So, four days ago, Tirek brought Equestria to its knees—with my help—only to turn on me—which I really should have seen coming, but that's hindsight for you. And then some stuff happened involving—of course—rainbows, ugh, and now I'm here. Helping pay off my debt to the nation by fixing things which may or may not have been broken by me in the first place, like a good draconequus should.
Problem is, doctor, I've been finding myself preoccupied as of late, and I really just can't see why...
One shot written after a discussion about Discord's actions during the season finale.
Featured 7-31-14! Wooooo!
Has its own entry on the Dusk Guard Saga's TV Tropes Page.
Chapters (1)
Well, this is going to be good.
Errm, what can I say, hmmm oh wait, I let others say what I want to say.
Most of your follower can word this way better.
But I give you 8 out of 10 cakes and a dozen cookies.(and a Baumkuchen.. but only because I already ate 2 cakes...:x:misc_Octy_cake:)
Bis neulich.
Reading the description, I'm imagining Doctor Hooves chucking his fez at Discord's face and shouting "I'm not that kind of doctor!"
Now to actually read this story.
A very different little gem, and certainly improbable, yet fitting for things. A different discord, but a fun one.
Ok, finished reading. That was a good time, and one of the more enjoyable depictions of our favorite spirit of chaos and disharmony I've read.
At least Discord's honest with himself about there being more than one voice in his head. I can't count the number of arguments I've lost to myself.
Very good story. (And despite the fact that I've been following you for a while, it's the first one of yours that I've read. Weird.)
While I do prefer the idea that Discord had basically planned out most of those episodes, I think that canon does support something like this more. Oh well.
4779908
I hope it was!
4780251
Mmm... cakes ...
4780302
That Doctor knows well enough to keep clear of Discord...
4780546
Improbable? Well, that IS his whole shtick.
4780597
Hooray! Glad you liked it!
4780739
What are you waiting for? All aboard the train to adventure!
Wait ... this is the first ...
Hey, you have to start somewhere!
4780749 haha, exactly as expected, never bet on the longshots, they happen 100% of the time.
Another excellent story. I will say that I found some of the more "random" and meta humor at the beginning distracting but that was more of a personal gripe and not really the fault of the writing. The story definitely picked up for me afterwards and I was enthralled by the end. Discord was well done and consistent through out. Kudos on that as I rarely see Discord done well as a central character. I thought it was a nice touch to have the meat of the story be between Luna and Discord as we rarely see interactions between those two.
Also, are we going to get a side story about detailing The Dusk Guard vs. Tirek? I know seeing it runs the risk of ruining the tale but your one of the authors I would trust to make it a noodle incident as amazing on page as it is in my head.
Anyway, good job. Liked and faved. Can't wait to see more!
...
Would you happen to have read a certain story about Trixie stealing the deed to Twilight's libraryhouse?
4780749
Well all of your other stories are part of a several hundred thousand word long universe, and it's not easy to work up the effort to commit to that sort of thing.
I think I follow you mostly for the writing guides.
4781035
I think the Dusk Guard vs Tirek is going to be a main story in the future that will happen during the episode Twilight's Kingdom, similar to how one of the next Dusk Guard stories (book 2 or 3) is going to be about the Crystal Empire. Seeing the Dusk Guard against Tirek would be awesome!
I wonder if there are going to be new members added to the Dusk Guard? Hmmmm.
4781256 If The Dusk Guard is hiring then I call dibs on the first open spot.
While I certainly hope we get to see Tirek I can at least console myself that one of us fans will get around to writing a spin off about it.
I'll read this when I'm not exhausted and a bit more coherent. But from what I remember, this is pretty damned good.
This is one of those one-chapter masterpieces.
subtle or not, a little of Trollestia
and a satisfying ending.
It has believable character development, amusing jokes,
5 points on the....
itude meter (yeah, i'll go with that. 
)
O.K...
What did I just read?
4780892
Eeyup.
4781035
I'm glad you enjoyed it! It was a lot of fun to write even the random bits (but given that he has a reason for it ... 
), and I'm glad the scene between Luna and Discord turned out pretty well. The topic is a bit of a serious one, so letting it play off against Discord's inclination to make a joke out of everything was ... interesting. Character is one area where I know I excel, however, so I was sure I could pull this off.
Thanks.
As far as a side story detailing the Dusk Guard vs Tirek, I can't say. I can confirm that the saga arc will not have more than passing mentions of Tirek (and it'll get into that later), but as far as a side story goes ... maybe someday, but it'd be after I finish the saga as a whole. For ... reasons.
4781068
Nope, I have not. I probably should give it a shot, given its popularity over the last few days.
4781245
True, true, but that's several hundred thousand words of totally worthwhile, awesome, stuff! And a chance to see some stuff from those guides in action!
4781256
Yeah, sorry, my comment above kind of dashes this one. Don't worry. I doubt you'll be disappointed with what's coming. Oh yes ...
4781438
May it be better than you remember!
4781472
Thanks! I would recommend checking out my Dusk Guard Saga, then, because if you liked this for those reasons, you're going to find a lot more of that in both the main entries and the side stories! And if you dig through those and still want more, I've got a few books published you can take a look at too!
4780749
You wrote Discord rather well, better than what most people can do. The way you brought out his rational thoughts with the twist of Discord's personality. Then there was that line about forgiveness that Luna said, that got to me. Something I wish my family know how to do.
It most surly was
Again, I very much enjoyed reading this one.
4781592 The rule of 1's and 20's always follows dramatic irony!
Will read this as soon as possible. Have family visiting. :S
Possibly the best Discord I've seen so far. Love the headcanon that Chaos magic breeds Chaos magic, and that he's dependent on it to survive.
Hope we'll see more Discord in the Dusk Guard Saga. You write his point of view amazingly.
This was great fun! It's neat to see how Discord fits into your version of the world. I, myself, am a great appreciator of his sense of humor.
I fully admit to pumping a fist when we learned how the Dusk Guard dealt with Tirek. I can totally believe they'd keep fighting long after the strength left their legs. Gotta wonder if it's the same team, or if the roster's had a few changes in Beyond the Borderlands...
That be an interesting scene to watch play out.
Fun story, agree with previous comments about Discords chaos magic. Interesting mechanics, better then simply being all powerful all the time. Have a Scoot.
This gave me an idea. If Discord is dependent on chaos magic to survive, and the terms of his reformation force him to limit what chaos he can do...what if that's actually starving him? His reformation is actually slowly killing him.
Agh, I have too many unfinished stories as it is.
Beautiful.
I personally think he should go the way Discord did in Project Horizon's Fallout Equestria, in it, Discord says that Chaos is more than just disruption and disharmony, its art, its the act of thinking of taking chances, of hoping for more then what you are, of freedoms and revolution. There's all kinds of chaos in the world, good and bad. I think its time that Discord learns that. Dark/Black Magic is the easiest to call upon and to grow. It takes great skill and courage to call upon white magic and its overall more powerful for it.
Also I have your Dusk Guard story in my to-read list.
Very well written and an enjoyable read.
hi hi
It would seem that Discord already knows that he could deal with his chaos deficiency if he wanted to.
There are many things for which change is beneficial, and plenty of things where a random touch is highly valued. Randomness was critical in a wide variety of artistic masterpieces, from Jackson Pollock to the glazing on Song Dynasty pottery.
Drat! Your Discord writing is way better than mine! I'm definitely using this as further inspiration for how I write him in the future. I need more wacky reality warping.
Really though, this was a fantastic read, and I was happy to see a high quality story from a popular author that tackled the same sort of issue that I had in my story, From Your Most Grateful Admirer. Our Discords are definitely different in origin and interpretations of Chaos Magic, but I think I can apply a lot of what I just learned from you in how I write him in the future.
And so it goes to show you that a really good apology will make everyone ELSE feel good for having heard it, too.
(That being We, the Humble Audience.)
Not to nitpick, but I think that's a typo.
This is avesome!
Love your characterization of Discord. Also Dusk Guard Scene 
Like always you strike Gold and knock all opposition out the race! Love your works. Cheers!
It was a pleasure pre reading this story. Congrats on the feature!
4784218 That's not nitpicking, that's pointing out a large flaw
4781794 Might give you some ideas...
Damn this story makes Discord more like Sho Minamimoto rather then Yōdai Higashizawa
hmmm made me change my mind, Discords the new Sho, might fit better then being Yōdai
oh yeah Lord Tirek is Yōdai Higashizawa and that eliminates that equation
Heh heh heh... Zetta fun times
tnx
Rhythm
The Conductor
4781589
A story! And I just read a comment!
4781794
Acceptable!
4781879
Thanks!
4782002
New characters? I can't say...
4782024
We might see it one-day, but I honestly think it's better as a noodle incident. Glad you liked the story and my take on Discord. Building reasons for his behavior beyond "for the lulz" was pretty satisfying.
4782064
Well, remember that the story is from Discord' point of view. He's not 100% certain he'd die without magic, he's just operating under the assumption that he would. At the very least, being completely drained would keep him from acting in his usual means, and make him quite a bit more vulnerable to mortal problems. Whether or not being drained of his magic would actually kill him is purely a hypothetical that he is very unwilling to explore.
But while his reformation keeps him from building up massive reserves quickly, it's not going to starve him.
4782308
Glad you liked it.
4782397
I've never read the Discord from the Fallout universe, but while interesting, that sounds like something that wouldn't mesh well with this story or this approach.
4782568
Thanks!
4782719
Well, there's a few catches and problems with that, though it's a good theory. First, as he pointed out in the story, he got a lot less out of that then went into it. Second, it'd actually be a permanent change unless he put a timer on it, but then it would grant him even less energy. And the biggest hurdle: nopony likes him, nor trusts his "magic." He twists the order of things, and it makes others uncomfortable. It'd be like ... it'd be like if a restaurant served you a hamburger that was very clearly not made with meat, onions, pickles, etc, but still tasted like it. Especially if you saw them adding something like motor oil to the mix. Somehow it's a burger, but every instinct in you tells you it shouldn't be. Not the best comparison, but close enough, I think.
4782896
Thanks, and glad to help! Good luck with yours!
4784125
Real forgiveness is a powerful, oft misunderstood thing.
4784218 4784877
Personally, I disagree. Do you stop telling people that you're from your hometown when you move to a new city? Or automatically change a last friend's name when they get married? Twilight might be an alicorn in body, but most of those who know her would still think of her as "unicorn" without any issue. Especially since Equestria isn't hung up on race and species issues the way Earth is.
I honestly cannot recall if Discord calling her a unicorn was purposeful or not (I wrote this story a few weeks ago), but it seems completely in character to me for him to still think of her as such regardless of her alicorn status. And being that it's in character, I don't see a valid reason to change it. It's only a flaw or a nitpick if you're super hung up on putting everyone into little boxes.
4785037
Sorry...
4785037 Fair enough, sorry if my comment seemed over the top.
And part 2
It was a real surprise to see this hit number one. I'd been hoping for a feature, but number one on the site for a day? 
Did not expect that!
4784373
Thanks!
Again, thanks for the praise! I hope to continue to deliver writing that's worth it!
4784422
Thanks for the help! You caught a few areas that are much clearer now, so you share a bit of the responsibility for the story getting here!
4785050 4785055
Well, if mine came off over the top or too defensive, I apologize as well. I did debate changing it for the sake of simplicity, but decided not to as again, it falls more in line with Discord's character and point of view.
That's the tricky thing about third-person limited (which I write in) versus third-person omniscient (which is more common on fimfiction). One is limited by the character in focus, the other is not. Details like this are what separate the two. The trick is knowing which perspective you're reading.
4785077 I know how easy it is to misread a comment (Youtube, the person thought that I was screaming for more videos when I was just saying my favorite line from the video... "NOTHING IS HAPPENING!!!" (read that in a sing song voice)) so... RAMBLING!!!
4785037
With respect, I'm afraid I must disagree with the assertion that chaos only counts if people dislike it.
Also, he can change is appearance and could produce work under an alias. If Equestria is anything like our world, he wouldn't be the first to do so. (It is not uncommon in our world for women to work under the guise of a man to receive recognition that they otherwise would be denied them, for example.)
4785265
It's not that it's chaos because someone disliked it (that doesn't play into it at all) but it's disliked because it's completely in opposition to the flow of things. The dislike is just the average reaction.
So even if he were to disguise himself as a unicorn, eventually he'd have to do something that would generate chaos (ie is in opposition to the natural order) and it'd probably be noticed. For example, the baton up the nose thing, he's not just wishing the baton away or dissolving it with magic, he's warping reality so that he's can actually shove it into his nose without issue, and the momentary ripple of physics being turned on its head gives him energy.
What exactly does cake breaking through ice sound like?
4785037 Thanks! I'll do my best!
I hope perhaps you'll give my little oneshot a read if you ever have the time? I'm quite proud of it, and it takes a different approach to an issue quite similar to your story. It's always fun to see how someone else has done on the same sorts of things you have worked on.
This was an excellent work, Viking, as always.
A very interesting inside of how Discord gets his power and why he has not endless power. While I prefer him to have the power of a (half-) god and be only bound by his own rules, the story showed a good other system.
I feel I should ask this: Why did he turn Twilight and company's attention the the diary? He really didn't get anything out of that(the plot did, not him) and it was right on the money. An then he gave Twilight an object afters he proved she was his friend, Why? And then that wink to Celestia...
He knew...Discord knew how this would happen all along. He knew if the Princesses went up against him right away he might have an ace up his sleeve, even if just one had the power of all four. (Only the box was guaranteed defeat Tirek once and for all, and Discord, familiar with strange magic, would know this. Maybe not at first, but eventually.) What better lesson to teach Twilight about friendship then let her rescue him, and how else then to let himself, and others be kidnapped? Discord knew Twilight could fight him to a stalemate, if she and Tirek were beefed up on others magic. Discord knew he would have his powers taken, and conned Tirek from the start. Remember: A con isn't about getting the victim to put their trust in you, it's about getting the victim to think you put your trust in them.
4785037
...............................................................