Coco before Pommel

Short answer: what makes a character a good character, or a good villain, is really subjective: as your post shows, what some people find funny or scary others don't get at all. I'm a big Discord fan but I can definitely see why he wouldn't be everypony's cup of tea, and it sucks when fandom really latches onto a character you don't care for, so yeah, you have my sympathy for that. But... I disagree on this point - I think Discord is actually very clever, or at least skilled at manipulating ponies (talking pre-reformation here) - of course he totally acts it/does stupid things, no logic is part of his shtick but I think also part of what's supposed to make him scary is that he's a mix of childishness and just playing around making ridiculous things happen, but he's also very calculating and manipulative - just look at the corruption scenes with the mane 6 in the maze. He definitely has a plan there - he knows exactly what to say to get to them, and you can see he takes real pleasure in tearing them apart and using their worst fears against them in the cruellest way possible (Pinkie's scene is the best example of this, I think, with the balloons and her friends' faces all laughing at her). For me, at least, that's enough to make him seem like a pretty big threat in the context of the show - of course we know he's not going to succeed, but at least for a while, he comes damn close to getting what he wants. I also think his lack of logic, the fact that he (seemingly) can't be reasoned with can also make him seem scarier, as with most childlike villains - again, all of this is subjective as to whether you enjoy that character type and/or find it scary. But I do think that at least Return of Harmony!Discord definitely shows a more clever/calculating side to how he separates the mane 6 - he doesn't seem to have any particular goals after that, other than just amusing himself, but again, that's how he is. I guess you could maybe argue that post-S2 they dumbed him down a bit to make him seem more of a silly/harmless type of villain, to make it easier to reform him? *shrug* all I can say is, it works for me - I love the character development they've given him, and how he wasn't easily reformed straight away and there was always some ambiguity as to whether he could go bad again until Twilight's Kingdom. He still has a lot of the qualities that made him so entertaining (IMO, obviously not everyone's!), but we also see a more complex side to him from Keep Calm & Flutter On onwards - he realises, almost against his will, that he does want friendship, but he's still essentially selfish and using it for his own gains up until the finale when he really has that "oh shit" moment after Tirek betrays him - it takes being used and manipulated the exact same way he did to others to make him realise he actually does want friendship, and care about others (mostly Fluttershy ) apart from how they might be useful to him. For me, it's a pretty satisfying character arc. But yeah...all the humour stuff makes sense, since that is like 95% of Discord's screentime it's pretty hard to get past if you don't like him. It's all just a matter of personal taste and kudos to you anyway for managing to state your opinion in a reasonable and non-bashing way which is a lot more than some fans manage~

Thank you everypony for the welcomes~ and happy Halloween/Nightmare Night!! I have no plans but I'm actually considering wearing my Fluttershy cosplay just to hand out sweets X3 yay thank you, I've been waiting for this! I really like these figures (only reason I buy the magazine ) and Flutters looks sooo cute~ but then obviously it's impossible for her not to Yay for plushies! that sounds awesome, I love seeing people's collections ^^ My biggest is 50cm too, she's the NICI one with the sparkly mane and tail~ if I had to pick though, my favourite is probably my tiny chibi filly!Shy, cause she's the first I got c: Flutterplushies for everypony~!

Quoting myself from another forum, but yeah...in addition to what everypony else has said about Fluttershy being the element of kindness and the most forgiving/willing to give anypony a chance, having lots of experience with dangerous creatures and it making more plot-sense for Discord to have an attachment to somepony not-Twilight...in hindsight, I think Fluttershy's corruption scene in The Element of Harmony becomes really significant, and interesting, in the light of the Fluttercord friendship: [the scene when Discord attempts to corrupt Fluttershy] also really shows why she's not weak and helpless - she’ll believe the worst of herself (that she's weak and therefore lucky that anypony puts up with her), but the best in others (she doesn't believe that her friends will abandon her because she completely trusts that they're good ponies - they support her through her troubles, rather than picking on her flaws, and she can’t be tricked into doubting them as easily as Discord is counting on), and that gives her strength even in the scariest situations, when everypony expects she’d be the first to crumble. With hindsight - though I doubt the writers were thinking this far ahead - I feel like this is really significant: he can’t manipulate and rile her up as easily as the others (both here and in Keep Calm and Flutter On, when brute magic force isn’t an option), and she’s the only one whose reaction he doesn’t predict, which I feel like he has to grudgingly respect her for, even though he certainly doesn’t like it at first. Though obviously neither of them is going to realise it for a long time, I think that respect - and her willingness to see the good in him - that’s not there with the others (yet) is really important to their dynamic and eventual friendship, and I like to think part of the reason why Celestia chose Fluttershy to reform Discord. ...so yeah, I think the fact that Fluttershy was the only one of the mane 6 Discord couldn't manipulate into doubting her element, and had to be overcome using brute magic force, shows real strength of character, and that maybe she'd be the one who stood the best chance of getting through to Discord when he couldn't instantly overpower her because he had more difficulty riling her up that way. unlike, say, Twilight, who's pretty suspicious and snarky around him even in S4 when they're supposed to be friends (with good reason!), Fluttershy's surprisingly good at staying chill and "of course we're friends even if you wreck my house and terrorize my pets and torment my friends and I'm still going to trust you even though I have every reason not to! :squee:" - and I think Discord just doesn't quite know how to deal with that, because he's used to ponies hating, fearing, distrusting him and anticipating that reaction, but not, as he says, to treating him as a friend! and I'm not sure any of the other M6 could have pulled that off - they just wouldn't have the patience, and even if they did pretend to trust him I think it would have been obvious they were faking. so that's why I think it had to be Fluttershy (and I'm glad it was because I adore their friendship so much~)

I haven't posted here yet...? hi everypony, hope it's okay if I join you! So happy to see 100 pages of best pony~ I fell in love with Fluttershy the minute I first saw her...from her first mumbly awkward conversation with Twilight, I was instantly like "this pony is me" X3 And she's come so far and achieved so much since then (while remaining adorable) and I'm so happy and proud of her and yeah, basically Fluttershy means a lot to me so I hope it's okay if I squee with you...that is, if you don't mind I don't have much to offer, but...here's some of my Flutterplush collection (though it's not up to date) ^.^

Like many, Luna is my favourite princess and I find her to be one of the most interesting and layered characters on the show - there's her whole tragic backstory/villain redemption arc kind of thing, and then we see her struggling to adjust to modern life and being a bit socially awkward, but that she genuinely does want make friends and be part of the community, she just doesn't know how. And then, as others have said, we see her reaching out to Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo via their dreams - she's using her own bad experiences to help other ponies, in a way that's unique to her, and yeah - it's subtle, but some really nice character development over the series. Lunaaaa <3 But I really love Celestia too, for all the reasons @Shimmer5000 (sorry, I don't know how to tag usernames!) eloquently stated - because we don't see her develop in the same way, it's easy to forget just how many difficult decisions she's had to make too, with Nightmare Moon and Sunset Shimmer and who knows what else. She doesn't get as much focus, apart from as a mentor to Twilight - but we do also see her being kind and generous to others, too, like Fluttershy in A Bird In The Hoof and Rarity in Sweet and Elite (she didn't HAVE to let her stay at the castle!). I also really like her micro-series and team-up with Spike in the IDW comics - I get why people might not like her because she's too ~flawless~, but I think she's much more interesting than a lot of people give her credit for. It kind of annoys me when fans pit them against each other seriously - their relationship is a huge part of what makes both of them so interesting, so demonising Celestia to make Luna look better (or vice versa) is just tiring. Especially since I feel like a lot of it started really early in the series - before either had really gotten much screentime - and some people just decided that Luna was perfect and blameless so obviously Celestia was secretly an evil dictator/sex offender/troll, and just clung to that no matter what canon gave us. Preferring one over the other is cool, obviously, but in canon they're both good ponies who care about each other (and their subjects) deeply despite everything, and no one will convince me otherwise. /and that's how Equestria was made

Well, personally... Ponies: nope. Humanised ponies: sometimes, depends on how they're drawn. EQG ponies: eh, maaaybe if aged up, but they're a little weird-looking for me. I don't care if people find them sexy in any form though, more power to you~ as long as you tag that stuff appropriately and keep it out of places where children might see, it's not hurting anyone.

Whatever sexuality I need them to be for shipping purposes seriously, I don't really care. Nothing is canon, except that Twilight and Rarity have shown attraction to stallions but that doesn't preclude the possibility of them also being into mares. Fluttershy, AJ, Pinkie and Dash haven't shown any inclination one way or another so it's all individual interpretation if you want to see them as straight/gay/bi/asexual/whatever else. As long as people don't force their headcanon on others or anything, I'm cool with it. Out of curiosity, does anypony have links/sources on Lauren Faust supposedly saying the M6 are all straight...? That seems like a bit of an odd thing to specify - I know she said something about people stereotyping Rainbow Dash as lesbian because she's "masculine" being an insult to both straight tomboys and girly lesbians, which I really liked. But it seems kinda unnecessary to specify that they're ALL straight (or any sexuality, but it comes off a little OMG NO HOMO in this instance)...I know that, sadly, they would most likely never show any same-sex attraction on a kid's show, but I think it's much better fitting the nature of the show, love and acceptance, etc, to leave things ambiguous since it's not exactly relevant to the plot in most cases. And that's not just for my own/the fandom's purposes, but for kids growing up who may turn out to be any orientation, and ought to have some freedom in how they see/relate to the characters, rather than being (implicitly) told that anything but straight is not "normal". I would really hate, for example, if FiM ended with all of the mane 6 paired up with some random stallion, because they're girls and of course girls need a man to be happy. -_-

FlutterDash comes to mind - I definitely see the appeal and get why it's so popular, but they just don't work for me as a couple, though their friendship is adorable. (I admit I have a slight grudge because of Super Lesbian Horse RPG. which I otherwise really enjoyed but I thought you'd at least get to pick your pairings, whyyy did the main ship have to be the only mane 6 pairing I DON'T ship >.<) Fluttercord is becoming one too, which I didn't expect because I adore their friendship and even shipped it a bit...but I had such an instinctive NO reaction when I heard about the hints in the IDW comic. I think it's because all the complications I love in their canon platonic dynamic have the potential to become super skeevy if turned romantic - the whole ~redeemed by love~ trope, and I feel like at this point in canon Discord needs to prove that he genuinely cares about Fluttershy to earn back her trust - which I do believe he does, but what happened in the S4 finale is gonna sting for a long time and yeah, just glossing over all those complications and making it a fluffy romance is DNW for me. I've never cared for FlutterMac either, because as others have said the basis seems to be pretty much that Big Mac's one of few canon stallions with any development + they're both shy. especially because Big Mac doesn't even really seem that shy to me - more the "strong silent type", and it's a running gag that he doesn't talk but he doesn't seem to have any trouble speaking up when he has to. I don't really see them having much in common. (so basically I'm picky about Fluttershy ships because nopony's good enough for mah bb ) Also Spike/any of the mane 6 (especially Twilight and/or Rarity), because of the age difference. Spike/anypony, really - I like him, but he's too much of a kid for me to consider shipping him. And any incest ship...with the exception of Flim/Flam. I can see it with those two for some reason :x

Butterflies, yay~ I think this sounds pretty accurate (at least I hope!), apart from the "naturally graceful" part because I'm a total klutz

As much as I'd love to see it, I have a hard time imagining Discord in EQG because I just can't imagine him being anything as boring and conventional as a human (this may also be why not much humanised!Discord art works for me, though some of the ones in this thread are cool!) But if he was, I could totally see him as an "eccentric" teacher with oddball clothes in mismatched colours, who no one really understands but the kids love because his lessons are always fun, though somewhat unconventional

Cupcakes/split personality/serial killer!Pinkie/Pinkamena is a big one, especially when some fans act like it's basically canon...I'm not into grimdark in general, though it's cool if that's your thing, but for me it just totally goes against the core of Pinkie's character and why I love her. The idea of her having mental problems can be interesting to explore, but there's just no way I'm gonna buy her being a cannibalistic serial killer with zero explanation. The PONY.MOV videos - there's one or two amusing moments but mostly I just find them kinda gross and trying way too hard to be ~edgy. Doctor Whooves is one of the few characters I have zero interest in, but that's not surprising since I'm not a Doctor Who fan ...Apparently there's less stuff I hate than I thought, which is nice

idk about sexiest because high schoolers don't really do it for me...but I think human Rarity and human Octavia are the best looking. Their outfits are the best and really suit their characters ...okay, maybe Adiago Dazzle is kinda hot too :x

I love EQG as a movie in its own right - it's cute and fun and similar enough to FiM (though still not not quite as good as FiM at its best) for me to enjoy it. I can totally understand why it's not for everyone, but I do think the hate it gets is OTT...Personally I feel like maybe it's because so many people were convinced it was going to suck from the moment it was announced? So when they actually watched the movie, they'd already decided to hate it and so focused only on the flaws. Plus some people have a real hate-on for the fact it's made to sell more toys (despite that being, you know, the reason FiM exists...) and were worried that it was going to replace/take over FiM, so yeah, there was already a lot of controversy over the idea so no matter how the movie turned out - and I don't think it's perfect, but it seems to get way more criticism over flaws than the average FiM episode - some people were determined to hate it. I do get why some people just don't like the idea of the ponies being human, though - I'm not a furry, but cute talking animals are still generally way more appealing than regular old humans also, there are already countless other movies/TV shows/everything about humans in a high school setting, so it might seem like taking away what's unique about MLP FiM and the world of Equestria, I guess? I understand that more, because I'd also much rather have a full-length FiM movie about the actual ponies than EQG. But at the end of the day, they are the same characters we love, just in an AU setting, and for me the writers do a pretty good job of putting a different spin on your usual high school cliches and integrating the two universes. And I've come to find the EQG versions cute in their own way too :3

...Celestia/AU!Sombra is a thing?? O.o I love shipping in all my fandoms, including MLP I have my OTPs (mostly PinkieShy and Rarijack) but I'm a multishipper and open to a ton of different pairings, if they're written well in fanfic or something. I don't act like any of my non-canon ships (which are basically all of them XD) are going to happen in the show or argue about them though, that's just dumb. Everypony has their own tastes/opinions, and it's all cool with me as long as you don't bash shippers/pairings/characters~ some shippers are obnoxious, but that's no different to any other part of the fandom! I like it mostly as a fan activity though, and while some romance every now and then is fine I prefer it not to be a major part of the show. I know FlashLight is a thing I still hope they'll stick to having no (two-sided - the occasional crush like Rarity->Trenderhoof or Sparity when it's not overdone can be cute/funny) love interests for the Mane 6 in FiM. There's much more interesting things I'd rather see in the show, but in fandom I will happily ship ALL THE THINGS

Of course! I'll drop a link here when it's done and agreed, it's awesome how many different fan clubs there are and how easy it is to join c:

Hi everypony, may I join you~? Rarijack is my joint MLP OTP <3 I've shipped them since Look Before You Sleep and I adore how their friendship has developed in the show since, how they come to understand each other despite their differences and actually have more in common than it seems - they're both strong, independent and hardworking, running their own businesses (which I'm really happy the recent Friends Forever comic touched on!) and I think they have a lot of respect for each other for that, even when they disagree. And their flirting bickering is so cute - Season 4 was very good in that regard, between Simple Ways and Trade Ya X3 I'm actually working on a Rarijack fic right now too~ idk when it will be finished as I'm a very slow writer, but hopefully soon ^^

I'm going to say... ~80% Fluttershy because...yeah, I relate to her a lot, being really shy and socially awkward, having low self-esteem/confidence, finding it hard to speak up/stand up for myself...I'd like to think I'm kind, too, at least I'm told I am? at least, I certainly try to be empathetic and understanding of others' feelings. I don't get mad easily, unless somepony hurts my family/friends/animals/etc and then it's I also really love animals and am a vegetarian, though I'm nowhere near as good at controlling them as she is! ~15% Sweetie Belle because I'm generally eager to please/help with things wherever, but I can also be kind of clumsy and ditzy so often mess up and make things worse (maybe Derpy would also fit, but I'd like to think I'm at least a little smarter than how she's generally portrayed...) I also sometimes feel inferior compared to my sister, though she's younger than me. ~5% Pinkie Pie, mainly just because I LOVE chocolate and sweets and eat them pretty much all the time (I would like to be more like Pinkie in general, since I think making others smile is an awesome life goal, but I'm too shy and introverted to really be like her. apparently/hopefully I can be more fun around my friends though when I get to know somepony )

Like most I find Flash Sentry to be a pretty bland and uninteresting character (still haven't seen Rainbow Rocks though, but it doesn't sound like it's changed popular fandom opinion much), but some of the hate for him is just...well, disturbing at times O_o I'm not arguing that he's actually a really interesting character, but "bland personality-free love interest awkwardly shoehorned in" is such a common trope in all kinds of movies/TV shows etc, and the way some bronies act you'd think it was a totally shocking and outrageous move (also, the romance angle isn't necessarily a "girly" cliche, though I can see how it comes off that way because MLP, but a lot of more action-y "boy's" shows/movies often also have love interests). I'd rather have less pointless/badly-written romances in everything, but it's hardly unique to EQG and such a tiny part of the movies (and as of now doesn't affect FiM at all?) that I can easily ignore it. I also don't think him existing detracts from the message of the show - it's not like Flash suddenly became the most important thing in Twilight's life, after all - and it's possible to have romance in a show about friendship without it becoming the sole focus. (Which unfortunately is a problem in a lot of shows aimed at girls so I do get why people would be worried about it happening in MLP...But so far FlashLight has had so little screentime, impact on the plot or on Twilight's character that I don't think you can argue it's really affected the movies or show? So I think all the panicking that FlashLight are obviously going to get married and make the show all about ~romance~ and RUINED FOREVER is kinda jumping the gun a little bit. but I guess that's what fandom does )

I accidentally copy-pasted a youtube link to an EQG clip to a colleague on Skype the other day... She didn't say anything so I have no idea if she clicked it or not, but if so...yeah, a little bit awkward

True I have no problem accepting that if it happens! I just don't have to like it if it does, lol - I guess you could argue it depends on what you interpret as actual romantic hints rather than just friendship (for example, Applejack saying "good things are better when they're a Rarity *wink*" totally comes off like flirting to me, but I know that it probably wasn't intended as anything more than friendship - same with Discord giving Celestia the flowers, I can enjoy the fanon interpretation while understanding it doesn't mean/imply there'll be a romantic relationship in canon? I hope that makes sense, sorry ^^; ) ? But even from that perspective, yeah, there's lots more fuel for Fluttercord shipping. If they did make it canon, though, honestly...I think it would be quite a bold move? An interspecies pairing with a considerable age difference, not to mention that Discord has canonically hurt and betrayed Fluttershy several times - which doesn't mean he can't be redeemed or doesn't truly care for her now, but I would expect it to complicate things at least a little... - so it could very easily fall into the ~redeemed by love~ trope. Which again, you could argue (not saying this is what I personally think...it would all depend on the way it's handled) doesn't send out the greatest message for young girls and boys watching? I mean, all of those complications is what makes their platonic dynamic so interesting to me, but as a show for kids I would have thought the writers would be hyper-aware of what they're portraying as a healthy relationship. Sparity is still only one-sided canon, and it's portrayed as a cute, harmless crush like many kids might have on their older sister's friend (but not reciprocated by the older party, because that'd seem kinda creepy without aging Spike up) - I could see them doing that with Fluttershy->Discord, maybe, though I could personally see Discord->Fluttershy more easily at this point, but I think that's riskier unless they're going to totally ignore the age difference. There are no such issues with FlashLight, since it's a relationship between people/ponies of roughly the same age with no significant power differentials or controversial aspects (disclaimer: I haven't seen RR yet so I don't know if that changes, but I can't imagine it does unless Flash turns evil or something, which would make him a lot more interesting ). Sorry, that got long! I'm not trying to argue with anyone or say that canon Fluttercord would definitely be terrible - just that I think it would need to be done very carefully to work, especially in the FiM show itself (I'm not up to date with the IDW comics but they seem to have a bit more leeway there, and it's optional whether you consider them canon or not?), because there's more to consider actually making something canon vs when it's just fans shipping. I think it's an interesting debate also, relevant to none of the above, but on Tomodachi Life my Discord and Fluttershy Miis are married with a kid. Maybe it's a sign of...something X3

Princess: Luna because I find her one of the most interesting and layered characters on the show. (Celestia is close for best princess though!) Background: Octavia because I love her design and her (fanon) personality. CMC: Sweetie Belle because her relationship with Rarity is adorable, and she reminds me of myself sometimes because she means well and wants to help/be liked, but is also kind of clumsy and ditzy so usually just makes things worse ^^; ) One-shot: Coco Pommel because she's a cutie pie and I love how she starts out as a doormat/afraid to say no (also relatable...) but then learns to stand up for herself and do the right thing. I hope we see more of her :3 non-pony: Discord, because Discord (honourable mention to Zecora, because she needs more love/screentime!) also Trixie, Maud Pie, Sunset Shimmer and many others

I kinda have mixed feelings on Fluttercord...I absolutely adore their friendship, how Fluttershy was the only one willing to see the good in Discord when nopony else could, how he shows more affection and respect for her than anypony else (except maybe Celestia), and think it's an awesome part of both their character development. I'm just not sure I see it as romantic, although S4 and especially the finale - she writes to him! he has a picture of them! "mostly for Fluttershy"! - tipped me over into thinking "okay maybe I could ship this..." - but while I don't hate the idea, I ship them both with others way more (Discord with Celestia, Fluttershy with Pinkie or Rarity) and like them better as best bros ^^ I definitely don't want it to be canon though, for many reasons...I generally want to stick to "no love interests for the Mane 6" unless it's with each other (yeah, I know Flashlight's a thing, but it seems to be in EQG only and doesn't affect the show in a major way?), because honestly it's just nice to have a show with lots of awesome female characters who aren't motivated/defined primarily by their relationships with men...I know relationships can be written well, but honestly, it just feels unnecessary at this point when there are way more interesting stories they could tell with this world and these characters. I'd personally much rather they leave shipping to the fans in general and concentrate on writing more awesome plots for S5

So hard to choose, but I'll try~ Filli Vanilli - probably my favourite Fluttershy episode and a contender for fave of all time. Lots of Fluttershy being adorable, it was lovely to see a new side to her and show a passion for something other than animals! Find The Music In You was an awesome song and unlike any other song in the show. The return of Flutterguy was funny, it was nice to see Big Mac having a bigger role, Rarity and the RariShy friendshipping (my two favourite girls! ) was awesome and the moral/ending was just really sweet, well done and relatable with how they didn't have her immediately join the Ponytones and get over all her fears. Pretty much the only thing I didn't like about it was that one moment with Pinkie, but that's another rant ^^;; Awesome new songs in general, especially FTMIY, Generosity and You'll Play Your Part (Luna singing!!! ) New characters, especially Coco (duh) and Maud who have become some of my favourites of all time. Honourable mention to Cheese Sandwich~ Pretty much everything about the finale, but especially Discord's character development. I loved all his interactions with Tirek and how this was the first time he actually made himself vulnerable/followed orders from someone more powerful than himself - and had it backfire spectacularly. I loved him before as a villain/ambiguously reformed, but I think that had to happen for him to truly appreciate friendship as good in itself, rather than a means for manipulating others for his own gain - for me it makes him so much more interesting and complex, while retaining the qualities we loved him for in the first place AH LOVE BEING COVERED IN MUD!!! (all of Simple Ways. but mostly Rarity. and Rarijack)