A Funny Thing Happened On the Way Back From the Horsehead Nebula
"Discord..."
"Gah! Don't sneak up on me like that!"
"Apologies... Has been... long time... You have... a new form..."
"...Orsim Desmenee. In the flesh. Or as much as that lumpy pulsating stuff you choose to surround yourself with can be called 'flesh', I suppose. You're right. It has been a while."
"Eight million years..."
"In linear time, perhaps. I'm quite pleased to say it's been far longer for me."
"Does my... presence... really disgust you so deeply...? I thought you above... the limitations of mortal creatures..."
"Trust me, it's not your outer hideousness which causes my disgust. I find you repulsive in an entirely different way."
"Hrrmmm... I did not take you as one... to hold grudges over trivial matters..."
"A billion lives is hardly trivial, Orsim. I'm not saying that I can't be callous too, but I have a sense of scale at least."
"Billion lives... hardly a fraction... in comparison to the full majesty.... of Creation..."
"Could you please speak a little faster if you insist on holding a conversation with me, your Great Sliminess? Honestly, why do you outer gods all have to have speech impediments?"
"Be thankful... I understand the tongues of mortals... at all... Were I to speak... with my thought alone... you would be driven to a madness from which... there is no return."
"I'm the Spirit of Chaos and Disharmony, Orsim. I think I'm a little more resilient than you give me credit for."
"Hrmmmm.... Perhaps so... But your body is still mortal... Your mind is feeble..."
"My body is weak, but my soul is Eternal. Maybe it's easy for you to forget this, oh great Plague of Kings, but I'm older than you are. I'm a primordial force. The Lord of Chaos. The God of Lies. The Prince of Madness. Shall I go on?"
"Hrm... No... I understand your point..."
"Good."
"Speaking of which... how goes your quest... to throw the universe... into eternal chaos...?"
"I've... rather given it up for the time being."
"...Is that so...?"
"My counterpart and I have both been mellowing on the matter of total conquest ever since that whole business with the Key to Time. Neither of us could ever be allowed to permanently win anyway, because if we did tip the scales of our cosmic balancing act, Harmony would just tip it back. Plus there was some recent drama in the past millennium that soured me even more on the idea, and by now I'm just tired of it. Order and I went our separate ways and we haven't seen each other since.
"Personally, I'm fine with that. It means I can have more fun without him interfering. I just got back from one planet where I dropped a frozen sandwich from orbit on a primitive tribal culture, and then I watched as they created a religion around it! Eventually, they formed into a more rational and enlightened society and started questioning the divine nature of the sandwich, rather than burning each other for heresy. And that's when I animated the sandwich to make it come alive and give a prophesy of great doom and the evils of technology! You should've seen it! Eight hundred years of social progress rolled back in a single night! Hahaha!"
"Hrmmm..."
"...Oh right. I forgot who I was talking to for a moment there. You're a humourless glob of space ooze. Forgive me."
"This... Harmony, you speak of... I am not familiar... She is... the third Eternal, yes...? I have... heard stories..."
"Yes. The almighty and ever so righteous Tree of Harmony. She makes her roots on the Borderworld and spreads them through the currents of time to reach everywhere she needs to. I doubt you ever would have met her or her followers unless you actually bothered to visit a planet instead of eating one. I unfortunately have to deal with her rather more frequently."
"I hear tell... from the Orphaned Starchild... that you have made your home on the Borderworld... I hear such interesting things... about it... I am tempted... to see how it tastes... with so much... native magic..."
"...You. Do not. Touch. The Borderworld. Do you hear me, Orsim Desmenee? It is off-limits."
"I would not presume... to merely devour... such a planet... It is the place where points converge... after all... To destroy the Borderworld... is to draw the ire of you and your fellow Guardians of Time... It is to unleash the creatures of the Great Abyss... and to let loose all your demons within the Eye of Chaos... It is to anger Sleipnir of the Lower Realms... Hixelkicks, Godmother of Chimeras... and Paradox, last of the Great Wyrms of Time... It is to bring the Cosmic Council to bear... such that all the lesser deities of Elysium would march upon my gate... However... if I were to consume a paltry sum of its inhabitants... not enough to be missed... I'm sure that would sate me..."
"Don't even think about it."
"A mere four million would be sufficient."
"I said no."
"Hrrmmm... Discord, your word alone cannot stop me... I am an outer god... You are lesser than I... If you truly wish to save the inhabitants of your world... our usual game... our usual stakes..."
"No! I have never won against you in our usual game! I'm not playing you only to lose four million lives like I lost... Just no, Orsim!"
"Hrrrmmmmm... What alternative do you propose...?"
"I propose you go somewhere else, you fetid piece of cosmic driftwood! Go back to hanging around with the Hated Galaxy or the First Corpse, do whatever it is you abominations do when you get together, and leave the Borderworld alone!"
"Or else what... Discord...?"
"Or else I'll throw you into that sun over there and hold you inside until you're nice and crispy."
"You are powerful, Discord... but you cannot challenge me alone... Did I not say that I am an outer god...?"
"Then I wouldn't face you alone. I'd get help."
"Help... Hrrrmmmmm.... From whom does... the Lord of Chaos seek help?"
"I've made friends on the Borderworld, shocking as it may be to hear, and they're quite fond of living. If I think your existence threatens them, then I will tell them what you plan to do. And then all those entities you're so afraid of will be coming after you. You may be an outer god, but you're not stronger than the Elements of Harmony and the Lord of Chaos and a sun-bearer. The Borderworld is a graveyard of fallen gods and would-be alien conquerers, Orsim. The Spirit of Death himself was slain by mortal hooves on that world, and even now, the Star Dragon's bones float in orbit over the planet. Do you want to go the same way?"
"...It was you... that killed the Star Dragon... wasn't it...?"
"...It wasn't easy for me, but I had no choice. He would've peeled the atmosphere away and killed everything. It had to be done."
"...You truly would kill me for the Borderworld, wouldn't you...?"
"I'd kill you for all the other planets you've devoured, if I could get away with it. I am entropy in the universe, and even I find you disgusting for all the senseless death you bring. So yes, in answer to your question, I would. I would kill a thousand outer gods for the Borderworld. It's my home. It belongs to me. And you're not welcome there."
"Hrrmmm... So be it... I shall refrain..."
"Good. Now get out of the quadrant and don't let me ever see you in this sector of space again. If I do, I'll throw you into the Eye of Chaos and let the prisoners have their way with you."
"...Very well... Farewell for now, Discord... I shall depart... I hope to see you again in the next eon... Perhaps by then... you'll have changed your mind..."
"If I never see you again until we all perish at the End of the Universe, it'll still be too soon."
"Hrmm..."
"...Finally, he's gone. Ugh. Now, let's see... Hm... Is there a meteor around here somewhere...? Ah! Here we go! Now, if I'm not mistaken, Equestria is... that way! Hang on, Fluttershy! Discord's coming home!"
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This ties in to the comic book, doesn't it?
Very interesting. I like all the hints dropped about other stories.
5209910
Indeed it does! I've always loved the idea that Discord was not an entirely Earth-bound creature, and that he did have adventures in time or in outer space or in alternative universes. It's been my personal headcanon for a while, and it's also one of my favourite things about the backstory of Discord in your Last Draconequus series as well. To see it confirmed by the comics put me in such a good mood, and I started writing this almost the day after.
5210041
As a matter of fact, this is the third story of mine set in this particular universe, as this is the same Discord from House of Chaos and End of Empires. We'll be revisiting it again soon for my next story, Just Dodge!, which will be out as soon as the artist I commissioned gets the cover art for it done.
Hmm... I would like to see this evolve into a larger story.
As it stands, it is rather interesting. The dialouge was done well, with just enough hints to allow us at least a minimal image of what was going on. It seemed like Discord was kinda off to me, though, but I think that's simply because there are no descriptions of his doing anything. I kinda just imagined him floating around doing nothing without the description to accompany, and so it leaves a weird image of him.
Still, very nice.
5210093
It probably is an ill-fit to try to use this format with a character such as Discord. That was one of my major worries about the fic, and why I know it's not my best. My rationalisation was that an encounter with an outer god would be one of the few things that would make Discord hold still and have a serious conversation without his usual level of movement. However, without narration, I can't really portray that. And if I were to have had narration, I'd have rather just had him still being his usual self rather than attempt to justify OOC behaviour. But then I wouldn't get to experiment with the format.
There was another story I once read called Ice, which was one of those fics I mentioned in the author's notes that used this format, and which also contained Discord. That story actually worked his general lack of animated movement into its premise, as in that story he was slowly freezing to death. It kind of compensated for the issue and made it less distracting. I'd recommend reading that story as a point of comparison, because I think it highlights the criticism you raised and shows how one would address it if their story premise allowed such a thing.
Pleasant conversation. 1221
5210142
Apologies for the long wait between responses. I don't often have enough free time to get on the site nearly as often as I would like.
I'll definitely take a look at that fic for a good comparison. Still, I do believe your concerns are valid in this case, mostly because I don't know the context that surrounds an outer god (mostly because this seems to take place in a universe I am unfamiliar with). Discord's apparent frustration with Orsim Desmenee would still, I believe, play out into his actions. Generally with pouting and or frustration/disdain based on the conversation they were having. Even when upset he seems to be very expressive, at least from my interpretation of him.
Still, again, the fic was overall entertaining, if a mite confusing for lack of context. It almost seems to be a spin-off of something larger. (And if it is, then my apologies for not recognizing it). Am I sensing a larger universe in the making or a universe that I might be able to read somewhere? If it is already in one of your existing fictions, then my excuse (and a poor one at that) is that I haven't really gotten around to reading a lot of the rest of your stuff yet. :
5210142
Having finished reading Ice, I can say that I think that story had another advantage in that it had more room to display the characters' actions through their dialogue than yours did. It's a little harder to do the same with yours, since I get the impression that neither of the two deities were interacting in any physical way. And with space allowing 3D movement, it'd be a little more difficult to describe the movements relative to anything other than each other even if you were using narrative.
Besides his story, however, I can't think of any other story in which it could be done effectively without some really contrived circumstances that would definitely feel forced. Even with Ice, there wasn't a whole lot in the way of explanation, so the story definitely felt more like an experiment than a true story, even if just barely.
Apologies if any of the above seems oddly worded/explained. It's late at night here, so I may not be fully functioning. I'll try to get to reading your other stories (starting with The Winter sometime tomorrow or so). Can't wait to see more from you!
5221193
5221264
I certainly would've much preferred to have portrayed Discord with his usual expressiveness. The "outer gods are srs bsns" explanation isn't one I'd have ever wanted to actually use, because you're completely right that Discord would still be Discord, even in a situation where he's frustrated like this. And I think you're right that the 3D movement thing may have also contributed. It may have been to my advantage to have this story set somewhere other than just empty space. Perhaps on a passing asteroid, or near some other kind of cosmic debris?
As to the larger universe question, you would be correct! Currently, the project I refer to as "the Borderworld" encompasses Discord: House of Chaos, Discord: End of Empires, this fic, The Winter, and I've got another fic complete and waiting to be published called Just Dodge! which also shares this setting. However, these are still the beginning stages of the project, and at the moment don't have much relation to each other, so they won't lend much context to this encounter yet. If the Borderworld is the Marvel Cinematic Universe, then these are all the phase one movies, and I haven't yet written my Avengers. When I'm done, though, it'll be much larger, and we'll have a much more complete picture.
For now, I'll just say that this world's Discord has a long history, and that the beings like Orsim with whom he shares that history are many.
5209952 can you send me a link to the orgins story (also i think you tied a bit of mythology into it) if there is one, i'm interested.
5343546
The origin story for this version of Discord has not yet been written, but if you want more backstory on him in general, I'd direct you to this group.
5343620 thanks
" "Ever since that whole business squabbling over the Key to Time, me and my counterpart decided it was pointless to try to throw reality into total chaos or order. Neither of us could ever be allowed to permanently win anyway, because if we did tip the scales of our cosmic balancing act, Harmony would just tip it back. "
Discord was the Black Guardian?!
Hmmm...
He better stay away from Dr. Whooves then because the Doc will not be pleased with Discord.
5351976
Yes, Discord is this universe's Black Guardian of Time. Among other things.
5351976 What's the Black Guardian?
Have you ever considered submitting this story to Equestria Daily? You can find out how to do so here.
5619379
The Black Guardian of Time was the villain of a season long arc in the Tom Baker era of classic Doctor Who. An extremely powerful being capable of minor reality-warping, he represented the forces of evil and chaos in the universe and sought the Key to Time for his own nefarious ends, and was opposed by the benevolent White Guardian of Time, his opposite counterpart representing order, who recruited the Fourth Doctor to gather the pieces of the Key before the Black Guardian could. You can basically think of him as the Discord of the Doctor Who universe, only without the sense of humour and the "chaos" part being less important than the "evil". Hence the reference in this story.
5619382
Not an option until I get my other story out of the queue, I'm afraid, as per EqD's current policy on new submissions.
I... I somehow didn't even notice this was entirely dialogue while reading. You made it seamless. Or maybe I am just too tired right now... Either or.
Really good worldbuilding, I like the glimpse you give us into a much greater universe.
I see what you did there.
This is great.
And the voices are distinct enough that it was no problem figuring out who said who, so that went just fine. I like the hinting approach, sometimes those are simply enough. Fun.
Key of time referance. Where's my scarf...
Certainly interesting, especially since it gives a good sense of the relative power levels of Outer Gods, Discord, the Elements, and Celestia. I'm going to have to look into this Borderworld thing...
I just about died laughing when I read that.
Interesting stuff; I like me some world-building, and this has gallons of the stuff. Maybe a bit too much for a short one-shot, really. I think I appreciated this the more for having read the CMC/Discord IDW comic.
XD that dropping a sandwitch bit was hilarious id totaly do it too
Well that was a fun read!
One of my favorite aspects of this story is knowing that all the references are backed up by a mountain of palpable lore I could dig into at any time. Not only are the concepts explored here really interesting, particularly the idea of the how Discord works as a deterrent to keep the Borderworld safe, but there is so much imagination and depth to all the background which sustains it. Without all that this short story would be far less impressive, and it is pretty good on its own terms.
11632893
Thanks. This was one of the earliest stories I wrote for this universe, so it's undergone some pretty heavy revisions since the original version, but reverse engineering many of these references into full characters and stories throughout the years did give me a lot to work with in terms of laying a foundation for the rest of the world.