>>/9872/
> and don't know of anybody who would begrudge you from posting here

*posting them here

> Now, hopefully I'll be back soon to reply

LOL, and now I am (I say such things because I am never sure when sometimes due to IRL stuff)

 >>/9849/
>  something I forgot about it in the actual scene is that Dash is framed with the sun behind her head like a halo as she professes innocence. That’s quite blatant for a children’s show, even though the religious imagery is just being used for a lighthearted gag. It just took me a little by surprise.

This is interesting to me as I didn't even perceive it as religious and grew up with stuff like this in joking gag form being pretty common:
https://youtube.com/watch?v=vMau8kqe-oM 
https://vid.puffyan.us/watch?v=vMau8kqe-oM   
Though I also know that the United States is a less secular society than some places and such things may not be present/edited out. 

> I could watch these characters do absolutely ANYTHING and find it entertaining (which is often my measure of good characters, at least in my estimation. Just as I could happily watch Kenneth More’s Father Brown take a trip to Tesco, I could be entertained for hours seeing the ponies check out furniture at IKEA or something)

Agreed (rain check this for a point I'll hopefully remember to make later but it is too early in the season to right now). 

 >>/9851/
> (I was a Clutch Powers kid and resented the success the dumb non-canon film had over the REAL Lego experience)

I haven't seen either but I remember seeing Clutch Powers being advertised. Though I can muster a bit of annoyance on the Lego Movie as a Bionicle kid just from how insignificant the cameo was for it. 

> Well, it's true that most G1 named ponies are totally unrelated, coming off of that pre-approved Hasbro name list, but given that Faust originally designed Twilight with Twilight's G1 cutie mark and colour scheme... I just don't buy it personally. She is different, but she's basically Faust's childhood toy come to life at the beginning of the show so it's not really fair to say she's separate from G1 Twilight since Faust's toy was a G1 pony.

Note, I don't aruge against or for that stance fully, been still thinking it over. Technical definition versus intent (though I honestly lean towards G1 Twilight being Twilight Sparkle, because I tend to favor artistic intent).