Starbreaker

by GivingSpider

Chapter 1

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-

Discord took in a deep breath of the crisp mountain air. He glanced up at the stars and patiently waited. Minutes turned into hours and Celestia’s sun soon took the night way. He remained in his spot with his eyes focused on a particular point over head. More time passed and he abruptly took his eyes out of his head and waited for the sun to leave his cone of vision. He only looked straight at the sun once several hundred years ago and didn’t make that mistake again. He counted down the time and when he was confident that the symbol of Celestia’s reign was no longer blocking his view he put his eyes back in his head. Gradually the great orb moved and was soon enough leaving the sky and Luna’s moon slowly rose to take its place. Discord remained in his spot and continued to focus on a specific group of interstellar objects.

After being trapped in stone on two occasions this was quite easy. Boring but easy.

“How long are you going to wait?”

He didn’t turn his head to see who was addressing him. He remained fixated on what was in front of his gaze. Although he committed not to make eye contact so that he could keep track on the cosmic bodies movement he did respond.

“As long as I need too…and it looks like we’re almost there.”

“Finally…CHANGELINGS!”

Discord paid no mind to the sound of the swarm of Changelings gathering around his post. He growled a bit when one of them flew over him and almost obstructed his view. The buzzing settled as they all landed and he just kept on watching. His companion spoke again.

“Now exactly what has you convinced that this is going to work? More importantly how soon can we expect interference?”

Discord again did not look to his left at the speaker. Queen Chrysalis’ voice was easily recognizable. He kept his unblinking stare at the sky and took another deep breath.

“It’s safe to say that they already know that a swarm has been planted here for some time now. Once things get tense they’ll soon see that you’re directly involved. After that they will unleash hell. I’m guessing right after the first Unicorn reports the volume of magic I’m weaving the charge will start.”

Discord paused before he went on.

“Now let me take this moment to remind you that once I start there are no second chances or time outs. Whoever they send will hit you with everything they have and reinforcements won’t be too far behind. After somepony sees you it will get worse. We can expect at least one Alicorn to decide that direct intervention is required. After they see me then we can expect the rest of them to show up. This night is going to be the only chance we have at this for about eight thousand four hundred and twenty three years and eight minutes.”

“Then we will have to fight as if our civilization depends on it” The Queen interrupted with a dire tone. “My Changelings won’t last that long. I still say you should have let me bring more drones.”

“Any more and they would have acted earlier. Any more Changelings and it would look like the first wave of an invasion instead of a migratory mission” Discord simply replied as he continued to watch the distant giants move. “If my focus is disturbed then I will lose the spell. The consequences for that will be dire. It will result in the death of a star and it could destroy Equestria and also possibly destroy the moon. Either way once they notice me here you can expect them to fight like everything depends on stopping me. There’s a good chance that I won’t survive the spell…there might not even be any ashes left.”

The Changeling matron hesitated before regarding Discord.

“Then why help us?”

“I’ve wondered about that myself to be honest” Discord answered with an oddly peaceful tone. “I have everything to lose and almost nothing to gain.”

Abruptly Discord flexed his eagle claw and formed a pulsing orb of blue energy.

“It’s time Chrysalis. Either accept my gesture as it is or back out while you still can. The choice is yours; but remember your decision will affect the future of the Changelings. Whether you stay or go I’m going to move forward” Discord grinned slightly before he continued. “Just keep in mind that I’m your best chance and that tonight is my best chance and therefore”

“I KNOW!” Chrysalis snapped at the mismatched creature. “…I get it…fine…we shall do what we must.”

Chrysalis slowly backed away from Discord and darted off followed by her swarm. Discord continued to remain stationary.

“The stars are lined up, the summer solstice is still in motion, and the AEther is thick…either tomorrow will be the same as today or it will be the beginning of a new Equestria…”

He brought his lion paw near his claw and expanded the energy. He could now hear a dull humming coming from the ball in his hands. He kept his gaze on the sky and patiently watched as the tiny specks above him continued their dance.

-

Princess Celestia’s horn emitted a dull light. Her let her letter from Twilight drop to the floor as she realized that she had no control over the new light. Abruptly the doors to her chambers were broadly swung open and her younger sister stormed into the room.

“Sister! Princess Cadence just reported a sudden spike in magic use and a division of Changelings has anchored itself around it!”

Celestia frowned as she looked at her sister’s horn.

“Luna…can you control the light coming from your horn?”

“It appears that I cannot. I believe I have good cause to be suspicious!”

Celestia sighed heavily and gave her sister a serious look.

“This will require the both of us. I do not know what’s going on but this clearly should be handled directly. Whatever is happening down there we can handle it.”

-

Discord could feel the ground beneath his feet begin to vibrate. The simple orb of energy had several small cubes of raw mana in slow orbit around it. He could hear the wind picking up and he provoked a small headache by quelling it. His actions wouldn’t mean much if he destroyed the world. Plus abnormal weather would just make the inevitable reaction more…dedicated.

Time started to drift away from him as he continued the spell. How long had he stood there since he began the spellcraft? His body felt heavier and he slowly lowered himself down into a seated position. He turned his gaze from the stars to give the magic his full attention.

Strong pain started to gather in his head and chest. It felt like he was crying. In the distance he could hear the tell tale sounds of open conflict. Judging by the noise the Changelings were showing considerable restraint and as he advised; they had limited themselves to non lethal means. He paused and saw his hands had become stone. He frowned and tried to bring them back.

He gave his focus back to the spell when his claw had cracked. He expected this to start to happen but he was counting on more time.

“I suppose even the god of chaos has mortal limits.”

Abruptly the petrifaction slowly began to creep further upwards. He wondered if he would be brought back if he completely turned. He wondered who might even do it. He paused to reflect on how Equestria would react to what tomorrow could bring. The measures he took ensured that the magic would destroy his body instead of the planet, his hands were a testament to that.

He hoped. There was still a chance that things would go very wrong but in a way that was part of the point. Death wasn’t really a bad thing once you accepted the idea.

He watched the petrifaction continue to spread. He looked at the ball of energy. He watched as the cubes floating around it turned into octahedrons. He sighed to himself. When he was in stone he could hear and feel everything.

There was nothing in his hands: no temperature or pain.

-

The forest surrounding the clear hill had become chaotic quickly. The Changelings had fortified themselves very well and did everything they could to avoid prolonged combat. Celestia was relieved to see that they were gaining ground. The magic being channeled was too much for flight or teleportation; half the Unicorns who came passed out from the sudden shock of energy. Teleporting more ponies might leave them displaced or otherwise incapacitated.

She smiled to herself. Their entire push into whatever the Changelings were protecting seemed to depend on the efforts of the small and proud cluster of Earth Ponies that earned rank among the Royal Guard. She didn’t allow herself to observe her subjects fighting as she was too busy protecting herself. Losing such a large chunk of the battle mages was damaging enough for moral. If she herself withdrew from the fray or was taken down it might cripple the spirit of her remaining forces.

She almost swore under her breath. She should have come better prepared. She should have brought more. She considered withdrawing her forces and using heavy magic to level the area and thus stopping the spell but that could be just as dangerous as leaving it to run it’s course. She could withdraw and fetch more troops and crush the Changeling ranks but if she left now they might relocate and try again elsewhere. Celestia shook her head. The dice had been cast. She had to commit to whatever end this night would bring. What she had brought would have to be enough.

It had to be enough.

A flash of green light spawned to her left and just as it started it was gone. Luna had charged towards the source and had physically subdued a Changeling. On the ground in front of her was a barely conscious Earth Pony.

“…There not … fighting to kill or capture…Sister!”

Luna doubled back to Celestia’s side and saw the brave worrier lying on the forest floor. Her puzzled expression said that she met the same conclusion. Celestia felt the ground start to shake and saw a few small pebbles float off the ground. Whatever spell was at work it was consuming energy that rivaled her own concentration. Her eyes narrowed and her nostrils faired as she uttered a single utterance.

“Discord…”

Her blood began to boil as for a brief moment she made eye contact with a Changeling who stood equal to her own height. She addressed the foreign queen while drawing forth the old royal manner of speaking.

“What is Discord doing Chrysalis?”

The Changeling Queen wore a grave expression. It was clear that her heart didn’t want this fighting…which was odd to say the least considering there last encounter. Her voice carried notes of hesitation underneath a borderline cocky attitude.

“If I told your royal Sunbutt what it was… you’d probably fight harder to stop him.”

Celestia resisted being provoked into a charge.

Luna did not.

-

Discord felt his mind slipping away. It felt like he was being ripped apart. The stars had moved out of place so all that was left was to contain and dispel the remaining energy before it destroyed him. He wanted to live long enough to see if it was worth it. He didn’t look at his hands mostly because he couldn’t see anything. His vision was too distorted by a dark red haze. The world seemed to be spinning counterclockwise while he himself was being spun clockwise. He couldn’t feel the spell so everything depended on instinct and his common sense second guessing his instinct.

To put it bluntly; Discord felt genuinely screwed. Celestia had always wanted him alive after his defeats but the star he was drawing power from wanted him dead.

He dropped to his side and everything kind of sounded like rushing water. He just assumed that the spell had waned completely since he was still more or less in one piece. He could see a little clearer now at least. The pain all over his body with the exception of his arms and shoulders which were either numb or non-existent was in its own way a blessing. He was still alive and to be best of his knowledge he was still in Equestria. He watched as a sizeable group of Ponies stepped into the clearing, towing captive Changelings behind them. He could clearly see a small struggle happening in the corner of his eye but lacked the strength to tilt his head.

He settled for allowing one of his eyes to roll out of his head for a better look.

He could see the Princesses Luna and Celestia had stunned looks on their faces. He could see Queen Chrysalis on the ground battered and bruised. She was crying but not out of pain or defeat. His eye traveled a few more feet until it saw what was the true heart of attention.

On the grass within reach of the Changeling matron was an apple with a large bite taken out of it. Queen Chrysalis had taken a bite of fruit without spitting or vomiting it back up. His eye shifted its focus to see the Alicorn sisters. His hearing started to clear up and Celestia’s voice was trembling.

“Chrysalis…you were right…If I knew…I probably would have tried harder to stop you…”

He tried and failed to get up. Chrysalis tried and succeeded. He couldn’t quite make out what was being said.

Whatever it was…it was probable a mutual acceptance that tomorrow would dawn on a new Equestria. Discord tried to focus what energy he had left to try to fix himself. He didn’t have to live to see tomorrow but he sure as heck wanted to.

He flexed his mind and tried to find something to give him strength. He forced himself to channel energy to an illusion to give him the drive to mend his mortal shell. Just before he lost consciousness he could see the outline of a familiar filly standing over him.

“Daddy? Please get up daddy…”
-

Author's Note:

Just an almost mindless something that came out of meditation with me.
Story's not done yet but please leave me feedback.
I haven't quite decided on how this ends yet.