@N8orDIE  
I know, right?
 
The guys who marketed those Jimmy Olsen and Lois Lane comics would purposely draw WTF covers designed to make people want to buy them, and then they’d get someone to write a story to go with it.
 
And MAD Magazine, might use a drawing of Alfred parodying a movie or TV show featured in that issue (Game of Thrones is a great example). Otherwise it’s just whatever funny idea they liked best.

Headphones: Apply directly to the forehead.

And Vinyl is really cute with that ribbon on her head.

Derpy trolling the music gals. LOL

This is why I’m glad I buy the comics at Hot Topic.

No, no no no stop stop STOP, I don’t even play either of those and even I know you’re doing it so, SO wrong XD

@MonkeyDzyrax  
Lots of fans don’t like the CANON, so how is this any different exactly? Just look at all the “Princess Twilight NEVER HAPPENED GRRR!” Fanfics.

They’ve gone too far this time! Nobody has ever put popular characters on the cover of a comic doing things that have nothing to do with the comic itself in order to catch the eyes of fans! This is clearly pandering of the highest order!
 
Or, you know, it could just be business as usual in the comics industry.

@MonkeyDzyrax
 
We’re talking about Discord here. Sense? He’s a being of chaos? What did sense ever do for him?

“Suckers, I know exactly what when wrong.”

@HMorris73  
I don’t know if the cover even assumes any of these characters know each other, really.

@MonkeyDzyrax  
What exactly is the fanon part here, just depicting these two as knowing each other?

I friggin love IDW.

@ICEBOX  
They answered this at some panel recently: parody is free speech. But it also helps IDW has DW’s publishing license.

@ICEBOX  
My guess would be because IDW has the rights to Doctor Who in comic form.
 
I could of course be wrong.

Octavia: How do I Wub?  
Scratch: How do I classic?  
Derpy: lol How do I music?

I’d just like to know how they’re not being sued when “Doctor Whooves” has a sonic screwdriver on a few covers and actually uses it in a comic.

@MonkeyDzyrax  
Or he just made her with his nigh-limitless chaos power. Some fanon can make sense, given a little thought.

At least they’re not shipping them. That’s a plus to me.

@Keith Mowz  
Okay so they make Screwball being discords daughter canon..lBut that never made any sense and would leave alot of plotholes as it would mean discord had sex while being trapped in stone.  
Most Fanons dont make any fucking sense

As any type of consideration: both Katie and Andy have said they were unaware of the amount of “shipping” that goes on in the fandom when the question came up after the Rarity microissue (where Rarity has a bedroom-eyes AJ with her).
 
Also, I would think that by leaning on the BG ponies, they avoid creating discontinuity with the Mane 6 when S4 actually comes around. Even with the upcoming #11-12 story on Cadance and Shining, I wouldn’t be surprised if they talked to Meghan to otherwise keep the story consistent with that and GM Barrow’s book.

@MonkeyDzyrax  
…
 
And?
 
who cares?
 
What happens when they make up their own canon that people don’t like? They ignore it or complain about it or whatever. You’re not going to please everyone no matter what you do. Let them canonize the popular headcanons if they want to and they think it fits.

@Background Pony  
hmm yes.. they went too far this time. bye  

@Background Pony  
I’m with this BP. Outside of the fact that they’re using three minor/background ponies that are popular with the fans, there’s nothing in this cover that’s really using or drawing from fanon. It’s not like they’re portraying Octavia and Vinyl Scratch in a relationship; it’s just a gag about how they’d be lost trying to use the other’s instrument. (And Derpy’s grin makes me suspect she crossed them up intentionally…)
 
I’m fine with DHX or IDW acknowledging or even using bits and pieces of fanon from time to time, though I’d probably be annoyed if they did it a lot. I’ll be disappointed if the BP story arc uses fanon for the bulk of its story, but it won’t be the end of the world, or even the end of the comic.

This is cool