7938307
Details beyond that are still being worked out.

7938253
Yeah. VERY true. It would actually be the Crusaders that got the pet-sitting gig. But as Blue pointed out, we're still working on the details concerning Spike's more minor adventures in the Crystal Empire, though there probably should be some stuff with Spike learning to deal with his newfound fans.

7938395
We still have a while to hash things out.

7938439
Quite true.

And even more time to hash out a possible Season Seven episode that uses the "Escape Room" subplot of "All Bottled Up", with the B-story expanded to the main story (as Starlight, Sunset, Spike and Trixie would all be accompanying Twilight and the others). There could be a brief period on the way to the retreat where Sunset, Trixie and Starlight are all discussing how they got their cutie marks.

And the song could be saved for AFTER the group finishes the escape room challenge for the train ride back, which means the gang DOES break the record.

7938463
You listed Trixie twice.

7938465
So I did. Thanks for catching that typo. (embarrassed grin)

7938527
Maybe Starlight and Trixie go because they're newcomers at that point.

So, will Discord show up in the 2017 MLP movie? Or will there be a reason for his absence or even why he can't use his magic to defeat Tempest Shadow and Storm King super quickly?

7942154
Discord becomes a statue himself.

Seeing how the CMC will already be grown up and the same age that their older sisters were in season 1 by the time we get to season 9, would this mean Growing Up is Hard to Do won't happen? Or alternatively, it will happen but with potentially the Cake Triplets (who would be 7-8 years old by then) taking their place as the ones wishing to be older in order to go to the Appleloosa fair in the episode? Or it would simply just occur in an earlier season?

7942769
Hmm… I think I’ll have it about the triplets.

7942268
Makes a lot of sense. Of course, hopefully, the ones getting stoned will be smart enough to try to fight from different directions to force Tempest to divide up her attacks. And hopefully EACH take out an airship or two before getting turned to stone in order to PROPERLY demonstrate WHY the Storm King wants their power so badly.

And, yeah, the Storm King thinking the power of FIVE alicorns PLUS Discord would be a downright great prize.

And, of course, the division of teams so that Tempest can't concentrate her pursuit on any one target (and Sunset and Twilight each being on a team NOT going to the Hippogriffs would buy the team that IS going for the Hippogriffs more time)

Twilight: She, along with Spike, would probably be on the team going for the Dragons for help.

Sunset, meanwhile, would probably be on the team going for the Changelings.

And, of course, each team would be divided up in a way that combined "covering more ground" with "strength/safety in numbers".

7942777
Yeah, makes a lot of sense. With the Crusaders trying to provide helpful advice to them from their own experience.

7943303
Yep.

7943304
Yep.

Didn't know where to put this, but here: Will we ever see John de Lancie's pony form from Bronies: The Extremely Unexpected Adult Fans of My Little Pony? Maybe as Discord disguising himself as a pony?

7945222
I’ll think about it.

7945235
A possible episode idea for Season 10 or 11:

Can't think of a title, but a crossover with G3, with the meeting of G3 Spike and G4 Spike (possibly even discovering a family connection).

7945321
Maybe.

So, will Sunset be getting a "key" episode in season 4 like the original six (potentially in an original episode replacing Bats) due to being an Element of Harmony there? Is Spike getting one too?

7952260
As for Sunset, given her chief Element is Empathy, it could probably be safely said that several episodes could qualify as "key episodes" for her. As for Spike, given HIS Element is Unity (unofficially until Season 10 when Sunburst [with A LOT of help - including from Spike] MAKES it an official Element [along with four others]), it's also possible that most of the series could qualify as "key episodes" for him.

7952260
I’ll cross that bridge when I get to it.

7952282
Let’s get through season three first.

7952298
Point taken. Anyway, Speaking of Season/Book Three (and, yes, it would make sense to make Equestria Girls, in this universe, the in-between story AFTER Book Three, but BEFORE Book Four.

And, yes, a possible bit for after Sombra is defeated at the end of "the Crystal Empire" - a shadowy figure watching the scene from a mysterious realm and commenting on how those ponies and that dragon have been getting too troublesome in recent years, but he fully intends to learn as much about them as possible concerning their strengths and weaknesses before he engages them - acting as some foreshadowing for Grogar in Season/Book Nine (as this figure will make two speaking cameos per season prior to his proper debut in the Season Nine opener).

for "Spike at Your Service", Spike does ONE simple job for EACH of the other five Guardians (so we can have enough to keep him busy without his competence taking an unneeded/undeserved hit). The trouble comes from the same shadowy figure as briefly seen at the end of the Crystal Empire releasing a monster at each of those five simple jobs that Spike and the other Guardian that he is helping out at the time have to work together against. So, at the end, while all five of the other Guardians at this time are a bit tuckered out, Spike is even more worn out than they are (as they each only had to deal with ONE of the monsters and Spike had to deal with ALL FIVE).

for "Magic Duel", the mysterious shadow figure conjures up a portal that delivers the Alicorn Amulet to the road just in time for Trixie to spot it.

for "Keep Calm and Flutter On", Spike helps Fluttershy in reforming Discord (and Spike also provides good reasons for Discord to tone down his chaos to the previous harmless levels that Celestia mentioned him doing back when he was friends with Celestia and Luna beyond just not giving the Guardians the need to use the Elements against him again). Also, Discord makes it quite clear that he sees Fluttershy as just "the daughter that he wishes he and Celestia got the chance to have".

for the Season Nine Opener, when Grogar makes his proper debut, he explicitly mentions stuff that happened while Discord was still frozen in stone AND stuff that Discord wasn't there to see to make it quite clear that this IS the REAL Grogar.

7952718
I’ll discuss those ideas with my co-writer.

So, any idea if Spike is also going to go with the seven ponies to Our Town in The Cutie Map or simply stay behind to hang out with Big Mac like he does in canon? If it's the former, wonder how Starlight will deal with him since Spike doesn't have a cutie mark so he won't be as vulnerable to her anti-cutie mark magic and ideas?

7956054
Spike will choose to stay behind as per canon.

7956061
Yeah. Makes sense. After all, it would end things too quickly if they had somebody around who was immune to Starlight's "sameness spell" AND could express deliver a message to the other Princesses the instant the gang got hard evidence.

And would Sunset be going with at least one of the other pairs on later "Map Missions" (such as using her Empathy to help Rainbow and Pinkie re-connect with Gilda as well as also positively inspire Gabby and Gallus and help recover that statue/treasure in Griffonstone)?

And maybe the Season Six Map Missions could be all be "three-pony" (as foreshadowing for Trixie and Starlight officially gaining their own Elements in the Season Six finale) - Sunset helping out Pinkie and Rarity in Canterlot, Trixie helping out Applejack and Fluttershy in Las Pegasus and Starlight helping out Twilight and Rainbow at the Wonderbolt Academy.

7959508
I’ll consider the last two.

7959522
Yeah. I could definitely see Sunset pointing out that there was nothing wrong with that restaurant except that it needed better advertising. And vouching from critics who have ACTUAL taste buds.

7959556
Maybe Sunset herself has tried restaurants that Zesty rated before.

7959581
Indeed. I could definitely see that.

So, will Rarity end up being a bit more okay with Spike and Gabby hanging out by the time of Dragon Dropped? Considering Spike hangs out with the CMC more often here and meaning he'd probably meet Gabby when she meets the CMC in season 6, will Rarity be more used to Spike being friends with Gabby at that point? Especially since she and Spike are already a romantic thing and she is aware Spike would never cheat on her, meaning Rarity does have less reason to be jealous of Gabby here.

7959742
Well, I’m kind of thinking of following the SPB12 version with some differences.

A possible one for "Flight to the Finish" in Book 4:

Spike: Really? Making fun of Scoots for being a late bloomer? That is simply disgusting that you would stoop THAT low - though not COMPLETELY surprising. Given the garbage your mother feeds into your head, it makes sense that you would go for any possible psychological advantage, but I DO hope that you eventually show the decency to be ashamed of yourself.

Silver: Errr. Yeah, Di, Spike kind of has a point. Attacking a perceived disability IS pretty much an all-time low for you. I mean, I get that the "blank-flank" stuff doesn't work anymore and neither does making fun of Apple Bloom's family, but mocking perceived disabilities is crossing the line. Sorry, Scootaloo.

Diamond: Et tu, Silver?

7964450
I’ll consider it.

7964475
Thanks. And now that the gang has gotten the chance to "properly meet" Spoiled Rich, I wonder if they're going to try to give Diamond as much positive interaction as possible with adults that they KNOW Spoiled can't bribe or bully in order to help her work through the issues her mother is giving her (though it would still be about two years before Diamond ends up truly reforming, it would be a good subtle lead-off to that).

7966506
I’m not sure.

So, will the CMC be in slightly more prominent roles or get some speaking lines in your take on the 2017 movie? Will there be moments of them reacting to the Storm King invasion?

7968448
We'll cross that bridge when we get to it.

7968469
Some other possible stuff for Season/Book Four:

***********************************************************************

For "Rainbow Falls":

1. It could be mentioned that the Wonderbolts already secured their spot in the Equestria Games, but they're more of an "Equestria in general" rather than "Cloudsdale": The Wonderbolts are actually judging the competition to decide the Cloudsdale team. The main competition ends up being between teams put together by Rainbow Dash and Lightning Dust (which becomes foreshadowing for "the Washouts" in Season/Book Eight).

2. The loyalty thing could come up when Lightning causes something that forces Rainbow to choose between winning the race and saving her friends (with Rainbow choosing the latter), which leads to Lightning technically winning the race, but losing the chance to compete in the Equestria Games.

********************************************************

For "Princess Time" (this universe's "Twilight Time"):

1. It could be one of the first times Diamond actually shows redeeming qualities other than her love for her father (i.e. Sunset taking Diamond in along with the Crusaders to give her a chance to talk out her issues with her mother with authority figures that they know Spoiled Rich can't bribe or bully).

7978575
I’ll consider those.