Unpopular opinion time

@Myoozik  
Honestly, if it wasn’t for the effectiveness of Sunset’s story arch, Equestria Girls would probably crash and burn

I never really got into being a Sunset Shimmer fan. I don’t hate her, yet I’m not a fan of her either. I do like how she’s a gamer girl.

@Background Pony #6071  
Yeah same for me, I don’t hate it but it’s just not interesting to me in the slightest. And seeing how it is Hasbro which is always profits first, ideas second, I can kinda get the intention for them to throw their hat in the ring for high school musicals with magic.
 
@Latecomer  
I do know the point, I’m just saying that it was a dumb decision making process.

@LeoNero  
Was that all the series had going for it?

@Latecomer  
And it only worked because he got the chance, time and effort to make it work. Something the trio never got.

@asdtroi  
Well, “never” is a big word - he spent quite some time as stone, if I recall.

@Latecomer  
He did, but only because there wasn’t any other way to contain him at the time and NMM probably came after him.
 
The trio on the other hand, were rendered harmless by the same attack that turned Discord to stone and were at the complete mercy. Cozy in particular was just a filly without any special powers beyond what the bell granted her and one could easily argue that putting her in Tartarus was overkill. Plus, Twilight and co. had the experience of the previously reformed villains by that point so they knew that people could change. Simply put, there wasn’t much need to petrify them.

@LeoNero  

 
I dunno, The Dazzlings also took off really well

@asdtroi  
Yes, the framing was poor - I’d have done it differently.

@Myoozik  
To me it’s certainly the main thing. Though certain factors played an important part in the series.

I like Snips and Snails more than Octavia and Vinely.

@LeoNero  
Perhaps

Whoo boy. Here goes.  
Nightmare Moon: Depowered. Showed remorse.  
Discord: Stoned. Betrayed. Showed remorse several times.  
Chrysalis: Banished. Dethroned. Depowered. Never showed remorse. Declared intent to try again.  
Sombra: Killed(?) twice. Only showed remorse in the comics.  
Sunset Shimmer: Depowered. Showed remorse.  
Tirek: Depowered twice. Imprisoned in Tartarus twice. Stoned. Showed no remorse.  
Starlight Glimmer: Overthrown. Talked down. Showed remorse.  
Pony of Shadows: Imprisoned in limbo twice. Showed no remorse.  
Stygian: Sought out dark magic. Imprisoned. Showed remorse.  
Tempest: Betrayed. Stoned self to save others. Showed remorse.  
Storm King: Stoned. Destroyed. Showed no remorse.  
Cozy Glow: Imprisoned. Showed no remorse.
 
Celestia wanted to reform Discord. Celestia, Luna and Discord stoned the villainous trio.
 
Discord is the one everyone keeps comparing things to so let’s look at this with him in mind.  
Similarities:  

@Brass Beau  
But was Discord remorseful before Celestia had him released? No, he wasn’t. He streight up mocked Fluttershy for trying to reform him and only after a lot of effort on her part did he get to the point where he tried to get better and even then he regressed multiple times. Where was his apology after Celestia saw fit to release him?
 
As for the trip, Chrysais got one outstretched hoof while Tirek and Cozy literally got no chances and if you recall, Discord didn’t have to ask for his second chance, he just got it. And even after he made it clear that he didn’t want it he still wasn’t given up on.
 
The difference here is that Discord got effort and time put into his reformation while the trio didn’t. Had he been treated the same way they were he would have never changed. Thos also goes for the other reformed villans. None of them reformed on their own volition. They needed help to get to that point.

@Brass Beau  
EQG’s success was more of a fluke really

@Myoozik  
I think it was basically due to Rainbow Rocks. The original was better than everyone thought mainly because expectations were so low. It wasn’t a great movie but it was decent enough that I don’t think anyone took offense like they thought they would. Then in comes rainbow rocks and, surprise, its pretty good. Especially the villains. I say that really allowed everyone to let their guard down and just embrace the series as its own thing. The writers certainly helped by allowing the two universes to be somewhat independent of each other. I feel like too much crossover from ponyworld would just invite too many comparisons. Basically letting FiM and EQG to be their own separate things for the large part did the latter universe a ton of good.

@asdtroi  
Celestia told them to reform Discord. They didn’t want to. And Celestia only did it to use him, not unlike a certain centaur.
 
At the beginning of season 4 they immediately blame Discord for what’s happening. (Technically they were right but that’s gonna need to be a seperate discussion for now.) He told them to meet with Zecora. That pointed them to the Tree of Harmony. Sure, he didn’t tell them about the seeds but it did provide Twilight with a lesson about being princess. Being a dick and being evil are mutually exclusive.
 
Next, he fakes an illness just to spend time with Twilight the princess of friendship because she refused to treat him like a friend. Zero effort put into his reformation.
 
Then, he bookmarks the adventures the girls underwent that leads them to the keys for unlocking the box.  
Tirek talks him into betraying them and gets met with being betrayed himself. He apologized and that gave them the sixth key that unlocked the box that allowed them to defeat Tirek.
 
And he didn’t exactly look like he was enjoying seeing ponies drained of their magic. Especially, when it happens to the mane six. Plus, he wasn’t completely forthcoming with Tirek much of the time. Even when helping the villain Discord wasn’t completely heartless.
 
Cozy? She doesn’t want friends. She wants pawns. Did she cry when she failed? Did she apologize? No. She said, “screw it, time to try again elsewhere.”
 
Starlight? She won. She could have taken away Twilight’s friends. She could have continued to delude herself that Equestria wouldn’t end up barren. What did she do? She stopped. She changed her mind. She gave friendship another chance.
 
Whew been watching a lot of MLP today.
 
Anyway, when it comes down to it, the villains that wanted redemption got it. Discord gave redemption a shot. Even if it was just to avoid being stoned he still made a friend in Fluttershy. Maybe he didn’t deserve a second chance but that was the only time a villain was redeemed by royal order. His situation is a complicated and unique set of circumstances and as such are not comparable to any other character. Not unless Twilight orders someone else to redeem them and the villains are force to comply or be stoned again. It could happen, but that’s the only comparison that could be reasonably made.

@Brass Beau  
But still, Discord did get a chance without wanting it. It came directly from Celestia herself. And he had Fluttershy persistantly putting in the effort to actually reform him so he did get that. And the rest did eventually learn to put in the effort themselves and by the trio’s time they already had that experience with him.
 
Did the trio get put out of their improsonments by royalty to be reformed without even wanting it? Did Celestia order that Tirek be released out of Tartarus months after being reimprisoned there to get him reformed? No, she didn’t. Did Chrysalis get a person like Fluttershy to persistantly help her and not give up on her even if she didn’t want anything to do with friendship? No, she dodn’t. Did Cozy get so much as an attempt at rehabilitation despite wanting to do the same thing Starlight did while getting constantly forgiven for everything like Discord? No, she didn’t.
 
Did Discord cry or look sorry when he first escaped or was released? No, he went right back to causing or trying to cause chaos. Did Starlight feel bad after she tried to steal the cutie marks? She brushed off Twilight’s friendship speech and ran away. Saying that the trio didn’t feel bad for their actions glosses over the fact that the reformed villains didn’t either. They needed help to get to that point. Help that Discord got from Fluttershy and Celestia and Starlight got from Twilight. The trio recieved no such help.
 
It is also worth noting that the things Discord did after he was given a second chance was more aggregious because he was actually given that second chance. It is unfair that he got that and the trio didn’t. Sure, he helped out at times, but thats because Fluttershy helped him get to that point and until she got involved in the magic stealing he didn’t seem all too displeased with what he was doing.

@asdtroi  
The crux that differentiates Discord(i think) is that they inexplicably tolerated him despite constant problems, sometimes going so far as to make their own excuses as to what he did wasn’t ‘so bad’.

@WyrmSpawN  
Pretty much this. Had the trio been treated half as well as Discord was, they might have actually reformed eventually.

@asdtroi  
Three individuals that desire nothing but power and the subjugation of everyone with their grasp, nearly destroyed the world and showed no remorse, explicitly state their intention to continuously try until they succeed and got put into stasis for it. The possibility for redemption is there. They just gave up their own chance at redemption at that time. Maybe Cozy will be freed and become best friends with Flurry Heart. Maybe the changelings will forgive Chrysalis and she’ll act as a motherly adviser to her people. Maybe Tirek will return to his homeland and become a knight and confidante to the current ruler. The possibility is there. It just wasn’t there when they decided “screw you, I’m gonna try again,” after nearly dooming an entire continent at the least! If the writers wanted the villains dead, they would have killed them (like Sombra). As it stands, redemption is possible. It’s just left to interpretation if it will happen or not.

That and Discord never knew anything about friendship. The second someone was nice to him he almost instantly started folding.
 
Everyone was nice to Cozy from the get go. She had so many people showing her genuine kindness and friendship and it didn’t matter to her.
 
Besides, the trio aren’t dead. if at any point Twilight wants to give them another chance, they’re right there.

@gingerninja666  

 
This, yes.

@Brass Beau  
Discord did things just as bad as the trio. He was remorseless and he did it all for his personal pleasure. At least the trio had a goal to their actions, selfish as they may be. One could argue that Discord gave up his chance at redemption when he mocked Fluttershy for trying to reform him or when he turned the lake to ice. Why wasn’t he turned back to stone right then and there? He clearily wanted to keep doing what he did previously.
 
 
@gingerninja666  
Discord betrayed Fluttershy’s friendship for Tirek. Sure, he apologized but he only switched back after Tirek betrayed him.
 
As for Cozy, she misinterpreted the meaning of Friendship and if you recall, a lot of that kindness was due to her acting nice and helpful herself. She also spent most of her time in the school with the plan of taking it over. If you want another example, Starlight was treated with streight up reverence by her townspeople, but when they started questioning her she attacked them. A school does not equel a reformation program and it was no excuse to just give up on her and dump her in Tartarus. And thats not even mentioning Chrysalis and Tirek.
 
As for the stoning thing, Discord himself said “together forever” to which everyone cheered. Not a good sign. And another thing to note is that no one ever tried reforming the trio with the slight exaption of Chrysalis. This is in stark contrast to the reformed villains, none of whom would have ever reformed on their own without help.

@asdtroi  
Discord messed with one town. He didn’t nearly destroy the world and commit genocide. And they were gonna stone him again. Fluttershy pulled a Batman Gambit by refusing to and it worked. If it didn’t, if it really didn’t get him on the right path, he’d be stone right now. Discord may have played some pranks after being unpetrified but he didn’t swear that he’d go around destroying everything. Not until the very end when he basically won. He didn’t immediately attack or escape them. He did a lot more for his own redemption than the mane six did or the villainous trio tried.
 
As for Cozy, she straight up told the mane six, who apologized for Cozy not knowing that friendship is more than just power, that she didn’t care and was gonna try again. They apologized to her and she threw it in their faces. She was in a school all about friendship and managed to ignore everything they were teaching. That isn’t a misunderstood child. That’s a sociopath. She calculated her every move and manipulated people en masse with the intention of ruling over them. She mocked everyone for their kindness and willingness to forgive. They tried and were ready to go through the whole process. She wasn’t, even if it was in her best interest to do so. Hell, she reveled in mocking the very concept of friends. Even Discord tried to be friends with Tirek. Discord was genuinely hurt by that betrayal. Cozy doesn’t care.
 
And Starlight was a decisive and charismatic leader. Her townspeople wanted to welcome and involve her in their celebration. They wanted to show her she was forgiven. One of the last shots of season five was Starlight going back to her village in tears and apologizing. They chose to focus on her happiness and positive traits instead of dwelling on the past. They wanted her to have a happy future.
 
The villainous trio chose power and vengeance over friendship and paid the price.