The sun shone bright above, the heat pressing down over Canterlot like a blanket.
Nothing moved, the air still and clear, the cobblestones burning against my hooves as I walked. Nopony else was anywhere in sight, the trees usually lining the street dead and dried.
The only thing sounding between the buildings was the sound of my hooves echoing softly against the hard stone..
Clip. Clop. Clip. Clop.
The sun burned.
I could feel it against my back, against my leathery wings.
It felt like being in the middle of the desert. The heat was unbearable.
And it was getting worse at every step towards the castle. The castle of shining white marble, the gold roofs bright in the steady glare.
The gates to the castle were closed, the shining polished gold stinging at my eyes and I could see heat shimmers around them.
Spreading my wings, I took to the skies, flying over them and over to the main entrance. Those gates were open.
Going inside wasn’t any better. It went from a desert to a furnace, bright sunshine shining in through the windows, giving the marble and the hall an eternal light, like glass frozen in time.
I moved forward.
I knew where I had to go, no matter how hot things got.
The carpet was missing, nothing but bare bright marble. I could swear I heard sizzling each time I set a hoof down.
But they’ll last a bit longer before it started to hurt.
That was about four more steps in, each one getting hotter than the last.
I continued anyway towards the opened gates into the main throne room. That’s when I saw her, burning bright upon her throne.
Radiant shine coat, a mane and tail of flowing solar plasma, ever shifting, too bright to look at. She looked at me and her wings spread wider, glowing with an eternal light as she moved.
Missing any sort of adornments, no necklace, crown nor shoes.
And things got hotter, the heat ramping up from hot fire to open blast furnace. I could smell my coat and mane curling in the heat, smoking.
The unrestrained Alicorn of the Sun slowly got up, walking down the bare stone steps towards me.
Where her hooves touched, the marble glowed, going from red to bright to white in a second, bubbling and spitting liquid stone as her hoof lifted again.
I stood my ground.
I could feel her. Her power, her radiant glow. It was like staring at the sun from a close range.
She glowed eternal like a nuclear furnace, the flash of a nuclear blast frozen in time. Glorious and beautiful in all her horror.
“Page,” she said, her voice quiet but seemingly filling reality, “You… shouldn’t be here.”
I smiled at her, feeling the heat ramping up against me, my coat starting to smoke and I could already see it trailing of the point of my horn, “I am exactly where I should be, Sunshine,” I told her, “I think it’s time we end this, don’t you?”
“It is far too late for that, Page, “ Celestia said as she stopped before me, shining like the surface of the sun, “The time to stop this was far in the past.”
“No,” I told her, “No it’s not. Because this will never come to pass.”
Then I tapped my scorched hoof against the melting marble floor and stopped playing along. The burning heat went away as I solidified the dream around me and it rippled away from me in a circle, returning the throne room to its original appearance and the glare lessened as I felt myself return to normal.
Celestia stayed like before, shining and glowing.
“Hey Sunshine,” I said, “Looking hot today.”
Celestia blinked in surprise, looking around before looking down at herself before she slowly folded her wings again as a look of understanding crossed her face, “This… this is a dream…”
“It is,” I confirmed and walked closer with a small smile, “Or rather, you were having a nightmare. It looked like a bad one so I thought I should investigate. This was a new one.”
She nodded and slowly let out a small sigh, “It’s…. I have not had it for a long time. A very long time,” she said and slowly sank down to lay on the floor.
I moved around to settle down beside her, “Did anything happen?”
Celestia shook her head, “Not… really. It’s just been a difficult day today. Everything seemed to go wrong at once and…”
“You just wanted to burn it all down?” I asked, looking up at her, brushing my wing against her smooth feathers.
Celestia closed her eyes, shaking her head, “No. It was…” she started before she sighed again, “I just got… frustrated.”
“It got to you.”
She didn’t answer, instead she looked down at me, “How are the preparations going?”
“I’m going to kick his tail,” I said with a small smile, “Worried?”
“...A little,” Celestia said softly, “And so is my sister. She tries to hide it, but she is.”
“Don’t worry,” I said, smiling up at her, “I have a backup plan.”
Celestia raised an eyebrow, “Oh?”
“Mmm,” I confirmed with a smile, “A backup plan known as Twilight Sparkle. If everything goes wrong or if it’s a trap or something, she’s going to teleport me away.”
“So my sister said,” Celestia said and let out a breath, “I’m still allowed to worry, Page. I don’t like the thought of you getting hurt.”
I nodded. I got that more than well. If anything happened to Luna or Sunset or Twilight or… Celestia either…
I’d be displeased and the one responsible would live to regret that fact.
“Is that what caused this?” I asked and looked up at her.
Celestia shifted a shining wing, “Didn’t help at the very least,” she admitted, “This dream… I had it before. A couple of times during the centuries. After… my sisters exile. Not at once, it was decades before I had it. But I came to wonder what my Nightmare Moon would be like. That thought scared me. My sister is strong, always has been. But her powers… her domain isn’t as direct as mine.”
I nodded and flicked one ear, “The hottest mare in the world.”
That drew a small smile from her but she continued, “I had the dream a few of times since then. When I had an especially difficult day with a lot of stress. I… It sneak up on me. When I thought I had forgotten all about it. There it is. After… after my sister returned, I thought I was rid of it for good.”
“Sorry.”
“Not your fault, Page. It’s only partly from worry,” Celestia said, her sun warm wing brushing across my back as she gave me a small smile, “Besides, you’re here saving me from it.”
“Nobles?” I asked her, looking up at her.
She shook her head, “No. Talks with the Minotaurs once more, among other things,” she said and sighed, “They are… stubborn.”
“That they are,” I said before I sighed, “Time to wake up, Sunshine. Time to raise the sun.”
Celestia nodded and pulled her wing back before she looked at me, “Page… win,” and this time it was a tone of command in her voice.
I smiled before giving her a wink, “Don’t worry. Just going to wake up, get something to eat and then it’s back to practice again.”