Ginger Mint

hi hi I admit, I was originally going to reference carneades plank as a metaphor, but it seemed at the time that an exaggerated metaphor was more befitting of ponies screaming their rage and frustration into the sky, as was the case in this episode. I'll try to break this down as simply as I can, though. • If the result of failure is unacceptable, then the competition itself becomes unacceptable. • If the result of failure is acceptable, then it is a poor motivation for competition. Who in their right mind says, "This thing is totally ok, therefore we can't let it happen no matter what?" Personally, I don't think a bit of disappointment is a very big deal, but I'm trying to understand Rainbow Dash's motivations. Rainbow Dash is acting like there is legitimate pain and suffering that will occur if one city doesn't get selected. But no matter what, one city will not get selected, and in cases of legitimate pain and suffering, the situation in general is unfair and in-group favoritism is not helpful. (I dare-say that the world we live in would be a much nicer place if people would distribute scarcities fairly, instead of favoring their own.) One of the joys of friendship is sharing your blessings, but when there's not enough blessings to go around, having more than others can make you feel pretty awful. When you are dealing with a plank of carneades situation, it may be true that it isn't strictly immoral to push the other guy off, but then you have to look at the conditions that created the scarcity in the first place and work to change those. (The latter part of which was the lesson of The Ticket Master, so long ago.) And if what Rainbow Dash said at the end is true, "It feels good to help others get something they always wanted but never had," then if they had completely botched the inspection, they would have been helping the other city get something that Rainbow Dash never had, and thus would have been good too. But Rainbow Dash acted like that wasn't the case. Elsporko, do you really think disappointment is such a bad thing? If you ask me, disappointment is a natural part of growing up, and can actually be important to learning and growing. I mean, I wasn't going to mention it at first, but roughly one billion children live in poverty in our own world, and thats something that is really important. When resources are scarce, its important to not close your eyes and pretend that the people you don't know don't exist. If we're accepting that the disappointment of losing is not unacceptable, then Rainbow Dash's bias may be wholesome, but then alternatively, her motivation is weak. Those two factors, the motivation and the bias, flip back and forth opposite each other. I mean, I'm used to Rainbow Dash being portrayed as a dummy and learning her lesson in the end, but in this instance, everyone was along for the ride until the not-inspector showed up. Edit: In an attempt to approach this from the other direction, I'll offer a suggestion of how I might have done things a little bit differently. In the beginning, after Rainbow Dash recounts her strange tale of woe (in which, strangely, nopony else reacts) I would have had Twilight Sparkle say something like, "Relax Rainbow Dash, Princess Cadence wouldn't have chosen us if she didn't think we could do it. Its quite an honor, so lets enjoy it. Besides, the Crystal Ponies have the preparations under control." Then, from the very beginning, you'd have some interpersonal tension (which is generally interesting), and it would emphasize Twilight's motivation for trying to stay calm and collected later on.

hi hi Thank you for making my point. Nobody cares if someone gives their friend a ride to the jewelry store to buy a ring that someone else can't get, its not a big deal. You have to stretch things an awful lot in order to make it a big deal. As I said, "when you're in direct competition, one side has to lose." Its part of the nature of the game.

hi hi Hooray for tribalism and in-group bias I guess. Its one thing to want to help someone you are invested in, because they are important to you. Its another thing to do so at the expense of a stranger. Is it ok to steal a diamond ring if you want to present it as a gift to someone you care about? The reason why some competitions are healthy is because even the losers get something out of it that makes the competition worthwhile, even if it isn't as fabulous as what they might have gotten if they won, like self-improvement, enjoyment of the moment, personal experience, strengthening social bonds, etc. There's a zillion and one reasons to help, but if the pain of losing is unacceptable, then one shouldn't be competing in the first place. I mean, its certainly possible that Rainbow Dash forgot the lesson she learned in Fall Weather Friends, I try not to judge episodes based on continuity and it is in line with her character, but everyone else went along like it was a valid concern without blinking an eye. As if shielding them from disappointment is something other than over-protective. (Assuming that it actually hinged on their welcome in the first place and that the hard work of everypony in the Crystal Empire, who we see outside and working hard, wasn't going to be enough to sway the inspector.) Yes, we don't know what they had originally intended to do, since the plan got derailed. I was simply talking about the motivation that didn't make much sense in that case. The dramatic tension of worrying about what might happen if they failed just didn't materialize for me. But on the flip-side of the coin, their questionable motives made their ineptitude actually kind of charming for me. Making faces to distract a grown adult? I'm not sure I could have chuckled at that if I had actually wanted Pinkie Pie to succeed in the end. (Heh, I remember when Lauren Faust had to re-assure fans that yes, Pinkie Pie wasn't a perfectly wise eccentric genius, and that she would end up being wrong eventually.) The pony that I was rooting for was the not-inspector, going head to head with some concerted efforts to keep her locked away in a tower, so I was glad that she ended up happy at the end.

hi hi I know how things went, what I'm saying is that things didn't have to go down like that. Machinima was a way that individuals could make content based on another company's content without having to directly negotiate with the legal department as individuals. Brand exposure is a good thing, so there's no monetary reason for Hasbro to want to disallow it. When they found out about what was going on, they could have been pro-active about setting up a system of fair use terms with conditions for compliance instead.

hi hi Last I checked, Machinima still exists, and continues to make content out of other people's games.

hi hi Or Hasbro could have put in a disclaimer about what constitutes fair use of their IP, which is what a lot of game companies do regarding mods.

hi hi Graft is generally considered to be a bad thing, except perhaps by those participating in it. They certainly weren't helping to get the stadium built on time, or make sure there was enough food for the spectators or anything like that. The Crystal Empire was essentially ready for the games when the mane six arrived. Win or lose, honest competition is about learning and showing what you are capable of, but unless "being in good standing with a Princess and The Princess's personal protege," or "the ability to give exclusive treatment to regulatory agencies," is on the list of qualifications for hosting the games, nothing they were doing was highlighting the Crystal Empire's capability to host the games. When you're in a direct competition, one side has to lose the competition. Rainbow Dash of all ponies should know this, which makes her motivation of not having foals feel sad -that she doesn't even know- totally incomprehensible. They could have let Rainbow Dash state that the Crystal Empire was her preferred team, and that the strength of the other teams was motivating her to do an even better job herself, but that was not the case. They could have explained how the process was fun, and that they were going to have fun helping their friends in an honest competition, but they focused on the end result rather than the journey. They could have explained that they wanted to showcase what the Crystal Empire had to offer, but they completely left the Crystal Ponies out of it. (What is more satisfying, accomplishing something yourself, or having someone else swoop in and do it for you? Rainbow Dash isn't a part of the Crystal Empire, in fact, she left as soon as the welcome was over.) There's nothing wrong with a good natured rivalry, but they framed the idea as if they were trying to prevent disappointment all together, ignoring what typically makes a rivalry a good thing. (I'm not entirely sure what you mean Dessa... there's Positive Reinforcement, as showcased by operant conditioning. There's also Misattribution of Arousal -the technical kind, alertness and awareness, not the romantic kind- which deals with how people who are feeling excited about one thing are more likely to think other things are exciting too.) In other news, the winged shoes on the mail pony were totally awesome, and I want a pair.

hi hi If Ponykart is smart, they'll take down every bit of public information they can until they are ready to release it.

hi hi Its true, the Dash splat was the single best part of the entire episode. I also thought that Pinkie Pie's dramatic "Yes," was pretty good, although I get the feeling for some reason that Pinkie Pie is a lot less cheerful in general lately. Perhaps the message of the episode would have rang a little more clearly if, after Harshwhinny got splashed or whatever, one of the crystal ponies had walked up and helped her out? I dunno. There is a huge difference between remaining calm and collected and assuming everything is going to be fine with no worries. Assuming that everything is going to be fine can lead to all sorts of disastrous results. I've known a few people in my days who latch onto the first idea that seems to make sense and never bother to look more carefully. It makes sense, and it made sense first, therefore it must be the single correct answer. This, of course, causes a number of mistakes to happen that could have easily been avoided. (Like the time my friend was looking through the phone book to call the hospital, didn't see the correct entry, and decided that hospice must be the number because its sounds pretty much the same. I had to bite my lip to not give 'em a hard time about that one.) How might they have shown this in the episode? Perhaps if they'd included a scene where Twilight does her little breathing thing and calms down, but remains firm and contradictory. Or if she were to calm down, and not go with the first course of action that comes to mind. Maybe if she had thought up several courses of action and compared them against each other calmly to figure out which one was best. Meanwhile, in Cloudsdale...

hi hi I'm not gonna lie... I made it about halfway through the episode and found myself wanting to skip ahead to find out what the heck was going on. Nothing made sense, and I ended up stopping the tape and walking away for a few hours before getting myself psyched up to go back and try it again. From the outset, I just didn't get what the premise of the episode was supposed to be. They want to have the Crystal Empire host the games, and they say there is a good reason for it, so why is it in doubt? Is it a competition? If it is a competition, aren't they giving the Crystal Ponies an unfair advantage? Why not just decree that the Crystal Empire should hold the events, if the reason is that good? Dash says its humiliating to get passed up, but if the Crystal Empire does host the games, then some other place is going to get passed up. Do those other ponies not count for some reason? What about their problems, what about their little fillies who are going to get the monotone announcer letting them know that the games are being held in the Crystal Empire, because they weren't good enough to get the elements of harmony's endorsement? What about all their hard work? "The friendship is more important than the competition." "When meeting with important guests, it was tradition for rulers of the crystal empire to weave crystals into their manes in a very specific way." Wait... what? Why is this important? The Royal Canterlot Voice was tradition too, but nobody went bending over backwards to continue that one. Do the other potential towns have to have a traditional mane style? How can you judge two towns based on something that has nothing to to with the games itself, especially when the rubric for grading is not the same for each one? Why couldn't Rarity just do something she was good at? Is her special talent for making avant garde designs not good enough? And shouldn't a judge or inspector be impartial and unbiased? I mean, she got to see that nobody really cared about her or anyone that wasn't "specially important," and her supposed unvarnished tale from the not-games inspector was a tale of special treatment, even if it was for the wrong person. It just goes to show how biased their treatment in general was. I'm just thankful that once the not-inspector mare was introduced, the episode finally started to make some kind of sense, although maybe not in the way the writer intended. Although that was about halfway through the episode, watching everyone mess up actually made me smile, since they were basically trying to cheat the selection process to begin with, I would have been ok with the Crystal Empire not being selected if it were to come down to superfluous niceties and not their actual readiness for the games themselves. I guess they were trying to make some kind of point about keeping calm and not freaking out, which in my opinion is a great lesson to learn, but I just don't see how Twilight staying calm did any good in this situation. The games inspector wanted an unvarnished look, and so if they hadn't been ready, she would have appreciated it. And if Twilight hadn't assumed everything would be fine, she might have checked to make sure she wasn't suffering from confirmation bias. The real lesson I got out of this episode, even though it wasn't the one they were aiming for, was: it doesn't make sense to give one pony special treatment, while ignoring others. Everyone has hopes, dreams and feelings. Even if you don't know who or where they are. (If I didn't know any better, I would say that Polsky keeps trying to subvert the message of the episodes he writes, just to see if he can get away with it.) So in that regard, I give this episode the rank of "So bad, its good."

hi hi The sad part about this is that it will undoubtedly hurt Hasbro's bottom line. The statistics are very clear, this sort of thing only increases brand recognition and increases sales in the long run. I don't know the who or hows, but I suspect the reason that the game got a pass for as long as it did was because someone at Hasbro realizes this.

hi hi Has Twilight Sparkle ever expressed a desire to be a Princess? I know Rarity has... Actually, come to think of it, they've already established that ponies can marry into royalty. Rarity suggests it in Ticket Master, and then again in The Crystal Empire, we find out that Shining Armor is now a prince, having married princess Cadence. If they do decide to go with the "its something you earn," route, I wonder how they will distinguish royalty that works hard and earns it, and royalty that simply marries someone important.

hi hi I'd be curious to find out just how much collaboration goes on between writers. I know they get their assignments from people who might have an overall plan, but what lengths do they have to go to in order to prevent the specifics of each episode from conflicting with other episodes?

hi hi I was thrilled that Power™ and those that seek it above all else, were exposed as foolish in "Magic Duel." Considering that the show has made a point to promote working together and friendship thus far, if the will to power was to become the focus of drama in the show -like Twilight struggling with her new-found power for instance- it would be a loss for a show that had carved out a special niche to fall into such a mainstream plot. I sincerely hope that does not happen.

hi hi I have seen an awful lot of vitriol, people mind reading and putting words in each other's mouths, name calling and unflattering insinuations about the quality of people's characters and emotional states coming from all sides of this argument, and in my opinion, that is what is really sad about this. There are a lot of ways this could go horribly wrong, far more ways than could actually happen in 22 minutes, it also has the potential to be pretty neat, in an equally varying number of ways, but at the moment, only the people who've worked on the show know what is going to happen. Since none of us know what is going to happen, everyone's opinions, concerns and feelings on the matter are just as valid. When it comes to speculation and debate, people are bound to disagree with you, its just the nature of things. That doesn't mean that their hearts are filled with a dark and sinister intent. Some people enjoy speculation. Trying to predict the future can be immensely rewarding, even if you sometimes fail, but there's no reason to be upset with people simply for talking, especially when no one is being forced to listen.

hi hi I don't want to sound like a neighsayer or anything, but just so you know, the "I believe in M.A. Larson," buttons started as a joke, based on the "I believe in Harvey Dent," logo from The Dark Knight. The joke being that

hi hi "...When those elements are ignited by the spark that resides in the heart of us all, it creates the sixth element, the element of magic!" -Twilight Sparkle "...You have to look past that and learn who they are inside, real friends don't care what your cover is, its the contents of a pony that count." -Twilight Sparkle "...Well, maybe we were trying too hard. And instead of forcing ourselves to do something that's not meant for us... We each should be embracing our true talents... Comedy!" - Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo and Apple Bloom "...I used to think the most important traits to look for in a pet, or any best friend, were all physical competitive abilities. But now I can see how short-sighted and shallow that was." - Rainbow Dash "...I learned that standing up for yourself isn't the same as changing who you are." - Fluttershy "...now I realize that who I am is not the same as what I am." - Spike "...Girls are complex human beings, and they can be brave, strong, kind and independent–but they can also be uncertain, awkward, silly, arrogant or stubborn. They shouldn’t have to succumb to pressure to be perfect." - Lauren Faust I couldn't help but notice this spoiler, but I have to say: I am really curious to see what kind of lesson they can possibly squeeze out of that.

hi hi I don't really understand why people are calling this episode filler. Its an episodic, slice of life show. There are no gaps to place filler into, because there is no continuum to have gaps in the first place. Vague hints that something might happen, maybe, do not constitute an overarching plot. If anything, the Grand Galloping Gala was a better plot line than, whatever it is that we still don't know about. From the very first moment we heard about the Gala, we knew how each character felt about it and why it was important to them. Whatever nonsense they're doing with Celestia and Luna, or whatever, nobody has any reason to care because none of the characters care or even know about the plot's existence, and therefore it has no consequence on any of their actions thus far. Spike has historically been both the voice of reason and the devil's advocate, often times simultaneously in the same episode. In Episode 3, The Ticket Master, he simultaneously disregards Twilight's feelings and worries himself with his own desires, while telling her to relax and dispensing the occasional bit of good advice. In Episode 6, Boast Busters, he simultaneously pushes Twilight to stand up for herself and also sink to Trixie's level, along with his misconceptions about wooing Rarity. In Winter Wrap Up, one of the archetypal episodes of Season 1, he is full of bad advice for Twilight, pushing her to use magic when it is inappropriate. In Just for Sidekicks, he continues this tradition by both providing and solving problems. Ignoring morality or logical paradoxes is not at all how "suspension of disbelief," works. Suspension of disbelief is a function of empathy and/or abstract reasoning that allows us to step out of our own shoes and into someone else's. "Realism," is a word that probably has no rightful place in a discussion about a fantasy world involving ponies, but "plausibility," and "internal consistency," definitely are. By writing a story that does not contradict itself, the audience is able to grant the author the unrealism, because it functions according to its own rules. (Similarly, if I were to tell you that 2 > 5, and 2 < 1, then anyone can agree that 1 > 5, under the rules of this thought experiment. Or if the story takes place in a world where everything falls up, the audience will have a hard time suspending disbelief should a character trip and fall down.) Twilight's solution to the problem in Too Many Pinkie Pies is a logical paradox in and of itself. • The problem is that the Pinkie Pies are out of control and causing a mess. • The solution is to get them into a controlled environment, and banish them if they go out of control. If the problem is that you cannot control them in the first place, how can controlling them be a part of any rational solution? (To say nothing of the one Pinkie Pie that is already controlled before the test even starts.) These paradoxes and moral failings not only lessen the message of the episode itself, but they also create an overarching message that is built on a faulty premise. In psychology terms, this is called inoculation, and by presenting an audience with a weak/faulty argument, you make them more likely to believe that the opposite is true. I suppose that maybe these moral quandaries are a incredibly clever plan by the writers to make a flawed case for bad behavior, so that kids will find fault within the message and believe otherwise. As a historical rule though, I've found that as effective as it might be, this type of counter-cinema is generally unpleasant to watch for its target audience.

hi hi Actually, I'm pretty sure I've written longer posts before and I'm also... *oof* Noes! I am not a changeling! Look, I'll prove it, I'll write a big long post about it. Starting with... uh oh... um. Look over there! As for Granny Smith, I don't think she was ever planning on telling anyone in the first place. I mean, who is she going to tell that has more authority than herself anyways? It seems to me that she simply wanted Spike to stop, because it wasn't until the ball of pets fell apart that she smiled and walked away.

hi hi Aww come on! You're gonna make me feel bad about liking an episode that nobody else does now, eh? This was probably the first Spike episode that I actually liked. It had an element of fantasy adventure to it, in the grand tradition of all those movies where kids outwit the grown-ups. Maybe it would have been a good episode for a letter to Celestia to summarize the message, but from what I can gather the message it had was nice. "People don't always earn what they get, but you should try to earn what you do." Not only that, but the lead up to the part where Spike realizes his mistake is gradual and sensible too. Each time he messes up, he gets more and more concerned about the pets and less and less concerned about the gems until he finds himself literally going to the ends of the Earth for Angel Bunny and admitting his mistake. (It was the little things, like Spike dismissing Rainbow Dash's concerns about getting a helmet, but eventually he ends up taking her advice and wearing one.) The character interactions were also nice, if you ask me, even if it was mostly just Spike and the pets. In some of the other episodes in Season 3, there have been some awkward moments where something big/crazy/striking happens, and nobody even blinks, but this episode had all sorts of little reactions and expression helping to tell the story without needing dialogue. Spike is always getting left out of different events (remember Twilight's birthday party in Sweet and Elite?) and this time around we actually get to see how he feels about it, and Fluttershy being there to empathize with him was really sweet. It felt like a kind of conversation that I could imagine real friends having. I also liked how Twilight had (and voiced) legitimate concerns about Spike's readiness for the task, proving that she isn't actually a total idiot, but was willing to give Spike the chance to prove himself anyways. Also, both Twilight and Rainbow Dash seem to know exactly what Spike is up to at the very beginning, considering that he wasn't being at all subtle, and it shows that they have some level of empathy for him. This is important, because the message of the episode isn't that getting rewarded is a bad thing, its that shirking your responsibilities is. There was nothing wrong with Spike having a big pile of gems that he had carefully saved up in the beginning, but it was a problem that he wasted them without thinking, and then didn't pay attention to the pets. On the topic of Spike giving the baby phoenix back: A lot of people took issue with the ending of Dragon Quest. I recall a few people accusing Spike of kidnapping, so I gather that without a good explanation for why he couldn't give the little guy back, they went ahead and did. I'm perfectly ok with that, actually. I liked the parts where Spike is talking with Owlouisciuos and how myself as a member of the audience is actually able to infer what the silly owl is saying. I didn't like Owlouiscious in his debut episode, but I actually liked him this time. "Has anyone seen tank's head?" Opalescence did sort of get left out of a lot of scenes, but she did have some good moments, like when she batted Tank on the nose, and decided she approved when he didn't respond. (And then later, she is cuddling with him, and she pushes him out of the way of danger.) And I think they did a lot with what little they had to work with, as far as giving each pet its own personality. Winona rushing to stand in line and tracking down Angel Bunny made her stand out, but it also reflected on the qualities of her owner. You can expect that Applejack is a dependable owner, Angel Bunny shows how lenient Fluttershy is. (and tells a minor lesson about not setting boundaries for children) Spike finishing Owlouiscious's sentences was awesome and witty. "Who..." "Is it?" Spike's random singing. Rainbow Dash proves that she and Tank are a good matchup through pure, unrestrained adorableness. *nuzzle nuzzle* Winona howling along with Spike's "whyyyy!?" I don't know if anyone else has heard dogs howl along with fire truck sirens, but its hilarious. The Cutie Mark Crusaders honestly surprised the heck out of me. They didn't even show up until halfway through the episode, and I thought for sure that they were going to get left behind as soon as they played their part, so when they ended up coming along for the ride, it was kinda neat. They also did a good job of showing how you can be interested in two things at the same time and still make it work. The Cutie Mark Crusaders did take on the responsibility of watching the pets so they could get their cutie marks which was selfish, but they also actually tried to take good care of them at the same time. If they were more experienced with pet care-taking and didn't mess up all of their cutie mark attempts, I suspect they could have pulled it off. (Which again, helps clarify the message of the episode, in that wanting something isn't necessarily a bad thing.) Of course it was not without its flaws entirely. Honestly, the inclusion of the Crystal Empire bit was the weakest part for me. (You've always wanted to see it Scootaloo, even though nobody knew it even existed until recently? Really?) They go all the way to the frozen north and back in less than a day? It made the mane six's trip seem like something out of time and space all together. (They hardly seemed like they were gone for much more than a few minutes) And overall I felt that it lessened the seriousness of Spike's responsibility, seeing as they could return at a moments notice. Zecora did have some rather obtuse rhymes in todays episode, but I still though overall she played a good part. She gave Spike a taste of his own medicine and set a good example at the same time, which is kind of freaky brilliant. (Usually you can only do one or the other.) Also, Pinkie Pie's "No I love you more," kind of freaked me out, I'm not going to lie. Anyways... overall, this is -for me- one of the good episodes from this season. It wasn't epic like Sleepless in Ponyville, or Wonderbolt Academy, but it was nice, it was fun, it had smooth pacing, and there weren't any parts where I felt like cringing. Would watch again without reservations.

hi hi I'm confused here, is the assertion that Fluttershy's "Not. Your. Friend." line is a method of gaining trust, or is it not? Personally, I wouldn't have wanted to be Discord's friend either, from the start. He caused wide spread destruction the last two times he was turned to stone, and the mane six had every reason to want him to be imprisoned for the next 1000 years and beyond. That Fluttershy tried to gain his trust in the first place is commendable, but if depriving Discord of her friendship was a calculated move to punish him for disobedience and get him to behave, then she was little better than her friends who were planning to punish him by using the Elements of Harmony again. The episode is not clear whether or not that is the case, but there is room to give Fluttershy the benefit of the doubt and assume that she wasn't trying to be cold, calculating and manipulative when she did that. I have a friend who's wife regularly tells him she is going to divorce him when she gets upset with him. Its a hurtful thing to say, but it didn't take him long to stop taking her seriously, and I'm sad to say, there is not much trust between the two. It is plainly not a good method of getting someone to cooperate, and the only saving grace in this episode is that Fluttershy might not have done so on purpose, and that Discord had never considered it before. You can only take away your friendship so many times before someone realizes that you're just blowing hot air, and if you make it stick, then they have no incentive to care about making you happy, so it doesn't work as a long term means of correcting someone's behavior.

hi hi Telling someone that you are not their friend anymore is not a trust building technique, it is a bridge burning technique, and it is punitive. That is typically what you do when you're ready to end a friendship and not have trust at all anymore. Authoritative parenting/mentoring/teaching does involve consistent and fair discipline, but it also demands encouragement. Telling someone that you do not like them anymore is not encouraging. That would be like telling a juvenile delinquent that you are working with, "You're hopeless, and I'm not dealing with you anymore." Its also not consistent, because you can only really do it once. If you end up saying it regularly, it loses all meaning. When Fluttershy told Discord that his behavior was reckless and that he needed to fix it, that was indicating her disappointment and trying to establish a moral compass, but that didn't work.

hi hi I'm not sure what to tell you Weesh. I cannot read minds, so I don't know what the writers intended, but it seems to me like they were trying to start making Fluttershy's friends seem petty and vindictive for not giving Discord a chance. Getting the audience feeling some sympathy for Discord at the start, maybe. Considering that up until that point at the end, nobody had any concrete evidence that Discord wasn't just acting the part of a friend in order to manipulate Fluttershy, I had figured that abrupt was their plan. Perhaps one way they could have smoothed out the transition could have been if Discord had been in the process of gloating, talking about all the ways he'd tricked Fluttershy and how he'd been acting the whole time. In the process of doing so, he stops and realizes that some of those moments were actually genuine. Sort of a "When I said such and such, I was lying, and when I said "such and such," wait... that couldn't have been for real, could it?" That would show that even he was as surprised as the audience at the change.

hi hi If you don't have to boil someone's emotions and opinions down into a single black and white, like or dislike, I think it is safe to say that Pinkie Pie has every reason to be angry with Discord himself. She may have enjoyed the chocolate rain, but he also turned her into a twisted shadow of her former self, made her hate her friends and all the things she used to enjoy. I realize that they wanted to make the different characters act as a unified, undifferentiated foil to Fluttershy, but Pinkie Pie certainly had some motive to want to see Discord using his powers for good instead of evil, assuming she could forgive him. We saw that she accepted him in the end, at least, but I think it might be interesting to see if she'd forgive him.