#I think Discord could get himself in wrong in order to get Twilight in wrong. This idea is freaky funny to me

[kotomka]

Twilight: It's just misunderstanding!

Discord: We have robbed a plush toy store for a girls' party, there is no misunderstanding here

Twilight: THAT'S NOT TRUE!

Discord: Twilight, how do you think can i become a princess of lies?

[rational-mastermind]

Apparently I feel very talkative this morning and have really want some character analysis so I guess I might as well start with Discord.

Especially cause I hear there’s a lot of people who say he’s an ass. I simply don’t find that to be the case. From my perspective, Discord doesn’t immediately turn around and start being a good guy or start being any less full of himself because he’s a creature that’s been alive since the dawn of time and is emotionally stunted.

My reason why is under the cut.

As we all know Discord was first introduced as a stone statue, turned to stone by the Elements of Harmony. We all know the reason why Celestia and Luna had to use the Elements on him was because he was causing chaos and RIGHT THERE I’m gonna nitpick.

Discord’s ONLY CRIME that’s worthy of some kinda ultimate banishment is just being himself.

In Discordant Harmony it’s pretty damn obvious Discord’s entire being is nothing but the pure embodiment of chaos. That is to say ever since Chaos first came into existence (as it would have to as natural balance was being first created and Chaos is the balance to Harmony) Discord was already there. Discord’s done nothing more than simply follow his instincts, his very reason for being ALIVE, and when he doesn’t do that he fades away. Without Chaos, there is no Discord.

So he was only sealed up in stone because he was just being HIMSELF. He wasn’t even particularly threatening to harm anyone like Tirek or Nightmare Moon. He was just being his normal goofy self. I guess he would’ve enslaved everyone into his chaotic rule like Nightmare Moon, but really all he wants is to be crazy and weird. He NEEDS to do this. It’d be like arresting a man for breathing!

So why would I say he’s emotionally stunted? Well the guy’s hated for just being himself. No pony (but Pinkie and Fluttershy) likes being anywhere near him! When you’re left with the whole world against you you really only have two options: 1) curl up in a feeble position and cry, or 2) start laughing it off, embrace your weirdness, and come to think you’re better than everyone else because of it. (The AMAZING Celestia couldn’t turn a cloud into cotten candy, now could she?)

The ponies could all throw their horrible insults at him and scream and cry that they hate him, but at this point it’s what Discord expects and believes to be a positive thing. YES, ponies SHOULD hate him. That’s the natural ultimate order of things.

Suddenly you get one pony. One simple, little, unbelievably patient pony. The first time Fluttershy and Discord met and he’s more frustrated with her complacency than anything else. It’s the exact opposite of what his norm should be. Fluttershy should’ve tried to fight, save her dignity, SOMETHING.

Then he gets stuck with this same frustrating pony who suddenly makes him aware that oh. HE HAS FEELINGS. Something he’s never really had to deal with before beyond laughing maniacally at the chaos he creates. He can make an educated guess about how to fix his problems, being (ironically) more rational about the subject. But he doesn’t know how to deal with his feelings. He doesn’t know how to properly express them. Or how to receive other’s feelings.

Pinkie Pie comes bounding in and jumps in his arms and is all super excited to see him and it’s the most startling thing in the world to Discord he tries to get rid of it before it makes him feel any more uncomfortable.

He hates to feel embarrassed around Spike and Big Mac while they were playing their little D&D because it’s a game he doesn’t play and probably wasn’t any good at it.

He becomes SO passive aggressive with Tree Hugger because he’s jealous and quickly becomes hair triggered because he doesn’t know how to deal with it!

And he has to have some kind of proof to show that YES we are indeed friends. Simple hugs and smiles aren’t enough. As he does so with both Twilight (going to the edge of Equestria for a flower), and Tirek (The medallion that belonged to his brother). Which, by the way, he was DEVASTATED when Tirek betrayed him. I would say Discord’s more thinking than feeling, and in this case it shows. If he was more in touch with his feelings, he would’ve better guarded against any sort of betrayal and against the hurt that would’ve brought. (Because yeah, when you’re REALLY in touch with your feelings, ya learn how to guard that shit.)

Ultimately I think Discord’s just scared. Scared he’ll lose any more chances of making friends, losing friends he does make, or losing his closest friend. What if everyone just hates him for being weird again?

Discord can be a bit of a jerk, yes, but really it’s because he doesn’t know how else to be. And suddenly changing your million year-long lifestyle to accommodate for ONE pony (or hopefully more) isn’t easy. He’s had to take it in small steps at a time. He’s had to gradually learn how to interact and deal with social situations.

In comparison, Starlight, Sunset, and Luna, all knew what they were doing was wrong, they did know how to interact with others, or how to face their own emotions. They reformed and tried to be better a little faster than Discord, but each one of them still struggled with the aftermath like he did. Starlight got her chance to feel like she earned her redemption, Luna learned how to reach out to others, Sunset had to learn to live with it and turn that experience into something she can use to empathize with, with someone else. The biggest difference is that Discord is gonna take a little more time to come around fully because he’s stuck in a deep trench (rut/hole) than others.

TLDR: Discord is that really weird kid in the back of the class that no one likes and has learned to just cut off ties with everyone else and his own emotions at a young age. Once he started making a friend though, (someone who’s patient and consistent enough with his weirdness), he’s clung to them like a life line and has had to learn how to emotionally/socially grow up super fast and that’s actually harder to do than just admitting that you fucked up and promising to try to be a better person in the future.

[marvelandponder]

My Reason for Doing Anything: Because Cute

Happy Family Day, everybody! In order to celebrate today and the season seven spoilers we just go over the weekend, I thought we could just do something fun.

No real analytical insight here (she says, as if there normally is), I just want to acknowledge how cute the families are in this dang show. I could argue we’re doing this because the characters and their relationships are so central in what makes the show as wonderful as it is but... let’s be honest. It’s just because they’re cute.

Okay, so, before we start with that cuteness, let’s set some ground rules. Honourary/found families are in the running, and a family only has to be two or more characters. Small families are still families. Also, if it’s debatable that the characters themselves see that relationship as family, I’ll use my own judgement on whether they count or not.

Oh, and I should specify since we’re not taking this seriously in the slightest, the order is more a suggestion than anything. I would in fact really love to hear what you think the cutest family really is, but hey, I’ll keep blabbing whether you want to join in or not!

Special Spoiler Warning: Season 7 spoilers will be mentioned or referenced. Once specific episodes air in season 7, this list will be updated.

Honourable Mentions

Here’s the families that didn’t quite make the cut:

The Dash Family

The Sparkle Family

The Flim-Flam Bros

The Filthy Family

Cranky & Miltilda

Scorpan and Tirek

Sunburst’s Family

Discord and Fluttershy (an upcoming book entitled We Are Family suggests they might be considered familiy in some fashion, as well as a brief implication in the Luna and Discord Friends Forever comic; however, it has yet to be implied in the show proper)

Background/Side-Character Families

If I missed anyone significant, feel free to tell me so I can add it to the list!

#10. The Flutter/Breeze Family

Let’s start out with something not everyone can agree on: Zephyr Breeze is a fun character, if nothing else.

Like every family in MLP, Fluttershy’s family reveals a lot about her upbringing just by being who they are in the present. There’s no need for a flashback when you can plainly see Fluttershy’s coddling parents, and Zephyr Breeze’s bombastic, thoughtless personality and how he walks all over his family.

To some, this understandably makes Zephyr unlikable, but for others still, the comedy of his character lies in loving to... maybe not hate him, but certainly recognize just how unlikable he is. His silly self-absorption puts him clearly in the wrong in the episode, but to be fair to the guy, even when he’s extremely inconsiderate he’s never really malicious. You can tell he does love his family, he’s just a little focused on himself to show it well.

Between Zephyr’s fear of failure and Fluttershy’s fears of... well, a lot of things, it’s quite endearing to see Fluttershy’s character development pay off, and allow her to take the competent big sister role when coming home for a visit.

#9. The Armour-Amore Family

Really quick thought: it doesn’t seem like ponies always change their last names when they get married, but if they use Cadance’s name (and they did carry on that name scheme in a way with Flurry Heart), they would be the Amore or “Love” family. Just throwing that out there.

Ah, Shining Armor, Cadance, and Flurry Heart. One of the only families we’ve seen built from the ground up---and in real-time, nonetheless!

Even though the world’s cutest plot device there has garnered a fair bit of controversy, I’d still personally say this new family is pretty dang sweet. They’re currently living out a happily ever after of sorts, although still proving that comes with its fair share of struggles and quirks.

This is definitely a family founded on love. In fact that’s probably why Flurry Heart is so special to begin with. Together, her parents wield the power of love, so who knows what they can achieve working together, as a sweet, loving family.

#8. Rarity’s Family/The Belle Family

Another Note: Their mom has some kind of cookie-related cutie mark---is that their family theme? Sweets? Because I’ve been struggling to figure out how family names work in Equestria and that’s the best I’ve managed to find for these four

Who says there can’t be any fun in “dysfunctional?”

Now he’s a family with a lot of character, even if we don’t technically really know half of them. Rarity’s parents have only had a speaking role once, in Sisterhooves Social, but wow, did that one appearance pack a punch!

With their unfashionable mid-western designs and hokey Minnesotan accents, you can instantly tell what Rarity’s relationship with them must’ve been like, just because of the contrast between them.

Even better, of course, is one of the three primary sister relationships in the show: Rarity and Sweetie Belle.

I really struggle with not putting this higher because of them. They so expertly capture the subtleties of an argumentative but loving sibling relationship. How Sweetie looks up to Rarity, but that also puts her in her shadow. How Rarity’s responsibilities can even make Sweetie’s well-meaning failures frustrating. They’ve certainly had to grow quite a bit to be as close as they are now, and that relatable struggle is what makes this family all the sweeter.

#7. Celestia and Her Students

This one was the hardest to justify. Because it would be one thing if the only reason I wanted to include it was based on my own silly headcanons (which I could do but I don’t want this list to just be personal choices), but I feel like there’s been enough evidence to back me up here.

Celestia’s a motherly character by nature, so it doesn’t come as a surprise when that comes through in her role as a mentor. But I think what clinches it is how to some extent, she really did help raise Twilight and Sunset. If nothing else, it’s sort of comparable to a nanny, I guess, but even then that doesn’t seem to cut it. In the comics, Twilight’s been shown to have had other teachers throughout her schooling, but Celestia’s been a constant part of her life ever since she got her cutie mark---and even now that she’s graduated as a full-grown adult.

And don’t get me started on the mother-daughter parallels in Sunset and Celestia’s relationship, or what little we’ve seen of it. The added depth that comes with knowing how meaningful that relationship is to them both only makes the fracture between them more filled with The Feels. I swear, the fandom’s all but made a petition to DHX to show us their reunion.

They both look up to her and want her approval in their own ways, and that... kills me. Slowly.

My gut tells me there will be those who argue that even if it’s a meaningful relationship, it’s not necessarily classified as family, which is true. Outside of fan-works, neither Twilight, Sunset, nor Celestia have explicitly referred to each other family in any real way. But, hey, I did say honorary family counts, and if the subtext is arguably there, that’s close enough for me!

#6. Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo

Pure cute factor winning out!

I was having a hard time with the order of the 8-6. They’re three extremely different types of relationships, so it’s hard to set them next to each other and compare, but I think I made the right call.

Because this one was a relationship that was theorized about/anticipated by fans for the first two and a half seasons---spawning countless “Scootalove” stories and art to combat the “Scootabuse” going on at the time (our fandom has weird phases). So when it finally actually happened?

For even more context, I used to think that if Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo actually were sisters, Rainbow actually wouldn’t be all that kind to her. Lauren Faust originally thought Rainbow would make a bad sister, too (I think because there’s a difference between choosing a sister and having to grow up with one).

But, I think by that point in the series, Rainbow had matured enough to be that role model and big sister Scoots needed, which made it all the more satisfying to see! And ever since, Rainbow’s still managed to surprise us with how tender and genuinely open she’s willing to be with this little squirt of hers.

On the down side, I feel like Scoots has picked up a tiny bit of Dash’s ego since they started hanging out more, but it’s all worth it for the moments they now get to share.

#5. The Cakes and The Pies

This is such a cheat it’s not even funny. But, the reason I grouped them together is the main reason they’re both so adorable: their relationships with Pinkie Pie.

On the one hand, you’ve got the Cakes, a young couple who adopted this wandering party-planner into their home. Later, they were blessed with two, adorable, trouble-making twins who absolutely love Pinkie.

Technically, you could question whether or not they see Pinkie as family, but come on. Come on.

And on the other hand, there’s the Pies. Wow, they’re delightful! For a family as dull as dishwater, they’re really anything but with their unique personalities and unquestionable love for one and other. I’d love to see more of them! Special shoutout goes to Maud and Pinkie’s relationship, of course, because I don’t know if there’s anything cuter than how much they clearly love each other.

That’s some real cute stuff right there.

#4. Twilight and Spike

Are they mother and son? Sister and brother?

I don’t know if we’ll ever have their relationship defined beyond “number one assistant,” but dammit if they aren’t an adorable pair. Spike was Twilight’s first friend. Twilight raised Spike ever since he hatched.

Even now that Spike finally has a dragon friend in his homeland, there’s nothing that can erase the meaningful bond these two share. Heck, Spike’s worst fear is Twilight sending him away, not needing him anymore, but as she tells him in season 3 opener, there’s absolutely no chance of that fear coming to pass.

What could be cuter?

#3. The Apple Family

You knew they’d be pretty far up here, didn’t you? After all, what could be more adorable than a family who (for whatever reason) lost two central members and had to reform even stronger?

Check out Days Gone By for some proper Apple family feels, BECAUSE WOW. I don’t know about you, but finally getting to meet their parents in the upcoming season has me hyped! It’s currently unclear whether the deaths the staff have confirmed and hinted at in the show will be retconned or not, but I can’t help it after waiting for this for so long!

It’s especially cute because we know how important family has always been to the Apple clan, even before the parents left the picture. The Apple family spans all the way across Equestria, from sea to shining sea, and all of them love each other dearly.

Tight-knit is definitely the right word, and the more times we’ve explored the relationships in this family, the more we’ve seen why they value family so much. They’re all apples to the core.

#2. The Royal Sisters/ The Royal Family

This one’s sort of a catch-all, isn’t it? In fact three of the other families on this nonsensical list can qualify as different offshoots of the royal family. Shout-out to Twilight’s B.B.B.F.F!

If it bothers you, that’s fair, but even if we’re strictly talking about Luna and Celestia, they still easily steal this spot. Their story was the original backbone behind this series, the first redemption arc, and an on-going source of guilt and pain. After a thousand years, their reunion must’ve been so special for them, and I think we’ve found that out more and more in hindsight, getting to know how deeply they love each other and the complex emotions involved in their tragedy (turned comedy, I suppose).

I think that’s part of what makes these characters so enduring. But more on that soon... (in another editorial, and hopefully in season 7 with a Celestia episode!)

For our purposes here, it’s more than enough to see these two ruling together, with their subjects, their friends, and their family around them.

#1. The Mane Family

Seriously, how could I not?

Yes, yes, you may think this is the biggest cheat of them all, but hey, way back in season 2, Applejack referred to them as honorary family. I don’t see why it shouldn’t count.

The best part of all this is that everyone can define this family differently. Want to keep it just the mane 6 and Spike? Go for it! Think characters like Discord, Starlight, Sci-Twi and/or Sunset should be included? Sure! Who’s gonna stop you?

Sometimes the most important family in your life are the people you’re related to, but as the old saying goes “the blood of the covenant is thicker than the water of the womb”---meaning, sometimes it’s the family you choose that matters most.

And I think that’s what’s so special about this show, you know? The friendships in it can be as deep and meaningful as traditional family. That’s definitely something worth celebrating.

Editorials here, just for you! Here’s the latest three, so you don’t even have to leave the comfort of your dash:

Rainbow Dash’s, Cadance’s, and Pinkie Pie’s Editorials

Year of the Pony

Only official art used, so no awesome vector artists to credit here! 

Family Appreciation Day x10