It was yet another day of teaching those insufferable brats for Professor Cordial, or, as the students called him, Discord. True his method of teaching was a bit… unconventional, but they didn’t have to degrade him by calling him a force of chaos. That was crossing the line. He sighed as he packed up his lesson plan for the day. It was barely a plan, more like a suggestion. He straightened out his mismatched jacket, muttering to himself about how he wished the school year would end already.
He walked through the halls, stopping by Principal Celestia’s office when he heard her talking to a familiar voice. It was the voice of Superintendent Tirek, a gruff man that wished to control the school. Prof. Cordial scoffed. I wouldn’t be caught dead associating myself with him. Not after the way he tricked me awhile back.
He left, and soon found himself outside. He looked at the Stallion Statue, an eyesore that’d been there ever since the school’s founding. He never did like that statue. Sometimes he wished he could just snap his fingers and make it disappear. He shook his head. Such thoughts would not help him now. After all, he’d a weekend to look forward to- And not a force on this earth would prevent him from enjoying it.
However, he stopped as he got a bit closer to the statue. He remembered the Twilight that had saved their school twice had come through the base of the statue, if the rumors were to be believed. He’d also overheard some students that had claimed that they’d been to the other side of the portal, but he was uncertain if the brats could be trusted. Perhaps they saw him, and purposely spoke up about their “journey” to the other side. It was such an elaborate prank, that he almost approved.
But what if it wasn’t? What if the stories were true? Would he forgive himself if he never found out? By the time this thought had entered his head, most everyone else, save for the janitor, had left the school. Was there anything that he stood to lose if this was fake? A little pride perhaps, but nothing that he couldn’t undo later. Was there anything that he stood to gain if it was true? Knowledge as to what he was on the other side was very appealing, but was it worth the risk?
He sighed. "I might regret this later, but… here goes."
He put a hand through the base of the statue, a bit surprised when he saw an eagle talon. So does that mean that I’m a gryphon? I’d heard a rumor of a student from another school becoming one when they went through…
He decided he could wait no longer. He stepped through, and yelled as he fell. “Aaaaabstraaaact!”
Indeed, what he saw could be described as an abstract painting that used all the colors that existed. But what was odd was the sensation he felt. All over his body, he felt as it he was being molded like silly putty. After the trip, he stood up, a bit surprised that he was still bipedal. He then looked down to his hands- and the sight he saw confused him.
“An eagle talon and a lion’s paw? And what’s up with this brown, serpentine body? I’ve got to see what I look like!” He turned to see in the mirror behind him, and he was shell-shocked. “A chimera? Why’d I turn into a chimera?” Indeed, he was a conglomeration of parts: a lizard’s foot and goat’s hoof for legs, a pair of stubby wings, one of a bat and one of a bird, and an antler along with a twisted horn. But what alarmed him the most were his eyes- they were red, with yellow along the edges. He took in this new form, and only had one thing to think: What is going on here?
Then, somebody else spoke in his voice. “Oh this is too amusing to pass up! Two of me in the same reality! The chaos I could wreak would double!”
Prof. Cordial spun around, and raised an eyebrow at the creature before him. He spoke calmly. “You must be my other self… I overheard Miss Pinkie Pie talking of meeting her other self when crossing the mirror, but I didn’t think that it was possible! And yet, here you are, before my eyes!” For some reason or another, Prof. Cordial felt extremely... chaotic at the moment. “Maybe I should embrace that nickname my students give me, and be a tad more… unpredictable.” He then laughed a bit. “Oh, that’s such a good idea! But don’t want to go too overboard… After all, I can’t risk losing my job.” His smile however, never faded. “Say, other me, could you show me how to be more spontaneous? I already treat the lesson plan more like a suggestion, but that’s not enough. Will you help me?”
Discord smiled with a manic grin. “Let’s get started.”
Prof. Cordial agreed, “Yes, let's go!”
And so the two chaotic beings went on a rampage turning buildings upside down and clouds into cotton candy. They caused it to rain root beer from the sky and the ground to be turned into gingerbread. The townsponies were seemed torn between soaking in the jovial air or running in fear because there were two Discords running amuck.
However, their jovial antics were interrupted by Twilight Sparkle, the princess of friendship. The instant she saw the two Discords, she knew that one of them was from beyond the mirror. However, how was she going to get the one from the mirror back there if she couldn’t tell them apart? She then thought of something. If she could get one of them to turn into something that the other hadn’t seen before, then she would definitely be able to tell them apart! She smirked, and walked up to them. She cleared her throat, and garnered their attention. She spoke with confidence. “
"Well hello, Discords. I have a little challenge for you.”
That got their attention. Discord spoke up first. “Oh? A challenge, you say?”
Prof. Cordial mirrored Discord’s cheshire grin. “Has Sparklebutt finally allowed some chaos into her thought processes?”
The two Discords shared a chuckle, but Twilight didn’t let that nickname get to her. After all, she was calling the shots here. She kept her decorum and smug grin as she spoke. “I bet you two can’t change into something that the other has never seen before at the same time!”
Discord raised an eyebrow. “What do we get if we win this bet?”
Twilight smirked. “I’ll make there be an annual Discord Day where you can use your powers as you wish, as long as nopony is damaged mentally or physically, and as long as the ponies can enjoy themselves.”
Prof. Cordial crossed his arms. “And if you win?”
Twilight’s smirk remained. “I get to use your chaotic powers for one day, in which you cannot use them.”
The two Discords shared a look. They knew what Twilight was up to, but realized that the scenario was lose-lose for Prof. Cordial. Unless… The two nodded. Discord readied his talon for a snap as did Prof. Cordial.
Discord leered at Twilight. “You’re on.”
The two snapped simultaneously, and changed shape. Prof. Cordial turned into an Ursa Major the size of a mountain, and Discord turned into some kind of strange bat that, when its wings were fully extended, looked like a crescent moon. When the two looked at each other, they gasped (fake, but Twilight couldn’t tell). Each pointed to the other, and exclaimed together. “What are you!?”
Twilight smiled, and grabbed Discord, not knowing that he was the Discord of her world. She spoke. “It’s time for you to go back to the mirror.” She dragged him away in her magic, not noticing the wink he tossed Prof. Cordial’s way, nor the nod he gave in return. Twilight went to the mirror, not expecting to see anypony there, but low and behold, Sunset was there.
Twilight raised an eyebrow. “Sunset? What are you doing here?”
Sunset took a look at Discord, and was about to ask something, but shook her head. She instead answered Twilight’s question. “Well, I recently found out that the Sunset of the human world was coming back, so I decided to let all my friends know about that, and decided it’d be too weird for there to be two Sunsets at the school. I said goodbye, and now I’m going to stay here.” She jerked her head over to Discord. “Why’s he here?”
Twilight huffed. “He snuck over the mirror, so I’m sending him back. Then, after that, I’m sealing it up.” She tossed Discord into the portal.
They could hear him say one last thing as he left. “It was worth it!” Then, Twilight lit up her horn, and deactivated the portal, unknowingly having sent the wrong Discord through the portal.
Canterlot High wasn’t ready for Discord. The students at first mocked him even more than before, but were surprised when he just rolled with it. This had never happened before. His lesson plans were entirely abolished, leaving for an entirely random class schedule from then on. However, this wasn’t all. As the year went on, some claimed to see him snap his fingers and have strange, impossible things happen. This caused many students to seek mental help from the school nurse. However, they could not be cured. This led to an irreversible change in the school, further spurred along after the field trip to Camp Everfree. Their world was changing. And there was nothing anyone could do to stop it.
Equestria wasn’t ready for Prof. Cordial. The ponies were swept away with his charm after the first official Discord Day. So much so, that the ponies didn’t mind his chaotic antics so much the rest of the year. Somehow, with his charm, he’d managed to befriend most of Ponyville in a few short days. The Princesses were torn between being concerned and elated, and couldn’t seem to make up their minds. As time went on, after every subsequent Discord Day, his popularity with ponies across Equestria grew. He was the friend to have, the person to know. He loved his life, and couldn’t have been happier. Needless to say, There was no going back to the way things once were.