Why did this pattern even exist in the series?

[Jerry246 43]

Why do all the Villains of G4 consistently view Friendship as "weakness"? Are the even aware that the live in a world were the Power of Friendship is a very powerful magical force greater than their own? It's power has been demonstrated multiple times and yet they continue underestimate and scoff at it even after getting their asses repeatedly kicked by it multiple times. Sometimes they even continue to verbally belittle and scoff at Friendship and calling it weakness while simultaneously and actively being pummeled into the ground by it.

Every time a villain in the comics, books, games and the cartoons calls Friendship "weakness", it makes me facepalm at the brazen idiocy on display as i know of the multiple demonstrations of how powerful Friendship is, not to mention how cookie-cutter their views are since they sound exactly the same.

[SharpWit 2,755]

Limited knowledge here, but perhaps the lack of friends means word of the power of friendship hasn't reached them yet with the same clarity? Word traveling down a grape vine will never reach the raisin below.

I'm sure you've read of these situations, but there is usually the typical addition that the villain was betrayed in the past by those they considered friends, on top of the general greed in not wanting to share the spoils.

[Snoopy Fan 2,871]

To be fair, Cozy Glow viewed friendship as power in Season 8.

[DJShy 911]

7 hours ago, SharpWit said:

I'm sure you've read of these situations, but there is usually the typical addition that the villain was betrayed in the past by those they considered friends, on top of the general greed in not wanting to share the spoils.

 

As a specific example of what this guy said, didn't Tirek look down upon friendship after the perceived betrayal by his brother Scorpan?

 

I imagine that, even if he did understand how powerful the magic of friendship was, he'd still spitefully look down upon it after such an act by someone so close to him.

[Beep Beep I am a BEE 1,754]

I think Starlight Glimmer viewed it as something that would cause only pain and grief in the end (if ponies had the choice to leave or free will in general) because Sunburst left her behind.

[Dawnshine Wonder 981]

They're repeating a pattern that also exists in our world, people with brazen bigotry view empathy as a weakness, the problem is people like that are often rewarded for treating people badly monetarily or politically, and so they continue to do it, if they are rewarded for bad behaviour, then they never truly learn how to treat a friend well.

Didn't Elon Musk say empathy is a weakness? he is wrong of course. However flawed that claim is, there are people in real life who truly believed that even though historically, as social animals, altruism helped us survive and even push out some of the worst people.

I would not call that bad writing to have villains in My Little Pony FIM who believe empathy holds them back or whatever, however with Discord, it was clear there were attempts to reform that villain, but it doesn't seem like creators of the show really followed through with that storytelling, they kind of left it up to interpretation as to whether or not he was truly reformed, considering he continued to behave recklessly and selfishly toward Ponies beyond season 4.