Forgotten Legacy

I pulled out the small hope chest that we kept hidden in a small false wall in our closet, tracing the lines of the fire protection spells carved into it before opening it. Inside were copies of the lease, birth certificates, passports, and other important documents. It also held our Element necklaces. Our geodes had never separated from the collars, remaining fused parts of what had been gold bands across the mirror.

I looked at the sunburst that adorned mine for a moment before pulling them both out and replacing the hope chest. I turned to find Twilight still staring at me, arms crossed.

“I don’t agree with this, you know,” she said, taking her necklace from me. “There should be more research done on how the magic was able to take over Starlight like it was.”

“We have a moon to do all that, Sunshine,” I said, sending some love through the bond. “But right now we need to trace every bit of mantic residue that might be in the castle, and it’s starting to look like it may be a bigger task than we initially thought.”

I smiled at her. “Which is why we’re calling in you,” I said with all the syrupy sweetness I could muster. Twilight huffed and rolled her eyes.

“The fact that I’m holding my Element and have already arranged for Dash and AJ to watch the apartment and Spike should be clue enough I was going,” she said, posting a hand on her hip. “I just don't think that going off to the Crystal Empire without a handful of guards or perhaps the Bearer’s as backup.”

I stood, dusting my slacks free of the small but of hair that had clung to them. “I said as much myself at the council,” I said. “They’re already issuing orders to the Wonderbolts to deviate from show detail and engage in maneuvers near the southern border of the Empire.”

“Just the Wonderbolts?” Twilight seemed confused. “That’s all they’re mustering for two of their princesses?”

I grabbed my keys from the table beside the door as we shut off the lights on our way out. “That’s just what they’re ‘officially’ dispatched,” I said as we walked to the car. “You really think the girls would let Princess Twilight go off on her own?” I gave her a smirk. “She’d have about as much luck keeping them put as I did with you last fall.”

She smiled and blushed.

“And, just because she torqued me off by hurting a friend,” I said. “I’m going myself, too.”

“You aren’t serious,” Twilight said, looking at me. I kept my eyes on the road.

“I don't really have a whole lot of choice,” I said. “One of those tricky responsibilities that came with the wings. In a state of emergency, all princesses are required to be available in the event of war.”

“That is ridiculous,” she said. “They can’t hold you to that requirement, you’re assigned to this world.”

As we idled at a stoplight, I relaxed my hold on the bond, the concern and worry leaking through as I looked her in the eye. “I’m not happy about it either, but if we can keep them trapped in the frozen wastes, we keep them that much farther from Ponyville and the mirror.”

The rest of the ride to the school, we rode in silence. Applejack and Rainbow met us there, AJ leaning against the rebuilt front fender of her old pickup.

“Thanks for keeping an eye on the place, Dash,” I said as I lofted her the keys to my car. “No wild parties, now.”

“Heh, that’s more of Pinkie’s thing,” she said. “I’m more likely to just rock out and veg out.”

“Which is why Applejack is going to be staying too,” Twilight said, smiling at the farmer. “Making sure the plants get watered, the mail making it to the desk, and riding herd on you.”

Rainbow raised an eyebrow. “Oh, really?” she said, glancing at her girlfriend.

AJ tipped her hat back a bit before jerking a thumb at the lasso thrown over the headrest of the passenger seat of her truck. “Even iffen Ah’ve got to tie ya down to get ya under control.”

“Kinky,” Rainbow said. “I’m in.”

I facepalmed and groaned before moving over and hugging the other two goodbye. Twilight followed and we fastened out elements on before ducking through the portal.

“I’m still not used to seeing wings on you full time, Sunny,” Sunshine said as we trotted to the map room of the Castle of Friendship.

“How do you think I feel?” I asked as we entered, finding Spike about to dump a basket of scrolls and opened mail onto the table.

“Hey, no!” I said, grabbing the basket in my aura and lifting it up. The dragon hung from the basket for a moment in the suddenness of my grab.

“Heya, Sunset, Sunshine,” he said, dropping down. “What gives?”

“Sorry, Spike,” I said, lowering the basket to the ground. “It’s probably not a good idea to dump something with complex magic woven into it onto a powerful magical artifact. We don’t exactly have a pair of sacrificial halflings around to go drop it in a volcano if it turns malevolent.”

Spike frowned at that, confused.

“I get that reference,” Princess Twilight said as she came into the throne room. “Though the table does seem to be more solidly attached to the castle than a gold ring.”

We exchanged hugs, Sunshine eyeballing the difference in height as though she had never noticed it before. Twilight and I were both taller when standing next to her, and our longer horns did nothing to diminish our vertical differences.

“How did I not notice this last time?” she whispered. Twilight looked at her and frowned.

“Well, Sunset's taller, that’s for sure and evident because of her ascendance,” she said. “But I thought I would have been just a little shorter than her or you, but I’m nearly the same height.”

Twilight glanced at her, measuring mentally. “You are a little taller,” she said, looking at her closely. “And your horn is longer as well. Maybe it’s a result of the Midnight Sparkle manifestation?”

I looked at my marefriend closely, noticing the changes now that Twilight had pointed them out. “You don’t think she ascended too, do you?”

“Well, I don’t think she could fully ascend like you or I did,” she said. “Alicorns are part of the world you and I come from, but she’s fully human. Even infused with Equestrian magic as she is, I doubt a full physical change like that could be manifested.” She closed her eyes and lit her horn, pointing it at Sunshine. “That’s interesting,” she said after a moment.

I lit my own horn and saw a similar aura surrounding her as I saw from her counterpart, indicating high-level mana reserves.

“Well," I said, nuzzling my love. “Looks like you're still full of surprises.”

She blushed before turning to Twilight. “So, is that one basket all the suspect mail?” she asked.

“Unfortunately, no,” she said, pushing some doors open to reveal a hallway lined down both sides with similar baskets.

“Twilight,” I said with a slight edge of annoyance in my voice. “How many baskets are out there?”

“Two hundred thirty of random mail,” she said with a sheepish grin. “Two hundred of notes and scrolls I’ve gathered exploring the Castle of the Two Sisters.” She levitated two more baskets into the throne room. “I’ve sent for food from Sugar Cube Corner for later.”

“You’ve got to be joking,” I said as I started pulling scrolls out and scanning for mana traces. “There’s no way you get that much fan mail.”

“Maybe they’re love letters,” Sunshine said. “She is one of the more eligible mares in Equestria, after all.”

Sunshine and I giggled as Twilight puffed up her cheeks in frustration.