Discord

Discord is the former ruler of Equestria, and the main antagonist of The Return of Harmony Part 1 and part 2. Once Discord escapes from his stone prison, Twilight Sparkle and her friends must act quickly to summon the Elements of Harmony in order to stop him. He, as his name suggests, is a personification of "discord", or a lack of harmony between ponies. .

History
Princess Celestia mentions in The Return of Harmony Part 1 that Discord preceded her as ruler of Equestria and caused chaos throughout all of Equestria for earth ponies, unicorns and pegasi alike. Nobody dared stand up to his terrible rule until the sisters Luna and Celestia used the Elements of Harmony to turn him to stone, and took his throne from him. In The Return of Harmony Part 1, Celestia explained that she and Luna no longer are in possession of the Elements of Harmony (possibly due to the Nightmare Moon fiasco). Discord had escaped from his stone prison and took the Elements of Harmony, hiding them in the Canterlot castle labyrinth. He took the ponies' wings and horns so there is "no cheating" in the "game" he proposed to find the Elements, and separates the ponies. Discord used representations of the cast's cutie marks, and (with the exception of Fluttershy and Twilight) subtly manipulates them into questioning the morality of their element, which drains them of their color and severs their connection to the element they represent, causing their personality to become their polar opposite.



Personality
Discord is a mischievous, manipulative trickster that uses powerful magic and illusions to alter reality and control others. He seeks revenge against Celestia for imprisoning him in stone by stealing the Elements of Harmony and causing disorder all across Equestria. He has a sense of showmanship and drama, preferring to be playful towards his victims before getting down to business, even mocking Celestia and the Mane Six in the Canterlot Tower. He delights in chaos and confusion at the expense of others and believes that there's "no fun in making sense". He also seems to be very impatient, especially with Fluttershy when he can't corrupt her like he did with the others. When Fluttershy refuses to succumb to Discord, he taps her head and magically alters her into a mean-spirited version of herself. He is not without a sense of fair play, however, as he voluntarily returns the remaining pony's wings and horns when the "game" ended.

Gallery



 * Discord image gallery

Trivia



 * "Discord" means "a lack of agreement or harmony between things", or "disharmony".
 * A creature composed of several different animals is called a chimera. While Discord is technically a chimera, this term is not used in the show. He is composed of a bat wing, a pegasus wing, a snake tail, an eagle left arm, a lion right arm, a horse head, one fang, a deer left leg, a dragon right leg, an elk horn, a chinese dragon horn, and a snake tongue. He also has different sized pupils.
 * Cheerilee describes Discord's statue as a "draconequis" as transcribed in the closed captions, but The Hub's website spells it as "dragonokis".
 * Much like John de Lancie's popular character Q on Star Trek: The Next Generation, Discord appears with a bright white flash, and the two even share some mannerisms, including a fondness for "games".