When season three of My Little Pony aired, it quickly became apparent that the season was a transitional one. Certain elements, such as Discord’s arrival and the setup for the Equestria Games, existed to set up plot points for season 4. Most importantly, Twilight was turned into a princess… and then left hanging on a cliff as to what that actually meant, with the promise from the writers that in time, she and the audience would understand.

If the ensuing 26 episodes of season 4 haven’t answered that question as cleanly as we’d like, that may be because this was also a transitional season. The show has had growing pains ever since very suddenly introducing Twilight’s brother at the end of season 2. While the show began as a slice-of-life affair that took place mainly within Ponyville, more recent seasons have shown a desire to expand the show’s horizons. Mixing intimate character drama with country-crossing adventure is a difficult task to say the least.

I have forgiven this show on many counts; it is far from perfect. This season, the writers tried to make a season-long arc with the Rainbow Power episodes, which came in stops and starts, and seemed more like many disparate parts than a single narrative. It is now apparent to me that a second arc for the season played into our uneasiness with the show’s position: when Twilight says in the finale that she doesn’t know what she’s supposed to be as a princess… well, it fits, because we’ve barely seen her do anything new in her new role, which has begged the question of why she got it in the first place. To make the show intentionally comment on its shaky writing is a risky move, but maybe it’s supposed to call attention to the fact that nothing in life is entirely simple. Certainly Discord, who has also been an uneasy presence in this show, finally got the character development he needed to really settle down as a reliable presence.

What I noticed, in the final montage, is that the rainbow flashed by places where the Mane Six could reasonably spend the rest of their lives. Rarity could work in Manehattan; Pinkie could roam the world and make everyone happy like Cheese; Rainbow could become a Wonderbolt; Fluttershy could stay with the Breezies. But the point of the main cast is that they do stick together, and that’s what makes them special as a group. The show has always remained true to that at least, even through its narrative experiments, and for that I am grateful.

It’s been a very weird season, even more so than season 3, but there have been some great episodes nonetheless. Here’s a top ten.

10. The season finale and season premiere. Way too much exposition in both; Twilight’s Kingdom alone had to remind viewers of events from the past season, set up backstory, and explain plot contrivances. But there were some great animated moments — Luna’s transformation to Nightmare Moon is one of the season’s standout moments, and the fight between Twilight and Tirek rivals Avatar: The Last Airbender in animation quality. And both had heartwarming endings.

9. Spike episodes. Spike really got the short end of the stick this season; he didn’t have one episode that I could say was unequivocally good. Inspiration Manifestation was a nice try, but ended up being a little contrived. Equestria Games, I actually like a lot more on a second viewing, but that doesn’t excuse the fact that once again, Spike is given the Idiot Ball for his own episode.

8. The “just for fun” episodes. Expanding the show’s borders meant that the writers made some gambles. They didn’t really work as episodes, but they were so much fun that I didn’t even mind. I’m talking about crazy castles in Castle Mane-ia, adventure in Daring Don’t, superheroes in Power Ponies, and vampires in Bats!

7. The weaker Rainbow Power episodes. Fluttershy’s episode (It Ain’t Easy Being Breezies) had some nice ideas but is just sort of a mess, and ends up looking more like a toy advertisement than just about any episode so far (season finales notwithstanding). Applejack’s (Leap of Faith) is fine, but the Flim Flam brothers are underused, and their song isn’t nearly as good as their last one. Also, Applejack had better episodes this season, but I’ll get there eventually. Finally, Rainbow’s episode (Rainbow Falls) wasn’t exactly bad, but it did feel like a retread of Wonderbolts Academy from season 3.

6. Discord. He got one episode outside of the premiere and finale, but Three’s a Crowd was superbly fun and full of great imagery — and he was exceptionally well used in all five episodes he appeared in.

5. Simple Ways. All right, I tried to fit this into one of my other categories, but it didn’t fit, so here’s this episode all by its lonesome. It’s a solid verging on great affair, and it’s the first time Applejack and Rarity have had significant interaction outside of season 1. Long time in coming, if you ask me.

4. CMC episodes. Man, did these guys have a good season, or what? Four episodes — four — devoted to these characters, including one solo episode for each one. Scootaloo had development in Flight to the Finish that the fanbase could only speculate about since she was first introduced; Sweetie Belle had a great episode (For Whom the Sweetie Belle Tolls) that also featured Luna prominently for the first time in a while; all three CMC prodded the “Twilight is uncomfortable as a princess” sub-arc I mentioned before in Twilight Time; and Apple Bloom… well, she helped AJ to one of the best seasons she’s had in recent memory, with Somepony to Watch Over Me.

3. Characters with unusual methods of development. Testing Testing 1 2 3 was one of the smartest uses of education I’ve seen in animation, and Filli Vanilli took a refreshingly honest look at stage fright. Both episodes also had some of the best character interaction all season; I thought they were really something special.

2. Pinkie Pie. Son of a nutcracker, Pinkie Pie. She had some weird moments, to be sure. (What happened in Trade Ya, when she shoos away a young colt? Better yet, can we really excuse her making Fluttershy cry in Filli Vanilli? … twice?) But when she was on, she fired on all cylinders. I defy you to get the song from Pinkie Apple Pie out of your head (another of AJ’s great episodes this season). Maud Pie showcased a wonderful relationship between Pinkie and her sister (which I’m a sucker for; see also the CMC and their mentors, and Twilight with Spike or Shining). And then there was Pinkie Pride, which was arguably an even better use of the musical episode format than season 3’s finale, and which really let composer Ingram experiment with what he could do. Pinkie’s always been one of the show’s strong points, but this season really cemented that.

1. Rarity Takes Manehattan. After a season and a half with no episodes, Rarity came back under the pen of Dave Polsky, and she came back in style. This is the sort of episode, along with Magical Mystery Cure, which really embodied the character at the center of it, for me. Great writing, animation, design, singing, everything. It explored an unusual aspect of Rarity’s element in a fantastic way. Definitely the highlight of the season, for me.