I don't know. Is it just me?

I think I've pinpointed one of my main issues with the more recent episodes of mlp...that meaning season 5 and 6 in general. At this moment, I'm about halfway through the Season 6 finale, and I'm almost reluctant to continue because this setup, this forced storytelling just feels like a fanfiction to me, and I really don't want to see this show that I love so much stumble* like this.

Now, putting aside the main characters in order to let the secondary characters shine is all fine and good, but...I don't care about these secondary characters! I still don't like Trixie, I can't wrap my head around Starlight's reformation, and although he's fine as a character, I don't like what Thorax's existence did to Changeling lore and i'm frankly finding it hard to retain my suspension of disbelief. I always look forward to Discord, of course, but even he has become a bit of a diluted caricature of himself in recent appearances, and this just upsets me. Also, the way other ponies treat him (rudely, without an ounce of caution or tact) is still just hard to believe considering he was way more destructive towards Equestria than the likes of Nightmare Moon or Queen Chrysalis ever were**.

And then there's this special stone that absorbs magic...This just made me sad. An element forced into the story in order to handicap the key players and make it so the problem couldn't be solved with a simple snap of Discord's claws just feels lazy. Now, this magic rock would be totally acceptable if it appeared about five seasons ago, but it falls flat when you ask yourself "hey, why didn't Chrysalis bring some of this rock with her on her first invasion?" If it's powerful enough to stop Discord and Starlight's magic from so far away, tying a couple pebbles to your troops could have majorly affected the outcome of your raid on Canterlot.

Anyways, I haven't actually finished the episode yet, so I guess I should calm down and continue watching before I get myself too riled up. Let's see how this episode plays out...

*Not crumble, stumble--in the hope that it will stand up again.
** Nightmare Moon hardly did a thing to Equestria, and was still majorly feared when she was first re-integrated into society. Discord caused mass havoc, pain, fear and general destruction on multiple occasions and still gets sassed by two-bit magicians and rock farmers. What?