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*'''Gesturify''': Sometimes he has to require the use of snapping his fingers whenever it comes to most of the reality distorting powers he owns by far, otherwise they wouldn't function correctly as he expects them too. This is a subpower that comes with his chaos magic in general. |
*'''Gesturify''': Sometimes he has to require the use of snapping his fingers whenever it comes to most of the reality distorting powers he owns by far, otherwise they wouldn't function correctly as he expects them too. This is a subpower that comes with his chaos magic in general. |
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*'''Probability Alteration/Logic Manipulation''': Discord can cause extremely unlikely events to occur within his vicinity and alter the laws of logic to his whim. |
*'''Probability Alteration/Logic Manipulation''': Discord can cause extremely unlikely events to occur within his vicinity and alter the laws of logic to his whim. |
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| − | *'''Telekinesis''': Discord has shown enough telekinetic skill to lift the entire Mane Six up magically, such as when he "grabbed" them by the collars. |
+ | *'''Telekinesis''': Discord has shown enough telekinetic skill to lift the entire Mane Six up magically, such as when he "grabbed" them by the collars. |
*'''Hypnotic Magic''': Discord has shown the ability to corrupt others and is skilled at hypnotic magic. He can even outright take control of someone's mind, although he prefers not to. |
*'''Hypnotic Magic''': Discord has shown the ability to corrupt others and is skilled at hypnotic magic. He can even outright take control of someone's mind, although he prefers not to. |
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*'''Telepathy/Nigh-omniscience''': Discord was able to know all the strengths and weaknesses of the Mane Six as well as their names, without ever having met them before. He also knew about Twilight Sparkle's princess coronation and the "Winter Wrap Up Song", despite not being there. He also knew how Twilight Sparkle felt about her role as princess, and in ''Keep Calm and Flutter On'', he reveals that he heard everything about Celestia's plan to reform him, while imprisoned in stone. |
*'''Telepathy/Nigh-omniscience''': Discord was able to know all the strengths and weaknesses of the Mane Six as well as their names, without ever having met them before. He also knew about Twilight Sparkle's princess coronation and the "Winter Wrap Up Song", despite not being there. He also knew how Twilight Sparkle felt about her role as princess, and in ''Keep Calm and Flutter On'', he reveals that he heard everything about Celestia's plan to reform him, while imprisoned in stone. |
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*'''Fourth Wall Awareness''': Discord appears to be aware he is in a cartoon, even though he doesn't explain that he does. |
*'''Fourth Wall Awareness''': Discord appears to be aware he is in a cartoon, even though he doesn't explain that he does. |
||
| − | *'''Teleportation''': One of most used abilities, Discord is able to teleport from one place to another, as well as teleport objects or people and make objects disappear out of thin air. He can also teleport across alternate dimensions such as the real-world of "Ogres and Oubliettes" and his own personal dimension, summon individuals from anywhere to his own location, or transport himself to someone else's location without knowing exactly where they are. This appears to be his main method of transportation, as he is shown frequently to detest walking and most other forms of travel. |
+ | *'''Teleportation''': One of most used abilities, Discord is able to teleport from one place to another, as well as teleport objects or people and make objects disappear out of thin air. He can also teleport across alternate dimensions such as the real-world of "Ogres and Oubliettes" and his own personal dimension, summon individuals from anywhere to his own location, or transport himself to someone else's location without knowing exactly where they are. This appears to be his main method of transportation, as he is shown frequently to detest walking and most other forms of travel. |
*'''Creation''': Discord is shown to be skilled with creation magic. He is able to create objects, creatures and plants at will, including powerful magical creations like the Plunderseeds. |
*'''Creation''': Discord is shown to be skilled with creation magic. He is able to create objects, creatures and plants at will, including powerful magical creations like the Plunderseeds. |
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*'''Levitation''': Discord is able to float in the air. |
*'''Levitation''': Discord is able to float in the air. |
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*'''Cartoon Physics''': Like Pinkie Pie, he is able to use cartoon physics by stretching his limbs, deflate like a balloon, zipping his mouth shut, moving very fast, turning his mouth upside down and appearing out of unexpected places. |
*'''Cartoon Physics''': Like Pinkie Pie, he is able to use cartoon physics by stretching his limbs, deflate like a balloon, zipping his mouth shut, moving very fast, turning his mouth upside down and appearing out of unexpected places. |
||
*'''Magic Imbalance Detection''': Discord has the natural ability to sense major disturbances in magic, such as magic being stolen, or transferred into others. |
*'''Magic Imbalance Detection''': Discord has the natural ability to sense major disturbances in magic, such as magic being stolen, or transferred into others. |
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| − | *'''Immortality''': Discord seems to be immortal, as he has stayed in his stone prison for thousands of years without dying. He claims himself to be centuries old and is also presumably just as old as, if not older than Celestia and Luna. |
+ | *'''Immortality''': Discord seems to be immortal, as he has stayed in his stone prison for thousands of years without dying. He claims himself to be centuries old and is also presumably just as old as, if not older than Celestia and Luna. As shown in ''The Last Problem'', in the future set 20 years after the series, Discord didn't show any sign of aging. |
*'''Clairvoyance:''' Discord can use his crystal ball to see and watch over anything or anyone in Equestria. |
*'''Clairvoyance:''' Discord can use his crystal ball to see and watch over anything or anyone in Equestria. |
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*'''Necromancy:''' Discord is also capable of bringing the deceased back from the grave, as he did with Sombra, but it seemed he had to draw symbols into the ground to do so. |
*'''Necromancy:''' Discord is also capable of bringing the deceased back from the grave, as he did with Sombra, but it seemed he had to draw symbols into the ground to do so. |
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Revision as of 15:32, 16 October 2019
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This Article Contains Spoilers -
WARNING: This article contains major spoilers. If you do not wish to know vital information on plot / character elements in a story, you may not wish to read beyond this warning: We hold no responsibility for any negative effects these facts may have on your enjoyment of said media should you continue. That is all. |
| “ | Make sense? Oh, what fun is there in making sense? | „ |
| ~ Discord's most famous quote. |
| “ | I assure you, I am very real. And you have all been brought here as part of my plan to rid Equestria of Twilight Sparkle and her friends... once and for all. | „ |
| ~ Discord while posing as Grogar. |
Discord, also known as the Spirit of Chaos and Disharmony, is a major antagonist in My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic. He appears as the main antagonist in the two-part Season 2 premiere "Return of Harmony", the Season 3 episode "Keep Calm and Flutter On", the secondary antagonist of the Season 4 finale "Twilight's Kingdom" and a major character for the rest of the series.
He is an omnipotent being of chaos and disorder who desired to turn all of Equestria into a chaotic wasteland, before realizing the value of friendship and redeeming himself. In Season 9, Discord assumed the guise of Grogar, an ancient and powerful ram sorcerer who once ruled ancient Equestria and assembled a team of the most dangerous villains in Equestria, in an effort to prepare Twilight for when she inherits the throne from Celestia and Luna. "Grogar" acted as the main antagonist of the season until his deception was revealed in the near season finale.
He was voiced by John de Lancie, who also played Q in Star Trek: The Next Generation (who was Discord's main inspiration), Sinestro in Duck Dodgers, and Brainiac in Justice League Action, and is voiced by Doc Harris when playing as Grogar.
Personality
As the incarnation of chaos and disharmony, Discord professes great inclination to these two subjects. Every movement he performs is related someway with this. Discord possesses an outrageous sense of humor, many times grazing the madness, which is strengthened by his powers of reality bending.
He has a huge sense of showmanship and drama, and specifically enjoys dressing up with different outfits from time to time. He has a fondness of making idioms and expressions literal, such as "my ears were burning" or "when pigs fly", and also has a habit of telling bad or unfunny jokes, often in stand-up comedy, such as in "Make New Friends But Keep Discord", he makes a fool of himself on stage telling jokes that nopony laughs at, and the Season 6 finale, he uses a stand-up comedy act to distract the changeling guards.
As an omnipotent entity, Discord considers himself above all the rest, diminish magnitude to every setback presented before him, including those which suppose a threat to him. It could be said that Discord suffers of an superiority complex, something that has lead him to find himself trapped in a rocky prison twice. However, after every defeat he learned from his mistakes. After his first escape he did exaggerate the Elements' power and tried to get rid of them, however, his overconfidence implied his failure once more when after corrupting the mane six he thought they were not a menace anymore.
He has absolutely no sense of vengeance, as he is shown to no desire in seeking revenge on Princess Celestia for imprisoning him a thousand years ago, After the Mane Six petrify and later revive Discord from his stone form, he also no interest in taking revenge on them for defeating him once again. He is known to be a more "playful" supervillain, intent on playing and manipulating his victims rather than destroying them, as was seen in "The Cutie Re-Mark", Celestia and Luna are at his mercy, being forced to act in a mock circus, and he does not seem to have any intent on destroying them.
After he was released under Princess Celestia's supervision, he tried to find a supernumerary way to counter the Elements power by manipulating Fluttershy for his own desires behind the trick of a false friendship, which eventually resulted counterproductive since he developed strong feelings for her. This leads to two prominent attributes in Discord's character. He is highly duplicitous, manipulative, uncompromising and unscrupulous, showing no hesitation in lying, tricking, playing filthy and diverse mendacious methods in order to achieve his goals. He also seems to have a rather sadistic and cold-blooded side to him, such as when he was gleefully lying back and watching Cherry Berry and Comet Tail struggling to get untangled from the Plunderseeds, and due to the fact that he constantly laughs at other's dismays.
In "Keep Calm and Flutter On", he is seen wearing dead bunny slippers and chuckling at the ponies misfortunes at the dinner party. In fact, he is a supporter of physiological torture, as he enjoyed Twilight's despair once she found herself abandoned by her friends in "The Return of Harmony". However, if he can't obtain the expected results with his charming skills, he doesn't doubt in using the force to brainwash his victims. However, there is still some good inside him.
In the moment Fluttershy declared to consider him a friend, Discord showed to be really affected by this statement, as he mentioned that he had never had friends before. Many fans consider this fact as the motivation that drove Discord the way he is. Until the moment, Fluttershy had shown to see Discord as more than a monster but as a true "sweetheart" he hadn't realized of how alone he was. If fact, he hated his loneliness that much that just for not being on his own again he renounced to domain the world as he had ever desired. However, since then, it seems that he still remains his annoying and mischievous self.
In "Twilight's Kingdom", it shows that Discord has begun to truly understand friendship with all of the ponies and fell guilty when he has allowed Tirek to drain their magical powers. He then asked Twilight for merciful forgiveness and thanks her for saving him, also apologizing to Fluttershy directly. At the end of the second episode, it shows that Discord made friends even from Celestia and Luna - his formal nemeses. Twilight even included him into her kingdom "court" as one of her closest, dearest, and most loyal friends.
However, despite this, come "Make New Friends but Keep Discord", Discord still apparently struggles with understanding the concept of friendship, and still shows his mischievous, problematic, and self-centered traits, feeling that he was replaced by Fluttershy's new friend Tree Hugger and that Fluttershy no longer cared for him just because she had chosen to bring Tree Hugger over him. As well, he brings the Smooze as his friend to the Gala, knowing about the Smooze's benevolent, but rather obstreperous, troublesome, disruptive, and dangerous nature, intentionally trying to cause mischief just to make his point to Fluttershy.
In "The Beginning of the End", Discord showed great interest in ruling Equestria when the Royal Sisters announced their retirement, and was disappointed to learn that they planned to put Twilight in charge, though he was willing to accept this. He did, however, show great disappointment that Twilight didn't feel ready to take such a responsibility. So in an effort to push Twilight into accepting her new role, he took extreme measures by disguising himself as the legendary villain, Grogar, and gathered the most dangerous villains in Equestria so he could manipulate them into helping Twilight discover her potential. He also refused to help the Mane Six fight off King Sombra and pretended to be injured when he did help, and then gave an inspiring speech about their friendship to boost their confidence needed to win the day. But then he was angered to learn that the sisters decided to postpone their retirement and Twilight's ascension, considering the whole thing to have been a complete waste of time.
While portraying as Grogar, Discord put on a serious and frightful demeanor that was enough to intimidate the other villains into submission. He claimed to be extremely patient and cunning, having awaited for thousands of years to take his revenge, and is willing to work with other villains just for a chance to pull it off. He will not tolerate disobedience, however, and refuses to bring back Sombra after turned his back on him and failed to conquer Equestria by himself. Unlike the majority of villains in the series, "Grogar" does not underestimate the Mane Six and acknowledges their teamwork as the key to their success. However, despite his seeming distrust of his cohorts, "Grogar" was gullible enough to believe their story that they failed to retrieve the Bewitching Bell, and was surprised when his cohorts turned on him and revealed that they had the bell all along.
Appearance
Discord is one of the species called a draconequus, as explained by Cheerilee from the beginning of the episode. Discord is a combination of many body parts from different creatures which also makes him a chimera. He has the long body of a brown horse, the head of a gray pony, with an ivory deer antler on the right, a turquoise goat horn of the left, one long fang, yellow eyes with red pupils, a snake tongue, a black mane, and a white goat beard. The rest of his body consists of the right paw of a pale yellow lion, the left yellow talon of a brown eagle, the right leg of a green lizard, the left leg with a hoof of a goat, the right wing of a purple bat, the left wing of a blue bird, and a red snake tail with a white tuft at the end that he has been seen to use as a third hand.
While disguised as Grogar, Discord appeared as a large blue ram with yellow eyes and red pupils, a white mane, tail and eyebrows, long blue horns and hooves, and sharp fangs protruding from the bottom of his mouth. He wears a red collar with big golden studs and a single chain link at the center where his magic bell once was.
Fan depictions
PONY.MOV
A heavily modified version of Discord is also the main antagonist of Hotdiggedydemon's .MOV series. For more details on that incarnation.
Others
Fans have picked up on the Satanic elements present in Discord's character, notably him being an omnipotent, malevolent trickster and tempter who stands opposed to Order and Harmony itself. Many depictions of Discord thus cast him as the Ultimate Evil present in Equestria (in other words, he is depicted as the show's equivalent to Satan). In many fanworks, he has been portrayed as much more sinister in stark contrast to his portrayal on the show.
Some other depictions cast him and Chaos as a necessary force that balances Order. Occasionally, fans may straight-up portray him as a good-natured and fun-loving guy (this is often accompanied by depicting Princess Celestia as an oppressive tyrant).
Powers and Abilities
As an embodiment of Chaos, Discord appears to be omnipotent. He has manifested a great number of abilities and skills over the course of G4 MLP - abilities that he has shown so far include:
- Hybrid Physiology: Discord has a body made of different parts of creatures and animals.
- Nigh-omnipotence: The source of his reality manipulating abilities and among other powers, is the power to be near the pinnacle of Omnipotence, which makes him the most powerful character to be seen in the show. He would may also flawlessly restore anything to its original state, possess a complete and utter collection of powers, heal or fix anything without fail, or even manipulate space-time, or cosmic elements at will if given the proposition.
- Chaos Magic: Discord is capable of alter reality into many ways and manipulate the laws of nature and the physics of the world via his chaos magic. It can also erase the magic of others, such as Starlight Glimmer.
- Reality Restoration: As of been shown in some episodes (namely "Keep Calm and Flutter On", and "To Where and Back Again Part 1") he is also capable of restoring reality back into it's original state. Whichever is more efficient, this can count as a power to balance his reality affecting chaos magic or a counteractive ability to use against other reality warpers.
- Size-Shifting: Discord has varied in size from very large to being small enough to fit in a pony's ear.
- Shapeshifting: Discord has taken many odd forms, some of which defy physics or parody characters.
- Gesturify: Sometimes he has to require the use of snapping his fingers whenever it comes to most of the reality distorting powers he owns by far, otherwise they wouldn't function correctly as he expects them too. This is a subpower that comes with his chaos magic in general.
- Probability Alteration/Logic Manipulation: Discord can cause extremely unlikely events to occur within his vicinity and alter the laws of logic to his whim.
- Telekinesis: Discord has shown enough telekinetic skill to lift the entire Mane Six up magically, such as when he "grabbed" them by the collars.
- Hypnotic Magic: Discord has shown the ability to corrupt others and is skilled at hypnotic magic. He can even outright take control of someone's mind, although he prefers not to.
- Telepathy/Nigh-omniscience: Discord was able to know all the strengths and weaknesses of the Mane Six as well as their names, without ever having met them before. He also knew about Twilight Sparkle's princess coronation and the "Winter Wrap Up Song", despite not being there. He also knew how Twilight Sparkle felt about her role as princess, and in Keep Calm and Flutter On, he reveals that he heard everything about Celestia's plan to reform him, while imprisoned in stone.
- Fourth Wall Awareness: Discord appears to be aware he is in a cartoon, even though he doesn't explain that he does.
- Teleportation: One of most used abilities, Discord is able to teleport from one place to another, as well as teleport objects or people and make objects disappear out of thin air. He can also teleport across alternate dimensions such as the real-world of "Ogres and Oubliettes" and his own personal dimension, summon individuals from anywhere to his own location, or transport himself to someone else's location without knowing exactly where they are. This appears to be his main method of transportation, as he is shown frequently to detest walking and most other forms of travel.
- Creation: Discord is shown to be skilled with creation magic. He is able to create objects, creatures and plants at will, including powerful magical creations like the Plunderseeds.
- Levitation: Discord is able to float in the air.
- Flight: Discord can fly using his wings. He was also able to achieve a supersonic flight similar to Rainbow Dash's.
- Replication: Discord can create copies of himself and of other people, creating a replicate of Trixie out of her hat.
- Animation: Discord can bring any inanimate object to life.
- Appendage Generation: Discord can grow extra body parts.
- Anatomical Liberation: Discord can make parts of his body come apart, and is able to move them while detached so. He is also shown using this ability to remove Princess Celestia's tail without her noticing.
- Object Possession: Discord was able to use his head to possess a balloon, and he can also appear magically in various objects, such as gems and stained glass windows.
- Transmogrification: Discord can alter the appearance of objects and creatures, such as: giving rabbits deer legs, making a squirrel and a rabbit large and hulking, and turning apples into oranges and oranges into apples.
- Matter Ingestion: Discord is able to consume matter such as glass, a painting, a tea cup, and a telephone without any negative side effects.
- Portal Creation: Discord can open portals to different dimensions by using his eagle claw to cut through the fabric of reality, or open a portal to grab things in another point in location
- Disease Generation: Discord can inflict ponies with any kind of diseases and illnesses.
- Pyrokinesis: Discord is able to generate blue or green flames, as shown in "Three's A Crowd" and "Make New Friends but Keep Discord" respectively. He can also create images using blue fames.
- Smoke Generation: Discord display creating amount of smoke to cover a background as shown in "Ogres and Oubliettes".
- Color Alteration: Discord was able to fade Twilight's friends' colors, he also changed his color to blue to make it look like he had the "blu flu" or change himself into green and turned a tablecloth from white to red by touching it.
- Thought Manifestation: Discord is able to show his thoughts to others by using clouds of smoke, such as when showing Twilight Sparkle and Princess Cadence a flower that would cure the "blu flu".
- Enhanced Strength: Discord is deceptively strong, enough so to take a tree out of the ground and taking a big rock out of the ground with just one arm.
- Enhanced Durability: Discord took a blast from King Sombra's dark magic without injury.
- Enhanced Hearing: Discord was able to hear Applejack from a distance away.
- Weather Magic: Discord is able manipulate the weather by making rain clouds go crazy, causing thunderstorms or creating cotton candy chocolate rain clouds.
- Animal Manipulation: Discord is able to manipulate the animals' behavior by making them go wild unnaturally.
- Daytime Manipulation: Discord is able to manipulate celestial objects at will to bring about daytime or nighttime.
- Gravity Manipulation: Discord is able to make things float into the air, and making objects lighter or heavier. He can undo the the gravity of an area to cause things to float above air.
- Time Travel: Discord is able to project himself and others into events that have happened in the past.
- Bubble Imprisonment: Discord is able to imprison ponies in magic bubbles which is a similar trait to Tirek once he had drained Discord of his magic.
- Prehensile Tail: Discord can use his tail to hold things, and can make his tail tuft into a hand.
- Cartoon Physics: Like Pinkie Pie, he is able to use cartoon physics by stretching his limbs, deflate like a balloon, zipping his mouth shut, moving very fast, turning his mouth upside down and appearing out of unexpected places.
- Magic Imbalance Detection: Discord has the natural ability to sense major disturbances in magic, such as magic being stolen, or transferred into others.
- Immortality: Discord seems to be immortal, as he has stayed in his stone prison for thousands of years without dying. He claims himself to be centuries old and is also presumably just as old as, if not older than Celestia and Luna. As shown in The Last Problem, in the future set 20 years after the series, Discord didn't show any sign of aging.
- Clairvoyance: Discord can use his crystal ball to see and watch over anything or anyone in Equestria.
- Necromancy: Discord is also capable of bringing the deceased back from the grave, as he did with Sombra, but it seemed he had to draw symbols into the ground to do so.
- Energy Blasts: Discord can shoot large beams of dark energy that can blow a hole in the wall or shoot white energy beams from his finger tips to zap away objects.
- Petrification: Discord can turn others into stone, as demonstrated with Cozy Glow, Queen Chrysalis and Tirek.
- Master Trickster and Manipulator: Discord is good at deceiving ponies and making them do his bidding without even realizing it.
Weaknesses
Discord's strengths are many, while his weaknesses are extremely few. Attacking him head-on is usually doomed to fail, as he can easily thwart any assault through his reality-warping power. However, he is vulnerable to the Elements of Harmony, which have successfully turned him to stone twice. Using the Elements also dispels all of his chaotic magic, returning things to their rightful shapes and places.
He has also been shown to be vulnerable to other entities of immense power, such as a sufficiently empowered Lord Tirek. This is most likely due to Tirek's anti-magic properties being capable of shutting down Discord's magic when sufficiently empowered, or simply because Discord did not have time to realize he was being betrayed before he was drained of his magic. Similarly, a sneeze from the Tatzlwurm was able to infect him with a severe illness he was not able to cure himself of.
One important weakness of Discord is his ego. He tends to be extremely arrogant and overconfident, and so assured of his own invincibility that he will not go all-out against enemies. He learns from this mistake and while disguised as Grogar, he brushes off King Sombra's own overconfidence and ego. In addition, his tendency to underestimate opponents means that he can be taken by surprise and defeated before having the chance to react. While intelligent, he is also susceptible to being manipulated and fell for Tirek's proposition to become allies, not suspecting that Tirek would betray him in the end. Also, prior to his redemption, he secretly wanted a friend, which allowed Fluttershy to sway him towards the side of good.
As shown in "Discordant Harmony", if Discord stops exhibiting his usual chaotic behavior entirely and starts to act "normal" instead, he will lose his abilities and slowly fade from existence. Thankfully, Fluttershy managed to make him return to his normal state before this could happen, thus saving his life. This is why he shouldn't avoid his position of what he represents.
Discord is weak to anti-magic in general as he couldn't counter the Changelings' anti-magic - though (as is common with omnipotent characters) his weaknesses come and go as "plot demands" - this is done to prevent Discord from basically winning every battle the ponies may comes across save for the most extreme examples (as Starlight even mentioned Discord could, if he wanted, defeat the entire Changeling army by sneezing had they not utilized anti-magic, making the threat null and void).
Reception
Discord received critical acclaim from both the critics and the fans and has remained a very popular character since his debut in Season 2. The character has been praised for being entertaining, funny, and his admittedly admirable chaotic abilities. Most consider evil Discord to be the best antagonist in the series in his debut episode as he was praised for being a trickster and actually came very close to winning in the end, managing to beat the Mane Six for a short time before Twilight regains her confidence, saves her friends, and defeats Discord. His voice actor, John de Lancie, is also praised for his talented voice acting and the fact that Discord is based on Q, another character that John de Lancie played in Star Trek: The Next Generation. Interestingly enough, John de Lancie confirmed that his voice was sped up and pitched a bit higher in the series. Despite this, he is still praised for bringing the character to life.
He later becomes a recurring character since Season 3 and is reformed to become one of the show's major characters. Initially, his reformation scene in "Keep Calm and Flutter On" was criticized for being too rushed, however, in Season 4, Discord continues to be a mischievous anti-hero who is not fully reformed yet, thus fixing that flaw. His friendship with Fluttershy is also praised for being adorable and sweet, as she is his first true best friend. In fact, some even shipped Discord and Fluttershy to the point that Fluttercord becomes one of the most famous shippings on the series. Even the show itself acknowledged this in a joke in Season 9's "She Talks to Angel". Discord's friendship and chemistry with Spike and Big McIntosh was also praised. There are only a few episodes where Discord has been criticized in, the episodes are Season 5's "What About Discord?" and Season 8's "A Matter of Principals". In both of those episodes, Discord came out to be a bit too harsh in both of them. In "What About Discord", he purposely makes Twilight jealous that she didn't get to spend any bonding time with her friends just to teach her a lesson that even she can get jealous and recognize those feelings. In "The Matter of Principals" he almost puts the Young Six in danger while he is coaching and purposely insults Starlight Glimmer for not being qualified enough to be in charge of a school, making Starlight blast him in anger. However, despite those two episodes, the rest of the episodes that Discord has been involved have received mostly positive reviews.
Before it was revealed that Discord was posing as Grogar, the character of "Grogar" received mixed reviews. Many were hyped to see another famous G1 antagonist revamped in G4 and were expecting him to be one of the series biggest, evilest, and most dangerous villains. However, some complain that "Grogar" hardly did anything other than commanding his minions to do his bidding or that he only goes out to search for artifacts offscreen. The twist with Discord/Grogar has gathered mixed responses from the fandom so far. On the negative side, some complained that it ruined all the buildup for Grogar being the big bad and the fact that it is very disappointing that there will never be a showdown between the Mane Six and Grogar. Because of this, some fans consider "Grogar" the worst and most disappointing villain in the entire series. Even the character of Discord was criticized by some fans for putting everypony in danger for bringing Equestria's biggest enemies together just to teach Twilight to gain enough confidence to face challenges such as defeating the villains and facing life-threatening situations. However, even Discord realized the errors of his ways in "The Ending of the End Part 2" and made up for it by distracting the villains long enough for Applejack and her friends to escape and the fact that he regained his chaotic magic and turned all the villains he brought back to stone, fixing the big mess he has made. On the positive side, others say that they didn't mind the twist and that it makes sense for Discord's character, comparing it to Q testing Picard in Star Trek. Also it is confirmed by Big Jim Miller that the twist is planned from the very beginning and that they wanted the final villains be the three past antagonists who are more familiar to the Mane Six and not a brand-new villain with no connection to the Mane Six as the final antagonist. Despite the criticism, most fans praised "Grogar's" voice actor Doc Harris is praised for his performance and felt bad that he has been voicing a non-existing character on the show who used to be real in the past.
Despite all of this, Discord still remained as one of the most popular and fan-favorite characters of the entire series.
Quotes
As Discord
| “ | Oh, I've forgotten how grim you can be, Celestia. It's really quite boring. | „ |
| ~ Discord disrespects Celestia. |
| “ | Oh, for goodness' sake! You've been kind for far too long, my dear. Time to be cruel. Arrivederci! | „ |
| ~ Discord forcibly corrupting Fluttershy. |
| “ | I'm not playing fair? Perhaps we haven't met. I'm Discord, spirit of chaos and disharmony. Hello? | „ |
| ~ Discord taunting Twilight. |
| “ | Being turned to stone doesn't keep me from hearing every word Celestia says. Although I admit it makes rolling my eyes a challenge. | „ |
| ~ Discord explaining how he knew of Celestia's plan to reform him. |
| “ | I'm not evil, princess. I'm chaotic. Not the same thing. I oppose order, not good. | „ |
| ~ Discord explaining his morality to Princess Luna. |
| “ | Seems I possess a magic that gives me quite an important role in Equestria. Maybe they should make me an Alicorn princess. | „ |
| ~ Discord taunting Twilight after being assigned to capture Tirek. |
| “ | Tirek tricked me into believing he could offer me something more valuable than friendship. But there is nothing worth more. I see that now. He lied when he said that this medallion was given as a sign of gratitude and loyalty. But when I say that it is a sign of our true friendship, I'm telling the truth. | „ |
| ~ The true redemption of Discord |
| “ | You know, whenever ponies talk about powerful magic, they always leave me out. If I weren't so evolved, I might decide to take it personally. | „ |
| ~ Discord |
| “ | My problem? How is the fact that Twilight decided to put an incompetent, power-hungry unicorn in charge of her school. My problem?! | „ |
| ~ Discord criticizing Starlight |
As Grogar
| “ | Queen Chrysalis: "King Sombra! You have returned? Why did you bring us here?" Grogar: "He didn't. (walks over to table) It was I. You may call me... Grogar." (Queen Chrysalis and Lord Tirek gasp) Queen Chrysalis: "The Grogar?" Lord Tirek: "I thought you were a legend." King Sombra: "I've heard of you." Cozy Glow: "Who?" Grogar: "I assure you, I am very real. And you have all been brought here as part of my plan to rid Equestria of Twilight Sparkle and her friends once and for all." |
„ |
| ~ Grogar introducing himself to the other villains. |
| “ | Cozy Glow: "I am so sorry, but the name 'Grofar'? It just doesn't ring any bells." Grogar: "GROGAR! I have been away too long if my name no longer strikes fear into the heart of one so tiny! Perhaps a demonstration of power is in order?" |
„ |
| ~ Grogar to Cozy Glow. |
| “ | Grogar: "I gave life to the foulest of creatures and allowed them to run wild, taking what they wanted and destroying the rest. My reign was a glorious, fear-soaked epoch of darkness in Equestria." Queen Chrysalis: "Ha! Until Gusty the Great rose up and banished you." Grogar: "That fool believed taking my bell would defeat me, but she only weakened me temporarily." Cozy Glow: "Um, Tirek is really old... (no offense, you look great) ...but if he knew about you when he was young, we have super different ideas about what 'temporarily' means." Grogar: "SILENCE!" |
„ |
| ~ Grogar describing how Equestria was under his rule and how he was defeated. |
| “ | Grogar: "I've spent millennia gathering power, biding my time, waiting for the perfect opportunity to seize control of Equestria! And watching all of you, I've seen each of your humiliating defeats at the hooves of six puny ponies. And do you know why they've always bested you?" Queen Chrysalis: "Because they cheat!" Lord Tirek: "Because they are annoyingly lucky." Cozy Glow: "I'm just a kid, so..." Grogar: "It is because they work together! Where one is weak, another is strong, and thus unified, they are a formidable force! But we shall use their own strategy to defeat them!" Queen Chrysalis: "What are you suggesting?" Grogar: "I suggest nothing. I demand that you join me, and together, Equestria will be ours!" |
„ |
| ~ Grogar's goal. |
Trivia
- Before his redemption, Discord is one of the main antagonists of the entire series alongside Lord Tirek, Queen Chrysalis, King Sombra, and Cozy Glow. He is also the most recurring antagonist of the entire series, appearing in 21 episodes plus 1 special. He is one of the series reformed antagonists as well, thus making Cozy Glow the most recurring unreformed antagonist.
- Discord has rarely ever been in any true danger from any major antagonist in the show, even after his redemption, claiming he could easily end all of Equestria's conflicts if he wanted but actively choosing not to so as to allow Twilight and her friends to learn and grow instead. The only time when he has ever been successfully overpowered by a villain was by Tirek and later the Legion of Doom (although even then it required trickery on their part to achieve this victory).
- He is the second major antagonist on the show to have been redeemed (the first being Nightmare Moon) and the first major antagonist to have been redeemed via non-magical means (without the use of the Elements of Harmony).
- He is also the first being in the series so far who has been proven to be completely immune to Fluttershy's stare, the second being Flash Bees. Given that The Stare has in the past reduced a full-grown dragon into submission and overpowered the magical stone gaze of a Cockatrice, Discord shrugging it off like it was nothing is a testament to his incredible power.
- Discord made a cameo appearance in the first ever fan-made My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic episode called Double Rainboom as a front cover of the book that Blossom was reading in the ending credits.
- Discord can be seen in the intro of Seasons 4 and above inside Fluttershy's house, and later in her animal sanctuary.
- It is implied Discord was much more evil in the past; one stained glass shows him dangling screaming ponies over fire.
- Discord is the only major antagonist who is confirmed to be behind another major antagonist, as all other villains were shown acting on their own goals except the Plunderseeds which he created.
- According to the Elements of Harmony book, Discord's redemption was done so new stories could be told with his character and to turn him from the known enemy into the "not-always reliable ally".
- He is the third most recurring antagonist in the show, the other being Diamond Tiara, and Silver Spoon. Starlight Glimmer and Trixie Lulamoon do make more appearances in the show but they both reformed during their second non-background appearances, so they no longer count as antagonists.
- Discord is the first villain to successfully defeat the Mane 6, even if it was for a brief amount of time; the second being Queen Chrysalis, and the third being Cozy Glow.
- Discord is the first male major antagonist in the show.
- He is also the first major antagonist who is not a pony.
- Discord lives in a chaotic dimension known as "Chaosville" as shown in "Make New Friends But Keep Discord".
- Discord is the only major antagonist to be a threat to Equestria more than twice in the series. Nightmare Moon, Sombra, and Tirek were imprisoned a thousand years ago, returned, and were reformed, destroyed, and permanently reimprisoned, respectively, by the end of their episodes, while Starlight Glimmer was the main villain of both the Season 5 premiere and finale, reforming in the latter, and Chrysalis has so far appeared twice, in the Season 2 and 5 finales. Discord was a threat four times: before being turned to stone thousands of years ago, in the Season 2 premiere, in Season 3 before Fluttershy reformed him, and in Season 4 when Tirek convinced him to turn evil again.
- Discord's disguise as Grogar is the third character to be a revamp of a G1 villain, the first being Lord Tirek and the second being the Smooze.
- Discord appears to be a very good actor, such as posing as Grogar. As Grogar, he acts much more serious and short-tempered. The only time Grogar is ever comedic is in the non-canon Discovery Family Instagram posts called "The 'Most Evil' Q&A Ever. Here, Grogar claimed himself to be the "greatest, most powerful sorcerer the world has ever seen" but is jealous of Penn and Teller. He also shares his Instagram selfies taken at real-world locations. This fits Discord's personality very well, even when he is in his Grogar disguise.
- There were a few hints that Discord was Grogar in disguise:
- Discord didn't seem at all surprised in "The Beginning of The End" when he read Twilight's letter of King Sombra's return.
- In "The Summer Sun Setback", he watched as Twilight was with her friends, then said how she might be ready for whatever comes next.
- Grogar's overall design somewhat resembled Discord's, though this lead many fans to believe that Grogar created Discord or that he was Discord's father.
