Kissed by fire

After three days the inferno was finally dying out and the black smoke was also receding revealing the desolation the fire had wrought.

Only ash and blackened earth remained, Pegasus guardsman could finally do flybys of the actual impact site by early morning the heat still making a closer inspection impossible till the sun was kissing the horizon. By then a large crowd had gathered around the site more observed from the walls as the spectacle unfolded. Daybreak had his men form a perimeter to keep the area secure

"Well here goes nothing" he said to himself as he led a small group of guardsman forwards tentatively stepping over the still burning  embers there hoof falls muted by the ash coated ground, the smell of acrid smoke stung his nostrils and his eyes began to water.

The small party of five guardsmen soon came to the edge of the deep crater and peered into the broken earth

"Sweet Celestia!..That smell!" one of his guards moaned into his scarf which he had improvised into a mask the crater had a distinct smell that overpowered the smoke, it took daybreak a second to identify it 'burnt flesh' he realised.

As he did the smoke cleared and revealed the object nestled in the crater the whole company backed away eyes wide with horror save the captain who was rooted to the spot,

"get a wagon down here!, NOW!"  He shouted to break his guardsman out of there trances

"And get me guardsman Crimson bolt!"

"Have you got all that crimson!?" the captain asked loudly to cut through crimson bolt's confusion since being called to the captains office, Crimson bolt had been bombarded with information and had a heavy saddle bag strapped to him.

"Deliver this..." he held up a dull beige envelope before stuffing into crimsons hooves "...to princess Celestia or Luna personally. You don't wait or stop till it's in one of their hooves and knock over any pony that gets in your way understood?"

"But sir... Canterlot is..." he was cut of once more by the highly agitated captain "I will teleport you as far as I can without killing myself... don't worry. You got everything crimson?" crimson gave a another panicked look and weakly nodded his head his saddle bags swigging slightly.

"If you make it... you can have the week off in Canterlot to visit that guild mane mare of yours" daybreak added with a warm smile which crimson returned before screwing his eyes shut, daybreak backed up behind his desk before focusing all his energy into his horn it shimmered with a golden glow growing in intensity until if filled the entire room a sudden crack of thunder and crimson was gone. Leaving the floor singed and smoking, releasing the spell the captain promptly collapsed to the floor.

Dawn was breaking over Canterlot, the suns golden rays bathing the whole city in a bright yellow glow as the tendrils of night receded to the shadows.

An alabaster alicorn looked down from her tower admiring her work from the balcony of her chambers, Celestia goddess of the sun was not in the best of shapes. Roused prematurely from her slumber to perform her royal duty she now stumbled back into her exquisite chambers, she just made it to her bead before she collapsed onto the mattress. she had definitely done too much 'celebrating' this hearts warming holiday though to be fair it was her first holiday season with Luna since she returned, so of course she had let her mane down a little more than usual. Her stomach made a loud gurgling noise and she groaned in discomfort 'I should not have eaten so much cake' she half mumbled into her silk sheets. Her lamentations were interrupted as the doors to her chambers swung open and her all too cheerful sister trotted in.

"morning Tia" she exclaimed happily ignoring her sisters distress and heading straight to the balcony "Luna" Celestia grumbled at her as she passed. Luna started giggling as she turned to take in her sister

"you know I don't think I have ever seen a sugar hangover before" she continued giggling.

Irritated Celestia threw one of her pillows square at Luna's face putting an end to the laughter

"This is all your fault sweet sister" Celestia said with a mixture of frustration and tiredness before falling back to the mattress

"Now now" Luna said smugly "I didn't make you eat 3 chocolate cakes in one sitting" she trotted over to her sister and began to massage the base of Celestia's wings working out the tense muscles. "Three!" Celestia yelped indignantly into the mattress both proud and disgusted in her achievement.

She soon went limp as Luna's expert hoofs worked along her back "twas quite a sight to behold" Luna murmured "I was rather impressed..."

Their conversation was cut short as a flash of red burst through the open window the princesses cried out in shock as a crimson Pegasus crashed head first into the far wall, a second later the door burst open and a dozen royal guards charged the dazed intruder. A scuffle ensued as they attempted to restrain the Pegasus. The cry of one particular guard staggering away from the mêlée with a broken nose seemed to jolt Celestia from her shock. "Enough!!" she bellowed using her royal Canterlot voice to cut through the din, the guards immediately untangled themselves from the red Pegasus who Celestia could now see was sporting a set of guard armour.

"Guardsman crimson bolt...Your majesty"

He announced as he nursed a cut above his right eye giving a sideways glare at the royal guards "you may return to your post sir's false alarm" Luna addressed the guards after coming to her senses. They bowed respectfully to both princesses, and then filled out the door in practiced discipline. At the sound of the gilded doors slamming shut Crimson bolt let out a audible sigh of relief before remembering what he was there for, he quickly removed the letter Day break had given him and handed it to princess Celestia who came forward to receive the letter wearing a bemused serine smile "Urgent news from Captain daybreak majesty"

"Daybreak.... from stalwart keep?" examining the wax seal before opening it and holding the letter before her with her magic

"Stalwart keep? that still exists?" Luna interrupted with a confused voice of all the things that had been eroded during her 1000 years incarcerated on the moon it baffled her how that isolated rock had somehow survived. As Celestia read the words her face turned grave as she drank in the urgently scribbled writing, by the time she came to the end she had more questions than when she started. Her tiredness and discomfort forgotten Celestia called the guards still present outside her chambers to have her chariot ready.

"Sister...?" Luna was worried she had rarely seen the look that her elder sister was now sporting it was a mixture of worry and dread and it chilled her to see it.