpened. “What’s the point of clothing if it doesn’t stir your blood, draw out some passion?”
“It’s called subtlety!” Rarity’s horn blazed and she summoned over the red scissors. “Of course fashion is supposed to embolden ponies, but you just push it into perversion! Do you know how insulting that is to me as your dressmaker?”
Sweetie watched Rarity yell at her new clothes while she slowly backed out of the room. As soon as she’d quietly closed the door, she let out a deep breath and wiped the sweat from her brow.
Haven’t seen her like that since Fall Fashion Week. A tiny grin came to her face and she looked at the small glowing ball she’d tucked away outside of Rarity’s room. Its crimson light played across her hooves as she picked it up and carried it downstairs before putting it in her bag. I’ll bring this back when Rarity calms down. In the meantime, Operation Cutie Mark Crusaders Space Yarn Users is a go!
Back in the her room, Rarity glanced up at the sound of the door closing but quickly glared back at her clothes. “Now you’ve gone and scared off my sister! I should just redesign you right now for that! Perhaps a luxury bathrobe or something innocuous like that. I will most certainly not have you traumatizing Twilight.”
“Wait.” The clothes’s eyes narrowed before becoming watery again. “Y-you mean you’re not going to wear me?”
A thick stream of tears poured down the blouse and dripped onto the skirt and floor. Rarity reached out and tried to pat off the water, but more just came to replace it.
“No, no, no! Stop that this instant,” she said. “You’re making yourself all damp!”
“But I want to be worn by you!” it cried. “Your blood is so rich and refined!”
“Gah!” Rarity flung herself backwards and onto her bed. She writhed around it for a moment before shooting the clothes a glare. “The Gala dresses were less of a hassle than you… Ah-ha!”
“What?” the blouse asked.
Rarity raised her head and shot the clothes a shaky grin. “You may be an unruly piece of cloth, but it feels a little rude to just call you that and maybe teaching you some manners is just what you need… even if you are just a delusion of my sleep-deprived mind.”
“Manners?”
“Yes. Of course, I’m just nervous because you’re a more mature piece.” Rarity jumped off the bed and staggered over to the clothes. “Of course, it’s so simple. It’s a little unconventional but everything about you seems to be. Well, I’m up for it. I’m going to make sure you stay a proper piece of clothing, Sang!”
The blouse raised one of its eyes. “Sang?”
“Yes, yes. That makes sense,” Rarity muttered as she paced back in forth in front of Sang. “Confront the problem directly, Rarity. Bel Espace sounded so much more romantic, but suppose Belle Sang is more fitting now. Hopefully Twilight doesn’t look too much into it.”
“Twilight, Twilight, Twilight!” Sang groaned. “I don’t want to be worn by her, I want to be worn by you! Garment and dressmaker are the perfect match!”
“It seems my delusions still know flattery, even if it is crude at best,” Rarity sighed. “But I made you for her. Your design will be perfect for when she has social outings: the proper amount of comfort and a small bit of flair.”
“What about blood? You expect me to drink someone else’s after tasting yours?”
“Okay, so I’m worried about you getting stained. Of course I’m paranoid about that, that makes sense. Need to deal with that now, then sleep.” Rarity pointed at Sang. “This whole blood thing is putting you in a very bad light. Red stains are a pain enough as it is, but you want to willingly subject yourself to blood? Preposterous! What do you even need it for?”
“To be worn properly,” Sang said as its sleeves crossed in front of its chest. “I’m too restrained like this. Please let me show off your form, I’ll only take a little blood. I promise!”
Rarity ground her teeth. “I’ve had just about enough. It appears to me you’ve taken quite a fondness to my blood and that’s what you need to turn into that abomination. Dream, sleep deprivation, whatever, I am not allowing a single thing to mar you further! I know exactly how to deal with this and get on with recovering my sanity!”
“What are you doing?”
Rarity summoned a box over and lifted Sang off the chair. It flailed around in the air, but Rarity’s magic held firm and shoved it into the box.
“I’m giving Twilight an early birthday gift!”
She turned and galloped to the door but came to a sudden stop. Twisting her head back at the desk, the scissors flew over and tucked themselves behind Rarity’s left ear. An jagged smile came to her face.
“There,” she huffed. “If this is real, I can make any emergency redesigns. Y-you won’t insult Twilight’s modesty. Oh, no you won’t!”
Letting out a strained giggle that came off more as a crazed cackle, Rarity sped out of the room.
~~~
The library’s door opened and Twilight poked her head out. At first, she smiled at the sight of Rarity, but then frowned noticing the deep bags around her eyes and the untidy state of her mane. She pursed her lips as confusion set in over why the box at Rarity’s side was shaking so much and why she was shooting it such an intense glare while struggling to keep it shut.
“Um, Rarity? What brings yo—”
“Twilight!” Rarity drew her face a little too close to Twilight’s and flashed her a lopsided grin. “I just have the most lovely surprise for you!”
“Really?” Twilight met Rarity’s grin with a nervous smile. “Well, why don’t you come in?”
“Oh no, no, no.” Rarity rapidly waved a hoof back and forth. The box floated up and pressed into to Twilight. “Here you are. I know it’s early but I— Gah!”
Rarity’s magic gave out and the top exploded off of the box. Sang rushed out of it and instantly affixed itself to Rarity. Her pupils turned to pinpricks looking over herself and she began sweating profusely.
“No. No!” she shrieked. “You are Twilight’s gift!”
“I don’t like her!” Sang said shooting Twilight a glare. “The wings get in the way!”
Rarity snarled and shot a hoof to her back. She growled down at Sang. “You got rid of her wing slits!? A bathrobe was too good for you! You’re getting turned into upholstery!”
“Rarity?” Twilight tapped her on the shoulder.
Both Rarity and Sang looked up and shouted, “What?”
“You seem a little irritable.” Twilight’s nervous smile widened. “That outfit looks really stunning though.”
Rarity’s eyes widened and she bowed her head low, legs shaking under her. “It… it was meant for you, Twilight.”
She reached up and clenched part of the blouse. Gritting her teeth, she pulled at it but it just stretched like elastic. She huffed and tugged, managing to wring out a sleeve through a combination of magic and hooves. In her fit, she unintentionally wrapped around her leg and sent herself crashing to the ground. She sniffled and buried her head in the dirt.
“You’re going to undo the stitching if you keep pulling,” said Sang. “You’re also getting both of us dirty.”
“I don’t care!” Rarity cried, beating her hooves against the ground. “You’re Twilight’s gift! Twilight’s! I’m sorry I tried you on! It was only once, I swear!”
Rarity devolved into sobs and rubbed her face into the ground. Twilight stood over her, glancing back to see that Spike was at front door and also watching the spectacle. He was shivering, watching Rarity breakdown, and bit at the tips of his claws. Twilight reached out, and ran a hoof over Rarity’s shoulder.
“Rarity, I think that outfit is gorgeous, but I’m worried about you.” She lifted Rarity off the ground and summoned over some tissues, which Rarity snatched up and used to cover up the mess her face had become. “Nopony has seen you since Sunday and you look worse than I do before a test. Plus, you’re talking to your clothes. Speaking from… experience, that’s usually a good time to take a break and just unwind.”
“I am trying that!” Rarity sobbed. “I just want to give you this for your birthday, but Sang won’t let me!”
Twilight raised an eyebrow. “Sang?”
“Belle Sang,” Rarity explained. “Such a unique design deserves its own name, even if I should just start from scratch with a fabric that actually listens to me!”
“I do listen,” said Sang. “I just don’t want to be worn by anyone else.”
Rarity rapidly shook her head back and forth. “Are you hearing this, Twilight? Clothes don’t choose the pony, the pony chooses the clothes!”
“Rarity, I really don’t understand.” Twilight pressed her hoof a little harder into Rarity’s shoulder. “You’re yelling at your blouse for no reason.”
“Okay, okay.” Rarity inhaled and exhaled a few times, slightly composing herself. “Maybe the talking is my own sleep-deprived hallucination, but you saw Sang jump out of the box, right?”
Twilight rubbed her chin and narrowed her eyes at the blouse. “That was more than just your magic shorting out… what exactly is this outfit made of?”
“Fabric that crashed down from outer space,” Spike said in one quick gasp before lowering his head. “Sorry, Rarity… I think that stuff might be messing with your head though.”
“Hmmm.” Twilight stared down at one of Sang’s eyes, which shifted to glare back at her. “There’s definitely something odd about it. Rarity, is there any way we can get it off you?”
Rarity took a deep breath and frowned at Sang. The scissors lifted up from behind Rarity’s ear and over to her side. “If I have to, I can use these. Oh, Twilight, I’m so sorry. I just wanted to make you something special for yo—”
The ground rumbled, causing Rarity, Twilight, and Spike to fight for balance. A giant plume of orange and red rose up from over by Sweet Apple Acres and coalesced into an hourglass-like shape with a pointed end. It floated in the sky, the air around it warping from the intense crimson glow coming off of it.
“What is that?” Twilight shouted.
“Not good,” Sang answered. “Someone must’ve really ticked off the fibers.”
Rarity shot her eyes down. “The fibers? But I only had a little left! And what in the world is it doing over by Sweet Apple Ac— Sweetie!”
Rarity went into a mad gallop straight for the flying leviathan of fabric. It slowly moved through the sky, casting a large shadow across the ground. As it neared the town, tendrils started shooting out of it and racing towards any nearby ponies. Anypony unfortunate enough to get latched onto was instantly wrapped up in a crimson cocoon and absorbed into the mass of fibers. A tendril reached out towards a filly that had fallen trying to escape, and was about to capture her when Rarity leapt forward, her scissors now as big as herself, and cut the tendril from the rest of the fabric. It fell to the ground and writhed for a moment before dispersing in a flourish of red string.
“Sang, if that thing has my sister, upholstery will be the least of your worries!” Rarity slashed the scissors through the air and fended off some more encroaching tendrils, but others were spreading all around town and the ones by her were getting thicker and harder to cut. “Now how do I stop it?”
“It’s using life-forms as fuel,” Sang explained while Rarity continued to cut away. “We have to destroy its core.”
The aura around the scissors flickered as Rarity tried to slice through a tree trunk-thick tendril. She managed to succeed but the effort left her out of breath. Another tendril slammed into from the side and sent her flying into the wall of a house. The blow knocked the wind out of her and both she and the scissors fell to the ground. A bit of blood now trickled from her head and down her legs.
“Rarity.” Sang looked up at her. “I can’t defend you like this. Give me some of your blood.”
“Why… why don’t you just take it?” Rarity wheezed. “The rest of the fabric seems fine doing just that.”
“It’s angry.” Sang glanced to the sky and saw Twilight rushing towards the beast and blasting it with magic. The blows smoked for a moment before healing over with fresh fibers. At the same time, tendrils raced out and tried to pluck Twilight from the air. “A long time ago, some clothes found someone that truly cared for it. They shouted to the rest of us we could be like them, choosing to be worn by those who truly want clothing. That’s why I don’t want to be worn by anypony else. I want somepony who cares.”
“Sang…” Rarity’s eyes widened as she watched a tendril wrap around one of Twilight’s legs and cocoon her. “Sang! Take as much blood as you want! I’m teaching that thing a lesson in proper attire!”
Sang grew bright before exploding in a flash of light. A second later, a blur jumped upwards and shot onto the tendril that had captured Twilight. Rarity stood on top of it, with both her and Sang glaring down at the fibers. Sang’s eyes were even bigger than before, extending far past Rarity’s shoulders and having much sharper edges. In addition, the blouse had morphed further so that it was little more than straps below the shoulders that formed a V-pattern down to the “skirt”. Like the blouse, the skirt had turned even skimpier, transforming into a thong-esque design that curved around Rarity’s tail before reattaching itself back to the rest of the outfit. The leggings looked about the same, albeit a bit tighter, with pointed ends to the boots. With her mane blazing like fire, Rarity thrust the scissors down and severed the mighty tendril from the monstrosity.
As it crumbled away, Twilight broke free, momentarily falling before righting herself in the air. In the meantime, Rarity jumped onto the small sphere of the beast’s main body and slashed at it with the scissors, sending chunks of it flying into the air before they dispersed into nothing. Fibers swarmed around her, but she moved at a blinding speed, rending them to shreds. Twilight gapped at the sight before sharpening her sight and rushing to Rarity’s side, throwing up a barrier on top of the two of them.
“Twilight!” Rarity momentarily stopped her assault. “Get off this thing now before it tries to get you again!”
“Focus on dealing with the main body while I hold off its offshoots!” Twilight’s horn grew brighter in response to tendrils smacking on the shield, causing it to distort in a few spots.
“Get ready to fly!” Rarity shouted.
She raised the scissors and spread them wide. Their tips shimmered as they lengthened out even further, reaching past the edges of the fabric’s circumference. With a snort, Rarity pulled the two blades back together, cleaving through the sphere and sending it tumbling to ground. Twilight took to the air while Rarity remained on the disintegrating fabric, her sight locked on the gaping hole in the beast’s larger section. She bent her knees and rocketed into the air, kicking what remained of the smaller section into ground and causing a sizeable crater to form around it. She darted forward and zoomed into the innards of the fabric. Twilight dashed down to also get inside, but the entrance sealed up and tendrils sprung out to block her path.
Inside, Rarity galloped over the writhing mass of fibers, but they sucked at her hooves and she quickly found herself losing speed. Despite slashing all around her, the fabric regenerated so quickly that it was as if she had done nothing. Strands raced at Rarity from all directions to further slow her down, but she kept trudging forward, even as more and more fabric latched onto her.
“Y-you unsophisticated brute!” Rarity grunted, slashing away a few strands, only for many more to take their place. “I don’t know what Sweetie did, but you are fabric! No matter what a pony does to you, they do it because they want to wear you! You can’t force that though, especially with this abomination against fashion! You don’t even have a dressmaker! A raw bundle of fibers doesn’t have the right to call itself clothes!”
Sang glowed and spikes shot out of its design, ripping off the constraining strands. Rarity paused for a moment to gawk at the new additions but then galloped forward once more. She turned into a gale of razors, tearing the innards of the beast to shreds. The two of them continued racing forward until they came to a massive hollow part of the beast. The walls were plastered with sickly corpse-like pony heads, all of their mouths twisted into an agonized groan. In the center of all of this was a pulsating ball of fibers the glowed almost as bright as the sun.
“That’s the core!” said Sang.
“Let’s not waste anymore time then!” Rarity opened the scissors and got ready to jump, but found her legs ensnared by more fabric. She slashed with the scissors, but it had no effect. “What?”
“It reinforced itself!” Sang glared up at the core while the fibers pulled it and Rarity downwards. As Rarity struggled, its eyes widened. “Rarity! Think back to what my original design was! The one you made for Twilight!”
“Now is not the time to develop a sense of modesty!” Rarity brought the full force of the scissors down on one of the tendrils and managed to free a leg. “We need to get off this fabric an—” She gasped before gritting her teeth. “Hold on, Sang! You’re getting a redesign to fit Dash!”
Sang’s eyes shifted to Rarity’s back and fanned out. At the same time, its skirt elongated itself to cover up Rarity’s hindlegs and tail. It glowed and then sent out large trails of flame that converged into one great bonfire that burnt the restraining fabric to a crisp and sent Rarity off the ground like a bullet. She clutched the scissors with her hooves and angled them like a spear at the core. A shower of sparks flew off the scissors and the core when they met. The flames at Rarity’s back grew brighter and she pushed harder.
Suddenly, a crack ran up one of the blades and it flew off its axis. Yet, at the same time, the remaining blade managed to jab into the core. Rarity tightened her muscles and pushed with all her might. She let out a battle cry and sunk the blade up to its hilt into the core. The entire structure rumbled, and then everything was consumed in an explosive blaze.
~~~
Sweetie slowly opened her eyes and was met with Rarity pressing her close to her chest. She screamed and pushed away when she was pulled a little too close to Sang’s eye. When she pulled back, she saw that Rarity’s mane was lit up and flowing like a fire and that her face was scratched up and a little bruised, but still held a smile.
“Oh, Sweetie!” Rarity hugged her sister a little tighter. “I was so worried!”
“Rarity?” Sweetie’s eyes widened as she looked over Rarity’s buxom outfit. “What happened? Why are you dressed like that?”
Rarity’s eyes narrowed. “It seems somepony took somepony else’s rare and unknown clothing material and made it quite unruly.”
Sweetie shivered under her glare. “Rarity, I’m really sorry! It just looked so pretty and I thought maybe my friends and I could have used a little.”
“Then you should have asked.” Rarity shook her head and set Sweetie down. Sang glowed and transformed back into its modest form. “We could have avoided this whole mess.”
“Mom and dad are going to be mad, aren’t they?” Sweetie shivered again and rubbed one leg against another. Her eyes widened and she looked down to see bare skin running against bare skin without a trace of fur. “Rarity… where’s all the hair on my leg?’
“Life fibers can be incredibly jealous about being worn,” Sang explained. “Down to a life-form’s own hair.”
“She can’t hear you, darling,” Rarity said as Sweetie paled and slowly started turning to look over herself. “I think helping me make some replacement clothes for everypony until their fur grows back will be enough “punishment” for you.”
With shrinking pupils, Sweetie looked away from her own barren coat at the destruction around town. A few buildings had crushed walls and craters dotted Ponyville. Luckily, only smoke now remained from where there had been fires before. But what Sweetie locked onto were the ponies scattered here and there, some still unconscious, others just waking up, and all of them more bereft of fur than a newborn foal.
“Sweetie Belle!”
Two fillies, one of them winged, rushed over and tackled Sweetie to the ground. The earth pony grasped her shoulders, and wrung her back and forth.
“This was even worse than the Lion Tamers idea!” she yelled. “Applejack is gonna kill me for losing my bow!”
“And I think that stupid fabric ate my scooter!” the pegaus shouted into Sweetie’s ear.
“Rarity?”
Rarity’s head shot up at the shaky but familiar voice. She turned her head to the right and was met with a pegasus as naked as the rest of the ponies. Her magenta eyes darted around, taking in the scene while sweat pooled on her bald forehead.
“I was taking a nap and then I woke up with all these ponies furless and half the town destroyed!” said Rainbow Dash. “You gotta get me something to cover up with before somepony sees me!”
~~~
Twilight walked through a destroyed part of Ponyville, sighing as she used her magic to extinguish any small fires and sweep away some of the rubble. Spike walked by her side, looking around at all the destruction.
“We really need to work on the town not getting destroyed every other week,” he said.
Twilight smothered some smoking wreckage. “Spike, now is not the best of time for…”
She trailed off at the sight of the still glowing wreckage Trotting over to it, she pushed aside the rubble, revealing a ball of glowing crimson string. Twilight quickly encased it in her magic and floated it far away from both her and Spike.
“I have quite a few questions about this stuff too.” Twilight’s eyes glinted. “Spike, keep an eye out for any fabric remnants. I want to research this stuff as much as possible.”
