So, I’ve now been paid twice for writing about ‘My Little Pony.’ I should put that on my dating profile.

It’s tempting, when we want someone to like us, to try to be what we think they want us to be. Being open and revealing our unique personality can be alarming; Discord has a near-panic attack at the idea of how Fluttershy might react to seeing just how strange and different he really is. But, though it’s a risk, letting the other person see us for who we are is really the only way to have a relationship. If we constantly put up a front and hide the things that make us who we are, then we’re not really helping anything.

This is not, I hasten to add, a license to do whatever you want under the excuse “it’s who I am.” Early in their relationship, Fluttershy makes it very clear to Discord how much she will and will not tolerate from him. His chaotic, carefree personality is fine; his penchant for playing mean tricks on people or throwing childish tantrums is not.

She thus makes the distinction between what Discord should change and what he shouldn’t. Fluttershy doesn’t ask him to be a completely different person, and she can make allowances for his bad habits, but she does ask that he not be a selfish jerk and lets him know that his working to overcome that side of himself is a condition of their remaining friends.

Read the rest here.