//------------------------------// // A Meteoric Rise...and Fall // Story: Fire vs. Love: A Battle for Supremacy // by UnweptSchlipps //------------------------------// Celestia launched a blue beam into the middle of the courtyard, expanding into a portal. It was like a tiny little window to the stars, leading out into the bleakness of space. The suction of space began to take hold, pulling everything in Canterlot, from loose rubble to the spectators in the courtyard. Rainbow Dash struggled hard against the pull of nothingness, her wings flapping like they had never flapped before. Holding onto the pegasus’s hind leg was Applejack, who was shouting, “Don’t stop flying!” “Wasn’t planning on it!” the cyan flier replied, dodging a flying gold bar. Rarity and Pinkie Pie were simultaneously screaming, “Ohmygosh, ohmygosh, ohmygosh,” the former in terror, the latter in oblivious glee. And surprisingly enough, Fluttershy was the one keeping them from flying away. Twilight Sparkle was having a hard time staying upright. The entire tower was leaning towards the tiny portal, and she was hanging off the edge. Her teeth gritted as she tightened her grip on the stone, spewing curses to the name of her beloved mentor. Meanwhile, Shining Armor held onto Princess Luna, both making sure the other didn’t get flung into the void. Surprisingly enough, the two ponies still kept up their magic spells adamantly, the stallion keeping his cloaking up while Luna siphoned her powers to Cadence. Of course, the night princess wasn’t so sure how well that would fare against space. And lastly, there was the princess of love herself, relentlessly flapping her wings while screaming, “Merde!” The moon energy had given her an unlimited amount of stamina; it was just too bad the suction of space was just too great. Cadence tried to teleport out of there, but she wasn’t able to concentrate long enough with pieces of rubble flying dangerously close to her head. Suddenly, a random pony with orange pupils came rocketing by screaming gleefully, “I’M IN SPAAAAAAAACE!” The princess could feel the biting cold of space tickling her hind legs as she slowly but surely got pulled in. It seemed as though she was doomed to be sucked into empty nothingness, stranded for who knows how long. The thought of Luna stuck on the moon for a thousand years came to mind, and Cadence prayed she would not suffer the same fate. Then she noticed Princess Celestia, who was facing the other direction and flying away. Cadence knew she herself wasn’t going to escape the evil grasp of the moon. But she also knew she wasn’t going alone. In a quick moment of thought, the pink alicorn shouted, “Oh no you don’t…you’re coming with me!” Then she unleashed a blue, whip-like tendril of magic towards her aunt. The magical lasso wrapped itself around Celestia’s torso, much to the divine ruler’s dismay. “NO! Let go of me you fool!” Celestia screamed. But her plea fell on deaf ears, and when the tendril latched on, Cadence stopped flapping her wings and let herself get sucked through. Celestia tried her best to escape, but her wings were bound by her niece’s magic. In one last ditch attempt, she tried to close the portal and sever the binding. But it was too late, for the screaming sun goddess slipped through the blue portal just as it began to wane. The portal closed with such a force, it sent all the spectators flying back. Pegasi like Rainbow Dash were flung far into the streets, hitting the ground hard. Most of the spires in Canterlot weren’t able to handle the atomic force, and they tumbled to the ground. At a far off tower, Twilight Sparkle struggled to maintain her grip on the smooth cobblestone. Finally, her hooves gave way, and the unicorn was sent right over the edge. She tried to teleport out of there, but the siphon spell had sucked out every last bit of energy she had. All she could to was scream as the ground came closer and closer. xxx The explosion sent Shining Armor flying into the tower wall, hitting his head hard and leaving him dazed. The magical field around Canterlot immediately dispersed, revealing the night sky. Luna fared better, managing to dig her hooves into the dirt and keep from flinging away. Finally, the shock wave ceased, and the shock of what she had witnessed kept Luna stock still. She glanced up at the moon, hoping for some kind of glimpse to see if her loved ones were alright. Then she turned her gaze to the crowd, her poor subjects, where everypony was lying flat on the ground moaning. And for some reason, the princess could still hear somepony yelling. The shrill voice was familiar…and kept coming closer and closer… THUD! The sight of Luna getting hit brought Shining Armor back to his senses. He swiftly leapt into action, as it was his duty to protect the princesses from harm. And seeing as though he had already failed that, he figured he might as well help her up. “Princess Luna! Your Majesty, are you alri-.” The stallion stopped, not taking his eyes off the lavender figure groaning on top of the crippled princess. “Twily?!?” Cadence was sucked into the portal and was thrust high above the moon’s surface. The first thing she did was immediately flail her legs as she slowly descended from the moon’s low gravity. Frankly, she figured she ought to be dead from the lack of air, cold, lack of pressure and all that scientific nonsense. But it wasn’t like she was complaining. For if there ever was a time to break the laws of physics, Cadence figured now was as good a time as any. She gently touched down on the moon’s surface, kicking up some dust. In front of her, taking up most of the dark sky was earth; a sight that truly took her breath away. Perhaps she would have enjoyed the view, until she remembered Celestia was right there with her. The sun goddess was floating aimlessly above her, the shock of being in space evident on her face. Cadence called out, “Not exactly what you had in mind, no?” The pink alicorn was a little taken back that she could still talk, but by now the surprise of being on a hunk of rock in the endless ocean of space died down. Celestia, who was still floating around, answered, “You miserable fool! Now we’re both stuck here!” “It’s your fault!” Cadence cried indignantly. “You-you tried to banish me to the moon! I thought you made that spell forbidden! This isn't some...some summer camp for alicorns, Auntie!" "Oh pffft. I don't need my niece to lecture me on how to use my powers," Celestia answered matter-of-factly while upside-down. The love princess launched a short beam at her aunt, narrowly missing her mark. Unfortunately, for some reason, the power she had felt back in Canterlot was somewhat diminished, and the aches slowly began creeping in again. Perhaps that portal did something, she thought, watching as Celestia touched down. The two entities faced off in that barren wasteland, and both were clearly exhausted. Both ponies’ vests were ripped to shreds, the tattered fabric hanging off their bodies. Their fur was caked with dirt, ash, and a bit of blood. They had gone from looking like pristine princesses to looking like battle-hardened warriors. And the battle was far from over. “You-you just don’t know when to quit Cadenza,” Celestia uttered. Pawing at the ground with her head lowered, Cadence was ready for a charge. “I take after you,” she said, breathing hard. Celestia noticed this, and braced herself for an attack. But then she noticed something hanging out of her niece’s tattered clothing. It was that small amulet she had glimpsed back on earth, now floating in plain sight. Her suspicion was raised once again, and the sun goddess asked, “That jewel around your neck! Where did you get that?” “Oh this?” Cadence replied, holding the beautiful jewel in her hooves. “Auntie Luna gave it to me for good luck! I always liked her better than you!” The realization of this statement hit the sun goddess. And to Cadence’s surprise, Celestia did something completely out of character. She laughed. The sun princess wore a smile as she said, “Of course. I should have known Luna would try to muck this up!” Cadence straightened up, her eyebrows cocked. “What do you mean?” she asked, confused. “Don’t you see, you ignorant child? Luna’s been aiding you all this time!” She pointed an all knowing hoof at the trinket and explained, “That is The Moon’s Eye. It has the power to absorb Luna’s power, or in this case, contain it. All that power…it wasn’t you making it. It was my sister!” “What? N-no…I was…” “I’m sorry to burst your bubble niece, but I’m afraid it’s true,” Princess Celestia said, half-sarcastic, half-apologetic. “But I do commend you for your perseverance, although I suppose it wasn’t technically all you. Believe me, you have no idea how surprised I was to see those spells coming from an…an incessant love cherub.” She began to playfully kick around a random moon rock, her mind feeling at ease. Frankly, Cadence felt a bit insulted, but the sun goddess was oblivious. “But no, it was Luna doing the work. Why, without her, I bet you wouldn’t have lasted a minute.” Indignant, Princess Cadence did a rather unprincess-like thing. She pouted, crossed her hooves, and scoffed, “That’s not true! Luna may have been powering me but…quelle magie…those spells were my doing!” “Whatever makes you feel better,” Celestia replied dismissively. The pink alicorn sprang to her hooves, crouching low in her battle pose. She was quite put off by her aunt’s cynical remarks, whether they we intentional or not. “I don’t need her help. I can defeat you on my own. Andiamo zia!” she cried, beckoning her aunt. “Really? You still want to fight? Even though we’re in the middle of space?” Celestia said with a snicker. Cadence answered by launching an ice shard, which grazed her aunt’s head. Celestia’s eyes narrowed, and an evil smirk spread across her face once again. “Okay then, Cadenza. But now that we’re in space, Auntie Lulu’s not here to help you!” The alicorns began to fire magical beam after beam at each other. Although the two were still very much tired, Celestia had the advantage. Her confidence had been restored after the revelation of Luna’s charade, and this gave her the edge of Cadence’s embarrassed disposition. But nonetheless, the two gave everything they had. Fire, ice, and electricity shot around the barren desert, sending moon rocks flying every which way. Both ponies were gracefully leaping and twirling through space, smoothly dodging the attacks that headed their way. Back and forth it went, the two fighters practically making a miniature light show in space. It certainly was a battle for the ages. And nopony was there to see it. Cadence flipped backwards, her head narrowly missing an incoming bolt of lightning. In one fluid motion, she whipped herself around and shot off a bolt of her own. But Celestia deflected the bolt with a force field, and the sun goddess said, “I’m still angry that you broke my crown, you know.” As she slowly began to descend, Cadence replied, “That’s not the only thing I’ll be breaking.” But all this time, Celestia had been pushing the newlywed back. In the flurry of magic, Cadence had failed to see the crater coming up behind her. Before she knew it, she stumbled in, rolling down the side before coming to a stop at the bottom of the crater. Cadence tried to get up, but her strength had been sapped from the barrage the two had put up. Now, she was lying inside of a crater, staring up at the triumphant smile of her auntie. “I told you it was futile,” the regal ruler said. “You poor thing. Honestly, I feel a little bad about using Twilight to help me-.” “Wait,” Cadence interrupted, processing what Celestia had just unknowingly confessed. “You were using Twilight Sparkle to beat me?” “Yes, what of it?” Managing to sit back up and brush the moon dust off her body, the newlywed uttered, “You used your magically inferior student to try and defeat me? No offense to Twilight, of course.” “Well, I-.” “And what’s more…you resorted to cheating to win this match. That was your plan all the time, wasn’t it? To cheat!” The pink pony wore a huge grin on her face now, on the verge of giggling in disbelief. “And that means...you really thought you were going to lose if you didn’t!” she delivered confidently, watching Celestia stagger as though she had just been shot. “No…I mean…it was just a-.” “A what, Auntie? Admit it. You really thought I was more powerful. Deep down, you thought that there was a chance that I would best you, even without Luna’s help! Despite what you said, deep inside, you thought there was a shred of truth in what everypony was saying. And that’s why you resorted to your moon trick! Because you saw that the tide was turning, and didn’t want everypony to see me defeat you!” She chuckled, almost bouncing from the verbal trouncing she was delivering. She looked up at her aunt coyly, and accused, “You’ve let your pride take hold of you, Auntie. You simply couldn’t let your subjects see you get bested by…what did you call me? A love cherub? Until now, you thought it was just little old me doing all the work. Doing all the winning. Hey, at least I didn’t know I was cheating. You, on the other hand, knew all along.” “Admit it, Celestia! You counted yourself out before it even began!” Cadence barely had time to roll out of the way before the fireball exploded at her hooves. Pieces of the moon were sent flying, leaving a scorch mark in the place of impact. At the brim of the crater, Celestia shouted angrily, “You watch your mouth, young lady! I do NOT count myself out.” She launched another fireball, once again missing her mark, this time by a huge margin. Cadence easily hopped out of the way, still smiling her quirky, rage-inducing smile. The ruler gritted her teeth and continued, “I never lose! I am the supreme ruler of Equestria, goddess of the sun, controller of day and night! I will not lose to a measly love-conjurer!” “Don’t you get it Auntie? Hai finito. You’ve already lost!” At this, Celestia finally could bear no more. She shot off the edge of the crater, launching herself towards her niece. By now, she had given up on using magic, and was trying to land a punch on the pink alicorn. However, the sun goddess wasn’t much of a hoof-to-hoof fighter, and the low gravity certainly wasn’t helping her cause. Cadence sidestepped everything while observing, “You’d think that one who has lived forever would have control over her emotions, no?” “Well, what can I say? Nopony get under your skin like family,” the ruler replied bitterly. Celestia decided to combine her punches with magic, but to no avail. For some reason, the angry ruler couldn’t land a single hit, despite her furious attacks. Cadence wasn’t even trying to hit back now, she was just bounding out of the way, giggling as she watched her aunt flail around. Pretty soon, Celestia began to slow down, her incessant flailing tiring her out. She paused, trying to suck in a breath, not realizing it was an airless world. The goddess took this moment to sputter, “Gah. I must be getting a bit old for this.” Cadence bounced gingerly and she said, “What, are you done already auntie? But I was having so much fun!” With exhaustion and anger clouding her mind, Princess Celestia suddenly blurted, “You’ve surprised me. Certainly that JOKE of a husband couldn’t defend you this well.” Cadence’s eyes widened. Her heart stopped beating. She uttered, “What. Did. You. Say?” “Oh you heard me.” The ruler stomped the ground and shouted, “Your husband…is a JOKE! JOKE, JOKE, JOKE, JOKE!” At that moment, something inside Cadence just…snapped. She could take the name-calling, the insults, even the physical bashing. But bringing in her new hubby…that was a huge no-no. With fire literally burning in her eyes, Cadence yelled, “Don’t you ever…talk bad…ABOUT MY SHINING!” As swift and as sudden as a lightning bolt, Cadence shot a huge pink beam of energy at her aunt. Already exhausted, there was absolutely no time for Celestia to react, and she was sent spinning up into space. Then, with pure wrath taking over her body, Cadence shot off like a rocket, zooming towards Celestia at break-neck speed. She tackled the goddess right in the torso, knocking the wind right out of her. And with no gravity to stop them, the two hurtled far off the surface of the moon. And in their path; the earth. They flew through space with nothing to impede their journey. Cadence’s tackle had dazed Celestia, so the sun goddess was limp in her niece’s grasp. Soon the two entered the earth’s atmosphere, and they began to pick up speed. They were hurtling towards the ground at two hundred miles per hour, and directly underneath them was the already smoldering city of Canterlot. From down below, the falling alicorns looked like nothing but a comet zooming across the night sky. The two had become a huge flaming meteor, flying towards the ground as friction began to build up around them. Cadence was in full control, holding her aunt towards the earth, ignoring the fact that they were literally burning through the atmosphere. For the spectators, it soon became apparent that the bright streak of light was coming closer and closer. They watched in awe as they speculated on what it was. A meteor? A spacecraft? But as the projectile got nearer, its shape became clear. It was two powerful alicorns. And they were headed straight for a collision course with Canterlot. Needless to say, the crowd began to panic. Xxx Feeling the wind rush through her mane, Cadence spotted the broken spires of Canterlot below. Their altitude began to drop, moving through the mesosphere, shooting through the stratosphere, and finally entering the troposphere. With the ground extremely close, Cadence carried out her final blow. With a final battle cry, she released her grip, kicking her aunt down with her hind legs. Turning herself upright, she spread her majestic wings, trying to slow her descent. The newlywed was able to come to a stop, managing a steady hover. Celestia, however, wasn’t so lucky. Already half-unconsious, the sun goddess couldn’t open her wings in time. The last thing she saw was her final clay target smashing across her face. Then with the force of nuclear explosion, Celestia hit the courtyard. xxx If the crowd thought the portal closing was terrible, then this explosion was…well…absolutely horrific. The impact sent dust high up into the air, forming a devastating mini mushroom cloud over Canterlot. The night sky lit up as though it was day, with fireballs spewing into the atmosphere. Just when ponies began to get back up, they fell back once again, this time being scattered all over Canterlot and the surrounding area. A loud boom echoed across the land, stretching from Appleloosa all the way to Manehattan. The explosion demolished the castle courtyard, as well as the surrounding spires and towers. Basically, all of the closest buildings were reduced to piles of rubble. And when the screaming and the thundering stopped, there, lying in a crater in the middle of the courtyard, was the groaning figure of Princess Celestia. From somewhere in the mass of groaning equines, a certain rainbow-maned pony told a certain white unicorn, “HAHA! YES! You owe me a hundred bits!” Princess Cadence fluttered over the explosion, breathing heavily. She began to breathe slower as the anger subsided, and all the aches and pains raced in to fill the void. Unable to fly any longer, the princess closed her eyes and folded her wings. Xxx When the explosion happened, Shining Armor put up a barrier to keep him and his two injured mares from flying away. When the place began to darken once again, the stallion dispersed the shield, and took a deep, relieved breath. Finally, it’s finished, he thought, training his keen eye on the scene before him. Unbeknownst to him, the tower he and Luna had stood underneath was almost completely gone. But he hadn’t bothered to look behind. Instead, he glanced at the pink figure high in the air, struggling to stay up. “Cadence!” Shining Armor cried, seeing his wife’s wings fold up. He sprinted down the hillside, galloping over countless hordes of moaning ponies. He made his way to the remnants of the courtyard, watching as Cadence quickly descended. Ready for the catch, Shining Armor stretched out his hooves. With just a few yards to spare, the stallion swept the princess up into his grasp. Cadence opened her eyes, saw her husband’s loving smile, and gave a warm smile of her own. “D-did I win?” she whispered. “Yes Cadence. You did it. I knew you could,” Shining Armor replied, kissing on her forehead. “Oh, awesome. Yaaaay…” Cadence muttered. Then she leaned her head against her loved one’s strong shoulder, closed her eyes, and took a very well deserved nap. And the winner is...the love cherub, Principessa Mi Amore Cadenza! So...what...is...up guys? There you have it, the climax of our little story. But stay tuned, there's still one more chapter to come! And also, don't forget to favorite, comment, and/or leave your green thumb. Yep...that is all.