//------------------------------//
// 150 
// Story: Supernova 
// by Incredible_E 
//------------------------------//

Celestia had a hard time deciding if she should keep the temperature regulation bubble activated to keep Canterlot at a nice seventy degrees or help boost Twilight with the rest of Canterlot.

Ultimately, she chose to protect everypony by keeping the temperature shield up.

Twilight grunted more while the sun forced her to put more effort into the spell. Her agony grew as her strength weakened, but never failed. Though, she was not the only one in pain with their magic being strained. Celestia was having no easier time keeping the temperature regulation active. The hotter it got, the harder it was to maintain.

It was unknown how hot it really was beyond the protection, but it could be witnessed — Celestia was the only one whose eyes were open since everypony else was focusing on their task. Below the castle, at the bottom of the waterfall, steam was visible. Upon closer inspection, the reason that could be seen was obvious. The water within the bubble was at a normal temperature, but it made contact with boiling water on the other side.

"It is hot enough that water is boiling!?" Celestia mentally shouted. "It is already too late to save anypony, or creature, else . . ."

Beyond the river, she observed smoke all along the horizon, blackening the blood-red sky.

She continued her internal monologue to not freak out Twilight mid-spell cast. "Nature itself caught on fire from the pure heat. Not even a singular cloud can be found . . ." she mourned with her head down for a moment before popping back up in realization. "Cloudsdale! Las Pegasus! They are sure to be in ruins on the ground by now . . . All those lives . . ."

After her conclusion, that all life was already dead, she sat down.

"No!" she said aloud while getting back up, looking around the still-alive Canterlot. "We are not dead, we have not completely failed yet."

Twilight's legs appeared weak as they began to wobble, and her grunts of agony continued to get worse.

"Can't . . . complete . . . spell . . . tired . . . so sorry . . ." is all Twilight could get out before collapsing to the ground unconscious.

The donation spells from everypony were quickly terminated as the Princess fell. The masses saw no progress containing the sun, growing dissatisfied and worried.

Simultaneously, Celestia cried in pain that seemingly came out of nowhere.

She called for help, "Luna! Help me! The regulation bubble!"

Luna quickly cast an additional temperature regulation shield spell to share the burden with her sister. Lessening the brutal impact of maintaining the shield on Celestia.

The crowd could do nothing but stare at the spectacle and hope the bubble did not fail. The two sisters kept the temperature around Canterlot stable while Twilight lay still on the floor.

The Spherical Prison spell had failed.





Hours passed, what seemed like an eternity to everypony. The sun had grown enough to take up most of the sky, and the world outside the bubble was nothing more than a blackened wasteland — trees reduced to charcoal, bodies of water fully evaporated, the sky void of any clouds, and life reduced to ashes.

The two sisters continued to struggle against the heat of the attacking star. If there was ever a hell to experience, this would be the best emulation of it. The pain was unending torture for Celestia and Luna, but they would bare it if it meant Canterlot lived on. However, they were not sure how much longer they could keep the bubble up. They might soon end up like Twilight, then like all other life outside the bubble.

Their cries of torment through the hours influenced the entirety of Canterlot to split in half, one half casting a donation spell to Celestia, the other to Luna, making sure they were both equally relieved. Twilight gained consciousness, but not her strength. That did not stop her from trying to help as she donated her own leftover magical power to Celestia.

It could not last long, the sun expanded more every second. The sky was almost completely filled with the star's presence.

The citizens of Canterlot helped as long as they could. Slowly and one by one, citizens collapsed of exhaustion from helping the princesses. With support slowly dwindling, the sisters had reached their limit. Even with the combined help of what remained of Canterlot, the bubble could not hold any longer.

"Luna, I did not imagine this would be the end," Celestia started. "I am just glad I could spend our last moments together with you and what we could preserve."

Luna smiled, "You too, sister. We made it this far. For that, I am happy we put in a valiant effort."

"It's been my honor, Princesses. I'm sorry I failed you," whispered a weakened Twilight.

Celestia reassured her, "Twilight, you've been the best student and friend a princess could ask for. It was I who failed us."

The atmosphere had now been stripped away, confirmed by the surface being wiped clean of ruin. The sky did not change to the darkness of space, since the sun had already taken over.

The sun became dark blood-red with black dots littering its surface. Soon, it made contact with the bubble, then the planet.

It cannot be said they did not try, they lasted until the last nanosecond. The sun had to destroy the world in order to defeat Canterlot.