Friendship is Card Games: Discordant Harmony · 11:13am Jul 30th, 2017
I know I said I wouldn’t review these episodes until they aired in the States, but that was before I learned that Discovery Family plans on reopening the season with another double feature on the fifth. I really don’t like doing multiple episodes per blog. Doing so dilutes the attention either gets and keeps me from exploring their deeper design potential. For those of you still gamely avoiding spoilers (and best of luck to you,) I’ll say no more here and link back to this blog next week.
I have many questions about those pillows. It’s nice to see Fluttershy making use of her freaky knowledge of sewing, but those…
Well, I’m shipping-agnostic outside of canon couples and adorkable purple humans, but that isn’t the sort of thing you do for just anyone.
Well, technically speaking, hosting the next tea party was Discord’s idea, even if Discord is taking credit for it.
I do love Discord’s casual overkill approach to the little things. Why simply will your hands and teeth clean when there are such vastly more entertaining ways of achieving the same result?
I’ll be honest, when Discord said he couldn’t wait until next week, I was expecting temporal shenanigans, not just rescheduling.
Huh. Reminds me of some of the conversations I’ve had with myself. Though I don’t have luxury of giving a body to each viewpoint.
I won’t lie, the jetpack into teleportation made me laugh.
I’m not sure how to feel about the zoot suit. Discord repeating gags never feels quite right.
That said, I do love how disappointed he is by the mundanity of normal goods. It isn’t like he goes shopping on a frequent basis.
Of course, that does raise the question of how the shopkeepers aren’t reacting to the draconequus in their midst, but this is Ponyville. Anyone who couldn’t handle the occasional chaos god passing through town moved out years ago.
… What exactly does Discord need validated? Beyond his ego, of course.
I love how Discord defines “better.” The simple and utilitarian are anathema to him.
Huh. I guess Pinkie doesn’t manifest all of her supplies from her will. Though I’m willing to bet it’s still a significant percentage.
Anyone else wondering about the swirling vortex in the floor of Discord’s living room?
… Oh. I guess it’s a hot tub. Assuming the piñata ever emerges.
Huh. Never expected to see Discord have a Twilight-level freakout. Though it’s neat to see him act as his own Spike.
Oh dear. The postpony from “Make New Friends but Keep Discord” is still there. At least the ambient chaos seems to be sustaining him.
I have more than a few questions regarding the relationship between piñatas and bats.
(EDIT FROM THE FUTURE: It took me months to get this pun. 
)
I actually like Victorian Discord. Imagine him in a Jane Austen novel.
Also, I only just noticed the smartphones most of the Discords are holding during the makeover montage. I wonder if Twilight’s ever told him about the human world.
Discord VIII is a thing of wonder and splendor and you cannot tell me differently.
I know I’m not going to see the Fluttersuit in my nightmares; if that were the case, I already would have. But it’s definitely a strong contender for the most disturbing thing to come out of this season.
It’s a chaotic day in the neighborhood, a gibbering day for a neighbor. Would you be mine? Could you be mine?
Hmm. Normalcy is relative. The idea that Discord considers himself abnormal as a base state… well, I suppose it is Discord we’re talking about, but for him to consider himself strange… I’m really not sure how to feel about this. Of course, this is coming from someone who has rarely felt uncomfortable in his own skin.
I love how Discord has done absolutely nothing to alter the rest of his realm.
I also love Fluttershy eagerly expecting chaotic shenanigans, especially since it shows how much Discord has helped her grow and expand her comfort zone. Imagine Season 1 Fluttershy confronted with the level of strangeness typical of one of her discordant tea parties. She’d have been curled up in the fetal position within minutes.
And that’s how Pinkie and two shopkeeps nearly killed Discord.
In all seriousness, this is a fascinating datum. By deviating so far from his portfolio, Discord is undoing himself.
Hmm. On the one hand, Discord can cause chaos through other means than snapping. On the other, hidebound as he’s become, it makes sense that he’d stick to the expected approach.
I won’t deny that this one dragged a bit, but the third act is a fantastic study of both the characters and their relationship. Plus, there’s the unspoken moral: Don’t try to change yourself just to be more likable, lest you destroy what makes you unique in exchange for an empty shell. All told, this was a lot of fun.
Now, on to my own creations:
Normalize 1W
Sorcery
Detain target creature. If that creature is black or red, exile it. (Until your next turn, that creature can’t attack or block and its activated abilities can’t be activated.)
“Conformity is death.”
—Discord
Clean House 2WW
Instant
Destroy all enchantments target player controls.
Chaotic 1W (You may cast this spell for its chaotic cost. If you do, choose its target at random.)
“Everything must go!”
—Discord
Stubborn Leak 2U
Enchantment
At the beginning of each player’s upkeep, that player puts a flood counter on target non-Island land he or she controls of his or her choice. That land is an Island for as long as it has a flood counter on it.
U: Remove a flood counter from target land. Any player may activate this ability.
Bury in Bits 1B
Sorcery
Destroy target creature. Its controller creates X colorless token artifacts named Gold, where X is that creature’s power. Those tokens have “Sacrifice this artifact: Add one mana of any color to your mana pool.”
Piñata Hunters 1B
Creature — Bat
Flying
Whenever Piñata Hunters blocks or becomes blocked by an artifact creature, Piñata Hunters gains deathtouch until end of turn.
Their fangs are optimized for tearing through papier mache.
1/2
Messy Divorce 3B
Sorcery
Destroy target creature. If that creature was paired with a creature, destroy that creature.
After his second wife, Gunther VIII decided to divorce and behead his spouses once he lost interest in them.
Feeding Fingers R
Creature — Chimera
Whenever an opponent gains life, put a +1/+1 counter on Feeding Fingers.
”There is absolutely no deeper meaning to my creating smaller versions of myself with Fluttershy.”
—Discord
1/1
Cerebral Detonation 2R
Sorcery
Buyback 2R (You may pay an additional 2R as you cast this spell. If you do, put this card into your hand as it resolves.)
Target player reveals the top card of his or her library. Cerebral Detonation deals damage equal to the revealed card’s converted mana cost to that player.
Desperate Chaos 2R
Sorcery
Madness 2R (If you discard this card, discard it into exile. When you do, cast it for its madness cost or put it into your graveyard.)
Discard your hand, then draw two cards. If Desperate Chaos’s madness cost was paid, instead discard your hand, then draw four cards.
Discord’s Consultants 3R
Creature — Chimera Advisor
T, Discard a card: Draw a card.
Whenever you cast a red spell, untap Discord’s Consultants.
”Finally, people whose judgement I can trust.”
—Discord
2/2
Talk Amongst Yourself XXRR
Sorcery
Create X tokens that are copies of target creature. Those tokens gain haste until end of turn. Exile them at the beginning of the next end step. The “legend rule” doesn’t apply to creatures with that creature’s name this turn.
Chaotic XRR (You may cast this spell for its chaotic cost. If you do, choose its target at random.)
Absorbent Sheep 1G
Creature — Sheep
Whenever a player casts a blue spell, put a +1/+1 counter on Absorbent Sheep.
”Ain’t much angrier than a sodden ram.”
—Applejack, Bearer of Honesty
1/3
Hip Roses 1G
Enchantment — Aura
Enchant creature
Whenever enchanted creature attacks or deals combat damage to a player, add G to your mana pool at the beginning of your next postcombat main phase.
Shelfbranch Sapling 2G
Creature — Plant
Defender
When Shelfbranch Sapling enters the battlefield or dies, draw a card.
”Don’t tell Princess Purple. I’m going to surprise her with it in a few decades.”
—Discord
0/3
Self-Folding Napkin 2
Artifact
1: Self-Folding Napkin becomes a copy of target creature until end of turn, except it’s 1/1.
Discord couldn’t determine the best way to make napkins more interesting, so he gave the napkins the ability to decide for themselves.
Chase Lounge 3
Artifact Creature — Construct
Chase Lounge blocks each combat if able.
Discord befriended Fluttershy, the Bearer of Kindness. Their passion inspired his most astounding works of wordplay.
3/2
Experimental Jetpack 3
Artifact — Equipment
Equipped creature has flying.
Whenever equipped creature attacks, it gets +X/+0 until end of turn, where X is its power. Flip a coin. If you lose the flip, that creature’s controller sacrifices it at end of combat.
Equip 2
Musical Ginseng 3
Artifact Creature — Construct
Flying
Sacrifice Musical Ginseng: Put a verse counter on each Song you control.
”I’m thinking of getting some loose tisanes for the orchestra.”
—Discord
1/1
Low Tea 2(ur)
Sorcery
Each player puts the cards in his or her hand on the bottom of his or her library in any order, then draws that many cards.
”Discord always has the most interesting things to talk about.”
—Fluttershy, Bearer of Kindness
Beehive Graft 2GU
Enchantment — Aura
Enchant creature
When Beehive Graft enters the battlefield, put a +1/+1 counter on enchanted creature.
Whenever one or more +1/+1 counters are put on enchanted creature, create a 1/1 green Insect creature token with flying and deathtouch.
Ceiling Volcano XRG
Instant
Choose one —
• Ceiling Volcano deals X damage to each creature with flying.
• Ceiling Volcano deals X damage to each creature without flying.
”Gravity’s more interesting when it’s optional.”
—Discord
One of the best Discord episodes, in my humble opinion.
Also, I keep waiting for someone to write a Discord vs. Mister Rogers story.
Taffy the piñata was one of the best things about this episode, in my opinion
There were a few little moments I disliked, like the repeating gags thing, but overall, this was definitely a high point of the season for me. I generally tend to like Discord episodes more than non-Discord episodes, so I'm thankful to have had this.
Perfect Pear next, right? That's another good one.
The big takeaway from this episode, for me, was that this is the very first time in the show that I can honestly, truly, say that Discord felt like a friend and not a villain. As someone who has been deeply skeptical about Discord's role in the show since they first let him out in season 3, that means a whole lot.
Man, I can't wait for next week. The Perfect Pear is so
ing good and I can't wait to see it in decent picture quality, and finally talk about it in public.
I just assumed that he has inter-dimensional travel abilities so he already knew about humans.
This was a low-key episode, especially for a Discord-focused one, but still enjoyable. It showed how far both Discord and Fluttershy have come since S2, and it was genuinely disturbing that Discord didn't care that he was fading away.
I can't want to finally talk about the next episode. It's easily one of my top three favorites in the entire series.
Not the best episode, but I found "Discordant Harmony" rather charming in places, and as someone who loves parallel realms and pocket universes, I really love visiting Discord's place. I also just really like the idea of Fluttershy just popping over to Discord's to hang out and have crazy fun, with the unspoken lesson that opening up and trying new things can be rewarding. And it was so cute to see Fluttershy creating chaos without chaos magic, just to help out a friend (although she seemed to enjoy it a bit too much considering that, you know, her friend was DYING RIGHT IN FRONT OF HER, but anyway).
I didn't notice that!
Oh man, I need a fic about this now. I rather liked that postpony in his first (or second?) appearance in MNFBKD.
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I'm pretty sure Mr. Rogers emitted harmony radiation that is highly toxic to Discord. On a semi-related note he may or may not have been one of the earlier incarnations of the God-Emperor of Mankind.
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She was definitely a bright spot, but I've already done a piñata card, and there are only so many ways to convey "hit this and prizes will come out."
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"The Perfect Pear" is indeed next. I'm looking forward to it as well.
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She is still Fluttershy. Focusing on Discord's imminent demise would've just sent her into an anxiety loop that would've had her unproductively fretting while he disintegrated. And then what would've happened to the pocket universe he'd created?
No, Fluttershy used her nervous energy constructively, and if that mindhacking herself to focus on the negative, you can't argue with the results. Especially when it proved to be working.
But yeah, I can't help but feel that Serendipity became a bit more canon.
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Ha, I was thinking of that! (But I forgot where I'd seen it
)
4618108 You can't hit her! she needs to marry Bryan the balloon animal!
Nah, within seconds.
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*Sigh* You know, I published a story that I could possibly be convinced to make a quasi sequel for about things that are stuck in the realm of chaos.
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Well I'm going to READ IT and you can't stop me