@Scpx  
As opposed to, say, the Princess of Love, which isn’t?

but then she became the princess of friendship, which is just as ridiculus

In the game In Nomine , there are Archangels and Demon Princes.
 
Gabriel, Archangel of Fire, lives in a volcano.
 
Marc, Archangel of Trade, lives in the Heavenly Bazaar.
 
Valefor, Demon Prince of Theft, lives in Stygia.
 
God (quietly/partially) incarnate is Yves, Archangel of Destiny. Where does he live?
 
The Library.

If only. If only. sniffs

Oh the faces.

@SpikeSpiegel  
Which would be pretty cool, but unfortunately wouldn’t really fit the tone of the show.
 
(And then Spike returns decades later, looking like the buff!Spike from his imagination in A Dog and Pony Show)

@Japanese Teeth
 
I’ve probably been spoiled by awesome betrayals (Exosquad and Matthew Marshall, anyone?). I just thought that that kind of backstabbing at this stage should have got the “HOLY SHIT DID THEY REALLY DO THAT” reaction. Since the last two episodes were Spike episodes it’d be a HELL OF A SWERVE if they pulled it off.
 
I can see it now, the ending where Spike refuses redemption and wanders the lands, forsaking any connection. Twilight, the Princesses and their friends all on a balcony, lighting a last firework to hit the sky… a symbol that whatever he thinks, he will always have a home with them.

@SpikeSpiegel  
While it would’ve been interesting from a character standpoint, it would’ve been a real stretch plot-wise; there isn’t a whole lot that Spike could offer Tirek that would make Tirek want to bother turning him. Discord has enough power for Tirek to want to mess with him. That and I don’t think it would really be in-character for him to knowingly betray his country and friends solely because he doesn’t feel useful. Every one of his episodes so far this season has been about him proving himself to the ponies, so making him betray them in the finale after all that development would make it really hard to see him sympathetically. The alternative would be to have him not understand the full implications of his betrayal, but that would make him look incompetent, and he doesn’t need any more of that either.
 
And as a bonus, I think it was better that they used Discord because it gives Discord a more full character arc. It shows there’s more to his redemption than just going “okay, I’m on your side now”. He still has a ways to go before he can truly be considered a good guy.

@SpikeSpiegel  
It seems needlessly contrived, and to throw away too much buildup just for the sake of having Spike betray the mane six.
 
But I suspect that this is an argument that neither of us are going to win.

@SpikeSpiegel  
That might have worked well as a plot point with the proper build up. With Raimundo, he felt that he was being wrongfully held back from the others, because he made a mistake and did what he thought was right, instead of obeying his Master’s instructions. (He was wrong, and wound up putting the world itself in danger.)

lol

@Goobington
 
I just thought it would’ve had a greater impact on the characters - Discord’s betrayal didn’t make anyone but Fluttershy heartbroken, so there wasn’t as much emotional impact on them. I would have loved Tirek twist everything that had happened to Spike to make it look as though he was really victimized and truly out of the loop to the point Tirek could use him to… I don’t know: steal the Essence of the Tree because he himself couldn’t touch it?
 
He’d go about it like Wuya and Raimundo - Spike would be his new enforcer and Discord turned back into stone as a callback “joke”. Spike goes with Tirek because he reasons that “At least he knows what he’s getting” with Tirek… with a little bit of a mental push. I just didn’t feel anything when Discord betrayed them.

@SpikeSpiegel  
How would that even work? If Discord hadn’t betrayed the princesses, Tirek would have been defeated in the first episode and there would be no story. What would turning Spike against Twilight have accomplished?

@Goobington
 
The episode was decent. A solid three out of four from me - I think Discord was a poor choice of a “Betrayer” though. I actually wondered how much an emotional toll it’d be to Twilight if SPIKE was the one Tirek had lured to his side? Oh, that’d be a Hell of a finale. Discord’s betrayal was kind of weak - he practically walked into a trap that he had hand-made in the past, and other than Shy, no one else had a real connection with him.
 
SPIKE, though, everyone (allegedly) loved and with 2 episodes back-to-back dedicated to his character, it would’ve been an INCREDIBLE fall from grace and a greater effect on the premise of a turncoat.

So all this time, Twilight’s alicornification not amounting to much wasn’t the writers pussyfooting around the issue. It was part of the plan all along.

Few moments later…
 

Awwwww~

noice get

Oh yes~!

Her foes will fall from the weight of unabridged encyclopedias.

SO CUTE!

At least she’s happy.

Seems legit