TanktheTortoise

Apparently there is a fanfiction that when Starswirl casted the spell he became a Draconequess instead, thus giving birth to Discord. Unlikely but still possible. That being said M.A. Larson, who wrote both episodes, specifically said she created new Magic not a new Spell and that was the main difference. However, both him and Meghan McCarthy said they have no idea what Starswirl's spell was originally intending to do.

Personally I look at it as a 'To each their own' subject. It is not hurting anyone, and no one is forcing you to read them so if it makes the person happy I say that's their own business.

Dunno if I would like it but it couldn't hurt. Though Francis Sparkle (FiW equivalent of Shining) sang in Foaly Matripony and it wasn't bad so I could see it working. That being said Dash and Fluttershy need their own dedicated songs before this is to happen in my opinion. All they have is Super Speedsters and So Many Wonders which are more jingles than songs leaving their duet as their only real song.

I would go with no they are not. I know I am in the minority in this thread, but I think that the main reason why the villains have all been unicorns are due to the fact that while you can write good villains without magic it is a great deal harder in a genre like MLP. Heck just look at some of the grimdark fics like the infamous Cupcakes. They depict any number of different character types as evil. The limitation is due to the fact that this is a child's show at heart. We can't show an earth pony wielding a weapon and actually using it so that's out. The major threats provided by Pegasi are frightening to comprehend. Imagine the damage a hurricane could do in the middle of equestria?! However, that pretty much requires an army to do something like that, and once again deals with things likely not to be seen in the show. All in all, it is simply easier to make a singular villain that has magic powers be a credible threat. I do not believe there are any more evil unicorns than there are other races. Just that they are more likely to be encountered in the show.

I personally agree with the above posters that say the term gets thrown around too much. The defining trait of a Mary Sue is if someone else can do it, she can do it better. Twilight would be a Mary Sue if she could do everything the others can, but by herself and better in someway. Same for Cadance. We have seen time and time again that these characters are flawed. Heck Shining's INTRO episode put him as being manipulated by the villain. That doesn't happen to a Mary Sue. I have yet to see any character that approaches Mary Sue levels despite what some fans seem to believe. Twilight is not a Mary Sue BECAUSE she has to rely on her friends. Cadance is a princess and an alicorn, but she still has to work with Shining to defeate Chrysalis, she could not have done that on her own. This means she is not a Mary Sue either. As for Shining Armor? Are there people who genuinely belive that he is a Mary Sue? He has yet to actually do anything amazing on his own. The only real character traits we have for him is that he loves his sister and his wife, and he is dutiful. These are not the traits of a Mary Sue. In other notes, I new that Mary Sue came from a Star Trek fan fiction but I was not aware that it was intentionally written that way as farce. Thanks for the info! You learn something new every day. And knowing is half the battle....

Incidentally why no Babs option? Agreed about Sweetie Belle. They have acknowledged that they did not go with Scoots being handicapped because given the implied orphan they felt it would be too depressing for a kid's show. That being said Scoots is always on her Scooter and given the fact that RD has complimented her on it she might start to do more with that and beat the other two out. Personally I would like them to get their marks, but still go on crazy adventures. They showed in Hearts and Hooves day and Family Appreciation Day that they can still be looney even without searching for their marks. Also I believe that given the fans are already 98.9573% sure of their actual marks I think that continuing down the 'do crazy stuff get cutiemarks' method of character growth can only go so far before it falls into tedium. I would love to see an episode where they do a more serious take on their friendship by having one of them get their mark, and not wanting to let the other two know for fear of being rejected for having the thing they so desired. This of course would end with their new mark being revealed and the others still accepting her saying that they are proud of their friend. Conversely it could go with a one-sided version of the ending from Green isn't your Color where we follow one after getting their cutiemark and she tries to hide it, but at the end it turned out all 3(4?) of them had gotten theirs and were all afraid of being rejected. That being said I find it unlikely it would be happening before the final season. Though there is the fact that Lauren Faust has said she had intended on the CMC to get their marks eventually.

My favorite would have to be 'The Amazingly Awesome Tank the Tortoise by R. Dash'. I think it gives Dashie some amazing characterization while staying true to the series and the ending is just spectacular! Other favorites would have to be the Dear series (Dear Sweetie Belle, Dear Applebloom, etc). While I don't exactly find that they work given the real timeline of the show per se (unless the mane 6 are like in their 30's). I find that they are enjoyable to read and provide great alternate interpretations of the characters while still staying in a realm that it is believable. I would highly recommend any of these to those who haven't read them yet!

Hate to say it but no I likely would not have watched it. Growing older has widened my perception of things, and allowed me to understand that I can like stuff that doesn't fall into the usual categories of what certain people are supposed to like. Had this come out when I was a child I wouldn't have given it a chance simply cause it was My Little Pony and boys don't watch that. That being said I did watch the occasional episode of Sailor Moon growing up when nothing else was on so I might have come across an episode or two.

Personally I find that the whole debacle about her becoming an alicorn was based around the fear that she would outlive her friends. Given that this show is about friendship this left a great deal of fans hurt. Thing is we don't know that her becoming an alicorn does anything more than make her have wings and a title. For this reason, whether the show continued or not, I personally have grown to be fine with the decision. That being said I do agree it definitely seems like a series finale change rather than a seasonal change, but I digress. I believe that once Season 4 does come out people will start to see they were worried for nothing.

I find myself having to correct my statements when I'm talking a lot. Saying 'everypony' instead of everyone, etc. Also I find that I sleep better after watching an episode or two.