Familiar Skies: Part 1

Queen Celestia

A tea cup levitated by magic settled onto a similarly decorated plate with a small *clink*. Celestia sighed and returned her attention to the paperwork before her. That was one thing she never found she enjoyed doing as Queen, even after all these years as ruler. And it seemed to her, that as the years went on, and ponykind advanced in technology, the amount of paperwork to be done just kept growing.

"Let's see..." she mused, using her magic to lift up a cup of quills.

The revisions to the west wing needed to be underlined in this form... and the approved projects needed to be circled in red. Now what about the budget reque-

"AH!"

Celestia dropped the quill cup, and lifted a hoof to her head. A sharp, stabbing sensation hit her, jabbing right on her temple, where her horn connected to her skull. She reeled away from her writing desk, her large white wings flailing out in response.

Her horn lit up in a burst of uncontrolled magic. Celestia opened her eyes, hoping to gain some control of this sudden attack. But when she opened her eyes... she was no longer in her study.

She stood in a dimly lit room, the walls composed of old stonework, and the ground beneath her was a faded red carpet. The pain in her head suddenly subsided, now only a dull ache. The room was... familiar. Ahead of her, the room grew bright; several colorful lights were moving towards her, and fast.

As they drew near, she recognized them as the Elements of Harmony. Their small gem-cut shapes became clearer. They flew up to- and then through her! Celestia turned as they flew through her, only feeling a slight chill as they did so. As she turned, the scenery changed around her once more.

Now facing the direction the elements were flying towards, Celestia stood in a dark, overwhelming forest. But, this time, she was not alone. All around her stood silhouettes of ponies, though she could not see them clearly. Their figures were hazy and dark.

Turning her attention back to the elements, she saw them stop some distance ahead of her. They stood still, floating in midair. And from the dark forest, she began to see a figure appear, walking towards the soft glow of the elements.

Her blood ran cold, chilling her entire body. From the deep shadows of the woods, emerged the figure of Nightmare Moon. Like the other ponies, she was not entirely clear in her appearance. But, as she drew nearer to the elements, her figure became more defined. And that same vicious expression... was just the same as it had been nearly one thousand years before.

Celestia watched, drenched in fear, as Nightmare Moon approached the elements. With swift vengeance, she stood and came crashing down on the elements, shattering them into a thousand sparkling pieces.

"NO!" Celestia wailed, bolting forward.

As she lifted her hooves, the scene changed once more. Celestia reeled from the sudden shift, and stumbled as the dark forest faded away. Like watercolor bleeding onto a page, a new scene took over, washing the former darkness in pale sunlight.

Celestia now stood in a room again, this one resembling a hallway from the castle she resided in now. The walls were the same off-white color, decorated in deep purples, vibrant golds, and rich reds. She stood facing a large wooden door, also closely resembling any that could be found in Canterlot Castle.

The door began creaking open, and from it, a bright light poured out. Celestia lifted a wing up to her face in response, squinting. The door creaked open a little more, and from it, four foals came galloping out of the light.

Celestia lowered her wing slowly, letting her eyes adjust to the bright light. They were four unicorn foals... and she recognized one of them... she thought. But, where had she seen them before? This sudden vision held Celestia's mind in a slight daze... she couldn't recall specific details at the moment.

The three other foals, she was sure, she hadn't seen before. They galloped around her, as if she didn't exist at all. They were giggling and bounding around each other, talking excitedly and laughing. Celestia couldn't hear anything they were saying. Their voices were muffled, as though speaking underwater.

She watched them gallop off and out of her sight. They felt... familiar to her, in a way she couldn't describe. She turned back to the open door, each wooden slab now fully open. Celestia closed her eyes, and walked into the brightness. She felt the warmth of the light wash over her, calming her and refreshing her mind.

When she opened her eyes again, she was in her study once more. The vision was over. Celestia lifted her knocked over quills, and gathered the papers she'd been working on, setting them on a nearby shelf. They would have to wait until later.

She had something more pressing to do.

Sunset Shimmer

Sunset sat on a particularly comfortable chair on one of the many balconies lining Canterlot Castle. A small pile of papers and schedules sat on a side table, as well as a sweet, fruity drink she'd requested before the kitchen staff left for the night. Despite the work she was doing, Sunset found she was actually quite comfortable with this evening's setting.

It was surprisingly warm for how late it was, and the schedules she was presented with all seemed to be lining up in her favor. The eraser end of her pencil was clenched between her teeth. Sunset had been so involved in her work, she hadn't even noticed that she'd been chewing on the pencil eraser. She only noticed when she had to remove it to mark down a note on her personal schedule.

"Oh." She remarked, a little grossed out by the chewed rubber bit.

Sunset sighed and set the pencil down, stretching and shifting in her seat. The sun had set only a few minutes ago, and there might still be some more work to do... But Sunset felt it alright to call it a night and settle in for bed. Just as she was lifting her cup to finish the last of her drink- a bright flash of light startled her, and she looked in the direction it came from.

Celestia was now standing on the far side of the balcony. She knew it was a large castle and a lot of ground to cover... but really? Teleportation? Sunset sat upright, desperately hoping that Celestia couldn't read thoughts.

"What is it?" Sunset asked, already gathering up her papers and clipboard. "Is something wrong?"

Celestia smiled and shook her head.

"No Sunset, everything is alright." Celestia replied, opening the glass doors of the balcony with her magic.

"But there is something of importance that I wish to discuss with you, if that is alright." Celestia continued, walking through the door, and holding it open for Sunset.

"Um, yes? I mean- I AM your advisor... after all!" Sunset replied.

Of course, she still wanted to crawl under her sheets, BUT her duty to her queen came first. And although Celestia's tone was calm, Sunset was still weary of her sudden appearance. Something was clearly going on.

Sunset followed Celestia all the way to Celestia's study, placed just above the castle's library. Sunset set down her papers on a small table and continued to Celestia's writing desk. Celestia had not spoken a word as the two walked, and it was beginning to worry Sunset.

Celestia levitated an armchair next to her desk, and sat down. Sunset, eyeing Celestia suspiciously, took a seat on the stool at Celestia's writing desk. When she had still been a student, Celestia often let Sunset use her desk for writing assignments or studying. It was usually a comfortable place for her. Now... not so much.

Sunset cleared her throat and glanced at the desk, noticing a pile of blank scrolls, envelopes, and Celestias' personal wax seal stamp.

"Sunset, do you remember the night that... That I asked you to stay and become my advisor?" Celestia asked.

"You mean the night I was going to betray you?" Sunset thought.

The sting of her "almost-betrayal" coming back in full force. She wondered whether she'd ever be able to move on from that night.

"Yes, I... How could I forget?" Sunset replied, trying her best to keep her tone calm and collected.

"I had mentioned that the day Nightmare Moon... my sister, will return to Equestria... It is not far off from now." Celestia continued.

"Mhm." Sunset replied, unsure of where this was leading.

That information- in the wake of Sunset's breakdown and subsequent promotion- was admittedly brushed aside. Sunset had found it to be of slight interest when Celestia had brought it up, those many months back. But since then, Sunset truly had not given it any further thought.

"I received a vision of her return." Celestia conceded, her eyes sharpening ever-so-slightly as she said this.

"Oh! ...Really?" Sunset stiffened slightly at this mention, her full attention on Celestia's words.

"What did you see?" Sunset asked cautiously.

Celestia's gaze fell, landing on the floor for a moment, then lifted back up to meet Sunset's eyes.

"I saw her destroy the Elements of Harmony." Celestia replied, her tone certain.

Sunset felt her skin tingle, and her hairs stand up. That wasn't possible, right? The Elements of Harmony can't be destroyed; they're meant to be the ultimate magical protectors! Or so everypony had been taught.

"A-are you SURE that's what you saw?" Sunset asked, lifting a hoof onto the desk to steady herself. "Maybe you just had a bad dream?"

"No, Sunset. It was a vision of events yet to come." Celestia lifted a hoof to Sunset's chin, and gave a warm smile.

"But, I believe I also received a vision of how we can prevent that future from taking place." Celestia sighed, lowering her hoof again.

Sunset blinked, mentally resetting herself. None of this was making much sense to her, and Celestia's mostly calm demeanor certainly wasn't helping anything.

"Your highness- Celestia, how- what are you talking about?" Sunset asked, still holding back her full confusion on the matter.

Celestia laughed faintly and stood from her seat, walking around the room slowly, though still addressing Sunset as she did so.

"It is confusing, I understand." Celestia remarked. "It would be a lie to say that I fully understand the vision I received. Visions, in my limited experience, are often like that."

Celestia stood before a tapestry hung on a far wall. A scene of ponies of all kinds playing and living together displayed on it.

"They are not always so obvious. I do not always know what they mean when I receive them." Celestia walked away from the tapestry, and back towards Sunset.

"But, I find that in time... I understand their purpose. Their symbols, their imagery... in time are fully revealed to me." Celestia came up to another tapestry, this one far older and paler than the one before. Two alicorn sisters decorated it, their bodies encircling an intertwined sun and moon.

"I do not wish them to always be that way." Celestia uttered, more to herself than Sunset. "But it is a miracle that I receive them at all."

Celestia returned to her seat beside Sunset, sighing deeply. "Whatever lies ahead... I cannot say for sure; I do not know exactly what lies ahead. But I do know who I trust, and who will help me to understand these things."

Sunset smiled, and glanced at the stack of papers once more. Celestia nodded and settled down in her seat.

"Now," Celestia remarked, "I need you to draft some letters."