#return of harmony

[cloudyartboi]

Statue of Discord Art

It’s not as detailed as it’s supposed to be, but this was part of another drawing I made for someone else.

[jayrealityv1]

Happy 10th Anniversary to the season premiere of MLP:FiM Season 2, "Return Of Harmony"!

If I'm not mistaken, I believe this is the only time when a two-part special was aired one week apart instead of having both parts air on the same day. And I should know 'cause I totally remember having to painfully wait a whole week to see how everything was gonna be resolved.

This also means it's been 10 years since the mischievous character, Discord, made his official debut. You have to admit, a Decade Of Discord has a very nice ring, doesn't it?

[digikate813]

My Little Pony Re-Watch: Episode 27 & 28 Return of Harmony

* DISCORD!! I’M HOWLING AT THE MOON!! AND SLEEPING IN THE MIDDLE OF A SUMMER AFTERNOON!!!

*Now that that’s out of my system, we have arrived at Season 2! With our first two part adventure, save Equestria story since the very first episode. This is one of the most memorable episodes in the entire series. Another one of those episodes that clicked with viewers and solidified some as official bronies. This may be the toughest one yet to keep to just bullet points, but I’ll do my best.

*It’s weird to me that the way Cheerilee describes Discord makes him sound like a legend rather then a historical figure. Like Nightmare Moon. Maybe they just didn’t want ponies to worry knowing that the embodiment of chaos was one chisel and hammer away from freedom.

*On that note it’s never been quite clear how Discord was freed in the first place. The official explanation is that since Celestia and Luna aren’t the bearers of the Elements anymore, the spell they placed was broken. But that happened a while ago, so it seems weird the statue would crack now. It’s also a running joke in the fandom that the CMCs arguing freed Discord. It could be a combination of the two, I’m just surprised this hasn’t been brought up since. Even as a joke.

*Something that is really nice about this episode is that you see how far the Mane Six have come as a group. Once chaos starts erupting in Ponyville, they rally together like a well oiled machine to quell it the best the can. And once Discord officially challenges them, they stay confident in their abilities. It’s a great demonstration of their progression.

*You can also tell the animators and the rest of the crew had way too much fun with the episode. Chaos and disharmony means anything is a go! Cotton candy clouds. Chocolate milk rain (insert obvious joke here). Soap roads. Cottages floating in the air. Ballet dancing Buffalo. And too much more to list! It’s insanity and a sight to behold in just how bizarre and nonsensical it gets! And there’s even more to the creativity and insanity here, but we’ll get to that later.

*This is where we’re introduced to the stain glass windows in the palace. Depicting important events in Equestrian history (though I’ve noticed that a certain banishment isn’t depicted anywhere.....) This is a visual device I always liked and I’m sad the show seems to have abandoned them in later seasons. I’d love to see fanart of later season finales depicted in the glass window style. So if anyone knows about someone who does it, feel free to let me know.

*As I mentioned, this is where we learn that Celestia and Luna can’t use the Elements anymore because the Mane Six are now their bearers. This adds a bit more credibility against the common complaint that the Mane Six are the only ones who are capable of stopping incoming threats. It’s not that they are the only ones capable. They just took action at the right time, and became bonded to the ancient relics that now embody the best of themselves.

*Speaking of which where is Luna? How come i don’t see more people ask about that??

*One of my favorite things My Little Pony related to watch is reaction videos to this episode, and watching people freak out when they realize Discord is played by John De Lancie. Depending on who you get, it is freaking priceless! But for context I had no idea who De Lancie was. In fact the first episode of Star Trek I ever saw was a TNG episode with him in it because I wanted to know what all the fuss was about.

*But i can also vouch that Discord works exceptionally as a character even if you don’t know his inspiration. It’s no wonder that Discord became an instant fan favorite. Jahn De Lancie gives an incredibly memorable performance, his design is distinct and represents his chaotic nature perfectly, and I’d argue he was the most challenging villain the girls have faced in the series (but we’ve still got one more season to go so that could change)

*What made Discord such a great villain was not only how powerful he was, with obvious inspiration from his Star Trek counterpart, right down to him snapping his fingers and his magic often accompanied by a white flash, not only how much he absolutely reveled in the chaos he created with almost every movement, but how he manipulated the girls. Taking away what made them such strong friends without them even realizing it.

*The Mane Six being “discorded” as it would later be dubbed by fans, is a brilliant way to subdue the threat they present, without an obvious way to fix it. Seeing the girls be change into their exact obvious is eerie, disturbing, and kind of heartbreaking. But is also pretty funny at just how far it can go. 

*It even comes with this great visual of the girls slowly losing their color and turning gray. This would become an iconic visual cue for fanworks. When i saw it it kind of reminded me of that episode of the Powerpuff Girls where the color is drained from Townsville. Which freaked me out as a kid, so this visual reminding me of that only added to the foreboding situation they were in.

*Rarity’s generosity being turned to greed is probably where most of the laughs come from. Especially with her infatuation with Tom the Boulder. Convinced it’s a diamond.

*Everypony sort of gets manipulated and talked into falling for Discord’s spell. Praying on insecurities. Except for Fluttershy! Who’s so accepting of her flaws that she can’t be manipulated! Discord ends up doing it by force, which is kind of funny, but I am so proud of Fluttershy not giving into to the Lord of Chaos’ words. But I’m sure that won’t be important in the future.

*Twilight makes it through the maze without getting Discorded and still with the hope that they can save the day. Despite how much her friends new attitudes are aggravating her. 

*But I do get a kick out of the fact that Twilight accuses Discord of not playing fair. No duh he’s not playing fair Twi. He’s the villain!! That’s not his job!

*Rarity with Tom is a joke that manages not to get old, but why they don’t use their magic to move that boulder once they get their horns back is anypony’s guess.

*I don’t know if we’ve reached the point of saying “this happened in a My Little Pony” cartoon, but i doubt any of the other generations had the main characters and closest friends beating each other up fighting over a book.

*Twilight dubbing Spike the new Rainbow Dash will never not be funny!

*Can we talk about the sound mixing real quick? Not only does this episode have this great memorable score, feeling just as “off” as the rest of the events, but I think they had just as much fun adding the sound effects as they did with the animation. From Discord’s claps all having different weird sound effects, to Pinkie’s bounce while she Discorded sounding like a broken spring. It’s details like that that really sell the fact that nothing is how it’s supposed to be

*In a way, Twilight endurance and frustration during all of this is kind of a role reversal from the first episode. Think about it, if the others had been brainwashed then, she would have instantly ditched them to solve the problem herself. But this time, she knows the best way to stop Discord is together with her friends. But when the Elements don’t work like last time, and she realizes they can’t do it together, she gives up. 

*And the moment where Twilight turns gray and sheds a tear in the shape of a broken heart?! Augh! Right in the chest! It’s one of those moments in an animated show where you are sure thing are going to be fine by the end, given the kind of show it is, but it keeps you wrapped in the moment long enough to feel what Twilight is feeling. That this situation is hopeless. And if you ask me, that’s what counts.

*I really love the way Twilight comes around. With Celestia sending all of the friendship letters she’s written over the last season back to here. Reminding her of why she believes in the magic of friendship so much, and reigniting that spark she found back during the battle with Nightmare Moon. This might have been a bit more impactful if this was the season finale like it was originally planned to, but it’s still very meaningful and triumphant.

*But poor Spike having to belch all of those letters out. I felt so bad for the little guy. He may have been left out of the main action again, but he may have made the greatest sacrifice of all.

*So Big Mac’s Discorded self is, a dog? I have no idea what that says about his true self, but okay.

*Twilight helping all of the others remember who they really are is a great solution. Part of me wishes we could have seen all of their memory flashes, like with Applejack, as a way to look back on how far they’ve all come and what they’ve all learned together. But then i guess we wouldn’t have the chase scene to get Rainbow back, so it’s a decent trade off.

*And I like the role reversal of the fact that they helped Twilight discover the magic of friendship in the first episode, and now she’s doing the same for them by reminding them of that friendship. It really feels like things have come full circle.

*An awesome final stand off with Discord, reinforced by probably my favorite message in one of these two parts. That friendship isn’t always easy and has rough patches. But it’s something special and powerful and always worth fighting for. Solidified as Discord TASTES THE RAINBOW as he’s turned back to stone. I’m sure he won’t be back.

I think it goes without saying that this episode is AMAZING!! Introducing one of the shows best characters IMO. Brilliantly executed and full of laughs, suspense, and some of the greatest hurdles and challenges the Mane Six have ever faced. And it made the triumph all the more satisfying. I don’t know what else I can say but this set a really high bar for the rest of Season 2. Next Time: Lesson Zero!

[shinneth]

So the cool thing about Rebecca Sugar’s style is that with as off-model it tends to be, there’s a good chance even I can replicate the style fairly well. That’s my literal first try of Peridot. Has stars because it’s the Gem Ascension version. She’ll get the proper new outfit in Part 3.

I did some designing because before I start Part 3, there’s at least a couple of designs I need to properly realize because it’s gonna be a madhouse. My samples are down below because that’s SPOILER COUNTRY.

Peridot Facet-2F5L Cut-9FC barely qualifies as a spoiler. She’s a one-scene wonder OC, and as you can tell from the design, she is TOTALLY a good-hearted individual and definitely not a repressed psycho who wants to cripple you for bullying her in school.

NOW THIS IS NEW. And also what I spent most of the day coloring. She is a key player of Gem Ascension 3. Also, a Diamond. Honestly, the design alone spoils the shit out of her identity and the colors make it even more of a transparent disguise... and even her name, Chartreuse Diamond. I assume you wanted ALL of the spoilers so there you go! I was compelled to go a Harley Quinn-inspired route with the design. Maybe it worked out? I also pictured freckles and fat cheeks because I don’t know. 

A simplified design I drew later, though I ended up changing some of the colors because I was indecisive at this point. So indecisive that...

I even made an alt. Also, I believe a proper Diamond should have color-lined hair, yes? Only reason it’s not that way in the main picture is because I just cannot be bothered at this point and I’ll probably make a better one down the road anyway worthy of the proper treatment. 

Can you believe I have two fucking fusions planned for her? SHIT IS INSANE.

Also, need to consider other possible new fusions since we’ve also got Lapis and Bismuth all up in this. And I’d LIKE to do a Lapis/Bismuth fusion, but hell if I know where to even begin with that. At least I’ll have an excuse to use Rainbow 2.0 and Sunstone in the next part. Maybe maybe Obsidian - depends on how batshit things get and how long it takes me to split this group up. 

Knowing me, it’ll be like this...

God, how tempting it is to have White Diamond just Discord the hell out of Part 3...

[art-gun-sketch]

Drawcember #4, "Selfish"

Context: https://youtu.be/t0bgcqw0uTs

[blu3b3rryj4mp1r3]

I came here for the smurfs, I’ve resurfaced for the mlp (great art of whichever fandom you’re into is still great art)

And I’m here to ask, thoughts on Discord?

thank you so much! that makes me so happy to hear! 😄💗 oh I love him! I always laugh when he's on screen, I can tell you right now I've probably watched the return of harmony a billion times and more and it still makes me laugh so much I almost can't breathe! (shout out to the swedish voice actors and the translator btw, I quote so much of those episodes on a regular basis 😂)

I also really like the way he was reformed! I remember being so shocked when I watched keep calm and flutter on for the first time, I was probably just as skeptical of discord being able to change as the rest of the mane 6 were, but he did! and out of all ponies fluttershy was the one to help him!? she used to be terrified of him!

and I love how being reformed, didn't mean he stopped being chaotic. discord could change and he did but he didn't just do so out of nowhere, as time went on he was still learning about friendship and how to be a friend, he made mistakes and he learned from them because he wanted to be better and I love that, I think a good example of that was his storyline in twilight's kingdom!

and I love his friendship with fluttershy, when I watched the return of harmony I would never have thought they'd be friends in the future, discordant harmony is such a great episode, they have so much fun together and are great friends despite all of their differences!

also flying pigs!

[ottos-pseudopods]

Happy birthday, Discord!

[redtutel]

Retutel Re-Watches MLP Specials: Return of Harmony Part 1

This episode introduces my favorite character, and was my favorite episode for a long time, so let’s get started

• At every minute Discord’s presence is shown • If not the character himself, then his power • There’s tons of creativity involved with him

• The duo that got me into the show (that also became my OTP for this show) had a very strange start

• Discord, a sadist who terrorized ponykind, until Celestia and Luna stopped him and turned him to stone

• Celestia is no longer connected to the elements of harmony. This is why she never stops villains anymore. The torch has been passed to the Main Six

• I love how this is a direct sequel to Friendship is Magic

• Discord: A fun, Joker-like character with godlike power • He’s based on Q, but I’ve never seen Star Trek, so I wouldn’t know

• He’s a troll, and a trickster • He finds order dull and beneath him

• I love how he gets into the heads of the main six

• Discord’s monologue has two purposes: Show how much he knows his enemies, and remind the audience about the elements

• There is also a ton of goofiness to the character. He’s evil and sadistic, but he love having fun

• True to his name, Discord often separates the Main Six

• Part 1 is an inverse of Part 2 of Friendship is Magic • Each of the Main Six go through a trail, but instead of displaying their strengths, their weaknesses are shown

• Applejack has difficulty telling others unpleasant truths, or dealing with unpleasant truths

• These trials are incredibly creepy and atmospheric

• Pinkie fears being abandoned by her friends, or not being liked

• Rarity is vain and materialistic • All of the main six have the potential to break their element

• It’s hilarious the Fluttershy is so insecure, she’ll gladly accept what anyone tells her

• However, it does show that she’s a huge pushover, and far too passive

• Rainbow Dash is impulsive, and often makes the wrong decision

• In Part 2, hope just keeps getting lower and lower • His umbrella meows

I’ll continue in another post.