Missed Opportunities in FIM.

[Will Guide 21,325]

7 hours ago, Tacodidra said:

It would have been nice to see at least something about Spike's backstory. 

After season 5 I had an entire headcanon as to Spike's origin.

[Latecomer 438]

5 minutes ago, Wolf Guide said:

After season 5 I had an entire headcanon as to Spike's origin.

I'm quite fine with never knowing his parents... but I would liked to hear how his egg got into Twilight's test, just to close off that dead end. As it is, it's like that cliff road from Mare Do Well.

[Sonic5421 423]

To be honest, I would have liked to see what became of Celestia, Luna, Cadence, and Shining Armor in the years since Twilight's ascension. Are Celestia and Luna still the same in terms of appearance, despite the time skip? What about Cadence and Shining Armor? Have they aged at all, and Cadence gaining a similar appearance to Twilight with the ethereal mane and tail like the Royal Sisters?

I have to assume Grand Pear and the Gold Horseshoe Gals have passed on to join Pear Butter and Bright Mac in the afterlife since Applejack and Apple Bloom were seen wearing Granny and Goldie's old neck clothing. Not to mention seeing how well the Student Six have aged during the time skip. Silverstream looked as tall as Skystar now, Yona was fully grown, as big as Prince Rutherford, Ocellus was about as big as Pharynx, and Smolder looked like she was about Garble's height now. Gallus is serving as a Royal Guard griffon now, and many of the various races were coexisting peacefully among ponies in Canterlot and Ponyville. Probably was the same for the Crystal Empire, Las Pegasus, Manehattan, and more.

[RulesofRarity 489]

16 hours ago, Latecomer said:

Well for starters, if the show contained only necessary characters it would be a lot more sparsely populated.

But really, the Pillars being the origin of the Elements isn't their reason for exiting - the Tree was explanation enough. No, they exist to show that Equestria has always had it's heroes, and Twilight and her friends are neither the first or the last (setting up the Student Six). Tying them in to the Harmonic chain of descent was surely just another way of representing this, as well as the idea that what we do lives on after us. 

This easily could've easily been done with just Starswirl.

[Justin_Case001 4,855]

By far my biggest unfulfilled wishlist item and missed opportunity would be a more satisfying ending the the Tree of Harmony arc.  It was one of the most important series arcs, and ended abruptly without any of the principle characters getting to talk to it.

Other unfulfilled wishlist items and missed opportunities would be a Zecora spotlight telling of how, when, and why she ended up in Equestria, and a longer special (like Best Gift Ever) telling of the Sisters backstory when they were fillies, as well as why the other alicorns that were mentioned in the Journal of the Sisters are no longer around.  That is, imo, the greatest mystery in the entire MLP G4 universe.

I guess I'd also add that I always wanted more development of Limestone and Marble Pie, two interesting and underappreciated, underused characters.

There's loads more I could mention, but I'll leave it at that.

*EDIT*  Ooh, ooh, ohh!  I forgot!  I just had to add two quick things.  The episode A Rockhoof and a Hard Place totally should have been titled "Rockhoof's Modern Life".  Now there was a missed opportunity!  I mean, damn, dude, the title even fits what the episode is about perfectly!  And then also, I so wished for an episode entitled "Discorderly Conduct".  I don't care what it's about, but how awesome of a title would that have been for a Discord episode?!

Edited October 15, 2019 by Justin_Case001
Me forgot big funny!

[Latecomer 438]

51 minutes ago, RulesofRarity said:

This easily could've easily been done with just Starswirl.

Well for starters, that would kind of kibosh the idea that the greatest power comes from the unity and Harmony between ponies. As well as focusing even more of the story on Twilight and Starlight.

Furthermore, interesting characters are a boon for the series, so why NOT have a whole team of heroes?

39 minutes ago, Justin_Case001 said:

By far my biggest unfulfilled wishlist item and missed opportunity would be a more satisfying ending the the Tree of Harmony arc.  It was one of the most important series arcs, and ended abruptly without any of the principle characters getting to talk to it.

Other unfulfilled wishlist items and missed opportunities would be a Zecora spotlight telling of how, when, and why she ended up in Equestria, and a longer special (like Best Gift Ever) telling of the Sisters backstory when they were fillies, as well as why the other alicorns that were mentioned in the Journal of the Sisters are no longer around.  That is, imo, the greatest mystery in the entire MLP G4 universe.

I guess I'd also add that I always wanted more development of Limestone and Marble Pie, two interesting and underappreciated, underused characters.

There's loads more I could mention, but I'll leave it at that.

I share your dissapointment with the first, could take or leave the second and probably wouldn't like the third. Always up for more Pie, though.

[Thrond 3,257]

Cadance always struck me as an appealing character so I’m bummed that she never got an episode to flesh her out a little.

Ditto Limestone and Marble Pie, especially given the former’s loneliness and the latter’s heartbreak. You know, that might fit well with a Cadance episode...

Edited October 14, 2019 by AlexanderThrond

[KH7672 1,604]

I'll say it once, I'll say it a thousand times because it is the final piece to the puzzle fans will never be able to piece together: How did Starlight get her cutie mark? How did a pony so adamant against such an honor of maturing earn one herself and it's not like the opportunity was never there. She could have been used during Rumble's angst in "Marks and Recreation" as an example to him of what happens when your so against cutie marks but still get one anyway and how do you deal with that change (and for her it's that she didn't deal with it properly) or in "Growing Up is Hard to Do" she could have offerd the CMC perspective of what it's like to never grow up versus growing up too quickly, or even in "The Last Problem" she could've talked with Twilight about how she failed when it came to friends moving away and getting huge life changes and how Twilight and her friends would never fall into that trap.  It would be the opposite of how the Mane 6 got theirs where instead of being proud of it, Starlight could teach the lesson against not being proud, of being as stuck in the past as she was, and provide personal closure to the wounds of her past by revealing such information.

Edited October 14, 2019 by KH7672

[TheAnimationFanatic 3,543]

Not addressing the fallout of "A Canterlot Wedding". I feel like AJ offering Twilight an apology was a bit too hand-wavey and didn't properly address the end of Part 1. I feel that it should have had more of an effect on their relationships moving forward. 

I wish what we could have seen in Season 3, Twilight and her friends were struggling to try and patch things up and repair their relationship. Or at least wrestle with the complications it caused.