League of Discord

by Ghosted Note

Chapter 13: Summoning

League of Discord
Chapter 13: Summoning

Rainbow Dash tentatively extended a wing, her ear twitching in response to the gentle scrape of metal on metal. Even in the earliest days of Equestria, when there had been conflict of the magnitude to require armor, the art of the armor-smith had not been refined enough to allow the wings of a pegasus to be feasibly armored, so even Riven's mismatched armor pieces and broken wing blades had caused leaps and bounds in the armor designs of modern times. Riven, for her part, was astounded at the aptitude of Equestrian craftsponies for their combination of magical and mundane production processes as she allowed them to make observations and then replicate in full function her transformed armor. With astounding speed, there had been crafted enough pieces of armor to protect the six Element Bearers, the four otherworldly visitors, and a newly christened unit of Royal Battlemages, hand-picked by Ryze. When approached to have her own weapon repaired, she assured the armorers that due to a series of magic-imbued runes emblazoned upon her wing-blades, their broken nature was more symbolic and aesthetic than in a functional manner. More than that, she did not elaborate.

The Elements of Harmony were not intended to take part in the actual battle, which was to be a monumental distraction that would last long enough for the Elements to be arrayed against Discord. Riven and Ezreal would once again be serving as escorts for the Elements as they positioned themselves. When Discord joined the fight, or the Elements got into position, Celestia and Nasus were to engage him directly, augmented by as many anti-magic spells as could be mustered. With Discord engaged, the Elements would be channeled to seal him away until a more permanent solution could be found. Luna would be providing support and intelligence relaying services via a spell network improvised from Ryze's knowledge of summoning magic combined with Luna's magical ability, which even diminished was nothing to look down upon, and would be the catalyst for a limited telepathic connection between herself and everyone on the battlefield. To better suit this role, she would be stationed in the clouds above Canterlot. Every citizen of Canterlot had already been evacuated into a series of catacombs hidden in the mountain that the capital of Equestria was attached to.

The plan was solid, probably the best that could be made under the circumstances. Even so, Rainbow Dash's stomach lurched at the thought of it, and she refused to even think about what could happen to the unicorns putting themselves in harm's way to deal with Discord's feral army. She had a reputation for being a particularly brave pegasus, having completed many feats of aerial acrobatics that could easily end in permanent injury or worse. This was different, however. At all points in her career as one of Equestria's best fliers, she had been the one in control, the one responsible for her fate. Now, there were creatures actually seeking her and her friends out to kill them. It was enough to make anypony feel weak in the knees. The only ones who seemed to be immune to any sort of fear were the four champions. Even Celestia seemed worried, at least for those around her. Those four, though, seemed rock solid. Ezreal continued to laugh and joke as if nothing was wrong. Ryze had spent the entire time barking orders at his trainees, who seemed more scared of him than Discord. Nasus had spent the entire day in the Canterlot Gardens, seemingly in a trance. Riven was standing beside Rainbow Dash. She had easily seen her friend's nervousness, and even though she still felt slightly nauseated, Rainbow Dash felt better for Riven's sound advice, ranging on how to stay focused amidst carnage to how not to lose any of yourself in a battle. She wasn't sure how much of it she was going to remember, but the gesture was there, and appreciated.

Past this, however, Rainbow Dash saw something she wished she had not, though. Past the calm reassurances and companionship, Riven seemed restless, almost eager. Rainbow Dash contemplated that this would be Riven's first pitched battle in a long time, and wondered how much of Riven's remarks about giving in to the chaos of battle originated from first-hand experience. Past that, Rainbow Dash couldn't help but worrying what would become of Riven once she was outside of the influence of Equestria. Adding to that, now she was being forced to accept Swain and Singed as allies, both of which seemed to represent something that she hated.

Riven was trying to shove oddly similar thoughts out of her head at that same moment. Riven had no qualms about violence at all, being born and bred to it like any Noxian, but her time in Equestria had given her definite qualms about being violent in front of Rainbow Dash, who seemed to think of her as a good being despite her background. Of course, she would do what she had to do, but Riven was definitely not used to feeling reservations about spilling blood. It was immensely relieving that they were not fighting any ponies, which would have caused many complications for Riven's mindset. Discord was another story though. Neither beast nor pony, and probably not mortal. Killing him would probably be out of the question, but still from what she had heard, his previous imprisonment had failed twice, so something more extreme was definitely needed.

“Do you...think anypony will die?” Riven snapped out of her thoughts as Rainbow Dash addressed her. The mare was staring at the floor. “Do you think any of my friends will...” She was unable to finish the sentence.

Riven opened her mouth to say that yes, there was a possibility not everypony would survive the day. Upon looking Rainbow Dash in the eye, though, she couldn't. “I promise you, I'll sooner bleed than see any of your companions fall in the coming bat-” Riven's speech was promptly interrupted by a cyan wing smacking into the side of her head.

Rainbow Dash scowled at Riven. “You just don't get it, do you? You stupid, stupid mare.” Her facial expression was of frustration and annoyance, but her eyes conveyed a gentle mirth. “That group includes you, Riven. You better not let anything happen to you either.” Rainbow Dash smiled at Riven, her voice cracking slightly.

Riven laughed, feeling like an idiot for her blindness. “I...I will keep that in mind, friend. Maybe we will have to show Discord the unique brand of strength that the inhabitants of this land seem to possess firsthand. Worry not, for upon the sunset, we shall all be celebrating our victory with song, feasting, and merriment. Pinkie isn't the only one who knows how to party. I'll have to show you later how Noxians celebrate.” Dash joined with her own laughter, not sure if she should be excited or worried by the prospect.

- - - -

Ezreal fidgeted in his armor. It had never been his custom to go into battle heavily protected, relying more on mobility than anything, but it was a nice opportunity to put into practice some of the knowledge he had gained in his school days. Before he had dropped out to pursue his passion for exploration, he had been enrolled by his parents in one of Piltover's finest schools of techmaturgy, the emerging field of combining high technology with Runeterra's deep magical heritage to produce various 'hextech' items that had drastically changed life on Runeterra while propelling Piltover to the forefront of techno-magical innovation. It had been Piltover to pioneer the magic of visiopathy, a technique that had allowed League matches to be broadcast around the continent of Valoran with ease.

Despite his relatively obvious lack of interest in his education, he had learned enough to replicate some of the hextech concepts used in the League. Specifically, he had spent the past hour working to replicate the popular 'spell vampirism' enchantment. Celestia, relatively unoccupied after refreshing the various defensive spells around Canterlot, immediately took an interest. “Spell vampirism? That sounds rather...Well, to be honest, I'm not sure how it sounds. What exactly is the function of such an enchantment?”

Ezreal began rote recitation of what he'd had to memorize in his youth, too focused on his work to engage properly in a conversation. “When a spell is cast, it is entirely focused, and the magical energies unified. Offensive magic, however, loses this unity when it strikes a target, interacting with the target's natural magical field. This is why an offensive spell diffuses after striking. Whereas some mages, such as Ryze, are naturally adept at harnessing some of the energy that is lost in the process, others are not. However, recent strides in hextech have allowed us to build a kind of magical transistor. This allows those who can manipulate magic to harness and convert this spare offensive energy into something we can use to heal ourselves, as healing magic tends to use similar store-and-release concepts to what hextech uses.”

Most of the techno-babble went over Celestia's head, but she believed that she had the basic concept down. “So basically, you heal yourself by hurting others. I suppose that makes vampirism an appropriate term for it, though I must say I find the thought rather unsettling. Your world is truly a fascinating, and I must admit, disturbing place, from what has been described to me, though I understand how Singed and Swain would be a product of it.”

Ezreal stood up, affixing a thick circular band to his armor near his ever-present bracer. “It isn't all bad, you know. We've done some pretty amazing things, and not everybody is a force for evil. Yeah, things get a little violent, or even a lot violent sometimes, but we're doing the best we can. The creation of the League speaks for itself as a testament to our desire for peace. We're kinda improvising, and our world doesn't come with two super-powerful princesses to guide us.”

Celestia nodded. As much as she'd like to think her little ponies would do the right thing on their own most of the time, or at the very least have the right spirit about their actions, there was no way to deny the influence having two immortal rulers had over the shaping of Equestrian history. Celestia and Luna had directly passed down their values to the ponies, and over time it had been permanently engrained into every pony of Equestria to try their best to be kind and good to their fellow pony, or at the very least that is what Celestia had intended. Runeterra, on the other hand, had lost most of its deities long ago in what were called the Rune Wars. In fact, the tears of the same goddess that created Runeterra were prized as magical artifacts. The remaining deities had apparently distanced themselves from Runeterra, fearful of the death and destruction the peoples of the continent were capable of. Thus, Valoran had no role models or kind hand to guide it as its populace recovered from the environmentally devastating Rune Wars. Now that she considered it, it was amazing that the societies hadn't completely self-destructed, and even more amazing that they had managed to find a way to keep their conflicts in check, at least for the most part.

Ezreal continued, breaking apart Celestia's train of thought. “I mean, I've seen some pretty amazing things here, yeah. Having complete control over the weather is unheard of on Valoran, but here it's a daily part of life for pegasi. That being said, there's a guy in the League who can quite literally shift people back in time. Who knows, one day there might be controlled time travel for all because of him, and we can revert some of the damage the Rune Wars have done to the environment. There's another guy who learned how to transmute his entire body into another substance. Albeit, he's kinda psychotic, and turning into a sentient pool of blood is a bit freaky, but still, it's impressive. We're a pretty violent bunch at times, it's regrettably true, but we've done some amazing things. We've caged the physical embodiment of destruction and change as it raged across the land, we've opened portals across dimensions and drawn assistance from across the stars to help in our struggle to curb our more destructive appetites, and we never back down from a challenge as a species. Humanity definitely isn't all bad, and we're definitely trying.”

“I concede the point then. I know very little of your world, and I know that in different situations, different beings take away different lessons from a situation, and it is not always the right lesson,” Celestia spoke, her tone thoughtful, “I do believe you when you say that your race is trying, though, and I wish you the best. I cannot condone your more violent practices, but perhaps my opinion on the matter isn't the most valid.”

'TESTING. THIS IS A TEST. THINK TO RESPOND. THE LINK WILL INTERPRET THE INTENT.' Celestia and Ezreal both flinched as Luna's voice blasted through the minds of those in the vicinity at full volume.

Celestia quickly regained her composure, being somewhat accustomed to Luna's tendency to overdo the volume of public announcements. 'It works, Luna, but try to see if you can tone down the intensity at which you broadcast. It might also be prudent to make the broadcast a little less universal.'

'My apologies for the volume.' Celestia rolled her eyes, knowing by Luna's embarrassed tone exactly what her facial expression would be at the moment, downcast and scrunched up as she tried to maintain her composure. 'The link will be finalized between myself, Celestia, the Element Bearers, and the champions prior to the battle. Ryze will relay relevant information to the Royal Battlemages.'

There was a pause. “Lieutenant Stofen has just reported in. Discord's forces have been spotted ascending the mountain. Prepare yourselves.'

- - - -

Discord surveyed the scene before him. Hundreds of creatures from the Everfree Forest were marching. 'Twas a beautiful sight, really, and it would be the last thing that those in Canterlot would see before Discord razed the castle and city to the ground. Beside him, Swain marched in silence. The tactician had been unusually silent for the journey, seeming quite pensive. Discord had spent a few minutes trying to figure out what the stallion was planning before getting bored. Whatever it was, Discord wouldn't give him much chance to execute it. The Spirit of Chaos might have been one of the most magically powerful beings in Equestria, but he knew nothing of magical theory or finesse, both of which were required to do something as complicated as making a bridge between dimensions. Thus, it fell to Discord to dispose of his tools before they realized he couldn't actually fulfill his promises. It really was a pity, though. It wasn't every century that ponies like Singed and Swain came along, completely willing to sacrifice the well-being of others for their ambitions, and it really would be a shame to see them go. Unfortunately, such is the nature of siding with chaos and destruction, in that both often required sacrifice to sustain them, and the pair would make excellent fuel for the fires of disharmony.

It was also unfortunate that he had to leave behind the Ursa Major, but the creature was slow, and the short trip would have been protracted quite a bit by the behemoth. Adding to that, he was depending on the battle between the creatures and the defenders to be relatively even, so that he could bask in as much of the magically-empowering chaos of battle to break down the last of the warding spells on the castle, which Celestia had been undoubtedly augmenting throughout the years. He knew the alicorn to be a bit hot-headed when it came to those she grew attached to, or at least more attached to than the average pony, but she was also an experienced ruler, so he couldn't count on her making too many mistakes.

Finally, the castle was in sight, and Discord squirmed in gleeful anticipation of rending the city asunder in a cascade of blood and fire. Soon, he would deal with Celestia and her brat sister once and for all, and end eons of conflict between chaos and harmony. Silvery strands of magic erupted from each limb, and split off into thousands of strings as Discord implanted one command into the thoughts of the unfortunate creatures under his control: Attack.

Comments

[Pleaseworkforonce]

2chapters danggit so little left

[Dave from finances]

That's my Zilean, setting those champions back in time like a boss.

[Clockwork Heart]

Epic Fight Time is upon us! I have to say, seeing Discord go from 'prankster spirit' to 'tyrannical harbinger of death and destruction' is a little terrifying.

And many lulz at the direct beaming of the Royal Canterlot Voice directly into people's heads. Now everypony has permanent tinnitus.

[Mehnlo]

1847935 My theory as to why: He draws on the chaotic and disharmonic feelings of ponies. For thousands of years, the most chaotic feeling he feels is that of the ponies of equestria, so nothing very malevolent, or even extremely dangerous. Suddenly here come six ponies who have violence in spades, and he gets power from that, but it changes mentally changes him, because it is what he was using for power. Thats my headcanon.

[Tev]

AWACS Luna