Bad Dreams

I gasped awake, panting heavily with my chest raising up and down. I was sweating and felt a horrible fear in my gut from the nightmare I'd just had. "H-Honey are you awake?" I asked the lump next to me, putting a hoof on Shining's back.

To my absolute horror when the lump turned over it was the King of Monsters himself, Sombra with his glowing purple and green eyes, his evil jet black coat shining and his horn and fangs pointed and menacing, looking ready to stab somepony. "Something wrong Princess?" he chuckled and that's when I truly woke up.

My heart was racing as I realised I had been dreaming deeply and was now finally awake. I had been crying but all the previous symptoms had carried over, feeling just as real as they had previously.

"Honey is everything ok?" Shining asked me, turning over and showing his beautiful face with his bright blue eyes. I smiled and as his hoof came down and wiped away my tears and replied "Just a nightmare Shining, nothing to worry about. I think I was working too hard yesterday, I'll relax a little today and oversee some smaller tasks" I told him, not wanting to talk about the dream.

"Alright but stay a little longer, it's still early" he said wrapping a hoof around me in a way that didn't exactly grant me permission to say no. "Do you think that we'll be alright?" I found myself asking and he cracked an eye open and asked "hmm?"

It was an odd thing to be worrying on an early Monday afternoon but I never the less asked "Do you think that we'll be alright you and I? I mean the danger is passed but in the long term? I mean there are I suspect plenty more crises to come."

Shining chuckled a throaty chuckle and replied "Well now who is a pessimistic pony today? We'll be fine hon, for now at least. I'm sure in twenty years time we'll both hate each others guts but until then can we enjoy the youthful romance and all the snuggles?"

I sighed contentedly at him and settled into his embrace, feeling his chest heave heavily every time he breathed. "Such a gentle pony" I thought. "I suppose the core reason among many as to why I married him."

I was able to maybe get another few hours sleep, waking up to the beginning of the afternoon with Shining already left to likely go and address the troops. "Typical, makes me sleep in cause he's concerned" I thought as I myself got up and prepared to get ready for the new day.

After trying to fix my mane and eating breakfast I opted to go to my office, amazed to find it cleaned and all the invitations of yesterday missing from the premises. "Good morning your majesty" came a voice from behind and I turned to see Sapphire wearing a much more modern dark blue dress that really brought out her coat more.

"Sapphire did you do all this I asked?" although it might have sounded more like an accusation. She was a little unsure what to say at first, going "uh" before I went over to her and placed a hoof on her shoulder. "Don't be nervous around me Sapphire, you've done a great job I mean I've never seen a tidier office and I've seen my share of messy Royal offices."

She seemed appreciative of me saying this but she still seemed to have that fear there, behind her eyes where she thought I couldn't spot it, obviously the remnants of the tyrant Sombre was some baggage for her like it was for most crystal ponies.

"I'm pleased that you have cleaned my office, believe me I was never going to get round to doing it but I want you to relax, I mean you look so regal" I told her and Sapphire sniffed replying "Thank you Princess Cadence for the opportunity to be your hoof maiden… I wasn't sure if you were joking with me or not."

I laughed and walked her to the chair opposite my desk and sat her down, taking my seat behind my desk and asking "What do you think is a problem in the Crystal Empire right now? Give me an insight."

She was surprised, almost shocked when I asked this and asked "W-Why do you want me to tell you Princess?" She was a little shaky I noticed and realised that Sombra had made an even worse impression of what a Royal was than I had in my few days of ruling.

"I know Sombra probably made a scary impression of rulers but believe me he's gone and I promise to rule the Crystal Empire fairly and without fear. So no Crystal Mines, no forced Labour, no ponies being locked up or snatched in the night. From now on there will be nothing to fear."

She seemed to have calmed down a little and after a few moments she murmured "T-There used to be a-a-a lot of Bakeries in the north b-but the King closed them all down and sent the owners to the… to the eastern ridge mine" Sapphire stopped herself as her lip quivered and some terrible memory surfaced so I asked "What happened in the eastern ridge mine?"

Sapphire was now not afraid to let her tears flow as she explained "The King ordered new tools and new extraction techniques to be tested there and… there was a huge collapse and a few hundred ponies d-didn't m-m-make it… my parents were in there and they…" she couldn't keep it together anymore obviously but I was already out of my seat and hugging her fiercely.

"I had no idea" I said as I hugged her, feeling fresh salty tears soaking into my coat and feeling like complete crap for having caused it. I knew there were deaths under the Sombra regime but I never heard whisper of so many accidental deaths or the such. Then again I also knew most records in Sombra's office had been destroyed along with all the decrees and documents.

It was clear now why Sapphire was so jumpy and full of fear, I myself didn't know what I would do if a loved one ever passed away I mean if Shining had died I would be lost.

I waited until she was sufficiently calmed down and run out of tears to explain "We're going to re-open these bakeries with grants to whatever families are left in the North and there will be a statue commissioned for the fallen of those from the mines placed looking towards the east."

Sapphire looked through red and teary eyes and mumbled "T-T-Thank y-you P-Princess." I smiled and told her, "Go and get cleaned up and I'll see you in the throne room in an hours time."

She bowed and immediately left, trying not to show her teary face. I sighed and sat back down. "Damn" I thought to myself, feeling a little sick as I picked up my parchment to start writing the necessary decrees to get those grants and those statues made.

It wasn't an easy think to think about, dead ponies and tears were not the way to start the new week and I cursed myself for being too cheerful. These ponies were happy but not all of them could simply drop all ties to the past and forget the injustice served upon them.

"I'll also mention a remembrance day" I thought as I yawned and stood up, heading for the throne room where I was going to hold my first ever Royal Appointments in which I had witnessed my aunt hold hundreds of time.

It was a good idea to help the ponies of the realm solve their problems and kept the ruler in touch with their subjects. They would book appointments and over maybe 10 minutes in which I would listen to them and and aid them. I would help ponies in disputes, with their ideas for business and technology and whatever jams they were in for the span of a few hours.

Sapphire was back, waiting behind the throne, looking much better than last time. The poor dear had obviously been through a lot, every pony had and I might be rejoicing in victory and peace but there was a percentage out there who'd be scarred for years to come.

"Princess, I'm so sorry" she tried to begin but I waved her silent and told her "Don't worry about it, you've made me think deeply on the matter and I am going to think of ways to rectify this" she seemed as if she had more to say but she remained close lipped and I nodded to a nearby guard who had been briefed on what to do by the scribes I kept ordering around every morning at breakfast who were the real backbone of ruling, doing all the running around and sorting out.

The first ponies to be received by Royal Appointment came in and amazingly they were a couple who wanted my blessing of marriage which I of course gave immediately after congratulating them. I sorted through another fifty ponies problems after that, it was incredible that some were little problems, simple questions needing answers and others required a trial almost and came with verbal taunts and threats over land and stolen goods.

Majorly though it was a good day when the sun began to descend and my appointments ended. "That was the last pony Princess Cadence" the guard beside my throne bowed and slowly, without turning walked away, closing the doors behind him.

I inhaled and exhaled sharply, pleased with the lighter, more personal work I'd done to day but still feeling a little drained from all the problem solving. Sapphire too seemed a little weary, she had been standing by my side all day, fetching water or parchment or whoever was needed and aiding me in general.

"Good job today Sapphire" I told her. "I think we're done for the rest of the night, please go and have a good sleep, I'll see you in the throne room at breakfast time tomorrow thank you" and with that I stood up and stretched, my back hurting a lot.

Sapphire bowed and gratefully backed away, uttering "Goodnight your majesty" before she exited through the staff doors.

All was now quiet in the throne room, there were two guard on duty, standing by door on the authorised of the room but they made no sound and moved not an inch, their training not permitting them to show any emotion but their eyes scanning everything without moving.

"Creepy" I thought as I trotted down the stairs that led to my throne just as my husband Shining came in looking as if he had been running a marathon in his full set of battle armour. "H-Hi honey" he wheezed as I quizzically stared at him.

"What are you doing exactly darling?" I asked him a little bit unnerved by it all. He caught his breath as he explained "I-I was just… testing the new crystal pony recruits on their dexterity in galloping around the castle whilst in full battle armour. They should be arriving in a few moments, I seemed… I seemed to eclipse them all" he grinned at me.

I rolled my eyes at the obvious display of machoism and asked "So if you raced your old comrades, the trained Canterlonian guards you'd also be here first, panting heavily and wheezing?" He smiled that same damned, loveable smile again and came over to me, levitating his helmet off and asking "How was your day?"

I frowned, unsure how to put it in any great light so I simply replied truthfully by saying "Not so great, a lot of old emotion from Sombra, some work with ponies requiring aid just an ordinary day really, they'll improve in time. I don't really need to ask what you've been doing" I said as the first of the wheezing recruits arrived, armour clanking and bits falling off as he collapsed.

I stared at Shining Armour and asked "Why are you so mean to them?" He shrugged and defended "Hey, my first day was much worse, they made me spar with a pony dressed as a Manticore and took away all my magic."

I humorously chuckled and kissed him, detesting the sweaty grime he was covered in. "You really are a piece of work Shining Armour, now go and get changed for dinner" I ordered. He saluted saying "Yes my Princess" before jogging off to go shower, passing his collapsed recruit and ordering "Good enough Dancer, tell the others the exercise is over when they arrive."

Dancer wasn't moving but his chest was still rising, obviously having passed out from the physical tests. I walked past him and told the two guards by the door "Make sure he and any other pony staggering this way don't die of heart attacks."

They saluted and I left them to their own devices, planning to have a normal dinner with my husband and a normal night without any distractions.