Behold, the Bringer of Light
The Solar Explorer was the first and only of its kind. Painted a marble white with golden trim laid throughout, made with the most cutting edge technology Equestria had, it was the largest, fastest, and most luxurious ship in the entirety of the Royal Navy. No expense had been spared; the greatest artists of the time had competed to decorate the interior, producing a work of art fit for divinity; the inertial dampers could turn the most turbulent of conditions into a mere thump beneath the hooves; the drive core was the largest ever created by Equestrian hooves, pushing the half-kilometer long vessel through outer space at a rate that was unheard of mere decades ago. The ponies of Equestria would have settled for no less, for this was the transport of Her Majesty Celestia, Diarch of the Day, leader and ruler of Equestria since its formation millennia ago.
Inside the Royal Suite, Celestia lounged upon the silk throw pillows, sipping her favorite blend of herbal tea as she stared out into the starry depths of space. It was truly amazing just how far her little ponies had come under her rule; she remembered, long ago, when ponies still lived in thatched huts, and it was the height of finery to own a single piece of clothes. Now, here she was, traversing stars that were far beyond Luna's night, to visit the first colony world ever attempted.
Mareius was its name, and when initial exploration had found the planet, Celestia and her sister had immediately seen the possibilities. A day cycle slightly longer than the standard that she and Luna kept to; gravity of 0.98 Equus; a thriving native biosphere, with great amounts of plant and animal life, though nothing yet of high intelligence; and, perhaps most startling of all, a natural orbital pattern that meant that no effort was required to maintain the day/night cycle. A world capable of being completely independent from Equus, with no want for food, or need for the power of the Royal Sisters to maintain the day/night cycle. Truly it was an ideal colony world where those who wished to find their fortunes or those who wished to start their lives over could go and strike out for themselves, and blaze their own trail. Celestia had signed the colonization documents presented to her nearly fifty years ago now without a second thought.
This would be their first visit to the colony since its founding. It had been agreed in a private deal between her and her sister that the ruler with the first ship would get to go first, the other of course having to remain behind to maintain the solar cycle on Equus. Celestia's Solar Explorer had been finished on schedule; Luna, who had dabbled in the design of her own ship, Veil of the Night, had learned that there were certain things that shouldn't be done when designing spaceships, and as such it was Celestia who had the privilege of visiting Mareius on the maiden voyage.
Celestia took a sip of tea, enjoying the calming flavor. Inwardly, she was quite excited to be visiting the new colony. She had seen photos, and illusions of course, but it never quite compared to the real feeling of grass under your hooves. She was looking forward to seeing a sunrise on the colony, compare it to her own works, and she was quite sure Luna was excited to see what the realm of the night looked like without her personal touch. Would they be as beautiful? Would they be different? Could they incorporate such things into their own personal domains?
Perhaps the most exciting prospect of this whole affair was not that it was beautiful, but that it existed at all. If Equestria had stumbled upon this perfect, life bearing world in their own infant attempts at exploration, what else lay out there, in the stars? Immortality had a tendency to give one the long view on life, and what Celestia saw upon the horizon took her breath away. The sheer number of possibilities to be contemplated were astounding; perhaps, even, there was other life out there in the cosmos?
She took another sip of tea. The possibilities were endless. And life, in her experience, was hardy, and always found a way. Personally, she had no doubt that life existed, somewhere, out there. Now, with the faster than light travel possibilities afforded by the discovery of Element Zero, as it had become known over the past century, there was a real possibility that she would one day meet a creature not of Equestria.
What would they be like? she idly wondered. Perhaps quadrupeds, like her ponies, and most of the species on Equus? Could they fly, like pegasi? Would they instead stand upright like the Minotaurs, muscular and bold? Would they be a proud warrior race, much like the Griffons? Or would they be social, desiring friendship like her little ponies? She was content to wait and find out. The present was exciting enough as it was. The future... well...
Celestia allowed fantasized possibilities to play out in her mind as she took another sip of-
The ship shook ever so slightly.
Celestia frowned.
She wasn't able to do more than that because in the next moment, metal shutters shot across the windows at astonishing speed. Another slight tremor ran through the room.
Celestia set down her tea.
"Epona, what is going on?" she asked.
The form of a pony appeared, a magi-tech illusion of a pony with a white mane and chestnut coat. She was Epona, the ship's Arcane Intelligence, a fusion of magical come-to-life spells combined with the processing power available in the latest computers. The pony bowed low before the princess.
"A small situation has come up, Your Highness. Nothing important. The Admiral respectfully requests that you remain here until it is resolved," the pony stated, rising back to her hooves.
Celestia's eyes narrowed. Arcane intelligences were smart, Epona doubly so being that she had more processing power than any computer besides the supercomputer in her School for Gifted Unicorns. But the magic of the come-to-life spell meant that they had personality, emotions, tics, and cues just as any other living pony did. And right now, several lifetimes of politics and practice at reading ponies was telling her that Epona was lying. The folded ears and uneasy smile that the illusionary pony gave her as the silence dragged on only confirmed her thoughts.
Celestia spread her wings majestically in a stretch before standing to her hooves, not staring the illusion of the ships' computer down, but never letting the mare leave her sight. She furled her wings slightly before advancing towards the poor AI, making her dissatisfaction and disappointment with her answer clear without even saying a word. She stopped a comfortable distance away with a neutral expression on her face, towering over the AI without even trying. Epona wilted before her, unable to meet her eyes.
"Epona, what is happening? Why is the ship on lockdown?" Celestia asked evenly. She may have been more hooves off than her sister, but Celestia knew more about her own ship than many suspected... especially the emergency procedures.
"Uuhhh... heh..." Epona said nervously.
Celestia rolled her eyes and sighed. Very well, if Epona would not tell her, she would find another way.
A tremor jolted her slightly as she began to head for the door.
"W-wait! Princess! Please, the Admiral has the situation under control!" Epona protested, stepping in front of her princess.
Celestia continued through the illusionary pony without slowing.
"Then when I arrive on the bridge I will witness his skills in action," Celestia replied. She pressed her hoof against the door control. It turned red and did not open.
"Please, Princess, this is an emergency," Epona begged on her knees. "We need you to be safe! You must remain here!"
The Royal Suite was the most well protected location on the ship, despite having a three hundred and sixty degree dome window. Fully sealable, ejectable, with separate dedicated arcane and element zero generators for shields, dedicated environmental systems, even a separate propulsion system and communications. As with everything else on the ship, no expense had been spared to protect the Diarch of the Day.
Celestia had no intention of staying there. The very fact that they were attempting to keep her there meant that there was far more to the emergency situation than Epona was letting on. And she had no intention of sitting this one out.
"Epona, open the door," Celestia commanded.
She could see the desperation in Epona's illusionary eyes. A moment later, that turned to defeat. Epona bowed her head and faded out as the hoof panel turned green and the door opened.
Celestia strode out at a quick walk, forcing her guards into a trot as they fell in behind her. Down this corridor, through this one, make a left, right, left, down this elevator...
Epona's illusionary self sat before the final door to the bridge, desperation and despair in equal measure written on her face.
"Princess, please..." she began.
"It shall be alright, Epona," she replied kindly, giving the poor AI a reassuring smile. "Now please, open the door."
Epona sighed before flickering out. The door to the bridge opened.
It was utter chaos. Ponies banged their hooves on consoles, shouting advice and suggestions and epithets and even a few prayers to Celestia. Everypony was rushing about, shouting about something. So much so that there was only one pony that really noticed the Princess’ arrival.
“Princess Celestia, it would have been better if you had stayed in the Royal Suite,” Admiral Water Hammer remarked, turning towards the Princess. The pegasus general had a distinguished record despite Equestria’s relatively peaceful near past, and had been chosen to captain her personal flagship.
“I have no intention of sitting by the side as you and your mares put yourselves at risk for me,” Celestia replied, sitting down.
The Admiral gave a chuckle devoid of mirth. “I know. Who do you think prevented Epona from locking you in your suite?” he asked.
“What is the situation, Admiral?” she asked softly.
Hammer studied her for a moment, then gestured to the back of the bridge, where a tactical illusion table was set up. A few quick commands, and the table showed the space around them.
“We’ve been ambushed, Princess. By our own ponies. Two freighters from Mareius came to greet us, and once they got close enough, they used their lasers and arcane cannons to disable our thrusters. Everyone immediately went to alert, but the damage was done. Then this… thing… showed up, and began to destroy our escorts,” he said, pointing to the ship in question.
Celestia studied the image. It was black, and reminded her of a squid, a thick middle that tapered to a point one way and split into several tentacle-looking things the other. As she watched, the illusion raised a tentacle, and a stream of… something came out, spearing another illusionary ship. Celestia recognized it as one of the six escort ships that had been accompanying the Explorer.
Hammer winced. “The Honeydew. That just leaves the Brightwing.”
Celestia immediately caught onto the implication. Scanning the illusion, she saw four other debris markers… each with life-pod markers surrounding them.
“We… never really stood a chance, Princess. With us disabled, we had no choice but to stand and fight. Worse, they jammed our comm frequencies the moment it arrived, I haven’t been able to coordinate a defense at all. The freighters were easily disabled but, well… whatever that ship is, it is far beyond any technology or magic that we have today. Our weapons haven’t even made a dent in its barriers. Whatever this thing is, whatever it wants… we have no way to stop it.”
Admiral Hammer bowed. “My apologies, Princess. I fear I have failed you and doomed us all.”
“We are yet alive, Admiral, and where there is life, there is still hope,” Celestia responded calmly. She was no stranger to violent first contacts; the gryphons had started a war with theirs, and relations with the Yaks and Minotaurs were both rocky at the start.
A spear of light pierced the Brightwing on the table, leaving just the mysterious ship, two freighters, and the disabled Solar Explorer.
“Admiral! The freighters are moving to dock!” one of the consolemares shouted.
Hammer leapt into action, flying over the command console towards communications. “All hooves, prepare to repel boarders!” he announced over the ship wide intercom.
Celestia, however, was distracted, and barely noted the whirlwind efforts in front of her. Her attention was captured by the illusionary model of the ship… which had turned to look at her.
“You are Celestia, ruler of these creatures,” a deep voice said. It was powerful, like a dragon, though without the normal rumble that a creature of such size produced.
Celestia’s eyes darted towards the Admiral- he, and the rest of the bridge crew, had seen and heard nothing, instead more focused upon the impending docking. Her horn lit golden as she quickly cast a few spells to keep it that way. Negotiations had just started.
“I am. And to whom am I speaking?”
The tentacles moved, twitched. “My name is irrelevant. It is beyond your comprehension.”
Bit of an ego. Definitely reminds me of a number of dragons. “Then how am I to refer to you during these negotiations?” Celestia asked.
“There is no negotiation. Your purpose is already determined and cannot be avoided,” it replied.
Celestia ignored the ego for now. Despite not saying anything of importance, the creature was already revealing its intents. It believed itself the superior here, that it could take what it wanted and that Celestia could do nothing to stop it. She decided to humor it for now, and see what other information she could get out of it. “And what purpose is that?”
“Your species is unique. The talents your ponies possess were unforeseen. But your talents are inferior to the Ascended. Your species will bend to our will so that you might better serve this cycle and the next. You, Celestia, will be my harbinger to your subjects. Through you, your species shall be ascended.”
Celestia mulled that carefully. The words this creature used made it clear that it had no intention to negotiate, and it was clear that it intended to subjugate her ponies. Somehow, this would happen through her. It somehow believed that she would either go along with this, or had some means of forcing her cooperation.
“And if I refuse?”
“Your cooperation is not required. You cannot escape your fate. The Indoctrination has proven effective against your species. The servants will bring you to me, and I shall see to your Indoctrination myself. Your position as spiritual leader and monarch shall cause others to follow into Indoctrination, submitting themselves before us. The ascension will be swift. The race of ponies will be unified into one single body, ascending to the stars to join with us. Those left behind will serve during the next cycle. Your fate is decided.”
Slavery, in other words. There were many spells that Celestia knew of, dark spells that could bend the minds of ponies against their will, and it appeared that this creature intended to use one upon her. Had already used one upon the ponies on those freighters that were even now docking with her ship. And she, as one of the Diarchs of Equestria, was perfectly placed to spread the spell further, through her influence and power. It would be chaos, and likely not the kind that Discord liked. It would be the end of all pony life, all life period, if she was interpreting correctly.
Celestia would not stand for it.
“No. I will not allow it.”
A tentacle twitched… amused. “You are insignificant. Your purpose now is only to further your species ascension, and then to be improved for the next cycle. You cannot stop this.”
Anger was building in Celestia now, anger at what had been done to her charges, and anger for what it intended to do to her, anger at the sheer hubris this creature had. Celestia had bent knee to precious, precious few in her long life, and never to any who had demanded it or threatened her.
Still, she kept her face calm, her voice level. Last chance.
“I will not allow you to enslave me, or my ponies. You will stand down and release those under your control or you will die,” she delivered levelly.
A tentacle twitched. “Threats. Amusing. Countless species across millions of cycles have thought as you do. All have fallen, and risen again as Ascended. Your species will be no different.”
“So you think,” Celestia replied, eyes narrowed, voice hard. She dropped the privacy spells she had erected around the tactical table and herself before closing her eyes. Her horn lit again as she began casting safety spells.
Precious few knew just how powerful Celestia was. Yes, she raised the Sun every day and set it every night, but the unicorns had once done that too. Her power, it appeared, was not infinite. Indeed, some even argued that she was not as powerful as she seemed, pointing to her defeat at the hooves of the changeling Queen Chrysalis as proof that she was capable of being beaten. After all, either changeling Queens were powerful enough to best the strongest of alicorns at the height of their power, a scary thought, or Celestia was perhaps not as powerful as she seemed, and the ability to perform the magic of hundreds of unicorns was more a relic of her special talent and not her magical power.
In truth, Chrysalis had not matched Celestia for power; there were only two creatures in the universe that could even think of matching her for power. No, Chrysalis had merely escalated their duel to the point where Celestia was forced to make a choice. Lose, and hope that the situation could be recovered by other means, either through her faithful student, Cadence, or her dear sister Luna…
Or turn Canterlot Castle and every creature in it into a puddle of molten slag as she unleashed her true, full power.
Needless to say, she had opted for the first option that day. Her pride and reputation did not matter nearly so much as the lives of her little ponies. So she had lost, and to her relief Cadence and Shining Armor themselves had stopped the invasion. But this day, this creature, this monster…
It took forty-five seconds for her to cast the necessary spells for what she was about to do next. After that, her concentration and her power were focused on one, singular strike of unparalleled proportions.
It was known by many names; the ponies called it Celestia's Hammer, for all who found themselves in its path were shattered and broken; to the dragons, she was the White Diamond, and what she summoned, the Unquenchable Fire. A griffon general who had watched it burn his army from the face of Equus had coined the term Heaven's Fury, and never again had a Griffon army attacked Equestria. The Minotaurs had named it Judgement and had ever since confined themselves to the letter and spirit of the law she had laid down. To them, and other armies of the ancient and even the more modern world, it was a feat of unparalleled magic, a towering pillar of fire and flame that stretched from the object of Celestia’s wrath all the way to the heavens, burning everything in its path.
Science, and a better understanding of the world, made the feat of arcane power no less awe-inspiring. It was a cylinder of solar plasma, drawn directly from her charge, Sol Equus. The outside of the beam was the coolest, at a mere five thousand degrees centigrade; in the center, the core of the beam, plasma drawn from the inner core of Her Sun reached upwards of millions of degrees; no pony knew how hot it was for certain, they could only guess the true temperature.
Hundreds of thousands of tons of solar plasma slammed into the Ascended, a cylinder of fire with a diameter even greater than the two-kilometer length of the creature. The signature blue of element zero barriers flared, then almost immediately collapsed under the onslaught of plasma. The ship disappeared into white-hot beam of light.
Five seconds later, the ship burst through the side of the beam of destruction. It, all two kilometers of squid-like ship, was not not in good shape. The black ceramic armor hull glowed white with heat even as puddles of molten armor began to drift off into space. The underside glowed a slightly duller yellow, having been shielded from some of the heat by the upper side of the ship. The ship itself was beginning to deform, the pointed tip almost drooping and the main body warping underneath the boiled armor. The squid-like appendages seemed almost organic now, the molten armor flowing around now-broken joints, just beginning to solidify in the absolute cold of space. On one of them, the tip lit up a dull red as the creature tried to fire one of the weapons embedded within.
Celestia adjusted her aim.
The tactical table showed the ship spasm and writhe as the solar plasma engulfed it again. This time, there would be no escape. Unseen within the depths of five thousand centigrade and up matter, armor boiled, metal melted, and within no more than a dozen seconds two kilometers of materials and intelligence never before seen by Equestrian eyes was reduced to plasmic atoms.
Almost as an afterthought, a golden force rippled through the void of space as the beam of fire died, forcing the freighters attempting to dock away from the Solar Explorer. They drifted, their arcane generators disabled, their mass effect generators unable to compensate for the loss. Simultaneously, pinpricks of golden light appeared in the debris field of the battle, accelerating towards the ship; the lifepods were being drawn in.
Celestia allowed her power to wane before shutting it off, returning to herself. A few bracing, slow breaths steadied her temperament before she opened her eyes.
Everypony on the bridge was staring at her.
She raised a hoof to try to soothe them, but found her hoof stuck to the floor. A quick look at her hooves found that her golden shoes had melted into the deck and re-solidified.
Celestia gave an internal sigh. She had, in the name of time, skimped on some of the protective spells. It appeared that most had done their job, but a closer internal examination of one of her heat protection spells showed a mis-cast. Not too surprising, considering her last casting of this particular sequence had been… was it really seventeen hundred years ago now? Fortunately, it was not the only heat protection spell she had cast, and the others had done their work, but still, she was literally stuck to her shoes, that were melted into the floor.
And her peytral had melted and hardened around her neck and chest, preventing her from moving her front legs and neck. And the tactical table was warped from the heat of having been so near her. And there was a very interesting pattern of melted glass, plastics, and metal from where her tail had casually brushed across the screens behind her at some point during the confrontation. And the ceiling was now burnt and slightly warped from her mane. All re-solidified, thankfully that spell was working, but still...
On the other hoof, nopony was hurt, and the ship hadn’t been melted to slag around her, so Celestia counted it as a net win. A few quick applications of heat and her hooves popped free of their stuck shoes. Another quick application re-melted the deformed and warped peytral, allowing the molten gold to flow and drip off her fur until she was naked before the bridge. Freed now from her bindings, Celestia walked over to the stunned Admiral.
“Admiral, begin the recovery of the escape pods of our escorts. Turn none away, I offer my own accommodations if we need the space. Then make what repairs are needed to return us to Equus. I must discuss this situation with my sister.”
Celestia turned and walked to the door, ignoring the buzz that erupted at her departure. The two guards fell in behind her as she headed back to her cabin, trusting Admiral Hammer and his crew to the recovery of the survivors. For now, she needed a cup of tea as she pondered the measures she needed to take. The colony, and those on the freighters, would need aid to recover and to remove the dark taint from their minds. Preparations would need to be started to address the possibility of more of these ‘Ascended’ attacks. Information would need to be turned over to the various other governments of Equus, diplomacy used to prepare them as well for the potential threat… so much to do.
Perhaps she would add a bit of brandy to her tea. It was going to be a long afternoon.
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.........DANM! Forget the crucible bring Celestia!
where is twilight in this she need's to go to space to she is also a princess
Well when she fought her sister, heavily anchanted castle was turned into ruins. And there is not even a trace of city surrounding the castle merely thouthands year later... When gods fight, mortals don't suffer, contrary to some philosopher, they simply die...
So reaper was bit idiotic.
I think this fic needs some villains declaring what she's doing impossible to really be complete
6636687 nonetheless? Your phrasing suggests you're coming in expecting to be unimpressed. And calling people Bronies as an insult on fimfiction is weaker than any plot that could be written
i have a teory on that: Celestia is Solar powered. Being the goddess of the sun it would make sense that she would be more powerful afteer soaking some up. and what would be the best way o prevent her from doing so? perhaps keeping her indoors, getting fawned over by servants preparing her for the wedding ceremony?
Also, you know what they say....
6636772 Wat... I called people bronies as an insult? Really?
Yes I came in expecting to see something I've already seen. Trust me it's better to be unimpressed from things, than come in expecting the next J.K. Rowling.
Yes I saw the same excuses, the same pointless fawning over Celestia that failed to convince me she was that powerful. I cannot with good consience believe that the mare that was disabled by two measly vines, the mare that couldn't defeat the smooze because her horn was covered in slime, the mare that outright got defeated in ONE BLAST by Chrysalis is strong. I find it overall boring that people want Celestia and Luna that strong.
It's like taking "One Punch Man" seriously...
24.media.tumblr.com/3fb7da1285839fa333ed17fc66443f56/tumblr_mjs95jnjf01rp8oc7o4_1280.png
At least "One Punch Man" ((which honestly this fic felt like a more "serious" one punch man)) has the sincerity to think of itself as a joke and it WINS because of it. Any fic that describes Celestia or Luna, as One Punch Man-esque creatures deserves a "Parody" and "Comedy" tag as a result.
I know you said this is a one-shot but I would like to see an attack on Equus that Luna would have to defend.
That and to see the recovery and aftermath of these stories.
This story was awesome!
"And to others she is Sol Invicta, the Unconquered Sun"
Very well done, just like the Reaper. Just like how I like my calamari, well cooked and not trying to eat me.
Military might the other form of diplomacy .
6636808 Shut your goddamned mouth you assclown.
Its because of people like you is why we can't have any fun every once in a while.
Well, all's i have to say is
THAT WAS BLOODY EPIC!!!
that's a 10 on the
itude meter if i've seen one recently!
6636842 s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/236x/00/c0/d1/00c0d164a38bd5c86d33a03442dadbb8.jpg
6636876 I've had worse.
It is nice seeing Celestia in a powerful perspective as the show doesn't really exhibit how powerful she is or how powerful she should be.
Good Story, sir/ma'am. It is nice seeing a Reaper totally slaughtered.
6636815
I have the headcannon that where Celestia would be the Offense, capable of drawing power from her Sun and destroying whole armies and the like, Luna would be the Defense, Likely using the light of her Moon to bathe all of Equus with an impregnable barrier that would keep the Ascended at bay far long enough till Celestia Arrived to deal with them.
And I do mean, " Far Long Enough." Meaning Luna is probably sitting there playing her Ponystation 4 and not even TRYING to keep them out.
6636876
To be honest, I see a lot of the 'Celestia is weak' in the cartoon as well. That was actually one reason why I wrote this story, because I feel that we don't really ever see Celestia's real power. I provided an explanation as to why she lost to Chrysalis, and I like to think that in other circumstances, she either chose to be defeated for the same reasons or was taken by surprise. I just don't feel that any of that is doing Celestia, a creature that is probably immortal and is able to move a sun around like a ball on a string, any justice whatsoever in the power department.
That, and I wanted an excuse to hit a Reaper with a beam of death and have it die a horrible, horrible death like it deserved.
Yaay, finally, someone uses a decent part of Celestias power.
May I offer for next time, that she combines it with the Elements Of Harmony, so that she doesnt have to mess around with prolonged volumes of slow moving mass energy, but can cause it to bunch up into an encapsulating compressing plasma shield, which then collapses to a point.
Basically, makes a star core Mass Relay, destination, Everywhere?
Always fun when you pump enough energy into an attack that it spews antimatter due to pair production from its outer edges.
6636687 When gods fight, it is the mortals who suffer. You forget two major factors. One, it's a kids show, two, if they don't hold back to a certain point then they likely WOULD turn Canterlot into a pile of slag. Celestia is not the main protagonist, nor is she meant to be. She's meant to be the mother figure/teacher who tries to redeem everybody she can- she isn't SUPPOSED to be a fighter in the show. However, when you think about the fact that she's ruled for over 1000 years, you can fill in the blanks with so much. Plus, there are villians EVERYWHERE, both appearing for the first time and breaking out of thousand year old prisons, so you KNOW she has power of a sort, to defeat the likes of Tirek, potentially Sombra, there are likely hundreds of others she's faced with Luna before NMM, and there are most certainly more that we've never heard about in universe. Plus, there are the wars that would inevetibly happen- after all, some races are too stupid for their own good. When you get to the show's day and age, she's had over 1000 years of experience to try and stop the fight before it happens in the first place- usually by befriending the enemies. This will likely to have led to the degradation of fighting skills, but even so she still moves the fucking sun. She still has a shitton of magic power, AS SHOWN WITH TIREK. You've seen what Twilight could do with the power of 4 alicorns in that fight- and that was with her not being anywhere near used to that much strength. Even putting Celestia's part in alone, you'd be able to destroy a good chunk of the mountain Canterlot sits on if you don't hold back. When you see her beaten in the show, Smooze and the vines are BY PLOT DEVICES, Chrysalis has some legitimate strength draining love from someone who is loved by, and loves, ANOTHER ALICORN- and yes, they'd still be holding back with that beam struggle both as a kids show thing and to not kill everyone there, NMM is her sister whom she doesn't want to hurt... Give her an opponent in the middle of nowhere that it is proven can't be redeemed, and they would likely be fried on the spot. Believe what you will, Celestia and Luna are NOT weak- they get fucked over by the writers more often then not. By all means, try to prove me wrong- I love a good debate.
6636923 Well the problem is you turned Celestia on the extreme.
You have no idea how many times I've had my OC have a bunch of spells that are overpowered. I've had to nerf her twice and she wasn't that strong... The thing is yea I understand that Celestia is strong, and that she isn't done justice, but the charm of a character lies within overcoming said obstacles, and not in some sort of anger-driven power fantasy which I thought this fic to be ((it is in a way and your comment does say so a bit)) but the point is that I see that "she chose to be defeated" as an excuse. It's the same excuse people use to justify bad writing when Discord was forgiven for TREASON, when Twilight brainwashed a whole town only to receive more homework later, and when Luna is okay psychologically to rule after we saw the Tantibus incident.
People try to keep their idols stacked up high and cannot admit that even they are... ponies ((human doesn't really apply here)). They are ponies with faults, with weaknesses, with sins, with interesting and complicated lives that are FAR from perfect! You know why those "Celestia are Weak" stories are so good? Because they provide struggle, they provide conflict, they provide CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT! They honor the characters that are Celestia and Luna far more because when you say that someone is a badass you need to PROVE he is a badass.
6636951 No. They can't turn Canterlot into a pile of slug. They didn't when Nightmare Moon and Celestia fought. And if they were so powerful they wouldn't need the elements. Kids show or not when you require Deus Ex Machina to win then you are not allowed to call yourself powerful.
YES Celestia and Luna ARE strong, but they are NOT gods when I can do the same thing they do with 11 more of my friends.
You know I like how you say thousands of stuff would have happened but the thing is "That's your headcanon" and there's "Occam's Razor" that says assuming all this is... well pointless. Besides the imprisoned villains I can't believe that Celestia or Luna OR the Equestrian army have any amount of skill when they are CLEARLY warned about an upcoming threat, elevate the city to terrorism level security, get attacked BY THE OUTSIDE, and STILL LOSE.
Celestia and Luna being rusty is an acceptable thing but none seems to accept even that. So yea... you can understand my frustration.
Wow. This just... I can't even...
Just... gonna leave this with a download and a sour taste in my mouth.
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I make no claim that Celestia is perfect. I like her, I admit, but she does have flaws; she is easily forgiving, so much so that she leaves herself open to betrayal from those she has forgiven (Discord the obvious here). She's unreasonably optimistic and overconfident at times, especially when it comes to Twilight; sure, it's worked out so far, but seriously? Sending one mare off to a town with a cryptic message and hoping that she manages to defeat someone who is basically a demigod of nightmares, and that's her whole plan? Sending six mares off to try to defeat a stallion who managed to enslave an entire city? Yea, Celestia isn't perfect by any stretch. She may have the power of a demigod in my mind, but she is as fallible as any other pony.
That being said, I believe you can make a story out of characters of any power level. Just because Celestia has a hugely overpowered attack doesn't mean that it's automatically a bad story, the same way having Celestia be weak enough that she's basically a normal unicorn with wings doesn't make it a good story. This isn't meant to be a character development piece, it's a oneshot about Celestia's power levels. There is no overarching plot or villain, it's right there in front of you, go punch it in the face. The obstacle to overcome is very easily overcome, because I purposefully gave Celestia a target that I felt was within her power to destroy. This isn't a character piece where the character is supposed to develop; Celestia is static in this story. No, this is a oneshot about just how powerful I feel she is, nothing more, nothing less.
I always liked the interpretation that the big obstacle to Celestia kicking all sorts of ass with the power of the sun is the fact that she'd kind of like there to still be a country to rule after everything is said and done.
Earth-like environments generally do best when they can get to enjoy the power of the sun from a fair distance! Roughly one (1) astronomical unit of distance has worked pretty well for humanity, so far.
This is independent of any other personality interpretations, of course, of which there are many.
Off-topic, but 'Behold, the Bringer of Light' always reminds me of the Nuke Cannon artillery from C&C Generals. We bear gifts!
6637009
Of course they didn't display that kind of juice when Celestia and Nightmare moon duked it out. Both wanted ground standing afterward. Celestia because she cared about "her little ponies" and Nightmare Moon because she wanted people to worship her and they cant do that when they are dead (don't use the "eternal night would kill everyone anyway" argument either, beyond all the various ways that might not actually be true, its also a lot further in the future and Nightmare moon is a rather "in the now person").
Also, if you look at what it Mass Effect cannon it takes to knock out a Reaper it isn't honestly that much firepower. So Celestia wouldn't even need to be that strong to down one.
And even further: Yes in the show she doesn't actually demonstrate that kind of power. Even the moving the sun in the show can be explained by the sun not working like our own sun in the real world.
But this isn't the show. This is a crossover story with Mass Effect, and therefore by the very premise of Equestria being a star system in the Mass Effect system its sun most operate on the general principles observed in reality. Which means that its freaking huge. Which means that anyone doing anything meaningful to it has to throw around a lot of power. Which means Celestia has a lot of power in this world. Since in a world where this story happens the previous must be true, things in the show must be explained away to match those facts.
Seeing as how the simplest explanation for Celestia's lack of showing off the brute force the crossover aspect of this story requires is for her to be wary of collateral damage, it makes perfect sense for her to be a-ok showing off in space. Space is big. Lots of room for energy to get slung around and not hit friendlies.
In short:
The fact that this is a crossover with Mass Effect in which Equestria is a star system is the Mass Effect universe requires that certain assumptions about how the setting works based upon the facts of the Mass Effect universe not the one from Friendship is magic.
These assumptions require that Celestia be powerful to keep manifestly true fact of "Celestia moves the sun" true in some form or another.
The fact the Celestia is powerful by the requirements of the setting of this story in no way has to be a declaration that her power is the same in the show.
Hahahaha! Yes!
I've been waiting for this.
I admit I cackled as she let loose. But that stems more from my fondness of the idea that Celestia is powerful but in a way that she has two "power" settings: on and off.
6636687 That's a daft comment. Everything you've said is your interpretation, nothing more. The things we know about Celestia and Luna are:
1. They can move the sun and moon; Celestia can do both. Source: Season 1, Episode 1.
2. Each was able to use three of the six elements of harmony. Source: Season 4, Episode 1 (Zecora's potion). Likely not to their fullest extent, although that could be due to the nature of the elements, requiring six individuals to use correctly.
3. Combined with Twilight and Cadance, their powers are at least equal to that of many, many ordinary ponies. Source: Season 4, Episode 26 (Twilight fighting Tirek). Note that Twilight is highly inexperienced with so much magic, and is likely using it less effectively than might be physically possible.
We also see Celestia beaten twice (Chrysalis and the Plundervines), and it implied that she is beaten a third time by Nightmare Moon (Luna on steroids, so that doesn't count). The usual explanation for Chrysalis is given in the story, and the Plundervines had been growing, leeching magic from the tree of harmony, for a thousand years.
That's what the show gives us, now it's up to us to draw our own conclusions. "Celestia is weak" is not really the conclusion I would draw from the evidence, but that's just me.
6637130
There was NONE at the castle! There was NO REASON to hold back! And what the hell do you mean we don't know if that would kill them? How would they even survive? Don't you DARE use the excuse "Magic". There is no canon fact in the show that Equestria can survive for a long time with the sun and moon in imbalance.
I've played the game. I am aware.
That also means at the same time that since 12 unicorns can do the same thing as she can ((it's written in a book somewhere)) then it means that they DIDN'T EVEN NEED HER.
The problem isn't that she is able to do so... the problem is that she's treated as a power fantasy.
To be fair, there is no such thing as overkill when Reapers are involved.
6637053 True. But it takes work... it just doesn't impress me is all... it requires a lot for me to even enjoy this given how short it is. Which means that if I'm not already into this kind of thing I wouldn't enjoy it anyway.
6637207 If you read my later comments I admit I was overreacting but I have a serious trigger button when people assume Celestia is "One Punch Man".
6637009
It is a kid's show. If Celestia and Luna were powerful enough canonically to blink half the cosmos out of existence with half a thought, they'd still get taken out by someone throwing paint on them. The entire point is worfing the 'old, powerful mentor' so that the characters the kids identify with seem strong, even when they're pathetically weak by comparison.
If you already knew you were going to dislike this, why'd you read it? Barring that, why comment? You knew this was a place your comment was going to generate hatred. There's precious few stories that don't treat Celestia like shit or a sex object. You come to one of them and start throwing your personal and wildly opposed views around in one of the few places people who actually want a powerful Celestia get together at, you're not going to be praised and you're not going to change minds or sway opinions.
Putting forth an unnecessarily hostile and/or diametrically opposed opinion in a place where it will be violently rebuked, when you don't even like it to begin with means you KNEW this would happen and did it anyway. You invited the negative response. Which is essentially the very definition of trolling. Come on Nion, you're better than this.
6637289 You know well my initial response wasn't good I get it. And also I've seen the excuse "It's a kids show that's why they aren't doing it" a thousand times, even used it myself. But then comes Ocam's Razor and says "No...".
In general the suspension of disbelief is challenged with a sledgehammer smashing glass.
I should have thought better in my initial response.
However! I want you to know that I generally come expecting something bad, because if that happens then I haven't lost anything. However IF I am surprised there is the "pleasant surprise effect" that earns thumbs up and likes and favorites from me.
Oh and I guess I'm really vulnerable to trigger buttons.
I like you. Pm?
6636912 The combat styles I usually imagine for Celestia and Luna are raw power vs. subtlety. Celestia can bring down the fire of the sun and incinerate a battlefield, but when Luna goes to war the shadows themselves turn against you and things turn into a horror movie on a large scale. Patrols vanish without a trace, gibbering monsters from the id lurk in your trenches, and officers go mad from the nightmares afflicting them.
6637244 That is actually a wonderful comparison. Perhaps a crossover should be made?
6637213
You wound me. I would never use the excuse "becuase Magic." Its a terrible excuse and mockery of the art of debate.
How about this:
Luna's, and by virtue of being Luna, Nightmare Moon's goal was to have ponies appreciate her night. To adore her the way they did Celestia. They can't do that if they are dead. Luna is presumably not a complete moron and realizes that. So her method of reaching her goal , aka bringing about eternal night to force ponies to experience it rather than sleep through it, makes no sense in that regard. From this we can assume that Luna/Nightmare Moon had a plan to prevent this. This plan could range from shifting the farming to crops that don't need light such as mushrooms(yes its a horrible plan I know), to putting the sun back up every now and then. The second of course requires that she be able to move the sun and the moon, but sense Celestia could do both and Nightmare Moon was by all accounts more powerful than Celestia there is no reason to think she couldn't do both as well. Yes the second is rather contrary to ETERNAL night, but that could just be a case of hyperbole or a statement to who would be in charge.
Of course Luna/Nightmare Moon may well have been insane enough to not care about the "everybody dies" part of the plan. We don't know for sure. But I think that the dichotomy of "wanting everyone to admire her" and "causing everyone to die" is sufficient that it leaves some room to doubt whether Nightmare Moon beating Celestia would have actually resulted in everyone dying.
Now as for the "no one at the castle" thing. Ok sure. But how about outside the castle? In the neighboring villages? What is the collateral damage range should they choose to step up their firepower? We don't know. And the conditions of this story and the nature of the crossover force us to accept, at least for this story, that the answer is a lot. Another explanation is that throwing around any more power than we see them do in the duel presented in the show may take more time is available in a fast paced duel. Celestia's reaper-be-gone spell seemed to take some time to cast in the stroy.
Honest curiosity. Where is this stated? I've never actually seen this number used for the "how many unicorns does it take to move the sun?" question before. If this is the cannon number than that does indeed put darn heavy damper on anyone wishing to have Celestia be able to throw around a lot of power and still be able to claim that they aren't in non-cannon territory.
Maybe she is. She certainly is elsewhere and I can see an argument for her being treated as such here(I personally view it as a thought experiment on would an entity who can manipulate a star to whatever degree take on a reaper and win, but I will admit to occasionally having a rather abnormal perspective on things). But is that an inherently bad thing? Isn't that in the end what large amounts of fiction is? Perhaps its not your cup of tea, which is A-ok, but I don't think that it inherently makes a story bad.
I would also like to point at that this is the first time you've mentioned the "power fantasy" angle. All of your previous comments have been decrying the possibility of Celestia having the power needed to pull off something on the level we see here.
6637375 Sure. A parody perhaps. I'd love that actually.
Cool. I love these kind of epic badassery stories.
I have a question however: What's up with Twilight and Cadence? i understand that the story didn't really need any depth of their current situation, but they deserve mention at least, given how far into the future this is.
6637378 Sure if you add a thousand ifs yes. But then I can respond with "Occam's Razor" and say it's too convoluted to work.
As for the number it's in a book that's a wee bit questionable in matters of canon. It's 4 in the morning and I want to sleep. Maybe later?
As for the power fantasy thing. Yes... for the most part power-fantasy is the indication of BAD fanfiction. I have no problem with it in it's entirety but at least let us be self-aware a bit.
I'm leaving the story a 'like' , however I would have liked to see the Reaper's response to suddenly having the tides turned against it. One final act of arrogance and/or fear.
6637399
I personally don't see Nightmare Moon not actually desiring the death off all life on Equestria as unlikely enough to necessitate the use of Occam's Razor, but I feel that that is a matter of opinion thing.
I'll agree that obvious power fantasy's do have a higher likely hood of being bad stories than those that are not. I certainly didn't mean to imply that it cant be, I only meant to assert that power fantasy doesn't automatically equal bad story.
Have a nice night.
6637400
That's easy.
"Aw, fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu-"
6637461 Sorry man I just don't exactly have the energy to get into a crazy ass debate right now and I'm sure I've dissapointed you with this. t_t
So much angst over a story. Just because someones head canon doesn’t match someone elses.
In the wedding Celestia was in the position of trying to swat a roach with only two choices a fly swatter or a 220 cm Hellbore. ( see Bolos or “Legacy” by Nfire).
In the story “The Sun Burns Brightly” by Eakin Celestia is outside without a crowd of beings around her and she is able to use some of her real power. That amount used in the throne room would have killed everypony there except her and Luna and possibly Cadence.
I loved it. Best MLP/ME crossover since the Equestrian Equation. Too bad it's a one shot, but still a great story.
6637130 This, people, is what I think of Every. Faust. DAMN. TIME a fight breaks out in the comments of a story
I imagine that I am not alone in this regard...
Nice little oneshot. I enjoyed it.
Also, in reference to the comments section...
I am reminded of "We didn't start the flame war" by College Humor, only with a little less foul language.
6637316
That's a good headcannon as well, I love our fandom. We're just a bunch of psychopaths capable of thinking up the most demented of things while also being the most loving and forgiving lol