//------------------------------// // 16: "Fight Club" // Story: Celestia XVII: The Broken Princess // by brokenimage321 //------------------------------// “I don’t want to die without any scars.” Soarin’ stood on the bare dirt of the crater floor in his Wonderbolts flight suit, his chest heaving, his mane blowing in the wind. He turned and shot me a smile, and, in that moment, there wasn’t a handsomer stallion in all of Equestria.  Soarin’ held one wing straight down by his side, a line of blood trailing down the leading edge. I turned to look at Discord, and noticed, for the first time, a fresh wound—a clean slice across one of his shoulders. Discord seemed to notice at the same time I did; he snarled, then reached over and pressed one of his claws against it.  “Lieutenant Soaring Skies of the Wonderbolts,” he snarled. “Fancy seeing you, of all ponies here.” The hairs on the back of my neck stood on end. I shot a frightened glance at Soarin’; his determined scowl was starting to waver at the edges.  Discord bared his teeth in a wry grin, exposing his fangs. “Don’t you have somewhere else to be, Soarin’?” he asked. “Someone else to save? Someone else to protect? Some other way to be a hero that doesn’t require you to look Oblivion Himself in the teeth?” There was no question now—the air shook with a weird, alien magic. “Fly away, fly away, fly away home, little songbird,” Discord growled. “The grown-ups have some talking to do.” And the magic surged forward, like waves in the ocean. I turned back to Soarin’ and gasped—white light was gathering around his hooves, and the whites of his eyes swirled with color— “Soarin’!” I cried. “Don’t listen! Whatever he’s telling you, he’s lying!” Soarin’ stiffened, then squeezed his eyes shut and shook his head fiercely. And suddenly, the magic broke and radiated away from him, dissipating like smoke on the wind. He looked up at Discord with a snarl on his face. “I’m not going anywhere,” he said, only the slightest tremble in his voice. “I’ve been running all my life.” He turned and shot me a smile. “But now I have something to stay for.” My heart leapt into my throat. Discord’s wry smile fell. Slowly, he dropped his claw back to his side, then rose to his full, sinuous height.  “So be it,” he intoned. “Let it always be said that Soarin’ of the Wonderbolts went to his doom with his eyes open.” “Oh, shut up,” Soarin’ snapped. He spread his wings, then shot towards Discord, an arc of crimson trailing behind him.  Discord snarled, then lunged at him. Soarin’ swerved  to avoid him, then wheeled around for another pass. He shot towards Discord, wings extended, the wind whistling around him, but Discord twisted out of the way at the last second.  I smiled, then staggered to my hooves. Soarin’ wouldn’t last long, no matter how hard he tried. I needed to find the Sun Stone, at least—then, maybe we could escape, make a plan— And there it was: in a little heap with the Elements, just where Discord had been standing a moment ago. Soarin’ had drawn Discord away from his prize, and he was too distracted trying to swat him out of the air to notice me. I grinned wider and dashed towards them— But Luna beat me to them.  “No!” she cried. “They’re mine!”  She straddled the little pile and growled, like a dog guarding a bone. I skidded to a stop in front of her.  “Luna,” I gasped. “Give me the Sun Stone!” She shook her head. “You just want to steal it from me!” she cried. “My mother willed the stones to me! Me! And I shan’t let any Princess steal them ever again!” A shadow blotted out the sun, and I leapt backwards. Discord’s tail crashed down between the two of us, sending Luna flying backwards.  “Ladies,” Discord hissed in greeting—just before Soarin’ came screaming by again, this time, shaving off a chunk of Discord’s mane. He spat in fury, then charged after him, body weaving like a snake as he nearly trampled the Elements. I dashed forward--but, as I did, Discord’s hind hoof caught the Sun Stone, sending it flying through the air. I turned to chase after it—but a streak of rainbow light shot forward and snatched it.  “Got it!” cried Rainbow Dash, triumphantly. My heart leapt in my throat, and I spun around. There, I saw a sight I hadn’t even hoped to see: Twilight and her four other friends, their colors restored, charging towards the field of battle. Close behind them galloped Blueblood—and, close behind him, Shining Armor and the Palace Guard. Despite myself, I let out a whoop of joy.  Behind me, I heard an evil growl. I turned and saw Discord, squatting on all fours, his eyes full of fire. “Well,” he said, his voice icy-calm, “It appears your erstwhile friends have found a way back, too. Next time, I’ll just have to kill them outright—” At that moment, Soarin’ shot past, and Discord roared in pain. He snarled, then reared on his hind legs.  “I don’t have time to deal with you gnats—!” he snarled.  Soarin’ wheeled around and flew back towards us. As he saw Discord, claws spread and ready for him, he flared his wings and came to a halt in midair. He hesitated, just an instant, his eyes invisible behind his flight goggles. But, just as I thought he was going to turn away, he adjusted his wings and dove. As he zipped past, Discord caught him around the middle. Soarin’ tried to kick with his legs, but Discord held him away from his body. Instead, he snarled, then bit Discord, hard, on one of his fingers.  “That will be enough out of you,” Discord growled.  And, with the practiced ease of a lifelong predator, Discord spread his jaws wide, bit one of Soarin’s wings just above the joint, and tore. “No!” I cried.  Discord spat a mouthful of scarlet-flecked feathers, then tossed Soarin’, almost casually, over his shoulder. Soarin’ flew through the air, ruby drops of blood trailing after him, and landed twenty or thirty feet away. He lay still, blood spurting from his side. And then, without warning, Discord extended his claws, then dropped onto all fours. He landed with a mighty crash, his claws sinking deep into the soil, and something in my inner ear popped. I stumbled and fell. For just a moment, I lay there, stunned—but then, Discord started laughing.  The crash Discord had made echoed back off the walls of the crater, growing louder and louder, until it became a mighty rumble. The ground under me bucked and jumped, then split open. Great cracks raced across the floor of the crater, splitting the earth into little islands and plateaus. Some of them shot up in the air, some of them sank, and above it all, Discord laughed.  I struggled back to my hooves and shook my head to clear it. The ground still rumbled underneath me, but, for now at least, Discord and I were on the same plateau. Between us, in a scattered pile, lay the Elements. Blueblood, Twilight, and her Ponyville friends had been cut off from us by a chasm, but it Rarity, at least, was already getting ready to jump it. On another small island lay Rainbow Dash in a heap, where she had apparently crash-landed during the surge of magic. And there, by her side—my eyes widened—lay the Sun Stone, still glowing brightly.  I took a step towards her, but my breath caught in my throat. There, on the other side of Discord, lay Soarin’, deathly pale, teetering on the edge of a chasm. He still hadn’t moved, but the blood flowing from his stump had started to slow.  I whipped my gaze from Soarin’ to Rainbow, and back. Time seemed to slow to a crawl. And the cold, logical part of my brain spoke up: Blueblood and the Royal Guards were moving into position, getting ready to distract Discord. That would give Twilight and her friends the time they needed to reach the Elements. But they wouldn’t function properly unless Rainbow got her Element, too, and she was still seeing stars—not to mention, she still had the Sun Stone, which might be enough to stop Discord all on its own. But Soarin’ was dying. I didn’t know if I could even save him, but if I didn’t at least try, he would bleed out before help could come. I could save the world, or I could save Soarin’, but not both. I could help my friends stop Discord—but Soarin’ was all alone here, bleeding out under a schizophrenic sky. Who needed me more: Equestria, or Soarin’? And then, I made a decision. “Soarin’!” I cried. Time snapped back into motion, and I turned and galloped towards him. Discord tried to snatch me, but I shot an arc of fire at him and ducked between his legs. He roared in pain and fury, then swiped at me with his tail, but I leapt over it. Soarin’ drew close, and I lunged towards him. I landed with a splat in the bloody mud, then wrapped my arms around him.  “Soarin’!” I cried again. “I’m here now, you’re gonna be okay.” He groaned faintly and stirred, and my heart leapt.  “C’mon, Soarin’,” I said urgently. “Stay with me!”   But even as I said it, the earth around us began to crumble. The dirt under Soarin’ gave way, and I yelped as his weight pulled me forward, until I was staring straight down into the abyss.  “Soarin’—!” Suddenly, the hairs on the back of my neck stood on end, and I felt a deep thrumming sensation rumble through me. I looked over my shoulder, stared, then whooped aloud. Twilight stood, facing Discord, her Element of Magic glowing purple-red in her mouth. Behind her stood Rarity, Pinkie Pie, and Fluttershy, each holding their gems. A short distance away, Applejack supported a woozy Rainbow, her own Element in her mouth, and—my eyes widened—the Sun Stone under one arm.   “They’re doing it, Soarin’!” I cried. “They’re going to—” But, as I spoke, I felt Soarin’ start to slip from my grasp. I lunged forward with what leverage I could, but I couldn’t get a good grip on his blood-slick uniform. “Soarin’!” I growled through gritted teeth. “I—I can’t hold on—!” Soarin’s head lolled back, his mouth hanging open horribly. His eyes fluttered open, and he looked at me weakly. “See… see…” he moaned.  “Soarin’...” I repeated, fresh tears pricking at the corners of my eyes.  Behind me, I heard an explosion and felt a blast of warmth, but I barely noticed. All I knew was that I was looking into Soarin’s eyes, for what might be the last time ever… And then, another pair of arms reached down and grabbed him.  I looked up and gasped. Beside me in the dirt lay Blueblood. He lit his horn and grabbed Soarin’ around his middle, and the two of us hauled back, dragging Soarin’ back up towards the plateau. In the near distance, a few other Guards were making their way over the broken earth towards us.  “I got him,” Blue grunted. “Get going, they need you.” I looked back over my shoulder, and my eyes widened. Twilight and her friends stood together in a ragged formation. Their stones shone bright, and, together, they formed a rainbow of light and magic that swirled around Discord like a storm. Discord himself writhed in pain, but it wasn’t enough: even I could tell that their magic was taking far too long, and Rainbow was already close to collapsing again.  Then, I saw it. At Applejack’s hooves lay the Sun Stone. I blinked, then dashed towards it. I didn’t deserve to hold the Stone, not anymore—but perhaps, I could help them, somehow… As I ran across the plain, Discord turned his gaze to follow me. And, behind those eyes of his, an evil light sparked into being.  “Why are you helping her?” he hissed. The sound of his voice—deep, echoing, piercing, all at the same time—startled me so much I skidded to a stop and stared at him. “While you’re busy with me, Celestia is getting her Princesshood back. The same Celestia who abandoned you, who betrayed you, who sold you out. You’ll get your Equestria back—but so will she. She doesn’t deserve your help,” he spat, “so why are you giving it to her?” Fresh tears sprung to my eyes, and my heart sank. For just a second, I thought I felt Discord’s faint touch on my mind again, but I couldn’t be sure… And then, Twilight spoke.  “Yeah,” she growled through gritted teeth, “Cece’s a screw-up. But she came back.” “Darn tootin’,” Applejack added.  “She came back,” Twilight repeated. “That’s what you don’t understand about Friendship, Discord—it’s not about being perfect. It’s about trying.” Twilight roared in defiance, and her streak of light grew even brighter. I stared, entranced, for a moment.  “What are you doing?” cried Rainbow. “Get the Stone!” I started, then turned and galloped back towards my target. I ducked under Applejack’s beam of light, then scooped up the Sun Stone— And something very strange happened.  As I held the Stone in my hooves, I had the distinct impression that something inside it turned and looked at me. That, for just a moment, this chunk of rock recognized me—me, out of all the thousands that had ever held it.  But, before I could even think about what that might mean, I felt a familiar itching over my shoulderblades. Before I could do much more than bite my lip, the fleshy scars on my shoulders tore open, and brand-new, snow-white wings furled outwards. Tears rolled freely down my cheeks—half from pain, half from joy. I never knew how much I could miss them… “Celestia…” groaned Rarity.   But there was time for reflection later. I held up the Sun Stone, and the old, familiar magic coursed through me, ran up to my horn and out to the tips of my beautiful wings— What happened next, I still don’t remember, not exactly. Perhaps it was the stress, perhaps it had something to do with the sudden surge of magic, but it’s all a bit of a blur. I remember a beam of white shooting from the Stone, shooting straight through the colorful rainbow of magic, and into Discord’s twisting body. I remember the light burning away his fur, his skin, his viscera, his bones. I remember the sound of the God of Chaos howling in pain—a primal sound, an animal sound, the sort of noise that you hear in your bones and the rattling of your teeth.  And—weirdest of all—I seem to remember that we weren’t alone. I seem to remember there was another pony standing by my side, shooting a beam of light of her own—but that was impossible, wasn’t it…? The next thing I remember clearly was me dropping to the ground, drained. I felt like I had just run a marathon—no, a triathalon. I ached all over. I was out of breath. And the Sun Stone underneath me still burned hot… In the near distance, I heard some ragged cheers. I felt seven pairs of hooves wrap themselves around me, felt a pile of bodies on me, but already, I felt myself sinking into unconsciousness. Just before I fell away entirely, I opened one eye and looked where I had felt that strange pony standing—and, for just a moment, thought I saw four hoofprints in the dirt, smoking gently…