Thoughts on the MLP Finale · 4:16pm Oct 25th, 2019
Well, this was a long time coming, but here we are.
Before I begin with my actual thoughts, the reason I took so long was not just to gather my thoughts on this thing... but to cool off after a certain revelation about a certain foal on Twitter. Yes, it angered me, and as a matter of fact, I'm still pretty mad about it. I'm well aware that it was due to some miscommunication between writers and animators... but for crying out loud, at least own that mistake and roll with the first impressions!
So, long story short, I am very, very hesitant on touching Li'l Cheese again, because I can't see that design as anything other than a girl, and I don't want to deal with any obnoxious flakes trying to correct me if I draw or write the kid as one.
At least my stories are mainly dated before whenever that kid is born.
Okay, now let's get down to the real business of this thing.
So, I will have to concede that the "Discord being Grogar" twist was done poorly. Come on, I wanted to see the real Grogar in action! Chances are, the showdown with Grogar could have been as awesome as the Twilight-Tirek fight in Twilight's Kingdom. This does feel like a twist just slapped in to shock the audience... though it does have a little buildup, the thing is that we don't need a plot twist for this story. And Discord's reasoning being just to build up Twilight's confidence is pretty flimsy--I'd prefer the explanation that he was trying to reform them and it just backfired.
That said, it didn't ruin the entire finale for me. It was pretty intense, although having a little more buildup with the tribes' distrust of each other could have made it a little stronger (but then again, maybe there was and I just didn't notice thanks to the other things going on in the other episodes). I was surprised at how real some of the emotions felt, with one instance being when the Princesses were stripped of their magic and the way Twilight screamed... wow. Just wow.
That Starlight and Chrysalis fight was awesome. 'Nuff said.
Seeing Tirek hopping toward the Pillars on those rocks kind of reminded me of the Hulk.
It's nice to see that they brought the Windigos back, though, they seemed to just suddenly disappear? I can't remember if there was anything showing that they faded away after the cavalry had arrived. Which by the way, it's pretty cool to have friends the Mane Six made along the way show up to help (disappointed that there was no Cheese, though, I would have loved to see him fight. Ah, well, I can just imagine him and Tommy tag-teaming and being generally annoying when fighting our three baddies). It does remind me of how I'm making some characters in Brotherly Bonding Time return for the finale to fight the villain... and that I haven't updated that thing in a while and I should probably do so before I decide to start writing Darkwing Duck fan fiction. 
It does feel odd that everyone decided to help after hearing a speech from some kids, though.
And of course, I got to say a thing about the controversial stoning, being that, yeah, it does feel jarring that they'd do that to a kid, even if it is Cozy Glow and she's a demon child. I'm not super enraged about it, just a little uncomfortable.
As for The Last Problem... I really like that it was addressing the concept of friends saying goodbye. I've had little thoughts on how the final episode should be about when friends part ways to pursue their own paths, and this did it just fine. I'm fine with them leading separate lives, but having regular meetings to keep their friendship going. Although, the coronation going south is pretty darn funny. 
Now, to address the ships:
Dude, you already know I'm over the moon that CheesePie is canon (even with recent tweets about their kid getting on my nerves). Although the other two ships are supposed to be ambiguous, people act like they're canon, so I'm gonna say that I don't care for AppleDash and Fluttercord. I never saw chemistry between the former, just a rivalry that could get competitive, but still friendly. The latter, I just don't see Discord and romance mixing well.
Okay, I do have to say that I think the Mane Six and Spike aged well and their designs are pretty good (except Twilight, she looks weird as Celestia 2.0., and I think Fluttershy's hair loopies are weird). I especially like Rarity's, with her lovely cloak and how she's just rocking the grey streak.
I think I like the name "Luster Dawn" a little too much. That's a good name... a really good name...
And I will admit, the final song did make me tear up a little. It's that moment it hits you that this is the end of an era, and although there were moments that drove you nuts, made you mad, and even disappointed you, it was still a fun ride that you were glad you rode on. I remember how I first discovered the show, where I was noticing people on DeviantArt having avatars about it and making art about it, which I thought was strange, given how thanks to G3 I had a bad opinion of the franchise. I caught my sister watching it time to time, and at some point, I just sat down and watched it with her. I remember the episode being "Applebuck Season", and that episode holds a special place in my heart.
I did indulge in some pony content on the side, finding fan fictions and faving some fan art, but I was generally more into Pokemon, and that was my main fandom. But then Pinkie Pride rolled around, I fell in love with Cheese Sandwich and the CheesePie ship, and then I was fully on board the pony fandom. I created Tomato Sandwich and his ask blog, I wrote fics like The Rock Farmer's Daughters and Brother Bothers, I built my own 'verse with a lot of OCs to populate it and have all kinds of relationships with canon characters and each other. And it was fun. Even though I'm more of a niche person who doesn't care for the bandwagons, I still had fun with my own stuff and trying to work around canon (okay, that last one was a major pain, too).
Seeing the show end does kind of lift the burden of trying to weave around canon with my stuff, but it's kind of sad to see that book close, telling you that the story's finished. While I could continue my stories, it just feels weird.
This after saying that I was considering writing fan fiction for Darkwing Duck... a show that began and ended in the 90's! But, you know, that does say that even if a show's over, there can be still be old fans introducing new fans to it, and the new fans can still show their appreciation for it. Heck, the best reboots of old shows are made by those who love the old stuff and want to make it work for a modern audience. That is what Lauren Faust did with MLP after all, and it even got some bronies checking out the old 80's stuff.
Even if G5's on the horizon, there can still be plenty of people appreciating G4.
So, anyway... thank you, MLP cast and crew. Thanks for the ride.
You know how dying Digimon vanish in a cloud of particle effects? Basically that.
As for Li'l Cheese, people seem to be embracing the gender ambiguity more than anything. I certainly won't begrudge you if you say she's a filly.
Unsurprisingly, the general consensus is that The Last Problem is the best episode of the season.
I agree with your sentiments, and while I do ship Fluttercord, I appreciate your opinion. Now, the song in the last episode was really good, and the little MLP Theme reprise in the end really makes the song for me.
Now, I’m glad G4 ended with a bang and not a whimper, as I’ve heard horror stories of disastrous last seasons, (mainly for Game of Thrones) it’s great that the last season of G4 was a really good experience.
Now that we’ve (literally) closed the book on G4, I await to see what lies in the future.