The Voices of Day and Night

by gimmick68

Battle: Part III

She’d given Rarity the slip by doubling back, moving toward the royal sisters instead of away. She’d seen the unicorn pass by, completely unaware of her proximity. There was a chance to take her out but Cheerilee wanted to help Celestia take down Luna. Unfortunately, it was not to be.

She peered around the corner and saw Luna take off. After a careful survey of the scene she skittered across the open area to Celestia. “Oh, princess,” she muttered sadly, “I’m sorry.” Despite being covered in dirt and various flesh wounds and her armor being pulverized, Celestia looked relatively peaceful in her unconsciousness. There was an anger building inside Cheerilee as she examined her princess. There was a resolve.

“We’re not done yet, Celestia,” Cheerilee stated. “I’m not done yet.” With that, she quickly moved out of sight.

She knew the time for smash-n-go tactics had passed. It was two on one and stealth and cleverness were her allies now. She slipped into a coffee shop to bide some time. She set up a little one-mare command center in a store room. Before getting comfortable she snatched a few scones and a cup of coffee – two sugars, a splash of cream – to help her concentrate.

She muttered to herself while she planned. “Luna and Rarity left. Can’t take both at the same time. Which one first? Luna requires more energy; Rarity should be quick but if I mess up Luna will be there too quickly for me to escape. Though, she may not have enough energy left to teleport.” She sat in silence as she weighed her options. Distant crackling of raging fires and panicked screams of the citizens of Canterlot did not seem to distract her. She munched on a scone. “Hmm…”

Her options were severely limited. Victory was dependent solely on her allocation of her remaining energy. And while the scones and coffee did recharge her a bit they wouldn’t be enough to weather a sustained assault from both Luna and Rarity. One at a time for sure, but which one first? This was a dilemma for the teacher and she couldn’t bring herself to feel comfortable with either one. Then she had a thought: why not both at once? Not attack both at the same time but use one attack that could take out both at different times. Or something like that. Her mind ran with this idea, mulling over scenarios and attacks that could accomplish such a feat.

After an hour of thought she couldn’t come with anything that gave her a definite victory. She paced around a bit and sat down behind the counter, just in a shadow. She kept thinking. In the end, the best way may just be to confront them head on. Preferably Rarity first but if Luna shows up then so be it. If they wanted a victory, she’ll make them work for it. It just so happened she may not have to work as hard as she thought.

The door to the coffee shop opened and lo and behold, Rarity walked in. From her place behind the pastry display she could see the unicorn look around, carefully searching. Save for her eyes tracking Rarity, Cheerilee had frozen in place. She watched as her opponent peered under tables and nooks and crannies. Eventually, she stopped in front of the display case. And she looked right at Cheerilee. The teacher tensed up, ready to either defend or attack at a moment’s notice. Rarity walked up to the display and squinted in, staring directly at Cheerilee. The only thing hiding the teacher now was the shadow in which she sat. Rarity’s horn lit up. Cheerilee readied herself.

The door to the display case opened and an apple fritter floated out and over, right to Rarity. She elegantly sniffed the pastry and then nibbled a bit. She made a happy sound of approval and then took a bite, chewing gracefully. She turned to leave, taking another bite.

For a moment Cheerilee sat in stunned silence. No way that just happened. She shook off the luck and absurdity and decided to act. She had Rarity off guard and in an enclosed space. No time like the present.

Rarity was enjoying another bite of the fritter when she soon found herself surrounded by other pastries. The buck from Cheerilee sent the entire pastry display case crashing into Rarity, scooping up the unicorn as it slid across the floor, crashing through tables and chairs. “Ohhh, marmalade!” the unicorn groaned in a southern accent as she climbed out of the case after it finally stopped. She quickly put a hoof to her mouth, embarrassed such a country-ism escaped her lips.

Before she had a chance to fully comprehend the situation she was knocked on her back and being repeatedly beaten with an espresso machine. After that implement finally broke apart she pushed off her assailant. Unfortunately, Cheerilee came right back and began trying to stuff scones and muffins down her throat. Rarity, not being one to be forced to eat anything she did not particularly care for, rejected the pastries, spitting them back in Cheerilee’s face. The teacher barely flinched.

“Nice try, Rarity,” she jeered, “but you seem to forget that I’m a teacher. This isn’t the first time I’ve had food spit in my face.”

“I don’t doubt that,” sneered Rarity. “Sweetie Belle has told of many a time she has wished to do just that.”

“What?” Cheerilee whispered, clearly hurt by the revelation. “But, she’s my favorite.”

“Oh.” Rarity regretted saying such a thing and relaxed a bit. “I didn’t mean that she…wait!” She head-butted Cheerilee off of her just as the teacher was taking a swing. “Use my own tactic against me. Clever little thing, aren’t you?”

“Ow! And yes, I am,” Cheerilee retorted, rubbing her head. “Surprised you managed to figure out what I was doing.”

“Surprised?! I don’t much care for what you’re implying.”

“Well, that’s not my problem, now is it?”

Rarity pounced on Cheerilee, punching and kicking. Cheerilee fought back just as hard. The two wrestled and fought all over the coffee shop, making an absolute mess of the place. After a few minutes of solid fighting it was decided that the confines of the shop could no longer hold the two mares. Cheerilee kicked Rarity out of the large bay window at the front of the store. Rarity’s armor clinked and clanged as she tumbled across the cobblestones, a sound barely heard against the tinkling glass.

Even before Rarity stopped rolling, Cheerilee hopped out of the broken window and was charging at the unicorn. Fortunately for Rarity, she still had her reflexes and she hopped over Cheerilee, unwilling to take another direct hit from an earth pony.

Cheerilee skidded to a stop and turned around. The two mares glared at each other. Neither could really think of a snide remark or clever quip at the moment so they just attacked. Cheerilee spun quickly and hurled dozens of chalk sticks through the air like darts. Rarity made a similar motion and threw sewing needles. Some of their ammunition collided in mid-flight and most found its mark. The armor protected them from most of impacts but enough found flesh to warrant a reaction.

“AHH! Friggen’ frak!” howled Cheerilee, wincing at the sight of at least ten sewing needles sticking into her exposed parts.

“OWIE!” cried Rarity, reeling from the sting of a dozen welts forming. She also wasn’t too pleased with the chalk residue left behind. “Ew,” she muttered, brushing the dust off.

“Oh, sorry, Rarity. Looks like you’re a bit dusty. Let me help.” Cheerilee chucked eraser after eraser at the unicorn. Though not every one hit its mark they all produced a cloud of chalk dust. Rarity was momentarily incapacitated by the cloud and Cheerilee took the opportunity to clear herself of needles. It was slow and agonizing at times but she eventually got all of them. She turned her attention to the cloud of chalk dust just in time to see a cobblestone fly directly at her. She ducked the first but wasn’t fast enough to duck the second one. Or the third. Or fourth.

Each cobblestone pushed her back. She retaliated with cobblestones of her own, aiming at the center of the dust cloud. She heard a few connect and then saw Rarity jump out of the cloud. Once again, the two mares glared at each other, standing ten yards apart. Without any further provocation they began throwing more cobblestones at each other. Rarity used her magic to pry them up and throw while Cheerilee just used her hooves. When her front legs got tired she changed tactics, tossing a few at a time in the air and then bucking them when they came down.

The blocks sailed through the air, some crashing into each other, some missing their mark, others making direct hits. Cheerilee was getting tired and she knew she couldn’t keep this up for much longer. Unfortunately, Rarity had seen her exhaustion and had taken initiative. She’d lifted a dozen or so cobblestones and charged, throwing them as she ran. Cheerilee dodged what she could but soon Rarity was too close and she had to brace herself. A few cobblestones hit but what surprised her was the forced with which Rarity struck.

Cheerilee tumbled across the square and Rarity was on her in an instant. A punch here, a kick there, an insult everywhere. Rarity brought her entire arsenal. Each hit forced Cheerilee back. She stood just in time to receive a roundhouse kick from the unicorn. Then another. And another. A fourth. A fifth. And one more for good measure.

The final kick knocked Cheerilee’s helmet off. She could feel that almost all her energy had been drained and she had no more shielding. She prepared to make her final stand. Her wobble was steadied and she forced herself to stop shaking. She glared at Rarity and a small, villainous smile crept across her face. “You know, Rarity, I’ve always thought your outfits were silly,” she chided.

“Silly?!” The unicorn fired off a few noises of indignation. “Hmph! An uneducated pony such as yourself would think that.”

“Uneducated? Ha! Rarity, you wouldn’t know the transmutation of an isotope if one decayed on your face.”

Rarity positively fumed at the apparent insult. “How dare you!” She launched at Cheerilee, who parried well. The two mares exchanged hits and blocks for an intense thirty seconds before pushing away from each other. The mid-morning sun shone brightly down in them.

“What’s your plan here, Cheery?” asked Rarity condescendingly. “Get rid of me and then Luna? You certainly possess a lofty sense of your abilities. And your chances. You have nothing left. You’re weaker. Or should I say weaker than usual? Even if you were to get rid of me, in the time it takes for you to do so Luna will be here and put an end to your little one-mare army vignette. She’s probably already on her way.”

“That’s a chance I’m willing to take. You’re weak, as well. Always have been, always will be.”

Rarity scrunched her face in annoyance. “You know, Cheery, darling, it’s become quite apparent that you’re trying to prove something out here. It’s not that you’re trying to prove you’re a capable teacher or a formidable pony. Not even that you can claim victory for your team. No. No, I think you’re still trying to prove you’re a mare worthy of a companion. In particular a stallion. Though, to be honest, you’re not really fooling anypony, are you? You couldn’t even win over a simple farmer like Big MacIntosh. You lost him to some no-name Mary Sue from the middle of nowhere. Rather embarrassing, darling. Pathetic, really. Might as well just give up on romance and accept your place as a barren old spinster. Every town has one, darling, and you’d be the perfect fit.”

The teacher blinked a few times. “I see.” Her face grew stoic. Her voice, however, took on the ominous tone of a teacher cheerfully imparting a lesson on her students. “Class,” she said, “today we have so very much to get through but first let’s learn the word of the day. This word is very important because it will be the basis for everything that follows.” She paused and lowered her head, a non-existent breeze fluttering through her mane. She glared deadly at Rarity. “Today’s word is…” – her irises began to glow – “…Triggered.”

A wind blew around her, throwing her mane and tail every which direction. Her eyes quickly became pools of glowing green light and the flowers of her cutie mark pulsed with light. They seemed to jump off her flank and began to rotate rapidly. The flower petals became pointed and each flower now looked like a circular saw. They grew to at least a foot in diameter. With the roar of a romantically frustrated mare, Cheerilee reared up and then stomped her front hooves on the ground with such a force that she sent a shock wave in the ground screaming toward Rarity. The unicorn raised what little shield she could muster and blocked most of the debris. Her shield flickered and failed. Through the dust she saw slivers of light – six of them – hurtling at her. They moved so fast she had no time react.

In a flash of light that even Rarity would have found garish, the unicorn was blasted from her position and landed some thirty yards away. She didn’t move. A blue orb appeared above her and she was wrapped in a force field.

Cheerilee walked over to the unconscious unicorn and looked down on her judgmentally. “I may be unlucky in romance, Rarity, but at least I aim for substance, not superficial infatuation.” She began to walk away but turned back for one last look. “Floozie,” she scoffed and pawed some dirt back at Rarity, like a cat in a litter box. She huffed derisively and walked away with a determination that radiated. The glow in her eyes diminished but the irises still pulsed with light.

Despite her victory, Cheerilee desperately wanted to collapse. To quit. To sleep. She knew, however, there was one last thing to be done. Her eyes raked the smoldering scene. In any other circumstance she would have been heartbroken to see such destruction but in this instance she only thought of the task at hoof. She had a job to finish. A game to win. She trotted off but then stopped when she heard something behind her. Turning her head, she saw Luna walk up next to Rarity, gently prodding her downed teammate with her hoof.

Cheerilee turned to face Luna and called out. “See that? That’s what happens when you cross me. You got anything to say, princess?” she seethed, her voice echoing within itself and the glow in her eyes reigniting. Her body shook with adrenaline.

Luna studied Rarity momentarily then eyed Cheerilee. “No. I’m not entirely positive on which comment set you off – the projection of you as a barren spinster or your failed wooing of the Apple stallion – but I see Rarity was mistaken to bring them up. I have witnessed the consequences of doing so. No such words shall come from me.” Luna bowed respectfully.

“Here I thought pleasantries were not applicable in battle,” Cheerilee sneered.

“They aren’t. Just admiring and respecting the power of your resentment, one combatant to another.”

“I see. You and me, then, is it?”

“It would seem. It has been a spectacular affair, has it not? I do not recall many times I have witnessed such ferocity in a battle. We have all fought admirably.”

“Admiration is subjective,” Cheerilee responded flatly.

“Quite.” Luna could tell that the mare before her had no intention of holding a conversation. She cleared her throat in annoyance.
“The better mare will be the one to walk out of here.”

“And yet you remain standing. As Celestia as my witness you shall stand no more.”

Luna chuckled wickedly. “My sister is currently witnessing nothing.”

“Nor shall you in a moment.”

“I applaud your determination. And your defiance.”

“It’s not defiance. It’s fact. You’re weak. I have the upper hoof.”

“What’s makes you think I am weak?” Luna snarled, insulted by the accusation.

“You’re almost out of energy. You walked here. You didn’t have enough energy to teleport.”

Luna conceded with a nod. “Observant. You have given me reason to reevaluate my approach to you,” Luna continued. “It seems as though even the most plain among us are the fullest of surprises.”

Cheerilee arched an eyebrow. “Most plain.”

“Indeed. You were plain before you were chosen for this competition. And you’ll be plain after.”

“It’s plainest, you dunce,” Cheerilee scolded.

“I…uh…well…” Luna tapped her chin in thought.

Cheerilee took a few measured breaths and mildly kicked at some rubble at her hooves. “Well anyway, Luna, I do believe this is where we part ways. More specifically, where you depart.”

“Oh? And how do you figure that?”

“Clearly you weren’t paying close enough attention. Only three of my discs hit Rarity. Enjoy your unconsciousness.” She curtly nodded to something behind Luna.

The princess turned just in time to see three discs of light hurtling through the air with unforgiving impatience. “WHAT?!” The discs were upon her before she could conjure a shield strong enough to repel them. In a spectacular light show and an eruption of dust and debris the discs struck Luna with force enough to send her soaring over Cheerilee’s head and crashing into a fountain.

Water spilled from the gaping hole in fountain and the nozzles that once spouted the water in synchronized beauty now sprayed and sputtered erratically in every direction. Luna, barely conscious, tried to crawl out of the rubble. Cheerilee slowly walked over to the princess.

She lifted Luna’s head slightly and looked her in the eyes. “Be gone, wench.” The words slipped out quietly and slowly. She surprised herself with how much malice she put into those words but she couldn’t take them back. With the little energy she had left she produced a yard stick and promptly struck the princess across the face. Luna went limp, and a blue orb appeared above her and she was wrapped in a force field.

Cheerilee dropped the ruler and stepped back from the unconscious alicorn. She took a few deep breaths and began to feel the pain in her body. The adrenaline was wearing off. The glow left her eyes and they were again just green. She felt her legs begin to shake and she forced her muscles to steady. She backed away.

Turning to walk away, she felt the pain start to replace the adrenaline. Her walk became a limp, each step an exercise in pain and endurance. She stopped. What was supposed to happen now? She took a few more wobbly steps before stopping again to compose herself.

Cheerilee stood proud and the rubble around her only bolstered that pride. She fought hard. She went hoof to hoof with the rulers of Equestria. She’s been attacked, beaten, blasted, and verbally assaulted. She survived. She won. She was whacked on the head with something and she collapsed on the ground. Before she lost all consciousness she turned her head up and saw Cup Cake standing over her, holding a rolling pin.

“You are a good pony, Cheerilee. When my children are old enough there is nopony I would rather educate them than you.” She looked around absently. “That being said, I am a little disappointed in your lack of awareness just now, y’know? You, of all ponies, should know that just when you think you’ve won, there’s always somepony waiting right behind you to ruin your day. As a teacher, you should know that.” Cheerilee closed her eyes and went limp. A white orb appeared above her and she was wrapped in a shimmering force field.

Mrs. Cake sat down next to Cheerilee’s unconscious body and used the rolling pin to prop herself up. She breathed steadily and looked around. So much destruction. Impact craters, burning vegetation, distant cries for aid, entire buildings collapsed. It was impressive, to say the least. She stared at the sky and just lost herself in thought. She took a moment to enjoy the sereneness of the immediate silence.

A sparkling streak of light shot upwards from the castle grounds and a gigantic blue firework exploded over Canterlot, illuminating the city in a blue sheen. Blue sparkles rained down, landing softly like snow. A large glowing blue orb also took up position about 100 feet directly above Cup Cake and lit the area in its soft glow.

“Oof. Jeez,” groaned Cheerilee, sitting up and rubbing her head. The orb above her disappeared as did the force field around her. “What was that?”

“Oh my!” jumped Cup Cake. “Deary, are you okay?” She dropped the rolling pin and hugged Cheerilee and gently patted her head. “I’m sorry.”

“Holy quadratic equation,” Cheerilee whispered. “That was some hit. Glad it was you.”

Cup Cake didn’t know how to respond so she just continued to hug the teacher.

“Wow!” chimed Cheerilee, hugging back, “that’s a lot of destruction. Impressive, in a macabre sort of way.”

“We really got ourselves into something big, didn’t we?” agreed Cup Cake.

“Yeah. Feels…good.”