SDCC

>Finn Onstead - Hasbro Studios International
>Jayson Thiessen
>Megan McCarthy
>Daniel Ingram
>Brian Leonard - Exec dir of Hasbro Studios
>Cathy Wiesluck
>Andrea Libman
>Tara Strong
>Mike Vogel - VP Development Hasbro Studios

>Finn: MLP now in 170 countries (just closed a deal on Estonia!)

>Q: "Heated discussion" about EQG. Discuss idea and where it came from:
>Meghan: Habro gave them the concept, asked how they would do it. Meghan wanted to take a WIzard of Oz approach to the concept where it would just be Twilight.
>Jayson: initially was unsettled by the idea, but production was excited about having hands for a change. Long form was exciting, provided a bigger playground.
>Daniel: Regular MLP tends to be solos and duets, Broadway style. Wanted to make this one congeal like a girl band with big vocal arrangements to showcase all singers.

>Showed the cafeteria song from EQG and ask everybody to sing along.

>Q: What's going to happen next?
>Meghan: Excited about the opportunities with Twilight's new role but need to stay true to her character, she won't change who she is.
>Jayson: How would Twilight deal with this new situation, with her kind of obsessive personality.

>Q: Everybody's excited about what we've done with S4. WHat can we reveal?
>Meghan: We're doing something we've never done on the show before, but at the same time keeping it the same. We have something going on that's big. Huge spoiler. She tortured Daniel this season, people were telling her you can't put a song in every episode.
>Daniel: 15-20 new songs in S4. Bringing in new singers (new characters). Somebody joked "Derpy" and Daniel asked who else. People call out tons of names and he repeats a few out loud: Luna, DJ-PON3, Sapphire Shores.
>Jayson: Epic stuff that ties the world together, some of the storyboards are epic and cool. Asking themselves how are they going to top themselves with each sequence. They keep an eye on the cinematography

>Meghan: Spike definitely gets to have some fun moments in S4. Mentioned that she doesn't want anyone to say the meme "don't believe her lies," then said Rarity gets an episode, she promises. Josh (new writer?) wrote an amazing Rarity episode. Jayson says this episode broke Tabitha.
>Tara: S4 Twilight handles everything with her adorkable skills even if she's a princess, still wants to face adventures with her friends. She's still Twily, she's just Princess Twily.
>Andrea: Pinkie's writing in S4 is hilarious -- "I get to say WHAT?" Some pretty interesting things happen to Flutershy, "it's pretty crazy!"
>Mike Vogel: A musical episode centers on Pinkie Pie. Amy Keating Rogers wrote it, is actually sitting in the front row. Pinkie meets someone who gives her a run for her money.

>AUDIENCE QUESTIONS:

>Q: Are we going to see more of Derpy?

>Mike: If you saw EQG credits you'll see there's a lot of love, that kind of love will continue in S4.
>Meghan: Staff is glad when fans embrace background characters, thinks they could do an episode where they focus on background characters but wants to focus on the 6 main characters first, so many stories to tell with them. Not that they don't love background characters.

>Q: Is Scootaloo an orphan?

>Meghan: We haven't seen them on screen, this doesn't mean they're dead.
>Jayson: It took a long time to see Twilight's parents.

>Q: Why is there not an episode with her parents and sisters coming to Ponyville?

>Mike: Done! Season 4.

>Q: Is there going to be a soundtrack?

>Mike: We're working on it, hopefully we will make that happen.

>Q: Is MLP taking out Derpy?

>Meghan: Don't believe everything you read on the internet.

>Q: Is Vinyl going to have a big part in S4?

>Meghan: Maaaaayyyybe...

>Q: Is Rarity going to be famous because Twilight is a princess now?

>Meghan: That girl is going to be famous because she's RARITY.

>Q: What was the hardest line to say while keeping a straight face?

>Andrea: Chimmycherry cherrychanga

>Q: Now that Twilight is an alicorn, will all 6 become alicorns?

>Meghan: By the time I'm done, all of Equestria will be alicorns.
>Cathy: Yeah, whatever.

>Q: Will we see more Pinkamena?

>Meghan: It's a pretty extreme place for her to be so we try not to put her through that too much.

>Q: Will there be a Vinyl/Octavia episode?

>Mike (deflects question)

>Q: Will we continue to see the Cake's twins?

>Jayson: They'll still be there.
>Meghan: Scootaloo's parents watch them a lot!

>Q: In EQG it looks like Derpy is reading something and blushing.

>Jayson: She's reading her fan fiction.

>Q: For Andrea, is it hard to keep track of what voice you're doing?

>Jayson: She was throwing her voice.
>Andrea: At the beginning it was hard but once you practice it gets easier.

>Q: Will we see Babs Seed?

>Jayson: No.

>Q: Why does no one take Pinkie's intuition seriously??

>Andrea: (in character) Why why whyyyyyyy?

>Q: More movie references: 'Say what again!'

>Meghan: We have a few movie references, you'll see some characters in the background in S4.

>Q: How far in advance do you plan the storylines?

>Meghan: (meh, rambling answer to vague question)

>Q: More Zecora?

>Mike: Done!

>Q: Someone was bullied for being black and cosplaying as a pony.

>Tara: The show teaches people not to be judged by the color of their skin.
>Meghan: Tell her she makes a beautiful pony no matter what she cosplays as.

>Q: Will the changelings come back?

>Meghan: In S4 every character is a changeling.

Source: http://www.roundstable.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=449595&sid=4ac84cae2dc3238e63f24249eeae93b8#p449595