Yet Another Fic Idea: My Little Pony's "What If?" · 2:52pm Nov 19th, 2022

I've been binging the MCU recently, and one of my favorites so far is "What If?". It's the exact kind of AU BS that I love in my fanfic. The idea of a "What If" AU is nothing new, of course, but it occurred to me that it might be interesting to steal the structure of the show, and maybe some themes from the broader MCU, for use in a story of my own.

The story would consist of eight chapters, with each focusing on a single member of the Mane 6. In their story, each pony exemplifies their Element, and actually recieves their associated Element of Harmony by the end.

Initial ideas are:

What If... Fluttershy Stopped The Changeling Invasion? Fluttershy, with her freaky knowledge of sewing, helps Cadance with some last-minute alterations to her wedding dress. Fluttershy notices that Cadence isn't who she claims to be, and uses her kindness--either during the fitting, or just as the invasion is starting--to reform, not Discord, but Chrysalis.
What If... Rainbow Dash Killed Nightmare Moon? During the Season 1 opener, something goes wrong--perhaps, as Twilight's friends are climbing the tower to where she and Nightmare Moon are, the stairs collapse, and only Rainbow Dash is able to reach her. Rainbow and Twilight confront Nightmare Moon by themselves, and, instead of saving her, are forced to kill her (by dropping the roof on her?). Rainbow saves the day--but now she has to deal with the revelation of Nightmare Moon's identity, Celestia's depression, and being a national hero in the worst way possible.
What If... Rarity Was Celestia's Student? A young Rarity applies to Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns on a lark, but gets accepted in Twilight's place. Several years later, high-strung perfectionist and dedicated researcher Princess Rarity must learn to give of herself to help her friends (Edit: this being the "Generosity" story, Rarity would probably have to sacrifice her Princess-hood, in some way, to help her friends. Author brainstorming ongoing.) (Edit Edit: As above, but A decade or so after magic vanishes from Equestria, Princess Rarity (with the help of a penitent Cozy Glow?) must journey through post-apocalyptic Equestria to find a way to bring back magic. When she does, Rarity discovers that she must give of what magic remains in her to prime the pump, as it were. She does so willingly, restoring Equestria to its former glory, but leaving herself an especially tall, but otherwise completely mundane pony, without even the Earth Pony magic to keep her strong.
What If... Applejack Couldn't Save The Farm? After losing the cider-making competition to the Flim-Flam brothers, the Apples are forced to leave Sweet Apple Acres forever. Applejack now lives and works with Twilight in the library, but has to bear the scorn of the townsponies who resent her for her failure. (Edit: maybe she studies at night, eventually learning enough to become an attorney, and challenges FlimFlam in court. However, at a crucial moment, she is forced to admit that, as far as verbal contracts go, their bet was watertight. Damn you, Honesty!)

After we see what happens with each of the mane 6, we get one or two more chapters, as in the "What If?" show: for example, maybe Tirek discovered the Elements and used their magic to accomplish his goals (a la the Infinity Stones), or maybe Discord was able to keep the Mane 6 from challenging him and now reigns supreme. "The Reader" then has to summon each of the AU ponies to fix things b/c reasons.

What do you think of something like this? Might it be interesting to stand out from all the other fics out there with "What If...?" In the title?

Report brokenimage321 · 240 views · #Brainstorming #Marvel #What If #MCU

Comments ( 3 )