Discord in the "Homecoming" world · 12:38am Jun 29th, 2020
A new chapter of Homecoming will be up soon. In the meantime, a short excerpt revealing why Discord didn't get involved in the War. At least, not directly. For those who read Homecoming, I hope this will be an interesting expansion. For those who don't, perhaps this will provide some inspiration for how to explain why Discord doesn't just fix everything if you write a fic involving war or great violence.
One of the problems with Discord being so powerful is that it begs the question, "Why doesn't he just fix stuff?" Sometimes it can be answered by "He's under no obligation to" or "He thinks people will learn a lesson" or "He was off doing shenanigans and didn't know," but if you want another potential explanation, well, here's one.
Beware of spoilers ahead for the first couple chapters of Homecoming.
Without further rambling, here's Discord explaining why he won't got to war:
“You think I don’t want to help?! Twilight was one of the first ponies to show me true friendship! She forgave me for betraying her to Tirek! For betraying Fluttershy! I owe her more I can ever hope to repay! It’s not that I don’t want to help – it’s that I can’t!
Chaos… chaos is a fickle thing. Though I long considered myself its master, the fact is that I am subject to it as much as it is subject to me. I was created as a manifestation and steward of chance and unpredictability, not as its supreme head. There are laws laid down in the foundations of the world to which even I am subject. Lines which, even at my worst, I dared not cross.
This war… this war will be unlike any the world has seen before. Were I to go to battle, there is every risk that the chaos of blood and fire that awaits would…
Change me.
Change what my powers do.
And what I became would be something far more terrible than this war.
Twilight wouldn’t want that. Not even to avenge—
Not even then.
I will do what I can to assist from afar, you have my word, but that is truly all I can do without endangering you all. I cannot stay. I have to go. Once I’ve bid my farewells to the girls, I’ll… for your sake I have to… I’m… I’m sorry. I’m so truly sorry.”
—Discord, in a rare candid moment to General Shining Armor, shortly before departing to self-imposed exile in the Chaos Realm.
Makes a dreadful sort of sense. It's not that chaos and war don't mix. It's that they mix far too well...
THAT...is good stuff....WANT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
WOW! that my pony is some deep thought-provoking material. I do not want to even imagine how Discord would be changed by deliberately going to war.
Woof, that is a horrific thought.
A power-mad, psychotic Discord drunk on blood and violence.
Thank you for this background.
I usually figure that as a spirit, he's a manifestation of chaos. Letting it play out is fine. Actively stopping it, as per the one episode, is like stopping his medium of existence.
I also like the "Specifically doesn't kill anything because cessation of existence is boring" headcanon.
Wow, a few things.
That makes complete sense without having to really pull a new grim dark conceit out of your hat, endangering suspension of disbelief. You're just re using the darkness of the current setting and AU.
The episode where he tries to be less chaotic and almost dies really lends credence to his "you are what you eat" ethos.
Again, this really makes me wish Pinkie Pie reformed Discord instead of Fluttershy. Pinkie uses chaos and breaks the rules of reality for fun and parties. Her doppelgänger is just sad and devoid of life. Her harnessing of chaos for good is something her and Discord should have shared, the same way Spike and Starlight shared friendship lessons with him.
media.discordapp.net/attachments/357345911330045966/727163413058289715/large.png?width=462&height=466