Fanon vs. Canon

Sometimes I wonder what sort of effect writing fanfiction has on those who are fans of the show. One reviewer, the Fiery Joker, said something along those lines in his review of Twilight Time. That some fans have headcannons popularized in fanfiction and refuse to change it: focusing in particular on the flashbacks in Princess Twilight Sparkle that showed the defeats of Nightmare Moon and Discord. Both were short insta-defeats with the Elements of Harmony as we've seen in the first two seasons. Whereas a lot of fans had depicted the conflicts as some kind of epic war that stretched across the entire nation (ignoring of course that when you have a character that can do anything by snapping his fingers and villain one-shotting gems, you don't really need soldiers) and were upset about the shorter depiction.

I will admit, there is a lot more freedom with fanon than canon since you don't have show producers and content editors breathing down your neck and meddling with your work telling you what is and isn't acceptable (Twilight's fight with Tirek was supposed to have her punching him in the face at one point for example but was vetoed). And yet sometimes, I feel that that very same freedom causes us as fans to become complacent and entitled since we don't have to deal with that sort of thing and forget that the writers do.

Let me use a more recent example to highlight said frustrations: Mirror Magic.

Just to recap, here's the synopsis for the short:

As the pages in her journal run out, there's only one thing for Sunset Shimmer to do: return to Equestria to get a new journal! There, she meets Starlight Glimmer and agrees to bring her back to experience life at Canterlot High. But while Sunset Shimmer was away, a revenge seeking Juniper Montage finds a beautiful hand mirror enchanted with Equestrian magic. Not only can it provide a window into another land, but if you push the right button, it can also make things disappear into limbo, trapped between the two realms!

Quite exciting, don't you think? The prospect of Sunset returning to Equestria has been something the fandom's had on its mind for YEARS and has been explored thoroughly by a lot of writers (including me for those who remember). And Sunset meeting Starlight, while not quite as prominent, was still a talked about concept due to all the comparisons between them. And the synopsis also implies that we'll see the two of them team up to stop Juniper.

What did we ACTUALLY get?

Sunset's only in Equestria for about five minutes to get the new journal and doesn't have any emotional response whatsoever to going back (despite the cut subplot in FG implying she was homesick). Her interaction with Starlight, while definitely the highlight of the short, only lasted a couple of minutes before Sunset gets worfed alongside the rest of the cast (thus wasting the team-up idea). Despite being a rift between dimensions and ample opportunity to use that aspect to their advantage (bring back reflections of Midnight Sparkle, Demon Sunset, Starlight's evil self etc.) the girls don't do anything in the mirror world other than being held captive. Not to mention Juniper's corrupted self barely did anything compared to the previous villains.

Now, I've already gone over the wasted potential of the short. But part of me has to wonder if that wasted potential was all the more painful thanks to what we've seen from other fanfic writers handling those plot points a lot better than canon. Though one could argue that the portrayal of Midnight Sparkle, Gaia Everfree, the Dazzlings, and even Demon Sunset were done better than Juniper. I know perfectly well that the writers have no obligation to cater to us as fans. But that also makes me wonder if we have any right to be upset about this sort of thing.

Rose: But isn't wasted potential still wasted potential regardless of canon or fanon?

Honestly, I don't know. The only direct comparison I can make is between the villains.