(T>B) Salvage via fictionalisation · 2:38pm Jun 8th, 2021
Original thread:https://www.fimfiction.net/group/50/the-writers-group/thread/459893/salvaging-episodes-via-fictionalization
Are there any FIM stories out there (not just episodes, I suppose, but also comics and such) which you really can't easily accept as part of your headcanon, but work much better for you as in-universe fictional tales? It's a convenient method because not only is canonical and worldbuilding impact muted, all errors and plotholes can be blamed on the in-universe creator(s). On the other hand, excessive use leaves little of the show intact.
Some examples for me are:
- All Daring Do eps save Read it and Weep are Rainbow Dash's self-insert fanfic. (Some elements found in them are real, like Quibble Pants and the town of Somnambula.)
- The Beginning of the End is a mysterious manuscript which started circulating around the School of Friendship a few weeks/months after the Cozy Glow Incident. The original author remains unknown, and while publication was considered at the time it was ultimately deemed "impolitic" for several reasons. However it achieved a substantial underground circulation and several unofficial sequels (one of which, Frenemies, almost surpassed the original work in popularity) and a couple of decades later when the issues it touched on were no longer "hot" it was used as the basis of one of Equestria's first great epic movies. (Princess Twilight officially kept her opinion on both manuscript and film to herself, while her friends are known to have differing ones.)
- Speaking of the early Equestrian film industry, another epic on which Princess Twilight reserved public comment was "Beyond Equestria", a heavily fictionalised interpretation of the Storm Invasion and formation of the Equestrian-Hippogriffian alliance. Her brother and sister-in-law were less reserved, praising the film for some of it's messages but strongly calling it out for overlooking or outright erasing the contribution of Equestria's military, citizens and existing allies to the invasion's failure. This was further compounded by a scandal when "creative consultant" Grubber was revealed, during his later attempt to publish the posthumous autobiography of Fizzlepop Berrytwist, to actually be a changeling imposter, leaving the provenance of both said work and his contributions to the movie very much in doubt.
- Not quite fiction, but the Equestria Girls short "Cheer You On" fits much better to me as a dream born from Flash's internalised issues than as a "real" event.
And speaking of Equestria Girls... well, here's proof this isn't just a technique used by fans.
Of course, the logical extreme is to have the entirety of FIM be a fictional production, whether based on historical events or just outright made up. (If I was making G5 and was told to include "strong links to G4", that might be one way I'd do it.)
Not my style, I'm afraid.