Star Wars: Galaxy of Disharmony

Castle of Princess Twilight Sparkle; Unknown Time

Twilight shot up in a blind panic, fear permeating from her very core. Her emotions were running wild with anger and rage blending in with the fear and pain. She could not see. She could not breathe. But for whatever reason, she screamed.

Everything was pitch black, yet she still made out shapes in the darkness. Familiar shapes appearing in a way that only brought about pain and terror. All around were those she knew, dead or dying. She could hear their screams of pain and the sounds of what had brought such suffering.

“Twilight!”

The world quickly righted itself. Twilight searched around for familiarity and calm, watching the world blur before her eyes as she cast her gaze quickly about. Another shake diverted her attention to the one who had awoken her. Fear and worry filled his eyes, but not the same fear as what terrified her.

“S…Spi…ke?” Twilight could hardly breathe. She gasped for air and held herself tight as the young dragon held onto her as though trying to keep her from falling into a chasm. Her screaming had stopped but the images and sounds lingered.

A full minute passed, then two, then three. While the lingering terrors continued to hound her, Twilight fought to focus only on the young dragon who desperately tried to soothe her. His desperation drove him to climb onto the bed and wrap her in as full an embrace as he could. He spoke, but she could still not hear his attempts to reach her.

Finally, the storm subsided. The horrifying images faded into the shadows of her darkened room and the terrible sounds gave way to Spike’s voice, still attempting to calm her. Her breathing slowly returned to normal and her violent shaking ceased. She wrapped her arms around Spike, needing the touch of another to fully return her from the terrible vision.

“I’m sorry Spike. I’m sorry for scaring you like that.”

Another dream. Another vision. Similar to the one the night before with the ghostly figures she now knew as the clones warring against the skeletal figures. Another fierce battle of lights and menacing machines that ended in fire and death. But this time there was something new. New details that were not present before.

Within the smoke and fire she had seen structures and other figures. Familiar shapes. Homes, buildings, inhabitants. All of which she knew. This time, not only did the clones and skeletal figures litter the ground but ponies as well. She had seen flashes of Ponyville, Canterlot, even the Crystal Empire. She had heard ponies scream in pain and fear. Her home, her people, caught up in a battle that had nothing to do with them.

But beyond the images and sounds, there was no other context. She knew of the war that the clones fought but why did she see that battle involving her people? Would the other side arrive? Were the Equestrians to get involved at some point? If the ponies were to become involved, what side would they be on? Based on the dream, they would most likely simply get caught in the middle.

Twilight grabbed her head as a migraine began to form. Another dream, vision, of suffering and death and so many new questions that came with it. Her mind was already overflowing with input and questions and the new vision and questions only pushed her further past the brink. She felt like her head had expanded beyond what was capable and about to burst.

She felt Spike hug tighter and heard him speak to her. She could not make out what he said but she knew he was still trying to comfort her. She eased her mind and fell into her practice of sorting and organizing. She shuffled the questions and information around and arranged her thoughts according to importance. Questions that required immediate answers would be addressed first. The rest would wait. It was all she could do for now to release the pressure she was under having so many thoughts inside her head.

With her mind more organized and her body now under control, she embraced Spike once more. “Thank you Spike, for being here.”

Spike looked at her with a gleeful and naïve smile. “That’s what family is for, right?”

Twilight returned the smile. Spike knew nothing, understood nothing about what was going on in her head. He hardly understood what had happened the day before and was still clearly putting on a brave face even when she knew that internally he was wishing it all away. But it did not matter. The comfort was all that mattered now. He would still stand by her no matter what happened.

Twilight looked around at the darkened room. “What time is it?”

“About one in the morning,” Spike said, looking over at the clock on the wall. “You’ve only been asleep for about four hours.”

Four hours? More like two or less. The day’s events had made sleep difficult to obtain. She had paced in her room for nearly two hours before finally attempting to sleep. And that was after spending the rest of the day following the meeting between the Princesses and Leonis and Aldair trying to make sense of everything. To answer any questions she could. And even after exhausting herself, she still tossed for nearly two hours trying to sleep.

“Twilight? Where are you going?”

Twilight stood at the side of her bed a moment and stared out at the star filled sky. “I…need some air.” She looked back at Spike and gave as warm a smile as she could muster. “Go back to bed.”

“But…you need to sleep Twilight. You’ve been running yourself ragged because of all of this. And-”

“And your still a little dragon,” Twilight said, interrupting and putting emphasis on his age. “One night of rough sleep isn’t all that bad for me but you need to sleep.”

Spike stood and stared at her defiantly. “Family is supposed to be there for each other.” His defiant stare fell and was replaced by a rather childish naïve smile. “So I’m going to be here for you.”

Twilight could not help but smile and fight to suppress a giggle. No matter what happened it seemed, she could always count on Spike to be there for her. “Okay then.”

The two wandered the castle a bit before making their way to a balcony that overlooked Ponyville. They set out a pair of mats that were set off to the side and sat down in the middle of the balcony. While Spike stared up at the bright moon and glistening stars, Twilight took a meditative pose that Celestia had taught her to help calm her and ease her mind during times of heavy stress.

She closed her eyes and let the sounds of the night and the feel of the world around her move about and through her. She never did understand the meaning of some of the things Celestia had taught her but it certainly helped. Her mind calmed further than before and she felt as though a heavy burden had been lifted or at least made lighter.

There were still her numerous questions that needed answers and many other things to address concerning the presence of the clones. But for now, Twilight allowed all of that to be pushed aside. She would talk to Celestia again later in the morning. And, despite the warning given them to make no more contact with the ponies, she would talk to Aldair and Leonis. Celestia had kept things from her but had said that the time was not right for her to know. But the presence of the clones certainly made the time right to know some things.

Twilight continued her meditation into the morning even as Spike fell asleep after a mere ten minutes. The world itself seemed to take hold of her in a loving embrace as the small voice Celestia had taught her to listen to spoke gently to her now quiet mind. Despite running on only a few hours of sleep in the past two days, she felt newfound energy flow through her and reinvigorate her.

As the sun rose, she found determination to find out more.

CIS Munificent-Class Frigate Silent Fang: Unknown Sector, Wild Space; 372 days after the Battle of Geonosis

So long as a ship was properly maintained, coordinates properly inputted, and instruments calibrated, an exit from hyperspace was relatively smooth more often than not. Forced exits from gravitational pulls or damaged systems could send a ship into a limited shuttered halt but more often nothing more. But that was not the case this time.

The sudden drop from hyperspace shook the ship aggressively followed by a violent quake that made the cabin feel as though it had been casually picked up by a youngling and tossed like a toy. The cabin was plunged into darkness as the lights failed and the floating image of the galaxy flickered and died. Emergency lights lit up and bathed the room in an eerie dull red glow. A light fixture sparked and a small flame glowed from within a console, overcharged from an apparent unknown but powerful power surge.

Despite all this, the young man in the cabin hardly moved. Instead, he continued to stare into the darkness where the galactic image once hovered. Tybo was an idiot and had likely made a poor command to drop out of hyperspace only to run the ship into the solar storm of some system’s star or perhaps even a nebula. Being an idiot, he could have even run into a moon sized asteroid or some other similar celestial object. Or he had allowed the mindless droid navigating to do one of the above.

Nevertheless, the young man hardly cared. So long as the ship was still serviceable and a majority of the combat force was still operational, he did not care. There was no reason to care and no reason to become angry and hate the idiot any more than he already did. He had planned for every contingency. From a failed battle with the Republic troops to the idiot flying into a star. He had planned for anything and everything that could happen.

For the young man, this expedition and those involved were simply a spring board to greater things. If that spring board broke, he had others. Patience was the key to gaining power. Multiple plans and backup plans were in place and he could easily transition to another should one fall short. Power would be his and a single mishap by lesser beings would not impede him on his path to obtaining everything.

But another violent surge aroused the anger he tried to suppress. The emergency lights flickered as warning lights engaged and sirens started to blare. The ship shook violently again at another power surge and sent the young man tumbling to the floor. What the hell had that wermo run into? Had he actually hit a karking star? It would not surprise him if the ship was about to enter a black hole.

No longer satisfied with waiting, the young man ejected the holo disc with the image of the galaxy, his galaxy, from the projector built into the cabin table. The loss of power forced him to wrench it out as even the manual eject had been jammed by the electrical surge. He pocketed the disc and stormed through the corridors towards the bridge. He found himself floating through several sections of the ship as the surges had apparently knocked out all artificial gravity to those areas.

Just before arriving at the bridge, the young man quickly and masterfully put on the mask he wore in front of the others, managing to hide his anger and loathing just as he was met by the other two organic members of the group. The first was a female Zabrak whose pale reddish skin, athletic build, and light muscular features would have made her desirable were it not for numerous scars across her face and body and a few broken horns on her hairless crown. The other was a male Twi’lek who had the frame of a muscular being but hardly had the tone, indicated by a gut that was starting to protrude slightly. His pale tan skin was covered with a myriad of tattoos save for the right side of his face and his lekku head tails.

The two scowled at the young man in loathing hatred, though his personal hatred of them could likely put them to shame. The young man maintained his mask and stared back with a face showing no emotion. While the Twi’lek maintained his silent demeanor that he was known for, the Zabrak was more apt to speak up.

“Move it whelp!” She stood at the doorway, arms at her side ready to thrash the one who blocked her, waiting for the young man to obey.

The young man maintained his emotionless demeanor as he answered and took a step to the side. “I’m sorry.”

Though the response clearly upset her, the young man hardly cared. She was known for her violent demeanor and her overreaction was hardly surprising. She grabbed him by his collar and pinned him against the wall of the corridor. “Listen you lousy piece of poodoo. I don’t care if the commander is your old man. Cross me one more time and I’ll rend your head from your body.”

The young man maintained his emotionless mask. “I’m not sure he would approve of you doing that.” He was right. The idiot would rather make the kill himself. “And I’m afraid we don’t have time for this given our situation. You’ll have to kill me later.” He allowed his mask to shift just enough for her to see the true murderous intent hidden behind his eyes. “Now let go.”

The Zabrak scoffed and released him, storming into the bridge with the Twi’lek close behind. The two of them were animals and nothing more. No, less than animals. Though motivated by money, they were more driven by the sheer thrill of killing and violence. Even an animal holds a reason to kill. But it made them easy to control, even without intending to.

The Zabrak, Twill Mara as she was known, and the Twi’lek, Jai San, were long time cohorts and subordinates to the idiot. They held no attachments to him beyond that of a stray animal following whoever feeds it. Though staunchly independent and often doing whatever they pleased, they obeyed their master as the good pets they were. Still, they hated Tybo’s offspring and he them.

As he headed into the bridge, the Zabrak’s words reminded the young man of his relation to the commanding idiot. He was no father. They simply shared a similar genetic makeup. Half from Tybo and half from a street woman on Nar Shadaa. It must be some sort of irony that the resulting offspring was a genius beyond compare when the parents were little more than street rabble and a wild animal. He was everything that Tybo proclaimed himself to be, and more.

He had no parents. Simply a pair of vessels that had brought him into this galaxy. Rather humble origins to the one who would one day own and control it all. Then again, that was evolution at its finest. From two lesser beings comes the dawn of a new age.

By the time the young man entered the bridge, the alarm sirens had gone silent and the bridge flickered in the strobing flashes of the emergency lights. All other light came in from the bridge windows as a yellow star shined in the blackness of space. A glance around found the other organics gathered around Tybo’s command console and at least five droids and their stations heavily damaged by the surges and no longer functional.

Tybo looked over at the young man while the other two tried to keep their glances away. “Hurry up and get over here.”

The young man complied and Tybo relayed the situation. “I don’t know what happened but we’ve been forced out of hyperspace out into the middle of the most volatile nebulas I have ever seen. You can see the damage for yourself. I’m not going to go over it but it does include life support so we don’t have long as it is. I have maintenance droids already mobilized to begin repairs. But those will take a bit of time.”

“So where are we and what do we do until repairs are done?” Twill Mara asked, voicing a surprisingly reasonable question for her.

Tybo tapped on the console and brought up a holo of the system. “This is the system, though I have no idea where it is. The droids managed a scan just before the station was taken out by the second surge and I’ve never seen anything like it.”

For once, the young man was just as confused. The system was the smallest he had ever seen, impossibly small. A single medium sized star with one planet orbited by a single moon. And surrounding it all was a large nebula that somehow forced them out of hyperspace. Was anything like this even possible? Even so, impossible systems aside, he was still prepared.

“Boy!” Tybo said. “Are we still getting a signal from that beacon of yours? I want to know how far off we are from it.”

The young man pulled out his data pad and checked on the signal. Sure enough, it was still transmitting and they were far closer than they imagined. He linked it with the console to show them all. The small planet became surrounded by a rhythmic blinking light to indicate the signal.

“Right there. Our poor fortune is now fortune.” Tybo looked at the holo then at him. “This means that the Republic likely suffered a similar fate to us and is in system. Either floating debris or a pile of scrap on the surface.”

Tybo smiled. “Boy, you actually did well.”

“So now what?” Mara piped up again.

“If we survived, the Republic could have survived as well. The four of us are leaving the ship and making our way to the surface for recon. While we do that, the ship will stay in high orbit and the droids will shut down any system they don’t need like life support or artificial gravity to focus solely on repairs. We’ll find the Republic and find out if they lived. If so, we take them out the moment the battle droids are functional again. If not, we leave once the ship is ready to go and take home a hefty payout.” Tybo keyed the console. “Get in here!”

For all of his idiocy, the young man had to admire Tybo’s limited intelligence. There was no reason for the organics to remain on a ship that was this heavily damaged. The droids would have no issue with a lack of oxygen, food, or gravity. They could easily handle surviving a full on derelict and function so long as they themselves functioned. And while they returned to strength, the others would obtain intel and prep for battle. He let the idiot have his moment.

Tybo relayed the situation and orders to the tactical droid that entered and the four made their way to a ship for departure. Time to see if the Republic survived. The animals, like all pets, needed to be let out and allowed to run every so often.

Canterlot Castle; 5:00 am

“What fun, what fun. All of the pieces are nearly in place and soon the game shall truly begin. Oh, I can’t wait.”

Discord felt his smile grow larger at the thought of the impending chaos. It had been far sooner than he had expected but he preferred it this way. Another sensation and another entry through the barrier that surrounded the world. This time, he reveled in it. He drank it.

He looked up at the night sky and the spot where the second flash had appeared. He closed his eyes and felt the looming darkness emanating from above. He felt around and took in the chaos that was already tightening its grip on the world. Light and dark clashed, already leaving only chaos left.

He could feel the fear emanating from the residents of Ponyville. Even those outside the small town expressed a tinge of fear given what they had seen and the fact that the Princesses have yet to provide an explanation. He reached out further to where the first arrivals were and drank in the conflict within them. Darkness posing as light.

It would not be long now. The pieces were assembled and soon would be in place. The happy bliss of the world, born of ignorance, would soon be torn away. It did not matter who was on what side, so long as the sides clashed.

Dark. Light. Discord cared nothing for either. He had played both sides at various points in his life, all for the sake of causing strife. The chaos that ensued from the clash of light and dark was where he belonged. He had never lied to the Princess when he had determined to use his talents for the light. But he never intended to stay that way.

He would miss the happiness that he saw in the faces of those he called friends. There was truth there. But change did not always result in pleasant endings for all. Things were gained and things were lost. That was the nature of all things. Light and dark existed and, as opposites usually do, inevitably clashed. That was the nature of life. The nature of the now. Whatever the nature of the end, Discord was life incarnate. He was the chaos of the now and the harbinger of change, regardless of how it happened or the results.

“Stagnation is so boring,” he said as he stood from his rooftop perch. “So let’s enjoy the change in the wind, shall we?”

He spread his mismatched wings and took off. So long as the pieces moved, he would watch. Should the pieces cease, he would be there to give them another nudge and watch the ball tumble down once more. The princesses would have felt the entry of the newest arrivals and were likely already preparing for the inevitable.

“What fun, what fun we shall have.”