Discord's Plan Explained and Headcanons Part 2: The Bell · 9:11am Oct 18th, 2019
Going back over the finale and recalling earlier episodes, I came to a very sudden and mind-blowing revelations. A lot of the fandom thinks that Discord is a dumbass for sending the trio after a "superweapon that could be used against him." I've already stated in my previous post how incredibly unlikely that possibility was. Some people think that Discord could/should/would have planned for it.
I....think he did, actually. Think about the bell for a second. Its the worst/best version of Terik's magic-draining. It not only gives the potency, but the power of the magic that was drained. Its only apparent flaw is that it seems that is that while you can put as much magic into the bell as you want, you have to take it all out at the same time. This normally isn't a problem. Discord isn't normal.
The instant the trio use the bell on Discord, it becomes a glorified magic-nullifer in a sense, because they can't control his chaos. And therefore, no matter how much magic they capture in it, they can't grow any stronger than they are now. Now think about that setup again when they took Discord's magic. Given the track record of things, there was a solid chance that the Trio would have done things in the opposite order: stealing Grogar's magic in a surprise attack, than taking it into themselves. If they had, they'd be stuck at their previous power levels, only barely a threat in the long run.
The question still comes back to why involve the bell at all, even if the risk is small. And oh boy, it took me rewatching the finale battle to get it. Discord is genre savvy. Maybe not literally, but that bell had been sitting up there for longer than Equestria had existed. IF anyone with decent magical talent(a LOT of them showing up in recent generations) found it, they instantly become one of the most powerful beings in the world. The bell is supposed indestructible and Discord didn't/could get it himself for some reason. And that's ignoring the possibility that Grogar might be alive or even might come back from the dead.
Now this is where Friendship/Harmony/whatever really outdid itself. Everyone is looking at the villain's defeat wrong, and I'm not even talking about opinions of their fate: The rainbowlaser did NOT depower them, it DESTROYED the real Grogar's magic....and I think the bell, of all things, protected Discord's magic and the alicorns? Hard to tell, but I think that's why the laser didn't turn them to stone or banish them: it wasn't going after them specifically, it was removing Grogar's Magic in its entirety.
While Discord's main agenda was Twilight and company's confidence, I believe this was a side objective and the reason for playing as Grogar: he wanted to fully and finally put an end to Grogar's magic, at minimum as a preemptive measure. Which just feeds back into my idea that everything went as Discord planned it or at least accounted for it.
As another point for why Discord might have planned or at least wanted this route.....I think he was legitimately worried about how the mane six would feel if they discovered down the road that these events were all setup by him, as evidence by Twilight's shattered confidence upon learning that none of that was real.....which I don't think is true since Discord never really had to be the safety net, even if he was there. So how do you work around the paradox of trying to boost someone's confidence without them suspecting the event that boosted their confidence was by orchestrated by you? Simple, you admit to the intial manipulation and appear to be completely out of control by making it seem like the plan derailed on you horribly.
Given that I believe Discord took a hit for the team by pretending to be traitor in Twilight's Kingdom to get the final key, this fits disturbingly well.
But this all leaves one enormous issue and question that I'm still a bit baffled by: What IS Discord connection to Grogar? Because, somehow, he was able to take his magic out of the bell without taking in Celestia and Luna's. He instantly knew how to use the bell better than the trio already did, as if he had used it before. Why didn't he get it himself? If not for the guardpony, I would have thought Discord put it there himself. More importantly, Discord....held that role as Grogar without the slightest slip up: Scowling, serious, in charge, no nonsense, brooding, everything Discord isn't, even as a villain! Say what you want, Discord displayed an absolute presence in his Grogar guise.
There have been a few theories: Discord is his son or creation. I even thought of the reverse, Grogar as the son or student of Discord. I even had the thought of Discord as Gusty the Great! Cause it seems like Grogar was some Discord either hated or respected, ot both, just by the way he acted him out without any hiccup.
But in light of all of that, I think there's a more interesting and disturbing possibility:
There was no trick, there was no lie: Discord is, or at least WAS Grogar. And "pretending" to be Grogar was just stepping back into some old mindset of his, or imitating it at least. There is, like, twenty ways that could work, including multiply personalities! But....I think this is someone more than that. I think, if Discord was Grogar, he did exactly what he said he did: He spent ages gathering his strength as the world moved on. And, somewhere, somehow, he found it. It being wherever/whatever he got his Chaos from. And after strange eons of being so weak and now bending reality to his will, I think Grogar….snapped, in a good way. He no longer had to be serious, to be strict to invoke fear. His power, his chaos could do that in spades. For the first time in ages, Grogar decided to have fun and took up a new name for his new body, power, and mentality.
As much of a stretch as this seems, think about it: Grogar could create monsters, possibly from nothing, and bring back the dead: Discord can create anything and alter the laws of physics to make it near impossible to die unless he actually wants you too.
If that were true, this means....well, one, that's actually the greatest and longest redemption story, but more on the present? That would imply one of two things: Either going after the bell to get rid of that power was just cleaning up his past, or.....
If Discord was Grogar, maybe he's actually scared at this point of turning back into Grogar. Of being the monster, the REAL monster he use to be. Knowing that, if he did, he'd actually hurt these ponies he's come to care about.
For the record, I kind of blew my own mind just thinking about all this. XP Ultimatley, I think there were multiple reason to send the trio after the bell that were abctually legimate. But his ability to use it without issue on the first try and choice to impersonate Grogar makes me believe there is a very personal connection there.
Are you okay with me using part of this theory in my story, or would you prefer it just kept here?
Even all of this, and part 1, hasn't convinced me otherwise. All I see of that twist is piss poor writting by Hasbro.
In the end, they were too fucking lazy to have Grogar be his own thing and not be Discord. The finale would have been worth it in the end if he had been.
5141659
Go for it! :)
5141777
Its your choice to see it that way.
5141788
Thanks. In hindsight this actually fits a little build up I've been doing with Discord for awhile, and about learning about what came before Celestia and Luna.
This is a really nice theory! (Also now my 3rd head canon about Discord.)
If this theory is true though, that raises several questions:
5141944
3. In this theory, he's treating it like the Ring in Lord of the Rings: He was worried if he took it himself, he wouldn't be able to resist turning back into Grogar. That or the barrier around it is specifically designed to keep him out....now that I think about it, wasn't the barrier yellow like his magic?.....More theories for a different time.
5. Forget host, I usually think he is one. XP
Very interesting theory.
I could see it happening.
I had a really weird idea on how Grogar became Discord: Discord almost faded because he wasn't being chaotic right? And he's referred to as the SPIRIT of Chaos. Did Grogar actually die? That would make Discord the spirit of Grogar, whose presence is only sustained by chaos somehow.
5142481
…..Grogar dies, latches onto the literal essence of Chaos, comes back as Discord. sounds about right for Grogar with this Sauron/Morgoth level rep he's got.
Note: for those not in the know, Sauron is the second Dark Lord. Morgoth is the original who turn Sauron evil and made him his lieutenant.
Watch Hasbro somehow do a LOTR crossover and make Grogar the lieutenant of Sauron or something.
5142490
,,,,Or Discord is Grogar's former lieutenant. Or Grogar was Discord's lieutenant. The second would be a nice reversal on Chrysalis in a way: her subjects went good while she stayed evil, Grogar stayed evil while Discord went good.
Or they're both lieutenants of the goat army and Discord is just a mutated goat that got severe birth defects from radiation.
I personally believe Discord created the bell for the ram eons ago after he won a game and once he died, Discord used the knowledge he had to impersonate him.