Meeting of Gods

Barely a day had passed since Discord had left with Lily Frost. While Smart Cookie and Clover the Clever began to craft a rough draft for a village layout, Private Pansy helped the leaders of the three tribes in preparing a burial ceremony for all those fallen in Canter Pass.

The whole event left a certain pair of Alicorns more drained than they cared to admit or show, keeping their visages solemn and calm. But now as they flew among the clouds, they allowed themselves to sigh as the exhaustion hit them.

"Sister?" Luna called over the gentle wind, the sun still high in the sky until Discord deigned to lower it.

"Yes, Luna?" Celestia asked, looking for a decent cloud to land on in the annoyingly clear sky.

"Do you...do you think this will last? This peace between the tribes?" Luna asked with a look of doubt and worry. "I know we've longed for this, but even now, some ponies are still riling each other against one another."

"I believe you mean especially now," Celestia retorted with a scowl as she recalled Lieutenant Arcus. While not openly saying anything, she had seen quite a few guards on all sides giving the other tribes overly suspicious looks. After what likely happened at the pass, it was a potential powder keg. "I don't know, Sister, truly. But the best we can do is try to guide them."

"Oh, you can do a bit more than that, Princess."

Both ascended mares came to a halt with only barely surprised eyes, looking up to see a pink cloud above them, with Discord peeking over one side to grin at them.

Luna glanced down quickly, seeing that they had flown much farther than they intended. The camp was far away and they were close to where lush fields and bountiful forests abruptly ended in favor of the Strangelands, Discord's pink-grey checkerboard realm of untold mysteries. "Are we back in your territory?" Luna asked in surprise.

"Just outside it, but I smelt an infestation of immortal angst and decided to come clean out your heads," he informed, waving them to come up and join him as the cloud tripled in size and a "hatch" opened on the bottom, despite the ease with which they could fly around or through it.

Luna obliged him without a word, flying up to take a seat. Celestia, however, didn't exactly trust the size of the opening and just flew around to the upper side.

The two sisters were a bit amused to find the Draconequus with a fishing rod. "It's also about time for the sun to come down," he mused with a toothy expression as he brought back the rod before casting it hard, sending the hook flying impossibly far...into the horizon opposite of the sun.

Celestia was about to say something before quickly shutting her mouth and chancing a glance at the sun. As she heard the fishing rod reeling in its "catch," she could see the sun slowly inching across the sky to its appropriate horizon. "...That ALMOST makes sense," Celestia muttered as she turned back to Discord, Luna giggling at her expense.

He gave her a sidelong grin, his rod planted firmly in the cloud as his tail held the shaft steady and his draconic foot continued cranking it. "I'm very inconsistent, even with my inconsistency," he mused playfully, getting halfhearted eye rolls. "...I'd pretend to be completely tactless and ask what's eating you both, but I'll just skip to the important part," Discord stated neutrally. "It's not your fault."

"We should have been there," Celestia muttered, more to herself than to him.

"And bees shouldn't be able to fly without magic. That doesn't make it true nor is it their fault," Discord countered, almost offhoofedly. "If we're getting into all the ways to lay blame for this recent mess of ours, we'd be here for a whole year. The tribes probably could have all come separately, Hurricane could have brought his second-in-problem with him instead of leaving him in command, King Bullion could have known to keep an eye on Arcus, the Earth Ponies could have found a less dangerous route for them all," Discord listed off as the fun finally fell under the horizon, vanishing with a green flash.

"So, you're saying it's no one's fault except Arcus?" Luna asked with a dry smile.

"Well, you can always just blame me," Discord mused as he turned around and yanked on the line, hard before vanishing the fishing rod all together. One could almost hear the thump as the moon started to drift up into the night sky of stars.

The Alicorn sisters barely registered that, gobsmacked by Discord's words. "What do you mean, blame you?" Celestia asked in disbelief.

"You're the one that saved everypony and kept the tribes from falling into war!" Luna rebuked loudly.

"Yes, but I'm also the god here," Discord pointed out, keeping his attention on the moon. "I could have done a lot to stop it, much more than you. After all, I know the temperament of mortals better than most, so I did expect somepony to pull something, just not so soon. Unlike many, I never succumbed much to years dulling my reaction speed as time became less and less important. I could have at least had a closer eye on things. I could have just teleported everypony here. I could have let all three tribes live separately, at least at first. I could have done a lot, Celestia, Luna…but I didn't. Maybe it was a mistake, maybe it wasn't," he mused as he raised his claw to the heavens, the stars glimmering and moving to form into a line. The moon drifted towards it and made impact, bringing the moon to a halt and causing the gathered stars to burst and fall in a glorious shower of lights. "But in the end, there was nothing either of you could have done to make that situation better, which is the point I'm supposed to be making here."

The Alicorns stared in awe from behind him, of both Discord's words and his works. The lights rained down upon the world like a great celebration or...or a goodbye for the dead.

"Do we have a chance, Discord?" Celestia asked softly, bowing her head in doubt. "I want so badly for this peace to last, but...you claim to predate the sentiency of ponies. Does this truly have a chance?"

"Of course you have a chance!" Discord answered, turning to scowl at the mare. Only it wasn't a serious scowl. It was more like a pout as he thumped his chest. "God of Chaos! If I say it's possible, its possible! And if it's impossible, I'll make it possible!" he declared earnestly.

The two stared for a moment before smiling at the male that had quickly snuck his way into being their friend. Without another word, Luna came forward and hugged him with her forelegs around his stomach-area. "Lulu?" Discord asked curiously even as he placed a paw on her withers.

"I'm just...so happy to have met you, Discord," Luna answered with a smile as she wept lightly into his fur. "It's been...so long since we became immortals and started our vigil over ponykind. It is...so wonderful to not only have met another, but it to be someone we know we can rely on without doubt."

Discord stared at Luna in surprise and hesitated. Was he making the right decision? Would he be making these two young immortals come to rely on him, as an elder and more powerful immortal to look up to? Was that a bad thing at this stage?

Luna smiled as she felt Discord stroke her back.

Regardless of how this would affect her future development, Discord knew one thing: he had a friend crying and hugging him. There may be a difference between being nice and kind, but this was not one of those times. He was the God of Chaos. He had not sent his memories back over a thousand years to simply worry over keeping the script the same. It would be pointless to send another set of memories back to prevent the Canter Pass incident and it'd be pointless to try and keep his would-be enemies the same. He would not insure this Luna became the original Luna. The other Discord could worry about that Luna; he'd worry about this one. What she became was for her to decide and he'd welcome all the differences and similarities that came from this change of course. And the same went for Celestia and all the others to come.

Speaking of Celestia, Discord would never admit this, but he had been so deep in thought, he never noticed her joining the hug, wrapping him and Luna not only in her hooves but in her soft white wings.

"So, how is Lily Frost settling in?" Luna asked cheekily.

Celestia rolled her eyes with a sigh as the moment passed, all three ending the hug as Discord's grin turned stupid.

Despite all the grins he gave them, they didn't recall seeing that particular grin before.

Meeting of Kings

King Bullion had never seen the Strangeness before, having not arrived until after it receded from the lands currently being occupied by the tribes.

That said, it was everything he expected.

He walked through Discord's Strangelands with a fair bit of fascination. Yes, it was exactly as he expected, a realm where reality was brought to heel by the imagination of something beyond his kind. Rather than a pink-grey checkerboard ground, he now stood over a strange lake of some sort. Whatever it was, it was solid and smooth and perfectly reflective. Only, the image was...warped, twisted in coloring; everything about his mirror self was wrong.

His reflection's coat was a horridly black coat. Not dark like the night or even a raven, but a disgusting and oily blackness. The mane was an off-putting acid green mane. Even if one didn't know what acid was, the color gave the impression that touching it was unhealthy. Upon the horned head was a crown yes, but a stark white one that made him think of nothing but a crown of bones, with bones too small to come from adults. And the eyes...the eyes were bright, soulless red eyes. The only thing that was even slightly redeemable was the out of place, sky-blue cape.

His disturbing not-reflection aside, he put an effort at noting the rest of the landscape.

There was no rhyme or reason to it, none known to ponykind at least.

He looked to the left and saw what looked like a giant mountain in the distance-…only for it to stand up and reveal it was only a close and oddly shaped turtle, which started to hop away almost like a rabbit.

To the right was a choir of what looked like adolescent dragons hanging from curly and impossibly-plush trees by their tail and singing with the high pitched voices of pigs and frogs.

Above him was a large, castle-sized object floating and lazily spinning about in place. He was not sure what it was, only that it was a six sided cube. Each side appeared to have a miniature of a different environment on them: sandy desert, grass fields, wide ocean, barren mountain wastes, frozen tundra, and deep forests. Even more odd was that each side was divided by deep lines to make nine squares.

In front of him was something that would terrify most other ponies; A giant creature, as big as any dragon. But instead of scales, it was feathered. An enormous bird of prey, with a beak that was sharp enough to pierce metal and large enough to swallow ponies whole. Luckily, it was resting upon a hill, its every breath lifting many pounds of feathers and a literal ton of avian flesh.

Most would assume this to be a manifestation of Discord's. Yet, Bullion couldn't help doubt that. True, he doubted size manipulation was outside the chimera's power, but it just looked so...ordinary compared to the rest. Outside of its size, it looked perfectly natural, down to the plain brown feathers. Not only that, but...there was a distinct lack of magic about the beast.

"Don't wake the Roc, Bullion."

The king was neither surprised nor worried by the voice appearing directly behind him. That said, when he turned to face the floating immortal and perceived the frown on his maw, Bullion knew Discord was being serious.

"The Rock?" the father of Platinum questioned curiously as he sat down, his warp-reflection doing as well.

"No-k, but yes," Discord answered idly, looking up towards the great bird before taking a seat next to the king. "As you probably guessed, Big Bird isn't one of my doings. He's all natural."

"And you don't chase him off?" Bullion asked, more curious than surprised. "I thought you made a point of defending these lands from invaders?"

"I do, but you ponies are just the only sentient exceptions I've made. Rocky here just rests and eats around here for a month or two before going back to his home in the west," Discord explained as the Roc let out a great screech of a yawn before flopping over on its back. "Something about a rough patch with his mate, I think."

"The woes of mated males are universal," Bullion jested as he glanced down at his not-reflection. "This is a very disturbing surface we're standing on."

"Why do you think you're the only one on it?" Discord countered with a smirk.

"Even more disturbing is that your image looks entirely unchanged," Bullion pointed out neutrally, glancing below Discord's feet to see a perfect reflection of the mismatched being.

The King of Chaos's smirk fell into a scowl as his gaze met the suspicious white eyes of the King of the Unicorns.

The tension was thicker than steel.

"Is there something you want to say, Bullion?" Discord asked knowingly.

Bullion nodded slowly as he stared at the immortal, "Nearly thirty winters ago, there was a griffon in our homelands, only known by the name Phiroth the Wingless: Merchant by trade, storyteller by profession," he started off in a careful but fond tone. "He once told me that the lands to the south of us were bountiful in gems and food. No one had ever conquered them, but many had tried. The last of them was a large pack of diamond dogs, who now whisper claims that a Cackling Demon made their own homes...spit them out before plaguing them with mud-birds and large rock-insects that chased them off, scattering their packmates to the four winds," He narrated.

Discord sat silently, unmoved by the tale.

"The second were the dragons. None know what happened to them, only that they returned fearfully whispering of a great serpent of the air that threatened to banish them and their bloodlines from the skies for all eternities if they returned," Bullion continued on without pause.

The phrase "Banished from the sky" had dark implications amongst most winged races. Again, Discord just let the unicorn carry on.

"But the first was particularly interesting, from a much older time. It was said that as the Frozen North claimed more and more territory of the Crystal Empire during its height, they tried to form colonies south," Bullion paused, raising an eyebrow as Discord's gaze darkened. "According to Phiroth...what happened to those colonies sent such ripples through the Crystal Empire, that-"

"That most of the splintered tribes of the three pony races joined together and pushed the Crystal Empire back until they had only one city to their name," Discord interrupted knowingly, harshly. "All those tribes formed into what would become the current Three Tribes. The Pegasi had been raiding them for much longer than the Unicorns or Earth Ponies, leading to their military-society. You horn-heads got the lions-share of the crystal-fragments leading to an emphasis on wealth, which in turn led to the rich turning into nobles and, of course, royals. And the Earth Ponies had to all figure out how to best manage their new influx of land, prompting them to a semi-republic style of doing things. All because I broke all the Shinies' crystalline weapons, armors, and homes they brought for the colonies. Which lead to a shortage of supplies and unrest to form in the Empire, giving the ponies all the openings they needed to tear them apart," he lectured, scowling darkly at Bullion.

Said monarch stiffened under the sheer detail of causation that led to the current standing of things, far more than he intended to say or even grasped himself. "You've been watching us for a long time, Lord Discord," Bullion noted with great caution but steely resolve.

"I'm the King of Chaos, and you ponies cause more of it than you'd like to admit," Discord retorted swiftly. He couldn't help wondering just how the ponies of his old timeline would take that one, the fact that their three great societies formed from smaller groups to gang up like piranhas on the wounded and bloated Crystal Empire.

"Obviously," Bullion acknowledged freely as a War-King and a Battlecorn.

"So, what exactly are you accusing me of, O Great Sight of the Unicorns?" Discord all but demanded as he looked down on the mortal ruler.

"Why us?" Bullion questioned with a small glare. "Of all the races to let stay here, of all the ones to take into your care, why us?"

For a long time, Discord glowered down at him...until his scowl melted away into a surprised look. "That's it?" he asked curiously.

"What?" Bullion asked, not sure what was being asked now.

"Granted, I get it. You're worried I've been manipulating you ponies into being under my care, that the tension between the three tribes and everything are part of some grand design of mine," Discord commented dismissively before chuckling in relief as he dusted off his coat, as if shedding the seriousness of the situation with each wave of his limbs. "Apologies for getting so worked up. I thought you were accusing me of actually killing all those Crystalians. I'm fine being accused of a lot of things, but I can proudly say that murderer is not in my resume," he explained good-naturedly as he floated back off the ground.

Bullion blinked as he tried to comprehend the grinning entity before him. The accusation of manipulation and plotting on a level that spanned societies and centuries did not bother him in the slightest, but the idea of killing someone was that repugnant in the eyes of this great being of magic? "You...still haven't answered my question," Bullion pointed out slowly, genuinely not sure what to make of this yet.

"Indeed I haven't. Yet, in a way, I did," Discord mused as he reached his lion paw down to touch the Warp-Mirror, his reflection doing the same until they touched.

Bullion was genuinely a bit terrified when the feline limbs grasped each other, Mirrorcord grinning in appreciation as Discord pulled his doppelganger out from the Warp-Mirror Lake, which faded away into checkboard terrain as the second Draconequus exited the reflective surface.

"After all," Mirrorcord mused, his voice a perfect copy of Discord's. Yet it wasn't; it carried an undertone, a hint of something far less kind than the jovial chimera that the ponies had dealt with. "After all, just because I'm not going to kill anyone doesn't mean I have to save them either," he informed with humorless amusement, his smile empty of all mirth.

"And really-," Discord proper joined in, Bullion never taking his gaze off the Mirrorcord. "-if I was going to manipulate anyone into being my subjects, wouldn't I have done it to the dragons? The dogs? The entire sarding Crystal Empire?" he pointed out offclawedly.

"They weren't exactly desperate," Bullion pointed out warily.

"No, but it is a hole in your theory," Discord mused as Mirrorcord flicked his tail, growing a curling orange tree with cube-shaped pink fruits. "Honestly, I have nothing I can say that will prove I haven't been some grand manipulator. Not yet anyway."

"Not yet?" Bullion questioned in surprise. "You actually have a way to prove your lack of involvement?"

"Somewhat. You don't have to trust me, Bullion," Discord assured with a smile as he looked down at the royal stallion. "Just give me the benefit of the doubt and I'll make you regret ever doubting the benefits of having me as a friend."

Bullion stared for a moment before slowly relaxing, his haunches sagging as he let out a small laugh. "It...seems I owe you an apology, Lord Discord. I've been...quite rude in your home," Bullion said in exhaustion. The Battlecorn let out a snort that turned into a jovial laugh.

Discord and Mirrorcord didn't say anything, as much as he wanted to. After all, it's not every day he saw the palpable relief hit a pony after realizing they were NOT about to die. He wondered what the good king was planning, really, if he thought Discord was truly some horrid puppeteer that pushed the tribes to this. A murder-suicide? Or maybe just relying on his own death and any wounds he might make on Discord to make the rest of the ponies and the Alicorns too suspicious of the immortal for any perceived manipulations to work effectively? Perhaps he was hoping for a drawn out battle that would bring Discord to war with the ponies?

"Mmmm, two Lord Discords?" a sensual voice drew their attention, causing the Kings and the disclone to look toward the base of the tree, seeing a smirking Lily Frost leaning against it. Her coat and mane were covered in a thin sheen of water, as if she had just bathed, her only clothing being the collar and broken chain-leash on her neck. She turned her mischievous eyes to the sole stallion of the group. "Hello, King Bullion. Here to see if I am performing my sacrificial duties?" she inquired, her playful tone deceptively serious.

"I love this mare," Mirrorcord and Discord said with wide grins, now perfectly mirrored copies from Bullion's perspective.

"Ha! I believe Lord Discord's comment speaks for itself, young Frost," Bullion said with another laugh before sending the Draconequus next to him a sly look. Said Chaos God merely whistled innocently. "I'd ask where you came from, but I imagine there are twenty or so portals around here," he quipped knowingly.

"Thirty-six, counted them myself," Lily Frost answered smugly.

"That's not the only thing we've been counting." Mirrorcord murmured as his tail wrapped around her barrel while he leaned down to blow in her ear, the mare emitting giggles at the immortal's antics.

"I shall make myself scarce then," Bullion decided in amusement, turning back to Discord. "I get the impression that you had something to do with the rain of stars three days ago, the night of the burials," he commented, getting no answer. The King smirked and began to head off. "You have our thanks, Lord Discord."

"King Bullion," Discord called, prompting the monarch to pause mid-step. With a snap of his talon, Discord summoned a door that creaked open on its own, revealing a space between two tents. "I thought I'd save you the walk back," Discord added on cheekily.

The unicorn stallion smiled and nodded, walking through the rend in space and time, the door closing behind him.

"It's the mares, isn't it? That's the "why" to us, right?" Lily joked, now held against the tree by Mirrorcord as he snorted a chuckle into her mane.

"Well, I can't say it isn't an incentive," Discord retorted in kind, raising an eyebrow at her. "You didn't seem all that alarmed by the idea of this all being a grand scheme of mine."

"That's because, unlike him, I know you're a god," Lily answered, shuddered in delight as her master's claws worked their magic. "After all, if we're that important to your plans to spend centuries manipulating us, then we must be faaaaaar too valuable to risk throwing away, which means our prospering is likely in your interest. Assuming, again, you actually cared enough to make some overly long plan like that. I doubt it, but if so, I also doubt we have much to worry about now," she mused whimsically.

Discord's eyebrow twitched. He really, really loved this mare and absolutely hated that she was lost to history in the original timeline- and that he never met her descendant, Minuette!

The Meeting of Magic

Clover the Clever stood on the very edge of the reality she knew. One hoof-step beyond this was the seemingly endless realm of Discord the Draconequus…the home of a god. She could spend days or weeks searching for him and likely never find their "landlord" until he decided to show himself. It had been nearly a week since he left though, so he would be coming back soon.

However, she was not that patient, not for this. So she did the one thing she thought might work.

"DISCOOOOOOOOOOORD!" She yelled from the top of her lungs, the name echoing over the land far, far farther than it had any right to do under the laws of science.

The silence that creeped in was heavy and thick, telling Clover she was very much not alone.

*click*CLACK!*

The dark green maned mare blinked as she looked down, finding that the ground under her had opened like the latch of a trap door. She gulped with wide eyes as gravity suddenly took effect.

"AHHHHHHHH!" She screamed as she fell into the vast darkness.....

Clover sputtered and panted as she fell on a soft surface. With adrenaline racing through her veins, she scampered back into a corner as she wildly looked around for the next scare or drop.

"Grmmmm!"

"Yes, yes, I know you said the R'nyeh line was too eldritch for most ponies," a familiar voice conceded grumpily.

After a moment of looking at him and not really seeing him, Clover finally took stock of her surroundings. She was on a nice, soft red lounging couch. That was the end of the normalcy.

She was in a large, no, enormous room. It was even greater in size due to the sheer nature of it: on every wall and the ceiling was a labyrinth of stairs that went in conflicting directions, leading to doors, walkways, and many square and empty platforms like the one she was on. In truth, the more she looked at it, the more she was unsure as the exact shape of the room. Was it six sided like a cube? More? Was it actually a sphere? She couldn't even be certain if she was on the floor, or if there was an actual one to this madness.

"A dragon could fit in here...," Clover whispered in awe.

"Several, in fact. Or an Ursa Major, but only one of those."

The voice drew her back to focus, to him…them; Right in front of her.

Discord was sitting on his throne, grinning one part smug and one part apologetic at her. Leashed to his throne was Lily Frost. Only, it wasn't Lily Frost the Mare, but Lily Frost the Enfield. Her vulpine head was lying across his lap, her front talons clutching loosely to his cloven leg, wings brushing against his draconic limb as her jaguar hind legs and wolf tail straddled and curled around his serpent tail.

Did she forget to mention the muzzle on the chimeric female?

Lily growled in wordless enjoyment as her master scratched her scalp and neck, causing her to push against his lion paw for further stimulation.

"Discord," Clover said numbly, glancing as the glinting eyed Enfield. "Lily Frost."

"Don't worry, she doesn't bite," Discord teased, one of his talon hooking onto her muzzle, forcing her head upward, giving his feline appendage complete access to her neck.

Clover blushed at the unusual but obvious displays of physical affection the two shared. "I...suppose I came at a bad time?" she asked awkwardly.

"You were the one who demanded an audience with me, right on my door step," Discord countered with a "really?" expression. "So you're in that much of hurry to speak to me, fine by me. Just don't expect us to drop everything, because cold showers aren't my thing."

"...What's a shower?" Clover asked without thinking.

Discord facepalmed before releasing Lily's muzzle as she huffed with silenced laughter, very aware of the answer to that herself. "Again, indoor plumbing is a priority," Discord muttered to himself as he lowered his hand and stared at Clover, ceasing his petting of Lilly who whined but didn't protest further. "So, what does the "O So Clever Mare" want to speak with me so urgently about?" he asked, not even trying to hide his lack of curiosity.

"...You already know, don't you?" Clover guessed with a scowl as she sat up straighter.

"I have a good guess," Discord answered, leaning his head into his talon. "Given your nature, you're not one to argue with your teacher unless you genuinely believe him wrong. Given the situation, I can guess what you want to ask about," Discord elaborated, gazing at the unicorn expectantly.

Clover stared at him for a long, long few minutes where Discord showed an unusual amount of patience. With a deep breath, she asked the question that could not be unasked: "Can you bring back the dead?"

Discord didn't react at all, completely unsurprised by her inquiry. Lily Enfield just snorted, now lying motionlessly with her head on the Chaos God's leg. "You really think I'm capable of that?" Discord counter inquired.

Clover bit her lip at being answered with a question but held her frustration. "You're a god," she pointed out. "You play with the world like it were a toy, rending reality into whatever form you see fit and have existed for eons. Even the sun, the moon, and all of the heavens are powerless to deny you. Surely...Surely one such as you could turn back such a...mortal problem like death?" Clover all but pleaded with hope and desperation.

Discord rose a single eyebrow at her, Lily giving a wary stare but not moving otherwise. "And why, in the name of Chaos, do you think I didn't just bring them back if I could?" he pointed out.

"I don't know," Clover confessed with gritted teeth. "Maybe they don't want to return from the afterlives, maybe there needs to be a ritual or something, maybe I just thought I should ask!"

Lily let out a low, warning growl at the unicorn's outburst, but Discord didn't look fazed. Actually, he merely sighed. "Is that all, Clover? The only reason you think I can bring back the dead is because I'm a god-"

"You pled ignorance," Clover interrupted suddenly, her voice determined.

"...Huh?" Discord questioned intelligently, looking genuinely confused.

"Back at the camp when you met Master Starswirl, Lady Luna asked if there was anything you can't do," Clover reminded with a glare. "You pled ignorance."

"...Clever, Clover," Discord congratulated with a small smirk.

"That implies you don't actually know the full extent of your powers. As terrifying as that is, it implies that I probably shouldn't rule anything off the table with you," Clover confessed before urging onward. "Can you do it?"

"..." Discord paused before giving Clover a small smile that made her eyes wide, his answer somehow reaching without words.

"Ignorance..." she repeated in disbelief. "You don't know, do you?"

"For the longest time, I never had a reason to find out," he admitted with a shrug. "Try not to mistake capable with ease. Technically speaking, any creature of average magical talent can perform a resurrection," Discord explained, summoning up an obsidian milkshake.

"...Any?" Clover repeated in disbelief, shaking her head. "That's impossible! If that were true, surely somepony would have figured it out by now!"

"You give your kind just a bit too much credit," Discord teased with a grin, blowing into his bendy straw, making little lava lamp bubbles float out of his concoction. "That said, I've seen others try it and there is a reason I haven't and why you shouldn't. Why none should."

Clover blinked, looking at him inquisitively. "...And why is that, Lord Discord?" she inquired respectfully.

Lily snorted as she returned to relaxing on him, causing Discord to chuckle. "Resurrection and, to be honest, any magic dealing with the dead or death has an unnaturally high rate of failure, regardless of the caster," he explained, his tone grave and foreboding.

"Because it's unnatural?" Clover guessed with a furrowed scowl.

"Hardly. Morals and ethics have naught to do with this dilemma," Discord answered with a brief smirk before scowling. "Tell me, Clover? Do you know of Necromancy?"

"The art of making creatures of the undead? Of course, every arcane practitioner knows THAT taboo," Clover answered with a scowl. "But that's not what I'm talking about, despite what Starswirl thinks. I'm asking if there is a real way to bring back the dead."

Discord nodded, "You have a point, but I understand it better than you do: Necromancy IS Resurrection magic. Failed resurrection magic, but that is still what it is," he explained to her disbelief. "Zombies and such are a particular nuisance I've helped put down in the past. Originally, Necromancy was a gamble- either you bring your intended person back from beyond the living, or if you're like the other ninety-nine percent, you create a nigh mindless creature hungering for life it can't have," Discord elaborated in a disturbingly calm voice.

"But...that doesn't make sense! Necromancy is taught to be strictly a black forbidden art of raising the undead!" Clover pointed out in frustration.

"That's because the Necromancers that started the cliché archetype refined it so that it would give them better control by snuffing out the potential resurrection aspect," Discord explained with a shrug. "A war or five later against the undead, Necromancy is forbidden, resurrection a myth and no one bothers to try further look into the issue."

"So...the answer is no, then?" Clover summarized with gritted teeth.

"Due to technical difficulties, yes," Discord allowed with a grimace, minor annoyance seeping out of his voice that prompted Lily to snuggle against him. "A plague of undeath is something, to be frank, you ponies can't deal with at the moment."

Clover bit her lip; she wanted to push this issue, even just a little. But Discord was a GOD! What possible input could she have on a subject that was, by its very nature and history, clearly beyond mortal knowledge and understanding. Still..."...Thank you, Discord," Clover said with a sigh, a small smile despite her disappointment. "I...needed to hear that from you, that there is at least some reason why we can't just bring them back, and that not just some moralities of letting the dead stay dead."

"Pshh! I'm the God of Chaos. Norm and Natural are often not fond of me. They even send me hate mail," Discord answered with a wave.

Clover nodded, about ready to leave and yet..."They really were your firsts?" Clover asked in a low voice, a mixture of confusion, awe, and pity in her voice. Discord tilted his head in response. "The guardians, Celestia and Luna. They said...they were you're first friends?" she elaborated.

She left hanging the implication that he had spent tens of thousands of years without ever having or even wanting friends.

Discord said nothing, glancing away.

'Is it worthy of envy or pity that this being has gone through ages without ever knowing the desire to bring back the dead?' Clover wondered to herself, her smile growing a tiny bit. "So...what is this place?" she asked curiously.

"The Palace of Relativity or just the Relative for short," Discord answered with a grin, patting Lily on the head, who grinned into her muzzle. "I made it just for Lily Frost here...and any other future sacrifices. Not like we're short on rooms or anything," he elaborated with a chuckle.

"Why do you even need all this space?" Clover inquired curiously.

"Half for fun, half to add more to it on a whim, but also so I have places for my secret projects," Discord answered with a mysterious chuckle. "I might even ask for your input on some of them."

"...Wouldn't you rather ask Master Starswirl?" Clover questioned hesitantly.

"I need a saner test subject to gauge how normal ponies might react," Discord elaborated deviously.

Author's Notes:

Sorry this took so long. I was going tot just skip to the next week but felt something was missing- something being these meetings. Bunch of other stuff happened between last update and now

I was going to have these topics come up later, but it felt better to have them come up sooner, as it didn't feel right for Bullion or Clover to put off confronting Discord. And we got more world building for.....almost everyone, really. Hope you all enjoyed the history of Discord and Ponies.