Celestia sipped shakily at her tea, desperately trying to calm herself. While she was no stranger to nightmares, those that had plagued her the previous night were some of the worst and most constant. It had been months and yet Wrath still plagued her dreams. The red bastard.

Her body ached as she stretched what few parts of her body she could without too much pain. Despite her transformation into an Alicorn, along with months of recovery, she couldn't flex any of her extremities without her old wounds flaring up again. It seemed that Wrath had truly left his mark.

Perhaps in more ways than one.

Sleep had not come easily to her since she had shoved an axe into Wrath's porcelain face. She would wake several times a night in a cold sweat, the dagger she kept next to her bed floating in her magic, ready to slice and stab and kill. Her eyes would dart around her chambers and she would not breathe until she was sure that the danger had passed. Then she would realize that the danger had passed months ago.

Another sip at her tea. No not a sip, it seemed, but a long draft. The scalding liquid burned its way down her throat and made her eyes begin to water, but she felt better. The dreams began to fade, and the weight of her weariness made itself known, but she had work that would best be done in the few hours she had before the morning came.

A heavy tome floated her way, enveloped in a warm yellow light. It was soon followed by two more. The Encyclopedia of Law: Editions One, Two, and Three. Gods did Celestia hate those books. Taking another draft of tea, she turned to the next chapter she had to read. The Encyclopedia of Law: Edition One, Chapter Two.

It was going to be another long morning.

______________________________

“Tia.”

“Huh? What?” Celestia's head flew about the room as her blurry vision began to correct itself. Feeling something oddly wet on her cheek, she brought a hoof to her face. Drool. She must have fallen asleep. It was too bad she hadn't used the books for makeshift pillows, for all the help they had given her. She had only just made it to chapter three it seemed.

“Tia.”

And there was the voice again, small and high pitched, just off to her side. And there was now a furry something viciously poking her sides with a fury rivaling that of a smith's stoking iron. She didn't have to guess who was there. Now that she was royalty, no common pony would willingly touch her without her consent. Even then, there was only one pony who was ever allowed to call her Tia. So she drowsily turned to her rather impatient sister.

Luna withdrew that damnable hoof as Celestia turned. She stood with a slight, but ever present, scowl scrunched up against her otherwise adorable little face. She was much smaller than Celestia, nearly a full head shorter, but she had an easy grace about her. Her coat and mane were a striking set of blues that contrasted beautifully with her hard teal eyes. Hard but unsure, Celestia thought.

“What is it Luna?”

Luna scoffed. “Its time to raise the sun dearest sister, or hadst thou forgotten?”

Celestia groaned as she stood. “Luna, you know you don't have to be so formal with me when we're alone. Drop the thee's and thou's would you please?” Not waiting for an answer, Celestia turned back towards her chamber's bathing room.

Celestia's chambers were rather large and ornate, and filled to the brim with fluffy pillows and furniture. The curtains were full of bright and vibrant shades of green and blue, and patterned in the fashion of the waves that ever rocked the sea. The windows had been thrown wide, and several moonbeams shone through. Still she never felt comfortable. The walls were cold, uncaring stone coloured gray and chipped with age and weather.

She had thrown out all of Wrath's furnishings, and for good reason. Wrath had enjoyed rather... uncouth... tastes during his tenure as Emperor. She remembered retching for hours after she had flung the door wide that first time.

Not that she had been surprised. By the end of it, Wrath had committed worse atrocities than what was to be found in his bed. No, it had been the smell that made her ill, not the shock. One look had told her what kind of being he had been.

But this was no longer the time for such worry. With Wrath's death, her homeland had been reborn! The greatest blight that her world would ever face had been washed away, and the golden era of ponies lay on the horizon. So it had been shouted across the tables in taverns as the common ponies shared drink in celebration. So it had been said at the alters as prayer was lifted to the gods. So it had been announced by every noble as they genuflected and threw themselves prostrate at the foot of their thrones. The nightmare was over.

So why did her's keep recurring?

She pondered this as she sank up to her ears into the scalding bath she had drawn, much to her sister's annoyance.

“Is this really the time?” she barked, her face scrunching up, warning of a legendary hissy-fit to come if the wrong words were spoken. As terribly amusing as it would have been –Luna could have been a world class contender if anypony had bothered to turn such things into a competitive sport– to watch the meltdown of the ages, neither of them had the time.

“Absolutely. It is our royal duty to make sure that were are at least presentable at all times, no?”

Luna bristled, but said nothing. She gave Celestia a curt nod, then –gracefully– stormed out of the room. Satisfied that another crisis had been narrowly averted by her smooth and skilled diplomacy, Celestia focused once again on the luxury of actual soap. Gods how she had missed soap during the war. Being the commander in chief of a multicultural revolution had had many perks, but soap was rarely one of them.

Her bath was over far to soon for her liking. If anyone supposed to ask the farmers, they might have said it ran to long, that winter had little enough sunlight as is, proper princess etiquette or not, so could she please move her keister before we all starve?

And now her headache was back. She had almost forgotten about the grain shortage. She groaned as she trotted towards the door. It would be meetings all day again today. Gods how she would never get used to the meetings! Oh they were necessary, but most would be tedious or trivial affairs. 'Princess, I am glad to inform you that our treasury has benefited from increased taxes', or 'This pony chipped that pony's fence', or even worse still, 'This Clan is being mean to my Clan
Waaaaaaaahhhh'.

Though it would not be princessly to admit, Celestia had grown envious of Luna. No one came to Luna's nighttime court, so she was free to do as she pleased. No dealings with nobility. No tax meetings. It must be nice to have all of that time to adjust.

Time. Time was something she too frequently lacked. Ever since their ascension Celestia had been running around with her head on fire every day, hoping beyond hope that nothing would break before she went to bed. And break things surely would.

Celestia's father had been a smith, not a king. No one had taught her how to rule. So she blundered.

And what blunders they were. Clan Lulamoon lays claim to a swath of farmland due to ancient birthright? Reasonable. The land should go to the original owners, right? Too bad that land is currently claimed by Clan Sparkle by equally legitimate birthrights. Whoops.

Someone suggests a new tax be levied on the harvest, doubling the national treasury overnight? Fantastic. Clan Storm might have a small problem with it though, as that tax targets mostly earth ponies. Oh, and lets not forget those pesky farmers again.

Or the dinner with the Griffon Ambassador.

Celestia felt a small shudder stomp its way down her spine.

Celestia stepped across the threshold from her personal chambers to the common room between the two royal apartments, and was immediately set upon by the maids. They scrambled over each other, much like a ravenous hoard, shoving her regalia onto her hooves and neck and head. The already difficult nature of the task (most likely due to the lack of any real chain of command or organization) was compounded both by an unwilling victim, and her new height.

Soon enough though, the maids stepped back. Compared to most royalty she was dressed sparsely, but the armor-like jewelry she now wore was all that would fit her. Even still, the metal felt tight across her neck and hooves. She wasn't sure how much bigger she would get, but done growing she was not.

She gave the maids a dismissive nod before heading off towards the grand balcony.

____________________________________________________________________

Push. Lift. Push. Lift.

Working the bellows was a simple and steady motion. Push the air into the fire. Let it roar, then lift life back into the bellows. Make the fire breathe. In and out. Up and down. Push. Lift.

“That's enough for now Celly.”

With that a little pink maned unicorn (not that one would be able to tell it was pink under so much soot) stood back from the forge and watched as her father snatched a bar of white hot metal from its maw. His hammer came down with a precision born of decades of labor. Each strike forced the metal to writhe and twist into form and rhythm. He would fold it upon itself, then draw it out until it might tear only to fold it back. Soon enough, too soon in this cold, the heat left it, turning the metal from white to a muddy red. Back into the fire it went, and the filly back to the bellows.

Push. Lift. Fold. Draw.

This was the rhythm that Solaris had taught his daughter. Rhythm was the life blood of the forge, of ponies. It gave purpose. Station. Form. The smith was the master of rhythm, and there was no greater smith in Skyhold than Solaris.

Five more rounds with the hammer they went before the morning horn blew its note. Solaris sighed at the interruption of his work and set the metal aside. “Go wash yourself Celly and mind the counter while I am gone.” he spoke as he patted her head affectionately. The filly nodded before racing out of the shop and back into the house.

It was a comfortable place, one room carved into the side of Skyhold's mother mountain. A fire was nestled into its hearth in the back wall, bringing a steady warmth made one forget about the biting wind outside. Two cots sprawled around the hearth, upon one of which lay her little sister, sound asleep still. Thank the gods for that. For when Luna woke up, she would be hungry and fussy and demanding of all her big sister's attention. The little two-year old filly was absolutely adorable though, so Celestia didn't really mind.

Celestia sneaked her way to the washbasin on the other side of the room, careful not to waken Luna. She splashed her face and washed her short mane quickly, then made her way back to the shop. Just in time, she thought as she heard the door bell tinkle.

“Hello. How may I help.... you...” she began to stammer, her eyes wider than they had ever been. Standing in the shop was a cobalt minotaur, and by the gods was he big. His head was framed by two twisting ivory horns that had cracks running down their length. Two huge cloven hooves he balanced upon with an authority that was absolute. He wore six rings, five on his fingers inlaid with jewels, and one golden one in his nose. Across his muscled frame was strapped an axe, surely as tall as he was. On the whole, the shop seemed too small for him. Perhaps all of Skyhold was too small for him.

Celestia gulped, unsure if she should run. Minotaurs were not a common sight in Skyhold, and she had certainly never seen one this close, but they were not unheard of, though they typically camped outside of the city. Her father said that they guarded the caravans against bandits on their way to and from the city. He also said that they were very dangerous, that they could break bricks by squeezing them too hard, so she had better behave herself.

So she stared at him, and he at her.

But then a boorish grin came across his face, and a deep bellowing laugh burst from his lips. “Don't worry little one. I'm not here to eat you.” he said. Celestia breathed a mall sigh of relief. Good then. He extended his hand to her.

“My name is Calphir.”

_____________________________________________________________________

Celestia shook off the old memory as she stepped onto the grand balcony. Luna was already there, tapping a hoof impatiently. Celestia nodded to her sister as they took up positions on either end of the balcony. Celestia's horn lit with yellow light, her sister's blue. Celestia took a deep breath, and reached for the sun. She remembered her father having to do this everyday with the other unicorns in Skyhold. Hard to believe that she and Luna were now strong enough to do it alone.

The sun greeted her sleepily as she roused it. Celestia liked the sun, even if it was a bit lethargic at times. Soon enough, though, it was awake and eager to start the morning. Now came the hard part.

Celestia pumped her magic under the sun, and began to lift. She had never figured out where the sun was at night, but it had been no trouble to guess its weight. Absurdly heavy. Her magic groaned with effort, and soon her muscles joined it. Slowly the sun began to rise. Celestia risked a look toward Luna, who didn't seem to be having any easier a time with the moon. Celestia swore the two orbs were just like spoiled children.

Finally, it was done. The sun began to crest over the horizon and took control of its own trajectory, while the moon settled in to sleep, neither paying any mind to the two alicorns gasping for breath below. A small smile passed between the sisters. They were getting much better at this.

Celestia stretched before making her way towards Luna. The blue alicorn threw a subdued smile her way. Exhausted, probably.”How was the night court, sister?” Celestia asked.

“Absent, as usual. We would converse with thee, sister, but a carriage awaits us.”

“Carriage?”

“To the Crystal Empire.” Luna nodded to her guards, standing almost invisible against the walls, then began to trot towards lower floors. Celestia trotted after her, her own guards falling in line.

“The Crystal Empire? Why?”

Luna's head snapped around, eyebrows furrowed. “Is there a reason why I shouldn't?!”

“Curiosity, sister. Only that.”

Luna's expression softened. “We apologize. We do not know why we snapped.”

Celestia answered with an affectionate nuzzle. Gladly accepted.

A door flung wide to allow them into the gardens. Luna's carriage as a bulky, shiny black mound in the morning sunlight. Two burly pegasi were hitched to it, and seemed to be eager to take off. Luna turned to Celestia.

“We wish to visit Prince Somber and Crystal. We wish to know if they are in trouble.”

Celestia's eyebrows rose. “Is there something amiss?” Luna shook her head.

“Only rumors. Little things. Prince Somber spends his nights without sleep. Crystal refuses to see anypony and the like. 'Tis likely nothing.”

“But you go anyway.”

“But We go anyway.”

Another nuzzle, and Luna crawled into the carriage. “We will write if there is anything amiss.”

The pegasi, as if they had been whipped, charged forward, their wings pounding out a harsh beat. Upward. Upward.

Sister, I hope you are right.

Gone.

Author's Note

Note: Nightmare is an unedited volume.