Most of the writers and artists out there won't read this, but I feel it needs to be said, as we approach what will likely be a literary moment (or series thereof) of either supreme triumph or monumental disaster.

No matter what happens, none of us are obligated to portray Twilight as anything other than a unicorn, or to suddenly incorporate her transformation into unfinished works. In fact, I would go as far as to say that doing so is unnecessary if her being anything else in no way serves the story--and I will admit an unintended implication here that her ascension won't be so awesome it makes our souls melt out of our ears in rivulets of rainbow happy juice, but even if that turns out to be the case it still wouldn't become inherently necessary to a story.

For those who fear the (apparently loathed) Alternate Universe designation, I would argue that doing so does not qualify. Alternate Universe is based on extreme "What if" deviations from canon: "What if Celestia was evil?"; "What if Discord wasn't defeated in the ancient past and continued to rule?"; "What if the mane six were never born and six other ponies defeated Nightmare Moon?"; "What if a victorious Chrysalis captured all the ponies and put them into a magical equivalent of The Matrix?"; and so on.

What if Twi doesn't ascend? She's still the lovable librarian researching friendship in Ponyville and secretly pining after Celestia. She's still the pony we know and love. That's the difference between deviation and AU.

This probably sounds like I'm merely advocating for my own stance of canon revisionism, but my intended point--and the philosophy behind my revisionism--is that this show doesn't control us as creative individuals. We needn't follow every single thing it introduces to the letter. There are many stories out there that introduce literary elements and devices not even hinted at in the show. There are stories out there that have nothing to do with FIM beyond taking place in the same world. There are (unfortunately) stories out there that have nothing to do with FIM beyond a single character appearing in another world, or the real world. Then there are stories that simply alter minor factors, like gender-switching. Even if your work doesn't alter or add anything it remains unquestionably non-canon; if it were canon it would have been an episode.

Lauren Faust said at a con in 2012 that in her eyes the show is no longer hers or the writers' or Hasbro's, but the fans'. I believe this to be true, at least in the creative scenes. Canon is a set of building blocks, not shackles and chains.

With that said, I'll see all of you on the other side.