Inferno

Twilight trotted nervously after celestia. She had been told that she was about to learn a very special secret.  She found that celestia had let her to the highest tower in canterlot castle. Celestia ruffled her wings preparing for flight. Twilight did the same. They took-off out the large window and flew even higher in the air. Twilight looked ahead and saw a pulsing pink object. As they got closer she felt warmth chase away the frosty bite of winter. Celestia flew in front of the object. “This is the original fire of friendship conjured by clover the clever.”

“Like the one in the play?” asked Twilight, very interested.

“Exactly, only the princesses know about it. But other than it being your right, and my duty to show you, I have something to tell you. Something much less trivial.” Said Celestia. The worry that had dissipated in Twilight’s chest when Celestia had shown her the pink heart returned.

“What’s wrong?” she asked.

“Well recently Luna and I have noticed that for one the heart had begun pulsing, secondly the heat that reflects the state of harmony in equestria, disappeared in small increments of time. At first we thought it was one of discords pranks, but shortly realized that he couldn’t have. Its magic is beyond even him. And now we are beginning to think that… the flame……. is starting to…. Burn out.” It took a long time for her to say that last sentence. “Now twilight I don’t want you to panic, but I want you to see if you can find anything that might help in the libraries, both here and at my old castle.”

Twilight nodded and flew off to the balcony of her room, her head pounding with the importance of what she had just been told.

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A week later Twilight was still scouring the shelves of the seemingly never-ending Star swirl the bearded wing. Celestia looked out a window at the heart and feared that they would be too late. Just a second later the heart flashed brighter than it had before. Celestia’s lungs constricted, she couldn’t move. She would be forced to sit and watch as harmony was destroyed. But then the thing she least expected to happen happened. An alicorn fell from the heart, easily as tall as her. Celestia’s body unfroze and she ran a split second analysis in her head. She knew that she couldn’t catch this pony by herself without harming them both. She put her hoof to her lips and let out an ear-splitting whistle. Across the castle Luna lifted her head from her books and shot out of her bedroom window. Celestia took off and looked down to see her sister flying like a speeding bullet towards the falling alicorn. They both reached the unconscious pony at the same time, grabbing her front legs and hauling her to the hospital wing.

Twilight found herself following Celestia again, but this time their destination was the hospital wing.

They reached the wing and walked through the open doors. What Twilight saw confused her to say the least. She saw a dark red alicorn covered in bandages lying on a bed in the center of the room. Sitting around her where four unicorns, each feeding her horn a thin stream of magic. The alicorn had a pretty face surrounded by a pure white mane. She had a bandage around one eye, and about ¼ of her horn was gone. The rest of her injuries where hidden by a thick blanket. Twilight saw something glint in the weak winter light out of the corner of her eye. She turned and saw a large crown, necklace, and four horseshoes made of shining black metal, inlayed with cut fire rubies. Twilight heard Celestia say something, and turned back to the wounded pony. “Her injuries where severe. Her magic was drained her horn and wing broken, her eye punctured, and a large gash across her chest.” Celestia said sadly.

“And she’s still alive?” asked Twilight, looking back at the pony in amazement. Her eye was drawn to the alicorns horn. A turquoise aura enveloped it and the healing seemed to accelerate. When the horn grew back completely a bright white flash through the medical ponies away from her bedside. When the light dissipated twilight saw that all of the bandages had fallen off of the now awake alicorn. She was sitting up on the bed, her hooves pressed to her temples and her eyes shut tight. She muttering something under her breath. Twilight cleared her throat and the pony’s head snapped up and she looked at twilight with bright turquoise eyes. Her gaze wandered around the room and was caught by the regalia in the corner. She pulled the blanket of her lap and stood up. The same blue aura as before picked up the jewelry and it levitated to the alicorn.

  She put on the necklace and horseshoes, and lastly the crown. When the black metal touched her head her mane and tail burst into flame. Her eyes glowed white and she lifted a foot off the floor. Celestia remembered seeing this before, and she had to stop it before it got out of hoof. She closed in on the alicorn and reached into her mind, cutting off the flow of magic. The pony landed lightly on the floor and put a hoof to her head, her eyes spinning in their sockets.

Twilight cleared her throat again and pointed to the alicorns cutie mark. It was a depiction of the sun as seen from space. It was a big ball of orange flame, with the tails of course. But the thing that made it interesting was that the flame that made up the sun shifted and crackled, like real fire. Celestia knew that this pony must be important. “What’s your name?” Celestia asked tenderly.  The pony winced like that question had hurt her.

“Blaze…..” she said putting her hoof to her head yet again. “Blaze Inferno…, and your world is in danger.” A stunned silence fell over the room.

“What do you mean?” asked Luna who had just returned from raising the moon. Blaze’s strength gave way and she collapsed, her crown falling off her head turning her mane to hair again.