Many thanks to everyone! (Also: how much effort is too much effort?) · 8:08pm Oct 8th, 2014
I've been putting off blogging as of late because my account was nearing two "milestones" at the same time: this is my 30th blog (hurray for nice round numbers!!! 
), and I have just reached 100 followers.
Now, I know there are many people out there who frown upon these types of blogs -- myself included -- so I'll keep this short and simple: thank you very very much. All of you. I am incredibly humbled by the fact that you have decided that I am worthy of your attention, and I will do everything in my power to make sure I remain worthy of it.
I suppose a "landmark" is a good place as any to pose a (slightly) more serious question to all of you wonderful people who venture here: at what point do you think one is "trying too hard" with an MLP fanfic?
By that, I don't mean "trying very hard to do something and failing at it." Instead, quite the opposite: a story that is, in a sense, "too good" to be an MLP fanfic ("too much" might be an even better phrase). A story that contains way too much effort from the author with regards to the fact that, at the end of the day, they are still writing about a universe that involves magical talking technicolor ponies, so putting their story into that environment defeats the purpose of doing the story in the first place.
To put it another way: this is kinda similar to the blog where I mentioned which subjects I believe should not be done because they seem inappropriate for MLP fanfics, but this time I'm talking about the stories where being MLP-related seems unnecessary. Or, conversely, the story tries to tackle issues far too great for it to be enjoyable as a mere pony fanfic.
Example: a "war fic" that tries to go very deep into how "grim" and "psychologically traumatizing" an armed conflict can be, and it does so in a very extensive and professional manner... except it does it all from the perspective of a talking cartoon horse... 
Of course, in that case, do these stories count as "good" at all? If a fic gets to the point that its own source material becomes unnecessary, yet still decides to cling to it, then it's obviously doing something wrong. Being a huge Hemingway fan, I once found myself wondering how I could emulate what he did and use my fics to convey great things through subtle means. But then I had to stop and think: "Hemingway wrote about real things and real issues. I write about cartoon horses. It's time to draw the line..."
What are your thoughts?
Plugging a fic I haven't plugged yet because it kinda feels relevant, not to mention why not? 
Also:
I'm not sure I entirely agree that just because you are writing through the medium of cartoon horses that you cannot convey the "great issues". You just have to find a way to make it work in the context of MLP. Just writing WWI but with ponies is pointless - but if you create a well crafted story detailing a war during the pre-Hearths Warming Eve era between, say, the pegasi and the unicorns, then that could work quite well. That particular scenario would also be a good medium to explore racism through.
That's my opinion at least. Feel free to ignore the musings of some guy on the internet.
2519033
The problem here, so to speak, isn't the subject itself, but rather the depth that one goes into it within the context of an MLP fanfic. "How would ponies handle war?" is a perfectly valid premise on its own, but the part where it gets iffy is when one tries to take that all the way to the level of All Quiet on the Western Front or whatever. At that point, in my opinion, one should probably ditch the pony-content altogether...
2519132
I think I get what you're saying, but I'm still not sure I entirely agree. I think a story at "All Quiet on the Western Front levels" can work in MLP. It's bloody difficult to do right, but ponies for all their multicoloured-ness are characters, people. They can be made to experience all the things a person would. As for the setting, while it is admittedly sugary-sweet happy land to a certain extent, it can be adapted to more serious premises.
Using the continuing example of war, I do think that an All Quiet-ish story could be made with a pony basis. I personally find that pony history around the time of the Hearth's Warming Eve tale is a perfect setting for this kind of thing - it's hinted to be a much harsher, darker world than the modern day Equestria that we see in the show. The themes of the pointlessness and horror of war are pretty universal ones, and while the technology of that era would not be anywhere close to WWI levels, magic is a pretty formidable weapon.
I guess what I'm saying is that it you can make a serious story about serious issues, and still have it be a pony fic. The mistake that far too many writers make is making a serious story about serious issues, that would not change a great deal if it was populated by humans.
The other thing I should probably bring up is that I don't agree that something is necessarily "too big" for pony-fic. It all depends on how you handle the story.
On a lighter note, congrats on the hundred (and one) follower milestone! Glad to be among them.
You always pose such tough questions on this blog.
I think the point you mention is more like an enormous grey area. The size of which is decided by the reader. I've read a few premises on this site of "dark" stories that seemed really over the top for Equestria. But then again, some people may think that those stories are really exciting. Just as Meridian is saying, where you find certain war premises ridiculous when ponies are added to it, he thinks it can be done.
Kind of a cop-out answer now that I think about it. That everything is just a matter of opinion, but that's just... a matter of my... opinion...
I would definitely agree with you that there is a point where most readers would not want the story to have ponies anymore, and if the author is still stuck into it then they're probably holding themselves back. But then, some readers may enjoy it.
2519275
Thank you! I'm glad that you are glad.
My main problem with fanfics that are "too serious" compared to the source material isn't their potential to be any good (the have plenty of that), but the fact that it seems to defeat the purpose of making it, in our case, a pony-related fic in the first place. Ponyfics only really seem to have a great impact if they try to combine the spirit of the show with areas the canon itself so far has not (and/or cannot at all). The way I see it, however, going too deep into certain subjects just removes the story from that spirit. They can still be good stories, but it seems pointless to include ponies at that point, since that "isn't what they are best at." In other words, it might be a good story, but not a good pony story.
Pre-Hearth's Warming Eve ponykind might make for a better setting when it comes to "not-so-sunshine-and-rainbows" kinds of stories, but even then there is a certain limit to how far it makes sense to take it. The idea that ponies weren't quite as friendly with each other (let alone others) is okay, but the era being "war-torn mayhem" sounds forced. In fact, to me, it seems to stem from this common belief that the Middle Ages were all about chaos and bloodshed, when in fact it was much later that human history started to get really bloody...
Think of it this way: it makes perfect sense for one to write a metaphorical story about war using ponies (e.g "a pillow fight that got out of hand"). It's also fine when one writes a fic about a real pony conflict (while keeping their limits), but when one decides to actually do an incredibly gritty and "realistic" war story with the distinct purpose of "going as deep into it as possible," then it just feels out of place.
To give an example other than "war," one of my fics is about a metal band in Equestria, and I made sure not to omit what I lacked in most other stories involving musicians: proper immersion in their everyday lives, and a realistic representation of their "road to fame" (which doesn't happen overnight). However, I decided early on not to dedicate too much of the story to it, no matter how much deeper I could (and wanted to) get into it. Not because it might be boring, but because one might as well read the biography of a real band at that point. There's a fic out there that doesn't seem to share this opinion, and while it advertises itself as a fic involving "rock & roll," it focuses way too hard on the "slice of life" elements, and desperately tries to be some sort of parallel to the social evolution of the genre here on earth.
Ponies aren't really about that sort of stuff. It's fine if one slips in a few deep things between the lines, but to focus a story on them? Not so much...
2520443
Well, I think 2519879 put it quite well in that this is very much a grey area. It really comes down to peoples individual opinions. For me personally, I find the characters in MLP just as compelling as the spirit of the show - therefore if a darker themed story stays true to the characterization of the show, I'll be more inclined to like it.
I will say that I think our opinions are closer than they seem. 99% of stories that go for these "dark and gritty" themes don't manage to pull off the pony aspect of it at all in my opinion - and like you said, that doesn't necessarily mean that they are bad stories (though they often can be), just bad pony-fics. I've read one or two fantastic stories on this site that integrated the world of Equestria seamlessly - and yet they didn't feel like pony stories, because they were missing both the spirit of the show and the personalities of the characters.