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// A Prophecy [Slice of Life] 
// Story: Celestial's Half-hours 
// by Celestial 
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	Sunshine Smiles wandered the endless scape of her dream city, fully blended into the hustle and bustle of its imaginary inhabitants. Celestia had long ago taken a habit of dreaming herself a common earth pony sometimes, and spend her nights mingling with peers, living all the simple joys of pony games, hobbies, mundane conversations, and jobs, all blissfully first-hoof.

But her sleep had been troubled recently; even when calling for her, she could never manage to summon her dear dream sister, Selene, the enchanting and dignified midnight blue pegasus, to join her.

Not since she had used the Elements.

Wandering aimlessly the crowded streets of Everfree, a colourful tent caught her attention, drawing her to it, in a way Celestia recognized being too powerful for a simple pleasing of the eye. She felt compelled to enter, and so, Sunshine Smiles crossed the canvas door, finding inside a brown, bearded Earth pony in red and white exotic clothes, head wrapped in a turban, idly shuffling two dozen cards.

"Come in, o Protector - the trafficked roads are no place for a filly as troubled as you."

Sunshine cocked an eyebrow in surprise - he had called her with one of Princess Celestia's many appellatives. This figure knew a lot more than a simple dream character. Wordlessly, she walked to the divining table and sat on the stool awaiting her.

With a single, relaxed gesture, the magician brought the small deck across the table, leaving 4 cards in its path, and keeping the rest of them piled nearby. 

"It is a heavy burden that crushes you, sadly," he spoke, as he turned the leftmost card, to reveal a picture of An Earth pony and a Pegasus, one on the ground, the other in the air, locking passionate eyes on one another, separated by the twilight line that also divided the day and the Sun from the night and the Moon.


VI - THE LOVERS


"It has been a hard choice you made," he continued, "But also a choice born of love; a choice that forced you to make clear your loyalties, and who you cared about the most."

Celestia felt her throat choke at the pony's description: here where she had hoped to forget, at least for a night, all was revealed yet again, laid out plain as day. Yet, she couldn't even fathom to leave an occurrence such as this. With an heavy breath, she blinked to clear her blurry vision, and merely nodded.

Showing a compassionate smile, the diviner went on, and revealed the second card: A skeletal unicorn, carrying an old scythe in its black magical grasp, galloping through a field of withered grass and trees, yet showing green offshoots right behind his path.


XIII - DEATH


"Things end, but what is a conclusion, if not the occasion for another beginning?" The pony offered. "The cycle is ever moving, and anything that is brought out is merely an occasion for more to be brought in. Transformation is the way of all things," he emphasized. "And nothing is ever truly lost."

Sunshine's ears perked up; was he really saying there mas still hope for Luna? She couldn't almost bring herself to believe it yet; how was this possible? She had been confined to her Moon, being all even the Elements could do to fix things. She shuddered, feeling the dreadful thread of hope traverse her features.

Undeterred, the magician continued, flipping the third card, upside-down to her view unlike the other two: A white marble tower, struck by lightning in a storm, crumbling at the top, together with a giant plummeting Royal Crown, and two ponies falling to the rocks below.


XVI - THE TOWER


"Some changes, however, can be forceful, and not without their dark periods. The night comes before the day. One day, fate comes to sweep the board, and some ponies get washed away by the wave, and are left hoping that others will be able to hold the tide together."

Celestia struggled to let the meaning filter into her comprehension - Was that meant for her? Would she be unable to help? To aid her sister in her purification? Or would she just be banished somewhere so that the Eternal Night would actually come to pass?

Sunshine was trembling in her seat, the weight of Destiny pressing on her small shoulders; she felt enclosed, trapped, and was breathing laboriously.

With a reassuring smile, the diviner flipped the last card: A shining, radiant Sun, and Celestia herself walking forward with confidence, the sunflowers in the field having eyes only for her.


XIX - THE SUN


"Nonetheless, all stories are bound to a happy ending eventually - no matter the wait, success and accomplishment attend those who know their powers, and how to use them. War can only end in peace; hatred can only end in love; and just as well, separation only ends in reunion."

Sunshine blinked away tears, as her heart threatened to explode inside her chest. Hiccupping from the overwhelming stream of relief, excitement, resolve, and gratitude inside her, she acted on instinct - and jumped forward, over the table, to give the diviner the tightest hug she could deliver, upending the stool and scattering the cards in the process. The dressed pony took this in stride, and reciprocated the embrace with patient love, and caring comfort. 

Minutes passed as the magician's clothes were wet with an happy tear after another, and the silence filled with body-wrecking sobs.

One last time, they looked in each other's eyes, exchanging hope and gratitude. As the colours of the scene began to blend and Sunshine's body to lose feeling, the magician finally spoke. "Remember, o Blessed Sun," he said softly, "The Stars will aid in her escape. 

"Be prepared."