Discord prepared himself, with his chaotic abilities, he never expected to use the most “useless” of abilities at his disposal, and he conjured himself a tux for the sake of nothing (although it was one of the first abilities he was able to learn as a young draconequus). He had recently done a bit of “scouring” after the Purple head’s little disaster of an experiment, which literally sent the Purple head’s brain into a different… place, funny for him and something he could fix with the snap of his talons, but he had the strange feeling that Twilight’s spell had been tampered with, or to be reasonable, had ulterior motives beyond just being a new breakthrough in magic, just like when she discovered the “magic of friendship”, because at that moment where he planned to fix everything, a compelling force, not that of Armonia (which only furthered his suspicions since she asked him to “check” if anything was amiss, something she would usually have asked for any pony else to do), had prevented him from doing so. And this force, he planned on figuring out the cause of such unexpected uncertainty, after all, he had proven that chaos can cost nothing and gain everything, it was the game of “chance” that chaos brings in the first place that he even agreed to the role of Chaos God, or at least that’s what he tells himself anyway with his ego, his sister taking the opposite mentality and mannerism to him, but he didn’t mind, never have and never will, it was part of the game that he had just so grown used too, and it was endearing a way for him.
His little train of thoughts was however interrupted when a portal, the magical signature of which he had never felt before, or to be precise, he had actually long forgotten. And out of the portal came a shadowy figure, and Discord prepared to snap his paws to summon whatever abomination there is to dispose of this shadow, initially mistaking it for the return of the mad tyrant Sombra, however unlikely that was. Instead, the same force that caused him uncertainty hit him like an ocean wave, he didn’t expect it, at least not so soon, and as that moment dragged on and the portal dissipated, the figure seemed to float, a shadowy upper body was all there is, with a book on one side afloat and on the other what appeared to be a quilt that it held with whatever force it had present.
“And who might you be?” The draconequus asked, ever so cautious to the villain trope, ever since Tirek, he promised not to fall into the same trap again for his dear Fluttershy, “I can sense that you aren’t from around here, and your magic… it isn’t chaotic or harmonic, more of a natural force, is it?”
The figure somehow seemingly being approachable despite the ominous presence, replied in kind, “Think of me as... a kindred spirit, like you in a way, we are both made from the belief and need to balance the forces we naturally oppose, but we are different in subtle ways.”
“How so?” Discord asked, his paw prepared to snap at a moment’s notice, the only thing holding him back was his curiosity, and even then, he knew this being was likely here for a reason rather than fate, “Oh how rude of me, I still haven’t introduced myself! I am Discord, Spirit of-” he said trying to look juvenile and the usual foreboding act that came with being chaotic, but he was interrupted before he could even finish.
“We know who you are, Discord, ‘Spirit of Chaos’, you aren’t a god as some might think, as you are the literal embodiment of chaos, chaos in the flesh as some of my colleagues might say. As for me, I am Mortem, just like you, we are mostly born out of nature and the desire to oppose our natural opposite, ironic when our siblings would become our ‘foe’ in a sense. And just like how your name reflects that of which you embody, I too am an embodiment of something, in this case, death.”
Discord visibly flinched at that, he even had to stop himself from giving the usual remark of ‘what a kill joy’ out of an internal rationalization, and that was exemplified by his unintentional flinch. At that very moment, he realized he needed to take action, and with that, he snapped his paws, but instead of sending the figure known as “death” packing, he instead teleported himself and his new guest into his domain, a house in the literal void, which to his surprise, Mortem took calmer than what he or even most would expect. He needed no pony or creature for that matter, not even Celestia and her agents, to know of this revelation, lest this makes international news, he knew when the time for chaos is. And although the chaos that could be made will last him a full millennium of laughter, he knew it was not something Equus could ever hope to fully recover from, besides, it isn’t every day when he would have to actually have to cooperate or meet beings similar in stature to him. Celestia and Luna, combined with the Elements of Harmony (the artifacts, not Harmony itself), are nothing compared to his prime and the abilities of spirits (and for that matter, actual gods) that have no regard for the bounds set to them by both nature, self, and peers, a temptation he promised to never fall into again.
“So when will we discuss business, Mr. Discord?” Mortem asked as his book and quill began to near each other, which Discord assumed was for the purpose of something to be written.
“‘Mr. Discord’ isn’t really my fancy, but let us assume you are indeed who you say you are,” Discord said, his chaotic nature being suppressed in a manner that he hasn’t experienced since his first reformation (the second being after the events with Tirek), “Why are you here? And what’s your business in Equus?”
“Quite simple really, I came by to ask if someone named Gabriel had found either you or your natural opposite.” Mortem said, writing something in the book.
“Hmm…” Discord thought for a moment, now that he thought about it, Armonia really did seem a bit off, she wasn’t extra cheerful or down, She and he had always shared a special bond, but her problem was that she always refused to take on anyone form, instead of taking up the forms of those that she considered being her ‘vassal’ of harmony (i.e. those granted with the title of ‘element bearers’ and not necessarily anyone artifact.)
“I’ll assume that as a yes,” Mortem said as he disregarded any attempts by Discord to say otherwise.
“Now, now, hold on, what’s in it for Equus, or even for me?” Discord said, as he was losing patience, he understood there were some underlying factors that he clearly overlooked, but as it stood, he would not risk Equus safety, even if it meant he would get everything (he already has everything, in the form of a boys club and a yellow butter pony).
Breathing a heavy sigh, Mortem answered begrudgingly, “Do you want the detailed version or the scuffed?” He asked.
“Scuffed.” Discord answered, no huff, no puff.
“Basically, you and your sister, I assume it’s she, will be given a place in our little ‘table of competition’ where some other spirits and gods alike reside, but the top dogs run what most would call a ‘religious company’ to pass the time, don’t take anything too seriously though, that is the general flow, but there is always the prestige of bragging rights, so there’s that when it comes to ‘friendly’ competition, nothing seriously serious. The afterlife is a very… mixed place, where no one is a loser loser, you know, the same goes for winners. As for continuity sake and those ponies that are indeed dead, they also are in the afterlife, just so you know, just chilling.” He explained.
“You know, for someone who likely has to guide some very questionable beings into their supposed ‘fate’, you’re actually pretty interesting,” Discord remarked, “But I must simply ask, is everything centered around this ‘bragging right’?”
A groan is instinctively made by Mortem, “Our business, as a whole that is, extends to some other practices, we do our part in ‘nature’, rewarding those ‘good’ and punishing the ‘bad’, there are plenty of trials done per day just to identify as either of the two, but in more than one ways, yes, and this bragging right is to and should be respected and dealt with, even if it becomes overbearing, a little bit of fun never hurts. And business, both good and bad, follow certain rules, and those are usually both very lenient and stick at the same time.”
“I assume you yourself answer to a higher being?” Discord asked.
“Not necessarily, I do follow around under someone, but it’s out of my own will, sure someone might say it’s better to follow your own path, but really, you get bored and bothered if you don’t change up a bit, a bit of spice in how we like to do things, which is why those spirits and gods usually have a little play area, actually, no, I won’t explain further, I think it’s best if you and your sister see it with your own eyes.”
“Well, that would be difficult as Armonia doesn’t actually have a manifested form of her own, should I call her?” He asked, prepared to snap his paw again, either to bring Armonia to him or the other way around.
“No, that won’t be necessary,” Mortem said, raising his quill as he sliced literal thin air to open a portal, despite him being in the spirit of chaos’s domain, “I have other matters to attend to, I’m sure Gabriel would, no, maybe even Joshua, would go and try to set up a proper relation, I’m just check-in in on progress. A great story to tell for my sister after all” And with that, he stepped into the portal that lead to a different… void? Discord was unsure.
“Wait a minute… w-wha- how did he?” Discord asked, baffled at the fact that someone escaped his domain, the first time, and admittedly, it was very baffling to him that he wasn’t even mad, out of the confusion and a hint of amazement he just witnessed he had a sense of anticipation, although, that would mean he would have to meet beings that are of equal stature to him, maybe even more so.
And after a bit of reflecting in his void, he teleported once again to the Castle of the Two Sisters, where he knew Star Swirl would be in his free time scouring for old books, texts, and whatnot, he would have to actually discuss business with him and his sister. Discord, for the first time in probably several millenniums, felt mixed feelings… apprehension mixed with a juvenile sense of anticipation? Perhaps, but not exactly the proper words to his liking, but he definitely felt like a new era on the horizon, what with Twilight becoming a monarch by definition and the two sisters actually retiring and having the time to play with Discord and his sister, just like the old times, indeed, a new era brings new opportunities, and if the chances are indeed chaotic, this brings a new layer for him to indulge later on.
Well, as Discord thought of it, looking forwards, it would indeed be interesting, and a pinch of chaos that he could smell, well, since he was here in the old castle, might as well look around for the Young six and terrorize them for the time being in their “Treehouse of Harmony”.