Why did they burn? (Patreon)

Princess Luna watched her older sister finish making some final corrections to the draft of a document then she passed it back to the head of her secretarial pool in my Equestria dreamscape.

     "That should do it True Note." The alicorn said while levitating the document back to the mare. "These should be the final revisions. Once these been made to the document please have a final version created and have it sent via secure courier to Major Blue Sky at the airship pens. He'll be departing on the Skydancer tonight at 23:15. After this task is finished you and the staff are dismissed for the weekend. As always thank you for the efforts of you and the other mares."

     The unicorn bowed. "Of course your Highness. We'll get on this right away. Just reconfirming you will be leaving the palace tonight at 19:30 and will be returning tomorrow night at 20:00?"

     The pale alicorn locked her organizer and personal notes in her desk and triggered its wards. "Yes True Note. Luna will be here in the palace the entire time so she'll be present and is authorized handle all matters of State. Except for raising and setting the sun. The Palace Staff and the ministers have been informed of this. However if it absolutely essential it will be possible to reach me at the training site."

     "Then may you have a safe trip your Highness." With that the mare left the office and closed the door. Celestia rose from her desk and walked over to her wall safe with assorted documents. Once they were secured in the safe the Princess of Sun called it a day made her way to the wet bar built into the far corner of her office.

     She then proceeded to mix up a couple of drinks for herself and her sister. In a few minutes gin, lemon juice, and simple syrup had been shaken together with ice and then strained into a couple of chilled champagne flutes. Celestia then topped off the drinks with chilled champagne and garnished them with a lemon twists. She then brought the drinks over to where Luna was draped out on one the divans in the office. Celestia levitated one of the drinks over to her sister.

     "Lulu dear. Try this. I think you'll find it most enjoyable. It's called a Baltimare Broadside. It's a champagne based cocktail, and do know your very fond of it."

     "Thanks Celly." The Prussian Blue alicorn took the flute with her levitation and brought it close to her nose and gave it a sniff. Finding it's aroma appealing she gave it a sip and for several seconds swished it around in her mouth. Then she swallowed it and smiled. "Yes! Yes this is a most delicious concoction! You must divulge its recipe to me so I can make it myself!"

     Celestia grinned and laid down on divan opposite her sister. "Gladly. It's not a complicated drink to make. However a word of warning. It's called a Baltimare Broadside for a reason. The drink bucks above its apparent weight. So beware for one can quickly drink many of them before their impact is full felt!"

     Luna looked thoughtfully at the flute. "I'll remember that. I have no desire to experience again my recent adventure in indiscretion!" Link She took another sip of her drink. "So you'll be observing Inferno's test tomorrow sister?" Link 

     "Yes. I'll be observing her test. It has become something of tradition with me when it candidates for Mares-in-Waiting or Stallion-on-Call undergo their final pre-assignment exam."

     Luna took another sip of her drink and then admired the bubbles in it. "From her name am I safe in assuming that Inferno has an affinity with fire?"

     Celestia took a sip from her drink. "Yes, from the day she was born." The alicorn swirled the contents of her drink in its glass for a moment. "I'm sure you're aware of the fact that unicorn foals can experience brief episodes of sometimes potent, unstructured magical output a few months after their birth?"

     "Yes." Luna finished her glass. "It's why many parents will place an inhibitor ring on unicorn foals during that period to avoid mishaps. "

     Celestia continued to examine the contents of her glass. "Well Inferno experienced one within 6 hours of being born. It happened in the hospital nursery. The hospital didn't perceive her as being an unusual risk, but as part of procedure they placed an inhibitor ring on the foal and put her in the observation nursery with 10 other newborns. 8 hours later...."

     The pale alicorn got up and wandered back to the bar taking her champagne flute. Without asking she took Luna's flute as well. She proceeded to make a couple more drinks. As she did resumed speaking.

     "There, was a fire. 6 of foals and one of the nurses assigned to the nursery were incinerated in the fire. The nurses were able to save the other 4 foals which suffered varying degrees of burns. Fortunately all of them have recovered and have gone to have healthy productive lives. What amazed the nurses was that they were able save one unicorn filly from the conflagration with no injuries at all. The staff did note the filly's inhibitor ring was charred to the point of needing discarding, but that was attributed to the severity and the chaotic conditions that can occur in a fire."

     Celestia finished assembling the drinks and returned the divans. She passed Luna a new drink. "Of course an investigation was launched. The source of the fire has never been publicly made, and at the time it was attributed to perhaps a failure in the nursery's gaslighting. Although a few years later the manufacturer was cleared of all criminal and civil charges."

     Luna stared at her sister in horror. "Celly. Did. Did she...?"

     The pale alicorn took a very large sip of her drink and nodded her head. "After the Royal Court became Inferno's legal guardian. A discreet investigation was launched. The investigation came to the conclusion that despite improbability of it a filly not more than 8 hours old had somehow overwhelmed a Level One inhibitor ring, and then still had enough mana left to generate a thermal event strong enough overwhelm the existing safety measures in the nursery."

     Luna looked stunned. "Celly. Were the parents told of this?"

     Celestia shook her head. " No Lulu. By the time this information had been uncovered Inferno's parents were no longer with us."

     "The filly's parents considered the fact that their filly had escaped the fire unharmed a sign of good luck. So they decided to name the filly Inferno. Perhaps not the soundest of decisions. Soon after Inferno was born her parents moved and took jobs with a shipping company located on Equestria's western coast.   For the next 3 years the filly and her parents happily lived in a house a few miles outside Tackoma.

     "Then one evening ponies in town noticed a large fire burning one of the nearby hills. Fire crews were dispatched and when they arrived they found a house fully consumed by fire and about 5 acres of dense woodlands on fire and spreading. Fortunately a combination of quick thinking on the part of the fire crews, help from local volunteers, and assistance from weather teams from Tackoma kept the fire from getting utterly out of control. However ponies found it odd that the fire appeared to be advancing up the slope in a very distinctive line."

     Celestia downed the remainder of her drink. "A weather pony named Pretty Sun was helping with the battling the fire. While trying to determine where best to move a band rain cloud to blunt the flames advance she noticed something. A filly galloping through the woods. The foal was crying but what Pretty Sun found most alarming was a swirling 10ft wide halo of roaring fire that followed and surrounded the filly."

     "I personally interviewed Pretty Sun after the incident. To this day she doesn't remember what exactly she said to Inferno. As she put it. I just started talking to the filly. Some how the mare wasn't utterly terrified by what she saw. Instead she was able to get Inferno calmed down and in the process the halo fire subsided. Pretty Sun flagged down a team member and quietly explained what she'd encountered. Somehow the mare was able to get her hooves on a Level 3 inhibitor ring. Which is not standard equipment for weather ponies, and then got it on Inferno's horn. Eventually she was able lead the filly who had a haunted look on her face down the slope and towards to the crews. The whole time filly kept muttering over and over.

     Why did they burn?

     The next morning the charred, skeletal remains of Inferno's parents were found in the smoldering remains of the house. Through all this Pretty Sun stayed by Inferno's side. I made sure the mare was rewarded for her efforts in keeping Inferno calm and under control. She was the pony who first notice that the metal Level 3 of the inhibitor ring on the filly's horn was starting to discolor.

    Celestia looked over at Luna. "It was at that moment that local officials wisely contacted me and the Royal Court."

     Luna slowly nodded her head. "That, that was a wise call."

     "Yes it was."

To be continued.