Forgotten Legacy

“I must say, Ellie,” I said as I walked down the corridor with my counterpart, “Your coloration is rather striking! I believe I have some bolts at my boutique that would look marvelous against it”

Elegance tossed her snow-white mane over her shoulder. “I think it would be a wonderful relief once this ghastly business is done,” she said. “I, for one, would like to see what that spa you mentioned is like.”

I grinned. “I certain that Aloe would be happy to give you a complimentary massage,” I said. “She is always rather gracious with new clients.”

We walked in silence as a small group of soldiers passed us, the uncomfortable reminder of the state we were in no longer out of mind. She broke the silence first.

“You must tell me how you managed to garner the business to open a second boutique, my dear,” she said. “I managed to get the right to design the dresses for the weddings of Sunset, our Twilight, and our Cadence, but I’ve barely had much more than that.”

“I’ll admit, it is slow going,” I replied. “You have to struggle through. In the end, it comes down to giving every product the very best TLC you can, and letting it speak volumes for itself.”

She nodded. “It is rather difficult, though,” she sighed. “Balancing school with the orders I do get. And with my acceptance to the design school, I’m afraid I’ll be even more frazzled than ever!”

“Well darling, at least you have a school to learn tips and secrets from,” I smiled. “I had to learn it all by trial and error. And let me tell you, the number of times that Fluttershy, of all ponies, has caught mistakes in one of my creations had been a truly eye-opening experience.”

“Fluttershy?”

“Oh, yes,” I said. “Despite her appearance of timidity, she has an astounding abundance of talent in the sartorial arts. I daresay if she were to enter the industry, I would find myself sorely pressed.”

We shared a laugh at that, knowing our friend wouldn’t put us in that position. After a moment, she glanced at me.

“Remember what we talked about that day in my shop?”

I nodded. “You were having trouble properly attaching velvet to a heavy wool bodice,” I said. “Did you ever find a solution?”

She shook her head. “It has such a high shear ratio,” she said. “Unless I make the seam allowance overly thick, it just pulls free. I haven’t been able to come up with a solution. I was hoping that maybe you had an alternative.”

I shook my head. “It’s just as tricky here,” I said. “I generally use the velvet as a liner, because of the shear ratio. Maybe if you add a muslin sheath inside the sleeve to use for the seam?”

She mused for a moment. “Perhaps,” she said.

A horn call made us fall silent again.

“How are you so calm?” she asked suddenly.

“Beg pardon?”

She looked at me and I saw the fear tucked away behind her eyes. “I may have faced down several magical threats back home, but nothing near the magnitude of this. But you seem barely rattled.”

I grinned ruefully. “Sadly, darling,” I said. “When one has done this as often as I have, you tend to just get on with it. World ending threats seem to be much more prevalent than I realized before I was christened a Bearer of an Element.” I glanced at her collar, the gem slightly different than mine had been, a wistful smile drifting across my face. “I hope your time is much more peaceful than mine.”

She nodded.

We chatted idly for a while, and I gleaned a few tips that I hoped would translate well over to human shaped clothing. But in the back of my mind, the fact that we were at war, that at any moment the palace could be overrun, the fact that we were in danger never left it.

“You seem rather beside yourself, darling,” Rarity said.

“I can’t help but think about it,” I said. “I’m not sure what help I can be.”

She looked at me for a moment. “Show me your constructs,” she said suddenly.

“Pardon?”

“Show me your constructs,” she repeated. “It can’t hurt to practice, and perhaps I could devise my own version. We are going to be patrolling together tomorrow, after all.”

I swallowed and reached inside for the spark of light I had come to associate with my magic. I felt the curious sensation in the center of my forehead as my mana flowed into my horn, and when I had a firm grip on it I cast my thoughts out, projecting a diamond-faceted shield out. I turned, and as I opened my eyes I saw the flare of platinum white light emanating from my horn, more faceted panels extending to follow the path of my turn.

Rarity looked at them. “Marvelous,” she said, stepping forward and lighting her horn with its cornflower aura. “It’s simple in its elegance, yet likely as strong as anything the princesses could conjure.”

“I doubt it’s that strong,” I said, collapsing the wall. “I’ve heard what the princesses are responsible for, and what Twilight is capable of. If they wanted to, they could break my constructs with a thought.”

She sat down, horn still lit. She closed her eyes and concentrated. She managed to create a single shield construct, slightly less translucent but considerably thicker. We examined the construct for a minute before she released it, panting.

“I’m afraid I’m not used to that much mana drain,” she said. “I haven’t felt that much strain since the day I gained my cutie mark.”

"That is something that I have wondered about,” I said. “Your special talent is in fashion, and you are the Element of Generosity of this world. So whyever is your cutie mark a set of gems?”

She blinked. “You know, I never considered it before,” she said. “I do know that the day I got it, my gem finding spell had flared up and dragged me halfway across Equestria it seemed. It led me to this large rock and I thought it had been a dud until Rainbow’s Sonic Rainboom shattered it to reveal it was a geode. Ever since then, I’ve always worked gems into my designs.”

“Gems in the design,” I mused. I couldn’t get gemstones as easily as my counterpart, but I did know that they could be created artificially in a crucible. But still…

“When this is over,” I said. “We hit the spa. And then you have to show me that gem spell. I just had a flash of inspiration.”

She smiled. “Of course, darling,” she said. “Perhaps a joint venture, even?”

“Of course,” I said.