Agents of Discord

by Scarlett Haze

Hiding behind a Name

I woke up. Covered in my Oakland Raiders blanket and in my room. I looked down and saw my hands, fingers, and lifting the blanket up to see my toes wiggling around. I wasn't a pony that had his ribcage cracked open by wooden wolves. I was me again. My head hit the pillow and I sighed. A dream. The teleportation device, the transportation into a dark forest, becoming a Pegasus, being saved by a zebra, all a dream.

I sat up and noticed something different about my room. It was clean. I mean, spring clean. Nothing on the dresser, nothing on the floor, no clothes in the hamper, and even the closet was bare. I was getting scared. That's when I saw something move in front of me, in the mirror. I got out of bed and wheeled around to check if someone was in my room. Bare walls.

I was going insane, that had to be it. Why else would I have such a weird dream and then wake up in an empty bedroom? I turned to the mirror where I saw the movement and looked at my hair, it had the familiar color of orange-red, and I started shaking my head in disbelief, my eyes never leaving the reflection in front of me. This wasn't real. It was a dream!

“A dream?” a voice from behind me said, making me spin to see a man in a brown suit, grey hair, a yellow glove on his right hand and a brown glove in his left. He was sitting on the end of my bed, and his head lifted up to look at me. His gray hair parting to show that he had yellow eyes and red irises.

I swung out my fist to hit the man, and I watched him float away from me and stayed above my sheets. My hand then went to grab the dresser from keeping me from falling, this nightmare was still going. I was staring down a man, no, a demon from hell.

“Hell, my boy, is a very overused place.” The man had pulled a pipe from a coat pocket and started smoking out water. “Now, the River Styx is more obscure, and to be honest, who wouldn't want to ride a gondola to their final resting place?” He took another drag out of the pipe and spat out sand. Giving a few smacks into it, he put it back in his mouth and then released a stream of bubbles. Seemingly satisfied he left the pipe in his mouth.

“Who are you?” I could feel my mouth was very dry, I could barely get enough spit to not sound hoarse with fear. My mind began racing again, calculating how fast I could run, if I could even escape from something like it. I tried going through a few possibilities when I started to wonder why this guy sounded familiar.

"Oh, the voice, of course. You see, your kind has this bad habit of comparing my voice to a certain John DeLancey and a character he played in some science-fiction show, now what was he called? Q?" A snap of his fingers and he disappeared, making me even more stressed. “Over here.”

The voice came from behind me again, from the mirror. When I turned, my eyes nearly burst from my head. A creature was standing in the mirror, his arms crossed and a confident smirk on his lips. I noticed his eyes were the same color of the human that I saw floating over my bed.

I went to run my hand through my hair and saw that it was a hoof again. I had the orange-red fur on me again and looking back up at the mirror, I could see myself fully. My eyes were brown, the only thing that didn't change. My hair, or rather, my mane was actually a darker shade of the orange-red fur and I could see my wings as they laid on my sides.

I began to cry, the nightmare just didn't want to end. I began to hear laughter from the creature, as I broke down in front of it. My hooves still on the dresser, no, the illusion of a dresser. I felt my rage against the laughing beast boil over as I crashed my right hoof into the mirror, leaving me crying in a floating void.

“I didn't mean to make you cry,” the voice called out, as I now tried to find where it was coming from. “I just wanted to get you someplace where we could talk, but you had to break the illusion,” the voice said, almost impressed. “Not many ponies can do that. But then again, you aren't really a pony, now are you?”

“This is the curse, isn't it?” I choked out, still struggling against the tears of anger and sadness. “I have to be driven to madness by demons.” The creature began laughing again, my muscles straining as I wanted to find it and make it pay.

“I would be appreciative if you did go insane, but I don't want you to snap. Not until I'm finished with you.” I felt its breath and I spun to hit it with a hoof, and succeeded in breaking a puppet jaw of the same monster. “You're the bait.”

“Bait?” I said questionably, turning from the puppet and going back to finding some sign of where the monster was. “Bait for what?”

“I'm not going to tell you,” it responded, sounding insulted. “That's part of the beauty of my 10,000 year plan.” I began to get tired, and the dark void started to fade. “Looks like our talk is over.”

“W-who are you?” I gasped out, before lying down on the ground and watching my vision blur on the beast as he walked up to me and put his face next to mine.

"I am Discord. Draconequus. And you and your friends are going to be working for me."

***

I began waking up, to the smell of something similar to pea soup being made. I slowly got up from the floor and started stretching, feeling all of the new bones pop as I moved from the hooves to the wings. Taking a glance at my 'bed', I remarked that I was given a pillow and blanket while I was unconscious. Slowly regaining my memory of last night, I began looking around for the zebra that helped me. However, I was in an empty hut with a pot of what looked like green ooze, wincing as a rather large bubble popped up.

I contemplated on what to do, I had a routine that I had gotten used to back home and I didn't know if I wanted to even do it. I finally just got up and explored the hut, not expecting a bathroom that had a sink or toilet. After some much needed rest in the restroom and throwing some cold water in my face, I looked up to see a small mirror, still confirming that I was still a Pegasus. I got mad as I began to remember the Draconequus that laughed at my misery. Then I thought about what he last said before I finally passed out, 'You and your friends are going to be working for me.'

I leaned on the sink for some time, trying to figure out what Discord meant. He wanted me to be bait, bait for what? He said this was a plan of his for 10,000 years, how old exactly was this being? What was this plan exactly that had to involve my girlfriend, her sister, my best friend, and me? The questions did lead me to a theory however, if Discord was really older than 10,000 years, and he was able to perform all of those tricks and illusions, then Discord had to be a god of some kind.

The door opened and I watched the zebra and Tyrone come in carrying a variety of plants and gems. “Good Morning, Pegasi with no mark of his own. Come over here so I can look at your rib bone.” Approaching the zebra I could see Tyrone's tail wag as he walked over to where the pot was and set down the plants and picked up a diamond. He popped it into his mouth and the sound of loud crunching followed as he munched on it. I just sighed, not wanting to ask how Tyrone was able to chew up a stone as if it was dog food.

As the zebra began poking at my ribs again I felt uneasy, not because she was poking me and I was in a hut of a dangerous forest, but because I was looking at her flank and actually thinking to myself that it was attractive. “So, uh, I don't want to be a rude guest,” I said as she poked closer to my neck. “My name is Quentin. The dog is named Tyrone. We're from... far away.” My mouth shut tightly and my eyes tried to avoid direct contact with her own.

She looked up at me and raised an eyebrow, “A name of old, how very curious. Although it would explain that against the Timberwolves, you were courageous.” I blushed, I've never been called courageous, in fact, I would've said I was the opposite. During the whole fight, I was frightened that I was going to die, alone, in a place I didn't know, as a pegasus. She then gave me a smile and trotted towards the pile of plants and gems, and started placing a few into the pot and took the rest to a table and set them down.

“I am Zecora, come and have a seat,” she motioned to a pillow and went to the ladle that was set on the pot. “We have a big day, so come and eat.” I sat down and watched as she stirred the soup, leaving me to my thoughts again. Trying again to figure out why a god would need to send four humans into a world like this. I had zoned out enough to not see that Zecora had filled a bowl full of the green liquid and set it in front of me.

“Forgive me if the soup did not mix, I only had enough time for a quick fix.” I blinked and mumbled a thanks before trying to think of a way to drink from the bowl. Carefully moving my hooves on both sides of the bowl and pressing against it, I lifted the warm and bitter soup down my throat. No doubt it was meant to help me recover further, and I tried to keep from retching it up again. I promised myself that if I ever got back home, I would need to learn how to fight.

“It's fine.” I coughed, feeling my head tingle as whatever ingredients started to take effect. Whatever it was, it acted like a good cup of coffee and I was waking up much faster. “I gotta ask, you say that Quentin is an old name. Why?” Zecora gave me another look that told me that I had to explain what I meant. “I mean, its kind of obscure, but I'd think it would be just as common as Zecora.”

Zecora gave a sigh as her eyes closed and she set her bowl down. “I do not know how you came to be here, but who you truly are is very clear.” Her eyes opened, looking at me seriously. “Equestrian born no longer carry forbidden names such as yours. All because of the Discordian Wars.” The word Discord stuck out like a sore thumb, and she saw how I reacted when I heard it. “However, you speak in the modern tongue, so a pony from the past, you cannot be, you're too young.”

Zecora went back to her bowl and finished drinking from it. I didn't know if I should tell her the truth, but if she already knew that much about me, then perhaps she would understand as to who I was. I silently debated with myself before finally resolving to telling the truth.

“Alright. I'll tell you who I... was. I'll answer whatever question you can throw at me.”

***

Richard was in a room with both Princesses of Equestria, how lucky could a brony be? Not just to be sent to Equestria, but to have an audience with the actual royalty that raised the sun and moon! “This has got to be the coolest thing that could've ever happen to me,” he thought to himself.

Princess Celestia walked around Richard, eying him carefully. Occasionally shooting glances back at his flank, and his lack of a cutie mark. Richard however knew what it was going to be, one of the spinning radar screens with a few green dots inside it, after all, that was the mark he made for himself. Princess Luna gave a yawn, but kept herself awake.

“Radiant Radar, was it?” Celestia finally spoke, doubt clearly hanging in the room. “How come we don't have records of you attending Magic School? Or living in any town in Equestria?”

Radiant gave a shrug, “Guess your record keepers messed up somewhere down the line. I didn't attend Magic School, I was home schooled. And I suppose you can actually be correct that I haven't lived in any town in Equestria because I'm always on the move.” His heart was running so fast, but his outside expression was calm and collected. This wasn't the Richard that was mopey and sad, he was Radiant Radar, a former scout pony in the war before Celestia took control from Nightmare Moon and sent her to the moon for a thousand years.

Princess Luna stamped her hoof, “LIAR!” she cried out. Richard knew she was right, but she didn't have proof.

“Sister! Calm yourself, go to sleep and I'll wake you for when the night is to start.” Celestia's horn glowed around the door, making it open and watched Luna walk out, still watching Radiant. With the door shut, Celestia grabbed ahold of Radiant and shoved him into the wall.

“How did you get here?! I thought I shut the portal off between worlds after the Discordian Wars!” Celestia sounded more afraid than Richard had ever heard her before.

That's when he saw a familiar Draconequus floating behind Celestia, he used his fingers to resemble a mouth talking, pointed it to it and then pointed out to the gardens where his statue was before disappearing. Radiant's face went white as he knew exactly who brought him over.

“Somepony else managed to open it back up.”

***

Marian was awoken to the sounds of roosters crowing, curse natural animal habits, why can't they have snooze buttons? Marian managed to pull herself up from the hay bale she was sleeping on and groggily grabbed for her glasses, picking them up and sliding them to her face. While she would've enjoyed having to argue logical thinking about how a hoof can grip a pair of glasses and place them on her face, she knew she had to get moving before the local farmers got up.

And sadly, she was looking dead center at a large red stallion with an angry expression. "What're you doin' in the barn? Tresspasin'?"

Marian's ears folded back instinctively and tried to look around for a way of escape. Finding the best option, she decided to go for it. Jumping over a barrel to the red stallion's right, Marian made a bolt for the door. It was wide open, not a thing could stop her as she streaked past the gateway into freedom.

Then a lasso grabbed one of her hooves and she fell flatly on the ground. Trying to get back to thinking, she tried to roll over and get the lasso off, but was instead hogtied by an orange mare in a cowboy hat.

"Got 'er! She ain't goin' nowhere!" she called back to the red stallion, who nonchalantly went about his business in the barn. Marian looked as the orange pony looked ahead of her and watched her iris briefly shrink back as she mouthed 'Why is she awake?'

From a distance she could hear the sound of somepony hopping right behind her. "Howdy Applejack! Oop! You're the one that says that, not me. Who's this pony? OOH! That's two new ponies I need to make parties for! And she's green like the one that I brought back to Sugercube Corner! What if they know each other? They do kinda look the same. This must be the sister that Limonade was talking about! Why were you tying her up Applejack? Was it because she did something bad? Oh, don't get upset though! If she's like her sister, she must've been completely overhauled on the cider!"

Marian could feel her head begin to condense all of the words, but found she couldn't quiet process them faster than the pink pony could speak. What was this about Limonade? Why would she be thinking that a drink was actually her sister?

"We caught this here trespasser in the barn. Big Mac set up the trap before she could wake up. Have to say though, she almost got away before she upped and handed me her hooves for tying." Marian could only cry as the two continued their conversation, so this is how the adventure starts, getting caught trespassing and about to go to jail. It was then that she heard somepony familiar.

"Pinkie? Hello? I couldn't have lost you that easily." It was Linda! Linda was here, she was going to save her and then both of them could run for home. Get a cup of warm tea and laugh this off as a strange circumstance.

"Well now, these two do look alike. Same coat color, mane color, save for the glasses, they could be twins." Applejack began lifting Marian to her hooves as another pony came up, lime green coat, hair that bobbed in the front as though she had been fussing with it for seventeen minutes before getting back on track. The moment Marian felt a loosening of the rope, the two sisters embraced each other and began to cry.

"Woah. Didn't quite think that'd happen. You'd think they haven't seen each other in years." Applejack remarked, trying to coerce Pinkie away from the two so they could have their moment.

The road just had Linda and Marian. Both crying because they had managed to find each other. Soon the tears stopped flowing long enough for the two to end their embrace and sit down on the road, staring at each other. For a moment, a period of laughter and then silence.

"So this is what we've become," Linda quipped, "Ponies. Lime Green, talking ponies." Marian gave a nod, still wishing that she still had her notepad so she could write down everything that had happened at this point.

"What time is it?” Marian asked, her glasses slipping slightly down her snout. Linda put a hoof to her chin and started thinking.

“Just about 8 in the morning. You wouldn't believe it, Marian. They have practically all the things we have. Ovens, clocks, cash registers, it's so weird!” Marian could only nod as she tried to process the information, the barn suggested they didn't advance as far as humanity, they still had horse drawn plows and hand tools. Maybe it was only off by perhaps fifty years or less from their own track of technology. Which meant if they could find Richard, then making another teleportation machine like on Earth wouldn't be a viable option home.

Linda got up and made Marian stand up as well, both of them slowly approaching the pink pony and orange cowpony, whose conversation was currently about something called 'Cutie Marks'.

"Marian, this is Pinkie Pie,” Linda introduced the smiling, curled maned mess as Marian felt her entire body shake as Pinkie grabbed one of her hooves and started violently shaking it.

“Hello there! Your sister told me a lot about you,says you came all the way from Fillinois! That's really far, I mean ridiculously crazy far. No wonder you two were out drinking the town dry, after walking from there to Ponyville you had to be thirsty!” Marian did her best to try and look to Linda for help, and could only see her look away in embarrassment.

“She's part of a group known as the 'Elements of Harmony',” Linda began to say, trying to create another line of conversation to distract Pinkie. “She's Laughter, the other pony, Applejack, she's the element of Honesty. Pinkie told me that she's going to visit the rest of the Elements and introduce me to them personally." Linda went quiet as she saw Marian finally settled down from Pinkie's rattling hoofshake.

"Why's the earth spinning?” Marian wearily asked, as her eyes rolled around.

"Well, I can't let your sister outta my sight,” Applejack said with conviction towards Linda. “She still broke the law, and I'll need to report it regardless. But, I'm willing to let it go if I can go with you around town. But first off, where exactly do you plan to even start this little tour, Pinkie?”

Pinkie Pie went into her tail and pulled out a map, it looked like it had been scribbled heavily on with markers, each color winding around the countryside. “We'll take Green into the marketplace and then shift into Yellow towards the Carousel Boutique to meet with Rarity. Then we go on Pink and take a break at Sugercube Corner for lunch. From there, we ride on Blue to the library and give a howdy doody to Twilight. Then we all run off of Brown towards the Mayor's office, turn on Red towards Fluttershy's house and circle on Purple.”

The three ponies stared confusedly at Pinkie as she stuffed the map back into her tail. After a small time of silence, Pinkie gave a sigh. “Just follow me.”

***

I stared into Zecora's eyes as she tried to process what I had just told her. I explained about my world, humans, how we function, how myself and my friends managed to get thrown out into Equestria. Zecora was also able to share a little about how Equestria worked too. Their rule of government was based on a Monarchy of two princesses, one that raised the sun with magic, and the other raising the moon with her own magic. She talked a bit more about the Discordian Wars as well. In a nutshell, it happened before another disaster happened when one princess turned on the other and adapted another name to only be banished to the moon.

The Discordian Wars was the equivilant to the World Wars back on earth. Zebras, Griffons, Diamond Dogs, Ponies, Changelings (whatever they were), every creature was at each others throats. And the reason it was called the Discordian Wars was because Discord watched over all of the fights as the ruler of Equestria. That's when the princesses stepped forward and led every creature against Discord. Establishing a weapon that was called the 'Elements of Harmony' and using it to turn Discord to stone.

He was singing a ballad in another language when they turned him to stone, but to this day no pony has yet to know what song he was singing and why. Soon, the war itself was forgotten, except for Zecora. “My family is a direct decent from the leader of my people at that time. And all of us were taught to speak in the old language, in rhyme.”

“So that explains it.” I softly spoke, watching her still looking me over. “I don't want to cause trouble. Really. I just need to find my friends and get us all home.” Zecora and I went quiet, leaving only the sound of Tyrone gnawing on an emerald in the hut. Zecora got up and went to her table with the plants and herbs she picked up and started organizing them. I kept quiet as I watched her crush some seeds in a mortar and pestle, she started mixing something together and then pulled a canteen out and dumped whatever formula inside it.

She came over and slipped the canteen on me, I quietly remarked on how it seemed to stick just right so it wouldn't be bumping against me. “You're going to come with me into Ponyville, but a new name for you we need to think of before we will.”

“Well, what exactly is a name I could use? If not Quentin, or something like that, then what?” I leaned against the pot and tried to remember any foreign names that I could think of that would make sense for what Zecora wanted. Zecora was also thinking of a name herself as she began pacing.

“Names of the current age is most related to who they are, or what they do. Start telling me more about you.” I began going through my life story, trying to see if anything could hit the mark of what she wanted, with each question she gave me, I answered without pause. I took another sip of the now mild 'quick fix' soup and downed the whole thing when the perfect name came to my head.

“You said this soup, it was a quick fix, right?” I excitedly remarked as I started pacing, something I would do when I had an idea. “Well, that could mean anything really, a doctor, engineer, cook, builder, it's perfect!” I turned to Zecora and with a grin stated my new alias. “Quick Fix the Pegasus.” Zecora gave some thought into what I had said and gave a meaningful nod.

“Quick Fix is a fine name for your disguise, now off to Ponyville and its open skies.”

***

Celestia and Radiant entered the castle gardens and trotted up to the encased statue of Discord, frozen in a permanent state of fear as his hands tried to hide himself from the sun. “Discord couldn't have been able to open the rift again, it would've required a high amount of magic in order to even scratch the surface of the interdemensional plane.” Celestia looked over at Radiant, still unsure as to why Radiant wanted to see the imprisoned Discord.

Radiant started looking around the statue, trying to find some sort of crack in the surface. He was trapped inside the stone prison, so how could have been able to escape? “Maybe all he needed was to scratch the surface and the other side was just weak enough for him to bring me through.” Richard hadn't told Celestia the whole truth, he had yet to mention the fact that it wasn't just him that was sent through the teleportation device. But if he made this more complicated than what it already was, then perhaps none of them could go back.

Radiant tried to figure out how to use his magic, if he could do that, he could pinpoint any discrepancy on that statue. He tried focusing on his horn to see if it would work and felt his head start to feel like it was expanding, this had to be it. He could feel a lot of power inside ready to explode, and he soon released it all into the sky. Once it ended, he leaned down on his left forehoof and tried to gather his thoughts. Celestia looked on at Radiant and then up at the sky.

“How did you-?” Before she could finish, the yellow magic screamed down from the sky and hit Radiant. His eyes turned green and he started pinpointing all of the ponies in Canterlot, saying who they were and what position they were in. After a moment of clarity, the scan was narrowed down to the statue of Discord.

“Report shows broken nail of Discord on statue, left foot. Analysis, Discord still in captivity. Theory, Broken piece of Discord was enough for communication while in imprisonment. Sending report to Command.” After Radiant finished his sentence, his horn pulsed a telegraphed message that was received by Celestia. Once the last pulse ended, Radiant fell to the ground unconscious. A mark became visible on Radiant Radar's flank, the scanning radar that Richard had indeed made for his OC character.

Using her magic, Celestia picked up Radiant Radar and brought him back in the castle. “Get this pony to a guest room and call a doctor for a house call.” She said to a group of guards, as they all saluted her and split off to do their duties. Celestia went up to her throne and slumped into it, shock and disbelief on her face. “Discord. How could you have done this?”

***

As the four mares walked across the bridge into town, Marian couldn't help but shrink back a little bit. She wasn't used to just going into town, let alone an entire town that seemed to hold many ponies that filled the streets. Linda tried to keep close to Marian for comfort and they began approaching what looked like a carousel was sitting on top of a house, it certainly stood out in a town of houses made with wooden frames and straw roofs. "Name check!" Pinkie Pie shouted out. "PINKIE PIE!"

Applejack sighed, "Applejack."

Linda went to say her name when Pinkie Pie huddled the four together. "She's going to say Linda, but I don't like that name, doesn't go off the tongue like a rounded jawbreaker. So instead, we're calling her Limonade."

Marian gave a sideways glance at Pinkie, "That's what you've been calling my sister? Why?"

Linda rubbed the back of her neck, "When I had breakfast with Pinkie, I asked her to pass the limonade when it was actually lemonade. You know how I've had a problem with saying certain words and how they come out sounding different." Then Linda got an idea, "Say, Marian, how about we call you Min Tea? Like what you love to make all the time."

Pinkie gave a gasp and narrowed her eyes at Limonade, "I like that name, how do you make the best names since ever?" Marian went to object when Pinkie held out a hoof for the huddle, "Limonade and Min Tea on 3." Applejack gave an apologetic look to Linda and Marian before putting her hoof on Pinkie's, Linda then following suit. Marian dejectedly put her own hoof in the pile. "1 2 3! Limonade and Min Tea!"

The newly named Limonade gave a reassuring smile to the now gloomy Min Tea as they all prepared to step into the Carousal Boutique to meet the element of generosity.

Comments

[Brony_9_9]

Awesome story
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Y u no let me sleep