@Poptard  
I like those ideas/gags. I kinda miss the “unrequited adoration” gags Big Mac would get.

@Background Pony #A750  
Flash might be visiting his little brother,
 

 
Fleetfoot is trying to stalk visit Big Macintosh and/or visit Rainbow on Wonderbolt business.
 
 

 
And Babs does have several cousins she could be visiting as well.

So Flash, Babs and Fleetfoot (in uniform) are just randomly visiting Ponyville. Okay.

The most bizarre thing about all this is that despite being joke villains, the Apples are easily the most vicious villains in the FiM universe. This shit is a flat out Nazi-esque military invasion.

@Beau Skunky  
His inclusion in the first film was actually relevant as he not only played Dreamy Cutebottom but was also “instrumental” in saving Vice Principal Luna from the idiot ball and getting Twilight out of trouble so she could finish preparations for the dance.
 
But you can’t just downgrade characters regardless of the roles they play in other media. A character can only be upgraded to a more significant class.  
ie. A side character cannot become a background character, but a background character can be upgraded to side or secondary character. A one-off character can reappear in the background of other episodes, but unless they play a role in said episode they are still one-offs until they do something significant in which case they becoming a recurring/side character.

@Background Pony #AD66  
Maybe in EqG he was a “side” character, (a side character that barely did anything) but in MLP:FiM, he’s pretty much a background pony.

@Beau Skunky  
A side character stays a side character regardless of how they are used.

@Background Pony #AD66  
He is a background character at this point.

Again, not saying it’s intentionally malicious. But they are using Flash for the sake of using Flash when they could be using a gambit of side and background characters

@Background Pony #AD66  
That would’ve been kinda funny actually. Even some of the Flash-haters (who can take a joke) would’ve probably found it funny.
 
@Background Pony #AD66  
That’s just Larson being Larson. (Or in other words, just kidding around.) Just like how he likes to poke fun at the whole controversial “Twilicorn” thing. >>227607 And by the “entire staff,” he seems to be the only one I’ve seen who’s ever even mentioned Flash. (And it’s always usually to make fun of him, or something.)

@Background Pony #AD66  
I think he wasn’t so serious about that, probably just joking around.

@Background Pony #EDA3
 
@Background Pony #AD66  
And even on that note, Flash Sentry was set to appear in episode 100 “Slice of Life” with a “why doesn’t any pony like me?!” gag. But it was cut for time. Per Larson himself.

@Background Pony #EDA3  
And the comics. And at panels. M.A. Larson’s desktop background during a projection segment of a panel was a gigantic picture of Flash Sentry’s human form.
 
The staff love to dangle him, dude.

@Background Pony #AD66  
>>usually  
>>two appearances in the show  

 
It’s not all about you, you know. There are fans who, for one reason or another, genuinely like Dreamy Cutebottom.

@Beau Skunky  
Personally, I don’t take anything personally.  
But I do think the staff love to dangle Flash Sentry in front of the fans to say “na-nah, he still exists, we didn’t forget” every now and then. Doesn’t matter to me if it’s even done with malice or not. There’s literally dozens of other “cameo” ponies they could use in his place, but they usually tend to fall back to Flash.

@Background Pony #AD66  
Regardless, their so-called “trolling” has been lighted-hearted, and harmless overall. Larson in particular at worst just makes silly/funny remarks on Twitter. (But in the end they all seem to respect, and care about the fans.) I think you’re taking them to personally.

@Beau Skunky
 
Though oddly enough he didn’t take his name off of that one like he did with The Pebble and the Penguin (though apparently in that particular film’s case it was more that the production of that one was kind of a mess and the final product is very, VERY different from what he originally had in mind).

@Background Pony #EDA3  
I hear even it’s director Don Bluth hated that movie. Compare it to his movies prior, and you’ll see why.

Babs (thinking): “I came ta Ponyville t’visit my cousins, an’ I get this? Shoulda jus’ sent a letter…”

@Darth Sonic  
Neither.  

@Background Pony #AD66  
But was he raised by Alternian Trolls or Azerothian Trolls?  
 

 
That’s the real question.

@Beau Skunky  
As much as the staff love to pander, they also love to troll.  
See: Tara Strong, Meghan McCarthy and M.A. “Was born in the wild and literally raised by trolls” Larson.

I had to actively look for flash in this pic to figure out what people were complaining about. I’m underwhelmed by his presence.

@Beau Skunky
 
This.

@Background Pony #AD66
 
Feel free to continue believing the creators acknowledge an existing character purely to spite you, while the rest of the readers will continue not caring greatly either way or, strangely, actually like it.