I don't know man. I feel like you're trying really hard to make out Celestia as a disturbingly well thought out mental case that conspires to be above everything. With no morality or hint of humanity that just sets everything up as a means to control a small group of characters. Not even to gain anything more than what she already has. I mean, it's certainly a possibility. Hell, it's pretty damn plausible. Fanfictions have been written about it. Headcanons like this linger in the back of some minds. We are older, and we like to get darker with our imaginations.But, I have to ask, do you really think this is the case? Do you really think any writers would intentionally or unintentional instill such negative ideas in a family cartoon with a younger demographic in mind? Do you really think that a kid would not already know enough to recognize what morality the plot is trying to convey? Or that characters are being silly? Or do you really think that kids would think so deeply that they would get such ideas and distaste for others being strange or different? Or even believe that they are common-place to the point where they follow someone like Twilight's example to a t? If you are seriously getting these vibes, I don't know what else to tell ya. If not, then you really don't need to put so much effort into trying to justify your distaste for characters and how they are portrayed when it seriously isn'tbig of a deal. I can make a big deal out of things myself. I'm pretty obsessive. But, I don't try to bring negativity for the sake of making some point that just brings about more. You are blowing the flaws of the episode, and the show as a whole, way out of proportion. It's this line of thinking that causes people to attack what they don't understand. When you become so accusatory like that.Like, really, not every neurotic mistake is born from someone else's influence. Or an inherently weak-willed individual. Twilight overthinks things all the time, and was always an anti-social child that didn't always get other ponies. She would probably have the same issues if Celestia never came into her life. Whether she would be better off or not is debatable. But, I highly doubt that Celestia didn't know these things. Twilight definitelyput Celestia on a pedestal that caused some blind devotion. But, I'm fairly convinced that she is past that at this point. I mean, if she was still that way, she would be much more willing to trust Discord in the episode. As it was Celestia's decision in the first place to trust him. Or y'know, Celestia would not have acted as she did in Lesson Zero if she was really to blame for Twilight's behavior there. She even changed her policy on friendship reports to make sure it didn't happen again. She didn't think Twilight could be that nutty. Not to mention that, as far as I could tell, there is nothing in the show that implies that Celestia ever taught Twilight anything about friendship during their time together. And, it is implied that Twilight was never willing to learn anything about it. She wasn't interested. Celestia was the reason she started to care about the concept in the first place. Twilight takes her studies and her responsibilities very seriously. She's quite obsessive herself. She's bound to create some awkwardness or some issues due to this.And, as for Discord? I somewhat agree that Discord was trying to take a moral highground to teach Twilight a lesson in his own way. I mean, he definitely did. But, regardless of the result or his inherent nature, that doesn't excuse him. As nopony was just gonna simply accept his manipulative tactic without some distaste. He was being a jerk either way. No one likes to be deceived the way they were by him. You're gonna blame Twilight for havingmoral standards, and say that what Discord did was fine just because it was withinnature? You really expected him to go scot-free? Twilight's friends would stop being her friends if she was truly that warped. They all didn't make a huge deal out of it because they are smart characters that care about each other. They wouldn't dwell on the situation because they knew that nopony was acting with malevolent intent. They knew that it was all a big misunderstanding. And, nopony was willing to cause more of a fuss about it. This is nothing to lose a friend over or cause a giant argument.If someone is gonna retort, I think I'm not replying anymore. I've tried to defend this long enough. Most people will still disagree.