Flashback

"Now, if you'll excuse me, I think we and every last thing in this city has earned a day or two of just relaxing before everyone has to get their act together," Discord commented as he headed past the four.

"Discord," Celestia spoke, placing a hand on his shoulder as he made to pass. Crimson and violet eyes met as the princess looked upon him with adoration. "Thank you. For everything."

Discord smiled, tired, but nodded all the same to her. With that done, he exited the room, leaving the Staff of Sacanas leaning against the wall. He paused in his walk, to look back upon the two stallions guarding the door. They were obviously bipedal now and their armor was now full bodied. A cuirass covered their torsos and arms in golden metal with the traditional blue star, as did the greaves for their shins and lower thighs but the upper half of their thighs were exposed. The helmets and spears, while resized, were exactly as they had been.

The only primary difference from before was the short sword each had at their side; a curious development, but not surprising in Discord's mind.

"Make sure this room is guarded at times. Don't let anyone besides me, the Alicorns, and anyone else we allow in there," Discord instructed, knowing that room and map would have its uses soon.

The guards, who had been looking at him in something akin to awe, suddenly snapped to attention to salute him. "Yes, of course, Discord!" they affirmed dutifully.

Discord nodded, wondering when and if the princesses would start complaining about him ordering around their soldiers, but dismissed it as unimportant. With a nod, he turned back around to head forward-

-and phased through the floor like it was a sheer drop, passing many levels of the castle while eliciting many gasps from the inhabitants he passed on his way down. With the faintest of thuds, he touched down in a hall on the ground floor.

The castle had been opened up to allow more souls inside for the migration to this world. Like the rest of Canterlot, the whole place had begun to smell as it took great effort just to keep things sanitary for the time being. Mud, grass, dirt and even a bit of blood had stained most of the halls and rooms to some extent as a stench of unwashed bodies permeated the royal household.

Well, no more. He had used a bit of spare magic, when they were magic soup between realms, to remove all the filth and such that had built up in Canterlot. The whole city was pristine again, for now. It might have seemed like a waste, but they spent more magic on the clothes to be honest. And those were all infinitesimal compared to altering everything's body structures, which in turn was little compared to just displacing entire cities.

Besides, a fresh start should be, well, fresh.

All of this passed through Discord's mind as he stood in the hall, not surprised to see it filled with many different species, all frozen in shock by his arrival. A changeling near him was holding a young-ling up in the air in a moment of merriment. Three kirins had been singing nearby, if he had heard correctly upon entering. A griffon- wait, was that Gallus? Yep, that was Gallus with bloodshot eyes as he hung onto Sandbar and Silverstream.

Point was, everyone had stopped to stare at him in silence. He was used to people, mainly ponies, being surprised by him but this was a bit mu- oh, right, Alicorn now. Did they even recognize him?

"Is...is that Discord?" Someone, a mare if he guessed correct, asked in a whisper.

"That's him alright."

"Discord."

"He really did it..."

Huh, he supposed word had already spread of his change in the last few minutes? That or maybe it wasn't that hard to figure out? He shrugged it off, walking forward with his arms crossed behind his back. The crowd made way, all eyes watching his back. Whenever he glanced to his left or right, whatever creature he made eye contact with lowered their eyes instantly. And if it was a mare, they did so with a blush.

Yeah, his Alicorn aesthetics were definitely in overdrive, he deduced with a mental snort.

It didn't take him long to get to the end of the hall and reach the main doors. He was a bit annoyed that he couldn't just will them open as simply as before. Well, he could, but it took more than a thought now. He could phase through it, but it was time these creatures saw the clear sky again. So, with a glow of his horns, the large double doors slung wide to the courtyard.

He half expected the crowd of ponies, griffons, dragons and all other creatures that had gathered outside the castle.

However, once again, he was a little surprised to find the crowd cheering upon seeing him.

And right at the front of the pack were three ponies he knew well.

"Discord!" Fluttershy shouted as she barreled into him. As tall as he was, she barely reached past his stomach, her joyful tears tickling his fur. But that didn't stop him from reaching down with a laugh to return the embrace of the pegasus.

"Flutters, I hope you enjoyed the trip," he joked as he ran a hand through her mane before pulling back. Yep, dark green sweater with pink elastic pants, about what he expected.

"It was great!" Pinkie Pie exclaimed, hands up in the air and suddenly right next to them and giving Discord a hug as well, while wearing a red and white striped shirt and skirt. "I mean, yeah, it was scary and sad and then it was all nice and bright! Then we got all magicy-goupy with each other and suddenly we're here!" she summarized in a single breath. "Oh, and Discord, what are the-Oh?!" Pinkie asked, grasping her chest and blinking at the sensation. "That feels kind of nice," she mused, groping herself.

"Um, Pinkie, you might not want to do that," Discord commented, trying to hide how his mouth was twitching towards a smirk as he placed Fluttershy down.

"Huh? Why?" Pinkie Pie asked, not noticing how a lot of the crowd leaned in, curious over their new anatomy.

"Would you masturb-" Discord began before someone interrupted him

"AHEM!" Rarity spoke up, fake coughing into her hand. She looked apologetic as Discord raised an eyebrow at her, causing her to point downward. Discord followed her finger, seeing three more familiar faces: Scootaloo, Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle all looking up at him with wide and curious eyes.

"...Yeah, sorry, this needs to be said. Besides, they survived the end of the world, they can hear this," Discord refuted dryly to the fashionista. He idly noted she was wearing some sort of black gloves, probably for protection against hands-on sewing injuries- it sounded like something thoughtful that Harmony would do. Besides that, she was wearing a light-blue dress shirt and short black pants.

Okay, he'd admit it, Rarity wore the business-look well.

"Oh, very well, but do try not to make this too crass please?" Rarity accepted, resigned to giving her sister "the Talk" later.

With that, Discord turned back to Pinkie Pie. "Those are you're new mammaries. Playing with them can make you horny," he answered bluntly. Pinkie Pie blushed with wide eyes, retracting her hands quickly as every female pony suddenly looked down in shock, while other races looked down curiously. "Oh, and males do get aroused by those, so don't be too weirded out if any of you guys start thinking about them," he informed cheekily as several males already looked sheepish. Oh, it was going to be so fun watching everyone get used to their new bodies.

"Umm, w-why are we like this, exactly?" Fluttershy asked in confusion.

The former Draconequus waved the question off for now. "Eh, I'll explain it to the higher ups later, but let's just say it should help you all in this new world some," Discord answered offhandedly. Thankfully, the crowd seemed appeased by that. "Now, I think we've all earn a day to enjoy ourselves."

"Discord! Discord! Discord!"

"Huh...so this is what it feels like," he mused with a small smile as the crowd cheered him on once more, his friends looking upon him with gratitude, pride and fondness in their eyes.

End Flashback

"Discord?"

"Hm?" Discord pulled himself out of his memories, looking towards Twilight and the rest of their company.

They were back in the room with the Crystal Map, which had become an impromptu meeting room for the current leadership of Canterlot. Around it was all the rulers of the various races brought along with the city.

Or, at least, those that had a ruler.

"W-we were wondering if you were ready to begin, Sir Discord," Princess Skystar stated, wearing a simple red sleeveless top and pink skirt. Standing behind her was the stone faced General Seaspray, obviously there as emotional support and advice. He was clad in the full body biped form of the hippogriff's green and yellow navy uniform…and had a sabre sword on his waist.

Discord hid a fond smirk, knowing Harmony had gotten sabers and cutlasses mixed up.

"Yes, yes, I'm fine. Still surprised you all had a seat ready for me," Discord remarked idly, having been stumped upon entering to find a spot reserved for him, nearest the balcony with Twilight to his left.

"Were we not supposed to, Lord Discord?"

Discord turned his attention to his right, to the one immortal in this room he had no history with. "I'm not exactly the council type, Rain Shine," Discord pointed out as he took her in.

The Kirin in general had a style about them that made it hard to say where they began and where their clothing ended. Prior to the change, they had scales on their back going up onto their heads and ending at the snout. This was still true, but the scales had spread around the front, forming some mixture of armor and natural-clothing. Their rich manes framed the top of their scale-cloth in a manner resembling a fur-lining. The scales had even extended into what Discord could only describe as a battle-skirt.

Discord sorely hoped there were elves in this world, because was vaguely sure the Kirin were their Equestrian equivalent.

"And yet, here you are," Celestia noted with a smile from between Twilight and Luna.

"Yes, well, I got the impression you were all about to get to work with this whole colony thing or whatever we're going to call this," Discord mused knowingly. "I can't exactly let you go into this world blind."

"And where have you been, if you don't mind me asking, Sir Discord?" Seaspray inquired with a raised eyebrow. "No one has seen hide nor hair of you since the...Migration, if you will."

"Resting," Discord answered with a shrug before anyone else could say anything.

"For three days?" Ember questioned from the other side of the table, decked out in her full golden armor, sans helmet.

"Says the Dragon Lord to the Draconequus that warped us through the multiverse," Luna remarked with a smirk.

"...Point," Ember relented in acceptance. Her people did take long naps sometimes.

"I said it once, I'll say it again: I'm not going to be able to do anything like that again for a long time. But I may have also been checking out this world's magic in between naps in my tree," Discord added on in mock casualness.

"Checking it out?" Twilight repeated curiously. "What do you mean?"

"Magic has varying rules on different worlds," Discord stated as simply as possible. "Rules I can...read, for lack of a better term. Thankfully, most spells and magical abilities from your world are compatible with this one. At least, that's what I've seen so far."

"Most? Are there any specifics that are not?" Luna inquired with a concerned frown.

"Well, manipulating the weather isn't nearly as easy now for pegasi," Discord gave out before scowling to Twilight. "You, Rainbow and I need to have a talk sometime."

"Why?" Twilight asked curiously.

"You'll see," Discord evaded vaguely. "But in general, magic is less safe."

"What?!" came several cries of shock.

"What do you mean "less safe," Lord Discord?" Rain Shine questioned.

"More dangerous?" Discord rephrased unhelpfully. "The magic in Harmony's world was more stable than it otherwise would have been. Magical accidents and mistakes were less often to cause serious problems. Buck, it practically made it impossible to kill anyone without intending to do so."

"Should we be worried?" Twilight inquired, eyes dancing back and forth.

"I'm sure you'll get on top of it soon," Discord assured without doubt.

"Me?" Twilight repeated in confusion.

"You ARE the Alicorn of Magic," Discord pointed out.

"I thought she was the Alicorn of Friendship?" Skystar asked with a scrunched brow.

The way Discord silently shook his head spoke more volume than any words.

"Oh..." Twilight stated as the meaning sunk in. "Friendship isn't Magic. Not here, is it?" she deduced with a sad smile.

"If it is, only as an ideal rather than a force of nature," Discord clarified as Celestia put a comforting hand on Twilight's shoulder.

"Is that why the Elements of Harmony...?" Luna brought up.

"Harmony may or may not be alive. If she is, she is basically in a magical exhaustion induced coma," Discord supplied.

"And yet, you became an Alicorn?" Seaspray redirected with a raised eyebrow.

"I've been temporarily "demoted" to Alicorn, yes," Discord agreed, putting stress on demoted, before ultimately shrugging. "As for why it's different for me: Harmony is a brat compared to me. That isn't an insult, that's just fact."

"But...if this Harmony spirit is out of commission, why is this still here?" Ember asked, tapping the table with her claws.

"Because some magic artifacts disappear without a power source and others will work for just about anyone," Discord responded before smiling wryly. "Speaking of which..." he paused to tap the table with a rather pronounced and echoing tap.

*WHOOSH!*

Several of the leaders leaned back, while Twilight and Ember almost fell out of their seats in surprise as the map suddenly came to life. A glowing, translucent, three-dimensional map appeared on the table, with Canterlot over the center, every detail to scale. However, the rest of the map was dark and murky. All that could be made out was some of the mountain Canterlot rested up and a sliver of the forest far below.

"It can still do that!?" Twilight exclaimed in surprise and joy.

"But why does it only show Canterlot?" Celestia asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Because no one has gone too far from Canterlot," Discord answered, stroking his goatee. "It works more like a regular map now, just magically generated: It shows and records more of the world as we explore it."

"Still very useful," Rain Shine commented, glancing at the former Draconequus. "It tracks everyone in the city?"

"I'd imagine so," he acknowledged with a nod. "Especially since we all became one for a time, via teleporting to this world."

"Yes...that was a most...enlightening experience," Thorax stated carefully. The King of the Changelings was much like Rain Shine in that his features naturally looked almost like clothing now. His wings even folded into a cloak-like shape that appeared like a cape of lights. However, his were more obviously part of his anatomy and less mistakable as something artificial. "Is there anything about that we should worry about regarding that?"

"No. Most just shrug it off after a week of trying out new things they see in someone else's memories. Worse cases are a few very unlikely friendships from meeting the original owner of a given memory and maybe a couple broken relationships from exposed secrets. Between everything, I imagine everyone will be too happy to be alive in the second case," Discord explained, almost absently as he stared at the map.

"Yes, well, that wasn't the only change that took place in-between worlds," Twilight pointed out awkwardly.

Discord let out a small sigh, putting his chin in his hand as everyone looked at him expectantly, "Okay, I'm sure you all have a few obvious questions, so let's just get them out of the way. Yes, Thorax?"

"I'd ask why the form changes, but I'm more curious by this sudden desire for modesty that varies among the races?" Thorax asked curiously.

"Right, why do ponies and hippogriffs suddenly feel the need to wear clothes and everything, while many others like the changelings don't," Discord summed up as he pinched the bridge of his nose. "This relates back to WHY the form change. I didn't say anything about it since I wasn't going to do this for sure until after I confirmed what was on this world in mid-jump."

"Some of that wasn't planned?" Skystar asked in slight alarm.

"No, I just planned for more than one type of world," Discord elaborated. "The clothing and bipedal forms most have now should help integrating among the locals of this world. Hmm? Yes, Ember?"

"Why do the female dragons and changeling not have those lumps on their chests?" the dragon lord asked, truly confused by the topic as she glanced to every female in the room besides herself.

"Twilight?" Discord redirected.

"Huh? Oh! Dragons are reptiles, so they don't have those glands to begin with," Twilight supplied helpfully.

"Exactly. That would have been an addition rather than a reformation. As for changelings?...They don't have them either, but they can grow them if they want to. I think," Discord continued thoughtfully.

"And those things are for feeding young, right?" Ember continued for clarification. These questions had come up a lot, even among the "flat" races.

"Well, and potentially attracting males, but yes," Discord confirmed with a shrug. "On that note, there are changes that have nothing to do with me, per say," he informed, recapturing their attention. "This world has creatures like what you are now. Technically, you would be considered new subspecies of what I'm guessing are either called beastmen or demihumans. As a result of us assimilating to this world, there may be some new instincts and minor abilities filtering in from that," Discord elaborated.

"Humans?" Twilight repeated in surprise.

"You know of them, Princess Twilight?" Rain Shine inquired with a head tilt.

"Yeah, they're a race similar to our new forms. I...became one temporarily by going through the mirror to another world," Twilight explained thoughtfully.

"...A mirror to another world?" Seaspray repeated with a narrow look.

"Before you say something you might regret, General, we already tried that avenue. The world was too closely tied to our own, an alternate copy in most way. Mass use of the mirror to it would have simply condemned that world as well," Luna informed coldly.

Seaspray looked surprised by the response but nodded deeply to the chaos lord. "My apologies, I didn't mean to offend."

Discord just shrugged it off with a wave. "While they may look it, the humans here are not like the ones you know, Twilight," Discord warned. Of course, he didn't state that he didn't consider the ones she knew as humans at all. To him, those were just Humanizations or ponies in human skin, a mirror of Equestria rather than a truly separate world. But he didn't have a way to say that without demonizing humans, which was something they really didn't need at the start of this adventure they were all on. "Now we need to talk about Canterlot. So, what's the final count come to?"

The leaders around the table nodded as Celestia started off. "Canterlot was built to hold a population of three-hundred thousand, but ideally only two-hundred thousand. Thankfully, it had never reached that capacity. Prior to the Exodus, Canterlot had about one-hundred one-thousand five hundred living in it. Of those: sixty-five thousand were unicorns, twenty-five thousand were pegasi, ten thousand were earth ponies and the remaining one-and-a-half thousand were of various other races," Celestia stated, having memorized those numbers from weeks of trying to find more room to fit more people.

"After some squeezing and setting up camps outside the city, we managed to get a migration population of nearly three-hundred thirty-five thousand in Canterlot," Twilight read off before looking concerned. "We're unsure of the numbers in the Crystal Empire and Ponyville...if-"

"The Crystal Empire is fine," Discord answered bluntly, causing sighs of relief all around the table.

"Do you know where it is then?" Ember asked sternly, trying not to sound hopeful.

"I know this'll sound weird, but it hasn't arrived yet," Discord stated vaguely.

"It hasn't? Is that bad?" Skystar asked in worry.

"No," Discord assured with a head shake. "In cosmic terms, we arrived at the same time, but that doesn't mean the same planetary time. A cosmic "instant" can be anything between a second and a year. So, it'll appear sometime in the future. Ponyville, is more of gamble, I'll admit."

Twilight nodded, knowing she'd have to accept that for now. She turned forward, steeling herself to continue with that news. "The Exodus count is as follows: Three-Hundred Young Dragons and Eggs."

"If what you say is true, there'll be more with the empire," Ember mused. If she felt any grief still over the loss of the rest of her kind, she covered it up well.

"Two-thousand Yaks," Twilight continued with a sigh. "Prince Rutherford refused to believe or even help with the plan to very end. All the Yaks that came were the ones that left without permission."

"It wasn't like we were going to turn them down for their leader's stubbornness," Celestia reasoned as she looked over her own list. "Due to their population, we were able to bring all one-thousand of the Kirins and all ten-thousand Changelings," she read off, the leaders of said two races looking grateful hearing that again, that they didn't have to leave anyone of theirs behind.

"Yes, well, other races were not so fortunate," Seaspray lamented with a sigh as he put a comforting hand on Skystar's shoulder. "Twelve-thousand of our own came. Queen Novo remained with many more that refused or just couldn't bear the thought of being forced out of our homes again. With us, she also sent her entire royal guard and their families."

"As tactless as it sounds, I'm happy we got the more warrior-sided portion of your people for this world," Discord commented with a knowing tone.

Seaspray nodded, understanding the meaning: It was good to have more muscle to work with.

"With us-" Skystar spoke up, her voice only barely faltering in her attempt to participate. "-came seven-thousand batponies and most of the now-twenty-thousand griffons."

"Batponies? I thought those were your department, Luna?" Discord inquired with a raised eyebrow.

"Their tribes were traditionally nomadic, but had a meeting place for trade that was shared with the hippogriffs," Luna explained. "On the note of the griffons, they will need a representative soon, as I imagine others will as well."

"Give it time," Discord instructed. "They'll probably pick their own in a few months. For now, we're all just surviving," he mused idly as he leaned back in his chair, balancing with a foot on the map. "Four-hundred centaur, three-hundred gargoyles and fifty cyclopes," he counted off from memory.

"The ones you personally brought in," Twilight recalled curiously.

"By the time news got to the gargoyles and centaurs, they would have all been dying just on the trip to Equestria. And the cyclopes are a rare bunch so I had to scrounge together what I could find," Discord waved away to the amusement of the Alicorns. After everything, it was hard to take his "I don't really care, I helped you on a whim" attitude seriously anymore.

"Among the last of the non-ponies, there are five-thousand Diamond Dogs of various packs from all over and beyond Equestria, one-thousand five hundred Minotaurs and two-thousand Phoenixes," Celestia finished.

"Lucky, in a dark way, that the minotaurs saw their land falling apart enough to spook a lot of them into coming," Discord muttered absently.

"Yes, lucky," Ember said blankly. It was a well believed theory that Discord had been directing the bits of the apocalypse he couldn't hold back to scare the most people into believing the end of the world was coming, to save them from their own skepticism.

Something Discord would never confirm or deny it seemed.

"Unless my memory is wrong, there were also about twelve-thousand miscellaneous creatures," Thorax noted idly. "Donkeys, deer, moose, caribous, perytons, abyssians, ornithians, zebras."

"We don't even know if the message ever reached Zebrica," Luna commented wistfully. Long distant message became more and more dangerous as time ticked away, until contracting outside Equestria and much of Equestria itself was nigh-impossible.

"And once the final week rolled around, you let in as many as you could still make room for: which brought the total of new ponies to fifty-thousand Unicorns, fifty-five-thousand pegasi, fifty-five-thousand Earth Ponies," Discord concluded the summary before frowning as he felt the mood shift.

"That's... well over two-hundred fifty ponies. The ratio between ponies and all other species combined is well over four-to-one," Twilight realized with a sigh. "It feels like we focused too much on own kind."

The council members all traded uneasy looks at that, not wanting to voice simi-

*SNAP!*

Everyone jumped as Discord's tail struck the floor. The serpentine appendage twisted and curled about like an wrathful and displease predator, but the fallen god just sat there with his arms crossed.

"...Discord?" Celestia asked in concern. They were seeing many new sides of him these days, she noted.

Discord took a breath as he spoke. "If the Alicorns had been truly indiscriminate in whom we brought, it would ONLY be ponies," he stated bluntly.

"What?" Ember spoke up as she stood up. "What nonsense are you speaking?"

"Unfortunately, I'm talking perfect sense," Discord retorted with a hard look on his face. "Equestria was a pony nation, that was an apocalypse we escaped. If there hadn't been any rules in trying to save other creatures, all the locations would have flooded with ponies immediately. Instead, they waited until the time was almost up to let in everyone they could. It's only natural there would be more ponies than anything else." Discord explained. A numb silence came over the room as Discord's point sunk in, but he wasn't done yet.

"...Things are truly dire if you are all but demanding cooperation and an abandonment of grudges, Discord," Luna remarked.

"There is a good chance that there are those of this world that might hate us just for existing, for any reason they can imagine. I don't need this city tearing itself apart over such petty doubts about one another," Discord countered evenly. "This world doesn't need me for chaos; that I can promise."

The gathering let those ominous words settle over them heavily. They had all known in one way or another that they might not be welcomed in this New World, but Discord's phrasing put fresh worries into their psyches.

At which point, Discord decided to lighten the mood with a casual tone, "Besides, the population ratios are a smaller issue thanks to a little tweak you were all given."

"Tweak, Discord?" Thorax inquired with a head tilt, his pure purple eyes betraying nothing.

Discord nodded before smiling impishly. "Harmony and I made sure every species can safely interbreed with one another," he pointed out. Everyone looked taken back by this. Interbreeding wasn't impossible, but it didn't always take and the health of the potential offspring was a concern. "It might result in more subspecies, but most children will be one creature or the other," Discord added on, waving off the obvious questions in their mind.

"That should solve the problem over time," Rain Shine acknowledged with a nod. As the leader of the smallest population at the table after the dragons, she didn't have much room to complain.

"Well, it wouldn't do for the species we saved to go extinct from lack of breeding partners," Discord mused before grinning. "Now, let's get down to business," he declared as he held up an open hand in the air.

The various leaders looked on in confusion until the three Alicorns all went wide eyed, snapping their attention to the front of the room. Seaspray quickly pulled Skystar aside as the Staff of Sacanas spun by between her and Ember, the Dragon Lord leaning away on pure fear-driven instincts. The weapon of the storm king came to rest in Discord's waiting grip. Without further ado, he leaned back on his chair.

With a flourish, he slowly waved the staff over the map. All eyes watched it intensely, as if entranced by this mysterious action. The tip came to rest south of Canterlot. A spark of magic travelled through the staff and Discord's eyes glowed an eerie, solid red.

Breaths caught in their throats as small ball of fire appeared above the map. But it was not normal red, the green of dark magic or any other expected colors. It was...grey. And its wisps of flames looked to be pulling towards its core, rather than bursting out and upward. With disturbing suddenness, the ball of inversed fire exploded silently in all directions. Past its shimmering outline, regardless of the angle viewed, displayed an image; the image of a forest, looking from just over the tree tops and far into the horizon.

Twilight stole a look at Discord, still balancing his chair with ease, and spied a smirk of amusement. That was a troublingly rare sight these days. Yet what captured her attention was his subtle movement, his head turning to the left, as if to her, but then up.

She quickly looked back and saw just what she theorized was correct: The image turned, bring into view a mountain; A tall mountain, just the first of many in a range. But this on had an unnatural white object on its side.

Canterlot.

"Astral Eyes, Secret Sight, Magic View, Grand Voyeur," Discord listed it off with a chuckle, his eyes still glowing. "Give it whatever name you want, Twilight. End of the day, it does the same thing."

"You can keep that concentration and hold a conversation?" Rain Shine asked, clearly impressed as she looked toward their collective savior.

While clearly to raise a point, it was somewhat disturbing how Discord turned to raise an eyebrow at her with red orbs staring right through the Kirin, yet the Astral Sight did not change its own angle this time.

Having proven his measure, Discord turned back to his magical viewing spell. He only had to turn his head slightly and hold it to keep the direction moving, saving him the trouble of standing and turning all about. Once again, this forest was Everfree levels of massive. "Well, we'll have plenty of room and material to start building a settlement down there," Discord advised.

"Yes, we've already started making plans for that," Celestia confirmed.

"We're just unsure of to the hazardousness of this forest's plants and inhabitants," Luna added in.

"I'm sure there are ones in this city with a talent for plants in general, or have studied them in any case," Discord commented with lack of interest. "Researching plants rarely changes across the multiverse. As for protection against the locals and wildlife, if you want peace of mind, one of you take a hundred guards and look over the arrangements personally," he assured absently. "Now...let's test this out a bit."

With a narrowed gaze and a wider smirk, the forest zoomed by under him rapidly. Not quite Rainbow fast though. No need to miss anything obvious.

"Umm, Discord?" Thorax spoke up. "Is the map supposed to be doing that?"

"Depends: is there a clear trail of sight on the map, over where I've been?" Discord asked in amusement as the point of the staff followed him on the map.

"Well, yes there is that, but..." Thorax trailed off uncertanly.

"There's a flickering glow in the undiscoverd part," General Seaspray summarized, stroking his chin. "Southeast of the city, by the looks of it. Is it some sort of alarm?"

"..." Discord glanced down at the table map with a curious scowl before returning his attention. "Color?"

"Huh? Oh, it's um, red," Twilight answered, knowing that was rarely a positive color in these situations. "Is that bad?"

"Yep," Discord answered bluntly as he and his view came to a halt and looked all about. "Going to have to practice with this more, I suppose. Rain, would you mind moving my tip for me?" Discord requested offhandedly.

The Kirin leader blinked at the instruction, but grabbed the rod firmly and gently brought it into place, the Astral Eye following her path across the lands. "Is that alright?" she asked, not sure how precise she was being or how much she needed to be.

"More than alright," Discord answered with a purr, chuckling as he felt her release the staff after registering his phrasing. If this wasn't important, he would have checked her expression. Returning to his task, he looked about until he saw it. "...Not exactly what I was expecting," he announced in interest as the rest took in the image.

"Is that a village?" Twilight asked, eyes going wide with a mixture of inquisitive joy and paranoid-yet-logical worry.

"Houses and farm fields would suggest that, yes," Luna noted with a small smile. It almost looked like one of the many small hamlets of Equestria.

"...Something is wrong," Discord noted with an even expression as his sight zoomed towards and into the settleme-

"AAAAHHHHH!" Skystar screamed in terror at the sudden image of a bipedal creature, clad from head to toe in steel armor, swinging a sword as sanguine liquid sprayed through the air.

Seaspray held Skystar to comfort and assure her, but he was just as transfixed as the rest of the room stared with wide eyes as the...soldier cut down what most assumed was a human, who fell to the ground dead. The view turned, seeing that it was not just a lone incident: dozens of identically armored beings were striking down every human in sight: females, males, young, elderly. It was an indiscriminate spilling of blood, against those without weapons or protection.

"What...what is this?" Twilight asked in horror as she saw a father trying to hold off two of the attackers, as his daughters tried to flee.

"War," Discord whispered under his breath, but heard throughout the room.

"This...this isn't war," Thorax refuted with a quiver in his voice. "It's a massacre."

"Not mutually exclusive things, unfortunately," Discord corrected solemnly.

"Those...humans slaughter each other so ready?" Luna questioned with a scowl as she balled her fist.

"I'm assuming they're from a different country," Ember voiced, affected much less than the others even if the scene still baffled her on some fundamental level.

"They're killing civilians! Even a war doesn't excuse something so vile," Seaspray denied vehemently. He had at least theorized plans to go to war with most of the people in this room at one time or another. The mass execution of their people was never even an entertained thought. Well, minus Ember's, but that was if ALL the dragons fought to the bitter end.

"What do we do then?" Rain Shine redirected them, her scowl something of the Frozen North, if it existed. "Should we truly get involved? As disgusting as this is, this appears to be a matter between two different powers native to this world."

"Could we even journey fast enough to make a difference?" Twilight asked, more to herself than them. "Flying would take too long and teleporting in this world is untested and unsafe in a new location to begin with."

The table dissolved into talks of all of them wanting to do...something, but with no way how. And through it all, Celestia remained silent as she watched the bloodbath...and turned her gaze upon Discord with a concerned look as she saw his red eyes were now dulled, his expression lost and far away...

"You're seeing it, aren't you, Discord," Celestia stated suddenly, her voice cutting through the conversations as all eyes looked back to the silent dual-horned Alicorn as he stared on.

In their attempts to comprehend the situation, they had all forgotten that Discord was viewing this all in first person. That he was essentially right there in the midst of it all.

"I was," he said simply as he sat his chair down and stood up in the same motion. Every last person looked taken back as he stabbed the Staff of Sacanas into the map, right into the village's location. His eyes faded back to normal but the view remained.

With that done, Discord turned away and started to walk away...towards a wall.

"Discord, what are you doing?" Twilight asked in confusion and worry.

"Hm? Isn't it obvious?" Discord asked as he turned back to look at her. As he did, a portal sprung opened up on the wall behind him, a swirling vortex of violent green. "I'm going to go save them."

"But...why?" Ember questioned with a frown. Surely he of all beings was prepared for such events, so why did he want to personally get involved?

Discord looked up for a moment before shrugging. "It seems like a good chance to see how dangerous this world really is," he reasoned without much care if they believed it.

He was about to turn back to the portal, when Celestia suddenly stood up with a scowl on her face. "I'm coming with you."

"Princess?!" Twilight exclaimed in surprise as everyone looked at her strangely.

Except Luna.

"That's an interesting look about you, Celestia," Discord noted with interest. "Why?"

"You are at the weakest you have ever been,"' Celestia reminded sternly, Discord's looked unimpressed with the observation. "I can't in good conscience let you go into danger without help."

There was an infinite list of ways Discord could refute that reasoning. But she knew that, or suspected it at least, and yet her eyes still blazed with determination. It was a positive development as far as Discord was concerned, but there was something else in her eyes. Something Discord had never recalled aimed at him. Something he doubted he even really needed.

It was an unusual feeling, knowing someone was protective of you.

Completely ignoring the tense silence, he nodded his acceptance with his lips quirked in amusement.

This would be interesting.

Meanwhile

Enri held desperately onto her sister, her wounded back exposed to the knights standing sinisterly over her with their weapons poised. If only for a few seconds, she'd keep Nemu alive and try to give her a chance to run and escape into the forest.

"Time to finish this," one of the false-knights murmured as he raised his sword, intent on stabbing both girls in one stab.

*Snap*

"Wha...?" the knight wheezed, staring down without comprehension as he saw his now hilt-less blade impaled into his chest.

"What...just happened?" Enri asked numbly as she saw the man collapse, the red of his life flowing out of him. His partner backed away in fear, looking around frantically for an attacker.

"Big Sis, look," Nemu whispered in some mixture of fear and awe.

"Rest easy, kiddo," a voice called as a hand patted her on the head.

"A demihuman?!" the uninjured knight yelled as Enri looked up behind her at what Nemu already saw and it made her blood run cold.

There was a grey horse in the shape of a man, but with two curved horns in the middle of his head. He wore a large and surprisingly finely made coat over his impressive form, as well as some form of green pants. But he was huge, easily eight feet tall. And his ruby blood eyes shone in a way that made her feel even smaller than his size did.

And still, he was smiling down at her. "You're safe now," he spoke. It wasn't reassurance. It was simply fact.

He didn't even react as the second knight's blade came inches from his head.

*ZWRRRRLL!*

He did look a bit impressed when a yellow beam roared by, evaporating the armored man from the waist up. The cauterized lower half fell back with a thump, to Enri's disbelief and growing fear.

"That was overkill, Sun," Discord mused as he looked to the new arrivals.

Enri gulped at the two new demihumans. At least, she assumed they were demihumans. It was hard to tell with how they were covered in full body armor, but between her current savior's equine head and their horned-horse shaped helmets, she was going to assume they were demihumans as well. She was also assuming they were female, by the shape of the armor.

The first was the taller of the two, a full foot shorter than the two-horned one. The horn of her helmet was smoking rather ominously. Her armor was a radiant and glowing white with burnt orange edges that resembled flames in shape.

The smaller of the two was merely so by half a foot, but she was clad in pitch black armor with sapphire accents in the impressions of waves. She was the one who spoke, her voice royal and refined, "I'm sure you had the situation under control, but please handle foes sooner for our peace of mind," Luna requested in a polite tone that Enri interpreted as respectful.

Discord merely tilted his head...as his snake tail lashed out, removing the head from the dying man nearby, doing so with a single sudden blow. "There is a reason I'm not the one in armor," he commented ominously.

Celestia glanced down at the two female humans. And when she spoke, Enri was struck by how...kind and warm her voice was. "We need to heal her soon before the blood loss overwhelms her."

"I already stopped the bleeding," Discord answered dismissively.

Enri went wide eyed. In the confusion, she thought she had merely gone numb to the pain. Now that it was pointed out, she realized her pain had in fact lessened.

"Moon, would you mind finishing her up? I have to take care of something," Discord requested.

Enri shifted away as the black one leaned down, holding an open palm to her as the horn piece glowed blue. "P-please, don't hurt my sister," Enri begged feebly. Logic said that none of these demihumans wanted either of them dead, but between the nightmare she had just barely survived and all she knew about demihumans, she could only imagine the horrible reasons they wanted them alive.

"Fear not, I mean neither of you harm," Luna assured in a gentle tone as her magic enveloped the two.

Enri blinked when she felt a calming wave wash over her body as fatigue and injuries seem to wash off her being.

"Big Sis, you're okay!" Nemu spoke up as they both tried to look at the elder sister's now healed back. "Thank you!" she cried up to the literal goddess- not that they knew that.

"Yes, thank you all!" Enri repeated quickly, bowing her head lest she disrespect whoever and whatever these three were.

Discord decided to pretend not to notice that the Alicorns were smiling beneath their helmets at the embracing sisters. Instead, he reached into his coat and seemed to rummage through it before pulling out a black flat disk, about the size of a coconut. His eyes glowed briefly as his pointer finger on his free hand did a circling movement. The village girl jumped in alarm as a circle of red light formed around her. "That should keep you safe until we're done, but here's this just in case," Discord said as he handed the item towards her.

"What...what is it?" Enri asked, much less wary but still confused ultimately; both with the situation and what she was supposed to do with that.

Discord snorted under his breath and smirk as he moved his hand up and down in a snapping motion.

Enri looked taken back and Nemu looked mystified as the disk was revealed to be a top hat with a purple band. "If anything gets by this barrier, just reach in and you'll pull out something that will help," Discord promised with a smile.

Enri nodded, gently but firmly taking the hat from the great creature before her. "Who...who are you?"

Discord hummed as he stood back up as he looked down the path to the village. "My name is Droc," he answered simply, ignoring the odd looks the Alicorn sisters gave him.

Author's Note:

There we go, brand new chapter all ready. Discord is adjusting to his new popularity, and apparently is down for council meetings that he thinks are important. Here we got the population numbers in Canterlot. There are potentially a lot more in the other locations since, you know, Canterlot was on a mountain. Still, yeah, over 300K is a lot. Most of them are ponies, but that was a given as Discord explained. Oh, yeah, and Discord is huge even by immortal standards- same old, same old there.

And now we get to Carne Village. Yes, I pulled a few things from Overlord, but I honestly couldn't resist the image Discord giving out a magic top hat. XP

Meanwhile, the Alicorn Sisters got some sick armor from Discord, and Celestia vaporized a guy for trying to hurt Discord. Ouch, overkill indeed. Still, her protectiveness of Discord is understandable, given everything he did and is doing for everyone.

PS I am aware that Enri's observation does not include the wings of any of the three. This is intentional.

PPS If its not clear, Discord changed everyone into anthros because he could tell this world had humans AND anthro-like races. He didn't know specifics of this world and the beastmen here, so he tried to make it easier for them to interact with human countries in the long run. Meaning he doesn't know yet that humans are NOT the dominant race in this world, just this area.