Discord sat with Smart Cookie for a good five minutes before she seemed content with the tears she had shed, pulling away from him and wiping her eyes dry. "...Would it s be kind or cruel thing to tell you how they died?" Discord asked neutrally, the mare's expression taken back. "I'm not used to helping with grief, I'll admit, but I understand that knowing how a loved one dies sometimes provides others with, what the word? Ah, yes, closure."

"Not...not one of those times," Smart Cookie croaked, her throat still sore from crying.

"If you were expecting some sympathetic and apologetic speech, I'm sorry to say I don't sell those," Discord jested ever so slightly, not even trying to smile.

"Let me guess, an immortal like you ain't got time for some dumb filly's dead parents?" Smart Cookie snipped with a shaky smirk that was ready to turn into a snarl or another sob any moment.

"I'm here, aren't I?" he reminded with a raised eyebrow.

"Yeah, but I can't guess why," Smart Cookie retorted, her face morphing into a scowl, "You saved more than we lost. I'd hate that we lost anypony, but you saved more than we ever could have. I might not like it, but you got nothing to be ashamed of."

"Isn't it obvious?" Discord asked, feigning ignorance with a head tilt. "I'm here to remind you that you're not alone."

The adviser to Puddinghead stared at him for a moment. "We spoke all of one time when you snuck into camp," Smart Cookie reminded with a snort. "I don't think you know me well enough to say stuff like that."

"I know that you have friends, Smart Cookie. Friends that would do almost anything to help you," Discord reminded with a soft frown.

"Y-yeah, well, there ain't any helping this," Smart Cookie said with an empty chuckle before looking down with a sigh. "Sorry about that. It's just, w-well, I'm a bit lost on what do to now," Smart Cookie murmured.

Discord hummed at that, fiddling with his beard, "Do you want to hear what you should do, or what you have to do?"

"Is there a difference?" Smart Cookie asked with a raised eyebrow.

"You should pull yourself together, because the tribes need you. Your boss almost lost her pudding and Clover wasn't even trying to be clever with Platinum," he answered calmly, frowning as he saw shadows walking outside the tent. "It's a sad day when the Lord of Mischief has to tell a group of leaders to get their act straight."

"...And what do I have to do?" Smart Cookie inquired with a raised eyebrow.

"Whatever you feel the need to do," Discord responded simply, "You have one life, Cook. No one will blame you for stepping off the stage to take a break." The two just sat there for a moment as Discord smirked a bit, "But you don't trust most of the others not to sink this ship without you, so it's all a bit of a moot point."

Smart Cookie let out a choked chuckle, "Not...not really. One is me doing it for others; the other is doing it for myself. They just happen to be the same thing this time," she mused softly, letting out a breath as she bowed her head, "...Thank you."

"Thank me in twenty some years if the tribes haven't fallen apart," Discord retorted with a snort of purple smoke, a relatively pleasant scent spreading out to mask the scent of death.

"I'll do that," Smart Cookie answered with a sigh, feeling the weight on her withers just a touch lighter. "I thought you didn't sell speeches?"

"You didn't pay me," Discord retorted in amusement. "...Keep an eye on Clover."

"...What?" Smart Cookie asked in surprise, looking up to see him scowling upwards at nothing.

"Clover is up to something. If I had to guess, she's going to suggest something really stupid that Starswirl already disagrees with," Discord elaborated casually. "It'd probably means more for you to talk to her than anypony else, save Pansy."

"Horn heads, always thinking a little hocus pocus can fix everything," Smart Cookie muttered in annoyance. Discord might have commented on that if he didn't narrow his eyes as his tail twitched. "What's wrong?" The earth pony questioned in concern as she caught his expression.

"I'm sorry to rob you of my presence but I fear I might be needed elsewhere," he informed, sounding displeased.

Smart Cookie was neither surprised nor alarmed by Discord suddenly melting away into a pool of shadows. "That's...just plain freaky," she commented slowly as she watched the shadow of Discord slither out under the tent. She should be concerned about what he was doing, but she felt too drained to be of help and too...exposed, for lack of a better word.

When she looked back towards the corpses that had once been her parents, she stopped as her eyes caught something.

Where Discord had sat now grew two small flowers, with a yellow stem and green petals that almost looked like pentagons.

The advisor to Chancellor Puddinghead smiled for the first since she got the news.

Meanwhile

Lily Frost wasn't an idiot, nor was she deaf to the hushed whispering as the ponies looked to her curiously. Apparently, suddenly appearing alongside the mysterious native chimera with unmeasurable magic caught the attention of others rather quickly.

"Lady Frost, correct? Of Asterordo?" A beige earth pony asked questioningly. His mane and tail were a color between red and orange with touches of grey, more likely from stress than age. By his less than ragged green cloak, he was somepony of decent wealth and possibly nobility.

"That would be I, Lord Stallion," she acknowledged carefully as she heard the whispering become less hushed and more active.

While the Pegasi and the earth ponies knew the unicorns handled the sun and moon, the names of the group and members weren't common knowledge among them until the migration.

"Grubble Groke. Not a lord, milady, merely a gentlecolt," he introduced with a nod of respect that she returned. "Forgive me, but I and the other arrivals are having trouble understanding the situation correctly, I believe. That...creature you were with, that saved those trapped in the Pass? He is...Discourse?" he asked uncertainly.

Lily Frost's polite smile was touched with amusement at that. "You mean Lord Discord, yes. He is the resident of these lands, the ruler as it were."

"Yes, I have heard such things," Grubble answered with a thoughtful frown, his brow scrunching. "Am I to understand the leaders are negotiating with him about our right to stay on these lands?"

"In a manner. He prefers it more as the "ground rules" of us residing in his territory," Lily Frost corrected vaguely.

"And by what right does that chimera impose any laws upon us?" A voice called, rather hotly.

The white coated unicorn fought back a frown but permitted herself to raise an eyebrow at the source approaching her. It was a Pegasus mare with a green-blue coat and a pure blue mane covered in grey armor. Her bright pink eyes narrowed at Lily Frost.

'I get the impression that Pegasi have the most extremes of good and bad among their members,' Lily mused to herself. "You look familiar. Have we met?" she asked with a head tilt.

The Pegasus scowled thoughtfully at the unicorn. "No, sun-mover, I don't recognize your face," she answered bluntly.

"Hmm, strange. Still, as for what right, there is the simple matter of him residing here before us," Lily pointed out.

"One sentient creature residing here does not make these lands his property," The soldier retorted firmly

"It is when he has the power to defend it from intruders. Venture far enough south and you'll see Lord Discord's influence over this realm," Lily Frost defended evenly.

"So, you say that we are threatened into an agreement? And that our leaders allow this hybrid to go unchallenged?" The flying mare asked with a glare.

Lily Frost schooled her expression as she heard the mumbling around her. This could go badly, now or later. "I would hardly call it forced. You would need to ask your Commander for specifics, but compensating Lord Discord to rent and perhaps purchase the lands to build a new home is the civilized thing to do. The simple matter is that we came looking for a new home and found a realm that was already claimed. We're not thieves and brutes, my good mare. We do not simply take from others because it is convenient for us," Lily Frost explained.

"And Pegasi don't just roll over and expose our bellies and necks to someone that wants a pound of flesh!" the aggressor retaliated fiercely.

There were several cheers in the crowd at that.

"Madam, please!" Grubble spoke up, glaring lightly. "While I am sure we are all cautious and concerned about the intentions of this Discord, surely saving those at Canter Pass grants him some benefit of doubt?"

There was much nodding among the gathered ponies.

"It does not give him the right to pretend to be our better," The mare retorted, turning her ire back to Lily Frost. "Nor does it give him the right to take mares, our mothers and daughters, as sacrifices," she added on bitingly.

The grumbling in the crowd got much louder at that.

"Oh, is that what you're upset about? The suggestion for his tribute?" Lily Frost asked with a coy smile.

It threw the female warrior for a loop, "Yeeeees?" she answered suspiciously.

"Then put your fears to rest, good soldier. Lord Discord has no intention of forcing any mares to serve him," Lily Frost answered, reassuring and appeasing.

So why did the pegasus get the feeling she was left out of a joke?

"OOH OOH AAH!"

Every pony jumped back, several of them screaming shrilly, as a...it could only be described as a monkey with a body made out of the words "monkey" in varying sizes and text styles, with an "O" and an "e" as eyes and a long "M" as its mouth when closed. It leapt down from nowhere, jumping up and down while pointing at the Pegasus.

On instinct, the warrior mare struck the text-beast, sending its surprisingly ultralight body flying…right into a talon grip.

"I think that's enough monkey-wording-around for one day," Discord said with an amused yet dry look on his face as the monkey's letters started to backspace out of existence. He floated above the ponies, leisurely at that. They all stood, wide eyed in disbelief; the newcomers did at least, still unused to this entity.

Especially the pegasus mare, tense and looking almost like a mother manticore had had caught her in its den.

"I take it your business is concluded, Lord Discord?" Lily Frost asked with a certain amount of smugness at how on edge the adversarial Pegasus was now.

The God of Chaos curled his lips widely as he floated down and over to his "sacrifice," curling his body so that it subtly guarded her left, right, and rear. "Oh yes, just paying some respects, as I believe it's called. I see you've been making some friends while I was away," he noted playfully as he turned to the new mare.

She stared back with a hard stare, daring him to do anything.

Discord smirked coyly as he obliged her affably.

"Hello, Sub-Lieutenant Faest Brisa."

The chill of the Frozen North hit her veins all at once, making her stiffen and freeze completely.

"Do send my regards to Lieutenant Arcus for me after this. He seemed not to be taking what happened at the pass too well," Discord commented vaguely with what almost could pass for a touch of sympathy.

She said nothing, did nothing, willing herself not to react further on the outside. He knew who she was, why she was here and where she was going next. How?

"Now, if you'll excuse us, dear Lily Frost has arrangements with me back on my side of things," he started before raising his voice for most of the crowd to hear. "I'll be back within a week to help clear up any issues you ponies might still have with me. I hope you all settle in well while I'm away," he declared with a chuckle as he turned to the south.

He paused, glancing over at the earth stallion and addressed him idly, "Grubble Groke."

"Y-yes, Lord!" Groke choked out, a bit unnerved still by this unknown entity.

"You look too smart to be a stallion stumbling around for food," Discord praised jokingly. The stallions smiled sheepishly at the jab at his name as the immortal and the green-maned unicorn made to leave. "Shall we, my dear?" he asked coyly as he offered his lion paw to her.

"At your pleasure, My Lord," Lily Frost answered, playing along as she placed her hoof in it.

Faest's eyes blinked as recognition flashed through her eyes. "Wait, you...!?" she asked in disbelief, perhaps even revulsion while looking between what Faest knew was a good looking unicorn mare and the...mismatched abomination.

"Go look up the words "consensual" and "voluntary" in a dictionary," Discord suggested, flashing them a peace sign with his talons before he and Lily vanished in a whoosh of wind…which, for some reason, smelt like honey and tasted like broccoli- not that any of the ponies knew what the later was.

Meanwhile

Lily Frost blinked as she took in her surroundings. Was she dreaming? She had to be dreaming for the world to be this...senseless.

The ground below was like a giant grey and purple chess board, before giving way to a mountain of strawberry ice cream with an enormous blueberry on top in the north, a forest of licorice to the west, a seemingly ordinary lake to the south and the east had what she could only describe as a colossal plate spinning clockwise. Sitting on it were various, proportionately sized tea cups, metal and wooden mugs and what she guessed was a soup bowl…all spinning counter clockwise at that.

Of course, that was only the general theme of madness about her. She herself was on a small, upside down island in the middle of the sky. It was large enough to fit a small house on and had a small river that ran off two opposite sides of the island with no apparent source. There were also clouds randomly going poof to reveal a wooden bat- literally, a bat made of wood. Not to mention there was a large, serpent that was made of tumbled up seaweed down on the actual ground.

Did she forget to point out the floating toads playing various instruments that sprouted musical notes made of tacos?

"Welcome to my not-so-humble abode."

Lily turned sharply, almost enough to make her head fall off, to look at the draconequus, sitting upside down on his throne. Then again, his throne was perpendicular to the island she was standing on, so it looked more like he was straddling a cushy board of some kind. To anyone below, it'd probably just be more confusion.

He regarded her in amusement as she seemed to process a simple fact that she still had to question the validity of.

"This...is real?" she asked slowly, glancing out at the chaos once more. True, she had seen the Strangeness before- living rocks, flying trees, spatial distortions, but this was a bit more than all that…so much more, in fact.

"As real as I wish it to be, my dear," Discord answered mysteriously. As if to emphasize this, a banana floated through his chest before he grabbed it and stabbed it with a silly straw. With that, he started to drink from it without a care.

He watched as Lily stared out at the mess this part of the world had become. Slowly, the confusion and disbelief in her eyes faded, giving way to awe and wonder. "My god..." she whispered breathlessly.

"Yes, my frozen flower?" he asked coyly, suddenly behind her, his lion paw draped over her withers and stroking her chin.

He felt her shiver as his words and actions hit home. "I...I knew you were powerful, but this? Lord Discord, what possible need could you have of mortals like me?" Lily asked, suddenly feeling a bit overwhelmed and even insecure.

Discord chortled as picked her up effortlessly, sitting back in his sideways throne and setting her between his legs. She stiffened for a moment before realizing nothing lewd was being planned, yet, so she settled for curiosity as the chaos god made a wave of his talon, clouds beginning to amass just outside of his reach. "There are a few things I can say for certain that I haven't found a way to do," Discord mused idly, wiggling his digits to mold the mass of evaporated water into a form. "Like turning gold into lead."

"Why would...because everyone is trying to do the opposite?" Lily theorized, tilting her up to look at him.

"Precisely. Certain things just don't want to become certain things. Gold doesn't want to be lead, lead doesn't want to be wood, wood doesn't want to be obsidian, obsidian doesn't want to be soup," Discord lectured as the cloud took a fairly equine shape. "Granted, I can work around this, turning them into something else before turning them into what I want, but the point remains. Similarly, I am fully capable of creating life itself."

Lily had all of an instant to blink at that bomb-drop before she heard something collapse on the throne's backrest. She looked and saw...a pony…an earth stallion barely out of colthood with a blue coat, dark amber mane, and green eyes like a forest.

He shook his head, looking around curiously before staring at Lilly Frost.

"You...you just created a pony out of thin air..." Lily stuttered, almost feeling faint now.

"Only right technically, which is the only kind of right that's almost left," Discord murmured into her ear as the colt approached her.

"U-um, he-hello, I'm Lilly Frost?" she introduced to the stallion, who tilted his head as he sniffed her. "W-wat, what are yo-" Lily stopped as she looked at him, really looked at him and his eyes that paid no heed to her words. "He doesn't understand me?" she guessed in confusion.

"In theory he should, but he lacks the capacity to make anything of it," Discord explained, making a small bit of fire appear in his hand.

All at once, the stallion started making wild noises, neighing and thrashing as he backed as far away from the pair as possible.

"...He's mindless?" Lily summarized with a scrunched brow.

"I prefer non-sapient. He's a pony as far as his form, he even has the same kind of brain as a pony, yet he lacks any form of awareness and free-will beyond basic animal instincts. I've tried all sorts of things, including copying the knowledge of a wise mage into a blank slate. But for some reason, the ability to create free will in others is currently beyond me," Discord mused with a small, annoyed frown as he banished the flame and the wild pony turned back into clouds.

"So, you can only create wild animals?" Lily asked, trying to process this.

"Well, I can make them imitate a real personality, but it'd be much like a puppet on a string: not real, and perhaps even uncanny," Discord confessed with a shrug. "Hence you ponies: I can't create my own company and I've finally outgrown being content with my solitude."

Lily Frost looked startled by that for half a second before looking back out over the lands. In the Land of Strangeness, Discord was like an almighty god, but he was more like a great plateau than a mountain. There wasn't just nothing around near his level, there was nothing at all besides a sheer drop. Nothing that could speak and think at the very least; A god all alone in his omnipotence.

Discord made a lot more sense than he'd like to admit, Lily Frost realized.

"...Why us?" Lily Frost asked slowly, staring out.

Discord smiled with a brief laugh in his throat as he ran a claw through Lily's mane. "That is a story for another time. Now, I think it's time I showed you your new home."

Lily Frost tilted her head up at him. "You mean your home, right?" she questioned curiously.

He gave a good natured eye roll, which made his eyes spin like bowling balls for a few seconds. "This all is my home, Frosty. You ponies, however, are more inclined to something more finite and stable. So, I whipped up something mostly-finite and semi-stable."

If Lily Frost wanted to question that, she didn't get a chance to as the backseat of the throne suddenly tilted with a clanking noise, causing her to slide off it in surprise and fall…technically upwards, landing on a red and white striped waterslide, one she slipped down with pink liquid splashing all about her. A feeling of panic and nausea filled her as she sped through twists, turns and gravity defying loops.

Just as she thought it might never end, she found herself falling into the open air...and right into Discord's arm. She stared at him owlishly as he held her with his lion paw, his talons holding an orange and blue polka dot umbrella.

She didn't even process that pink water dripping around them was turning into mounds of silver as they landed. She just stared up at his innocent, coy expression as she processed what just happened.

"...I'm filled with a strange feeling of terror and excitement," Lily informed numbly.

"I thought you weren't a virgin?" Discord retorted with mock-confusion.

She sighed and smiled, "Okay, I tr-..."slid" right onto that one," she responded with a suggestive look...which quickly turned to curiosity. "What am I covered in, exactly?"

"Lemonade," Discord answered bluntly.

"Lemon-what?" Lily inquired with a scrunched brow.

Discord deadpanned at that. "You ponies are killing me," he lamented dramatically. "It's lemon juice."

"...It's pink," Lily Frost pointed out, already smiling.

"Pink Lemonade," Discord countered with an impish smile.

Lily Frost decided to give a 'sard it' to the situation and took a lick off her hooves, "Hmm, not bad," she noted in approval.

"Just be glad it's not the original kind of pink lemonade," Discord warned in amusement as he snapped his tail. Instantly, the waterslide and his umbrella were gone and the remaining lemonade fell freely from the air, turning into a trail of silver. "Now, let's go get you cleaned up," he suggested as he began walking to a cave that Lily wasn't entirely sure had been there this whole time.

"I'd ask why you don't just use your powers to clean me, but where's the fun in that?" Lily Frost commented playfully.

"Exactly, my dear," Discord agreed as he continued carrying her. "Wait, am I supposed to carry you across the threshold?" he asked in idle interest.

Lily Frost pondered that question before shrugging. "So, do you think some of the ponies will still be upset when you go back?"

"Oh, there are going to be plenty of ponies upset with me. First I got to let them decide what they're all upset about though," Discord answered calmly.

"What do you mean?" Lily questioned, having some idea herself.

"Well, some will be like your new friend, upset that I'm taking mare "sacrifices". Others will be more like Lieutenant Arcus, upset with my general presence and imposing my rules on you equines," Discord elaborated.

"How did you know she was going to report to him and not the Commander?" Lily inquired, having been wondering about that.

"Because I know she's been sarding him," Discord answered without pause, ignoring her surprise. "And there will even be ones upset that I only have a unicorn sacrifice, instead of one of each tribe. There will be a few other reasons, but those will probably be the primary ones."

"And how do you intend to deal with them?" Lily Frost wondered, almost grinning.

"That shall be a surprise," he assured with a grin. It wasn't evil, it wasn't predatory, but it wasn't nice. "Ah, here we are," he said as that came to a stop inside the cave.

Lily Frost blinked owlishly at the out of place door at the back of the cave. It was just a plain, sea-green door in a stone wall. She could only wonder what was inside.

"By the way?" Discord questioned, looking down at her. "How do you know Faest Brisa?"

".....Her brother died trying to kill my mother," Lily Frost answered with a stone faced look on her normally playful face.

She was reward with a god's surprise. Not his shock, just his surprise, but it was still something. "Well, you just became even more interesting, my dear sacrifice," he commented, one edge of his mouth pulled back in a half-grin as he reached for the doorknob. "Well, time to begin the grand tour."

Author's Notes:

Oi, sorry for the wait here. I've been painting, job hunting, dealing with family, etc.

Anyway, so, Discord comforted Smart Cookie a bit more, dealt with an agent of Arcus, and showed Lily Frost his home. Sorry if Discord's realm was hard to follow ,but it's Discord's chaos, so its meant to be a bit surpising.

And while Discord is nigh-omnipotent, there are some things even he can't yet figure out.

Things are starting to brew among the ponies regarding Discord, but he does have a plan for it. The next chapter will probably be a time skip of up to a week, as Discord said. Sorry you don't get to see Lily's new home. XP

Hope this was worth the wait!

PS Ah, also, I'm making a Alicorn King CYOA thing. You can see the rough draft of what me and my beta made already in my blog. If anyone has suggestions or questions, feel free to leave them.