Here's why I thin it works

He ISN'T magically reformed, or suddenly a perfect do-gooder. He hasn't really changed that much at a deep level. He simply found out how good friendship can be, having people join you in the fun instead of just using them as puppets. And is willing to try and behave so that other will be his friends.

He's starting down the path to redemption and change, but hasn't actaully made it there yet. He's simply willing to try. It's a small change, not a big one.

And you could see it coming. He legitimately WANTED Fluttershy to put on the skates and have fun with him.

oh, oh no, oh sweet goddess.....bad thought, bad thought. The rest of the mane 6 start being friends with him, playing with him, jus having fun....imagine Discord, RD, and Pinkie going on a prank spree.....

I wonder if one of them would consider chaos magic to be making pranking too easy.

Liked the episode, just as mentioned, some clear pacing issues. It seemed to plod around the middle, mostly just goofy stuff with Discord and the others not trusting him with little progression. It was funny but as said, could have left more time to execute the ending better.

Discord makes most of the episode work well really.

edited 19th Jan '13 7:09:10 PM by Psi001

I legit felt bad for Discord in the ending and also 'DA Wwww' for him.

I don't understand yet exactly why it just affected me in the way the creators intended . Like where the eff did all my cynicism go off to?

Though still, I expect Discord to be affected by the Worf Effect here on end or it's the bus for him.

What is Celestia planning?

The singel greatest prank in the history of the world.

Either that, or opening up the portal to Earth to let us all come to Equestria.

I felt the same about Trixie's ending in Magic Duel, it felt very abrupt, but they put enough pathos into her that it actually worked and was rather heartwarming. Personality is usually what saves the show, maybe that's why Sombra in the Crystal Empire is such a sore spot for many.

edited 19th Jan '13 7:21:40 PM by Psi001

When Discord had tht long, reflective pause, did anyone else think back to the bit in Return of Harmony, where it looked like he was going though the exact same thing, only to continue laughing about how great his victory was?

Anyway, I'm seriously wondering about what Celestia and Luna are up to. The discussion about the "next level" of Twiligh's studies in Crystal Empire part 1, the book in Crystal Empire part 2, he sudden large reading list in Spike At Your Service, and now Celestia risked releasing Discord. I very much doubt she'd try that without having a very big project in mind for his chaos magic.

edited 19th Jan '13 7:27:10 PM by Enlong

More Discord talk? Hay, as long as he behaves, I'm ok with that.

May have actually been a foreshadowing in hindsight. Him gaining a slight tint of depression from realising he has no one to savor his fun with, but quickly brushes it off. Only after he realises what having a friend is like does he connect what such a loss is.

It was more likely just meant to be a Jerk With A Heart Of Jerk moment however.

I like the idea of him helping the heroes, but in a very haphazardous way. I expect him to still have a lot of Evil Cannot Comprehend Good ethic inside him and need to be pointed out when his methods are going too far.

edited 19th Jan '13 7:39:29 PM by Psi001

"You're a loose cannon, Discord!"

Enlong, that is so true. All of this is definitely building to something and I'm really looking forward to finding out just exactly what it is.

I just realized that this episodes also puts Fallout Equestria firmly in 'Ha ha, not happening ever' section of fanfiction. If Season 2 Mama Bear Celestia was the first strike, the presense of a reformed Reality Warper Spirit of Chaos more or less make up Strikes Two and Three.

The implication warms the cockles of my heart

One of these things is not like the others...

I wonder how many times this will happen:

Discord: HAHA! Dance my puppets! Dance!

Pony: That's enough Discord!

Discord: Oh alright.

The Gravy Boat talked!?

He blew a raspberry, I think.

On the subject, is it weird that my first instinct upon seeing the gravy boat was to google "vegetarian gravy"?

edited 19th Jan '13 8:00:30 PM by Enlong

@Perpetual: I thought we had established that Tabitha voices everything in this show.

Well it made some noise.

Of course I always assume anything that doesn't talk but makes some kind of noise in a cartoon is Frank Welker. Gravy Boat was Tabitha, who knew.

edited 19th Jan '13 8:02:10 PM by TheFreeman

Well FOE was written back during season 1 (mostly). You can't expect it to predict the future.

@ Pan

1. EVERY fanfic is it's own AU, NON are canon

2. He's not fully refromed, he's simply wiling to try and reform. He could still slip, get re-frozen and be back to normal. And either way, he had no part in the story to begin with. Just a single mention that was mostly an attempt at handwaving the Fridge Logic about where he was after his introduction to the show. So plenty of other ways it could work

3.If anything Mama Bear Tia fits in, she cares so so much about every pony, that being unable to stop this, having to see them duffer like that, makes it all the more likely she would react like she did.

@Pan: Why would you even care about a fanfic's canonicity?

@ Story, which is HILARIOUS given how how HOW much shit it DID predict.

Canterlot Shield

Bypass Spells

Party Canon (kind of)

A whole scene about the Barn that just takes on whole new meaning with the hole subplot of it always being destroyed

Self levitation being possible for unicorns

Time travel being possible, and always a Stable Time Loop

Battle Saddles

and more

EDIT: Most of those things are incredibly common in fiction. Stuff like the shield, bypass spells, and stable time loops are so common in fiction that I'd honestly be kinda surprised if the show didn't use them at some point. I wouldn't say it "predicted" anything, given that those devices are hardly rare or in any way specific to the show's canon.

Anyway, is that a FOE discussion I spy?

edited 19th Jan '13 8:08:10 PM by JapaneseTeeth

on their own, sure, but all together it's the shear amount of stuff that gets rather intriguing.