...Before the dawn

I figured I'd give the site's Blog feature a try and do some musing about fiction.

First, though, I'll point out that I'm fighting a cold, so I apologize in advance if I make no sense.

But anyway:

I've noticed that there has been a fairly large number of Sad and GrimDark fics around the Pony Fandom of late, and also a fair amount of opposition to such.

Now I obviously would be a bit of a hippo-crit (heh) if I objected to dark content, considering the laundry-list of grim events in Pony Psychology, but really I think the most vital element in any Dark fic that makes it a crowd-displeaser isn't the content - it's the ending.

As has been said by a writer vastly better than myself, putting characters through hell shows the readers that they're made of.

As long as the protagonists get through on the other side and prevail, readers seem willing to endure a huge amount of troubling darkness in the interim. I don't see anything wrong with Dark and Grim Pony stories, as long as there is light of some sort at the end of the tunnel.

If anything, grim Pony stories with positive endings only reinforce the ideas presented in canon about the power of true friends to overcome adversity together. The farther they fall, the higher they can climb.

That was certainly part of my intent with Pony Psychology - to put the characters through some upgraded, more adult challenges, and have them find a way to survive and grow strong through that adversity like vines in rocky soil.

So I guess so sum up, it's really only GrimDark endings that put me off personally. With a heritage including a satanic centaur mutating the heroes and wielding a black rainbow and a present incarnation featuring monsters, brainwashing and multiple apocalypse scenarios (all of which have been successfully overcome), I'd say "BAD END" clashes far more with "Ponies" than any scary, violent, or disturbing scene does.

What do you all think?

...Do these posts have a comment feature? I have no idea.
If not, and if you want to muse right back about this, feel free to PM me.

Comments

[TheKataklyst]

Agreed, one of the reasons I tend to avoid GrimDark is because it doesn't stay true to the fandom and is generally sad.

I even try to stay away from Sad because, I'll admit, I have shed manly tears on more than one occasion.

For me, there should always be a 'silver lining' or 'light at the end of a tunnel'. Never end a story on a sad note.

[Marrock]

I don't have much to add to this besides "Amen!"

[Ganymede]

Friendship is Tragic, "I couldn't wake you, because you can never wake again...", Our Last Goodbye. I read them because they are praised as being good. However, I purposefully don't become emotionally involved, since I know how tragic the ending will be.

Keep writing happy endings!