Jamis

It's all G4, but in many ways it is easier to think about it as different shows merged together because of the same environment and character overlap. G4 Seasons 1-4 are basically Mane6 story - they are the main characters, developing, learning... with Twilight Kingdom their main story is finished. This was the golden age of brony fandom, because the show stayed pretty consistent with the story lines and characters, even though Twilight became princess at the end of Season 3 - the show continued with the same principles developed during early seasons. G4 Seasons 5-7 is mostly Starlight Glimmer Story. Mane6 is moved to background/episodic characters playing bigger role only later in joined finales. But otherwise they are moved aside and only interacting with other characters just to show the contract and demonstrate the progress of others - Twilight acting weird next to Spike who is suddenly acting reasonably is the perfect example of "switching the focus" and making Mane6 mostly background characters acting always as audience expects. Show has moved from "Friendship is Magic" to "Put yourself first and don't care too much" which matches the original target audience moving to puberty age: from cooperating together on the common goal to the personal individuality in the same universe. Which considerably changed the spirit of the show. G4 Season 8 is mostly Young6 (and a bit of Pillars of Equestria story), with other characters episodes, trying to put it all together, but the focus is on Young6. G4 Season 9 is "let's wrap up as many story lines as we can", because we know the show is ending. They did amazing job in this. And the plot of the season was also great, finale definitely worth the whole FiM show wrap-up. G4 comic Season 10 continues where Season 9 finale "The Ending of the End" ended (not The Last Problem) and Also containing super many references. So... MLP: FiM is definitely just one story in a row, but different parts played different roles.

Comics are great addition to the lore in both generations. There is even the whole G4 Season 10 as in this form and it's great and amazing addition to canon (if it's not in contradiction to the show, which in this kind it is not) - also it's very understandable that it was never made as animated show. Would be veeery expensive.

I think the fame is almost always through some for of art or work - written, spoken, performed. People themselves rarely become famous for who they are - it's usually results of their work, be it art, craft, or anything else (even thought these two things cannot be completely separated). Also the concept of being (not just horse)famous itself is a bit strange - there are countless of people who contribute to the community and we openly more appreciate those whose work became popular. Nothing bad about it. But I seriously doubt, that any of those people spent so much time and effort to reach the goal of being famous in the community - and if they did and succeeded... well... you deserve it enjoy! The more important question is "How will YOU contribute to the fandom?" or "How would YOU like to contribute to fandom" which is a good goal to focus on. Not everypony has to do so - being just a fan is totally fine and ultimately all the effort of others aims at fans. From the point of view of the person who sometimes get the spotlight... yeah, been there did that, it's fun, but not a goal. It's a great way how to do some things together, make a show for others and bring the group effort to the new level for everypony. It tingles the ego for sure, but that's part of the show and works for just a short time. In general, it gives you more options and it's up to you how you use it - if you keep it for yourself, or share it with the community. I prefer the second option