Trivia / My Brave Pony: Starfleet Magic

• Creator Backlash: Mykan (the author) is not proud of Magic Is Believing, considering it troll bait and a trainwreck.
• Creator's Apathy: The author pretty much states that he doesn't care about the originality of the fic and doesn't bother with characterization.
• Creator's Favorite:
  • Rhymey is this, as this blog goes into detail. Everything in the fic was modeled after the character from Today's Special he based him on.
  • He's also gone on record saying he only sympathizes with characters he sees as a Cosmic Plaything (and even then, only if they're male). He therefore gives Spike special treatment over the rest of the canon cast of characters.
• Hypothetical Casting: Mykan has a list of hypothetical VAs for the characters in these fics. Notable entries include Greg Cipes^*the voice of Beast Boy; unsurprising, given Mykan's affinity for the character as Lightning Dawn and himself as the Grand Ruler.
• Reality Subtext: Episode 5 of Season IX, where civilians are advised to limit how much time they spend together in large groups so to keep them safe from the Devils which the writing flat out states is like being in lockdown or quarantine.
• Recycled Script:
  • And for specific parallels in III and VIII: Big Bad has four minions, two men and two women, that he recruited through various incidents; the first minion (Melantha and Rai Shi) is the longest lasting of the four, the closest to their boss, and has the least characterization; the second (Frost-Eye and En Shi) is an ice-themed villain who is defeated by getting frozen; the third (Phaedra and Kara Shi) is also the first to be defeated, the least evil of the four, uses a sword as a primary weapon, and their defeat is caused by them performing an act that showcases a redeeming trait (Phaedra and Royce were both petrified because they wanted to be together; Kara saved Tan from getting captured); the fourth (Harkin and Tan Shi) is a powerful fighter who goes against their boss for a personal agenda, has a comparatively personal animosity with a Starfleet member because of said agenda (Lightning and Starla), and is defeated by Lightning Dawn; one of the heroes (Lightning and Swift Star) has to save their loved one from the big bad's psychological control (Starla and Striker); someone (Twilight and Granny Smith) dies in the second half of the series, devastating one of the heroes (Lightning and Applejack); the Big Bad is defeated by a special new power unlocked in this very season (the Enticorn and the Pure Inner Strength); and one of the subplots involves a white equine (Awdr and En Shi) attempting to kidnap and woo someone else against their will (Starla and Swift).
  • There are a number of similarities between the bad guys in Seasons V and VII: Big Bad has a younger family member who they care for deeply (Pinsar and his daughter Phoebe; Sienna and her younger brother Mako). Said family member gets separated from the others (Phoebe runs away; Mako is blown away in an explosion). Big Bad has two second-in-commands, a rebellious Token Evil Teammate who eventually makes an attempt on another baddie's life then gets caught and punished for it, and a more obedient guy who knows what the former is doing but is too scared to do anything about it. Between the two, the rebellious one goes down first, then the compliant one (Stag and Slick; Slash and Omnisha). Villains live in a huge ship, and live a nomadic lifestyle trashing and raiding other planets. The guy who got separated from the others is saved by at least one person, who the lost guy grows to care about (Phoebe and Jetar; Mako and Starfleet). At least one of the major villains gets or is already orphaned (Phoebe loses her parents in season 5; Sienna and Mako lost theirs over 200 years ago). One of the villains is a red humanoid alien (Jetar and Omnisha). The lost family member reunites with the main villain just before they get defeated (Phoebe is returned to Pinsar just before he dies; Mako reunites with Sienna in the finale, trying to free her from the influence of the Chaos Guardian, and leaves with her to prison).
  • There are also many similarities between the plots of IV and IX: Villains want to do something that will plunge the world into darkness; the Big Bads are huge shadowy humanoid kings with horns; canon character suffers from recurring nightmares; and one member of the Mane Six falls in love with one of the villains. Also, the villain in question has blue hair, has a partner who's a red haired woman, their boss is from another world but doesn't go to Starfleet's for reasons, one of the Mane Six is the linchpin of a love triangle, the blue haired villain is confused about love and is super angsty, the red haired one is feminine and headstrong, the Big Bad has already defeated a powerful force of good and is targeting the current Starfleet next, the villains use animalistic creatures as minions, etc.
  • Similarities between III and X:
    • A shadowy Generic Doomsday Villain survives multiple previous defeats to haunt the protagonists (Sombra and Titan).
    • At least one strawman (Ace and I.D.I.O.T.S) going against Starfleet, and being defeated before the fic is halfway through.
    • A secondary villain, a powerful unicorn mare (Raven and Starlight Glimmer), has a personal vendetta with Celestia due to the loss of her loved ones (Raven's husband and Starlight's parents) and are persuaded to team up with another major villain (Harkin and Titan).
    • Buddy and Lily are on a misson in Herboss that involves their romantic relationship (or lack thereof).
    • One secondary villain, a unicorn mare (Phaedra and Starlight) is romantically attached to another character (Royce Rolls and Swift Star), which plays a part in redeeming her, of which the redemption irreversibly changes her life in the process (getting Taken for Granite and turned into a baby).
• What Could Have Been:
  • The original concept for Starfleet Magic, back when it was still called "My Little Unicorn: Magic is Believing" was that it was set in an Alternate Universe, never crossing over with Friendship is Magic at all. At this point in time, Mykan had never actually watched Friendship is Magic, and once he did, this plan was scrapped and it was made into a Crossover fanfic.
  • Celesto originally was going to be called Mykan.
  • In a seemingly now-deleted video regarding Starfleet Magic, Mykan revealed a villainous robotic character named Techno, who never appears in the story. It is believed by most that Fratello ultimately replaced him.
  • There was going to be a part where the Grand Ruler would execute everyone who made fun of Starfleet. This was aimed at Project A.F.T.E.R, who have mocked several of Mykan's past fics.
  • Twilight was originally gonna live through season III and have an arc where she fell in love with a guy unaware he was working with Sombra. However, it appears after Magical Mystery Cure aired and made Twilight a princess, Mykan decided to kill her off instead, and the arc was recycled in Season IV for Rarity.
  • Twilight wouldn't have just died, her soul would have been destroyed too.
  • Star Swirl the Bearded would have been revealed to be a fraud.
  • Cadance would have miscarried due to being kicked by a possessed Shining Armor instead of a pillar falling on her.
  • The Batling known as Shade used to be named Negro. It seems that Mykan realized the Unfortunate Implications of the name and decided to rename him.
  • Blitzy Heart was originally going to have a storyline about being in an Arranged Marriage with Lightning Dawn on Harmonius that he didn't know about because the planet was destroyed before he could be told about it. Mykan scrapped this idea because it "overcomplicated things".

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