Celestia and Luna looked down upon the hospital beds with great concern. Twilight and the gang were bandaged in many places, and they were no small wounds. Derpy walked in with 6 needles laying on a cart. She stood by and unconcious Twilight, and picked up a needle. She poked and prodded for a bit, and finally injected Twilight with the medicine. Twilight woke up with a moan, but didn't say anything until the rest of her friends were up, too.
"Celestia... you're here. Oh, hi Luna."
Luna merely snorted and Celestia gave a short nod before speaking.
"Do you remembered what happened, Twilight?"
"Sorta," Twilight mumbled. She cleared her throat before continuing,
"We were heading toward your castle, we were trying to give you a report on some strange sightings in Equestria, when she appeared. We stood there, shocked for a moment, and at first, I noticed fire coming off of her, and we ran towards her exclaiming she was on fire, telling her it could hurt her , and then she said something like "You think fire always hurts, you all think it's bad, well, it is now!", and then all of a sudden, there was a loud explosion and everything burst in to flames, and that's all I remember."
Celestia and Luna glanced at each other with even more concern, and then Luna stepped forward,
"Did thou happen to notice anymore about what she looketh like?"
Twilight pondered for a moment, then shook her head.
"No, does anyone else?"
Everyone shook their head but Rarity, who seemed to be deep in thought. She took a deep breath and looked up at the two princesses before talking.
"I do. She was all black, with bright purple snake eyes. She had large dragon wings, and two gold braces on each leg, with a black gem on them. She had sharp teeth and her mane and tail were fire. She had a rather cute black hat on, and her cutie mark was fire. And I think that's it." Rarity closed her eyes, as if to go back to sleep, but they flashed open again, "Oh wait, she had little purple horns, too."
Twilight laughed, "Hey Rarity, for once your examining of everypony's fashion statements came in handy!"
The two princesses snorted before looking at each other nervously. They sat down, and Celestia began to speak.
"Lend me your ears, my students, for we have a tale to tell..."
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"The pony you confronted, Princess Ember, is Luna and I's... adopted sister."
All the ponies gasped wide-eyed at the two royal sisters who exchanged a quick glance.
"Discord created her during the War of Madness as a weapon to use against us. We confronted her once, and we persuaded her to join us, and she helped us bring down Discord. Afterwards, she brought fire to our world, and as you know, fire can be bad and good. Our world was not meant for her, as Discord created her for destruction. Many ponies disliked her for all the things she destroyed,not intentionally, of course, and being created by Discord didn't help her much either. She grew bitter from the rejection, and created Tartarus as a safe haven for herself, for she could not harm a place full of fire."
All of a sudden, the doctor walked in and examined the bed ridden ponies. He unwrapped them, tested the movement of some of their limbs, and asked them questions about their conditions. When he finished, he turned to the two royal sisters and spoke,
" Your Highnesses, they are fully healed and ready to be discharged."
The princesses gave the biggest smile they gave in a long time, and helped each of the ponies out of their hospital beds. They walked to the lobby were Celestia signed them out. Through the windows a fresh blanket of snow covered the ground, turning everything as white as Celestia's coat. A nurse met the group at the door, and returned the ponies' warm clothes. They shed their hospital gowns and bundled themselves into their furry clothes. They exited the hospital, and the force of the cold hit the gang like a bus. While they were wrapped in their warm clothing, the cold weather was still a surprise to them. The princesses were met by a small squadron of their royal guards, and they and the gang were escorted to Canterlot Castle. The chariot was where their conversation continued.
"We have left each other alone since, and she has been kind enough to let us keep fire in our realm, but I'm afraid now that she has finally boiled over. We love her to death, but she does not see that, no matter how much light we shine on it. I hate to ask of you such a large task as soon as you leave the hospital, but being the Elements of Harmony, you might be able to help us in our predicament. If not, Ponyville and the rest of Equestria may eventually freeze to death."
The chariot pulled in to the front of the castle, where the princesses helped the ponies out. They trudged through the heavy layer of snow into the castle, where the ponies shed the outer layers of their warm clothes, but nothing more, because without the warmth of the fire, the castle was remarkably cold. Twilight and the others stretched out their legs, and then they looked ip at Celestia and Luna.
"Of course we will help princess! There is nothing that could stop us from that. There is no need for apology, but if you wouldn't mind, might we have some lunch? We've been eating through an IV for so long we could eat even the worst recipes in Equestria."
Luna and Celestia looked at each other and chuckled. Celestia headed off toward the royal kitchen and Luna looked down upon the ponies. "Of course, a grand feast to celebrate the full recovery of the Elements of Harmony."
A half an hour rolled by, and by then the dining hall was alive. An amazingly long table stretched through the hall, and was covered with food from Equestria. Twilight and the gang gazed at the table as if it were covered in jewels. Princess Celestia and Princess Luna left the royal kitchen and seated themselves at the head of the table, with six other chairs in between them. Twilight, AppleJack, Rarity, Pinky Pie, Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash seated themselves. Twilight looked up at Celestia, who seemed somewhat relieved, but Twilight noticed a hint of anxiety on her face,
"Princess Celestia, when we mentioned lunch, we didn't mean something as big as this."
Celestia gave a small smile and snorted.
"Nonsense Twilight, after being in the hospital so long, you guys deserve a feast. Please enjoy, I insist."
Rainbow Dash cut in, "Well, if you insist, what are we doing with empty mouths when they could be full?"
Twilight bopped Rainbow on the back of the head and said, "That's rude, but you make a good point."
The gang and the princesses filled their bellies until they could no more, and then dismissed themselves from the dining hall. Twilight went out to get herself some fresh air. She had forgotten her outer clothes, but when she went out, she didn't need them. It was uncannily warm for the winter. She continued to blow little white flecks that fell from the sky from her shoulders. She did this for a few moments before she stopped for a moment.
"Since when is snow, warm?"
Then, an odd smell entered her nose, and her heart began to race. That wasn't snow falling on her, it was ash.