Discord is a male draconequus and former antagonist introduced in the season two premiere. Princess Celestia explains that Discord is the spirit of chaos and disharmony who once ruled over Equestria in a state of unrest and unhappiness, until she and Princess Luna used the Elements of Harmony to imprison him in stone. However, after the sisters lost their connection to the Elements, the spell was broken and Discord broke free. Later in the series, Princess Celestia decides that Discord should be reformed so his magic can be used for good.
He is also known to be the art teacher of Hub High.
Physical appearance[]
"This creature is called a 'draconequus'. He has the head of a pony, and a body made up of all sorts of things." — Cheerilee
The word "draconequus" is composed of the Latin "draco" or Greek "drakon", meaning "dragon", and the Latin "equus", meaning "horse". Discord is technically a chimera since he is composed of the body parts of different animals, but this term is not used for him in the show (a more traditional chimera appears in the episode Somepony to Watch Over Me). His head is horse-like, much different from other ponies' head styles, though Cheerilee describes it as a "head of a pony". He has a deer antler on the right, a blue goat horn on the left, one long fang, different-sized pupils, a snake tongue, a goat beard, and white bushy eyebrows. He has the right arm of a lion, the left claw of an eagle, the right leg of a lizard, and the left leg of a goat. In addition, he has a bat's right wing, a Pegasus' left wing, a horse's mane, and a dragon-like snake's tail with a white tail tuft. The shape of his body resembles that of a snake. Discord bears a resemblance to a Chinese dragon, a creature often depicted with a serpentine body, facial hair, feline claws, and antlers.
Personality[]
In The Return of Harmony Part 1 and Part 2, Discord is shown to be a mischievous and manipulative trickster who effortlessly pulls pranks on others through the use of his powerful magic, illusions, and hypnotism with little to no consideration towards his victims. He has a sense of showmanship and drama, preferring to be playful towards his victims before getting down to business, as seen when he mocks and banters with Celestia and the Mane Six in Canterlot Tower. He laughs and amuses himself with his magical chaos, mostly at the cost of others. Among other things Discord turns the ponies against each other, making Twilight Sparkle miserable and depressed, and generally causes ridiculous things to happen.
Discord is arrogant and overconfident, as he underestimated the ponies' ability to restore their friendship and wield the Elements of Harmony. Despite having a fondness for chaos, he can become easily annoyed if things don't go according to his plan; he becomes impatient when he cannot corrupt Fluttershy as easily as the other ponies. In Keep Calm and Flutter On, Discord states that he's never had a friend. He appears touched when Fluttershy declares herself to be his friend, and it is that glimpse of genuine friendship that causes him to undo the chaos he had caused. He states at the end of the episode that he will use his magic only for good from now on: "most of the time". Since then, he has kept his chaotic tendency to a low, though is still more than willing to cause mischief.
In Princess Twilight Sparkle - Part 1 and Princess Twilight Sparkle - Part 2, he was shown to indirectly aid the Mane Six in defeating the plunderseeds, which he himself planted long ago in a bid to defeat the royal sisters. Even after the force that is most capable of defeating him is gone, he keeps his word to Celestia and does not go on a rampage, and he is rather easily swayed by Fluttershy. In Twilight's Kingdom - Part 1 and Twilight's Kingdom - Part 2, after he betrays the ponies of Equestria and Lord Tirek subsequently betrays him, he shows deep remorse for his actions and apologizes to Fluttershy and her friends upon realizing the true importance of friendship. When Twilight and the others forgive him and the ponies accept him in the end, Discord appears truly happy, which he expresses by giving Princess Celestia a bouquet of flowers.
Magic[]
Discord can warp reality to a seemingly indeterminable degree, such as changing the physical properties of the world around him and bending the laws of nature and physics. He is skilled at performing magic and manipulating the minds of other creatures and ponies. In the case of Twilight and her friends, he either confronts them with trials that make them question themselves or twists their minds directly. He can also change his physical appearance and size with relative ease. As stated in Twilight's Kingdom - Part 1, Discord also has the ability to sense magical disturbances, which he uses to track down the Tartarus escapee Lord Tirek.
Weaknesses[]
Despite his powers, Discord's magic has its limitations. The Elements of Harmony are shown to have more power than Discord, allowing their users to entrap him in stone. In addition, his chaotic magic can be repelled with equally powerful magic, which Princess Celestia does to the Elements of Harmony in Keep Calm and Flutter On.[note 3] Discord is also physically vulnerable to illness, as seen in Three's A Crowd.