Lone Traveler

I often wonder what the show would have been like post Season 5 with if McCarthy stayed the show-runner and the other old writers stayed (especially M.A. Larson). I wonder how different it would have been. I always thought that McCarthy and Larson were easily the best writers on the show.

As much as I do like Equestria Girls in general, I do not like the girls' designs. The legs are way too long and their head are way too big, they would look so much nicer if they looked more like actual humans. That being said, I got used to the weird design pretty quickly, and the actual movements and animation looks really good (with the exception of the first movie). I think the Equestria Girls movies and specials were really fun, even the ones I thought were rather flawed. I just really like the way the characters play off each other and I think that putting them in a human world was a fun idea. Like the show, it had such a positive and charming vibe. It had the same loveable characters in an environment that was completely different from the show, but also one they felt natural in, it opened up a ton of fun concepts involving magic, and it had an awesome new character on top of that! I thought that Equestria Girls was a really dumb idea before I actually watched the movies, but they managed to totally sell me on it! I always really hoped it would become its own show, especially after FIM declined so much.

I personally do not think Faust leaving is what hurt the show. I personally prefer Seasons 3 and 4 over the first 2, so I think that Meghan McCarthy did a great job as showrunner. I think the show declined once McCarthy and a lot of the old writers left.

Yeah, the animation is definitely the one thing I will admit got consistently better as the show went on, though I still do think the earlier seasons look great and I never was bugged by small details like this. Personally my favorite episodes animation wise are the ones that take place heavily at night or in the dark, I think that's where the animation style really shines. And yeah, Forgotten Friendship was awesome. I really do wish Equestria Girls actually had its own 22 minute episode series, there was a lot of wasted potential there. I would trade the Seasons 6-9 of FIM for 4 seasons of an actual Equestria Girls show anyday. Sunset is wonderful character and there was so much that could have been done with that world.

Since Season 4 is my favorite season of the show, I am very glad that it did not end after Season 3. I think the ideal place to end the show would have been at Season 5, since that is where the show started to lose steam in my view and most of the character arcs where basically wrapped up. Here is what my ideal version of a Season 5 would have looked like if it was the last season: Do not reform or even bring back Starlight, keep her as a one off villian in The Cutie Map. (So no Cutie Remark) Have Rainbow get in the Wonderbolts this season (preferably make it actually satisfying unlike in Newbie Dash lol) Have Fluttershy make her animal sanctuary this season. Move Amending Fences to make it the last episode before the finale episodes (would be a perfect placing for it imo) Have an episode wrapping up Spike's story in some form. Make Do Princesses Dream of Magic Sheep a two parter midway through the season so that it could have far more time to explore its creative ideas. (the actual episode didn't because it was so rushed). Incorporate Celestia into the episode so she could have a satisfying reconciliation with Luna, and made it so that Luna didn't intentionally create the Tantabus. (basically rewrite this part as Joshscorcher suggested in this vid: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eFBXXMTLC48 ) Have an epic 2 or 3 part finale similar to the Ending of the End (but better) where the past villians (Sombra, Chrysalis, Tierk) team up, and the various side characters who the ponies had met throughout the show help defeat them. However, unlike in Ending of the End, they should not destroy Discord's character in the process with that awful twist. Either don't introduce a new villain at all and just stick with the previous ones, or have Grogar as an actual character leading them. Also, actually show the process of the side characters working together and have a better and longer fight involving them. Maybe it could even involve time travel like the Cutie Remark (but one that actually sticks with one interesting timeline so that it actually has a focus and tells a coherent and fun story without a rushed redemption) Either have Twilight take Celestia and Luna's place like in the actual finale, or just wrap up the show with the post Twilight's Kingdom status quo (either way could work fine imo). Either way have an epilogue episode that is similar to The Last Problem, except that it better shows the ponies' lives in the future. (Venting below) I really do wish the show ended along these lines. I find it to be sad how the show stayed on for so long being not particularly good so long after the popularity of the fandom died out. After Season 4 or 5 it felt like the show nor the fandom was no longer a big deal online, and that the number of bronies really shrinked. If the show ended on the terms I gave above, the show would have been consistently great throughout its entire run and would have ended while it was still relatively popular. Instead of remembering it was a show that was was a great phenomenon that slowly died out and ended on a whimper, I could remember it as a great phenomenon that was popular throughout and ended on a bang. Although this would mean we would have lost a lot of great episodes from the later seasons, this would have given the show a much stronger and more satisfying legacy. That being said, these are just my personal issues with the show. I am very glad that many people did enjoy the later seasons as much or even more than the earlier ones, and I wish I did too.

I would classify Seasons 1-4 as the golden era for the show, Season 5 as the transitional era, and Seasons 6-9 as the seasonal rot era. The show first started to decline once Twilight became the official princess of friendship due to the character's arcs largely being complete (especially for Twilight) and the show losing the charm and creativity it used to have. Dispite these issues making it not as good as the golden era seasons, Season 5 was still pretty good overall because it still had a lot of the old writers and some really good episodes. However, I think the show officially jumped the shark in the season 5 finale (it did nothing with it's fantastic concept and had the awful and rushed Starlight "redemption") and the show ranged from okay to mediocre for the rest of its run. Very few of the old writers where still there after Season 5, the show's charm was largely gone, the main characters became boring, and the show did a bad job incorporating Starlight and the Friendship School.

Off the top of my head: Griffon the Brush Off, Feeling Pinkie Keen, Ponyville Confidential, Games Ponies Play, Magical Mystery Cure, Equestria Girls (1st movie), Daring Don't, It AIn't Easy Being Breezies, Equestria Games, Hearth's Warming Club, What Lies Beneath, School Raze A Trivial Pursuit, The Last Problem.

I'll do the episodes I disliked in Seasons 1-5. Boast Busters: The Manticore was cool. Show Stoppers: Background music during scene where CMC were trying to find talents. Owl's Well: The spike the punch joke. Cutie Pox: Zecora is cool as always and Pinkie Pie's "Make it Stop!" Line was hillarious. May the Best Pet Win: The Find a Pet Song. Mysterious Mare Do Well: Some of the action was fun. Putting Your Hoof Down: Iron Will is awesome and I liked the Looney Tunes reference. Dragon Quest: The one scene where Spike reflects on what he was when looking through mirror. One Bad Apple: Babs Seed is such a great song. Power Ponies: The scene at the beginning with Spike talking to Twilight about the comment was cute. Rainbow Falls: Derpy returning. Somepony to Watch Over Me: "There's no time for a song!" and the action scene was cool. Appleloosa's Most Wanted: I can't remember anything I particularly liked here to be honest, but there's probably something. Far from the worst episode tho, just boring. Princess Spike: Getting to see information about what Twilight had to do as a princess and who she deals with. What About Discord: The Back to the Future reference. Cutie Remark: The different timelines were cool to see, especially the first one. (Too bad the episode did absolutely nothing with its great concept)

Only thing I can think of is some of the Disney princess movies. (Tangled, Beauty and the Beast, Frozen, Moana)

Dang, with only slight altercations this perfectly describes my opinion on Season 5, lol

Sleepless in Ponyville, Bats, and Scare Master are among of my favorites of the entire show, so definitely those.

Once Twilight got her castle and became the official Princess of Friendship in Season 5 I do feel that her arc was basically complete and her character became a lot more boring from Season 5 on. She was definitely more interesting as an awkward nerdy student exploring Ponyville than as a stagnant know it all princess, and it was a huge factor in the show's decline. However, I would argue that Twilight's character did not suffer until Season 5. The Season 4 premiere and finale had her go through a great arc of finding her role as a princess that was compelling and felt very natural for her character. Since she still lived in the treehouse this season and her princesshood was rarely directly addressed outside of a few episodes, I think that her character still felt the same in Season 4 as in the first 3 seasons, if not as fresh as in the seasons before. In the first 4 seasons she was my favorite pony, in the following 5 she would probably be my 2nd least favorite. I completely understand why people prefer Seasons 1-3 over 4, and I do think that those seasons were more charming than 4, but for me 4 makes up for it with better writing and animation along with more consistent episode quality.

1: Twilight's Kingdom - Amazing action and drama that concluded the season's arc fantastically as well as Twilight's arc. (only negative is that Twilight's arc being basically completed here and her tree being destroyed represents the end of the golden age of the show for me). 2: Pinkie Pride - Hilarious, great songs, great animation, and manages to be very emotional with Pinkie Pie at her very best. 3: Bats! - The creepy atmosphere in this episode and the fantastic nighttime animation makes this a joy to watch, the song is fantastic, and there is a great two sided conflcit where both sides are justified. 4: Princess Twilight Sparkle - Best season premiere of the show. Twilight shows great development adapting into her princess role, the action is really fun and the animaiton is among the best in the entire show due to it almost entirely taking place at night. And the flashbacks are absolutely epic. 5: Flight to the Finish - Deals with the mature issue of Scootaloo being bullied for her disability beautifully and was very heartwarming. A fantastic season overall.

Although Season 4 is my favorite season, Seasons 1-3 are the next 3 best for me while Season 5 is just good but not great, Season 6 is mediocre, and Season 7 is just okay. So overall I have to say Seasons 1-3.

I'll do a top 10 for Seasons 1-5 (subject to change): 1: Hurricane Fluttershy 2: Sleepless in Ponyville 3: Twilight's Kingdom 4: A Canterlot Wedding 5: Amending Fences 6: Too Many Pinkie Pies 7: Pinkie Pride 8: Friendship Games 9: Rainbow Rocks 10: Bats! (Favorite of Season 1 is Sonic Rainboom since none from there made the list) I have only seen most Seasons 6-9 episodes once, so I am not sure how I would rank my favorites. However my favorites per each season would probably be: Season 6: Stranger than Fan Fiction Season 7: Health of Information Season 8: Best GIft Ever or Health's Warming Club (both amazing Christmas episodes, I'd have to rewatch to figure out which one I prefer) Season 9: Sparkle's Seven

1: Hearth's Warming Club 2: Rarity Investigates 3: Feeling Pinkie Keen (Story and moral are awful but it's so hillarious that I don't care) 4: Twilight Time 5: 28 Pranks Later 6: Super Speedy Cider Squeezey 6000 7: Triple Threat 8: 2,4, 6 Greaaat

1: Amending Fences 2: Pinkie Pride 3: Discordant Harmony 4: Games Ponies Play 5: Family Appreciation Day 6: Call of the Cutie 7: Marks for Effort 8: The Last Crusade 9: Spice Up Your Life

Season 1: Sonic Rainboom Season 2: Hurricane Fluttershy (favorite of show) Season 3: Sleepless in Ponyville Season 4: Twilight's Kingdom Season 5: Amending Fences Season 6: Stranger than Fan Fiction Season 7: Health of Information Season 8: Best GIft Ever or Health's Warming Club (both amazing Christmas episodes, I'd have to rewatch to figure out which one I prefer) Season 9: Sparkle's Seven

My basic opinion on the show is that I love the first 4 seasons, but once twilight got her castle the show really declined. Season 5 was good, but not as much as the first 4 seasons, and it got worse as it went on. Seasons 6-9 were all just okay. I probably only liked about 40% or so of the episodes, the show as a whole lost the charm, direction, and good writing the first 4 seasons had. The biggest issue was that the character arcs were basically all complete by season 5 and they couldn't find interesting things to do with the characters. The interactions between the main characters had become stale and was no longer as interesting or charming. The show tried to do new things with Starlight and the Friendship school, but I don't think it was handled well for a number of reasons. There were still enough good episodes in these seasons to make it worth the watch (as much as a slog as it was), and I do give the show credit for staying consistently okay in the seasons and never getting outright bad unlike other long running shows. However, I still wish it would have ended at season 5 or so that it could have been a great show all the way through. Overall, I would rank the seasons: 1: Season 4: Episodes were consistently great with very few duds, the season's arc was very well handled and made for great character growth, and the premiere and finale were amazing. The episodes constantly did creative and interesting things and they paid off nearly time. it had the charm and humor present in the previous 3 seasons, but with more consistently great quality, better animation, and a great tone. It also had the best variety of songs of any of the seasons. Outside of the premiere and finale, standout episodes include Pinkie Pride, Bats, Three's A Crowd, and Flight to the Finish. Amazing Season. 2: Season 3: I don't understand why people don't like this season. I always hear that it was " rushed" but Magical Mystery Cure and Keep Calm and Flutter On are the only episodes here that actually feel rushed to me (though I love both those episodes despite their flaws), the rest of the season was filled with mostly great episodes that had the same great quality and style as the great episodes in Season 2. I prefer it over Season 2 because there was only 1 episode here I actively disliked (One Bad Apple) compared to Season 2 having about 6, and the episodes were more consistently great here. Sleepless in Ponyville and and Too Many Pinkie Pies are two of the all time best episodes, and episodes such as The Crystal Empire, Magic Duel, and Wonderbolts Academy are amazing too. Amazing Season. 3: Season 2: Was filled with many amazing episodes (Hurricane Fluttershy is my favorite of the entire show and Canterlot Wedding isn't far behind) and did a great job expanding on the characters and mostly improved the writing quality, animation, and humor from Season 1. However, it is held back from being as good as the following two seasons because while seasons 1, 3, and 4 had only a few bad episodes for me (3 in S1, 1 in S3, 3 in S4), this season had about 6 I disliked (including Dragon Quest, my least favorite of the first 5 seasons). Still, the numerous amazing episodes more than make up for that. Great Season 4: Season 1: Although it is more consistent in quality than Season 2, the best episodes here are nowhere near as good as the best of the following 3 seasons, so I'm still comfortable with ranking it below it. That being said, the episodes were consistently very good, especially in the 2nd half of the season. It also has a distinct charm that was slowly lost as the show went on (which was completely gone by Season 6) and did a great job introducing the world and characters. Great Season 5: Season 5: This is where the show started to go downhill. After Twilight's character arc was basically completed in Twlight's Kingdom, and the others did not have much room to grow after the key arc, the show lost its sense of purpose. There were still plenty of amazing episodes (Amending Fences, Slice of Life, Scare Master, Rarity Investigates, Make New Friends But Keep Discord) but also a good amount that were just okay. (Made in Manehatten, Castle Sweet Castle, Bloom and Gloom) There were no actual arcs here outside of the premiere and finale (I don't count the other map episodes since they are standalone). The episodes Do Princess Dream of Magic Sheep and The Cutie Re-Mark had amazing concepts but were very rushed and disappointing with serious story issues. Episode quality is still overall good, and the show still has some of its old charm, but the golden age of MLP was clearly ending at this point. I would consider this season the transition point between the great first 4 seasons and the mediocre to okay seasons 6-9. Good Season. 6: Season 7: It suffered from having a lot of just okay episodes that told decent stories but were lacking the humor and charm needed for me to really enjoy them, and there was no interesting arcs. That being said, there were only a few outright bad episodes, the episodes that were good were really good (Health of Information and Shadow Play especially) and there were some very creative and new concepts here. Okay Season 7: Season 9: Had a streak of really great episodes during the first 3rd of the season (Beginning of the End, Sparkle's Seven, Frenemies, Common Ground) but the rest of the season is just okay. The Young Six were given almost no development (even less than in Season 8), so the season spent a lot of time with bland stories with characters who had already completed their arcs years ago. The Ending of the End's Discord twist was beyond awful and character damaging for Discord. So much more could have been done with having all the creatures unite in the battle, and Grogar could have been a really cool villain if he was real. That being said, The Last Problem was a great although flawed finale. Okay Season 8: Season 8: Filled with many uninteresting episodes that lacked humor and charm, with a lot of character problems. Barely any episodes are given to developing the new characters, instead there are just uninteresting stories with the Mane Six and CMC, whom have no room to grow as characters. That being said, there are still plenty of good episodes here, especially the ones that actually develop the Young Six. The fact that this season tries more new things than Season 6 (despite not giving it anywhere near enough development as it needed) narrowly puts it above Season 6 for me. Best Gift Ever, Hearth's Warming Club, and Sounds of Slience are all amazing episodes. Mediocre Season 9: Season 6: Had the exact same issues as season 8 when it came to having uninteresting and unfunny stories with the main cast whom already had full development. Applejack's Day Off, Pony Point of View, and The Carts Before the Ponies are probably the 3 most boring episodes of the entire show and feel like episodes of a generic toddlers show. Starlight's development is not handled well at all since she has barely any positive interactions with any of the mane 6 outside of Twilight. The premiere is a boring rehash of The Crystal Empire that lacks everything that made it great. That being said, I still do not consider this season to be bad. There are some amazing episodes here such as Gauntlet of Fire, Stranger Than Fan-fiction, The Saddle Row Review, and To Where and Back Again, that still make it worth watching overall. Mediocre Season.

Season 1: Boast Busters Season 2: Dragon Quest Season 3: One Bad Apple Season 4: Rainbow Falls Season 5: Princess Spike Season 6: Applejack's Day Off (There is like 5 minutes of actual plot here, no humor to speak of (outside of Rainbow Dash at the spa which was the only good thing here), and Applejack is an idiot. This feels like an episode of a generic toddlers show, not MLP. This is one of the most boring episodes of any show I have seen and it is my least favorite episode of the entire show for this reason.) Season 7: Fame and Misfortune Season 8: Yakity-Sax Season 9: Growing Up Is Hard To Do