Sunny’s description of what Discord plans to do is pretty much the same thing Starlight did when she ruled Our Town.

Same Energy

Sparking interesting discussion all around

@Phoenixflambe
👍

@Just Wayne
It was already conceived before chapter 2 in all honesty except they already got so many things wrong given that the comic came before chapter 2 or even 1. At first, it was still the lighthouse which later got changed back into the Brighthouse in future issues, then Hitch and the earth ponies appeared to master their EP magic even though supposedly it took place before chapter one, which is why I suggested it must’ve taken place after chapter 2 save for the location mishap.

And about Discord, I really did not like him in Season 9 simply because of his half-baked plan that backfired. Here, its definitely not half-baked this time. And also any breakups the mane 5 have here, intentionally or not, he had no direct involvement. They argued all by themselves, no dirty work here. He’s just insane at that point but no longer evil.

@Just Wayne
I feel like they should consider continuity and characterization when writing, though. Like, that’s what good storytelling does, and what fans want to see when they read a comic based on a franchise they like.

I totally agree on Discord, I liked him more as a villain and think he should’ve stayed as such. I feel like his reformation was done just to have John de Lancie stick around. But I also feel like there was SOME attempt by the writers to showcase Discord as not as bad as he once was throughout seasons 4 to 7, that the last seasons just completely undermined.

@Phoenixflambe
It’s like they wanted the high stakes of Discord physically taking out a crystal, but they wouldn’t commit to the canon consequences of it. ‘Cause then they’d need to make the Mane 5 beat him without magic, and that would take more work to write 💀

@NicoThePinkUnicorn
Oh yeah, but then he did snap back all by himself as you said. He was just in the heat of the moment.

Honestly the answer is really as easy as that the writing for both the comic and MYM are written. They probably didn’t think about characters and continuity when doing the comics. It’s that simple.

As for Discord, I always just see him still as a villain. Honestly I just realize there really is not point in reforming him, since they keep making him do bad things anyway. I feel like we should have just kept him a villain. I really like him as a villain anyway.

@NicoThePinkUnicorn
His is glitching too for some reason.

@Just Wayne
Hitch DID eventually want to get rid of magic though, even if he first just wanted to regulate it. He explicitly wanted to take out the earth pony crystal so that earth ponies wouldn’t have magic anymore. It’s just that by taking out that one crystal NO PONY would have magic, as the crystals need to be united for any pony to have magic (Something the comics just. Completely forget about, by making Discord physically take out the pegasus crystal but the magic is just glitching somehow)

I do agree that Hitch is more sympathetic than Discord though. When he almost took out the earth pony crystal, it was a heat of a moment reaction, produced by fear. Discord has a well-thought out plan to get rid of magic entirely, and, like you said, he’s not looking for compromise.

As for agreeing with Discord and Izzy, yeah, I do think Hitch probably wouldn’t go so far as to want all magic gone (Like you said, not even Izzy wants that either.) I just think Hitch would be more likely to see where they’re coming from. But in the comic he explicitly likes magic…and all based around how it benefits him. (“Communicating with animals makes ME a better sheriff.”) He surprisingly comes across as less selfish in Growing Pains, the episode where he’s supposed to be in the wrong 🤨

As for Discord betraying Fluttershy–Yeah, sure logically it makes sense why he’d do it again, but in terms of storytelling it’s not satisfying or a good writing decision. It was bad when FiM’s season 9 finale did it, too. The only time where it was justified narratively was in the season 4 finale, otherwise Discord should not be doing all this reckless shit. Again, what was the point of his redemption arc?

@NicoThePinkUnicorn
Heh, it’s not the first time he betrays Fluttershy. Of course he’d do it again.

And to be fair with Hitch, he never really wanted to have completely no magic whatsoever. He just needed time to think of regulations and policies for it. Ponies (and Sunny) just treat it like he wants magic to be gone because they want to do whatever they want. He knows how important magic is especially to Sunny since she worked so hard to get it back in the movie, but it still needs to be used safely and responsibly. It’s all about safety and responsibility to Hitch. Discord’s idea for removing magic entirely without an attempt to find a compromise is the exact opposite of that. It’s just shirking responsibility. He just wants to avoid and hide the danger instead of working on it and confronting it because it’s easier, but that’d just leave many ponies disappointed. I’m not saying Izzy is also in the same boat. She is definitely just talking out of bias because of the event of the comic. Hitch would probably have sided with Discord and Izzy, if the idea is to try to work better with magic instead of removing magic entirely. That’s way too extreme. It’s basically like cars. A lot of people need it for life to be more convenient, but it can also be dangerous. That’s why we have law and rules to make sure people would drive responsibily instead of making cars obsolete.

@NicoThePinkUnicorn
Aside from Discord in g5, there is another set of villains also with grey thinking. Although these guys were meant to be despised while Discord’s case ironically enough since he even met those guys face-to-face is the opposite.

@Phoenixflambe
I’m pretty sure the comics so far are taking place after Chapter 1, as they came out, so it seems like how they thought Hitch would think about magic just aged badly. Like I’ve said though, I think that even without Growing Pains as reference it would’ve made more sense for Hitch to sympathize with Izzy, and Zipp to be more on Sunny’s side. I mean his magic is also different from the rest of the girls, and he can’t even levitate. I’m surprised he hasn’t felt left out for his different type of magic too.

@CORDZ2000
I never expected Hitch and Discord to have a good first impression, but that’s more because Hitch loves rules and order and Discord is the epitome of chaos. I get that Hitch is mad at Discord for STEALING the crystal, but I feel like if there’s anyone who would sympathize with Izzy’s feelings or even see where Discord’s coming from it’s probably him, especially since he’s also had a bias against magic in canon. Again, it feels like the comic writers haven’t watched beyond the movie and Chapter 1, but I feel like even without the context of Growing Pains Hitch should be more empathetic. Especially compared to Zipp, who we see in both the movie and Chapter 1 prioritize the magic over everything, including her own family.

As for Discord…honestly, I think the COMIC turned him into a villain, with the whole idea of Discord wanting to destroy magic. Like, okay, Discord might think he’s not the bad guy, and might not be coming from a place of malice, but his scheme is still insane, short-sighted, and selfish. And it’s giving him villanous framing: the way he imprisons the Mane 5 and leaves them possibly to die, the constant panels and covers where he looks evil, the fact that he KNOWS Fluttershy didn’t agree with his views of magic, but MADE IT SEEM like she did to convince the Mane 5 with the backstory of the crystals. Given the one too many times he had insane schemes in Friendship is Magic blow up in his face, I feel like he should be over this behavior by now. Why was Discord redeemed if the G5 comics and, hell, even the late seasons of Friendship is Magic if they keep making him act villainous?

I’m asumming the comic is gonna solve it all with some big talk about Discord’s grief and the Mane 5 making him see the error of his ways through dialogue. They’ll probably get to sympathizing with him, and they’ll make friends and all that stuff. It’s the exact way you’d expect this story to end. But I still think this arc has been just another pivot in Discord’s redemption arc. (And tbh I more agree with Sunny and Hitch here–there may still be some inequality to work through, and that’s definitely worth adressing, but getting rid of magic is an insane way to deal with it. Discord potentially having trauma doesn’t justify any of this)

@CORDZ2000
Let me bring up s10.

@NicoThePinkUnicorn
It has to be written before that but can still fit in at least as after chapter 2

@NicoThePinkUnicorn
Yeah I see your point particularly with hitch, he’s the most extreme against discord, his plan and reasoning since the beginning so it’s kinda funny the show had him be pretty much the same way. Even though he did quickly change his mind. He feels like his movie self here before character development. For zipp I can see it as shes just trying to defend izzy and see were she’s coming from.

In general besides Izzy, throughout this arc I feel like the mane five been treating discord like some pure evil villain for trying to destroy magic even after he told his backstory and gave his reasoning until this comic issue. Where here there thinking is less black and white. Maybe I’m bias towards discord’s favor. But I’m not a fan of storylines we’re the heroes have black and white thinking towards antagonist they go against who bring up good points, even if they are trying to stop them. Maybe they’ll learn to be more open mind in the last issue of this arc and use friendship more to solve problems.

If you ask me, I feel like Hitch and Zipp should’ve switched in the side of the argument.
Zipp was JUST having a breakdown at the prospect of not being able to fly anymore, and she HAS prioritized saving the magic over personal problems, like, when she prioritized getting the pegasus crystal over being there for Pipp after she became the face of the Royals Can’t Fly scandal.

Then there’s Hitch, who is…flat out terrified of magic in Make Your Mark. Like, he literally almost did the same thing as Discord in the episode Growing Pains, take out a crystal ‘for the good of the ponies.’ I guess there’s a possibility that this whole arc was written before Make Your Mark Chapter 2 came out, but like, in general Hitch has always been characterized as more empathetic, and more empathetic than Zipp.

@Phoenixflambe
The ultimate plan.

But Izzy, is it really Flyball if nopony can fly? Removing all magic sounds like overkill.

Just as planned

Discord separates them by doing absolutely nothing.