"Well," Luna spoke up with a small smile, "Now that our heads are clearer, we should move on to any other matters that need to be discussed before making arrangements for the dead," She suggested with a look around at the assembled group.

"Are there really any other matters of importance?" Hurricane asked with a raised eyebrow.

"I believe Lord Discord has one," Platinum pointed out, looking oddly at the Death Chart's fourth column.

"Hm?" Discord asked, looking back briefly, "Oh, right, that. I was going to set up a lighthearted account on the dead for the bug bears and other animals, but the mood never presented itself," He explained with a shrug as the chart vanished with a poof, "Your jarheads got four of them, by the way," He added on, glancing at Hurricane.

"How exactly would that lighten the mood?" Celestia asked dryly.

"Dark humor has its place, making ponies laugh through sheer absurdity or something like that," Discord explained dismissively. He wasn't completely tactless, especially when it came to joking about death- that needed the right moment and delivery.

"Well, now that King Bullion and the rest of the tribes have arrived, we'll probably have to talk more about the arrangements between you and us, Lord Discord," Puddinghead reminded.

"I have time, I can wait," Discord assured offclawedly.

"Yes, I believe I've heard something about a...proposal for our, what was the term, rent?" Bullion asked, giving Discord a look. Amused, mostly.

"It was a suggestion, but you should have seen the looks on their faces," Discord said with a grin, handing a white square card of sorts to Bullion.

"What is that?" Platinum, Celestia and Clover all asked in sync, with mixtures of dread and curiosity.

"It's a photograph," Discord answered flatly as Bullion blinked before chuckling fondly.

"Oh, you will have to show me how to conjure these up: That way I can look back on when my little Num-Num was just a little filly-foal," Bullion said nostalgically.

"Father!" Platinum hissed in horrified embarrassment.

"Wait, I'm confused, what rent?" Gust asked, feeling strangely left out since everypony else seemed to understand what was mentioned.

Many a pony exchanged looks, both amused and awkward. Discord just watched as the show unfolded. Ultimately, it was Lily Frost that generously decided to fill the private in, "As you may have heard, these lands we have migrated happen to be the realm of our chimeric ally," The mare explained with a smirk, "And while he's not against our settling here, there are certain rules he and our leaders are working out. One of which being payment for living here and for restraining his Strangeness from effecting our new home, more or less."

"Oooookay, that makes sense, mostly," Gust mused as he stroked his chin. After what he saw at the Pass, he had no desire to see this entity become their enemy. And if these were his lands, well…as long as the price wasn't too over the top, things should be fine.

"We're still working out the details, but as Lulu over here said, the standing offer would probably end the talks rather quickly," Discord commented with a smirk...but turned curious as he saw the smirk Luna was giving him, and Celestia's sigh of resignation.

"...Lulu?" Bullion repeated with confused intrigue as he glanced at the Alicorn.

"Said offer being a virgin mare as a sacrifice every eleven years and nine months," Hurricane supplied dryly to his fellow pegasi.

"...Really?" Gust asked with wide eyes as he looked to the Draconequus, who renewed his smirk. It wasn't exactly over the top, but still.

"What's a virgin?" Meshen asked innocently from Gust's back, making everypony freeze and remember he was present as the colt looked between the adults, "Can I have one?" he asked with a head tilt.

The silence that followed was broken by Discord standing from his throne, eyes wide and expression unchanging as all eyes followed him curiously. He walked over to Gust, his movements stiff and eerie, before wordlessly picking up a very confused Meshen. He then deposited the colt in his throne, "Kid, keep that warm for me," He requested politely before walking behind his chair, putting a few steps between himself and the group...,"BWAHAHAHAHOHOHOHOHOHEHEHEHE!"…before proceeding to collapse on the ground, withering with uproarious laughter, pounding the earth ceaselessly with his fists and tail. Everypony else watched on in shock, one part alarmed, two parts unsure of what to do.

Eventually the god managed to get his laughter under control, with a few last giggles, "H-he...He actually-!...Oh dear sarding ice cream on a Tuesday monkey, that was good!" He chortled as he sat up, wiping the tears from his eyes.

"...Are you done?" Celestia called evenly from nearby.

"Yes, yes, I'm quite-" Discord answered as he stood to face them, only to stop dead in his track, looking at the rather large female white wolf with pink phoenix wings, a golden cat tail and a vaguely sun shaped mark on her chest, "...Celly? You're an Aralez?" He asked blankly, brain not quite catching up with his eyes or mouth.

"If you mean a winged wolf, then yes, I am," She answered with an annoyed scowl.

He took a moment to look her over again, "...Bow. Wow."

She gave him a flat look before another voice caught his attention, "Discord?" Luna called with a whimper from the table.

Discord turned...and suddenly had the urge to write a book.

The Meeting Table had gone from a simple wooden rectangle to a grand, royal round table made of marble, the sides covered with masterfully carved scenes depicting various beasts and monsters, while almost everypony sat in seats of dark oak with purple cushioning.

Luna now had metal bat wings, hair made of blue snakes, and silver armor with the insignia of a shattered moon on the front, "Help?" She requested as her serpents moved about, having no idea if they would bite her or not.

"What have you done to me!?" Platinum yelled in alarm, turned into a holeless changeling with white eyes, a crown of tiny horns and a silver layer of chitin running from the top of her head down her neck and back, including the protective shell over her wings.

"Don't fret, Platinum. Your form looks rather cute," Bullion assured softly, seated to her left in the form of what could only be called a pony-shaped dragon, with grey scales and a crest of red and black upon his head, along with a tail that had a small club at the end.

The imperial changeling princess withered in embarrassment under the fatherly gaze of her drapony sire while Puddinghead the Weaselipede(Weasel-Centipede) curled around her own high back chair, with her long body of tanned fur as many brown feet clung to the oak. She observed the rest of her fellows curiously while her antenna-like appendages moved up and down her back in a wave-like pattern, "I suppose it does, in a rather feral fashion," She agreed tentatively.

"Why don't I get a chair?" Silkdial asked in annoyance, grunting as her grey winged, bird-faced form climbed on the table, "And what the Sard am I? A Griffon-pit bull?" She asked with a glare at her red body.

"I believe that would be a skunk bear or wolverine's body you have," Count Lumen commented curiously, now a serpent with sun-kissed fur floating on what the others could only describe as being concentrated black-light, "So...Grifferine?"

"Shut it, Fur-rope," Silkdial snipped in annoyance.

"Settle down, Silk," Starswirl instructed with a sigh, now a four eyed lime-stripped purple tiger with the tail of an snake, "Copper, help Clover pull herself together," He instructed to the stallion, looking completely unchanged as he stood over a pile of crystals.

"Why didn't he change?" Puddinghead asked, her front most left paw stroking her chin and the one below it stroking her elbow.

Coppercode looked sheepish as he held up a hoof...which promptly turned to sand, "Clover is having a bit of trouble keeping shape...I barely am," he confessed nervously, the crystals clattering loudly a bit before settling down again.

"This...this isn't permanent, right?" Pansy asked, looking over her pony-bat form nervously. It was literally more bat than pony with her forelegs and wings fused together, extra joints formed in her rear legs, her tail gone, and her teeth turned to fangs.

"It better not be," Hurricane grumbled...now a seaweed monster in the form of a pegasus, steam rolling off his body with glowing red eyes.

"...I have absolutely no complaints about this," Gust commented with a smirk, showing off a slasher-toothed smile of razor fangs.

"What The Sard Are You!?" Silkdial yelled in alarm, only now getting a look at him.

"Umm..." Discord spoke up as he floated over, taking in their forms with wide eyes, "He's basically the miniature version of a primordial lizard god," Discord explained idly, examining Gust's scaly form with multiple large dorsal fins, round-footed hind legs, a long thick tail, short arms with clawed hands, and he was now about as tall as Discord himself, "...Just call him Gustzilla," He quipped, grinning slowly.

"Sounds fine with me!" Gust agreed with a hearty laugh.

"Discord," Celestia called as she retook her seat, giving him a pointed look, "Can you please change us back now?"

"Yes, yes, sorry about that, but I did manage to keep it from spreading to the rest of the camp. Though.....I seriously feel the urge to write a book! Which is new for me," He mused with a chuckle, "Now, where are the others...?" the Draconequus wondered, looking behind him to see Nodus Style sitting where he had been before, giving Discord a small smirk. The God of Chaos scowled playfully before repeatedly giving the unicorn an "I'm watching you" gesture, to which Nodus just chuckled in his throat. With that done, Discord turned to his throne, leaning over to look in it.

Meshen was as enamored with the changes as Discord himself, now sporting the form of a brown-orange foal-sized iguana with a black mane of fur. In his hands was a glass scepter, the head shaped like two dragon heads fused to have three eyes and two jaws, "...Lord Cord? Why do I feel like I really want cake?" Meshen asked curiously.

"..." Discord said nothing, his eyebrow twitching. This...this was just too much, "I'll explain when you're older, Meshen," He said slowly as he picked the colt up and put him on the arm of his chair.

Giving them all one last look over to drink it all in, he snapped his talons. A flash of light erupted and all the strange beasts at the round table were replaced by ponies around a rectangle table- and, also, a stunned Lumen falling out of the sky and landing on Silkdial.

"...Get your flank off my face," Silkdial grunted loudly from under him.

"Sorry, sorry!" Lumen apologized quickly, helping the grey mare up as she dusted herself off, "Are you alright?" He asked in concern for her.

"...Strangely, yes," Silkdial answered, raising an eyebrow at Discord as she rubbed a hoof over her unharmed nose.

He merely shrugged at that, "I made the ground soft," He explained vaguely.

"Right...," Silkdial acknowledged as a gasping and panting Clover rejoined the table.

"Falling to pieces...not a fun experience!" She declared with a distant look in her eyes.

"Is that normal for you, Lord Discord?" Coppercode asked curiously, and a bit of worry.

Discord hummed in thought before answering, "Not really, but I'm also not surprised. Been a while since I heard something that funny," He mused with a grin.

"Umm, Discord?" Luna spoke up, her mouth twitching upward in amusement as she looked over at the right side of his throne, "I believe you missed somepony," She informed wryly.

Discord raised an eyebrow before realizing who she meant, "Oops! Apologizes, Lily, but you really should speak...up...," Discord trailed off as he looked over to see what the green maned mare had become.

There was a rather fetching female laying by his throne with the head of a white fox, green avian talons for forelegs, feathered wings that faded from green to sea-green at the tips, the black rear of a jaguar, and a forest green wolf tail swishing about contently; An Enfield, more or less. The stranger part had to be the accessories: A muzzle, hence her silence, along with a metal collar that had a chain leash to his throne.

And why the bucking sard of all sarding bucks was she giving him that smirk and smoldering look?!

"Well...I'd say somepony already knows," Silkdial quipped with a smirk.

"Knows what?" Puddinghead asked with a head tilt as Discord looked around the table in confusion before he got to a snickering Luna, remembering her comment from before the meeting.

"...Luna, what is going on?" He asked in a rare cautious voice as he glanced down at the Lily Enfield, who leaned up to nuzzle his lion paw.

"Oh? You're going to claim that this setup is not intentional?" Luna asked in amused skepticism.

"...Yes? I was warping things in a fit of laughter. I can't control what the lols makes me do!...Well, not for the most part," He defended, wondering just where they were going with this. Looking back down, his eyes almost popped out of his skull when Lily raised her tail…very high.

Several ponies shared looks, some wondering who should say it and others wondering what it was they didn't know, "Oh, for the love of all magic, just tell him already!" Nodus spoke up as he trotted up to the table in exasperation, "Mr. Chaos, meet your voluntary sacrifice," He explained bluntly, pointing from the chaos god to the transformed pony, "We were told the virgin bit was more of a guideline than a rule."

Everypony stared in utter silence, including Discord.

"WHAT!?" The yell, surprisingly, didn't come from Discord, but from Princess Platinum as she slammed her hooves on the table, "I agreed to no such thing!"

"Princess, she volunteered," Celestia reminded with a sigh.

"You two knew about this!?" Platinum accused, glaring at the guardians.

"She does know this sacrifice thing was Lady Luna's idea, right?" Clover muttered with a raised eyebrow.

"...What?" Hurricane, Platinum, and Puddinghead said in sync, turning to glare at the blue Alicorn.

Clover blinked at that, "I....probably shouldn't have said that."

Luna tensed but kept her composure, "I made a joke about him wanting virgin mares for us originally trespassing on his lands," She explained with a shrug.

"And then he applied it to how we pay for living here," Puddinghead pointed out dryly.

"Certainly appeals to his baser instincts," Gust murmured, having taken it upon himself to cover Meshen's ears, who was humming a little tune to himself while the adults talked about nasty things, as Gust put it.

And as the ponies squabbled, Discord himself paid them no mind, his focused his attention on the little Enfield, his eyes widened ever so slightly. In the back of his head, he registered her bonds were likely a result of the unguided chaos magic acting to her desires on some level. The implications of that weren't something he could process just yet. He had a legit reason or two behind the mare sacrifice thing and he did always intend on it being willing...he just didn't think he'd get a volunteer right off the bat! It was...a bit shocking, really. Considering ponies and the age he was in, he was more than ninety-nine percent sure that his appearance would bother most mares at first!

And yet, this little minx was giving him what could only be called bedroom eyes. It almost didn't seem real to him. And as an entity that warps reality as easily as breathing, that was quite impressive.

"...Seriously?" He murmured, eyeing her curiously, just a bit of disbelief. She chuckled through her muzzle and nodded slowly, an unmistakable yes.

"And now a member of the Asterordo and one of our best unicorns is his plaything because of that joke!" Platinum yelled condemningly, almost making Luna flinch.

"Platinum."

Nopony was really sure which voice made Platinum freeze more; her father's scolding tone or Discord's cold warning. Regardless, she turned to Bullion first, "Father, she-"

"Made a joke, Daughter," Bullion interrupted sternly, "You would not believe the number of jokes I've made and received about who I may or may not arrange a marriage with," he stated flatly.

"Is it forty-two?" Discord asked with a smirk.

"Eighty-four, actually," Bullion answered without pause, never looking away from his daughter, "Now, Lord Discord? Could you kindly change back Lily Frost? I believe there are things that need to be confirmed."

"In a moment," Discord answered while still staring at Platinum, who glared back, "Is there something you need to say to me, Platinum?" He asked daringly.

"...Shouldn't you take the Alicorn since it was her suggestion?" Platinum suggested with a grumble, pretending not to notice how Celestia glared at her.

Discord smirked at that, "Nice try, but you don't get to sacrifice my friends. Not even to me."

Celestia and Luna shared a look, wondering what that meant exactly.

"So, virgin-preferred-but-not-required sacrifices?" Puddinghead asked with a drawl.

Discord rolled his eyes and scowled, "I'm not a rapist, Betty," He stated bluntly. The chancellor went wide eyed momentarily before calming down, not giving him any reply beyond that.

"Been a long time since anyone used her first name," Bullion commented under his breath, Starswirl nodding in agreement.

"My plan was never to force a mare to do unseemly things with me," Discord assured, reaching down to scratch Lily's head, who purred her approval, "Though, I didn't exactly expect ones to be jumping at me either," He commented with a chuckle as she shifted back to a white coated, green-maned mare as the muzzle fell off. Anyone looking under the table would have noted it unfolding, for lack of a better word, before scooting away like a starfish.

"Is there a particular reason she's still collared?" Celestia asked warily.

"Is there a reason for me to not be collared, Lady Celestia?" Lily Frost countered suggestively.

"...Lucky son of a sard...," Gust mouthed with an eye twitch.

"Still nasty?" Meshen asked as he glanced up at Gust, who nodded, still pinning the cot's ears down, "Is nasty stuff all grown-ups do...?" Meshen murmured to himself with a frown, making Gust wheeze in his chest.

This was the real reason not to bring young ones to adult meetings- their innocent commentary made everything into a comedy!

"Should we assume that you are indeed willing in this arrangement, Lily Frost?" King Bullion asked with a hum.

Lily Frost nodded her head, almost a bow, as she smiled at the monarch, "Yes, King Bullion. If Lord Discord will have me, I am more than willing to be his...sacrifice," Lily Frost assured, adding unneeded amounts of suggestiveness as far as many were concerned.

Bullion apparently wasn't one of them, taking it in stride. Starswirl, however, had a twitching brow, "Lucky immortal flankhole," he grumbled, rubbing his forehead under his hat.

"But...why?" Puddinghead asked, both on her own behalf and Platinum's disbelieving look.

"Hmmm, if you want a political answer, I've given you all a dozen years to work out the finer details of how things between the three tribes and Lord Discord," Lily Frost mused airily, her smirk amused, "Personally? I saw an extremely magically powerful male that was looking for a mare to...entertain him," She elaborated with a giggle.

"You have a power fetish," Discord summed up with a hum of approval, having been staring at her with interest this entire time, among other things. Lily Frost returned the look as well.

"Reminds me of younger days with the queen," Bullion mused nostalgically.

"Father?!" Platinum hissed in disbelief, to Bullion's amusement.

In the back of his head, Discord laughed as he realized while most leaders would worry about somepony insulting his mate after letting that line slip, Bullion didn't have that problem because nopony here was stupid enough to tempt his wrath.

"Ignoring that," Hurricane spoke up, glancing across Discord to Lily Frost, "Are you sure you want to go through with this?" He asked with a scowl.

"Commander, seconds ago I just laid down while muzzled and leashed to his throne without complaint or worry," Lily stated flatly, "If I wasn't having second thoughts by then, what makes you think I have them now?"

Witty, willing, clever, magically gifted herself, at least a little crazy and even a bit kinky? Yep, Discord's interest was beyond piqued.

Luna looked between Lily Frost and Discord repeatedly, wondering briefly just what she had started. But seeing the looks on both parties' faces, she couldn't find a single thing to feel guilty about.

Celestia just sighed, rubbing her hoof on the bridge of her nose. She was almost regretting letting these two meet....or re-meet, rather.

"Well," Bullion spoke up with a small smile, "I suppose that settles that then. Lord Discord, it seems you have your sacrifice."

Discord grinned, a bit wider than normal as his tail wrapped around Lily's barrel, making her shiver in approval, "And you lot are officially my tenants!" He declared, holding his right arm and moving his left up to his arm pit before pulling out a banner with the words "Welcome (Officially) To Your New Home, Ponies!" in bold on it. "...We'll work out and adjust the finer details over the decade as we need to. For now, I think we agree this is bad timing for that," Discord mused offhoofedly.

"Is there anything else we need to discuss?" Puddinghead asked with a sigh as Gust tentatively removed his hooves from Meshen's ears.

"Well, we do have to work on setting up a town soon. We can't just live out of tents forever," Starswirl mused.

"I'd recommend getting Clover and Smart Cookie to start that project," Discord commented idly, faking innocent curiosity as his ears twitched up, "By the way, where is that little mare?" He asked, noticing the somber looks on the faces of Clover, Starswirl, Pansy and Puddinghead.

"She's...with her parents," Clover answered softly.

Discord didn't push the subject. He already understood enough, "I see. Well, either way, that's probably something you three tribes have to figure out on your own," Discord mused as he rose from his throne, vanishing it- and Lily's collar to her slight disappointment.

"The rest of us have to attend to said tribes as it is," Hurricane pointed out with a hum, "It's best if we call this meeting to a close."

"Agreed," Puddinghead and Platinum echoed as they all stood up.

"Lord Discord, it was a pleasure to finally meet you," Bullion bid farewell with a nod.

Discord cocked an eyebrow ever so slightly, but smiled none the less, "Pleasure was all mine, Papaking," He returned as the king left with his daughter, before turning to Gust and Meshen, "Gust, my good stallion, take a nap already! You haven't rested since I found you in that winter wonderland of a bugbear trap," Discord instructed in amusement.

"Ha, no promises," Gust responded with a smirk, "Thanks again, Lord Discord, for everything. I don't care what gripe Platinum, Pudding, or even Hurricane might have with you, you're okay in my book."

"...Huh, I thought you ponies were a bit on the xenophobic side?" Discord inquired thoughtfully.

Gust shrugged, "Save a few hundred ponies of each tribe and you'll find yourself very easy for us to like," Gust explained in an obvious tone before turning to the colt, "Well, it's been fun kid. See you around," Gust prompted with a smile as he left with his commander.

"Bye Gust! Bye Lord Cord!" Meshen waved as he galloped over to Puddinghead and leaping to hug her, said mare embracing him back with a loving smile, "Auntie! Why were you talking about nasty things with Lord Cord?" He asked curiously.

The chancellor looked very sheepish at the question as she approached the chimeric entity, "...Thank you, for saving my brother and nephew," She said with a smile, all the political masks melting away for a second. Discord just smiled and nodded in return, "Come on, Messy, let's see if your father woke up yet," she said, hoping the colt had forgotten the "nasty" topic. By his excitement, it had worked.

"...Auntie? Nephew?" Discord repeated, stroking his chin as the Chancellor left as well, the colt happily trotting along with her.

"Oh, don't even pretend like you didn't know who he was," Celestia retorted with an eye roll.

"I didn't!" Discord swore, not sure to be surprised or amused. Herald and Meshen were actually common names in this era and the Chancellor's nephew never did anything of note in the last timeline, so Discord didn't have a reason to suspect the colt was anypony important.

"Discord, we can scarcely believe you didn't know already that Lily Frost was your sacrifice after that little transformation scene, let alone that you were ignorant of Herald Meshen being the Chancellor's nephew," Luna pointed out with a smirk.

"I think her part of that "scene" had more to do with her than me," Discord retorted with a smirk, Lily feigning innocence...poorly, "And I still want to write a book."

"So, does that mean we're never going to see Lily again?" Silkdial questioned dryly as the rest of the order approached.

"Don't worry, I'll be sure she gets plenty of food, fresh air and exercise," Discord assured playfully with a smirk as he looked down at Lily.

Everypony shivered. It wasn't a dark or evil grin but it certainly was predatory.

Lily's inviting smirk made it a bit less unnerving, but still.

"That doesn't actually answer the question, you know?" Starswirl pointed out in amusement.

"Horn-Hat, if you never see her again, it's just because she doesn't want to leave," Discord answered suggestively.

"A distinct possibility," Lily mused with a chuckle.

"...Can you two seriously just go off and get the sard out of your system?" Silkdial suggested flatly.

Count Lumen coughed at that, "Not how I'd put it, but yes, I keep thinking you two are about to make the Bi-Backed Beast right in front of us at this rate."

"Sorry, I legitimately wasn't planning on a mare throwing herself at me," Discord apologized with a chuckle of his own: one sixth sheepish, one sixth aroused, and two thirds amused.

"And it being unexpected makes you love it all the more," Clover summed up evenly.

"You know me so well," Discord quipped with a fake sniff of happiness.

"Don't worry, everypony, I'll be around sooner or later," Lily assured before smirking playfully, "Can't leave you all to become prudes, now can I?"

Discord shook his head in amusement as he turned back to the Alicorns, "Ladies, I'll be heading back to the more chaotic side of things in a bit, to let the tribes work things out for now. If anypony needs me, you two just come looking and you'll find me."

"Thank you, Discord, we appreciate that," Celestia said with a smile and nod.

"Don't be a stranger," Luna called with a smirk.

"Stranger? Never! Starswirl is the Stranger, while I am The Strangest!" Discord declared proudly with an overdramatic pose, claws over his chest and a sudden chorus of trumpets sounding in the distance. This prompted several eye rolls and at least two sighs.

"Do keep an eye on this one for us, Lily Frost," Celestia requested, eyeing the Draconequus like he was a delinquent, "In spite of....or perhaps because of his powers, he always seems to find trouble."

"I am quite capable of finding trouble without my powers, thank you very much," Discord rebuked in pretend offense.

"Don't worry, Guardians, I don't intend to be leaving him alone much," Lily Frost assured with a straight face.

"...Really?" Nodus deadpanned after a long silence.

Discord snorted as he snapped his claws and talons, he and Lily fading away with a gust of wind.

"...Oh, dear sard!" Luna cursed with a facehoof, "I just realized what I did."

"Now? Now is when you're mind kicks in!?" Clover asked in disbelief.

"I just now realized we might be dealing with baby versions of Discord in the near future," Luna lamented as Clover gaped in disbelief.

"I wouldn't worry about that," Starswirl mused, "If our mismatched friend can't prevent conception, I'll eat my hat."

"Can I get that in writing?" Luna asked with a smirk.

"Luna, I will spank you like Bullion should Platinum," Starswirl warned in a monotone.

"...Copper, is everypony going insane but me?" Clover asked slowly.

"Clover, I was just made of sand and you were a pile of crystals," Copper reminded with a smile.

"...Right," Clover acknowledged, her tone resigned to the madness.

"I need a drink," Silkdial murmured, "Lumen, come on, I need somepony to make sure I don't do something stupid."

The count raised an eyebrow at that but shrugged, deciding that was a legitimate point.

Meanwhile

Lily was only slightly surprised when they appeared somewhere else in the camp, causing several ponies to leap back and gasp at his arrival, "Lord Discord?" She asked curiously, patiently.

Discord sighed, legitimately, "Sorry, Frosty. I have some bits of business to deal with before we leave," He explained with a smile that wasn't quite real, "You can come if you want but if you'd rather go kill time, just don't get caught. And if you do always say you it was someone with a ten/six hat," Discord instructed, somewhere right between serious and joking, as he began to float off in the desired direction.

He wasn't surprised when he didn't feel her coming along. She was a smart filly and unless he was utterly wrong, this would be dubbed a private matter.

As before, ponies looked at him with wonder and thanks or fear and distrust. He paid little mind to either. His approval rating would be in flux until things calmed down, so best just to let them make up their minds a bit more then work from there.

He slinked through the air with a small frown to a large tent guarded by six ponies, two of each tribe. It was large enough for a couple dozen ponies to sleep in.

There were dark jokes there he refused to use.

His flight slowed yet didn't halt as he came to the entrance and glanced at a pegasus, the closest guard to his left. They made eye contact and Discord briefly wondered if the feathered pony would try to stop him. For one reason or another, the soldier never did.

Discord quietly passed into the white tent, taking in the rather gloomy imagery: two lines of clothes covering twenty-seven pony shapes, most regular sized while two of them were small and one was....tiny. A few ponies stood within the tent, some crying and others refusing to show tears.

And standing before the gap between two clothes was the yellow-and-green maned mare, her head dipping heavily.

The immortal silently flew over and took a seat beside her but stayed just out of her view. It was quite rare for him to stand or sit as a quadruped, but it felt needed here. He made sure to curl his tail around to his side to not block or trip anypony walking by.

Like several others, these two had helmets on the shrouds to mark them as soldiers. These were bronze colored helmets to be exact, signifying Earth Ponies while the Pegasi had storm-grey and the Unicorns settled for silver.

"Mum wasn't a soldier," Smart Cookie said out of the blue, still not looking up, "Not anymore, at least. Mares in the army can leave early with a pension when they have a foal…future of the tribe and all that. She came back on just for this migration," She mused with bitter, hollow amusement.

Neither of them died last time for over a decade. Was there some dark, cosmic irony to Smart Cookie becoming an orphan in this timeline? After all, while she wasn't really Applejack, Smart Cookie was her equivalent in this age…that Hearth's Warming play may have been all too fitting with its casting.

"I didn't have one bad feeling about this. Not a one, until I saw the first part of the tribes running here, exhausted and scared out of their minds," She lamented before scowling deeply. "Then you showed back up with everypony else safe and sound...except the ones here of course," she added on with a tone of contempt.

Discord didn't flinch, didn't say a word…didn't react at all. He just sat there and let the mare talk.

"I do NOT hate you," She spat as tears began to swell in her eyes again, "I just hate that you didn't save them."

She finally looked up at him, scowling and looking like she wanted to say so much more, but just couldn't make the words come out.

Smart Cookie's eyes went wide as she found herself loosely embraced by the soft touch of a lion's paw, held loosely against the rougher fur of the serpentine body. She only resisted a little before she gave in, sobbing quietly into his side. Discord took it in stride and began stroking her mane lightly.

If he was honest with himself, he was mostly imitating Fluttershy right now, but it was serving him well. He didn't have much experience with helping a mortal through heartache and tragedy. But he did understand the idea of them needing to latch onto something or someone. He had doubts if he was a suitable life vest, but...coming here felt like something he should do. Why, he wasn't perfectly sure, but not making sense was his thing anyway.

There was a brief part of him that considered throwing his memories back to himself from yesterday, but let that notion fade away. He wasn't about to hit reset whenever things didn't go his way, no matter how like himself that probably seemed to others. In the end, he'd still be here with a mare crying over her dead parents. And his new self would probably become so overly concerned with the immediate survival of all ponies, he'd overlook their long term survival.

Idly, he wondered how Twilight and the others would react to him postponing getting to know Lily Frost better, wink-wink, to help a grief-stricken mare. Except Fluttershy, she'd just awww. Strike that, he didn't wonder, they'd all awww. Or cry, hard to tell with this depressing moment.

It was a good thing, he decided, that a nostalgic smile could look a lot like a sad or sympathetic one. Otherwise ponies might have thought ill of him for smiling too much as he comforted Smart Cookie in front of the bodies of her parents.

Author's Notes:

Beta: DragWiz91
And there we have it. The mood of this chapter hops all over the place, but with Discord, that's a bit of a given. Hope you all found something to enjoy out of that: we had funny scenes, slightly perverted scenes, sad/deep scenes, etc.

So, yes, Discord isn't quite sure how to react to a mare throwing herself at him or one that's crying, but he's trying to handle both, so, props. Next chapter will probably have a bit more between Discord and Smart Cookie before he heads off with Lily Frost.

And a book written by Discord.....why am I imagining some Lord of the Rings/Harry Potter class of novel written inspired my Dr .Seuss settings and modeled after the Principia Discord, all with a Robot Chicken style? Be like a text-induced drug trip