PacificGreen

I'd like to see some characters return (maybe Trenderhoof) and some more map episodes involving the Mane Six (plus a Spike/Starlight + one of the Mane Six map episode)

Season 5 for me. I think the story arc involving Starlight, as well as the new ponies we got that season (Tree Hugger, the griffons, the Princess Spike ponies, Wind Rider & Stormy Flare, Coloratura), really did it for me. I mean, it's good that we keep getting lots of new characters, but I felt like season 5 was the perfect balance in terms of how many characters we'd had at that point- not too many to keep track of. Plus 2015 was kind of one of my favorite years overall, so maybe I'm just looking at that season from a more positive lens. Season 6 also had a lot of good eps, though, and Season 7 kinda got off to a rocky start but really improved by the second half. For a while, I figured Season 4 was my favorite - probably because it had the best finale and an interesting story arc with lots of theorizing to be done. It was also the first season that started after I started watching the show.

Like @ShootingStar159 said, Fluttershy did have a more major role in this episode than the rest of the mane characters, but it was primarily a Mane Six- Starlight episode. In fact, I see this as more of a Starlight episode than anyone else.

I was thinking today about how a couple of years must have passed in-universe since the start of the show now, since we seem to be bringing up past events and characters a lot (we've had two Summer Sun celebrations, and we have had two winter-related episodes, Winter Wrap Up and Tanks for the Memories). Which then got me thinking... It seems that this season, we've been revisiting lots of old characters (like Big Daddy McColt, Iron Will, Hoity Toity, Photo Finish, Thunderlane and Rumble, Dr. Fauna) and have even brought up the Friendship Journal from Season 4. Even characters like Vapor Trail and Sky Stinger seem to be getting a few background cameos. So, since the past couple of seasons have seen us revisiting plot points and characters from as far back as season 1, do you think we might take another look at the Equestria Games again? Since a lot of viewers were kinda disappointed that the episode turned out to be primarily a Spike episode, I could definitely see them trying the concept again, with more focus on the actual games. The one major thing I can think of that would be a hindrance, is that the Equestria Games are obviously meant to mirror the Olympics in real life, which happen every four years (two if you count between summer and winter, and vice versa), so perhaps not enough time has passed for the EG to come around again. Of course, if the writers can't think of anything to do with the concept plotwise, it won't happen regardless, but what do you think? Is it a possibility?

Apparently she's called "Evil Pie Hater Dash" on Derpibooru.

I didn't really like this one, to be honest, though it wasn't terrible. Sure, there were some funny moments (like Villain Dash), and the whole throw-away-the-pie shtick was funny the first few times, but the execution felt kinda cliched, the gags kinda got old quick and the episode did feel rather dragged out. I'm not even sure what was the point of the last scene where Dash was basically torturing herself to eat the sludge pie. Couldn't they just have left it at Dash admitting she should've told Pinkie the truth sooner? So yeah, not really an episode I'll be rewatching anytime soon. Still, the season's definitely been improving over the second half, so I'm pretty optimistic about the closing three episodes.

Hmm, you have a point. I guess I was thinking primarily about the brony backlash that would ensue. I have a feeling a lot of fans (bronies) would unleash a stream of complaints if Twilight, AJ or Rarity suddenly had a different voice, then either deeming the show unwatchable or saying the new voice would be taking a reeeaally long time to get over, but still watching. XD. I know I had the same reaction when Arthur suddenly switched to Flash animation in 2012.

Since the Mane 6's voices (or any commonly recurring character for that matter, like Big Mac, Granny Smith, Flim Flam Bros, etc) are just so distinct, I can imagine they'd be hard to replicate by anyone without fans noticing too much. I feel like, if a VA had to leave the show for whatever reason, they'd either can the show and start a reboot (or a new show that's still set in the same continuity but is post-FiM), or they could do a time skip - say, to a point where the Mane Six all have kids- so that the new voice might be justified by the characters aging.

I haven't seen the movie personally (and am in no rush to see it- it's not that I don't want to, I'm just not as hyped up about it as most other fans), but going by reactions I've seen, its fans really seem to like it (while fairly criticizing some parts of it), while it's not doing so well with professional critics, as some have said here. The Rotten Tomatoes' consensus seems to support this. Personally, I think we fans might be a little biased towards this film- don't get me wrong, I'm confident the movie is as great as many of you say, but remember that bias is inevitable. Some of it not really wrong, we're just more familiar with the setting and characters than the general audience- while professional critics are most likely going to be coming into this not knowing a thing about (or at most having a basic knowledge of) the show and the franchise, so they're going to have less to appreciate. While it's okay to refute professional opinions with your own opinions, I think we should keep this mind when addressing this dissonance of opinions. When I see this movie, I'll just be going in hoping for a great movie to add to the lore of FiM, respecting the viewpoints of those outside the fanbase, and just enjoying it from my perspective. So how has the general audience (not fans, not pro critics) been reacting to this movie? I'm genuinely curious.