>>1198044>>1198045Autistically-speaking, Lauren Faust worked on Season 1 and part of 2, so from a Faustian perspective, ponies would have ended either at the end of Season 1 or somewhere partway through Season 2 (not necessarily contiguous).
At the end of Season 3, Twilight became an Alicorn, so from a Twilian perspective, this would be the end of ponies.
But also in Season 3, the writer/voice actor group was in disarray -- but pulled together in Season 4 to create some great episodes. So from a Torch-Carryer perspective, ponies lasted non-contiguously throughout Seasons 4 and 5, although the exact end of ponies is debatable.
Amy Keating Rogers' last episode was "The Mane Attraction" at the end of Season 5. Most of the original writers disappeared from the later seasons, so with only the voice actors to help carry forward Lauren Faust's vision, the show generally declined in quality (with the occasional good episode) until we got the infamous "Non-Compete Clause" episode, shortly thereafter flatlining in Season 9 (from what I heard - haven't watched all of Season 9 -- and I guess one of the new writers made the ponies old for some reason?) ---- so, depends on your perspective but my favorite episodes out of the Post-Faustian, Post-Twilian era that I think carried forward the Faustian vision well included "Pinkie Apple Pie," "Pinkie Pride," and "Filli Vanilli." Aside from the opener and closer, Season 5 has "The Mane Attraction" as the headlining episode, while Season 6 has a low-quality opener and I don't remember the closer ...really only "A Hearth's Warming Tail" that is great. Season 7 had "The Perfect Pear," with "To Change a Changeling" being pretty good, as well as "Once Upon a Zeppelin." The finale was questionable. The movie was questionable. Season 8 had "School Daze," .....
...also Season 4 was voted the best season in a poll at a panel in TrotCon, although that was certainly dependent on the character and world-building of Seasons one and two. 
