Villains being the Elements of Disharmony

[Akemi Homura 7,680]

This is just something I just realized about the villains. While reviewing each episode with villains in it, I realized something about the villains and how they relate to EACH of the Mane 6. Let me show you what I mean. Gonna separate these by colors so you don't get mixed up.

 

You all remember Nightmare Moon, correct? Well, you might also remember how she attempted to break apart the Mane 6 by putting each of them through trials which would test their representations to each of the Elements...

 

... but here's where it starts getting interesting.

 

You know Twilight Sparkle - the beloved "main" character of the Mane 6, and how she uses her magic to the best of her ability - whether it be from a simple spell to a magical outburst. Now, take into account of her Element - Magic. Now, compare Twilight to Nightmare Moon. What do you see?

 

What you get is a rather ominous and uncanny polar opposite of Nightmare Moon when comparing Twilight to her. Nightmare Moon - the very essence of dark magic and a total master of it - is a rather accurate counterpart to Twilight, a gifted unicorn with a very special talent for "good" magic. To put it simply, NMM is the counterpart of Twilight Sparkle, when not speaking of friendship.

 

Now we have Discord, the chaos-loving draconequus who almost managed to shroud Equestria in a proverbial cloud of disharmony. But for the sake of this topic, let's take into account of his personality. For one, he loves nonsense, and two, he loves to play games, albeit somewhat cruel. In this regard, he enjoys a good time, but on his own, twisted terms - and he loves to taunt other ponies, as seen when he masterfully managed to toy with each of the Mane 6. From this, he laughs at other ponies, not with them.

 

Let's single out one word from the paragraph I wrote above this one: laughter. Who represents the Element of Laughter? That's right, Pinkie Pie. Pinkie Pie, the pony who loves to make people laugh, wants to have a good time, but could never bring herself to make fun of other ponies and derive pleasure from it. This is the "dark side" to Pinkie Pie's element, as showcased in Discord, albeit a bit more defined, I guess you could say.

 

​Finally, we have the Queen Chrysalis. She's the head of a rather vicious race who wanted to take over Equestria for their own accord, by taking on the form of Princess Celestia's niece who was about to get married. What makes this case special, however, was that her plan was almost flawless. "Cadence", who was really the Queen, managed to manipulate the entire kingdom into believing that she was the real Cadence when it was not really so. Through deception did she manage to get close enough to Shining Armor and feed off his love for Cadence (whom he thought was the actual Cadence), and even manage to fool Celestia when Twilight blurted out that this wasn't the real Cadence (to which "Cadence" faked tears in order to persuade everypony to get on her side and to turn against Twilight) - and it was this very deception were the Changeling race very close to successfully invading Canterlot, and soon, all of Equestria.

 

Deception. It's a relatively common word in our vocabulary, so what makes it special? All it is is simply "lying to get what you want" while perhaps messing with another person (even if they do not feel it). But, think of an antonym of "deception", or better yet, think of an antonym for "lie". And what's that? Truth! And who represents "the truth" in regards to the Elements? None other than Applejack! Here we see the Queen being portrayed as a rather sinister being who masterfully manages to carry out her plan through a huge and well-crafted lie. In this case, we also see the glaring contrast between Applejack's Element of Honesty and what the Queen so "dearly" represents - deception.

 

So, now you may know how the whole "villain" thing stacks up in the show. The Queen took a form that was a lie to invade Equestria, Discord loved laughing at (not with) other ponies, and Nightmare Moon was the master of dark magic. Each arch-villain so far has either been the polar opposite of one of the Elements or Harmony, or a very twisted and warped version of one of them. Ergo, based on this reasoning, we may safely conclude that one of the villains will represent twisted/polar opposite versions of Generosity, Loyalty, and Kindness.

[Lightningchaser 13]

Made sense.

[NavelColt 22,880]

A very nice analyzation, I approve~

[MrL0LZ 866]

I approve of this Excellently done analyzation.

Only a true observer could come up with something like this!

Edited May 10, 2012 by AceCord

[Doctor XFizzle 8,669]

Very good points.

 

On a mid-tier scale, you could say the Flim-Flam Bros. are opposite of Applejack's honesty not just because they made cider too, but because they sacrificed integrity and ethics to make their product.

 

Trixie is opposite of Twilight not just in magical ability but because Twilight's magic is for the greater good while Trixie's was an illusion to say the least.

 

Iron Will was abrasive, pushy, and intimidating, opposite of Fluttershy's kindness

 

While we haven't had villains who exemplified greed (Rarity) or disloyalty (Rainbow Dash) yet, the good guys of the show have had their not-so-cool moments to provide a little antagonist. Spike was greedy on his birthday. Rarity was a little disloyal in Sonic Rainboom by not taking Rainbow's feelings into consideration and wanting to win herself I guess.

[NavelColt 22,880]

Trixie is opposite of Twilight not just in magical ability but because Twilight's magic is for the greater good while Trixie's was an illusion to say the least.

 

Trixie also exploited her abilities and criticized and belittled others for her own ego, while twilight was actually timid and afraid that she'd do just that, if she even used her powers a little bit. Just piling on to your observation

Edited May 10, 2012 by ~Chaotic Discord~

[MrL0LZ 866]

Wait just one second..........

Wouldn't the "Elements Of Disharmony"

be The Elements of Chaos?

Disharmony =/= Chaos Harmony =/= Order,

If you think about it, it makes sense.

[Love4discord18 269]

Hm, never thought of it that way .. but makes compleat sense .. so in the future seasons we can expect a villian the steals ( opposite of generosity) a villian that is udderly rude ( opposite of kindness) and a villian that is unloyal? Interesting

[Akemi Homura 7,680]

Very good points.

 

On a mid-tier scale, you could say the Flim-Flam Bros. are opposite of Applejack's honesty not just because they made cider too, but because they sacrificed integrity and ethics to make their product.

 

Trixie is opposite of Twilight not just in magical ability but because Twilight's magic is for the greater good while Trixie's was an illusion to say the least.

 

Iron Will was abrasive, pushy, and intimidating, opposite of Fluttershy's kindness

 

While we haven't had villains who exemplified greed (Rarity) or disloyalty (Rainbow Dash) yet, the good guys of the show have had their not-so-cool moments to provide a little antagonist. Spike was greedy on his birthday. Rarity was a little disloyal in Sonic Rainboom by not taking Rainbow's feelings into consideration and wanting to win herself I guess.

 

Whereas they displayed a lack of harmony, they weren't very sinister. A bit pushy, yes, but nowhere near evil. Trixie was nothing more than a braggart and Spike just wanted things for himself. The Flim Flam brothers were doing what typical businessmen pretty much do, and that was to con everybody into buying their product regardless of the quality... and Iron Will was just a tough guy, that's it. At least he showed some respect towards the end of "Putting Your Hoof Down", right?

 

I suppose you could say they were nothing more than simple "practice questions" in preparation for the real thing.

Edited May 10, 2012 by Emperor Belichick

[Wolfe 71]

While we haven't had villains who exemplified greed (Rarity) or disloyalty (Rainbow Dash) yet, the good guys of the show have had their not-so-cool moments to provide a little antagonist. Spike was greedy on his birthday. Rarity was a little disloyal in Sonic Rainboom by not taking Rainbow's feelings into consideration and wanting to win herself I guess.

 

Hold on a second. I think we do. Remember the Diamond Dogs? They were very greedy when it came to gems, in my opinion. They only used Rarity to get what they wanted. And if I'm correct, they just hoarded all the diamonds and gems in some storage. What good is having a storage of gems and valuable stones if none of it will ever be used (or shared)? Although that specific episode was to show how someone being lady-like doesn't mean that they are weak, it did show how the Diamond Dogs would get valuable gems for cheap labor, a la using Rarity, and Rarity alone to find, dig, collect, and haul gems to their gem pile.

 

As for Rainbow Dash, I haven't seen or noticed a character exemplifying disloyalty. Maybe Season 3 might bring out a character that at least initially starts out as such.

[Doctor XFizzle 8,669]

Whereas they displayed a lack of harmony, they weren't very sinister. A bit pushy, yes, but nowhere near evil. Trixie was nothing more than a braggart and Spike just wanted things for himself. The Flim Flam brothers were doing what typical businessmen pretty much do, and that was to con everybody into buying their product regardless of the quality... and Iron Will was just a tough guy, that's it. At least he showed some respect towards the end of "Putting Your Hoof Down", right?

 

I suppose you could say they were nothing more than simple "practice questions" in preparation for the real thing.

 

Yeah, they weren't villains but still they were medium-sized antagonists that had to be dealt with.

 

And I totally forgot about the Diamond Dogs. They're greed fo sho.

[EmmerichWolfe 47]

Nice analysis.

 

I'm still looking forward to the season three premier simply for the villain lol.

 

As far as the Diamond Dogs go... hmm, yeah they could be considered the opposite of Rarity, though they're a bit too stupid and were easily manipulated by her. Just my opinion, though.

[Akemi Homura 7,680]

As far as the Diamond Dogs go... hmm, yeah they could be considered the opposite of Rarity, though they're a bit too stupid and were easily manipulated by her. Just my opinion, though.

 

They're too unintelligent to pose a serious threat, lmfao.

[EmmerichWolfe 47]

They're too unintelligent to pose a serious threat, lmfao.

 

Pretty much lol

[Akemi Homura 7,680]

And I totally forgot about the Diamond Dogs. They're greed fo sho.

 

The sad part here is that Rarity didn't even need to use some of her "elemental powers" (ohoho, the new terms) to get out of that tango.

[Doctor XFizzle 8,669]

The sad part here is that Rarity didn't even need to use some of her "elemental powers" (ohoho, the new terms) to get out of that tango.

 

You could make an argument that Rarity generously voiced her opinion on how she was being treated lolol

[Randomiser 115]

Interesting interpretation of Chrysalis. I often consider Discord a corrupt Pinkie Pie, so I can agree with you here.

[Evilshy 5,090]

I don't know... the NMM comparison seems a bit stretched. She is an alicorn, so she naturally has extremely powerful magic.

Second, Twilight isn't really the master of "good" or "light" magic, just magic in general. Equestria is a happy, good place, much more so than our world, so what we see as "good" magic is just normal magic for ponies.

Also, NMM was meant to be, and indeed was, the opposite of Celestia.

 

As has been said before, Trixie is more the polar opposite of Twi, and I think that was intended. Trixie has average magical skill, but lies about how she has insane amounts of power. As Twi has demonstrated several times, she really does have insane amounts of power, but she is humble about it; she even talks herself down in Boast Busters.

 

I agree that Discord makes a good anti-pinkie. However, I don't think he was intended to, even though it does fit quite nicely. He is an incarnation of chaos, the opposite of Harmony, making him more like the opposite of the mane 6 as a unit.

The Wendigos were also the opposite of Harmony, but more of the social aspects of it than the organized balance aspect. They seem to be summoned, or even created, by strong feelings of contention between ponies (or other beings, presumably).

 

Now, I understand that this next one is extremely obvious, but Chrysalis I see as an opposite of Cadence/love in general, and not just because she was a false Cadence for awhile. Cadence loves seemingly without reservation, and uses magic to spread love. Chrysalis has no love for anyone, instead parasitically feeding off those who do. Chrysalis wanted to marry Shining Armor, and have an equal, lasting and loving relationship with him (for better or for worse, in sickness and in health, and all that wedding vow jazz), while Chrysalis overpowered him in order to feed on his love to sate her own appetite, and I don't not think it at all out of the question for her to just abandon him once he was weakened to the point of being useless to her.

Her power can even be seen as the exact opposite of Cadence's; Cadence uses her magic to give love to others, while Chrysalis sucks love out of others and uses it to power her own magic. (more of my thoughts on Cadence and Chrysalis' magic over here in the "How powerful is Twilight?" thread).

 

The Diamond Dogs certainly represented greed, but when you think about it, Rarity is probably the mane 6 who demonstrates her element the least. I'm not saying she's greedy, but she's not exactly the most generous pony around. Fluttershy, Applejack, and indeed the rest of the Mane 6, really, have her beat in the generosity department. But she shows it when it counts, and it is her element. I also think she was given that element to further contrast her from the "popular, beautiful, fashionable, shallow girl" stereotype.

 

Both Iron Will and Gilda can be seen as anti-fluttershy's, in much the same way. Although, Gilda was more the opposite of Shy's element, while Iron was the opposite of her general personality. Gilda was certainly bold, but her main feature was her douchebaggery. Iron was a bit of douchebag, but his bold, don't-fuck-with-me-cuz-I'll-fuck-back attitude was pretty much what he personifies.

 

 

Just my opinion. Most of the villains can be made to fit against a Mane character, some just not as well as others.

[Steel Accord 6,660]

This is just something I just realized about the villains. While reviewing each episode with villains in it, I realized something about the villains and how they relate to EACH of the Mane 6. Let me show you what I mean. Gonna separate these by colors so you don't get mixed up.

 

You all remember Nightmare Moon, correct? Well, you might also remember how she attempted to break apart the Mane 6 by putting each of them through trials which would test their representations to each of the Elements...

 

... but here's where it starts getting interesting.

 

You know Twilight Sparkle - the beloved "main" character of the Mane 6, and how she uses her magic to the best of her ability - whether it be from a simple spell to a magical outburst. Now, take into account of her Element - Magic. Now, compare Twilight to Nightmare Moon. What do you see?

 

What you get is a rather ominous and uncanny polar opposite of Nightmare Moon when comparing Twilight to her. Nightmare Moon - the very essence of dark magic and a total master of it - is a rather accurate counterpart to Twilight, a gifted unicorn with a very special talent for "good" magic. To put it simply, NMM is the counterpart of Twilight Sparkle, when not speaking of friendship.

 

Now we have Discord, the chaos-loving draconequus who almost managed to shroud Equestria in a proverbial cloud of disharmony. But for the sake of this topic, let's take into account of his personality. For one, he loves nonsense, and two, he loves to play games, albeit somewhat cruel. In this regard, he enjoys a good time, but on his own, twisted terms - and he loves to taunt other ponies, as seen when he masterfully managed to toy with each of the Mane 6. From this, he laughs at other ponies, not with them.

 

Let's single out one word from the paragraph I wrote above this one: laughter. Who represents the Element of Laughter? That's right, Pinkie Pie. Pinkie Pie, the pony who loves to make people laugh, wants to have a good time, but could never bring herself to make fun of other ponies and derive pleasure from it. This is the "dark side" to Pinkie Pie's element, as showcased in Discord, albeit a bit more defined, I guess you could say.

 

​Finally, we have the Queen Chrysalis. She's the head of a rather vicious race who wanted to take over Equestria for their own accord, by taking on the form of Princess Celestia's niece who was about to get married. What makes this case special, however, was that her plan was almost flawless. "Cadence", who was really the Queen, managed to manipulate the entire kingdom into believing that she was the real Cadence when it was not really so. Through deception did she manage to get close enough to Shining Armor and feed off his love for Cadence (whom he thought was the actual Cadence), and even manage to fool Celestia when Twilight blurted out that this wasn't the real Cadence (to which "Cadence" faked tears in order to persuade everypony to get on her side and to turn against Twilight) - and it was this very deception were the Changeling race very close to successfully invading Canterlot, and soon, all of Equestria.

 

Deception. It's a relatively common word in our vocabulary, so what makes it special? All it is is simply "lying to get what you want" while perhaps messing with another person (even if they do not feel it). But, think of an antonym of "deception", or better yet, think of an antonym for "lie". And what's that? Truth! And who represents "the truth" in regards to the Elements? None other than Applejack! Here we see the Queen being portrayed as a rather sinister being who masterfully manages to carry out her plan through a huge and well-crafted lie. In this case, we also see the glaring contrast between Applejack's Element of Honesty and what the Queen so "dearly" represents - deception.

 

So, now you may know how the whole "villain" thing stacks up in the show. The Queen took a form that was a lie to invade Equestria, Discord loved laughing at (not with) other ponies, and Nightmare Moon was the master of dark magic. Each arch-villain so far has either been the polar opposite of one of the Elements or Harmony, or a very twisted and warped version of one of them. Ergo, based on this reasoning, we may safely conclude that one of the villains will represent twisted/polar opposite versions of Generosity, Loyalty, and Kindness.

 

Very well thought out. The Nightmare Moon one was taaaaad bit of a stretch but it works. (Though I'd like to see how you could twist kindness into something evil . . . you know what? Don't answer that!) Edited May 16, 2012 by Steel Accord

[Crystal Sparkle 344]

This fandom had some VERY intelligent people!

[MVC NVMXD JVRXD 2,406]

This fandom had some VERY intelligent people!

 

Like me!

But this analysis does make sense. But on a small scale, couldn't dragons (The hoarding kind), or even the dogs, be the opposite of Rarity?

[go away seb 367]

tl;dr

 

Nah, just kidding. I really never thought about these. I'm too lazy to dig for things like this.

[Akemi Homura 7,680]

Season three hasn't even begun yet, and I'm already making a case on Sombra being the polar opposite of Fluttershy's Element of Kindness. It remains to be seen what he'll do this time around, right after his return, but this guy's history tells us a story about a unicorn forcing a magical kingdom to become his personal toys and working for him. That alone is enough to give us a bulging contrast between Celestia's ideals and values of friendship and harmony and view Sombra as some kind of sadistic ruler and conqueror, which is exactly what he is based on what we already know about him. That gives the Element of Kindness an arch-enemy to mess around with.