-o-
Pinkie's mouth burst into a massive grin the exact moment she spotted two of her friends heading in her direction. Letting out a squawk that rumbled from deep within her throat, she shot a hoof up in the air and proceeded to wave it erratically from side to side. She needed to make sure Rarity and Fluttershy saw her, so they wouldn't mistakenly walk by without saying hello. How awful would they feel if that were to happen? Extremely, Pinkie's mind helpfully supplied.
Opening her jaw to its widest peak - the strain didn't hurt, as her mouth was used to the constant torture by know - Pinkie called out to the two mares. Although her voice was high and ecstatic, she had a feeling that neither of her friends would actually be able to hear the yells; that did not deter her from her mission. Pinkie Pie's goal, in this precise pocket of time, was to grab Rarity and Fluttershy's attention. Everything else - dignity, vocal preservation, self-control - all took a back seat to the current desire ripping through her.
Paying no mind to the stares she was likely receiving from all the other ponies surrounding her, Pinkie jumped atop the table she'd been seated at, spilling her milkshake in the process. Ignoring the frothy liquid as it splashed against her legs - she could easily lick up the cool fluid later - Pinkie's eyes widened.
"Over here!" she cheered, now waving both her front hooves in the air frantically.
Her shrieks were drawn out and charged with an energy that could not be contained. But then, why would she want to keep her enthusiasm locked up? They were her friends, for crying out loud, and nothing was more special in the world. How could she deny them the greeting that they so truly deserved?
Two beautiful smiles were the reward she obtained for her efforts. Beaming in response, Pinkie halted her jittery motions, and jumped back off the table. Landing with a graceful bounce, she quickly bent her head down and slurped up the remains of her drink from her legs. The sweet taste of chocolate melted over her tongue, and she couldn't stop the moan that escaped her lips as she finished lapping up the delicious liquid.
Shaking away the ecstasy, she lifted her head, shivering just the tiniest of amounts as a cool breeze swept over her wet limbs. She knew the saliva would dry up relatively quickly, so she didn't let it bother her. Who cared about a little bit of spit, when time could be spent talking to friends instead?
"Hello, darling," Rarity said, acknowledging the pink pony as she got close enough to make conversation. Fluttershy's greeting was in the form of a simple, gorgeous smile.
Buzzing with elation, Pinkie's response to their presence was cut short by a loud, obnoxious laugh erupting from somewhere above her. Ears pricking up instantly, Pinkie moved her gaze in a vertical direction. Allowing her eyes to rapidly scan the sky for the source of the pleasant noise, she felt the beginnings of another cheer forming as recognition told her who the laugh belonged to. It was a sound she heard on a daily basis, and it was only a matter of time before her keen senses let her spot the pegasus she was looking for.
Perched on a cloud, Rainbow Dash was focused on something out of sight, and she had her back to the three ponies on the floor below. Though Pinkie couldn't see her face, she knew for certain that Rainbow Dash's features were scrunched up in mirth. She resisted the urge to hoof pump. Wasn't this turning out to be a spectacular day? Now, only Twilight and Applejack needed to pop out of nowhere, and her bliss would be complete.
After a moment, Pinkie sucked in a huge wad of oxygen through her mouth in preparation for her next scream.
"Rainbow Dash!"
She punctuated the name with a leap into the air. Dropping back to the ground much more slowly than should have been physically possible, Pinkie lifted her chin in pride when she caught sight of Rarity and Fluttershy covering their ears beside her. Rarity, in particular, looked ready to faint from shock; this was a tremendous achievement, as far as Pinkie was concerned.
She smirked. The title of Cheer Champion was going to be hers this year; there was no doubt about it.
"Hey, Pinkie! What's up?"
The question brought her out of her thoughts and, shaking her head to regain some focus, Pinkie turned her attention to her three friends. Rainbow Dash had flown down to join them all. Flapping her wings idly, she was hovering between Fluttershy and Rarity. Pinkie giggled.
"You were, silly! But now you're not because you're down here!" she answered, pointing at Rainbow Dash, who let out a laugh in reply. Much to Pinkie's delight, Rarity's lips had also lifted up in a small smile, regardless of the fact that she had rolled her eyes in response to the joke.
"Um, girls?"
Everyone turned to Fluttershy. Her face was alight with glee too, but her eyes told a different story. A flash of concern tore through them, which was rather confusing given the circumstances. Pinkie's grin faltered. Wait... Hadn't Fluttershy made plans to hang out with Discord today? The date she'd marked on her calendar was correct, wasn't it? But... If that were the case, why was Fluttershy here? Pinkie gulped, suddenly feeling very sad. Her grin threatened to evacuate her face completely.
"Hey, why aren't you out playing with Discord?" she asked, willing her rapidly fading smile to stay in place. "I thought you said you two were going on a super, secret mission somewhere?"
Fluttershy took a small step back, shaking her head. "I never told you that. And it's just a small trip, not a secret mission." The latter part was said in a deadpan tone, making Fluttershy sound very peculiar.
Before Pinkie had to come up with an excuse as to how she'd known about their little get together, Rainbow Dash spoke up.
"It's Pinkie Pie, remember? Not worth questioning it."
Fluttershy frowned, rubbing a hoof along one of her forelegs in what appeared to be a self-conscious gesture.
"I suppose you're right," she said, addressing Rainbow Dash, before locking her eyes with Pinkie's. "We had to cancel. That's why we're here, actually." Turning to Rarity, Fluttershy's body seemed to sag somewhat as an emotion Pinkie couldn't identify darkened her normally pretty features. Pinkie moved to look at Rarity warily.
Her smile was long gone; it had vanished, despite her attempts to have it remain throughout the duration of this conversation. A strong loathing clouded her judgement, seeping into her thoughts as she mentally reprimanded herself for giving in to her negative feelings. She honestly despised it when her body betrayed her, showing off the bad displays of emotion that had no right to ever pass through her mind. Pinkie Pie was laughter incarnate; she disliked the idea that worry and fear could overwhelm her Element so easily.
She gritted her teeth together to try and keep calm. Fluttershy had a habit of looking upset over the slightest thing, so being scared was stupid. Just because one of her friends had to make a rain check on the plans she'd been looking forward to, didn't mean there was something inherently wrong.
"Princess Celestia wishes to see us immediately," Rarity explained, bringing Pinkie's mind back to the present. She blinked slowly.
"Oh." Then she did it again, before her lips tugged back up into a relieved smile. That was fantastic news! "So we get to go on another adventure? And see the princesses? And-"
Excitement was flowing through her once again, and Pinkie could not have been happier. Even as her rambles were stopped by Rainbow Dash's hoof covering her mouth, Pinkie felt the hairs on her back begin to tingle with electricity at the idea of going on a super, awesome trip with her friends. How she had waited for this moment. It had been ages since they'd all been together as a group, and even longer since she'd been able to see Celestia and Luna.
"We don't really know why she wants to see us, but Twilight is already at the castle. We just need to get Applejack," Fluttershy said, the worry in her eyes ever present.
Pinkie mumbled something through Rainbow Dash's hoof, but it came out as nothing more than a muffled mess. Rainbow Dash pulled a face, removing her hoof from Pinkie's mouth and shaking it abruptly. Globs of spit flew off the glistening appendage in all directions, making Rainbow Dash stick her tongue out in obvious disgust. Pinkie merely grinned.
"I'll go get Applejack," Rainbow Dash said.
Rarity nodded her approval, watching with mild displeasure as Rainbow Dash continued to wave her hoof around. "Good idea. You'll be much quicker getting to the farm than either of us. We can rendezvous at the train station."
Using the hoof she'd been shaking, Rainbow Dash gave Rarity a sharp salute, before increasing the speed at which she'd been flapping her wings. Not even a second passed before she darted off, flying towards Sweet Apple Acres. The gust of wind she left in her wake was impossibly fierce.
"You think we need sleeping bags for the trip?" Pinkie suddenly asked.
Rarity and Fluttershy stared at her blankly. Smiling, Pinkie tilted her head.
"What?"
-o-
"That is a most amusing joke, sister."
Twilight cringed. Shaking her head, she tried to keep her thoughts on the present.
"I'm afraid we are not telling you a lie, Luna."
Gritting her teeth together, she glanced down at the green book that had started this whole mess. A groan forced its way out her mouth.
"Are you certain?"
Tapping the sides of her head with her hooves, Twilight closed her eyes. Why couldn't her mind give her peace? The responsibility of telling Luna of the new information she'd gained about draconequui had been taken off her shoulders. Celestia had spoken the words carefully, letting each one flow from her lips with an ease that Twilight envied. She was only too grateful that Celestia had not expected her give any input at the time.
"Yes."
Biting her lip, Twilight shook her head once again and opened her eyes. Could she really say that she was certain that the things written in this book were absolutely, one hundred percent fact? The answer was a resounding no; that was the reason she'd quickly excused herself after Luna had been told the news. That, and the fact that she didn't want to be in the room when her friends were updated on the situation. She had a feeling that some of them - in particular, one butter coloured pegasus - were not going to react very positively.
Luna had responded astonishingly well; far better than either she or Celestia had. Although the eldest princess had managed to compose herself before Luna had arrived, her posture had been unrelenting in revealing what she truly felt. There was no denying that it would take a while for Celestia to come to terms with the revelation completely.
Grumbling, Twilight dropped to the cold floor, shivering slightly when a fierce ice crept around her stomach. She sighed, trying to ignore how uncomfortable she was.
Was she in the wrong, here? Had prying into the history of a being she honestly didn't understand been a mistake? Was the world punishing her for meddling? It sure seemed like it.
Locking away those thoughts - they were unhelpful and unnecessary - Twilight let a twinkle of warmth light up her horn. Pushing the magic out into the air surrounding her, she manipulated it easily, curling it around the book in front of her. Tugging at the old cover until it revealed the dirtied pages underneath, Twilight rapidly flipped through them before stopping on the chapter she was aiming for. The comforting glow of her magic faded, leaving a dull ache in its absence.
The title at the top of the page was pointlessly tidy; care had been given to its structure, creating an illusion of professionalism. Twilight's eyes narrowed. Anyone could have written it. Calligraphy was not an indicator of a reliable author, nor was it a sign that their words weren't lies. No one could determine who had swiped the pen over the paper. The writer could easily be a child, or a prankster who wanted to trick ponies into believing false truths.
Of course, she had to admit that the information came across as factual, but who was she to judge? Just because the style of writing was formal did not mean it wasn't made up. Her knowledge of draconequui was severely lacking, and she hadn't checked the rest of the book's contents to see if it matched with what she knew of other species it described.
Twilight frowned. Why hadn't she read the other chapters, precisely?
"Okay, I should probably do that. Right now," she muttered, before tightening her jaw in annoyance. "Now would be a good time to read the rest of the book!"
Tilting her head back and closing her eyes, Twilight released a disgruntled yell. The noise filled the library, sweeping around the twists and turns, and echoing throughout the vast space almost mockingly. Opening her eyes again, she glared down at the encyclopaedia. Wiping absently at the sweat building up on her brow, Twilight adjusted her position slightly to remove the sudden pain in her back legs. Trying to focus her attention on the apparent facts she had so readily absorbed earlier, Twilight resisted the pull of that single, four digit number that felt like it was calling out to her. How could a number cause her such stress?
Drawing in a deep breath, she relaxed her body as she scanned the writing with determination. She needed to find a fault, something that would undeniably prove that this was all just an elaborate joke played on her by an ancient, bored author.
There was but one issue with her plan: How exactly would she know if she came across a lie? Discord was literally the only draconequus she knew to compare the data against, and she didn't really understand much about him. There was always the opportunity to ask him, but he wasn't really a reliable source, was he? She could think of countless reasons as to why he would withhold information from her.
No, there was no other way. She required something that was set in stone, that couldn't be refuted or misinterpreted. A hard scowl lowered onto her face as an idea came to her. Testing these so called 'facts' out was her only option.
In order to get her answers, she would need to conduct a couple of experiments.
-o-
I enjoyed this chapter. Keep writing.
hey i like this story but the last chapter and most of this one focused on ponyville so will the next one be ponyville or canterlot?
YES! Update~!
I wonder what the test will be...
This is one of the very few stories where I get excited when it updates.
I'd say you managed to grasp Pinkie's characterization pretty well.
I really hope Twilight's not planning to experiment on the little kid with godlike powers.
This chapter didn't impress me. The only thing of any relevance (aside from the setup for the next chapter) was Luna being brought into the loop, and that happened "off screen," leaving us to read about Twilight retreading ground from chapter 2. As far as I can tell, nothing in the Ponyville scene was relevant, and it bogged the story down in mundane events at a time when it needs to be reinforcing the strong impression from the first two chapters.
Yay an update~
Great chapter.
My objection is this: Even a child can be devilishly clever if they are intelligent enough.
Discord is a several thousand year-old child with power and cunning enough to twist ponies' minds in knots.
I find it very hard to give him a pass when I've known children barely in their teens who were quite aware of their actions and played upon adults' sympathies towards the little darling to get what they wanted.
And yet I have also known middle-aged people with less common sense than I demonstrated by kindergarten.
Becoming an adult is hardly a function of raw age, and any reasonably experienced person knows this. Perhaps Twilight might be naive enough to believe otherwise, but Celestia should have more than enough knowledge of this behavioral developmental fact.
I will not complain about this taking too long to update because this quality work. Update when you feel it is ready.
I really hope to see the next chapter!! It seems really interesting so far
Guh! Your chapters are far too short for how long you keep making us wait for them! Just tell the rest of Mane6 already! I don't care about what they think on the way to Canterlot. I don't care about their musings of what's waiting for them. I don't want to see a segment from Dash's, Applejack's, or Rarity's perspectives to go with Flutershy's and Pinkie Pie's. I just want them to be in Canterlot Castle, talking to the princesses! The bulk of this chapter was just Pinkie's pointless ramblings! You barely progressed the story at all!
Good Luck! Hope you update soon!
5089033 look,we get it. Discord age is not an excuse. But are you really going to compare human's thoughts with ponies? celestia is probably in shock right now, so she is probably not thinking like you are. This chapter proves that twilight didn't really start thinking until later
I really thought the mane 5 would find out. This chapter is nice, but I got my hopes up for nothing
5089237 I think things like this are important. This is a filler chapter; it adds to the characters and to the plot. We can see their excitement and confusion about the situation; they have no idea what is coming to them. I think seeing them go through this will make their reactions all the more interesting!
I can see where you're coming from, though. Almost, if not every chapter has ended in a semi-clifhager: "I have to look further into this... in the next chapter!" " I must talk to Celestia... next time on To Judge a Book!"; it can become slightly frustrating. I, also can agree with you on the wait, but I am very impatient so I'm am not a good judge
5089033
Children are little shits. They are naturally little shits. They are selfish, manipulative little weasels because the parts of their brains that tell them not to be selfish, manipulative little weasels haven't developed yet. So human beings, and presumably ponies, have developed an evolutionarily necessary blind spot to children being little shits, in that we love and adore them anyway and want to protect them even though they are little shits.
If Discord is a child, this does not prevent him from being a very intelligent, manipulative little shit, particularly since he's three thousand years old and has probably learned a lot about how to push ponies' buttons. It does, however, mean his moral sense hasn't finished developing. Which means a, to a certain extent his being a little shit isn't entirely his fault, and b, it's even more imperative to teach him proper moral behavior in a way that he'll actually absorb it if he's a child, because that proves he can change. One of the objections to reforming Discord is frequently that how could you expect chaos to reform, or how do we know Discord isn't playing everyone, or why would we expect someone as set in his ways as Discord to change? And if he's a child, none of that is true (well, the playing everyone could be true, but he'd be much more vulnerable to being counter-manipulated if he's a child even if he's playing everyone.)
And, ponies, like humans, have been programmed by evolution to cut children a lot of slack for being manipulative little shits, because since children are naturally this, if we held it against them we would stop reproducing. :-) Parents who don't cut their kids slack for amoral behavior don't pass on their genes to the next generation because they kill the little fuckers. :-) So Celestia and Twilight are going to see Discord in a very different light if they know he's a child, because firstly they know that his amorality isn't entirely his fault but is something he might grow out of, secondly because they know now he could grow out of it if handled properly, and thirdly because their instincts tell them to protect children and tolerate much more bad behavior from them than they would an adult.
It's not that Discord gets a free pass -- the things he did were cruel and harmful, and ponies had the right to stop him from doing those things even if he's a child, and if the only way was to turn him to stone, oh well -- but Celestia and Twilight's instincts will be to be horrified at what they did to a child, even if logically they had every right. Doesn't mean it's the correct attitude, but it is a natural and normal attitude.
As much as I like these in-depth conversations on mentality, I think you all are missing the bigger picture, A. we have no idea what his life was like before he took over equestrian, we only know that he's younger than Celestia, and he's apparently the only draconequus around. B. We don't know how his chaos powers come into play here either, did other draconequui have them as well, or are they unique to Discord only? C. Where are the other draconequui?
5089237
In agreement. To the author; there are three important aspects to a good update, at least two of which are needed be considered good. 1)Update speed. 2) Chapter length. 3) Story progression.
Basically, if a chapter is short, but released quickly, it doesn't need to have a climax. If it took a long time, but is a long chapter that has an important event, then it's a good update. If it's long and updated with haste, than you still pass even without a big reveal or some such thing.
Then we have you, who are failing to achieve any of the criteria; your chapters are short, they release slowly, and nothing really interesting is happening in them. I came into this story because the premise intrigued me, but after a month+, four short chapters and nothing interesting to show for it beyond the very first chapter, my patience is wearing very thin and I find my cursor hovering over the down-vote button.
Hopefully you shape up and start taking this seriously; you've been given a lot of positive feed back and many readers have made it clear they are greatly looking forward to what you have in store for them, so try not to let them down by being lazy.
If you want things to progress slowly, story-wise, then update fast and make the chapters decent a decent length. I recommend 2500 words for every week spent making readers wait. Hope to see a 5000 word chapter in two weeks.
5089726 Hmm that was actually pretty informative. It wasent aimed at me but I thank you anyway.
Go check out my stories I'm pretty sure I meet those criteria.
You have a very interesting premise with this story (which is why I'm reading it in the first place), but you need to learn how to balance character/plot development with scene setting. The only plot development we got that we didn't already have was that Luna is now privy to Discord's age, and the only character development we got was that Twilight is now doubting what was written in the book and is seeking to falsify it.
5089408
You are right that this is mostly a filler chapter, but your version of the meaning of filler is rather skewed. A filler, by definition, has no (or very little) plot or character development. It has its name because it occupies the space between two points of plot and character progression. When done correctly, this can give the audience a breather after some heavy events. However, I could sum up the entire plot of the past four chapters in two sentences, and of the nine interacting characters, only four have seen any development, and two of those just barely.
Now, I don't mind a good cliffhanger. In fact, I quite enjoy them. What I don't enjoy is slogging through 2,500 word chapters where only a couple of sentences have any significance to the story.
Is it just me, or does that picture of Twilight look like she's having difficulty deciding on whether or not she wants to poop on that book?
Is it just me?
It can't just be me.
But I won't let that color my perception of the story. After all, I wouldn't want to...
Judge a book by its cover.
5088907 Are you kidding me? Sure, most of the chapter was slow, but in the last portion Twilight got frustrated and decided to do science. Shit is about to go down.
To everyone:
I will admit, yes, this chapter has major problems. Upon reading it again after a good night's sleep, there are definitely pacing issues, as well as the lack of relevant action. I do apologise for this, and will take into consideration all the comments I've received about this. When creating this chapter, I pretty much wanted a split between 'reveal to character' chapters. Chapter 1 had it revealed to Twilight, 2 to Celestia, and I wanted to have a couple chapters that changed it up a bit.
Could I have done it better? Most certainly. There are many ways, thinking over it now, that I could have taken the story, in much more interesting ways than I ended up doing. I'm not going to edit it, as I don't like doing major changes to an already published chapter. I will, however, try my hardest to not produce a chapter like this again.
5089726
I'm sorry, but I take issue with this. I agree with your first couple of points, but those last two paragraphs are kind of offensive.
One: I do not have to shape up and take this seriously. This is a piece of fiction I am choosing to write in my spare time. I am extremely grateful for all the positive feedback - and negative, as I love improving myself - but I am under no obligation to write to the readers' demands. I will take everyone's criticisms into consideration, of course.
Two: I am not being lazy. Was this chapter later than I wanted? Yes. Was this chapter on the short side? Yes. Does this in any way make me a bad person, or someone who doesn't care about my readers? Of course not. My personal life has been rather hectic the last week or so, and I have been concentrating on some very important things. Finding time to write, and posting, is not my priority, but I have tried to give everyone something to read regardless. As I have said, I could have done it much better, and I will look over that mistake and try not to make it again.
I would be upset to know someone has been turned away from my story, and I do hope you enjoy further chapters if you choose to continue reading. But please, understand that sometimes things get in the way of updates, and I do try my best to work around them.
5090934
What's about to happen doesn't matter. For all we know, there might not be any science experiments; something could go wrong or keep her from it. What matters is the words already in the story.
This isn't something you can handwave away. It's a real problem, and a promise of better things to come doesn't change that.
I want the story to be good, and I'm going to give it a chance to pick itself up and impress me, but this chapter was a misfire.
5090761
You are correct. Thanks for the spot!
Haha.
5088768
Thanks! I was really worried about getting her character right (I went as far as re-watching a couple Pinkie-centric episodes to try and get a feel for her voice), so it's great to know you think she was written okay.
5091049 My comment wasn't meant to belittle your concerns but to point out that you overstated your case by overlooking something that happened in your recap. However, I overlooked something myself if the "(aside from the setup for the next chapter)" isn't an edit.
5091035 No problem! Not every chapter can be pure gold and full of wonderful ideas! Also, Don't worry about updating every week; as long as you don't leave for months without saying anything it's all fine!
5091035
The thing was about this chapter and the Pinkie scene was that you cut out a far more interesting scene in exchange for it. I too believe in the the three criteria, but I think it's fine if only one of them is met (though you should always strive for two) sometimes. This chapter could have released on the same date and been the same length, but simply showed the Luna reveal and I would have been satisfied.
And that's the thing, you say you already had the reveal for the princesses, but you didn't write them out, and those are the scenes people will want to see instead of Pinkie being Pinkie. All we saw was Celestia basically gasp, then the scene cut away before we got to the interesting bit, and we read a few lines of dialogue being remembered by Twilight, after the fact for Luna. These were potentially great moments you just skimmed over so we could read a thousand words of the Mane5 preparing to head out.
Now, here are some things I've noticed about this story that aren't complaints, but simply observations. I think you were trying to hint at Fluttershy having some romantic feelings for Discord in that one chapter as she loved snuggling with him and blushed multiple times. This would be a great thing to put in the story as Fluttershy runs away after finding out the truth, only to be tracked down by her friends and asked what's the matter. In tears, she'd proclaim, "I'm a foal-fiddler!" This would also make some lovely awkward moments later when Fluttershy hangs out with Discord again, only for the draconequus to be confused why his best friend keeps avoiding his touch.
The next thing is the book, and the problems you as a writer will have to overcome to make this whole thing believable. First, how would this pony have been able to study draconeqi in depth enough to know these things? How has this book or it's knowledge never come to light before? Seems to me that if the author was able to find this stuff out, that the princesses should have also; probably from this book. I mean, wouldn't they want to research the enemy they just defeated at some point over the thousands of years and the book was easy to find? Why is Discord supposedly the only one of this immensely over-powered species left? Why is he the "Spirit of Chaos" when in reality, he is a naturally occurring life-form who is apparently one of many similar beings?
These are some potentially huge plot-holes that are going to require some seriously skilled writing to sew up.
5091337
Personally, me, I am unconcerned about the book and this is why:
An encyclopedia tends to be a collection of information gathered from other sources. A very old encyclopedia, written before we had a good understanding of the importance of sourcing, will present information it collected from multiple sources without actually listing those sources. Many, many old books reference material from books that no longer exist, because the old book we have survived, but its source material did not. And since the book does not make a reference to Discord or the specifics of chaos powers, it looks as if this book may predate Discord's rise to power (whereas of course the first book Twilight referenced does not.) A book that was written before the Discordian era is almost certainly going to reference books that no longer exist, because chaos is really bad for books.
So how does the writer know all this? They don't. They got their material from books that had more detail, which no longer exist. Where did those books come from? Draconequui or other creatures who knew them, because Discord's existence indicates that draconequui did not go extinct before he was born.
Why didn't Celestia or anyone else know this? Because no one is going to be able to find a book during the reign of chaos. Celestia acquired this very old book after Discord was in stone. Maybe she personally didn't acquire it at all; some Canterlot librarian did. Does Celestia have time to sit around reading all the books in the Canterlot library? I'm sure she's very well read, but maybe she didn't consider it particularly important to read an ancient tome about chimeras of various kinds, because Discord was in stone and there's much more detailed information available from other sources about non-extinct chimeras.
I am very curious as to what happened to the other draconequui and did they all have chaos powers and if so how could they have gone extinct and if not how'd Discord get his... but odds are only Discord knows these things, and probably only bits and pieces of them. If he was an egg when the draconequui went extinct or whatever else happened to them, he'd have no way of knowing where they went or anything about them. And if you understand how ancient books actually work, it's not at all hard to imagine how the writer of this book could have had information that is now unavailable anywhere else.
5089509 Moral development is far more a function of instruction than mere maturity.
Otherwise, we would not have so many horrid adults out there doing despicable things.
It's quite hard to me to accept that after 3,000 years Discord, as clever as he is, has never developed a general sense of 'right' and 'wrong'. Rather, I believe that he has simply chosen to ignore it since his powers grant him the capacity to simply overpower the vast majority of those who object to his behavior.
5091119 I sense a subtle jab at a certain author...
5094617 Who? I didn't mean to reference anyone. I know a few writers who do leave for a very long time and say nothing, but I wasn't jabbing at them.
5094979 I was talking about myself. I've seen you around mah books, and I generally only do around 1000 words every 2 weeks or so...
5100209 Well, at least you haven't left your page completely! I have seen a few writers who leave for months without a peep coming from them. it is so nerve-racking! Like, did you die; are you okay!? I get kind of worried when they do that...
5100249 BTW did you like the chapter with Lyra?
5105051 Yep! I didn't have anything important to say about it, so I didn't comment
5105152 iambrony.dget.cc/mlp/gif/gVTJs.gif
This story is good! This chapter just like i like my beer... I need another one.
5093373
You know what, instead of arguing, I ask you: how would you have handled it if you were the writer?
5109186 I'd have Discord be the one who wrote the book. Which he did 'just in case' he needed an excuse for his behavior if he were defeated, similar to his use of the Plunder Seeds as a secret backup plan.
He knows the ponies naturally forgiving nature, and as a proper god-mode troll would be in perfect position to make use of that knowledge. Though, as with the Plunder Seeds, he'd only remember doing it after he sees it again.
It'd be just the sort of side-ways plan he'd come up with in a spur-of-the-moment thought, only to forget about it soon after as he became distracted by his own antics.
I see Discord as exceedingly clever in particular moments, but easily distracted and scatterbrained. A more god-level Pinkie at her Pinkiest.
Aw, why the hiatus?
5134443
I got a new job.
So I'm going to be sorting out everything for that and concentrating on getting settled in it first, before focusing on the story.
>Her blue eyes widened exponentially
What do you mean by that?
5042130 OP WILL SURELY DELIVER
5089033 The frontal lobe does not develop until adolescence, and if comparing his age proportionally to a human's, assuming reaching adulthood at age 16, he is about 7-9 years old. The frontal lobe is responsible for making advanced moral decisions and understanding risks and the consequences of your actions. Responsible and mature children come off as such because they have a better understanding of rewards and punishment and adjust their behavior so as to earn the most approval from their parents (subconsciously, for the most part).
Considering the age at which he was running wild and the complete absence of any non-Celestia/Luna beings arriving to put a stop to his actions and never freed him from that statue I doubt that he has living parents (I think that if Discord were representative for all draconequii his rule would have been considered just another in a long line of disasters), I very much doubt that he had the chance to pick up a normal understanding of "this gets punished, this gets rewards" that come together over time to form someone's sense of ethics and proper social behavior.
Yeah, kids can be cunning. But there's a big difference between being intelligent and being able to understand just what it is you're doing and how it affects others. Plenty of adults have neither, but until a certain age it is simply not physically possible (barring abnormal development of the frontal lobe) for a child to make decisions with the same maturity that an adult is capable of.
5164242 *Alondro steeples his hands in front of his face with a sly smile* By age 7 I was already studying biology and had my first bank account, which I have managed with pinpoint accuracy to this day.
Besides, you're trying to compare mortal flesh and blood humans to a thousand's year old metaphysical entity in a world of magic.
Apples and oranges have more in common.
5171357 I did mention that intelligence wasn't the issue (although I am admittedly impressed by the biology part).
And to expand on what you said, a thousands-of-years-old actually-physical entity in a world of magic that has rules of physics, of magic, and of biology, which has both expressly stated Discord to be a child and has portrayed Discord as childish, and which has characters written and personified from the viewpoint of (presumably) a human being with (presumably) the mentality of a human being, who is trying to create relatable (damn you, whatever program spellchecks this site! "Relatable" is a real word!) characters to be read by (presumably) human beings.
As for apples and oranges...
5171497 My father is still 'childish', despite being 66. I have known quite a large number of adults who behave in a manner which is absolutely absurd.
I judge true maturity by mental capacity. And by that analysis, Discord was clever enough to contemplate some rather highly complex schemes which demonstrate a clear comprehension of advanced cause and effect as well as the knowledge of interpersonal dynamics.
If he is a child, I would put him in a similar class as Damien.
When can we expect an update? No rush, I know you are busy and I completely understand, but I would simply like a idea of when we can expect something so i'm not completely in the dark on it, if you don't mind me asking, that is.
This is a great fic. Though I agree with 5089033, the reactions of the alicorns seem realistic, as a knee-jerk reaction. From there on out they might be able to figure things out and accept what happened and then figure out what to do from there, because, frankly, as terrible as it is to punish a child as you would an adult, a child with phenomenal cosmic powers has to be met with extreme caution and maximum power, because, morally mature or not, they are a danger to everyone. Stoning and then reforming him might just have been the kindest possible way to handle Discord.
Sidenote: That is probably the most interesting inner narrative I have ever read on Pinkie. Such exuberance is brilliant, if maybe a bit disturbing, and that fits her perfectly.
I hope this comes off hiatus soon, because it is awesome, but unfortunately for us avid readers, real life matters. I'll just wait eagerly.
Happy writing, when you get to it.
5272913 I believe an example of just how horrifying a child with immeasurable power can be is exemplified by this:
Children with power are sometimes the most terrible monsters of all.