Entry #5- Friendship isn’t Chaotic

-Warning: Spoilers for Episodes with Discord in them-

I love trickster types in stories- even view myself as a bit of a trickster- so it isn’t surprising that I would love Discord. The spirit of Chaos isn’t as loved by ponies as much as he’d like to be, so I’d like to talk a little about why that is.

Of course, when he was just a villain in The Return of Harmony he didn’t care if anyone liked him. Much like a little kid, he only cared about himself and what he liked. Now, it isn’t a bad thing to care about yourself, but when you force your wants onto another being without caring about their desires, that’s just being selfish. Nobody really wants to be friends with someone selfish like that.

But in Keep Calm and Flutter On, Fluttershy’s given the task to befriend and reform Discord. In real life terms, that is kind of like saying, “Hey, remember that charismatic cult leader that brainwashed your friends, bringing out their worst attributes and tried to take over the world? Well, I know we put him away for a long time, but I’d like you to take him under your wing and turn in into a functioning member of society.” Only a really kind person would agree to that. And Fluttershy was the only pony- sans Twilight, who wouldn’t listen to him in the first place- who resisted his manipulations at first. Discord had to force his magic on her to make her mean. So if Discord can’t directly change Fluttershy with his magic in a effort to be friends with her, that kind makes her the perfect pony for the job of reforming him.

As small children, you can decide to be friends with someone, and then BOOM! You’re friends. But as you grow up, you become more aware of the things that make you different, and it makes you doubt whether you or/and the other person could get along with each other. Celestia tells these grown mares ‘be friends with Discord’, and it’s really more of a shaky truce.
Making friends isn’t a chaotic thing- it’s a structured pattern of sharing interests and spending a certain amount of time together, where eventually a friendship grows as you begin to trust that the other being will not to dislike you for your flaws. Elbert Hubbard says “A friend is someone who knows all about you and still loves you.” The Mane Six only really knew the surface of Discord, and they didn’t like (or in the case of Fluttershy, was afraid of) that being.

I think they each had their own reasons for disliking him, and you can break their reasoning down to their Elements of Harmony. Pinkie Pie didn’t like that he took her friends’ laughter away. Apple Jack knew he was a liar, and couldn’t trust he wouldn’t lie again. Rarity saw he selfishly changed the world to suit his desires and couldn’t abide that. Rainbow Dash was loyal to the Equestria she knew and hated him for changing it. And the Element of Friendship herself, Twilight Sparkle, is lawful and organized pony, so of course a chaotic reality would upset her.

So in Twilight’s Kingdom when Discord betrays them all, it’s not surprising that the mistrust in them would strengthen. Rainbow and Twilight would be especially angered- they may not have considered him a true friend, but he betrayed the loyalty of Fluttershy. Fluttershy, as Discord’s only true friend at that point is kind enough to forgive him at once, but this is the point when Discord actually starts thinking of the rest of the Mane Six as friends and actually begins to forge bonds with them.
You can see that they’ve actually been working on their relationships when they don’t flat out snarl at Discord in Make New Friends But Keep Discord as he goes around trying to get an invite to the Gala. And I liked What About Discord because a weekend sharing interests together really can strengthen a relationship. We can tell that Discord still is himself because he enjoys the positive attention he’s getting, and gets to confuse Twilight at the same time. He’s still a friendship newbie- friends don’t make other friends feel small! And Twilight herself still has things to learn she can’t control how friendships work.
So I hope this trend of Discord and the Mane Six getting to be closer friends continues in the next season. I wonder what Discord thinks of Starlight Glimmer? Will he worry about her taking his place? I guess he learned not to be jealous of other friends in Make New Friends But Keep Discord, but she is kind of stealing his stick of ‘reformed villain turned friend’. Looking forward to the new season!