Starset Twinkle

I still enjoy TYT/MYM, but compared to G4, yeah, I'd say it is shallower. However, I'd say it's about average (maybe slightly above average), for a kids show. For TYT, it's also very difficult to make character building content particularly deep when your episodes are 5 minutes long. As for MYM, it seems to be more focused on the mystery and lore of the world than character building, though there are a few exceptions like the Pipp/Zipp episode where they get trapped in a cave. With regard to Hasbro, I've watched some interviews with former directors and writers on FiM, who said that they had a fair amount of creative freedom so long as they didn't do things that would be inappropriate for the target demographic. This included obvious things such as not killing characters or using profanity as well as some more random things such as not having characters ever drink from a stemmed glass (because the fear of perception that they were drinking alcohol). I remember a few instances of things Jim Miller, the director of the later seasons stated in an interview. Hasbro specifically asked for and designed Twilight's castle in season 5, the power ponies in season 4, requested a helicopter show up in an episode (random, I know), and the swan boat to show up (used in the Pinkie Pie Manehatten episode). Primarily these things had to do with toy promotion. One major story affecting Hasbro request of in the later seasons was at the end of Season 9, having Fluttershy/Discord & Applejack/Rainbow Dash being in relationships. However, because the writers/creative executives involved at DHX were fairly adept, they were usually able to implement these in such a way that they ended up enhancing the overall world. For example, how they dealt with the aftermath of Twilight getting wings or a castle. Miller did concede the Season 9 relationships decisions was a bit of a tougher sell, since they couldn't develop those ideas, due to the show ending. On the positive side, he discussed being particularly proud of The Perfect Pear (Applejack's parent's episode), because he felt that by the time they had gotten to season 7, the creatives had earned the right to tell a story that involved those kinds of themes. So, if anything, my understanding is that the creatives felt like they were allowed to get away with more as the seasons progressed, so long as they made it work with whatever Hasbro asked for. That being said, Hasbro has started exercising a lot more creative control since they moved the property entirely to their own studios (Allspark/Entertainment One/Boulder Media). This desire for more creative control was a secondary reason for ending FiM (the primary being downward trending viewership/sales) because DHX, now WildBrain, who created FiM were not owned by Hasbro. After FiM ended, Boulder Media (Ireland) & Entertainment One (Canada), created Rainbow Roadtrip, Pony Life, and A New Generation. Hasbro has now sold off Boulder Media, but still uses Entertainment One to produce TYT & MYM. Atomic Cartoons who aren't owned by Hasbro has also worked on them, but only in an "additional animation" kind of role according to my understanding and has little or no role in the creative side. So, I would assume a lot more of the story direction is now dictated by them, rather than merely occasional story cuts and toy adverts, which is why MYM & TYT seem to be significantly more Hasbro influenced than before. I would also assume it's quite difficult for the creatives at Entertainment One to work their own ideas into the overall stories being told, because there is simply far less runtime with regard to the longform episodes. (FiM produced 26 episodes per season, MYM has produced 8 & 2 specials so far).

Depends on the time period I'd guess, peak Luna might beat peak Starlight, but Season 9 Starlight would definitely beat Vacation Luna

Which season do you mean? If you mean the series finale, it probably wouldn't have impacted me as much emotionally, but I also probably would have enjoyed the Avengers-esque part even more. Either way I still love it personally.