After his betrayal, Discord was sentenced to ten years in stone, with four parole periods a year, on holidays. He was also given a holiday to celebrate Chaos, which is his first parole period of the year. Over the course of a year, the Mane 6 and Discord will celebrate Topsy Turvy Day, the Summer Sun Celebration, Nightmare Night, and Hearth's Warming.
Established Fluttercord; I don't yet know if there are any other shippings. Spike is off learning to be an ambassador to the dragons, so he's not around at the moment.
Chapters (5)
Well, I'm eating it up already. :)
Also, I think this is the first story you've written where Fluttershy and Discord are actually in a relationship, so I look forward to seeing how you handle that.
This is...interesting. I always felt Discord got off rather lightly for his betrayal (even if it might have been some part of a convoluted plan), but attributed it to weird Pony mentality-he was legitimately sorry and tried to help so he stays free while Tirek who wasn't sorry at all gets thrown in prison for another 1000 years.
Still, this looks like the beginning to something...I hesitate to call it "grand" because this is Discord we're talking about, so I'll just be safe and label it "Discord".
This looks like a fascinating alternate universe, especially the hints if what transpired in the intervening time. And the idea of a holiday of Discord's own, along with him finding a role in culture and society? I love it! Definitely looking forward to more.
When I saw the story description, I thought this was going to be an April Fools' parody - "why would Celestia imprison Discord when she forgives everyone else, only to let him out for holidays?" But... this's a very good take on that, and definitely not a parody at all. Well done!
Ooh, I like this already. I like how you plan to post chapters around the holidays they represent. It'd be like this nice little treat, and I can't wait for the rest of the first part. It's a unique idea, since people either prefer Discord being accepted, or want him to suffer or something (some are in the middle, but I digress). So this is like a middle ground of sorts.
That's too easy of a joke to make, and I'm above that...
(clearly, they're doing each other ayyyy)It's nice that this starts right around a few years into these paroles, as opposed to the beginning. It takes us forward and established these holidays as something typical.
One point I do want to make is that there are big paragraphs where there's quite a bit to take in. Like, a lot of information about the holiday in big chunks of lines. It can come across as a touch overwhelming. I think this could be solved by making sure to spread out the information in other chapters, like explaining how the holiday came around or what happens during it around by the time it arrives or something. Just a small thing I noticed, but still
I am someone who accepted how Discord was forgiven, despite the circumstances surrounding his betrayal. The Trickster was tricked, in a sort of scene of vulnerability. Not that I mind these terms, I simply hope that Twilight's one train of thought about the guilt of trapping him does lead somewhere. Like, an early release? Eh, just hopes. I do wonder how Discord feels of Starlight, because even though I'm fine with her being forgiven as well, and agree that her crimes were far less dangerous, it's easy to see how he might've been frustrated over it at one point. Cause let's face her, her reasoning was fairly weak, despite wanting to cause less trouble.
I like the premise, and Discord seems to be taking it maturely. While I do think Glimmer should be serving at least that much time, ponies are definitely canonically speciest and what with his much longer history, I'm not against the idea of his sentencing. If motive were considered, it would be reversed in my opinion, but it is what it is and I'm not an immortal princess pony lmao.
I'm also very glad Fluttershy has her friends' support, even Dash it seems. Though I'm surprised Fluttershy or Pinkie don't go tell him when he gets a letter or offering, since it's made pretty clear that he can hear if stoned. Maybe he wants the surprise, and they talk to him about other things.
I can see why your Discord would go along with this. But if No Escape From Yourself is accurate, he might not think this is enough. Will this ever come up in later chapters?
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I think this is a different universe though
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I meant for Twilight to be telling him about them, and the reason she has to tell him again is that a. sometimes he's asleep in there and she can't tell b. sometimes he's not listening c. he can't write stuff down or anything and he doesn't have an eidetic memory d. a lot of them come in in the few weeks before Topsy Turvy Day, and she doesn't have time to tell him about them all. But somehow, it seems, this got left out. This was a rush job -- I started it half a month ago, switched to Not the Hero, and then ended up with a crushing workload at the end of the month and couldn't write anything, so I didn't get to do rewrites or review what I'd written to see if I'd gotten everything I'd planned in.
Fluttershy and Pinkie talk to him about other things. All of them actually come and talk to him sometimes, but Fluttershy and Pinkie do it a lot, for obvious reasons, as does Twilight because he's there on her property (and especially because, now that Spike is off in dragon lands learning how to dragon so he can be Equestria's ambassador to the dragon nations, she has no one to geek out to about the stuff she's read about whatever historical or magical thing has caught her interest today. Discord won't admit that he enjoys this.)
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Discord might be enduring his sentence, but he's not happy about it, and yes, I suspect he's fairly bitter about Starlight Glimmer. On the other hand, Starlight didn't actually kill anyone -- either those alternate universes have always existed and Starlight's actions simply merged their timeline with those, or they no longer exist now that Twilight has stopped Starlight from messing with time -- and Tirek's actions actually did, and Discord feels intensely guilty about that because he was actively trying to keep Tirek from killing anyone, and obviously failed. So he feels enough guilt over what he's done to recognize why Starlight wasn't punished more severely (and he's around the place often enough to know what a punishment being forced to study under "I Think Reading 20 Books In a Day and Then Writing a 10,000 Word Essay about Them Is Fun" Twilight Sparkle is all by itself. Starlight is a strong student herself, but she requires hyperfocus and Twilight is enough of a polymath that she can be all over the map. Discord probably gets his required monthly dose of schadenfreude over Starlight's occasional hysterical breakdowns over how can she possibly manage any of this.) So I doubt he's openly mean to Starlight, though I'm sure he makes more than his share of backhanded compliments and snarky comments.
Unexpectedosity - that's a great word. A very Pinkie Pie word.
And this is a nice concept, and very well written. I'm a bit of a sucker for "theme" stories, especially ones revolving around the seasons/celebration days. Adding a Misrule/Saturnalia-themed feast day to the pony calendar of events to celebrate Discord somehow feels very fitting, something that wouldn't seem out of place in the show itself. Looking forward to seeing where this goes!
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I picture Discord being a total hypocrite about Starlight's forgiveness, as in "BUT IT TOOK SO LONG FOR YOU GUYS TO ACCEPT MEEE."
I wouldn't be surprised if that ended up being the premise for an episode, where Discord has to learn to forgive and show the same kind of acceptance towards Starlight that Fluttershy and the others showed him.
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Yeah, I actually wrote a blog about this some time back. In my "mainstream" fics if I ever get around to having them meet, Discord is going to absolutely hate Starlight Glimmer. In this universe, the time he gets to spend with his friends is too short to spend it fuming over how unfair life is, so he really doesn't have time to spend a lot of effort hating Starlight, though I'm fairly sure he's bitter about it.
I enjoy this fic so far, but I'm kind of torn about it: It seems like it's two basic concepts that might do better as two stories. One story is Discord being out on parole, making the most of his limited time with Fluttershy, and learning to forgive (that's how it probably feels to him) the rest of the Mane 6. The other story is Discord celebrating Topsy Turvy day in various cities. I feel like both concepts are good ones, but they call for very different tones, so it can seem kind of dissonant with Discord getting only 3 days out and then spending most of it on holiday planning.
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There's going to be more than one holiday, though.
7090189 Oh, and for the rest of the holidays Discord's not planning them? That makes more sense then, I thought he was only being released on Topsy Turvy days.
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No, he's being released for Topsy Turvy Day, Summer Sun Celebration, Nightmare Night, and Hearth's Warming. Four holidays total.
7090343 Not for Hearts and Hooves Day?
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No, and sad Fluttershy is very appropriate for that. :-)
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Sad Fluttershy is doing a number on me this week.
Looks cute and sounds in tone. I very much look forward to the next chapter.
Always happy to see more from you, and this is an especially sweet piece. You do an excellent job of capturing Discord's desperation as his imprisonment takes his toll, and Fluttershy's every effort to try to help him through his brief reprieves. Also, the idea of Segway-assisted Scootaloo is quite cool. Definitely looking forward to seeing how the Topsy Turvy Day celebrations pan out.
Could you provide a link to the Q/Anyanka story?
I've never seen such a crossover, and it sounds very interesting
7339087 Wishes
Here you go.
This is adorable. Well, not Discords' obvious pain at his imprisonment, but everything else about it: Pinkie Pie party planning, Rarity entering into the spirit of things, Fluttershy having the confidence to push for things and make her voice heard. It's very charming, and I look forward to the next chapter!
This story so deserves more reads.
Please write the next chapter soon.
The way you depicted Discord really reminds me of Sun Wukong, the Chinese Monkey King. Just like Discord, he was imprisoned by the Buddha after rebelling against and stirring up chaos in heaven, reformed afterwards and used his powers for good. He's sort of a reality warper and can perform various transformations (though he can't transform his tail for some reasons), and he's also a trickster, a childish rebel even after his redemption.
And just like Discord in your story, he's a widely celebrated mythological figure in China, people hold very positive opinions of him and many children view him as some sort of an idol. He doesn't get his own festival though.
I don't know if you've ever heard of him before but I find the similarity really interesting
Given that Dàshèng (one of his many titles) is my idol since I was very young I like your story even more. 
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Yeeessssss... More delicious goodness. Much looking forward there has been.
I do love how there's a sense of time to this, a definite feeling of years having passed in the little details. And certain alicorn facehuggers.
Also, a Twilight ended up with Sunset, which I'm always happy to see.
In all, a lovely chapter. Though it will likely make the goodbyes until Summer Sun hurt all the more.
YES! I love this so much!
Hmm... so is Starlight not redeemed in this universe? If so, I'm very interested to see how the second changeling invasion turned out. If Starlight ain't reformed or worse, then Trixie wouldn't be either. And since Discord was imprisoned, that leaves Thorax, but he wouldn't really be able to do shit on his own. Maybe the changelings just died out in this universe :/
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It's established in the first chapter that Starlight is redeemed, and in the second chapter Discord talks about hiring Trixie to perform. Starlight and Trixie will appear in the next chapter. The thing with the changelings did not happen, for reasons that will actually be revealed eventually and are relevant to the plot.
8149000 OK thanks, it's been a while since I last read this story
Huzzah! An update at last! BTW, if you're looking for inspiration on things that are full of wonder and madness for Discord, I usually turn to wonderland, since it's a pretty good fit for him.
So having Discord in stone somehow changed things and prevented the events of the season six finale?
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Yes. It'll eventually become apparent why.
Very nice! And it's extremely cool to have an interesting new interpretation of Screwball. I hope we eventually see some more of her, in this or other stories.
Given the risks of leaving Discord free or encasing him in stone, Celestia has to see that suspending Discord's punishment until Chrysalis is caught is the smart thing.
It's fascinating to see how the timeline has shifted with Discord being mostly absent. And it seems that continued absence may cause trouble down the line. Remove a Bearer, trap Discord. At least until the seal breaks, but that won't happen while all six are attuned. Taking the lethal approach would do that, but that's rarely Chrysalis's style. Celestia may want to consider some time off for good behavior...
As for the festivities, there's a lot to enjoy here, especially extra-perceptive Flurry Heart and her not-quite-so-perceptive aunt. And Fluttershy's inner thoughts are beautifully tragic. Eagerly looking forwad to more.
Such a sweet chapter!
This is really interesting so far, but I can't see them going the full 10 years without breaking down and letting him out for good behavior...
I really enjoy the story so far, keep up the good work
Holy sh*t you're still writing this story?! Woohoo!
Can't wait to read the next chapter
Wonderful to see more of this… though given what’s come to light in the interim, a grim possibility hangs over the story. What happens if (when?) the Elements get shattered between holidays?
… Hang on, Sombra’s ressurection (or the creation of a Sombra simulacrum) was Discord’s idea to begin with. The question still lingers, but at least it doesn’t have any canonical backing:
In any case, great showing by Starlight. Looking forward to the Celebration.
I'm loving the cute Fluttercord, the drama of the situation, and this looming Changling threat. It all makes for a really exciting story! Plus the conversation with Starlight was like 10/10, loved it