Ponies of the North

by HarmonicaJay

Book 1: Journey to the North: Chapter II: A Visitor

In a dimension between space and time itself, where the laws of physics were suspended for the pleasure of its owner, the spirit of Chaos and Disharmony himself, Discord, arrived home. Nopony in Equestria knew where Discord had come from. Some ponies said that he was the brother of the Spirit of Harmony itself, come to the mortal world to create mischief wherever he went. Some ponies said that when the Tree of Harmony, the source of the Elements of Harmony, was created he was born as the Antithesis of Harmony in order for there to be balance. No pony knew for sure and it is quite possible that Discord himself didn't know. He didn't really care where he came from since he knew it didn't define who he was or what his purpose was.

He was Discord, semi-reformed Spirit of Chaos, former foe of, and current-sort-of-friend to the six staunch defenders of Equestria: Princess Twilight Sparkle, Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, and Rarity. Six ponies, each representing a different facet of Harmony. Twilight represented Magic, Rainbow Dash was Loyalty, Applejack was Honesty, Fluttershy was the keeper of Kindness, Pinkie Pie was Laughter through and through, and Rarity, last but never least, was the figurative spirit of Generosity.

Originally, they had been Discord's mortal enemies and the first time he escaped from his stony prison, they had made it their goal to stop him and re-imprison him in stone. Recently however, in a twist of fate that he himself had not seen coming, he was released in an attempt to “reform” him in order to prepare for some big upcoming calamity or some such prophetic nonsense. So far, nothing bad had happened (That he hadn't caused). And he was fine with that. Less work for him.

As he walked up a floating upside-down flight of stairs, the Draconequus snapped his fingers and a red bathrobe with the letter “D” embroidered on the lapel appeared in front of him. With a flick of his wrist, the robe placed itself around him and cinched up the knot. Not too tight of course, just how Discord liked it. All around Discord, random objects floated by, only aligning in some sort of order when Discord willed it to be. As he reached the top (or was it bottom) of the stairs, he pursed his lips together and gave a sharp whistle. Immediately, a large comfy chair and a night stand settled right in front of him, with the chair gesturing with one of its arms for Discord to take a seat. Discord smiled and did as he was offered.

With a snap of his fingers, a martini glass appeared out of thin air, filled with hard applejack cider. As Discord sipped his beverage, he surveyed his home. This was his realm, his sanctuary. A realm without order or reason where everything was at his command. His world, nopony else's. What happened here, he willed it.

As Discord finished off the drink and was about to conjure up another, he felt a strange chill go through the realm. He tightened up his robe and huddled deeper into his chair.

“I have to remember to shut the window next time.” He was about to get up to shut it when he realized two things. First: that he didn't have an open window and second: the chill was more inner than it was outer. It was then that he heard something behind him. It sounded like someone clearing his throat. He turned around to see an approaching lean figure walking on thin air. He wore a black hood and a wide grin. Fiery red hair could be seen from beneath the hood and a pair of jet black eye pierced the darkness. Discord opened his mouth to speak, but the figure cut him off as he stopped right in front of him.

“No, no, don't say anything. Let me guess: How this person got into my realm? How did he manage to break the barriers between reality and... this place? Oh, Discord, I always wanted to be the one to put that look on your face.” He narrowed his eyes and stared at Discord's slack-jawed wide-eyed gaze. “Yep. Just like that.”

The stranger threw back his hood and gave Discord a wide smile. “Do you recognize me, Discord? Come on. Say my name. Please? I've waited for so very long for someone to say it with the right tone of fear in their voice.”

“Loki.”

Loki slowly turned his index finger around, all the while mouthing out the words, “God of...?”

Discord glared at Loki and rolled his eyes, but relented. “*Sigh* Loki, God of Mischief, Sire of the Serpent, Kin of Ymir, and Father of the Wolf. There. Are you happy? I said the titles. What more do you want from me?”

This time it was Loki's turn to roll his eyes. “Oh, I don't know. How about, "Please forgive me, Lord Loki, God of Mischief. I am so sorry that I sold you out to your worst enemies and caused you to be imprisoned for (what was it? Oh, right) 16,712 years!!" Does that sound like something I would want to hear?”

Discord sneered at Loki. “You should know that I was never one for apologies. Besides, I was the one who suggested putting you to sleep. You're lucky you got that after killing the two humans meant to repopulate the world. Vali and Vidarr wanted to give you the previous treatment with the snake and everything. Modi and Magni wanted you deader than the Dodo. If it wasn't for me you would have been wide awake with venom trickling down your gullet or in the ground with an axe in your brain. Speaking of which, care for a drink?” He snapped his fingers and a pair of floating martini glasses, complete with olives and mini-umbrellas, popped into being.

Loki took one and quickly downed it, olive and umbrella included. He stared down at the empty glass and let out a chuckle. “Funny. That's very funny. Always good for a laugh, weren't ya, Discord? Well, I have some bad news for you: You might as well have thrown in the snake. You messed up the rune spell. You just immobilized my body. My eyes were shut, but my mind was awake. Aware. I was unable to move, unable to breathe. Unable to die, Discord.” He threw away the glass and moved close enough to Discord to stare him directly in the eyes, unblinking. “All I could do was think and count. The days went into months, the months into years, the years into centuries, and the centuries into millennia. It was then that I realized: This was the second time I had been imprisoned beneath a tree. I swore that there wouldn't be a third. I would make all suffer as I had. I would make this world understand a God's pain.”

Discord didn't say a word for what felt like an hour. He realized that he probably need to make a few clocks to spruce up the place. Finally, he gave a weak smile and slowly backed away from Loki. “Funny, now that you mention it, I myself was imprisoned in stone for an indeterminate amount of time. And I tell you, there is nothing worse than being fully aware that you have a few dozen itches all over your body that you just can't scratch. And that happened twice, if you can believe that. So I say that we just call it ev-”

Loki grabbed Discord's long neck and pulled him in close until their eyes were inches apart. Loki bared his teeth in a snarl. “You weren't betrayed as I was, Discord. Now, I understand that trickery and chaos are the tricks of your, as they are mine, but I always felt there was a degree of respect between us. You pretty much proved me wrong on that front, thus the joke is on me. Fair enough, but still you got a brief reprieve. I did not. Therefore, I believe that you owe me.”

Discord smiled and a checkbook and a fountain pen appeared next to him. He pulled away from Loki and began scribbling. “Of course. You're right. How much do you want? I have a large enough account to give you a fair-”

“Discord,” Loki said shaking his head. “You are not going to talk your way out of this one.”

“So, what? Are you going to kill me?”

Loki looked as if he was about to laugh. All he did was give a small smile. “Of course not. I am not going to kill you for the same reason I know you are not going to erase me from existence. You are the living personification of Chaos as I am the living personification of Mischief and Fire.” He snapped his fingers and a bright blue flame appeared on his thumb. He quickly blew it out. “We are their Avatars. Ironically, we are the keepers of balance. We die, well, you can guess what will happen without us to keep those forces in check.”

Discord crossed his mismatching arms. “How do you know I won't just kill your mortal form?”

Loki grinned. “Because you know that I will be reborn. Gods never truly die. Same as you. You are not getting out of this.”

Discord threw his hands up in the air. “Fine. Ok, fine. What do you want? Tell me and I will comply. Then kindly remove yourself from the premises.”

Loki started walking up an invisible wall until he was directly above Discord. “Good. Glad to know you are finally taking this seriously. I just want two things. First, I want information about a few things in this new world. But before I ask you about them, I want you to fulfill the second.”

“And what might that be?”

“Do not interfere with my plan. Do. Nothing. Don't interfere. Don't undo any of my plans. Do nothing at all. You fulfill this part of the deal above the other and we are square.”

“And do these plans of yours involve causing the end of the world? Because I should inform you that I have made a few new “friends” here and I would hate to see them die.”

“You owe me, Discord. You owe a God. You know that's not something you can just welch on. Besides, you'll just find some new playthings. Mortals don't matter to beings like us. These are my terms. Information and complete non-interference until my plan is complete and we are squared. Do we have a pact?”

He extended his hand down towards Discord. Discord looked back at him for a moment, pondering. Finally, with a sigh and a look of absolute regret on his long face, Discord shook Loki's hand. As their hands connected, a bright light emanated from between their palms. The sign of an unbreakable oath between two higher beings. Loki gave a long grin and pulled himself in front of Discord. “Good. Now, first, tell me about the inhabitants of this new world. I'm looking for a certain group of individuals.”

“And you are certain you left the book with him? Because I really need that book, Discord.”

Discord nodded. “I'm fairly certain. I wrapped it up in a black oil skin. It's in his cave. Knock on the door and you shall receive it.”

Loki's eyes narrowed. “I better, old friend. I need that book.”

Discord rolled his eyes. “Oh, don't worry, Mr. Crybaby. You will get the book and I won't interfere. By the by, I have to ask... how did you get in?”

Loki smiled. “Oh, please, Discord. You may have closed the door, but you forgot to lock it and you left a trail behind. Portal magic is among my specialties, remember? Honestly, how old are you exactly?”

Discord shrugged his shoulders. “I lost count after the first few millennia. Now you got what you wanted. so get out!”

Loki threw his hood on and grinned at Discord. “Fine, I know when I am not wanted. Remember our deal: Complete Non-Interference. Remember that.”

Discord held up two fingers with his right hand and placed his left hand over his heart. “I solemnly swear that I will not interfere with your plans.”

“Good,” Loki replied. He walked a few feet until he halted in front of absolutely nothing. He raised his hand and with a stroke of his finger through the air, opened a tear within the realm. Through it Discord could see a mountain range in a blizzard. Before stepping through, Loki turned back to Discord and smiled. “Wish me luck. And remember: A Deal is a Deal.” With that, he stepped through the portal which closed behind him with a loud *SNAP*.

Discord rubbed his forehead and motioned for the chair. The chair waddled over and Discord collapsed and snapped his fingers for a martini glass. As he sipped his drink, Discord pondered. He looked at the palm of his hand, which bore a rune, the mark of a pact between two immortals. For once in his long, long, long, long life, Discord was actually bound by an oath.

Well this is a pisser, he thought to himself. I have to do something. He practically challenged me to do it. But what can I- He straightened up and gave a wide grin.

“I think its time that I paid a visit to some old "friends".” Now, the visit that Discord had spoken of would have to wait for three months in order for his plan to come to fruition. Perfect planning took time, even for unpredictable entities of Chaos, like Discord.