Love and Tolerance! Right?

[BalanceBrony 259]

Love and tolerance! The battlecry of Bronies everywhere, and the moral high ground which we argue is but one reason why the show is great. It's covered numerous different times in the various episodes. But there is one place where this message seems to fall short: Villain episodes. Any episode where a villain comes into play, we see the show's so-called message completely shot down.

 

In the Nightmare Moon arc, Nightmare Moon had to be cleansed of the force which corrupted her. But in this case, I will say that this was acceptable. Whatever was influencing her turned her into a tyrant, and with tyrants you need to be forceful. No problem here. I just didn't want anypony saying "What about Nightmare Moon... Derrr."

 

Discord... I have loads to say about him. He is actually going to be granted a thread of his own. But for our purposes here, I only need to point out the what here. The how, why, and should will be elsewhere. But the what is this. For having a different lifestyle and paradigm, he had only two possible paths. He could stay true to himself, and be imprisoned for ever and/or forced to reform, or he could change his own nature. It sure is tolerance to hate somepony for their lifestyle and sense of humour.

 

The Changelings and Chrysalis... These guys are forced by their nature to feed on love. It is injustice to take away their natural right to self-preservation. No attempt was made to try and reach a compromise. They were simply banished for something they couldn't help. This is on par with various civil rights and social issues which I won't detail, but we all know how this kind of thing would be considered wrong in today's society, without at least trying to find a middle ground.

 

So, given these notable examples, what do you guys think? Do you think these episodes have kind of undermined the show's message a bit? Do you agree that injustice is really this prominent in an otherwise great society?

 

Now, let's have discussion!

[Scootalove 10,684]

We don't exactly follow that motto, in fact as a community sometimes we do the exact opposite even when we're not going to accept someone because they have a different lifestyle.

[Cobalt Thunder 32]

I know I had already put something, but I wanted to change it. I do not believe that the show is meant to fully teach love and tolerate everything. I believe in love everypony, but not everything they do. Because there are many things that are wrong. There is a reason for everything the mane six must do. It all boils down to a personal belief in a moral code. They all are trying to be the best ponies they can be, and that is where the small villains like Trixie come in. They also must protect Equestria, and the happiness of all the ponies. They also do love all the villains in a way because they don't inflict the worst punishment.

Edited October 24, 2013 by Cobalt Thunder

[The Prime Reaper 179]

There is a concept that created all the concepts in both reality and fictionalism.

The concept of REASON AND ORDER!

Everything in this universe is ordered and there is no such thing called chaos exsist (It runs by the law of nature).

 

In contrast with fictional concept about love and tolerance, the concept is created by a human who was created by the law of nature. If you think deeper, the concept of love and tolerance which had converted many villains in MLP is merely based on the concept of reason and order.

 

Reason = Love

Twillight Sparkle is always revealing the lessons she learned today to "love" the villains. 

The love of reasoning the villains to convert him into harmony which representing order.

 

Order = Tolerance

The final state of defeating the villains. Simply based on a cliche of order restored!

That is when you can tolerate the villains wherever he or she banished or died.

 

In all universes, there is always ruling by one concept!

The concept of Reason and Order.

[Frosty Fire 12]

Okay although I understand where you're coming from, I don't agree with you. you're disregarding the fact of what these characters have done. All nearly destroying equestria at will. The fact is love and tolerance can only be effective in most situations, but in cases of extremes such as those, tolerance isn't enough.

 

Now not only that but I believe an extent of love and tolerance is present in the first two cases. Rather than completely banishing or even something worse, the mane 6 are tolerant and loving enough to return luna back to, well luna. Even in the case of discord the mane 6 show tolerance and love. In a later episode they are willing to love discord to help reform him (which is still unclear if they were successful) but regardless. Now with the changelings, the mane 6 really had no other choice. With the stake of equestria on the line, dire measures were needed. Like the common saying goes "desperate times call for desperate measures. "

 

And lastly, you have to consider that a vast majority of the show, if not every episode, in one way or another, personifies those traits.

 

So to say that love and tolerance is completely thrown out the Window, id have to disagree with you. Because it is still present in those episodes and vast majority of other episodes still present love and tolerance

[Pomfritter 165]

In my opinion, their disregard for kindness in these instances is perfectly okay. The villains in the episode do some pretty extreme things, so it is understandable that they are dealt with accordingly. But when you look at characters such as Discord, it was told that he was treated well before he became evil, but he wanted to rule. Then after he was dealt with Celestia gave him his chance, which is why instead of being frozen, he is being watched after by Fluttershy. They keep their kindness and openness in the back, dealing with the problem before taking their standard approach with them. 

[BalanceBrony 259]

In my opinion, their disregard for kindness in these instances is perfectly okay. The villains in the episode do some pretty extreme things, so it is understandable that they are dealt with accordingly. But when you look at characters such as Discord, it was told that he was treated well before he became evil, but he wanted to rule. Then after he was dealt with Celestia gave him his chance, which is why instead of being frozen, he is being watched after by Fluttershy. They keep their kindness and openness in the back, dealing with the problem before taking their standard approach with them. 

But had he not conformed, he would've been forced to anyways. Very tyrannical if you ask me. And tyranny is not love and tolerance.

 

 

There is a concept that created all the concepts in both reality and fictionalism.

The concept of REASON AND ORDER!

Everything in this universe is ordered and there is no such thing called chaos exsist (It runs by the law of nature).

 

In contrast with fictional concept about love and tolerance, the concept is created by a human who was created by the law of nature. If you think deeper, the concept of love and tolerance which had converted many villains in MLP is merely based on the concept of reason and order.

 

Reason = Love

Twillight Sparkle is always revealing the lessons she learned today to "love" the villains. 

The love of reasoning the villains to convert him into harmony which representing order.

 

Order = Tolerance

The final state of defeating the villains. Simply based on a cliche of order restored!

That is when you can tolerate the villains wherever he or she banished or died.

 

In all universes, there is always ruling by one concept!

The concept of Reason and Order.

Interesting thoughts, but I do have some disagreements. I do not see the line between reason and love. I would appreciate a little more explanation.

 

Regarding order, I do not see how order follows the Natural Law. Natural law states many different things, depending on who you're reading. But the common holding is that natural law states that everypony has their natural right to self-preservation, and are acting rightly so long as they are preserving themselves. Further, I would argue that existence, being Balanced in its natural state, is an Ordered Chaos. Their are laws which govern it, but at the same time things can happen quite randomly.

 

As for Order being equated to Tolerance... I would disagree most strongly on this point. Order, if it is pure, as in the show, will result in oppression, which is the opposite of tolerance. We see the oppression of the various villains and, in the case of the Changelings, we see Order conflicting natural law and being used to take away the Changeling's natural right to self-preservation. It is not only intolerant with the Changelings, but outright Unjust.

[Misty Shadow 7,088]

I'm not a huge fan of the phrase to be honest. I am all for love, don't get me wrong, but there exist things that simply can not be tolerated. And the evil things that the villains in the show do is an example of that. The Mane Six can't just sit back and "love and tolerate" them while they spread vile across the land or try to take over Equestria and expect them to go away. Not to mention that if that was how they dealt with them...that would suck.

 

Also, for the record, I never remember that being the set-in-stone message of the show. I thought that the term came from the 4chan boards.

[BalanceBrony 259]

I'm not a huge fan of the phrase to be honest. I am all for love, don't get me wrong, but there exist things that simply can not be tolerated. And the evil things that the villains in the show do is an example of that. The Mane Six can't just sit back and "love and tolerate" them while they spread vile across the land or try to take over Equestria and expect them to go away. Not to mention that if that was how they dealt with them...that would suck.

 

Also, for the record, I never remember that being the set-in-stone message of the show. I thought that the term came from the 4chan boards.

Harmony, which is undoubtedly a concept within the show's themes, involves tolerance. Harmony is the state of peacefully coexisting with all aspects of existence, and tolerating things, no matter what your own paradigm is. Opression is contradictory to tolerance, and therefore the idea of Harmony by extension. I would also argue that no true attempt at compromise was made. It was "I don't care about your nature, it is against our Order, change, or begone." Discord can't help that he was spirit of Chaos and the Changelings needed love to survive. No attempt was made to try to accommodate their nature, which they couldn't help. It was conform, or be punished. Opressing them for who they were is an act of intolerance and injustice, and contradictory to Harmony. The Equestrians should've at least tried to give some leash to these "villains" who were born the way they were.

[Noazark 67]

Here's a video that explains the situation quite good:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lh6UOPH6_i8

I think this guy pretty much says what I think, you should give this a watch. Talks about some good stuff.

Edited October 24, 2013 by Noazark

[FNGRpony 655]

well again I'm not about love and tolerance.

 

but i wear the black hat.

good people should be about love and tolerance.

 

So i can take advantage of them

(heh).

and that's just it.

 

when i hear the term love and tolerance i hear " sucker is born every minute."

Love (as wonderful as it is) causes you to do dumb things.

 

Love causes you to abandon common sense.

forsake values.

 

I would be reluctant to teach my children if i ever had them to "love everyone."

in fact........

i wouldn't. 
Tolerance and love are no more Best friends for ever than hate and ignorance are BFFs.

[BalanceBrony 259]

Here's a video that explains the situation quite good:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lh6UOPH6_i8

I think this guy pretty much says what I think, you should give this a watch. Talks about some good stuff.

While tolerance is a message continually banged into us, I still think it is a good one. Even people like Trixie and Diamond Tiara, while thoroughly irritating, should be treated with no less than an indifference. Most ponies, if taught through careful logic why tolerance is good, would take up the mantle of tolerance themselves. Obviously existence isn't perfect. There will be people who just refuse to see the logic of tolerance and harmony. Does that mean we shouldn't teach it all the same? We can't reach world peace. Should we stop trying? And that's my thought. People should be taught tolerance, but also given the tools to deal with people who will simply not embrace the notion. But as I said, most people will tend towards tolerance, as it is more efficient than conflict.

 

well again I'm not about love and tolerance.

 

but i wear the black hat.

good people should be about love and tolerance.

 

So i can take advantage of them

(heh).

and that's just it.

 

when i hear the term love and tolerance i hear " sucker is born every minute."

Love (as wonderful as it is) causes you to do dumb things.

 

Love causes you to abandon common sense.

forsake values.

 

I would be reluctant to teach my children if i ever had them to "love everyone."

in fact........

i wouldn't. 

Tolerance and love are no more Best friends for ever than hate and ignorance are BFFs.

The Hobbes is strong in this one.

 

But as for your point. People should be taught love and tolerance, but also taught how to deal with those who would take advantage of them. But I would argue that people, being logical creatures, in interest of self-preservation, would avoid conflict as much as they can, which in the end is all that tolerance really stands for. It is most efficient and reasonable to try and work with others where one can, and tolerate them where one can't

[FNGRpony 655]

While tolerance is a message continually banged into us, I still think it is a good one. Even people like Trixie and Diamond Tiara, while thoroughly irritating, should be treated with no less than an indifference. Most ponies, if taught through careful logic why tolerance is good, would take up the mantle of tolerance themselves. Obviously existence isn't perfect. There will be people who just refuse to see the logic of tolerance and harmony. Does that mean we shouldn't teach it all the same? We can't reach world peace. Should we stop trying? And that's my thought. People should be taught tolerance, but also given the tools to deal with people who will simply not embrace the notion. But as I said, most people will tend towards tolerance, as it is more efficient than conflict.

 

The Hobbes is strong in this one.

 

But as for your point. People should be taught love and tolerance, but also taught how to deal with those who would take advantage of them. But I would argue that people, being logical creatures, in interest of self-preservation, would avoid conflict as much as they can, which in the end is all that tolerance really stands for. It is most efficient and reasonable to try and work with others where one can, and tolerate them where one can't

 

Hobbes?  Hmm?  elaborate?

 

And tolerance is fine.

But tolerance is a far.. far... farrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr cry from love LOL.

tolerance (as seen on south park)

isn't love.

what your talking about is Love and acceptance.

 

Tolerance simply means just that.

"I put up with you."

Acceptance means I embrace you for who you are.

You might tolerate your cat scratching you now and again.

You might tolerate your kid listening to death medal.

 

doesn't mean you accept it ^^.

[BalanceBrony 259]

Hobbes?  Hmm?  elaborate?

 

And tolerance is fine.

But tolerance is a far.. far... farrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr cry from love LOL.

tolerance (as seen on south park)

isn't love.

what your talking about is Love and acceptance.

 

Tolerance simply means just that.

"I put up with you."

Acceptance means I embrace you for who you are.

You might tolerate your cat scratching you now and again.

You might tolerate your kid listening to death medal.

 

doesn't mean you accept it ^^.

Hobbes was  a political philosopher who came up with a model of how a nation should govern, based on his view of human nature. To him, humans were naturally conniving, purely interested in themselves, willing to do anything to get a leg up. Your comment that blind faith in tolerance leads to exploitation reminded me of him.

 

And I agree that there is a difference between tolerance and acceptance. Acceptance is a bit out of reach in large-scale application. The best we can hope for is widespread tolerance.

[Anadu Kune 668]

With Discord it was made pretty obvious that he was pretty cruel. His "life style" caused the ponies misery and destroyed any semblance of comfort and order. It is also said he was tyrannical "ruling over Equestria in an eternal state of unrest and unhappiness". He clearly enjoyed twisting the ponies' souls into a corrupted mess and forcibly transforming animals into monstrosities. Its clear that discord isn't simply this poor soul that wants to live differently in peace at that point, he wants to rule and has done so before. This seems evident as we see him reveling in his chaos upon a throne.

This is also very evident in the case of chrysalis. She has an entire musical number devoted to how she has dreamed of conquering an entire civilization. She revels in her deception and in using Shining armor as a tool. Chrysalis made clear that she went around forcibly conquering civilizations draining their love. She also made clear that this wasn't merely about finding sustenance for her people. To quote her "My fellow changelings will be able to devour so much of it that we will be more powerful than we have ever dreamed of". She wanted power and control and reveled in that power and control. Heck she sang about it twice, in the reprise she says this "Every pony Ill soon control. Every stallion, mare and foal. Who says a girl cant really have it all." Chrysalis wanted it all, not merely sustenance, but control and power. Whilst you claim no attempt was made to accommodate Chrysalis I would claim no attempt could be or should be attempted. Chrysalis is painted as a tyrant as well. Using subterfuge to infiltrate unsuspecting cities, then subjugating them forcibly draining them of their love. Heck the ponies didn't know of Chrysalis's presence until it was announced and she made obvious that she was taking over. At that point the prime concern is defending the safety of Canterlot.

In these case the Elements of Harmony were used as a last resort. In the case of Nightmare Moon and Discord they were the only option. It made clear that the Elements of Harmony were the only known method for dealing with Discord and Nightmare Moon. In the case of Chrysalis it was a last resort as Celestia had been defeated and Luna was absent. In all cases when the attacker's behavior is examined its pretty obvious that they are not good people and needed to be dealt with for the safety of all who reside in Equestria.

[Thrashy 2,799]

 

 

The Changelings and Chrysalis... These guys are forced by their nature to feed on love. It is injustice to take away their natural right to self-preservation. No attempt was made to try and reach a compromise. They were simply banished for something they couldn't help. This is on par with various civil rights and social issues which I won't detail, but we all know how this kind of thing would be considered wrong in today's society, without at least trying to find a middle ground.

 

This is something I can't bring myself to agree with. Yes, they have a right to self-preservation, but not at the expense of another species. Instead of asking for any kind of assistance, Chrysalis instead skipped straight to the "conquer and devour" route, trying to take both what her children needed (love) and what she wanted (power) by force. If that doesn't merit banishment, I don't know what does.

 

Imagine if a bum ran up and stole your wallet. You could argue that he needs the money more than you, and has a right to self-preservation. But if for whatever reason you'd been carrying, say, $1,000 in your wallet? Would you just stand back and "tolerate" him, or would you chase him down and beat him with a truncheon until he gave you your hard-earned cash back?

 

My point is, if Chrysalis's main concern was for her race's survival, she should've just humbly besought Celestia's assistance. Instead, she just said "Pffft, asking is for plebs. I take what I want." Not cool, any way you look at it.

[Mywas 687]

Why nobody mentioned that they KILLED somepony on screen?

They din't even try to reason with him, they killed him without a second thought.

You know FOR KIDS am I right?

[BalanceBrony 259]

Why nobody mentioned that they KILLED somepony on screen?

They din't even try to reason with him, they killed him without a second thought.

You know FOR KIDS am I right?

I didn't bring up Sombra because he was undoubtedly a tyrant. I could see no justification for the enslavement of the Crystal Ponies. Sombra was a standard unicorn, so he had no special needs. He does not contribute to Harmony in any way. As such, I saw no injustice in the Equestrians' actions. Where one's self-preservation is at risk, and no amount of reasoning will work, the only option is force. Which brings me to the Chrysalis scenario.

 

With Discord it was made pretty obvious that he was pretty cruel. His "life style" caused the ponies misery and destroyed any semblance of comfort and order. It is also said he was tyrannical "ruling over Equestria in an eternal state of unrest and unhappiness". He clearly enjoyed twisting the ponies' souls into a corrupted mess and forcibly transforming animals into monstrosities. Its clear that discord isn't simply this poor soul that wants to live differently in peace at that point, he wants to rule and has done so before. This seems evident as we see him reveling in his chaos upon a throne.

 

This is also very evident in the case of chrysalis. She has an entire musical number devoted to how she has dreamed of conquering an entire civilization. She revels in her deception and in using Shining armor as a tool. Chrysalis made clear that she went around forcibly conquering civilizations draining their love. She also made clear that this wasn't merely about finding sustenance for her people. To quote her "My fellow changelings will be able to devour so much of it that we will be more powerful than we have ever dreamed of". She wanted power and control and reveled in that power and control. Heck she sang about it twice, in the reprise she says this "Every pony Ill soon control. Every stallion, mare and foal. Who says a girl cant really have it all." Chrysalis wanted it all, not merely sustenance, but control and power. Whilst you claim no attempt was made to accommodate Chrysalis I would claim no attempt could be or should be attempted. Chrysalis is painted as a tyrant as well. Using subterfuge to infiltrate unsuspecting cities, then subjugating them forcibly draining them of their love. Heck the ponies didn't know of Chrysalis's presence until it was announced and she made obvious that she was taking over. At that point the prime concern is defending the safety of Canterlot.

 

This is something I can't bring myself to agree with. Yes, they have a right to self-preservation, but not at the expense of another species. Instead of asking for any kind of assistance, Chrysalis instead skipped straight to the "conquer and devour" route, trying to take both what her children needed (love) and what she wanted (power) by force. If that doesn't merit banishment, I don't know what does.

 Yeah. Elsewhere somepony else pointed at that Discord represented a Chaos/Evil alignment. As it stands, we don't know if he will be allowed to remain chaotic, so long as he is good. I would need more information before I re-evaluate Discord's treatment.

 

As for Chrysalis, I will give you that she was a tyrant. She actually was tyrant over the Changelings themselves. But what about the Changelings, without Chrysalis? Equestrians, as the model of good ponies, should have extended the olive branch. After the immediate threat was defeated, some attempt should have been made to reason with them. It is injustice to just leave them to rot without at least trying to find some way to live peacefully with them.

[Winona the Dog 1,981]

You have a point with Changeling's without Chrysalis but from the looks if it; they were getting just as much enjoyment as thier queen was. It was only natural for the ponies to react violently against them without compromise because of the suddeness of the event.

[Thrashy 2,799]

As for Chrysalis, I will give you that she was a tyrant. She actually was tyrant over the Changelings themselves. But what about the Changelings, without Chrysalis? Equestrians, as the model of good ponies, should have extended the olive branch. After the immediate threat was defeated, some attempt should have been made to reason with them. It is injustice to just leave them to rot without at least trying to find some way to live peacefully with them.

 

The thing about that is, we don't have a concrete idea of how the changelings would behave without Chrysalis. History tells us that most people are happy when their dictator dies, but the changelings seem more insectoid in nature than anything else - in the same way a bee that asserts herself as more aggressive than the queen of the hive can usurp her position, so could an even more aggressive changeling replace Chrysalis, in theory.

 

On the 'pony morality' end of things...well, all I can argue to that end is that the fate of the fallen is up to the victor. Of the three choices the ponies could've made regarding the defeated changelings - try to help them (good), exile (neutral), or outright exterminate them (evil) - none can really say for sure which course of action is the "right" thing to do, as there is so much gray area that it's not even funny. It'd all be up to individual interpretation; some ponies may argue "they're not inherently evil, we can coexist!" while others would justly argue "they tried destroy our very society, and they'll try it again the first chance they get!" Neither argument can really be disproved right off the bat, so an impasse could be reached very quickly on an issue like this.

 

The take-home question would be, where do you draw the line between giving someone the benefit of the doubt and ensuring that they can never harm you again? Some people are more forgiving than others...and whereas some will see forgiveness as a good quality, others will see it as foolhardy in certain instances. It really is a surprisingly complex question, given what we're dealing with here - a cartoon about rainbow horsies.

Edited October 24, 2013 by Lowline

[imlizyeah 56]

I would have loved for a middle ground to be reached for the changelings. I think a lot could have been taken from the concept far more than they did.

 

As for discord I think they were too lenient. Yes, he is the spirit of chaos. Chaos is who he is...

but psychopaths are psychotic not by choice but because that is who they are as well. just because they can't help it doesn't mean that they should be allowed to create mass havok (or in the case of a psychopath, go killing people).

 

Love and tolerate, sure but you still need to protect the innocent. And the crazy abominations discord did to not only the world but the inhabitants is clearly not acceptable.

[Gay Bird 420]

The motto "love and tolerate" doesn't come from the show at all. In fact, the show is almost the opposite. It teaches that some things are not to be tolerated. Specific examples being boast busters, Griffin the brush off, and Almost every other episode where there is some kind of lesson learned. The show would be quite boring and maybe even bad I'd all it did was teach you to love and tolerate everyone.

[Anadu Kune 668]

Yeah. Elsewhere somepony else pointed at that Discord represented a Chaos/Evil alignment. As it stands, we don't know if he will be allowed to remain chaotic, so long as he is good. I would need more information before I re-evaluate Discord's treatment.

 

As for Chrysalis, I will give you that she was a tyrant. She actually was tyrant over the Changelings themselves. But what about the Changelings, without Chrysalis? Equestrians, as the model of good ponies, should have extended the olive branch. After the immediate threat was defeated, some attempt should have been made to reason with them. It is injustice to just leave them to rot without at least trying to find some way to live peacefully with them.

Well we know we will see more of Discord, but as of now with all of the current info we have on him, the actions of the ponies has been logical and really more than fair, with possible exception of Twilight who was tending too far towards the absolute logical side in Keep Calm Flutter on. We need to evaluate things based off their current status. We cant reliably go around saying they treated Discord wrong when as of right now there is very little evidence of it. 

 

Why? Why would they do that? Its almost certain they have enough to survive off of. Chrysalis seemed focused on power and control it was directly mentioned that she had done this before. So its most probable that they are not being left to rot, if anything they are being left to what they had already conquered in lands as of yet unknown to us. Sending in emissaries to rationally talk to the changeling armies is probably one of the most problematic and hassling things to think of. For one thing it would have to be done with stealth as we already know Chrysalis herself is pretty much evil. We can also see that a great many of the changelings must be loyal to her otherwise its unlikely they would follow her into such a conquest.So they would have the task of identifying those not loyal to Chrysalis. They would also have to find a way of detecting a changeling in disguise. Assuming they do this they have to screen all those they sent out. If ongoing communications continue this would probably have to include screening the whole of Canterlot. All this to extend communications to a group who are confirmed to be hostile and extremely dangerous. 

 

With all the info we have it would seem that the Equestrians are more than tolerant and are in fact extremely merciful. They only use force as an absolute last resort and in every case it was against an extremely powerful entity that did or potentially could pose a threat to the entire planet. Love and tolerance is great and it is a big part of Equestrian society. However dealing with god like being of evil and an army of shape shifting beings bent on subjugating all of your kind has to be the breaking point. If it wasn't I don't know what would be. To be honest going through it their actions against chrysalis were far too lenient. Now shes just roaming the lands conquering other people. 

Edited October 25, 2013 by Anadu Kune

[Zygen 6,065]

I don't really think because they have episodes involving chaos, disharmony, and challenges vs villains and stuff that it undermines the message of the show.

 

The show doesn't have to deal with Love and Tolerance all the time necessarily.

 

And really the show doesn't even have that as the message all the time necessarily, technically the main message of the show is friendship and the magic behind it(Hence the show's name.)

 

Technically love and tolerance is a thing created during the 4Chan days, so it doesn't technically have direct correlation with the production of the show, but more with the fandom.

 

So no, i don't believe the shows main message is undermined, its main message is friendship, not love and tolerance, and that always prevails to an extent in the majority of episodes, unless the episode simply doesn't deal with more then 1 pony.

 

And again, i don't think every show has to be super obviously centered every episode around the main message, it just can't contradict it, and again with friendship being a magical thing being the message I don't think that is undermined.

[caramba2654 601]

I just want to leave a general thought about the "Love and Tolerance" motto:

 

Bronies are more like pirates. Even though love and tolerance is in the Code of the Bronies, it's more of a guideline.