"Ah, this tea is simply wonderful, Fluttershy." Discord complemented. He was, as usual, trying his best to stay on the good side of his host. It was three in the afternoon on Wednesday, which was the weekly schedule for his tea party with Fluttershy.
"Oh, it's just what I always use." Fluttershy humbly replied.
"But that doesn't change the fact that it is wonderful tea. Even better when its in the company of a good friend like you."
"You're too kind Discord." Fluttershy answered, bushing. "You even volunteered to take care of my animals when I leave tomorrow. You're such a good friend."
Tomorrow was an important day for Fluttershy and her friends. They were all ordered by Princess Celestia herself to solve some problem in Saddle Arabia. Discord stopped listening at that point of the explanation. The politics of ponies no longer concerned Discord. Discord had indeed, once wanted to rule the world, but those days were behind him. Now, he wondered why he even bothered. If somepony else wants to do the boring job of ruling Equestria, that was just fine with the Lord of Chaos.
"It's the least I could do. After all, you nursed me back to health when I was sick last winter. I'm just returning the favor."
"Oh, I could never abandon you when you're sick!" Fluttershy insisted. "But if that's what made you want to look after my animals, then I'm glad."
"It is no problem at all, my dear Fluttershy." Discord stated while taking another sip of tea.
The rest of their tea party was spent talking about all the responsibilities Discord would have while Fluttershy was gone. Fluttershy explained what every animal needed to eat and any tips she had for getting them to behave. Before long, it was nearing dinner time, and Discord had another commitment to meet that day.
"Well I believe I must be going now, dear Fluttershy. As usual this was quite a relaxing way to spend my afternoon. Now, I am fully recharged and ready to spread chaos once again!" Discord said, animating his speech by plugging his tail into the nearby outlet and then turning on a lamp by touching it. Fluttershy responded with her usual quiet laugh.
"Good night Discord, and thank you again for doing me such a huge favor."
"You're quite welcome. Have a safe trip Fluttershy."
With those words, the door was closed behind him. Discord snapped his fingers, an old habit he had when casting chaos magic, and he was standing before Ponyville's newly erected crystalline castle. I suppose I can knock this time, Discord mused as he tapped the door a few times. Moments later, Spike's voice could be heard echoing through the walls.
"Twilight, someone's at the door!"
Confident that he had been noticed despite the size of the castle, Discord patiently waited for the door to open. His patience was rewarded.
"Discord?" Twilight said, as she opened one of the giant crystal doors. "What brings you here? I assume you didn't come here just to chat. You know I'm in the middle of preparations for our trip tomorrow."
"Twilight, ever the practical mare." Discord retorted back. "I simply came to check out a book from your library as well and bid you farewell, but I can leave you to your preparations if my presence is unwelcome."
"Well, I am quite busy, but I think I could give Spike a bit of a break." Twilight said, a small grin forming on her face. "Spike!" She practically shouted, to get the purple dragon's attention from wherever he walked off to. Answering the summons, Spike walked up behind Twilight.
"What is it now Twilight? I'm not cleaning your room a third time. It's spotless and you know it." Spike declared in an annoyed tone.
"Oh no, it's not that. I need you to help Discord here find a book from the library. Can you manage that?" Twilight explained calmly. Spike only responded with a very tired sounding "Oh", before motioning for Discord to follow him.
"So what kind of book were you looking for?" Spike asked as the two of them walked down the long hallway to the library.
"I was hoping the library had a book on ancient Equestrian." Discord answered.
"Why would you need that?" Spike asked. "I thought Twilight said you were like, thousands of years old."
"Why, yes I am, Spike. However, while I can probably still speak ancient Equestrian, I never learned to read it. And since Celestia imprisoned me in stone for so long, I never really got the chance. "
"I guess that makes sense." was all Spike said until the two of them reached the library. "Well, we're here. Ancient Equestrian should be under history, so try over there." Spike explained, pointing to the row of bookshelves to his left. After that the small dragon simply watched in silence as Discord systematically searched for what he was after.
"Aha!" Discord exclaimed. " 'Ancient Equestrian: A Complete History'. This is perfect."
"Glad you found it." Spike said, shrugging. "I should go back to Twilight before she has a panic attack again. You know the way out right?"
"Of course." Discord answered confidently. "Let Twilight know I wish her and her friends good luck in Saddle Arabia. I should be ready to return her book when she gets back." Without waiting any longer, he snapped his fingers once again, activating his magic. This time he brought himself home.
Yes, home. The humble abode of none other than the great god of chaos himself, Discord. Truly, it was humble for Discord's taste, but he had to make sacrifices to live so close to Ponyville. Though he would admit it to nopony but himself, even his magic had limits. If he teleported too far, too frequently for example, he would end up with a headache or worse. That was why he had constructed his home out of the remains of a gigantic dead tree on the edge of the Everfree Forest. It certainly is a convenient spot. Close to Fluttershy's cottage and far enough away from town to keep most unwelcome guests away, Discord thought to himself as he approached the front door.
Discord opened the deceptively small door and squeezed himself inside. Entering was always a tight fit, but it was a small inconvenience that he hadn't bothered to fix just yet. Most ponies had no trouble making it through the entrance, but it was just a tad small for him. Making a note to himself to fix the door, he closed it behind him. The house was still fairly new, after all, so it was bound to have some small hiccups.
Twilight had enchanted the tree's remains to magically bend the space inside, making it larger. That way it had room for his own library, kitchen, living room, and bedroom. He had a spacious basement as well, but that was out of necessity for storing his rather dangerous collections. Discord's magical nature was chaos, after all, and any sort of strong enchantment he made was bound to be unstable. That was why he needed somepony else, specifically an alicorn, to place the spell on his home. He wasn't incapable himself, but the spell wouldn't have lasted a week before something catastrophic would have happened.
Placing the book down on a table, Discord went to fetch the a particular scroll: the object of his research. Research wasn't usually Discord's cup of tea, but even he was curious about this scroll. It came a few days ago via an anonymous letter sent to him. It was addressed to 'The Lord of Chaos' and had nothing inside the envelope besides the scroll. Had it not been so specifically given to Discord, and Discord alone, he might have considered letting Twilight investigate it instead. Something about this was personal, and he was going to find out what.
The scroll itself was rather odd. It had diagrams and symbols Discord had never seen or heard of. Not only that, but the paper was not hoofmade, rather it was printed. That suggested the scroll was made recently. The oldest paper mill in Equestria was not yet a century old. Despite this, the writing on the scroll was in ancient Equestrian, a language so different from modern Equestrian, it shared only a few words and basic grammatical structure.
Discord settled into his living room, having retrieved the scroll, and began the painstakingly long process of translating the scroll.
*********
The next morning, Discord tried his best to feed Fluttershy's animals, but one rabbit in particular was giving him quite the headache. He was a bit low on sleep too; Discord was not in the mood to be messed with right now.
"Look Angel, I got you the carrots, why are you giving me that look?" Discord practically pleaded. The stubborn rabbit only sniffed the carrots before turning his nose up at them. That was the last straw for Discord, who had been doing his best to imitate Fluttershy and treat the animals with kindness and compassion.
"Alright you damn rodent, I'll teach you what happens when you cross the Lord of Chaos!" Discord declared, an evil grin forming on his face. Snapping his fingers, he turned the rabbit into a potted flower, and placed it up against the nearby window. "There. Now you won't starve, even if you don't actually eat anything. I'll come turn you back tomorrow."
Discord took his leave. He had other places to be after all, but he couldn't help but giggle when he caught one last look at the potted flower. Angel, now a white lily, was staring right back at Discord, pure rage evident in his gaze Thankfully the rabbit is the only troublemaker, Discord mused. Now I just need to decide what to do about my research.
Discord had been less than successful last night. He had only been able to translate about half the scroll, and what he did find made no sense. The scroll seemed to be describing some kind of magic ritual, one for a kind of spell Discord had never heard of. The smart thing to do would be to tell Twilight about this, but she's away for a whole week. Maybe if I replicate the designs on the scroll I could find out what they-
Discord's thoughts were interrupted when he bumped straight into a certain gray colored pegasus.
"Ow!" Ditzy Doo exclaimed, as she was knocked back on her hind legs by the collision. She rubbed the back of her head with her forehoof before looking up at Discord and forcing an awkward smile.
"My apologies, Ditzy. I was so lost in thought, I didn't see you there."
"Oh, that's alright." She replied. "I was being careless too."
"What brings you outside of town this early in the morning?" Discord asked, out of curiosity. Usually by this time, the mailmare was at work delivering papers and such to all the homes in Ponyville.
"Work of course. I have a package for..." Ditzy Doo said before squinting hard at something inside her mailbag. "Oh, it's for you, Mr. Discord!"
"A package for me?" Discord repeated, just to make sure.
"Yes, it's addressed to 'Discord, Lord of Chaos'." She affirmed. "It says so right on the label." The mailmare then handed him the package before offering a simple 'goodbye' and taking off again.
The package was quite familiar to Discord, or at least the label was. Just like the envelope the scroll had come in, the label read 'To Discord, Lord of Chaos' in exactly the same, very bold hoofwriting. Once again, the return address was left blank. Finally, there was the same strange symbol on the back of the label that there was on the envelope: a snake eating its own tail.
Wasting no more time examining the simple piece of paper, Discord unwrapped the package. Discord was hoping for some sort of message from his mysterious contact, but to his disappointment the only thing inside the box was a large piece of white chalk. This chalk proved itself to not be ordinary, however. Within seconds of the box being opened, the chalk started to give off a thin trail of white smoke. Enchanted chalk?
Upon closer inspection, that's exactly what it was. A spell had been cast on the chalk, but Discord couldn't determine what it did besides produce smoke. He could guess its purpose though; why else would the same anonymous contact send him chalk so soon after the scroll? They're telling me to try it for myself. Whoever this is, they know how to send a clear message without using words.
Discord pondered what to do for a moment. Then he remembered how for once he wouldn't have to hear Twilight's incessant ranting about how dangerous of an idea this was, or any other unwelcome guests interrupting his preparations. A whole week without interruptions? I didn't even have that long when I stole Celestia's magic. I may be reformed, but how can the Lord of Chaos pass up this opportunity?
His decision made, Discord wasted no time teleporting home and beginning the preparations. Before sunset, he had managed to find a small clearing in the Everfree Forest to conduct his little 'experiment'. This spot should do, Discord thought, as he examined the clearing. There is even a magical ley line nearby.
In the golden glow of the afternoon sun, the Lord of Chaos drew symbol after symbol carefully crafting a web of elaborate circular drawings on the ground. He didn't understand exactly how each symbol worked, but he got the basic principles. Rather than using energy directly from the caster, like a unicorn's horn would, the symbols would channel energy from Equestria itself. It was a slower process, but one that could produce a different kind of power. That was why entirely new kinds of spells were possible with these symbols. Just like how his magic was different from most unicorns, this magic was quite unique as well. Theoretically, anypony- no anyone, even the other races, could perform it, given the right materials.
The last bit of sunlight was disappearing from above the treeline. As darkness approached, Discord was full of anticipation. He was nearly finished preparing the spell, all he needed was to activate it. Even Discord had no clue what would happen when he did. It was curiosity, and curiosity alone that kept him hard at work. Discord simply had to know what this spell did. Sure, it would siphon a significant amount of magical energy, but even Discord could tell that it was not enough to, for example, transform Ponyville, like he once had in the past. No, by comparison this spell needed a tenth, no less than that. Why then, is somepony trying so hard to make me do this? It bothers me so much I'll just have to humor them. But, Discord thought smiling, I suppose a surprise is fun too.