Well, the final prewriting stage is finished, and I'm ready to begin work on the main story of Pandelirium, but as promised, I'm giving you a look at what I've been working on for the past week.

In case you missed it before, Pandelirium is going to be focused on resolving the final detail that needs to be addressed before releasing this AU unto the writers of FIMFiction: Discord. The premise (at least initially) is that this is The Petriculture Cycle version of "Keep Calm and Flutter On." However, unlike π and "Magic Duel," this story deviates from the episode that inspired it very early on, because a) Celestia didn't spring this idea on the ponies involved and b) Discord's reformation is tasked to Penumbra, whose notions of how "the magic of friendship" should be harnessed are very different from Fluttershy's.

However, as I'm telling this story, I'm going to open each chapter with a scene from a much older tale: the story of how Discord was created in the first place. These vignettes will be presented in reverse chronological order, starting with Discord's initial defeat, which is why the chapters are going to be numbered in reverse, counting down to the story's "beginning."

tl;dr - When it says "Chapter 10" at the beginning of this preview, that is not a typo.

Enough talking. You have a preview to read! Naturally, feedback is welcome, though keep in mind that this is a work in progress.

Nice! Backwards chapters reminds me of an Iain M. Banks novel I read a while back. Two converging sets of events. A very potent means to fill in backstory, as it lets you spring all sorts of surprises.

977487 - Well, technically, the events are diverging, but other than that, you're quite right about my reasons for choosing this format.

977499 I choose to blame my tablet for that little mistake.

Ok, I love this so much. I can't wait to see the way this pans out, and I most definitely like the Celestia/Discord friendship that is leaking through the cracks.

977487
Use of Weapons, right? That was a good book. One of my favorite Culture novels for sure.

(That was my face after I finished reading the preview)

977925 That's the one!

This is going to be good.