Unpopular opinion time

@Latecomer
 
Yeah, sorry, I guess I have a typing error in it that makes my statement a little misleading. I meant it the way Brass Beau and AC97 seem to have understood it: that in my opinion it was quite a shame that we saw so little of Cadance and Shining Armor, or that we were never allowed to experience them without any connection to Twilight - for the purpose of of a possible plot of a hypothetical episode. We always see them as part of Twilight’s family, but not independently. For themself. If you know what I mean.
 
And as the Brass and AC have already said, it is really unfortunate that we were able to gain little more than a fleeting impression of the respective personalities of the two. I would have loved to experience Shining Armor at least once as a father alone with Flurry Heart, both in everyday life in the palace, as well as on the road in Ponyville and/or together on an adventure.
 
As in the good old days, Flurry would have been a typical cartoon baby and would have been constantly in some dangerous situations, or would have caused (unintentionally) trouble everywhere, and Shiny would have had to correct everything and he’d have to save her all the time. In the end, Cadance would have asked, “How was your day together?” and both would have laughed. Father and daughter would have come a little closer. Happy End. With the right gags and cameos like Discord in the background, this would certainly have become a funny, sweet and perhaps even heart-warming episode. On the other hand, I can also very well imagine all the huge complaints of the fans, for Flurry Heart being a baby. Well, there are a lot of people who just don’t want to forgive her. ;-D
 
As far as Cadance is concerned, I’d like to know more about her. Her origin, her desire for adventure and grandeur, etc. Where I can always imagine Shiny as a loving, slightly clumsy but also quite courageous father, I think that Cadance is much more daring, almost reckless. I would have liked to see her more in her role as ruler of the Crystal Empire, as a discoverer together with Captain Celaeno and as diplomat. One episode with her could have addressed the relationship between the Crystal Ponies and the Yaks. You could have done so much out of her role and deepened her character. But then the fans would have complained again about how much the focus differs from the Mane Six and Ponyville. Uch. ;-)
 
Well, be that as it is. At least we can make up stories ourselves for the rest of our lives. I hope very much in G5 all this will somehow be better.
 
 
@AC97
 

 
We don’t really know enough about Amore. I could still get upset that the comics are not canon (especially King Sombras Origin & Siege of the Crystal Empire). For this I despise Hasbro/IDW a little bit. And not just since MLP G4. Therefore, Princess Amore unfortunately belongs to exactly the parts of the lore for me, which was just mentioned briefly and then dropped again. Just too little background story to find her neither good nor bad.
 
Princess Platinum bears the title of unicorn more or less in honor, just as Blueblood bears his title of prince. In Hearth’s Warming Eve I honestly always see only Rarity being Rarity and very little of the actual “historical” personality. I liked Platinum in The Journal of the Two Sisters. At first I thought she was a Diamond Tiara 2.0 but in the end Celestia, Luna and she become friends. Therefore, I assume that she may not have been as bad as she is commonly portrayed.
 
Personally, I don’t think much of best/worst ratings, so I don’t really want to comment on who the worst princess is. If I had to vote, it would probably be Twilight. But just because I still think the concept of the Princess of Friendship is a bit “critical”. ;-)

@DarkObsidian  
It’s true they were quite shallow to begin with, and though they gained some depth over time it was nothing much. But they do seem far enough outside the main cast as not to get TV episodes themselves - plots for them seem more natually at home in the comics or books, and they did get a fair few.

@Latecomer
 
Well, I’ll agree with you. But with the comics and the books, that’s such a thing. Many fans are either unfamiliar, or they reject them in a matter of principle to non-canon. If you consider all the chronological errors, sometimes absurd real-world allusions and just the behavior of the show to replace things from the books and comics with Retcon almost without reason, you can understand the discontentment of the fans.
 
Therefore, comic tales such as from Friends Forever Issue 26, for example, The journey of the two princes, are really great stories, but just also more or less meaningless. Unless, at some point, we’re all going to start writing a complete G4 chronicle that examines exactly which parts of the comics, the books and the show you can summarize and call canon, and which parts you can’t. Such a project would have my full support.
 
Well, there is still G5 to be seen, and whether the two generations build on each other or not. As I said before, I would rather have a direct connection between these two generations, instead of starting all over again. On the other hand, I also want the G5 as well as G4 to be very successful and lead to as many creative contributions as possible. That’s what I’ve always admired most about the MLP fandom, this release of artistic creativity, whether it’s videos, pictures, fanfics, etc. I really wish for another creative high. Therefore I would probably accept a completely new MLP with a heavy heart, as long as it inspires others as much as it once did. ;-)

@DarkObsidian  
It’s true that I don’t really acknowledge them as canon myself. But if you want to look at secondary charachters not through the lens of the main cast, secondary media is more likely to go there.
 
And IMO, a G5 as creatively inspiring as G4 has to be as fresh and unlimited as G4. It can’t be born into a pre-built world of constraints.

@DarkObsidian  
Closest episode I can think of is Once Upon A Zeppelin

@Myoozik  
I completely forgot about that episode.
 
Outside of Slice of Life and to an extent the CMC episodes, the series was the lives of the M6. Why Hasbro didn’t capitalize on the fandom with an off season series called Pony Tales and focusing on other characters is beyond me. Real missed opportunity. Might have gotten kids to buy more blind bags. Not to mention more playsets.

@Brass Beau  
Not to mention, the fans would have probably reacted to it better than Pony Life.

@The Equestrian Zodiac  
I don’t know if I’ll ever get the vitriol I’ve seen for Pony Life. I understand it, but I don’t get it, ya know?

@Brass Beau  
No.

@Brass Beau  
Wasn’t there a cmc spinoff

@Narrowgaugezone90  
The CMC had a couple of episodes in FiM, an EqG short, a CYOA episode, a three issue limited comic series and I think four issues of the FiM comic dedicated to them. And those are the characters with the most exposure outside of the M6.

@Brass Beau  
Along with a few books staring them too, if I remember right.

CMC had two comic mini-series dedicated to them - Ponyville Mysteries and Spirit of the Forest, which also rescued Diamond Tiara from whatever limbo she’d been banished to after the CMC got their cutie marks and kicked her out of her own redemption episode.

@Brass Beau  
I know that but there was supposed a another show

@Narrowgaugezone90  
I remember Lauren Faust wanted there to be a preschool show about the cmc,but it never happened. Maybe if she had stayed on the show longer,we’d have gotten something like it.

@Dex Stewart  
Why did reading “preschool show about the cmc” hurt my soul?

@Brass Beau  
From what I recall she wanted the show to aim for preschool age kids.

@Brass Beau
 
@Dex Stewart  
Probably wanted MLP’s equivalent of Rescue Bots. And honestly given how successful that show actually was(I actually think its one of the best TF shows personally), I think it could have worked

@Brass Beau  
Outside of Star Tracker, who I didn’t like, that’s a pretty good episode that did Twilight good and helped her in developing her relationship with her family in a way. I just personally wish she was able to see the meteor shower with her family instead of missing it.

@Latecomer
 
I think Mennonites are the ones who use technology but only a small bit but I’m not so sure.

@Hali the Emoji girl  
Even the Amish use certain technologies - just a limited set.
 
As for the CMC, I consider them a “conjoined spinoff” - kind of like those cases where people still have the remnants of their half-merged would-have-been twins on their bodies, but, y’know, cute instead of disgusting. And I feel this model worked for them - I doubt they could have come up with multiple full seasons of episodes for them, and by being part of FIM there were no restrictions on “crossovers”.

@Latecomer
 
I didn’t mention the cmc but ok, the cmc could have full seasons if a writer is creative and imaginative enough they could use what the show established and expanded on it more with cmc.

The CMC definitely had the potential for more worldly stories and adventures. And after season five there was more than enough room for spin off shows. If Hasbro tosses G5 and a new Transformers show on Cartoon Network, they’d dominate the channel within a year.

Whenever the Mane 6 say a mule joke and then finish it off with no offense and the mule in question says none taken, this is very funny… but it’s also one of the most shallow jokes in the show.
 
In real life no one would (rightfully so) tolerate it if you said something like “you’re as greedy as a Jew. No offense, man, I was just joking.”
 
And the issue is not that a joke like this is too offensive for a kids show actually since mules are fictional.
 
My real issue is that it takes away potential worldbuilding and a certain sense of realism. If you want to make a social commentary on how racism can be subtle, then maybe it should be seen as a negative thing instead of a neutral thing. Or if you don’t want to get into that stuff, then find a joke that doesn’t ruin this realism.
 
Am I the only one who finds mule jokes funny but tasteless and immature in the long run?
 
Edit: I do NOT find these jokes offensive and inappropriate. Please do not misunderstand.

Edit again: Man I was the fun police back then.

@Cosmas-the-Explorer  
Horses, zebras and donkeys are all equines but only zebras and ponies have cutie marks. And a mule is half horse and half donkey. The implications of those facts had me raising an eyebrow more than the joke.