immblueversion

You could easily ask the same question about Princess Cadance and Shining Armor for the majority of Season 3, and look; those two appear in episodes when they need to. The same answer applies to Flurry Heart in this case. She'll probably appear the next time the show visits the Crystal Empire, which we can't count on happening more often than it already has, and in that case, it will be when she's needed, just like "The Times They Are a Changeling". Unless we've completely forgotten about that episode. :-P

Or, you know, characters who are being foreshadowed throughout the season (who wound up becoming brony bait anyway). Though Trixie and maybe Discord are probably the only ones who will appear in the finale with an established fanbase lasting well before S6 entered production.

I think we can effectively consider Gladmane... ...a one trick pony. yaaaaaaaaaaay

You mean a retread of "Midnight Sparkle", but in Equestria?

The lack of a Flim Flam song is almost criminal, but considering it probably would've lasted more than three minutes, perhaps it was a blessing in disguise?

I think it's based on "There and Back Again", the alternate title of "The Hobbit"; like this title, the one you mentioned doesn't have the word "To" in it. The rhyme just makes it seem more likely to me. As for the villain, Queen Chrysalis does indeed seem like the biggest contender. Plus, if Trixie is involved (I think it's likely given Jim's tweet tease after "No Second Prances" aired), it'd be all the easier to get Chrysalis since they share the same VA.

The S6 premiere really helped me get past the initial problems I had with Starlight's backstory, if only for its implications by showing us Sunburst's perspective. Let's suppose for a moment that Starlight didn't contact him because she felt she couldn't muster up the courage to do so. Given her blindness to her own incredible talent, it's natural to believe she was the kind of person who'd put her faith in someone to do what she failed at; that's what she'd normally ask of Sunburst when she had problems with magic. To her, Sunburst was the better pony now, so he would've been more "qualified" to write back to her, rather than the other way around. That is, assuming he still thought of her as a friend after getting all swept away by the awesomeness of his cutie mark. And Sunburst probably would've, had he not started struggling in school. We know that Sunburst had big aspirations when he signed up for Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns, only to have them dashed because he lacked the proper skills to apply his knowledge. Judging from his tiny house tucked away in some back alley in a faraway city, you can tell he probably wanted to disappear from the world. How could he possibly face his loved ones after letting himself down to them like that? It's possible he felt they'd be better off forgetting him. But to Starlight, his silence only confirmed her greatest fear: he moved on from his past life, and from her. And it was all because of the cutie mark that took him away from her. While a fair bit of what I've just written is mostly just my headcanon, it's that kind of nuance that helped lend a good deal of credibility to Starlight's whole situation. Now I can look back on Starlight and say she's not nearly as big a letdown as many people pinned her for. I've enjoyed a good deal of her screentime this season, and I'm more than looking forward to how the finale plays out.

Didn't Jim say that Trixie's story wasn't over after "No Second Prances"? It's obviously guaranteed that Trixie will show up in another episode after that, but at this point, could this be a hint that she will have a role to play in the finale?

There were no human characters in the movie pitch I'm talking about. And I'm talking about the 2017 movie.

But with all seriousness, I'm hoping each of Twilight's friends gets a moment to shine in this movie rather than just being mostly a collective group of friends who do mostly everything together like in nearly every two-parter after "The Return of Harmony". That's part of why I liked "Friendship Games" so much compared to the other "Equestria Girls" movies.

Yeah, that. Also, that goddamn "bringing the ponies into our world makes more sense than a movie set in the show's universe" thing makes me wanna be like Plankton. Or it would have if Hasbro didn't make the wise decision and move over to Lionsgate. F**king Sony...

Don't worry... There's more than a good chance they'll get their time to shine in the movie. Considering one reason the draft pitched to Sony was rejected was how the ponies besides Twilight barely got any characterization (I can't remember what was said, exactly, I just know it was in one of the leaked emails before Lionsgate took up the movie), I think the odds are pretty solid.

I'm more convinced it's the new friends Starlight and Spike made this season: Trixie, Ember, Thorax, and (maybe) Discord. I think Gabby (the griffon from this week's episode) is also a good possibility.

And I'm not discounting the possibility. But again, the fact that she hasn't been on any of the official and leaked images suggests we should keep our expectations for a major role at a minimum.

We already have evidence that the movie will be 2D-based. There was Tara Strong's post with a cutout of Twilight with a slightly different design: This matches up with a later-revealed model of Sia's character in the movie, Songbird Serenade, who was officially announced at this year's San Diego Comic Con: Really makes me want to see what the animation will be like. With Toon Boom, you can never be quite certain.

We're still discussing this because that "confirmation" on Wikipedia was removed weeks ago. Sorry, but there just weren't any sources to back up Kelly's appearance in the movie; someone either wanted to troll people or pass off their dreams as truth by putting it on Wikipedia, as is common for such a site that anyone can edit. A Wikipedia article without verification may be as factual as a forum post saying random things like MLP was cancelled after season 3.

Word has it that most of the movie will be spent exploring the world beyond Equestria's borders. If that's the case, I'd much rather have the movie go more in depth with the new elements, while showing just enough to bring audiences up to speed with the TV elements (the Mane Six are friends/protectors of Equestria, Spike is Twilight's assistant, Princess Celestia is the ruler) and letting the rest of their characterizations handle themselves in this new story.

I doubt Starlight will be in a prominent role. The concept and promotional art that was released/leaked so far only shows the Mane Six plus Spike, and the only actors from the show currently confirmed to be in the movie belong to those seven characters. Add that to the seven celebrity guest stars already announced, and we have a minimum of 14 characters to give the spotlight to.

The director didn't say it's going to be a flop; he said it's going to be a challenge making a film that will be a worthy followup to a masterpiece like the original, and in fact feels very excited in making that a reality.

I agree that a lot of interest has settled down; there aren't nearly as many media articles awing over, dissecting or ripping down the brony culture as before. But what do you think will happen when the MLP movie comes out next year? It's slated for a wide international release, and any childless adults who opt to watch it over "Blade Runner 2" that weekend are bound to put themselves on the radar again. Now, odds are it might not outperform "Blade Runner 2", but in the event it did... hoo boy.

You may not consider them villains, but they were still antagonists; characters who set up a conflict in the story and actively stand in the main character's way of resolving it. And the antagonists I listed weren't forgiven for what they did (as of this posting, anyway), and they outweigh the antagonists that were. So the odds of the movie's villain being forgiven are not as favorable or certain as they seem.

About character deaths: they did pretty well dodging problems in "The Lost Treasure of Griffonstone".

An underwater city in MLP is practically guaranteed to happen already. That's all I'll say.

Even though the official panel described in the article already confirmed that seaponies are going to serve as an important plot point. Here's how they fit into the movie:

The Diamond Dogs, Flim and Flam, Ahuizotl, Garble, Queen Chrysalis, King Sombra (discounting the comics), Lightning Dust, Dr. Caballeron, the Mane-iac, Suri Polomare, Lord Tirek, the Dazzlings, Wind Rider, Spoiled Rich, Svengallop, Principal Cinch, and Zesty Gourmand would like to have a word with you. Considering one of Sony's criticisms of that draft was that it played out too much like an episode of the show--specifically, leaving past characters underdeveloped or plot points unexplained as if the whole audience is already familiar with them--this could be fairly likely. After all, the goal any movie adaptation should strive to achieve is to stand on its own even if viewers unfamiliar with what it's based on.