You do your best to maintain a steady breathing rate as you soar through the sky. The massive unmoving cloud isn't far now, but you're so high in the air that it is becoming difficult to breathe. It doesn't help that your flying skills could really use some work. You don't exactly have much of a reason to use these ethereal wings under normal circumstances, after all. As the cloud draws ever closer, you begin to notice the faint outline of a structure tucked behind the cloudy exterior. That's most likely the temple you're looking for.
You grit your teeth as you land on the cloud. So long as you have your horn and wings out, you can walk on clouds no problem, but there are two issues. One, you aren't too great with heights in the first place. Two, it's freezing up here. Your clothing isn't doing you any favors, either. A pair of work pants, a dress shirt with your cell phone poking inconspicuously out of the pocket, and your standard tennis shoes (or at least, the closest that Rarity could get to replicating the types of tennis shoes you used to wear in your old world). All in all, not exactly fitting for a dramatic confrontation with a goddess, but time isn't really on your side at the moment.
The massive doors to this temple not only tower dozens of feet above you, but they're also made of thick marble. You feel your horn and wings flare up once more as you pull with all your might, only barely managing to get one of the doors to open just a crack. With a quick movement, you squeeze inside before the door slams shut once more, and you are greeted with a beautiful, divine horror.
The temple itself is fairly plain. The whole thing is made of marble, with the temple consisting of just one massive, spacious room, empty except for two rows of columns reaching up to the ceiling on either side of the door, evenly spaced until reaching the back wall. The walls are also bare with the exception of a circular stained glass window encompassing the center of the back wall, the sunlight from behind pouring into the room with radiance and filling the white marble hall with an orange glow.
Near the center of the chamber is Celestia, kneeling on the ground with her head down and her eyes closed. From her body, a plethora of colors drift into the air and towards the back wall, before which stands an almost indescribable figure. Standing at what must be at least fifteen feet tall is the unmistakable outline of an alicorn mare, a build not too dissimilar to Tia's. Although there is no discernible mane, the figure has its wings outstretched, a wingspan easily exceeding thirty feet long. Its horn stretches far beyond its head. However, the most notable part is the coloration. The figure is made up entirely of a glowing white, as though its entire body is a light source. The only discernible feature that is not this glowing white are two eyes where you would expect to find them, also white and lacking pupils, but still able to be picked out from the rest of the light. Frankly, looking at this figure is strange. The light is so powerful it should hurt to look at, but your eyes feel no strain. Yet, seeing the light coming off of the figure fills you with a familiar sense of dread, as though you've seen it a few times before.
There is no mistaking it. That's the First. Draining Tia's magic, just as expected.
"Hey! You have to stop this!"
The First does not respond, nor does her body move in any way. The only reaction you get is from Tia, who does not stand, but does turn to face you with a look of complete shock on her face. When she speaks, her voice is weak.
"W-what are you doing here, sunshine?"
"I'm here to save you, duh! There's no way I would just let this happen!"
"Please, leave at once! I am happy to see you, truly I am, but this has to happen! My time-" She briefly cuts herself off as she seemingly winces in pain. "My time has come, darling! You must accept that!"
"I'm not accepting a darn thing!"
You instinctively flare your wings out and watch as the horn on your head glows in tandem with your now outstretched arms. In a practiced motion, you produce the largest blast of magic that you can towards the First. The blast is massive, and thanks your adrenaline, quite possibly the greatest feat of magic you've ever achieved. And yet, all you can do is watch in horror as the attack impacts the First, who doesn't even react to it. She does not move, she does not speak, and she certainly doesn't stop whatever sort of magic-draining spell she is casting. After a moment, although the spell does not stop, you see her head suddenly snap towards you. While you can't say you weren't nervous already, her gaze fills you with an unimaginable amount of fear. The pressure from her gaze alone is nearly enough to bring you to your knees, but you simply grit your teeth and dare to stare back. Then, all at once, you feel a searing pain course through your body. You let out a scream of agony as you fall to the floor. Saving Ponyville from the Everfree Forest was quite possibly the worst pain you had ever felt, and yet this is on a whole other level. You feel your vision begin to fade before you shake your head and force yourself to remain conscious, but it seems that you are fighting a losing battle. It is as though your body is on fire from the inside, threatening to implode in on itself. Through closed eyes and gritted teeth, you hear Tia's voice once more.
"Stop! Stop it! This wasn't part of the agreement!"
Through the anguish, you manage to force out a single word.
"W-what?"
You realize that her words are not directed towards you, but towards the First. She continues speaking.
"When you visited me in my dream and demanded your magic back, I only agreed to do so willingly under the condition that no harm comes to my partner! Stop it, this instant!"
To your surprise, you feel the pain slowly begin to subside. While your body still feels as though it's coming apart, you at least regain enough strength to open your eyes and slowly bring yourself back to your feet. The First is once more looking directly at Celestia, her magic still in the process of being drained. You notice now that Tia appears extremely weak, and her body seems thinner than usual. She looks at you with an apologetic expression before the chamber is suddenly filled with the booming sound of a female voice, almost indescribable in its might and so powerful that it seems almost sourceless, yet you know exactly who this must be. However, the words themselves only serve to frustrate you further.
"With every story comes an end. With every birth, there is death. With every rise, there is fall. With every ruler, there is a replacement. Only the First is eternally the First."
Choosing to ignore her, you direct your attention back at Tia. Your feel your eyes fill with hot tears. She looks back towards you, equally teary-eyed, before speaking.
"I'm sorry. I knew if I told you, you would try to stop me. I just wanted to protect you."
"Tia... I can't believe you'd do this for me. You... you're... that's..."
"Please, I only want what is best for you. You like to say that you'd do anything to protect me, but the opposite is true too. Even if I die, I'm willing to do this, because I love you."
"That's..."
You stand. In one motion, you leap towards Celestia, getting between her and the First and casting the best magical shield spell you can muster.
"The STUPIDEST THING I'VE EVER HEARD!"
Tia's eyes widen, now less apologetic and more confused, but just as concerned.
"Yeah, I promised that I would protect you, but I'm not going to die to do that! What would be the point?!"
"Huh?"
"What is the point of building our future if we aren't there to see it together? Don't just give up your life like this! Keep fighting!"
Her expression, while still concerned, loses its traces of confusion and seems more angry. At the very least, it appears your shield spell is doing its job for the moment and preventing Tia from losing any more magic.
"Ever since I became an alicorn as a teenager, building a future that I won't see is exactly what I have spent my life doing! I have done nothing but try to build an Equestria that will continue to thrive when this day inevitably came! I never knew when my time would be up, so I had to assume that each day could be my last! I had to be the best princess I could be, specifically because I knew that I would some day be called back to the First!"
"And look what happened! You succeeded! Equestria is thriving, and you left it in capable hooves! You've already built the future you wanted! Now is your chance to enjoy it! Now is OUR chance to enjoy it!"
"That is a privilege that I do not deserve! It is due only to the First that I accomplished anything at all! I have no right to deny her of what is hers!"
"That's a bunch of crock! Sure, she made you alicorns, but after that? She didn't do ANYTHING! You did!"
"You're wrong! Without the First, I am nothing!"
Once more the booming voice begins to ring in your ears. It seems like the First is finally ready to have a proper conversation.
"She is correct. From the beginning, Celestia was born to be my puppet. Nothing more than a vessel through which my will could be imposed. A tool that I could use to shape the wonderful future I have foreseen. And the creatures of Equestria agree."
You watch in shock through your shield as magic of all colors seems to seep through the walls and into the First's horn. There is a brief moment of complete silence before a beam of magic like nothing you've ever seen slams against your shield. It takes your complete willpower to keep the shield up, and even then, cracks are quickly beginning to form. You aren't going to last much longer. Once more, you begin to hear her voice over the deafening sound of her attack bearing down on you.
"Finally, I shall be rid of the vermin that dares to plague my world. This vile creature, the only thing to ever catch me off guard. My vision of the future was perfect. The perfect world, set in motion by my own perfect actions. For millennia, all went exactly as I foresaw. All until this disgusting creature appeared. Even this small surprise made changes to my beautiful future. For the first time, my vision became clouded. Uncertainty is unacceptable. There was no way I could be rid of you without also being rid of Celestia, so I made the necessary sacrifice. Now, all will be as it should once more."
You grit your teeth and do your best to stand your ground. On the floor beneath you, you hear Tia begin to faintly speak.
"My... my sunshine. I-I'm sorry." She begins to cry, her now thin face accentuating how helpless she looks right now. "I'm so, so sorry. I... I feared her more than I trusted you. I'm sorry..." She begins to trail off in her sobs.
As you hold up your shield, there is little you can see besides the attack about to envelop you. As the magic hits your shield and veers off into every direction, it goes from a plethora of color back into the same, familiar glowing white color. You can't help but recall just recently, when you awoke from a strange dream filled with white light to a world where you didn't exist. You remember that, in that world, you did not appear in the stained glass windows of Canterlot Castle. And yet... neither did Shadowmere. Looking back at your other victories, you remember a flash of white light just before the massive ball of vines was launched from deep in the Everfree Forest, and you remember another similar flash of light right before the Time Tuner activated. All at once, everything seems to click.
"It was all your doing, wasn't it? Shadowmere's escape, the vine ball, my trip into the future, my erasure from existence... every single one of those was you!"
"I had to be creative in my methods of getting rid of you. I had to be certain that my future would come to pass, but engaging you directly might have put my reputation at risk."
From the very beginning, almost every single one of your struggles, all of the victories you scored over the magical or malevolent powers that be here in Equestria... all of them were because of the First. All of the things you did... all of the creatures you saved...
"You... you endangered all of Equestria! If I hadn't been there to stop Shadowmere or help hold back the Everfree Forest, you could have killed thousands of ponies!"
"A few lives mean little when compared to the grander picture. To achieve the future I see, those little ponies should be grateful to die at my hooves! None of them came to help you! They continue to exert magic in my name, even now! With every story comes an end, and YOUR story has gone on for far too long! May this magic my subjects are returning to me, MY magic, finally strike you down! For Equestria!"
The onslaught stops for just a moment as you see the First's massive form winding back. She is going to collect magic again, and you're fairly certain that you won't be able to block this one. You glance down at Celestia, who meets your gaze. In that brief, breathless moment, a single glance conveys more than a thousand words could as you nod to one another, ready to accept whatever is to come. You look back towards the First, magical shield still held out in front of you, and brace yourselves.
...
The chamber is silent as you watch the First's horn glow gently. This is supposed to be the part where she collects the colorful magic that ponies across Equestria are exerting and blasts you with it, right? Yet, compared to a few moments ago, the amount of magic coming into the chamber is kind of pitiful. Even the First seems taken aback by this. After another few seconds of silence, you hear the powerful voice once more.
"What is the meaning of this?"
She receives no response in the quiet chamber besides the heavy breathing of Celestia beneath you. After a few seconds, a new sound breaks the silence.
"Ha... haha! Ahahahaha!"
Your chuckles slowly devolve into a fit of boisterous laughter. Amidst your outburst, you finally drop the shield spell that you've been holding. This definitely catches the First's attention.
"What have you done?!"
"Sorry, but it seems that your 'creative methods' have backfired on you. You tried to send me to the future, remember? And yet, I don't exist in your vision of the future, do I?"
The First looks in shock as you pull out your cell phone from your shirt pocket, the faint green light on it indicating that the camera is on.
"Tell me, have you ever heard of a 'livestream?' A good friend of mine has a real talent for it. And today, you get to be the center of attention, just how you like it!"
"W-what?!"
Across Equestria, creatures of all kinds in nearly every major town or city watched in awe as massive magical screens appeared in the sky. On these screens, a cute, pudgy pegasus that you know as Pipp Petals introduced herself and her friends, apparently having made their way to the Canterlot Castle throne room. Although the residents of Equestria do not know this pegasus or her four friends, they are certainly familiar with Princess Twilight and the other bearers of the Elements of Harmony, as well as the also-present Princess Cadance and Luna. Throughout Equestria, everycreature watched in confusion as Pipp explained that her dear human friend had gone to face the First, all alone, in order to save Celestia's life. While most reacted at first to these claims with disbelief, the screen changed to reveal live footage of a grand temple obscured within a cloud, the shaky camera apparently in the pocket of this aforementioned human. The denizens of Equestria watched as this human did everything in their power to protect the obviously weakened and pained Celestia from such a glorious and almost unimaginable foe. Of course, not everycreature was convinced. Not only is the First loved and respected, but so is Celestia, and a conflict such as this is simply too impossible to be believed. As Pipp commentated on the fight, interest in the events unfolding only grew until there was nary a creature that didn't have their eyes glued to the nearest screen. As the First spoke of her vision of the future, many creatures actually cheered for her, but the general attitude towards the battle changed in an instant.
"You... you endangered all of Equestria! If I hadn't been there to stop Shadowmere or help hold back the Everfree Forest, you could have killed thousands of ponies!"
"A few lives mean little when compared to the grander picture. To achieve the future I see, those little ponies should be grateful to die at my hooves! None of them came to help you! They continue to exert magic in my name, even now! With every story comes an end, and YOUR story has gone on for far too long! May this magic my subjects are returning to me, MY magic, finally strike you down! For Equestria!"
When those words were spoken, all of Equestria went silent. That is, until Pipp interjected with a cheery, almost jarringly confident voice.
"Did you catch all that, Pippsqueaks? It seems that the First doesn't really care about you at all! You heard it right from her mouth! Now, I don't know about you, but I would much rather put my faith in somecreature that has actually stood up for Equestria, and rose to the challenge every time. Like Celestia, or our human friend! Don't you agree?!"
The crowds cheered as Pipp, Zipp, Hitch, and Izzy continued to host the livestream, occasionally cutting from the footage of your fight to them looking out at the distant cloud from Canterlot.
It was a realization you came to when you were stuck in the future. No matter how lost you are or how alone you feel, you will always, somewhere, have friends willing to help you. Having a magic cell phone that can not only make calls across time, but also (with some magical tweaking with the help of Starlight Glimmer and Sunburst) create massive magical screens that you can livestream to certainly helps as well. You had a feeling that the First would try to crowdsource her magic, and you knew you would need help to stop it. Getting Izzy to use the Time Tuner, which was apparently left behind after you returned to this time period (paradox averted, you suppose?) was a risky endeavor, and it was an even greater gamble trying to livestream your fight in the hopes that the First would not only be too distracted to notice the livestream, but also reveal her true colors along the way. And yet, Equestria has taught you again and again that miracles can happen, especially if you've got friends to back you up.
Now, these friends have successfully helped you convince the creatures of Equestria to, at least temporarily, stop exerting their magic, and in doing so, stripped the First of her main source of strength.
With a furious cry loud enough to make you wince, you watch as the First tilts her head back a bit, her horn once again glowing a brilliant, almost blinding white. It seems that, even without the magic of other ponies, she still intends to finish you off.
"This changes nothing. This means nothing. YOU ARE NOTHING! Only the First is eternally the First!"
You hear Celestia gasp beneath you. You already dropped your shield, and you don't have time to create another. You briefly close your eyes before you feel yourself smirk. With a cockiness that you haven't felt in a very long time, you simply cross your arms and watch confidently as the First prepares to launch her assault.
Right as the magic is about to burst from her horn, the entire temple shakes as a loud crashing sound fills the chamber. All three of you turn towards the massive doors that you struggled to open, which are now in pieces across the floor. Sunlight pours in from the fresh hole in the wall, broken by the dark outline of four figures. You confidently chuckle once more.
"Took you guys long enough!"
Entering the chamber with haste are the familiar forms of Twilight Sparkle, Cadance, Luna, and Sunny Starscout, the latter of which excitedly greets you.
"Sorry we're late! It took a while to set up that livestream spell, but with Princess Twilight's help, it was a breeze! You aren't alone!"