Help! My Heart isFull of Pony! - Discord · 8:29pm Apr 24th, 2019
The latest premiere has a whole lot of juicy stuff going on, ripe for the talkin' about! But I feel the need to hone in and focus on Discord for a minute. He's come a long way.
As we all know, Discord started out as a bad guy - the ultimate foil to the magic of friendship. ("Discord" after all, is the opposite of "harmony").
He was reformed (via questionably ethical manipulation) by Fluttershy. Afterwards, he gradually became friends with the others, and in many ways, grew to be "even more annoying than the old Discord," as Applejack put it. Being new to friendship, he then proceeded to make rather a lot of mistakes. He betrayed his real friends, and he in turn, was betrayed by fake ones (Twilight's Kingdom).
He threw fits of jealousy and rage (Make New Friends But Keep Discord). He manipulated others (Three's a Crowd, etc.). And fumbled comically in every conceivable way.
Somewhere down the line, however, he started finding his center. The show never made a great big production out of it. Discord simply grew.
In "The Break Up Break Down," Discord used his powers to set the scenario for Big Mac and Sugar Belle to get back together. Sure, he had his own motives of course, but still, he helped a friend set things right. He cared in his own Discorderly way. In "Best Gift Ever," Discord's gift suggestion was a prank - classic Lord of Chaos - but there was method to his madness. He had meticulously orchestrated the perfect gift for Fluttershy and, in so doing, also tied up one of the chaotic loose ends in their holiday catastrophe. Discord made a happy ending possible.
Then of course, there was the Season 9 premiere, "The Beginning of the End," where Discord faked an injury as an excuse to give an impassioned, soul-stirring speech about friendship - all to teach the Mane Six a lesson that they should have already have known. Each of the Mane Six, through their virtue and strength, has tremendous personal power. When the six of them combine, and use those virtues in harmony, they're unstoppable, regardless of whether or not they have tree relics on their necks.
This speech was the moment when Discord self actualized - when he became more than the Lord of Chaos. In terms of narrative archetypes, Discord assumes the role of a full-fledged benevolent trickster God. This one prank taught the Mane Six more in 20 seconds than Celestia had in years. Why? Because words of encouragement mean a lot more coming from the guy who almost never gives them.
The whole scenario leaves me wondering - how long had Discord been waiting to give a speech like this? This one event answers what had once appeared to be a very big plot hole - the big gaping question: "If Equestria is doomed because of INSERT EVIL BAD GUY HERE, why don't they just get Discord to snap his finger and fix everything?"
The answer is that Discord wants the mortals to learn and grow, so that he, in turn, can continue to learn from them. Discord knows quite well that the Mane Six will win. He knows that they can always "do it" - no matter what the challenge - which is why he always acts so annoyed whenever called upon to intervene.
It's boring to him! He loves watching his friends struggle because he's a giant troll, but he also knows that that struggle is what makes them ultimately succeed. He also loves watching them grow.
Discord is a better friend than he lets on.
It's almost paradoxical, because he is not some mastermind. He is not some great guru on friendship. He thinks in the immediate. However, he has a core of decency about him that he literally cannot help but hide. It works almost subconsciously, and only manifests itself through whatever pranks happen to be appropriate at any given moment.
He's like a near omnipotent version of that guy you know who would totally die for you if called upon, but nothing in the world could stop him from showing up at your door at the worst possible times, and raiding your fridge. It's refreshing to see that kind of friendship represented on MLP.
-Sprocket
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Brilliant analysis, especially the look into why Discord never solves anything major with a literal snap of his fingers.
...What FoME said, basically. I don't seem to be having much luck thinking of a significantly different way to word about the same sentiment at the moment. :)