MLP Fanfic Cliches? Mary Sues?

[AmbientBeat 27]

What are cliches you see a lot in MLP fics(or fanfics in general)? I plan to add every single one in my fic.

[DwhitetheGamer 867]

Does it include crossovers?

 

Because the main cliche for MLP and Sonic is that Sonic and Rainbow Dash race to see who's the fastest, normally starting with Sonic saying he's the fastest thing alive.

[RattPitt 172]

Humans in Equestria, especially if there's only one human. Even moreso when they were part of the military. Also, them being killed to get into Equestria. And then everypony loving them once they set foot in Equestria, even if they haven't done anything. And then the human instantly falling in love with a pony. And then those two actually getting together. And then the two having a child, despite it being biologically impossible for humans and ponies to have children together.

 

Are you sure you want to write this?

[GingerLightning 258]

Alicorns, lots of terrible Alicorn OCs that are perfect in every way and have no flaws./Mary sues

Oh yeah,also having the main character in love with a changeling and badly disguise it like the main character didn't notice but they  really knew their special somepony was a Changeling the whole time.

The main character has a dark backstory and yet seems perfectly fine.

and add derpy hooves for no other reason but you like her.

[Castle Bleck 19,361]

"Mares greatly outnumber stallions, so herds aren't uncommon."

1. In canon, the ratio seems more like a reasonable 51:49.

2. Why don't I see anypony but the protagonist in a herd, then?

Edited September 1, 2019 by Anti-Villain

[silvadel 1,393]

The word "Defenestration" used in any fic.

 

20% cooler.

 

lesbian pony pairings

 

pinkie's 4th wall powers overdone

[ARagY 1,152]

@AmbientBeat (Can you add é to clichés in the title pls)
You want me to go over them? Let me get a drink, first.

Obviously, first is Alicorn OCs. Now look, it's not SO BAD if its an alternate dimension or something and they happen to be the ruler (in which its hardly a fanfic by the time you have to explain away everything that can be wrong with that), but most of the time the reasons are because they are a princess and don't know it, because they're awesome, or because genetic mutation. Now maybe its just me but I don't think unicorns' powers are entirely genetic. Swapping some genes to give them a horn would not make them some über strong alicorn, in fact it may make them really tired.

Sometimes I feel like Alicorn OCs are made just because the maker has no idea whether to go with pegasus or unicorn. But the really bad alicorn OCs need to be demoted to Earth pony.

Next, really bad names and an obsession with Medieval times. No, Th'yl'mor is not a Celtic name. They didn't even have "th". What are you doing? And then of course we have names such as Shadow or Dark. Really original.. Most names in the MLP verse have SOMETHING to do with the qualities of the pony or their appearance, so by that logic your OC is dark or shadow-y. You see how facepalm-worthy that even sounds?

Und next, OCs with really dark histories that use them to abuse present-day situations or have not had any lasting impact from them whatsoever. No PTSD, no personality shift, no anger lashes when associated perceptions are brought forth. All real traits of someone who's been abused, bullied, almost killed, etc. Nothing.

Also OCs that are super-powerful for no reason and win every fight almost effortlessly. Even my 'bad' OC got her ass kicked enough, I genuinely don't know how someone can say their OC 1v100 and won. If Bruce Lee could do that, I would really be surprised.

Human names, figures, or actual inserts into the MLP universe where they just don't belong. Just taking a title like Transformers, replacing them with ponies, and adding a human because why not?

Edited December 28, 2015 by ARagY

[Castle Bleck 19,361]

On 12/27/2015 at 9:11 PM, RattPitt said:

And then the two having a child, despite it being biologically impossible for humans and ponies to have children together.

Yeah, if we were talking about these kinds:

But I'm pretty sure that Equestrian biology, physics, etc. just do whatever they want -- courtesy of magic.

Edited September 1, 2019 by Anti-Villain

[Kafooku 156]

Yeah, if we were talking about these kinds:

 

 

 

I'll be honest, that response made me laugh a little.

 

Some cliches like everyone has said:

- Alicorns

- One human being in Equestria

- Dark Back stories

- Tragic Romances

- Some over-done mental illness 

- Author over describing boobs or something like that. (Only if it's futa or something, though...)

- Ponies transforming into humans or vice versa.

- Gay Pairings (Don't get me wrong, all for gay pride, but there are a lot of these type of fan-fics in MLP.)

 

Have fun writing this.

Edited December 30, 2015 by Kafooku

[El Duderino 879]

The main character saving the world. Can be cliche, but can also work well. Depends on how you play it. Sounds like you are going for cliche, so make them "the chosen one" who must stop some evil force threatening the world, or something like that. You get the idea.. Also the main character being in a relationship with one of the mane 6 is pretty cliche.

[AmbientBeat 27]

What my fanfic does is take the cliches and has fun with them. There are cliches everywhere, and I usually try to make the characters aware of that and try(or fail) to squirm out of them. Since my fic is a Black Comedy, they often fail. I'm trying to do the impossible task of mixing satire with a serious story. I'm trying to see what would happen if the ponies ended up running into a Teen Drama, so while weird, absurd things happen, Twilight faces plently of serious, even cynical situations too.

[BlinkZ 1,151]

The word "Defenestration" used in any fic.

 

20% cooler.

 

lesbian pony pairings

 

pinkie's 4th wall powers overdone

That exactly is my cliches i find i cheap fics along with DERPY!! for no reason other then to be there. or Rainbow Dash always being a lesbain ...ugh can't tkae those fics seriosuly

[Vendi 407]

when there are other ponies/people aside from the mane 6 connected to the elements of harmony. It really bothers me.

[Midnight Chimes 69]

Jarring references to show continuity/dialogue, for example Derpy saying "I just don't know what went wrong" or Discord saying "where's the fun in making sense?" This can extend to fan works too, such as "cutie mark acquisition program" or anything to do with Cupcakes.

[DND 2,355]

Things I see a lot in MLP fanfiction is 1,200 characters minimum for each "chapter" and just about a total lack of or a sub-par attempt at the use of descriptive, visual language.

[SapphireStarzzzz 1]

1) The colours of Spike's scales and body or Fluttershy's mane and body being interchanged. Not a cliche, but something that really annoyed me, like seriously?

2) Any of the mane six being loving each other romantically or all six of them having sex.

3) Pinkie's fourth wall powers being overused.

4) OC Mary Sue / Gary Stu Human/Alicorn/Human turned alicorn. Don't get me wrong, I wouldn't mind a human being turned into an alicorn when they get to Equestria but please, not a Mary Sue.

5) Derpy being there even though she's doing nothing just because the author likes her.

6) Dark backstories without the character even seeming to feel the effects of trauma for eg: lashing out, withdrawing into themselves, feeling guilty for no reason but because it's been drilled into them that everything is their fault, etc.

7) Human and pony having sex without the human being turned into a pony or vice-versa. How would you feel about having sex with a magical horse, however cute he/she/they may be?

8) Anon being used as a character.

9) Anthro

10) Main Character defeating all the villains without any difficulty. Remember, Twilight had to give up her magic before defeating Tirek, Chrysalis succesfully invaded Canterlot before she was beaten, etc, etc.

 

 

 

[SBaby 660]

These are all delicious cliches.  Let's see here...

 - Humans turning into ponies...  AND KNOWING HOW TO WALK, FLY AND USE MAGIC IF IT'S APPLICABLE!  Honestly, the humans turning into ponies thing isn't too bad, and can just be explained as a side effect of them going to a magically enchanted world.  But at the very least, folks please remember.  The human is used to walking on two legs, and certainly not used to having wings or a magic casting horn.  If you're going to turn a human into a pony, it should take them some time to learn how to BE a pony.

 - Waking up late.  This happens so often that it's not funny, and it's by no means limited to Pokemon.  A character, usually the main hero, wakes up late and ends up either barely making or barely missing the appointment with the key character, which ultimately sets the plot in motion either way.  So in other words, whether they wake up late or not isn't usually relevant.

 - 'I am your overused plot device!'  This unfortunate situation arises any time the villain drops the BIG REVEAL that they are related in some way or another to one or more of the main characters.

 - Dragons that land to fight.  There is no reason at all why a dragon that is outdoors should EVER land.  They circle around and use their breath weapon over and over again from the air.  That's what they do.  

 - The 'Chosen One' is of course a big one.  If you are writing a story and you MUST include a 'Chosen One' or a prophecy, then it should be a Matrix situation where the prophecy was invented by the villain as a way to manipulate the course of history for their own benefit.  It's still a little bit cliche, but it's less cliche than just having the 'Chosen One' save the world.

 - Humans romancing ponies has been mentioned.  So I'll say this.  If it's kept PG, and the story doesn't go too far with it by having them with kids or some junk like that, it's probably fine.  Light romance is as far as I'd say to go on it.  Also, make sure the human is NOT the one that initiates the romance.  Otherwise your human character is just going to come off as being 'strange'.

Edited October 5, 2023 by SBaby

[Hadrien 950]

13 hours ago, SBaby said:

Humans turning into ponies...  AND KNOWING HOW TO WALK, FLY AND USE MAGIC IF IT'S APPLICABLE!

I would not trust myself not to blow up the whole world with the amount of power a unicorn has. Or to not plummet to my doom while trying some aerial manoeuvre. Heck I sometime trip over my own feets, so imagine having 4, I'd never be able to do 2 step without falling down.
 

13 hours ago, SBaby said:

Dragons that land to fight.  There is no reason at all why a dragon that is outdoors should EVER land.  They circle around and use their breath weapon over and over again from the air.  That's what they do.  

My D&D player do not like me for using this tactics against them, but I'm the DM and dragons are not stoopid.
 

13 hours ago, SBaby said:

Humans romancing ponies has been mentioned.  So I'll say this.  If it's kept PG, and the story doesn't go too far with it by having them with kids or some junk like that, it's probably fine.  Light romance is as far as I'd say to go on it.  Also, make sure the human is NOT the one that initiates the romance.  Otherwise your human character is just going to come off as being 'strange'.

Wait, you're telling you *wouldn't* immediately try and romance every pony you have a crush on if you had the chance, like some poorly made simulation ? Wait, am I "strange". No that can't be it, you must be wrong. 

[SBaby 660]

One more thing regarding doing a crossover between Sonic and MLP FiM.  A crossover is fine.  And Sonic having a race with Rainbow Dash is fine (seriously, it would be completely out of character for them NOT to want to have a race).  But there shouldn't be a clear winner in the race.  One of the biggest risks a crossover poses is the possibility that one group will overshadow the other, which questions the competence of the other group.  The best crossovers are ones where while it might take some getting used to on the characters' parts, their personalities eventually bounce off one another. 

Amy latches onto the spas that Rarity likes to go to.  Sonic and Rainbow Dash are competitive with one another.  Knuckles and Applejack get along pretty well, and AJ imparts some of her sage wisdom that she's occasionally known for.  Charmy and Pinkie Pie might take turns drinking from a chocolate fountain, and the Cutie Mark Crusaders might become honorary members of the Chaotix Detective Agency.  Twilight and Tails might exchange ideas.  And you're not going to tell me that Fluttershy and Cream hanging out together wouldn't be cute.

And just imagine the possibilities of having Eggman interacting with various villains in this world.

Edited October 6, 2023 by SBaby

[Hadrien 950]

On 2023-10-05 at 9:44 PM, SBaby said:

and the Cutie Mark Crusaders might become honorary members of the Chaotix Detective Agency.

Yoooooo, I totally forgot about the Chaotix Detective Agency. I remember them from Sonic Heroes, they were so cool and their theme song was great.

On 2023-10-05 at 9:44 PM, SBaby said:

Twilight and Tails might exchange ideas.

What a clutter these two would make trying to build weird machines, poor Spike.
 

On 2023-10-05 at 9:44 PM, SBaby said:

And just imagine the possibilities of having Eggman interacting with various villains in this world.

Eggman would just try and capture all magic like Tirek does to power his robot, instead of the Chaos Emerald.

[SBaby 660]

17 minutes ago, Hadrien said:

Yoooooo, I totally forgot about the Chaotix Detective Agency. I remember them from Sonic Heroes, they were so cool and their theme song was great.

What a clutter these two would make trying to build weird machines, poor Spike.
 

Eggman would just try and capture all magic like Tirek does to power his robot, instead of the Chaos Emerald.

I don't want to go off on too much of a tangent here.  But I have to add two more things to my previous post, because you mentioned the Chaos Emeralds and it just made me think of this.

 - First, imagine Discord's reaction to the Chaos Emeralds.  He might even know what a Genesis Wave is.  Just saying, the Spirit of Chaos would logically be familiar with these Emeralds.

 - Second, what would happen if the Chaos Emeralds and Rainbow Powers were combined?

 

Back on the topic of cliches, one unavoidable cliche in a Pony fic is the power of Friendship.  Unavoidable because unlike various anime and video games where Friendship is a concept that sometimes empowers the heroes at key moments, Friendship in MLP FiM is a physical elemental force that exists in the world and has a tangible effect on the environment.  It goes with Harmony like two matching puzzle pieces.  So when thinking of using Friendship in a Fic (which is usually inevitable), it's a good idea to take this into consideration and use it to show how the force affects not only the characters, but possibly the world.

Edited October 7, 2023 by SBaby