Familiar Skies: Part 1

6 Months Later...

Sunset Shimmer felt her eye lids droop with exhaustion; she quickly- and discreetly- blinked them rapidly, making herself stay awake and pay attention to the task at hand. The older pony speaking at the base of Celestia's throne had been going on for some time about the confusing nature of pricing farm goods in smaller towns, compared to larger cities.

Admittedly, Sunset wasn't certain what this tangent had to do with what the farm representative had requested a meeting for, but it seemed the old stallion was keen on using his precious 15-minute council. Other elite ponies attended these meetings as well, and were generally in charge of what ponies did, or didn't get to plead their case in front of Celestia. But when it came down to it, the only opinions that really mattered where Celestia's- and as it had been for the last six months, Sunset's opinion as well.

While trying to pay attention and also keep her mind active, Sunset quietly lifted up her clipboard, stacked with the week's worth of to-dos. She glanced at what the initial statement request had been for the representative. "Better working conditions for small-town farmers, and good living wages for farms that supplied larger cities."

That seemed reasonable enough, and Canterlot funds had no reason to not help support the farming community. Sunset, despite not really paying attention to the ramblings of the older pony at this point, made a mental note to sign her own approval for this request.

Finally, the stallions' time was up, and his ramblings were cut to an abrupt end. Sunset sighed, thankful that was their last request hearing for the day. She and Celestia thanked the pony for his time, and he was escorted out of the throne room. Not long after, the other council elites also filed out of the throne room, at last leaving only Celestia and Sunset.

Sunset glanced down at the schedule, marking off one more item on the list. "Well, your highness, it looks like you'll need to be on a carriage in about 15 minutes." Sunset glanced up at Celestia, smiling as she stood from her own seat, which sat a few steps down from Celestia's throne. "I can see you out, if you'd like."

Celestia nodded, and arose from her throne. "Actually Sunset, I was hoping you could accompany me to my next event." Sunset gave a puzzled look and glanced back down at the listing, which gave only the title of her Queens next scheduled event.

"Student Entry Test Evaluations"

Sunset blinked, mulling over the words written, when it finally hit her what it meant. The school year would be starting next month after-all, and it was time Celestia began excepting new applicants. "Oh..." She said, lifting a nervous hoof and rubbing at her temple.

"Y'know I don't think that would be the best idea." Sunset replied, walking along with Celestia as the two left the throne room, and began heading towards the carriage stables.

"Why not?" Celestia asked.

"Well- I don't think I'd be of much use... I mean- you're the one who decides what students will be accepted into your school- and the judges, of course." Sunset Shimmer replied.

"I'm not asking you to attend to judge any potential students." Celestia replied, pausing as she considered her next words.

"I'm asking you to attend as my friend, and I believe that it would be beneficial to you to see what the next generation of magic wielders has to offer." Celestia concluded.

"Uh-huh." Sunset replied.

"Only if you want to attend, I won't make you go." Celestia chuckled. "Although, I suppose you'll have many more tasks on that list that could be completed without me being here." Celestia smirked and glanced at her former student.

Sunset snickered and smiled back. What the heck- why not? She thought, it'd certainly take her mind off of castle work for a few hours. Guard ponies nodded to the two mares as they walked out of the castle doors and stepped into their carriage.

Despite Sunset having officially been made Celestia's advisor for some time now, she found she was still not used to the classy treatment that came with being the Queen's second-in-command. She supposed it was that part of her that came from a small, humble town.

The sky was a vibrant blue, and a cool breeze graced Sunset's face as the carriage began its travel to Celestia's school in the heart of the city. Sunset Shimmer wasn't one for such sentimentality, but even she couldn't deny the simple, purely happy energy the blue sky and warm summer day had to offer. It was a feeling of overwhelming joy and peace that could give a pony hope for the day.

The ride was shorter than Sunset Shimmer was expecting, short enough in fact, to make her wonder why the two simply hadn't used a teleportation spell to get to the school. It had to be about presentation, she decided. Ponies were comforted by seeing their Queen arrive via carriage and be greeted in the proper fashion. Just as the carriage came to a stop just outside the school's gates, ponies had gathered like moths to a flame.

They buzzed, and talked amongst themselves, and were generally giddy to see their Queen. Sunset noticed also, the many eyes on her as she stepped down from the carriage. There were enough guards around to ensure neither mare was physically unsafe, but that didn't stop Sunset from feeling a cold shiver as she averted her eyes from the many that watched her.

That- she decided- was the worst part of being around Celestia all day. The faces that watched them. Looking on at their Queen in awe, and then in fascination, or resentment, or confusion at Sunset. She hated it, and whether it was six months- or ten years- she was sure that would never be something she'd get used to.

Sunset trotted quickly alongside Celestia, eager to be behind closed, and more importantly, restricted doors. The two walked and were directed to the testing room, where all the applicants would be tried on their magical abilities.

A wave of nostalgia washed over Sunset as she entered the test room, remembering her own examination years ago, still barely past the age of earning her cutie-mark. Someone more emotional would have shed tears at the sight, but Sunset simply gave a small "Hmm..." at the sight, and promptly took a seat beside Celestia. It was odd to her, though, being on the other side of the testing room. She remembered how imposing it was to walk into a room of adults, all perched in high-up seats, pens levitated, waiting for you to do something right- or wrong.

She hoped whatever foals were waiting on the other side of those doors had the bravery and strength needed for this test. Sunset knew all too well the devastating blow that failure could leave, and for ones so young, it was more terrifying than anything.

Far away from Canterlot, spanning across Equestria and nestled into a sea-side chunk of land sat Manehatten- a bustling, crowded city. Sat within that crowded city was a small, but homely house, crammed in-between many other houses of the same design. Compact living, with enough room for ponies to live comfortably.

Within this compact home lived the Orange family and a visiting family member. Early summer mornings for the Oranges were usually spent talking at the kitchen table while enjoying orange-themed breakfasts and treats. As Aunt Orange set down her plate on this fine summer morning, she noticed the lack of her nieces' presence, and promptly walked to the door of their guest room.

Aunt Orange carefully, and politely raised a hoof and knocked on the door. "Applejack dear, breakfast is ready." She said her tone was sweet and slightly worried. "I tried to get some apple juice for you- but the market was all out." She heard a slight shuffling from the other side of the door, and finally, a reply surfaced.

"... I'm alright Auntie Orange... I jus' don't feel like eatin' this mornin'. Y'all go on ahead."

Aunt Orange paused at this, then gave a small sigh, unsure if she could say anything to help. "Alright, just be safe." Was all she could muster. If Applejack didn't want to eat, that was fine. But being in her home meant that Aunt Orange was responsible for her well-being. Although she was sure that adjusting to city life wasn't the only difficult thing that the young foal was facing right now.

She just wasn't sure what she could do to help.

Closer than Manehatten, though still far off from the shimmering city of Canterlot- hidden in a dark, dim and dusty valley sat the Pie Family Rock Farm. Clouds hung heavy in the sky above the farm, and the three young foals nosed rocks along the field, their minds numb with boredom.

In particular, the pale-coated Pinkamina Diane Pie was intensely bored. Being raised to push rocks along a field, it didn't take long for her body to fall in rhythm with her work, leaving her mind with nothing to do- but be bored. The dark clouds in the sky above would seem to tease on-coming rain. But, as Pinkamina had seen, growing up on this land, rain rarely came. Rather, the clouds were there for... aesthetic purpose, only adding further grey-ness to the already bleak scenery.

Pinkamina gave a final, tiny shove to the rock she'd been moving, using her hoof to adjust it to the pile she'd added it to. She stood for a moment, looking down at the rock, and then surveying the other, same-colored rocks. She huffed, knowing the next morning there'd be more rocks to shove.

And the day after that, more rocks to shove. And the day after- the day after that, there'd be more rocks. And the day after- the day after-after that there'd be-

The closest town to Canterlot sat at the base of the mountain, the small and homely town of Ponyville. Being such a small but comforting town, it was common for many activities, clubs, plays, etc. to be found happening in the town year-round. One such activity involved the foals of the up-coming school year being involved in putting on a play for their parents and future classmates.

Roles were given to each foal to help the production run smoothly. And one such filly begged for, and was given the part of costume designer. She took her job incredibly seriously, and took special care to ensure the performers looked amazing, as well as the costumes be functional. Despite her love of the craft however, she couldn't help but feel that something was off about the costumes.

"Nice" Her teacher had said. "Nice" wasn't good enough, and certainly not what Rarity was looking for.

This predicament was where the young foal was stuck now, sewing in more details onto the already finished pieces. But the extra embroidery and stitching could only do so much, and she felt more and more frustrated as she kept working.

She huffed, and tossed the orange flower head-piece back onto the table. It certainly looked better- but not what she wanted it to look like. The small unicorn looked about her make-shift sewing room, unsure of what to do.

Her mind was thrown off it's train of thought as she felt a spark of magic alight her horn. She looked up, only catching the tiniest glimpse of magic sparks. "What?" She asked, suddenly feeling her body being tugged and pulled off of her seat.

"Wait!" She yelped, her horn dragging her off her seat, and zooming out of the room. The magic carrying her paused for a moment in the hallway, before abruptly rushing her off again, this time to the door at the end of the hallway.

"Aaah!" Rarity yelped as she flew to the door- the still CLOSED door. She pulled her hooves up and braced for impact- but the door suddenly opened, and allowed her to be carried into the room. The magic dropped her on a clear spot on an old rug, and the sparks from her horn suddenly quit.

"Oh- What?!" Rarity yelled, confused, and frankly a little annoyed at the random burst of magic. She looked around the room, and became increasingly frustrated at the sight before her. It was just a storage room- corners filled with old, musty boxes. And miscellaneous pieces of furniture and large, bulky items scattered about.

"Thanks a lot HORN!" She screamed. Rarity stood up, and promptly walked out of the room, slamming the door shut behind her. She was more than ready to forget that odd experience. She had to finish those costumes, and fast. The performance was that night!

Within the heart of Canterlot, sat Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns, and inside those doors were fillies and colts, gathered and anxious to take their entrance exams and be accepted into Celestia's school.

Twilight Velvet and Night Light sat with their youngest child, and only daughter, as they waited for her turn.

Twilight Sparkle had been anticipating this day for weeks, preparing, reading and practicing everyday. She could hardly keep her mind on anything else. Velvet and Night Light made a point to help Twilight remember she would still be a gifted, wonderful pony, regardless of whether she succeeded or failed.

Their words though, didn't seem to hold much weight as they watched foal after foal enter the doors of the testing room. Very few of the unicorn foals that entered left with high spirits, which left Velvet and Night Light nervous for their daughter.

Twilight hadn't seemed to notice this however, as she kept going on about all the things she'd been practicing and what she'd read. She was interrupted by a voice calling her from across the room.

"Twilight Sparkle."

The fillies head shot up, and towards the voice- a mare that had been ushering in the fillies and colts before her. Velvet nodded to her daughter, and gestured towards the doors. Twilight nodded back, suddenly feeling nervous.

Twilight arose from her spot on the floor, and carefully walked towards the imposingly large closed doors. The mare who'd called her name opened them, and allowed Twilight and her parents to enter.

The foal shuddered as she took in her surroundings, and felt her throat go dry at seeing Celestia herself perched above the judges. The orange unicorn sat beside the Queen looked just as intimidating to Twilight. She gulped and stood frozen in the middle of the floor.

Her parents had moved to the far side of the room, and she looked to them for comfort. They gestured for her to smile, and Twilight did so, nervously. The doors she'd just entered from burst open again, and from it a stallion pushed in a cart, topped with a large spotted egg.

"Alright Ms. Sparkle," A judge said from the above seats. "You may begin."

Miles above the town of Ponyville, and it's surrounding forest, sat the majestic and fluffy city of Cloudsdale. The city's summer flight camp for foals was in full swing, and with only a month left before school began, the populous of Cloudsdale was enjoying every last bit of summer they could.

In particular, the summer flight camp was a favorite of pegasus children. It was great- if you had lots of friends, and enjoyed sports, and were good at flying. None of which, unfortunately, applied to Fluttershy. But it was custom to attend flight camp, regardless of skill, so Fluttershy had joined- a year late, but still joined.

Fluttershy hadn't enjoyed very much of camp the two and a-half month's she'd been there- but today was particularly terrible. She'd managed to stumble and tumble her way through the course, and sat disheartened on the cloudy ground, tangled in an orange flag.

"Nice going- Clutzershy!" Fluttershy winced at the voice of two colts who'd been persistent in tormenting most of her time at camp. She couldn't tolerate their bullying on the best of days- and today for sure would be a terrible time to deal with them. She quickly kicked her legs in an attempt to free herself from the flag's grip. Her movements only tangled her more in the fabric. She whimpered as she heard the colts come closer, along with their taunting remarks.

"Hey!" A new voice emerged, and Fluttershy looked up to see a smaller blue filly soar down from a higher cloud, and land in front of her. Her mane striped in a variety of vibrant colors.

"Leave her alone!" Rainbow Dash squeaked, her tiny wings flaring as she stood up to the two larger colts.

"You think you're any better than her? Prove it!" The other colt taunted.

Rainbow smirked and quipped back, "What did ya have in mind?"

Before Fluttershy knew what was happening, she was holding a signal flag in her mouth, and was perched on a single small cloud, facing Rainbow Dash and her bullies. Rainbow had challenged them to a race in her honor. And although Fluttershy was incredibly thankful for the intervention, she couldn't help but wonder why she'd been chosen to send off the race.

She didn't protest though, and as the foals around her counted down, she readied herself to lower the flag.

"Five,"

"Four,"

"Three,"

"Two..."

"ONE!"

Fluttershy swung the flag down, and the pegasus foals bolted- right at her. She yelped, dropping the flag. As the incredibly fast ponies sped past her, Fluttershy felt her balance on the cloud tremble, and her body began to fall.

She screamed as she fell, the rush of wind against her bag making her legs tremble and shake. She saw the cloud arena rapidly grow smaller and she was sure she was done for!

And then she felt herself fall onto something soft and small. Her scream was cut abruptly as she landed, and she quickly looked down. She was grateful for being saved... but confused as to what she was looking at. The flying creatures that saved her were beautiful, but very unfamiliar.

The pegasus whipped her head around and grew increasingly confused, but excited at her surroundings. She was hovering just above the ground. And was face-to-face with things she'd only heard of. The pretty flying creatures gently let her onto the strangely prickly "grass" and she felt her legs tremble slightly as she wobbled onto the ground.

She stood for a moment longer taking in the beautiful greenery around her. So many creatures, so strange and foreign to her, but so alluring. The plants, the trees and flowers- it was all so lovely, so amazing!

It made her want to sing!

Miles above, Rainbow Dash hadn't noticed the falling of her friend. She had a race to win, and she wasn't going to let what those foals had done go. She'd agreed to a race for Fluttershy's honor, and now that she was racing against those two colts- her honor was on the line too. She knew they'd never let it go if she lost to them- and she sure wasn't gonna let that happen!

The speed, wind in her mane- it was all so exhilarating! She felt as though she could fly like this forever. Far off, into the deep blue sky, soaring over everyone and everything... she couldn't imagine anything better than that.

Her enjoyment of flight was diminished, however, as the larger of the two colts shoved into her, almost knocking her off the course. "Hey!" She responded. Rainbow quickly snapped her attention back to the course. A sharp turn was up ahead, and she knew what to do.

Rainbow Dash quickly made a sharp turn as she continued down the course. Her opponent yelped as he turned slower, and promptly flew directly into a cloud border. One down, one to go.

The other, smaller colt was still ahead of Rainbow. The filly strained her wings, beating them faster and faster, sure she could catch up to her opponent. And she was gaining on him- something he didn't like. The colt's eyes darted around as he looked for a way to slow her down- not caring about catching the heat for cheating. He needed to win.

Just up ahead, hidden behind other, paler clouds was a small dark rain cloud. He was sure it would work, he just had to time it right. He began flapping his wings slower, letting Rainbow catch up to him, but staying just barely behind him.

As his body began passing the cloud, he turned, and kicked his back hooves into the storm cloud. He then sped up, moving out of the way just fast enough to avoid the trouble he just caused. Rainbow, though, wasn't quick enough to react, and screamed as she saw streaks of lightning spark and burst from the small cloud.

One spark struck the back of her neck, singing her mane and fur. "AAH!" She yelped, her focus on flying torn from her, she was sent barreling into a cloud wall beside her. She quickly sat up, and raised a hoof to the spot where the lightning struck. She sucked in air through her teeth. The skin was stinging and tender, and she winced as her hoof touched the area.

Her attention was quickly pulled from her injury as she saw more sparks and lightning emerge from the cloud, which was growing bigger and bigger. Rainbow quickly stood and began flapping her wings again, dashing away from the cloud. As she finished the course, and saw the colt- her new enemy- being praised by the other foals. She felt her blood boil and her vision turn red.

"Hey! You JERK!" She screamed, not slowing her flying speed as she neared the colt. Rainbow tackled the foal, nocking him and her into the cloudy ground. Before she could start laying hits on him, she felt herself being ripped away by a councilor.

"STOP!" The older pegasus scolded her, effortlessly lifting her away. "I outta call your parents about this! I-"

"STORM CLOUD!" Another pegasus yelped, pointing a trembling hoof at the now out-of-control, and massive storm cloud that was bubbling its way towards the foals and councilors.

The councilor that held Rainbow Dash promptly forgot the situation at hand, and began calling out to all the ponies around who could hear. "Everyone evacuate, head into the city!"

All around Rainbow Dash ponies began rushing away from the growing storm and towards Cloudsdale. The councilor that had torn her away from her justice set her down and began shoving her towards the direction of the others.

"Go- quickly!"

As Rainbow began trotting away with the other ponies, she stole a glance behind her, at the chaos left behind. The dark cloud was overtaking the race course, and spreading out across the sky. It thundered and sparked lightning, and made Rainbow shiver as she stared at it.

For the briefest moment, she wondered what that storm would mean for the ponies down on the ground.

She could only wonder.