On-Locoweed

These are good and can be found on Fimfiction: Past Sins, The Things Tavi Says, University Days, Allegrezza, The Life and Times of a Winning Pony, Shipping and Handling, Anthropology, and many, many more. There are some resources on the fan labor wikia and some reviews/dramatic readings on Youtube of certain fanfics that can also point you in the direction of some of the more well-known fics.

"Magical Mystery Cure" best title best episode

I think a lot of the conventional types of stories were played out in the first three seasons. FiM very well could have been one of those 65-episode cartoons that wraps up neatly with all the to-do list items checked off. The season-long arc format introduced with Season 4 seems like the most likely and logical place to go for a show renewed for additional seasons. It's a good way to cultivate long-term interest. Now that the show has stretched out well over 100 episodes, I think the perception that the writing quality is becoming listless lies in the fact that many of the familiar types of traditional TV stories have already been done in the show. Such tropes are fun to see, (that's part of the reason they are tropes) but eventually with the development away from traditional stories a show does run the risk of losing sustained critical interest among its fans. There have been awesome episodes, there have been "meh" episodes, there have poorly-executed episodes. I think the episodic focus on 2 or 3 main characters in recent seasons is a good way to continue to portray friendship in the show, for such situations allow different dynamics to be explored and develop subtly to a larger story. I'm not sure I would describe the writing these days as "less competent"; I'd be more comfortable calling it "matured". The basic principles and friendship-based morality in the show have long been established so the natural thing to do is develop new or fresh looks on individuals or between characters to tell the story in a relevant way. There will be some filler, there will be some ambition, there might even be a spinoff, but the way the story is told must continue to be of interest so one can expect new things and non-traditional ideas.

I admire your conviction, but my opinion's the same value as yours you know. Spike's friendships are not emphasized as much as those within the Mane 6 because the viewer is supposed to see the Mane 6 as the center of the action/moral education/friendship magic. The show is set up so that they supply all the important stuff and so one can see how well their friendship works together. To be sure, Spike has had his moments, but they have not yet been so important to warrant a spotlight of his amazing ability to be a friend the way that the Mane 6 do consistently. Spike's role doesn't always call for him to be as important in the show as the Mane 6 are. It would be really cool if he did have an episode where his legitimacy as a friend was established, instead of him just being a sidekick forever. Things could change, things do change, and sometimes I'm uncomfortable defending or arguing points that will probably not matter in the future. Until then, when that episode airs and this conversation is rendered meaningless, I am going to assert that his friendships have not been covered because they are not as crucial to the story as those of the Mane 6 are. Happy?

Spike's a boy in a show about girls, for girls. His auxiliary role in the main character group dynamic makes him a character with little to develop. Character development, or character growth, in this show often comes from making friends, being friendly, or learning how to be a better pony. Given the logic of cartoons, Spike is a simple little boy stereotype and doesn't have to confront any major problems like the others. So, if he doesn't have much developing to do, then he doesn't need an abundance of relevant friendships to help him progress. His development is arrested...for now.

Somewhere between the size of Apple Bloom and the size of Applejack.

I think she just learned to chill out.

I don't know about you, but if these episode titles keep being so hilarious I'm gonna explode twice.

Bingo, pony friend. I like the way I think too.

I think the ability to grow huge is an ability shared by most if not all dragons BUT it is an ability that is highly situational. In "Secret of My Excess", of course, Spike grows from greed, and I'm assuming its something a dragon grows out of, learns how to control, or doesn't encounter often when surrounded Ina community of dragons where the greed is allocated a lot more evenly. You know? Like, the dragon in "Dragonshy" doesn't have anyone he's trying to compete with, so he stays fat and happy, but the dragons elsewhere who live in groups can't always access the ability to grow huge based on an influx of greed. The energy is too evenly-distributed. So, it's likely something that CAN happen to ALL dragons, but just because it CAN happen doesn't mean it WILL happen ALL the time.

Today's episode is the kind of episode I've been anticipating for a while: Spike was given something interesting to do, he didn't have to share the lead, and he behaved with more maturity and grace than I've seen exhibit in a long time. I'm looking forward to Ember returning in the finale, since it looks to me like something will threaten Equestria that warrants the help of dragons, Ember, Spike, etc. I mean, with this good connection (and that seemingly-foreshadowing ending conversation between Twilight, Spike, and Rarity, it seems like a strong possibility that the dragons will be necessary to some future boss villain arc, or some badass friendship extravaganza. You could call me excited but that might be an understatement.

They way that it ended would not have been a great show finale. You're right on the money that it was a good ending because Starlight got reformed, but I think that it wrapped up way too quickly and was too cut and dry to express everything one would want to express when a show ends. I often think about what the legacy of the show would be if it ended with Season 3, at 65 episodes, like many cartoons do. In fact, this is why "Magical Mystery Cure" seems like the cap on the whole shebang, and is kind of the end of Twilight's major story arc. But, it was just a step along the path to a bigger, more complete, defined ending. The next step was Season 4, then Season 5, now Season 6, and slowly we come to a conclusion that (hopefully) is worth the wait. The end of Season 5 was a big leap forward, but it wouldn't have made a good series ending. It's fun to think about these things though.

Ponies are just ponified humans.

But also, I wanna know what was discussed among the princesses at the tea party table Rarity and Spike interrupted.

Not a bad Spike episode at all! Took long enough