//------------------------------// // Pieces of the Past // Story: Tales of Equestria: Lost Pieces of the Past // by Noratcat //------------------------------// The sea moved in and out along the shores of Maretime Bay. The oceans of the world had existed long before Equestria was established. If it could talk it would have stories to tell. And sometimes those stories washed upon the shore. “What’s this?” Digging through the sand was a young earth pony foal, yet to fully blossom into marehood, Her orange coat shined in the sunlight, and as she dug, she recovered something that caught her interest. Grabbing it, she ignored the traces of sea salt upon her mouth and trotted through the streets until she reached a lighthouse. “Dad!” She said, putting the object upon a counter to speak. Hearing his parental title, a fellow earth pony looked over to see his daughter, “Oh Sunny there you are!” “Dad I found something!” The mare known as “Sunny Starscout” finally showed the object in question. Hanging by a chain was a faded object. The object in question was either metal or at least coated enough to give off the appearance of metal. It was hard to tell what color it was originally, but obviously, it was old. Faint traces of sparkles hung, and the object in question was crafted into a star. “Where did you find that?” Argyle asked. “It was lying in the sand, I think it washed up!” Sunny replied excitedly. Argyle smiled at his daughter’s eagerness. Sunny was always on the lookout for memorabilia from ancient Equestria. Her room was a testament to that. Opening the object up, a simple message lay inscribed. Be...me...ver. The phrase in question was faded, obviously due to the passage of time, which begged the question of how old the item was? “What do you think it means Dad?” Sunny asked. “I don’t know, but if I had to guess, this had some kind of importance to somepony.” Argyle responded. Though he didn’t know it, Argyle was saying it due to an inkling it had. Yet, the truth was unknown, as objects couldn’t talk. Any story or significance it held was known only to it. XXX Many, many, many, many moons ago… “Happy Birthday Grandma!!!” Twilight let out a tiny gasp as the three foals presented a present before them. It was a tiny box, so small it could fit upon her hoof. “Come on Grandma open it!” One of the foals, a filly urged. Using her magic, Twilight neatly undid the ribbon upon the box and opened it up, and what lay inside made her eyes grow wide. It was a locket colored a shining violet with sparkles. Seeing that the locket had a lid, Twilight opened it up and read the message inscribed within. Nearly blinking back tears, Twilight closed the locket and beamed at the assembled trio. “Do you like it Grandma! Huh! Do ya!?” Another filly, her youngest granddaughter asked. “Oh sweethearts I love it, thank you,” Twilight expressed. Pleased with herself, the young filly beamed proudly, “See! I told you she would like it!” Her youngest granddaughter exclaimed. Hearing that made the elder filly glower, “I never said she wouldn’t like it! I just said you went overboard with the sparkles!” Her eldest granddaughter shot back. “Simple colors are just so boring, I gave it some pizazz!” Her youngest granddaughter boasted. “Yeah well, I gave it my special magic to ward off the jinxies!” The last foal, her grandson added. “Nightshade, for the last time, there is no such thing as the jinxies!” Nightshade’s eldest sister spat. Nightshade delivered his sister a defiant look. “You don’t know that!” The filly held her head up high, not to give off an air of snootiness, but a sure definition of a royal upbringing. “I do know that because it’s statistically a fact!” She declared. Nightshade wasn’t deterred, keeping his look of defiance on his face, even as his sister continued to deride him. “Your jinxie obsession is just as weird as your mayonnaise phobia,” The middle sister snarked. Hearing that word provoked a hiss out of the young col, “Mayaonaise is evil! Mark my words!” The two fillies rolled their eyes, and Twilight could only half-heartedly chuckle. Her grandson Nightshade was a bit of an odd duck, having eccentric behaviors and beliefs. Then there were her two granddaughters, her eldest Aurora Daybreak, a studious girl who was keen on learning all of her grandmother’s past adventures. Most believed she had the potential makings of a princess. Then there was Glitter Morning. Unlike her elder sister, Glitter was a somewhat materialistic girl. She took pride in being the granddaughter of the ruler of Equestria, albeit for the privilege that came with it. Whether that would become a problem in the future remained to be seen. Whatever traits her grandchildren held, Twilight adored them all. Though the sheer fact she was called “Grandma” was somewhat odd, at least based on appearances. Though Twilight was the age one would probably become a grandmother, she didn’t look the part. If one were to look at her, they would be forgiven for mistaking her for her mentor Princess Celestia, with the tall frame and the flowing mane and royal regalia, but would immediately retract the minute they noticed the violet hue. When Twilight first took the throne, she looked like her normal alicorn self, but after one incident, one that resulted in the conception of her son Rune, the father of her grandchildren, transformed her into what she was now. She wasn’t sure if her aging had merely slowed, or halted completely? If it was the latter, admittedly she was worried. The very thought of outliving her friends and family frightened her. She had seen signs of aging in her loved ones, and it made her wonder if she was destined to be the immortal ruler of Equestria, at the very least until she passed on the mantle to a successor. For a brief moment she frowned as she thought of this, but quickly hid it just as swiftly as it had appeared.She wouldn’t worry about that, not on this day. Today was a day to celebrate, and she was grateful to spend it with the ponies she loved. And right before she attempted to break up the argument that had started between her grandchildren, she took one last look at the message inscribed within the locket. Best Grandma Ever! Though the ruler of Equestria was a title to be proud of, the one within the locket was what she was proud of the most.