FiM Finale: The Ending of the End/The Last Problem

[Deep Purple Crystal]

Appledash and Fluttercord were both planned to be canon according to the new leaks.
visitors can't see pics , please register or login

Judging by their role in the final episode (and the obviously deliberate wording of their introduction in the epilogue), I'm honestly not surprised (assuming you've read the Eliza Hart treatment for the final episode also included within the leaks, the ending line with Twilight admitting that the entire coronation was a ****show was also a highlight).

Spoiler

On a related note, the leaks themselves are fascinating stuff - one could easily write an entire 'art of' book on FiM and then some with it, particularly in light of the uber-detailed animation revision notes and the plethora of premises (particularly for seasons 4 and 5 - I assume you've uncovered the various early incarnations of the 100th episode (including that document with the Doctor Whooves scene's DW references turned up to eleven), the rejected season 3 episode where Twilight temporarily assumes Mayor Mare's position, the infamous canned deer episode from season 1 and the entire rejected first draft for that Legally Blonde parody with Rarity M.A Larson referenced way back in 2015?) and drafts (the first draft of the season 3 finale in particular is shockingly different, particular Steven Magnet's climatic verse). Although I haven't downloaded them myself (a contact sent a number of screenshots depicting the material they found most noteworthy to me), they were a fascinating read and it's compelling being in a position to view documents which accurately reflect the undiluted 'styles' of the show's crew - note that the Faust-era writers seem to have a more lighthearted energy about their work, whereas the style of the documents' text noticeably changes upon Haber and co. assuming the reins into a more sardonic style, basically reflecting the show's shift in tone at large.

I'm lost, what was the deer episode?

"Fancy Meeting You Deer", an episode Lauren Faust attempted to produce during season 1 involving Twilight, Dash, Pinkie and Applejack heading into the Whitetail Woods (the woods seen in "Fall Weather Friends") to retrieve a plant necessary to cure an ailing Spike from an indigenous deer tribe (who are ambiguously patterned after the Native Americans of the northern USA). The episode basically then diverges into a conflict regarding the four meeting a young colt named 'Shambi' (subtle Disney reference this ain't) who believes himself to be a deer (due to being raised by the tribe from childhood) yet cannot (due to his physical differences) pass the tribe's coming-of-age initiation and the evident 'desirable truth vs. undesirable lies' conflict ensues from there. As the leaks reveal, a full outline was written by Dave Polsky (the guy behind "Feeling Pinkie Keen" and "Rarity Takes Manehattan"), yet the episode was never put into production beyond that.

[tailrustedtealeaf]

Season 1 had enough messy stuff as is, I'm glad they didn't do the deer episode, it sounds like it would have been messy?
I never updated my initial leak thread, maybe I should get around to that...

[caseysealia]

@caseysealia
Hey, I like Flashlight. I would have loved to seen that. But they abandoned that ship long ago and it would set most fans on fire. I'm not ready for that hate it would reignite.

I love it too. And in the last episode? Probably could of done it. They would of been harassed to no end though because People seem to forget this is just a show. 😥

[Lady Frostbite]

Oooft. Oooft oooft oooooooooft. If Hasbro didn't stomp down on the name, they would have killed it for the Unforunate Implications alone.

Speaking of Faust, there is a drawing of her plans for Final Twilight, and she is ... pretty much just Celestia. I'll go see if I can find it.

EDIT: Found it!

visitors can't see pics , please register or login

[caseysealia]

Oooft. Oooft oooft oooooooooft. If Hasbro didn't stomp down on the name, they would have killed it for the Unforunate Implications alone.

Speaking of Faust, there is a drawing of her plans for Final Twilight, and she is ... pretty much just Celestia. I'll go see if I can find it.

EDIT: Found it!

visitors can't see pics , please register or login

They should of used that hair style 😥

[Al-1701]

When you consider they did make "Over a Barrel" and the mess that was (and written by Dave Polski too), the deer is probably best left in the ash bin of history.

I do believe Hasbro did not want do anything that could offend parents when it came to My Little Pony.  Really, as much as it fans will scream in disagreement, FiM is more an elongated advertisement than Dream Valley (that's what I'm going to call the specials, movie, and 1986 series) or Tales were.  It's designed to be completely inoffensive to the parents who will buy the toys.  That why they hid their gay characters, never mentioned death outright, and anything that seemed to be a swipe at the conservative agenda was distracted from.

And the thing is, they could have lived within these restrictions just fine.  It's a show targeted at young girls and presented as a light comedy.  They didn't need to do these things.  Applejack's parents don't need to be dead.  Maybe they left to help Granpear once Applebloom was weaned and left Applejack and company because they didn't want to uproot them, and come back when Granpear decides to reestablish in Ponyville.  I'm shocked they gave Scootaloo living parents (though I imagine the bronies have a thousand fics about a fateful encounter with a stingray somewhere).

Speaking of Scoot's parents, that episode showed what is really wrong.  Status quo was God to the point of this show's detriment.  Like, it's the final season, and yet they couldn't break up the Cutie Mark Crusaders.  Her leaving wouldn't have impacted any of the future episodes.  Growing Up could have been while she was visiting.  Hey, it would have given a reason for their sense of urgency because they want to go to the fair while she's in town.  But nope, they have to be together forever.  And this show is filled with them pounding the magic reset button so hard, it makes Star Trek Voyager blush.  It's not just the big things this series copped out on, it copped out on the little things that the young audience would understand.

[Shadowperla]

and you can't really use plausible deniability here because it's kinda (read: very) hard to write about a rainbow pony with a super "traditionally masculine" personality and not have a single person on the entire team over 9 years stop and think "huh. she sounds a lot like the typical idea of a butch lesbian." especially given the highschool setting of equestria girls, because all of us millennials/gen Zers almost certainly had a "suspiciously rainbow-obsessed classmate" like that.

Rainbows are a MLP staple, and reading into it in such a stereotypical way is way more offensive, imho, and proves nothing.
Scootaloo's aunts have nothing of sorts in their designs, and are actual representation, on the other hand.

As for Applejack and Rainbow Dash, their dialogue isn't really enough to confirm anything. Also, didn't Faust herself not like the idea of people seeing Rainbow Dash as the lesbian archetype because of her rainbow colors and tomboyish persona?

Yes, that's what I meant.

I agree. Shipping the main six together has always been weird to me. I guess I don't know why people are saying its canon? Seems like the Fluttercord throw away, not really there.
Is Fireball and Twlight being siblings an  actual headcanon or..? 

Not even actual siblings get out shipping-unscathed these days, so no surprise people attach thmselvs to tiniest "proofs"

Faust's first draw of wedding episode had that name for her brother, atleast
visitors can't see pics , please register or login

[HollowZero]

From the leaks, looks like the writers were equivalent to fanfic-writing bronies. No wonder the show went downhill.

No writer or producer of a kids show should be so excited a "ship" is happening.

[SunbeamV]

and you can't really use plausible deniability here because it's kinda (read: very) hard to write about a rainbow pony with a super "traditionally masculine" personality and not have a single person on the entire team over 9 years stop and think "huh. she sounds a lot like the typical idea of a butch lesbian." especially given the highschool setting of equestria girls, because all of us millennials/gen Zers almost certainly had a "suspiciously rainbow-obsessed classmate" like that.

Rainbows are a MLP staple, and reading into it in such a stereotypical way is way more offensive, imho, and proves nothing.
Scootaloo's aunts have nothing of sorts in their designs, and are actual representation, on the other hand.

blatantly queer coding a character in a way that absolutely everyone recognizes and then pulling the plug on it at the last second isn't subersive and interesting writing. it's baiting, and would have felt like a taunt. i hate to play identity politics here but "what's technically more offensive" is really a conversation for the lgbt+ audience to be having. scootaloo's aunts are representation, yes, but that's breadcrumbs. they're background characters that showed up for a single episode. rainbow dash would actually be substantial, as a main character who's been in the spotlight for 9 years. i shouldn't have to be "thankful" for absolute throwaway scraps.

[tailrustedtealeaf]

I don't think they baited anyone with Rainbow Dash. If anything, it was the Rarijack in EQG, but RD never went anywhere or hinted to anything.

From the leaks, looks like the writers were equivalent to fanfic-writing bronies. No wonder the show went downhill.

No writer or producer of a kids show should be so excited a "ship" is happening.

This is what I feel happened. It's fun to think of fans writing a show...until you realize that fans cannot write for other fans in most cases.
Ok, now I'm just bashing the show. Gonna be staying to the sides now for fear of lockage. 

[Zapper]

Downside for the final for me, we didn’t get to see a grown up Flurryheart

That was my gripe as well. It was pointed out to me she is in a glass window with the crystal heart but that just raised more questions for me...
-Is Cadance retiring too and Flurry takes her place until she is forced to have an alicorn baby of her own to succeed her?
Or...
-Can alicorns opt out of ruling stuff and just become normal court ponies?
If so...
-Does Cadance need to have a student herself she can turn into her successor eventually?
If so...
-Does that student have to be not into love and then learn to fall in love to become Princess of love? That would be iffy

[lonewolf]

@caseysealia
Hey, I like Flashlight. I would have loved to seen that. But they abandoned that ship long ago and it would set most fans on fire. I'm not ready for that hate it would reignite.

I love it too. And in the last episode? Probably could of done it. They would of been harassed to no end though because People seem to forget this is just a show. 😥

They should've done it anyway since it was the end of the series . The ones that would've thrown a fit over it are the same ones that sent hate and threats to them over the finale anyway.

[Zapper]

When you consider they did make "Over a Barrel" and the mess that was (and written by Dave Polski too), the deer is probably best left in the ash bin of history.

Ha, I thought that name rang a bell. Famously my least favorite episode and I am glad they didn't add yet another non-pony species that are supposed to be RL native people. The buffalo, yak and Zecora are enough.

Post Merge: October 17, 2019, 08:05:29 AM

and you can't really use plausible deniability here because it's kinda (read: very) hard to write about a rainbow pony with a super "traditionally masculine" personality and not have a single person on the entire team over 9 years stop and think "huh. she sounds a lot like the typical idea of a butch lesbian." especially given the highschool setting of equestria girls, because all of us millennials/gen Zers almost certainly had a "suspiciously rainbow-obsessed classmate" like that.

Rainbows are a MLP staple, and reading into it in such a stereotypical way is way more offensive, imho, and proves nothing.
Scootaloo's aunts have nothing of sorts in their designs, and are actual representation, on the other hand.

blatantly queer coding a character in a way that absolutely everyone recognizes and then pulling the plug on it at the last second isn't subersive and interesting writing. it's baiting, and would have felt like a taunt. i hate to play identity politics here but "what's technically more offensive" is really a conversation for the lgbt+ audience to be having.

According to this logic the BTGQ+ shouldn't be allowed to weigh in either since RD would be a lesbian stereotype and not BTGQ+
I also see you are using "queer" (a slur not all of us wish to use) to refer to all non-hetero people so maybe you should calm down a litte with these accusations of coding RD as "queer" when there is apparently no denying that she reminds people of the L and not the Q.

And no, I do not care that the term "queercoding" is a thing. If you speak for the entire alphabet soup you have to prepare for some of the noodles to disagree with you

Post Merge: October 17, 2019, 08:15:23 AM

My last post merge, I swear

I don't think they baited anyone with Rainbow Dash. If anything, it was the Rarijack in EQG, but RD never went anywhere or hinted to anything.

Samesies, and they never made RD swoon over guys OR girls so she is as ambi as AJ and even Fluttershy.
Speaking of EqG... that RariJack shipping went to extremes in the boat special. I think they always did more romance in general because they have that entire high school setting where girls often experience their first crush.

[Al-1701]

I thought that term was rubbing me the wrong way.

Yeah, Flurry Heart not showing up was a bummer.  This is why so much time showing the Mane 6 once again botched an event irks me.  This plot has been done to death in FiM.  I want to see the future and explore some new ground.

[Shadowperla]

blatantly queer coding a character in a way that absolutely everyone recognizes

I only recognise a rainbow-haired pony; those existed since G1, and in diffirent personalities, as well.

From the leaks, looks like the writers were equivalent to fanfic-writing bronies. No wonder the show went downhill.

No writer or producer of a kids show should be so excited a "ship" is happening.

Agree!

tailrustedtealeaf, Zapper, lonewolf
I agree to you all, don't want over-quote ^^'

Also, Zapper, SunbeamV seems to be of Tumblr thinking school "not a noodle till you splash".