SunsetShimmerStan

Then how would we get the moments of exploring other species? Like, how would we get to see more interactions between different species without the Student Six?

Well, the Summertime Short Pet Project finally answers this question with Sunset gaining a pet in Ray the Gecko.

I wouldn't blame any of the show's decline on him. He was there since season 4 (still part of the golden age) and he can have some pretty good episodes under his belt. Besides, he's not even the showrunner in seasons 5B-9, Jim Miller is.

If you think the Student Six and School of Friendship shouldn't exist, how would you have done the story of seasons 8-9? Like, what story arc would you come up with for seasons 8 and 9 in a way that still explores the other species of Equestria world building and give a new direction for Twilight (since the School of Friendship is part of her character arc in spreading friendship to others)? Also, what made Adventure Time work when the later seasons of that show started doing episodes focusing on characters outside of Finn and Jake? Considering how Adventure Time ran almost as long as MLP Friendship is Magic and started doing more world building as it went on, what stopped that show from facing the same issues as MLP in trying to flesh out the world and characters beyond the main duo?

We'd still need some kind of conflict to make it an engaging 22 minute special. There's never been a 22 minute episode without a conflict.

If you think Sunset is so boring after her redemption and don't like the stories she's in, how would you come up with a good Sunset Shimmer story? Like, surely you'd know some good ideas for a Sunset Shimmer story if you're so smart. Heck, are there any redeemed characters on the show that didn't become boring after redemption? How did Discord, Trixie, Luna, and the Changelings fare in still being engaging to watch when focused on after their redemptions? How do other cartoon redemptions like Zuko on Avatar, Sasha and Grime on Amphibia, Amity, Hunter, and Lilith on Owl House, Pacifica and Gideon on Gravity Falls, Catra on She Ra 2018, Peridot and Lapis on Steven Universe, and Tom on Star vs fare? Did they fare better or worse than Sunset in having better redemptions and still being engaging to watch post-redemption?

Pinkie Spy confirms Rainbow Dash smells like vanilla.

Still, it is weird for human Spike to hang out with a bunch of teenagers. And before you bring out "Sci-Twi is his sister" card for the millionth time, that's still doesn't answer why he'd somehow be the only one of the Rainbooms' siblings to hang out with the group instead of hanging out with his own set of friends? Like, what would stop the human CMC from also hanging out with the Rainbooms since they're also younger siblings like Spike is? And still, you never addressed the part where I bring up how there is a chance they probably hadn't outright figured out how to define Twilight and Spike's relationship yet (it's telling it took until season 9 for them refer to Twilight and Spike as siblings in Sparkle's Seven with the first EQG movie coming out between seasons 3 and 4) at the time between mother/son (which was a pretty popular interpretation and still remains one to this day), older sister/little brother, or some third thing so making Spike a dog may have been a way of not having to awkwardly answer that at the time. Like how were the EQG writers supposed to know how to interpret a relationship with Human Spike and Sci-Twi when even Friendship is Magic was inconsistent on how their relationship was supposed to be in the first few seasons and having no knowledge of Sparkle's Seven? Heck, name one show that had a preteen hang out with a bunch of teenagers instead of friends their own age. And don't you think Spike somehow being the only one to not get his memories wiped by Wallflower qualifies as borderline "Spike worship" fanfiction territory? Like him somehow being the only human who Wallflower didn't wipe memories of would be hard to explain since it was made clear Wallflower targeted everyone in CHS in one night, how would she miss Spike specifically unless she intentionally skipped him like she did for Sunset (and that was only because she wants revenge on Sunset)? Feels like a borderline bad worship fanfic. And if you're complaining on Spike not interacting with his Equestrian counterpart, why aren't you complaining on Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Rarity, Fluttershy, and Pinkie Pie not getting to meet their pony counterparts too? Like, name one time Fluttershy was that relevant in the EQG movies/specials outside of being "the seventh geode"? At least Spike had some relevancy in Friendship Games of being Sci-Twi's closest confidant and helping Sunset snap Sci-Twi back to normal. Fluttershy doesn't even get that. And at the end of the day, Sunset's the main protagonist of the spin off, not Spike. So stop acting like Spike has to be the lead in everything all the time, your Spike worship is getting annoying. In all fairness, Friendship is Magic didn't do much on showing Spike's relationships with the Mane 6 outside Twilight and Rarity either. Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie don't get episodes focusing on their relationship with him, Fluttershy only got a couple episodes with him (she didn't even bother going to the dragon migration for him in Dragon Quest), and Applejack's only episode with Spike was in Spike at Your Service (and we can all agree that episode was pretty terrible). Spike interacts more with Discord, Big Mac, and Starlight than he does with Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, and Applejack. Also, what pet would you have given Sci-Twi then? Given Pet Project hinges on Sunset being the only one of the Rainbooms without a pet, what pet would Sci-Twi have? Why wouldn't Scooby be the same case as Spike? He's essentially a talking dog hanging out with teenagers too. And I think there is also the chance that a talking dog would've probably gone against the girls trying to keep magic a secret. After all, they probably don't wanna risk people finding out Spike can talk and getting him taken away for government experimentation. So that's why they didn't bring Spike along. And even then, I'm on a Yacht shows they did bring Spike on the second cruise after Spring Breakdown.

That would be pretty anticlimatic for the movie though if you took out the she-demon climax and simply had the end being sent to detention without a big battle. And what would be the event that causes Sunset Shimmer to feel guilty and inspire her to try and reform if the friendship magic climax didn't happen? Not to mention how Sunset would end up becoming a social pariah to everyone outside the Rainbooms after the first movie and during Rainbow Rocks without the she-demon climax and her trying to brainwash the school into mindless zombies?

Sci-Twi (as well as human Rainbow Dash) actually does end up visiting Equestria in Spring Breakdown.

So then how would we get moments of the CMC being involved in Equestria Girls if they weren't in CHS? Like, how would we get them focus and see them interact with their older sisters, and how we'd still get Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo's sisterly bond? Besides, Canterlot High could just be a grades 6-12 school which could give wiggle room on the CMC being 11-12 and the Rainbooms being 16-18. And if Snips and Snails weren't in Canterlot High, who would take the place of being Sunset's henchmen in the movie? And if Twilight tried to just steal the crown, how would we still justify the first movie having the 60-70 minute runtime instead of being over so quickly? Any idea on improving the climax of the movie and how Sunset is defeated and led into the redemption path? As for why the humans of the human world have candy colored skin, it could be following the logic of Doug and Big City Greens where multicolored people are normal and isn't questioned.

Then what about the magic stuff? Where and how would the Rainbooms gain magic and magic threats without any portal to the pony world, let alone the villains gaining magic artifacts? And how would Sunset and Sci-Twi's dynamic go if you're gonna remove the pony world connection, meaning Sunset has less reason to resent and be jealous of Sci-Twi (who would replace Pony Twilight in the first movie) if pony world isn't there? What would Sunset's motivation and villain plans be if the pony world isn't there? And there's also the Dazzlings, they're also from Equestria so they also have ties to the pony world. So what are your ideas to fix said plot holes?

Then what would become of the Sunset Shimmer redemption story arc of mean bully to empathetic hero? We kinda to need some ties to the pony world for Sunset since her fallout with Celestia and being her former student is crucial to her story.

The shorts do reveal their part time jobs with Good Vibes showing Sunset works as a sushi waitress, Sci-Twi works at an electronics store, and Rainbow Dash works at a sporting goods store. Shake Things Up showed Applejack worked at a smoothie stand until she quit in Rollercoaster of Friendship. Rarity works for the Canterlot Boutique under Prim Hemline as Display of Affection and Good Vibes show. Pinkie works at a waitress in a 50s esque diner as seen in Coinky Dink World, Pinkie Pie Snack Psychic, and Five Stars. I think they're supposed to be in 10th grade. If we assume everything up to Forgotten Friendship is in the same grade (with the Digital Series season 1 short Last Day of School being the end), then Rollercoaster of Friendship is in the summer after that, then Spring Breakdown is in the spring of the second school year (with the Better Together season 2 short Schedule Swap indicated to be in a new school year), and Holidays Unwrapped is in the December after that so it's in a third school year. So 10th grade is the safest place to put the first movie.

It's probably not fully canon. After all, it also depicted Moondancer, Lyra, Twinkleshine, Minuette, and Lemon Hearts as older than Twilight despite Amending Fences showing they're the same age as her.

Has there ever been a reformed antagonist with both a good backstory and a good redemption arc on the show? Discord at most has "if you don't indulge in chaotic behavior, you'll die" but we all know he kinda stumbled later on in A Matter of Principals and the fake Grogar thing. Sunset Shimmer's actual redemption arc is great, but there's hardly any backstory on why she became mean at all (and we can agree that first movie Sunset is probably her worst written appearance). Starlight Glimmer's backstory is pretty divisive with said redemption as even more divisive. Kinda wondering if anyone thinks there's a reformed villain with both a good backstory and a good redemption arc?

Sunset having her original design in some of the Summertime Shorts was due to them being animated by Boulder Media instead of DHX. Surprised you prefer the first outfits better given the flak they get for the "hoof boots" and putting Rainbow Dash in a skirt.

I think all seven girls are the same age as each other since they are shown to be in the same classes (and it's shown Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Applejack, Fluttershy, and Pinkie Pie are in the same grade for sure in the first movie). If we assume everything up to Forgotten Friendship is in the same grade (with the Digital Series season 1 short Last Day of School being the end), then Rollercoaster of Friendship is in the summer after that, then Spring Breakdown is in the spring of the second school year (with the Better Together season 2 short Schedule Swap indicated to be in a new school year), and Holidays Unwrapped is in the December after that so it's in a third school year. With that info, it's possible the Rainbooms were in 10th grade and 15-16 at the start and are in 12th grade and 17-18 years old by the end of the series. Guessing Sunset, Fluttershy, Applejack, and Rarity would be the older half of the Rainbooms since Driving Miss Shimmer (which came out before Forgotten Friendship) shows the latter three already have their driver's licenses.

Then how would you get to do a plot for different specifies integrating and befriending each other? After all, that's partially the idea behind the School of Friendship and the Student Six. Like surely the species integration aspect could've worked?

This has been a nagging question for a while, would one prefer to theorize that Sunset would return to Equestria or live out the rest of her life in the human world? Personally, I theorize she'd live the rest of her life in the human world considering the close bonds she has with the Rainbooms and everyone in the human world and it'd be pretty disappointing and sad if she ended up leaving them in the end for Equestria. Especially considering she didn't really have much a connection to anyone in Equestria aside from Princess Twilight and Princess Celestia (and later Starlight Glimmer in Movie Magic) so it feels like it'd make more sense for her to live out the rest of her human life in the human world, occasionally using the portal to visit Equestria once in a while and communicating to Princess Twilight via the journal. As for what she'd do for a living as an adult, maybe she'd eventually become the principal of Canterlot High after Celestia retires (paralleling Princess Twilight succeeding Princess Celestia as ruler of Equestria), inspiring students into their own friendships for the next generations. I personally doubt they would've actually had Sunset leave the human world for good and cut off all contact with her human friends if they had gotten Equestria Girls a proper finale. I doubt they'd spend several movies, specials, and shorts focusing on the girls' friendship if Sunset did get permanent separation. Heck, Forgotten Friendship even has Sunset get her memories of the human world back immediately after they're removed so that does imply to me that they wouldn't go for her cutting contact with the human world. Especially when we have pony Twilight still being in contact with the rest of the Mane 6 even when moving to Canterlot as princess. The deleted homesick plot in Friendship Games also ended with Sunset choosing the human world over Equestria. I think even one of the writers mentioned Sunset's true home is the human world, so I'm positive she'd spend the rest of her days there (maybe becomes a teacher at Canterlot High) with occasional visits to Equestria and using the journals to message Twilight and Celestia.

That was never really intended as an outright finale. There were plans for a season 3 after that so it wasn't gonna be the series finale, just the closer for season 2.

Doubtful since Sci-Twi didn't get erased from existence when pony Twilight used the mirror.

Didn't it get better in later movies such as Rainbow Rocks, Friendship Games, Legend of Everfree, and Forgotten Friendship? And what about Sunset Shimmer, she's got a really strong arc in the series of her redemption? Besides, is there any way that EQG could have been good if you were forced to have it exist in the first place? And calling it a cash grab falls flat considering FiM was essentially also intended to sell toys too, so calling EQG a cash grab and not FiM is kinda hypocritical. Hey, it's not that reliant on modern technology and the romance is pretty limited outside of Flash/Pony Twilight (which was dropped after Rainbow Rocks).

So is there a way then that the idea of Sunset and Celestia reconciling could have worked if it had to happen at all? And what plots do you think would be a better fit for Sunset Shimmer to be in if Forgotten Friendship and Sunset's Backstage Pass don't really work as far as Sunset Shimmer focused stories go? Like, it's not like she's incapable of carrying a plot at all anymore. Like what exactly, what specific stuff would human Spike even do? Looking at each movie: Friendship Games: Would've been the same role he had in the canon movie Legend of Everfree: Slightly less prominent as even if you added the idea that the younger students can go on the trip (meaning the CMC, Diamond Tiara, and Silver Spoon would also appear), since now he wouldn't be in the same tent as Twilight and Sunset and not be aware of Twilight's nightmares like he would be if he was a dog so he'd be less useful Dance Magic: Even if Spike was a human, I doubt he'd be in the Rainbooms' band since I get the vibe his VA wasn't much of a singer (why else do you think Spike gets less musical numbers than Starlight, the CMC, and Celestia/Luna) so he'd have just as much presence as canon Movie Magic: Again, same role he had in canon special and already pairs him with Pinkie anyway Mirror Magic: Considering the story focuses more on Sunset and Starlight, Spike wouldn't accomplish squat there even if he did show up Forgotten Friendship: Story focuses more on Sunset and trying to get her friends' memories back so Spike would still not get more to do since he'd still have his good memories of Sunset wiped (and the other 6 Rainbooms already didn't get that much screentime in the special). I'd argue Spike being a dog would make him more likely to have a big role in the special since he'd technically not lose his memories due to not being a CHS student, leading to him helping Sunset out. So Dog Spike has a higher change of getting a bigger role here than Human Spike. Rollercoaster of Friendship: Special focuses on Rarity and Applejack's dynamic and ship tease, not much room for human Spike there to contribute Spring Breakdown: Focuses more on Rainbow Dash, human Spike still wouldn't add anything to the special. Sunset's Backstage Pass: Sunset's the only one who remembers all the time loops, so Spike still wouldn't get much to do as a human since he'd keep forgetting the previous time loops like everyone else except Sunset Holidays Unwrapped: Definitely wouldn't be in Blizzard or Bust since I doubt a human Spike would be in the same classes as the Rainbooms, Saving Pinkie's Pie I doubt would've given him much to do there, same for Cider Louse for Fools and Dashing Through the Mall All in all, Spike being a human wouldn't really change or do squat to make him more prominent in the movies/specials. And what would be there to explore with his relationship with the other six? Fluttershy would have even less reason to have a special bond with him since he isn't an animal (she's an animal lover). And I don't think the "Spike crushing on Rarity" thing would be that great in EQG considering they were pushing Rarity with Applejack in stuff like Rollercoaster of Friendship and Spring Breakdown, and Spike would come off as a bad friend for crushing on Rarity when he knows she likes Applejack. And why aren't you commenting on Fluttershy not getting any focus either? She's a human, yet she pretty much never gets to be a main lead of any movie/special. Besides, I don't think Spike being a dog is the reason for him not getting more focus. Like, just look at Scooby in Scooby Doo Mystery Incorporated, they integrated him pretty well in the Mystery Inc dynamic despite Scooby being a talking dog, so Dog Spike can very much still work.