Twilight's treatment of Discord- Justified or Not?

[JH24 385]

I've always thought Rainbow Dash, Applejack and Rarity were more distrusting of Discord, RD in particular. Twilight (albeit reluctantly) agreed to take care of Discord when he was faking illness, the former 3 didn't. Rainbow Dash was the one in the season 4 premiere who wanted to turn Discord back to stone, with Applejack and Rarity following suit. In the season 4 finale, Twilight actually seemed the more comfortable with Discord tracking Tirek as she was explained and understood what his uses are. On a side note I think Pinkie only distrusts Discord because she's led by the others and has never really had a problem with him personally. In any case Twilight has good reason to distrust Discord, even after reformation he's been largely a troll and she seems to be his main victim for whatever reason. 

 

Yeah, I noticed as well how Rainbow Dash was the most hostile and distrusting towards Discord. Considering RD's loyalty towards her friends and how Discord used it to make her betray them, she might have been hit the hardest by his manipulation on a personal level. 

 

Interestingly enough, in "Make new friends but keep Discord" Applejack and Rarity still showed some annoyance, but I couldn't find anything negative from Rainbow Dash towards him. When she was playing that card game against Applejack, she would have been on alert immediately if Discord appeared before the season 4 finale took place, now she didn't even look up and in a way that's saying a lot about her acceptance/level of trust toward him. I doubt she fully trusts him, but she might be warming up just a little.

 

Justified. The Tirek incident happened once. What's stopping something like it from happening again?

 

True, their isn't much they can do if another "Tirek" incident happens and their distrust/wariness is justified. On the other hand, except for Fluttershy the other Mane 6 have been pretty hostile towards him which lasted well into the season 4 finale. Dumping all their responsibility on poor Fluttershy while it should have been a team effort in the end. Twilight seemed to realize that, as well as her responsibility, when she gave Discord a second chance when Tirek had captured him.

 

I feel now it's time for the other Mane 6 to take responsibility. Showing hostility and distrust only has the opposite effect with Discord. In a way it would be great if each one of the Mane 6 could show Discord a different aspect of friendship, and honestly try to build up a bond with him. I'm not saying Discord might have chosen differently if all of the 6 ponies had been his friends when Tirek interacted with him, but Discord only thinking about Fluttershy as a friend back then said a lot on how the others had failed.

 

EDIT: He would probably still have chosen to side with Tirek. (Although the decision would have been a lot harder) As the issue was more about him believing he could have both friendship and at the same time having the freedom to do everything he wanted as the Master of Chaos. 

Edited November 6, 2015 by JH24

[SteveMorison 408]

Yeah, I noticed as well how Rainbow Dash was the most hostile and distrusting towards Discord. Considering RD's loyalty towards her friends and how Discord used it to make her betray them, she might have been hit the hardest by his manipulation on a personal level. 

 

Interestingly enough, in "Make new friends but keep Discord" Applejack and Rarity still showed some annoyance, but I couldn't find anything negative from Rainbow Dash towards him. When she was playing that card game against Applejack, she would have been on alert immediately if Discord appeared before the season 4 finale took place, now she didn't even look up and in a way that's saying a lot about her acceptance/level of trust toward him. I doubt she fully trusts him, but she might be warming up just a little.

 

 

True, their isn't much they can do if another "Tirek" incident happens and their distrust/wariness is justified. On the other hand, except for Fluttershy the other Mane 6 have been pretty hostile towards him which lasted well into the season 4 finale. Dumping all their responsibility on poor Fluttershy while it should have been a team effort in the end. Twilight seemed to realize that, as well as her responsibility, when she gave Discord a second chance when Tirek had captured him.

 

I feel now it's time for the other Mane 6 to take responsibility. Showing hostility and distrust only has the opposite effect with Discord. In a way it would be great if each one of the Mane 6 could show Discord a different aspect of friendship, and honestly try to build up a bond with him. I'm not saying Discord might have chosen differently if all of the 6 ponies had been his friends when Tirek interacted with him, but Discord only thinking about Fluttershy as a friend back then said a lot on how the others had failed.

 

EDIT: He would probably still have chosen to side with Tirek. (Although the decision would have been a lot harder) As the issue was more about him believing he could have both friendship and at the same time having the freedom to do everything he wanted as the Master of Chaos. 

You know it's funny that a show called Friendship is Magic has it's main characters showing distrust towards a character that needs friendship more than almost anyone.

[Marimo 555]

Ever since he's been brought back after being reformed, in each of his appearances he's the cause of some trouble, whether intentional or not.

 

He was the one who originally planted the plunder seeds, and never bothered to really help get rid of them or explain what was going on, giving a weak justification that he was trying to teach Twilight a lesson.

 

He tried getting in the way of Cadence and her day together, literally making her go to the ends of Equestria for him, and having to battle a tatzlwurm.

 

He ends up betraying everyone and being the one to help Tirek steal the magic of everyone in Equestria.

 

And his plus one that he brought, the Smooze, winds up flooding the place even after she told him to keep an eye on him, and then he tries to banish one of the ponies there to another dimension just out of jealousy.

 

So I think at this point, she probably has reason to not trust him and get suspicious of him if something seems off.

[JH24 385]

You know it's funny that a show called Friendship is Magic has it's main characters showing distrust towards a character that needs friendship more than almost anyone.

 

Yeah, it's funny when you think about it. I remember thinking exactly what you said at times during the season 4 premiere and during the finale. In both cases Discord was trying to help (in his own way) and acted like a mentor to Twilight (like "convincing" her to go back to her friends and marking passages in her journal) He very likely knew how the Mane 6 needed to open the box at the Tree of Harmony, giving them hints instead of just telling them.  

Edited November 6, 2015 by JH24

[RyaN_ 292]

We all know even after his "Reformation", Discord can kinda mess up. But hey, who's to say that we've never messed up too one point in our lives.

Lets review some examples:

1. Princess Twilight Sparkle: Refusing to help clean his own mess (he did plant the vines), repeatedly pissing the hell out of Twilight,                                               and withholding vital information regarding the Everfree Invasion.

2. Three's A Crowd: Endangering Twilight and Cadence for his "Friendship test".

3. Twilight's Kingdom: His ultimate betrayal, causing the loss of all Equestrian magic

 

But let's analyze deeper into Discord: He's an unstable, all powerful wild spirit who merely tries, but misunderstands how to treat his friends, causing him to either mess up again and again, or leading him to indirectly attempt to actually show a caring personality. Lets also remember here that Discord is the ancient spirit of chaos who ruled Equestria in eternal chaos; You wouldn't expect someone who was evil for a thousand years to become the nicest fellow in few months now would you? 

 

And sure, the mane 5 might have been unsupportive of Discord's attempts, each of his "pranks" leaving 5 disappointed and angry faces. In "Make New Friends", I realised that each pony treated Discord's presence coldly (with the exception of Fluttershy, Pinkie, and Celestia).

 

I see him as a free spirit, simply trying to make friends (and having a little fun in doing so), and if you look deeper into his personality, you can see that he actually does (in a way) genuinely care for his friends, similar to Twilight before she came to Ponyville.

 

Sorry, didn't mean to rant.. I'm just giving Discord a fair chance 

Edited November 7, 2015 by RyaN_

[Kyoshi Frost Wolf 42,202]

Considering that Twilight was at the brunt of Discord's attempts on ruining all of Equestria and her friendships, I don't blame her for being overly suspicious. Plus, this IS Twilight we are talking about. She be paranoid about a lot of things.

 

 

One thing though, about the latest episode...Putting this in a spoiler:

 

One thing that bothered me was how they tried to make Discord seem sinister TOO much. That kinda hurt the overall tone of the episode, honestly it made her paranoia seem even more justified which goes against the moral.

 

[Sazama Ichida 2,367]

I would say it's justified. I mean if you met an internet troll in real life and they told you that they had changed and wanted to be friends would you believe them? Also regarding today's episode jealously really can make you do irrational things at times. And if I had met someone with Discord's personality in real life I know I definitely would not trust them right away if they said they changed.

Edited November 7, 2015 by Asbel Lhant

[Marimo 555]

 

One thing that bothered me was how they tried to make Discord seem sinister TOO much. That kinda hurt the overall tone of the episode, honestly it made her paranoia seem even more justified which goes against the moral.

 

 

But the moral wasn't about being suspicious with Discord, it was just about feeling left out and jealous. The others weren't in on Discord's plan, but they still contributed to how Twilight felt since they would just as easily laugh about that weekend they had. Maybe the knife wouldn't have been twisted in as hard, but that wouldn't have stopped her from having feelings of jealousy.

 

[Kyoshi Frost Wolf 42,202]

 

But the moral wasn't about being suspicious with Discord, it was just about feeling left out and jealous. The others weren't in on Discord's plan, but they still contributed to how Twilight felt since they would just as easily laugh about that weekend they had. Maybe the knife wouldn't have been twisted in as hard, but that wouldn't have stopped her from having feelings of jealousy.

 

 

Fair point, I guess my main issue is how they portrayed Discord. They tried too hard to make him seem kinda evil. If they didn't do that then it would have been better.

 

[Goat-kun 2,531]

Discord is not evil, he’s just needy and entitled ass with undefined writers-need-shit-to-happen ability. As things stand, Twilight’s behavior towards him is completely justified. I read how Discord needs friends to teach him about blah-blah-blah, but I think he needs a strong father figure far more. Yes, what I said is a big gender specific no-no in this day and age, but it works all the same. A father figure would draw some hard lines and teach him how not to be such a whiny self-centered manchild, clearly not something a group of tender young mares can achieve.

 

TL; DR: He’s an ancient spirit of chaos in a land full of mortal magic equines. He has no one to look up to. Also, it should not be expected of Twilight (or Fluttershy) to play his parent.

[MLPFanatic34 3,241]

 

Fair point, I guess my main issue is how they portrayed Discord. They tried too hard to make him seem kinda evil. If they didn't do that then it would have been better.

 

Yeah I somewhat agree, they did portray him as somewhat evil.

[UnknownFry 169]

Twilight is justified in being suspicious of Discord, but under no circumstance would I ever say she would be justified in treating him poorly even if Discord continues to get under his skin. 

[J. Brony 313]

Twilight is justified in being suspicious of Discord, but under no circumstance would I ever say she would be justified in treating him poorly even if Discord continues to get under his skin. 

 

Indeed.  Even if Discord is behaving badly, it's no excuse for Twilight to lower herself down to that level.  She should just take his shenanigans in stride and respond to them with patience and understanding.

[4april 374]

 

 

I mean, as a princess, (I'm just speculating here) she might not have as much time anymore to hang out with her friends due to her royal duties. And to see Discord spending more time with her friends might actually hurt her a bit from the inside.

 

You know what, there is a lot of potential episodes on this idea, Twilight not having much time to spend with friends.

 

 

 

1. Princess Twilight Sparkle: Refusing to help clean his own mess (he did plant the vines), repeatedly pissing the hell out of Twilight, and withholding vital information regarding the Everfree Invasion. 2. Three's A Crowd: Endangering Twilight and Cadence for his "Friendship test". 3. Twilight's Kingdom: His ultimate betrayal, causing the loss of all Equestrian magic

 

I don't know about you, but if I were the princess of friendship, I would still be suspicious of Discord.

[The Nth Doctor 664]

Let's see...

 

Tormented all of Equetria at one point in time

Tormented Celetia and Luna multiple times

Tormented the Mane Six twice; one time mind-raping them

Committed treason

 

He's the best villain in MLP because he's not instantly trusted the moment he's defeated, like Shimmer and Sci-Twi

Edited November 9, 2015 by The Nth Doctor

[cmarston1 5,963]

As of the latest episode, Twilight still has good reasons to distrust Discord.  Heck maybe even better reasons.

[cider float 2,539]

Remembering the tatzlwurm, Twilight and Cadence could have been killed there.

[Vulcan 3,256]

If only this post had a poll,

I'd have loved to see the data

 

Is it Justified? no,

Sure , He's done a lot of horrible things in the past

but he's done enough to make up for it.

I don't think they should be the best of friends 

but at the very least, there should be progress,

maybe do without the glaring eyes whenever Discord makes an appearance.

Edited November 10, 2015 by Vulcan

[The Nth Doctor 664]

If only this post had a poll,

I'd have loved to see the data

 

Is it Justified? no,

Sure , He's done a lot of horrible things in the past

but he's done enough to make up for it.

I don't think they should be the best of friends 

but at the very least, there should be progress,

maybe do without the glaring eyes whenever Discord makes an appearance.

How exactly do you "make up for" making the lives of everyone a living hell?

So if I kick you in the face, shave your hair and steal your dog, then buy you ice cream, we cool?

[Vulcan 3,256]

How exactly do you "make up for" making the lives of everyone a living hell?

So if I kick you in the face, shave your hair and steal your dog, then buy you ice cream, we cool?

 

Well, we wouldn't exactly be cool at first , but the ice cream would help.

In Discord's case, he did , unkick my face, unshave my hair, and returned the dog in the end.

[TeaCrumpet 27]

Well considering forgiveness doesn't work on a metric scale, I feel that the ep up until the end when Twilight and co went after Discord was frankly a really good example of Twilight getting her just desserts, but them turning the table felt unjustified and weak.  

 

If we look back, Discord has all, be it in his own chaotic way, has been trying to make friends with Twilight and given her a few lesson on friendship that old sunny and moon butt could not teach her do to reason. I feel at this time considering Twilight is a rather smart cookie, that she should know that Discord will always be a bit of a wild card. He will always be snarky and looking to get under her 45 degree angle skin since her love for all things that is law and order goes against his very nature. Its why MNFbKD had Celestia and Discord on the same side since Tia does enjoy a bit of chaos now and then, where as Twilight is to much of a lawful good to think of anything that doesn't follow her list. 

 

This episode makes for a nice come back since it does show that for someone that is a control freak like Twilight, that frankly her friends as well as she not only have different interest, but have lives somewhat outside of each other. There will always be inside jokes between sets of friends, and one simply has to learn to deal with the fact that one won't always be in on it. Everything up until the end felt organic and even Twilight's little melt down was a nice reminder that Twilight still has a lot to learn. 

 

However this frankly was ruined by the ending with them turning on discord, since honestly what were the ponies expecting since twilight more or less freaked on Discord? For him not to be a bit snide? I mean, come on.

 

So at this point, I really think Twilight kind of needs to grow up and learn to deal with the fact that discord is not going to treat her with kid gloves. Holding a grudge about what he did isn't going to help anyone, and frankly it is a missing opportunity for her, since she is someone who really needs a bit of chaos in her life to help her grown.  

[sweetolebob18 728]

Especially given his behavior in Twilight's Kingdom, it is certainly understandable but I'm not sure it is justified.  I mean, he shows up & they all (except Fluttershy) get all "What bad thing are you doing now?  I can't prove it, but I know you are up to no good"

 

I can see where AJ (as Element of Honesty) might have some problems but the others should lighten up & I'm glad to see they are finally giving him an honest chance to show he is reformed.

[Marimo 555]

However this frankly was ruined by the ending with them turning on discord, since honestly what were the ponies expecting since twilight more or less freaked on Discord? For him not to be a bit snide? I mean, come on.

Are you referring to the time where she was trying to make them drink the potions and accusing him of casting a spell on the other 5 as when Twilight freaked on Discord? Because not only did that happen after he was rubbing Twilight's face in missing out on what happened, he didn't even know about Twilight accusing him of that stuff since he wasn't there.

Edited November 14, 2015 by Marimo

[AmberDust 1,118]

Twilight has ALWAYS been the first one to get all antagonistic towards Discord

Except when its AppleJack, like in the Season 4 finale, and "Three's a Crowd".

 

 

But back on the main topic--here's the reason Twilight and Discord tend to butt heads:

 

Discord is Twilight's antithesis-- Her Exact opposite.

Discord is the personification of Chaos, i.e, disharmony, whereas Twilight is the personification of Friendship, i,e, harmony. Naturally, their personalities would clash. Additionally, Twilight understands something that we, the fans, seem to forget about--that Discord is the Spirit of Chaos. Chaos is in his blood, in his soul. He lives and breathes it. He's practically a scape goat who bears all the chaos in pony society. He does not just create discord, he IS discord...and Twilight knows that this can't change. He can't become any less chaotic, and Twi recognizes that--and since she, the representation of harmony, can't handle chaos to the extent that others can, she's typically the first one to want to stop Discord before he starts. And let's be real--he always starts something.

 

 

So, long story short, yeah, I think Twilight is completely justified in her actions against Discord. And vice-versa.

Edited November 14, 2015 by AmberDust

[Broken Gear 29]

While I would agree that Mane 6 (and about all of Equestria, really) have every reason to distrust Discord, I have to point out that he did seem genuinely intent on changeing after events of Keep Calm and Flutter On. And from there onword they all (except Fluttershy) made a mistake, they made their distrust of him known.

Let's think about it, the method Fluttershy used clearly was working. Had they acted friendlier towords him (even if they would be forcing it a little) he wouldn't have had betrayed them.

But here's a real problem, Twilight didn't learn from it. Looking at Make New Firends, Pinkie Pie tried being friendly (in the begginging of the episode) to him and others were... less hostile to him. Twilight however was acting mostly the same the whole time.

 

To conclude, while I think Twilight treating Discord like she does/did is justified at levels character and personal grudge, it is strategicaly  logically bad and unjustified decision.

Edited November 14, 2015 by Broken Gear