Sparkle's Fire

"You've done this to yourself, Celestia!" Twilight retorted, flaring her wings behind her. "You're the only one destroying your city!"

"Liar!" Celestia shouted, her own wings flaring out at her back as she pulled up the levers of the mech, raising it onto its hind legs. "I am saving my city. What have you done for my city other than destroy our buildings and homes?!"

"That doesn't matter!" Rainbow slammed her hooves down on the control panel. "You're murdering thousands of ponies for your own gain! You're trying so hard to be a 'hero' for your ponies, but you're sacrificing innocent lives for them! You can't claim to be a hero when all you've done is kill!!"

"You act as if you're different!" Celestia hissed, pulling together the hooves of her mech. Rainbow flinched as she saw bright white light bursting from between the metal hooves ahead.

"Run," Twilight whispered down to Rainbow, forcing her body to ignite again. Her hair flowed around her as her flames spread to every inch of the mech.

Rainbow pulled back on the levers responsible for the mech's movements, spreading its wings up wide. It launched up into the air, just narrowly missing the beam fired by Celestia's mech by but a few inches. The ponies looked down as the beam tore through the ground below, instantly changing the decorative structures below into piles of dirt and sand. Their mech landed on top of the pile, staring down at what had been created.

"What the hell did you do?!" Rainbow shouted out at Celestia.

"More importantly, what's that thing made of..?" Twilight's voice was shaking, and her shoulders were bunched up against her neck. Her mouth was open wide in shock and fear.

"This is just one of my many inventions," Celestia hummed joyfully, as though her anger had entirely faded in seconds, but the way her voice shook showed that it was still very present. "This magical beam in particular is used for the terraforming we will need to be doing on our new planet. The ground must be able to support the trees and plant life here on Earth, so we designed this machine to achieve that same effect! As long as the plants think they're on Earth soil, they will grow, and change the ground around them."

"You can level entire buildings with just one beam," Twilight said, shaky breaths catching in her throat. "If you can create an invention like that, why can't you create something to stop the magma?! Apparently you're smart enough to do something like that, so why don't you?!"

"It's too late for this planet, don't you see?" Celestia stomped the hoof of her mech into the makeshift dirt inside the ship. "Disaster is already spreading, and it rains hell fire upon everything in sight... There is no hope to save this planet."

"Bullshit!" Twilight snapped, flames bursting around her eyes. She sucked in a lungful of air to calm herself, allowing the flames to dissipate. "You just want to leave no matter what. Even if the Earth is destroyed, taking Equestria and the lands outside with it... every pony will see you as a hero for taking them somewhere new! You know that this planet can be saved, you just choose to let it burn for your own selfish desires!"

"Maybe so," Celestia's voice rumbled from her mech as it stood on its hind legs and glared down at them. "But that's none of your business now, is it? After all, no pony is going to believe your tall tales. You're a low-life firefighter, and a wanted, terrorizing criminal. Any pony would rather believe their city's leader than a duo of no-ponies!"

"You..!" Twilight's body shook as flames consumed her.

"Twilight!" Rainbow spun around in her seat, grabbing the mare by the shoulders. "Don't let her get to you, this is just what she wants! You've got to keep it together if we're going to win this. The only way we're going to stop her is if we destroy that mech... but getting angry isn't going to help matters!"

Twilight recalled the destruction she had caused when she left Celestia's Inferno. She shut her eyes, the flames calming down around her figure again. She knew that her anger was a horrible destructive force, stronger than any cannon attached to Celestia's mech, and Rainbow just didn't understand it... but she was right. If they were going to truly win this fight fairly, she had to keep it together. She took a deep breath, and let her heartbeat slow.

"...You're right," She said finally, opening her eyes to look into Rainbow's. "Let's get this over with. I've got an idea."

"Go for it," Rainbow said with a grin, settling herself back in her seat.

...Inside the ship, things appeared to be turning for the worse. The scientists on each floor of Celestia's Sunlit Tower were searching frantically for Celestia herself, entirely unsure of where she went. Marble and Limestone stood at the end of the hall, watching the chaos with fear and confusion in their eyes.

"What the hell happened?" Limestone turned to Marble, demanding an answer out of her.

Marble said nothing, only shrugged her shoulders and shook her head. She didn't know what had happened either, but she was terrified of how the situation was turning out. Limestone cursed under her breath, running down the hallway to the elevator. Marble ran after her, not wanting to be left behind. Inside the elevator, Limestone slammed her hoof on the panel and felt the weight as the sisters ascended to the very top floor. They leapt free from the elevator when it hit the top, looking around in the very top room Celestia had used as her lookout.

"Where the fuck is she?!" Limestone yelled, stomping about.

"Marble, Limestone! Are you there?" A familiar voice squeaked from Celestia's desk. The mares stared at eachother before they ran to meet the call. They turned the screen imbedded into the desk, and were met with a sight that made their eyes sparkle.

"Pinkie!" Limestone called out in glee, staring down at her sister's figure on the screen. "Where the hell have you been?!"

"I don't have time to explain that!" Pinkie shook her head from side to side. "There are a lot of important things that I need to tell you right now, and some of them you might already know. Just look at these!"

The screen lit up as Pinkie passed files into the computer. They heard the roar of Pinkie's aircraft outside, but they both focused on the files being brought into the system. Marble sifted through the files, opening them one by one, and gasping in shock at the information they were receiving. The truth behind the Burnish flames, Celestia's murder of Cadance, the theft of Cadance's inventions... and the truth behind the Warp Project, the real reason the Earth was going to be destroyed. The video played of Celestia stabbing Cadance, repeated over and over. It made Marble sick to see it.

"Celestia..." Limestone said quietly, fear overtaking her tone. "She's a murderer..."

"I'm not sure how she kept it hidden from you guys all this time!" Pinkie said when she appeared on the screen, sticking her tongue out. "Dummies! But, moving on from that, you need to understand this; that engine that you're using to power the ship is dangerous! Not just for the planet, but the ship itself could be in grave danger if you don't do something!"

"We have to shut the engine down!" Limestone said to Marble, putting her hoof on the mare's shoulder.

"W-we.. we can't..!" Marble tried to raise her voice over a whisper, but she barely came close enough.

"Why can't we?!" Limestone yelled, slamming her hooves on the ground. "You heard what Pinkie said! We read those files and watched the same video, can't you see what's happening?! When are you going to stop being so terrified all the god damn time?! It's not just your life at stake here yknow, mine is too! Everypony is in danger! Don't you want to do something about it for a change?"

"I-I do..!" Marble cried, tears slipping down her face. "B-but... but what can we..."

"I might have an idea!" Pinkie brought the sisters' attention back to the screen on the desk. Limestone took a breath, stepping back over to the desk and staring down at Pinkie's figure on the screen. Marble wiped tears from her face, and tried to focus on the situation again.

"What's your idea?" Limestone asked, tone blank once again.

"Just do as I say, okay?" Pinkie put her hoof over her heart. "Trust me, everything is going to be okay. Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye! I promise you girls, this is going to help everypony involved!"

The sisters looked at eachother, fear and doubt still in their eyes, and Marble's glossy eyes made her look worse than ever. Regardless, she gave a curt nod, and a quiet 'mmhm' to show she was ready. The sisters looked down at the screen, and Pinkie sighed in relief as she began detailed her personal plan...

...In the makeshift city, Twilight sucked in the air around her, and channeled flames through her hooves. For a moment, she found herself as the pilot of the mech while Rainbow sat back and watched the events unfold. She lifted the creation onto its hind legs, hooves stretched forth. Its wings spread wide, and she snapped her eyes shut as she expelled flames from the metal hooves. The flames quickly solidified together to form crystalline structures that she remembered well; the same dragon that she had used to destroy the city had become a pair, one for each hoof. The beast screamed as it sailed towards Celestia's mech. Celestia lifted the mech's hooves, but her brief plan was stopped as the dragons coiled tightly around the legs of the mech.

They shrieked as they squeezed around the metal with all their might, and Twilight slammed her own hooves down to yank the dragons backwards. The legs of the mech were ripped off, crashing to the ground and severing the crystals that connected Twilight to the dragons. They collapsed on the ground, unmoving. A panel opened on the chest of Celestia's mech, and Rainbow recognized the kind of device stored within. Two blocks of ice fired from the chest cavity on the mech, bursting against the bodies of the dragons and shattering them into pieces. Celestia tilted the mech back, hissing as the last two ice blocks were fired, sailing towards the mech opposite her.

Rainbow forced their mech's wings to flap, and fling them into the air. The missiles hit the ground where they had been standing, exploding and leaving a crater that was filled to the brim with icicles. Rainbow pushed down on the levers, the mech slamming down onto the ice and shattering it beneath its hooves. She looked up and gasped in surprise, finding that Celestia had reloaded her cannons and already fired the full palette for them. Behind her, Twilight was much more calm. She took her hooves from the walls and clapped them together. The mech clapped its hooves as well, and flames burst from the center in a shockwave. Twilight pulled her hooves up, and the flames lifted into the air to create a wall. The missiles hit the wall of flame and froze it on the spot. Rainbow pushed forward, ramming the mech's head against the ice wall and breaking it apart into millions of pieces. She charged forward, the mech's hooves glistening bright blue as Twilight reattached herself to the pod she was shielded within, and spread her magic through its metal body.

Celestia poised herself to attack, but both ponies froze as something rumbled deep within the spaceship... Rainbow forced the mech to a skittering halt, and looked around in panic. Twilight glanced around, trying not to panic herself, but her heart rate was increasing, and she felt only bad things could happen now...

Inside the ship, the scientists were once again frantic. In the engine room, things were even worse. Marble was busy at work, focusing on putting as much energy as she possible could into the main engine. She had never looked so serious before, and shadows cast beneath her bangs onto her face as she worked. On first glance, one might even say that she was scary.

"Marble Pie!" One of the scientists yelled in a panic, and ran to the mare in question. "The engine, i-it's overflowing with energy! If this keeps up, it's going to explode! We need to put a stop to it to continue the warp!"

Marble didn't listen. She took a deep breath as she adjusted the last knobs on the control panel, and stepped back. She felt her heart beating in her chest, and shut her eyes tight as she prepared herself for what was to come. The panel Marble had just been working on sparked at every twist and dial, and spontaneously combusted, sending flames straight up into the air. The ground quaked as the engine below burst, flames and debris falling all around. It was a rain of ashes, dust, and charred and molten metal. When the engine burst, the portal outside had shattered like glass. Now that the portal was no longer holding up the weight of the ship, it fell to the ground. When it collided with the Earth, the winds from the impact were powerful enough to level even the tallest buildings nearby. Dust and dirt filled the streets as the ship rested on the ground, exactly where it had risen from before.

From the ship falling into the ground, the mechs that were battling inside were launched into the air. The force broke holes in the ceiling, sending them both high into the sky. Celestia's mech crash landed at the base of the tower, while Rainbow and Twilight's mech skidded to a halt on the opposite side of the hole.

"What did you do?!" Celestia's voice rang in Marble's ear.

"T-the engine..." Marble said. She cleared her throat, forcing her voice to be louder than it ever was before. "I-I overloaded the engine. Everything has been destroyed. The ship... can't move anymore. W-we're stuck now."

"You did this on purpose?" The anger in Celestia's voice was immeasurable.

"I did," Marble confessed, no shame in her voice. "I-I was wrong to agree to w-work under you. My sisters and I... w-will never bend to your will again. A-and there is nothing that you can do about it."

"That bitch..!" Celestia hissed, slamming her hooves against her control panel as the connection cut off. "She destroyed my precious engine... we can no longer warp..?! Tch... no matter, I'll have her pay for that, and I'll find a way to get it running again."

Celestia hummed, typing something into her control panel. A screen opened up beside her. She glared at the screen, and held onto a button on her control panel.

"Mayor Mare!" She yelled at the screen, loud enough to hear her own voice echo on the other side. "Call Tempest Shadow! I have a pony you need to deal with."

"They destroyed the engine?" Rainbow said in shock to Twilight, still recovering from hitting her head.

"It sounds like it," Twilight said, brushing her hoof through her mane. "If there is no engine, they can't pilot the ship, and that means they can't leave. I think it's safe to assume that some pony has helped us win this battle."

"No, not yet," Rainbow said, her wings flaring behind her. She forced the mech to its hooves and pointed ahead with one. "Not as long as she's still alive."

"You two!!" Celestia shouted from across the ship's roof. "I've had enough of your antics too! You've destroyed my ship, and my inventions! You've soiled all of my plans, and yet you think you've won?! You'll have to think again!"

The panel at the center of the mech's chest opened again, and a long cannon emerged. When it had reached its full length, a metal rod extended from the bottom and spread out at the base to hold the cannon upright. Celestia cackled behind the windshield at the mech's head as she fired the cannon, aiming directly for Rainbow and Twilight. Rainbow's quick thinking saved their lives; the mech ducked underneath the beam, and while the wings of it had been slightly frozen off from the beam's immense cold, they were safe. They stood back up and watched as the beam sailed through the sky, landing inside of Celestia's Inferno. The cracks along the volcano that were continuously spilling lava were frozen over within seconds, as if an eternal winter had kissed the erupting mountain. The ice burst, and the light from the lava and flames was no longer present; they had been entirely quelled.

Celestia's Inferno... was just a mountain now.

"What the hell?!" Rainbow yelled, turning to look back at Celestia.

"This is my most prized possession," Celestia laughed, her mech staring down at the cannon. "We call it the Ultimate Equestrian Freeze Ray. It was designed to put out lava flows and cool what is to be our new sun on our new planet. Our sun pales in comparison to what this cannon can do!"

"Why can't you use that to stop our magma flow in the Earth?!" Twilight yelled, her coat standing on end. "You just froze an entire volcano! What's stopping you from obstructing the flow further?!"

"Covering the magma on the surface won't help anything!" Celestia shouted back at her. "If we wanted to do real damage, we would have to make it to the core! Nothing that we've invented in recent years can withstand those depths, and no pony could survive heat that intense! Not even you, Twilight Sparkle!!"

Celestia slammed the back hooves of the mech onto the metal of the ship. The hooves cracked as ice burst around them, sailing in waves towards Rainbow and Twilight. Twilight took full control of the mech for this moment, using her flames to brandish a sword just like the one she had used to fight Rainbow Dash before. The mech's horn glowed, carrying the sword like a feather, and slicing through the ice that approached. The ice melted willingly against the heat the sword brought, and as they marched forth, the ice couldn't stop them.

"You're a liar," Twilight said as she moved her head to control the mech's battle against the waves of ice. "You know that you could reach the core, and you're choosing not to. It's just as Rainbow Dash said earlier; you're desperate to appear as the hero of pony kind, so much so that you want to migrate no matter what!"

"So what?!" Celestia yelled as she finally stopped the onslaught of ice. At the very back of the cannon in the mech's chest, light began to pulse as she prepared another attack. "Regardless of the situation's outcome, these ponies will thank me for saving their lives! I will be treated as a goddess, walking amongst mortals. And no amount of hatred that you may have for me will stop me from continuing on in my plans! Now just shut up, and get out of my way!!"

Celestia screamed her threat, and fired the cannon. A tornado of snow and ice sailed through the air, and Rainbow Dash had no time to steer the mech away. Ice pelted against the mech, but she pushed forth, forcing all of the mech's strength and her own into these movements alone. Twilight's body ached as she forced her flames through the chambers that made up their power source, desperate to fight against the searing cold.

"R-rainbow Dash, you didn't even try to move!" Twilight shouted at her as they pushed against the ice. "Do you have any idea what you're doing?!"

"Not at all!" Rainbow Dash yelled. "Just keep pushing forth!!"

"You idiot!!" Twilight yelled back at her.

But, over time, the mech did begin to reach its destination. All the energy being poured into these motions drove it closer, meter by meter... Flames continued to burst around the mech when their armor cracked, as Twilight was desperate not to let this ice get through them. Rainbow's hooves were hurting as she put all her weight into holding down the levers that made the mech move. No matter how difficult it was, she refused to back down! She lifted the forehooves of the mech as it got closer, the black crystals breaking off like grains of sand, but she didn't care about the armor. When they were close enough, Twilight used her own idea. She channeled the flames within the mech's hooves, sending blazing spikes through the metal of Celestia's mech and hitting every vital system inside. Celestia panicked as her systems began to crash, but she took their idea too, lifting one of the back legs of her mech, and sending ice sailing through the other ponies' mech.

Within minutes, their fight was over. Celestia's cannon had run out of power from the destruction, and both their mechs were frozen as they were, littered from head to hoof with spikes spreading out in every direction. Each and every pointed edge glinted against the surrounding lights, reminding the ponies of their sharpness. The mechs shut down... but the ponies inside were safe, and their war... had come to a close.