Project released in unfinished state. Read this blog for the full list of chapter links. The ending has been opened as a far-too-late sendoff.
Featured: 2.25.15! Thanks so much!
Discord - the Spirit of Chaos - is troubled. For the last several days, he has felt things more sharply. His body feels sluggish, and his mind more so. Realizing it all began with the rise and fall of Tirek, he seeks out the ponies he feels can best help him.
Friendship is magic, after all, and this is a matter of magic. And Discord, the Spirit of Chaos, has none.
Alternate Universe tag added. Rating heightened to Teen.
Chapters (6)
Doesn't he materialize a bouquet of flowers out of nowhere and hand them to Celestia?
5279076 Yes, but that's off-screen. For all we know, that bouquet could have risen with Castle Toy Set. My main source is the fact that he was walking with the group rather than his usual floating/flying, and the fact that he let himself be carried by Twilight's magic to join in their group hug. Even for him, that's pretty helpless.
Well the Elements have shown that they can help Discord, his presence as not-a-statue is proof of it. But even if he doesn't have his chaos magic... then where is it? It's clear Tirek doesn't. The 'ball' of Rainbow Power seemed to drain the power out of Tirek for itself, then disperse it to where it needed to go. If it didn't give out Discord's magic it must've kept it...
5279124 Right? It's all a little source of wonder. I've got my own theories that I'm going to explore, but feel free to share your own if you like.
5279135 Well I maintain it wasn't part of the scenery, because Discord was standing there with no flowers in sight, then BOOM! Flowers.
Of course it's never explicitly shown, and makes for a wonderful story idea. Though I wonder what's to stop them from getting together and Rainbow-ing the magic back into Discord; like I said, we've seen it can help him. And the end-song of S4 shows that they can call on it more or less at will.
Yes. I love it.
5279076 Yueeeeep
I love this, and by extension, you.
Very well made, you captured Discord and Fluttershy's internal turmoil very well. Though Fluttershy was kinda writing off the loss of his magic as 'not a big deal'. Understandable, since she's never lost something of that magnitude.
Hm... I hope Twilight can fix this.
I think it would be a cop-out for Discord to accept this for any reason other than time passing. He's going to be angry and bitter and unhappy and because he feels like this is his own fault/karmic comeuppance for his betrayal, he doesn't even have anyone he can pin it on besides himself, so he's probably going to be in bad mental shape for some time. It's quite understandable that Fluttershy would try to help him see that life isn't over, but I don't think she can; the only thing she can do is be there for him, put up with his shit, and try to keep him from alienating everyone who might care about him (because he's likely to be lashing out verbally at everyone and everything, and most of the ponies aren't going to take that; after all, it's not their fault he lost his powers, it's his for trusting Tirek and betraying them all. Fluttershy will probably understand that he's just reacting out of grief and pain and try to smooth things over with anyone he pisses off, because she knows that when he finally comes to terms with it he's going to need his friends more than ever, so the best thing she can do for him is make sure he doesn't drive them all away.)
Eventually over time he'd get used to it, because people who become disabled get used to it over time and learn to accept it, but I don't think it's going to be quick.
Twilight may find a way to help him reconnect with his power (and it may be necessary, because where is that power and what is it doing if Discord isn't controlling it?), so this might not be forever, but I like that he thinks that it is -- he doesn't really believe Twilight's going to find a way to fix this, so he's going to react like someone who's just broken their spine in an accident, not someone who's faced with a difficult quest (characters who lose their power but have a way to get it back will react very differently). Personally I hope he eventually gets his power back, but even if he doesn't, I like the psychological drama of it.
It's fortunate for him that he's still three times the size of a pony, with sharp claws and teeth, because if it gets around that he's powerless... most ponies are very forgiving, but there may be some he helped Tirek steal power from who would want to take the opportunity to get revenge. But you'd need to be a pretty damn powerful pony to beat Discord up even if he has no powers because he's so much bigger and stronger than ponies. And that's going to provide a deterrent intimidation factor that will probably keep ponies from trying to hurt him for revenge. They may refuse him service or refuse to sell him stuff, if he tries to do ordinary things now that he has to to survive, but he's got Fluttershy and the others to help him with that.
5305214 I ought to pay you or something, because you've basically outlined all of my ideas for the direction of this fic! I mean, holy shit, there's no less than FIVE plot devices I have in standby that you've mentioned. I can't upvote your comment enough. High-five!
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Yes, you've correctly sensed a few planned plot points for future chapters. I won't say which ones, because an air of mystery adds to the drama, but feel proud that you saw them ahead of time. That said, the direction in which I plan to take said plot points is still undecided. I kind of shoot myself in the foot that way, always planning the last chapter(s) but never the next one.
THIS STORY IS AMAZING :D
so excited for more
I will say; very few stories have made me tremble with excitement and sadness at the same time. (And by tremble I mean legs and arms shaking and jaw chattering.) This is one of them.
5304835
Personally I found Fluttershy to be less understanding here than she ought to be.
Aside from that I second that. You captured the dynamic between those two very well.
I'm looking forward to more.
This is a really unique premise. I like how its executed so far. Discord was written extremely well but, as others have pointed out, I think Fluttershy would be a bit more concerned and compassionate. Her continuing to follow him was a great touch though and made it satisfying enough.
I can't wait to see what happens next.
when will you update ?:(
5644939 Soon. I've started work on the next chapter as of yesterday, and I plan to keep up work after chapter four at least is done. At a glance? Chapter three is 3/5ths complete!
I think Discord would be best compared to Nightmare Moon and Luna. Sure it's not compactly accurate, but it's close.
I'm glad to see you're back!
I'm not liking this ' Red is a good color on me' stuff. Lets just hope that Discord doesn't start making 'changes' to himself.
Wonderful chapter! My hand s hurt just from reading it.
5705571 Ohmygod okay, that last line in your comment made me laugh for a good minute! Glad you're enjoying it, but uhm...if you end up needing stitches, send the bill to someone who can afford it.
5705593 The moment I realized what Discord was doing my heart sank. I can only hope that Discord doesn't become suicidal. He's always been my favorite character.
I wish there were a billion thumbs up buttons to press. Love this story so much.
Very interesting.
Is the story still being written or have you given up on it?
Poke
7517595 Whoops, I totally missed you. Sorry! To answer your question, it's about fifty-fifty. I still dabble in this project when I need a break from others, but it's not my main project and finding inspiration is difficult since season five aired. I do know that I want to get at least two more chapters into it before I reach any sort of ending. It's just not as big a project as my other two.
7633176 *Pain*
7633212
It's OK. Seeing as this isn't your main project, I wouldn't mind waiting. I hope inspiration strikes you soon.
I think this is really interesting so far! Are you going to finish it?
8386551
Absolutely! There's a plan in place for this one. Since it's been so long, I intend to re-draft the whole story from the ground up, using that chance to fix errors that I made. At that time, I'll finish what I started so long ago. As of now, the ending is written; just not the chapter leading up to the ending.
This will all be after real life slows down for me a bit. I'm juggling at least four other projects, including hunting for an apartment, so I've had to hold off on Humility for a while longer. It's coming!
Thanks for the kind words!
8386558
(Ah, I'm assuming this is how I reply to a comment.)
Yay! I'm looking forward to reading it! Also haha I tend to write endings first but then get lazy and lose motivation to write everything leading up to it XD
This has been such a good story so far! Are you planning on finishing it?
9338926
Yep, I am. I've already begun a reconstruction project that'll let me fill in the rest of the plot and tie off everything nicely. Funny enough, the final chapter is already done - I just need the 30% or so in the middle.
9342505
Awesome! I can't wait ^^
Look at this! Another story awoken from a long slumber! The necromancy magic continues!
Also, congratulations on winning the biggest procrastination and continued story award by having an even longer confirmed hiatus than the current champion which is This lovely adventure tale!
Have a round of applause~
this is epic