Talk:Episodes, films, and shorts/@comment-24832535-20140928140736/@comment-26973802-20141005022133

Then DHX still writes the story, Hasbro just has to approve it. With all their hate for us for our ingratitude, they are still being quite kind by allowing them to continue to make the show as awesome as it was. Especially approving Meghan making Tirek the villain of Season 4 since we've been anticipating him for a while, not to mention that battle. So we didn't get to see Twilight punch Tirek in the face, it was still the best episode.

This is consistent with what I heard about Lauren Faust wanting it to be a magical girl anime like Sailor Moon, with Nightmare Moon staying till the end of the season (like Queen Beryl, Lord Darkar on Winx Club, etc.) but Hasbro rejected it because at the time they weren't intending it for us in the slightest, but had the decency to approve references to stuff only we would get and all the other appeal. I bet Nightmare Moon was initially intended to not be a part of Luna at all and be destroyed up front just like Sombra, but Hasbro wouldn't go for it.