A Debt to the Stars

by Sereg

BONUS CHAPTER: Big Bang

Author's Note:

Bonus chapters can (and will probably always) be shorter than main chapters. They're mainly here for background rather than as part of the main story though they'll always be relevant to it. In some cases (like this one), they'll provide relevant information for future planned sequels as well.

Chapter 8.5: Big Bang

A millennium and a half earlier, the defeat of Discord led to arguments among the Cosmic Council over the exact position of the true borders which had not existed for centuries. While the Cosmic Council eventually ruled in favour of the non-expansionist states, the interim was filled with the vicious conflict of a Cosmic War and was another reminder of why they had to be avoided. The Diamond Dogs of Canida and Caribou of Ontareindeer to the north wished to take the opportunity to expand their territories, the draconequus Quetzalcoatl used her army of serpents to carve out an empire to the south, quickly conquering the Ahuizotls before heading for Panllama, incursions of Chimerae pressed their luck and the dragons and buffalo pushed for better access to their migration routes. The alicorns were forced to spread along the borders to aid the guard in defence of the borders and the Bearers were split up to protect both Celestia and Luna simultaneously.

The sky was dark with the many combatants that filled it. Warcries, bellowed orders, magical blasts and the clash of steel reverberated through the rocky plain.

Right smashed her forehooves into the ground, flinging a boulder into the air. She spun and bucked it, launching it into another caribou. The caribou dropped out of the sky and joined her fallen comrades.

Standing beside her, Celestia, resplendent in her orichalchum barding that barely exposed her coat or her pink mane, lifted her halberd and raised a barrier, blocking the spells which the caribou fired as they galloped across the sky.

“Another volley!” Celestia ordered over the sounds of the explosions as she lifted a hoof forward and opened a hole in her barrier.

Arrows launched into the air. However, while some struck their targets, others were intercepted in a booming display of colourful spells. Circular shields and walls of force filled the sky and many arrows simply bounced off the barrier spells. Others were burned in fiery explosions, torrents of flame and walls of fire. Still more were disintegrated by vicious beams of destruction. In other cases, they were simply grabbed out of the sky by telekinetic force. A few of the soldiers transformed the rain of death into simple feathers. Finally, some just teleported the incoming ammunition away.

“We need more air support!” yelled Right. “Send in another five flights of pegasi to engage in close combat!”

“Done!” said Celestia. “Flights seventeen through twenty three, go!”

Pegasi launched into the air and soared into the fray in a furious charge. As they reached their targets, they attacked. Some kicked with their hooves, crushing the frail bodies of their enemies. Others sliced through flesh and barding with their wings in a whirling display of sudden death too fast for their foes to react to as they were showered in blood and gore. The rest stabbed their opponents with their spears and more more of the caribou air force was brought down in a rain of corpses.

In response, the remaining caribou blasted them with their spells, lighting the sky with searing colours and deafening explosions or telekinetically tore them apart.

“Right! Celestia!” called Solemn. “As I said, I don’t really think that we should be fighting this battle. The rest of us aren’t here, and we don’t have our best weapons available.”

“The fact that we do not have much of a choice has not changed. Luna’s still guarding the Canidian front,” said Celestia. “Empress Quetzalcaotl has already annexed the ahuizotls and is still pushing forward, so we can’t ask Dad to come north to help us. We cannot afford to leave any of our fronts undefended. Especially not now.”

“You have a point, Celestia,” replied Solemn as she inclined her head. “But you aren’t ready to face the likes of Dasher or Blitzen.”

“We know,” said Right. “They are both on other parts of the front. The Empire of Ontareindeer is fighting on as many fronts as we are. They have no grudge against us. They are simply revelling in the opportunity to prove themselves. They have a proud and stubborn culture. We don’t have to worry about the two strongest members of their royal family as they will be busy elsewhere.”

“As far as we know,” argued Solemn. “Our intelligence could be wrong and they could have moved.”

“That is possible,” admitted Celestia. “However, we need to make do with the best intelligence that we have available.”

“Understood, Princess,” said Solemn. “But I’m not eager to face the likes of ... say ... Vixen or Donner ... or even Prancer either.”

“We will deal with them when it becomes necessary,” said Right. “Even if they do send another strong Cosmic, we’ll just prove that we too are strong!”

“I’m surprised that one of them hasn’t come to aid with this battle,” said Solemn. “One of them would surely have received reports of what’s going on by now.”

Celestia squinted. “You’re quite right. Donner is on his way.”

Right turned to Solemn. “You had to say it! Still, this is an opportunity for even greater glory!”

The streak zoomed closer and slammed into the ground before them. Then the sonic boom hit, shaking them and tearing up the ground like a badly tilled field.

The caribou had large, red antlers peeping through his skullcap helmet. He was unusually large and muscular and was decked in full barding and a red cape. He wore the skulls of two other caribou as pauldrons and his barding and cape were covered in runes, either carved, or in the case of his cape, stitched in with golden thread.

“At last, I face you in the glorious competition that is lethal combat, Celestia,” he said. “While it is a pity to fight you in your youth, long before your prime, one that is almost insulting to me, how can I waste the opportunity to fight Equestria’s elite Bearer’s of Harmony, the vanquishers of Discord himself?”

“Back off, Donner!” Celestia growled. She lowered her head and her horn shone with searing brilliance. “This is Equestrian soil and it will stay that way!”

A pitch black war-hammer rose within Donner’s blood red aura and began to spin as it gave off small sparks of electricity. “We’ll see about that.” He lifted his head and the tips of his antlers shone with many colours.

Right shoved Celestia to the side as Donner lowered his head again.

The beams of light from his antlers shattered Celestia’s barrier like glass. They converged on the spot previously occupied by Celestia and struck Right in the neck. A wave of dark grey swept over her body as it crumbled to ash. Her barding collapsed into the pile of soot, still glowing red hot and giving off white sparks of electricity.

Donner cocked his eyebrow and flicked his head again. A chilly gust blew past, scattering the ash and covering the barding in a layer of frost.

Solemn froze and her eyes stretched open. “Right?” she whimpered.

Celestia gaped at the pile of barding, her neck stiff as she held her gaze at what remained of her friend. She then turned her head back towards Donner, clenching her teeth and spinning her golden halberd, which had covered itself in flames while the tip glowed white, and pointing it at Donner as she reared her forelegs. Her eyes glowed white as she smashed her hooves into the ground. A mound of rock grew over Donner, leaving only his head exposed.

Donner’s antlers glowed and cracks ran down new prison, tearing chunks of it away in roars that shook the landscape. The molten chunks smashed into the desolate plain, forming large craters as Donner climbed out of the remnants. However, Celestia’s horn glowed brighter still and her mane began to flow. New colours raced along her previously pink mane and tail as a yellow ball of blinding intensity grew from her horn until it was larger than she was. She stomped a hoof, cracking the bedrock beneath her hooves and lava burst from the remains of the rocky cage as she fired the beam directly at them. Most of the matter did not bother to melt and simply sublimed into gas. The surrounding air ionized into plasma and lightning bolts danced in the air. Through the haze, Donner held the energy back with the simplest of shield spells, slowly adding new layers. Celestia spread her wings and streaked off, leaving a trail of vacuum behind her as she soared into her inferno.

The ground had not had time to tear itself apart at her passing when she began spinning, slicing her wings and halberd through the remaining mass of lava. Donner barely shifted his shield in time to meet her onslaught and it cracked under the relentless pummelling which worked far faster than he could reinforce. Instead, he added further, more complicated shields while she quickly wore away at his first attempt. As the original shield shattered, he smashed his warhammer against her, knocking her into the ground in a clash of thunder and lightning. The impact shook the landscape and lifted a blanket of dust into the sky.

Celestia rapidly rolled over in the hole and launched herself through the soil, below Donner’s shields and into his legs, knocking him prone. Donner’s eyes widened as he hit the ground and his antlers charged with magical energy, but Celestia simply shoved her halberd through his torso and blasted him with the energy stored in her halberd as she twisted it through his flesh.

She then rose into the air, stripping electrons from their atoms as a rainbow blast burst forth. She rapidly sliced her way through the attacking force in an elegant dance of brutality. The blood did not have time to drip from the corpses before Celestia had cleared the sky of living opponents.

The ground shook and cracked as she landed. She lost her snarl and the fires in her eyes as her mane collapsed to pink. Then she crouched to the ground and sobbed as wild lightning danced around her.

Comments

[Booster Spice]

And that, son, is why you dont bring a knife and an ego to a plasma cannon fight.

Thank Faust, Celestia didnt lose it, or that place would be Yellowstone.

[Sereg]

5039854 She actually did go more overboard than she's supposed to. That's now a wild zone of eternal lightning. Celestia actually wasn't able to tank a spell from Donner, but of course, that just meant that she had to beat him before he could get one off.

[djthomp]

I don't know whether to be deeply amused at the caribou names or horrified at how brutal that fight was. I think I'm going to settle for both.

[Sereg]

5045420 I'm happy with that reaction.

[Sereg]

5060884 Not exactly. In that version, she was born an alicorn. Like in The Crystal Heart Spell, I'm taking that event as what triggered her ascension.