Realms of Discord

by Chilly Quill

Chapter 3

Nigma trotted behind Wild Mint as he was lead through the town, a slight rush in his step as he tried to keep up with the green pony. Chilly Quill kept pace besides him, giving Nigma someone less active to talk to. “So Chilly, how did you come to live here?”

Chilly paused for a moment. “I used to live here after I moved out of my parents’ house when I was eighteen. Lived here for a few years and ran my book store. Things were pleasant, but I wasn’t getting as much business as I had hoped.”

Nigma nodded. “Is that why you moved to Manehatten?”

“Oh, most certainly. I found a store on the edge of the city and had some decent business the first year. Then I found Innate in front of my door and things went downhill.”

Nigma cringed. “Is innate still a colt? You must still have problems.” Nigma could only imagine the pain HE was for Discord when he was younger. It was something he had to ask about.”

Chilly shook his head. “You misunderstand. Innate is only a year younger than me. He was passed out in front of my shop. After I took him in, business began to fall, though innate made up for it with the artifacts he kept bringing in from his ghost hunting. We had to move away, though, after I took one of his ghost manuals and fell asleep in one of the parks. Locals didn’t take too kindly to the scare.”

Wild Mint jumped in, hopping on Chilly’s back. “This guy just can’t stay up in any weather except winter. He was raised in the cold and gets sleepy in any other temp.” Mint glanced about before leaning in close. “He talks in his sleep sometimes too. You should hear the spells he can rehearse from Innate’s books.”

Nigma nodded. Innate sounded like quite the pony. But he was a bit more concerned with the now. “When are we going to get to the town hall?”

Chilly and Mint stared at him blankly. “We’ve been here for five minutes.” Chilly said, pointing at the building next to him.

Nigma glanced over at the structured. True to their word, he saw the tower fashion of town hall sitting next to him. It didn’t look any different from the original one, but was certainly a little bigger. “You two should have said something. I’ve been dying to get this done. It’s getting late and I’d rather not spend the night anywhere but at my own house.”

Chilly and Mind nodded, glancing about. “Well we’ll go get some food for you while you get things sorted out.” Mint said. “You look famished.”

Nigma was about to say that it was Mint’s fault he was hungry in the first place, but decided against it. He instead said goodbye to his friends and went inside the building.

As soon as he walked into the lobby, Nigma found himself up against another pony, bouncing off of them and rolling onto the floor. Nigma shook his head, glancing at the pony in preparation to criticize them. He stopped cold, eyeing a Pegasus mare that held out her hoof to him. “Are you alright?” She said in a smooth voice.

Nigma couldn’t help but nod, his face flushed a little. He grabbed the pony’s hoof, lifting himself up with her help. “I’m terribly sorry madame.” He said with practiced precision. “I’m afraid I wasn’t looking where I was going.”

The mare giggled, her lengthy violet mane falling over her left eye. Her wings and coat were a light blue and her cutie mark was a trio of roses, each a different color. “Well it’s admirable to blame yourself but it was me at fault.” She admitted. “I was rushing out of the mayor’s office and I may have been a little out of it.”

Nigma blinked as his eyes began to hurt. The rush of colors in his iris gradually slipped into a bright aqua, catching the Pegasus’ attention. “Well maybe we were lucky to bump into each other.” Nigma said quietly, his voice suddenly smoother than usual. “I never find it unfortunate to bump into a lovely lady such a yourself.”

“Well well, such a charmer. Does my handsome Romeo have a name?”

Nigma bowed down, his eyes never leaving the mare’s focus. “Nigma, my lady. Could I trouble for your own name?”

The Pegasus smiled. “The name is Rose Wind. Most people just call me Rose, though. What brings you to Ponyville’s town hall? I’ve been looking for a house, myself.”

Nigma’s eye’s glinted. “Actually that’s what I’ve been looking to do as well. Perhaps we might become neighbors after today?”

Rose giggled. “I would like that. It’s a shame though. I bought the last available house in town.” The comment made Nigma blink, his eyes resuming their color rotation.

Nigma brushed himself off. “Well maybe I can have something worked out. I’ve heard of people living in libraries before. I’m sure I can have something arranged.”

“Well good luck with that.” Rose walked up to Nigma, brushing his side with her wing. “Maybe I’ll be lucky enough to bump into you again, cutie.” She slapped his rump as she walked to the exit, giggling to herself as she left.

Nigma stood there, staring straight ahead as a cold rush went through his spine. The door clicked again as Wild Mint walked in, glancing behind him. “Quite the mare, that was. Hey Nigma, what are you doing?”
Mint waved his hoof in front of Nigma, though it drew no response. “Oh great, it’s this again.” Mint sighed. “Well I guess I could sin once more, if it’s for a friend.”
Wild Mint took a deep breath, leaning in close to Nigma’s ear. He held himself there for a moment before rearing back on his hind legs. Then without hesitation, he threw himself back down, releasing his breath in one deafening shout. “FIRE!”
The effects were almost immediate and damaging. Nigma’s front hooves slammed right into Mint’s nose as he screamed, his head snapping left and right to try and find the exit that was behind him. Other ponies looked at the two, concerned or otherwise irritated by the loud interruption of their time.
Mint was dazed for but a moment before reaching up, grabbing the flailing hoof with a grunt. “Calm down tiger, I was just trying to get your attention.” Nigma flailed about for a few more moments before calming down, ripping his hoof away from Mint. “Now what happened to you? I turn my back on you for a moment and I find you paralyzed for no reason.”
Nigma frowned. “That Pegasus was quite a charming lady. She . . . I don’t even know what she did. All I know is that I was talking all suave. Or at least more than what I usually am, which is to say not much.”
Mint grinned. “She was quite the looker, if I do say so myself. Maybe later I can take you to see the waitress at my favorite coffee shop. She just started working there, but my god does she know how to brew a cup.”
“Yes I’m sure I’d love to meet another hyperactive pony that’s around caffeine twenty-four seven.” Nigma deadpanned.
“Hey, I’m not hyperactive. And the mare is actually quite laid back. Downright shy, if you ask me. She actually seems a bit like you sometimes.”

Nigma shrugged, glancing around. “Where’s the mayor’s office, Mint? That girl Rose said she bought the last house. I’m hoping to find a different arrangement.”

Mint’s eyes widened. “She did now? Funny, I could have sworn there were at least ten houses still available a week ago. Let’s go see this; I really doubt all of them were bought within a week.”
Wild Mint went down a hallway to the left, ushering for Nigma to follow. Nigma tailed Mint as he took to the halls, making a steady turn as if he knew the place. “So where’s Chilly Quill anyway?”
Mint shook his head. “Innate caught up to him. He’s probably neck-deep in dogs right now.”
Deciding not to bring it up, Nigma began to glance around, noticing that they were following a deep circular pattern inside the building. Whoever set up the place clearly wanted everything to go in a steady flow. A stream of order amongst a sea of chaos I suppose, Nigma Thought.
Wild Mint stopped in front of a door that was within eyesight of the main lobby. “Well this is the place. If the mayor is in, she’ll see you.” Nigma glanced at the pony. “Well she’s normally not that busy. When she is, you’d know it.”
Nigma only shrugged, knocking on the door. A few moments passed and Nigma thought that no one was in the office until a rather loud shout came from inside. “Well what are ya waiting for? Get your fat flank in here!”
Nigma looked at Wild Mint, who nodded at the door. He grabbed the door with forced effort, trying to keep from ripping out the door in fear. He glanced in and found a brown earth pony with short yellow hair sitting at the desk in the center of the room. “H-hello.” He stuttered. “M-my name is-“
“Did I ask what your name was?” The pony said angrily. “You wanted to see Mayor Hothead?” Nigma nodded. “Well here I am! Now what do ya want?”
Nigma recoiled at the harsh tone, wondering if he had made a mistake. “I’m looking for some housing in town. I was hoping that you could help me with that.”

The mayor grunted, opening a cabinet to her left. “Well I never turn down somebody looking to live in my town, but I’m afraid you might be too late.”
Mint walked up ahead of Nigma. “So those ten houses really did get bought up this week?” His question was met with a deadly glare that made him back right up against the door. “Nevermind. I’m just going to stay back here.”

Mayor hothead kept her glare at Wild Mint until he began to cower with his ears flat against his head. “Well as much as I’d hate to admit it, you’re right. There was a Pegasus here just a few minutes ago that bought up every last available house in Ponyville. Thirteen houses all bought at once.”

Nigma shook his head. “You don’t see that as suspicious? Not even a bit?”
She growled at Nigma, almost making him want to join Wild Mint. “Like I said, I don’t turn down a pony looking to live here. She said she was buying them for her friends and family and paid for every last deed. I don’t see why I should have denied her.”
Nigma could only sigh. “So I suppose that means I won’t be able to buy a house then.”
Mayor Hothead shook her head. “Normal housing is all bought out, I’m afraid. There is one other option though, if you’d be willing to consider it.”

Nigma’s ears perked up as he looked back at the mayor. “What would that be, Miss Mayor?”
The Mayor grinned. “If you’d be willing to operate a business, I could sell you one of the buildings in the market district. All of the buildings have three bedrooms and a full bathroom on the upper floor to live in. While the deed will be a little cheaper, you’ll be paying a tax every month, regardless of your income.”
Nigma glanced at the Mayor in disbelief, almost wanting to turn down the offer. Wild Mint caught him off guard, however and pulled him off to the side. “Nigma, my friend, do I have a deal for you.”

Rose Wind sat outside of the office, listening in on the conversation with unusual curiosity. Her tail twitched at the mention of a deal with Wild Mint. Even though she didn’t know what the deal was, it would get Nigma a house. She couldn’t allow that to happen.
Rose stood back up silently and slipped away from the door, quickly heading to the exit. Once she was outside, she took a right and wandered of into a particularly crowded part of town. She weaved in and out of the sea of ponies until she slid off into an alleyway and out of sight.
Rose whipped her head back and forth as she sank deeper into the alley. She heard a noise behind her and dived into a trash can, unconcerned what the contents were as long as it kept her hidden. She peeked out to find a grey unicorn shivering as he walked by. “S-so many dogs.” The unicorn murmured. “Why did he have to bring me to the pet store? It w-was only a book.”
Rose waited until the pony had left the alley before jumping out of the trash, shaking herself clean of what little she had picked up in the can. With another quick search she walked into one last dark corridor that was completely obscured by the dark. If she had not been her previous times, she was certain she would have otherwise ran into a wall trying to find the thing.
The dark corridor opened into a dimly lit room, which Rose knew was part of a long abandoned house. The room had nothing more than a trio of candles on a table in the center of the room lighting the room enough to let her see the four walls of the room. She noted that it didn’t allow the corners to be seen, however.
“If we’re going to talk, now would be the time.” She said out loud. “I know that your lackeys told you I was coming.”
A moment passed before two hooded figures came out of the shadows. The cloven hooves and shape underneath the cloak was enough to know the figures were ponies, but little else could be noted. The left figure came all the way to the table while the other held back. “You have urgent news for us.” The lead pony said in a grizzled voice. “We trust that the pony has been deterred?”
Rose shook her head. “I did exactly as you told me too. Nigma is too stubborn though. He bought a shop with his new acquaintance instead.”
The figure growled. “This pony – no, this . . . Nigma - is more resourceful than we thought. No pony could have anticipated that he’d gather up a friend so quickly.” The pony paused a moment, glancing at their companion. “What else have you gathered?”
Rose shivered. “Your scouts at the temple were right. While we couldn’t be sure that the figure he was with was real, he certainly has an unusual aura. The stallion practically leaks out chaos!”
Both the hooded figures cackled, their teeth glinting in the light. “This is good. For too long have we fought a losing battle against the forces of order.” The second figure moved forward, lifting a short dagger from under their hood. “Whether he join our side or not, Nigma will be our saving grace. Once we have him in our hooves, we shall finally bring about the avatars.”
Rose grinned as she tried to hold back her shivering. She didn’t quite like the figures, but she knew it was better than the alternatives. “Then what do you wish of me, your lordships?”
The second figure finally spoke, tossing the dagger at her. “Go about your business and place yourself amongst Nigma’s trusted. Once he is comfortable around you, show him this blade. He will do the rest himself.”
Rose pulled the sword out of the golden scabbard, noting the smooth, untarnished surface of the blade. “Exactly what is this supposed to do?”
Both ponies cackled again. “Trust us.” The both said at once. “He will know what you do not. Now go off and live like we promised you would. Your part is done. Let us take care of the rest.”
Rose bowed down, slipping the dagger back into the scabbard as she did so. The hooded figures both slipped back into the shadows, leaving her alone once again. She quickly let out her breath, letting the tension inside her slip away. She hadn’t told them what she had seen in Nigma’s aura beyond the chaos. As much as she enjoyed her work, something about shanghaiing the unicorn made her nervous. She wasn’t sure if she actually did want to be friends with him, or if she was simply scared of him.
“If only I could just run away.” She whispered. “I don’t want to get that pony involved with this.”
Another figure walked up next to her, snarling into her ear. “But he is already involved. He was involved the moment you started talking to him…”