This story contains spoilers for the game Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion and the webcomic Prequel.
The guards started forward, shocked into action. "How dare you address Her Majesty in that vile way!" shouted the mare. "You will—"
Celestia raised her hoof. "Captain Roanault, please contain your indignation. Haurus, stand down. She's terrified, and justly so." Celestia locked eyes with Katia again. Katia's fear was permeated by another emotion—astonishment. The Queen of her dreams was never, never... thoughtful. Considerate. Worried.
And there was something else in Celestia's eyes. Something that Katia had longed to see all her life, which had come rarely enough from her parents, and never from anyone else.
Was this affection? Was it even a hint of... love? Actual, non-lust-driven, motherly love? Katia's fierce expression collapsed, leaving her slack jawed and helpless. She felt faint again, and crouched lower upon the floor.
The Empress spoke with compassion. "The dreams... They were horrible for me to bear. I can't imagine what effect they must have had upon you. You are very strong and brave to be able to look me in the eye, Katia."
Katia trembled. "We... we had the same dreams?"
"In mine, Katia, I would find myself in darkness, inside a dark cell, and in the cell a sleeping Khageet, with your face. And you awoke and became... not what you are, and you buried poisonous fangs and claws in me. And I died in torture and terror. Over and over and over..."
"Yes," said Katia. Tears brimmed in her eyes. "You know. But in my dreams it was you who attacked me, and..." She winced. "What—how did this happen?"
"The two of us were destined to meet—that much is clear. But something went wrong." The Empress shut her eyes in pain. "Something... did not want us to meet, and had no better means to prevent it than mental torture of the harmless and innocent." Her voice trembled with contempt.
"Please, Your Majesty," said Captain Roanault. "We must keep moving."
"Katia, I still see reserve in your eyes. Know that I mean you no harm, but there is a doom upon me and today is my appointed day. There will be blood and death before the end. My fate... is not to be your fate; you must find your own path. But it is meant for you to be the sun's companion, for a while. Please come with us."
Katia shuddered. She felt as if she was in the nightmare now, and that the Queen would show her true colors and bare her hideous claws at any moment. She was balanced on a razor edge between the reality of slow dark death in a dungeon cell and the red bright pain of her bleak dreamscape.
The abyss of Celestia's eyes held her. And there, and nowhere else, did she see a hint of calm beyond the storm, of love lying below turmoil, a fundamental and vital trust that gave the lie to fear and restrained unreason.
Katia chose. She rose slowly on unsteady hooves, and let go a shaky sigh. Her fetlock-irons rattled as Haurus released her chains. He left the irons on her, presumably to reshackle her later if necessary.
Captain Roanault activated a hidden lever, and a section of wall slid away, disclosing a dark gray passage of unfinished stone. "This way, Your Majesty," she said. She beckoned to a third guard. "Glenbay, you're with me." She and Glenbay entered, followed by the Empress.
Haurus guided Katia towards the passage. "Looks like this is your lucky day, prisoner. You're from Holsteinfell like me, right?"
Katia managed a very weak smile. "Yep. Born and raised."
"I could tell by your accent. Are you enough of a Redguard to swing a sword?"
"I—uhm, not very well, but I've swung a machete a little bit—a hatchet, I think I mean—"
"Then just stay back and let us protect the Empress. We're her Blades, and it's our duty."
***
The rough passage gave way to a vaulted hallway and room. Though ancient and neglected, the architecture seemed more polished and elegant than that of the Celestial prison proper and was clearly of much older construction.The air stank of must and old stonework, and the damp moldy walls absorbed the echoes of any noise, making it all seem more unreal. Katia trotted as silently as she could behind the three guard ponies and the Empress. The guards paused to reconnoiter, and Katia, increasingly fearful of the darkness behind her, made bold to approach.
"Don't try anything," snarled Glenbay. "I've got my eye on you."
Katia nodded faintly. "Your Majesty..." she began.
"You may address me as 'Celestia' if you wish, Katia. We've known each other long enough." She gave a wistful smile.
"Uhm, Celestia... uhm. Why am I even here?"
Celestia's smile grew stronger. "Did not your arresting officer read you the charges?"
"Uhm, yes. There was Tampering with the County Water Supply, but I was really trying to save it and get the slaughterfish out of it and I did keep it from getting poisoned, and Grand Arson which is just ridiculous because I didn't even burn anything down—"
Celestia chuckled. "What you've done doesn't matter. That is not what you will be remembered for."
No, I'll be remembered for being a drunken slutcat, thought Katia.
"The Nine certainly meant for us to meet, and perhaps that is why you were arrested," said the Empress. "But you will need to defend yourself ahead. Do you command any combat or shield spells?"
"Well, I can do this thing.." Katia used her unicorn telekinesis to lift a very small pebble. "...but I only figured it out about a week or so ago and I don't really have it down yet. And I can cast fire spells, but I never could until recently either, because in Holsteinfell they don't have many wizards and no one knew that I was born under the sign of the Atronach and can't regenerate magicka like everyone else does, and while we're on the subject there's this head of the Mages Guild chapter in Thvatch although she's kind of just the alchemist and I'd really like to register a complaint about her—"
Empress Celestia, whether from kindness or a desire to cut off the flow of babble, bent her head and touched her horn to Katia's. A surge of magicka flowed between them, and Katia fell quiet as the power overwhelmed her and her body tingled with the charge. She grew giddy and laughed nervously. Without warning, a nearby wooden bench burst into flame..
"Conserve that magicka, Katia," said the Empress. "You shall need it before the day is over."
"I'm sorry, Your Maj... estia, sometimes it just sort of leaks out of me and starts fires, and it gets worse when I get angry or humiliated, or someone makes a cat joke..."
"That's just purrrfect," snickered Captain Roanault.
Katia glared at her. "A non-obvious cat joke."
"Be nice to us, Khageet," smiled Haurus, "or you'll upset ocelot."
The bench flared with intense flame at its center and broke in half, showering cinders and sparks all over the floor. Katia cringed with embarrassment.
"Haurus? Captain Roanault? That's quite enough. Are we ready to proceed?"
"Almost, Your Majesty," said Roanault. "There's something I don't like about this room—"
As she spoke, dark armored figures detached themselves from the shadows and ran towards the Empress, deadly weapons glinting in the torchlight.