Chapter 3: Recollection

When Luna awoke from the vision, Celestia had already returned, and was facing her sister with a concerned look.

Luna had to think for a moment on how too explain the situation to Celestia. She took a deep breath and started talking. "I was asked to go check up on Discord and find out if he's been having any dream problems. When I got there he seemed a lot sadder than the usual Discord. After we talked some, he gave me this to allow me to see the past, which he called fragment of the past, so I would know why he is upset."

She levitated the flask to Celestia, which was not emptied in the slightest despite Luna taking a drink from it.

Celestia was quiet for a moment. Taking the flask in her own levitation to look it over. She then looks up at Luna.

"What did you see sister?"

"... Not any creature I recognize, it almost seemed like a different planet entirely."

This made Celestia very curious. But before either of them could continue, Twilight teleported into the throne room.

"What happened? What did you See? Who gave you the potion? Did you witness a huge event that you had never before seen?" Twilight asked right after the other with no time in-between to respond.

"How did you.." Luna was about to ask, before being cut off by Celestia.

"Pinkie told me that the flask was similar to one that Twilight drank once, and how her eyes glowed white just as yours did. So I sent Pinkie home and got a message to Twilight so we could have her input."

The little purple alicorn stood there eagerly awaiting answers to what happened. Luna hesitated not knowing how Twilight would react, but spoke up anyway.

"Discord gave us this to allow us to see his pas-"

Twilight suddenly appeared right in front of her snout. "Tell me everything!"

The royal sisters grinned a bit as Celestia magically scooted Twilight back a bit. Luna then had to think on how to explain herself.

".. Twilight, you said that you thought where actually there, correct?"

Twilight responded. "I could walk around and such but, I don't remember being able to touch anything other than the floor."

".. with the one I used, I was just kind of floating, I didn't even feel like a pony. I couldn't speak, I couldn't see my own hooves, I could only listen and witness.." Luna answered.

"Perhaps it would be easier if we viewed your memory of the past sister?" Celestia said as she leaned into the conversation.

Celestia's horn glowed and suddenly, the three of them where in a space like realm with a white square in front of them ready to be viewed.

Twilight looked around frantically. "Wait, This is the place you took me when you transformed me into an alicorn."

"She takes us here at times so we can see your adventures first hoof Twilight, we call it the Plain of Memories." Luna said.

"I accidentally discovered it during the millennium that I watched over equestria alone." Celestia added.

Luna blinked a few times and turned to Celestia. ".. You never told me that, you know that its risky opening portals to unknown dimensions sister."

Celestia was quiet for a moment. "I wanted to see if there was help out there.. I wanted you back, I wanted Star Swirl back, I wanted things to be like old times."

Luna lightened the mood and bumped against Celestia. "Well thanks to your student here you have us both back."

Celestia smiled and turned her head to Twilight, who smiled back at her.

The white alicorn took a deep breath preparing her magic. "Alright, let's us view the distant past."

They saw the great palace above the clouds, with temples all about and very large pillars in neat rows leading to the center of the palace.

"It seems similar to ancient pegasi architecture, only it's grounded on a tall mountain." Twilight began.

"You are about to see that it's not being ruled by pegasi, Twilight.." Luna said.

When the man on the throne appeared, Twilight gasped as she saw a figure that was very similar to the inhabitants of the dimension where Sunset Shimmer lives. It was even more surprising when one with wings appeared. After the two briefly spoke to each other and the winged one took off, they took a long look at the destroyed earth bellow the clouds. When it became quiet, Twilight began to speak what she knew.

"Those creatures.. are called humans, they are similar to the beings I found in Sunsets world. Only they don't normally have wings, they only have them when magic from our world is involved.."

Celestia was thinking long and hard about the far distant past. "Not even the alicorns that looked after us told us anything about this.."

"... Do you think they knew about it, but didn't want to tell us?" Luna added.

"That is a possibility.." Celestia answered.

Twilight looked at the two and coughed some, unsure if she wanted to ask the questions she had.

Celestia slowed down the fragment and looked over at her faithful student. "Did you want to ask something Twilight?"

Twilight had to take a moment to get the energy to speak up. ".. I read your Journal that I found in the old castle.. It talked a little bit about some other alicorns and canterlot castle.."

The sisters remained quiet allowing twilight to ask whatever she desired.

"I.. never wanted to have to ask you this, but now seems like the time if ever.. What happened to your parents, and how did you become alicorns?"

Celestia was silent, she stood still with her eyes closed for what seemed like forever. Long suppressed emotions eventually filled Celestia, and she had to sit down for a moment to collect herself. Twilight rushed to her side. "No Wait! I'm sorry, I shouldn't have asked!"

"No, I should have told you sooner, Twilight.." Celestia reassured her as Luna joined in on the other side, It was obvious that she doesn't remember that far back as well as Celestia does.

Celestia took a deep breath. "After we finish witnessing this, I will tell you all about it, and we will figure out what to do from here. Twilight, you may have to close your school for a few days, I know it's everything to you-"

Twilight put her wing around her and smiled up at her. "It's alright princess, I know how important it is to figure out what this means."

"As of right now it's just helping out Discord who will probably be better in a few days anyway. This is just about you two nerds not stopping until you know everything." She said with a straight face, before shifting into a chuckle. Celestia and Twilight joined in.

"at the very least, it will be easier to sympathize with him for now on after we know how he came to be."

Celestia felt better now, she stood up and and resumed the fragment.

They saw the man walk from statue to statue, and Celestia and Twilight spotted the resemblance of the "Zeus" statue to the man. He eventually finished his walk around, observed the still sun, and then returned to his throne room.

"Long have I thought we would live forever. Yet here we are, with so few left alive." was the last they heard before the square just showed Celestia looking straight on back at them with a confused look on her face.

Celestia made the square fizzle away as she teleported the three of them back to Canterlot Castle, right inside Celestia's bedroom where Kibitz was tapping his hoof impatiently looking at the three. He suspected that wherever Celestia was, she would return to her bedroom first after returning, and in this case he was correct.

Celestia spun around to face him. "Kibitz, can you please tell Raven that we will have to make some schedule adjustments for the next few days."

"How generous of you to tell me now after we have already missed several events." Kibitz said, very cross.

"Kibitz we're sorry but this is important.. ish.." Luna responded looking away as she finished with the "ish".

He had a very stern look on his face. Kibitz inhaled and took a big long sigh. "All of Canterlot will be at my doorstep but.. I'll see what I can do."

"Thanks Kibitz." Celestia said as he left through the door.

"I'll take it he is the same as always?" Twilight asked Celestia.

Celestia magically closed the door with a smirk on her face. "You don't know the start of it, Poor Luna gets PTSD every time he enters the room with a list."

Luna glared at Celestia and coughed some into her hoof. "Alright, back on topic. Did any of those names sound familiar to you?"

"It is the first time I have heard of any of them..." Celestia said as she slowly approached her window to look out at the Equestrian hills and mountains. "From what I picked up on, there was some large scale war, and many of the people represented by those statues lost their lives, including some human that possibly ruled over the sun before I did.

"Would Star Swirl know who controlled the sun before him and the other unicorns did?" Twilight asked.

"Equine history only goes back so far, i'm afraid. From what he told us, unicorns have been raising the sun and moon since recorded history."

"... So, we're stuck?" Luna said, laying down on her sisters bed.

Celestia turned around to face the two. "We hardly have any information on them at the moment, we should wait until tomorrow before we fly all over Equestria looking for answers. Until then.."

Twilight inhaled eagerly. The restricted section?

Celestia smiled and nodded. Twilight squealed and ran out the door and around the corner, Celestia walked after Twilight as Luna groaned and rolled over.

"It always goes back to book skimming doesn't it."

"You can take the pillow, just help us a little bit and in return I'll help you with dream duty tonight." Celestia replied at her.

Luna muttered. "Fine." Levitating one of Celestias pillows and herself out the door and into the hallway. Celestia following after her, sort of enjoying seeing her sisters lazy side again.

It was late in the evening, and books where pilling up into different towers across the floor. Twilight was barley awake as she skimmed one book after the other for anything about the people she saw in the vision. Celestia walked through a portal with a large amount of books in her levitation, setting them down near Twilight.

"I just finished helping Luna deal with tonight's nightmares, and thought I would pick up some other restricted books while I was out."

Luna would start snoring from off in the corner, laying down with a pillow under her head and a book resting ontop of it.

Twilight smiled over at her and then looked up at Celestia. "I was wondering, how does Luna visit dreams but remain in the physical world?"

"It's just a technique she picked up on, if you are ever dreaming and see that Luna looks a bit ghost like, then you will know that she is... sleeping on the job."

Both of them laughed as Twilight set the book she just went through aside. "You know, Luna told us once that you couldn't go into the dream realm normally."

"I just let her say that so she feels special and can say she is the only pony that can do something. The truth is I've been able to dream walk for quite a while."

Twilight thought about it for a moment and then nodded in acknowledgement. "You didn't happen to see Discord's dream while you where there, did you?"

Celestia shook her head. "I paid a visit to his house but he didn't answer, I wish that he would let me talk to him about this directly instead of him setting up a day-by-day reveal of events long in the past."

Twilight opened her mouth, but then closed it and looked away. Celestia saw her do this and walked over to sit beside her, putting her wing around her.

"You've been waiting all night to hear my story haven't you."

Twilight looked down and quietly replied. "... Yes."

Celestia took a deep breath. "Alright, this story begins a long, long, -long time ago..."