History FandomSpecificPlot / MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic

* Trixie was a common target for {{Hurt Comfort Fic}}s and {{Dark Fic}}s, and multiple fics exist for her being taken in by (and often [[FoeYay shipped with]]) every single member of the mane cast, but especially Twilight.

** There is a rare niche of fics that avert the DownerBeginning in the prologue by disabling the WorfEffect on the rest of Equestria and include plot elements up to the end of Season 7 but [[ForWantOfANail still have the Mane 7 go beyond Equestria and find the Hippogriffs anyway]] after an ExpositionDump by Celestia on the Storm King.

* Many InterspeciesRomance ship-fics set in the future would inevitably feature FantasticRacism and MalignedMixedMarriage subplots. The TimeSkip in "The Last Problem" reveals that in the canonical future, Equestria has become a place where all races live together in harmony, which makes that possibility much less likely. (In particular, dragon-pony race relations are a ''lot'' better than most fans anticipated)

** Many stories expand on her difficulty flying in a number of ways: Some of them establish that she will never be able to fly, and have her cope with it. Some of them focus on her efforts learning to fly (often with Rainbow Dash's assistance), either ending with her finally flying, or implying that she has at least some hope of eventually getting there. Others have her diagnosed with some condition such that she is not expected to ever fly, and have her cope with that. A few have her flying with the aid of [[ArtificialLimbs prosthetic wings]], gliders, or other technology.

* After "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS3E7WonderboltsAcademy Wonderbolts Academy]]" aired, Lightning Dust became an instant hit with fans, with many feeling sorry for her about how she was kicked out of the academy. Fanfics about her making up with Rainbow Dash, being given a second chance at the academy and even some dwelling into her backstory were fairly common. Then "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS8E20TheWashouts The Washouts]]" came around and showed that Lightning Dust formed her own stunt team instead, is still bitter at Rainbow Dash about what happened at the academy -- [[NeverMyFault even though it was her fault]] -- endangers Scootaloo by putting her up to a dangerous stunt just to spite Rainbow Dash, losing most fans' sympathy in the process and ended up becoming one of the few antagonists on the show who didn't reform. Needless to say, that episode put an end to her popularity.

* There are fan stories where Pinkie Pie, having a ''rocky'' relationship with her fundamentalist Amish-esque family, with being born and raised on a rock farm. Some with darker stories like her being illegitimate or adopted. And that her father and two sisters being respectively named [[VideoGame/PacMan Clyde, Blinkie and Inkie]]. The Season 5 episode "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS5E21Hearthbreakers Hearthbreakers]]" debunks all those, with Pinkie having good terms with her father Igneous Rock, her sisters Limestone and Marble, and being close with her twin sister Maud.

* There are fan stories where Pinkie Pie, having a ''rocky'' relationship with her fundamentalist Amish-esque family, with being born and raised on a rock farm. Some with darker stories like her being illegitimate or adopted. And that her father and two sisters being respectively named [[VideoGame/PacMan Clyde, Blinkie and Inkie]]. The Season 5 episode "[MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS5E21Hearthbreakers Hearthbreakers]]" debunks all those, with Pinkie having good terms with her father Igneous Rock, her sisters Limestone and Marble, and being close with her twin sister Maud.

* Unless it's a story where EveryoneIsGay, Rainbow Dash is the go-to choice for a lesbian or bi-curious character. Some fics in turn play with this by having her defy this stereotype and be offended by other characters making this presumption of her, just because she has a tomboyish personality and rainbow hair.

** A ''ComicBook/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicIDW'' arc revealed him to be an AntiAntichrist from an EldritchAbomination race and even gave him a CanonForeigner LoveInterest... until the Season 9 premiere [[CanonDiscontinuity ignored it]], kept him backstory-less, and [[SameCharacterButDifferent overhauled]] him into a borderline-parody CardCarryingVillain. Which resulted in a trend of {{Fix Fic}}s to reconcile this — with S9 Sombra being ActuallyADoombot or the former's now-uninhibited EnemyWithout.

** ''ComicBook/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicIDW'' arc revealed him to be an AntiAntichrist from an EldritchAbomination race and even gave him a CanonForeigner LoveInterest... until the Season 9 premiere [[CanonDiscontinuity ignored it]], kept him backstory-less, and [[SameCharacterButDifferent overhauled]] him into a borderline-parody CardCarryingVillain. Which resulted in a trend of {{Fix Fic}}s to reconcile this; with S9 Sombra being ActuallyADoombot or the former's now-uninhibited EnemyWithout.

* There are fan stories where Pinkie Pie, having a ''rocky'' relationship with her fundamentalist Amish-esque family, with being born and raised on a rock farm. Some with darker stories like her being illegitimate or adopted. And that her father and two sisters being respectively named [[VideoGame/PacMan Clyde, Blinkie and Inkie]]. The Season 5 episode "Hearthwarmers" debunks all those, with Pinkie having good terms with her father Igneous Rock, her sisters Limestone and Marble, and being close with her twin sister Maud.

* [[BigGood Princess]] [[ReasonableAuthorityFigure Celestia]] [[RonTheDeathEater turning out to be a horrible tyrant]], or Equestria being a CrapsaccharineWorld. Often this will involve the characters being unaware of this, and scolded by some OC (or [[DarkIsNotEvil Princess Luna]]) for [[SillyRabbitIdealismIsForKids how naive they were]].

* Fanmade backstories for characters who have no backstory. [[DracoInLeatherPants Giving villains]] {{Freudian Excuse}}s is particularly common, often by way of {{Shipping}}. While IDW managed to give some of the villains backstories, the question of whether they're true or not ([[LooseCanon for a]] [[UnreliableNarrator few reasons]]) falls on the individual.

** This was ultimately DoubleSubverted: a 2015 ''ComicBook/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicIDW'' arc revealed him to be an AntiAntichrist from an EldritchAbomination race and even gave him a CanonForeigner LoveInterest... until the Season 9 premiere [[CanonDiscontinuity ignored]] it, kept him backstory-less, and [[SameCharacterButDifferent overhauled]] him into a borderline-parody CardCarryingVillain. Which resulted in a trend of {{Fix Fic}}s to reconcile this; [=IDW!Sombra=] tends to be portrayed as the real deal, with [=S9!Sombra=] being either ActuallyADoombot or the former's now-uninhibited EnemyWithout.

* Due to the lack of visible family, "Scootaloo is discovered to be orphaned/abused/etc. and gets adopted" is practically a genre unto itself. Rainbow Dash is popular as someone to adopt Scootaloo, but there are adoption stories with each of the Mane Six, pairings among the Main Six, Ms. Cheerilee (it helps that in G3, Scootaloo is Cheerilee's little sister and their personalities don't change overly much for FIM) Lyra and Bon Bon, OriginalCharacters, ''fellow classmates'' of hers who are aged up for the story, Celestia, Luna, and even '''Discord.''' These fanworks became less common when a book revealed that Scootaloo's parents are around but [[WhenYouComingHomeDad busy]], with Scootaloo being predominantly reared by her [[HasTwoMommies two]] [[{{Nephewism}} aunts]]. An episode in the final season would confirm this information definitively by showing both of Scootaloo's parents, on-screen and very much alive. This episode ended up killing off the "Scootaloo is an orphan" stories for good.

** ''Fanfic/TheElementsOfHarmonyAndTheSaviorOfWorlds'' follows the same idea. It's about the human children now adults returning to Equestria; the fic also includes other Hasbro series like ''WesternAnimation/TheTransformers'', ''WesternAnimation/GIJoeARealAmericanHero'', ''WesternAnimation/{{Jem}}'', ''WesternAnimation/{{Inhumanoids}}'', ''WesternAnimation/DungeonsAndDragons'' and ''WesternAnimation/{{MASK}}''.

* "Character X becomes an [[WingedUnicorn alicorn]]" has always been a popular plot, as it allowed exploration of what it ''meant'' to be an alicorn, having to deal with power and immortality, and what the Canterlot royalty was like. While all of the Mane Six have undergone it at some point, Twilight was by far the most common. And then [[IKnewIt it actually happened]]. A popular theme in these has Twilight Sparkle (and possibly the other members of the mane six as well) turning into alicorns and taking over the rule of Equestria from Celestia and Luna, who have [[WhoWantsToLiveForever grown tired of immortality]] or just of rulership in particular. And then it actually happened.

* "Character X becomes an [[WingedUnicorn alicorn]]" has always been a popular plot, as it allowed exploration of what it ''meant'' to be an alicorn, having to deal with power and immortality, and what the Canterlot royalty was like. While all of the Mane Six have undergone it at some point, Twilight was by far the most common. And then [[IKnewIt it actually happened]]. A popular theme in these has Twilight Sparkle (and possibly the other members of the mane six as well) turning into alicorns and taking over the rule of Equestria from Celestia and Luna, who have [[WhoWantsToLiveForever grown tired of immortality]]. Now the show appears to be doing ''that'' [[IKnewIt for the final season]].

* Rainbow Dash having an accident and, irreparably or not, injuring her wings, requiring another character to care for her (may or may not involve shipping). At one point these were ''so'' ubiquitous that Equestria Daily outright ''banned'' them. Then there was the ''actual episode'' where Rainbow broke her wing and was confined to a bed... [[MadeOfIron for three days]], [[RealityEnsues in a hospital]].

** This was ultimately DoubleSubverted: a 2015 ''ComicBook/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicIDW'' arc revealed him to be an AntiAntichrist from an EldritchAbomination race and even gave him a CanonForeigner LoveInterest... until the Season 9 premiere [[CanonDiscontinuity ignored]] it, kept him backstory-less, and [[SameCharacterButDifferent overhauled]] him into a borderline-parody CardCarryingVillain. Which resulted in new [=FSP=] examples, to reconcile this; it's not uncommon to see [=IDW!Sombra=] portrayed as the real deal, and [=S9!Sombra=] depicted as either ActuallyADoombot or [=IDW!Sombra's=] now-uninhibited EnemyWithout.

** This was ultimately DoubleSubverted: a 2015 ''ComicBook/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicIDW'' arc revealed him to be an AntiAntiChrist from an EldritchAbomination race and even gave him a CanonForeigner LoveInterest... until the Season 9 premiere [[CanonDiscontinuity ignored]] it, kept him backstory-less, and [[SameCharacterButDifferent overhauled]] him into a borderline-parody CardCarryingVillain. Which resulted in new [=FSP=] examples, to reconcile this; it's not uncommon to see [=IDW!Sombra=] portrayed as the real deal, and [=S9!Sombra=] depicted as either ActuallyADoombot or [=IDW!Sombra's=] now-uninhibited EnemyWithout.

** There is a surge of stories that follow a specific trend of HIE fics, called Displaced - namely, a fan or hater of the show is in costume at a convention or party when they get sucked into Equestria, and [[BecomingTheCostume gaining the powers of whatever they're dressed as]]. This trend is in turn subdivided into two types, with the human character becoming either a friend or enemy of the ponies.

* There's a surprisingly large number of fanfics about the background ponies Vinyl Scratch and Octavia - a modern techno DJ and classical musician, respectively - somehow having to work together, whether they go to the same university, get assigned the same radio show, or become roommates. HilarityEnsues. {{Shipping}} also frequently ensues. This (without the romance part) has also become canon as of "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS5E9SliceOfLife Slice of Life]]".

* Ever since the Pinkie Pie-centric DarkFic ''Fanfic/{{Cupcakes}}'' became a smash hit, slews of fanfics have followed in its footsteps. They typically involve a character turning evil (or turning out to be evil all along), usually for no good reason, and slaughtering one or more other characters, usually for no good reason either. Almost all Mane Six members have at least one popular fanfic with this premise. Rainbow Dash has ''Rainbow Factory'', Twilight Sparkle has ''The Experiments of Twilight Sparkle'', Rarity has ''Rarity's New Dress''. Fluttershy is a variation - her ''Pattycakes'' contains no gratuitous violence, but it's often said to be just as traumatizing than the above fics, if not more so. Secondary characters get this too - Big Macintosh has the infamous ''Sweet Apple Massacre'', Cheerilee has ''Cheerilee's Garden'', and Trixie has ''Trixie's Funhouse''. A popular type of these follows the lines of "Twilight Sparkle is destined to turn evil, or is turned evil by by a malevolent force destined to re-take Equestria." These often feature [[ColdBloodedTorture torture]]/MindRape of the Mane Six and/or the CMC, and an epic quest to defeat her or turn her back to good. King Sombra and his corruption are sometimes involved in this. Another popular type is Twilight [[TheStarscream overthrowing Celestia, possibly even killing her]]. Now that Twilight actually is a Princess herself, the fics have taken a new direction; instead of being like an [[Franchise/StarWars Sith Apprentice killing his master to become the next Sith Lord]], it's more like an assassination.

* The Discord/Celestia pairing shows up a lot - a common interpretation is that Discord was good until Celestia rejected him. [[http://cosmicunicorn.deviantart.com/art/discordantly-1-259123093 This comic]] is a prominent example of this trend - [[MisaimedFandom even though]] the author himself stated that he wanted to portray Discord as an UnreliableNarrator who just treated the rejection as an excuse to embrace his true evil nature.

* Any story centring on Zecora will usually be an attempt to answer the questions "Where does she come from?" or "Why does she [[RhymesOnADime speak in rhyme]]?" For the former, some people have speculated an arid area populated by zebras, which is sometimes given the name "Zebrica". For the latter, some people think that all zebras rhyme, some think it has to do with her job, and some think that it's a curse, the effect of the poison joke plant, or similar.

* After "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS3E7WonderboltsAcademy Wonderbolts Academy]]" aired, Lightning Dust became an instant hit with fans, with many feeling sorry for her about how she was kicked out of the academy. Fanfics about her making up with Rainbow Dash, being given a second chance at the academy and even some dwelling into her backstory were fairly common. Then "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS8E20TheWashouts The Washouts]]" came around and showed that Lightning Dust formed her own stunt team instead, is still bitter at Rainbow Dash about what happened at the academy - [[NeverMyFault even though it was her fault]] - endangers Scootaloo by putting her up to a dangerous stunt just to spite Rainbow Dash, losing most fans' sympathy in the process and ended up becoming one of the few antagonists on the show who didn't reform. Needless to say, that episode put an end to her popularity.

* Fanfics about Applebloom or Sweetie Belle being discovered as Applejack's/Rarity's daughter instead of their sister are easy to come across. Not as popular as some of the other examples above, but they're out there.

* After "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS3E7WonderboltsAcademy Wonderbolts Academy]]" aired, Lightning Dust became an instant hit with fans, with many feeling sorry for her about how she was kicked out of the academy. Fanfics about her making up with Rainbow Dash, being given a second chance at the academy and even some dwelling into her backstory were fairly common. Then "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS8E20TheWashouts The Washouts]]" came around and showed that Lightning Dust formed her own stunt team instead, is still bitter at Rainbow Dash about what happened at the academy - [[NeverMyFault even though it was her fault]] - endangers Scootaloo by putting her up to a dangerous stunt out of spite for Rainbow Dash, losing most fans' sympathy in the process, and ended up becoming one of the few antagonists of the show who didn't reform. Needless to say, that episode put an end to her popularity.

* Prior to his reformation, Discord was a prime choice for an UltimateEvil-type entity when one was needed to act as the BigBad of a story, due to his nature as a god of chaos and disharmony and even now being one of the most powerful characters in the series. A key part of this was how, in terms of sheer power, he was shown outclassing even Celestia and Luna, who had been the most powerful beings in the show (and by extension, in most or all fanons) before he appeared.

* Many a [[FanPreferredCouple Bonbon and Lyra]] fic are about Lyra being unable to get a job, as she's a musician in {{Fanon}}. [=LyraBon=] itself is a very common ship, and the pair is frequently presented as together or married even in random stories that aren't even about them. Then, as you're probably expecting by now, it ([[GettingCrapPastTheRadar kinda]]) happened, with both the ''[=FiM=]'' and ''[=EG=]'' versions heavily implied to be couples.