Going On Hiatus · 1:36am May 9th, 2014
So, as I'm sure everybody is aware, the Season 4 finale is on Saturday
Frankly, I don't care. As far as I'm concerned, the show ended back in Season 2 and everything since has not been worth seeing. I understand I'm in the minority there, though. And since there are still so many people watching the show who still care about it, I am good enough at pattern recognition to know that it's time to retreat into my bomb shelter.
Given that the past two season finales have had extreme fandom explosions, what with the Royal Wedding controversy in Season 2 and Twilight's massive screwup which she was then inexplicably rewarded for in Season 3, I think it's safe to say that it's time to crawl into my hole and just ignore the poni altogether for a while.
I'm surprised there aren't more people grumbling about it. The lead up to the Royal Wedding and Twilight's back growths was rife with apprehension and grumbling. You'd thing there'd be more of that sort of thing towards "Celestia and Luna give all their powers to Twilight and eliminate themselves as meaningful characters." I know if I still cared about canon I'd be grumbling about that. Ultimately, though, I just don't want to have to deal with all the rage and civil war that will be swirling around when it happens. Bad for the blood. Bad for digestion. That sort of thing.
Anyway, long story short, I'm keeping out of the blast radius. I'm not going to partake in the inevitable blog rage, nor do I want to be here for the influx of "OMG TWILIGHT HAS ALL THE POWER OF CELESTIA AND LUNA AND RUNS HER OWN KINGDOM NOW" fanfiction, the comment hate, or the generally tense atmosphere that will inevitably fall over the fandom.
I'll be over here, safe and sound in my bunker. I'll let you all know when I'm back :)
Well, that's your choice.
We've had this discussion in the past, and I know I can't change your mind. Be sure and tell us when your head's back out of the sand, because I still think you're a great author. 
Just so I can see where your head's at, Dusty, would you mind explaining how you would've preferred seasons 3 & 4 went down? Like, if you were the one calling the shots on how the world of Equestria and its inhabitants progressed, in what ways would the show be different then compared to how it is now?
~The lizardman is genuinely curious and completely respects your decision to lay low for now
Hey.. the Smooze was cool.
Well, Hope you'll be safe in the Bunker, but from what I've seen, expectations of this Finale seem positive, alot moreso then the Random Wedding(tho i <3 Changelings) and Twilicorn.
I, however, am a mountain of a Nerd, and will Endure and watch the shit hit the fan, and observe the riots, I'll give you a "Best Of" Compilation and a Box of taco's when you exit the Vault.
Some folks will just see what they love as infallible.
Still, if you enjoy mlp more inherently for what it is, rather than the show itself, you should certainly stick around! I'm more critical than most of the decisions Hasbro has made with their IP lately, and despise most of the toyetic injections they've shamelessly placed into the show with the sole intent of expanding their toy market, but you gotta look past that stuff.
The scripts they've been writing have entirely hinged on these things, ever since Lauren was encouraged to adapt to what they wanted, or leave. But the stones for something great were still laid by her and the writers when they could be, and we've made something awesome in the meantime. The fandom doesn't need Hasbro to tell us what's what in the show. Let's face it, we'd be rewriting and improving on what little they've given us anyway.
So, let go and just enjoy the train crash, and write something that's even better, I say. But, if you ever stop liking the ponies inherently, then don't force yourself to endure it.
2090786
I suppose it depends on how the episode goes. From what I understand, there's less grumbling about this finale than previous ones. I suppose it depends on whether or not the showrunners decide to do something incredibly audacious... like make the tattoos that the ponies end up covered in permanent. Or have Twilight keep all of Celestia and Luna's powers and make the two of them completely irrelevant characters as a result.
I have so little faith in the showrunners I wouldn't put it past them to pull something like that. Heck, at this point, I expect it. That said, if status quo ends up fully restored at the end of the episode, I suppose that there won't be much in the way of fighting and I probably won't be gone more than a few days. If they do something insane and stupid though, it could be a while before I feel comfortable stepping back in.
2090888
I sorta took out the thing I said about G1. It was a little more bitter and insulting towards the showrunners than I should have gotten. That said, yes. The smooze was pretty okay. It was basically a giant purple shoggoth, so that's neat. It wasn't near as dark or threatening as Tirek tho.
As I said to FoME, I fully expect the writers to pull something completely audacious and send the fandom into a tizzy. It's just sorta par for the course at this point.
2091280
That's sorta the whole thing. For a while, I just considered leaving the whole thing behind, but I eventually realized that I still loved the show and characters and messages that it originally preached before it all became about "HERE'S ANOTHER TOY YOU CAN BUY, KIDS!" more than the actual integrity of the writing.
The same has happened for me with other shows in the past. Buffy the Vampire Slayer comes to mind. I disliked everything after the first episode of the Fifth season, and I didn't even watch the seventh. It was too painful. That said, I still enjoy the characters and the world it created, and I still consider myself a fan of the show.
So yeah, I've been called a hater and "not a TRUE fan" and stuff like that, but the way I see it, as long as I like the concept and the characters and setting and the like, I'm still a fan of MLP.
2091314 Some of the Fanart of the Smooze is downright horrifying.
But yeah, Ever notice that, since around... season 2, Fanart of shit from Gen1 started becoming a thing?
Friendship Is Magic was so good, Artists and fanfics were grasping at the older stuff for material to Write about and to Arts.
2091320
You don't have to tell me. Hell, I even made some myself.
fc05.deviantart.net/fs71/i/2012/098/b/5/nothing_can_stop_it____by_midnight_cobra-d4vhfjx.png
It's been a thing since season 1 really. Even when I first joined the fandom in about the middle of Season 1, there was already at least one fanfic updating things from the first series, and more quickly followed.
2090854
If I were calling the shots?
I suppose it depends on whether or not I were given full creative control, or whether Hasbro insisted on meddling the way it did. Very different things would have ended up happening.
If I were given full creative control, I would have possibly ended up beginning to write it in a manner similar to Justice League Unlimited. Basically, it would have involved doing single episodes with issues that are solved within the given half hour, but would ultimately be building up to something big. I would have crafted Equestria as a fantasy world, true and blue. It would have been a land of gods, monsters, spirits, and kings, told from the perspective of the people who just live in it (and occasionally save it). I would have introduced a lot more big ideas. I would have introduced a whole pantheon of Alicorns, each of them ruling over their own kingdom. I would have defined Alicorns better, and I would have defined the magic system better. I would have built it towards a conclusive ending, causing the show to span about five seasons total.
I would have also done smaller things. I would have spent time further expanding upon, and devoting entire episodes to side characters, including but not limited to: Zecora, Big Macintosh, the Princesses, Cadance and Shining Armor, and Trixie. I would have also given stricter definition to the culture of Equestria and further defined the rules behind the magic system (as opposed to just being as random as Pinkie Sense in what it can and can't do). I would have had the characters go to more cities, including at the very least Hollow Shades (which is still the only interesting thing that ever came out of that stupid official map). I would also have gone more into depth about the other species of the world and their relationships with ponies.
Among things I would have implemented are "System: the spirit of order and conformity" who would have basically attempted to turn every pony in Equestria into identical copies of each other and force a system similar to that of the alien world in "A Wrinkle in Time" on them. I would have also included an evil alicorn INSPIRED by Tirek named "Tyrannus" who would have been imprisoned in Tartarus. The show finale would have ultimately been the defeat of an evil eldritch abomination named "Entropy" who would have been the spirit of decay and void.
All of this, of course, would be interspersed and slowly foreshadowed over the course of three seasons while most of the seasons focused upon simply living in Ponyville, visiting Canterlot, going casually around the world, etc. The formula wouldn't change all too much all at once, it's just as they went around the world the characters that they met would start getting more important and interesting, and the monsters they fought would start leading up to something.
Ultimately, I suppose, what I would have done is expanded upon the world after the first two seasons laid the groundwork, and I would have had the series grow up in tone and content slowly with the audience that was watching it.
That's how I'd have handled it if I had been given full creative control.
Now, on the other hand, if you're talking about how I would have handled the episodes that we were given differently, that's an entirely different story. In fact, I have actually considered this at length as to how I would personally have changed Season 3 were I asked to rewrite the episodes, but effectively retain their summaries intact. If you're interested let me know. This comment is getting a touch long for my tastes and I'll continue the discussion in another one.
I can't speak for Season 4, though. I have not seen any of Season 4 besides a few minutes of the pilot (which I did not like).
2091314
If being a fan entails simply accepting anything thrown my way from the creators, then fans are stupid. :P
2091478
That's something I'm always willing to get behind.
And yeah, I'd like to hear how you'd rewrite season 3 if given the chance.
~The lizardman is still curious
2092016
Hear hear.
2092118
I just sent you a PM. It was too long for my liking to put into comments.
2091427 this adds credence to what i MSg'd you about recycling Characters, Locations and Objects from seasons/episodes you didn't like, and use them as raw materials for stories you DO like, like everyone has been doing with the entire of gens 1-3 since the beginning.
The "Celestia and Luna permanently losing their powers" thing hasn't been confirmed in canon. But these things happen everytime and everywhere, not just in this fandom. There will always be haters and ragers no matter what happens or doesn't happen, and they tend to be the minority but loudest part. Then there is the "I don't like it, but that doesn't mean I'll roar about it" part, and this one, in which you seem to belong to, is alright. Opinions are free after all.
So, take the time you need, and I'll be looking forward for "Super Smash Brothers : Disharmony" next chapter.
I'm actually quite scared to see the season 4 finale, because the season 3 finale pissed me off so badly that I kinda don't want to be in this fandom anymore. Really, the only reason I stick around is for all the stories and comics that the fans of the show create. The one amazing thing that I will always love about Bronies is that we are a hella creative bunch that takes risks and doesn't back down from anything. I like to believe that we don't get discouraged by others and their opinions and that we're daring, willing to try out new, dangerous things that the social public doesn't exactly agree with.
But yeah, super scared. Still pissed off about Princess Twilight (Ugh).
2091478
I agree with the side characters part. I would love to see a few episodes centered around the crystal empire with Shining and Cadance as the stars. I would also really really like to see a few episodes about life in Canterlot with Luna, Celestia, and Discord. They built up this giant capital city, with two princesses running the city, but then they never talk about it... What's everyday life like for the princesses? Are they always busy? Do they have free-time? Do they hang out with each other? What are Celestia and Luna really like? We never see them outside of their regal masks they put on for their subjects. That only leaves the fandom to try and explain them.
As for the rest, I wish you the best of luck on your hiatus, and I hope all goes well. I'll always wait patiently for more ponyfall.
I'll miss your stories, mate. Fare thee well, and have a good hiatus!
Well, the fandom isn't in an uproar right now. Would you like to hear the basic gist of how the finale went down? Of course, if you've already heard from someone else than please disregard this comment.
~The lizardman liked the finale on the whole