Nice Job Breaking It, Hero
Twilight felt good. She felt a sense of wholeness and completeness, a feeling that she had always pursued in everything she did. It a feeling that told her that she was good. That she was very good, not to mention wiser, as well as a guiding light for those who didn't know better. A "guiding Twilight" she could say.
Twilight was glad that she had exposed Trixie's deception, although seeing Starlight run off crying was an unfortunate consequence of the revelation, but she felt that Starlight would get over it evenutally, and realize that she, the Princess of Friendship, and her teacher, was right, as usual.
Twilight hardened her gaze on Trixie, making her tone serious as she said in a chastising tone, "Well, you won. I hope you're happy!"
Twilight waited for Trixie's angry response and vows of vengeance, but was taken off guard when the show-mare sighed and said, "Looks like the Great and Powerful Trixie is back to a solo show."
As Trixie put a hoof to her forehead, Twilight felt herself becoming confused, unable to comprehend this strange subdued reaction from this trickster. Unsure what to say, as Twilight could get out was, "Trixie?"
Trixie then immediately composed herself and turned to face Twilight, saying in a bitter tone, "...Which is exactly she likes it! Thank you, Princess Twilight, for getting rid of that annoying pony who wanted to be my first friend!" Twilight walked down the stairs out of reflex as Trixie pushed past her. The show-mare turned around and said with anger in her voice and tears in her eyes, "I am not sad at all! I definitely don't feel as if my heart is breaking into a million pieces!"
Trixie closed the curtain with her magic, leaving Twilight to turn away, not really sure of what happened. She looked down at the ground as she tried to make sense of what occurred. Trixie was angry, as Twilight knew she would be at having her plot foiled, yet something didn't seem right. Twilight couldn't figure out why Trixie was crying like that.
"She was acting almost like. . . she regretted loosing Starlight," Twilight said to herself, "But that doesn't make any sense. Trixie never wanted friends in the first place. It just couldn't be, so. . ."
Twilight's thoughts were interrupted by the sound of slow clapping approaching her. She looked up and saw Discord walking over to her, smiling and clapping just as he did back when he first broke free, only this time his clapping sounded normal and not replaced by random sounds.
"Well played, Princess of Friendship," Discord said in an overly respectful tone, "That was an excellent performance, if I do say so myself!"
Twilight growled, her mind already buzzing with confused thoughts and certainly not begging for me. "Discord, please. I'm not in the mood for-."
"Oh, come, come, now, Twilight!" Discord said as he slithered over to the alicorn's side and threw his lion arm around her, "Don't be so modest. Your technique was exquisite! so much better than anything I could have done!"
Discord teleported in front of Twilight and hung down five puppets from his fingers. One puppet was of Applejack looking at a pile of talking apples, the second was of Pinkie Pie being surrounding by smiling balloons, the third was of Rarity lugging a boulder on her back, the fourth was of Fluttershy with hypnotic eyes, and the fifth was of Rainbow Dash staring into a swirling cloud with rainbow lighting bolts jolting out of it.
"I mean, seriously," Discord said in a more cynical tone, as if criticizing himself, "The lengths I had to go through in order to temporarily break up your friendships! I had to use fake visions, illusions, tricks, blatant lies, and brainwashing to split you girls up!"
The puppets suddenly all disappeared in flash and were replaced with puppets of Starlight and Trixie laughing together.
"But lo and behold. . ." Discord said with an adoring smile.
A puppet of Twilight appeared in between the two puppets, and they both turned away from each other and starting crying actually tears and dripped onto the ground below them.
". . .you shatter their friendship without casting a single spell!" Discord said with a gleeful chuckle.
The puppets disappeared and Twilight suddenly found herself reclining on a couch. Discord sat in a chair next to her wearing a pair of thick round framed glasses, holding a pad and pencil in his hands. "Now tell me," Discord said, "How did you do it?"
Indignant and furious, Twilight got up quickly and asserted, "I didn't do anything! Trixie said-."
"Oh yes, I heard the whole conversation," Discord remarked nonchalantly as he took the lenses out of his glasses, stacked them on top of each other, and put them into a portable CD played he suddenly had in his hands in place of the pad and pencil. He pushed play and the conversation played out once again.
"This is exactly why I didn't want you to make friends with Trixie."
"A-ha! You still don't trust me! But guess what, princess? It doesn't matter if you want to give me a second chance or not. Starlight had to choose between you and me, and she chose me! Your pupil chose me, so ha! I win!"
"You win? That sounds like you just made friends with me to beat Twilight."
"Exactly! . . . Wait! I mean, no! I got caught up in the moment. I like you. Beating Twilight is just a bonus. *gasp!* Saying that didn't help, did it?
"I should've known. Nopony else in Ponyville wanted to be my friend. Why would you?"
"Wait, it's not like that! I am your friend. . ."
"There! You see!" Twilight said with a grin.
"Sure! You got Trixie to say just right thing to make Starlight feel betrayed!" Discord said cheerfully.
Twilight's jaw dropped, "What!? No, that's not true! It. . . it was all a trick! Trixie admitted it!"
"-no! I got caught up in the moment."
"Stop playing that!" Twilight demanded.
"Whatever for, Princess of Friendship?" Discord said in wide eyed innocence, "Everything turned out exactly the way you wanted. Starlight and Trixie are no longer friends."
"No because of anything I did!" Twilight said defensively, standing firm on all four hooves and she stared up at the draconequus, who was no chuckling and shaking his head with closed eyes.
"Oh, Twilight, my dear. You need to stop teasing me! We both know that lifetime of always being second rate would lead to a very competitive nature. So, you simply capitalized on that nature in order to make it look like Starlight was just a trophy Trixie wanted to win from you." Discord leaned close to Twilight, and with a malicious grin, said, "All you had to do was say this:"
Discord pressed play on the CD player.
"This is exactly why I didn't want you to make friends with Trixie."
"And you turned it into yet another Magic Duel, one that Trixie refused to loose, and perhaps even felt she already won. You just needed to get her to put it into easily misunderstood words while Starlight was in earshot. So you set the trap, and Trixie took the bait. Hook, line, and sinker!"
As Discord spoke on and on, Twilight felt heart sink lower and lower. Her mouth was open slightly and her eyes were widened with horror.
"Did I really. . .NO!"
Twilight both thought the word and said it out loud as she flew up to Discord's eye level and said, "NO! That's not what I did, Discord!"
Discord's eyebrows were raised as he stared back at Twilight. Then he frowned and said, "Well then. . . what did you do."
Discord pressed the button again.
"This is exactly why I didn't want you to make friends with Trixie."
Twilight actually moved back in shock as Discord suddenly crushed the CD player to powder in his eagle claw. He dusted his palms off and said, "Ugh! That line sickens me Twilight. Absolutes sickens me. And do you know why, Twilight Sparkle? It's because there are two things in the multiverse I hate more than anything. Order. . ." Discord then glowered at Twilight with a look he had only given to one other person, Lord Tirek, and then he said in tone filled with loathing, "and hypocrisy."
Twilight landed back onto the ground, taking a step away from Discord as he growled with his fists clenched and at his sides and said, "I. Hate. Hypocrites. I hope I never hear anyone say that hypocrisy is a kind of disharmony or chaos, because it isn't. Chaos is freedom and randomness and an escape from rules. Lies can sometimes be truths and vice versa. But to swear by something or preach about something or to claim you have some kind of values, and then just turn around and go completely against them. That is something far worse."
Discord put his lion paw over his chest and said, "I told Celestia that I don't turn ponies to stone. Why? Because that goes against who am I. There is nothing chaotic about being turned to stone, held completely still and unchanging in a petrified state. Harmony and friendship, however, are thing I can better identify with, seeing as friendship is often chaotic, and Harmony requires a balance between order and chaos. So I can honestly say that I am no hypocrite."
Discord shoved his face close to Twilight's so that their noses were nearly touching, and he said in a low tone, "And that's a little more than you can say, Princess of Friendship. Oh by the way, how is Princess Luna doing? How is Sunset Shimmer doing? How is Gilda doing? How am I doing?"
Twilight had a look of complete mortification and shame on her face as Discord backed off and gulped down a carton of chocolate milk, leaving the chocolate milk behind, of course. After sucking down the cartoon, he let the milk splash onto the ground, which didn't explode this time. Rather, it just mingled with the tears of the puppets in a murky pull.
Discord smacked his lips and sighed, "Ahhh. I needed that. I was in a really not so good mood just then, as you could probably tell. I actually wanted to comment on how you lied to your precious Princess Celestia's face about those three 'friends' Starlight made, and how all you saw in this whole situation was a way to make yourself look good in Celestia's eyes. . ." Discord took out a large golden pocket-watch with Trixie's Cutie Mark on it, looked at it, and said, "Buuuuut, Trixie's career is going to end real soon if someone doesn't do something, so how about I just tell you how things are gonna be. I'm gonna stick here and wait in the wings so that if somepony doesn't step in, I'll just snap Trixie out of the Manticore's mouth myself. That way, you'll be free to just walk out of here and forget all about Trixie without worrying about her fate. Perhaps her success will get her some friends who aren't yours."
Discord tossed the pocket-watch up and down a few times, grinning as he said, "Or. . . you can stop being a hypocrite. . ." Discord caught the watch deftly, and he shook his head, saying, "But it's not my place to judge. It's all up to you."
And with that, Discord teleported away in a flash of light.
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A cathartic read, to be sure, but I still prefer to think that Twilight had that moment of clarity on her own (and without framing her in a darker shade of gray for the purpose of painting a picture to vent at).
Discord wasn't wrong.
This could use a quick proofread, but he's not wrong.
I wonder how long Discord's been waiting to be able to give a 'The Reason You Suck' speech to Twilight.
0-0
Ever heard of Plato's noble lie? If Starlight couldn't remove cutie marks without her own cutie mark, then she needed some means to keep order.
7175549 Since the moment he met her.
And the same with me, I want to give that speech too.
verry good story i deeply enjoyed it i still like twilight but this episode really did show 1 of her bigger character flaws if shei s not the one to do things she dont trust it
7175580
The Noble Lie is a lie believed by all members of society. It is not deception.
The Noble Lie in Starlight's village was the belief that they were better off without cutie marks. It's the key concept that held their community together.
fucking beautiful.
I enjoyed this.
Wow.
Wooooooooooooow.
Very nice breaking speech by Discord.
Very nice.
Discord's just savagely wrecked Twilight.
Yay, another fic where Twilight gets shat on to put Discord up on a pedestal. Yay. Isn't this fun. Why am I not surprised a fic like this came out. What does this make Discord's betrayal, I wonder? How about that mess from What About Discord?, huh? I guess it's fine as long as he's doing it, because he's an ex-villain. He's hilarious. He gets a pass on everything.
Oh! What about the fact that he tried to teach Twilight about jealousy despite prior experience with jealousy? You know, almost sending Tree Hugger to another dimension, huh? But let's ignore that, because fic writers need to remind themselves Discord's marble pedestal needs shining with Twilight's tears. That's what I'm getting out of all this. Discord's a hypocrite. Pure. And. Simple.
...
GET WRECKED, TWILIGHT!
... Yeah, no. Sorry, but Seto says no.
No one was entirely in the right or the wrong in that episode, really. Twilight may have been overbearing and downright stalker-ish about trying to get Starlight to change her mind, but Starlight still walked straight away from the dinner she was going to attend with her and Princess Celestia without saying a single word in the hours between afternoon and evening. And Trixie thought the best thing to do with her new friend Starlight was attempt a trick that would prove invariably fatal if not pulled off exactly right, using a Teleport Other spell with no direct line of sight BETWEEN EITHER POINT. And then try and shove that in Twilight's face as proof that she's better than her.
Of course, these are all believable flaws. Specifically, Twilight may have learned about giving ponies room to grow before (Fluttershy, etc.), but we have to remember that she's never actually had her own student before. She's taught the Cutie Mark Crusaders some things, but they weren't her personal students. So naturally, she'll want to prove that she's worthy of being a good teacher, just like she'd want to prove that she's capable of being a good Princess. And throw poor Twilight's Celestiphobia into the mix, where she's extremely afraid of disappointing her mentor in any way, shape, or form, and yeah, it makes perfect sense to me that she would try to micro-manage Starlight. But also, do keep in mind that Twilight said Starlight needed to go find a new friend all on her own, before. She clearly trusted her to do that herself, rather than tag along and try to pick them out for her (she only did that after she learned that Starlight had met Trixie). The point is, Twilight's methods may have been screwed up, but her motivation was protection, NOT jealousy or some desire to just use Starlight as a way to ingratiate herself to the Princess, as Discord seemed to be implying for a second there.
Discord. Is the last draconequus. On the face of the planet. Who should be lecturing someone on hypocrisy.
He openly and gleefully committed treachery with Tirek because it was fun. Because Tirek somehow convinced him that he had a better deal in mind. Was there a forgiveness episode or speech for that? No. Only a skit at the end. If none of the Mane 6, including Fluttershy, have even brought the matter up since, it's safe to say that this isn't just a "forgive-and-forget" thing, no matter how much smiling may be going on. The scars are still there. Oh, and let's not forget his jealous rage at Fluttershy making a new friend in Tree Hugger, to the point where he brought the Smooze in as a "friend" and then completely ignored him for the entire party up to when he LOCKED HIM IN A ROOM, and then tried to throw Tree Hugger into a dimensional rift.
Clap. Clap. Clap.
I liked this story. While the other commentors have fair points about Discord being a hypocrite, I was really bothered by Twilight's reactions to the situation in this episode. I think she needed someone to talk sense into her, especially since in The Crystalling she learned about giving her student room to grow, but forgot about that here. Her motivation in this is mostly contempt for Trixie and a fear of disappointing Celestia.
That's not to say I don't understand her. Trixie may have apologized, and Twilight accepted, but I never got the idea that she forgave Trixie truly. I think those two are a pair that may never get along. (I'd hate to see Starlight trying to hang out with them at the same time. I've been down that road, Starry. It's unpleasant.) They may be civil at best. As for her fear of Celestia...I dunno, you'd think she'd have outgrown that by now. But then again, it's only been a year. This would take time.
...Well that became a rant. Oops. Point is, I think Twily needed someone to talk sense into her. Discord works. It also clears up some things that bothered me, such as Twilight just sitting there with Starlight as Trixie is about to die. Seriously, at least this gives the idea that maybe Twi had a backup plan in case talking with Star failed.
Alright rant over. Overall, I liked this! Could use some proofreading, but still a nice read. Also loved how you used Discord's powers here.
7178813
Don't forget actively using his friendship with the other ponies to actively poke and hurt Twilight, and then gloated about it which rather pissed off every other pony in the group.
7178813
7179392
Both of you, thank you.
That's the biggest problem with this whole thing--the worst possible character is calling her on this and having him act like the biggest hypocrite. Twilight knows all of the above already and wasn't able to bring it up because it suited the story to have Discord just shit all over her. Like many, many other fics that get added to the Accusation Fic collection, the side that is not "on board" with the writers just get completely dumped on with no defense. You could have had the Princess call her out on this--there was a fic like this that did just that. Heck, there was a fic that did an Accusation well, involving the same characters, and it's actually part of my favorites because it handled itself like a debate and not a straight-out "get rekt scrub, Discord is so much better than you in friendship and personality" fic.
And that's what this story boils down to.
Discord calling someone a hypocrite? Though I love the guy, he really has no room to talk even if he's trying and still learning. And Twilight, I've said this before and I'll say it again now she did have reason to be worried about Trixie. This is exactly why I don't like these kind of fics, because the character that is being accused never has any chance to defend themselves.
7179687 Honestly, it would have been a lot less hypocritical if it was somepony other than Discord. But if I had to say something nice about him, at least he didn't drive Trixie to commit the TV-Y7 equivalent of suicide.
Yeah, while you're still bashing a non-canon story based on this episode, don't forget the actual episode had the Princess of FRIENDSHIP ruin a friendship which lead to a pony to almost killing herself.
God I hated this episode. I really needed something like this. Accusation fics are my bread and butter.
7182158
jasmyneacannick.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/the-blame-game-pointing-fingers.jpg
7178813 Discord is not a hypocrite. He's jealous, selfish, and chaotic, but not a hypocrite. He admits that he is chaotic, so he's no hypocrite. Discord never said his way of life was peace and love. Sure, he lies, but being a liar is not the same as being a hypocrite.
7183471 Professing that he cares about the Mane 6's offer of friendship towards him, that he is especially affected by Fluttershy's selfless trust in him to the point where he himself felt so bad about hurting her that he wanted to change (Keep Calm and Flutter On)... and then turning around and betraying that trust by selling them all out to Tirek? For the sake of fun? What is that if not hypocrisy? That is the exact definition Discord just stated in this fic:
Discord initially went into his friendship with the Mane 6 fully intending to take advantage of the situation; including getting a promise from Fluttershy that she wouldn't use her Element of Kindness against him if it came to using the Elements on him once more. He warmed up to them over time, however, and found that he genuinely did want their friendship. He may not have been "preachy" about it like Twilight or Celestia might have, of course, but each has their own style. What matters is that Discord accepted it in his heart.
And then did a complete 180 when he became convinced that Tirek would make a better friend than them.
What Discord did was profess that he wanted the Mane 6's -- that he wanted Fluttershy's -- friendship, and then do something entirely to the contrary. That isn't just lying. That's going back on his own promises to his new friends. That, by the literary and his own definition, is straight-up, undeniable, cut-and-dry hypocrisy.
Wrong. Discord is chaotic, yes, but that is reflected in his way of going about things, and his inner distaste for what he views as the stifling grasp of order and law. But if Discord is the spirit of Chaos, then what's that make Celestia, who's had to maintain a peaceful, law-abiding society for over 1000 straight years? Celestia doesn't hate Discord or anything. She actually seems to find him very enjoyable company, even for coming in and taking the Grand Galloping Gala for an unexpected turn. Discord seems to like her, too.
Because Discord is chaotic doesn't mean that he isn't capable of abiding by any kind of rules or common decency. He willfully embraced the Mane 6's offer of friendship after a period of reluctance, and wasn't forced into it at all. When he made that choice, he took on a great responsibility. He's not used to responsibility, I think, which is why he strays around quite a bit and has episodes of overreaction or outright betrayal. But the important thing is that he took that on himself. He decided that he wanted friendship even knowing the rules, and the consequences should he screw up.
And he willfully screwed up, too, going back on his own word. He may never have said that his way of life was "peace and love" or anything, yes, but Rainbow Dash's way of life isn't books, Rarity's isn't farm work, Applejack's isn't fashion, Fluttershy's isn't the stage and limelight, etc. Do they all care about that? No. They accept each other regardless of those differences. Thus they accepted Discord, chaos and all. And Discord accepted them in turn.
I think that the message Discord is trying to convey is poorly handled.
If I may make a suggestion:
-Have Discord say to Twilight that she is becoming more like him, have Discord acknowledge that he is a hypocrite by saying "it takes one to know one", then have him hammer in the points he made. Because we all know Twilight doesn't like Discord and would hate the thought being anything remotely like him.
Simply brilliant!
(clapping with praise) brilliant, just brilliant. i wonder if their is a sequel to this?
New headcanon!
I first read this story on Fanfiction. I am so glad to see it here.
Real talk:
This episode pretty much cemented my hatred of Twilight. Not only does she commit the ultimate hypocrisy by deliberately saying she doesn't like dwelling on the past only to treat Trixie like the very definition of evil because of her past. Not only does she treat Starlight as though she was a stupid idiot because she wanted to be friends with Trixie. Not only does she make Trixie lose Starlight as a friend by opening past wounds and pouring salt in them. Not only did she very nearly drove Trixie to suicide-
SHE GOT AWAY WITH IT WITHOUT ANY NEGATIVE CONSEQUENCES AND WITHOUT LEARNING ANYTHING!!!!!!!!!
When Discord, of all creatures, is the voice of reason (and chaotic reason is a hallmark of the roles played by John de Lancie), you'd best not ignore it.
7198826
Yeah: it's called the remainder of the episode; the very next scene was Twilight addressing how she was mistaken, and for Twilight to give Trixie another chance, before she commits implied suicide as they overlook the show.
I'm a huge Fluttercord shipper but this almost made me want....uh....Dixie? Discord/Trixie? Nice of him to be willing to save Trixie himself.
I'm years late to when the story came out, but it is incredible. It really does let Discord say what I'm feeling and say it in an entertaining way that only he could. It's spectacular.
7899982
Starlight at least has an excuse for not immediately interfering since she wasn’t sure if Trixie was telling the truth at that point so she probably thought Trixie would survive. To be fair Twilight did mend Starlight and Trixie’s friendship back together so I’ll give her that.
Considering how Discord insulted Starlight Glimmer "power hungry" in Matter Of Principals, this did not age well.
7899982
Yes, yes, 100% yes to all of this.