Pony Philosophy

by Persona22

Discord is the main force of change in Equestria

Discord is the Spirit of Chaos, to put it simply he is Chaos personified. And because of this, he is the driving force of every important change we ever see happening in Equestria simply by existing. That he is aware of this or not is debatable.

He is not, however, aware in any way of what change will result from his actions. But change there will be. He is Chaos, and without Chaos, no major change can ever occur.

Now, some people, myself included, have a head cannon that Discord was responsible for the creation of Poison Joke, and the Zap Apples, or both. And said idea can be supported further by the events we see in the two first episodes of Season 4 “Princess Twilight Sparkle”, when Discord created the Plunder Seeds. Sure the Tree of Harmony kept them at bay, but what if they still somehow had an effect on the Everfree Forest and the Poison Joke flowers, or the Zap Apple Trees, or both, were a result. After all, the Posion Joke’s effect are something Discord would do, and the nonsensical rules behind making Zap Apple Jam also has a very distinct Discord tone about them.

If Discord was responsible for this two things, then that means that Ponyville never would have existed, since the only reason it became a major trading spot that helped turn it into an actual town was Granny Smith finding the Zap Apples, planting them at Sweet Apple Acres and then producing and selling the Zap Apple Jam. Since Ponyville is basically where 90% of the series take place, and where the main characters live, I would say this is pretty important.

Poison Joke, on the other hand, is the reason Twilight and the rest ended up befriending Zecora. And therefore, every event that resulted in Zecora doing something, like helping Twilight a way to defeat Trixie and free the blue unicorn of the Alicorn Amulet’s influence, or making the potion Twilight used to see into the past on the Season 4 premiere. No Posion Joke, means Zecora remains an outcast to the rest of Ponyville, living alone in the Everfree Forest.

But, of course, this is just based on the assumptions that Zap Apples and Posion Joke were created, directly or indirectly, by Discord.

And so, here are the reasons I use to support my theory, by analyzing the events we see on all four seasons.

Now, chronologically speaking, the first time Discord appeared was 1000 years ago, when he was finally turned to stone by the Elements of Harmony wielded by Celestia and Luna.

To defeat him, something that Celestia and Luna were unable to do on their own from what we see in the flashback Twilight sees after drinking the potion, Celestia and Luna find the Tree of Harmony, and remove the six Elements of Harmony from it. Then use them to turn Discord into stone. (And him leaving a little parting gift in the form of the Plunder Seeds.)

Later, Luna finally succumbs to her dark side and turns into Nightmare Moon, with her goal to bring eternal night and to destroy Celestia. After a short fight, Celestia understands that the only way for her to beat Luna is by using the Elements of Harmony on her, which ends up with Luna being banished to the Moon for 1000 years.

But the only reason Celestia had access to the Elements of Harmony in the first place was because she and Luna had removed them from the Tree of Harmony before to use them to beat Discord. No Discord, no retrieving the Elements of Harmony from the Tree of Harmony, which means that Celestia would not have had the means to banish Nightmare Moon (Luna) to the Moon. By existing, Discord has caused already one major event, indirectly.

Let’s jump a millennia ahead, and we have the events that happened in the very first episode of the show, where Twilight and the rest of the cast restore the Elements of Harmony, become bonded with them, and finally are able to turn Nightmare Moon back into Princess Luna. Thus restoring the rule of both royal pony sisters, instead of leaving Princess Celestia to rule Equestria on her own. Again, a major event caused, indirectly, by Discord by simply existing.

Then we have Discord’s return in the Season 2 premiere episodes. This one is pretty straight forward, by beating Discord, Twilight and the rest came to an even deeper understanding of their friendship. Sure, friends can have differences and fights, but in the end if their friendship is true, it will prevail and become stronger. It’s impossible for THIS realization to be what Discord was going for all along when he did what he did.

Now let’s jump ahead to Season 3’s episode “Keep Calm and Flutter On” in which Fluttershy is able to reform Discord by befriending him. The most important thing on this episode, regarding this theory, is not the reformation of Discord (which is important, of course) but what Celestia tells Twilight at the end: That she will leave the Elements of Harmony with her in Ponyville, just in case.

This is important in the Season 3’s finale, “Magical Mystery Cure”. In that episode, Twilight receives a book from Princess Celestia, which contains an unfinished spell by Starswirl the Bearded. Twilight carelessly casts this spell, which in turn jumbles up the Elements of Harmony, with a terrible effect on her friends, who all end up switching their cutie marks with one another. But Twilight is able to fix her mistake, by using the Elements of Harmony and restoring her friend’s true selves again. And at the end of this, Twilight becomes an Alicorn Princess.

But, you see, none of this would have been possible if the Elements of Harmony had been in Canterlot, like they used to be, instead of Twilight’s Library. And the only reason they were there in the first place is because Celestia left them there “just in case” after Discord was reformed. No Discord, means no Alicorn Twilight.

In the season 4 premiere episodes, besides the things we already discussed, Twilight and her friends must return the Elements of Harmony to their original place, the Tree of Harmony, so as to restore balance to the Everfree Forest, and free the two royal pony sisters. But the only reason they had to do this was from the vines growing all over the place, which in turn were caused by the Plunder Seeds Discord had planted 1000 years ago. Not only Discord’s actions ended up being the reason why the Elements of Harmony were removed form the Tree of Harmony, but he is also responsible for them being returned to it again. No Discord means no Plunder Seeds, no Plunder Seeds mean no vines, and no vines means that Princess Clelestia and Princess Luna never go missing, which means that the Elements of Harmony are never returned to the Tree of Harmony.

And then there is the Season 4 finale “Twilight’s Kingdom” where we have the return of Lord Tirek/Tirac (or however you spell his name). Discord is given the mission to track him down and put him back in Tartarus. And after forgetting what made him give up his evil ways and befriending Fluttershy and the rest in the first place, Discord ends up helping Tirek.

You all would think this was a bad thing, but in the end it did more good than if Discord had just locked down Tirek back in Tartarus like he was supposed to.

Princess Twilight was in doubt about her role as a Princess, and in the end of the episode she finally sees what her role is supposed to be. But this is only possible through Discord’s actions and “momentary” betrayal.

By the time Discord finds Tirek, he had still a long way to come from attaining his full power. It wasn’t until Discord helps him that Princess Celestia, Luna and Cadence realize that to keep their magic from being taken by Tirek, they must give it to Princess Twilight. No Discord helping Tirek mean that Twilight is never given the magic of the other three Alicorns. Also, before this happens, we must not forget that is Discord the one that encourages Twilight to deepen her research on the mystery box that appeared from the Tree of Harmony at the end of the Season 4 premiere episodes.

Finally, Discord betrays the Mane 6 by helping Lord Tirek consuming their magic as well, and then is betrayed by him and his magic is taken away too.

After a fight with Lord Tirek, Princess Twilight is made to choose between giving up her magic or giving up her friends. And she chooses her friends. Yes, even Discord.

Discord then gives her the amulet which ends up becoming the final key to open the locked box, which then ends up in the defeat and imprisonment of Lord Tirek once again.

As you can see, every major event in Equestria was a result, directly or indirectly, of Discord’s actions. He is unaware of what would result from said actions, but something important always comes from them. He is Chaos personified, he is the driving force of change.

Author's Note:

Here's a small explanation behind a theory I have that Discord, just by his mere presence, is the main reason behind every single change and important event in the history of Equestria

Comments

[Efadd]

Also, if the box wasn’t opened,. Twilight wouldn’t get the Cutie Map and she would be unable to stop Starlight in time because, when she DOES become a threat, she will have a huge army with her. Etc.

[Persona22]

8701983
Yes.
However I wrote this before the "Cutie Map" season premiere episodes first aired.