Your Episode Ideas

[~Chaotic Fireball~ 499]

My episode idea is that Equestria Girls spinoff is scrapped and is instead replaced with a "City Of Clipsville" (Powerpuff Girls) or "Anthology Of Interest" (Futurama) style episode. It would be in this episode that we see what all the ponies would look like as humans. Not a whole series. There are a number of ways they could do this. Maybe it could be a spell that Twilight creates that accidentally humanizes everyone. Maybe it could be something floating around in Pinkie's imagination. Maybe alot of alternate realities exist and the Mane Six have to travel through all of them on some sort of quest.

This. 

 

I had an idea a looooooong time ago that the mane 6 could have to travel through alternate universes to retreive something.

Thus, this was born:

 

Title: (I have no idea, maybe you guys can help me?)

Episode synopsis: 

After a spell gone wrong, Twilight finds that she has lost the elements of harmony. Stumped, and afraid to tell the Princess, she finds a book in the back of the library with a strange spell inside. Curiously, she tries it out, and opens up a portal which leads to other dimensions. She calls over the rest of her friends, and together they make their way through many dangerous alternates (as humans, as stallions, end up in an alternate universe where Equestria is at war, etc.)

 

Waddaya think?

[Zerobot 179]

Sadly I know this will probably never get told, but that's alright because headcanon/fanon ideas can fill the gaps. I'd like to know more about the time between the flashbacks in Cutie Mark Chronicles and the start of S1E1. How did Fluttershy go from living in Cloudsdale (which we know because she had never been on the ground before the Chronicles flashback) to living in her humble abode on the offskirts of the Everfree forest? Applejack's is obvious, Rainbow Dash's could have an interesting story in there. I'd like to know more about what happened with her and Flight School. How did Rarity go about starting her fashion boutique? How did she acquire such a fancy workplace/house? I'm trying to not be bias and list all the other ponies first, but really I'm still most interested in Pinkie's story. There's a lot of potential for morals and stories in the time between being an apprentice baker at Sugarcube Corner and being a rock farmer somewhere off of Ponyville.

 

I wouldn't want to write this/these episodes because a professional writer could do a much better job. If I had to write an episode, Scootaloo/Dash episode. Definitely. It would be about how Rainbow initially isn't a very good role model, but having someone looking up to her could definitely shape her into a better pony in general, more aware of how others see her actions and how she could help Scootaloo grow up to be more like Rainbow and not Lightning Dust. I think these two can definitely help each other's characters develop, I just hope the show takes advantage of it soon.

 

Edit: Oh yeah, I should come up with episode titles. First one would be "Pinkieville" and the second would be "A Heartwarming Tale about Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo starring Rob Schneider as Everypony".

Edited April 7, 2013 by Zerobot

[WinterFreeze 23]

I think we need a episode where the main six ask vinyl to help with a party or some thing like that because we need to her vinyls voise

[Orablanco Account 3,707]

• Noir mystery with Spike as the protagonist and Rarity as the femme fatale.

Cadence and Shining Armor on an adventure together, for whatever reason. Witty banter ensues.

Wibbly Wobbly Timey Wimey epic in which the CMC are transported to the future and realize a simple mistake they made caused the world to get screwed up. Not my idea, but it's a really cool one, so there you go.

Equestria sends the Elements of Harmony travel to the Griffon Kingdom (which I shall call Halcyon, because birds and stuff) to take part in a celebration to renew a peace treaty that ended a war between the two nations. But attacks and accusations are made between both sides, leading to tension that could end the treaty. The Mane Six try to figure out who is trying to start another war before everything goes to crap. Rainbow Dash is the protagonist (because I said so, that's why) and bumps into Gilda, whose still kind of pissed off. Both have to set differences aside to save Equestria and Halcyon. Themes of regret and forgiveness abound, both regarding the international conflict and the relationship between Dash and Gilda.

It's kinda sorta like The Undiscovered Country, but with ponies.

 

[SasQ 1,376]

Sadly I know this will probably never get told

 

Not in the official series, I guess, but what are fans for? ;-) If there's something in this world which you don't like or there's something missing you'd like to see there, just get your flank up and make it happen all by yourself! ;-) This is how creative powers work.

 

I wouldn't want to write this/these episodes because a professional writer could do a much better job.

 

When I watch the last episode from Season 3, I think to myself that it is not always the case :-P

There are always things which could be done better. And what differs a professional from a beginner is just a little bit of practice and experience.

 

It's not so hard to write a story as it might seem at first. Especially when you already know how should it end. Then it's enough to start the story as close to the ending as possible. This may sound bizarre at first, but think of it this way: What could be the scene just before the end? Can it be the beginning? Probably you'll answer "no", because there's something which must have led to that scene and should be explained first. So you step back one more scene and ask the same question, until you find one which is independent enough that it can begin the story. That is, when I say to start a story "as close to the end as possible", the emphasis is on "as possible" -- if you cannot begin it that close, just step back a little, and find out which is the closest point which won't break the plot. It's always hardest to figure out where to begin, but using this technique it's a little bit easier.

 

Also, the more in detail you imagine the world you want to describe (locations, characters, history, mythology, rites etc.), the easier it is to write about it, because then you can just immerse yourself into the world you've created and simply write about what you see there and what's going on. If you know much about your characters, for example, then you know how they will likely behave in any particular situation. When you state the laws of your Universe clearly enough, your brain will just "do the simulation" according to these laws, restricting the possibilities to these which accord to them.

 

There's one more advice I'd like to give everypony here who wants to write stories for episodes, because I see that many of you just sketch the rough ideas about what you'd like to see in an episode, but without the core part of every story, which is the plot (and I don't mean Da Plot ;-) ).

What is a plot?

Here's the best definition I've ever seen:

 

"A plot is a series of linked events concerning a character who urgently wants something important that won't be easy to get. The events should reach a satisfactory conclusion."

 

My own version is that plot is a way to shift from one stable equilibrium to another stable equilibrium, making the character evolve along the way.

 

Now what does it all mean?

"Linked events" means that you have a timeline of events, connected with a cause-effect relationships. Like beads on a string. It must make a continuous sequence.

 

When you have such a sequence of events, you already have a story, but you don't have a plot yet, because a plot is something more. A plot always concerns some character -- and only one character. It tells what is happening to that character and how does it influence him/her. When your plot influences more than one character, then you have actually two plots, which probably share some events.

 

"Urgently wants something important": The character always needs to want something, even if this something were just a glass of water. Because this is what drives him/her to act. This is the goal he/she wants to achieve. Something that breaks the status quo, disturbing the balance, and forcing him to take immediate action to restore this balance. This is where his/her journey begins. And this goal should be something which matters to him/her, and to the reader. Because nopony will act to get something unimportant ;-J It must be worth of it.

 

Here's a good exercise: Take any episode you like ("Dragonshy" is especially good for that) and dissect it to the key events (or scenes), plot it (pun intended) as a stream of events on a piece of paper, and then try to find out what is the plot for every character in that story: What causes them to act? What do they want to get? What are the stakes of getting it and of failing to get it?

 

And the last thing is the culmination, which lead to a satisfactory conclusion. This ending should fulfill all the promises (or premises) of the story, and answer all the questions (or at least show that some questions are left open for a reason). And it must do it in a satisfactory way, that is, the reader must feel that he/she has got what he/she deserved, to be rewarded for devoting his/her precious time to reading the story. That's why I hate the last episode from Season 3, and why I nearly broken my computer when finished the "Dreamfall" video game: they both have some ending, and it might even be a pretty cool ending, but when it is not satisfactory, the case is lost :-P Leaving the readers hanging at the end of an episode is not the way to go, and it's really a cheap & lame way to make them want to see the next episode.

 

So take these advices to your hear, and you'll be able to do better than the writers of the original show ;-) Now go for it and write your cool story ;-D

 

I'd like to know more about the time between the flashbacks in Cutie Mark Chronicles and the start of S1E1. How did Fluttershy go from living in Cloudsdale (which we know because she had never been on the ground before the Chronicles flashback) to living in her humble abode on the offskirts of the Everfree forest? Applejack's is obvious, Rainbow Dash's could have an interesting story in there. I'd like to know more about what happened with her and Flight School. How did Rarity go about starting her fashion boutique? How did she acquire such a fancy workplace/house? I'm trying to not be bias and list all the other ponies first, but really I'm still most interested in Pinkie's story. There's a lot of potential for morals and stories in the time between being an apprentice baker at Sugarcube Corner and being a rock farmer somewhere off of Ponyville.

 

Very good idea!

Filling the gaps is what I like to do too.

 

If I had to write an episode, Scootaloo/Dash episode. Definitely. It would be about how Rainbow initially isn't a very good role model, but having someone looking up to her could definitely shape her into a better pony in general, more aware of how others see her actions and how she could help Scootaloo grow up to be more like Rainbow and not Lightning Dust. I think these two can definitely help each other's characters develop, I just hope the show takes advantage of it soon.

 

I like how you think about character development in this scenario, because this is an important part of every plot. It should always teach something to our heroes, and they should evolve along the way. And this evolution cannot be abrupt or like a "quantum jump" (as I use to call it), as in "Magical Mystery Cure" -- the more dramatic change for the hero, the more dramatic circumstances should be there to justify it enough. Because all changes to the character have to be well justified.

 

Edit: Oh yeah, I should come up with episode titles. First one would be "Pinkieville" and the second would be "A Heartwarming Tale about Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo starring Rob Schneider as Everypony".

 

The second one is too long ;-) Titles have to be as short as possible, and they have to express the gist of the story. "Magic Duel" is a good title, but "Green Isn't Your Color" is quite bad (unless there's some abstract joke I don't get as a non-native speaker ;-J ).

Edited April 8, 2013 by SasQ

[Zerobot 179]

The second one is too long ;-) Titles have to be as short as possible, and they have to express the gist of the story. "Magic Duel" is a good title, but "Green Isn't Your Color" is quite bad (unless there's some abstract joke I don't get as a non-native speaker ;-J ).

Wow, thanks for the very long response! Very informative and interesting. The second title - the one involving Rob Schneider voicing every pony - was entirely meant as a joke. I would never name an episode that, nor would I have Rob Schneider voice every pony. And as for Green Isn't Your Color, I believe the joke is that it's common to say something like "Green with envy" about someone who is jealous of another's position, in this case Rarity is jealous of Fluttershy because she got what Rarity wants. I think it is also being used here as a fashion thing, considering the subject of the episode (and most Rarity episodes). Someone might say something like "Red is your color" if you look particularly good in red. The title is saying green is not a good color for Rarity, because she is green with envy.

[Soultensionb 18]

1. Rainbow dash has a crush on Soaren and struggles to tell him her feelings 

 

2.time travel episode where we see the mane 6 and cmc grownn up

 

. 3 spike episode where we explore a darker side of his dragonhood 

[Midnight Dragon 264]

Hmmm...my idea would probably involve a season premiere where the Six stumble upon a hidden realm in Equestria that is inhabited by strange ponies...

 

[Or is it just an excuse to put my OCs in there? ]

Edited April 8, 2013 by Midnight Dragon

[Persian 46]

I have a few things I would like to see...

-A Discord episode were he either save the day or go back to his old ways. This episode would also need a song sung by Discord

 

- The return of Flim and Flam, maybe teamed up with Gilda, Trixie, or even both!

 

- The return of Chrysalis, maybe teamed up with King Sombra? And one of the changeling becoming good and helping the mane 6...

 

- Time-Travel episode, with Doctor Whooves helping the mane 6 in some ways.

[Dzastur 1,719]

Right around Nightmare Night, a school rumor circulates that the ancient castle of the royal pony sisters in Everfree Forest is haunted!  The Cutie Mark Crusaders, thinking that they might earn their marks with bravery, decide to spend Nightmare Night in the castle ruins. But, upon arriving, they get second thoughts when the castle appears to really be haunted with all sorts of ghosts and spirits!

 

It turns out that the "spirits" are really a product of the Spooky and Powerful Trixie, who is staying in the dank ruins while working on her magic skills overtime since learning of Twilight's new form. She feels a special magical "presence" at the castle, and is attempting seances. Relieved and dismissing Trixie as a little nuts, the Crusaders prepare to go home when suddenly real visions appear, spurned on by Trixie's meddling. They involve past occurrences with Celestia, Luna, and Star Swirl the Bearded, all of them from ancient times at the castle. The visions ultimately create far more questions and hint at previously unknown transgressions...but Princess Luna shows up before any of them see too much.

 

Trixie challenges Luna to explain some of what they've seen, but Luna dismisses her and Trixie disappears into the night with a "I'm going to get to the bottom of this someday" attitude. Luna addresses the shaken CMCs and tells them that, while bravery is a positive quality, it is always wise to be careful. She sets a spell to keep them safe as they go home. However, she curiously doesn't answer any questions about the visions.

[Heretick-Tock 462]

Based God and Neil Armstrong decide to travel to Equestria. During their travels they encounter two sisters who are dueling and get caught in the middle of the battle.

Neil Armstrong and Based God then become the Sun and the Moon and save the day because they won't let the sisters fight anymore.

The End.

[FatPat 77]

I'd like to see an episode that deals with having a friendship for the wrong reason.

 

For example, we take at look at Silver Spoon, We find out the reason she hangs out with Diamond Tiara is because she has trouble making friends, and Diamond allows them to be friends as long as Silver Spoon does what she's told. Silver Spoon puts up with it because she doesn't want to be along again.

 

Two possible endings. Silver Spoon sticks up for herself and leaves Diamond, probably becoming friends with the CMC. Or Diamond learns a lesson in how to treat other ponies and the two renew their friendship.

[Midnight Dragon 264]

Ooooooooh, here's an idea!

 

Pinkie Pie somehow travels into the future (anything is possible for Pinkie Pie!), and accidentally brings back her future foals. Chaos ensues...

[Derpular 90]

 

I'd like to see an episode that deals with having a friendship for the wrong reason.   For example, we take at look at Silver Spoon, We find out the reason she hangs out with Diamond Tiara is because she has trouble making friends, and Diamond allows them to be friends as long as Silver Spoon does what she's told. Silver Spoon puts up with it because she doesn't want to be along again.   Two possible endings. Silver Spoon sticks up for herself and leaves Diamond, probably becoming friends with the CMC. Or Diamond learns a lesson in how to treat other ponies and the two renew their friendship.

This episode would make me SO happy. I love Silver Spoon, and I just think it would make an amazing episode. Personally, while a little redemption for Diamond Tiara would be interesting, I think she'll need to be around to be an antagonist for the CMC, so I prefer the first ending. 

[Dzastur 1,719]

Someone with evil intent and mind-reading abilities visits each of the Mane 6, threatening to publicly expose a deep, dark secret of theirs to all of the other ponies. Initially there's panic but, after secrets are revealed together, it turns out the Mane 6, while surprised about what they see revealed, are sympathetic to one another (maybe Rarity is really worried that Applejack sees her as "prissy", or Fluttershy thinks she could never be respected by Rainbow Dash because she's too timid, etc.)

Seeing this failure, Mr./Ms. Evil Entity escalates things at the end of the episode by trying to make Princess Celestia look bad in front of everypony by exposing a deep, dark secret of hers...which goes into an elaborate flashback of Luna's being banished to the moon, and Celestia having cried almost daily about it when no one else was around. The sequence ends showing present-day Luna, no longer banished, but staring at the moon, and Celestia seeing this and shedding tears, once again in secret. "As ruler of Equestria, I was afraid to show weakness in front of my loyal subjects. And ashamed of how hurt you must have been." But the ponies understand and see her showing emotion as a positive.

[SasQ 1,376]

I observe that many of you post your episode ideas here, but most of them are just that: ideas. Some of them are very good, and some of them bad. But to turn an idea into a story, with a good plot, which could be then converted into an actual episode or at least a fan fiction, something more is needed. And this gave me an idea:

 

What would you say if I'd wrote a tutorial about techniques of plotting and storytelling? It would be a series of posts/articles, in which I would explain what is a plot, a premise, something about the story structure, common pitfalls to avoid, and what makes a good story. Then I could show you how it is done, using some examples.

 

I'm thinking on using the actual episodes from the original show as examples, dissecting them into parts, and then explaining how these parts come together and what's their role in the story. This way we could learn from the masters of the trade themselves, by observing how do they do what they do, and why their stories are so good (well, most of the time).

 

Another option is to take your own episode ideas from this thread and try to make something more from them by converting them into stories. I think this could be better for later, when you'll know already how it is done with the original episodes to mimic them.

 

What do you think about that?

 

If you like this idea, feel free to brohoof ;-) It will tell me how many people are interested in it without littering this thread. But if you want, you can tell me what would you expect from such a tutorial: just send me a private message. Or maybe you have some other ideas or something you'd especially like to learn? What makes the greatest problem for you?

 

If there will be enough interest in this idea, I'll start a new thread about it and tell you here where to find it (to not litter this thread with it).

Edited April 13, 2013 by SasQ

[Forlong 1,726]

Flashback episode...

 

...1,000 years ago...

 

...starring Celestia and Luna...

 

...before they became alicorns!

 

I'd prefer gold, over silver, for my metal.

 

Here's some more I came up with:

 

Forgive and Forget

A new stallion comes to town and, having experience on a farm, seeks a job at Sweet Apple Acres.  However, Granny Smith realizes that he's the grandson of her late husband's old rival.  Applejack, still holding a grudge, refuses to hire him.  Infurriated, he challenges AJ saying that he can applebuck just as well as she can.

 

Will the Real Fluttershy Please Stand Up?

For some reason, the element of Kidness isn't working.  Discord tells the others that Fluttershy is going through a moral crysis and offers to use his powers to help.  He splits Fluttershy into five different ponies, challenging the others to figure out which is the real one, the others are just facades she created to please other ponies.

 

The Real Equestria

Octavia moves to Ponyville but can't find a place to stay.  Vinyle Scratch offers to let her crash at her place.  You know what to do from there!

[Umbral Noir 1,556]

I think we need another Discord episode! How about an episode with Discord retelling the story of how he was defeated by Celestia and Luna. Maybe have him sitting by a fireplace in an armchair, wearing a smoking jacket and cravat and reading from a big red book. Storytime with Discord!

Edited May 7, 2013 by DJ-BRONI3

[Sunny Fox 5,950]

@, 

 

Since your thread has the same purpose as this already existing thread, I have merged yours into it. Show Discussion is also a better fit for this kind of thread. I hope some good ideas will be generated.

[100 beasts kaidou 321]

I think we should get an episode where Twilight goes through flashbacks vivibly and we see luna celestia discord and sombra back when they werent very powerfull and we see luna and celestias parents and sombra and discords master

[FatPat 77]

I think we need another Discord episode! How about an episode with Discord retelling the story of how he was defeated by Celestia and Luna. Maybe have him sitting by a fireplace in an armchair, wearing a smoking jacket and cravat and reading from a big red book. Storytime with Discord!

 

You know what would make that great is if Discord keeps putting his own twists on the truth. Celestia and Luna would have to come in and make sure he tells the actual story.

[~Starlight~ 764]

1) Episode Title - 'A sweet tooth'

 

Pinkie is invited to a party at Twilights house and Pinkie eats all the sweets, she breaks the pinata and eats all of the sweets until all of a sudden she gets a toothache, Twilight takes her to the dentist. Colgate appearance ) She tells Pinkie that she has a cavity and she must stay off sweets for a whole week. The mane six then attempt to stop Pinkie from eating anything containing sugar. And lets say it is a big struggle. Until at last Applejack gets her to eat healthy Apple sweets, so Pinkie is all set until Colgate at last comes and says it's okay to eat sweets. So Pinkie then goes and has another PARTY!

 

2) Episode Title - 'I adore you!' 

 

Rainbow Dash enters a all round quiz to win a signed wonderbolts suit. But when she see Twilight enters, it does not change her spirits, until Twilight completely thrashed any wonderbolt fan there was with her brain. Twilight wins the suit and Rainbow wants to be more like Twilight. Twilight then makes a hole in the suit, so she goes to see Rarity, who fixes her dress, and many people wanted to the suit because she had stitched and added extra diamonds and made it look great. Twilight instantly was jealous! Rarity went to pick up some food at Applejacks and became addicted to the food, and instantly wanted to be like Applejack. When AJ saw rabbits stealing her crops she sent for Fluttershy who cleared them up easily. Soon she wished she was more like Fluttershy. When Fluttershy saw Rainbows skills in the sky she instantly felt jealous. After a while of them all being strange, they even started to dress up like one another. Pinkie started to see something was going on and helped them feel better beginning themselves!

 

3) Episode Title - 'The annual pet contest!'

 

Applejack entered Winona in the annual pet contest in ponyville and the other 5 thought they could enter too. So they enter and all compete against each other to see who had the best. Soon the 6 were in the finale until a fire starts, and the mane 6 help each other with there pets to stop the fire, and realize, sometimes competing is not as good as you once thought it was!   

 

4) Episode Title - 'Memories'

 

Luna and Celestia start to think about their mother and father when they started to argue, they think about what their parents would have thought about all the villains, especially Nightmare Moon. Then a the memories started to fill the land of equestria, with Luna and Celestia filled with tears, as the bad memories flood Equestria, they soon realize that their parents had to deal with things that they did too. So they gather the elements to destroy the old villains. At the end Celestia and Luna go and visit their parents grave to say a real good-bye...

 

Woah just realized if the creators of MLP:FIM saw this page they would be set for at least 10 more series's :3

[EmiTwiPie 11]

These are going to be looong descriptions for 5 episodes

 

                        Failing In Love After meeting the pony Flash Sentry Twilight finds a huge attraction to him,but it doesn't seem like he's paying any attention to Twilight.Twilight doesn't accept what life is giving to her and figures that the only thing she can do is only give him a love potion.After asking him out for tea in the library she makes the potion and gives it instead of the tea.But when he drinks the potion it makes Flash attracted to Twilight....Even too much.Will Twilight bee able to fix everything?Or will she fail despertly?(There is a lesson to be learned)  

                The Anniversary
It's Shining Armor's and Cadence's anniversery.But shining forgot all about it!Instead telling the truth to Cadance he pretends that he knows everything about they're marriage anniversary.While trying to figure out what is this special day Twilight tryes to tell him what day it is,but he just ignores.(Theres a lesson to be learned)

                Is it me?Part 1(Yes i am breaking rule 63)
Twilight was reading books in the library.She randomly found a book called "Portals to everywhere".She found a chapter called "alternate worlds".She wanted to try it and invited her friends too.When she oppened the portal nopony had the courage to enter first and than they all jumped in together.They get unconsiuos for going so far,but when they wake up they find themselfs in Ponyville.They we're really confused,but when they walked around they met they're colt selfes.

               Is it me?Part 2
After meeting the colts and spending a little time with them Twilight tryes to open the portal,but she wasted her powers.The colts and the main 5 has to help her until the portal closes forever.

              Parasite
An unknown virus spreads around Equestria and makes everypony ill and there's a rumor that in the second day of your sicness you die.It's up to Twilight and her friends to find a cure for all of Equestria and themselfs.

[FatPat 77]

Here's one I thought up the other day.

 

Pinkie Pie finds out that she and Applejack are related. It's distant, but none the less it makes them family. Pinkie is so excited that she decides she's going to move into Apple Acres to help with the family business. AJ isn't very keen on the idea, but she could never turn away family. So she keeps finding errands and other things for Pinkie to do. Then AJ has Twilight carefully inspect the family trees, and Twilight finds out that the Apples and Pies aren't actually related.

 

Applejack is relieved. However when she tries to confront Pinkie about it, she still can't bring herself to deny the pink pony. She finally lets Pinkie help out on the farm. To her surprise, Pinkie is hard working and efficient (She did grow up on a rock farm). Applejack then reveals that they aren’t actually related. But it turns out Pinkie has some information that Twilight didn't, and she and AJ do in fact have a common ancestor. Applejack concludes that Pinkie isn't just family, she's something even more important, a friend.

[Venomshank 121]

I think at some point they'll have to introduce a character who doesn't believe in magic. It would be funny, and then they'd use the elements of harmony or something and he'll...

realize that the only true magic is...

cringe...

well I gotta type it I guess...

*friendship*