Season 8 had so much potential. The idea of Equestria inviting more nonponies to live there had so much interesting story potential, so many interesting character dynamics, lessons/allegories, lore/world building, the Cutie Map expanding, etc. But instead it was simply used as a cheap tool to have the show focus on those annoying ass children and the racist school. Such a waste of a concept.
Yeah, that's one of my biggest gripes too. The wasted potential! I hate wasted potential. I hate how often times, these (supposed) professional writers seem to be less creative and/or give less of a shit. Part of the blame is on the higher ups, and part of the blame is on the writers.
I can think of so many more interesting story ideas/character dynamics/world building from the back of my mind than anything the School of Friendship/Student Six provided:
Rarity struggled to cater to nonponies with her clothing line, leading to either her hiring nonponies to work at her stores/design clothes, her teaching herself to make clothes for nonponies, or both. Fluttershy helps her.
Applejack invites homeless/orphaned griffons and dragons (there's an odd homelessness epidemic among them) to live on her farm.
Some flying creatures (griffons, hippogriffs, dragons, changelings, etc) want to join the Wonderbolts Academy, and Rainbow Dash helps them get in.
Spike helps some dragons adapt to living in a less hot, more soft environment.
Pinkie Pie convinces Prince Rutherford to enter a prestigious cooking contest in Canterlot, and that ratatouille food critic bitch Zesty Gourmand returns.
The plots of Surf and/or Turf, Sounds of Silence still happen.
Sweet and Smoky still happens, except the plot is… entirely different. Garble struggles with the changes to dragon society, and Spike and Fluttershy help him.
Fluttershy reunites with Iron Will.
Dragons want to move to Canterlot, but they get into a racial debate between the racist ponies over their weird dragonsneeze trees. Twilight and Spike try to defuse the issue. Flash Magnus, who still has a prejudice against dragons, sides with the Canterlot ponies (showing that good people can unintentionally perpetuate racism. Damn.).
Rarity reunites with the Diamond Dogs.
If Hasbro were bold (they aren't), they would've had the Appleloosans give the Buffalo their land back 😂 They also would've had more zebras appear and have them not be offensive stereotypes.
Twilight either convinces Celestia to expand her School for Gifted Unicorns to School for Gifted Creatures, or she creates her own school from the abandoned Castle of the Two Sisters. Unlike the School of Friendship it's not the main focus.
Scorpan the gargoyle and Star Swirl the Bearded are reunited, and Scorpan reveals he found Spike's egg and gave it to Gay Swirl, which is where the amniomorphic spell that Twilight used came from.
Discord, seeing all this integration and culture exchange, remembers that he's the (supposed) last of his kind and goes through some existential crisis. Celestia and Luna help him feel better because for a long while they were the only ones of their kind around.
And a bunch more ideas that I can't even think of right now, or other people way better than me have come with.
And you know what? The Student Six can actually still be characters in all of this. Just… not the focus. Hm.
