//------------------------------// // Ignite // Story: When The Wind Changes // by Symphony //------------------------------// ’‘Get away from her, you monstrosity!’’ Discord was asleep, but words were echoing through his head and making his sleep much less peaceful. ’‘Sister, please! Stop this!’’ He was having nightmares from the fateful day that made him loose control of his chaotic energy, or ’‘Periculum’’ that it is also known as. ’‘Why are you defending this beast, Luna?!’’ Celestia scowled at her younger sister who was standing in front of me, spreading her magnificent midnight-blue wings. I was lying there, broken, Celestia had gotten to me before Luna had intercepted her. She hadn’t been merciful against me. ’’I...’’ Luna turned around and looked me right in my mismatched eyes. Her eyes were brimming with tears as she saw my tattered form. My wings were pointing in sick directions and my eagle talon was broken. But worst of all, my wonderful beard had been torched clean off. Luna’s eyes set with determination and confidence as she turned away from me. ’’I... love him...’’ She stretched her neck in defiance and gave her sister a fierce stare. This wasn’t going to be pretty. Discord was sweating, he hadn’t had a nightmare in years. He rolled over on his back and groaned while kicking his legs out as if he was running. ’‘You... You love him...?’’ Celestia stared dumbfounded at her sister, then down at me. Her eyes met mine. Her gaze softened a little before it hardened even more than before. ’‘But he’s a Draconequus!’’ Celestia exclaimed, still staring at me. ’‘Can’t you feel his Periculum?! It’s dangerous!’’ Celestia spat, she saw me like I was cancer that needed to be excised. Luna flinched a little from her sister’s harsh words. I stood up on shaky legs and placed my lion paw on Luna’s back. She looked at me in confusion. She was silently begging me to sit down and not get in the way. I refused and smiled at her. ’‘Discord isn’t dangerous Celestia! He can control his Periculum, unlike other Draconeqi! I helped him with it... I... I won’t leave him.’’ She turned her head and looked straight into my eyes. She was letting her tears flow freely. I cautiously moved my lion paw from her back and wiped a tear from her cheek while giving her a reassuring smile. Celestia didn’t like it at all. I could feel the temperature rise slightly due to Celestia’s rage. ’‘ENOUGH!’’ Celestia boomed, both Luna and I flinched from the sudden rise of volume. I was legitimately afraid of Celestia. She controlled the freaking sun after all! Luna cowered away from her sister and turned towards me. She pressed her head to my chest. I could feel her tears staining my coat. It hurt to see her like this. I embraced her, wincing slightly from the pain in my eagle talon. I ignored the pain and focused on Luna. She needed me. ’‘Luna... Step away from him. Now.’’ Celestia hissed through gritted teeth. Her horn started glowing menacingly. Luna only pressed harder towards my chest as sobs quietly racked her body. I ran my paw through her mane, fighting tears of my own. ’‘Luna please...’’ I croaked, my throat hurt when I talked. Luna looked up at me with quivering lips and bloodshot eyes. It broke my heart to see her like this. ’‘You have to go... I will be fine, I promise... I don’t want to cause any more pain and rivalry between you two...’’ Celestia looked surprised that I would take her side on this. I still didn’t think that I’m dangerous, just reasonably unsafe to be around. Luna wrapped her hooves around my neck and sobbed into my neck. ’’Lu... You have to do this... For me...’’ I said in a soft tone that was near breaking down. Discord kept on rolling around and kicking his legs at random. He was still sweating profusely. He was gritting his teeth and felt cold. ’‘Okay...’’ Luna sighed in defeat and pressed on tighter against me before she let go. She turned around and walked towards her sister. Celestia had a confused look. She barely acknowledged Luna walking past her. ’‘Don’t you go around thinking I’ll forget you.’’ Luna smiled softly to me with bloodshot eyes. Her horn was surrounded with a navy aura and after a flash, she was gone. I fell to my knees and bowed my head. This was it. This was when I would be erased from existence by a enraged alicorn. Or so I thought. ’‘Draconequus.’’ I looked up at Celestia, I must’ve looked pathetic from her point of view. ’’It took courage for you to do what you just did.’’ I could see her eyes staring down at me and up my features. She winced slightly as she saw what she had done to me. I only started laughing. It started as a soft giggle but it erupted to a full-out guffaw. ’‘What is it?’’ She loked puzzled. I looked up at her with a crazed expression and a wide grin. ’‘You don’t know what you just did, do you?’’ I asked her with as much malice as I could. I could see her backing away from me. ’‘You just released the true me.’’ Screw compassion. Celestia just gaped as I stood up at my full length. I fused some of my Periculum and healed myself. My wings snapped back to place, my broken eagle talon was pieced back together. Even my beautiful beard grew back. Happy days! ’‘Say hi to Lu for me!’’ I held out my lion paw palm-first towards her and released a shockwave of magic towards Celestia. She flew back and landed on her side a few feet away. I waltzed up to her where she was lying and bent down to her. Fear was evident across her face. ’‘Wanna know what I’m gonna do now?’’ ’’Wh-What?’’ Poor Celestia was almost shaking from fear. It made me laugh. ’‘I’m going to spread some chaos and destruction across Equestria. All thanks to you making me not care anymore. Ciao.’’ I snapped my talon and in another flash, I was gone. Discord woke up with a sharp gasp and a few twitches of his hind legs. His eyes shot open and quickly surveyed the area around him. Nothing was there but he felt as if something big was about to happen. He levitated a carrot from his cloak and chewed on it slowly, expecting something to jump out from a bush and attack him. ----- Luna was pacing around in her room. Tomorrow, she was going to Ponyville with her sister tomorrow incognito to search for Discord. The last time he broke free Luna had been too afraid to encounter him, so she had been hiding in her room during that week. She wasn’t going to hide this time. Only her and Celestia would try to find and talk him into not causing any major destruction or harm towards Equestria and the Elements. It was farfetched, but it was worth a shot. She plopped down onto her massive bed and laid down on her back, cracking a few joints in the progress. She couldn’t help but to think of how he would react to her or her sister’s presence. She hoped that it would be peaceful, without any fighting or a big argument breaking out. There were big chances that that was exactly what was going to happen. Celestia and her scientists had been constructing a necklace that could shut out any magic from being used for anypony, by anypony. It would mean that even if the pony who recieved the necklace was non-unicorn, that pony wouldn’t be able to use his natural magic. Hopes were high that it would work on a Draconequus. Luna closed her eyes and sighed. She had been up all night, worrying about the confrontation and reading. She finally fell asleep and got a well-deserved rest. ----- Back in Ponyville, Discord was making a very good impression of a chainsaw. He had fallen back asleep after his breakfast. This time he wasn’t disturbed by any nightmares or timid pegasi. It was only him and his sleep but the feeling off something big threatening to happen soon was still disturbing him deeply. ----- Discord had unknowingly slept away the rest of the day and the night and now it was morning again. He groaned and stretched his back. Maybe this was a good day to head back into town. It felt like something was drawing him back. He stood up on legs that felt like spaghetti. He yawned as he started walking back into the sleepy town. Judging by the sun, it was probably around 10 in the morning. He levitated his last carrot from his cloak and started trotting towards the town a little faster than normal. Back in town, there was nopony around. The market stands were up like they always were, but nopony was handling them. He heard a sound in the distant and decided to see what was going on, he trotted around and building and saw a big crowd standing by a stage. But what was on stage made his blood freeze and his heart beat faster at the same time. Luna was standing on stage, next to her sister. Luna seemed uninterested in what her sister were doing and rolled her eyes. To his horror, Luna spotted him in the back of the crowd. Discord started backing away slowly, until he turned away and ran off at full speed. ----- The day was going slower than Luna had expected. Celestia and Luna were sitting in the royal chariot. Why Celestia decided to take the chariot when teleporting to Ponyville would have taken much quicker, she had no idea. Luna laid down and rested her head on her forelegs. ’‘Luna?’’ Celestia poked her sister on her wing. ’‘What is it, Celestia?’’ ’’Is something worrying you?’’ Celestia’s tone was filled with concern. Luna sighed, she couldn’t lie to her sister about things like these. ’‘Discord... I don’t know if I can see him without feeling like I’m going to cry.’’ Luna had visited his stone prison several times, it always ended up with her running away nearly crying from her guilt. ’’I will be right beside you, don’t worry. Even Discord can be reasonable when he wants to be.’’ Celestia embraced her younger sister with her wings and pulled her close. Luna closed her eyes and leaned towards Celestia. It didn’t take long until they landed in the Ponyville Square. Everypony gasped when they saw the Princesses visiting without a notice. Twilight Sparkle had passed out and was brought back to her library. Right now Celestia and Luna were on the stage, answering random questions from anypony. The mayor was talking to Celestia. Luna didn’t care what it was they were talking about. She just sighed and rolled her eyes. When she set her eyes back on the crowd she could see a new addition to the crowd in the back. It was a goldish grey unicorn stallion with mesmerizing crimson eyes. His mane was a greyish black with a silver white streak next to his left ear. His horn looked odd somehow. He was wearing a stylish wine-red cloak. His face had switched to a panicked expression as soon as he realized that Luna was staring at him. He was backing away slowly before he turned around and ran off as fast as he seemingly could. Luna spread her wings and leaped out over the crowd before she gave her wings a powerful beat and was off in hot pursuit. Celestia’s jaw fell as she saw her sister thunder around a corner.