There is the 'canon' of any series, and in MLP it's that the world is fairly light-hearted and innocent with only the occasional bout of seriousness thrown in. But that doesn't necessarily mean that the fans will view it the same. In fanfiction i've seen many series (such as the normally comedic ranma 1/2) turn very serious and even dark. So I guess it comes down, how do you view the world of MLP? I don't mind starting. I view the world in a kinda odd way. I see it as being quite serious, making characters like Pinkie to be rare gems, due to how super happy they are. Not to say that the other characters who aren't happy, but they tend to view the world in a serious fashion and approach problems in a serious, realistic way. I think it's because i"m a drama writer at heart, so i like to be able to darken or lighten things as I desire but that's just me. Okay your turn ^^
I like to think we all have our own little version of Equestria in our head. Mine is pretty much identical to cannon, except that I like to add a little more mysticism here and there. For example, I like to see Celestia as some enlightened cosmic being. The fanfic I'm (very slowly) working on, deals with some sad themes which you wouldn't find in the show, eg loneliness and parting. I always like to give a more psychological twist to things. I know my limits in this, though. It's still the show's Equestria which I'm writing about.
I've never really viewed the show serious, even during its darkest moments. The only episode I consider a full outlier is Lesson Zero because, let's face it, that episode was creepy and focuses on lying, manipulation and paranoid delusions. Relationships for the characters tend to be a grab bag from wherever you want to analyze interactions. (That's why we have so many romance fics. There's just a lot of possible--believable--romances. This excludes those completely baseless/ridiculous pairings.) For me, the most likely (outside canon ones like Spike/Rarity) is Twilight and Celestia due to Twilight's fanatical love/devotion to her princess (canon: platonic, but still). Some would argue those so many things weird/wrong with that, but it's fanon. It's supposed to be fun and imaginative.
DUDE! can I have 2 versions? One is just canon. The other not so much. (it would involve adding something to them. That something is an article of clothing. Just guess, I'm not telling, not like I haven't said it in other threads) The canon one would be just that. Canon. -- Sent from my Palm Pre using Forums
Although superficially innocent, in my head there is a very dark undercurrent that Celestia tries to protect Equestria from seeing.
I view Equestria as a place where most of the more widespread flaws of humanity are far less prevalent. There is far less greed, hate, mistrust etc... than in our world and everyone works in harmony (mostly) for the benefit of the community as a whole. Things like Winter Wrap Up and the Running of the Leaves are examples of this, where they take a job and turn it into a form of communal activity for everyone to play their part in. It may not be perfect, but nothing ever is, and what's most important is that everypony is content and safe at the end of the day.
I see Equestria as something close to a utopia, a less flawed version of this world. Maybe not entirely perfect, but let's face it, perfection is boring, Equestria is flawed enough to be intresting, but not enough to be a complete nightmare like this realm sometimes is. Basicly, Equestria is my version of Heaven, like I view ponies as the purest of beings, more pure than even angels. This is because ponies do indeed have flaws, this makes them more relatable and more understanding of the flaws of others. A being without flaws could never understand the flaws of others, and in the case of angels, in my opinion, this makes them truly terrifying. This while I view ponies as generally, nice, caring and empathic.
