logue: Neighs' End
"Well done, Miss Doo. Well done, indeed."
Ditzy broke from her reverie, scrambled to her hooves, and turned to the speaker behind her, all while shaking off an odd feeling of deja vu. Then she looked up. And kept going.
Given that she'd just accidentally done something that would probably forever change the plane's balance of power, she'd actually been expecting an unspeakably ancient and powerful planeswalker who formed plots that spanned centuries as a matter of course. A sadistic, twisted individual who could destroy minds with a touch. One who did not so much walk the planes as he tore open the fabric of space-time to make room for his immensity.
She just wasn't expecting this one. "Discord?"
The embodiment of chaos bowed. "Indeed. And I must say, Ditzy, you did better than I dared hope."
"At what?"
Discord tapped a talon against his lips. "I suppose you're due an explanation." He coiled himself around her and shrank down to about half usual scale, where his head has the size of hers. "So, where would you like me to begin?"
The alarm bells going off in Ditzy's head were making it hard to think. She was literally surrounded by one of the most dangerous beings in the Multiverse. "The beginning?"
Discord clicked his tongue. "So predictable. But you did do such a good job, I suppose I can let it slide." A push of his cloven hoof, and they went skidding off of the podium like a curling stone on well-swept ice, keeping the same altitude once they went over the lip.
Ditzy tried her best to stay cool and calm, even when they passed directly through one of the pillars circling the Maze's End. "Is this actually happening right now?"
The incarnation grinned. "Well, that's hardly a question about the beginning. But if you'd rather get into a philosophical debate about whether anything can be said to be 'actually happening,' to say nothing of the illusory nature of time that makes the phrase 'right now' so deliciously pernicious, then—"
"Forget I asked."
"Forget you asked what?" Discord winked and patted Ditzy on the head. "Do relax, my little pony. You've done a great good this day. I may have nudged you once or twice—a passing thought here, a chance encounter there, and yes, that little somnambulist episode to get you started—but make no mistake, this was at least ninety percent you. I am not just grateful to you, Ditzy Doo, I am proud of you, and there are very few beings in this Multiverse who can claim that."
Ditzy did relax. A little. Discord seemed in a playful mood, which was always preferable to the alternative. "So, what did I do that was so impressive?"
Discord looked up at the pair of impossible ponies circling overhead. Ditzy realized they were back on the center podium. "Do you know who they are?"
"A pair of nephilim that slept through the Decamillennial?"
"Close, but not quite, though they have been asleep for a long, long time, and they are quite like those delightful creatures that were suplexed, detonated, and Rakdosed to death a few decades ago. Quite like them, but not identical."
Ditzy recognized verbal bait when she heard it. "What's the difference?"
Discord smiled. He loved a good audience. "The difference lies in their minds. The nephilim had mentalities rather like my own, prior to my true awakening. Raw and primordial, more like forces of nature than actual beings. But Celestia and Luna—"
"What!?" Ditzy's head whipped back up. "Th-those are... the Sisters, they're..."
"Real? Very much so." Discord stroked his beard. "Mind you, not all the legends are true. Luna never gobbled up bad little foals. Celestia did not 'invent' the estrus cycle. Honestly, neither had much of a hoof in your species's development, civilized or otherwise. But they were there, the first and greatest of the ponies, whose special talents made them as ageless and mighty as the sun and moon themselves." He shrugged. "Granted, that's not saying much, compared to some suns and moons out there."
"So, they were sealed here? Why?"
"It all comes down to the hazard of early adoption," explained Discord. "Sure, they got all the fancy new gimmicks that came with sapience first, but they also got all the bugs and teething problems. The sisters were and still are wild horses in certain ways, and as the city consumed the plane, they had to be corralled." He glowered. "Like Ciszarim, they were too chaotic for an ecumenopolis. Or so thought Azor."
Ditzy reeled as she tried to take it all in. "So... they were the prize? Whoever completed the maze won a pair of alicorns for her guild?"
Discord's glower only deepened, affecting his appearance further than just a frown. The whimsical caricature grew more realistic, more extant, more terrifying. "Oh, anything but. The power of the sisters would be released, yes, but they themselves would not. Even if a guildpony ran the maze, the power would go to his guildmaster, to use at his, her, its, or their discretion." His ire passed a threshold, and the living incarnation of chaos, the elemental roil of emotion and instinct and ambition that made times interesting, entwined itself around Ditzy Doo in all its horrific majesty.
Rectangular pupils, a part of Ditzy noted. Discord has goat eyes. The rest of her was terrified beyond the capacity for rational thought.
Discord caught a hint of Ditzy about to befoul herself from the future, noticed his appearance, and promptly settled down. "Sorry about that. Never was a fan of Azor. Or any of the Grand Arbiters, for that matter."
Ditzy had folded in herself. "I got that," she muttered, trembling.
The draconequus looked genuinely contrite. Thankfully, no one saw it. He had a reputation to maintain, after all. "My apologies, Ditzy. This should be a time of celebration and here I am, falling back on old habits." He brushed her back with his eagle talon, literally combing the stress out of her. "Freeing the sisters isn't the only reason I'm proud of you, you know."
She looked up, grateful not to see goat eyes staring back. Those were bad enough on goats. "Why else?"
He smiled. "Think about it. As I said, the sisters' power would go to the head of the winning guild. What do you think their being freed means?"
"Well, unless there's some secret, forgotten eleventh guild—"
"Which there isn't."
"In that case..." Ditzy's eyes went wide. "The unguilded won."
"The Gateless win!" Discord echoed, suddenly wearing pinstripes. He raised his torso and flailed his arms. "Theeeeeeee Gateless win!" He settled himself, his shirt as gone as suddenly as it had appeared. "And with that, the balance of power is not only maintained, but enhanced.
"Now, I'm not a fan of status quo, but also not of letting go and the world being torn apart. Not this world, certainly. Ravnica is one of the best sources of sustainable chaos I've ever found. Thanks to you, one of the biggest threats to that chaos has been expended in bolstering it, before Gruff the Tragic Dragon could make use of it. Now everyone has a chance in this world. What was a ten-player game with billions of pawns has grown to either eleven players or several billion and ten, depending on how you look at it."
Ditzy actually felt a glow of pride at that... for all of a second. Then one of the asides she understood fully registered. "What was that about Bolas?"
"Hmm?" Discord paused in his seven-dimensional victory dance. "Oh, that. Well, you know Nicky. Plans within plans within plans, and that's just for deciding who to have for breakfast. He was probably going to make use of the Maze at some point, and now he can't. It's not quite killing him, but there is a chance you managed to get on his 'kill everything you ever loved' list."
All the chaotic curry combing in the world wouldn't remove the pit in Ditzy's stomach. "What."
"On that note," continued the draconequus, "I'm on my way to Theros for an experiment in disorganized religion." He manifested a sunhat and a ridiculous shirt that was half starlight and fifty-seven percent cotton candy. "Care to come along? You'll love the place. Well, as long as you like olives."
Everything came together in Ditzy's mind. "You've got me in a corner. If Bolas is angry at me, then the only place that's even remotely safe is by your side."
"If-slash-when he finds out what happened, what you did, and that it was you who did it," noted Discord, rummaging through a drawer he'd pulled out of thin air. "Where did I put that SPF Heliod?"
"That's all virtually guaranteed. There's no way creatures as powerful as the Sisters will escape his notice." Ditzy gasped. "The Sisters! He could—"
"Oh, don't worry. They have long memories, those two. Nicky may have brought the occasional god to its knees, but they know what they're dealing with. Besides, open confrontation isn't his style. Not with three witnesses every square yard." Discord snapped his suitcases shut. To Ditzy's eyes, they glowed in ways far beyond the electromagnetic spectrum's capabilities. "So, you coming?"
The pegasus quirked an eyebrow. "You're giving me a choice?"
"Oh, you always have a choice. You just don't always have a good choice."
"One more question?"
Discord leaned back as if on an invisible recliner. "Ask as many as you like, my dear."
"Why me?"
He blinked, then beamed. "You really don't know?"
"Do you think I'd be asking if I did?" Ditzy noted.
"Hmm. You've got a point." Discord flicked Ditzy's horn. By the time her hooves clapped over her forehead, it was gone. "Well, it's the same reason I decided to make you my catspaw in this little endeavor."
Ditzy noticed a sudden perspective shift. She looked down and saw her waist merged into Discord's right shoulder. "Ah!"
"Oh. Sorry, poor choice of words." Despite his words, the draconequus wore an expression of mild amusement. A blink, and she was back in his lap. "Where was I? Oh, yes. You see, Ditzy, things just haven't been the same since the Mending. Back in the day, planeswalkers knew how to have fun. Teferi, Bo Levar, Commodore Guff... by the Horde, I miss Guff. Even if he took away my library card."
Discord shook himself out of his nostalgia. "In any case, you kids these days. So terribly serious all the time. 'Justice' this and 'moral dilemma' that and 'killing archdemonic loansharks' the other. Nowadays, I can count the 'walkers who don't take themselves seriously on one paw." He held up the arm that Ditzy had briefly replaced. "Me, Sorin, the delightful Miss Nalaar, and you." With every name, he extended a claw. Once all four were deployed, he waggled his fingers. "That's it. Everyone else, from Ajani to Xenagos, seems utterly incapable of having a good time without some kind of pathos. Especially Xenagos, poor soul."
"I, um..." Ditzy took her time with her response. "I'm flattered?" If she sounded unsure, that's because she was.
"You should be." Discord checked the wristwatch that hadn't been there a second ago. "Now, the little hand is on morningtide, the big hand is on the third arm of the time spiral, and the shoe is on the other foot. Are you coming or not?"
Ditzy sighed and gestured forward with a wing. "Lead the way, Captain Chaos."
Discord grinned and adjusted his domino mask. "See, that's an advantage to working for me rather than unjolly old Saint Nic. I have a much more lax attitude towards insubordination." He wrapped his scaly tail around Ditzy, headbutted the planar firmament, tore open a portal in time-space with his snaggletooth, and somersaulted through it wings first, pony in tow.
Celestia and Luna circled one another, collecting their thoughts. For more than ten thousand years, they had slept as the dead, dreamless and buried. The sudden onset of light, sound, and magic threatened to overwhelm them, and each supported and was supported by her sister, taking comfort in the familiar presence.
The beating of great leathery wings pierced through the meaningless noise and struck both in the hindbrain. The instinct to flee was strong, but their will was stronger. Together, the sisters whirled to face the dragon, horns alight. However long they had slept, the beasts had clearly forgotten the lessons of old; it would be high time to refresh their memory.
Both blinked, almost in synch. Together, they doused their horns. A shared glance, and Celestia spoke for both. "You?"
"Me." Niv-Mizzet grinned and spread his arms. "Welcome, dear ones. I have been expecting you. There is much to discuss."
The sisters looked about them. City. City as far as the eye could see, without a care for leylines or biomes or... wasn't there supposed to be an ocean there?
Luna swallowed. "So there is." A dot of purple caught her eye; a dragon riding the dragon. She pointed a hoof. "Who...?"
Niv-Mizzet's grin widened. "As I said, much to discuss." He gestured downward. "The old forum is available, and this time it is not trapped. The other paruns' successors and representatives are on their way. Business will begin soon enough, and once it does, it may never end. Let us enjoy what time we have."
Celestia, World Lantern RGWU
Legendary Creature — Avatar
Alicorn (This card is a Pony Pegasus Unicorn.)
Flying
Whenever Celestia, World Lantern attacks, tap all lands defending player controls and untap all lands you control.
When she awoke, she outshone the sun to remind it of its old mistress.
2/2
Luna, Dream Walker UBRG
Legendary Creature — Avatar
Alicorn (This card is a Pony Pegasus Unicorn.)
Flying
Whenever another player draws a card, you may draw a card unless that player puts a card from his or her hand on the bottom of his or her library.
When she awoke, her dreams sought out new minds to host them.
2/2
Discord 3BRG
Planeswalker — Discord
+2: Discard up to two cards at random, then draw that many cards.
-2: Target player chooses a nonland, non-Discord permanent he or she controls at random and sacrifices it.
-8: You get an emblem with "Whenever a spell or ability you don't control is put on the stack, reselect its targets at random."
5
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That was insanely cool. Or possibly coolly insane.
Now get back to work on My Little Phyrexians! *cracks whip*
I like how you chose to categorize Discord as Discord. Nice touch.
I love three different Guilds in Ravnica.
The Swarm. The League. The Senate.
I love the custom Spike card you made. XD Honestly, when I first read this story, before Twilight and Spike were introduced, I thought Spike, size and all, was to be Niv's replacement. Still, it's funny to see him.
I once made a human character for some forum, Aeren Vent... He intended to shed his human coil, without seeking the Simic, and 'ascend' to become a dragon, permanently under my favorite Izzet spell, Dragonshift.
I wonder if Melek will live in this continuity...
And curse you, sequel hook involving Theros! XD I actually want to see some Legendary Creatures from Theros not given much story time in-canon given story time in that story... Particularly Pharika, Hythonia, and Keranos. Maybe even some speaking Chimeras. Or Medomai and Anthoussa. XD Mainly the Gorgons Medicine Women, though.
So... what happened at the end of chapter 10?
I have to say, I really like your version of Discord. The multiverse needs more planeswalkers who know how to have fun. Also yes, goat eyes are really fucking creepy.
UBRG, Loon of Yawgmoth.
*slow clap*
bravo.
encore?
4460448
As of this writing, My Little Praetor has exactly 1,337 views. I don't want to ruin that.
I kid, I kid. I'll get back on that horse at some point.
4460594
Well, each planeswalker type is the planeswalker's name, as with the Ditzy and Pinkie planeswalkers I've made in the past. Still, even if that weren't the case, Discord is a category unto himself. Like Pinkie Pie.
4460660
I don't actually have anything planned in that direction. Another AU fic where each chapter is focused on a pony devotee of a different god, maybe, but nothing concrete.
4460664
What are you talking about? I never wrote...
Discoooord! (shakes fist)
4460668
The same thing that happened in the epilogue. From the perspective of a unicorn attuned to both white and black magic, standing almost at the epicenter, it was sensory overload of the worst sort.
Don't worry, the only casualty was the status quo.
4460669
Discord is always a joy to write. I see him as a blend of Q, Groucho Marx, Nyarlathotep, and Pinkie Pie. The ingredients go in different proportions depending on his mood.
And seriously, what kind of mammal has rectangular pupils? Right angles shouldn't go on anything organic.
4460806
I only just realized that this story didn't have an AU tag.
But yes, this takes place in a continuity separate from both canon and Elementals of Harmony. Ungula never existed and Equestria was but one of the many nations of Ravnica that were consumed by the spreading city long ago.
4461044
Well, I'm certainly going to keep writing. Did you have something specific in mind?
4461084
Wrong author. You shouldn't be thinking of Douglas Adams, but Terry Pratchett. Specifically, Thief of Time and a certain milkman therein.
That said, it's a hilarious mental image. And I could totally see me doing that, if I added about a dozen made-up terms about how earth pony magic improves yogurt quality through each step of the production process.
4461089
Nothing in particular, I'm just a huge fan of your work. I love your characterization, and your ability to adapt the source material(s) to a new setting.
This cements you as one of the best Discord writers on the site. Not even so much what he does (as much as I like his more enlightened understanding of chaos), but for things like the way the narrator seems to jab the fourth wall harder whenever Discord is around, or things like his shirt being 50/57 Nyx/cotton candy. Much like canon Discord, he doesn't slow down on the reality warping just because he's having a conversation.
And man would he ever hate the Azorius. Doubt he'd like the Orzhov or Selesnya...the Boros might be tolerable if only because sometimes they get overzealous. But Discord and white mana seem like unlikely friends at best.
4461089 Fair enough.
I like Keranos and Thassa on concept, but I simply love Gorgons as a creature type, so of course I'm a huge fan of their not-quite-Gorgon God, Pharika, God of Affliction and Medicine. Just had the image of an Alternate Fluttershy being a devout of either Pharika, Nylea, or Karametra. I KNOW AJ would be a Karametra worshipper.
Is this headcanon, or AU-canon? Niccy B. being responsible for Theros' pantheonic inequality?
Now this one seems to mesh nicely with a theory I've encountered on the web: Discord was the hero of the season closeout all along. He knew how to open the box AND that Tirek would betray him. He was just pulling his punches to give Twilight what she needed to fix things.
4461137
I find one of the best aides for writing Discord is to imagine John de Lancie saying the dialogue. Of course, one should always make sure dialogue sounds natural when spoken aloud, but if it fits his voice, then it's definitely right.
4461652
He definitely humbled the Myojin of Night's Reach at some point before the Mending. I don't know if he did anything to the Therian pantheon, but I wouldn't put it past him. Especially if one of their worshippers made him angry enough.
4461715
Just as he made sure Twilight went back into the Everfree in the premiere. But, as a creature of chaos, he can't make it easy. There has to be a challenge, a conflict, a chance to triumph and grow... or to fail.
I actually have a blog along these lines planned for the near future.
4461774
And simultaneously its own timeline. Lyra could explain it better than I. Well, Elementals Lyra could. If it were an interesting seaweed, then Implicit Neighs Lyra would be able to lend an appendage.
This story was awesome, and it made my day.
Thank you
I see what you did there. And it is genius.
Also very well written, and I love the cards.
Faved all over again.
Well, now that I've actually read the chapter, time to sit back and wait to see what happens in Theros... Or another AU for the upcoming block.
"What about Dack? Dack's pretty chill."
"Ugh. Dack's always working, though. You can never get that guy away from whatever heist he's doing."
---
Also, Major Magic Faux Pas: Magic cards NEVER reference the stack. Change it to "whenever a spell is cast you don't control"
4467333 4471735
Thank you both.
4471962
Actually, I don't have anything planned for Theros Block. I'm going to try to get back to some of my other languishing stories. Though I do also have this idea for Twilight's first day of court in her shiny new palace-tree...
4478914
Grip of Chaos. That is all.
4479927
Grip of Chaos is a pre-8th Edition card though. They've changed their policy on that since.
http://www.wizards.com/Magic/Magazine/Article.aspx?x=mtgcom%2Fdaily%2Fmr255
Although, they say it's fine to do it very rarely, so I guess it passes.
This is kind of awesome, but I didn't get much of a sense that there was much of a link between the first ten stories and this epilogue. Maybe I just waited too long between reading those because of your update schedule, but it's not like I'm losing anything by reading this story again. I really liked it.
I just realized...
Fblthp is Totally Lost takes place during the time frame when Ral Zarek is still researching the Implicit Maze for Niv-Mizzet.
A Sly Toll Tot takes place immediately following Fblthp is Totally Lost.
The Implicit Neighs takes place during the final scene of A Sly Toll Tot.
The Implicit Neighs reveals the Maze, as well as an alternate-dimension version of the prize and a dark horse (pun intended) victor.
The Divinitory Transreliquat is letting Zarek cheat on the Maze!
4498574
derpicdn.net/img/2012/6/18/6306/medium.png
4516933
And yet they still choose Melek as the maze runner! It's a travesty, I tells ya!
Okay, so I enjoyed this story a lot more early on. All you needed to know then was that the ten guilds existed and generally what they were and you were fine. It was far more accessible, especially to people like me who know the cards far better than the story behind them. But once the Implicit Maze came into play in earnest, those of us who had no clue what that was got left behind. A brief explanation somewhere would've been nice; not everypony wants to go track down an MtG wiki just to understand a crucial plot point in a fanfic.
4538211
I thought I had.
"So Many Wonders" tells you everything you need to know: Niv-Mizzet set it up, it goes around the plane, all ten guilds are competing, and there are fabulous prizes that could decide the fate of Ravnica. Even in canon, that's all everyone but the dragon knew in story, and everyone but Wizards of the Coast out of it. Any parts that might not have been clear there are repeated in "The Meaning of Generosity" and the epilogue.
4538271: Hmm. So you did. I guess I was just looking for an explanation that's all in one place.
Guess what? You've inspired me to make my own cycle based on this crossover:
EDIT: Cards rewritten with FoME's help. Thanks, FoME!
It's amazing how true this is. Its sad really. I miss the god old days.
4478914 Aside from FoME's retort, referencing the stack is the only way to concisely refer to everything that uses it. To avoid using the word "stack", Discord's emblem would have to be worded "whenever a spell you don't control is cast, an activated ability you don't control is activated, or a triggered ability you don't control is triggered, reselect its targets at random."
That's much wordier and not really any easier to understand.
Speaking as non MTG player, this was very cool. Thankye.
4745386
Thank you as well. I'm very glad to hear it was accessible to someone unfamiliar with the card game.
"Now, I'm not a fan of status quo, but also not of letting go and the world being torn apart."
Well. Played.
This story absolutely blew me away. One of the best written stories on Fimfiction, and certainly the best crossover of any kind that I've read. The potential of Ravnica as a pony setting is, as you've shown, enormous, and I really hope people carry/have carried this idea further. I gosh darn love this to pieces. :)
This is the only one of your stories that I found disappointing in some way. The writing quality is still top-notch of course, and the reimaginings of the characters are great, but I felt cheated at the climax. It all felt like it was building towards an inter-guild alliance of new friends saving the day and ensuring a positive new world order (especially with the letter telling Twilight to "make some friends"), but then Ditzy did everything singlehoofedly and all the other characters who we'd been introduced to did literally nothing to affect the outcome (nor did any of their prior actions, except in failing to imprison Ditzy and Jace). The outcome would have been the same if every chapter where she wasn't the viewpoint character were removed.
As I said, though, the characters themselves were great. Further stories in this universe following them would still be pretty cool, provided they got to remain on center-stage.
Thanks for writing this collection of shorts, FoME. I feel like there's a lot more of Ravnica to explore, but isn't there always?
This was well written. Good use of lore as well!
This piece was really well written. I loved your use of lore and flavor text when writing it. Wish I had your talent for writing.
This was an amazing story... now I am wondering with which books I should start if I want to read more about Ravnica? The only books concerning MtG I've read so far is the trilogy about Greensleaves and her big brother ...Gull, if I'm not mistaken.
6825791
I'm glad you enjoyed it. Original Ravnica block had three print novels, Ravnica: City of Guilds, Guildpact, and Dissension. Return to Ravnica block has three e-books and numerous associated short stories on the official Magic: the Gathering site. Ravnica also features largely in the Jace Beleren-focused novel Agents of Artifice.
You know how to write, but damn, you have no idea how to design cards.
Celestia and Luna having such bad stats is both a flavor failure and unnecessary. If you're using four colors to get a creature, you'd best be getting one hell of a good creature. 4/4 would probably be acceptable stats for both.
Discord is just plain unplayable. The +2 and -2 are OK, but the ultimate is just not very good, and neither of his other abilities protect himself. For 6 mana in 3 colors, that's pathetic. Lower his cost or upgrade his first two abilities.
Spike is mostly fine, but I think you should just set his ability activation cost as a constant value, maybe 4 or 5 mana, so that making him stronger doesn't make him impossible to use. Alternatively, he could be a Level Up card that gains damage and/or card draw effects as he levels up.
6882272
I take it you're unfamiliar with the Nephilim cycle, upon which Celestia and Luna are based. The largest ones were 3/3s. They were more about splashy abilities than raw size. Well, sometimes the splashy abilities provided raw size, but still. Tacking on flying only made matters worse.
You do have a point with Discord. There are a lot of dials to adjust when designing a planeswalker. This was one of my earlier attempts at one.
That said, while you may have simply withheld criticism of some of the other cards, by my count, you found four out of twenty-four cards dissatisfying. Succeeding five times out of six doesn't seem too bad. I'd certainly say it's better than having no idea how to design cards. Mind you, these are fairly old works. Feel free to take a look at some more recent creations here and judge for yourself if I've improved in the intervening time.
6885696
If I may be frank, the nephelim were all pretty much unplayable, primarily due to their crap stats. Witch-maw barely scrapes by because it gets large very quickly, but it's very vulnerable when you first play it, so it's incredibly unreliable. Yore-tiller and Ink-treader had some VERY specific niche uses for combos and the like, but required so much setup that they usually weren't worth it. The other two required dealing combat damage to players, which, with their crap stats and no evasion abilities , was impractical and risky. Nowadays we place a bit more value on multicolored cards, so the effort of setting up four different mana colors is worth more. Also, while Celestia's effect is a be-all end-all combat trick preventer and tempo enhancer (though still not worth the setup cost if it comes on a crappy 2/2 body), Luna's is just a bit of slow card advantage that has the additional downside of giving your opponent the choice to ditch dead cards to cancel it. She could use something with a bit more punch.
The way you write Discord is so... Discord, it's making my head spin.
This discord feels so perfect in how it is presented, yet it does feel a tad dissatisfying as an ending.
7341737
A common reaction to the Golgari.
As for the ending, what would you have preferred?
7342106 I just have the feeling that the resolution to the story is not strongly tied to the events we have been following the whole time. The narrative was pushing towards a the idea of greater peace between the guilds. It didn't even need to actually end in peace, just connect to that plot more.
This is not to say that Ditzy saving the day is out of nowhere, it just felt disconnected.
Are there any other stories in this continuum? Because Discord and Derpy adventuring together sounds fabulous.
7388680
Not at the moment, no. Still, I'm glad you enjoyed this.
8084148
OK, I get it now. You get more protection the more life you have over your starting life total. I misunderstood it's intent- I thought it was more protection the closer to death you were to death.