Dry63's Writer's Perspective of MLP: FIM (Season 3)

Originally supposed to be the last season of the show, which M.A. Larson confirmed at BronyCon 2017, Season 3 has the shortest number of episodes at thirteen. It also marked the beginning of Meghan McCarthy replacing Ron Renzetti as story editor and the end Lauren Faust’s involvement, of any sort, with the show.

It is the first time the viewers were truly introduced to a story arc in the show. Twilight is given a huge tasked of restoring an old empire back to its former glory where her test comes not from her succeeding, but a desire to save Equestria anyway possible regardless of her fate. Luna and Celestia converse over the idea if Twilight is “ready” and near the end Luna conjures up a book which would not appear again until the finale.

One small thing in the premiere was the hero not being any of the Mane 6, but Spike, the dragon sidekick who mostly acted as comic relief. It was he who provided Cadance with the key to stop the evil King Sombra from taking over the Crystal Empire once more. This almost serves as a prototype for what would come in 2016’s season finale.

While short, it continued its usual formula of problem/conflict and resolution with a lesson learned at the end as well development of characters within the show evidenced in Spike at Your Service where Spike is still trying to find himself a dragon among ponies, Sleepless in Ponyville where Scootaloo comes clean about personal feeling and the bond between her and Rainbow Dash is cemented in sisterhood, and Wonderbolt Academy where Rainbow Dash nearly gave up on her dream due to the careless behavior a flight academy allowed in its system.

One significant episode in the season, Keep Calm and Flutter On, was not only based on an episode idea written by fan Teddy Antonio, but it serves as a reintroduction to the chaotically hilarious Discord. Celestia tasks the girls, mostly Fluttershy, to convince Discord to use his powers for good. After finding that Fluttershy truly considers him a friend, the dragon pony discovers he values her friendship as well and promises to rein in his chaos and use it for good...most of the time. It felt a bit rushed, but it was fun to see Discord in a new light.

The finale itself had new additions as well as a surprise that took the fandom off guard. In Magical Mystery Cure, we have not only our first musical episode but also a moment where the show could’ve potentially destroyed itself or make it more interesting. Twilight is given the book from the premiere where she must complete an unfinished spell in order to switch her friends’ cutie marks back to normal after reciting the incomplete version. Through musical number and less than a second montages, she succeeds in fixing the spell and finishing it, thus creating new magic according to Celestia. Twilight is rewarded with a pair of wings and is crowned Equestria’s newest alicorn princess.

While it was an OK closure for a season, it just feels rushed and underwhelming as a series finale. Hasbro appeared to have made the right move by keeping the show in production a little longer. However, the change would not be as accepting in the beginning as it is now. Many fans believed the show “jumped the shark” while McCarthy and even Tara Strong (Twilight) defended the change saying that it would not change Twilight’s character in any way and that it starts a new era for her journey in the show.

And that journey had only just begun.

To Be Continued