//------------------------------//
// Chapter 2 
// Story: Realms of Discord 
// by Chilly Quill 
//------------------------------//

	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.