Chapter 1 - Discord's Wager
Having been turned to stone after having briefly tasted freedom, Discord, the Lord of Chaos, had little to do but think in his new prison. Immobilized, blind to the world around him, he had only his sense of chaos to keep him company. But, uh, what a splendid company it was.
The last time he had been trapped like this, it had taken a thousand years of simmering unrest to set him free. The peace of Equestria so meticulously maintained by Princess Celestia, was enough to make him, if he were physically able to do so, retch. But this time, Discord resolved that he would not wait for so long. His too brief freedom had granted him a new itch, namely impatience.
Driven by his impatience, Discord extends his senses far past the boundaries of Equestria. If there was chaos to be found in distant places, he would feed upon it.
His senses stretch across the planet. To the civil wars of Griffonia, and the conquests of The Storm King in Zebrica. Yes. War. The finest chaos there is. Discord attempts a grin, but to his dismay, his stone prison would not allow it. But even that was not enough. Even if those wars last, it only shortens his imprisonment by a few centuries at best.
Discord needed more. He reached out across the stars, searching for fresh turmoil, and he found it. Interplanetary emperors, warring system lords, and... humans? Ah, yes. Humans. A planet of humans, rife with conflict and endless wars. With this, Discord could perhaps shorten his imprisonment to a mere hundred years. But even that was not enough. But perhaps he could intervene.
The very air of this planet was filled to the brim with potential for more chaos. If he could unleash that chaos, he could free himself in mere years, maybe just a few weeks if he played his cards right.
Influencing chaos at such a distance, and from within his stone prison would be no easy task. Yet technically possible. He regularly plays with the inhibitions of ponies here in Equestria. All it takes is the right set of intrusive thoughts.
But to do that at such a distance, one of countless lightyears. It should be possible. Discord relishes in the very thought of this challenge. He began to experiment, his focus centering on the mind of particular being on that far away world. A mind of a child.
The child had a very simple yet strong impulsive thought, one born out of irrational jealousy.
To break his sister's new toy. But the boy resisted that thought, he was trying to be a good boy. Discord's goal was simple, a proof of concept. If he could nudge this child's inhibition, it would be a very small victory, a mere trifle of chaos. A trick with low rewards, high efforts, yet no risks should he fail.
If he could master this trick, to manipulate minds so far away, there would be nothing, nothing but time and focus, to stop him from influencing the minds of political and military leaders.
Yes. Today, a toy will break. Tomorrow, perhaps a planet will crack.
Discord's concentration was absolute, his mind occupied by that distant child, when something shocks him back to the present. Movement? Somepony is.. no, he is moving. He could feel it, just barely. He was being moved.
Was Celestia moving him to another part of the garden, or had she finally decided to imprison him in Tartarus? A futile attempt, if so. Tartarus couldn’t hold him for long, not once his powers returned.
He felt he was being loaded onto a carriage pulled by two.. no, four pegasi. So. Tartarus it is, then? It will be a long flight. Discord went back to working on his plan. His mind drifted back to that distant mind of a child, paying no heed to the direction the carriage flew, which was not towards the dreaded prison for magical creatures, nor the duration of the flight, which was shorter than Discord had expected.
Discord’s focus sharpened. The boy stood indecisive, teetering on the edge. Discord tugged at the child's thoughts: Ignore your mother. Be assertive. Break the toy. It was working. The boy turned, approached his sister, eyes on the toy. Just a bit longer and..
A sudden surge of power ripped through Discord’s consciousness. Whatever happened to the child was lost to him as his focus shattered. Then he felt it: freedom, like a door flung open by a storm. He could see, he could move. He was free. But how? And why?
Discord tried to focus his mind. His extended senses of galactic chaos was not helping the matter. If only he had paid more attention, he might have known, he might have sensed Celestia’s plan to have the Elements release him.
It was like a joke. Looking at his apparent saviors, Discord could not help but laugh. That long complicated plan, his plot to free himself, and he is just released, just like that.
“Ah. Freedom! It’s about time somepony let me out of there, I was getting a bit stiff”, Discord says as he flexes and cracks his joints, all the while he causally transforms some cute little critters into less-cute petite monsters. That proved it. His powers were back in full.
After a brief complaint about his antics, Twilight Sparkle got to the point.
“Reform? Me? To do what? Celestia’s bidding? What, she wants me to end the Griffonian wars? Or perhaps stop the Storm King form terrorizing the Hippo-”
“I’m serious, Discord. Celestia believes you can be reformed. And so I believe it too.” Twilight replied, cutting off the draconequus.
"Huh," Discord thinks. "She really believes this. This might be an opportunity. Humm. Yes. That planet of humans. That conflict. This gives me an idea."
Discord's new plan came in a flash, and after only a short second's pause, Discord knew what to do.
Spawning a pair of spectacles and a wall, Discord commented “Well, I can see the writing on the wall. It reads ‘forth’, by the way. So either I ‘reform’, or you trap me in stone again” Discord sighs.
“I’m glad we’re finally on the same page, Discord. Now what I propose is..”
“Ah! I can already guess your plan. And it seems like such a dreadfully boring plan. So, Element of Magic, care to make a wager?”
“A wager? Uhm. About what?”
"This is it." Thinks Discord, spawns in a fisherman's outfit, complete with a fishing rod and hook.
“Simple. You and your precious friends all believe in your hearts that friendship can overcome everything. I’m not convinced.” Discord leans back while baiting the hook. Discord stares at the elements in a mix of menace and amusement.
"Don't do it, Twilight. This is obviously a trap!", yells Rainbow, "Look, he is literally baiting his hook."
“Uh now, does that really matter, if my offer is sincere?", Discord retorts, hanging the baited hook in front of Twilight's face. "Your task will be to convince me, irrefutably, that friendship is indeed as powerful of a force as you claim. All you need to do is to use your powers of friendship to bring peace to a faraway place. Do this, and I will willingly submit, and agree to this reformation.”
Twilight hesitated a bit. ‘Bring peace’. Does that imply a war? Twilight had studied diplomacy at Celestia’s school, and Celestia believes she can do this. Even if it is some kind of trap. Twilight looks at the other elements, and nods.
Applejack frowned, crossing her hooves. “Twi, this don sit right with me, but if you’re set on it, I’m with ya.”
Rarity raised an eyebrow, her tone skeptical. “A wager with Discord? How dreadfully risky. But… we trust you, darling.”
Pinkie Pie’s smile faltered slightly. “A challenge? Sounds exciting, but… are you sure, Twilight? This is Discord we are talking about.”
Fluttershy whispered, “I’m… scared, Twilight. But I believe in you.”
Rainbow Dash then cut in sharply, "Don't do it, Twilight. This is so obviously a trap!"
“I accept your challenge, Discord. But if you break your word..”
“Yes, yes. Back to being a garden ornament and all that. Now, let’s get this show on the road!”. Discord yells while suddenly dressed as a wrestling match announcer, he snaps his fingers, and Twilight is suddenly replaced by a cardboard cutout.
“What did you do?” Rainbow Dash yells, while taking off, immediately launching herself at speed for a flying kick towards Discord.
Discord does not even blink, casually he snaps his fingers, and Rainbow Dash's wings suddenly disappear.
“Why".. he says with a smirk, "I sent her to her test, of course.” “To test if your precious friendship really is powerful enough to end a war.” Discord continues, as Rainbow manages to control her inevitable crash just enough to not get seriously hurt.
“What we need to know, Discord, is where did yuh send her?” Applejack asked with concern in her voice.
Discord chuckles, savoring the tension. “To a place that knows nothing but war and conflict, my little pony. If her friendship is as powerful as you all claim, she should have no problem at all!”
The first hint Twilight got that she was no longer in Equestria, was the cold wet feeling of raindrops hitting her fur. Shivers ran through her as she tried to make sense of the sudden pounding of her head. A headache? Was it caused by the weather? She had read that sudden changes to air pressure and humidity can cause headaches. Or did that pounding come from being teleported to Celestia knows where? Maybe both. Maybe.. wait. Does Celestia know where I am? Twilight questions herself. "She has to know, right? I.. I mean she's Celestia."
Stumbling in her confusion, her legs shaking from the shock, Twilight stumbles into a wall. A cold wall. A metal wall? Slowly opening her eyes, struggling to focus, she found herself in an enclosed space between two metal walls, on white, the other blue. The ground beneath her felt unnatural. Gray like stone, but textured more like fine gravel, if the gravel had been fused into a fine almost perfectly flat surface. A faint white line passed just below her. A faint white line ran beneath her hooves. Paint? A marker?
She took a deep breath, trying to steady her racing thoughts. Glancing up, Twilight noticed the sky, or rather, the lack of it. Thick clouds covered everything. No sign of Celestia's sun. Something about it was unsettling. Weatherponies would never let the clouds get so thick, not unless... Her mind raced. Could there be no weatherponies here? Or worse, were they all drafted into some war? That’s what Discord said, isn’t it? That I’m here to stop a war?
A tear mixed with the raindrops on her face. If things are so dire that they let the weather go wild, I have to stop this war. I have to.
The walls have some kind of engraved curved line going though. There's a window! A window on both walls!
The windows are too high up for Twilight to see though them. Looking closer, Twilight notices the walls curve inward, there's even a gap beneath. They're boxes.. Metal boxes held up by.. Wheels! She just noticed the boxes had wheels. So they are carts. But with no harness. No indication of being pony-drawn. Are they pulled like a train car? No. Not if they are parked like this. They might be autocarts. Carts that pull themself, like a locomotive.
Twilight had seen a few autocarts on science fairs, and off course those swindlers with that mobile cider distillery that tried to out-compete the Apple family. What were their names? Flom and Flim? Whatever, not important.
"So. They are autocarts" Twilight decides. "Unlike any I have seen before, but that must be what they are."
The blue autocart has an open space on one end. Probably the rear end. Must be a cargo space. With her heart still racing, her head still pounding, Twilight climbs up on the strange autocart's flat cargo space.
The added height allows Twilight a better view. She can see the top of the autocarts now.
The blue autocart has a window facing the cargo space, she can see inside. Looks like two seats, and what looks to be controls for steering the cart.
Her curiosity about the autocart saturated for now, Twilight finally takes in the surroundings.
A large unfamiliar building stood ahead of her. To her sides, more autocarts, parked in a long row. Wherever she is, somepony lives there.
Twilight’s headache slowly faded, and just as she started pondering what to do next, a deafening bang shattered the silence.
Instinctively she dropped down on the cold metal floor, her heart hammering in her chest like crazy. Cautiously she peered up over the low wall. She saw a door slam open with another loud bang! Twilight flinched.
Three bipeds rush out. Two tall ones, and one shorter. One of the tall bipeds clutched something in their appendages. It looks like a frying pan. The biped with the pan barked something to the others before dashing back through the door. The two other bipeds ran towards one of the autocarts, the taller one fumbling with something in their weird appendages, while the shorter one cries and screams, the sound piercing through the erupting chaos.
Suddenly another loud noise filled the air, like a sudden wind-storm. Twilight looked up to see a massive metal bird flying overhead, stopping nearby, suspended in the air.More bipeds begin to descend on ropes from within it. Each holding some large menacing looking metal tools.
A quick shout of fear came from the two bipeds by the other autocart. The tall one had stopped fumbling with the cart, and was now frantically searching the ground for something. Panic radiated from their every movement.
Before Twilight could fully process what was happening, another shout. This time from the building. Some kind of horrible beast suddenly burst though the door. Claws dripping with something red.. blood. It was dripping with blood, Twilight realized in horror.
It looks like some sort of mix between a spider and a crab, about her height. Its many legs has it sprinting towards the two bipeds by the autocart at terrifying speed.
The bipeds suddenly gained entry to the autocart though a door. feeling stupid, Twilight turned her head to look closely at the autocart she was now standing on, and realized those engraved curves she noticed earlier were indeed doors. Stupid. If she had noticed that earlier, she could have gone inside and explor.. wait. This is not the time.
Twilight suddenly realized that taking that one second to look around at the autocart was a mistake. The crab-spider had noticed her. In that short moment she had looked away, It had just slaughtered the two bipeds, and were now heading towards Twilight.
Twilight's blood ran cold. Was she about to die?
Now panicking, wishing she had gone inside the autocart, like the two bipeds were trying to do, she smashed the rear window, trying to get inside. But the window was too small. The beast jumps up on the cargo space. “GET AWAY” Twilight screams.
In a panic, Twilight uses her telekinesis to push the creature away. In her panic, she uses more power than she planned for, pushing the creature all the way across the rocky ground to smash against the wall of the building.
In full shock, Twilight curls up in a ball, her horn glowing, ready to hit anything, anypony, who comes near.
One of the bipeds from the metal bird approach. A lightning shock hits the autocart. Yelping from the pain, Twilight jumps off the autocart, trying to find another hiding-spot in her panic. Her horn blasting a telekinetic push against the biped, whose body hits an autocart, hard. The biped’s large tool flew off during the push.
Then a sound comes from a smaller tool in the biped’s appendages. Twilight stumbles and falls as she feels something sharp just hit her. The biped smiles as it closes its eyes, bleeding from several places. The small tool drops with a clang.
Twilight suddenly feels cold. Then the world went dark, for them both.
14:06 - 2001- 07 - 05, Boston Massachusetts
“Central, this is Lee. The.. The last chryssalid is down... It’s.. eh.. it’s over.” The one lone standing soldier calls on his radio.
The radio responds.
“Private? Where’s Lieutenant Fowler?”
“She.. she’s dead, sir, and so is Harris and Anderson. Dryzimsky is out cold, and Private Jenkins took some shrapnel and is bleeding.”
“I see. The recovery team is on its way as we speak.”
“Sir?”
“Yes, private?”
“We have encountered a new alien. Designation ‘Unicorn’ ”
OPERATION HARMONY: COMPLETE
ALIEN TERROR MISSION HALTED
CIVILIAN LOSSES: ACCEPTABLE
STRIKE-5 REPORTS 2 KIA (GRADE 1), 1 KIA(GRADE 2), 2 WIA
RECOVERY TEAM INVENTORY:
(Documented by LT Fujikawa)
WEAPON FRAGMENTS (15 total)
MUTON CORPSES (3 total)
CHRYSSALID CORPSES (5 total)
UNICORN CORPSES (1 total)
OPERATION EVALUATION: POOR
Author's Note
Boom! Twilight is already dead. Roll credits! Right?
Yeah, not so much.
Anyways, hello there folks. Long time reader, first time writer.
I hope this opening chapter grabs your attention. I have had this in the back of my mind for years. It was about time I actually did something.
The working title I had in my head for years was: X-SG-STARDUST-COM, mashing the names of the two fanfics I am crossing in this story.
That was a bit much. So, Project Harmony it is.
Anyway, the first of the two stories this is based on, is Stardust by Arad, which you can find here on fimfiction.
And the other is XSG-COM by Hotpoint, which you can read here, or here.
Common to them both, is that they both feature X-COM.
So this story features all of it. My little pony, X-COM, and Stargate.
It mixes the story-arcs from both fanfics, with my own interpretation of how this mashup of stories can interact and coexist in this crazy alternate universe.
Both Arad and Hotpoint made meticulous use author notes detailing decisions made in their stories, and I will do the same.
In this chapter, I adapted chapter 1 of Stardust, with my own interpretation and alternation. I have my own idea of where this story will go, but at least the first few chapters will shadow Stardust's plotline with some alterations, written in my own words. I am still a beginner writer, so please forgive me for using Stardust as a crutch for now. Although my story will eventually diverge enough to where Stardust's storyline no longer applies.
The XSG-COM part of this story diverge somewhere between chapter 13 and 14.
X-COM has built up quite the arsenal at this point, but despite upgrades in armor and weapons, many ops end up as poorly as this.
The chapter is set in 2001 because it follows XSG-COM's timeline.
Likewise, the chryssalid is described as crab-like in XSG-COM, which was based on the artwork of classic X-COM, hence why I decided to split the difference in this story, and describe it as a crab-spider hybrid.
The next chapter will start introducing characters from the XSG-COM story as they relate to the plot. This by extension includes characters from Stargate SG1 and Stargate Atlantis.
I would like to thank my friend Israel for proofreading, and the almighty ChatGPT-4o for helping with phrasing and grammar.
Yes I used AI. So for sake of transparency, here's the conversation, which includes the first draft, in all its flaws.