//------------------------------// // Blazing Heat // Story: Celestia's Flare // by Spica //------------------------------// The library was filled with the sound of pages being passed, as Twilight Sparkle scanned through a considerable pile of books that stood before her; already read books rested at her feet, growing in number as the expression on the unicorn’s face grew somber. Notes were jostled down by a quill that floated by itself at her side, among loads of scattered parchment. In the middle of all that was a rolled up parchment, sealed with a red string, untouched by the ever growing mess around it. It contained not only their new report on the magic of friendship, but also a request from Twilight for some books of the Canterlot Castle Royal Library detailing a certain topic. The door to the library opened and Twilight’s assistant, Spike, came inside, his eyes fixated on a small collection of shiny jewels in his arms, whose glow was reflected in his green eyes. He approached his boss-mother figure-caretaker, smiling broadly. “Hey, Twi, Rarity gave me all these delicious rubies to eat. I’m gonna be covered for a few days!” The glow in his face diminished a little. “You’re still fixated on that?” Twilight paid him little attention. Since her, Rarity and Rainbow Dash had come back to the village a few days ago, -a new friendship lesson learned- she had assigned herself an investigative task. She always compiled her friendship lessons for availability any time they were needed; the strength of their meaning could and possibly would grow dimmer over time, necessitating the reader to have a chance to strengthen them. She finally answered to Spike, without lifting her eyes from the books. “This is an important study the Princess assigned to me. Being such a special matter, it has surely been researched before, and I’m looking for analysis on the importance of friendship and feelings. “ The changeling incident was still fresh on their minds. Love had been both a curse and a blessing on that day, and it convinced Twilight of the importance of properly understanding what such concepts embodied and how they worked. For such an important issue –or at least Twilight believed it was-,very little data had been found that could even answer some of her inquiries on the matter. She lifted her head from the books, feeling the tiredness in the eyes and the general soreness on her body. “Please, Spike, pick up the books I’ve already checked and give some order to the library. Oh, and also send this letter to the Princess. “ Spike nodded and went upstairs to stack his new snacks away before setting to do his chores. The sealed up parchment vanished, engulfed in a wave of emerald flames. He turned to look at the unicorn. “You know, the Princess hasn’t been writing back lately. Do you think she’s fine?” “The Princess is a very busy pony, Spike. It’s not the first time she has remained silent for some time. Everything’s fine, we just need to wait for a few days.” The small dragon seemed satisfied and went ahead to do his chores. Twilight stared at her books. She had dived on them since she had come back from her adventure; Applejack, Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy hadn’t crossed paths with her a couple days before that. Sometimes days and weeks could pass like that, with her not seeing her friends. She decided to go and pay them some visit. That was also research on friendship and she missed them a great deal. Applejack and Fluttershy lived farther from the library, so she decided to go there first; it was still early in the day and she needed to take a walk. Her sore muscles troubled her as she trotted off, it took some time for her to regain sense in her numb legs, almost tripping a couple of times. Moments like this made her envy the athletes of the group. But trying to set apart a space on her tight schedules to provide time for exercise had proved futile; a lot of studying needed to be done; besides all of the other tasks she had and the free time she needed. Halfway through the way to Sweet Apple Acres, she found herself sweating profusely. She was not in as good shape as she should, and she knew it, but there was no way her light pace would have her this much drenched; her mane felt sticky already.. Sipping some water from the bottle she had brought, she felt a little better and continued her journey. The lands that comprised the Apple family farm came into sight at last, welcoming as always. Strangely, as she came nearer, she couldn’t see anypony near the fields, where they always hailed at this time, going over one thing or another. Said fields were covered by colored plastic sheets supported by sticks buried in the soil, covering the orchards. She passed through the farm’s door and confirmed it:nopony was near the fields. She went towards the house, and heard voices coming from inside. Knocking on the door, she heard a chair moving and a voice calling loudly “Ah’m comin’!” Almost immediately, the door was opened and she was greeted by her farm pony friend, Applejack, who smiled at seeing her. “Howdy, Twilight! Long time no see! Come in, come in, before ya get roasted.” Before being able to say anything, she was pulled inside by a pair of strong orange hooves and found herself placed at the Apple family table, being warmly greeted by the rest of the family. “Good day, Miss Sparkle,” said the huge red stallion, calmly drinking a sip of apple juice. “Hiya, Twilight!” the little filly cheerfully called at her, while Granny Smith dedicated her a smile. “How ya doin’, gal?” “I’m very well, Granny Smith, thank you. It’s strange to see the whole family gathered here at this point of the day.” “There’s just been too much darned heat these couple o’ last days; we simply can’t endure a long routine. We’re takin’ a couple short breaks a day,” said Applejack, offering her a glass of cold, delicious juice the unicorn accepted with delight. “We’ve even had to cover the trees and orchards so it doesn’t affect the fruits. The weather team has been providing clouds extra-duty, but even so, the heat is mightly noticeable. ” Twilight nodded. “Yes, this is some unusually strong heat. I’m totally drenched on my own sweat. This is strange.” A wave of worry swept the minds of all sated at the table. Applejack approached Twilight and hoofed her a wet towel, which the unicorn used to cleanse herself as well as she could. “I suppose I should contact the Princess about this. It is totally unexpected.” “Ah’d be mighty thankful of ya if ya did it, Twilight. This is simply no weather for an already hot spring.” “I’ll do it, but first I want to go and see Fluttershy. I haven’t seen her in a while and I want to see how she is doing.” “Now that you say it, Ah haven’t see her for a couple of days. Ah might need to go there later on. Fer now, Ah need to go and finish buckin’ those trees. If ya ‘scuse me, Ah’ll be on mah way.” “I’ll see you later. AJ” The orange mare disappeared through the door, followed by her brother, who dedicated a brief goodbye to Twilight. After addressing the other two Apples, she followed the road towards Fluttershy’s cottage. --------- Once again, she knocked, this time at the cottage’s door. As with the farm, the outside of Fluttershy’s home seemed to be mostly vacant of the life that usually bristled around. Not a single creature could be seen. “I’m coming!” called a low and gentle voice, almost barely heard through the wooden door. Some seconds later, it was opened and the gentle pegasus’ face could be seen staring at her. A face painted by tiredness and worry, bathed –as much as her own- by thick drops of sweat. Twilight gasped. “Hello, Twilight. Its good to see you.” “What’s wrong, Fluttershy?” “Well, you see… Please come inside, I need to take care of something...” Twilight followed Fluttershy into her living room until the yellow mare stopped. Several makeshift beds made of old clothes laid around in the floor, and atop them, several bunnies rested, their faces contorted, breathing heavily. “The strong heat has affected several little bunnies and I’ve been attending them. I don’t know how muc longer I can keep with this, though….” Bags of serum and water bottles littered the floor. Another small rabbit jumped from here to there, going between his comrades, attending to their necessities. Though obviously affected by the heat, Angel Bunny did not forsake his duties, tirelessly helping his kind. “This is terrible, Fluttershy. This weather is affecting all of Ponyville, and who knows how the rest of Equestria is faring. I’m on my way to send a letter to the Princess and ask her about all this. It’s better if I get going.” “Good luck, Twilight. We’ll need it.” Fluttershy offered another share of water to the dehydrating critters as Twilight marched out of her door and returned to Ponyville. She couldn’t get a hold of Rainbow Dash, even as she kept checking the partially clouded sky. She went straight to the library, in which main room she found Spike, laying on the floor, his tongue hanging outside his mouth. At the sound of the door opening, he turned his head to look at her. “Oh, hello, Twilight. This is some weather we’ve been having here.” “But Spike, what happened? You were fine when I left you here!” she ran to his side, her face marked with worry. “Oh, I was so excited with the rubies that I barely registered the heat, but now…” Reaching him a glass of water, she crouched by his side. “Do you think you can send a letter to the Princess?” “I reckon so Twilight. Just give it to me.” Finding the tools she needed, she composed a hasty letter asking Celestia about the strange phenomena occurring in Ponyville, which Spike sent in a burst of flame, getting him even warmer than before. After applying some ice in his forehead, she looked outside of her window and sat there pondering about all this. This was an unprecedented event in Equestrian history and she had no clues about it. Suddenly, Spike coughed and sat up, letting a big flame out of his mouth, which materialized a letter “Finally!” The lavender unicorn jumped and unsealed the letter, her eyes scanning the letter at a breakneck speed. She bit her lip. “This can’t be.” Twilight Sparkle It is imperative for you and your friends to come to Canterlot in haste. Celestia has fallen sick, and we need of you to help solve this situation.” Princess Luna. Reading the missive several times over, her mind still could not process the fact that Celestia – the Princess! - could even have fallen victim to some disease. But there it was, in Luna’s own words. She didn’t have the luxury to spend time pondering such fact, however. She levitated the sleeping Spike – he had closed his eyes and given up himself to slumber -, loading him in her back and went out of the library, carrying the letter with her and heading to Carrousel Boutique. ------- Rarity hummed and worked contently, sitting at her sewing machine, when the Boutique’s door opened suddenly, startling her. In came her friend, Twilight Sparkle, carrying an unconscious Spike atop her back. “Twilight, dear, you scared me there. What’s the hurry?” Rarity left her work and approached the panting purple mare, who had come sprinting from the library. She gazed at the sleeping dragon. “He looks so cute! But tell me, dear, why the haste? And in this ungodly heat, to boot! Let me bring you some water.” Twilight nodded, catching her breath, whilst Rarity went to her kitchen and fetched a glass with cold water. Upon offering it to the thirsty purple unicorn, she drank it in a single gulp. “Rarity, it seems that Princess Celestia has fallen victim to some disease and it’s very sick right now. That has something to do with this unusually warm weather that’s been plaguing Equestria the last few days. And Princess Luna wants us to be there and help.” She took the letter out and passed it to the white unicorn, who read it slowly. “This is absolutely outrageous, Twilight. I had never heard about the Princess being sick! What are we supposed to do?” “I don’t know, Rarity. This is really new for me as well. But if Luna has requested for us to come, then we must do it.” Both mares looked at each other eyes, silence filling the place, only interrupted by Spike’s loud breathing. Finally, Rarity turned her back to Twilight, going over to her sewing machine. “I understand, dear. Truth is, I’d been working in a gift for all of you. A cape and hat set in order to combat this awful heat wave.” Rarity looked at the bulks folded by the machine’s side, concentrating on them. After some seconds, she looked at them harder. “What?!” The white unicorn gasped, lowering her head a little and attempting to make her horn stick out, to no avail. She turned to her lavender friend, her eyes revealing absolute shock. “Twilight, I can’t use my magic!” “How’s that even possible! Here, let me try…” Twilight did the same effort, with the same futile results. Neither of them could do magic now. --------- Both unicorns set straight for Ponyville’s Bakery, trotting quickly, getting to the sweet-shaped building in no time; Spike woke up, finding himself in panic at the unexpected race. As they approached the entrance, they noted the pink spot outside it, coming to a halt. “PINKIE!” both screamed in unison, meeting with the bubbly earth pony, who smiled widely in return. “Hey,girls! I was waiting for you. I’ve been having doozies since yesterday, but I couldn’t figure out what they meant, and I’ve just had even bigger doozies now, and I knew you were coming! We’re gonna go somewhere, right? Here, have a cupcake!” Pinkie had already packed her saddlebags and loaded them to her back. Her friends looked at her, dumbstruck, receiving the pastries the grinning pony threw at them. However, Twilight shook her head, regaining herself, passing her cupcake to Spike, as Rarity did. “It figures. Come on, Pinkie, we need to find the others.” Suddenly, screams could be heard from every part around. Distressed unicorns ran out of control by the streets; Ponyville soon became a dusty circus. “Is that Lyra… jumping around in her hind legs?” Twilight sighed. The three mares, along the small dragon, hurried towards Sweet Apple Acres. -------- “Ah’m sorry, Sugarcube, but Ah can’t leave the farm alone right now. We’re gonna need all our workforce just ta be able to harvest the apples and take care of everything, including the animals, which are bein’ affected too. Ah ‘spose Fluttershy has that problem too.” Applejack had a point, and they knew Fluttershy would not be eager to leave her animal friends when they needed her the most. Still, they figured one pegasus was needed to find another, and said goodbye to Applejack, going to Fluttershy’s small cottage. ------- “The weather team is working to organize some rain that helps a little in quashing this extreme heat, I can’t get anywhere now. Sorry,girls.” Following the rejection of the rainbow-manedpegasus, Twilight, Pinkie and Rarity walked back towards Ponyville. Upon reaching the market plaza, the librarian called to the others. “Very well, go and take care of what you need; we’ll meet at the train station in one hour, right?” “Of course, my dear” “Okie dokie lokie!” The three friends parted ways.Twilight sighed. Only three of the group had been able to go on the trip; Applejack had however offered to look after Sweetie Belle, and Fluttershy would take care of their pets, which relieved big burdens off their backs. Spike growled while on Twilight’s back. The little dragon had been uncharacteristically silent through all this. The unicorn called out to him. “Don’t worry, Spike. We’ll find out what’s happening and we’ll solve it.” Twilight and Spike went about organizing the library, getting the things needed for their journey and instructing Owloysius to head to Fluttershy’s place. “Journey supplies” “Check” “Medicine books” “Check” “Zecora’s herbs” “Check” Twilight went on, asking for elements needed, which Spike made sure to have ready, until they were certain to have everything they needed. Once the organized unicorn was satisfied, they abandoned the library, heading to Ponyville’s train station. When they arrived, Rarity was already there. Her saddlebags bulged, looking almost on the verge of breaking, but it was less than what Twilight had expected of her friend. She had, however, taken care of herself, her mane and tail shining brightly and her coat white and spotless. “You’re always the sight to see, Rarity.” Twilight smiled as she approached the white unicorn, who answered with her own bright smile; Spike’s eyes were wavering hearts. “We’re going to Canterlot. There’s no way I’m going there without looking my absolute best, even in this awful heat. It’s a shame we didn’t have the time to work on you, dear. But you look good anyway.” They went to the booth and bought all the tickets. The train was scheduled to depart in 10 minutes and Pinkie Pie was nowhere to be seen. Twilight paced around the platform, going back and forth. “Twilight, you’re making me dizzy!” “Sorry, Spike, I just hope Pinkie doesn’t take much more time. That mare’s always doing as she pleases. I…” She was cut off as from one of the columns next to her; the pink earth pony appeared, jumping in front of her. “Hey, Twi! I’m sorry to be late, but I couldn’t decide which cupcakes to take. You see, Mr. and Mrs Cake baked so many delicious and different cupcakes today that I…" Pinkie was interrupted by a lavender hoof before she could go on. As Rarity approached her friends, Twilight dedicated a small smile to her rambunctious friend. “It’s fine, Pinkie. We need to go now and aboard the train.” Nodding happily, the pink pony bounced into the train, followed by her amused friends. Just after they got into the machine and found their seats in the last wagon, departure was announced; Twilight sat down pondering what was expecting them in the palace.