Discussion - Alt Element Bearers · 5:08pm Feb 8th, 2016
Tale as old as time, plot as tired as rhyme. So what (for me, at least) makes some of them work and some of them fail?
It goes without saying that to discuss fics that deals with a different set of Element Bearers, we have to discuss AU fics. I feel the most interesting point of any AU fic is seeing the familiar characters show up. Think of the Marvel movies - if you're a comic fan, isn't it exciting when you find out one of your fav characters is making their cinematic debut? Don't you wonder what the characters not in the films are doing if they existed in this universe off-screen? And when they do appear, how do they differ? What new insights can we gain about them by seeing them in this new setting? So it is with fanfics where there's a different set of element bearers in a different circumstance. We still want to know how the characters in the canon are doing and what they're up to.
However, this introduces a problem. Of course we want to know what the Mane Six are up to in this alternate world... but we're not focusing on the Mane Six, are we? They're the background cast, if they appear at all, and sometimes their characterization is shifted from what we're familiar with. We naturally want to know more about them. But, inevitably, the author is going to do one of three things, and each comes with its own problem. If we don't see the Mane Six at all, we keep wanting to. If we see them a little, we want more of them. And if we see them a lot, the story's focus can be blurred.
This is where author intent and reader demand can easily come into conflict. What if the author doesn't want to feature the Mane Six at all, save for maybe one cameo or two? Some readers won't mind, but others may protest. And even if you're not vocal about it, in the back of your mind, you're probably still thinking about it. Let's say it's an AU where Sunset and the Pony!Shadowbolts got the Elements. Any time you hear about the cast potentially meeting a unicorn, you're probably gonna wonder "ooo, could it be Twilight or Rarity?" No, it's Starlight or Trixie, still yay, but no. Whenever the Wonderbolts are going to be included, somewhere in the ranks, you wonder if there's a rainbow mane poking out of the uniform.
There's no easy answer to that. It's up to the author to either make a stand and keep the focus off the Mane Six in this world, or they can cave and include them. It's up to them personally what role they want the Mane Six to play in their AU, and it falls to their skill as an author to keep the Mane Six from taking over the story - because if they do, why bother with the alternate Element thing at all? Although, as I type that, there's an idea I'd love to see - an 8-Bit Theater style AU where the Alt Mane Six are clueless and evil, and the canon Mane Six keep saving Equestria while the Alts get the credit.
There's one final problem with alt bearer plots, and I'm going to quote Linkara here. In his History of Power Rangers series, he notes that Seasons 1 through 6 were a continuous story with Ranger teams carrying over with new powers, and a change of team was a big deal. But with Season 7, each season became standalone with a new Ranger team each season. And this created a disconnect for him. Who are these new people he has never met, and what makes them worthy to stand alongside heroes we've spent several seasons developing and following?
So it is with alt Element Bearer fics. What makes Lyra more suited to be the Element of Honesty than Applejack, and how will she compare as we follow this story and Lyra develops as a character? On a larger scale, what sort of group dynamic does this cast have compared to the Mane Six? Obviously you don't want your cast to be stuck in the shadows of the Mane Six, you want them to come into their own as characters, and that means they have to grow and develop differently. Whoever gets the Element of Generosity, they should not just be Rarity 2.0. That's boring and dulls interest. This is where the author's skill as a writer can make or break the concept - if we're going to follow these six instead of the Mane Six, you have to make us want to. The premise of Sunset and the Shadowbolts as the Element Bearers works for catching interest, but you have to hold it through a narrative structure.
Related to this point, there is another pitfall I see authors fall into, that I am going to take a firmer, more opinionated stance on. I see this all the time. Twilight, Rainbow Dash, and Applejack still have their elements, but the Elements of Laughter and Kindness went to Cheese Sandwich and Derpy, and Coco Pommel is the Element of Generosity. I find that this sort of set-up takes the problems of the previous paragraph and magnifies them, because now you're drawing more attention to them. What makes Derpy better as the Element of Kindness than Fluttershy? Why only replace three of them but keep the rest, and why these ones in particular? How are the characters affected in this new dynamic? This also makes me suspect author favortism, the author switching out the Mane Six members they don't like for characters they do. Sometimes that's the case, sometimes not, but it makes me suspect it.
Anyway, discussion time. What are some Alt Mane Six ideas you've seen work, and what are some that crashed and burned? How come?
Friends, Forgiveness, and Magic. If you have not that yet you're MISSING OUT on some GOOD quality AU.
I think one major problems with Alt Element Bearers is that writers try to keep the same situation for their alternative universe. Everything is changed, but ultimately everything stays the same. If I wanted a story with slice of life comedy with elements of Adventure in a rural setting I would just watch the show. An alternative Mane 6 that is still set in Ponyville but with alternate ponies is never going to be as good as the original. To me the best Alt Element Bearers are ones that are going to try a different setting or really establish the original characters. I read one that was set in Manehatten that was pretty good, and Chengar Qordath’s AU’s are always a delight to read. The Moon’s Apprentice had some interesting ideas, but I have fallen out of love with that story. I really hope the Author returns to Seeking Power. That was a great one.
To me I really hate alternate universe stories that try to keep everything the same but switch up one or two roles. This happens in Steven Universe comics and fan art all the time where people replace Garnet, Pearl, and Amethyst with Jasper, Peridot, and Lapis Lazuli. The characterization always ends up with the Home World Trio becoming lesser versions of Steven’s actual moms, and loosing the traits and ticks that made them interesting in the original universe.
I have always wanted to read a reverse harem comedy where Twilight’s adventures involve male versions of the other Mane 6, but that is something very specific that I want to see.
I love AU and all the different possibilities that comes with them. My biggest issue with many of these stories is author burnout. I often see a strong start to an interesting twist to the setting, only for the author to get 20,000 words in and then drop off the face of the internet.
So that leads to another question: When does the author stop?
At the end of the pilot episodes? Do they go through each episode currently out, one by one, recreating them to fit the new setting until they reach the current stopping point of the show? Do they create their own adventures, completely different from what the show has given us?
That's a question I think authors need to answer early on, otherwise there's no end in sight and no tight focus on what the characters will go through or how they develop. The Lunaverse and Manehatten verse are two such AU's that have had a good run, with different authors contributing to the overall setting. They both seem to have petered out recently, though.
If a AU catches my eye, I'll usually give it 5,000 - 10,000 words, depending on writing quality. If the differences aren't interesting enough, or the author is just finding and replacing character names while regurgitating the show scripts, I'm out of there.
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You mentioning The Moon's Apprentice reminded me of something else AU writers fumble with. The Lunaverse in particular has been criticized for it too. This falls into author favoritism.
If the Mane Six are replaced, but still show up in the new setting, authors have to be careful about how they are portrayed. Don't badmouth the original cast just because they aren't the focus anymore. Usually this is done to highlight the positives of the new cast, but often comes across as, "Look at me! I have characters that are so much better than what the FiM writers came up with!".
Even authors that don't mean to do this still cross this line. My advice would be to not include the Mane Six altogether, but then we run into those questions Drakey said above.
Writing is hard, yo.
Edit: Hmm, reading over what I just said, I don't think I was being clear on my point. Basically, "I'll make my characters look good by making the original characters look bad."
3740980 Like how Rainbow is a total sociopath in the Lunaverse?
3740950 While I hesitate to say it was all that good, one AU fic I found early here was "A Glint of Light on Broken Glass." The author abandoned it, but it involved the Mane Six as the alicorn rulers of Equestria, while Celestia, Luna, Cadance, Shining Armor, Chrysalis, and Sombra (Cadance's brother) were the Mane Six as normal ponies, in Manehattan, and instead of Nightmare Moon and the Elements of Harmony, it was Tirek and the Rainbow of Darkness. It was intriguing.
And if nothing else, it gave us the best and most memorable depiction of Rainbow Dash I've ever seen.
That is a good point though, if you keep it too similar then yes, it gets stale quickly.
3741176 The Steadfast Sky is a great example a group of Element Bearers that exists with Friendship is Magic’s time line. Its about Luna, Celestia, and Discord and their story when they bore the elements. There is also a plot in the story about the six that bore the elements even before them.