@Background Pony #AC23  
I think you’re putting the proverbial cart before the horse. The writers aren’t “paying less attention to the older fans, eschewing character development and world building” because we hated alicorn princess Twilight. It’s BECAUSE they’ve taken those negative turns already, such as with what happened in MMC, that we complain.

@Background Pony #AC23  
Actually, Equestria Girls 2 will have 12 songs apparently.

Congratulations fan haters, you spent a year bitching and achieved FUCK ALL.
 
In fact you might actually have managed to achieve LESS than 0, as now the writers are paying less attention to the older fans, esqueing character development and world building, and giving us an Equestria Girls 2 with the crappy pop songs turned up to 11.
 
Good job everyone!

@Ebalosus  
“ Doesn’t feel like that long if you ask me.”
 
Really? because it feels like fuckin’ ETERNITY to me.

@The Twelfth Doctor Whoof  
Actually, she has been called out before. Like in “Winter Wrap-Up,” Applejack chastized her for using magic when she wasn’t supposed to. Spike’s also called her out many times, like when she was overreacting in “It’s About Time,” and “Lesson Zero.”  
She also made a total fool of herself in “Feeling Pinkie-Keen,” so she isn’t always seen as “the smartest person in the world,” or always in the right.

Too many comments; Didn’t read. Regardless, I’m still okay with Princess Twilight.

@The Twelfth Doctor Whoof
 
This… _{and I really need to get round to that forum post which expands upon what you have brought up}
 
Anyway, has it really been a year? Doesn’t feel like that long if you ask me. Even though I’m all for the concept of Twilicorn (still pretty leary about the “princess” part), I still am waiting for them to actually do something with the concept!
 
In fairness however, the wasted potential of Twilicorn is not a dealbreaker for me personally (Hell, I stuck through the entire seven season run of Star Trek: Voyager _{Where potential goes to die}).
 
In all honesty, I’m more looking forward to the 2-year anniversary of the Mass Effect 3 ending clusterfuck…

@Ferrotter  
Even when you argue against me, you actually prove my point. Who said it was CELESTIA’s choice when I called Twilight the “Chosen One”? Celestia, like every other effect in the series, has the writers’ contrivance as primary cause. THAT is why people call Twilight a “Sue”. Everything, from her power, personality, and happenstance, behaves as though in lockstep with “destiny”. How boring.

@Background Pony #AB72  
There’s absolutely zip that’s canon about your speculation that Sunset Shimmer “worked harder” to be Celestia’s personal student. Since there are only two examples of “personal students” and only one has a clear example background to show what Celestia had been looking for in a personal student, it’s just as realistic to think Sunset’s experience was very similar to Twilight’s, up to the point that she left Celestia. Her ambition was what lost her the personal student gig; that’s canon. There’s no evidence at all that it’s what got her Celestia’s favor in the first place.
 
(Celestia having some foreknowledge of what needs to be done during certain critical times is Word of Faust. Per Faust, she doesn’t necessarily know what’s going to happen, or why she does certain important things, but she often has a sense to do the right thing at the right time. But you misunderstand it. It’s not Celestia choosing to elevate Twilight. It’s not even really Celestia knowing that Twilight is the one worth choosing to elevate, though I think that probably was fairly obvious to her. It’s more a matter of Celestia just feeling like she wanted to walk past the school tower at that time such that she was there to recognize Twilight’s potential at the appropriate moment. It was still Twilight’s potential she recognized. And she didn’t choose to elevate Twilight; she recognized that Twilight would elevate, but needed guidance.)
 
No doubt at all that Twilight was catapulted to stardom after (I’d argue during more than after) her entrance exam. But she succeeded because she was Twilight, not because Celestia chose her. She succeeded even when Celestia doubted her (Cadance’s wedding).
 
And Twilight is not better at relationships than Sunset Shimmer. Twilight’s more kind-hearted. Twilight’s general weakness in relationships is helped by five friends (and Spike) who adore her. Sunset Shimmer showed a much deeper understanding of relationships that let her take over an entire high school. Sunset only lost because she forgot that the Elements of Harmony are elements of harmony, and she was unable to see that the Element of Magic wasn’t going to harm Twilight just because Sunset had possession of it at the time. Up to that point, she’d won.
 
Overall, that Twilight Sparkle was simply better was, as you say, luck of the draw. But it’s still Twilight Sparkle who’s better. So she’s better because she’s Twilight Sparkle, instead of someone else who isn’t better. Your complaint is not “Twilight became an alicorn princess too easiliy.” It’s “Twilight’s always been much more powerful than the others.” Yes, if you’re more powerful and intelligent, you wind up rising in the world fast. That can be filed under “things that make you say, “Well, duh!””

@Jarkes  
Good points, all of them.
 
I’ve notice a few other trends, and it’s surprising how widespread it is. I mean, people do the same things to each other all the time. “I weigh this opinion differently. My issue is important and correct, and your opinion is worthless.” You can see it applied nearly everywhere.
 
I also think frequency of a stated opinion wears on people, no matter what it is. A well-worded criticism may indeed by valid, but it gets a bit old. It gets just as old as someone constantly praising something over and over again. I’m pretty sure folks stop caring entirely after awhile, no matter what the stated opinion is.
 
It’s like, “You’re bringing this up again for the 50th time, why?” (“you” being anyone.)
 
I think there’s also an inherent flaw in English that fails to demonstrate the emotional state of the author, unless the author specifically goes out of the way. It’s interesting how, when I’ve shared opinions about varying things through the wear (like about a WeLoveFine T-shirt contest), I shared my opinion in a calm, thoughtful manner. Or so I thought. It’s fascinating how those who strongly disagree assume I’m a towering pillar of rage or a sobbing mess. No…no. I’m pretty calm 99% of the time.
 
I just don’t mind sharing my opinions when I feel strongly about something, or I think I have something to contribute. Sharing opinions easily != emotional wreck.
 
Another interesting thing I’ve noticed is that we’ve actually only seen about 27.65 hours of the characters’ lives from the start of Season 1 to the latest episode of S4 (s4e14). While the characters are all quite relatable (ymmv), it’s fascinating how much people fill in their blanks with their own personal experiences. While we all watch the same show, someone with very different personal experiences may come off a particular episode with an entirely different interpretation.
 
Personally, if there was anything I wish fans did more of, it’s asking others to define their logic and relate their experiences. When I’ve really dug into why someone does or doesn’t really like a particular character, it almost always boils down to a person’s own traits/experiences/issues. It’s hard to just open up and share that sort of stuff with strangers, though. I’ll bet a lot of the misunderstandings would clear up.
 
Ah. I’m rambling.

@PonyPon  
That’s an interesting way of putting it.

@Background Pony #AB72  
It would be far from inaccurate to say that she is a character “suffering” from an excess of fortune.

@Ferrotter  
No she wasn’t. If there’s anything Sunset’s life reveals about her character, it’s that she’s unrelentingly ambitious, not fortunate. She got into Celestia’s school and became the princess’ personal student because she worked for it, and because Celestia thought she saw some good traits in her.
 
Twilight, on the other hand, had a cliché “unleashed raw potential” kind of moment, at which point Celestia decided that her latent abilities alone were cause enough to make Twilight her star. Everything that happened after that defied the odds so thoroughly that the only explanation I’ve ever been able to come up with is foreknowledge of some kind.
 
Make no mistake, Twilight’s life story is not about a girl who slowly climbed to the top, but rather one who was catapulted to that position.
 
Neither Twilight nor Sunset were properly trained by Celestia in relationships. That Twilight happened to be better at them was, for all intents and purposes, the luck of the draw.

@Background Pony #AB72  
Sunset Shimmer was once the “chosen one.” That didn’t quite work out. Twilight’s fate did, because she was Twilight, not because she was chosen.

@Background Pony #D11E
 
“Why do all the alifags assume they are some small level-headed minority among the sea of maniacs crying about show being ruined etc.?”
 
Trust me, we don’t (if anything, it’s the other way around), and calling us “alifags” does not help your argument in the slightest.
 
“When MMC was announced I was probably the only one having objections about the concept”
 
Arrogant much? You were FAR from the only person to object to it. There were people crying foul from the moment it was first rumored. There are STILL people
 
“To this day, expressing any criticism towards the present direction of the show, no matter how well worder, is always met with insults and hostility from the rest of the fandom.”
 
And whenever people express a positive reaction, THEY get jumped on and called “Hasdrones,” among other insults.
 
Stop trying to act like you’re oppressed. I’m not saying that there aren’t examples of what you describe (there certainly are), but more often than not, it’s the whiners who insult the people who are okay with things.
 
It’s okay to criticize the show; just don’t act like an asshole about it and tell people that they’re “wrong” for liking certain aspects that you don’t like.
 
The problem is that the people that I just described are so loud about it, sometimes people get accused of doing the same when they’re actually being completely reasonable and have perfectly valid criticisms.

@The Twelfth Doctor Whoof  
“Spike was the one who ultimately saved the Crystal Empire and Twilight knows it.”
 
That’s like saying the guy who fired the last shot won the war. Twi did everything necessary to get to that point. Sure spike was necessary but I’d say Twi’s contribution was far greater.
 
“She still never gets called out when she screws up”
 
Just because everything isn’t shown doesn’t mean it’s not to be assumed that it happens. Frankly Twi apologizes before anypony else, and for everypony else, does she need to be called out if she knows she screwed up and has already apologized? (I’ve hear that cute little “sorry” from Twi far more than any pony else recently, even when it’s barely if at all her fault)
 
“and the narrative still treats her as the smartest thing in existence even though her actions constantly suggest she’s really not that smart”
 
How smart you are under normal conditions and under the threat of impending doom are probably different. We already know she’s not the best under pressure, doesn’t mean she’s not smart. Put Einstein on the spot to solve a unique situation within moments and you’re probably not going to get any better results. She still deos better than the rest most of the time…

Why do all the alifags assume they are some small level-headed minority among the sea of maniacs crying about show being ruined etc.? When MMC was announced I was probably the only one having objections about the concept, and whenever I dared to openly admit that, I was always jumped at by practically everyone else. To this day, expressing any criticism towards the present direction of the show, no matter how well worder, is always met with insults and hostility from the rest of the fandom. It’s basically the exact opposite of what bronies want to see.

@The Twelfth Doctor Whoof  
A point to consider is that, assuming Cadance was not born as an alicorn per the chapter book, that she was turned into a princess at about the same age as Twilight if not younger. To me, this is at least comparable to what happens in the British Royal Family (at least, the intent), that the heirs to the throne are at least groomed and participate in official duties while still physically and mentally “immature” (teenagers). Twilight’s clearly not be tasked with any major new responsibilities here. Even with Cadance, it was after her maturity that she given her own empire to manage.
 
What ‘‘is’’ a bit too fast, however, is that as per all S4 spoilers, Twi’s getting her own kingdom a year later. And here’s where I agree - she doesn’t have or shown (due to lack of anything to show it) the maturity to run a kingdom. She’s had little training (how she fumbled with giving orders after Cele + Luna’s disappearance), and the finale of S3 suggested she still had a lot of growth before she would be capable on her own.
 
What would work is that if this kingdom appears from the box, and Cele names it as Twilight’s, I could see that Cele would say “While this will be yours, you are still learning how to be a good leader, and I will help oversee your kingdom while you continue to learn…” and given the proverbial S5 more opportunities to show what being a leader in Equestria means, a question woefully avoided in S4 so far. (Hopefully Twilight Time will touch on her status w/ the CMC).

………….

Yeah, still not convinced that Ascending her at that time was a good idea.
 
After 79 episodes (counting 2-parters) I have seen very little that justifies Twi’s Ascension. Sure, she’s saved the world several times, but so have the other five. Spike was the one who ultimately saved the Crystal Empire and Twilight knows it.
 
Maybe with a bit more maturity and life experience Twilight could be a proper Princess, but despite what Celestia said, I still don’t think she’s there yet.
 
She still never gets called out when she screws up (even as her friends do, for the exact same things), and the narrative still treats her as the smartest thing in existence even though her actions constantly suggest she’s really not that smart, aside from her ability to absorb information she reads in books.

@Techy Pony  
a little serious… she is the best pony like luna and fluttershy

@lunafan22  
I agree, but coming from “lunafan”, I have my reservations as to whether or not you’re serious.

@Beatfox  
Yeah, you’re right. Ah, the “good ol’ days” of being accused of being a “Hasdrone.”
 
I love the brony fandom, but I think last year was the most drama-filled year in the brony-fandom. (Almost made me lose faith in it, I hate to say, but it’s nice things calmed down now.)

@Beau Skunky  
Nah, this was the day the brony fandom freaked.