Can you forgive Discord after "Twilight's Kingdom"?

[BrilliantVenture 335]

Alright guys...I need to ask a serious question...it may not seem serious to you, but your answers will mean a lot to me.

 

Confused? probably...let me explain. 

 

We all know the story of Discord...

In "Return of Harmony" we saw him take away the very essences of our beloved ponies, we saw him turn the world upside down, ruin cherished objects of others, and just overall show no respect for people's boundaries, lives, or property.

 

But then, in "Keep Calm, and Flutter On" we saw the reform of Discord...we saw a lot put at risk, to trust in someone's word of "I've changed...I'm good now." 

 

And to be honest, it kinda failed...Discord betrayed everypony as soon as he got the chance...He had a change of heart at the end of course...but here's the thing...

 

Put yourself in the pony's hooves...if you had personal attacks done to you, by someone who only cared about benefiting themselves, even to the point of violence...and suddenly, he turns around and says..."I didn't mean it, you can trust me now...here's something (money, promises, items) as a sign of friendship"

 

Should you really trust that?

 

I mean...I believe strongly in forgiveness...but also, in being intelligent...

I'd forgive the individual, but avoid them, until I was absolutely sure there was a legitimate change...

 

 

I am asking all this, because I'm going through a situation right now that mirrors EXACTLY what transpired in "Return to Harmony" and "Keep calm and flutter on"...and I don't know if I should trust this person who contacted me saying "I'm different now, here, have these things." 

 

Mainly because in "Twilights Kingdom"...Discord did some terrible damage after being trusted again...damage that included the destruction of twilight's house, loss of power to every pony in equestria, and possibly lives/civilizations at stake. 

 

Is it really worth to take such a big risk just based on someone's word/action? Especially if they're known to be devious and untrustworthy?

 

What do you think?

[The Crimson Cross 7,533]

I think that the point they were getting at was that you should forgive someone even if they do terrible things.

I believe in second chances, heck, even third chances!

Need we not forget that Tirek would be ruling all of Equestria if it was not for Discords help! In that way he redeemed himself! In Twilight's Kingdom we saw that Discord had truly changed, and how much friendship meant to him.

 

But yeah, I know, generally Discord is pretty untrustworthy! 

Edited May 31, 2014 by The Golden Cross

[Nulln 755]

I don't even give second chances.  That's completely up to you though.

[Satsuki Kiryuin 1,155]

I like to believe the whole point of Discord betraying the ponies was to make Twilight learn a lesson in friendship, and as a result, get her own key for the box-thingy. But yes, I believe in second chances, and I'm willing to forgive people if I see true remorse and repentance.

[LordDiscord 289]

I can understand them being suspicious of Discord, but the terms of him being ''reformed'' was that he was gaining friendship in return. However, his reformation was not ''willing'' and was extremely forced. Had Discord not reformed or said '' hey I've changed I'm good now'' then he would have been turned to stone. Not only that but none of the Mane 6 besides Fluttershy, attempted to befriend or even test Discord and teach him about friendship, they treated him like a enemy and expected him to behave as if he was good. Discords betrayal was his proper reformation as Discord got to see first hand what friendship truly meant and how his actions affected others. You can't give someone a ''second chance'' or ''forgive them again'' if you never gave them the first chance nor forgiven them the first time, which was evident that the Mane 6 had not. 

[The Crimson Cross 7,533]

I can understand them being suspicious of Discord, but the terms of him being ''reformed'' was that he was gaining friendship in return. However, his reformation was not ''willing'' and was extremely forced. Had Discord not reformed or said '' hey I've changed I'm good now'' then he would have been turned to stone. Not only that but none of the Mane 6 besides Fluttershy, attempted to befriend or even test Discord and teach him about friendship, they treated him like a enemy and expected him to behave as if he was good. Discords betrayal was his proper reformation as Discord got to see first hand what friendship truly meant and how his actions affected others. You can't give someone a ''second chance'' or ''forgive them again'' if you never gave them the first chance nor forgiven them the first time, which was evident that the Mane 6 had not. 

 

Good point. I don't think I'd particularly fancy being trapped in stone for all eternity either!

[Adorkable 2,737]

I've said it several times already, but even though Discord had been slipping up, then went back to the 'dark' side in Twilight's Kingdom, I honestly with all my heart believe that Discord had truly learned his lesson this time, you can see it in his eyes.

 

Even though he betrayed everyone's trust, he gained a valuable lesson from it. I don't think he'll ever try something like this again.

 

As for the trust, you can tell a couple of times in the episode that Fluttershy feels betrayed by him. Flutters loved, cared for, and believe in him. I can't say the same for the other 5 of the Mane 6, but I'm sure they were all shocked.

 

It will take time, but I believe that trust can be earned back. After all, a key in friendship is having the strength for forgive.

 

I'm sure we'll hear plenty about it in the Season 5 premiere.

 

It gives me goosebumps just thinking about it. ^^

[Banul 3,831]

I think the mane 6 made the right call.

 

Would I do them same? I'd love to say that I would, but I don't think so. I'd be pretty pissed and not in the right state of mind for forgiveness. But maybe after a sufficiently long amount of time, I could forgive him. Just not right away.

[I used to be a stranger 7,994]

Everyone deserves a second chance (or seventy-seventieth, as the case may be), seeing as I myself am recipient of unmerited grace. To love truly means loving unconditionally, especially if it means significant risk of hurt.

 

It takes a lot more tough to wear your heart on your sleeves, than to always be ready to roll your sleeves up when the backstabbing comes around.

Edited August 4, 2014 by Blue

[Firehearted 120]

I wouldn't trust him anymore. He threw it out the window the second he got a grasp at power. He committed the equivalent of high treason against Equestria. If I was Celestia's shoes, or horseshoes rather, to Tartarus with him! He endangered the lives of thousands (Whatever the population of Equestria, no, the world is) with a mere whim. He put no thought in it and just said "Aw, why not!" As far as the country is concerned he is a traitor and criminal.

 

For the whole friendship thing I would throw him in the gutter. He betrayed everyone's trust with little care. I don't care he said sorry when it was over! If he did it now he could do it again. The mane six put way to much trust in him. Before you think I'm being a bit brutal put into consideration he has tried a less than peaceful takeover of Equestria at least twice, betrayed you friendship, and attempted to manipulate and destroy the mane six's friendship before.

 

In short, I wouldn't trust him anymore or mark him as a friend.

[Umbral Noir 1,556]

I would certainly give second or third chances to someone! In fact, I have a few times! Quite a few people have caused me a lot of problems or hurt over the years (physical and mental), but when some of them have had that "Discord reform" moment, I have forgiven them and we've moved on, actually becoming quite good friends!

 

In my opinion, we should always forgive and forget where we can, because would we not like the same to be done for us if we had been in the wrong?

[Ryzu 984]

One of my many flaws is I believe all people can change, even people like Hitler. I give too many chances, and sometimes there are people who abuse it, but you never know if they are actually trying to change.

[Planty 1,053]

To truly love someone you have to allow them to take advantage of you (if they choose). 

 

That doesn't mean to be completely stupid, and obviously if they literally show no sign in changing then you stop.

 

But in Dischords case, they have showed him love once and he became a friend with fluttershy, but only fluttershy as all the other ponies still resented him (which isn't fair, he was trying at this point).

 

Also twilight knew that he had pointed her in the right direction with books within the show, AND he also seemed to finally understand after what terrek did to him.

 

I would still give him a second/third chance!

[LordDiscord 289]

I wouldn't trust him anymore. He threw it out the window the second he got a grasp at power. He committed the equivalent of high treason against Equestria. If I was Celestia's shoes, or horseshoes rather, to Tartarus with him! He endangered the lives of thousands (Whatever the population of Equestria, no, the world is) with a mere whim. He put no thought in it and just said "Aw, why not!" As far as the country is concerned he is a traitor and criminal.

 

For the whole friendship thing I would throw him in the gutter. He betrayed everyone's trust with little care. I don't care he said sorry when it was over! If he did it now he could do it again. The mane six put way to much trust in him. Before you think I'm being a bit brutal put into consideration he has tried a less than peaceful takeover of Equestria at least twice, betrayed you friendship, and attempted to manipulate and destroy the mane six's friendship before.

 

In short, I wouldn't trust him anymore or mark him as a friend.

Yes he committed treason, but what reason had the Mane 6 given him to not do it? 5 out of the Mane 6 claims to be his friend, yet treats him like he should still be encased in stone. Discord is still new to the friendship scene and considers it more of a ''exchange'' rather than a natural feeling. If he isn't going to spread chaos then the Mane 6 needs to show him friendship (which all but Fluttershy) had not done. ''Keep Calm Flutter On'' only planted the seed of Discord wanting friendship, it did not reform him, he was still looking for a loop hole in the friendship ordeal, in order to spread his chaos, this is evident through out season 4. This is why, when Tirek offered him ''friendship'' and ''freedom'' Discord willingly took the offer. What reformed him was him realizing who was truly loyal to him, sure the Mane 6 might have hated him, but they would never betray him, that is the lesson Discord learned and this is why he felt remorse and guilt.

[Commissar Alexer 764]

I would never forgive him or put any trust on him.

 

Being lawful is completely against his entire nature. His entire existence revolves about causing chaos and disharmony.

He already tried to destroy Equestria threetimes, what's stopping him from doing it a fourth time?

 

 

Ask yourself a question: Would you forgive Adolf Hitler? Or Josef Stalin?

[Jeric 46,890]

I'm a huge fan of the Discord arc and how he was redeemed (and he was redeemed), but that isn't the question I suppose. I would love to say yes I would forgive him ... but the truth is that I may not have been able to so quickly of ever. I've felt betrayed before, and it has taken a lot longer to forgive transgresses than a few moments. If someone had directly put my family in danger, it would take a monumental effort on my part to bury the hatchet.

[Ribbonfree 2,384]

It's in my nature to personally forgive, but it sort of depends on who I was. If I was in the position of Fluttershy, having been the closest to him, I would have welcomed him back because when I believe in someone I don't lose that faith easily. But if I'd been any of the others I would leave it up to the Fluttershy character. It's not really my call to make if I wasn't one of the ones who treated Discord well from the get go.

[The Crimson Cross 7,533]

I would never forgive him or put any trust on him.

 

Being lawful is completely against his entire nature. His entire existence revolves about causing chaos and disharmony.

He already tried to destroy Equestria threetimes, what's stopping him from doing it a fourth time?

 

 

Ask yourself a question: Would you forgive Adolf Hitler? Or Josef Stalin?

 

It does seem very hard to forgive. Discord didn't kill anyone though, he just twisted reality and caused chaos. 

(much like some of the internet trolls around). 

Maybe I would give them another chance if they saved the world from a giant raging centaur though.    

[ggg-2 3,557]

*in character as my OC* after making him work at sweet apple acres without powers, then, yeah maybe

[Sunny Fox 5,961]

If feel that Discord had to betray the Mane Six in order to determine what is really important to him. His first reform was always a bit of a sticking point for me. Here,  he actually had to experience the consequences of his actions, in a way that left no room for self-delusion that Fluttershy's approval alone could be enough for him.

 

If you will, compare it to Avatar: The Last Airbender, and Prince Zuko's initial first turn-around, and his later, true, change of heart.

[Radiance64 7,059]

This thread appears to be discussing MLP:FiM in some way, shape or form. Thus, it has been sentenced to Show Discussion.

[Cassafrass 249]

I think that the point they were getting at was that you should forgive someone even if they do terrible things.

I believe in second chances, heck, even third chances!

Need we not forget that Tirek would be ruling all of Equestria if it was not for Discords help! In that way he redeemed himself! In Twilight's Kingdom we saw that Discord had truly changed, and how much friendship meant to him.

 

But yeah, I know, generally Discord is pretty untrustworthy! 

I agree with exactly this. You should always give people plenty of second chances! But if from that point they STILL are doing whatever they are doing then... it needs to end. :/ But I think Discord understood what he had done, and judging by how he acted at the end of the finale he likes Princess Celestia by giving her those flowers HA he seems to have had a big change in heart... hopefully for good this time.

[Pastel 7,630]

Ask yourself a question: Would you forgive Adolf Hitler? Or Josef Stalin?

This sums up the question very well.

Seeing what he has done, I wouldn't give him a second chance.

[ghostfacekiller39 23,880]

Yeahh, because it's obvious to me that he learned his lesson  

His first time through was obviously not a true reform - whether or not he was acting I don't know, but it wasn't sincere. However, reality slapped him in the face and he figured out that Rarity and the other 5 were the ones he could count on when it came down to it Of course, he wouldn't have learned that if he didn't backstabbed by Tirek, so it was somewhat needed to give him the push into true reform.
 

[JH24 385]

I would forgive him as well. You can really see it in his eyes and behavior, he shows sincerity and understanding, something that was lacking before in his interactions with the Mane 6 (except Fluttershy)

 

And to be honest, the Mane 6 (except Fluttershy/lesser extent Twilight) carry some of the blame as well, they remained distrusting/hostile and never made a real effort to befriend him. Not saying Discord would have chosen differently, but him stating to Tirek he mostly did it for Fluttershy shows the other Mane 6 could have done a lot better befriending Discord.

 

 

Twilight might have realized this when seeing Discord trapped inside the bubble. (And the others likely as well, as none of the Mane 6 and Spike gave Discord a hostile glance afterwards, instead they showed some level of sympathy and understanding)

Edited June 2, 2014 by JH24