I know I may be a little late. But I saw the season 4 premier of My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic. In the words of Rainbow Dash "That was AWESOME!!!". But this isn't about how much I liked it *cough*allot*cough*. This is about my unbiased opinions. And to be honest, I think...hold on a second (puts on a suit of armor) I think there were parts about it to be desired. Yes, I'm saying that it could've been done better (hides behind a shield).

1: The Backstories
Let me start out with the looks into the past. I know it's not the first issue, but it is the first that catches my attention. Now don't get me wrong. The backgrounds of the princes (and Discord) were great. How the stories were done was just good. (holds up shield) Not great. The problem was that they spent too much time focusing on the Nightmare Moon backstory, and too little focus on the Discord backstory.

Let's start with Nightmare Moon's backstory. Nightmare Moon's backstory had 1. Luna becoming jealous, 2. Luna becoming Nightmare Moon, 3. Nightmare Moon challenging Celestia, 4. PRINCESS BATTLE!!! 5. Nightmare Moon shoots down Celestia, 6. Celestia reveals the Elements of Harmony, 7. Nightmare Moon's beam attack vs Celestia's Element of Harmony attack, 8. Celestia wins and banishes Nightmare Moon to the moon, 9. The Mare in the Moon appears. There's enough in the Nightmare Moon backstory for it's own episode! Don't get me wrong. It's a great backstory. It's just that (and I can't believe I'm going to admit to this) there's too much detail.

As for Discord's backstory (or rather lack there of) 1. Celestia and Luna challenge Discord, 2. Celestia and Luna use the Elements of Harmony, 3. Discord is turned to stone. Seriously, almost nothing happened. Discord doesn't even put up a fight. Seriously, there's no epic battle, no showing just how Discord's rule was like (though you could probably guess), not even an explanation of how the princesses thought to use the Elements of Harmony (unless you include the scene with the Tree of Harmony). Where Nightmare Moon's backstory had too much detail, Discord's backstory had too little detail. Even if you add the Tree of Harmony to Discord's backstory, it's still less than half of what Nightmare Moon got. I mean seriously. In Discord's backstory, Discord was no more than a cameo.

Long story short, Nightmare Moon's backstory and Discord's backstory were imbalance. One being worthy of being it's own episode, and one that's more worthy of being just a flashback than an actual look into the past. They were great backstories. But they just weren't done as well as they could've been.

(Wow, that was long.)

2: The Guards
There's nothing wrong with the guards themselves. But when Twilight ordered them to find clues about what happened to the princesses, we never hear from them again. Even at the end, there's no indication that they came back. Or if they did come back, there's no indication that they were doing anything.

And that's not all I have to say about the guards. Why doesn't Twilight have any guards of her own? She's a princess now after all. The only guards Twilight had to command were Celestia and Luna's guards. Now, I know that Twilight doesn't want to be considered a princess sometimes. But that hasn't stopped her from having to take on her royal duties before.

3: Discord
...I don't have anything to say.

And yes, that's my criticism. Discord played such a little role. I mean, Discord played a fun role (he is Discord after all). But he didn't do anything. He was just summoned, he talked (in his own Discorded way), and that's it. When I heard in the advertisements that "old enemies will become new allies", I was expecting it to be Discord. And with that, I was expecting Discord and the Mane 6 to work together to solve the problem. Who else would agree that Discord and the Mane 6 working together would be so AWESOME?! That would've been so epic! And what do I get from discord? NOTHING! I mean, whether he's good or evil, he's DISCORD, the GOD OF CHAOS!!! And he just sat around doing nothing but waiting for the others to get back.

Also, when he was first summoned, Discord lied to the Mane 6. He said that he couldn't take responsibility for those vines. But at the end, you find out that it was Discord who planted the vines in the first place. So technically, he could've done something about them. He even used his powers to make some vines disappear to save a couple ponies (eventually). But he is Discord after all. So I wouldn't put lying past him.

4: The Tree of Harmony
Personally, I liked the Tree of Harmony. It's a great idea...in concept. But there's something off-putting about the Elements of Harmony coming from the same tree. I have nothing against the idea of the Elements of Harmony coming from natural elements (rocks, plants, water, etc). It's just that each of the Elements coming from the same tree lacks variety. Now, if they were separate items that were connect through the Tree of Harmony, that would've been a great idea in my opinion.

5: The Mane 6's Friendship
The Mane 6 went into the Everfree Forrest. They've had to do this before, and have been in plenty of danger. When they do it now, at the first sign of danger, they send Twilight away. The only difference is because Twilight is now a princess. They put Twilight's royal status before their friendship. Oh, and when Twilight gets back to Ponyville, the voice of reason that convinces Twilight to help her friends...is Discord! Something doesn't seem right about that scenario.

But the Mane 6 sent Twilight away, putting her royal status before their friendship. And it was princess Celestia who sent Twilight to Ponyville to study FRIENDSHIP! They were defying royalty to...save royalty?

Defying royalty to save royalty, Discord being the voice of reason, I think my head is starting to hurt.

6: The Twilightboom
Not much to say other than it's ripping off the Sonic Rainboom. Although, I guess it did have some originality. But Twilight's part in the Summer Sun Celebration was allot less impressive than it was made out to be at the start.

7: Princess Twilight
First of all, I have an issue with how her friends are treating her differently now that Twilight's a princess. Like with what I said with the Everfree Forrest incident, they're putting her royal status before their friendship.

Also, what is Twilight the princess of? That was never answered. Although it was implied that perhaps Twilight is the Princess of Harmony. And to be honest, I think that's pretty cool. We've got Princess of the sun, the moon, love, and now (presumably) harmony. But the problem is that there's no confirmation.

But I'm choosing to stick with the idea that Twilight is the Princess of Harmony.

That's about it. Well, there's also the question of, does the Tree of Harmony keep the Everfree Forrest under control, or is it the reason the Everfree Forrest acts on it's own? One of those things that makes you wonder. But that's what I have to say about the issues with the season 4 premier. And knowing how many will react to this, I'm gonna go call an ambulance ahead of time and reserve a room at the hospital.