SunsetShimmerStan

So how much different are things now that Legend of Everfree and the other later EQG stuff have given more Sci-Twi content? Also, looks like Sunset prefers to stay in the human world anyway so that's one point in favor of Sci-Twi/Sunset.

Then what story would you make from that? Pinkie and Fluttershy competing would be more out of character than Applejack and Rainbow Dash. Plus considering they teased AppleDash in the finale, AppleDash could've used at least one more episode given it'd been a while since the last AppleDash outing.

So then what would have been the main plot for seasons 7 and 8 without the Pillars and School of Friendship? Like what would take the place of being the two-parter finale for seasons 7 and 8 and the season 8 premiere two-parter? As well as who the main villains for seasons 7 and 8 would be? How come you don't like the idea of having more than one group of six friends who have the magic of friendship?

So what do you think are the MLP episodes that prove it is possible to have a good 22-44 minute episode without an antagonist? After all, most of the MLP two-parters (which the Equestria Girls specials are the equivalent of) always had a villain and even The Crystalling (the only two-parter without an antagonist) had a big threat too with the snow storm in the Crystal Empire caused by the Crystal Heart shattering.

The trouble is though with making the reunion it's own story is that there still needs to be some set up on why Sunset chooses that specific time to reconcile with Celestia (given it is implied she was too afraid to talk to Celestia after everything that happened and only talked to her when she had no choice and needed her help for get her friends' memories back), a potential conflict in this, and how to make a 44-minute plot out of that.

Juniper doesn't show up. Though the Shadowbolts do indeed return (except Indigo Zap) and we get to see how they're doing after Friendship Games, confirming Cadance took over as principal and Cinch got fired.

How would you have improved Sunset and Sci-Twi's dynamic then in that movie?

Well, how should they have done the Sunset reunion with Celestia? Given your issues with that, how should that have been handled better?

What about for giving Sunset focus in the specials and movies like Legend of Everfree, Mirror Magic, Forgotten Friendship, and Sunset's Backstage Pass? How would you have done a better job giving Sunset better stories that can work for a special or a movie if none of them worked for you? Being the protagonist of EQG means that can't exactly stop giving her movies and specials focusing on her.

Then how could they have done a better job with Sci-Twi? Like, how could they have done a better balance of making her more like her pony counterpart but keeping some differences to avoid making her too identical to the pony counterpart in personality? After all, people give the Humane 5 flak sometimes for being too similar to their pony counterparts and not having enough to flesh them out more, what would stop Sci-Twi from having that issue too? Not to mention having to avoid possible implications and theories on the Rainbooms only befriending her because she's exactly like her pony counterpart, we need some differences to avoid that. How would you have fixed her story in Friendship Games and Legend of Everfree (which are crucial for her arc)?

Seeing how ever long runner is bound to have a at least one weak season, how did MLP FiM fare next to other long runners such as Simpsons, Family Guy, SpongeBob, Fairly OddParents, Adventure Time, and Regular Show in writing quality over the years? I'm especially curious how it fares against Adventure Time and Regular Show given they were also long running story driven 2010s cartoons airing around the same time as MLP (bonus for Adventure Time also having an alternate universe with alternate counterparts spin off with Fionna and Cake like MLP had with Equestria Girls)?

Pretty sure the entire school knew about Dog Spike during the Friendship Games and Legend of Everfree. And I was referring to the scenario of Human Spike someone how not losing his memories of Sunset in Forgotten Friendship. I think Dog Spike did interact with characters outside the Rainbooms at least once in that Street Magic short where he was teamed up with Trixie as her assistant. Still raises questions on WHY Human Spike would prefer hanging out with older teenage girls instead of preteens that are the same age as him (like does he have social problems or something), while the CMC don't choose to hang out with the Rainbooms. And it's called Equestria GIRLS, not "Equestria Girls and the one preteen boy that tags along with them who apparently doesn't try to hang out with people that are the same age as him". And when did Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Rarity, Fluttershy, and Pinkie meet their counterparts at all? They're main characters yet they never met their counterparts. And what would be the circumstances in the human world that led Sci-Twi and her family to adopt a human Spike in their family? Given Sci-Twi wasn't the friendly type before Friendship Games, what would've led her to meet Spike if they aren't biologically related, let alone be close enough for her to get her family to adopt him as a sibling. And how would his stuff in the first movie and Rainbow Rocks would go if Dragon Spike transformed into a human there? After all, Spike being a talking dog helped in giving Twilight evidence to prove to the Humane 5 that she really was from another world so how else would she prove to the human counterparts that she and Spike were from another world (it's not like they'd just take their word for it with no proof without calling them both crazy). And it's a lot harder for Snips and Snails to capture a preteen human boy to help Sunset get Twilight's attention than it would be to capture a dog. And bring a question of why he'd even bother getting DJ Pon 3's help to open the trapdoor since if he was a human, he'd open it himself (and they can't exactly remove DJ Pon 3 from helping either since her transforming sound system bus is crucial for helping the Rainbooms with being loud enough to face the Dazzlings). Heck if Human Spike is a thing, would he also be bullied and treated as an outcast in Crystal Prep like Sci-Twi in Friendship Games? And how would the scene of him and Sci-Twi bonding with Fluttershy in Friendship Games go? Given Spike being a dog is what helped with Fluttershy connect with him and Sci-Twi due to her own love of animals, how else would Fluttershy bond with them (which is a crucial scene since that's what leads to Sci-Twi's magic device draining Fluttershy's magic when she shows kindness)? What would Human Spike's powers even be and what element would he represent? And hypothetically what would've happened if the show ended up going with the "Twilight and Spike's dynamic being mother/son" thing instead later on? Then how would that translate with Human Spike and Sci-Twi, given Sci-Twi is a teenager and too young to adopt a kid? That is a hurdle that would've been a bit hard to walk on. Then Movie Magic's Scooby Doo homage would be lost if Spike was a human and not a talking dog. Given Movie Magic was a Scooby Doo mystery homage, we need a talking animal to fill the Scooby Doo homage niche. Also, there is the question of what Human Spike would even contribute to Sunset (aka the main lead of the spin off) and her story? Pony Twilight defeated her and took down her initial reign as the mean bully of Canterlot High in the first movie plus gave her a second chance instead of sending her to Tartarus. Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Rarity, Fluttershy, and Pinkie gave Sunset her second chance in the first place and helped her with friendship as her first true friends. Sci-Twi helps to show how much Sunset has changed with Sunset in turn helping Sci-Twi with her own struggles as Midnight Sparkle (much like how Pony Twilight gave her a second chance after her She-Demon rampage) plus Sunset and Sci-Twi's dynamic being one of the most iconic and crucial for the spin off (whether one interprets it as platonic or romantic). What specific idea would you have on how a Human Spike can contribute to Sunset's story and the dynamic he'd have with her? And how is not wanting Spike to be captured by the government for disection and causing the magic secret to spread around the world unfair? It's for his safety and everyone else's after all.

So what would the conflict or threat be in Rollercoaster of Friendship and Mirror Magic without an antagonist? 22-44 minute specials do need some conflict after all. To be fair, Rarijack ship tease isn't inherently a bad thing. There have been shows that did do good with main characters getting LGBT ship tease such as Adventure Time with Bubbline (with the Fionna and Cake spin off also doing it with their counterparts Gary Prince/Marshall Lee), OK KO with Enid/Red Action, Steven Universe with lots of LGBT, and Owl House with Lumity. Would the cruise stuff still be kept though in this revised Spring Breakdown given the cruise does explain what Applejack, Rarity, Fluttershy, and Pinkie are doing and why they aren't with the rest of the group at the time plus giving a catalyst on how RD, Sci-Twi, and Sunset end up in Equestria in the first place? Ditto for still having Sunset go with Sci-Twi and RD in Equestria since someone experienced in Equestria needs to guide them. So would this be a decent concept for a Christmas related short in Holidays Unwrapped (suggested by someone): "I think at least one HU short could have been replaced with a short that showed Sunset repressing feelings of loneliness, not wanting to make her friends feel bad for having families to spend the holidays with, while she's basically only got Ray [they wouldn't even have to really infer she had a bad home life, or anything] and the short ending with her friends and their families all showing up to her apartment so that she won't have to be alone [which could also provide some looks at the humanized Mane-6's parents, which the fandom would likely go nuts over]. Classic holiday happy ending stuff" If there were no antagonists like Juniper and Vignette, what would the conflict or threat be in Rollercoaster of Friendship, Movie Magic, and Mirror Magic without an antagonist? 22-44 minute specials do need some conflict after all. Movie Magic especially needs an actual antagonist for its Scooby Doo-esque mystery plot. And Mirror Magic can't exactly be part 1 of a series finale when there are several specials and shorts after that.

Given her backstory does tend to be given flak by her detractors and seen as took weak, what backstory would you all give Starlight for why she became a villain in a way that makes her more sympathetic?

How exactly would you have fixed Rainbow Rocks? And how would Ponyville and the rest of Equestria find out about Starlight's actions? Cutie Map was just limited to Our Town and Cutie ReMark had different timelines so no one (aside from Twilight and Spike) even remembered what she did. Also, didn't Diamond Tiara pretty much get shunted to the background after Crusaders of the Lost Mark, not a good comparison. To be fair, has there ever been a redeemed villain that had a good backstory to begin with? Sunset never got one for why she became mean and Discord lacks a backstory. Diamond Tiara got one, but was shunted to the background after Crusaders of the Lost Mark. So how would you have fixed Starlight's redemption if you were forced at gunpoint to do a Starlight redemption story?