A Wish Your Heart Makes

by SvenFoxx

3. The Bright Beginning

“Where do you live, anyways?” Discord asked after some more time wandering. He was now doing the can-can with a soldier’s march… somehow. “I mean, you’ve been wandering around for almost three hours now.”

Star sighed. “It may come as a surprise to you, Discord, but that little curse has made acquiring success in any way next to impossible for me. I have no home, no income, and no means to acquire them. Until I can figure out a way to safely wish for you to break the curse, I have to deal with that.”

“... You’ve been living on the streets since you were born?”

Star was somewhat startled by how focused Discord suddenly was on her. She nodded. “Yeah… It’s hard, but honestly not the worst way to live,” she answered slowly.

“Is that what drove you to search for me?” he asked in genuine curiosity.

Star shrugged. “Yes and no. I could live with living on the streets. Like I said, hard, but doable. It was when I tried to brute force my way into some success that I landed myself in the situation that had me in the Everfree.”

“Brute force success?” Discord asked, not entirely sure how to take that.

“I decided I was tired of life in the streets and wanted out, but a job isn’t something an urchin can easily get. So, instead of getting employed, I decided I would be the employer.” She sighed. “Of course, I should have realized playing hard and fast with starting a business would backfire horribly. Said business bombed after a minor successful startup due to multiple robberies, landing me back on the streets and in debt with the bank.”

Discord hummed.

“I decided a year later to try again, but this time by getting help from… well, I turned to a local crime syndicate.”

“Ouch,” Discord said bluntly.

Star snorted. “Ouch is right. With the luck curse I didn’t know I had, it took no time at all for the second business to fail spectacularly, and this time landing me in a very steep debt to the Terracotta Brothers.” She noticed Discord’s quirked eyebrow. “Las Pegasus’ local crime lords. Honorable, but… well, you know my luck,” she grumbled.

“You not only wound up in debt with them, but something happened that has them actively hunting you down,” Discord deduced.

Star nodded. “On the nose. There’s a bounty on my head now.” She sighed. “That’s why I got desperate enough to hope a legend was true.” She lowered her head. “That’s also why I immediately wished for you to break the curse.”

Discord growled at that, remembering how that spectacle played out.

---

Star was surprised when she didn’t go flying into a wall, but instead was suspended in the air by the white aura of power. Discord stepped up to her and clasped his hands with a grin. “Brace yourself, squirt. This might get uncomfortable.”

Then he spread his arms. Magic exploded from both her and Discord, and a field of stars bloomed around them. Discord began picking through them, seemingly hunting for something.

“What is this?” Celestia asked curiously, looking around.

“I basically unravelled her personal karmic map,” Discord explained distractedly. “Every star here is a significant event that happened to her soul, whether in this life or a past one, that impacted her karma.”

“They’re different colors,” Celestia noted.

Star noticed that as well. The stars seemed to be a mix of different colors. Red, blue, and green. There was a lot of green.

Discord nodded. “The color indicates the type of karma generated by the event in question. Blue means neutral, red means negative, and green means positive.” He gestured. “Clearly, this is a mare that should be having a good life. Aha!” He crowed triumphantly, looking at a pitch black star. “Hello there, dark magic.” His hand closed around it.

Star Blight’s world went white with absolute pain. Someone screamed, and Star thrashed as she tried to do anything to make the pain stop. She realize it her that was screaming when her throat started to hurt as well.

“...to stop!”

“Almost got it!”

Star could also hear the voices of Discord and Celestia, but unfortunately couldn’t really understand them through the pain. She caught a snippet here and there, but that was it.

“Discord! St… You... ing her!”

“But the…”

Suddenly, the pain started to ease, and Star felt relief flush through her. After taking a moment to get her bearings, she realized she was once more on the bed. Looking up, she found…

Well, she found Discord crumpled to the ground and out cold, and Celestia panting with smoke billowing from her horn. “Uh…

Celestia sighed. “Discord forgot one of the most basic rules he must follow,” she said, motioning towards the unconscious wish granter. “He must never grant a wish that will directly harm his master. And what he was doing… it was killing you.”

Star realized that could only means one thing. “The curse is still there,” she mumbled.

Celestia nodded. “Yes. It appears to be tied to you in a similar manner as to the way Discord is tied to you. Do you see why I did not wish to take him from you? It would have killed you both.”

Star sighed. “I suppose it would have been too easy.”

Celestia smiled. “Now now, none of that. I did just say the bindings were similar to the ones used to bind Discord to you. I am very familiar with that spellwork, and while I can’t break the binding, I should be able to find a way to at least lessen the curse’s impact on you.”

Star quirked an eyebrow. “And how would that work?” she asked. Then she realized who she was talking to and gulped. “I-I mean…”

Celestia laughed. “Relax, Star Blight. For now, I am not your Princess, just a concerned mare that just so happens to have a lot of power. You need not treat me like I will arrest you for being understandably upset.”

Star looked away. “It’s still disrespect,” she mumbled.

Celestia shook her head. “Disrespect would have been you not caring. You clearly care, so I take no insult where none is intended.”

Star decided to change the subject. “Is he going to be okay?” she asked, pointing a hoof at Discord.

Celestia nodded. “It would take a Calamity Event to truly harm an immortal of Discord’s caliber. All I did was what roughly amounts to a slap on the back of the head.”

Star looked at Discord again, and deadpanned at Celestia. “He has a hole in his chest,” she said flatly.

“And it is very uncomfortable, thank you very much!” said wish granter grunted as he got off the floor, making Star yelp in shock.

Celestia waved a hoof. “I’ve been beheaded a few times,” she said, earning an aghast look from Star. “Discord has been dismembered and disembodied on so many occasions, he no longer really cares. Trust me, a hole in his chest is nothing.”

Discord smirked. “‘Tis but a flesh wound,” he said dramatically… only to get blasted again by Celestia. “Ow! Hey, watch it!”

“And, as you can probably guess, more than a few of his previous masters grew tired of his antics and made some interesting wishes.”

Discord actually paled at the smirk on Celestia’s face. “No… you wouldn’t dare…” he said slowly.

Celestia’s horn glowed, and a book was pulled from a nearby shelf. She flipped it open, revealing pictures. Discord took a flying, frantic leap at the book, only to miss as Celestia pulled it out of his reach, batting him into the wall with it at the same time. “I have pictures~,” she sing-songed to Star.

---

At the same time though… It was a challenge, a true challenge. Discord would be spending many night trying to find a way to break the curse, and enjoy every moment on it. He loved challenges.

“At least you still have your extra wish,” Discord said after a moment.

Star nodded. “There’s that,” she conceded. She paused after a moment. “Hey… is it possible to use one of my wishes to make a previously made wish immune to the curse?” she asked.

Discord shrugged. “I guess it would depend on the wish I was protecting. Why?” he asked, a grin forming. “Got a wish?”

Star nodded slowly, considering how to phrase this.

“I think… Okay,” she nodded more resolutely. “Yeah, okay. Discord, my first wish is that any wish you grant from me is immune to the curse placed on me by Nightmare Moon.

The wish granter snapped his fingers and a flash of light flared out. That was it.

"Did it work?" Star asked.

Discord looked at his fingers and eventually shrugged. "I did something, so I guess so."

She nodded before clearing her throat. "Discord, my second wish is to own a home I am not required to pay taxes and bills for.”

Discord considered that. “Are we talking a mansion on the hill kind of home, or just your regular everyday home?” he asked.

Star shrugged. “I don’t care. Actually, no mansion. At least not visibly. Go crazy for the inside if you want.”

Discord grinned at that, and Star shivered, wondering if she had made a mistake. “Crazy I can do,” he said, before snapping his fingers.

They vanished in a flash of light.

Author's Note:

Lore: The Terracotta brothers are two twin brother with nearly ash grey coats and peach-ish colored manes. Stone Terracotta has near charcoal black eyes, while his brother Andesite Terracotta, or Andy for short, has eyes that are light red, almost pink.

The Terracotta brothers control the organized crime of Los Pegasus, and have their hooves in the underworld of both Canterlot and Cloudsdale. Due to honorable practices, Celestia does not consider them a top priority for the Guard to capture, and has in fact enjoyed a dinner with the both of them once after the Terracottas helped Celestia stop a killer loose in Las Pegasus. She maintains a genial opinion of them still, but has made it clear that if they are ever captured red hoofed, she will prosecute them to the full extent of the law. She'll also ensure a fair trial.

Star Blight's current relationship with them is a result of one of their Enforces getting too rough with her and Star protecting herself. Unfortunately, the Enforcer managed to spin the story in his favor, making it appear that Star had assaulted him due to Tribalist views. The brothers have issued a detainment order for her and she has been on the run since.

---

Star Blight finally settled on a wish, and intends to ensure said wish isn't affected by her curse. Will it work?

I'm having a bit of fun with Celestia and Discord's relationship in this story. Does it show?

Also, as you can see, being immortal in this story means you are damn well immortal. It'll take some pretty serious magic to cause any true damage to an immortal. They aren't, however, omniscient or omnipotent.

So yeah, Celestia, Luna, and Discord are about one step away from being Gods and Goddesses. And they know it.

Comments

[badninja]

Well that is kinda scary, Discord and Celestia being that close to godhood and both knowing it. I take it Luna is also this close when she will be freed from Nightmare Moon?

[SvenFoxx]

8731214
Luna and Nightmare Moon both are immortal.

[badninja]

8731230

So I got to take their head then? Difficult but I think it is doable.

[alfonso_rd_33]

Star Blight’s world went white with absolute pain. Someone screamed, and Star thrashed as she tried to do anything to make the pain stop. She realize it her that was creaming when her throat started to hurt as well.

was she screaming or was she creaming?

[SvenFoxx]

8731498
Oh god... I can't even blame it on fat fingers with my phone either...