The Battle of the Bell has passed, and for Discord, it's usually a time to celebrate. But he quickly finds himself alone and isolated from the others. While the others have seemingly turned away from Discord, Fluttershy wants to go and ask Discord a simple question; Why?
Author's first note: This is a story that's been on the back burner for a while now. I just now have finally gotten around and wanted to write this out for a good long time since the series finale. I should mention this is my first attempt at writing Discord, and while I know many usually write him as his usual sarcastic self, I wanted to go for something that tries to balance it out. I do hope you all enjoy it regardless.
Cover art provided by: Pinstriped-Pajamas
Chapters (1)
You should write a sequel where they do forgive him .
A tad exposition-heavy in places, but overall not bad—definitely far better than I'd initially feared it would be (that's not your fault in any way—I can't help but get a bit skittish whenever see any of these TEotE accusation fics).
10050333
I wasn't trying to make this an accusation fic. I wanted to aim for a story about Discord reflecting on his own actions and Fluttershy trying to be a bit of a guide for him. Sure, she scolded him for some of the decisions he made, but she tried to show him that he wasn't terrible.
Ugh, in no way a fan of this. You're right, its not outright bashing, and I commend you for the restraint. But I was rolling my eyes from the start when you changed everyone's canon reactions, realizing this is halfway between bashing and a fixitfic. While I don't mind fixitfics, I'm annoyed when its done just to try and punish Discord. This is even more sour for me because you turned the happy victory into a cold shoulder. I'd have been a LOT less annoyed with this if you had just taken the original route of them confront him post-battle instead of insta-cold shouldering him when Celestia and Luna looked quite pleased to help him turn the villains to stone.
Not to mention, literally every other authority figure, save maybe Cadence, has done some level of manipulation like this- Celestia and using the the Crystal Empire/Sombra incident as a Test for Twilight, or that she didn't prepare her at ALL for Nightmare Moon, and even Twilight herself was doing lower tier manipulation to keep Rarity and Rainbow being friends. His plan failing as badly as it did was literally as unlikely as possible.
(sigh) I'm sorry for the semi-rant, Discord fanboy here. Personally loved the Ending and loved Discord in it, twist included, and the hate train it has all gotten has worn on me a lot. Don't like this fic, but good writing none the less. I'm out, have a good one.
10050349
Yeah, I see what you mean.
In hindsight, "accusation fic" wasn't the word I was looking for. It’s just wound up being the blanket term I've used to describe any fic that discusses the finale's more controversial aspects—which is to say, the Villain Trio and Discord. Codex Ex Equus's attempt to do so was one of the first I read, and it left such an abysmally bad taste in my mouth that I've remained somewhat wary of them ever since.
Again, I enjoyed this fic regardless—just wanted to leave that out there.
10050379
Inb4 "Alt Universe tag so it's ok!" Seriously, find a better excuse people.
You've written Discord pretty well, but I partially agree with AkumaKami64. The others' reactions to him were a tad over the top. They were very upset with him, and they showed that throughout the episode, but I think Fluttershy would sit him down at the end of that very day and talk it through with him. She would want thorough communication on all sides, and would do as much as she could to facilitate that -- not just between the two of them, but with the Princesses and the Mane 6 and everyone else.
Fluttershy's conversation with Discord, however, would be very much like the one you've written. So I still enjoy this fic. I think Discord was at least partially trying to help Twilight, because he really does care about her as a friend and wants her to succeed, but he's annoying and likes making things more complicated than they need to be. I'm happy you realized he had good intentions, though. I love Discord a lot as a character and I like seeing people do him any kind of justice, because people so often fail to do that (or are just outright mean to him).
10050379
I understand where you're coming from with this. Make no mistake, I wasn't trying to make this a Discord bash fic, or one of those accusation fics. The story was more or less aiming for one where Discord has to come to grips with the reality of how badly he screwed up. It's not something that can be easily done with an apology or something like that. Even though he helped, the others are still going to be upset with what he's done. There are stories out there that have had a hero do something horrible, and despite doing their part to help, by the end they face some consequences for their actions whether it be their friends don't trust them, or they lost the trust of the people. In this case for Discord, it was both. The story attempts to show Discord alone and feels unsure of himself about what to do now. He's not really trusted, and even most of his friends don't know how to feel about him, or just flat out don't think he can be trusted after such an act.
In regards to the manipulation, I can agree on some of the points. However, I think when it came to Celestia, she most likely had a "Plan B" so to say in case things went to Hell. Although in the season one opener, Nightmare Moon said Celestia was gone, it seemed more along the lines that Celestia was hiding and waiting for the chance to either reveal herself after NMM was defeated, or in case things went bad and she needed to come in to save the day. The same can be argued for the Crystal Empire incident too. In Twilight's case, I definitely didn't like her manipulations. I thought her plans were stupid, and badly thought out. This was especially true with how she manipulated Rainbow with her taking on the cheer coaching. It could've easily blown up in her face.
For Discord though, the main issue is like Twilight's; he has no backup plan. He never seemed to consider any of what could've happened up until that point. He thought the Fallen Three failed to get Grogar's Bell. He never kept an eye on them like I feel he needed to do to make sure his plan would've worked out. He had no alternative plan in case things went south aside from hope Twilight and the others can stop it. And if that didn't work on the off chance, then what? He, the princesses, and most of Equestria were powerless, and the land was divided thanks to Chrysalis' manipulation. There were a lot of ways this could've all blown up in Discord's face, and it nearly cost all of Equestria in the end.
I do like Discord myself, and while I wouldn't call myself a fanboy of him, I did like him a lot. However, while I can overlook some of the things with him, I can't overlook him completely or give him a free pass constantly. This is a case where I feel a line was drawn, and one that was really severe with him. Honestly, I feel there needed to be some kind of fallout from this whole thing. One that would involve him earning the trust of others again. With the season 10 comics rolling out, maybe they'll explore this kind of thing and have Discord having to prove to some ponies he can be trusted and isn't just some monster. But that's seems to be pie in the sky for now. Still, I appreciate you taking a good look at this; even if you didn't like it.
10050767
I appreciate that. The idea was to basically have Discord face a harsh reality check that sometimes an apology isn't just enough. Although he helped out, in the end he basically allowed this conflict to get as bad as it did, and Equestria was mere inches away from falling. Everyone is going to be naturally upset at him for what he did, and while the finale does explore upon it, I feel there needed a fallout in the aftermath of it all. Like Discord having to regain the trust of others again. Fluttershy gives him the motivation to move on, and to prove to the others he's not some monster the media has painted him out to be. While she does plan to tell the others his main reason, he still wants to find a way to make it up to them and regain their trust fully.
10050767
And who knows? Maybe I'll do a sequel story where Discord has a heart to heart talk with them as the hatchet is buried and he's finally given forgiveness after the others learn of his plan.
10050874
I hope you do. I also hope that you make a sequel to where the mane 6, spike, discord, and all of their friends are able to reform tirek, cozy glow, and chrysalis
10051520
I don't think I'd go for the reformation angle, but just a quick one shot to patch things up fully between the Mane 7 and Discord.
Similar to some other readers, I have mixed feelings about alternate timeline angle, but I found the ending unexpected and intriguing. Discord spending some time living as a rabbit sounds like an interesting fanfic premise!