On Fausticorn

(Requested by DashieShy3597)

This is going to be an...interesting topic today. I don't know how it's gonna go, if anyone's gonna be interested, or if I should just cut my loses now and go to the countdown, but whatever. Let's discuss...Fausticorn.

I have to admit that this request was...not one I was certain I could handle, mostly because the topic was a bit out of my league. DashieShy3597 requested that I cover Fausticorn in much the same way as one of my old Alicorn Twilight posts, looking over whether or not it would destroy the canon. And that's part of what I'm going to do. But there's another underlying issue here that I want to address, so sorry Dashie, but I'm...kind of co-opting your request a bit. Please forgive me.

Okay, so Fausticorn is the fan nickname for Lauren Faust's pony Alicorn OC. Normally we frown on such things, but she's the show's forerunner, has accomplished more than most of us (me included) ever will with our lives, and is just a really cool person all-around, so she gets a free pass. And as is second nature with this fandom, a lot of Fausticorn material has been produced since the character's premiere, usually showing her as the mother to Celestia, Luna, and just about every other pony in the series.

So can Fausticorn be considered canon? No, of course not. Lauren Fast did conceptualize the show's basic elements and characters, which kind of does make her god, but other than that we have absolutely nothing to go on regarding Celestia and Luna. That being said, Faust's word was that Celestia and Luna had no living parents, nopony outranked them, and outside of a single joke about Blueblood's relation to them (which is kind of odd), nothing else has been said on them.

Still, from a very meta standpoint, having Fausticorn as a sort of Creator Deity of the FiM universe makes a degree of sense. Are not all creators more or less gods of their own fictional universes? If they want to declare that Pinkie makes cupcakes out of Rainbow Dash and Trixie is better than Twilight in every way, then they have spoken and shall be obeyed. And Faust was kind of the leader of the most visible parts of the production for quite a while. If by some freak strike of lightning this ended up being canon, I wouldn't be going up in arms about it.

---

But then we get to the flip side, and the other, less savory topic I want to discuss:

I don't like what Fausticorn has come to represent in the community.

As said earlier, Faust was the show's first forerunner, thereby giving her quite a bit of control over the series at that point. But the way Fausticorn is portrayed implies that she alone was responsible for the show's success. Perhaps in some ways, she was; her name being attached to the project was certainly enough to make Cartoon Brew flip its lid, which in turn inspired the ironic-turned-genuine interest in the show on 4Chan that led to the Brony fandom in the first place.

But this show was always more than one person. It was the result of an entire team of hardworking, dedicated people who put in their best efforts to make a series that was entertaining to all ages and audiences, while also courting the target demographic of young girls. Everyone who works or has worked on the show deserves just as much credit as Faust, because without good writing, great voice acting and characterization, and excellent use of Flash animation, this show would not have been able to break the stigma of the My Little Pony brand.

This is why I get bothered when people go quote mining to show how Faust disapproves of things like Alicorn Twilight. (For the record, she told everyone to give it a chance.) It feels like people are now using her to aid in their nitpicking of elements of the show, casting everything after her as a betrayal of her perfect vision. This is really not honoring the creator of the series. She does not need a thousand white knights defending her like a saint. She is just a very talented, very creative person who has numerous successful series under her belt. (And Quest for Camelot, but that one kind of wasn't her fault.)

So...that's it. I really have nothing else to say on the matter. Now back to the drinking...

---

- 3 Days Remain -