Fanon concepts in fiction

[Starstream 182]

Hai-hai,

 

I was busy writing earlier when a sudden question hit me, when does adding extra fan concepts to a story go too far? And for the sake of staying on the same page, let's define "too far" as "the point at which it would become impossible to imagine a particular situation in the canon show".

 

I.e.: If I were to write a story about the apocalypse of Equestria, would I be going too far if I made Fluttershy or Rarity the intentional, conscious cause of said apocalypse?

 

Would I be going too far if I wrote a story in which Rainbow Dash and Applejack are having constant catfights because Dash has fallen in love with Big McIntosh and AJ wants none of that tomfoolery?

 

Suppose the answer in both those cases is yes then how about a little more tame idea? How about a situation in which a new pony comes to town and meets Pinkie Pie, she proceeds to introduce him/her to the other members of the mane-six and they all but instantly become friends?

 

Many people would loathe the idea, but in the context described before is it truly going too far? Where lies the line? Where do you draw the line? What is the breaking point where you can objectively say "this does not belong anywhere near the imaginable MLP canon!"?

[Rainblow H. Ash 5,091]

To be honest, most of all fanfiction of every show goes so far out of canon that they really can only exist in the realm of fanon.

 

When it comes to my personal thoughts, I personally like stories that stick to mostly canon situations, or, if they have strange situations that couldn't happen on the show, don't feature a lot of OCs or anything. I prefer the canon cast of a show more than anything in fanfiction.

 

As for the situations you mentioned, it takes something really odd in fanfiction for me to not be able to imagine it. The situations you mentioned are pretty easy to imagine because they're actually pretty tame; if a new pony came to town, the Mane Six are all pretty nice so I'm sure they'd become good friends with the new pony. And as for shipping fics with catfights, I'm not a big fan of shipping or romance fics, but I won't say that they're hard to imagine only because romance would seem to be an important thing in the world of My Little Pony, thus I can't say it's too far out of the realm of thought.

 

Now if you used an example of a fic where everyone is swooning over Blueblood as he struts down the street side by side with his new wife Rarity, then I could see where you're coming from...

[Sunbro 4 Lyfe 939]

Now you see, it all depends on personal preference as to what "Going to far" is. When I go onto fimfiction And look at the fan fictions they always seem far fetched and generally fanon. But then again, sometimes They are there for reasons. You may make an adventure in a fan fiction that may seem crazy, but if it still draws you in it has done it's job. Sometimes fan fictions can be started by one simple idea. just think of something, give it a plot and write it down.

 

Again This does not mean going to far is always bad. In fact I would prefer if all fan fictions were just fanon alone. It shows the ideas members of a fanbase can think of and write successfully rather than take something and put it in their own words. I see shipping as a different concept. If you can give a fully thought out reason as to why those two would be in a romantic relationship, it could still be fanon but not going too far.