Wonderbolt Academy: My Little Pony Friendship is Magic

[Ifreann]

Xistulpa: Best Tulpa?

Wait. You know what a tulpa is?

I have been to /mlp/ and observed the collective madness that is the tulpa thread.

New headcanon: Celestia and Luna are secretly blank flanks.

I THOUGHT THE SAME THING

HiveHerdmind.

Commit self to mental health facility.

sadface

I'm sure they'll let me out when they come to check on me at night and there's a pony in my room. You know, into a different kind of secure facility. A facility for SCIENCE!

[Xomic]

Nope.

Depends on the universe, but generally speaking Hasbro tend to take the 'everything is canon' view-- to the point where they've invented ten thousand continuities in the Transformers verse so every variation that's been produced is canon.

"Depends on the universe". Oh, that's rich...

It depends on the universe; if you knew anything about how different story universes treat different things as part of their continuity, you'd know what I was talking about.

In Star Wars, for example, there's a whole system of canon, which puts everything on a scale from canon to non-canon, but also includes shades of canonality. Books and comic books are canon, but only so far as they're not overruled by the shows, or in turn, the films. In contrast, Star Trek treats everything that isn't the shows and films as non-canon-- including the animated series. This, of course, gets complicated because several times aspects of the non-canon animated series got pulled into the films or shows (in particular, ENT did this a fair number of times.) For example, caitians are a whole species that has been somewhere between canon-and-non-canon for ages. They only really appear in the animated series, but they've shown up (or it's believed they've shown up) multiple times in the films in the background, including in Star Trek into Darkness.

And this isn't even discussing episodes like Threshold that are 'canon' but everyone pretends they don't exist, including the producers and such.

MLP:FiM is something of a unique situation for the MLP franchise, because up until now there simply wasn't much of a universe to talk about in terms of canonality or characters. So every generation basically used the same ponies, if they used them at all, without problem. However, seeing as FiM is probably the most popular MLP franchise, and most likely to stick around far longer (if, indeed, it does form the basis for all future MLP properties for a decade or more). So on that note, there's no real in-MLP precedent for how the expanded universe is going to be handled.

However, as I noted, the Transformer's verse has had to deal with this sort of thing for a long time, and the general rules are, as noted on the TFWiki:

• All officially-licensed fiction is canonical for some continuity.
• If conflicting events occur which are ostensibly within the same continuity, there is no single "correct" interpretation, unless an official retcon is later issued. Fans may reach a consensus on it, or not. The two events may be relegated to slightly different continuities, or an in-continuity fix may be applied.
• While canon from one continuity cannot, in general, be used as evidence to support canon in a different continuity, there are exceptions. For example, the Tech Specs and bios from toy packaging are used as the basis for character personalities across various continuities, and can therefore hold some cross-continuity weight.
• Fan fiction is not canon.
• Toy catalogs produced by companies other than Hasbro (such as J.C. Penney) are not canon.
• Some fans have their own ideas about what constitutes canon and nothing anyone else says will change their mind (see personal canon).
• Perhaps most important of all...it only has one N in the center, and one at the end. Megatron has a "personal cannon" (although Classics Voyager Megatron had an "anti-proton pulse canon" according to his on-packaging bio), but you likely never will.

These IDW comics are official licensed, ergo, they are canon.

Indeed, in an interview with Katie Cook, on of the writers of the comics, she noted that:

But then I was told that my idea wouldn't work because it's the premise of a future "My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic" cartoon episode. Bah!

So clearly Hasbro is looking at this comics before they're published and approving them.

And so on.

[Ifreann]

"Depends on the universe". Oh, that's rich...

It depends on the universe; if you knew anything about how different story universes treat different things as part of their continuity, you'd know what I was talking about.

In Star Wars, for example, there's a whole system of canon, which puts everything on a scale from canon to non-canon, but also includes shades of canonality. Books and comic books are canon, but only so far as they're not overruled by the shows, or in turn, the films. In contrast, Star Trek treats everything that isn't the shows and films as non-canon-- including the animated series. This, of course, gets complicated because several times aspects of the non-canon animated series got pulled into the films or shows (in particular, ENT did this a fair number of times.) For example, caitians are a whole species that has been somewhere between canon-and-non-canon for ages. They only really appear in the animated series, but they've shown up (or it's believed they've shown up) multiple times in the films in the background, including in Star Trek into Darkness.

And this isn't even discussing episodes like Threshold that are 'canon' but everyone pretends they don't exist, including the producers and such.

MLP:FiM is something of a unique situation for the MLP franchise, because up until now there simply wasn't much of a universe to talk about in terms of canonality or characters. So every generation basically used the same ponies, if they used them at all, without problem. However, seeing as FiM is probably the most popular MLP franchise, and most likely to stick around far longer (if, indeed, it does form the basis for all future MLP properties for a decade or more). So on that note, there's no real in-MLP precedent for how the expanded universe is going to be handled.

However, as I noted, the Transformer's verse has had to deal with this sort of thing for a long time, and the general rules are, as noted on the TFWiki:

• All officially-licensed fiction is canonical for some continuity.
• If conflicting events occur which are ostensibly within the same continuity, there is no single "correct" interpretation, unless an official retcon is later issued. Fans may reach a consensus on it, or not. The two events may be relegated to slightly different continuities, or an in-continuity fix may be applied.
• While canon from one continuity cannot, in general, be used as evidence to support canon in a different continuity, there are exceptions. For example, the Tech Specs and bios from toy packaging are used as the basis for character personalities across various continuities, and can therefore hold some cross-continuity weight.
• Fan fiction is not canon.
• Toy catalogs produced by companies other than Hasbro (such as J.C. Penney) are not canon.
• Some fans have their own ideas about what constitutes canon and nothing anyone else says will change their mind (see personal canon).
• Perhaps most important of all...it only has one N in the center, and one at the end. Megatron has a "personal cannon" (although Classics Voyager Megatron had an "anti-proton pulse canon" according to his on-packaging bio), but you likely never will.

These IDW comics are official licensed, ergo, they are canon.

Indeed, in an interview with Katie Cook, on of the writers of the comics, she noted that:

But then I was told that my idea wouldn't work because it's the premise of a future "My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic" cartoon episode. Bah!

So clearly Hasbro is looking at this comics before they're published and approving them.

And so on.

Also, the comics are fun

[Krazakistan]

I have no idea what's going on. Could someone please summarize what happened during the last 3 pages?

[Wisconsin9]

I have no idea what's going on. Could someone please summarize what happened during the last 3 pages?

Ameri's bitching about people considering the comics canon, because apparently the people who make the show don't have a say in what licensed merchandise is and isn't canon.

[Esparmuran]

I have no idea what's going on. Could someone please summarize what happened during the last 3 pages?

Ameri vs. Everybody else.

Subject: comics and canon.

You'll find out.

[Ifreann]

I have no idea what's going on. Could someone please summarize what happened during the last 3 pages?

Ponies.

[Ifreann]

All the InuHoshi \o|

[Krazakistan]

Okay here's what I've got:

• Ameri's bitching about comics not being canon
  
• Ameri's bitching
  
• Arguments about comics being canon or not
  
• Ponies

Did I miss anything?

[Esparmuran]

Okay here's what I've got:

• Ameri's bitching about comics not being canon
  
• Ameri's bitching
  
• Arguments about comics being canon or not
  
• Ponies

Did I miss anything?

Possibly that second bullet not having anything filled in it

[Auzkhia]

All the InuHoshi \o|

Are those OCs or background characters?

[Wisconsin9]

All the InuHoshi \o|

Are those OCs or background characters?

Background characters.

[Saurisisia]

I have no idea what's going on. Could someone please summarize what happened during the last 3 pages?

I like Corey Powell's OC persona as a dragon.

[Ifreann]

All the InuHoshi \o|

Are those OCs or background characters?

Background characters.

Specifically Cloud Kicker and Blossomforth.

[Auzkhia]

Are those OCs or background characters?

Background characters.

Ah.
I never noticed them before. Oh well

[Krazakistan]

Okay here's what I've got:

• Ameri's bitching about comics not being canon
  
• Ameri's bitching
  
• Arguments about comics being canon or not
  
• Ponies

Did I miss anything?

Possibly that second bullet not having anything filled in it

Ahaha, I was going to type in "(like usual)" but I didn't for reasons unknown to me.

[Krazakistan]

Okay, so here's something I found to be funny. Cartoon Network's MAD has parodied bronies and MLP twice.
Links for all yall:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=av8EJf3J2Kk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tGNNHf2OGxs

[Ifreann]

Okay, so here's something I found to be funny. Cartoon Network's MAD has parodied bronies and MLP twice.
Links for all yall:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=av8EJf3J2Kk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tGNNHf2OGxs

Meh.

[Ameriganastan]

Okay, so here's something I found to be funny. Cartoon Network's MAD has parodied bronies and MLP twice.
Links for all yall:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=av8EJf3J2Kk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tGNNHf2OGxs

Eh.

[Wilgrove]

So I pre-ordered this book like two months ago, and it's now shipping, I should have it by Thursday!

[Ameriganastan]

So I pre-ordered this book like two months ago, and it's now shipping, I should have it by Thursday!

So...you paid money for a book that tells you stuff you already know?

[Esparmuran]

So I pre-ordered this book like two months ago, and it's now shipping, I should have it by Thursday!

Theres... an official guidebook for the show? Like for games? Holy crap.

[Ifreann]

So I pre-ordered this book like two months ago, and it's now shipping, I should have it by Thursday!

So...you paid money for a book that tells you stuff you already know?

Unless, of course, there's stuff in it we don't know.

[Ameriganastan]

So...you paid money for a book that tells you stuff you already know?

Unless, of course, there's stuff in it we don't know.

Inside this important tome, every pony will find everything they need to know about the hit TV show, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic. Character bios, an episode guide and a map of Equestria are just the beginning of this gorgeous full-color book. Don't miss the complete lyrics to all the songs, a collection of Letters to Princess Celestia, and much much more!

Doesn't sound like it.

[Esparmuran]

So...you paid money for a book that tells you stuff you already know?

Unless, of course, there's stuff in it we don't know.

What a tweese!