What would you have done with season 3?

[Fluffy Pinkie 417]

Well I've heard a few people who said that they thought season 3 was the worst season 3 and given reasons both good and bad. So lets pretend season 3 never happened and that you've just been given the new job as Head Writer and that you've been given almost complete freedom(think back to season 1) what would you do with this season?

 

Maybe you would have more Pinkie Pie episodes or given Rarity her own episode this season? How about more or less fan-service this season or maybe you would've redeemed more villains or given Further backstory to a past villain, What about background ponies would you have an episode based on one of them would you expand further on one of the mane 6's past? The choices are yours!!! But even though your head writer you still need to remember that MLP is rated TV-Y as well as while Hasbro is given you a good amount of freedom that they also have a rep to uphold.

 

So how exactly would season 3 have played out with you in charge of the writing staff?

[Harmonic Revelations 8,837]

I suppose more action would have been involved. Yeah, I suppose they definitely would have done more activities. Also, the Spike episodes wouldn't have happened.

[Pixel Mouse 84]

Hmmmm... Discord back for the finale episode, or maybe the changelings... Or maybe....? I don't know. Anything other than what they did. It didn't feel like Twilight actually earned the title of princess. They could have done something way more epic...

[Orablanco Account 3,708]

THINGS I WOULD HAVE DONE!

 

1. More Rarity.
2. Better build up to Twilght Princess (other than just "IMMA STUDYIN' 12 BOOKS THIS WEEKEND, HEE-YUK")
3. More epic plot for the Alicorn transformation (I like the cutie mark plot, but just not as the season finale. maybe as a lead into the finale)
4. Magic Duel, Keep Calm and Flutter On, and Magical Mystery Cure would have been two-parters.
5. More slice of life stuff.
6. Just For Sidekicks would not exist (at least in its current form. too sleepy to elaborate.)
7. More electric guitars.

Edited February 21, 2013 by CITRUS KING46

[Jessper 735]

I don't really have much against season 3 - but it felt terribly rushed, especially this last episode was bloody obvious. I guess I would be for more airtime, meaning I would split certain episodes in two separate ones.

 

And, yeah, less Spike, more Mane 6. But that's just me.

[Stalliongrad 982]

The only thing i felt that was missing was a Rarity episode. I got what i wanted when Trixie came back for teh magic duel. When in doubt add more CMC.

[Scootalove 10,692]

More Rarity of course, for one.

More Cutie Mark Crusader episodes.

Try to make another version of the finale, but not rushed.

More, Trixie.

[TailsIsNotAlone 3,697]

1. No alicorn Twilight, at least not this season. I would have developed her as a character first, explored her limits and weaknesses so that all traces of a Mary Sue are removed. Season 3 didn't do that. And that whole business about cutie marks dictating your destiny and even your mental state, as was apparently the case in the finale? Rubbish. I would have scrapped that episode entirely now that I think about it.

 

2. Spike At Your Service would be a more serious and thoughtful episode. There's no Dragon Code involved, and instead of botching everything he does, Spike is good enough at farm work that Applejack doesn't have enough work to do, and she doesn't know what to do with the free time. For his part, Spike misses Twilight and quickly learns that when it's between good friends, a favor from one is not a debt that the other must repay. The timber wolves are there at the beginning, but forget the 3D effects. Use that money for something else.

 

3. Just For Sidekicks would be less about the pets, more about Spike and the CMC on their unsolicited jaunt to the Crystal Empire. The Pets are a catalyst, as they somehow end up on the train forcing Spike and the fillies to pursue them, but from there on it's a field trip. The CMC get a taste of independence and begin to see their quest for cutie marks differently. Spike learns to be more responsible.

 

4. Who are Celestia and Luna for heaven's sake? What are they doing all day? We need to know more about these characters so we can identify with them, Celestia in particular. Before they do anything else with alicorns I want to know what being an alicorn means. (Actually I don't even like that label. If I were running S3 I wouldn't even have made it canon.) Celestia, Luna and Cadence aren't alicorns. They're Celestia, Luna and Cadence.

 

5. More continuity and story arcs to tie the episodes together! What happened to Chrysalis and the Changelings? Is King Sombra really gone? Our antagonists need more attention as characters. Even Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon would benefit from this. At least Discord had his chance to shine.

Edited March 7, 2013 by TailsIsNotAlone

[Mutemutt 773]

1. No alicorn Twilight, at least not this season. I would have developed her as a character first, explored her limits and weaknesses so that all traces of a Mary Sue are removed. Season 3 didn't do that. And that whole business about cutie marks dictating your destiny and even your mental state, as was apparently the case in the finale? Rubbish. I would have scrapped that episode entirely now that I think about it.

 

...

*snip*

 

I would have hired this guy because I have no imagination of my own  -_-

I especially like the number 5. Seriously, I want to know more about the villians/antaganists.

I would have also added a bit more Rarity focus.

[Just some guy 1,070]

Honestly?I would've hired Kojima and Suda 51 to ptich new episode ideas for Season 3.

 

Would they utterly destroy the show?Yes.Would it be hilarious to see what kind of batshit insanity they could come up with when they need to have pastel-colored ponies invovled?Hell yes.

Edited February 21, 2013 by CaptainBlue808

[Veylon 255]

I would've gone with a nice big story arc.

 

I know I keep trashing the Crystal Empire episodes, but there's a lot of good stuff there, stuff that maybe deserved an episode of it's own. Sombra would've made a great villain for a season-length arc; he's essentially Pony Hitler already and has the bonus of being the Mirror Universe version of Twilight Sparkle. There was that "worst nightmare" door that desperately needed more screen time. There was the concept of the Crystal Empire being used to resonate emotions across Equestria. Celestia and Twilight used dark magic. I'm still not sure how something I didn't like was cobbled together out of this.

 

So I'd start out with with Cadance and Shining Armor doing archaeology up in the ruins of what used to be the Crystal Empire. As any one who's watched movies knows, this is a terrible idea that will inevitably unleash some terrible evil upon the land. Which it does, but not before the duo wrote Twilight and her friends to come on up. Which they do, only to be trapped in the ruins with some sort of terrifying shadow being! So they slowly uncover clues as they try to make their escape, piecing together the story of Sombra and the fate of the Crystal Empire. Eventually, they do manage to get away, only to take a last look back at the horrific black crystal landscape coming into being behind them. That'd be my pilot.

 

The background of the season would be a war between Equestria and Sombra's Crystal Empire with the action episodes being various missions the Mane Six take on either to foil something Sombra is up to or to take some kind of action against him. They'd fail about half the time. Eventually, there'd be a battle royale (organized by Twilight but open to everyone) in which Sombra is defeated and the Crystal Empire is restored to it's wholesome luster. This may or may not be a good time for Twilight to graduate. I'm not sure.

 

What I am sure of is that it's thematically way too dark for the target audience and that nobody is going to let me make this. But it's what I would want.

[MOX News 7]

I'd add an epic two parter taking place in Cloudsdale. Goodness knows we don't see enough of that fantastic city. They really should show more.

[hawkflame 3,315]

1) More Rarity.

 

2) Set up Alicorn Twilight for a *series* finale in season 4.

 

3) Give King Sombra more screen presence

 

4) More Rarity.

 

5) Either expand on or totally eliminate Discord's Heel Face turn.

 

6) If I eliminate Discord's redemption, I would have saved him for the season finale and made him *really* pissed off.

 

7) More Rarity.

[Antismurf9001 1,271]

Honestly, I thought season 3 was pretty decent.  However, there is one big thing that I would have changed.  I would have axed 'Spike At Your Service' so that 'Magical Mystery Cure' could be a 2-part episode.  MMC had the potential to be my favorite season finale (maybe even my favorite episode overall), but I instead feel like it was extremely rushed.  Perhaps part 1 could end after Twilight exploded, giving a full 22 minutes to both the cutie mark mix-up and alicorn explanation/Twilight development.  Other than that, I may have also axed 'Games Ponies Play' for a second part to 'Keep Calm and Flutter On' for similar reasons even though KCaFO stands pretty well on its own.

[Twinhead B 482]

I would've made it 26 episodes long, and Rarity would've had at least 5 of them. Also, I would've made the finale a two-parter that way there would've been some closure for the season. Right now we're just waiting...

[I am Lunar Fire 198]

I would have kept it mostly this way, because the season wasn't as bad as a lot of people say. Even the Spike episodes, althought not my favorites, were good.

The only thing I would have done is remove an episode or merge two episodes (Just For Sidekicks/Games Ponies Play) to have a two part season finale. The buildup to the finale would have been like the one to the S1 finale, where the Grand Galloping Gala was mentionned early and oftenly in order to prepare for the last episode.

 

That's what I loved from S1, the fact that the episode were small snippets of everyday life but were clearly headed towards an event (e.g. The Gala). S2 and S3 lacked that, and I sincerely hope they bring back that concept in S4.

[RoseLaflesh 38]

Well, since everyone else took the words right from my mouth about what they would do differently. I think I'll just add that I wouldn't have leaked the Twiacorn stuff. I'm waiting for season 4 before I decide whether I dislike or like the idea of Twilight being a princess, but it would have been so much better if I wasn't watching the episode thinking "So how and when is Twilight becoming an alicorn." That's the sort of thing that's better kept as a twist. If you're going to have something come out of left field, make sure no one can guess it's going to happen.