Realms of Discord

Chapters

Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 3

Chapter 1

Many ponies overlook the statues that make their home in the Canterlot Gardens, and for good reason. While most are just decorations of which have been seen by passerbies too many times, one had held a malevolent spirit that threatened the world with his powers. And while he was locked back into his stone prison, none dare go near his statue, fearing that he would come after them.

But to all but those most sensitive to magic, the stone was eternally still. All the scholars and the royal sisters themselves insisted that, despite the magic that still leaked out of the statue, the spirit inside would remain trapped forever.

If one would listen close to the stone for long enough, however, they would hear the ancient spirit in his prison, laughing and plotting.

Discord rolled in his black throne, laughing and trying to keep breathing. “I mean, what kind of pony would actually eat the dirt? I didn’t think even MY magic could warp a mind that badly!” Discord fell off of his throne, rolling on the floor of his dark room and trying to rein in his humor.

With a gasp, he silenced his laughter, standing up and dusting off his legs. “Well no matter. I’m afraid that my time in Equestria is over once again. I think I left them with enough chaos to balance out their disgusting amount of order. Honestly, the kind of ponies that can stand that much melancholy every day is beyond me. The same routine day after day; it’s only gotten worse since the last time I showed up!”

A voice echoed from the corner, out of reach of the single light above the throne. “Well master, you’re forgetting all the danger that Equestria still holds. I believe that it is far from boring.”

Discord huffed. “Please. Most of the danger was locked away in Tartarus a long time ago. The creatures of the Everfree and other monsters tend to keep to themselves as well; the only ponies in danger of them are ones that deserve a Darwin Award.”

“Darwin award?” The voice coughed. “Well what about nightmare moon and the changelings? Or Even King Sombra?”

“Nothing more than a princess with too much pride, a bug infestation, and a freak obsessed with Stairs! Face it, Nigma; Equestria is too peaceful.”

Nigma walked up to the black throne where Discord sat back down. He was a simple unicorn with a white coat and grey mane cut short. His cutie mark was a question mark and his eyes were a ranging spectrum of colors, shifting constantly from color to color. “Well my lord, it’s not like we can go back. I do believe that the seal is tightly bound, for now.”

Discord scratched his beard. “True, it will be a while before we can go back. I shouldn’t have let my guard down so easily. There was so much chaos left to be done!”

“If I may speak freely, how didn’t you notice those ponies had color in them? You had turned them grey a while and they were all colorful when they came back!”

“Don’t remind me.” Discord snapped his fingers, summoning a glass and a bottle of vintage wine. “Regardless, I suppose that we should find something to do while we’re here. No telling how long the incarceration will be this time.”

Discord held his glass out to Nigma, the bottle of wine floating next to him. With a sigh, Nigma grabbed the bottle’s cork with his magic and pulled it off, letting the sudden flow of wine fall into the glass. The glass filled up as one would expect, from top to bottom, and gradually filled to the rim. “So,” Nigma began, “What does my lord wish to do?”

Discord sipped his wine, eying it critically. “Fix your form of addressing me, first. I told you time and time again for quite a few millennia now; call me Discord.”

Nigma’s eye twitched for a moment before he shook his head. “I’m sorry. What do you want to do, Discord?”

Discord downed the wine with a quick gulp, placing his glass on the arm of his throne. “I was thinking of making our own world, Nigma. Equestria has become too peaceful for me to stand anymore. While I still have a duty to keep chaos in the land, I certainly can’t enjoy it if there isn’t any danger. So while we’re in here, we can create a better Equestria, with all the chaos and danger that I please!”

Discord clapped his hands together, the sound echoing through the dark room. The stone floor rippled for a moment as powerful energy ripped through the air, lighting up what once was dark. Light kept expanding, revealing a massive corridor leading to an open door. Discord walked off to the door, leaving Nigma standing in front of the Throne. Nigma glanced behind the throne, noticing a massive marble statue of the Draconequus standing in a regal pose. He gazed at the statue before Discord called him, making the unicorn dash towards the door.

Nigma ran outside where Discord was now floating, staring out past their platform. Out past the platform was nothing but barren stone, red rock as far as the eye could see. The building behind them wasn’t much either, being a simple block of grey stone. “How could we have any chaos or danger in this?” Nigma asked. “There isn’t anything around here!”

Discord chuckled as he snapped his fingers. In the blink of an eye, the red stone became covered by a tide of green grass. Some of the green raised itself up, becoming trees of various sizes. The flat quickly rippled about, curving the landscape and creating hills and depressions in the flatland.

With a wave of his lion’s paw, Discord sent another wave of energy out. The energy struck the land, bringing up stones high up above the hills. Mountains stood up out of the world, giving the land spines across its skin. A particularly tall mountain caught up with the building from below and continued to rise up behind them, enveloping the building.

Nigma turned around as Discord became enveloped in his work. The building had begun morphing as well. The flat front had already curved and twisted until it resembled a pantheon. A quick glance inside revealed that torches now lit the extensive corridor. The corridor led only to the statue, which had now replaced the black throne. It was a shame too; Nigma could remember the black room holding more space before.

By the time Nigma had turned back around, Discord had fashioned a myriad of sprawling plains, vast oceans and mountains crossing the world’s earth. The new earth was full of elegant curves and beautiful scenery. But Nigma wasn’t impressed. “My lord, this place is quite beautiful.”

“I know.” Discord beamed, unaware or otherwise unconcerned with Nigma’s relapse to royal titles. “It’s quite a work of art, if I do say so myself.”

“It seems a little incomplete, though. I see no animals on the earth, no native fauna. And where are the ponies? A planet can’t be simply plants.”

Discord placed his paw on Nigma’s back drawing him close to the draconequus’ side. “My dear Nigma, you must realize that chaos can only be directed. I can’t meerly create sentient life as I see fit. No, I can only direct my powers towards the growth and development of those species.”

Nigma paused, pondering the statement. “So you’re saying that you wouldn’t know how to make sentient life even if you wanted to?”

“Exactly.”

Discord snapped his fingers and summoned a sun over the planet, flooding it with pure light. Almost as quickly, however, the sun began to fall to the edge of the horizon, replacing itself with the glowing white beauty of the moon. The two began to spin rapidly around the earth, not pausing for a single moment. “Now let’s see if we can encourage some ponies to grow.” Discord mused.

For Discord, this was but another day as life flashed by. For Nigma, however, it was as if history itself was replaying, with bits and pieces broken off. He watched as ponies crawled out of hiding in the forests, first noticing the true light of the world. He gazed at mighty empires being erected by the three pony species, only for them to be encased in ice. Moments later, he saw as cities began to form, some large and dense, others small and sprawled about. Soon, the planet’s celestial bodies slowed to a near halt, settling on the new face of the world.

To be honest though, it looked exactly like Equestria, in Nigma’s opinion.

“My lord, I hope I don’t sound too critical of your work, but doesn’t it seem a little too much like the old Equestria? I thought the point of this whole endeavor was to create a new kingdom.”

Discord howled with laughter. “But Nigma, my boy, this IS a new Equestria. Can’t you just feel the pure chaos floating above the cities?” Discord picked up Nigma, holding the unicorn in front of him. “Go on, kiddo, and feel the magic in the air. Feel the chaos that I have wrought.”

Nigma had to admit that, during his many years around the spirit of chaos, he had picked up a trick or two in identifying order and chaos by the magic. He closed his eyes and lit up his horn with unfocused magic, letting it flow out past him in an arch. A powerful light lit up in his mind, showing streaks of red flowing across the earth. Blue also flowed through the land as well, almost mapping out nature as blue and civilizations as red.

“Oh my.” Nigma gasped, opening his eyes and cutting off his flow of magic. “How did you manage this?”

Discord set the pony back down. “Well it was simple; I didn’t allow the alicorns to stay around in this world.” Nigma just stared at the draconequus as though he was crazy. Discord sighed and pressed on. “The Alicorns were the reason that the old equestria was so sickeningly happy; they were the perfect representation of harmony among the three ponies. This Equestria, while harmonized with Earth ponies, pegasi and unicorns, still has discontent and a faulty government. Crime and murder is still an issue, as the governing bodies aren’t threatening enough to dissuade ne’er-do-wells.”

Nigma frowned. “I suppose two all-powerful princesses capable of frying an entire city would be quite the deterrent. But where do you fit in with this world?”

Discord grinned. “This world still needed something to think of as a true god, otherwise there wouldn’t be much religion. Believe me when I say religion is the fastest way to generate chaos in the world.”

Discord snapped his fingers and two small statues materialized in front of Nigma. One was a brilliant marble statue of the Royal pony sisters, Celestia and Luna. The other was a sharp obsidian statue of Discord, similar to the one in the Pantheon. “While I didn’t allow the Alicorns or myself to be seen often in the world, I did allow us to be seen often enough to plant seeds of admiration and fear among the ponies. Soon enough, I found that temples and cults were being formed around the globe worshiping the Lost Race and the God of Chaos. I’m rather fond of my own title, but I suppose the Alicorns got an interesting one as well.”

Nigma glanced at the statues, poking each one with his hoof. The Alicorn statue faded to dust at his touch, but Discord’s Statue settled into his hoof. He smiled as he set the statue down next to him.

Discord sat down on the ground, leaning against the Pantheon. “Now there is a rather difficult request I have for you, my dear Nigma.”

Nigma’s head shot over to discord, a smile plastered on his face. “Anything you desire, my Lord Discord, I will do without hesitation!”

Discord flashed a challenging grin. “I want you to leave my side and go live in this new Equestria.”

Nigma frowned. “Why would you ask such a thing?”

“Well so much for no hesitation.” Discord sighed. “I’ve been thinking for some time now, Nigma. You’ve grown up by my side ever since I adopted you from a struggling Manehatten all those centuries ago. You’ve learned a great many things, but even now I can tell that you don’t know much about yourself.”

Nigma’s eyes flashed green for a moment, holding the color longer than his eyes normally would. “My cutie mark wasn’t very helpful though. A question mark could mean any number of things as a special talent.”

“That’s my point, Nigma. A cutie mark only represents the talent which most defines a pony. It won’t tell what that pony is also good at, but only what is most practiced.” Discord poked Nigma’s cutie mark. “That question mark means that you are best at being a mystery, always having another trick up your sleeve. You are a naturally chaotic pony, which is why I kept you by my side.

“But now it’s time for you to find out your hidden talents.” Discord said with a grin. “I’d also like you to bring out the hidden talents of other ponies that you meet.”

Nigma frowned, his eyes watering. “But what about you, Discord? I don’t want to leave you all alone.”

Discord’s own eyes watered a moment. “I won’t be alone. This entire planet can be a playground for me if I so wish. All I have to do is disguise myself and have some fun!” discord snapped his fingers, bringing the obsidian statue up to his claw. He tapped the head of the statue, imbuing it with a light blue glow. “And if you ever need me, just give me a call. I’ll always make time to help out my favorite kid.”

Nigma sniffled, grabbing the statue in his hooves. “So I guess this will be goodbye for now, then.” He glanced down at the closest city from the pantheon, ignoring the bustling splendor that was Canterlot next to him. “I guess I’ll go live in Ponyville for a while, see what sort of things I can find.”

Discord and Nigma sat side by side for a few hours, staring out at the horizon until the stars came out in the night sky. Nigma would always glance at Ponyville below, but his gaze would always return to the stars. “I wish you would have changed Ponyville’s name.”

“It is a little strange for a town, isn’t it?”

Chapter 2

Nigma sat on the train to Ponyville, shuffling his saddlebags nervously in his hooves. Discord had given him enough bits to buy himself a modestly large house in Ponyville, with even more left over to hold him off until he got a job. Nigma wasn’t concerned that the draconequus gave him the money, more as he was with carrying it around. Many other ponies stared at his bags hungrily, as though they could sense the massive collection of bits pouched up in the bags.

“I really should have asked for a better ride.” Nigma muttered, shuffling his bags once more.

Instead of worrying, Nigma’s mind wandered off to the possibilities that this Equestria held. He knew quite a bit about the old Equestria, particularly about Ponyville and its residents. He wondered if anypony he knew about existed in this version. Would he be able to stop at the library and chat with Twilight and Spike? Could he still pop by Sweet Apple Acres and find Applejack and her family?

Nigma’s mind wandered idly through his thoughts as the train pulled into Ponyville’s station. Even as it waited patiently for departures and arrivals, he showed no sign of moving. Only the sudden last call from the conductor roused him from his thoughts, nervously galloping off the train.

Nigma walked quietly into town, taking note of the surroundings and what he could identify as different. From a first glance anypony would have dismissed Ponyville, claiming it was the same in every way. Nigma wasn’t normal, however. He had been the one to mark out every square inch of Ponyville and its residents for Discord, who had insisted that he do something to pass the time. He knew every nook and cranny of the town and knew the looks of every resident.

The ponies he saw, however, were far from familiar.

Nigma couldn’t make out a single familiar pony in the crowds as he wandered into the town market. In fact he couldn’t even tell that he had wandered into the market until he heard the sounds of bartering ponies and sales being shouted out. From what he remembered, he should have been in a residential section.

Nigma let out a deep sigh. “I don’t even know where town square is anymore. How am I supposed to get a house in this mess?”

Without any sort of clue as to what he should do next, Nigma decided it would be best to peruse the market. While it wouldn’t help him find the town square, he was a little hungry. He went to every produce stall he could find, browsing carrots, celery, lettuce, and even cooking hay. He didn’t plan on buying any of it, but was certain it would be nice to come back after he got settled in a house. After all, what’s a house without some home cooking?

The last stall he came to was the only apple stand in the market. Nigma felt his mouth water in anticipation as he walked up to the stall. He glanced at the salespony, not sure who he was. “Excuse me,” Nigma said quickly, “Where do you get your apples from?”

The salespony smiled. “You’re a newcomer, eh? Well these apples are freshly picked from Sweet Apple Acres. It’s the only place in town to get the freshest apples!”

Nigma had to keep his jaw from dropping. A moment of thought had cleared up his shock. Ponyville was founded by the Apple family in the long run. It would make sense that they would still exist in this world. Though if the strange salespony was any indication, the family running the farm wasn’t the one Nigma was familiar with.

Nigma moved two apples from the buckets, shifting his saddlebags so he could reach them. “How much for two apples?”

The salespony nodded. “That’ll be four bits.”

Chaos doesn’t even begin to describe the economy, Nigma thought. With practiced movement, Nigma levitated open the flap of his saddlebag, lifting out his bag of spare bits. Before he could bring out the bits, however, a pony rushed by him, knocking Nigma off his feet and swiping the bag with his teeth.

Nigma barely processed the moment, as the salespony next to him began shouting at the thief, calling for someone to stop him. Instead of standing there, though, Nigma nudged his saddlebags back into place and bolted after him.

The thief was quite nimble, weaving in and out of the screaming crowds as he ran to the edge of the market. Nigma was working on another plan, using his magic to shove people out of his way. His tactic only served to give him clear sight of the pickpocket, however, and couldn’t get the speed to catch up to him.

The thief had almost rounded the corner out of the market when a large, bulky figure stepped out in front of him. The figure was a large earth pony with a light-brown coat and a rusty short mane and a wooden apple for a cutie mark. The thief tried to scramble away from the stallion but he stomped down on their tail, holding them fast. He drew the thief back with a swipe of his hoof and picked them up by the chest.

Nigma had thought the thief would find a hoof in their face, but instead just dropped the bits, pleading to the stallion to let them go. After a few moments he complied, dropping the pickpocket in front of the store. Before they could run though, the stallion bucked the pony, sending them straight through the wall.

Nigma was dumbstruck by the ordeal. He walked up to the stallion as he picked up the bits. “Um, e-excuse me?” Nigma managed to say. The stallion turned to him with a practiced calm. “Those are my bits. Th-thank you for stopping that pony.”

The stallion threw the bits to Nigma, who caught them with his magic. Without even a word, he walked inside the building next to him where he had bucked the thief into the wall. As he opened the door Nigma could hear a voice. “Why did you buck another pony through our wall? It’s going to cost a fortune to fix it!”

Nigma couldn’t resist walking in with the stallion, hoping to find the name of his hero. The stallion didn’t say anything, however, and walked behind the counter. Another pony walked into the room from a back door. This one was built leaner, closer in size to Nigma than the other pony. His was a grassy green, with his mane a far darker shade of green. It hung down to his eyes, stuck in place as though it had froze after wind blew it. His cutie mark was two wintergreen leaves, which he could barely see considering it was so close to his coats color.

“Come on Uncle Crabapple!” The stallion whined, a scowl on his face. “You can’t keep shoving people through the wall when they don’t like our furniture! It’s not good for business.”

Crabapple glanced over at Nigma and back at the green pony. “Pickpocket.”

The pony’s scowl dropped almost immediately, noticing Nigma in the room. “Oh. Well never mind then.” He glanced over at the unconscious pony in the wall. “Guess I’ll call the guards and fix that hole later then.”

Nigma finally spoke up. “Thank you again for stopping that thief for me. I don’t think I could have stopped him myself.” His words were met with a grunt from the big stallion as he trotted off into the back room. Nigma’s ears flopped down, glancing over at the other pony. “Did I say something offensive?”

The green stallion walked up to him, throwing a hoof carelessly across Nigma’s back. “Don’t worry about old Uncle Crabapple. He’s just not somepony that likes to talk much. I think I can say in his stead that it was no trouble. Everypony in town deserves to be treated with respect.” The pony paused. “Come to think of it, I’ve never actually seen you in town before. Are you new?”

Nigma nodded. “The name is Nigma. I’m hoping to move into town.”

The stallion smiled, grabbing Nigma’s hooves in his own and shaking it with reckless enthusiasm. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Nigma. My name’s Wild Mint. I’m the apprentice here at Crabapple’s fine furniture. If you ever need furniture for your house, just come to us!” Another pause came from the pony. “Where is your house anyway?”

Nigma frowned as he recovered his hoof. “I don’t really know yet. I don’t know where town hall is so I haven’t been able to ask about any possible housing.”

Wild Mint exploded in a wild grin. “Well I know where town square is! I could tell - no, even better! I could show you where it is!” Wild mint proceeded to drag Nigma out the door and started down the road. He was stopped, however, by a massive growl from Nigma’s stomach. “Oh right. I suppose you’d want to grab some food first, wouldn’t you?

Wild Mint had brought Nigma to a restaurant close by, one that struck Nigma as familiar, but quite far off. They sat chatting about the thief and Mint’s Uncle while their food was delivered. Soon, Mint was dining on a huge pile of hay fries while Nigma had a hefty veggie burger. “So Nigma,” Wild Mint said as he swallowed a mouthful of fries. “What brings you into Ponyville? Couldn’t be family or business, otherwise you’d already have somewhere to be.”

Jeeze, what a perceptive pony, Nigma thought. He couldn’t tell Wild Mint about Discord, and instead let his mind go on autopilot. “I’ve been wandering around a lot since I moved out of my parents house. I thought it would be nice to find a place to settle in a quiet town.”

Mint frowned. “Quiet? Well I suppose it’s more peaceful than other places near here.”

Nigma gulped down a bite of his burger. “Barring the occasional thief or two, yeah. What about you, Mint? You don’t look like you should be in a carpenters shop.”

Mint grinned. “Noticed my cutie mark did ya?” Nigma nodded blankly, prompting a shrug from the earth pony. “Truth be told, I don’t really enjoy carpentry. My true calling is in herbs and tea. I wanted to open up a shop here in town, but I couldn’t scrape together enough bits to get a place. So I got a job at my Uncle’s place until I can get a place for myself.”

Nigma frowned. “How long have you been working there?”

“About ten years now.” Nigma paused in the middle of taking a bite out of his burger. “Hey, it’s not easy keeping my bits around here. Most of it goes into helping Uncle fix the holes HE makes in the shop! You realize the draft it makes upstairs? I don’t know how he can sleep at night; I know I can’t.”

Nigma had to keep himself from laughing. “I can’t imagine that you’d keep working there once you get your own place.”

Wild Mint shook his head. “Its honest work, but I just can’t go on cutting out tables and chairs anymore. I’d rather move in with my friend Chilly, but he’s already got his spare room rented out.”

Nigma frowned. “Chilly?”

Wild Mint lit up. “Oh my gosh! You haven’t met my friends yet! Come on! I know they’d just love to meet you!” Wild Mint grabbed Nigma by the tail, pausing just long enough to throw some bits on the table before running off.

“Sure why not?” Nigma said with a huff. “Not like I really have much of a choice.” He watched as the waitress came and grabbed the bits and dishes off the table. He wanted to finish his veggie burger, but was busy being dragged by his flank off to who knows where.

Nigma twiddled his hooves out of boredom as Wild Mint continued to drag him around town. He wasn’t quite sure where the green pony intended on taking him until he was spun around on his flank, finding himself in front of a pleasant looking store. The sign above indicated it as a book store, but the place was clearly closed, if the shades on the window and sign on the door were any indication. Nigma couldn’t understand what would prompt a visit here.

Wild Mint simply shook his head and walked up to the door. He proceeded to slam his hoof wildly. “Chilly!” He shouted. “Open up! You forgot to open the store again!”

A few moments passed before a clicking sound could be heard from the other side of the door. A gray unicorn pony opened the door with a bit of magic. His black mane strewn about wildly, almost clouding the cobalt stripe in it. Scarlet eyes peeked out from under his eyelids, regarding Mint with little enthusiasm. “Oh sorry about that, Mint.” The Unicorn said sleepily. “I was reading a story and I must have dozed off.”

Wild Mint almost instantly went pale, his smile deflating into a shocked frown. “Chilly Quill, what kind of book did you read?”

The sleepy pony ran a hoof through his mane. “I think it was a ghost story of sorts?”

Nigma couldn’t understand Wild Mint’s concerns at first. That was before he got a look at the store inside. The entire room had become crowded with spectres that flew wildly about the room. Some had taken to ramming themselves into furniture while others just mindlessly licked things. Nigma felt like he was going to die; he had never hoped to see any more ghosts after the last time discord had decided to mess around in a graveyard.
Wild Mint grabbed the tired pony in his hooves, spinning him around to see the store. “I can’t stress enough how disturbing this scene is, Chilly.” He said with an unusual calm. “Get rid of them already!”

A quick slap on the shoulder served to rouse Chilly from his slumber. He glanced around the store with a bit of concern, but no less intimidated than if he was looking at a mouse. In fact, with a quick flash from his horn the ghosts were gone.

Chilly Quill walked inside the store, with Wild Mint and Nigma blankly following him. “I’m so sorry that I did this, Mint.” He said, his head hunched below his shoulders. “You know how I am though.” He turned around to meet the green pony but stopped when he noticed Nigma. “Oh? Who’s your friend?”

Wild Mint pulled Nigma up by his side. “That’s right! Chilly, my dear friend, this pony is Nigma! He’s new to town.”

Chilly’s face lit up with a warm smile. “It’s wonderful to meet you, Nigma. The Name’s Chilly Quill, owner of Quill’s Fine Books. I...” Chilly looked closer at Nigma, finding that his multicolored eyes were staring blankly into the room. “I-Is he alright? His eyes are flickering colors.”

Mint looked at Nigma’s eyes with a critical glance. “They’ve been doing that since I’ve met him. I think that’s just how they normally are.” He poked Nigma in the flank, prompting shivers down the traumatized pony’s spine. “This behavior is new though.”

“Gh-ghosts.” Nigma stuttered. “Ghosts in th-the store.”

Chilly’s face flushed. “Oh my! I’m so sorry! I didn’t mean to scare you. The ghosts weren’t real. They were an illusion!”

Nigma shook himself. “Illusion? What are you trying to do? Scare customers away? I think closing the shop was enough of a deterrent!”

Chilly shook his head. “It’s nothing like that! You see, I’m talented at storytelling and, by extension, can project stories when I read. Sometimes, though, I’ll do it when I fall asleep reading. Thats what happened here, you see.”

Nigma glanced nervously at a stray ghost that passed by. It certainly seemed real enough, but had to admit that it didn’t act like normal ghosts. “This is quite the illusion though.”

Chilly frowned. “I-it’s nothing like a professional’s magic, though. I j-just do it for the fillies and colts on Sundays.” Nigma wasn’t convinced. The illusion he was looking at was on par with the greatest illusionists he had ever seen. Considering Discord had frequently taken him to see illusionists throughout the years, that was no small claim.

Wild Mint shook his head. “Where exactly did you get a new ghost story? I thought we had finished them off last time!”

Chilly went to answer but a shout from upstairs stopped him. “Chilly, where’s my ghost compendium? I can’t find it anywhere!”

Chilly glanced at the stray ghost that had taken to gnawing on his horn, blasting it away with a silent burst of magic. “Haven’t seen it anywhere, Innate!”

Wild Mint wandered off to the table near the stores Window, pulling the drapes open as he sat down. “Is Innate Enigma still living with you? I would have thought he would find his own place by now.”

Chilly shrugged. “What can I say? He helps me out at the store when he isn’t busy and pays me rent. And I certainly couldn’t leave him in Manehatten after I moved.”

Nigma cleared his throat, making the two ponies glance at him. “I’m very glad to have met you, chilly, but I’d like to get a house. Mint, can we just go to town hall and meet you’re other friends later?”

Chilly smiled. “You’re going to live in Ponyville? Thats wonderful!” He glanced upstairs for a moment before walking up to Nigma. “Do you think I could tag along? Innate won’t be too happy with me when he finds out I read his reference books again.”

Nigma pondered it for a moment before he heard an angry shout from upstairs. “Any friend of Mint’s is welcome to come along!” He said quickly, grabbing the unicorn and shoving him out the door. Wild Mint followed, humming to himself as he closed the door behind him.

Chapter 4

Nigma and Wild Mint made the tiring trek to their new home as dusk began to strike the already sleepy town. They had spent the day with Chilly having dinner and talking about their lives. Wild Mint may have enjoyed himself, but Nigma was exhausted. He couldn’t remember the last time he had actually gotten tired from too much fun.

Mint walked up to the door of their new home, looking at it critically. “Well the door seems sound, but it doesn’t look quite sturdy.” He said with a hum. “I think we’ll need to get this replaced before we open up for business.”

Nigma frowned as he tapped the door. “It seems fine to me. Besides, why would we need to get a sturdier door? It’s not like people are going to rob us.”

“Did you already forget your first few moments in town?” Mint deadpanned.

“Point taken.” Nigma lifted the key with his magic, sliding it into the deadbolt. He tried turning the key but nothing would move. In fact, the key ended up lodged into the keyhole, reluctant to budge even an inch. Nigma looked at Mint nervously. “Well I suppose we’ll really need a door now.”

With a sigh, Wild Mint walked closer to the door and eyed the edge. Without another word, he spun around on his hooves and bucked the door, tearing out part of the frame and hinges. “Told you it wasn’t sturdy.”

“Well it was better than nothing, you know.”

Both stallions walked into the house, flicking on the lights. The lower floor wasn’t much, but it was to be expected for a business floor. There was a bar counter further back in the room with a set of stools sitting on top of it. A few tables and stacks of chairs were in one corner while a pile of scrap and broken wood panels were in another. The whole place was covered in a thick layer of dust that made Nigma want to sneeze.

He prayed that the upstairs wouldn’t be so under furnished and horrifically dusty.

“Hey, I remember this place!” Wild Mint said. “This place used to be a bar a few years back. The place closed after a major bar fight broke out.”

Nigma glanced over at the massive pile of junk. He didn’t need to guess how much property damage had actually been done.

Mint continued to check out the shop while Nigma decided to scan the upper floor. As he walked up the stairs, the dust quickly began to recede. By the time he was upstairs there wasn’t a speck of dust to be found. “Strange.” He said out loud. “I didn’t think dust would do that.”

The second floor, much to Nigma’s surprise, was better furnished than downstairs. The stairs had opened up to a living room and dining room that was already packed with a full kitchen, tables and couches. Off in the back were three rooms and a bathroom, though Nigma couldn’t quite grasp the concept of indoor plumbing. He had heard of toilets from Discord, but didn’t understand what would drive a pony to dig massive piping systems.

Both bedrooms were basically the same, with a bed and nightstand and a window with a view of the marketplace. It didn’t mean that Nigma couldn’t decide which was better, however, and ended up choosing the further bedroom, preferring the slight view of the Everfree Forest to the mountain range.

“Well I suppose that tonight I’ll actually be able to sleep in a bed again.” Nigma said with a yawn. He dropped his saddlebags on the ground as he pulled out his statue of Discord and walked over to the nightstand. He placed the statue gingerly on the table, taking care to maneuver it to allow it to see the whole room. Once he was sure it was positioned to his liking, Nigma jumped into his bed, pulling the covers over himself.

Another yawn made its way out of Nigma as he glanced at the statue once again. “Goodnight, My Lord.” He said. “Maybe I’ll be able to see you soon. I know you would be proud of me.” Not wanting to be dragged back out of bed by mint, Nigma flicked off the lights and closed his eyes, dreaming of the new life ahead of him.

Morning came with a gentle smell wafting through the house. Nigma roused to it, sniffing the air lazily as he drew himself out of bed. The as he finally snapped out of his slumber, though, he realized that the smell was anything but pleasant. He was smelling smoke from the kitchen.

Nigma burst out of his room, head snapping left and right in search of something to put out any fires. He stopped dead in his tracks when he saw the kitchen. The place had gone from spick and spiffy to a downright disaster. The place had been covered in a thin layer of pancake batter and it looked like somebody had dropped a hay bomb over the grill. Discord floated about in the kitchen, trying to make food out of the chaos in the room.

Discord noticed the awe-struck pony and grinned. “Morning, Nigma.” He said with unusual enthusiasm. “Hope you don’t mind, but I helped myself to your kitchen.” He glanced at the grill in front of him as it began to catch fire. “You like your hay bacon burnt, right?”

Nigma shook his head in response to both the sight in front of him and the bacon. He liked it crispy, not burning. “What are you doing here, Master?”

Discord frowned. “Well I guess I’m here to correct your manner of addressing me.”

Nigma waited for a real answer before realizing Discord’s comment. “What are you doing here, Discord?”

Discord grinned with content, resuming his work. “Well I hear you saying to the statue that you wanted to see me soon, so I figured that you wanted me to visit. To be honest, I’m surprised with you. I never pictured you to be the entrepreneur type.”

“It’s more like a partnership actually. The shop is for my friend.” Nigma glanced back at the rooms, making sure that Wild Mint hadn’t woken up yet. “How did you hear me though?”

“Don’t you remember me fiddling with your statue? I wasn’t just making it glow a pretty color.”

Nigma paused before the answer settled on him. “You were making a beacon of sorts. It broadcasts whenever I talk at it.”

“Exactly.” Discord set a plate down in front of Nigma. Somehow among the mess, he had managed to scrounge up a large portion of hash browns, hay bacon and even roasted mushrooms. Nigma didn’t question any of it. You don’t explain Discord.

Discord sat next to Nigma while he stuffed his face with the delectable food. “So how’s my favorite kid doing in Ponyville so far? What friends have you made?”

Nigma choked down a strip of hay bacon before speaking. “I’ve actually made quite a few. I met this powerful illusionist unicorn called Chilly Quill and Rose Wind the Pegasus. I didn’t really talk to her much.”

Discord’s eyebrows shot up. “Well that’s interesting. Was the mare a cutie?” Nigma ignored the question, prompting a cackle from the Draconequus.

“I also heard about this stallion called Innate Enigma. Never got around to meeting him yet.”

Discord scratched his beard. “You know I’ve heard of the fellow while I was around. Apparently he’s got quite the reputation as an artifact hunter. Always comes into towns with a giant saddlebag of rare crafts. Also heard about him dabbling in necromancy, though, so I don’t know what to think.”

Nigma shrugged. “Finally there’s the stallion I bought the house with. His name is-“

Before Nigma could answer, the door to Wild Mint’s door shot open. The green earth pony came half hobbling out of his room, drool dripping from his mouth. Discord and Nigma sat still as they watched him shuffle over into the kitchen. He snatched a plate from the table without even thinking and went about gathering food from ground zero of Discord’s food incident.

Mint sat down next to Discord, munching his food without opening his eyes. Discord looked nervously at Nigma. “Should I be worried?” He whispered. “I don’t think things would go very well if he saw me.”

Nigma nodded, silently shifting out of his seat. Before he could even move though, Mint’s tail lashed out at him, making him jump right back into the chair. “No need to rush now, buddy.” Mint said drowsily. “You haven’t even finished the food your friend whipped up for you.”

Discord only shrugged, pushing the plate of food closer to Nigma. The two began to chew down the pile before Mint actually came to his senses. With the two working together, they managed to put away a meal fit for three in a matter of moments. Discord began to snap away the plate until a hoof slapped down his lion’s paw.

Discord stared at Wild Mint in shock as the green pony began to blink his eyes. “Do I know you?”

An audible snap echoed in the room as Nigma’s eyes rolled to the back of his head, leaving nothing but shocking white and a terrified face. Discord took the news calmly, sighing as he stood up. “Have you ever been to the pantheon above Canterlot?”

Wild Mint nodded. “It’s the temple of Discord. Just about everybody around Ponyville has been to it once.” Mint blinked again, staring at Discord as if he had just woken up. “Oh my goodness, it’s you! It’s Discord! Discord is here in our house Nigma!” Mint jumped up and began shaking Nigma before he paused. “Why are you here, exactly?”

Discord pointed at Nigma, who was just shy of being unconscious in Wild Mint’s hooves. “Your friend there is - in a general sense anyway - my son.”

“No way.” Wild Mint Slapped The back of Nigma’s head, forcing his eyes back in place. “You never told me your dad was Discord!”

Nigma tried getting himself out of Mint’s strangle hold as he stuttered. “It never really came up. Besides, I’m an adopted child. I like to think of myself as a butler.”

Wild Mint dropped Nigma unceremoniously and turned to Discord. “Is her serious?” The Draconequus could only nod. “You have some major daddy issues, dude. But I suppose this helps to explain the whole eye thing.”

Nigma blinked. “Whats wrong with my eyes?”

“Nothing at all. It’s just a little too unique. I’m honestly surprised that no one has asked about it.”

Discord laughed. “You should have heard him when he was just a little colt. ‘Discord, why do the other ponies only have one color in their eyes? It’s really weird.’ It was just too priceless!”

Wild Mint joined in on the laughter as Nigma sat on the floor frowning. “That’s a made-up story and you know it!” He turned over to Wild Mint and grabbed the pony by the hoof. “You need to promise never to tell anyone about this, alright? And whenever Discord visits, you don’t invite anyone over to the house.”

Mint was about to speak when a knocking came from downstairs. Nigma let go of Mint and wandered downstairs. “Hm, someone at the door.” He started for the door before stalling and rushing back up the stairs. “When did we get a new door?”

Mint grinned as he stood up. “I went out and got a door from Uncle Crabapple yesterday evening. I also told him that we got a house, so it’s probably just him.”

Nigma sighed. “I guess this is it then. Sorry Discord, I guess we’ll have to visit another time.”

Discord nodded. “I don’t really need other ponies thinking I really exist. I’ll never get a moment’s rest then.” Discord snapped his talons, creating a flash of light like he always did. Once the light faded, however, he was still in the same place he was before. Discord frantically snapped his talons, the flash of light doing nothing but making the two ponies blind.”

“Whats going on?” Nigma asked with a hint of concern. “Why aren’t you teleporting?”

“Do you think I know?” Discord snapped. “Something’s blocking my magic. MY magic of all things! I can’t do anything!”

The knocking came again, this time with a mare’s voice. “Do you think Wild Mint is gone?” Nigma recognized the voice as Rose Winds.”

“That’s not just Crabapple down there.” Nigma glared at Wild Mint. “Why is Rose Wind down there?”

Wild Mint grinned nervously. “While I was out on the town, I bumped into her. She said she was a friend of yours so I invited her to the housewarming.”

The knocking became more rapid, now with a different voice. “I know Wild Mint.” Chilly Quill said from outside. “He wouldn’t lie to us. He’s got to be in here.”

Discord began snapping his fingers as frantically as he could as Nigma began to shout at Mint. “Just how many ponies did you invite?”

Wild Mint’s ears flopped back. “Well I was out for a while since I was talking to all of my best friends. I may have invited all of them?” Nigma peeked out the window, finding seven ponies sitting impatiently in front of his door.

Nigma spun around and growled at Wild Mint while Discord continued his crazed claw snapping. Mint grinned nervously as he heard another rap on the door. “Oops.”

Chapter 5

The knocking downstairs persisted as Nigma paced nervously around the room. “What are we going to do? There are so many ponies downstairs and we have Discord trapped in the house!”

“I can’t even fly anymore.” Discord moaned. “What’s going on with me?” The draconequus slumped into a corner, rocking in place and mumbling incoherent nonsense.

Wild Mint grabbed Nigma and held him until the pony stopped moving. “This is an easy fix, you know.” The green pony said calmly. “All we need to do is hide Discord and entertain everypony until they’re ready to leave!”

“And how, exactly, do you plan to do that?” Discord growled. “I’m not partial to being stuffed in a closet and somepony is going to ask to see every last room in the house, I just know it!”

Mint thought for a moment before a wild grin grew on his face. “It’s simple. All we need to do is cast an illusion on you so you can be right in front of us and nopony would know!”

Nigma blinked. “Now I know your speaking nonsense. There’s an illusionist right outside our door. Discord can’t cast his own spells and no illusion spell I could cast could fool Chilly Quill.”

Wild Mint’s grin only grew wider. “So we just need to get that same illusionist to do the work for us!” Nigma and Discord froze in place staring at Wild Mint in bewilderment. “Well I don’t hear you two coming up with anything. No excuse me while I welcome our guests and work on my plan. Not everybody has to be unsociable pigs.”

Wild Mint walked down the stairs before Nigma could snap out of his daze. By the time he came to, Discord had given up and was busy messing with the box in front of the couch. Nigma remembered Wild Mint calling it a television. He shook his head and peeked downstairs.

The sight was worse than Nigma had feared. Wild Mint was already welcoming the last of the guests, allowing two mares inside the house. One he remembered as Rose Wind, the Pegasus he had met at the town hall. He looked around for Chilly Quill but couldn’t find him anywhere. He suddenly felt a hoof poking his back and he jumped, smacking away the hoof. He found Chilly Quill right behind him, shying away. “I didn’t mean to scare you. It’s just that Mint told me you needed me for something.”

Nigma didn’t waste any time dragging Chilly Quill upstairs, leaving Wild Mint to entertain the guests. Mint grinned when he saw Chilly flash up the stairs. “Step one, check. All I have to do is keep everypony busy.”

Uncle Crabapple had walked up to Mint while he was talking now staring at the Stallion curiously. “Oh hi Uncle C. I was just . . . thinking.” Crabapple nodded toward the stairs. “Oh Nigma just needed Chilly’s help with a stain.”

A muffled cry came from upstairs, making Crabapple blink. Wild Mint grinned nervously. “It’s a really bad stain. “

Meanwhile upstairs, Nigma was busy holding down and muffling a frantic Chilly Quill. “I thought I told you to be quite!” Nigma said, struggling to keep his magic around Chilly Quill. “Just keep calm and I’ll let you go.”

Chilly muffled something from under the magic gag, nodding as he did so. Satisfied, Nigma dropped his magic and helped up the grey unicorn. “I guess I overreacted.” Chilly sighed. “But why do you have Discord in your house? I thought that he was just a legend, but here he is!”

“Legends have to come from somewhere, you know.” Discord huffed.

“He’s right you know.” Nigma said quietly. “It’s a lot to explain, but here’s a short explaination. Discord is real and he’s basically my dad. Something’s blocking out his magic and we need your help hiding him in plain sight. Can you help out?”

Chilly Quill was busy staring down the Draconequus in front of him. Discord twitched and shifted around, trying to break his line of sight. Chilly sighed dreamily. “You said something about trees, right?”

“N-no we need you to use your magic to hide Discord from everypony downstairs!”

The mention of magic stirred up Chilly Quill. “Y-you want me to u-use magic on him?” He stuttered. “I can’t hide him! My magic isn’t strong enough! For gods sake man, I barely get by when I’m making stories with the pictures provided!” He paused for a moment, glancing over at discord. “Although . . . he might make a wonderful painting if he can stay still for a moment or two.”

Discord glanced up from the TV just as Chilly Quill’s horn ignited in a blast of crimson energy. The magic grabbed Discord as he tried to run away, shifting around him until the light enveloped the draconequus’ body. A few moments later a giant picture stood in place of Discord, the painting horrifically blurry and difficult to understand.

Nigma tried not to laugh as the picture screamed. “What happened to me? Why can’t I stop running?”

Chilly Quill sighed. “I told you to stay still. These kinds of illusion spells suspend the creature in their last movement. It makes it easier to mask your body.” Another flash came from Chilly and Discord popped back up, continuing his running right into to wall. “Now stay still this time! I don’t want to make another blurry picture.”

“Maybe a little warning next time!” Discord snapped. “Let me see what I can do.” Discord sat up and set himself into a pose that struck Nigma as familiar. It was almost like the last time Discord was sealed up.

Chilly Quill nodded, lowering his head. Another flash of light went off, reproducing the painting as it was before, minus the indescribable blob. In its place was a perfect reproduction of Discord posing like royalty in front of the sunrise. Nigma stood awestruck in front of the painting, almost believing that Discord was inside of the painting.

The painting wiggled until it fell over. “This feels really weird.” Discord said from behind the veil. “I feel completely blocky and I can’t move an inch. How long is this going to last?”

Chilly pondered the question for a moment. “I think it lasts for a week unattended.”

Nigma could swear he could see the painted Discord’s jaw drop. “If you think I’m going to stay this way for a week, you’ve got another thing coming to you!”

“Relax, Discord.” Nigma said. “Once everypony leaves, Chilly will drop the spells on you. We’ll take care of your magic then.”

Discord was about to say something when Wild Mint called the two ponies downstairs. “Looks like it’s time to put up or shut up.” Chilly said. He grabbed the painting with his magic, holding it in front of him as he walked downstairs. “You coming or not, Nigma?”

Nigma shrugged, walking down the stairs. He could immediately hear shrieks of joy from the group below. “Oh my god! I love that picture! Chilly, is that a housewarming gift?”

Chilly grinned. “Indeed it is. Nigma had me clean up a stain he made on the canvas. I marred Discord’s perfect figure.”

Two identical earth ponies walked up to the painting, eyeing it critically. “It’s not the best Discord painting we’ve seen.” They said at once. “It’s like someone added a second belly to him.”

“I’ll give you a second belly!” Discord screamed from underneath the veil. Nigma flinched, but it seemed like Chilly Quill was the only other pony to hear the threat.

“I will admit that you cleaned it up nicely.” Wild Mint walked up to the group, smiling at the new painting. “It bears more resemblance to Discord than most paintings I’ve seen now! Can’t believe how badly marred the picture was before!”

The two earth ponies frowned. “You haven’t been to any decent art galleries, have you?”

Wild Mint frowned before walking up to Nigma. “We’ll find a place for the picture later. Right now I need to introduce you to my friends.” He turned back to the two ponies. “These are the Note Twins; Sharp Note and Flat Note.”

Nigma couldn’t distinguish between between the two until one walked up. “Hi there, pretty boy. I’m Sharp. My brother is Flat. What’s your name?”

Nigma glanced over at Flat Note, seeing the menacing glare being given to him. “My Name is Nigma. It’s a pleasure to meet you both!”

“Oh, but the pleasure is all mine!” Sharp mused. “You simply must come visit us at our house uptown. I’d love to play you a few of my original pieces.”

Nigma’s eyes lit up. “You two are musicians?”

Flat Note frowned. “You couldn’t tell by the names?”

Nigma ignored the rude remark. “You have to tell me what instruments you play!”

The twins looked at each other before laughing. “It would be easier to tell you what we DON’T play!” Sharp giggled. “Neither of us can play the Saxophone.”

Nigma blinked, trying to understand why that one instrument eluded the twins. He didn’t have a chance to as before another mare walked up to him. “So you’re the stallion that Wild Mint told me about.” Nigma glanced at the mare. She was a cute white Pegasus with a pink mane and a teacup as a cutie mark. The Pegasus immediately squealed when she glanced at Nigma’s eyes, shying away behind Wild Mint.

Nigma frowned. “I didn’t even do anything this time. Why is she afraid of me?”

Wild Mint shook his head. “Don’t take it personally, buddy. She’s afraid of everything unusual. She’s really only comfortable at work and home. You wouldn’t believe what I had to do to convince her to come over.” Wild Mint backed up, shoving the Pegasus in front of him again. “Go on and tell him your name. His eyes aren’t going to hurt you.”

Nigma felt his heart sink. Most ponies didn’t even bother mentioning his color wheel eyes. He didn’t think such a cute pony would find them strange, much less be scared by them.

The frightened mare glanced at Nigma again, this time grinning. “Your eyes aren’t that scary, actually. They just caught me off guard.” Nigma grinned. “Well my name is Summer Sun. It’s nice to meet you.”

Nigma’s eyes flashed blue for a moment. “It’s an honor to meet you, Miss Sun.”

The Pegasus blushed. “Oh please. Just call me Summer.”

“Well then, Miss Summer. I’m honored to welcome you to our new home. I’m sure my friend Mint is just as honored.”

“Well he should be.” Summer said nervously. “He is my brother after all.”

Chapter 6

A nerve cracked in Nigma's head as Wild Mint walked up to him with a smug look on his face. “I see that my sister has already delivered the news then. I wanted to tell you earlier, but I felt that this would be much more amusing.”

Summer Sun giggled. “That’s Wild Mint for you. Even as a little colt he wanted to cause as much mischief as he could. It's something of an annoyance to everypony that meets him. Of course you wouldn't get that from me. I've always been a good filly.”

Wild Mint frowned. “I seem to remember a certain filly that kept yanking on my mane every time I passed by.”

“It's not my fault that you kept sneaking up on me!”

“You yanked my mane even when I was in front of you though!”

Nigma rolled his eyes as the two siblings continued to fight. It was amusing to a certain degree, but he wanted to meet all the guests and get them out as soon as possible. He glanced over at Discord's painting and saw another unfamiliar unicorn. His deep blue coat had been stained with tattoos of sorts and his lighter blue tail and mane had been streaked with red. His cutie mark wasn't any more normal, being a jack with all four suits on it.

The stallion stared intently at the painting, making Nigma sweat. He walked up to the pony without being noticed and coughed. “It certainly is a lovely painting, isn't it?” Nigma said calmly. “I got it from my parents before I left and have kept it with me since.”

The pony grunted. “It certainly resembles Discord. Even the aura about it seems chaotic.” Nigma was about to drag the pony out of the house before he turned over and offered his hoof. “The Name is Innate Enigma. I'm guessing that you're Nigma?”

“Indeed I am!” Nigma took Innate's hoof, shaking it with renewed enthusiasm. “Chilly Quill has told me quite a lot about you!”

“Oh has he now? Well I'm afraid that he hasn't said much about you. Though I'll admit that I haven't given him the time to do so.” Innate paused, staring at Nigma's hoof. “That’s odd.”

Nigma frowned. “Is something the matter?”

Innate pulled his hoof away. “You have the same feeling about you that the painting does. That doesn't bode well.” He turned back to the painting, this time poking at the frame. “You said that you got this from your parents. Do you happen to know where they got it from?”

Nigma glanced around. “Why do you ask? You don't think that it's cursed or haunted, do you?”

Innate spun around and grabbed Nigma, a grim look on his face. “That's exactly what I think, Nigma.”

Nobody but Nigma could tell at the moment, but the painting had begun to sweat with Innate's words. Acting Quickly, Nigma took the blue pony's hooves and dragged him away. “I'm sure it's just my parent's aura clinging to the painting. You said I seem familiar to the painting, so maybe it's just my attachment to it.”

Innate frowned for a moment, but then nodded. “I suppose that could be true. I do know of a few artifacts I've picked up that have signatures of a family line. If it's all the same with you, I'd like to examine the painting further.”

Nigma flinched, but otherwise didn't display any hesitance. “I'd rather it stay hanging for now. Chilly just fixed the painting, so it's best to leave it be for now.” Nigma sat innate down by a table, offering him a seat. “If you want, you could stop by when we open up the tea shop and examine it closer.”

Innate nodded, glancing back at the picture. “I'd like that very much. I'd also like to try Wild Mint's tea. I've heard from Chilly Quill that it is quite invigorating.”

Nigma glanced towards the left in time to see Rose Wind walk up to him. “You know what,” She said, sitting next to Nigma, “I've heard the same thing. I doubt there's a pony in Ponyville that doesn't know about that stallion's herbal brews.”

Innate gazed at the pegasus, raising an eyebrow. “And who would you be, miss? I'm familiar with everypony else except for you.”

The mare blushed, looking away from Innate. “I suppose I am the odd mare out in this party, but I was invited here. I thought I'd stop by and give Nigma here a housewarming gift!”

Nigma watched as Rose Wind pulled out a cloth from underneath her wing. She opened the cloth and Nigma found a simple kitchen knife with his name scrawled masterfully into the blade. “I would have gotten yourself something a little more home-like, but all I knew was that you two were getting a tea shop together. I thought this would come in handy.”

Innates eyes shot open when he saw the blade. Nigma simply stared at the knife in shock. “This is so very thoughtful!” He squealed. “I've never been given a housewarming gift before!”

He reached out for the knife with his magic, bringing it close to his hoof before Innate smacked it away with his hoof. “Don't touch that knife!” He shouted. Nigma ignored him, though and continued to bring the knife up to his hoof. The closer it got, the more Innate tried to force it away. Finally, Innate slipped and Nigma caught the knife in his hoof.

“I don't see why you were worried about this.” Nigma said flat. “There's nothing wrong with the knife.”

Rose Wind's ears drooped and she backed away. “It's not the knife he's worried about. It's the ghost trapped in the knife.”

The blade began to crack in Nigma's hoof, light pouring out of the fissures. Without warning the blade shattered and metal shards went flying around the room. In Nigma's hoof now sat an orb-like phantom, screeching and howling as it's eyes shot around the room. It caught sight of the picture and darted after it. “The lord is here!” It screamed. “The Lord of Chaos is here!”

Innate stood up, holding a hoof to his forehead where blood was now flowing out. “What is it talking about? You said there wasn't anything wrong with the painting.”

Nigma panicked as he saw the ghost tear away at the canvas, making the trapped draconequus scream in pain. He ran over to Chilly Quill and shouted at him. “You have to drop the spell. He's getting hurt in there!”

Chilly's eyes glanced at the crowd in the house, many of them wounded by the metal shards. “What about the others? They'll see him!”

“I don't care. You have to let Discord out!”

Chilly didn't argue further and shot a beam at the painting just as the ghost was about to tear a chunk of the canvas out. The painting melted away on contact with the magic and flowed over to Nigma. It solidified into a bloodied Discord, his chest and eagle claw scarred up where the ghost had clawed at.

Discord glared at the ponies around him, a terrifying aura of energy surrounding him. “It seems that shock was enough to drop the spell one of you held on me. My power is back and I will have my revenge.”

A scratching sound distracted Discord. He turned around to find the ghost still scratching at the wall where his picture stood. “This little pest has no place in here.” The draconequus growled. Before the ghost could turn around a jar flew at him, trapping him inside the pottery. Both the pottery and the ghost simply imploded, green fluid and dust flying around the room.

Nigma dropped the knife hilt as Discord brushed his claw, the wounds closing up instantly. “I haven't seen you do something like that in a long time.”

Discord shrugged, wiping down his chest. “This world doesn't frown upon murder quite as much. I wouldn't suggest you make it a habit though.” His eyes shot over to Rose Wind, who had made her way over to the exit during the mayhem. With a snap of his fingers the pegasus appeared before them, bound by the legs and wings almost painfully. “I'd make an exception for this one, considering what she has just done.”

“I concur.” Innate said, standing next to Discord as though he were a pony. “This mare has obviously desecrated a grave and stolen a ghost from peaceful sleep. She even tortured and manipulated the soul until it was a mindless beast!”

“Not to mention that she’s been locking up any chaotic or otherwise dangerous magic with a spell she dropped on the house.” Discord hissed. “She locked away my powers!”

“I didn't do it!” Rose Wind pleaded. “I was just given the knife and told what to do to lock up magic so that the ghost could do its work! I didn't even know that Lord Discord was here!”

Nigma raised his hoof, silencing the three. “Am I the only one who finds it strange that nopony cares about the draconequus in my house?”

The room was quiet before Wild Mint spoke up. “I think we all agree the ghost is the focus right now. I'm sure we'll ask about it later.”

Nigma shrugged and turned back to Rose Wind. “But why would you bring a tainted knife into this house? Nopony has done anything to earn your hatred. In fact, you probably don't even know anypony here except for me!”

Rose Wind shrank back against a wall as a crowd gathered around her. “You don't understand!” She screamed. “They were going to kill me if I didn't do this! They've kept me on a leash ever since they rescued me from that wretched Canterlot prison!”

Wild Mint walked closer to Rose, but fell back when she hissed at him. “Exactly why would you be sent to prison in Canterlot? Their prisons are reserved for murderers and grand thieves.”

Chilly Quill stepped up, a twinkle in his eye. “I think I might have the answer.” He walked up close to Rose, dodging her hooves as she tried to buck him away. Once he got close enough, he swiped at her with his horn as he lit it up with an intense glow. Her form practically melted away, leaving nothing but a changeling standing in front of him. Chilly smiled as he turned back to the group. “Canterlot Prison is famous for it's high congestion of changeling prisoners. More than half of their inmates at any given time would be changelings, though not many know about it.”

“I was the only one to make it out of the prison in three hundred years.” The changeling hissed. “I was too weak to change form and nopony would harbor something like me. That's when they found me and took me in. They offered me solace in exchange for total servitude; if they told me to murder, I could only ask who I should kill.”

Discord growled. “You seem to be avoiding a key issue, my dear. You have yet to tell us just who is your puppet master.”

The changeling simply shrank further into the corner, shivering and whimpering as she glanced at the lights in the room. A few moments later every light winked out with a flash of magic and the window shades flew shut, locking the room in complete darkness. Two sinister voices cackled in the dark as the unicorns in the room did their best to provide light. “Why would she bother saying who her masters are when we’ve already made our entrance?” One of the voices mused.

Nigma, Innate and Chilly Quill finally shot out enough orbs of light to make the entire room visible again. Standing in front of the crowd were two hooded ponies, both of black coats. “Allow us to introduce ourselves.” The pony on the left hissed. “I am High Master Shadow and this is Lord Grief. We are representatives of the Brotherhood of Chaos.” Both ponies took a bow as dark tendrils leaked out of their cloaks. “It is our honor to be your executioners.”

Chapter 7

The air in the room grew tense as the hooded ponies drew closer to the crowd, black tendrils sneaking about the floor. “We are terribly resentful that all of you have to be involved in this grim business.” Shadow said calmly. “We never intend on bringing the public into our affairs.”

“You don't seem to be as hesitant on killing bystanders though.” Summer Sun snapped. The ponies glanced at her, though, and she quickly withdrew, hiding behind her brother.

“Our business is the expansion and retrieval of all chaotic material and land in any matter we see fit.” Grief hissed. “If that requires us to make use of the darker half of ponkind, then so be it. This is all for the grandeur of chaos, to bring the realm into an eternal state of beauteous disorder!”

Nigma stood up, staring down Grief. “Your definition of chaos seems a little grim. If you haven't noticed, things are already chaotic enough without your people mucking things up.”

A tendril lashed out at Nigma and sent him flying back into the crowd. Everyone gathered around him as a deep gash in his flank began to pour out blood, blotting out his cutie mark. Discord could only stand by as the others helped Nigma try and stand. “You've made a huge mistake.” Discord cackled. “I could care less about the others, but nopony lays a hand on my protégé.”

Shadow and Grief grinned as their tendrils leaked out in strange patterns. “We know enough about you and your student, False God. A chaotic being claiming to be the great god Discord? We have more disharmony in our hooves than you do in your entire serpentine body!”

Discord only chuckled as he snapped his fingers. The floor around the two flashed into a bright pink, which they quickly began to sink into. “Cotton candy quicksand.” Discord said flatly. “Not the best of my ideas but it served for a few laughs during my last reign.”

Nigma's eyes lit up at the sight of the familiar delicious death-trap. “I don't know about that one, but I preferred the taffy beasts.”

Discord grinned, snapping his fingers again. A hulking beast of purple taffy spawned in front of the two helpless ponies. The two were picked up in its hands and devoured in an instant.
Chilly Quill shrugged. “Seems a little easy. Why not freeze them in a vat of gelatin?” Discord sighed and changed the taffy into a pillar of clear jelly, the hooded ponies stuck screaming inside.
Despite everything, the tendrils continued about their maddening path around the room. While the others paid them no mind, Innate had been mesmerized by the strange lines left behind by the black magic. After a while, though, the intent had become clear. “Fellows?” He said nervously. “I think we might have a problem here.”
All the ponies not otherwise occupied with torturing the invaders turned to the now glowing lines painted around the floor. Sharp and Flat Note walked up to them and tapped at the residue with their hooves. “It’s nothing but magic.” Sharp announced. “We can’t scratch them off.”

“Not that the marks are doing much.” Flat added. “None of the symbols make any sense.”

Innate shivered as he examined the tendrils’ work. It was now apparent that they were making a circle. “Those seals look like what I work with during my trips in the tombs.” Innate whispered. He walked up to one of the scratches and tapped it with his horn. The magic ink lit up in a terrifying red and Innate shrieked. “It’s a sealing spell! They’re locking up our magic again!”

The shout commanded the attention of the entire room and everypony turned at the tentacle approaching the end of the circle. No words were needed and everypony tried to stop the closing. Innate-closest to the black slither- tried blasting the magic apart but the sly magic was sentient. The blasts only met wood as the freakish tentacle weaved around the shots.

The note twins tried their best to barricade the end of the circle but were met with resistance by the unoccupied tentacles. As many objects that the twins would put in the end path, the tentacles would either rip apart or shove aside. Eventually Flat attempted to drag their opponent away from the furniture, only to be tied up by the creatures.
Crabapple tried to simply crush the tentacle under his hoove but met up with only ground. Nigma and Discord were stuck keeping the two prisoners in a melting gelatin mold while Nigma shivered in place, unsure of what to do. As much as Wild Mint had wanted to help, Summer Sun was adamant on not only abstaining from the fight but on holding her brother hostage in her hooves.

Despite their best efforts, the tentacle arrived at the end of the circle planting the remains of its body in the space as ink. The circle lit up almost immediately in a flash of red and purple light. The light swirled around the unicorns and Discord, seeping into their bodies. Almost as soon as the light show began it had ended, leaving the affected party lying on the ground panting as their magic was ripped away from them.

Without Discord and Nigma, the hooded ponies found no resistance in their delicious prison and melted the jelly like the pseudo-liquid it was. “That was truly distressing.” Grief gasped. “I should know; my talent is in stressing out ponies.”

Nopony felt the need to mention the disturbing talent the pony possessed. For most it was out of fear of what the comment would bring. For others it was simply because they were trying to figure out what such a talent would look like as a cutie mark.

Shadow brushed out his cloak with a stray tendril, summoning up the rest of the thralls. “Well you and your false god have had quite enough fun. It is time you feel pain.”

“What kind of pain could you bring beyond stripping me of what makes me?” Discord hissed. Half of his body appeared to have decayed without his magic, revealing age that even Nigma had never seen from the Draconequus.

Shadow grinned. “I actually have a few ideas involving my friends here.” The tendrils lashed out at the Draconequus and snapped at his decrepit body. Parts that met the black magic simply faded into dust with nothing but a whimper from the weakened Discord. Everypony looked away, helpless to help their friend.
Without warning, however, the snap of the whip simply silenced. Shadow gasped as he watched Crabapple holding the magical thrall in his mouth. “This ends now.” The stallion grunted. He snapped the whip down and yanked away from Shadow who screamed as the connection to him was abruptly severed. A chunk of his body went flying with the magical limb and he fell over, putting his hoof desperately on the hole in his side.
Crabapple glanced over at the fallen blade at the other side of the room. With a single movement he sent his newly acquired whip flying at the knife and picked it up without effort in the magical body. He looked over at Wild Mint and shouted. “Heads up Mint!” The blade went flying towards Mint’s head at such an intense velocity that Nigma could swear the knife would slide right up to the hilt into Mint’s skull.
Much to everypony’s surprise, Mint caught it effortlessly in his mouth, the hilt held firmly between his teeth. Summer released her brother and Mint went charging towards Grief, who had frozen when he saw his partner in such pain. He snapped out of his trance and prepared himself to guard against a mouth swipe.
As Mint approached, though, he flicked the blade in the air. He jumped up and slapped it with his forehoof, jamming the hilt in his groove. Grief ended up with an unexpected hoof bucking him off balance as Mint spun around and slashed at him with the knife. A gash opened up on Grief’s shout and he stumbled back further. Mint kept pressing on him, though, the blade creating wound upon wound.
Crabapple walked up to an end of the circle and smashed down on the wood with his hoof. The wood splintered apart and the circle winked out. He whistled to Nigma and tapped over at Shadow. The fallen pony had begun to lead his tentacles into the wound to seal it up and was slowly standing up. Nigma and Crabapple rushed over to him, the latter smashing into him while the former lit up his horn and charging up a knockout spell. As soon as Crabapple cleared the pony Nigma whipped the spell at Shadow’s head, smacking right into the skull and knocking him out cold.
Grief had also been detained, now being held against the wall at knife-point. Discord slowly got up with the help of the Note Twins, walking to the center of the room. His form had slowly begun to weave back together as his magic returned to him. “This was quite the tussle.” He said weakly, eying the captured assailants. “I suppose we were lucky you two had no clue how to kill and wasted time talking.” He motioned for the two to be brought before him, Crabapple dragging Shadow up while Grief was led up by Mint.
Shadow was slapped awake by a spell from Nigma and the two met the cold gaze set upon them by Discord and the other ponies. “You two are clearly beyond the punishment the government could bestow.” He hissed. “If I know my own Chaos they’d probably release you for some stupid reason.”
“If anything it would because of lack of evidence.” Flat Note commented.
Discord only grunted. “It only seems fit that the ponies before you decide and administer your fate.” Discord grinned as he saw the eyes of almost all the ponies lit up with glee. If there was anything he was certain of, it was that all ponies took delight in watching justice be delivered.
Rose Wind was the first to step up to the two, eying them with her bug-like eyes. “I think we should give them a cruel taste of irony. Enslave them and make them do everything they abhor.”
Crabapple was next. He didn’t say anything but simply brought his hoof down next to Shadow’s leg. The two ponies stared at the hoof in shock. They didn’t need anyone to tell them he intended on breaking limbs. He walked back to Wild Mint and Summer Sun, his gaze never breaking.
Summer Sun tried walking up to make her own contribution but was pushed back by Mint and Crabapple. She shrank back, fearing the disapproval of her family.
Chilly Quill was the last to walk up; his eyes and horn alight with energy buildup. “I personally think we trap them inside a nightmare.” He mused. “I’ve always wondered what it would be like to put an illusion INSIDE the brain. They say they don’t wear off that way.” Everypony shouted in approval and the two prisoners shrieked.
Chilly let the pent-up magic out at the hooded ponies without warning, the magic crashing into their skulls. The screaming became unbearable for a moment before they simply stopped, all signs of activity vacating their bodies. Their eyes glazed over and they fell over completely comatose.
Nigma and Mint stared at their friend in shock, who only walked away from the bodies as though nothing happened. He walked up to Crabapple and Discord, whispering something to the two. Lastly he walked up to Nigma, staring at him firmly. “Considering everything, I think it’s time you give everypony an explanation.”

Chapter 8

Lord Grief stood up in the black void of limbo. He had been in this place before only once in order to punish a Changeling that had gotten ideas about attacking its betters. In fact he was well aware that there were only two reasons for anypony being in limbo. They either punish or feel punishment.

Grief felt the darkness wrap around his throat and chest, slowly beginning to tighten as he was lifted into the air. “Remind me why I decided to send you to Ponyville?” A grizzly voice growled.

Grief struggled against the void as he gasped for breath. “My master needed a pawn in a place close to the Everfree. I was the most expendable.”

Two white slits opened in front of Grief, resembling eyes as they grew closer to him. “You were to only watch the forest and take care of any order that leaked out of the forest. Why do I find you toying with my future subjects?”

The darkness snapped deeper into Grief’s chest, shattering his ribcage. “My master!” He shrieked. “There was a stallion that arrived carrying a statue of the Dark King! I had no choice!”

A red glow surrounded the slits now and a dark figure formed around them. The pony walked up to Grief, pushing its muzzle up to his. “You may have found something worthy of our action but you do not do so alone.” The figure snorted as a second bloody body came into view. “Your friend Shadow should have known as much.”

Grief stared in shock as the limp body of Shadow ignited in a flurry of green fire. The corpse burned brightly as the very soul trapped inside was destroyed by the flame. This wasn’t punishment; it was an execution. “Forgive me Master!” He wailed. “I won’t fail you again! I will do anything you wish me to do without question.”

Sharp teeth grew under the eyes of the pony. “That’s the attitude I look for in my followers.” It mused. Grief smiled with relief as the darkness loosened from him. As he touched the bottom of Limbo, however the darkness snapped deeper into his body, blowing open his heart and snapping his neck. Grief dropped in a heap as the pony spit a green flare at him from its mouth. “It’s a shame you found it so late. Such is the fate of those that disobey the Brotherhood.”

Limbo began to fade away as the pony closed its eyes. “I guess that the pony Grief found is worth looking into though. I thought all of the artifacts of Discord had been recovered ages ago.” Soon Limbo was once again void of the pony’s presence, the corpses littering the floor burning away from the green fire. A whisper from the pony hung in the air though. “Only the brotherhood may have Discord.”

Nigma had taken quite a while attempting to explain his situation with Discord to his new friends. He found it difficult as explaining that the world they were in was fairly new to the pair took three hours alone. Apparently telling a group of ponies that you witnessed the birth of the world by Discord’s design sparks some debates and unsportsmanlike arguing.

Regardless of the time it took, he managed to explain everything without being labeled as a lunatic. In fact he could swear that a few of the ponies were now looking at him with awe instead of confusion.

Flat Note was the first to speak after his story was over. “So you have no clue how this world operates? You don’t even know our system of government?”

Discord and Nigma both shook their heads. “To be honest,” Discord huffed, “I didn’t even think there was a government.”
Innate snorted. “I’ll admit your story is very intriguing. It doesn’t change the fact that Discord needs to leave.”

The crowd of ponies nodded silently in agreement, prompting an angry stomp from Discord. “I saved you ungrateful worms! Why should I have to leave?”

Rose buzzed up from the crowd, looking more at the wall behind Discord instead of at him. “It’s not that we’re not grateful. I for one would want you to stay if possible. But to be honest you seem to draw in more trouble than even Ponyville can handle.”

Wild Mint grunted in approval. “It’s just that he’s too much Chaos in one place. You can only have so much of that before something goes wrong.”

Discord blinked as the truth dawned on him. “That never occurred to me.” He said quietly. “It’s a shame though. This place really grows on you after a while. I can see why you ponies keep living here.”
Crabapple shrugged. “Its home.” Nobody argued about that.

Discord snapped his fingers and spawned a bag which he slung over his shoulder. “Well if that’s how everypony feels then I’ll do what I had planned from the beginning.” He walked through the crowd to the door, not batting an eye as he kicked the hooves of a few ponies. “Honestly you ponies are all the same. Thinking I want to stay somewhere just because I’m there.”

Nigma ran up to Discord before he could walk out the door. “You could at least stick around for the rest of the party. I’m sure nopony would object to that.”

Discord shook his head as he ruffled Nigma’s mane. “I’m afraid that would make for one out of place creature too many. I’ll come and visit every now and then though. That’s a promise.” With that, Discord walked away and snapped his fingers, closing the door and fazing away from sight.

The party didn’t last long after this. Many of the ponies were exhausted over the entire ordeal and wanted to rest. Others had closed their shops and had to get back in order to prepare for the next day. Soon enough the only ones that were left were Wild Mint, Chilly Quill, Nigma and Rose Wind.

“I still don’t like leaving you two alone with her.” Chilly said. “You should have called the guards on her like everypony suggested. She’s a criminal.”

“She is also right here.” Rose huffed. “I’m a changeling but I still have feelings.”

Wild Mint filled up a bucket of hot water, grabbing a rag with it. “We also have to remember you did everything against your will. I certainly don’t want to convict you of something you couldn’t avoid.” He dropped the bucket in front of her and grabbed the rag, washing down her cuts.

Nigma looked at the Changeling, who had still been in her normal form. “Why don’t you just go back home? We’ll make sure nopony tries to bother you.”

Rose shook her head. “All the houses were for the rest of the brotherhood. I’m not quite sure if they’re actually occupied but I’d rather not figure out.” Rose flinched as Mint ran the rag over a deep cut. “Could you stop that? I’ll be fine!”
Mint simply shrugged and washed out the rag, moving on the Chilly Quill. “If you don’t have a home then where are you going to live?”

“I’ll probably just go back to living on the streets.” Rose sighed. “Its not the first time I’ve had to scrounge around for shelter.”

Chilly Quill shook his head. “Vagrancy is illegal in Ponyville. Why don’t you just go with us to clean out one of the houses you bought? They can’t be that defended can they?”

Nigma stepped up, washing out his bloody hooves in the bucket. “It’s too risky. Why don’t you just stay here?”

Rose blinked. “You mean live with you and Mint? Are you sure you want me here?”

Mint’s eyes began to shine and he dropped the rag, rushing over to hug Rose. “Why didn’t I think of that? We need a third person for the shop!” Rose struggled against his grip but Mint only clamped tighter around her waist. “You can live with us and work as a waitress when the Tea shop opens!”

Rose wiggled out of Nigma’s grip, hovering up near the ceiling. “Hold up there speedy! I never agreed to anything like that! I might prefer taking my chances with the Brotherhood!”

Nigma frowned. “Are you serious or do you just not like the idea?” Rose fluttered back to the ground, crossing her hooves in displeasure. Nigma sighed. “Just give it a shot for a day or two. If you really hate it then you can leave and we’ll help you find a place to live.”

Rose snorted. “The last time I let someone help me out I ended up as a slave.”
Mint slapped her on the back, grinning. “The difference is that you get to go where you want with us and you get paid.”
Rose finally gave in to the offer and eventually let Mint clean off the rest of her wounds. “All that’s left is to clean up the lobby for the grand opening and getting some supplies.” Mint said, draining out the bucket. “If you’re up to it, Rose, You could help me out around here cleaning the place up.”

Rose sighed. “I suppose I do at least owe you that much. Besides that I think that it would be tough for you to get all the shrapnel out of the ceiling without me.” Everypony looked up to find that she was right. The knife had planted the vast majority of its metal into the ceiling. There was also a fair amount of dust clinging to the entire room, much of which difficult to reach without her wings.

Chilly Quill Shrugged. “I guess that means Nigma and I will collect the herbs and stuff for the shop.” Mint went into the back room and scrawled out a quick note for the two. Chilly Quill scanned the note really quick, frowning. “You realize a few of these herbs are too exotic for the stores around town.” He glanced at the list again. “Or any store in Equestria for that matter.”

Wild Mint grinned. “I know a guy in the Everfree Forest that collects rare herbs from around the globe. You can go to his house. I’m sure you can work out an arrangement with him.”

Nigma went pale at the mention of the forest. “Why in equestrian would you want us to go there? That forest is treacherous!”

Chilly frowned. “Maybe in whatever world you were from. Around here, though, the forest is no more dangerous than the rest of the region.” He paused a moment before resuming. “You do tend to find more creatures in the forest though.”

“It’s also the only place where herbs like Moonblossoms grow.” Rose Wind said. The ponies stopped and stared at the Changeling, who only blinked in response. “I have to know these things if my disguise is going to work.”

Chilly Quill walked up to Nigma, putting a hoof around him. “Don’t worry everything will be alright as long as you’ve got me by your side. We’ll tackle the normal stuff in town and head to the forest and back before you know it.
Nigma didn’t want to argue anymore and went upstairs to grab his money. At the very least he would learn a thing or two about how the world worked from Chilly Quill. In fact who knows what he could learn from such a literate pony?

Chapter 9

“It’s actually quite fascinating just how inefficient the government operates with such a series of middleponies.” Chilly Quill went on. “I mean is it really necessary to have three ponies to talk to before you could see your county supervisor? And don’t get me started on the corruption further up in the government.”

Nigma sighed, trying his best to find a way to stop listening to the dull conversation. The two ponies had already gone through three out of the four shops they needed for herbs and spices. Nigma had asked him about the government books Chilly had way back at the first store and he hadn’t stopped talking since. “Never ask about his books again.” Nigma whispered to himself. “It’s just not worth the time…”

Chilly Quill paused, looking over at the dejected Nigma. “What did you say? I got a little carried away and didn’t hear you.”

Nigma sighed with relief. “Well since you told me so much about the government I’d like to know something not book related.”

Chilly Blinked. “Well I’m not sure how much help I can be. I don’t really go out of Ponyville much.”

“Actually I’d like to know a little more about Wild Mint. He didn’t want to tell me much about himself when he and I met. How does he know how to use a blade so well?”

Chilly Quill thought back to the fight with the Brotherhood, realizing he couldn’t deny the pony’s prowess. “Well you have to realize that Wild Mint isn’t proud of that skill of his. I’m not surprised he didn’t tell you.”

Nigma and Chilly walked into the last store on their list, lowering their voices to prevent other ponies from listening in. “Wild Mint’s real family is mostly a Pegasus family. They’re a proud group of warriors that almost always enlist into the guard with every generation. His father was particularly militant in his actions, demanding that his children join into the Pegasus guard.”

Nigma frowned. “When Wild Mint was born I can’t imagine he was too happy.”

Chilly frowned. “Twins besides the point, yes. Even though he had Summer Sun to raise he wasn’t happy with Mint. He didn’t care if Mint joined the guard or not because he wouldn’t be trained by his family. Summer, on the other hand, ended up being trained almost as soon as she could walk.”

Nigma absently grabbed the herbs off the shelf, unaware of the bulk he had pulled with his magic. “So she ended up being trained relentlessly?”

Chilly nodded. “They put her through an accelerated program to teach her to fly like a professional and use wing blades for combat. When she proved horrible with them her father was furious. He ended up training her in the art of torture instead. She was only 7 by then.”

The two paused as the walked up to the register. The cashier only blinked as the mass of herbs fell in front of him but rang them up nonetheless. He was more shocked when Nigma dropped half of his pouch onto the counter, being well past the intended amount. Before the pony could hand Nigma his change he started walking away, forcing the cashier to magic the rest back into his pouch.

“The training scarred Summer and she became afraid of what she could do. It’s why she’s so jumpy now.”

Nigma frowned. “What about Mint? What did he do?”

“The only thing a loving brother could do.” Chilly sighed. “He went up to his dad and made him a deal. He would join and serve the Earth Pony Guard as long as Summer would be allowed to live like a normal pony.” Chilly Turned down onto the main street, beelining straight to the forest. “Problem with the Earth Guard is their more brutal than the Pegasus Guard are.”

Nigma nodded. “They have to be. Pegasi are more adept for fighting since they can just put on wingblades. An Earth Pony either learns to hold a weapon in their mouth or develops another method.”

Chilly grunted. “Mint was stuck in the Guard for eleven years after that. Once he turned eighteen he left the guard though and abandoned his father. He went to live with his uncle, who knew what he was going through and helped him work out of the military life.”

Nigma frowned. He didn’t think about furniture making would be a good outlet but since they both involved bladework of sorts it would be a fair way to work it out.

The edge of the Everfree finally came into view, making Nigma sweat with fear. He glanced over to Chilly, who was still talking. Nigma began to waiver off to another trail, hoping to lead Chilly away from the forest and avoid having to enter the place. Chilly noticed, however, and grabbed him by the mane, dragging him along. “Not a chance. You and I are going to the forest and there’s nothing you can do about it!”

“But I don’t want to go in there!” Nigma squealed. “The place is a nightmare!” He clawed at the ground in an effort to get free of Chilly’s grip, digging crazily with his hooves.

Chilly used his magic to pull Nigma’s tail, not having enough force to hold him simply by the mane. “Give me three reasons why we shouldn’t go in the forest!” He grunted through a mouthful of hair.

“How about Manticores, Cockatrices and Hydras!”

Chilly spit out Nigma’s mane, keeping a death grip on his tail with magic. “Those are good points. But we still have to go in. “ He walked on into the forest, dragging Nigma along. “Just stick to the path and everything will be fine.”

“AHH!!!” Nigma screamed. “The path never saves anypony! We’re doomed!”

Despite his insistent screaming about doom and despair, the forest didn’t prove dangerous. In fact for the vast majority of the trip, the only thing they saw in the forest was thick vines and the occasional rabbit. To his credit though, the rabbits were fairly hostile and relentlessly kicked their legs until their knees were sore.

“Alright maybe I was wrong about the forest.” Nigma admitted.

“Exactly. There isn’t anything that could possibly go wrong in here.”

The forest responded to Chilly’s words like they were a challenge. Lightning cracked overhead and the color in the forest drained away. A black fog rolled in and an ethereal laughter could be heard from the distance. Nigma sighed, rubbing his forehead. “Why would you even say something like that? Nopony says that!”

Chilly Quill shrugged. “I read a lot of books. I thought that was the right thing to say!”

“Maybe if you want to get into trouble!” Nigma shouted. “Otherwise you keep your mouth shut in such a place like this!”

The black fog thickened and began the swirl around the two, the cackling growing closer. “Such a tasty meal that’s in my home.” The voice mused. “Its about time I get a pony to eat instead of the animals in this forest!”

Nigma covered his head under his hooves, trying his best to stay still. “Chilly! What is this thing?”

Chilly on the other side had frozen in place, his legs quivering and tail lashing. “W-W-Wraith” It’s a W-Wraith!”

The fog split in between the two and a larger figure flew out from the ground. The figure was a mass of tentacles and wings, the center of its body being nothing more than a mouth. Black fog poured out of the Wraith’s mouth, enveloping the two until neither pony could see the other.

Nigma stood up in the fog, trying his best to illuminate the fog. It took the vast majority of his magic before he could even see the ground beneath his hooves. He ran about the fog, narrowly avoiding the screeching dives of the Wraith as it struck from the depths. It took some time but he finally found Chilly cowering in the fog, his whole body in a shivering fetal position.

Nigma hauled him up, shaking the frightened unicorn. “Get a hold of yourself Chilly! We need to get out of here!”

Chilly Quill couldn’t get a single word out anymore, his words reduced to stuttering madness. His magic, however, didn’t need any words to operate. He poured his magic over Nigma’s, supercharging the light magic until they were able to push back the black fog.

The two rushed away from the Wraith as fast as their hooves would take them. It seemed like they ran through miles of fog, the forest growing thicker around them. They could still hear the cackling of the Wraith behind them, its mouth leaking out more fog.

Soon enough even the combined power of their magic couldn’t produce a light powerful enough to hold back the fog, the inky black rolling in around them. The Wraith began to fly overhead, lightning crashing around them. “Now you will drown in my darkness!” It cried.

The Wraith moved in closer to the pair, mouth drooling out in anticipation of its newest meal. Before it could close the gap though, a pebble smacked Nigma in the head, knocking him and Chilly over. Nigma sat back up, touching the pebble with his hoof. His touch lit up the pebble with more light than the two could manage, blinding them even through the fog.

The Wraith wailed in horror as the pebble pushed back its fog with ever growing light. “Not you again!” It screamed. “I will have you one day! You can’t keep the darkness away forever!” The beast flew away before the pebble blew back the rest of its fog, fleeing to the safety of the forest.

The pebble died down as soon as the wraith was out of sight, letting the two ponies see again. Nigma saw a second less powerful light coming towards the two as he helped Chilly Quill back to his feet. A pony-like figure walked out of the darkness, holding a lantern in its hoof. “I do not believe that you will ever conquer me, demon.” The figure said in an exotic accent. “And I do not believe I had ever seen a more confusing pair of ponies in my life here.”

Chilly watched as the figure walked into view, showing off black and white stripes of a zebra. A particularly thick black stripe washed over the Zebra’s face and mane, which was shaved almost to his head. The mark on his flank was a red X with circles in each space.

The Zebra looked over the two, frowning in disapproval. “I cannot say why I should be finding you out in the forest, Chilly Quill. Normally I find you inside your shop.”

Chilly Squinted for a moment. “Is that you Xion? Are you who Wild Mint sent us to visit?”

“Why should this be a surprise to you if you were sent for me?” Xion asked.

Chilly shrugged. “I didn’t think you lived in the forest. I didn’t know you were an herbalist either.”

Xion snorted. “Even in my own lands people would notice when one only ever buys books about native herbs and their uses.”

“I don’t look at what people buy all the time!”

Nigma walked up to the Zebra offering his hoof, which Xion took without hesitation. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Xion. My name is Nigma. Wild Mint sent us to you to buy some exotic herbs from you. Maybe we could also work out an arrangement with you about delivering for us?”

Xion grinned. “I would be happy to give you some of my herbal supplies, Nigma. If you would follow me to my hut we could get you what you require.” The Zebra turned back towards Ponyville, motioning for the two to follow him.

Chilly and Nigma frowned. “I thought you lived in the forest?” Chilly asked.

The Zebra nodded. “Indeed I do, dear Chilly Quill. But I’m afraid you two took the wrong path to my abode. I wouldn’t dare live this deep in the forest. My hut is only a short ways in the forest. You can even see town from my hut.”

Nigma felt like pummeling Chilly for all the unnecessary effort. “Why are there two paths then?”

Xion shrugged. “I suppose others beyond myself venture into the forest. I do keep up a sign to direct ponies such as yourselves down the right path. Did you not see it?”

The three ventured out of the forest, sticking close to Xion as he led them back to the safety of his hut. After their encounter with the Wraith, they preferred to be close to somepony with a real light to keep other creatures at bay.

Chapter 10

Nigma and Chilly Quill walked alongside Xion around a bend along the edge of the Everfree, noticing the sign they had unfortunately hadn’t seen earlier. True to his word, Xion’s hut could be seen right down the second path, a simple wooden tent-like structure in between two large oak trees. There was a ladder leading to a hole in the left tree. Xion walked up to the door of his hut, opening it for the two. “Be welcome in my home, ponies. All are welcome who need a place to stay, without exception.”
Nigma smiled as Xion said his rehearse and well practiced speech. “You sound like a lot of ponies come here.”
Xion shrugged. “My herbal knowledge is well needed in hospitals that require antidotes that they themselves cannot acquire. I often find myself being the host of a doctor or two.”
Chilly Quill yawned. “That’s nice and all, but do you have anyplace to sleep while you two go about your business? I’m exhausted after trotting about the forest.”
“We wouldn’t have had to walk through it if you had bothered to pay attention.” Nigma said through grinding teeth.
Xion ignored the angry response, nodding towards a broad-leaf couch. “If you need to rest your mind and your hooves, I’d be happy to offer my couch to you.” XIon hadn’t quite finished his sentence before Chilly rushed over to the couch, falling asleep almost instantly. Xion resisted a chuckle as he turned back to Nigma. “Now what kind of herbs do you require, my friend? I hope that after all you’ve experienced in the forest, you haven’t forgotten what you’ve traveled here for.”
Nigma blinked for a moment before reaching into his saddlebag, pulling out Wild Mint’s list. “I never actually looked at the list yet but Chilly assured me that the only things that were left you could supply us with.” A loud snore came from the sleeping pony, making Nigma roll his eyes. “Of course with him talking all day I’m not sure about half the things he said.”
Xion grinned as he was handed the note. “Chilly Quill always had a habit of heavy conversation when the subject is of his interest. I often found it difficult to leave his shop because of that.” Xion scanned the list before nodding. “Mindless talking aside, he did make sure your journey wasn’t in vein. Everything you have left I have with me. I’m also the only one the would otherwise have such exotic plants.” Xion started wandering his hut, rifling through various cupboards and pots. “Tell me, child; why would you need such things? They’re certainly not going to be cheap, and it will be quite some time before I can gather up another supply.”
Nigma shrugged, almost unaware of what Wild Mint actually needed it for. “I think Mint is going to use it for some of his teas. With him, though, it’s hard to tell.”
Xion reached up into a high cupboard, wiggling his hoof to keep his balance. “Well I’m sure that Wild Mint would know what he’s doing if tea is involved. Anything revolving around herbal drink that pony seems to know better than the back of his hoof.”
Xion walked up to Nigma with four small sacks full of herbs, which he promptly put into his saddlebag. He pulled out his pouch of bits and payed Xion an amount they agreed on. Afterword, Nigma sat next to Chilly Quill, who was still sound asleep. “How long does it take for you to gather up these herbs anyway? You seem to have quite the supply and variety.”
Xion shrugged, poking his hoof into a pot. “It depends on the herb. The ones you requested take an awful long time, considering their rarity. It’s why I required such a large payment. It will be a few months before I can restock them.”
Nigma flinched. “I don’t suppose you’d be willing to set aside some every harvest for our tea shop?”
Xion smiled warmly as he tossed Nigma a fresh apple. “I would be glad to do so, Nigma. Those herbs I hardly use myself. I only kept a small supply in case ponies like yourselves show up in need of them.” Xion pulled out a second apple, taking a small bite out of it before continuing. “Besides, I’ve always wanted to try out Wild Mint’s tea’s myself. I’ve heard about them from everypony I come across in Ponyville but he’s never been in the mood to make a cup for me when I visit.”
Nigma snorted. “I don’t even hear much about his teas. People are always so vague when they talk about it.”
Chilly Quill twitched in his sleep as his horn sparked a bit. The others were too enraptured by their own banter to pay the anomaly much mind at first, but the sparks soon became larger than they could ignore. A brilliant light emanated from his horn as the two backed away in fear. Xion glanced over at Nigma, gesturing to Chilly’s horn. “I don’t suppose that this is natural for a unicorn?”
“Not that I’m aware of!” Nigma managed to say through staggered breaths.
The light grew brighter as Chilly slowly began to float in the air. Objects around him began to hover in circles as the sleeping pony began to be enveloped in his own power. Chilly tilted his head back as the bubble of energy began to suffuse the room. With a jerk though, Chilly simply sneezed and the power winked out as though it were preparing the ultimate power to purge his nose.
Chilly fell back onto couch along with all the items that had followed him up, startling himself as he woke up with a jolt. “What’s going on?” He said drowsily. “I was having a good dream!”
Xion frowned, walking up to Chilly and putting a hoof on his forehead. “You remember nothing of what just happened? You didn’t even have a nightmare?”
Chilly yawned, scratching his head. “I just remember jumping into a pile of fluffy pillows and waking up like I’d fallen off my bed again.
Xion walked off with a huff, going back to his apple. “I do not believe that was a simple reaction like it looked like. I hope you don’t mind if I as you two to leave.”
Nigma tensed, feeling like he was just slapped. “I thought we were welcome in your home. What have we done wrong?” He normally didn’t feel like arguing with people during matters like this, but it was unfair to be removed due to an accident that did no harm.
Xion tossed another apple towards Chilly, who caught it absently. “Do not mistake my request. I am not too fond of wild magic like your friend demonstrated. Power must always be contained, otherwise bad things happen. I do not wish my house to be endangered by a mistake.”
Chilly and Nigma nodded with a slight disappointment. They left Xion’s house without another question, pausing only when they had exited the hut to thank the Zebra. “I must thank you as well.” He responded with a nod. “I do not expect you to understand my fears, but I am grateful that you honor them. Tell Wild Mint that I will visit him sometime after you two open your shop.”
Chilly and Nigma walked back into town mostly in silence, brooding over the sudden exit they were forced to make. Nigma had hoped to learn more about the kind Zebra, being the only one he had seen in this world yet. Chilly was more concerned about his nap being interrupted, his horn sparking as he sniffled. he
Nigma glanced nervously at Chilly’s horn, distancing himself from the sparks as they shot out. “Why is your horn doing that? I didn’t think we sparked unless we were sick?”
Chilly sniffed, rubbing his nose experimentally. “I don’t feel sick. I just have a runny nose is all.” Even as he said that though, he sneezed again and shot out a beam of light.
Nigma frowned feeling Chilly’s forehead. He felt normal despite everything. Maybe his horn was just acting up? “I think you should head home and take some medicine. Maybe you just had too much excitement today.” Another sneeze followed, this one sending off a small cloud.
“You’re probably right.” Chilly said, yawning. “I’m not used to doing so much in one day.” He began to stumble away from Nigma, heading in what looked like a random direction.”
Nigma grabbed Chilly by the tail to stop him. “Where are you going? I thought your house was down the main street?”
Chilly shook his head. “I’m actually closer to the residential than the commercial district. This is a shortcut. Trust me.”
Nigma didn’t want to leave the pony alone but admitted that he would know more about getting about town than he would. Besides that he needed to get back to Wild Mint and see how the cleaning was going.
Nigma said his goodbyes and watched Chilly walk off, flinching when the pony sneezed out bubbles. He wasted no time getting though town back to the shop, pausing only at Crabapple’s to say hello and put in an order for a new bed. He knew Rose wouldn’t mind sleeping on the couch for a while but sooner or later they were going to need a third bed. He thought against buying anything else for the spare room. Rose would want to have it furnished to her own interests.
With the order place Nigma walked back to the shop, pulling out his list as he approached the door. As he unfurled the paper he thought he heard a crackle off in the distance but ignored it and continued to read. Satisfied that he had gotten everything on the list, Nigma nodded and walked into the shop, shouting that he had returned.
He was greeted by a shriek from up above. “Would you just hold still for a moment?” Mint growled. I’ve almost got you out!” There was a creak of wood panels and another shriek, which Nigma realized was Rose Wind.
Nigma glanced up and found the two ponies on the ceiling. Rose had reverted to her changeling form at some point and had gotten her horn jammed into the ceiling. Wild Mint was completely upside down and yanking her by the waist in an attempt to get her out. How Mint was on the ceiling was a mystery, but Nigma could swear he could see plungers on his hind legs.
Nigma backed up as he heard a squeal from the wood and watched as the two fell onto the floor. He grinned as the two looked up at him, both rubbing their heads. “So what did I miss?”
Rose groaned as she used her magic to go back into her usual disguise. “You don’t want to know.” She trotted over to a dropped feather duster and fluttered off, resuming a long forgotten dusting job.
Nigma glanced over at Wild Mint but was answered with a shrug. “It’s a long story. Did you have any luck on your end?”
Nigma nodded, pulling the various bags and pouches of herbs. “These should last us a while until we make enough money to buy more. I sorta lost Chilly on the way back, by the way.”
“Oh that’s fine.” Mint said, dismissing the issue before he could hear the rest. “Rose and I managed to get a little bit done while you were away.” Nigma glanced around at the still dusty room and the pile of wood scraps. From what he could tell the only thing that had been touched was the bar in the back.
A sound came from upstairs and Nigma drowned out Mint, who had himself gotten distracted and had started arguing with Rose. He walked upstairs and into his room to find that the statue of Discord had begun to glow. “Oh it’s about time someone heard me!” Discord said, static flowing though like the connection wasn’t good.
“It’s good to hear from you my lord.” Nigma said, smiling at the statue. “Where are you at? No doubt somewhere far off an fascinating.”
An image began to materialize over the statue, showing Discord’s upper body. “I’m somewhere fascinating alright! What have you been doing to Ponyville?”
Nigma frowned, glancing out the window. Nothing seemed wrong with the marketplace. “I don’t understand what you mean.”
Discord scowled. “Well take a look for yourself.” The image blurred for a moment but settled on a bird’s eye view of Ponyville that made Nigma scream. Half of the residential district had been consumed in a bowl of energy, the dome sparking and flaring with fire. Horrific shapes that Nigma couldn’t pin names to wandered the streets, consuming the populace or destroying buildings. In the midst of the nightmare, Nigma could hear the dim echo of someone sneezing.
NIgma slammed his head into the nightstand. “I only left him for a couple minutes!”

Chapter 11

Earlier at the Shop...

Rose Wind fluttered over Wild Mint's head as he walked upstairs. “So you two live above your shop now? It doesn't seem like a good deal.”

Mint grinned. “You'd be surprised how good the place is.” He paused to let Rose go past him as he neared the top of the stairs. She caught sight of the living room and almost forgot to keep flapping her wings. “complete living room and kitchen with two beds and a bathroom. We even have a spare room, which you'll be sleeping in soon enough.”

Rose's jaw almost didn't comply as she talked. “This place is better than the house I lived in. All I had was a single room that I used for everything.” she paused, looking at the spare room. “Even that was paradise compared to my other lodging though.”

Wild Mint walked into the spare room, pulling out a mop, broom and feather duster. “Well as soon as we get you a bed you're more than welcome to take this room. After all, if you're going to live here you need your own room.”

Mint tossed the feather duster to Rose, who caught it absently. “Well I suppose if your offering, I can't refuse. Don't think this is permanent though.” Rose flew back downstairs, somehow moving with a spring in her wings.

“Yeah,” Mint mused, “I'm sure your just thinking of somewhere else to be.”

before Wild Mint could even reach the stairs, he heard a loud crash. He glanced downstairs and saw Rose had crashed into the stack of chairs, knocking them over.

Rose Giggled, fluttering over the fallen stack. “I guess I wasn't paying attention. Don't worry though, I'll get it.” Rose shifted out of her disguise, using her horn to levitate the chairs back into their stack. “Why'd you put these right near the stairs?”

Mint glanced at the railing that Rose had flown over. “Normally we don't expect ponies to fly over the stairs.”

Rose glanced behind her and blushed. “I guess I'll just get to work then.”

Wild Mint walked downstairs, mop and broom balanced on his back. “You can work on the ceiling for now. I'll sweep down here.”

The first half hour passed by in silence, the quiet brushing of floor and ceiling the only noise to occupy the two. Wild Mint tried to whistle to amuse himself, but found the silence would always return. The lack of noise finally got to him, making him speak up. “So where do the Changelings live when they aren't mixing in with ponies?”

Rose sighed. “If we aren't feeding on love we go back to our hives and hibernate until we wake up.”

Mint dropped his broom and started filling up a bucket of water. “So you just sleep? I thought Changelings follow the orders of their Queen or something?”

“Not around here. Your cities are full of false love. It's hard to sustain a Queen's hunger with so little love to feed on. All of the hives in Equestria are sleeping. Any Changelings that wake up either leave to try and survive on their own or give themselves to the Queen.”

Wild Mint snapped to Rose, looking at her in shock. “Do you mean you guys-” Mint paused though, unable to finish. Rose nodded though, knowing what he meant. “I can't believe your Queens are so desperate.”

Rose grinned. “It's not so bad, actually. Without the Queens there's no hive mind. Without the hive mind, we're allowed to think and act for ourselves. We get a choice.”

Mint grinned. “I suppose that's always nice.” Mint finished his mopping, setting the mop against a wall. “Do you miss your hive though? They are your family.”

Rose shook her head, floating onto the floor to start dusting the tables. “A hive isn't really a family for us. Without the Queen, we don't have much reason to stay with one another.”

Mint nodded absently, picking up a duster himself and dusting off the bar. “With competition for food, I suppose it's not a good idea.”

The two resumed their work in silence, dusting off table after table. Niether paid attention to the other, only backing up as they dusted. Soon the two reached the same table, unaware of the other. Mint bumped into Rose as she was dusting, making her jump up in shock. “What are you doing!” She shouted from above.”

Mint looked up, his eyes wide for a moment. “I was dusting. What are you doing?”

Rose glared at Mint, her wings fluttering only a bit. “Trying to get away from you, freak! What did you do?”

Mint backed away a bit. “Nothing, I promise you. But could you stop flying for a moment?”

Rose blinked. “What is this, a joke? Why would I stop in the middle of the air?”

“Just do it.”

Rose sighed, folding her wings against her back. Something yanked her horn and Rose found herself suspended in the air, a great pain in her horn. “AH! What's going on?!” Rose screamed. “Why can't I get down? What's holding my horn?!”

“Just calm down.” Mint said calmly. “Just relax.”

“RELAX?! THERE'S SOMETHING YANKING ON MY HORN AND YOU WANT ME TO RELAX!?”

Mint grinned. “Yes. All you did was jam your horn in the ceiling.”

Rose glanced up at her horn, noticing a portion of it had lodged into the wooden ceiling. Rose sighed, flapping her wings so she couldn't feel her horn being subject to gravity. “I blame you for this.” She growled. “Now you get to find out how to get me out!”

Mint glanced at her horn and at the floor. “Why don't you try pulling your own head out?”

Rose flapped her wings until she could plant her hooves on the ceiling , with all he might she pressed against the wood, trying to yank her head out. She gave up a moment later, her head no more free than before. “Any other ideas?”

Mint walked around the Changeling, surveying her horn with great focus. “I could always just cut the wood around your horn...”

Rose shrieked, covering her horn with her hooves. “You are NOT coming ner me with a saw!”

Perhaps a knife then-”

“NOTHING SHARP!!”

“Alright!” Mint shouted. “Nothing sharp. God.” Mint glanced at the horn again. “But you don't have many options. Can't you just get rid of your horn with your disguises?”

Rose's eyes gleamed. “Great idea! Let me try.” Rose lit up her horn, the light rising from her forehead up her horn. As soon as the light hit the wood of the ceiling, though, the light backfired, going back to Rose and shocking her. “Alright, that's not gonna work.” Rose said wearily. “Anything else?”

Mint sighed. “Why don't I try pulling you out myself?”

Rose grinned. “Great idea. Fly on up and pull the sword from the stone. How are you supposed to get up here?!”

Mint frowned and sat down. “Do you want my help or not?”

Rose looked down in fear. “Yes!”

“Then stop berating me. It's not my fault your stuck up there.” He glanced back up only to be met with a cold glare. “Well it's not completely my fault anyway.”

Rose sighed. “Fine. Just please help me.”

“Thats the spirit!” Mint jumped back up on his hooves, surveying Rose one more time before grinning. “I'll be right back!”

Rose frowned. “Where are you going?” Mint didn't answer but ran out the door. “What are you doing?!” Rose was left alone for half an hour, fluttering around and occasionally yanking against the ceiling. Wild Mint finally returned, four plungers and a roll of duct tape in his mouth. Rose glanced at the supplies in disbelief. “This isn't exactly a plumbing problem.”

Mint unscrewed the plungers from their handles. “Just trust unorthodox ingenuity, my friend.” A few moments and some duct tape later, Wild Mint had taped the plungers to his hooves. A few tests against the wall had Mint struggling to get his hooves off the wall. The suction finally gave way, making Mint fall over. “I think this is going to work well!”

Rose watched incredulously as Mint slowly placed all four hooves on the wall, holding himself firmly against the vertical surface. “I don't believe what I'm seeing.” Rose said out loud.”

Mint grinned as he slowly ascended the wall. “If a unicorn and pegasus can reach a ceiling, so can I!”

A few agonizingly slow moments later, Wild Mint had reached the ceiling, making the steady transition from vertical to complete inversion. Rose grinned as he walked over to her. “Never thought I'd be saved by a plumber.”

Mint grinned, slipping a hoof out of a plunger. “Actually I'm a carpenter.”

Mint Placed his hoof against Rose's forehead, making her flinch. He pressed against her head a few times, Rose squeaking with each press. “What are you doing? I'm not a toy!”

Mint grinned. “I didn't think Changelings were squeaky toys.”

“We're not! Stop messing around!”

Mint slipped another hoof out of its plunger shoe and placed it on the other side of Rose's forehead. “You may feel sudden pressure to your forehead!” He shouted.”

Rose glanced up at Mint. “What are you going to-” Mint pressed his hooves against Rose's head with all his might, forcing her head down. “OW! Stop that! You're going to break my skull!”

Mint grunted, pushing against her with more effort. He watched Rose's horn slip out of the wooden ceiling a bit. “We're making progress though! You'll just need to tough it out!”

Rose gasped. “But it feels like my brain's going to be crushed!” Rose started flying in every direction, trying to get Mint's hooves off her head.”

There were noises from below, but Wild Mint had devoted his focus to keeping his hooves in place. “Would you hold still for a moment?” He growled. “I've almost got you out!” His hooves lost their purchase on her forehead as Rose slipped to his side. In an effort to keep hold, Mint wrapped his hooves around her waist, now trying to use gravity to his advantage.

A groan of wood and a final shriek from Rose later, the two fell from the ceiling, hitting the ground head first. Mint looked up and found Nigma staring at them.He grinned as the two looked up at him, both rubbing their heads. “So what did I miss?”

Rose groaned as she used her magic to go back into her usual disguise. “You don’t want to know.” She trotted over to a dropped feather duster and fluttered off, resuming a long forgotten dusting job.
Nigma glanced over at Wild Mint but was answered with a shrug. “It’s a long story.”

Chapter 3

Nigma trotted behind Wild Mint as he was lead through the town, a slight rush in his step as he tried to keep up with the green pony. Chilly Quill kept pace besides him, giving Nigma someone less active to talk to. “So Chilly, how did you come to live here?”

Chilly paused for a moment. “I used to live here after I moved out of my parents’ house when I was eighteen. Lived here for a few years and ran my book store. Things were pleasant, but I wasn’t getting as much business as I had hoped.”

Nigma nodded. “Is that why you moved to Manehatten?”

“Oh, most certainly. I found a store on the edge of the city and had some decent business the first year. Then I found Innate in front of my door and things went downhill.”

Nigma cringed. “Is innate still a colt? You must still have problems.” Nigma could only imagine the pain HE was for Discord when he was younger. It was something he had to ask about.”

Chilly shook his head. “You misunderstand. Innate is only a year younger than me. He was passed out in front of my shop. After I took him in, business began to fall, though innate made up for it with the artifacts he kept bringing in from his ghost hunting. We had to move away, though, after I took one of his ghost manuals and fell asleep in one of the parks. Locals didn’t take too kindly to the scare.”

Wild Mint jumped in, hopping on Chilly’s back. “This guy just can’t stay up in any weather except winter. He was raised in the cold and gets sleepy in any other temp.” Mint glanced about before leaning in close. “He talks in his sleep sometimes too. You should hear the spells he can rehearse from Innate’s books.”

Nigma nodded. Innate sounded like quite the pony. But he was a bit more concerned with the now. “When are we going to get to the town hall?”

Chilly and Mint stared at him blankly. “We’ve been here for five minutes.” Chilly said, pointing at the building next to him.

Nigma glanced over at the structured. True to their word, he saw the tower fashion of town hall sitting next to him. It didn’t look any different from the original one, but was certainly a little bigger. “You two should have said something. I’ve been dying to get this done. It’s getting late and I’d rather not spend the night anywhere but at my own house.”

Chilly and Mind nodded, glancing about. “Well we’ll go get some food for you while you get things sorted out.” Mint said. “You look famished.”

Nigma was about to say that it was Mint’s fault he was hungry in the first place, but decided against it. He instead said goodbye to his friends and went inside the building.

As soon as he walked into the lobby, Nigma found himself up against another pony, bouncing off of them and rolling onto the floor. Nigma shook his head, glancing at the pony in preparation to criticize them. He stopped cold, eyeing a Pegasus mare that held out her hoof to him. “Are you alright?” She said in a smooth voice.

Nigma couldn’t help but nod, his face flushed a little. He grabbed the pony’s hoof, lifting himself up with her help. “I’m terribly sorry madame.” He said with practiced precision. “I’m afraid I wasn’t looking where I was going.”

The mare giggled, her lengthy violet mane falling over her left eye. Her wings and coat were a light blue and her cutie mark was a trio of roses, each a different color. “Well it’s admirable to blame yourself but it was me at fault.” She admitted. “I was rushing out of the mayor’s office and I may have been a little out of it.”

Nigma blinked as his eyes began to hurt. The rush of colors in his iris gradually slipped into a bright aqua, catching the Pegasus’ attention. “Well maybe we were lucky to bump into each other.” Nigma said quietly, his voice suddenly smoother than usual. “I never find it unfortunate to bump into a lovely lady such a yourself.”

“Well well, such a charmer. Does my handsome Romeo have a name?”

Nigma bowed down, his eyes never leaving the mare’s focus. “Nigma, my lady. Could I trouble for your own name?”

The Pegasus smiled. “The name is Rose Wind. Most people just call me Rose, though. What brings you to Ponyville’s town hall? I’ve been looking for a house, myself.”

Nigma’s eye’s glinted. “Actually that’s what I’ve been looking to do as well. Perhaps we might become neighbors after today?”

Rose giggled. “I would like that. It’s a shame though. I bought the last available house in town.” The comment made Nigma blink, his eyes resuming their color rotation.

Nigma brushed himself off. “Well maybe I can have something worked out. I’ve heard of people living in libraries before. I’m sure I can have something arranged.”

“Well good luck with that.” Rose walked up to Nigma, brushing his side with her wing. “Maybe I’ll be lucky enough to bump into you again, cutie.” She slapped his rump as she walked to the exit, giggling to herself as she left.

Nigma stood there, staring straight ahead as a cold rush went through his spine. The door clicked again as Wild Mint walked in, glancing behind him. “Quite the mare, that was. Hey Nigma, what are you doing?”
Mint waved his hoof in front of Nigma, though it drew no response. “Oh great, it’s this again.” Mint sighed. “Well I guess I could sin once more, if it’s for a friend.”
Wild Mint took a deep breath, leaning in close to Nigma’s ear. He held himself there for a moment before rearing back on his hind legs. Then without hesitation, he threw himself back down, releasing his breath in one deafening shout. “FIRE!”
The effects were almost immediate and damaging. Nigma’s front hooves slammed right into Mint’s nose as he screamed, his head snapping left and right to try and find the exit that was behind him. Other ponies looked at the two, concerned or otherwise irritated by the loud interruption of their time.
Mint was dazed for but a moment before reaching up, grabbing the flailing hoof with a grunt. “Calm down tiger, I was just trying to get your attention.” Nigma flailed about for a few more moments before calming down, ripping his hoof away from Mint. “Now what happened to you? I turn my back on you for a moment and I find you paralyzed for no reason.”
Nigma frowned. “That Pegasus was quite a charming lady. She . . . I don’t even know what she did. All I know is that I was talking all suave. Or at least more than what I usually am, which is to say not much.”
Mint grinned. “She was quite the looker, if I do say so myself. Maybe later I can take you to see the waitress at my favorite coffee shop. She just started working there, but my god does she know how to brew a cup.”
“Yes I’m sure I’d love to meet another hyperactive pony that’s around caffeine twenty-four seven.” Nigma deadpanned.
“Hey, I’m not hyperactive. And the mare is actually quite laid back. Downright shy, if you ask me. She actually seems a bit like you sometimes.”

Nigma shrugged, glancing around. “Where’s the mayor’s office, Mint? That girl Rose said she bought the last house. I’m hoping to find a different arrangement.”

Mint’s eyes widened. “She did now? Funny, I could have sworn there were at least ten houses still available a week ago. Let’s go see this; I really doubt all of them were bought within a week.”
Wild Mint went down a hallway to the left, ushering for Nigma to follow. Nigma tailed Mint as he took to the halls, making a steady turn as if he knew the place. “So where’s Chilly Quill anyway?”
Mint shook his head. “Innate caught up to him. He’s probably neck-deep in dogs right now.”
Deciding not to bring it up, Nigma began to glance around, noticing that they were following a deep circular pattern inside the building. Whoever set up the place clearly wanted everything to go in a steady flow. A stream of order amongst a sea of chaos I suppose, Nigma Thought.
Wild Mint stopped in front of a door that was within eyesight of the main lobby. “Well this is the place. If the mayor is in, she’ll see you.” Nigma glanced at the pony. “Well she’s normally not that busy. When she is, you’d know it.”
Nigma only shrugged, knocking on the door. A few moments passed and Nigma thought that no one was in the office until a rather loud shout came from inside. “Well what are ya waiting for? Get your fat flank in here!”
Nigma looked at Wild Mint, who nodded at the door. He grabbed the door with forced effort, trying to keep from ripping out the door in fear. He glanced in and found a brown earth pony with short yellow hair sitting at the desk in the center of the room. “H-hello.” He stuttered. “M-my name is-“
“Did I ask what your name was?” The pony said angrily. “You wanted to see Mayor Hothead?” Nigma nodded. “Well here I am! Now what do ya want?”
Nigma recoiled at the harsh tone, wondering if he had made a mistake. “I’m looking for some housing in town. I was hoping that you could help me with that.”

The mayor grunted, opening a cabinet to her left. “Well I never turn down somebody looking to live in my town, but I’m afraid you might be too late.”
Mint walked up ahead of Nigma. “So those ten houses really did get bought up this week?” His question was met with a deadly glare that made him back right up against the door. “Nevermind. I’m just going to stay back here.”

Mayor hothead kept her glare at Wild Mint until he began to cower with his ears flat against his head. “Well as much as I’d hate to admit it, you’re right. There was a Pegasus here just a few minutes ago that bought up every last available house in Ponyville. Thirteen houses all bought at once.”

Nigma shook his head. “You don’t see that as suspicious? Not even a bit?”
She growled at Nigma, almost making him want to join Wild Mint. “Like I said, I don’t turn down a pony looking to live here. She said she was buying them for her friends and family and paid for every last deed. I don’t see why I should have denied her.”
Nigma could only sigh. “So I suppose that means I won’t be able to buy a house then.”
Mayor Hothead shook her head. “Normal housing is all bought out, I’m afraid. There is one other option though, if you’d be willing to consider it.”

Nigma’s ears perked up as he looked back at the mayor. “What would that be, Miss Mayor?”
The Mayor grinned. “If you’d be willing to operate a business, I could sell you one of the buildings in the market district. All of the buildings have three bedrooms and a full bathroom on the upper floor to live in. While the deed will be a little cheaper, you’ll be paying a tax every month, regardless of your income.”
Nigma glanced at the Mayor in disbelief, almost wanting to turn down the offer. Wild Mint caught him off guard, however and pulled him off to the side. “Nigma, my friend, do I have a deal for you.”

Rose Wind sat outside of the office, listening in on the conversation with unusual curiosity. Her tail twitched at the mention of a deal with Wild Mint. Even though she didn’t know what the deal was, it would get Nigma a house. She couldn’t allow that to happen.
Rose stood back up silently and slipped away from the door, quickly heading to the exit. Once she was outside, she took a right and wandered of into a particularly crowded part of town. She weaved in and out of the sea of ponies until she slid off into an alleyway and out of sight.
Rose whipped her head back and forth as she sank deeper into the alley. She heard a noise behind her and dived into a trash can, unconcerned what the contents were as long as it kept her hidden. She peeked out to find a grey unicorn shivering as he walked by. “S-so many dogs.” The unicorn murmured. “Why did he have to bring me to the pet store? It w-was only a book.”
Rose waited until the pony had left the alley before jumping out of the trash, shaking herself clean of what little she had picked up in the can. With another quick search she walked into one last dark corridor that was completely obscured by the dark. If she had not been her previous times, she was certain she would have otherwise ran into a wall trying to find the thing.
The dark corridor opened into a dimly lit room, which Rose knew was part of a long abandoned house. The room had nothing more than a trio of candles on a table in the center of the room lighting the room enough to let her see the four walls of the room. She noted that it didn’t allow the corners to be seen, however.
“If we’re going to talk, now would be the time.” She said out loud. “I know that your lackeys told you I was coming.”
A moment passed before two hooded figures came out of the shadows. The cloven hooves and shape underneath the cloak was enough to know the figures were ponies, but little else could be noted. The left figure came all the way to the table while the other held back. “You have urgent news for us.” The lead pony said in a grizzled voice. “We trust that the pony has been deterred?”
Rose shook her head. “I did exactly as you told me too. Nigma is too stubborn though. He bought a shop with his new acquaintance instead.”
The figure growled. “This pony – no, this . . . Nigma - is more resourceful than we thought. No pony could have anticipated that he’d gather up a friend so quickly.” The pony paused a moment, glancing at their companion. “What else have you gathered?”
Rose shivered. “Your scouts at the temple were right. While we couldn’t be sure that the figure he was with was real, he certainly has an unusual aura. The stallion practically leaks out chaos!”
Both the hooded figures cackled, their teeth glinting in the light. “This is good. For too long have we fought a losing battle against the forces of order.” The second figure moved forward, lifting a short dagger from under their hood. “Whether he join our side or not, Nigma will be our saving grace. Once we have him in our hooves, we shall finally bring about the avatars.”
Rose grinned as she tried to hold back her shivering. She didn’t quite like the figures, but she knew it was better than the alternatives. “Then what do you wish of me, your lordships?”
The second figure finally spoke, tossing the dagger at her. “Go about your business and place yourself amongst Nigma’s trusted. Once he is comfortable around you, show him this blade. He will do the rest himself.”
Rose pulled the sword out of the golden scabbard, noting the smooth, untarnished surface of the blade. “Exactly what is this supposed to do?”
Both ponies cackled again. “Trust us.” The both said at once. “He will know what you do not. Now go off and live like we promised you would. Your part is done. Let us take care of the rest.”
Rose bowed down, slipping the dagger back into the scabbard as she did so. The hooded figures both slipped back into the shadows, leaving her alone once again. She quickly let out her breath, letting the tension inside her slip away. She hadn’t told them what she had seen in Nigma’s aura beyond the chaos. As much as she enjoyed her work, something about shanghaiing the unicorn made her nervous. She wasn’t sure if she actually did want to be friends with him, or if she was simply scared of him.
“If only I could just run away.” She whispered. “I don’t want to get that pony involved with this.”
Another figure walked up next to her, snarling into her ear. “But he is already involved. He was involved the moment you started talking to him…”