I sat over the anvil, sweat falling from my brow.

The inscribing tool slowly pressed into cooling metal.

This had to be perfect.

Ever since my coronation, Tia and I had been extremely busy. The fledgling nation, 'Equestria' we called it, was still weak and untested. Ponies from the world over flocked to our banner, to the returning Alicorns. For them it was divine providence. But there were almost as many who saw us as usurpers to their rule.

Dark wizards, tyrannical Lords, slaving despots. All wished to test their might against the Alicorn sisters, Harmony's chosen.

Between fighting them, and ruling the nation itself, Tia and I had been extremely busy.

The metal had cooled, so I took it off the anvil and put it back into the forge.

In just the last fight, I had broken three swords in my duel with the belligerent necromancer.

Kavras the Risen I think his name was.

Regardless, I spent most of the fight trying to find another sword.

That had to change.

I pulled the almost finished metal out of the forge, now glowing red.

I had started the project with only one intent. Make myself a weapon intended for me and me alone.

From the ground up, I had chosen only a vein of ore that had come from a falling star. Smelted and refined it for over a month.

I had spent nearly as long pouring over books on runic enchantments, picking and choosing with care, the magics that I would imbue the blade with.

Only then did I form the blade.

But then I took it further.

I plated the 'finished' blade in silver. It was this layer I was working on now.

Endurance. Permeance. Sharpness.

When I was done, this blade would be so strongly enchanted, it would be strong enough to pierce dragon hide.

I finished with the runes along the blade, all that remained was one final sigil near the hilt.

I reverently carved the sigil of the Moon into the yet unpolished metal.

Lunar Majesty awoke.

Mana channels under the silver flowed with cerulean light, lighting the runes along the blade as it ran. But the sigil of the Moon glowed with silver light.

The sword hummed with life.

I picked up the sword with my magic. It seemed to jump into my control. I turned the blade with slow arches, testing a few particular enchantments.

The blade cut through the air with almost unnatural ease.

Perfect.

I set the blade down onto the anvil, fully letting it go.

The blade fell asleep once more as the mana channels fell dark.

"Forge Flare!" I called out. A bespectacled Unicorn stallion with a red coat poked his head through the forge's door.

"Your Majesty?" he asked.

"I wish to ask a favor of you." I informed him. "Pick up and examine my blade."

"I- I'm certain your craftponyship is beyond compare your Highness."

"Humor me."

The stallion approached the anvil hesitantly. Why, I wasn't sure. It wasn't like I had ever treated him badly.

"You're details are excellent you Majesty. I imagine this sword will last a long time with these runes." He picked up the sword. "I- Oof! Sorry my Lady... It's heavier than I expected..." He turned the blade sideways to examine the edge. "It's straight... But your balance needs work your Majesty... All of the weight feels like it's in the very tip of the blade."

I reached out with my magic, and lightly touched the hilt.

"Your- Whoa!" The blade in his grip came alive once more, jumping in his hooves as the weight of the blade seemed to shift. Forcing the stallion to readjust to keep it under control.

"How about now?" I asked, keeping my magic lightly touching the hilt.

"It's..." the stallion felt the weight, balancing it on his hoof. "Perfectly balanced... How-?"

I let the magic go, causing the sword's weight to shift again.

"Whoa!" the stallion exclaimed in surprise as the blade fell off his hoof, hitting the floor with a loud clank.

"I keyed it to my touch Master Forge Flare. If I'm not the one holding it, it's little more than a particularly sturdy slab of unbalanced metal." My magic snaked over the hilt, causing the blade to come alive again. I brought it up to examine if there were any scuffs.

There weren't.

"Your ingenuity is an inspiration to us all your Highness." the stallion bowed.

"I thank you for the compliment Master Forge Flare. You may return to your duties." I replied. The stallion turned and left the workshop I had taken for the day.

I didn't like the stallion, he was far too formal for my taste. But I could not deny that he was good in a forge.

Almost as good as Master Brickwork had been.

I quietly sighed as I thought about the late blacksmith, turning towards the polishing wheel.

I quietly applied the polish to the round brush and started to pump the hoof pedal, causing it to spin.

I pressed the unpolished sword to the twirling brush and ran it up and down the blade.

The next Dark Lord was going to be in for a surprise.

"I need a new scabbard." I told the Castle's leatherworker, a cream Earth Pony mare.

"Oh! Of course your Highness, was the last one not satisfactory?"

"No, your scabbard was of excellent quality."

"But you were just here for one just last week..."

"I broke the sword..." I admitted.

"Oh." The mare's face fell. "Well, do you have your new blade?"

"I do." I set Lunar Majesty on her counter, wrapped in stained cloth.

"Alright, lemme just..." she picked the sword off the counter. "Oof! Heavier than it looks!" she squeaked as she took the sword into her workshop and set it down in her pile of commissions. "Ok, I'll have it done in three days your Highness!" she grinned as she came back to her counter.

"Thank you Master Beamhouse."

My business done, I left the tannery mare to her devices and left her workshop.

The tannery was on the very outskirts of the settlement that arose around Castle Everfree. The smell of walnut shells and the foul liquids of the tanner's trade filled the air.

I ignored the gawking Ponies that stared at me as I began my trek back to the Castle.

The settlement wasn't nearly as large as Old Unicornia, but I hoped one day it would be. Ponies were still recovering from the exodus from the North, as such, many of the buildings were still little more than shacks, as most of the masonry expertise went, for the time being, to the Castle. But that didn't stop the Earth Ponies with carpentry skills from slowly replacing the tents with wooden structures.

I passed by a Sarosian couple, who bowed deeply as they saw me.

I felt my heart ache for them.

The Sarosians were still being treated with suspicion. Many still would not do business with the bat winged Ponies. Too many wounds had been wrought by their hooves. But still, a few brave Sarosians tried to be amongst their Dayborne cousins.

"Rise, and go about your business." I told them gently.

"By your leave your Grace." they replied, backing away respectfully.

The ways of the Thestrals were still very much alive in the Sarosians when it came to their perceived Master.

I returned to the Castle without further incident.

Lunar Majesty, a heavily enchanted silver plated star metal bastard sword.